My Golden Cowboy

    Everyone in the bank flinched and several fell down to the floor from the sheer force of the explosion. Cassidy and I strolled in through the gaping hole in the wall that was clouded with smoke. We stopped just outside of the majority of the smoke and Cassidy stuck his pistol straight into the air and fired off a single shot causing everyone in the vicinity to flinch once again. I think one lady even yelped. 

    “Alright everyone,” his booming voice filled the room. “If y’all couldn’t guess by now. This here is a bank robbery. Stay low and quiet and no one will get hurt. My partner and I here will make sure of that.” Pistol still raised he began to stroll through the cowering group of people. Dust began to cover both of our masks and by god if he didn’t look more stunning than ever. 

    He motioned over to me to go with him to break into the safe. We had our respective roles in these jobs. Cassidy was the muscle and fear factor, I was the one who got us in and out. Unless both of us were in on a job it would never get done. 

    I could feel Cassidy standing over me and I could visualize him standing there in his easy but threatening stance with his pistol raised towards the bank clerk. I knew the expression he would have, one that tells anyone that he wouldn't think twice about shooting. I on the other hand was hunched over the door to the safe trying to work my way through the lock. "Any minute now would be just peachy keen Earl," Cassidy basically snapped at me. 

    "I'm workin' as fast as I can. Safe locks aren't exactly those ones shopkeepers use," I said under my voice. I prefer it when we would rob simple shops, much less visible and the locks were much easier but Cassidy wanted to make a big statement since he considered us to have been much too quiet lately. 

    With a clang I pushed open the main door to the safe. Inside were smaller safes but I knew the easiest way to deal with those. I pulled out my revolver and with an easy stance I shot lock after lock on all of the containers. "We're in Cass."

    "Good. Now get as much as we can carry." He chucked the two saddlebags he had draped over his shoulder at my feet. I quickly got to work with shoving as much of the paper and even a few pieces of gold into the bags. This score was going to be bigger than anything we had done in the past six months. 

    Once the bags were full I hefted one over my shoulders, grunting at the effort. Money was heavier than anyone ever expected, but it was only thieves and clerks who walked with this much money. "Get your ass in here and grab the other bag," I called to Cassidy. 

    "What about my ass?" he said.

    "Get it over here and grab a bag."

    As soon as Cassidy reached me I heard movement. "Now now now everyone, didn't my wonderful associate tell you all to stay still? We don't take very kindly to bein' ignored," I said calmly as I turned to face the bank patrons. I tutted as I saw a man reaching for his own gun. "That ain't staying still partner." I lifted my gun lazily and sent off one shot that caught the man immediately in head. 

    "Anyone else feel like actin' up?" I yelled out. Everyone stayed quiet and still, except for one person who vigorously shook his head to tell me he had no intention of acting up. 

    Cassidy came up next to me and motioned for the hole that we blew in the wall. We sauntered over and stood once again in the gaping hole in the cinderblock wall of the bank. "Y'all will stay right there until we are well out of town unless ya want that regret as the last thing ya think," Cassidy threatened, flashing the pistol in his hand and his extra on his holster. 

    The two of us were making our getaway on our horses through the nearly abandoned town. We would have faced much more trouble with our very flamboyant entry if I hadn’t had told the law that there was a threat to their town involving a gang nearby. So thanks to me instead of the bank immediately being swarmed by all the law that the town could muster, we were free to go in and out without a single person attempting to stick lead in us. 

    Cassidy and I rode, whooping and hollering in ecstasy. No one we passed even looked twice at us, we were just two cowboys on the road. I could feel the heavy saddle bags next to my legs and although I had hundreds of dollars right next to my feet I could only focus on the joy that was held in Cassidy's face. I swear he contained the entire sun in his eyes when he wasn't scowling and keeping up his tough cowboy look. With his blonde hair that whipped around his ears thanks to the wind he truly looked like a man made of gold, like my golden cowboy.

    The shades of brown and green of the countryside flew past me in a blur as we continued to ride hard. Every single time I looked over at Cassidy I saw his left hand keeping his hat firmly on his head, his cloth mask hanging down around his neck from where he pulled it off of his face, and the sun shining down on him. I was properly screwed. 

    No self respecting cowboy would ever allow himself to be seen in a way that could possibly make him seem any less of a man. We struggled to stay alive on a daily basis as it was, what with the people constantly on our tails wanting our hides to sell to the law. Cassidy and I have even passed the wanted alive to being wanted dead or alive, maybe next week we would just be wanted dead after this most recent robbery. 'Earl the Whirlwind and The Golden Cowboy' bounty posters were already posted up in every single town.

    We made camp within a small area hidden within the trees. Cassidy ventured off to find enough firewood for the night and I started fixing up camp. By the time that Cassidy ventured back I had already set everything up and was lounging by the fire that was practically roaring. 

    "I've got enough of this wood here to last the whole night," Cassidy said while grabbing one of the whiskey bottles that we kept in the saddle bags. "The two of us are getting' trashed tonight. We haven't hit a score like that in years."

    He chucked me a whiskey bottle that I barely managed to catch. I took a full swig, maybe it would help me forget this bullshit emotion that I had.

    Three hours later and I don't know how much whiskey later, Cassidy and I were laughing and play wrestling. I couldn't see straight and I could tell Cassidy couldn't either. I plowed into him, grabbing him by the stomach and pushing. We both toppled over. I landed fully on top of Cass, staring him in his startling blue eyes. What I wouldn't give for those to replace my brown. 

    The sunlight reflected off of his eyes, sparks dancing, and his skin had a flickering glow. The two of us stared at each other in the eyes. I leaned slowly down. I brushed my lips against his. My drunk brain believed that we had a moment and that maybe, just maybe he was like me. 

    Suddenly I flew across the campsite and my head cracked against a tree. I cried out and my hand flew to my head. "What the hell was that?" Cassidy screamed at me. "Are you some sort of homosexual?" Cassidy was glowering and had his hand on his hip. 

    "I thought-" he cut me off. 

    "You didn't think at all boy. If someone saw we both woulda been hung. And I ain't gettin' hung because of the likes of you."

    His eyes were the darkest I had ever seen them. "Get. Away." 

    "Cass, I'm sorry," I muttered through the ringing in my ears and the soup that was my brain. "You were never supposed to know. I ain't myself right now."

    "No, you just showed me who you are," he hissed and pulled his pistol out of his holster and pointed it at my head. "Leave now. I don't want any more risk of getting hung than I have already." I stared up at him. He cocked the pistol.

    With the scrambling of dirt I crawled away and leapt to my feet as fast as I could. I ran past my horse, not thinking about the fact that I would need my horse if I ever wanted to go anywhere. 

    The woods flashed past me and I heard coyotes around me. He was never supposed to know about that. I just ruined my life and it was for nothing. He was right, he didn't need any more reason to get hung. 

    I let myself get swallowed by the trees as I lumbered my way through the woods. I didn't know where to go and I didn't know if I would ever find out, but clearly it wasn't with Cassidy and maybe that was for the best. So much for such the score of our lives today. He gained the gold from the bank but I lost the golden cowboy that I had loved.