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Setting the last suitcase in the van, Max heaved a sigh of relief, his muscles howling in bliss at the lost weight.“Lord Bobby what the hell is in here?” He asked.“Bro, I gotta bring my jazzin’, you know what a good trumpet can bring!”“I don’t, but I refuse to touch it again. A trumpet cannot be that heavy.” he groaned, stretching to crack his joints.
Bobby laughed, “Nah my man, its also got my lucky bowling ball, clothes, a few books, a few cans of cheese, and a box full of rocks from the places I traveled.”Max stared at his friend with a bewildered expression. “How did- no, why did- I don’t-…what?”Bobby slammed the back door shut and leaned on it, “Chill, its only the necessities. Besides, at least I didn’t pack as much as PJ. He’s worrying himself to the bone.”Said man glared back at Bobby, “Our minds are incapable of fathoming the intricacies that is the wild, what could happen in these strange lands unbeknownst to our already limited vision.”“Worry wart.”“Fuck you.”“Guys come on, we gotta go!” Max ushered, hopping in the passenger seat to act as GPS.The others clambered into the van and quickly sped down the street. PJ double checked that all four first aid kits were still clean and neatly packed away for easy access. It wasn’t a long drive, Stacey was only ten minutes away, but the gang was anxious to get onto the highway. The boys had planned a road trip-like vacation for summer break. After spending two weeks with their families, they decided to head a little bit west to hike the mountains in Wyoming. PJ’s idea really, reconnecting from ‘where we all came from’ was his goal. Bobby wanted to experience weed at a high altitude, and Max, well he just really wanted to see the sights. PJ wasn’t the only one wanting to reconnect with nature, Stacey was invited to come along on the exploration. Currently, she was waiting for them to pick her up from her apartment.“Hey Peej, her place is at Boulebark and Thatcher street right?” Max asked.“Yeah, just take a right once you hit it and I’ll tell you where to park.”After hitting three curbs and almost a child, Bobby finally managed to parallel park right in front of the apartment. Wobbly from his driving, PJ stepped out to retrieve his girlfriend.“Bro, I still don’t understand how you got your license first before we did.”“Oh Max, ye of little faith.”“Too much in my opinion.” he teased.The door swung open to reveal Stacey standing with a hand on her hips. “Alright redhead, you’re gonna need to bust before the van does. I saw you driving, and I would feel bad if I had my guardian angels working overtime.”“BRO.” Bobby cried, “My feelings are hurt! You gonna let her tear me down?" he looked to PJ for support and who would obviously not give any to him.
Bobby complied pretty easily, opting to take a nap on the suitcases in the bed. Stacey took the wheel and Max let PJ have the map instead, allowing him to sit with his girl.Finally, the trip began. While Bobby napped, the three of them settled into easy going conversations with little interruptions from PJ about the direction needed to go. Three hours into the highway, Max leaned to look out the window and smiled.“This is going to be so relaxing you guys, I’m so excited.”Everyone agreed.“Fuck fuck fucking fuck! You goddamn piece of shit car! I paid so much for you fucking bastard! Cheap no-good butt fuckin' metal!”Bradley was shit out of luck. He had been trying for an hour to get his car to start up again, but it was done for. He flung the hood of the car, clearing away the smell and smoke of burning emissions. He rolled up his white sleeves and plunged his hands into the guts of his Mercedes, ignoring the billowing heat. He checked the oil, the coolant, the filters, and the belts before his drive. What he forgot though, was the transmission. Fluid was leaking everywhere, and the smell was enough to make him want to throw up. He checked out the gears and when they began to slip, he sighed and bit the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from crying.It wasn’t like he had any emotional attachment to the car, his dad picked it out for him even though he had wanted a reliable Honda. Bradley Senior had gone into a long rant about image, having the best, having this and that and why it was important. So, in the end, Bradley went with the ugly red Mercedes knowing in his gut it wasn’t a good choice. He sat down on the shoulder trying to regain his composure. He was pissed off. Terrible car, terrible dad, terrible day, terrible everything. He sighed and looked at the landscape of the highway before him. That’s when his eyes drifted down to a small broken pole that lay in the grass a few yards away.“-and that’s when I finally got the courage to tell my design professor that modern art is actually perceived as trash in most people’s eyes. That you need a degree in order to see any benefit in it.” Max finished.He recounted the story of when he told off his uptight professor. The two had gotten into a heated argument, most of the class agreeing with Max on the matter and that in retaliation, Max received a B- in the course. A good grade, but he would have gotten an A.
