Chapter Four #2
“Hmm,” was all he gave me by way of a reply as he tucked himself in and zipped his jeans. He turned away and stepped up to the bunkhouse door, and I figured that was it. But he turned back as he grabbed the handle.
“The crappy attitude comes and goes, and the rest is just good genes. How old are you, anyway?”
My mouth went dry as I melted under the fire of his gaze. “Just turned thirty. You?”
He looked me over. “Not that old.” He opened the door and went inside, where I heard the sounds of other men speaking and laughing before the door shut behind him.
Fuck. He’d known right where to hurt me. Whether he’d intended to or not, I didn’t know. Anyway, I was older than he was, obviously. Maybe too old to be interesting. We’d have to see, then.
I may not have been old enough to be real Daddy material, but I was old enough to know this boy, perhaps, needed a Daddy more than anything else right now.
As much as he tried to play it cool, he seemed lost and out of his depth—fragmented and trying to reassemble his identity in this unusual setting.
I wanted to comfort and guide him, even though I had no idea if he’d want me to.
In fact, after our interaction just now, I knew I’d have to play the long game with him.
I’d need to convince him I could be good for him, because he seemed skeptical, at the very least. And I had no doubt there were a few others who were going to make a play for Puck.
But I had six weeks. I was better at marathons than sprints anyway.
*
I WALKED BACK toward the grooming barn and tried the staff entrance. It was unlocked, so I stepped inside and found Lorraine, the female trainer, writing on the whiteboard with a fat marker.
She smiled at me. “Good morning, Oliver.”
“Good morning,” I said. “Do you mind if I get a shot or two of your hands as you write? Since I’m here. It’s Lorraine, right?”
“Yes. And, no, I don’t mind at all.”
She continued to write on the whiteboard as I moved in close beside her so I could shoot over her shoulder.
The camera clicked as I took several angles of Lorraine’s delicate fingers on the marker, writing basic gear under the name Joshua.
Andrew, Puck, and Justin had been in training yesterday afternoon, which meant Joshua, Teagan, and Lincoln were on this morning. The three attractive men I’d met in the bunkhouse would be naked and washed and tacked in front of me this morning.
Lorraine put her marker in the tray and turned to me. “I see you are going to be recording every last detail, Oliver.”
I grinned. “That’s my job. Adam wants a record of everyday life on the ranch. So, not always the sexy shots of bare asses and harnesses.”
I recalled shooting Puck’s early morning piss in the dew. Whether that would make it into the official collection, I had no idea. But something told me Adam would appreciate the raw and natural beauty of the moment.
Lorraine nodded and leaned seductively against the rectangular table, which held harnesses and efficiently arranged supplies. She looked me over carefully, then folded her arms across her chest.
“What’s your story, Oliver?”
I felt put on the spot. “Pardon?”
She smiled, flashing her teeth.
“What made you say yes to the opportunity to document the daily life at this kinky place? Hmm? Pure monetary motivation? Curiosity? What?”
It was a fair question.
“Well, to be honest, I needed something to fill my summer. So there was definitely a monetary component behind it. This is how I make a living.”
“Fair.”
“Curiosity? Definitely. How does a place like this exist? How does it run? What do the ponyboys look like in person? How is a ponyboy trained?”
“So many questions,” she said dreamily. “Have you gotten any answers?”
“Starting to. But this place is so detailed—so immersive—it’s probably going to take me the full six weeks to figure it out.”
Not to mention it was going to take the full six weeks to prove to a certain ornery ponyboy that I could show him a few things he might enjoy—and hopefully get him to fall for me during the process.
“Well, you’d better get started, then,” Lorraine said, walking past me to the door and glancing back. “I’m looking forward to seeing what you produce.”
She flashed me a smile and was gone.
I set my camera bag down and unzipped it, before pulling out the tripod.
Once that was unfolded and situated, I pulled out my Canon EOS R5 and attached the zoom lens, then slotted it onto the tripod.
I had taken my older Nikon camera on walkabout earlier, and it did a fine job, but for more steady work I liked the pricey Canon model.
The door opened behind me, and I turned to see Liv and a man I hadn’t met yet enter the grooming barn.
“Hi, Liv. I hope I’m okay to set up in here?” I asked.
“Hey! Yeah, sure. As long as you stay back from the shower area and right beside the table, it should be fine.”
“I might want to come in for some closer shots, but I’ll use my handheld camera for that. I’ll try not to disrupt you too much.”
She smiled. “Adam wants us to accommodate you to the best of our ability. So don’t worry. We’ll let you know pretty quick if we need you to get out of the way.”
I laughed. “Perfect.”
“This is Adrian, by the way. He’s on the morning shift with me this week.”
“Adrian,” I said, by way of greeting.
“Oliver.” He looked me up and down and gave me a quick smile. “You sure you’re up to taking close-ups of sweaty muscles and leaking cocks?”
I blushed. “Um…I’m sure I will be up to it. I’ve done fetish photography before.”
“Ah. An experienced player. I like it.”
“I’ve photographed some stuff. Nothing quite comparable to this though,” I admitted. “This animal role-play business is new to me.”
