Kickass Anthology (38 page)

“Don’t worry,” Davey said with a shrug. “Dad’s not here. My mom drove me over.”

I exchanged a look of confusion with my father.

“So what brings you out here, Davey?” Dad asked.

Davey suddenly seemed to shrink into himself. “I got nothing to do this summer, Evan.” He paused and looked at the ground. “Can I join the RLA?”

I think I recoiled slightly, in a complete state of shock. “But what about your dad?”

Now Davey looked up, his expression resolute. “Screw ’im. He’s wrong about you. ‘Bout the whole thing. ’Sides, my mom said I could join if you let me.” He held out the paper to me. I took it and saw it was an application for RLA membership, signed by Davey’s mother.

I looked at Dad again, and he shrugged. This was
my call
, that shrug said. I turned back to Davey and smiled. “Of course you can. Now get down to the lake, mister. It’s swim time!”

The look that came over the boy’s face was like magic, and he didn’t have to be told twice. He was already sprinting down that hill like a bullet, the shirt up and over his head and onto the ground long before he dove into the cool lake water and made a beeline for Blake, who was currently under siege by a whole group of kids assaulting him from all sides with wild, energetic splashes.

From his position down by the lake, Serg glanced up the hill, and the look he flashed my way almost melted me under the hot Arizona sun.

Dad threw his arm around my shoulders. “You see, Evan, some things
are
worth fighting for.”

I nodded my agreement but couldn’t take my eyes off my boyfriend.
They sure as hell are
, I thought.
They sure as hell are
.

AUTHORS

Mia Kerick
is the mother of four exceptional children—all named after saints—and five nonpedigreed cats—all named after the next best thing to saints, Boston Red Sox players. Her husband of twenty years has been told by many that he has the patience of Job, but don’t ask Mia about that, as it is a sensitive subject.

Mia focuses her stories on the emotional growth of troubled young men and their relationships, and she believes that sex has a place in a love story, but not until it is firmly established as a love story. As a teen, Mia filled spiral-bound notebooks with romantic tales of tortured heroes (most of whom happened to strongly resemble lead vocalists of 1980s big-hair bands) and stuffed them under her mattress for safekeeping. She is thankful to Dreamspinner Press for providing her with an alternate place to stash her stories.

Mia is proud of her involvement with the Human Rights Campaign and cheers for each and every victory made in the name of marital equality. Her only major regret: never having taken typing or computer class in school, destining her to a life consumed with two-fingered pecking and constant prayer to the Gods of Technology.

Mia has published five works of adult contemporary gay romantic fiction with Dreamspinner Press and four novels of contemporary LGBT fiction with Harmony Ink Press. Mia Kerick’s books are recommended reads in the LGBT blogging/reading community, have spent many weeks on Amazon Hot New Releases and LGBT Best Sellers lists, as well as other notable bestseller lists, and have won awards for excellence in YA literature.

http://miakerick.com

Goodreads

Amazon

Twitter

Michael J. Bowler
is an award-winning author of seven novels––
A Boy and His Dragon,
A Matter of Time
(Silver Medalist from Reader’s Favorite), and The Knight Cycle, comprised of five books:
Children of the Knight
(Gold Award Winner in the Wishing Shelf Book Awards),
Running Through A Dark Place, There Is No Fear, And The Children Shall Lead,
and
Once Upon A Time In America
. He earned a B.A. in English/Theatre, and two master’s degrees before teaching high school for twenty-five years. He’s been a lifelong volunteer with youth in need, particularly incarcerated children, often the most marginalized by society. You can find him at:

www.michaeljbowler.com

FB: michaeljbowlerauthor

Twitter: BradleyWallaceM

Blog:
www.sirlancesays.wordpress.com

ILLUSTRATOR
Kate Pavelle

LOVE ON THE DIVIDE

A.L. Boyd

“RON, hurry up, we’re going to be late!” Darcy shouted from downstairs.

He rubbed his sleepy eyes before he grabbed his bags, and backpack, then headed down to the living room.

“Have fun, and take care of your sister,” his mom said as she kissed him on the cheek and handed him a travel mug full of coffee. “You don’t need to be cooped up with your books the whole time. You can let someone else drive part of the way. You know, get out, and enjoy the scenery.”

Ron sighed, because he’d heard this all before. “I will Mom.”

“Be careful, son. And call us when you can,” his dad said as he walked down the hallway toward the door. “Oh and good luck with your sister,” he added with a chuckle.

“Bye, Dad. I’ll call before they start hiking.” Ron walked out the door and headed towards the first of two vans parked in front of the house.

Darcy’s head popped out of the passenger window and waved towards the second one. “You’ll have to ride in that one. We’re all full in here.”