“Why didn’t you take it to the Head of the Design department?” PJ asked.
“It isn’t really worth fighting for to me. If he wants to be petty, he can be petty. I still got a good grade and that’s all that matters.”“Ah, so I see you’ve finally found a taste of that forgiveness I was telling you about.” Stacey said.“Yeah yeah, trust me, I wanted to beat him up myself and turn him into a modern art case.”“How morbid.” PJ remarked.Max scoffed, “Its not THAT morbid it just- hey what’s that? Pull over.”Max took notice of an ugly red car with smoke waterfalling up and out. “Is it on fire, should we call someone?”Stacey peered ahead, “No, that’s steam from the car overheating it looks like. Is that? Who is that? Darling, lets see if they want help.”PJ pulled to the side of the road, and when they all got out, they saw the one and only Bradley Uppercrust the III in a dirty white shirt beating the ever-living shit out of his car with a random pole. He was cursing it with each swing, completely oblivious to the group.“Stupid fucking broken dumbass piece of grandma shit!”“Hey there cowboy, how’s it going?” Max said as he approached.“Jesus!”Startled, Bradley missed his swing and knocked the strut of his car off. He barely moved away just in time for it to slam shut. Chest heaving, he whipped around armed with the pole.“What the? What the fuck are you guys doing here?” he snarled.Max came around to look at the car refusing to indulge in Bradley’s pissed off persona, “Well we saw someone in trouble and thought we’d offer a hand. But it looks like you’ve definitely got it covered.”
Fuck his luck, he needed to be on the road. Now. And of course, the fastest opportunity to get there was with this fool. He put on a nervous smile, and swallowed his pride down like it was vomit.“Max! My man, my amazing successor how are you?” he smiled, a crazed gleam in his eye. “Hey listen, I do sincerely apologize for my behavior at the XGames, it was quite immature of me, and I hope we can set it in the past? Whaddya say? Wanna help an old rival get to his pops?” he put out a shaking hand covered in black oil, Max backed away from the debris caked on his hand.
“Woah slow the hell down Brad, we just wanted to see if you needed any help with your car is all. Is it that broken? Must be for that complete sorry excuse for an apology.”Max may be a carefree genial freshman whose experience was lacking, but he wasn’t stupid and with that knowledge, Bradley’s shoulders deflated.Stacey grabbed the pole from Bradley’s hand and used it to gently tap his shoulder, “Such is the way of an Uppercrust. Too insecure and cowardly to give a genuine apology. Such is the weight of your sins that it bestows the arc of redemption you must stretch to achieve before permanent damnation. Tell me Bradley, did you believe a tow truck was just going to appear from betwixt your buttocks?”"Ha!"Flushing red, Bradley grabbed the pole back and threw it into the grass where he had found it. “You don’t know shit about me.” He growled.The group went quiet as Bradley began to accept his fate. He knew he was powerless in this situation, he knew his enemy. He sighed, too exhausted to try to manipulate his way out. Maybe his dad would understand?Fat chance.Max stepped in between Stacey and Bradley, breaking the awkward silence, “It looks like your transmission went out man.”“I can fucking see that.”Ignoring him, Max looked at the other details of the car, “You also seem to have knocked your belts loose with the pole and you also dented your radiator and A/C. Did you have it out for this car?”Bradley sighed and ran a dirty irritated hand through his hair, “My dad wanted me to buy it even though I had wanted a Honda. I’ve hated the car since.”“He made you pass up a Honda? Does he even know what a car is?”Bradley shook his head, “He values his driver really well.”Taking a moment to consider the situation, Max looked between PJ and Stacey. They both could already see the gears turning in Max’s head and immediately, the two pulled Max aside to talk while Bradley leaned against his car, gaze at war with the ground.“Max, we can’t just pick him up like a hitchhiker!” PJ argued. "We are not going to start our vacation with a sociopath!"
