#Nah get off that stool Veneer

[chromateclipse]

🥀

[fatestemptress]

Paramount Remembrances - Chapter 8

Summary: Dean Winchester has reached a point in his life where he doesn’t have many firsts left to fulfill.  Except maybe falling in love.  This is the story of how he got there......and desperately tried to keep it.

Warnings: Bad words.  Some Angst here.  Mutual masturbation.   18 Plus ONLY!

Pairings: Dean x Reader

Word Count On this Chapter: 4,408

A/N: Soooo, I couldn’t keep my filthy little paws off of this fic and decided to write another chapter.  Thanks for all the awesome feedback!  You guys are awesome! 

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  

Dean was thirty-one when he fell in love.   One month later, he realized he may be ill-equipped to keep it.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  

It had been bliss.  

For the first month.  

Frankly, Dean was surprised it had taken that long.  

They had been at a bar at a boutique hotel in a large city and his beautiful Y/N was doing that thing she does with her nose when she wanted to get something out of someone.

Namely men.

When she wanted to get something out of men.

She was smiling up at the potential suspect, her body encased in a flouncy flowered sun dress with a ridiculously low-cut top as she wrinkled that cute little nose up at something the soon to be dead man said.  

Dean growled low in his throat when he saw the guy place a hand in the small of Y/N’s back as he leaned over to whisper in her ear.

“Yeah, that’s enough of that.” Dean snarled, “He just officially became Captain Hook.”

His chair made a screeching sound as he abruptly sat up and made to move his way over to his girlfriend and chop off the hand of the guy brave enough to touch her when Sam’s hand shot out and grabbed at his forearm.

“No, Dean.  Sit.  Don’t you dare mess this up ‘cause you’re jealous.”  He said with a firm shake of his head, his long hair swaying with the movement.

Dean pursed his lips in indignation at his brother, watching as Y/N gave him a quick frown, “Pfft. I’m not jealous.  Aint got nothing to be jealous of.  So what if he’s a doctor with blindingly white teeth and a mansion.  Y/N’s not into that.”

Sam rolled his eyes and gestured for his brother to sit, “Yeah, she likes pain in the ass Hunters who don’t know how to let her do her job.”  Sam sat back as he sipped his beer, “You gotta trust her to do her thing. All signs are pointing to this guy being the lure for the vampire nest.”

Dean sat down with a huff but not before he sent a dark look Y/N’s way, “I trust her.  I don’t trust him.  Especially since he keeps putting his hands all over my woman.”

Sam sighed, “Y/N would cut you if she heard you talking about her like that.”

Dean couldn’t stop his grin, “Nah.  She thinks she doesn’t like it.  But she loves when I get all growly on her.”

Sam snorted, “No. She doesn’t.  Now sit back and observe or leave and I’ll be her back up since you can’t seem to control your caveman instincts.”

Dean felt his mouth settle into a pout, “Not being a caveman,” He mumbled, “Just don’t want the guy to touch her is all.”

As he saw Sam roll his eyes again and watch the bar, he really sat back and thought about his reaction to what was going on.  

Dean watched as Y/N sent him warning glances over the guys shoulder before smiling up at the possible suspect and raising a bare shoulder as she flirted shamelessly.

And as his gut twisted again, his breath was caught in his throat as he realized that he was jealous.  All those feelings of inadequacy bubbled up from his stomach into his throat to effectively choke him off.  His eyes took in the custom-tailored suit, expensive shoes, coiffed blonde hair and smooth unscarred face and it made him bit the inside of his lip in the unfamiliar feelings.  

Not the inadequacy part. That he was more familiar with than he liked to say.  But he had never been jealous before.  Not of another man.  Not of the what if’s that the other man’s presence brought to him.  

Cause while he didn’t always love the Hunter life and the misery it could bring to his existence, he had accepted a long time ago that this was who he was meant to be.  And when he had been lucky enough to find Y/N and the peace she brought to his life, he felt himself doing more than just accepting.  

He felt himself actually living again.  

And now, watching Mr. White Teeth fawning over Y/N and charming her with what Dean was sure was promises of yachts and trips to the Mediterranean, Dean felt not only jealously but regret.

He wanted to give her all of that and more.  But all he had to offer her was an old Chevy, (granted it was the best car in existence. But still.), and himself.

And he knew he wasn’t enough.

And that made the jealousy quickly turn into stupidity and then anger.

Stupid, unnecessary, un-called for anger.

And he knew that.

But he foolishly allowed it to control his next actions anyway.

Cause as he watched, the suspect took his mouth and brought it to Y/N’s ear and whispered into it before briefly scraping those stupid white teeth over the lobe, then tilted his head so that he could take a deep breath at her neck.

Inhaling a small bit of the essence of Y/N.  

And as Dean felt the red overwhelm his senses, the only thing that kept reverberating through his skull was one thing:

Every bit of everything that was Y/N was Dean’s.

And this dick just made a mistake in thinking he could lay claim to any part of it.  

This time the scraping of Dean’s chair was overshadowed by the bang it made as it tilted backward and hit the floor.  

And Sam wasn’t quick enough to stop Dean from marching up to the bar, seemingly oblivious to Y/N gently pushing the perp away, before grabbing onto the back of White Teeths stupid suit jacket, forcefully pulling him back with one arm until his body stumbled away from Y/N and into the empty bar stool behind him.

“Hey!  What the fuck?”  White Teeth shouted.

“Please.  Have a seat.”  Dean growled, his eyes boring into the asshole, making the man instinctively flinch at the unwavering stare.

“Who the hell are you?!”

“I’m the guy that’s gonna make those veneers into chewing gum.”

“Dean!”  Y/N admonished, “What the hell are you doing?”

White Teeth shot Y/N a surprised glance before bringing his eyes back to the imminent threat, “You know this guy, Katie?”

Y/N’s teeth were clenched as she glared at Dean, “Yes.  He’s my-.”

“Boyfriend.”  Dean growled.

“Ex-boyfriend.”  Y/N ground out.

