Chapter 6
Chapter six
Sam
The Rainbow Taproom was hopping. It was the kind of weekend crowd that brought a steady hum of conversation, the occasional burst of laughter, the clink of glasses meeting in lazy toasts.
The air was thick with the aroma of fried food, whiskey, and the unmistakable scent of well-worn wood soaked in decades of spilled beer.
It had been a few nights since Liam crashed on my couch after too much wine and a spiral of old video compilations. We hadn’t mentioned it since.
We crammed into our usual oversized booth, the one tucked just far enough away from the bar to avoid the crush of people ordering drinks but close enough that we were still in the thick of things.
Liam, as always, was holding court, energy dialed high.
“Alright, listen up, you beautiful bitches,” he clapped his hands together, standing at the edge of the booth like a man on a mission.
His energy was magnetic, a gravitational force that had half our table leaning in, waiting for whatever ridiculous, over-the-top speech he was about to launch into.
“The trip is officially locked in.” His grin was wide, almost smug. “I’ve secured enough camp sites for all of us at Cedar Hollow. We’re heading out the third week of May, so clear your calendars and get your shit together.”
I felt the familiar buzz of anticipation in my chest. Our annual trip had become something of a legend among us.
Not just a vacation, but a tradition. Over the years, we’d done New York, a cruise, a rented house on some quiet stretch of beach where Liam got sunburned in the shape of his sunglasses.
We’d even camped before, though never at this particular place.
Every trip had its own kind of crazy. The late nights, the running jokes that lasted for years, the kind of stories you only shared with the people who were there to live them with you. It was always a little reckless, always a little unplanned, but in the best way.
And this time was shaping up to be one for the books.
Liam turned to me and Elliott, eyebrows raised, eyes sharp with faux scrutiny. “You two good to take off that close to the end of the school year?”
Liam already knew my answer. Knew that I’d have everything locked down before I even thought about taking time off. I wasn’t the type to leave things undone.
Elliott nodded, taking a drink of his beer, calm as ever. “Already secured my sub.”
“Same,” I added, stretching an arm along the back of my chair.
In my head, I was already picturing my sub notes: detailed, over-prepared, printed, and laminated just in case.
My students would be fine. I’d have left enough material to keep them busy, but not so much that they’d revolt.
I could disappear for a week without the whole place falling apart.
“No one’s gonna miss me,” I said with a smile, taking another sip of my drink.
Liam smiled back, like this was exactly the level of commitment he expected. “See, that’s dedication. No excuses or last-minute backouts.”
His energy was infectious.
The conversation had barely started before Callie, ever the voice of reason and sarcasm, blurted from across the bar, “Don’t worry, I won’t back out. I was never in.”
“I can’t take a week off that close to opening the summer show,” Jules cut in, lifting his beer. “The Playhouse summer show is already held together with duct tape and caffeine, and now we’re starting a summer drama camp too. I need to be here to make sure it’s ready to go as soon as school’s out.”
“Camping’s not really your thing, huh?” Evan asked, trying to hide a smile.
“Hard pass,” Jules said. “Sleeping outside? Bugs? No thank you. Besides, someone has to keep Havenwood from falling apart while the rest of you go off the grid. Callie and I will hold down the fort.”
“You say that like you’re not just planning to drink wine and micromanage from a distance,” Harper needled, then turned with a wicked sneer. “Does Elliott have a hall pass for the week since you won’t be around, Jules?”
Jules didn’t even flinch. “One: You’re a bitch. Two: He doesn’t need one.”
Elliott raised his hands in mock surrender. “Even if I did, I’m too old and tired to juggle multiple lovers. I do good to keep up with the one I have. Besides, no one else would put up with me.”
Jules snorted. “Yeah, that’s exactly what I want to hear come out of my fiancé’s mouth for reassurance.”
“Oh, what was I supposed to say?” Elliott said, nudging Jules’ knee under the table. “Love of my life, I’d pine for you every night beneath the stars and never look at another man, even if he looked like a shirtless Chris Hemsworth roasting s’mores?”
Jules grinned, his face softening in a way that made the sarcasm hit warmer than biting. “Yeah. That. Exactly that.”
The table broke into laughter, not because it was a joke exactly, but because that was them. Equal parts chaos and commitment. Not perfect, but perfectly in sync.
I raised my glass with a wink. “Don’t worry, Jules. I’ll keep an eye on my best friend at the campground. Make sure he doesn’t go full mountain man and start a second family in the woods.”
Jules smirked. “Thank you, Sam. I appreciate someone having my back.”
