Page 39 of The Road Ahead
“Coop,” Teresa said warningly.
Brad waved it off. “It’s okay, Terry. That’s a fair question.” He lowered himself down until he was perched on the edge of the coffee table, facing us. “I know it’s hard to believe after the way I’ve behaved, but I don’t actuallythinkthose things I said. I don’t have a problem with non-binary folk, or gay people, or anyone in the LGBT plus community.”
“So why say them?” Cooper pushed.
Brad shrugged. “Because I was being an asshole.”
Cooper snorted in derision, and I reached over and squeezed his knee. I appreciated him not letting Brad off the hook too easily, but I did want to understand why Brad had acted the way he had. “Any particular reason why?” I asked.
“I’ve always been a dick when I’m stressed,” Brad explained. “It’s not one of my finer qualities, I’ll admit. It’s something I’ve been meaning to work on for a while now, but yeah, I guess you can see how well that’s been going.” He grimaced. “I’ve been busting my ass at work, and no matter what I do, it’s never good enough for my boss. He made it clear I was risking my job by taking this time off, but I knew how important it was to Terry. How much she’s been looking forward to the festival and the time here at the cabin. I thought I could do both—spend time with you allandclose this deal. There were so many problems, though, and things got more and more convoluted. My boss was on my ass, and I couldn’t deal. I was snappish and took it out on all of you.” He gave us all an imploring look. “I’msorry. I can’t tell you how sorry I am. It isn’t a true reflection of who I really am. I swear.”
“It’s true,” Teresa told us. “Rio, I know you especially mustn’t think much of Brad, but heisa good guy.”
“I gotta admit, I was kind of wondering why your taste in guys had changed suddenly,” I told her. “He was acting like a stereotypical bully.”
“Brad and I have a lot of work to do on our relationship,” she said. “I’m willing to put the work in, though, because I think it’s worthwhile. You’re so important to me, Rio, and I want you and Brad to get on. I know it’s not gonna happen right away, but if you could give him another chance, it would mean so much to me.” She looked at Cooper. “The same goes for you, Coop.”
I’d never been great at holding a grudge. I was a people pleaser through and through, which is why it took me so long to come out to my dad. I knew he’d react badly, and so I put it off for as long as I could. Brad had been a dick, but if he was honestly willing to try and do better, then being an ass in return wasn’t going to encourage him to do so. Sometimes you had to be the bigger person to see progress. I held out my hand. “I’m happy to give you a second chance.”
A relieved smile spread over Brad’s face, and he clasped my hand in his. “Thank you, Rio. I appreciate that.”
Cooper didn’t say anything, and Teresa stretched her leg out to kick his ankle. He rolled his eyes at his sister, but finally nodded. “Yeah, okay. I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt, Brad. But you only get one more chance. You screw it up, and I won’t give you another.”
“That’s fair,” Brad acquiesced.
“How about I make a start on dinner?” Teresa suggested. “We can take our time that way and have a nice catch up while we eat before we go out. Get to know one another a little bit better.”
“Or,” Brad suggested. “You can stay on the couch with your book andI’llmake dinner. You’ve done all the cooking when we’ve been here for dinner, so it’s time you got to relax.”
Teresa gave Brad a large dose of heart eyes at this. “Really? Thank you.”
I hoped this wasn’t just lip service and Brad would continue to be so considerate. “I can help,” I offered.
“Are you sure?” Brad asked. “You and Cooper have taken care of breakfast most days, so I don’t mind doing dinner.”
I smiled at him. “I really don’t mind. Between the two of us, we’ll have it sorted in no time.”
We didn’t do anything overly fancy, and it wasn’t long before we were all sitting down to a meal of chicken quesadillas. I hadn’t realized how much tension had been in the air up until now, when we were all relaxed and chatting. It was nice. Brad asked us about some of the things we’d gotten up to as kids, and as we traded memories, shared embarrassing stories, and listened to the anecdotes that Brad shared in return, I found myself feeling at home. Feeling happy. Feeling likemyself.
Once we’d finished eating, we all pitched in to clean up, and then I headed through to the bedroom to get ready. I pulled out my favorite pair of wide-legged black jeans and paired them with a white cropped tee with the wordsTorque Dirty To Meemblazoned across the front, made to look like it was written in red lipstick. A red lip-shaped kiss was used as punctuation at the end. I slipped into my heeled boots as well, enjoying the way they made me tower over anyone who was 5'4" or shorter.
Cooper came in as I was doing my makeup and he perched on the edge of the bed, watching me as I worked. He seemed especially focussed when I was applying my eyeliner, and I turned to him with the pencil held up. “Did you want me to do your eyes?”
He blushed and shook his head. “Um, not tonight, but maybe we could try it another time?”
I gave him an encouraging smile. “Of course. You just let me know when you want to try it, and I can give you some lessons.”
Cooper looked happy with that, and he reached out and squeezed my shoulder in reply. He was wearing the penguin shirt I’d bought him, and I was pleased to see how well it showed off his impressively toned biceps. It also looked cute as fuck.
I finished off my makeup, keeping the rest simple with some lip gloss and a dusting of color on my cheeks. My favourite pearl choker and studs completed my outfit. “Okay, all done,” I announced. “Ready to go?”
The Stony Creek Car Club was meeting at a rest area near the general store at nine o’clock. The sun had almost set, hidden behind the mountain behind us as I drove away from the cabin, Brad and Teresa following behind in his Eclipse. Excitement thrummed in my veins, and I could already taste the adrenaline on my tongue that I knew would be there later. I’d been looking forward to this ever since Jimmy had mentioned it to me, and I was eager to explore the roads of my new stomping ground.
There was nothing more freeing than the open road ahead, the engine purring under the hood, and the possibilities that waited around the next bend. I’d spent countless hours behind the wheel, honing my skills, learning through mistakes, and committing to every corner, but I still had so much to learn—I always would. Perfecting a maneuver, taking a corner at the exact line, down to the inch, knowing I’d nailed it—the thrill of the victory was short-lived. As soon as I’d accomplished one thing, I immediately wanted to perfect something else. I wanted to push not only my ’86, but also myself, to the limit.
I’d learned early that confidence was essential to drifting, but arrogance would be your downfall. When you were flying down a mountainside, around a blind corner, with your reflexes and calculations the only things between staying on the road and hurtling over the edge, you had to be sure of your skills. The margin for error was slim, and trying to make adjustments afteryou’d fully committed to a corner could lead to disaster. There was nothing more dangerous than a wishy-washy driver.
By the same token, drifters couldn’t let their pride dictate their decisions. There was nothing shameful about deciding not to drift if you weren’t feeling it. Gut instinct had to win out every time. If you pushed beyond your skill level, you weren’t only at risk of totalling your own car, but you could also put others in danger, be they other drivers or spectators. There were plenty of reckless drivers out there who gave us all a bad name, but those of us who were passionate about our cars and our skills had learned to tame that recklessness. All that accomplished was a short-lived, expensive foray into our world, especially drifting and downhill racing.
