I really like that second one

Mick pulled up to the lakebed; at first glance, it looked pretty stable, despite the rain they’d gotten a few days ago.

It’d been years since Lyle had been Mick’s mudding passenger, and wished to impress him. Without hesitation, Mick started revving his engine.

“M-Mickey?” Lyle began, but Mick gave Lyle a serious look.

“I know what you’re thinking, but we’ll be fine. Now buckle up, and hang on”, Mick ordered.

Lyle did just that. After that, the Jeep flew off the grassy edge, and onto the lakebed’s edge. It seemed pretty dry, so Mick’s Jeep had good traction as he sped towards the middle.

They hadn’t even gone 20 yards before the hard ground suddenly turned into soft peanut butter-like mud that quickly covered Mick’s tire treads. His revving grew louder and louder, and the Jeep moved slower and slower...

“Damn...I’m already getting sucked in!” Mick shouted. He put the truck in reverse, but his tires spun in the foot-deep clay. He gave it some more gas, but it wouldn’t budge an inch.

“Goddammit!!” Mick shouted, as he slammed his fist on the steering wheel.

“What’s wrong?” Lyle asked, with false concern.

“I think I just got us stuck”, he said.

“Really?? That was fast!” Lyle remarked.

“Shut up!” Mick said with a slight smile. “I’ll get us out—Lemme try some stuff and see what works.”

Mick put his Jeep in drive, and turned the wheel to the left. His tires kicked up mud, as they made a wide and crooked 180 in the soft clay. He slammed his boot on the gas, forcing the truck to spin its tires through the mud until it broke free.

“Whew!” Mick exclaimed. “It’s way worse than before!” He looked over at Lyle, his hand was covering his boner.

“You know, I don’t mind if you drain yourself in my Jeep”, Mick pointed out. “I’ve got paper towels, sanitizer, and everything...just let ‘er rip.”

Lyle was indeed revved up from Mick’s revving, but he wanted to wait til he got home.

“I’m g-good”, Lyle said sheepishly. “Keep going!”

Mick smirked. “So you’re gonna be like THAT. Got it...”

He turned the wheel until his Jeep was facing away from the spot where he’d just gotten stuck. He revved his engine, and bolted straight for the mud in reverse!

Lyle screamed, as Mick floored the gas pedal, driving backwards through the mud like a madman. He’d gotten past the thick clay, and now his Jeep had reached the slimier, quicksand-like mud. He immediately braked, and his Jeep skidded a couple yards before stopping in the slop.

Mick and Lyle were both breathing heavily, over the rumbling of the motor. He looked over at Lyle—he was fully erect now. Mick had gotten hard himself. He put the truck in drive, and hit the gas.

(Vroom, vroom, vrooooooooooooom!!!)

His V6 engine and four tires didn’t make a difference in the swampy part of the lakebed. Lyle couldn’t help but edge himself while Mick revved his engine and spun his tires in the muck.

“Mickey, take your foot off the gas! We’re in too deep ”

“Heh heh heh heeeeeeeh!!!” Mickey grit his teeth, and revved it harder; the slimy sludge was so soft that any treads he made would reform themselves in seconds. His tires started to slowly sink into the soft mud.

Lyle began leaking precum, but he regained enough control over himself to grab Mick’s arm.

“Mickey, please stop! You’re making it worse....”

Mick kept pressing his foot on the gas, not caring that his Jeep wasn’t budging in the sludge. He was digging himself in so deep, the tires could hardly be seen!

“Mickey, stop! STOP!” Lyle grabbed the keys out of the ignition.

Mick looked over at Lyle, and laughed. Lyle slapped Mick’s arm. “Have you lost it?!!” He yelled.

“Nah...I just wanted to help you get off ️“ Mick said innocently. “And myself...”. He spread his legs; a small puddle had darkened the front of his jeans.

Lyle sat back in his seat. “I’m gonna tell Joel what you did...”

Mick laughed some more. “Nooooooo, please do-ho-ho-hoooooon’t! ”

“I’ll also tell him about the trench ”

Mick stopped laughing. “Okay okay, I’m sorry! Sheeeeesh....”

Mick got out of the Jeep, and the sludge was almost up to his knees. He sloshed around to see the damage: the Jeep was submerged all the way past the tires. Any deeper, and the sludge would go up his tailpipe. He went over to the passenger side.

“Lyle, you take the wheel! I’ll try to push this baby back to dry land!”

Lyle got into the driver’s seat, put the Jeep in drive, and slammed the gas. Immediately, mud splashed Mick from head to toe. He pushed the Jeep with all his might; even with little footing, he was able to make it move bit by bit. Soon, it began to gain speed, until it broke free once more.

Lyle took one look at the mud-covered Mick, and burst into laughter so hard that reared flowed down his cheeks. Mick couldn’t be angry, since it was his fault. He just quietly got into the passenger’s seat, and order Lyle to drive to the car wash. There, they washed down the Jeep, as well as Mick.

Once they reached Lyle’s house, Mick got back into the drivers seat.

“Craziness aside, you gotta admit that you enjoyed the spot”, Mick said.

“Okay, okay, it was pretty awesome”, Lyle replied. “I might bring Joel there someday”.