Dean felt his heart plummet into his stomach and he quickly broke off the staring contest with White Teeth as he set devastated eyes on Y/N, “Wh-what?”

Y/N took in a deep breath and gritted her teeth, pointedly avoiding Dean’s stare, “I’m sorry, Patrick. Dean has had a hard time letting go. Seems he can‘t take the word no for an answer.”  

Dean blinked slowly at her, “Y/N, I think you’re-.”

Y/N’s eyes turned cold, “No, Dean.  That’s the point.  You didn’t think.”  She coolly dismissed him with her gaze and turned her attention to somebody behind Dean, “Sam, do you mind taking your brother outta here? Somewhere he can cool off and get back into the right frame of mind.”

Sam’s worried eyes were darting between the three people in front of him and he gently pulled on his older brother’s arm.  Dean’s eyes were still set on Y/N’s face, his chest rising and falling rapidly as he blinked at her, hurt bleeding out as she continued to avoid his stare.

“Come on, Dean.” Sam said firmly, “We got other places to be.”

Too stunned to stop his brother from being pulled out of the hotel lobby, Dean’s legs moved numbly towards the door as he heard Y/N apologize to ‘Patrick.’

“I’m so sorry about that. Now, you were saying about the beautiful property you own outside of town….

Dean didn’t hear his response as the glass doors shut behind him and his brother.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Sam dragged Dean over to the Impala waiting in an alley around the corner from the hotel, “Dude! What the hell??!  You could have cost us this case!”

Dean stayed silent as he mechanically entered the driver’s side of the car.

“Dean!  What is your problem?  You’ve never stopped Y/N from working a potential suspect before.  Like ever.”

Dean finally turned his gaze back to his brother, “Yeah, well she wasn’t mine before!”  Dean slammed the door shut forcefully, “And apparently, she’s not mine now.”

Sam shot him a frustrated look from his perch outside of the car as he leaned on the passenger side window, “She didn’t mean it, Dean.  She’s just trying to get the possible location of their nest in hopes that some of those girls are still alive!”

With firm lips, Dean tapped on the steering wheel, “Go back inside and keep an eye on her.  I’m gonna go back to the motel room.  Call me if you need me.”

“But Dean-.”

“NOW SAM.”

With a frustrated sigh, Sam lifted his hands up in exasperation, “Fine.  Whatever.  I’ll call you.”

It was two hours later, and he was sitting at the table in their motel room, four glasses of whiskey in, when Y/N returned from the bar, or wherever the hell she had been.  

Dean had wallowed in his anger tinged despair and had probably picked up his cell phone over a hundred times, his finger hovering over her name, typing and then deleting various forms of texts consisting of accusations, apologies and begging.

Frankly, he was disgusted with himself and his inability to take control of the situation and straighten it out properly.  In his heart of hearts, he knew Y/N didn’t mean it when she called him her ex-boyfriend and he was being a total douchebag about the whole thing, but nothing could erase that feeling of anguish that had hit his senses when she had said it and had so causally dismissed him.  

In their brief time together, Dean had already ingrained her so deeply into his soul that he felt like she had ripped something out of him.

It had hurt.

Dean didn’t do hurt well. When he hurt, he shut down.  And when he shut down, well, Dicky Dean came out to play.

And he had a hell of a time stopping him.

Dean barely looked up from the laptop in front of him as Y/N slammed the motel door behind her.  Her wedge sandals taking long strides to him as she threw her purse onto the chair nearest the door.

“What the fuck, Dean?! What was that all about?”

Dean took a casual sip of his whiskey as he lifted one shoulder into a feigned, nonchalant shrug, “Guess it doesn’t matter now does it?”

Y/N ripped her jacket off and threw it at his head, “Are you on crack?  ‘Cause you’re seriously acting like a crazy person!”

He coolly reached up and plucked the denim jacket off his head and placed it on the chair beside him with nary a flinch, “Not acting like anything.”

Y/N glared at him as she placed her fists on her hips, “I’ve been trying to get the location of their playpen for days and I was so fucking close! And you just swoop in and try to save a day that didn’t need saving.”

Dean’s upper lip twitched before promptly falling back into his cold unaffected look, “You’re right. You had it handled.  Don’t worry about me getting involved anymore.  Won’t happen again,” He stood up before he made his way past her and into the kitchenette and poured himself a refill. He raised the glass in Y/N’s direction and pointed at her, “Once this case is over, we’ll just go our separate ways and that’ll be that.”

For the briefest of seconds, Y/N’s eyes clouded over in panic and Dean’s stomach did that twisty thing that only she could get out of him and he felt his guard lower slightly and he could almost feel the misery leaking out of his eyes.

But instead of getting an apologetic Y/N, he got an even angrier one.

Shit.

“You stupid ASS!  Did you really think I was breaking up with you?”  She reached up and pulled at her hair letting out a frustrated growl, “God, I didn’t think jealousy would make you this dumb!”

Dean slammed the glass down onto the counter, “This isn’t about jealousy, Y/N…okay maybe it was at first. That douche couldn’t keep his paws off you but then it became more than that when you treated me like garbage!”

Throwing her hands out to her sides, Y/N gave him a look of exasperation, “What did you expect?  A fucking parade when you turned into a caveman and threw our lead to the side like a sack of potatoes?  There’s lives at stake here, Dean.”

He came around the counter and into her personal space, “Don’t you think I know that?!  I know that, Y/N,” Dean’s hands hovered in the air by her face before running them through his hair instead, “But at that moment I didn’t care! He….he was touching what’s mine.”

Her light brown eyes narrowed, and she glared up at him, her finger poking into his chest as her voice lowered to that dangerous level, “I’m not a possession, Dean!  You don’t own me!”

“Yeah, well you own every fucking part of me!”  He yelled into her face as she blinked up at him dubiously, shuddering at his words, before he brought shaking hands to her face and cradled them in between his palms, whispering, “Every piece of me.  And I happily give it over to you every second.”  He lay his forehead against hers, “God, the thought of losing you…..”

