Chapter 5
As the morning sun seeps through the curtains, Ray wakes up feeling awfully warm.
It doesn’t take him long to realize—he’s naked.
And that warmth is because of the press of skin on skin; Gene is nuzzled against his back, his lips touching the nape of Ray’s neck, arms wrapped over Ray’s waist. Somehow they found themselves in this position while sleeping, he supposes.
But that’s alright. The feel of Gene cuddling up behind him is one of the best feelings in the world.
While Ray might be awake, it doesn’t seem like Gene is, though.
Should I wait for Gene? Ray figures it doesn’t matter, and maybe he can let him sleep while he himself freshens up for the morning.
And so, Ray scooches out of Gene’s hold as smoothly as he can, successfully not waking his best friend up.
He looks over at Gene as he sits up. Gene’s shaggy black hair is so messy, tousled and covering parts of his handsome face.
He looks so peaceful, and Ray’s heart warms thinking of what they did last night.
Part of him wonders if he never woke up at all and this is still just a dream, but he knows what he sees before him is real.
And not just because he sees it, Ray feels it too with a tender sensation tingling from behind.
It’s too damn perfect—how could he be so blessed to actually experience sex with none other than his best friend, Gene?
But maybe it is too good to be true. This little vacation they’re on is like a bubble—once that bubble pops, it’s back to reality.
Sure, it’s nice while it lasts, but when they go back home, Carol will be waiting for him.
She’s already upset that he took this vacation in the first place without her, and he made a promise to make it up to her when he gets back.
How, exactly? He’s not sure what they’ll do, but he already knows that whatever he does with Carol will not even compare to the sheer joy he’s been experiencing with Gene.
Again, some boyfriend I am.
He gets up from the bed, leaving Gene undisturbed, and he looks for some clothes in the suitcase.
Finding his unused pajamas lying carelessly on the floor, he decides to just shove them back in.
He grabs some fresh underwear, a tank top, shorts, and changes into them.
They could be either his or Gene’s, but they share clothes anyway, so it doesn’t matter.
He heads into the bathroom to relieve his bladder and give himself a quick shave. As he stares at his reflection in the mirror, he continues reflecting on his circumstances. A thought startles him, shaking his core, almost making him cut his face—what if I simply left Carol?
He steadies his hand, rinsing off his razor in the sink.
No, I can’t do that.
As much as he cares for Gene, he does care for Carol, too.
He’d absolutely hate to break her heart.
Not to mention how she’s also living with them all; if they broke up, would she have to go back to her parents’ house?
He can’t do that to her. Granted, she is starting a modeling career of her own now, and if that keeps going, she could likely find her own apartment…
I can’t just force her out, though. That would be shitty.
And even worse—how bad would it look to break up with her after spending a romantic weekend with Gene?
It’d be too obvious that the reason for the break up would be because of his feelings for his best friend.
That would make Carol furious. She’d know for a fact he’s been cheating on her.
Furthermore, would her rage at such a situation cause her to gossip?
What if she told the press that he and Gene are nothing but a couple of queers?
It would ruin the band. No way in hell could he risk such a thing, when the Dusty Brooms mean the world to him. Not just to him, no, but to Gene and every other member as well.
But maybe, if no one finds out his true feelings, they can keep on this way.
He wouldn’t need to break up with Carol.
No one would ever know what’s been happening on this vacation if he never tells them, right?
It’s just like Gene had said last night: ‘It can be our little secret, this… thing between us.’
Such a thought calms him, and he exits the bathroom, finding Gene still sleeping on the bed.
Or, he thought he was asleep, until he speaks up.
“Oh, Ray… there you are,” he says with an incredibly raspy voice. He must’ve just woken up. It’s so intimate; butterflies flutter in Ray’s chest.
“Hey babe,” Ray says. He sits on the edge of the bed, facing Gene.
“You got up before me.”
“Well, you just looked so peaceful, I didn’t want to wake you. Besides, you tired yourself out pretty hard last night. I felt you could use a few more minutes of rest.” Ray gives him a smirk, and Gene chuckles at that.
“I guess so. You’re right, I am still pretty tired,” he says with his head still resting on the pillow.