“Look, I’m not saying that, I’m saying we can at least take him to somewhere that can get him where he needs to be. We all know that once a transmission goes, the car goes.”Stacey chimed in, “Gentlemen, why don’t we help a poor needy soul in need of redemption?”“Huh?” the boys said simultaneously. They didn’t miss the glint of humor in her eyes.“I cannot say that I enjoy the guy myself, but my darling, how must we know the path of forgiveness, if we don’t value a map or compass?”PJ sighed, unable to counter the words that flowed from his honey’s lips, he still expressed his anxiety, “I’m still not comfortable with the idea, what if he tries something?”“He’d be the one relying on us, and besides, could you really drive away from someone that clearly needs help and is struggling? I’m not fond of the guy myself, but I’d be eaten away by guilt if we just left him.”PJ looked between Max, Stacey, and Bradley who was busy being lost in the tumbleweed vastness that was his mind at the moment. He relented. “Okay, but if anything happens, I’m not responsible. I’ll go let Bobby know.”PJ and Stacey went to go wake up their friend while Max gently prodded the idea of help into Bradley’s mind. “Hey hey my guy, so, we talked about it, and we’re willing to give you a ride to wherever you need to be. Seems like you were going the same direction as us.”Bradley shot up and began to vigorously shake Max’s hand, “Thank you thank you thank you! Now, inside we have to start-““Oh no you don’t!” Max put a finger against Bradley’s lips, cutting him off, “If we are going to be giving you a ride, we need to set some ground rules got it?”Bradley sighed. Of course there was a catch. His father taught him there was always a catch and here’s where he was right. “What?”“First off, you are not some spoiled little damsel in distress. Put on your big boy pants and call highway patrol before you’re ticketed. Second, you are not going to boss us around. My friends and I work as a team, if you are to ride with us, you will do the same. Third, if there is even one ounce of petty disrespect, I will not hesitate to toss you out of the car wherever it is we may be. And lastly, do not, ever, act all high and mighty around us. Your money and status will never mean a thing. Are we clear?”“Crystal.” he forced.“Good, now get your stuff hauled in the van, we’ll be waiting.”Max was utterly terrifying when he was serious, that fire in his eyes as he talked with a fierce protective tinge that Bradley hadn't experienced from anyone. Bradley found himself silent as he humbly loaded his two suitcases into the van. He stayed on a long thirty minute phone call fighting with an automated system before he was finally in communication with a highway patrol officer. Once all the formalities of abandoning his car for the time being were finished, the group finally got back on the highway.“So where is it we’re headed?”“My father’s summer home in Wyoming. He likes to pretend to be around nature.”“Dude what?” Bobby asked.“What?”“You’re dad has a summer home?”Bradley nodded.“Would he let us crash?”“Bobby,” PJ chided, “it is not polite to crash someone’s home, especially if you know you’re too much of a country bumpkin for them.”Bradley looked away and became quiet as the others laughed at the joke. In all honesty, he would much rather have a group of hooligans than be alone with his father. Max took notice of this and decided to change the subject.“Well hey, we’ve lost an extreme amount of daylight, why don’t we all go ahead and crash at a motel?”“Sounds good bro.”“I’m in.”“Sure.”“A MOTEL?”Everyone was in agreement with the idea besides the one and only Bradley Uppercrust. He looked at everyone in shock while they reciprocated.“Uh, yeah what’s the big deal?” Max wondered.“You mean a motel, a roach infested, smoker hangout, condom flinging motel?”The group all looked at each other. Max already knew he was going to be the voice of reason on this.“I mean, yeah its what we can afford. We actually planned to go through a seven hour drive, but we lost a couple of hours of that and no one here is comfortable driving in the dark. Besides, a motel isn’t bad! It’s got a cozy grandma vibe to it, its affordable, and some of them have free breakfast.”Bobby nudged PJ from the back of the van, “Don’t forget the condom flingers!” he teased.Stacey rolled her eyes and PJ jolted the car to toss Bobby off balance. Bradley was still argumentative.“Absolutely not! I refuse to sleep in such a building.”Max shrugged, “Okay, three options then. Stay in the motel with us where it would be safer, sleep in the car where it isn’t safer, or pay for all of us to sleep in a hotel that isn’t likely to have vacancy.” He failed to hide the smirk that appeared on his face.Bradley’s options were limited. He groaned and pinched his nose, “Ugh, fine. But if I get mono I’m gonna sue you.”“That’s the spirit!”With the last remaining amount of sunlight, and a painful amount of ‘NO VACANCY’ signs, the group finally settled into a Motel3, one that had two beds and a pullout couch.“So how are we going to settle sleeping arrangements?” Bradley asked.