12. From Drowning to Mountaintops #3
Bridger was contemplating whether he should break the quiet to say something. He stopped walking and stood still. Gus looked over.
Bridger took a deep breath and started playing with one of his sticks, hitting it against the ground. “I’m just gonna say it. I’m sorry.”
“Sorry for what?” Gus tried to keep a blank face. “Nothing happened.”
Bridger looked down at the forest floor, regretting using those specific words last week, but forced himself to push forward.
“I… messed up,” Bridger said. “I shouldn’t have ignored you.”
Gus stayed quiet. He turned away from Bridger to keep walking. He picked up a new piece of wood. What is all of this? The flower? This hike? He needed to know.
“Why did you ignore me?” Gus asked without turning around. “To go from hanging out every day to… to nothing? Did I do something wrong?”
“No. It wasn’t you. It was me.” Bridger followed slowly behind.
“I liked what happened,” Gus revealed, his words firm even though he couldn’t bring himself to look back at Bridger.
Bridger smiled to himself behind Gus as he walked in tandem with his stride along the streaming creek.
“Me too,” Bridger finally admitted, almost in a whisper.
Now Gus did turn around. One eyebrow lifted. “You did?”
“Yeah. I liked it… almost too much.” Bridger smirked slyly, gazing up at Gus.
And all Gus could do was laugh. “Then why’d you run away, you idiot?!”
A chuckle burst free from Bridger. The tension evaporated. Bridger took a deep breath, tapping his stick again with nerves on the brink of excitement.
“I just got scared, Gus. Okay?” he said. “It all happened so fast.”
Gus nodded. He lifted his shoulders in thought. “I know we… did something new, but… I never planned any of this.” Gus shrugged. “I don’t know how to do it right.”
“Me neither.” Bridger chortled. “It was definitely… new.”
Bridger took a slow step toward Gus. They were a few yards apart.
“When I’m with the other guys,” Bridger pondered aloud, “I feel like I have to impress them. All the time. I never get to relax.”
Bridger adjusted the firewood in his arms clumsily. He took another step.
“When I’m near girls, it’s like they’re pretty aliens,” he continued. “I have no idea what to say.”
The boy seemed so nervous. Gus’s chest warmed as Bridger inched even nearer. If he got any closer, Gus would lose his mind.
He wanted to lose his mind.
“But with you, I can just… breathe,” Bridger softly admitted. “I’m not used to that.”
Gus nodded cautiously, shakily, and kept listening.
Bridger laid the firewood down on the ground, then stood back up.
Gus’s eyebrows rose. Bridger was a foot away. He could reach out and touch Gus if he wanted to.
Please want to.
“It’s only been two months, but being around you has made me rethink some things. Want to try new things,” Bridger confided.
Gus, desperate and bold, took a step toward Bridger. “Try what?” he asked.
“Being… more than friends,” Bridger whispered.
Gus’s heartbeat couldn’t help but quicken. His eyes darted back and forth. He and Bridger were only inches apart.
Bridger leaned in and kissed Gus.
Gus dropped his firewood to the forest floor as his eyes melted shut. Bridger put his hand softly on the back of Gus’s neck as they connected, pulling him in. A flurry of magnetic energy enveloped the boys as they squeezed each other tighter and kissed deeper. It felt natural, full, exhilarating.
Both boys slowly pulled apart. Bridger looked at Gus’s rosy pink face for a reaction.
Gus smiled, which made Bridger smile.
“I… um… I like you, Gus,” Bridger finally said aloud. “A lot.”
“I really like you, too,” Gus comforted.
The boys picked up their firewood and carried the heavy piles back through the forest to Dan at the campsite.
Gus’s father was cutting up some vegetables and casually nodded to both boys as they dropped off the kindling.
Together, all three worked to build a fire.
Dan roasted some spicy marinated chicken legs on a metal grate over the flames with some halved onions and sweet potatoes.
The trio sat on big rocks around the fire pit as the delicious aromas of the cooking food mixed with the sweet smell of smoked pine.
Bridger shared funny childhood stories of adventures on these hills with Avery, Coop, and Bennet, making Gus laugh and even Dan crack a grin.
Every time Gus’s father had to poke the fire or turn to grab something from his bag, Bridger and Gus snuck in thrillingly flirty smiles and lingering looks.
Both knew they’d be kissing a lot more very soon.
With the meal finished and the conversations fading, Dan and the boys sat in the glowing smoky silence to soak in the fire’s warm comfort.
Dusk was approaching. Soon they would need to head back down the mountain.
Before it got dark. But for now, they all knew the value of enjoying this gift of peace and quiet together.
Eventually, of all people, Gus’s father was the first to break the tranquility.
“You know…” Dan shared a rare smile. “I haven’t had a day off like this in a long, long time.”