Y/N sighed shakily against his lips, “Dean, it was a fake fight.  I didn’t mean it.  I would never mean that.  I love you.  When are you gonna start believing that?”

He swallowed deeply at her words, briefly closing his eyes, “I do.  I do believe that.  It’s just……I’ve had so much bad in my life that the thought of losing the good…..it breaks something in me.  And then it gets me angry as hell that I can’t control myself.”  He raised his forehead from hers, “I’m…I’m sorry.”  He whispered as he looked into her eyes.

Y/N sighed deeply as she looked away from his penetrating stare, “Jesus, Winchester.  I swear I have never been a sucker for a pretty face before, but you……”  Her eyes flicked back to his and she pursed her lips, “Being my boyfriend does not mean you get to control me, Dean.  It only means that you love me and stand by my side.  Not in front of me.  I don’t need protection.  I can take care of myself.”

“I know that.  I do.  I just….”  Dean sighed and bit his bottom lip, “I love you…so much….and sometimes……I don’t feel like I deserve you and….it makes me a little crazy.”

Tilting her head, she leaned forward and pressed her lips to the pulse point at his neck, making him shudder at the touch of her soft lips.  She slid her hands up into his hair and pulled firmly at the strands, holding him to her, “You are everything I need.  Just you.  Nothing more. Nothing less.” She bit at the skin in front of her, causing him to let out a low moan before sliding her mouth to his ear, “Now, let me show you.”

Dean stood still as Y/N’s fingers slid to the front of his jeans and palmed his semi-hard cock. (It was always at attention in her presence.  It was a wonder they ever got anything done.)  She leaned her head back and stared into his eyes before moving towards his lips, her eyes never closing as her mouth met his, penetrating his gaze, making sure they conveyed what words couldn’t.

“Y/N….”  He whispered against her lips.

Letting out a trembling breath, Y/N opened her mouth under his and ran her tongue slowly against his bottom lip before gently biting down and tugging it with her teeth.  She ran her hands under his gray t-shirt and scraped her fingernails over his nipples before pinching them both between her fingertips,

With a growl, Dean abruptly picked Y/N up under her ass and wrapped her legs around his hips, before bringing her to the closest wall and leaning her up against it.  He swallowed down her cry with his mouth and roughly kissed her, his tongue rolling against hers in earnest.  His mouth left hers and slid its way down to her throat murmuring nonsense against her skin as she roughly ran her hands through his hair and threw her head against the wall.  Her hips undulated against his jeans and he could feel her searching for just the right angle as her breaths started to leave her mouth in deep gasps.

His hands shook as the adrenaline brought on by the thoughts of losing her because of his stupidity suddenly left him and was replaced by a need so deep he let out a sound that sounded suspiciously like a sob.  

He would be embarrassed, angry at himself even, if anything else mattered but her.

Gently, Y/N brought her hands to his face and raised his gaze to hers.  Her eyes searched his for the briefest of seconds, before she leaned forward and brought her lips to his temple, pressing a chaste kiss there before tightly wrapping her limbs around his body.

Dean closed his eyes at the feel of her form against his, his heart pounding wildly in his chest reverberating against the steady thump of hers.  

They stood there for the briefest of minutes before Y/N slowly released her limbs from around his body and slid to the floor.  Gently, she pushed him back with a smile and made her way around him to the bed, her dress fluttering behind her, before she sat down on the edge of the mattress.

Dean’s eyes took in her soft, tanned skin and dark straight hair, watching with bated breath as she slowly lifted the skirt of her dress up her thighs.  Her eyes intensely stared at him as he started breathing heavily across from her, his hands twitching with the effort of not touching her.  The outline of his cock practically pulsed in time with her movements and Y/N hummed and bit her lip at the sight.  

When the dress reached the juncture of her thighs, she stopped moving it up and opened her legs wide. The gray cotton thong she had on underneath was already soaked through, the wet spot dark against the lighter color.

“Fuck.”  Dean groaned out and reached down and briefly palmed himself, deliberately holding himself back from approaching her on the bed. Waiting with anticipation to see what she would do next.

With a slow smile, Y/N leisurely ran a hand over a cloth covered breast, squeezing a nipple before sliding it the rest of the way down to the wet spot between her legs.  She brought two fingers to the top of her heat and rubbed slowly watching Dean’s slightly open mouth let out a woosh of air when she pushed the underwear to the side revealing her glistening pussy briefly before covering it again with the wet material.

Something animalistic in him reared up and Dean immediately started to make his way over to her.

“Stop.”  She said in a low commanding voice.  She pointed to a chair directly across from her with her free hand, “Sit.”

Unwilling to refuse her anything, Dean sat down on the plastic motel chair and leaned back in the seat.  He raised an eyebrow at her and made a gesture with his hands as if asking her ‘What now?’

“Now, you stay until I tell you different.  Got it? Do.  Not.  Move.”

Letting out a low growl at her commanding tone, Dean felt his cock twitch eagerly in response, “Whatever you want, Sweetheart.”

Satisfied with his answer, Y/N leaned back on one elbow as she stared into his intense gaze and slid her fingers into the top of her thong, finding her hardened clit and letting out a low mewl as she rubbed against it.

Dean bit his bottom lip, holding in the groan he wanted to let out and reached down to squeeze his cock through his jeans, “That feel good baby?  You like playing with your clit while I watch?”

At his words, Y/N started to rub harder, “Feels so fucking good.”

“Take off your panties. Lemme see.”

Y/N gave him a slow sinful smile as a knuckle popped the material up before it slid down to her entrance, “I don’t know, Dean.  You were very naughty today.”  She let out a trembling breath as she buried her middle finger inside of herself, “Perhaps I should just make you watch as I make myself come. Make you go to bed with a hardon.”

Dean couldn’t stop the low moan that slipped past his lips as he watched his girlfriend masturbate in front of him for the first time.  The thought of being punished for his bad behavior making his stomach twist in knots of anticipation, instead of sorrow.

He was such a sick puppy.

And she indulged him in all the ways he needed.

