8. The Bonfire
The Bonfire
After meeting an hour away from town, Bridger led Gus on foot through the rural mountainous woods on the outskirts of Livingston.
It was well beyond dusk. The moon peeked through the trees as twigs cracked underneath Gus as he followed Bridger through the brush and up a tall hill.
A cabin’s clearing came into view, and the boys could hear music and laughter.
They’d thought they’d be too early, but Gus could already see throngs of teenagers dancing, vibing, drinking alcohol, and chatting around a raging bonfire.
Coop, Bennet, and Avery brightened when they saw Bridger.
“Finally! Bridge, look! Max bought us all beers!” Bennet exclaimed, raising a Hamm’s bottle as the boys walked their way.
Bridger grabbed a beer from Coop for himself and stood next to his friends around the firepit.
Gus tried to squeeze near the boys as they all chatted and drank, even as random strangers kept pushing between them.
Eventually, their group settled down on some large rocks closer to the fire.
Peering around, Gus crossed his legs and bounced his knee nervously.
Was everyone else really so comfortable around all these adult-looking partygoers they didn’t know?
Lots of college-aged guys wandered around in work boots, Wrangler jeans, and plaid shirts.
Older girls in oversized sweaters wore lots of makeup for being so far in the woods this late at night.
Several people in a huddle cheered and chugged their drinks in celebration as a stumbling guy in their midst finished a keg stand. It was… intense.
Why am I here?
Laughter from Bridger’s friends pulled Gus back to their conversation.
“And then, when Mr. Winkler caught me with the exam answers, I was like, Do you really wanna spend three whole months with me?” Bridger recounted. “Summer school sounds more like a punishment for you! Let’s just let this one slide, Jeremy…”
Everyone chuckled again. Bridger was such a natural at winning people over. Gus admired that charm, how easily Bridger commanded attention. As Bridger soaked in his moment of adoration, he caught Gus’s eye. Bridger smirked and winked at him.
At that moment, a slower song started up, and the group of teens behind Gus tipsy-swayed to the music.
“Guys! Tara and her friends showed up,” Avery announced.
All the boys whipped their heads around to see Tara Shae and her effortlessly pretty friends strolling past Max and his older drinking buddies.
“They could stomp on me and I’d say thank you,” Bennet said, practically drooling.
“Tara’s into Gus,” Bridger whispered to the guys. “She chatted him up four times now.”
It was three, only three!
“No way, dude!” Coop snapped back.
“Tara Shae,” Avery started, “likes Gus?!”
All of Bridger’s friends scanned Gus up and down.
“It’s true! Gus, show ’em! Go talk to her,” Bridger urged, nudging Gus’s shoulder.
Gus went stark white. “What… now? I don’t think I—”
“It’s now or never,” Coop insisted.
“I dare you. Do it,” Bennet added.
“Double dog,” Avery challenged.
“Gus! Go over to her,” Bridger pushed.
“I’m not—”
Bennet stood up suddenly. “Wait, you’ll look like an asshole without a beer.” He cracked open a Hamm’s and pressed the cold bottle into Gus’s hand. “Okay. Go make us proud!”
Gus reluctantly stood up under the weight of the dare.
“Gus! Gus! Gus!” The boys all chanted quietly, encouraging him. “Gus! Gus! Gus!”
Gus cautiously walked over to Tara, who was holding a pilsner and laughing with her girlfriends. She spotted Gus and offered a little wave as he approached. Tara stepped to the side to chat with him.
“Um. Hi, Tara,” Gus greeted nervously.
“Hey, Gus.” Tara smiled back, leaning in for a big hug.
Gus could hear the boys react with muffled hoots behind him as Tara touched him, and he hoped she didn’t notice. He smiled and hugged back with his free arm, unsure of where to put his hand.
“I never figured you were the booze and bonfire type,” Tara remarked over his shoulder.
“I’m not,” Gus admitted as the hug ended. “Bridger and his friends invited me.”
“Ah. That makes sense. And we can’t turn down Bridger, now can we?” She gave Gus a knowing look.
Gus nodded along despite not fully getting what she was trying to hint at. “I guess not… Why did you come?”
“Max asked me,” Tara said.
“Oh?” Gus glanced over at Max to see if he was watching him with Tara, but he was busy crushing a beer can under his foot. “I thought you hated all those skate guys.”
“Only the dumb ones,” Tara laughed. “I don’t hate you.”
There was a moment of silence. Tara’s wide open beam smoothed to a gentler smile.
“You sorta remind me of… me,” Tara shared.
Gus tilted his head and grinned back. What does she mean by that?
“And even though I probably should… I also don’t hate Max.” Tara shook her head in annoyance. If it was at herself or at Max, Gus wasn’t sure. “I have to drop some hard news on him soon, so I felt guilty and said yes to coming.”