“Easy, PJ and Stacey will take one bed, you and I will take the other, and Bobby for some psychotic reason loves pullout beds.”“Hell yeah my brotha!” Bobby affirmed, quickly pulling the bed out and crashing into its squeaky boney hinges.“I am not going to share a bed with you Max Goof.”“The floor is always an option Mr. I’m-Too-Good-To-Participate-In-The-Poor.” Stacey mocked; she climbed in her bed to cuddle up beside PJ who felt like driving 5 hours on the road was equivalent to taking three Benadryl. He was already fast asleep.Max turned back to Bradley. “You can make your choice man, but I gotta crash. We’ll be up bright and early tomorrow!”What could he do? The floor was disgusting, he could only imagine the weird substances and possible crime evidence that was riddled in between each carpet fiber. His eyes darted between Max, the couple, and Bobby.‘Its only sleeping,’ Bradley thought, ‘you don’t have any other option.’He hated making sacrifices, it felt pathetic and foreign to him. But he had to resign himself one way or another. While the group slept, he took a shower and washed all the earlier grime away from his skin, utilizing the very cheap and limited body wash and hair care products that were provided. As he dried off, he stared at himself in the foggy mirror.The face of a man that was set to graduate from his Master’s program. The face of a man that was to follow in his father’s footsteps. The face of a man who was to be married one day with a trophy wife and kids. That was why he needed to get to his father's so quick. It was part of his final step into becoming what he was made for. A tyrannical businessman who ran things with an iron fist. Who gave dark empty stares at his wife when she begged him to love her again and not his secretary. This was the talk of all talks. Where Bradley’s father would tighten the reigns and would not let go until Bradley was at the top, alongside his father, still shorter than him until death. Then it would be his own son. And when his own son stood beside him, Bradley would be the taller one until death. This trip, Bradley Uppercrust the II had arranged a meeting between his shareholders and partners to officially meet and welcome his son. First impressions of course. If they saw a blossoming young man, the opportunities would be endless. He’d have money, security, maybe a wife he could learn to love.He’d have to learn to like it.The steam from the shower fogged the reflection in the mirror. When Bradley wiped it away, it came right back. He wiped it again, seeing a face that wasn’t his. The fog came back to cover it.Bradley leaned on the edge of the bathtub, pausing. Reflecting.He looked at the foggy mirror as he turned on the faucet.After all, he hated seeing his own face as he cried.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The loud blare of the provided alarm clock shoveled the group out of sleep. No one was happy to be awake right now. Not even Bradley. He’d never admit it out loud, but Max was right, those beds were comfortable. He woke up to Max’s leg tossed over both of his and kicked him off. Stacey had shut off the alarm and gently woke up PJ while Bobby stayed in his spring roll of a bed.“Alright boys, let’s refresh and digest before we rejoin ourselves with the road.”“Ugh come on Stace, five more minutes.” Max groaned, rolling towards the middle of the bed. The warmth Bradley had left behind was so cozy!She pulled open the curtains and ripped open the blinds, forcing the morning sun to burn out everyone's vision. Bradley already moved to brush his teeth and change into clothes that hadn’t seen his car. He settled for a maroon button up and jeans. Not a favorite, but it would do. When he came back out, Stacey was waiting for her turn in the bathroom while the rest of the boys changed. He caught her perceptive eye and she analyzed him.Silent communication fell between them. She saw his drowned emotions and raised slight concern with her eyebrows. He dismissed her by averting his gaze and leaving the room for the breakfast lounge.Ten minutes later, everyone else had arrived, and immediately made their way towards the cereal dispensers, fruit bowls and of course, the all-time favorite waffle maker. Bradley had a bowl of the sugary cereal provided, a muffin, and an apple while he gazed at the eroded parking lot full of potholes lost in thought. His thought process was broken when Max settled down beside him as the group gathered their plates.“Whatcha daydreamin’ about?” he asked between bites of a muffin.“Finish your mouthful first, I know you, surprisingly, weren’t raised in a barn.”Max swallowed, “Woulda been cool if I was. Little straw hat, overalls and that yellow straw thing they stick in their mouths.”Bradley rolled his eyes, “What do you want?”“Meh. I’m just making conversation. We’ll be stuck together for a while, might as well know how to talk right?”He sipped his painfully bitter coffee. “No need really. But, are you sure you don’t want any more than just a muffin and juice?”Max nodded, “I’m not much of a breakfast eater. Eat a little in the morning but by lunch and dinner I’m a pig.”“In more ways than one.” Bradley mumbled. “Here.”
