Thirty-Five
Bart
Four months later
“Is everyone ready?” I asked because I really fucking hated this part.
“Let ’er rip,” Asa cheered from the back of the truck. We were in Keith’s work truck because it had a dual cab and Asa and Don wanted to revisit the one place they remembered from their younger days that they’d never gotten to go back to.
“Can’t we go up the back way?” I asked one more time because I had already asked about twenty times.
“Not this time,” Keith said and put it into four-wheel drive as we started toward the base of the steep fucking mountain that I hated.
“I’m just gonna close my eyes and think happy thoughts,” I said, and Don laughed before reaching for the bar to hold on.
“It’ll be fine, sweetheart, Keith knows what he’s doing,” Asa soothed but he also reached for the bar as we got to the bottom of the slope.
“Closing my eyes now,” I warned and Keith started to climb.
We were about halfway up when Asa whopped it up making Don laugh with delight.
Maybe when you’re old as hell, you’re not as afraid to die or maybe they were far braver than me.
But I kept my eyes closed until the tires stopped sliding and we were over the hump at the top, back on level ground. “I really hate that part.”
“The rest is easy,” Keith said and drove slowly until we were overlooking the swimming hole. Asa and Don both gasped.
“It hasn’t changed a bit,” Don said and hurried to get out of the truck, but he needed his cane, so he wasn’t moving all that fast.
“Remember those rocks? They were always the best to jump from,” Asa said and after getting out of the truck he walked around and helped Don down to the flat area where we’d had our first picnic.
“They’re gonna love this,” Keith said, and took out the folding chairs we’d brought, along with the small table and ice chest. We walked past them and set it up just in time for them to make it down the rocky trail.
“What’s all this?” Don asked.
“We thought you might like to have a little picnic while you’re here,” Keith explained.
“You didn’t need to do all that,” Asa said.
“You didn’t have to let me live with you and give me a new life either,” I said. Because it was true. Moving to Foggy Basin had changed my life in ways I never knew were possible.
“It’s been good for all of us,” Asa said and helped Don sit down.
“We’re going to go have our own picnic,” Keith said and took my hand. Just as we were about to turn a scream ripped through the small rocky area.
“Look out below!” Isaac came running out of nowhere on the other side, naked as the day he was born, and plunged into the water before breaking the surface. “Fuck too cold.”
“Incoming,” his boyfriend said as he landed next to Isaac, splashing him and making him sputter.
“Those boys are crazy,” Don said.
“They’re gonna freeze their balls off,” Asa said with a chuckle.
Jack and Hudson showed up on the other side fully clothed and stepped as close as they could to the edge before yelling down at Isaac and Tig. “How’s the water?” Jack asked.
“Fuck, you chickens, you two were supposed to be stage two,” Isaac yelled. “Get your ass in here.” His jaw shivered as he yelled and tried to ignore the fact the water was like ice as his lips turned blue. Tig just grinned and floated on his back. That guy was never rattled by anything.
Apparently, we weren’t paying very good attention because from behind Jack came Hudson. Naked and running at full speed, he jumped from the same rock, nearly landed on Tig, and practically levitated out of the water the second he hit.
“Holy shit!”
“And that is why I am not going in,” Jack said from the rock, arms crossed and looking every bit as superior as he could.
“Looks like we’re sharing our picnic,” Keith said.
“Looks like,” Asa echoed.
“How the hell did they know we were here?” I asked. It wasn’t like this place was known very well I now knew, and it was September, who wanted to go swimming in September?
“I might have mentioned it to Isaac,” Don admitted. “That boy is trouble.”
“Well, the rest of them followed,” Keith said as we watched Hudson try to swim for the side while Isaac made it as hard as he could by splashing and holding him.
“Mind if we join?” one of the new guys in town asked. Devin, the guy that delivered hay for us and behind him was Zane, the feed store owner.
“The more the merrier,” Isaac said still shivering like crazy but not doing anything to get out of the water.
I looked around at the crazy bunch of guys I didn’t know very well, and the two old men who were some of my best friends, and then Keith.
The love I wasn’t looking for and never thought I needed but made me happier than I had any right to be.
“And this is my life,” I mumbled just before Jack lost his footing and landed in the water fully clothed, making Isaac laugh so hard he nearly choked.
“Ain’t it beautiful?” Keith said as he slung his arm around my neck and kissed my cheek. And my head and my heart both screamed yes.
The End