Page 15 of The Road Ahead
I frowned. “Infamous?”
Cooper scowled at Yuki, his cheeks flushing pink, making his friend laugh. “Our boy cannot shut up about you,” Yuki said gleefully. “For the past two weeks, all we’ve heard about is how excited he is that you’re moving to Stony Creek.”
“Oh my god, Yuki.Shut up,” Cooper whined.
“Why would I do that?” Yuki teased. “Your little crush is adorable.”
“Yuki, a little help?” Tamara snapped, glaring at him.
With one last shit-eating grin sent Cooper’s way, Yuki gave Tamara a salute and stepped up to help with the patient.
“Enjoy the rest of the festival,” Tamara told Cooper kindly.
“Thanks,” Cooper muttered, and slunk out of the tent.
I followed behind Cooper, wondering what Yuki had meant by Cooper’s “little crush.” Was it possible hedidfeel the same way as me after all? By how embarrassed Cooper appeared, I was starting to think it could be.
I made my decision. “Wanna blow this joint?” I asked, deliberately not mentioning the elephant in the festival.
Looking relieved, Cooper nodded. “Yeah.”
I waggled my eyebrows and held up my car keys. “Wanna take the scenic way home?”
The way Cooper’s expression brightened made my night. “Fuck yeah.”
I was responsible as we left the festival, behaving as we made our way along the main highway back across the pass towards Pathfinders Lake. We didn’t speak much, just drove in comfortable silence. I hit the blinker when we approached the turn off for the scenic tourist route that wound its way around the mountains above the lake, leading to the lookout. I had a little fun as I followed the road up the mountain, taking the corners a little faster than normal, but mostly I was getting a feel for the road and committing some of the more fun bends to memory. One hairpin turn in particular was going to beepic.
When we reached the very top of the mountain, I pulled over into the small parking lot behind the lookout, putting her into neutral. We couldn’t see much. The lake below was just a patch of inky blackness, but there was a soft glow on the horizon in the direction of Stony Creek. “You ready?” I asked. “No pressure. I don’t mind heading back the same speed we came up here.”
Cooper looked over at me and grinned in the darkness. “I wanna see what you can do,” he assured me.
I grinned back. “Okay, then. Let’s do this.”
I revved the engine, threw her into first, and took off, spraying gravel behind me. My ’86 wasn’t super fast or super powerful, but she was super fun and I wanted to show her off to Cooper.The engine growled as I worked my way through the gears, building up speed as we raced downhill. When the tight hairpin approached, I fully committed. I applied the brake while still in the straight away, shifting into third, then lifted my foot as I turned in. I tapped the brake again, twisting my foot until I had my toe on the brake and my heel on the accelerator, feeling my way to the clipping point. I dropped into second, and as we began to slide into the drift, I countersteered as I started to accelerate.
The moment seemed to elongate as we drifted around the bend. I could hear Cooper whooping for joy as if from a distance, as the majority of my concentration was funneled towards my baby. From the soles of my feet to the vibrations in my hands as I gripped the wheel, I was as connected to her as she was to the road. I stopped thinking, stopped analyzing, stopped computing, only allowing myself tofeel.
Wait. Wait. Wait.
As soon as we were through the corner, I countersteered once more. As soon as I felt like I had traction, I floored it, and just like that the corner was behind us.
In front of us, feeling like the entire world at my feet, was the road ahead.
Chapter 8
Cooper
I’d never been so turned on in my life.
Rio was amachinebehind the wheel. Yes, I’d lovedInitial Das a kid. I’d watched every episode a dozen times, re-enacted scenes with Rio. I’d even picked up a couple of phrases in Japanese. My love for the anime had never been more than that, though. Unlike Rio, I’d not taken that passion and transformed it into a skill in the real world. Sure, I knew how to drive defensively. I could maneuver an ambulance through peak hour traffic and push it to the limit to get a patient to the hospital in record time. But Rio had watched the show and decided they wanted to be like Takumi. They wanted to be able to drift.
I felt a pang of regret for not being there in person as they’d developed their skills. How many times had they tried and failed? How many times had Rio’s beloved ’86 been damaged as they’d spun out of control? What had been the expression on their face when they’d first successfully carried a drift around acorner? How many hours had they spent under the hood of the car, tuning her and making improvements?
I never got to see all of that. Instead, I only got to see the end result. And it was glorious. Rio and the ’86 were one, the car an extension of their body. They were not only highly skilled, but I could see just how much joy they got from pushing the car to the limit. I glanced at the dash once, blanching at the speeds we were reaching. I’d driven this route numerous times in the past—the view from the lookout was spectacular and whenever we came to stay at the lake, I always made it a point to come up here at least once—but I’d never descended so quickly before.
Rio used the entirety of the road, ignoring all lane markings. My heart thumped erratically as we crossed the solid white line again and again, and I held tight to the “oh shit” bar and squeezed my eyes shut tightly as we got uncomfortably close to one of the guard rails.
Only once did we pass another car, and Rio spotted the headlights with more than enough time to cross back into the right-hand lane, allowing us to pass them safely. It was exhilarating, terrifying, and arousing all at once, but at no point did I ever feel in danger. At no point did I feel unsafe. My cock throbbed in my jeans, and I wanted Rio’s hands on me so badly. I wanted for them to touch me with the same confidence and skill that they touched the gear stick. I wanted them to drive me to the limit, to take me right to the edge.