“But then I’d be punishing myself too,” She said as her finger started to move faster, “I’d be depriving myself of that fat cock of yours.  Don’t know if I’d be able to go to sleep without having it in me.”

At her words, Dean’s hand squeezed harder between his legs and rolled his head back at the delicious feeling.

“Maybe seeing it would be enough,” Y/N gasped out, “Take it out for me.”

Not having to be told twice, Dean quickly undid his belt, button and zipper and dragged his jeans and underwear down mid-thigh, letting his throbbing dick out into the air, pre-come already glistening at the top.

Y/N hummed at the sight, “Mmmmm, rub that in for me.  Right there at the tip.  Yes, that’s it.”  She hissed when he complied with a low grunt as his hips canted into the air involuntarily.

Dean’s eyes met hers with a plea as he slowly kept rubbing at his tip, “Please, Baby.  Take them off.  Let me see.  Wanna see that beautiful wet pussy.”  

Y/N bit the inside of one cheek as if contemplating his request, “Well, it is getting a little hard to touch myself with only one finger.  Gonna need more room ‘cause I need at least three to even make me remotely satisfied.”  With that, she stood up in her wedges, her calf muscles standing out in stark relief as she turned away from him.  She reached under her dress and grabbed at the edges of her thong with her two thumbs before deliberately bending over as she slid them down her legs, the back of her dress short enough that he caught a glimpse of her shaven pussy glistening at him.

“Fuck, Baby,” Dean gasped out as he squeezed at the base of his dick, “You’re really trying to kill me here.”

She sent him a smile over her shoulder before quickly removing her sandals and sitting in the middle of the bed against the headboard.  Her dress was hitched up once again, with her knees bent and her legs opened wide, giving him an unobstructed view of her core.  She quickly ran two fingers up and down her slit, before shoving them inside herself roughly, her head automatically falling back against the cheap wood of the headboard at the sensation, “Fuck.  So good.”  

Dean’s hand started to move in time with her thrusts, caressing himself with long strokes from root to tip, twisting at the top.  He started to pick up speed as he watched her fingers curl just so, hitting the spot that always made her scream the loudest.

“Rub your clit for me, Baby,” He grunted out, “Do it the way I do.  The way that makes your thighs shake.”

Letting out a low moan, Y/N complied, bringing her other hand down and rubbing her engorged clit roughly, her breath coming out in loud hitching gasps.  

He could tell she was almost there, red highlighting her cheekbones, a small patch of sweat gleaming from in between the exposed top of her breasts.  

Groaning, he reached down with his other hand and lightly pulled at his balls as he continued to stroke his cock, “You’re so close.  I can almost taste it.  But you know what you need.  Give yourself that third finger, Sweetheart.  Push it deep.”

A loud whine slipped out of her lips as she complied with his instructions.  One, two, three strokes and her eyes started to cross, her thighs began to shake, “Gonna…oh my God….gonna come! Dean!”  She yelled out as the wet sounds her core intensified and she came with a loud shout of completion.  

Dean’s hand had a mind of its own as his strokes sped up in earnest and all the blood in his body seemed to rush down to his cock, releasing his orgasm with a snap and he came with a curse, his hips canting up into his strokes, ropes of it shooting into the air and running down his hand.

“Fuuuuuuck.”  He said gasping, “That was…..just….”

“So.  Fucking.  Good.” Y/N said with a grin as she brought her fingers up to her mouth and sucked on the juices still glistening there.

Dean’s cock twitched in interest at the sight.

“Really?”  Y/N said on a breathless laugh, “Even after all that?”

Dean shrugged, an unrepentant grin on his face, “With you?  Always.”

Y/N’s smile softened, “Come here.  Need to feel you.”

Dean quickly undressed and slid his naked body next to hers on the bed as he helped her out of her dress and strapless bra.  His mouth nuzzled at her neck, before laying back bringing her to lay across his chest.

He let out a contented sigh before grinning to himself, “I got a couple of candy bars on the way back to the motel, if you’re in the mood for chocolate.”

Y/N lifted her head and looked at him, “First of all, there is never a time that I’m not in the mood for chocolate.  Second, I thought you thought we were broken up?”

Dean glanced away briefly before looking down at her, “Guess I thought I could bribe you with chocolate if worse came to worse.”

“Smart man.”

@akshi8278 @curly-haired-disaster @chook007 @scorpiongirl1 @pisces-cutie @winchesterbroys @xalgaliareptx @purrculiar @meganywinchester

[burkedeboer]

I Look For Trouble

4 M, 1 F.

Blake Bartels is soon to be the first in his family to graduate high school. When he goes to his sister’s trailer to deliver the news, he encounters the rodeo cowboy she’s been hooking up with - as well as her boyfriend who’s just broke out of prison.

In one of the many trailer parks on Oregon’s High Desert, Lacy Bartels’ singlewide is about to get very crowded.

This piece was written in the fall and winter of 2016/2017. Full text below the break.

The unkempt singlewide trailer of LACY BARTELS, 23. Her hair is kept in boxer braids. She sits at the folding table in her kitchen, in a busted sort of chair, working on a two stroke dirt bike motor. She drinks beer. There’s another chair at the table, empty, with a leather jacket draped on it. On the back of the leather jacket is a big biker gang sort of back patch. “APES OF DEATH” across the top, “CENTRAL OREGON” across the bottom, sandwiching a cartoon baboon riding a motorcycle and swinging a scythe. Across the room, a barstool is duct taped onto a chair, jutting out in an improvised sort of something that renders both seats unsittable.

(A call from outside.)

BLAKE Y'ello?

LACY Blakester! In here!

(Enter BLAKE BARTELS, 18. He packs a skateboard.)

BLAKE What up.

LACY What up yourself. You want a beer?

BLAKE If you're offering.

LACY I believe I just offered. So what’s up?

BLAKE Maaan... I got some good news.

LACY Yeah?

BLAKE What are you doing next Friday?

LACY Same thing I do every Friday. Work and party.