Elliott just chuckled, clinking his glass lightly against mine.
Liam kept rolling, already steering the night back into lists and plans. “For those of you who haven’t been before, let’s go over the basics. The campground is clothing-optional.”
A loud, dramatic gasp cut through the air, followed immediately by the clack of heels on the wooden floor.
“Excuse me?”
I turned just in time to see Maxie Glam, Havenwood’s most beloved and undisputed queen of drag, sweep toward our table, a martini in hand, her red sequined blazer catching the dim light of the bar.
Liam didn’t even blink. “Optional. As in, your level of comfort. Some of us will be soaking up the sun in nothing but a smile, and some of you may prefer to keep the goods under wraps. It’s whatever you want it to be.”
Maxie arched a perfectly sculpted brow, then sipped delicately from her drink. “Hmm. Well. I certainly hope some of you will be embracing the spirit of freedom.”
There was a brief but loaded silence as the group processed that statement.
Then? Chaos.
“Oh, she’s talking about me,” Max said, Havenwood’s resident wedding planner and serial scene-stealer, taking a casual sip of his beer.
Renzo immediately scoffed. “Absolutely not. She was looking right at me.”
“Oh, please,” Elliott asserted. “She meant Evan.”
Evan laughed, his cheeks flushing.
Maxie leaned in from the end of the booth, noticing Evan’s rosier complexion, dramatic lashes fluttering. “So, Evan… are you going on this little woodsy getaway?”
Evan, mid-sip, choked on his drink. “What?!”
Maxie crowed, utterly delighted by the chaos. “You heard me, sugar. Are you going?”
Evan wiped his mouth, recovering with a sheepish nod. “Yeah, I am.”
Maxie’s eyes sparkled with mischief. “And is Noah going too?” Her tone was casual, but the look she gave him was anything but. Knowing. Baiting.
That one hit its mark.
Callie stifled a laugh behind their glass. Jules and Elliott exchanged a look. Liam raised one eyebrow. I didn’t say a word, but the corner of his mouth twitched as I tried hard not to laugh.
Evan cleared his throat, but before he could answer, Renzo leaned forward. “Wait, what’s this? What about Noah?”
Harper perked up instantly. “Oh, there’s tea?”
Avery and Tess leaned in simultaneously, Avery, a journalist and podcaster who never missed a good story, and Tess, an elementary school teacher with a heart of gold and a nose for tea, like they’d just smelled drama.
Ezra, an auto mechanic who loved nothing more than fixing engines and noodling on his guitar, narrowed his eyes. “Did something happen and no one told us about it?”
Maxie sat back with a triumphant little shrug, fanning herself like she was devouring a live soap opera.
Evan, bless him, brushed it all aside with practiced ease. “Noah’s not going. He’s got work. Besides, unplugging for a week would be, like, a full system crash for Havenwood’s brooding tech boy. Can you imagine him off the grid?”
“Fair,” said Harper. “He probably sleeps with a backup battery under his pillow.”
“Two,” Callie added with a smile. As the laughter continued, Callie glanced around the table, then squinted. “Wait… where is Moody McMoods tonight, anyway?”
Evan looked up. “Noah? I tried to get him to come out. He said he had stuff to do.”
Renzo snorted. “He always has stuff to do.”
“Yeah, well. I wasn’t about to beg.”
“Good,” Callie said, already pulling out their phone. “Because I have no shame and plenty of free thumbs.”
Evan’s eyes widened. “Callie—”
But it was too late. They were already typing, muttering under their breath. Your presence is required at the Taproom. Social engagement necessary. Mood optional. There. That should do it.”
I chuckled. “You’re seriously texting him right now?”
Callie beamed. “Of course. I’m a fixer. He’s moody. It’s basically community service.”
Liam raised his glass. “To emotional triage and shameless group texting.”
“Cheers queers,” Maxie said, toasting her cocktail.
Evan just shook his head. “He’s going to murder me.”
Callie sneered. “Then at least he’ll have to show up first.”
Everyone clinked glasses. Liam, still fully convinced Maxie’s earlier statement was meant for him, nudged Maxie with his elbow and brought the conversation back. “So, tell us, oh wise and fabulous one, who would you be most excited to see in all their naked glory?”
Maxie let her eyes slowly sweep the table, dramatic and calculating, stretching the moment for effect.
Then she took another long sip of her martini, and simply said, “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
Evan groaned and dropped his head onto the table. Callie fake-gagged into their drink. Harper just sighed.
Liam just snorted. “Fair enough.”