Page 14 of The Road Ahead
Teresa and Brad arrived late in the afternoon, and if they’d been fighting, neither showed it. We grabbed dinner from the various food trucks that were set up in one of the garden areas, sitting on the grass to eat. Cooper and Teresa teased and joked with one another, and we all looked at the program, already planning the next day’s must-see performers.
As the sun was setting, we headed to the Main Marquee to see The Baby Houdinis—the headlining act of the festival. They were a Minnesotan band that had made it big, selling out concerts across the country and making it into the Top 10. The marquee was packed with people pushing their way as close to the stage as they could. It was standing room only, and I was once again left wishing I had gotten my height from my dad’s side of the family, not Mom’s. I was nose level with armpits every way I turned, and after a long afternoon in the sun, people’s deodorant had long since stopped working.
After the third time of being jostled so hard that I almost fell, Cooper drew me to him, shuffling so he was once again at my back. His arms formed a protective circle around my shoulders, and though I still couldn’t see much, it was a much better position to be in.
The excitement of the crowd grew and grew until the lights dimmed and the band came on stage. The audience screamed and cheered, and I heard the lead singer calling out a greeting to the crowd, who screamed back. Then the music started, and the party began.
The mass of bodies danced and writhed, moving as a single entity. Cooper never moved his arms from around me, but I turned around to face him, letting my hands settle on his hips. He wasn’t really dancing, just bopping up and down to the beat, but I didn’t let that stop me. I moved to the music, shaking my hips, grinding against Cooper’s leg, and letting the rhythm take me over.
It had been way too long since I’d last danced like this. I’d loved dancing growing up, and had been good at it. At one point, I’d even sent videos to several agents, hoping to make a career out of being a backup dancer. I’d not heard back from two of them, but the third responded, crushing my dreams. They said I had talent, but unfortunately I didn’t have the desired body type to make it in the industry. There were certain standards I simply didn’t meet that were essential for the conformity needed in the industry.
A long-winded way of saying I was too short and would stand out from other dancers.
I’d been crushed, but I’d eventually moved on, turning my focus to martial arts and helping people learn the skills they needed to keep themselves safe. I still loved to dance, but it was just a hobby now. I went clubbing, and I danced around the house when I was cleaning, still loving it, but not needing to live it.
As the night passed, we lost Teresa and Brad to the crowd. Cooper and I were hot and sweaty, but we didn’t let that stop us. I hardly looked away from Cooper the entire time the band played, caught up in how happy and free he appeared. Now and then, he’d bend down and shout something close to my ear so I could hear him over the music, and I’d lean in to reply. The way his hot breath washed over my skin sent shivers up my spine, and I could feel my erection trapped against the tight fabric of my jeans. I made the most of the darkness to adjust myself as best I could, trying to get comfortable.
A woman bumped into me, and I turned to smile at her, but frowned as I saw how vacant her expression was and the way she was swaying. “Coop!” I shouted, stepping out of his embrace just in time to catch the woman as she fell.
In an instant, Cooper was beside me, and he scooped her into his arms. He tilted his head wordlessly at the exit and I nodded,pushing my way through the crowd, leading the way. I used the momentum of the crowd to create a path of least resistance, and we meandered through the mass of bodies until we were stepping out into the night. Cooper lay the woman down, then pulled out a pair of gloves and a penlight from his pocket. He donned the gloves, then rolled back her eyelids, shining the light to check her pupils.
“Where did you get all that from?” I asked, amazed.
“I always carry the essentials on me,” Cooper replied absently, now taking her pulse. “Gloves, light, mouth shield.”
I eyed his jeans, wondering how I’d not noticed those items in his pockets. His jeans might not have been as skin tight as mine, but they weren’t overly baggy either. Obviously I’d been too distracted by his amazing ass to look at his pockets. “Will she be okay?”
“Hopefully. Let’s get her to the medical tent.” Cooper picked the woman up once more, and I tried not to be jealous of how easy he made it look. I was strong for my size, but he lifted the grown woman with no apparent effort.
It was hot as fuck.
We made our way through the much lighter crowd outside until we reached a large white tent with the universally recognized red cross on the front. We stepped inside and two paramedics rose to greet us.
One of them, a younger man who appeared to be of Japanese descent, said, “Cooper! Fancy seeing you here, man. Whaddya got?”
“Hey, Yuki. She collapsed over in the Main Marquee,” he explained as he gently placed the woman on one of the stretchers. “Rapid pulse, dilated pupils, shallow breathing. Might be dehydration and heat exhaustion, might be . . . ”
Yuki nodded. “Might be high, yeah. We’ve had a few of those today.”
“It was pretty muggy in there,” Cooper told him, even as the other paramedic, a woman with pink hair and arms covered in tattoos, wrapped a cuff around the woman’s arm.
“We’ll take her vitals and get her to the hospital,” Yuki told him. “Better to be safe than sorry. Know who she is?”
Cooper shook his head. “No idea. I didn’t check her pockets for ID, sorry.”
“All good, man. We got it,” Yuki assured him. “How did you get out of being rostered on for this gig?”
“I put in for vacation months ago,” Cooper explained. “Teresa and I come every year. It’s kind of a tradition for us.”
“Nice.” Yuki’s eyes flicked over to me. “Hey,” he said, giving me an up nod.
“Hi,” I said, with a little wave.
“Oh, shit, sorry.” Cooper placed a hand on the small of my back. “Yuki, Tamara, this is my cousin, Rio.”
“Nice to meet you both,” I said.
Tamara smiled at me, but didn’t speak, concentrating on their patient. Yuki grinned. “Ah, so you’re the infamous Rio? Good to finally meet you.”