BLAKE Well between those two, if you think you can fit it in your schedule... I'm walking at graduation.

LACY Get out.

BLAKE I won't.

LACY Get the fuck out!

BLAKE Motherfucking graduating!

LACY Holy shit! Gimme a fuckin' hug! Blake Bartels is gettin' himself a degree!

BLAKE Holla atcha boi!

LACY I'm hollerin'! I'm so proud of you. For real, I'm so proud.

BLAKE Thank you, thank you.

LACY Damn. You making announcements, right? Invitations and shit?

BLAKE I don't know about all that.

LACY Oh you got to. Send them out to all the aunts and uncles. They send you back a lot of cash.

BLAKE If that's the case.

LACY And they gotta send you more since you're the first in our family to ever do it.

BLAKE Is that the rule?

LACY Hell yeah! That's the rule for the graduation party, give you at least a hundred bucks or they don't get in.

BLAKE Hell of a cover charge.

LACY Shit, you earned it. And you're gonna have a graduation party too, by God.

BLAKE Only if you plan it.

LACY I'm not planning shit, but you are having one.

BLAKE You know you're gonna have to quit telling me what to do once I get this diploma.

LACY Bullshit. Even if you have a fancy paper, I'm still the oldest.

BLAKE Yeah but that fancy paper gives me a leg up.

LACY We'll see about a leg up. Ben has a leg up, with all his concrete money, but I’m the boss of him too. You know what, yeah, you’ll get a leg up, all right, when I fuckin’ pin you.

BLAKE Give me as much time at the mill as you've had and you won't.

LACY Okay. No. I'm gonna stop you right there. Nuh-uh. Not happening.

BLAKE What's not?

LACY You and that mill. You got a fucking degree, Blake, you're not going to any veneer plant. And you’re not working concrete with Ben either.

BLAKE What am I supposed to do then?

LACY You're gonna go to college, for one.

BLAKE Ah, fuck that.

LACY Well you're gonna do something. You're too smart to end up here. You've got that goddamn paper to prove it, too. It's gonna say "This diploma goes to Blake Bartels, smarter than all other Bartels before him, and too smart to end up working on a fucking gluepress. Or whatever the fuck."

BLAKE I mean... Sure, I got plans. But I'm done with school, like I've had enough. I’m gonna get me some skating sponsorships.

LACY X-Games and shit?

BLAKE Something like that.

LACY I can dig it. Aim for the stars. Even if you don't make it that far you'll land some place better than here.

BLAKE You don't like Redmond?

LACY I love Redmond. But you are not me.

BLAKE We're not that different.

LACY We're not different at all. You're just smarter.

BLAKE If you say so.

LACY I do! And you’re not gonna do none of that Apes of Death shit either. I already told Hunter flat out. You are not allowed.

BLAKE Like I’m into motorcycle stuff anyway.

LACY Yeah. Yeah, good. And here’s the rule: If I see you come drop off your application at that front office I'm kicking your ass.

BLAKE Lacy.

LACY Hey, I'm not saying you can't do it. If you do end up working with me, or at any other mill, fine. But just know. Before you start your first day, I'm kicking your ass.

(Enter MANNY LOPEZ, 26, from the bedroom. A broad-shouldered and strongly built rodeo cowboy. He is barefoot and barechested. He looks at LACY. Looks at BLAKE. BLAKE looks at him, then looks at LACY.)

LACY All right, I’m gonna go see if the Husqy will start now. (She takes the motor and exits. MANNY takes her seat and pulls on a shirt. An awkward silence.)

MANNY Congratulations.

BLAKE Thanks.

MANNY You know, if you can balance on a skateboard you can balance on a bull.

BLAKE What?

MANNY (He goes to the barstool contraption.) I’m just saying. Rodeos can have a big payout. (He sets to practicing bulldogging: He drops in next to the stool that juts out, swings his right hand onto the other side of the stool with the palm out as though to grab the body of the steer, then swings his left hand up as if over the saddle horn. His two hands then slide up to grab the “horns” of the stool and he swings his feet behind him, taking the chair to the ground. This action is very sudden and explosive, but very studied and deliberate. He sets the chair back up. He continues to repeat this action.)

BLAKE Oh, ah, nah, I’m not really into that redneck shit.

MANNY Redneck? No manches, man. Es ranchero. Cowboy.

BLAKE Well rednecks and cowboys, they’re kind of one in the same.

MANNY No mames, güey, quit playing.

BLAKE What are you doing?

MANNY Practicing. For bulldogging. I need to shave time off if I hope to make the finals. I’ll tell ya what I really need is a new horse. I keep jumping the gun and breaking out of the runway before the steer does. That’s a penalty. Or I get going too late. Keep missing points, man.

BLAKE I’m sorry.

MANNY Mm.

BLAKE So are you and Lacy--?

MANNY Don’t gossip about family, primo.

BLAKE I’m not. Just asking. ‘Cause, you know, I thought she was with Hunter.

MANNY Yeah well Hunter’s in prison and a woman has needs. Not that you want to know that about your sister.

BLAKE Eh, we’re all adults. MANNY “Adults.” Fuck that. If someone told me my sister had needs, I’d punch ‘em.

BLAKE So you want me to punch you?

MANNY I told you no manches. Quit playing. I’ll tell ya what though, if I don’t get to Vegas for the Finals, this fall I’m going up to Washington. They have apple orchards and pear orchards for miles. Every fall a big harvest. Good money. You should come.

BLAKE Yeah?

MANNY Hell yeah. Good money. Not as good as rodeo money, but if you’re not into redneck shit…

BLAKE Yeah, not really.

MANNY I’m telling you, Blake, rodeo makes good money. Especially bull riders. Belt buckles, cash prizes. And all the cowgirls all over you, man. Ay, las chicas. Las vaqueras son muy calientes en sus Levi’s. ¡Cómo los jeans cuando abrazan a un culo! Y tè echan los perros, y dicen “¡Bailemos, bailemos!”

BLAKE Sorry man, I don’t speak Spanish.

