Chapter 11
eleven
WE SPENT EVERY evening together that week. One night we went back to Fisherman’s Grill and stopped by the music store again. Reid had finally gotten up the courage to ask the woman how he knew her, and she told him she’d mentored him through college.
There were a couple of nights I worked late, and we ended up ordering in and lounging on the couch, spending more time talking than paying attention to anything on the TV.
I was surprised to learn that once Reid made up his mind about something, he wasn’t shy about the follow-through, and it was especially true since we’d cleared the air between us.
If he wanted to kiss me, he did. If he wanted to hold my hand, he reached for it.
I loved the way he always wanted to be close or touching, his hand always making contact, whether it was on my waist, my arm, my thigh.
And though things hadn’t progressed any further than our nightly make-outs, I was content to keep it that way for as long as he needed.
Strike content; I was happier than I could remember being—ever.
That weekend, when I asked Reid if he was up for an adventure, and he responded with a resounding “Hell yes,” I’d decided to drive us an hour east to one of my favorite hidden places. As we wound up the mountain, I thought back to the conversation that had sparked the idea in the first place.
“I’m learning all these things about me, but I still don’t know enough about you,” Reid said, as he lay in my lap and I absently stroked his hair.
“‘Enough,’” I said. “And when will you know ‘enough’?”
“When I know everything.”
“Hmm. That could take a while.”
With a shrug and a lazy grin, he said, “I’ve got a while.”
It had occurred to me then that instead of telling him the things I enjoyed, it would be a lot more interesting if I could show him. And halfway up one of the North Georgia mountains lay a hidden treasure, one that began in a long-deserted parking lot.
As we pulled in, Reid lowered his sunglasses and peered around the neglected space. Weeds grew through cracks in the gravel, and the only signage indicating there was anything beyond the wildly overgrown bushes was a rickety wooden sign spray-painted with the words Keep Out.
Reid leaned over me to look at the dashboard as I turned off the car. “Uh, did we run out of gas?”
“Nope. We’re here.”
“Define ‘here.’”
“You said you were up for an adventure, right?” I opened my door. “Let’s go have one.”
Reid stayed put. “I feel like a demented clown is gonna pop out of those bushes and chop me into bite-size pieces.”
“Don’t be silly,” I said, taking out the backpack of food and drinks from the back seat and putting it on. “Clowns don’t chop. They slice and dice.”
“What?”
“I’m kidding. But don’t worry; I’ll protect you.”
With a raised eyebrow, Reid opened his door, and I rounded the back of my car to take his hand. I led him through a small opening in the shrubs, and when we squeezed past them, his eyes widened.
A couple hundred feet away stood the old brick entrance to the park, with a faded green and yellow sign hanging over the entrance proclaiming, We’re off to see the Wizard…
And beyond that, a glimpse of what had once been a brightly colored yellow brick road leading through the dense forest.
“What is this place?” Reid said as we headed toward the entrance.
“It was an amusement park built back in the seventies, but it never really took off. It’s been abandoned for decades, and I think most people have forgotten it ever existed.”
“A Wizard of Oz amusement park? Why wouldn’t that be huge? Especially if they had flying monkeys.”
“Maybe that was the problem. They didn’t.” I winked as we came up to the open brick archway, where a ticket booth sat dormant to the left, and a boarded-up gift shop took up the right. There were no gates, no locks to keep us out, and as we walked inside, Reid tugged on my hand.
“Is it considered trespassing if it’s abandoned?”
“Probably. You don’t mind breaking a few rules with me, do you?”
Reid pursed his lips, but didn’t resist as I led us toward the uneven path of bricks that had faded to a dull yellow. “You seem to be quite the rule breaker. Sneaking into old parks, sneaking into hospital rooms…”
I let out a loud belly laugh. “You’re not complaining, are you?”
“Not about the last one.”
“Well, you wanted to know more about me.” I stopped and gestured around.
“You’re trying to tell me you’re obsessed with The Wizard of Oz?”
“No,” I said with a snort.
“Yeah, right. It was the ruby-red slippers that did it, right? That’s what sucked you in? Or maybe you just like the creepy vibe of abandoned places.”
“Bingo. But I don’t think of it as creepy. It’s more…”
“Spooky?”
“I was gonna say charming.”
“Charmingly spooky?”
I shook my head. “I think it’s kind of romantic.
” I motioned up at the trees that rose tall on either side of us, their branches stark and severe, unlike the last time I’d been up this way, surrounded by the lush greenery of summer.