He tossed a banana he had grabbed for later. “Eat it.”“Aw for me? Who knew the grinch had a heart?”“Who knew the –“ he was cut off by the ringing of his phone.Caller ID: Father“Excuse me, I have to take this.”“Oh okay.”As Bradley left to take the phone call, everyone else began to take their seats. Conversation and laughter filled the dining area, their rumbles could be heard and felt everywhere. It would have been a warm feeling to Bradley, had he not been subject to the beratement of his father. He moved his conversation outside where he paced up and down with his head low, a nervous hand reaching up to toy with the buttons or receive a bite from chattering teeth. He moved around, placating his dad as best as he could, trying to explain that there was a slight delay, but he was on his way and would be there on time as promised. He felt the dread balling up in his stomach. The food no longer content as his stress ceased digestion.“Father please, I am very well aware of- ““No! You are not aware of anything! If you were you would be here right now preparing! Do you think of me as a joke?”“No, I- ““Because that’s what this seems like Bradley! No son of mine is going to miss this. If your ass isn’t here within another day, you are going to regret it.”The phone call ended; Bradley finally stopped pacing. He walked around outside a little bit, letting the morning wind blow the smell of dew in his face. Focusing on that, he was able to calm down and ease himself with the fact that his life wasn’t his. The anger his father took out on him slowly settled in his mind uncomfortably.
Back in the van with Bobby driving under the condition he only focus his mind and body on the road, everyone else either napped or were talking mindlessly about their trip.“Do you think we’ll have to fight a bear?” PJ asked.“Nah, but I do think we’ll have to fight an angry Bobby when it comes to tent set up. If we do have to fight a bear, we’ll just blame him”“Rude!” Bobby called out from the mirror.“Eyes on the road!” Stacey snapped, taking passenger so she could supervise Bobby’s driving.Max took notice of Bradley’s lack of conversation. Sure, the lack of snarky comments or arguing was nice, but it was still awkward, and they had a little over 15 hours to go on the road. He nudged him with his foot.“Hey, what’re you gonna do once you get to your old man’s?”“Business internships and the transition from college regarding the most esteemed. Things you wouldn’t be able to understand freshie.”Max raised an eyebrow, “Probably not. I’d like to have fun with my life.”Struck a nerve there, he saw Bradley’s jaw clench. “You mean by acting a fool?”“Nirvana man, what can I say?”“If that’s what you mean by the poor people’s version of fun, then sure why not.”Max sat up fast, facing Bradley with a warning glare in his brown eyes, “Hey, what did I say about acting high and mighty?”The van went quiet, nervous eyes darting between the two with the tense energy.“Not to.”“That’s right. Say sorry.”“I’m sorry, okay?”Max looked him up and down for a split second before backing off and settling down. “That’s better. Thank you. Anyways, what does your dad do?”“I’d rather not talk about him.” Bradley admitted.The ride fell silent for a few minutes, glances exchanged every so often between everyone. Max nervously bit the inside of his cheek before coming up with an idea.“I spy with my little eye, something blue.”Catching on quickly to what he was doing, PJ answered, “The blue Pontiac behind us?”“No.”“The flag by that cemetery?” Stacey asked.“Nope!”“The car freshener?” Bobby offered.“No, watch the road.”"Pfft!"They all played around a little bit, no one being able to guess what item it was Max had chosen. They had listed every possible thing that he could have seen with his little eye. Bradley looked down at his feet and noticed that his socks wore blue and red bands at the ankle. Frivolous. He stared out the window again, listening to the annoying ‘is it this and that’s’ to the consistent ‘no’ that followed. He sighed and looked at Max who cheerfully met his gaze.“Is it my sock?”“Yes! Yes it is”“What? No way!”“A sock? Come on Max that was nowhere near easy!”“Well done slick.” Stacey smiled, knowing exactly what Max had done.“Thanks! Alright Bradley, you got it right, now it's your turn. What do you spy?”He shook his head and crossed his legs, “No way am I going to play such a childish game.”“Well in your eyes we’re a bunch of children so why don’t you entertain us?” Max sneered.With the others beginning to mimic Max’s encouragement, Bradley relented. “Fine. I spy something, purple.”The game went on for a few minutes before Bobby guessed the purple gummy candy wrapper sticking out of his center console. After a few cheers, the game went on and Bradley found himself smiling at everyone’s playful antics and teasing. Max was relieved to see such lifted spirits that he kept the game going until everyone got bored of it and then moved on to other car games.By late afternoon, the group stopped to refuel with some gasoline and food. They all shared decent jokes, ones that Max could see Bradley was trying to avoid indulging in. With a playful nudge and a smile, he tried to tell him it was okay to laugh, but the other looked away while he ate the rest of his sandwich. Max hummed to himself and continued on.Back in the car, the group was nearly through the Colorado Rockies. PJ and Max informed Bobby they should drive alongside the mountains inside of through since it would be safer, but Bobby and Bradley agreed that going through it would be faster. Stacey didn’t care, she was busy listening to a podcast.