14. Goodbye #2
Though he’d regained his footing, Max stumbled as he shook his head at her. “I thought—”
“Max, I’m moving to California and… I’m…” Tara struggled over how to put her secret into delicate words. She breathed in, swallowed deeply, and locked her knees to look up at her old boyfriend. “I can’t be with you like you want. Not now, not ever.”
“What?” Max was stunned, as if he’d been clubbed again by a second skateboard.
There was dead silence. Tara and Max stared lost in each other’s eyes with opposite forms of heartbreak. Max looked like a wounded puppy, and Tara had to shake away the tear that dripped down her cheek.
“There’s more.” Tara bolstered herself. “I should’ve told you this back when—”
“Has everyone gone insane?!” Max yelled again.
Tara barely flinched. She swallowed her reveal in the wake of Max’s aggression and laughed in disbelief. She wiped another stupid tear away and shook her head as Max raged on. He didn’t deserve to know. Not like this.
“Everything was perfect a few years ago. It’s all shit now!” Max screamed, throwing his arm back to point at the party house. “Nobody back there actually cares about me. The store is failing. And now you’re leaving Montana? I can’t—”
“Shut up, Max! Just shut up!” Tara interrupted fiercely. “Your life doesn’t suck because everything is different now. It’s because you refuse to move on!”
Max froze. He narrowed his eyes, hurt and bewildered.
Tara stepped back and took an exhausted breath. “We used to spend every day together. And I—I really enjoyed my time with you. I did. And I did used to love you. But I started realizing that… I could never love you the way you loved me.”
Max, for once, waited to speak.
Tara took another deep breath. “I need to start living my own life, the way I want, for me,” she said firmly.
She stepped forward and peeled off her old favorite snapback she was gifted long ago. She’d worn this one special, just for tonight. Max quickly moved his gaze down and away from her as his sobs broke through. His ruined birthday party blared behind him.
Tara reached out, returning her vibrant ruby-red snapback to its original owner, Max.
“No. I don’t want it back,” he muttered, entirely crushed.
Tara sighed and lowered his hat down by her side. The pained stillness between them buzzed like the cicadas.
“I leave in September,” Tara said. “I need time, but if you figure your shit out, if you heal, come visit me. I’ll share more of… who I am now. We can skate together. As friends.”
Hunched over and gritting his teeth, Max couldn’t speak. He just studied the ground.
Tara nodded to herself, reached up, and put the snapback on Max’s head. She wiped away a spot of blood from his temple.
Max kept his chin down, unable to hold back a fresh flood of tears.
“Goodbye, Max,” Tara said softly.
She stepped back and headed to her car. Once inside, she closed the door, blocking Max out.
Tara drove away. Max stood alone, crying in the road.
~
A deep sapphire sky of glowing constellations sparkled above Gus and Bridger as they skated down the barren night streets outside Livingston.
A breeze rushed through empty trees as birds settled down to slumber in their shared nests.
Bridger stretched out his arms, soaring through the evening wind.
Gus followed suit, falling in love with the fast-paced sensation Bridger enjoyed so much.
“Fresh air never felt so good!” Bridger exclaimed.
The boys continued to weave back and forth between each other under the moonlight. They relished this short, quick ride to end their too-long day. Because they had stuck together, this dangerous night had somehow become beautiful.
It was so late it was almost morning when Bridger drove Gus home. As they approached Dan’s cabin, Bridger clocked the empty driveway. His stomach soared with new excitement.
“Is your dad not home?” Bridger asked. “Will he be out long?”
Gus blushed. “He’s on a fishing trip in Yellowstone until tomorrow.”
Bridger pulled into the empty graveled parking space and turned off the engine.
“Good. I’ve been craving some alone time with you.” Bridger gave Gus a cheeky look.
Gus blushed even harder.
The boys burst through the cabin door, already heatedly making out. They stumbled through the house, bumping into furniture. They kicked off their shoes while their hands stayed busy in each other’s hair or on each other’s body.
They parted only to rush up the stairs to Gus’s bedroom.
As soon as they entered, Bridger gently pushed Gus up against the wooden wall.
They kissed deeper and slower. Hot passion filled every corner of the small attic room.
Finally, both needing a moment to breathe, Bridger and Gus paused kissing.
They opened their eyes, looking deeply at each other.
“Sure you want to do this?” Bridger asked through raspy breaths. “It’s—it’s my first time.”
Gus bit his lip, smiling. “Yeah. Mine too. But yeah. I’m sure.”
Bridger smiled back. “Are you nervous?” He flushed. “…I am.”
“I’m… somehow not.” Gus laughed in disbelief, his eyes sparkling. “Not with you.”
Gus stepped closer and lifted Bridger’s shirt with steady hands. Bridger raised his eyebrows, surprised and aroused by Gus’s newfound confidence.
Gus dropped Bridger’s shirt to the floor and unbuttoned his polo. The boys shared a heated look as the garment came off each of Gus’s shoulders.
Bridger slowly scanned Gus’s naked torso. His skin looked so soft, so inviting. The months of woodworking and skateboarding had earned Gus a visible definition to muscles that Bridger now hungered to touch and taste.
Gus blushed at Bridger’s aroused eyes. He followed Bridger’s hands as the skater boy took a step back and undid the button of his pants and unzipped his jeans.
Gus’s heart skipped a beat. The strong shirtless body before him rippled in a mesmerizing contortion as Bridger bent to push his pants down and off.
As Bridger stood back up, Gus saw on him the same underwear Bridger flashed outside TJ’s during their first days together.
Gus had pictured these same boxers more times than he could count.
Now Gus desperately desired to finally see more than just Bridger’s hidden beer bottle.
The young man standing in front of Gus was everything he’d yearned for in secret all summer long.
His lean and chiseled body, his alluring scent, his lustful gaze—all were finally tangible before him, no longer just in Gus’s sketchy imagination.
The craving between them was almost too much for the boys to handle.
“Woah…” Gus let out.
“Yeah,” Bridger breathed.
Bridger stepped languidly forward, closing the distance between them. He took Gus’s wrists in his hands and placed them on his hips, dragging Gus closer again.
“Wait,” Gus said in a laugh against Bridger’s lips.
Gus reached down and undid his belt, getting rid of his own pants. A jolt of energy surged through him as Bridger reached behind him and firmly squeezed his butt.
Crackling with need, Gus pulled Bridger toward his bed. As they lowered onto the mattress, both boys met kiss for kiss. Gus wrapped his arms around Bridger’s back and drew him in as tight as he could atop his soft blankets.