I heard the other door to the building creak open, and footsteps sound behind the partition.
“Ponyboys are here. Better get set up,” Adrian said.
I hastened to make some final adjustments to the camera as Liv and Adrian sorted items on the table. I saw the flash of silver and heard the thud of leather, while voices in the other room gradually quieted and the first naked man rounded the corner.
Teagan, without his clothes on, was a blond God.
Thick muscles in his legs and arms, a six-pack that looked like I could bounce a ball off it, and a dick the size of a prize cucumber made my eyes bug out of my head.
But I schooled myself quickly, in order not to appear like an absolute newb.
I’d seen a hot naked guy before. Even with his seemingly physical perfection, Teagan’s nude presence didn’t touch me the way Puck’s ethereal beauty had.
I started shooting as he moved to stand beneath the showerhead closest to the left, and Adrian slid in beside him, a black ball gag in his hand. With deft fingers Adrian placed the gag between Teagan’s pliant lips and fastened it behind his head.
“Arms up.”
Teagan raised his arms and glanced at me with curiosity.
I almost lifted my hand in silent greeting, but these men were supposed to be animals or objects once they had entered the grooming space, so I didn’t acknowledge him—just kept taking photos of his body with the zoom lens, following as his wrists were buckled into the hanging cuffs and Lincoln came around the corner.
Lincoln was cute, with a smaller cock than Teagan had, but with a streamlined body that would look good on a fashion runway. Adrian quickly gagged Lincoln and attached his wrists to the hanging cuffs above his showerhead and then moved to the table to grab a loofa, as Liv went to deal with Joshua.
Joshua was boy-next-door attractive and imperfect, like Puck, in a way that made my juices flow.
His hair was down now and fell past his shoulders in soft brown waves.
I wasn’t particularly a fan of long hair, but Joshua pulled it off.
His body was thicker than Lincoln’s but not as built as Teagan’s.
There was a certain innocence in him that appealed to me.
He probably wasn’t naive at all, since he was playing pony on a fetish ranch, but he had the look about him.
As Liv placed the ball gag between his teeth, I caught a flash of something far from innocent in the gaze he shot me.
After the gags and wrist cuffs, the cock cages came out. I’d seen these before, but never in use.
Liv must have seen me staring, because she grabbed something off the table and tossed it in my direction.
“Here. Have a closer look.”
I caught and examined the contraption in my hands.
It was made of stainless steel and consisted of a large ring that I expected fit around the base of the ponyboy’s penis and balls, and then several smaller rings on a central bar that curved along a four-inch span. I imagine they came in different sizes.
“This is, well, it’s nice.” I hefted the metal device in my hand, enjoying the weight of it.
“Nice?” Adrian said, with a chuckle.
I shrugged and gave the device back to Liv.
The stable hands tucked the ponyboys’ penises into their assigned cock cages.
It made sense to do this before things got out of hand and the ponyboys became so aroused it made the task impossible.
As it was, Adrian struggled with Teagan’s massive appendage but managed to fit it into the largest device.
As the consummate professional I professed to be, I zoomed in on this procedure, because it seemed so important to the overall hierarchy of the ponyboys at the BCR as lowly servants and obedient animals.
They would presumably be reliant on their trainers for any relief from the confines of these strict restraints.
It would be interesting to see which of these men photographed well, and which didn’t.
The camera could be fickle, although usually that was more apparent in portraits.
I would be capturing body parts primarily, and more would depend on the angle of a particular shot and the lighting, than on the charisma of the model.
At least, that was the theory.
I took a collection of long shots as the ponyboys were rubbed and scrubbed to cleanliness as my practical mind appreciated the thoroughness of the stable hands and marvelled at the way the men were treated like animals to be groomed and prepared for their trainers.
It was a wonderful way to get them into the service headspace needed for their sessions.
“Is it all right if I come in closer, Adrian?”
“Sure,” he said, giving me a glance.
He glided a wet cloth over Teagan’s captive privates as the large ponyboy closed his eyes and widened his legs to allow the stable hand ample access.
I crouched and took shot after shot of Adrian’s skilled fingers as he cleaned Teagan, front and back, then got several different angles of the ponyboy’s plump buttocks and solid legs.
Then I moved on to Lincoln, who waited patiently for one of the stable hands to be done with the others and attend to him.
He watched me out of curious eyes, saliva beginning to slide down his chin from the gag.
Seeing these men like this was a trip–more so than anything I’d experienced at other fetish shoots.
There was an authenticity about it. It wasn’t simply people playing dress-up and experimenting with a casual power exchange.
I was the recipient of many curious glances from the ponyboys and even the stable hands, since it was my first morning, and they hadn’t yet gotten used to my presence.
I hoped to become a part of the landscape eventually, so that I could effectively record what went on at the ranch without becoming a part of it.
I was paid to be an observer. I truly wanted to be a fly on the wall when I was behind my camera.
When I wasn’t behind my camera, I’d continue to try to blend in so I’d get an honest idea of the workings of this unique place. I planned to keep a diary of my experiences, so besides the photos, I’d have a personal record of this very unique opportunity.
If I could record, in words and images, even a half of what I’d seen and felt so far, I’d be richer for it.