“I swear on everything you guys if I do not get home on time, I’m screwed. Please, can we just take the quickest way!” Bradley strained.“No! While I despise you,” PJ began, “I will note that I value our safety more than anything else.”Bradley was going to flip; they still had another thirty minutes make a choice on the intersection.“Give me the map.” He held his hand out to Max, who arched an unserious brow.“Please, please give me the map.”With a smile, Max handed it over. Bradley quickly worked his focus and knowledge in the map, it was possible to get by driving alongside the mountains, but they would just barely make it and that’s if the driver was okay with a potential speeding ticket. He tried looking for other routes, but they were either not fitted for cars like this or took longer. Feeling overwhelmed with anxiety, he fisted the map and brought to his head, trying to gather his frustrated bearings. If they no longer made any pitstops by taking the long way, his time would be rushed but he would at least be there before the meeting.“Okay, okay, okay.” He said rushed, pushing back sweat from his brow. “If we take the long way, I’ll be able to get there on time, but we’ll have to drive straight on. No pitstops or anything. I can compromise with that.”Bobby looked back, “I don’t know that I can promise that bro, I’m still for going straight through.”Bradley picked at his nails, “Why can’t you promise that?” he asked.“Gas, traffic, food, switching drivers when we get too tired, other possibilities.”He was angry. Bradley was so angry, but he had enough sense to remember his promise.“Fuck, um, okay let me think.”“Dude why is this so important?” Max wondered.“Because this is something I can’t mess up! None of you would get it, I just need to get to my father’s.”Max looked at PJ, “Maybe we should?” he offered. PJ’s jaw dropped.“Come on Max are you kidding me?”He shot him a sheepish smile, “I’m sorry PJ, but we’ll be hiking too so maybe it’ll be good practice for us?”Knowing he was outnumbered, PJ slumped and waved everyone off, “Fine. But if we all stand at the pearly gates, I’m punching you.”“Alright! Through the Rocky Road we go!” Bobby cheered.Bradley looked at Max who was staring at some cows they were passing, a part of him wanted to say thank you, but in admission to no one but himself, he was a coward when it came to any indication of vulnerability. He didn’t know that Max didn’t care about a thank you, Max just knew there was something going on Bradley was afraid to admit. He saw the way he paced in the parking lot, the desperate attempt to get his goal, and the repressed depression that gave way to anger, something in his gut told him there wasn’t a whole lot of the story being told. Not that it was his business but still. Communication would be nice, but he too, was stubborn and petty.The group had seemed to decide just in time, Bobby signaled at the turnpike they were crossing into the mountains and paid the toll. They went on their semi-merry way. One thing to note about the mountains, it’s easier to go uphill than it is downhill. Some highways are narrow and all too steep, and for folks coming from the city who hadn’t experienced ice mixed into it, they were undeniably unprepared. To cut through the Rockies, one has to go up one side of a mountain, crossing into another mountain that rolls down. It became cold in the altitude, and with the heater replacing the A/C, everyone found themselves bundling up with some extra luggage they had. As Bobby began to make his way downhill, the ice was beginning to thicken. That’s when Max read a sign that had said:CAUTION: ROADS MAY BE ICY“Well god damn it.” Max sighed, “Bobby are you gonna be okay driving down?”“Max, I gotta be honest man, I am not sure that this was a good idea.”PJ shook his head at the ceiling of the van, “That’s what I was trying to tell you!”Stacey looked out the window, “Drive extremely slow Bobby, we can’t risk rolling over off these cliffs.”Bradley shifted in his seat and placed his head in his hands, “Fuck” he whispered.Max could practically taste the stress he was excreting. “Dude, it’ll be chill. We’ll go slow here, and then back on the road before you know it! What is it like, an hour down the mountain?”“If I go slow yeah.” Bobby answered.“Sweet, see? You’ll be fine”Bradley didn’t answer anything. His brows were furrowed, and he shut his eyes while placing an anxious fist against his mouth as if he were violently praying. He wanted to lash out so bad, he wanted to call them all idiots, he wanted to throw Bobby out of the van and take over the wheel. He wanted it all to be over already.