“What hard news?”
“Well, I nailed my first interview! I have another one this Friday,” Tara shared excitedly.
“That’s awesome!” Gus brightened up. “But… why is that bad?”
“No, it’s great! Just… if I do get the job, telling Max will be hard.”
“Why? Are you two close?”
“Well, we grew up together. We… used to date… sorta.” Tara rolled her eyes and fidgeted a bit. “I think he still has a thing for me?”
“Really? I’d never guess that. You dating him, I mean. He’s kind of aggressive.”
“Exactly.” Tara sighed. “After his dad died, Max became even more obsessed with skating. He stopped talking to friends, was being so cruel to everyone. Even me. So a few months later, before I started college, I broke up with him.”
“Dang.” Gus stared at his full beer. “I’m sorry.”
“I’m not. It was gonna happen eventually. Even if he’d stayed nice like when we were kids,” Tara reasoned. “I still care about him though.”
“Why happen eventually?” Gus asked, puzzled.
Tara stared at Gus. She slowly grew a smirk again. Gus still had a blank look on his face. Tara crossed her arms and glanced around to ensure no one was watching them. Then she leaned in close.
“Have you not figured it out yet?” Tara whispered. “I thought that’s why you and I bonded.”
Gus still looked lost. Is she actually into me?
“Gus… I don’t like guys, I like girls. I’m gay,” Tara murmured with a laugh.
Gus’s mouth slowly fell open and his head leaned back in realization. Everything clicked. He suddenly understood why she kept hinting about his friendship with Bridger.
Gus had no idea how to react.
“Wait. Do you think… Do you think that—that I’m…?” Gus stammered, unsure.
“Oh! Well, maybe I was wrong, but I just thought with Bridger…” Tara trailed off.
Gus turned to look at Bridger and his friends near the bonfire. They were still surveying him as if he were their brave pioneer exploring the uncharted world of hot college girls. Bridger was watching the closest of all.
“Oh… he actually just sent me over here to ask you out,” Gus confessed awkwardly.
“What? Why?” Tara asked, surprised.
“They all dared me to,” Gus explained.
“God! Boys are so dumb. But Bridger? He likes you. At least… in some sort of way.”
Gus took a deep breath, not having expected the conversation to go this way. His shoulders lifted with skittish energy as his mind raced back through his interactions with Bridger and raised all kinds of questions about how the boy felt about him.
“You like him too, right? More than you’ve liked other friends before?” Tara asked.
“What? No. Well… I don’t know what—” Gus stuttered. “…I didn’t know that was an option.”
And without warning, there was Max, a beer in hand and already stinking of booze. He stepped up next to Tara and shot Gus a look so intense it felt as though vicious darts were shooting his way. Immediately, Gus tensed up.
“What are you doing here?” Max sneered. He wore an unzipped greasy Carhartt hoodie over his shirtless torso. “Trying to sell your shitty decks?”
“No, I—”
“I saw the lame-ass flyers,” Max spat out, his speech slurred, as he pushed forward into Gus’s personal space.
“I was invited by Aver—”
“Get lost. No one wants you here, especially not Tara,” Max growled.
Tara turned to Max, offended but remaining calm.
“Yes, I do. I want Gus here,” she asserted.
Max scoffed, looking baffled as to how scrawny Gus could win over his old girlfriend. “You’re into this wimpy art freak?”
Tara stepped closer to Max, looked up into his eyeballs, and poked his chest. “Stop that,” she defended. “If you send Gus home, I go home.”
Max’s eyes sharpened and jumped from Gus to Tara and back again, confusion and jealousy creeping in. He took a long swig of his beer before saying anything.
“Fine. Whatever. Why is everyone being so lame lately?” Max muttered as he twisted away and walked off, visibly annoyed.
Gus grinned at Tara. He had never been defended like that. Tara clinked her beer against his.
The sky faded to inky black and the bonfire’s embers burned low.
Most of Max’s college-aged friends had either paired off with girls to make out in the woods or, if they had been unsuccessful, headed home.
Max was fully necking a girl by a tree. Coop interrupted Gus and Bridger, who were chatting by the fire, to deliver important news.
A girl stood behind him, her hand outstretched toward his while she said her goodbyes to friends.
Coop looked to ensure her back was turned.
“Dudes, me and Rachel are gonna…” Coop thrust his hips back and forth crudely while trying to be lowkey so Rachel wouldn’t notice. “See ya at the skatepark tomorrow.”
Bridger shook his head and playfully mouthed, “Asshole.” As Rachel twisted around to face them, Bridger immediately switched to a positive demeanor and raised his beer to the departing couple.
“Have fun!” Bridger laughed.
Coop smirked as he turned around with Rachel to walk off, leaving Gus and Bridger with Bennet and Avery. About five minutes later, Avery stood up. Bennet followed suit.