Page 13 of The Road Ahead
I would be with Rio, so of course I’d have fun. I always did.
Chapter 7
Rio
The Rolling Stony Festival was being held on the grounds of an old youth camp midway between Stony Creek and Pathfinders Lake. The facility comprised several large wooden buildings, extensive grounds, and an old chapel. As I followed the directions of a volunteer to a parking spot, Cooper explained it was no longer used as a camp. It was old and outdated, and since a newer facility had been built a few years back, it was now used as a community space for hire. “They have a farmers’ market here once a month, and I think it also gets used for corporate functions and a few weddings. There’s also a regular ghost tour.”
I pulled into my space, pulled on the handbrake, and turned to look at him. “Are you saying the place ishaunted?”
Cooper shrugged, completely unconcerned. “Some folks seem to think so.”
“But you don’t?”
“I dunno. I haven’t seen a ghost yet in all the years I’ve been coming to the festival, but that could change.”
“Oh. Yay,” I said faintly. I might have joked yesterday that I’d keep Cooper safe from any monsters under the bed, but the truth was, I was a huge scaredy cat when it came to anything spooky.
We joined the end of the line to get in, and Cooper brought up the program on his phone. The festival ran for three days, with most acts performing more than once. We’d already made a list of bands and performers we wanted to see with a tentative itinerary, but there had been some last-minute changes to the schedule. I peered at his phone screen, trying to see the details but having trouble with the way the sun was glinting off the screen.
“Here,” Cooper said, and then stepped behind me. His arms came around me and he held his phone in front of the both of us, with him easily looking at it over my shoulder. “Is this better?”
His close proximity, the warmth at my back, and the way his biceps bulged, all combined to make my brain short-circuit for a moment. I finally pulled myself together enough to mumble an affirmative, then reached up to scroll through the schedule.
“Oh, he’s really good.” Cooper pointed to the name of a singer performing in the Chapel that afternoon. “I went to school with Rob, and I’ve gone to a few of the shows he’s done locally. He kind of does a mix of country, pop, and folk. It’s eclectic but really vibes.”
I nodded. “Sounds good. How about we do a lap of the area to get our bearings before heading to see him, then catch the a cappella performance in the Dormitory afterwards?”
“Cool. Then we can grab dinner, before heading to the Main Marquee for The Baby Houdinis,” Cooper mused, as we shuffled forward in the line. Cooper didn’t let go of me once, even though it must have been awkward for him, hunched over me as he was.I wasn’t going to complain, though. It was really nice being in his arms.
“Is there anyone else you want to see today?” I asked.
“I don’t think so. We can always stop and watch anyone who grabs our attention in the gaps.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
Cooper put his phone away, and his arms dropped back to his sides, but he stayed close behind me as we waited. I allowed myself to lean back just a little, until I was pressed up against his stomach, and one of his hands came down to rest on my hip. I couldn’t see the tent ahead where people were being scanned in and having their bags checked by security, only the backs of the people in front who were taller than me—which was almost everyone. Letting my head drop back onto his chest as I looked up at him, I asked, “What’s the holdup?”
“Looks like a lot of people haven’t gotten their tickets ready to be scanned before they get to the front.”
Usually, that would piss me off. We were literally lined up to have our tickets scanned. It wasn’t exactly a surprise that when you reached the front gate, you had to have your tickets ready. Yet today it didn’t bother me much at all, since it gave me more time to lean against Cooper while we waited.
We finally reached the front of the line and presented our open phone screens with the tickets ready and waiting. The attendant handed us fluorescent pink wristbands, then waved us to the security gate. Once we were inside, we stepped off the thoroughfare so we could help each other put on our bands.
“Not too tight?” Cooper asked as he wrapped the band around my wrist.
“No, it’s good,” I said, unable to do anything but stare at the way his deft fingers peeled back the edges to reveal the sticky part before he smoothed it down.
I attached Cooper’s band and then smiled at him. “All done.” He grinned back, and I couldn’t look away. His hazel eyes were almost golden in the bright sunlight, and I was struck once more by how attractive I found him. Why the hell did he have to be my cousin? Sure, it wasn’tillegalto be in a relationship with your cousin in Minnesota—something that I may have looked up, you know, forscience. It wasn’t exactlysocially accepted, though, and given all of the other eligible people around, it wasn’t likely Cooper would even be interested in me.
Though being cousins wasn’t even the biggest roadblock, was it? Cooper wasgay. He’d never hidden that fact. I’d known since he was thirteen that Cooper liked boys. He’d never expressed any interest in any other gender.
I might have been born with male genitalia, but that was just a fluke of biology. I was neither man nor woman. Cooper liked boys, which wasn’t me. So, cousins or not, I wasn’t exactly his type.
I sighed, suddenly feeling forlorn. This inconvenient crush was going to leave me with a broken heart. Hadn’t I been through enough already?
Luckily, Cooper didn’t pick up on my change of mood, and he took off with all the enthusiasm of a golden retriever. I took a deep breath, trying to let my shitty mood drift away on my exhale. Crush or not, Cooper was one of my favorite people in the world, and I enjoyed spending time with him. I needed to concentrate on that, on having a good time. I could deal with everything else later.
Pasting a smile on my face, I hurried after him, determined to enjoy the day.