“Say, what if I got us some breakfast? You can stay in bed and I’ll bring it back here.”
“That sounds—wait, where? How would you get breakfast?”
“I figured I could find a place in town. Bound to be somewhere, right? I could drive—”
“Drive my car?” Gene abruptly sits up, the blanket falling off his shoulders and into his lap, revealing his sexy, hairy torso.
“Yeah, what other car is there?”
“Fuck no, you ain’t driving my car!” Gene frowns, his brows furrowing. “I just got that Thunderbird earlier this year.”
“Aw, come on! It’s so pretty.” Ray bats his eyelashes. “How does that one song go? And we’ll have fun, fun, fun—”
“Till Daddy takes the T-bird away. Yeah, I’m taking it away before you even get your hands on it,” Gene chuckles.
“But what about breakfast, then?”
“I’ll get up. Let’s just go together, alright? I’m driving.”
Ray laughs. “Well, if you insist.”
After getting some breakfast in town, they drive around—Gene at the wheel, to Ray’s dismay—looking for exciting spots to take photos.
Castle Rock is one of the places they stop at: a giant rock formation standing about 195 feet above sea level.
It’s a beautiful lookout point, yet Ray feels a little sick to his stomach as they climb the ramp.
Gene seems courageous though, and he holds Ray’s hand to calm him as they make it to the top.
Gene takes some photos of the vast, azure blue lakes and the towering Mackinac Bridge in the distance with his simple point-and-shoot camera. They ask a passer-by to snap a few of them together, too, with their arms over each other’s shoulders, the gorgeous scenery in the background.
After that, they find another scenic rock: St. Anthony’s Rock.
This one they can’t climb, which Ray is thankful for; he’s had plenty of heights for the day already.
Gene snaps some more photos of the majestic, giant stone—and some shots with both Ray and Gene in the foreground—and once they’re done, it’s already time for lunch.
They find another restaurant to stuff their bellies, and decide to cool off at one of the public beaches.
The sun is high in the sky, warmth all around them—the perfect weather for a dip.
Ray and Gene take turns in a wooden stall to put on their swim bottoms, and then it’s off into the water.
There must be about a hundred people here, having the same vacation idea as them, but Ray doesn’t mind the crowd.
None of them recognize him or Gene as members of the Dusty Brooms anyway, and they can simply splash in the water like a couple of normal schoolboys on summer break.
While he enjoys this freedom, he also itches for a time in the future when these people will recognize him.
A time when one of the transistor radios on the sand will start playing the Dusty Brooms, and everyone will realize that the Brooms are right there in front of their eyes.
Such a crowd reminds him of a show—the energy, the excitement, the fun they’re all having.
He’s already wishing to go on tour again, even though they’d recently gotten home from their last.
But maybe he’s yearning for performing not only for the adrenaline rush of it.
Playing music on stage is something precious he does with Gene.
He already misses the rest of the band, too.
He feels such a connection to music that some sort of tune is always on his mind.
But as he forms a melody in his head, he doesn’t have his notebook on him to write it down, especially not in the water…
“Hey Gene,” he says, still waist-deep in the lake. “You wanna head back? We’ve been out for a while; I wanna fit in some more time for us to write.”
“Yeah, definitely.” Gene nods, standing next to Ray, his long hair soaked. “But let’s grab some dinner to take back, too.”
Back in their street clothes, the two grab some take-out dinner, bringing it back to their motel room, and they eat it on the bed while watching TV.
As soon as they’re done, they head outside to the same spot behind the building they were at yesterday—in their lawn chairs, the arm rests touching, facing the lake.
They’re out a bit earlier than they were yesterday, too, and Ray is glad of it.
It gives him more time to write songs with Gene before any other motel guests decide to camp out here.
Across the lake is a great view of Mackinac Island—probably the best view from the entire city, unless they went to go stand on Castle Rock again.
This works out good for them, as there’s going to be a fantastic fireworks show shooting off the island later tonight.
We basically have front row seats. But such a nice seat will probably mean they won’t be the only ones out here once the sun sets, so they better get to writing songs now, while they’re still alone.