His prayers were answered.Just not in the way he thought.A mountain lion had jumped from above into the road. With a scream, Bobby slammed on the breaks, but the wheels slipped on the ice and turned the car halfway down the cliff. Everyone was shrieking, panicking, still as ever. The lion approached the and gave it a sniff, pawing at the front license plate. That did the car in. It had plummeted. Like a coaster, everyone screamed as it fell and slid down the mountain. They all grabbed onto each other, waiting to die as they shouted while the scene unfurled before them. Gripping onto each other, PJ on Stacey, Max on Bradley, and Bobby clutching the wheel they finally came to a stop in the middle of the Colorado mountain forest.Everyone panting with adrenaline, they slowly broke apart from each other, processing what had just happened. No one made a sound for a few moments.“Is – Is everyone okay?” Max asked.A small series of affirming hums let everyone else breathe a sigh of relief. Shaking, they all begin to file out of the van and stare at it. There’s no road anywhere. They are surrounded by aspen trees and other types of snowy greenery. There are no words to be said. They are stuck in the middle of nowhere. No working van. Cold mountains. The map had flown out of the broken back windshield.“Oh my god,” Bobby started, his emotions catching up, “What the fuck!” he screamed, mourning his loss.Max checked his phone, the screen was busted and there was no turning it on, “Does anyone’s phone work out here? Mines broken.”PJ answered with a hard no, “There aren’t any towers up here. Not even in the surrounding rural communities.”
No phone service? Bradley began to emotionally succumb to his shock, he backed into a tree, his respiratory rate skyrocketing as he began to think about what would happen. What was happening. They were lost with nothing but the clothes on their backs, they had no clue where they were. His father…his father oh god. Bradley shot back up and gripped his hair. It started with waking up late, then his stupid car gave out, stuck with these people and now lost.
“Fuck!” he screamed. “Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” he began to pace. “No, no no no no God please no.” he begged, frantically trying to ground himself either by biting his lips, nails, pulling his hair, or something else.They all watched him. Bradley could feel their eyes and that’s when he simply....Walked away.His head was buzzing with white hot fear. How would he contact his dad? How could he stay in the family? How could he possibly think of something that would save his ass? He settled down at the stream that flowed from the mountains and plunged his hands in the cold water to ground himself. He had to get back no matter what. He needed to. But where would he start? Where would any of them start? His eyes welled up in frustration and hugged himself, willing his tears away. There was no time for crying. Not now.Max had swam down a waterfall while arguing with his father. He and his group of friends drove through an entire cornfield. Now they had tumbled down a mountain. Honestly, he should be more surprised but being the one with more ‘adventurous experience’, he quickly took on the role of action. He took some time for himself, breathed through the initial anxiety and turned to the other three.“Alright, I know we’re shaken up, but we gotta stay strong okay?” he encouraged.“What do you mean Max? We’re in the middle of who knows what?” Bobby screamed. “We now know there are PREDATORS out there that want to eat us!”Stacey rubbed her temples, “Screaming about it won’t do anything. Let’s take a few minutes to ourselves and come back down to earth.”