Ron placed his gear in the back of the van and walked around to the open side door. Although six of them could have fit in one vehicle, they needed the extra space for all their gear, and had removed the third seat in each van to make room. There was now only enough seats in each for four people if they wanted to sit comfortably. And Ron didn’t know a single one of them.
Just great, Darcy stuck me here and didn’t even bother to introduce me.
After a deep, calming breath, he hopped in and sat down in the last remaining seat.

Ron couldn’t believe he’d let his sister talk him into this crazy trip. Darcy and her friends wanted to see just how much of the Continental Divide Trail they could hike on their college summer break. Even though Darcy was nineteen now, their parent’s wouldn’t let her go unless she had a “safety net.” As long as Ron went along, his parents would finance the trip for the entire three months they would be gone. Ron was going along as one of their drivers. His job—as far as his parents were concerned—was to keep an eye on his little sister, but for the group at large, he would be shuttling their gear and equipment ahead to the next area of the trail. Lack of water was never a big concern in Louisiana, but it would be along the seven hundred miles of trail in New Mexico. Ron and the other driver had to haul the extra water to supply the group. All he knew was that portions of the trail followed roads and that is where they would meet up with the hikers.

Although hiking the CDT might be fun, Ron wasn’t as interested in the hiking as he was in the fact that once he’d shuttled the van forward to their next stopping place, he was free to read and prepare for his senior year in college.

“Hi, I’m Ron. Darcy’s brother,” he said as he slid into the open seat.

“Welcome aboard, I’m Cameron Hardaway,” came the reply from the driver’s seat. “And this lovely lady next to me is my wife Josie. She’ll be driving this van and you’ll get the other one when we get down to the trailhead.”

Josephine looked back with a shy smile and slight wave of her hand “Hi.”

“I’m Justin.”

Ron turned in his seat to get a good look at the man sitting beside him.
Oh my God! He’s gorgeous.
Ron ducked his head to hide his blush and mumbled a quick, “Hi.” Darcy knew he was gay, but he didn’t know if she’d told anyone who was on this trip. Louisiana still wasn't all that gay friendly and he didn’t want to get into an argument about his sexuality on the first day.

“So who’s all in the other van with Darcy?” Ron asked as a way to get the focus off himself.

“Actually just Darcy and her boyfriend Luke, The other two pulled out at the last minute.” Cameron looked back at Ron through the rear view mirror. “Did she tell you much about the trip?”

“No. Not really. Just that I was to drive ahead and wait for you guys to catch up.”

Instead of continuing, Cameron just said, “Justin, you’re the map guy so why don’t you catch Ron up to speed on the details.”

Justin reached out to pull an atlas and maps out of the pocket on the backside of Cameron’s seat. “Yeah, I got this.”

Justin scooted along the bench seat closer to Ron and opened the atlas out across both of their laps. That’s when Ron noticed just how small Justin really was. Sitting down, the top of Justin’s head was about even with the bottom of Ron’s ear. Ron wasn’t very tall himself—he’d have to stretch a little just to reach five-eight. Justin couldn’t be any taller than five-one at the most.

Justin started talking about the trip and tracing his finger along the roads in the atlas, but all Ron could think about was the beautiful man at his side. He watched as the early morning sunlight danced through Justin’s short-cropped hair. It was jet-black evenly mixed with white strands that created a bluish tinge. It was just amazing.

Ron’s arm was still down by his side trapped between him and Justin. He wanted to pull it up and lay it across the back of the seat while they talked, but that just seemed too intimate. Besides, Ron didn’t know if he would be able to resist the urge to pull the smaller man close and snuggle against him, a man he didn’t even know for sure was also gay or interested in him.

Something Justin said jerked Ron back to the present topic. “We’re going to what?” he almost shouted.

Justin scooted away startled “I said we—you and me—will be sharing a motel room in El Paso and one of the tents on the trip. Everyone’s doubling up to save money and space. Seriously, Darcy didn’t tell you any of this?”

“No she really didn’t. I’m sorry I shouted. I’m just surprised.” He glanced up towards the front of the van before bending his head and whispering in Justin’s ear, “Did she tell you that I’m gay before she decided we’d be roomies?”

Justin didn’t back away any further, just stared at Ron. His eyes were a beautiful, dark russet, and roamed up and down Ron’s body before he finally spoke. “N-No she didn’t—”

Ron cut him off. “Look I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable. We don’t have to share a tent.”

Justin was still a little tense but said, “It’s fine really. I’m just as surprised as you are. I’m going to assume that she also didn’t tell you that I’m gay, too? Here I was thinking I’d be the only gay guy on the trip and…” He trailed off, waving a hand between the two of them.

Ron laughed. “That little shit! She set us up! I’m so going to get her back at the next stop.”

Justin chuckled “Want some help?”

Oh, I think I’m going to like him,
Ron thought as he glanced over at Justin.

For the next few minutes, Justin and Ron quietly plotted their revenge on Darcy. When they stopped for gas, the water balloon attack on his sister went perfectly as planned. Darcy was soaked from their two-sided assault.