MANNY What the fuck, is that what you’re gonna tell ‘em? ...Cabron. I will teach you how to talk to girls in Spanish.

BLAKE Oh, yeah, thanks.

MANNY I’ll be your Cyrano. Your fuckin’ Rodeo Cyrano.

BLAKE Yeah, like I said I don’t speak Spanish.

MANNY Man, you get to Vegas you can win a million dollars from one ride. One ride, win a cool million. If you can balance in the halfpipe you can balance on a bull.

BLAKE That’s what I’ve heard.

MANNY You do have some start up costs, I won’t lie to you. Do you have boots?

BLAKE Like cowboy boots?

MANNY …Yes, Blake.

BLAKE No, I don’t have any.

MANNY Okay. That’s a chunk of change, just getting boots. I might have an old pair. Then you got your bull rope, helmet if you choose to wear one, a hat if you don’t. Most white guys wear helmets these days. You also need to get your vest, glove, boot straps, and rosin.

BLAKE Well I don’t really have the cash for all that.

MANNY No problem, boss. I’ll front you all the cash. No problem. Just loan it to you, you can pay me back, 30%.

BLAKE Thirty -- You know loan sharking’s illegal, right?

MANNY Quit playing. I need to buy a better horse. All there is to it, I need to save up some money, make some money. I need a better horse.

BLAKE Well maybe Washington apple money will get it for ya.

MANNY Mm. Mhm. You know the first time I went up to one of them, I’d been working on a ranch down outside of Jordan Valley. It was a buffalo ranch. There were some white boys working, and some immigrants, but mostly it was us Chicanos. Now the BLM, they’re a bunch of fuckers. Trying to get between a man and his land. “Are you using water right,” “Are you grazing right." Bureau of Land Management. Bureau of Assgrabbing Horseshit, I say. Bunch of government putos from the fucking government de la chingada. You know what they started doing?

BLAKE What’s that?

MANNY They started coming onto the ranch asking for documents. Anyone who was brown they tried to kick us off. Federal fucking government came asking for my passport, I told ‘em “Shit, motherfucker, I’ve never been outside of this country.” Me and this older Chicano, name of Diego, him and I decide “Fuck this.” He’s old as hell, he tells me about the Washington apple fields. So we go. We work until our first place is done, work until our second place is done, keep working ‘til we get every apple picked. Could make about a hundred dollars a day doing that shit, I mean we’re rolling in it.

BLAKE Why’d you leave?

MANNY Why else? Time passes. Things change. You can’t pick apples in winter. So we went back to the buffalo ranch.

BLAKE Huh.

MANNY Yep. Then Old Diego fell off the barn we were thatching and cracked his head open. Never saw brains like that before. (Outside, a motorcycle starts.) Mierda. (He goes out the door.) ¡Mi estrellas! ¡Tu pinche moto funciona! (BLAKE watches him go. The motorcycle is heard driving away. BLAKE sips his beer. He goes back to the chair and picks up the jacket. He observes the patch. He flips it on. His back to the door, he kicks his weight back onto the tail of his board and kicks the nose up. Standing such, he finishes his beer. KENAZ BEN CANAAN, walks up to the steps. 28, with an edge about him - both in how the world sees him and how he sees the world. He wears a long sleeve plaid shirt over his t-shirt, and has chains and bandanas hanging around his pants. He observes BLAKE.)

KENAZ You know you’ve got to earn them colors, right?

BLAKE (Pops the board to face KENAZ.) Hey Hunter, I- I, uh… (He tries to get the jacket off as quick as he can.)

KENAZ Calm down, kid. I’m not looking to start a tummel.

BLAKE Start a… Yeah.

KENAZ I don’t mean you get to keep it on.

BLAKE Oh, right, no. (He takes off the coat and extends it to KENAZ.)

KENAZ Lacy home?

BLAKE Nah… Nah, I don’t think she knew you were out yet. She didn’t say anything about it.

KENAZ Well, she wouldn’t know, as little as she visited me.

BLAKE Oh. Uh, Lacy was just working on that Husqvarna, got it running. So that’s where she’s at, she just, uh.

KENAZ She’s always been a real Yiddisher kop when it comes to motors.

BLAKE Oh… Yeah.

KENAZ This is some welcome wagon.

BLAKE Well, no, it’s great to see you, Hunter, I-

KENAZ All right, that’s enough with the “Hunter” stuff. That’s not my name no more. In fact… (He pulls up his jeans and gets a flick knife out of his boot. He takes the jacket and cuts the nametag off from beneath the VICE PRESIDENT tag.) I'm gonna have to talk with Mad Dog about getting a new tag printed.

BLAKE Oh… What’s your name?

KENAZ (Tucks the knife back into his boot. Offers his hand.) Kenaz Ben Canaan, nice to meet ya.

BLAKE What was that?

KENAZ Call me Kenaz. It’s Hebrew. It means Hunter. In Hebrew.

BLAKE Word.

KENAZ How old’re you these days, kid?

BLAKE Eighteen.

KENAZ Eighteen. You think you’re a man?

BLAKE Uh…

KENAZ Yeah, I did too. Thought I was a man. Thought I was a big tough man. I didn’t know. I didn’t have a clue what being a man actually meant. I should have been here for you, Blake. I should have seen you grow.

BLAKE That’s okay.

KENAZ I don’t regret it though. If I hadn’t gone to prison I wouldn’t have found the truth. Kind of funny how life works, right? You have to go through the desert before you can get to Yisrael. If I never went to prison, I would not have realized. “A man does not commit a transgression unless the spirit of madness is entered into him.” Yes. I always knew I was thirsty, Blake. I never knew I was thirsty for God’s flowing waters. I always just thought I was jonesin’ for H. (The dirt bike’s approach is heard. Both turn towards the door. BLAKE turns back to KENAZ.) That must be Lacy.

BLAKE No! Uh, no, I’m sure it’s not, probably not, I mean she just left.

KENAZ Well if she was just going around the trailer park it wouldn’t take long.