Or the time before that, near Halloween, when the leaves had been changing and littered the ground.
“Oh. Well…it’s nice any other time of the year, I suppose.
I guess winter makes it take on a different feel. I didn’t think about that.”
Reid came to stand in front of me and grabbed a hold of my jacket lapels. “I think it’s awesome. Do I get a private tour?”
“Mhmm,” I said, as I zeroed in on his lips, and I couldn’t resist leaning forward for a taste. He leaned into me, deepening the kiss, but before my cock could sit up and take notice, Reid pulled away and let go of my jacket. Then he took a hold of my hand again.
“Off to see the Wizard, are we?” he said with a grin, as we set out on the yellow brick road, careful to bypass the bricks that protruded up at an angle. The last thing we needed was another ER visit but for a sprained ankle. “Maybe he can help me relocate my brain…”
“Why do you think we’re here?”
He knocked into me, pushing me off the path into the grass as he shook his head. “Smart-ass.”
As we strolled through, I pointed out the sights, which I’d looked up online after my first visit.
The shack with a rusted bicycle lying against the front had been Dorothy’s family home, and the field in the back had served as a petting zoo for park guests when it was open.
Farther down, there was a costume shop for kids and adults to dress up as their favorite characters from the movie.
And then up in the distance on a hill, a towering castle with spires that represented the Emerald City.
“This is amazing,” Reid said. “How did you ever find this place?”
“One of the guys at work dated a girl once who was obsessed with The Wizard of Oz and knew about this place. He’d mentioned it in passing one time, so I made the drive up.”
As we neared the Emerald City, the forest opened up to a large area that had been cleared out for families to picnic, and I led us over to a patch that hadn’t been overrun with weeds. The fence that had run along the perimeter was long gone, giving us a magnificent view of the hills below.
After spreading out the blanket I’d brought for us to sit on, I set out the lunch containers and drinks I’d packed that morning, and we ate our sandwiches while taking in the view.
When he was finished, Reid wiped off his hands and gave me a sly smile. “First date with Ollie: a creepy old park.”
“Hey, rude. And how do you consider this our first date?”
“First away date.”
“Mhmm. First creepy away date,” I muttered, pretending to pout.
“Actually”—he slid closer to me and kissed my jaw—“this is pretty damn cool. I like that you brought me somewhere unexpected.”
“I like the unexpected.”
Reid leaned back on one hand and twined his fingers with mine.
“Sometimes on my days off, I like to just get in my car and go,” I said.
“Drive somewhere I’ve never been or get lost and try to find my way out.
Discover cool abandoned parks like this, or spots I’ve never been to.
There’s so much beauty and interesting places people will never see because they’re too afraid to go off the beaten path.
” I rubbed my thumb across his. “Plus it gets me away from the majority of the human race.”
“You don’t seem too antisocial,” he teased.
“Nah, but it’s nice to unwind sometimes. My job is stressful, and when it gets to be too much, I like being able to escape and clear my head.”
Reid nodded as he looked out over the hills. “I think I like that too. A brain break.”
“A brain break?” I chuckled. “I think you’ve had enough of those, wouldn’t you say?”
His jaw dropped and then he began to laugh. “Oh, touché, touché. I’ll have to get you back for that one.”
“Promise?”
Reid’s head whipped in my direction, and two seconds later he pushed me back onto the blanket and put his hand on my chest to hold me in place.
“What the—” I started, but Reid moved on top of me, straddling my waist, and then he bent down and kissed me, effectively shutting me up.
“Please tell me this is your way of getting me back,” I murmured against his lips, and as I leaned up for more, he sat back.
“Actually, yes.” His weight on my stomach disappeared as he moved off me and took a swig of his water like he hadn’t just attacked me.
“Wow.” I sat up and shook my head, in a daze. “You’re a fucking evil tease.”
“How was that for a brain break?”
“You’ve proven your point. And cut off my circulation,” I said, shifting my growing erection so I could actually sit.
Reid’s nostrils flared as he looked down, and he started toward me again, but I held a hand up.
“Whoa, boy. Give me a few minutes to calm down.”
“Maybe I can help,” he suggested, but then I saw the devilish twinkle in his eyes. “I could give you a hand…?”
“Fuuuck, that’s not helping. Talk about something else,” I said, as I lay back on the blanket to stretch out.
“Something other than the massive python in your pants?”
I let out a strangled laugh. “Yes, other than that.”