Ron was surprised that Justin had balloons with him in the first place. After they got back in the car, he asked, “Tell me again why you keep balloons with you?”

“Balloons can be used for many different things on the trail that people don’t always think about such as being used as a light tourniquet to stop the blood flow to a small wound, or as a substitute for rubber gloves if you need to help an injured person. You can make slingshots, head straps for glasses, or put important items like the matches and fire starting supplies in them to keep them dry when it rains. I always keep a few extra large ones to put my maps, compass, and GPS in so they don’t get wet. I also carry a kite, a signal mirror, and a very bright flashlight. Each one of those in its own way can be used as a signal in case of an emergency. Just remember, if you see the kite when we are still out on the trail, it means we need help. It’s something you should keep an eye out for.”

“So how’d you get the job of being the ‘map guy’?” Ron asked after Justin gave Cameron updated route directions.

“It’s a part of my studies. I’m dual majoring in Geology and Geographic Information Systems. I’m writing a paper on the geology of the CDT trail so this whole trip is like my summer school project. What’s your major?”

“Library Sciences,” Ron said quietly.

“Ah! The bookworm type. You can be my new best friend for research,” Justin joked.

Ron and Justin fell into an easy conversation. As they talked, Ron thought they got along well together. He didn’t know if Justin liked him, but he could really get used to being around the smaller man. Justin didn’t make him feel so self-conscious like most people he met. He felt comfortable with Justin.

Finally, Justin yawned and nodded off. He tried sleeping upright in the seat, but gradually slid sideways until his head nearly fell into Ron’s lap. Ron reached into the space behind him and found a blanket. He quietly pulled Justin’s head the rest of the way down, then covered him up in the blanket. Ron watched Justin sleep for a while before his eyes closed and he slumped against the back of the seat.

JUSTIN was happy that his route planning for the trip had worked out so well. They made better time than expected from Shreveport, and managed to get to Las Cruces the first day. Now they would have a shorter trip the following day to get to the trailhead on the Mexican Border. Now after checking into their hotel, he was beginning to get nervous. He really liked Ron, and it seemed like Ron was also into him. In the past, he had problems with guys thinking they could push him around just because he was so small. Even though Ron didn’t seem like the type, he couldn't be sure since they’d been with others all day. Now they would be alone together for the first time, Justin wondered if Ron would be as good as he seemed, and hoped he wouldn't have to use any of his self-defense skills.

“Hey Justin, can you help me with this?” Ron asked as he struggled to pull his overnight bag from the back of the van.

Justin watched as the lithe man fought to pull his bag out from under all the camping gear. He couldn’t help comparing Ron to one of the elves in
The
Lord Of The Rings
. All he needed was a pair of pointy ears, much longer hair, and a sword to pass himself off as Legolas. Justin had to admit, he really had a thing for the gorgeous, blond elf in the movies.

Just as he started forward to help Ron with his bag, it popped loose and Ron fell backwards knocking into Justin as he fell to the ground. The bag landed in Ron’s lap, and camping gear started spilling out onto the pavement.

Behind them, Justin heard laughter as a couple walked by. “What a dork.” The stranger said.

“Hey! Be nice to the man.” the woman replied, but the tone in her voice carried the laughter she was trying to hold back. “Hey, butterfingers, are you okay?” she called out to Ron

Justin noticed Ron’s face flush at the lady’s words as he sat there surrounded by all their gear.
Butterfingers! How could the woman be so cruel as to call him butterfingers?
Justin felt a rush of anger as memories of his childhood came rushing back. “Runt. Shrimp. Midget. Peewee.” All the heartless things kids say to other kids. He’d been the focus for some many of those taunts because of his small size. Shaking off his memories, he held out a hand to help Ron to his feet saying, “Hey, I’ll help you get this all loaded back up, and then we can go get some dinner.”

Silently, Justin and Ron reloaded the back of the van and headed to their room.

Justin followed Ron through the door and watched as Ron threw his bag at the nearest chair, and flopped face first onto the pillows on the bed.
Bed. Just one bed? Crap, we got the wrong room!
Justin thought as he scanned the place.

“Umm Ron, I think we have the wrong room. Weren’t we supposed to get one with two beds?” Justin’s nervousness grew. He wasn’t sure he was comfortable with sharing a bed with Ron right off the bat. They’d be sharing a tent often enough out on the trail, but they’d only just met this morning.

The pillows muffled Ron’s reply, so Justin took a couple steps toward the bed. He reached out, put a hand on Ron’s back, and felt his muscles trembling. Ron rolled over to face Justin, his face still red. “Man that was so embarrassing. I can’t believe I did something that stupid in public. I’m sorry about the room too. I’m just not ready to go find out who got the room with the double beds. The rest of them are probably all out to dinner anyway. Can we wait a little bit before we deal with this?”