BLAKE No, please, sit down. We’ll, we’ll make it a surprise for her! So stay here and I’ll go… Just stay here. (He rushes out the door.)

KENAZ …Okay. You got it. (He goes to the MANNY’s bulldogging contraption. He stands over it. Then he picks it up. His brow creases.) The longer I look at this the less I know what I’m lookin’ at. (LACY enters. The two of them look at one another. Pause. KENAZ drops the practice steer and goes to her, but she avoids the hug.)

LACY Hunter. What are you doing here?

KENAZ I have returned to my homeland.

LACY They didn’t… You’re… Did they release you?

KENAZ No. No, Lacy, they did not release me. But He did. The eternal He. I surrendered my soul to Him and, Bezrat Hashem, I was guided to freedom. I am as Yona, who repented in the sea beast’s belly, and was vomited by the fish.

MANNY (OffStage) Let go of me, Blake! I’m gonna kill that fucker!

BLAKE (O.S.) No no no, wait!

LACY So you found Jesus in prison? KENAZ Ohh, Lacy. Far from it. Yeshua was a great philosopher, yes, but not Mesheach.

LACY I don’t know anything you’re saying.

KENAZ Well let me explain it to you.

MANNY (Storms inside) ¡Ay, puto! Are you Hunter?

KENAZ No.

LACY Manny, wait.

MANNY Then who the fuck are you?

KENAZ Who the fuck are you?

MANNY I’m Manny.

KENAZ And just who are you, Manny?

MANNY Wh-- What, like existentially?

LACY Hunter, I think it might be best-

MANNY So you are Hunter! Well fuckin’ news for you, there’s a new sheriff in town, and his name is me.

KENAZ Lacy-- You haven’t been-... Have you?

LACY Hunter.

KENAZ Oh my God. While I suffered and yearned…

LACY Let me just lay this out.

KENAZ You don’t need to lay nothin’ out. I get it. I fuckin’ get it. You… You Delilah. I knew it too. I fucking knew it.

LACY You weren’t due out for another five years! I told you when you went in, I’m not waiting seven years at my fucking window.

(BLAKE enters, hanging up his phone.)

KENAZ Aw Jesus Christ.

MANNY You gonna unclench those fists, or are you gonna use ‘em?

LACY Blake, you should go.

KENAZ Nah nah nah, no one’s fucking leaving here.

MANNY You’re wrong about that, son. You’re leaving, soon as I boot you out that door.

KENAZ Stay the fuck back! (He pulls the knife from his boot.) Yeah, all right. Get away from the door. Everyone, get over there. LACY Hunter what are you doing?

KENAZ Stop calling me Hunter!

BLAKE That’s not his name anymore.

KENAZ That’s not my name!

BLAKE His name is Kenaz now.

KENAZ My name is Kenaz!

LACY You fucking broke out of prison and you come to my trailer to hide out. You want to make me a felon too?

KENAZ You’ll only be a felon if I get caught.

LACY Bullshit, I won’t be a felon if I don’t hide you either.

KENAZ Lacy… I’m your boyfriend!

MANNY No you ain’t.

LACY Manny.

MANNY Don’t “Manny” me, Lace. I want you to choose, right now, me or him.

LACY Let me handle this.

MANNY This psycho who hasn’t been here for you, for years, who’s holding a knife at us, or me?

KENAZ Yeah I’d like to hear that too.

LACY Hunter, listen-

KENAZ Fuck you! Don’t call me that!

MANNY Don’t tell her to fuck you, you fuck you!

LACY Manny-

KENAZ You slut.

LACY Hunter-

MANNY Lacy you need to choose, or I’m bailing on all a’ y’all.

LACY Me! That’s my choice! That’s what I’m always gonna choose! I’m the only one who’s always here. At the end of the day, when the prison’s in Pendleton, and the rodeo’s in Pocatello, or some other wherever the hell else that ain’t Redmond, Lacy Bartels is the only one looking after Lacy Bartels.

KENAZ Everyone take your phones out, throw ‘em on the floor.

LACY No one’s gonna call the cops anyway.

KENAZ Come on now, empty ‘em. (They do.)

BLAKE Don’t worry, I already called Ben. He’s on his way.

LACY Hey, all right. We don’t call 911 but we do call family.

KENAZ Then I’ll gut him too when he gets here. Just gotta figure which one of you motherfuckers is first.

MANNY Why don’t you try to start with me? Come on, I dare you.

KENAZ The slut fucker himself, why not?

LACY I’m about to-

KENAZ Shut the fuck up! (He strikes at her with the knife, missing, and catches her with the side of his fist on the comeback. A fight ensues, in which MANNY should use his bulldogging contraption as a weapon and BLAKE uses his skateboard. But ultimately, consistently, KENAZ kicks ass. At the end of it, LACY’s on the ground, BLAKE’s been flung, and KENAZ holds a knife to MANNY’s throat from behind.) God damn it! You see what you made me do? You see what you made me do, you selfish bitch?

BLAKE Hey, hey, Kenaz, let’s just calm down.

KENAZ You two stay the fuck away. Don’t make me spill the beans.

MANNY Puta muy pinche--

KENAZ What was that?!

MANNY (A grunt of a whisper as KENAZ pulls the blade tighter.) Ay, chingada…

LACY Okay… Okay, please put the knife down.

KENAZ This son of a bitch has no respect for my woman! Why should I have any respect for him?

BLAKE Kenaz, please-

KENAZ Shut up Blake!

LACY Just calm yourself-

KENAZ You go to hell! You cheating whore, you go to hell! This is all your fault, so you just go to hell!

(BEN BARTELS enters. 21, the definition of built like a brick shithouse. He wears work boots and a Ford t-shirt tucked into his Wranglers with a massive belt buckle. Everyone stops and looks at him.)

BEN Now how am I supposed to fuck this heifer?

KENAZ Stay the fuck over there, Ben.

BEN If you want me to stay over here the first thing you gotta do is put the knife down. The second is you gotta quit cussing at me. The third is you gotta walk your ass over here ‘cause it’s getting beat one way or another and I don’t care what side of the trailer I beat it on. How you doing Lacy?

