As a White Knight on His Steed (CrissColfer)

"I Could Get Used To This"

Chapter 23 – “I could get used to this.”

Chapter Notes:  For the purposes of this story, Hannah Colfer was born on August 1, 1996.

Sunday, July 27 –Thursday, July 31, 2008

Having succeeded in his quest to be allowed full-time access to Chris’s bed, Darren was careful to make sure that his boyfriend didn’t regret his decision.

On Sunday evening, as soon as he’d finished reading a chapter of Harry Potter, Darren said, “Okay, it’s time for lights-out.  Let’s go right to sleep so we’ll be sure to wake up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for work tomorrow.”

“Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, Dare?  Are you secretly a were-squirrel?”

“Nope.  I’m a love-bug.  And I know that if I don’t want you calling the exterminators to chase me out of your bed, then I’d better let you get enough sleep on work nights.”

Chris giggled, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend.  “Goodnight, you goofball.”

Monday morning, Chris woke up feeling refreshed.  Darren lay in his arms, warm and soft and surprisingly young-looking in his semi-awake state.  Chris felt a warm rush of affection for his boyfriend.  “I could get used to this,” he thought.

The boys held hands as they walked through the early morning light toward the corral.  Knowing that none of the campers were up this early, Chris allowed Darren to pull him in for a kiss once they reached the gate.  A wolf-whistle from behind them announced the arrival of Zach and Robert. 

Chris could feel himself blushing, but as he was about to pull away, Darren grabbed his face with both hands and extended their kiss for a few more seconds.  Then, with a wink and a cheeky grin, Darren stepped back and launched into the chorus of “Oh, What a Beautiful Morning.”

He finished with a bow, and Zach and Robert applauded, laughing.  Chris pushed his boyfriend playfully on the shoulder.  “Come on, you show-off.  Lets go round up the horses.”

Throughout the rest of the day, Chris kept finding himself glancing over at Darren, thinking what a good team they made.  Whether they were teaching their classes or leading trail rides, Chris loved how effortlessly they were able to work together.

Both of them were naturals when it came to interacting with the kids – Chris because of the years he’d spent helping to take care of his little sister, and Darren because he was still such a kid at heart. 

Chris felt a huge sense of accomplishment at being able to take the absolute beginners (and some of the boys had literally never seen a horse before they arrived at camp) and bring them to the point where they could independently get their horses to walk, trot, turn, and halt.  It was even more rewarding for him to watch the progress made by the boys who spent multiple weeks at camp.  Whenever one of their students was able to pass the riding test to move on to the next level, both Darren and Chris were bursting with pride.

At the beginning of the summer, Ryan and David had monitored all of the riding tests.  The CHA guidelines were very clear about what riding skills the students at each level needed to demonstrate, but since each individual skill was rated on a scale of 1 to 10, there was some room for subjective interpretation.  To make the tests as objective as possible, Chris and Darren had been asked to mark their scores down separately, and then compare them with the scores given by David and Ryan, to make sure that they were holding the boys to the same level of performance.

At first, both Chris and Darren had tended to give the campers higher scores than either David or Ryan thought they deserved.  Chris had felt like it was a personal failure on his part if his students didn’t pass the test, and Darren was so used to seeing the positive in everyone that it was hard for him to be critical.  Ryan encouraged them to view things differently.

“You have to understand that you’re not doing those boys any favors by letting your personal feelings get in the way of giving them accurate feedback.  It’s not fair to your students if you send them on to the next level without the skills they need to be successful.  That would deprive them of the opportunity to develop the solid foundation they need to become proficient riders.  And the bottom line is, you’re jeopardizing their safety if you pass them along before they’re ready.”

Chris and Darren knew that he was right.  They worked hard to cultivate their objectivity when it came to the riding tests.  By the end of the third week, the scores they gave were consistently matching up with those of their bosses.  From then on, David and Ryan had allowed them to administer the tests on their own.          

This week, though, things were going to be a little different.  Chris’s sister, Hannah, would be turning 12 on Friday, and Ryan and David had offered to take over as riding instructors on Friday and Saturday, so that Chris and Darren could spend a long weekend in Clovis.  Chris was deeply touched by their bosses’ generosity.  It was more important to him than ever to do a good job this week, so that when Ryan and David gave the riding tests on Friday they could be proud of the boys’ accomplishments.

Chris was pleased to realize that his boyfriend was taking their responsibilities just as seriously as he was.  Darren had been surprised that their bosses were willing to give him, as well as Chris, the time off for Hannah’s birthday.  He vowed to repay them by doing the best job he possibly could.

Although Chris and Darren had always worked hard, they redoubled their efforts this week.  They spent most of their free time discussing their students, and planning how to make their lessons more effective. 

Chris had a remarkable ability to see each camper’s individual strengths and weaknesses, and to tailor his teaching to meet each boy’s unique needs.  Darren excelled at finding ways to make learning fun, keeping their students motivated to improve.  Together, they were a force to be reckoned with.  Even Chris, who was usually so hard on himself, had to admit that they were doing a kick-ass job.

By the time they’d finished leading their final trail ride on Thursday afternoon, Chris was satisfied that he didn’t need to feel guilty about leaving for a long weekend.  He and Darren had earned it.

   

End Notes:  Coming up next:  The boys are heading to Clovis.  Write me a review, and I’ll post another chapter to let you know what happens when they get there.  J