Chapter 3
It won’t be long until they reach the Mackinac Bridge.
They’ve only stopped once midway through their drive up north for gas and to use the restroom, but aside from that, it’s been smooth sailing.
Gene’s been driving the entire time, as it is his car they’re taking.
He prefers to drive anyway, feeling more comfortable at the wheel, and, simply, it’s nostalgic to him.
Driving like this with Ray reminds him of when they first started recording last year.
Back then they were still living in Grand Rapids, driving to and from Detroit, staying at the studio late and not getting home until well past midnight.
Today, the sun shines bright on a rather hot summer day: July third.
The windows are down, the warm breeze tossing their hair around.
Both he and Ray have on sunglasses, thin T-shirts, and denim shorts.
Gene does his best to keep his eyes on the highway, but every now and then he chances a glance at Ray’s gorgeous thighs.
Oh, how he wishes he could run his fingers over Ray’s skin…
Maybe later, if Ray lets me.
There are going to be fireworks shows happening all weekend—and there already have been, last weekend and during the week too, all across the country—but the biggest day will be tomorrow: the Fourth.
Gene’s heart beats fast when he thinks of how fun it will be to watch the dazzling colors burst in the sky.
And, most amazing of all, he actually will get to spend time with Ray.
There’s probably going to be plenty of other things to do during the day—one of the things being a historical reenactment show at Fort Michilimackinac in Mackinaw City.
But Gene had told Ray when they were discussing their plans that he didn’t really care for that.
What he wants to do, most of all, is to write music alone with Ray.
Ray’s dusty blond hair looks even lighter with the sun shining on it.
His curls frame his handsome face gracefully, and it fills Gene’s heart with so much joy.
Ray really is here, together with him, alone on vacation.
Ray actually picked Gene over Carol. Gene can admit he was worried with how they were arguing, nervous that Ray would back out and stay home with her instead.
But no—Ray, in that moment, truly showed how much Gene means to him.
He wants to be with me.
Granted, things might go back to how they were once they get back home.
It’s not like Ray broke up with Carol or anything.
She’s still his girlfriend. Gene and Ray are simply going on a retreat—not something that’ll officially declare them as an item.
That’d be impossible, even if Ray were single, with them being two rising male rockstars.
But either way, Gene will take what he can get.
If Ray wants to be alone with him now, he’ll do everything he can to make sure they have a wonderful time together. However that may be…
Currently, the radio is turned up, playing ‘Hot Stuff’ from the Rolling Stones’ new album Black and Blue. It’s got a funky groove, and Ray dances in his seat to the beat. He sings the chorus, and it makes Gene giggle.
“Try not to be too distracting,” Gene says. “I don’t want us to get in a wreck.”
“You won’t be as distracted if you sing along with me,” Ray counters.
“I guess.” Gene laughs. “Hot stuff,” he sings.
Trees, trees, and more trees pass them by as they continue driving down the highway.
The road is almost a completely straight line for miles, making the drive rather monotonous until they reach the Bridge.
So maybe Ray being distracting is a good thing, so as to not make Gene fall asleep at the wheel.
Though something else catches his attention, as the song ends and he hears the DJ announce what’s up next…
“This next group comes from our home state, right here in Michigan. They’re big, they’re hot, and you all can’t get enough of them. Here it is, I’m spinning for you now—‘Burn it Down’ by the Dusty Brooms!”
“What the—hey! What the hell, that’s us!” Ray exclaims.
“Oh my god, you’re right!” Gene gasps.
A song most familiar to them plays through the car speakers.
A slow riff from Gene’s guitar kicks off the intro while Stefan’s bass mellows out the bottom.
Santiago plays two parts layered on this track—piano and lead guitar—and Pat’s hi-hat comes in to sprinkle on top.
It all comes together as the verse starts, Ray’s voice strong on the track.
“Is it happening now?
Baby, baby, baby.
I can’t take it anymore.”
“That’s you, Ray! Oh my god, we’re finally catching it,” Gene exclaims. This isn’t the first time they’ve heard themselves on the radio—definitely not, with how big they’ve gotten—but it’s their first time on this trip.
And also, Gene realizes, it’s their first time hearing the final version of ‘Burn it Down’ as just the two of them, no one else on the bus or in the studio or music shop or whatever. No, it’s just Ray and Gene.
