So they climbed into the car and drove toward a secluded section of Lake Mead that Treston didn’t know existed. Harlan drove off the main road and said, “I did a little research online. There are a lot of little hidden spots where people screw around here all the time.”
“This looks like the end of the world to me,” Treston said, as the old Jeep bounced and jerked on the unpaved road. He hoped the old car wouldn’t fall apart at the seams.
A few minutes later, Harlan pulled between to large rocks and turned off the engine. “We have to walk a little, but this is going to be a surprise you’ll never forget, baby. Why don’t you take off all your clothes right now?”
“Take off all my clothes right now? Right here in the car?”
“Well, not all your clothes. You can leave your boots on,” Harlan said. “I think it would be fucking hot to have you walking naked through the trails.”
“I could get arrested for that, Harlan.”
“Don’t worry, baby. I’ll wear my clothes and if we run into anyone I’ll throw my jacket around you. Besides, there’s no one around here. You’ll be fine. People do it all the time.”
“Are you sure?” Treston wanted to please his lover. Harlan seemed so excited about Treston walking through the trails naked. And he was wearing his heavy black work boots, so he wouldn’t injure his feet.
“You’ll be fine,” Harlan said. “I’ll take care of you. Trust me, sweet lips.”
The thought of making love to Harlan outdoors made Treston forget all about how far out they were. The thought of walking naked through the trails excited him, too. So he took off all his clothes in the car, then got out and followed Harlan up a narrow winding trail that didn’t seem to lead to anything specific. There were no other people around, which made Treston relax about what they were planning to do. The last thing he needed was to get arrested for indecent exposure and public sex. But he trusted Harlan so much, he knew nothing bad could ever happen to him.
Harlan took such big steps Treston had to practically run to keep up with him. He had to hold his dick to keep it from bouncing around. But when they finally reached a small alcove between a group of rocks, Harlan stopped walking and said, “Shit, man. I forgot to bring a condom. I’ll have to go back to the car. You stay here and wait for me.”
“I’m not staying here alone, stark naked.” He felt a chill up his spine.
“You’ll be fine,” Harlan said. “I’ll be right back. I’ll run all the way and back.” Then he put his arms around Treston and kissed him with his tongue in a way that made Treston’s knees go weak every time. The way his thick leather jacket rubbed against Treston’s naked body made him want to submit to anything Harlan suggested.
When they finished kissing, Harlan slapped his ass and turned toward the trail. Without giving him a backward glance, he said, “I’ll be right back.”
“Don’t take too long,” Treston said. “I don’t want to get arrested.”
When Treston couldn’t see Harlan in the distance, he turned around and searched for a flat space to stretch out. He figured as long as he was outside, he might as well stretch out and work on his tan. He even removed his boots and his socks so he wouldn’t have a tan line around his ankles.
The first twenty minutes passed fairly quickly. He didn’t even glance at his watch once. But after an hour passed he started to get an uneasy feeling deep in his gut. It had only taken them thirty minutes to get up there on foot and he started to worry something had happened to Harlan. Maybe he’d fallen, or he could have made a wrong turn and lost his way.
After another hour had passed, Treston felt panicky. Harlan should have been back by now. He pictured him flat on his back with blood trickling down from his temple. He imagined him wandering lost, between rocks and ridges, trying to find his way, the poor helpless thing. So Treston put on his boots and socks and slowly made his way back down the trail to where they’d parked the Jeep. But on the way he started to experience even more panic when he realized there was no way anyone could get lost. It was a narrow trail with more than a few twists and bends, but distinctive enough to keep him on the right path. When he finally reached the spot where they’d parked the Jeep and he found it empty without a trace of Harlan or his clothes, a lump formed in his stomach and he fell down on his knees and started to sob so hard he never thought he’d stop.
Chapter Four
By the time the park ranger found him, he’d cried for so long there wasn’t a tear left to spare. He was sitting on a flat rock, slumped over, with his legs folded and his elbows on his knees. He had no idea the park ranger had discovered him through a phone call from a couple of hikers that had seen him sitting there naked and crying.
The ranger approached with caution and said, “How’s it going, buddy?” He spoke in a soft, gentle tone, as if he didn’t know what to expect.
Treston glanced up at him and rolled his eyes. He was beyond being mortified by then. He felt absolutely nothing at all. “It’s going just fine,” he said. “I come out here to sit on a rock all the time and cry my eyes out. I’m just your regular crazy naked person.”
The ranger looked to be in his early thirties. He had thick dark hair under his hat, a tall sturdy body, and large hands. He moved closer and squatted next to Treston. “I have a feeling that’s not true. You don’t look like a crazy person. Why don’t you tell me what happened and I’ll see what I can do?”
The last thing Treston wanted to do was repeat the story of Harlan to anyone. He’d just been dumped by the man he loved, robbed of all his savings, and left naked in the middle of nowhere. It didn’t get much worse, and Treston knew he could only blame himself for being such a trusting idiot. But he also knew he had to tell the truth. If he didn’t, he could wind up getting arrested for indecent exposure—or worse. He’d known gay guys who’d been handcuffed and arrested and thrown into jail for just cruising rest areas along the interstate. And most of them hadn’t done anything wrong; they’d been set up by homophobic ambitious police who wanted to get promotions. So he told the ranger the entire story, all except for the blow job he’d given Harlan on the way to Hoover Dam.
When he was finished, the ranger reached out and helped him stand up. He walked him to a pick-up truck, opened the passenger door, and pulled a large red blanket from behind the seat. Then he put the blanket around Treston’s shoulders and covered his naked body. As he helped him climb into the front seat he said, “I’ll take you back to the station and we’ll get some clothes for you. You’re going to be okay, buddy.”