LACY I’m okay.

BEN My sister’s okay. That’s good news for you, now I might not break both your legs. How you holding up, Manny?

KENAZ Oh I’m gonna cut this beaner’s throat.

BEN With a knife like that you couldn’t cut baling string. Not a day out of prison and you’re so scared of working for a living you want to head back.

KENAZ Keep talking, Ben. You’re next on my list.

BEN Next? Why aren’t I first? I guess you have been in prison awhile if you figure giving a reach around is a fight. Why don’t you quit hiding behind Manny? Come get a taste.

KENAZ I’m not hiding nothing.

BEN Everyone knows that if it wasn’t for the assgrabbing you’re giving my friend Manuel right now I’d be giving you your own jawbone for a hat.

KENAZ You want me to cut his throat.

MANNY Chingaaa-

BEN Quiet, Manny! This is between myself and Hunter.

KENAZ My name isn’t fucking Hunter anymore! I’m Kenaz! I’m Kenaz!

BEN Oh shit, so you go to prison and join the Nation of Islam.

KENAZ It ain’t Arabic! It’s Hebrew.

BEN Hebrew? You’re Semitic now?

KENAZ When you convert to Judaism you’re considered to have always been Jewish.

BEN I know you, and you ain’t Jewish. If I cut a duct opening into a concrete wall it does not stand to reason that that concrete wall has always had that duct opening. So you can’t pretend to be tough anymore, they must have found you out. Now you have to pretend to be Jewish?

KENAZ I’m not pretending! I’m not!

BEN Man, back in the day folks used to be scared of dudes who rode motorcycles. But you’ve all done so much meth and heroin that you got so damn skinny I could pick any of you up and slam the guts out of you just like field dressing a snowshoe hare. You can’t tell if someone’s in a biker gang or just got out of Auschwitz.

KENAZ Don’t joke about HaShoah! BEN I don’t think I’m joking about it because I don’t know what that means. You gotta quit pretending with this fake Jew stuff, I can’t keep up.

KENAZ It’s not fake! And I’m not pretending! I’m not! (Shoves MANNY to the side) Come on, motherfucker! Come on!

BEN Come on? Your face, is that what you want? (KENAZ charges BEN, who smacks him upside the head. With the single hit, KENAZ sprawls across the floor. Everyone is silent for a moment.)

BLAKE Yeah Ben!

BEN I did not think that would work at all. (MANNY scrambles over to KENAZ and starts pummeling him.)

LACY You’ve always been a good bluff, Ben.

BEN Yeah, well.

LACY Manny.

BEN Come on, Manny, get off the poor boy. (He takes MANNY by the back of the neck and guides him off KENAZ. Calm and gentle, yet forceful. KENAZ lies sputtering on the floor.) What do we wanna do with him?

LACY Dump him off at the cop shop.

BEN Wanna file a report? LACY I don’t want to talk to police any more than I have to.

MANNY Well I’m filing a goddamn report. I don’t care about you guys’s “Don’t call 911” whatever.

BEN You wanna take him in then?

MANNY Yeah, I’ll take him in. I’ll file the report. I’m suing this pinche culero. Get ready to pay for my new horse! Fuckin’ moto puto bitch... (He picks KENAZ up, wrenches his arm behind his back, and the two exit, MANNY muttering. The three siblings look at one another. BLAKE sighs, BEN cracks a grin, LACY shakes her head. All react in their own different ways that are somehow the same.)

LACY I better go ahead and go with ‘em. Don’t want them to kill each other between here and there. Thank you, Ben.

BEN Hey what’s family for? They’ll want your story too. If Manny’s filing, we’ve got some court appearances ahead.

LACY ...Yeah. Yeah, that’s fine. Fucking cops anyway. (Before she exits, she turns back in.) And good work again, Blake.

BLAKE What?

LACY On graduating! Good work, dummy. I’m serious about those grad announcements, bud.

BLAKE Oh, I know.

LACY And I'm serious about the mill.

BLAKE I know that too.

LACY Watch yourself, kid. (She exits.)

BEN (Produces a pack of cigarettes.) Graduating, huh? (He begins trying to light his cigarette, but the lighter’s all out of juice.)

BLAKE Yeah, man.

BEN Ain’t that some shit. Good for you, kid. So what’s next?

BLAKE Ah, I don’t know. I’m gonna try to get some skate sponsorships.

BEN Hm.

BLAKE Maybe. I mean, I don’t know.

BEN (Pushes down the toaster.) Well if that’s what you wanna do, go for it. I mean I don’t really get it my own self, but don’t let that stop ya.

BLAKE Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking.

BEN Cool. You know I almost graduated. Got a lot closer to it than Lacy.

BLAKE Yeah I know.

BEN I just remember when I was your age, everyone had all sorts of advice for me. Especially senior year. That’s all senior year is, man, that’s all you get. Getting told what to do. It’s like, everytime someone comes through a door “Hey, this is what you have to do.” Then someone else comes in. “Go to college.” “Go to work.” “Do it this way.” I figured, fuck it. (He sticks his face down into the toaster and lights the cigarette through the slot. He straightens up and unplugs it.)

BLAKE Yeah, for sure.

BEN ‘Cause the truth is no one’s got it figured out. The whole world’s a big bluff, kid.

BLAKE That’s reassuring.

BEN Don’t be sarcastic at me. You have dinner yet?

BLAKE Nah.

BEN Well I’ll tell ya what. That standoff got me hotter than a Branch Davidian. I’m gonna run on down to Sno Cap, cool off with a milkshake. I’ll buy ya dinner.

BLAKE Mom always taught me better than to turn down a free meal.

BEN There ya go. I’m gonna go give Haley a jingle, let her know everything’s fine. She was real worried when I stormed out. Wives, you know?

BLAKE Word.

BEN exits. BLAKE looks after him. He goes to the bulldogging contraption. He gets on his skateboard, ollies over the contraption then kickflips offstage.