Stuck Chronicle (Part 28 - The Awaited Day)

[Xavier B]

It was the day of the challenge. Lyle woke up to a knock at his door. He went downstairs, and was greeted by Joel.

"Mornin'!" he said happily, proceeding to hug his boyfriend. Lyle hugged him back.

"Hey, big guy", Lyle replied. "You ready to go tire to tire with Mickey?"

"Yeah..." Joel said, a little shakily. His hands were shaking as well.

Lyle smirked. "Don't tell me you're...scared"

"I'm not scared", Joel replied, "I'm revved up!" He walked passed Lyle. "This is the first time I've been challenged...of course I'm a little nervous. And as much as I don't wanna admit it, that Mick guy's good in the mud. REAL good..."

Joel paused, then turned to Lyle. "All the same, I'm gonna face him head-on. Hands gripped, foot down!" He walked slowly towards Lyle, pausing once they stood a few inches from each other. "And with you there watching me, I know I can sink 'Slick Mick' on that field!"

Lyle blushed. "I can't wait to see you two go at it!"

"OK!" Joel patted Lyle's shoulders with both hands. "Go get ready. I'll be waiting downstairs."

Lyle showered, threw on a full black denim outfit, threw on a skull cap, and laced up his favorite logger boots, exposing the shafts. As he walked down the stairs, Joel's face lit up. He gave a loud wolf whistle, making Lyle's face turn red. "Stop iiiiit..." he said jokingly.

Joel walked over to Lyle and gave him a long kiss, rubbing his denim-clad body.

"What do you say we 'celebrate' after I defeat your little buddy?" Joel say in a low, sultry voice.

"Sure", Lyle replied happily, gripping Joel's broad shoulder with one hand and tugging the drawstring of his hoodie with the other, "though we can do THAT whether you win or not!"

Joel kissed him once more, a little harder than before. "Deal!"

Joel and Lyle walked toward Joel's truck, which was already partially coated in dry mud.

Lyle raised an eyebrow. "Decided to practice some?" he asked.

"Nah", Joel replied. "That's from the other night. I'll tell ya about it as we make our way to the field."

With that, they headed toward the abandoned football field. About halfway there, Joel broke the silence.

“So about that night. After school, this one student came up and asked me to give him a ride home. He was practically beggin’, so I caved. When we got to his house, his driveway was narrow so I had to back onto his lawn before I could pull out. I couldn’t tell from first glance, but his lawn was SO soft it made my tires slide onto his lawn on their own. I had to rock back and forth in 4WD just to escape!”

“Whoa!” Lyle exclaimed.

“You could imagine the ruts I left afterward. So before I left, I apologized to the guy for tearing up a part of his lawn. But he was completely fine with it. In fact, he seemed almost…happy. Can you believe it??”

Lyle nodded. It was a rather small town, so of course there were bound to be a few stuck fans besides them and Mick. Come to think of it, he knew of a freshman who’d ask different students for rides every now and then…

Lyle put that thought on a back burner once they entered the narrow passage to the football field. It was pretty slick from the past days of rain they had. Joel kept both hands gripped on the wheel to keep the truck balanced on the uneven ground.

As his tires started to spin, Joel reached over and rubbed Lyle’s thigh. “Looks like the fun’s already started”, he said with a smirk.

“Don’t get stuck just yet!” Lyle said with a laugh. “Mickey won’t let you live it down if you lose before getting to him ”

"I know, I know!" Joel replied. He pressed the gas harder, doing hid best to plow through the muck until they made it to the field. On the other end of it was Mick's jeep. He left a straight of muddy treads across the field.

"YO, MICKEYYYYYY!!" Lyle shouted across the field.

"HEY, BUDDY!" Mick shouted back. "GLAD YOU COULD MAKE IT!"

He then turned to Joel. "YOU READY TO SINK, MUSCLES?!"

Joel responded with a few hard revs from his Ram. "LET'S DO THIS!"

Mick got into his Jeep and sent harder revs Joel's way. Lyle decided to sit at the top of the empty bleachers, eager to see how their showdown would unfold.

Suddenly, Mick sped onto the muddy field. Joel soon followed. Lyle watched in awe as the two trucks sped toward each other. At almost the same time, both guys braked, their cars skidding across the wet ground until they were mere inches away from each other.

Mick eased forward, until the front of his Jeep connected with the front of Joel's truck. He then hit the gas to push Joel backward. Joel, in response, hit the gas, forcing Mick back. Before long, their tires were spinning full force in the mud as each driver gave more and more gas trying to push the other. It was a standoff!