Sure, they play the song by themselves sometimes in the bedroom, singing with each other and strumming acoustic guitars. But it feels different when played back to them. They’re just like any other successful band on the radio—they’re here, they’re popular, they’ve made it.
“Sing along with me, Gene!” Ray says over the music.
“Alright, yeah!”
And so he does, singing the pre-chorus together with Ray:
“Though did it end a long time ago?
Or did we forget all that we know?
A fire rages inside me, so,
So baby…”
Pat’s drums slam harder with each and every beat, rising with intensity as their voices in real life match the ones in the recording, louder and louder, as they enter the chorus—
“Oh, we could burn this whole place down…
Ohhh, we could burn this whole place down.”
Gene’s heart flutters with warmth. This is exactly what he wanted—to sing with Ray, play music, and have fun.
There’s no one else he’d rather be with.
In this moment, he knows for sure, the only one who could make him feel this way is Ray.
They’re perfectly in sync as Gene taps the steering wheel to the beat, grooving along with his best friend.
No matter what happens, whatever sort of relationship they have, he yearns for Ray to stay close to him.
The two arrive at the motel in St. Ignace later in the afternoon.
Ray is glad to finally be out of the car, and he helps Gene take their luggage out of the trunk, which isn’t much since they’re only staying two nights.
The room is in Gene’s name—Ray was surprised Gene took the initiative to do the booking when, in the past, usually Ray was the one to do that sort of thing.
But Gene has been showing him with not only his words, but his actions how much he wants to take care of Ray.
It makes Ray’s heart soar. He knows he never could expect this sort of hospitality from Carol, as bad as that sounds.
Regardless of the roles that men and women are supposed to have—it’s nice to be the one being taken care of for once.
This motel is a couple miles north of the city, with the back of the building facing the enormous Lake Huron.
There isn’t a beach here—more like a large, grassy lawn that transforms into some ferns and rocks as it reaches the lake—but that’s not an issue.
What Ray plans to do for a majority of this trip is simply spend time writing songs with Gene.
That, and watch some amazing fireworks displays.
But… what else could happen between us…?
He figures it’s probably better to not worry about it and just see what happens. If he’s going to be honest, if Gene were up for something romantic, Ray would be fine with it.
Some boyfriend I am.
But they’re here alone. Nobody really knows who they are up here.
No guests outside the motel stop them for their autographs, and the clerk inside the office makes no comment either, simply stating Gene’s name as if he were any regular person.
Granted, they’re not as famous as someone like Mick Jagger, and Ray can tell from the radio stations around here that most people listen to country music instead of their own rock-’n’-roll.
Which works out well for them. They’re hiding in plain sight.
Gene gets the keys from the clerk, handing one to Ray, and Ray stuffs it in his shorts’ front pocket. They walk outside to find their motel room: number six, all the way on the end. As Gene unlocks the door and opens it, Ray notices something, instantly, as soon as they step inside.
“There’s only one bed,” Ray says.
“Yeah,” Gene says nonchalantly, setting his encased acoustic guitar down to rest against the dresser.
“You didn’t tell me that until now…” Ray’s face is burning up. He closes the door behind himself, and finds an open spot on the floor to set down their shared suitcase.
“I thought it’d be fun to make it a surprise.” Gene smirks. “Since it’s a busy weekend, all their two-bed rooms were booked and this was all they had. Which, I don’t mind. I figured you’d like it too. It’s not like we haven’t shared a bed before.”
“Y-yeah. Plenty of times.” He chuckles. “As long as no one around thinks it’s weird. I guess the clerk didn’t seem to mind when she saw it was just the two of us…”
Gene gives him a warm smile. “I think you’re thinking too hard about this. Friends share beds all the time. They probably get tons of people booking this same room who are just friends. So that’s easy.”
“Yeah. For sure.” Ray’s stomach twists in a nervous knot. While Gene’s words seem to imply that they are ‘just friends’—and their situation doesn’t have to mean more than that—he can tell there’s some underlying notion in Gene’s tone. One that sparks a little excitement.
“Well, now that we’ve checked in, you wanna go find somewhere to eat? I’m starving after all that driving,” Gene says.
“Yeah, sure. Let’s go somewhere good.” He smiles.