Mick laughed. “Be my guest ! Well, I’m gonna go home and dry off. See ya this weekend!” With that he took off for home, while Lyle went into his own home. He rubbed out two consecutive loads, then showered and laid down.

“Mickey has gotten even crazier with age”, he said to himself. “Still, I’m glad he came back ”

Lyle drifted off to sleep, thinking of the fun to come on the upcoming weekend...

A few days had passed since Joel and Mick’s challenge. For Lyle, the week had gone by slowly; he and Joel didn’t have any classes together, and with no other friends to hang with, it got pretty dull.

After his classes ended, Lyle rode home on his bike; Joel was still at the school, and wouldn’t be back for a while.

Without the sound of Joel’s engine, the area was pretty quiet. Lyle sat in his outside chair, and looked up at the sky. After a half hour, he drifted off to sleep.

The sound of a distant engine woke Lyle up. At first he thought it was Joel, but it was still too early for him to return. The roaring motor grew louder, and suddenly Mick’s Jeep was in sight.

He pulled into Lyle’s driveway, hopped out, and waved at him.

“Hey, L!” He shouted. “Long time no see!”

“Mickey”, Lyle said with surprise in his voice, “it’s good to see you again :)”

He walked crisply over to Lyle, and eyed him thoroughly. “Damn! You’ve changed a bit since I last saw you!” Mick remarked. “You’ve got the whole ruffian look down, and—“ his attention turned to Lyle’s motorcycle, “WHOA! You finally got a bike! 🤩”

“Yup”, Lyle replied with a smirk, as he straddled the bike. “He’s a beaut ️“

“Niiiiiiice!!” Mick said, giving two thumbs up.

His excitement toned down a bit. “Hey...can we talk inside? There’s something I wanna tell you”.

Lyle knew what he wanted to tell him. “Sure, Mickey”.

They headed into the living room, sitting in comfy chairs that faced each other. There was a brief moment of tense silence before Lyle broke the ice.

“So...”, Lyle asked, “what brought you back into town, Mickey?”

Mick leaned back in his chair, crossing his leg before answering:

“Two things, really. First of all, I wanted to see my best friend. Sorry I took so long to come back...”

“There’s no need to apologize”, Lyle replied. “I know how much your goal means to you. “

Mick smiled. “Thanks ️“. His smile soon disappeared, as he continued.

“The second reason I came back, was because I heard there was a trucker in this town who was exploring our spots—“

“Joel”, Lyle cut in.

Mick paused. “What?”

“The trucker’s name is Joel.”

“I know. He’s a buff, younger guy with a grey Dodge Ram...”. A grin stretched across Mick’s face. “I was gonna challenge this guy, but he beat me to it! So last weekend, we tore up the Shortcut. He was pretty damn skilled with that truck...but I emerged victorious in the end!” He pounded on his chest, before taking a sip of water.

Lyle rolled his eyes. “You only won because Joel got caught in one of your stupid trenches ”

Mick choked briefly. “I swear, I didn’t think they’d still be so effective after two years! ”

Lyle shrugged. “Whatevs”, he scoffed.

Mick turned his attention to Lyle. “Sooooooo”, he said, “before Joel and I parted ways, we each mentioned that we’d bring a guest as a witness and a spectator”.

Lyle tensed up. He could see where this was going.

“Naturally, I was gonna bring you”, Mick said, “then Joel said he’d bring his boyfriend. And when he described him to me...”—Mick got up from his seat, and stared directly into Lyle’s eyes from a few inches away—“...I couldn’t help but think that he was referring to you .”

Lyle sighed. “Well, that’s because he was”, he pointed out. “We’d met at the college last fall.”

Mick got out of Lyle’s face, but still wouldn’t take his eyes off of him. “I see....” he said slowly. As his boots paced the floor, Lyle suddenly became worried about what Mick would say or do next...

He stopped in front of Lyle, studied his nervous face, and suddenly his rough, serious expression changed into a wide-eyed grin as he burst into laughter.

“My GOD, you’re on edge!” Mick yelled as his laughs echoed through the living room.

Lyle frowned. “You really scared me, you jerk...”

“I’m sorry, I’m SORRY!!” Mick exclaimed, as his laughter died down and he sat back in his chair. “Look...I’m glad you found a guy who makes you happy, AND shares your hobby.”

“....Really?” Lyle asked.

“Yeah, I am”, Mick assured him. “But all the same, he's goin’ down this weekend! ”

Lyle smiled. “Don’t count Joel out. He’s dead set on getting you—if you’re your usual arrogant self, he’ll have your tires spinning before you know it ”

“I’ll keep that in mind ”, Mick replied dryly. He got up from his chair, and motioned towards the door. “So, you wanna head out?”

Lyle got confused. “Wait, what? 🧐”

“I didn’t come over here JUST to chat. I also want to take you mudding before it gets dark.”

Lyle shrugged. “Sure, as long as we get back before sundown.”

“No prob! “

“I assume we’re going to one of your spots?”

Mick nodded. “It’s gonna blow your mind!”

Before long, Lyle and Mick were headed to one of Mick’s favorite spots: the dried lakebed!