“Check! Already done. What next?” Bobby said sarcastically.PJ stepped in front of him, “Hey! She’s right. We need to just, breathe for a second. Collect our bearings and not panic! And most of all, we have to stay together.”At that, Max noticed an absent member, “Oh shit, speaking of, you guys stay here. I’ll get Brad. We need all the brain power we can get, no matter how conceited.”The rest agreed and sunk down on some cold rocks, huddled together. Stacey allowed herself to cry and Bobby just hung his head, lost in thought. PJ was focused on comforting his girlfriend. He had a feeling they’d be in for a rough trip. Max followed the snowy footsteps towards a stream. There, he saw Bradley’s figure huddled and shaking. No matter how badly he made his blood boil, they were all in the same boat now. Max sat next to him and looked at the stream.“You alright?” he asked.“What’s it to you?” Bradley snapped.“Well I don’t exactly want to drag a body around the forest now do I?”Scoffing, Bradley wiped away his eyes, “Shut up and leave me alone.”“No can do. The worst advice in these situations is to split up. Haven’t you seen a single horror movie?”“Oh what, Jason is just gonna pop out of the woods with a hacksaw?”Max shrugged, “Nah, but a killer mountain lion would be equally as scary.”Bradley shuddered but didn’t respond. Max took notice of his lack of warm clothing.“Aren’t you cold?” he asked. “You’ll definitely need a coat.”“I only had a jacket packed. Didn’t really expect to fall down a cliff in the mountains you know?”Max stared at him before shedding his own coat and passing it to Bradley, who slapped on a dumbfound expression.“Wh-But- this-““I’ve got another in the van. Hypothermia would be a bitch to deal with anyway.”The coat was gratefully tugged on, “Thanks. Why’re you here though? Honestly?”Leaning to toss some loose rocks in the stream, Max avoided eye contact, “Well, staying with the group is the most important thing. But also, you didn’t seem to be doing to well in the beginning. Figured if anyone was going to snap first it’d be you.”“Rude.”“Pot, meet kettle!”Bradley slapped his shoulder, “Can it.”Max laughed and crossed his arms to his chest for warmth. “I get it though, you really wanna see your dad. Guess you miss him huh?”At that, Bradley’s face fell and all humor fell apart. Max quickly realized he struck a nerve as his question was dismissed.“We should head back.”“Wait-““Come on Goof. With the group right?”“You don’t want to talk about your dad? Do you guys not get along?”“We do just fine. None of your business.”Bradley began to walk away, but Max pushed, “Come on, you don’t want to get it off your chest? Let's be honest, we’re gonna be stuck together for awhile so we might as well let some trust run through. Does he scare you?”“Why are you so pushy? Leave it alone!”“Ah he does.”“Damn it Max, I’m serious stop. I don’t want to talk about my father. He’s not going to be much longer anyway. Not after your friend drove us off the cliff.”His brows furrowed, “Hey what’s that supposed to mean?”“No more van, no more rules right? I’m calling your friend an idiot Goof.”Grossly defensive, Max pushed Bradley up against a tree, knocking the wind out of him. “Don’t you dare even start Uppercrust. Okay sure, I shouldn’t have invaded you like that, but that gives you no right to come at my friend for an uncontrollable accident. It wasn’t his fault and you know that. Don’t you dare take your anger out on them!” he snarled.Damn. He was strong. Bradley’s face flushed ever so slightly from such a protective posture. He sighed and gently lowered himself to the ground. What would he gain from fighting? He was exhausted enough as it was. He covered a hand over his eyes and slowly drug it through his hair. Max towered over him, anxiously awaiting his next move.“I’m sorry.” Bradley said. “You’re right. The only one at fault was that stupid cat.”“Hm.”“I shouldn’t have gotten so angry. I just, I don’t know.”Max slid down beside him. “Why do you?”“Why do I what?”“Get so angry? I know at first it was a little rivalry, but then it just kept on going.”Bradley sighed, “I don’t know if its anger or defense to be honest.”Trying again, “Okay, why are you so defensive?”“Why are you so persistent.”“Touche.”They sat in the quiet, listening to the sounds of the cold wind brush past them. Max shivered, and at that, Bradley stood up.“Well, come on. Let's go get that other coat of yours before I have to carry you.”He held out a hand to help Max to his feet. His hand was warm.“I’d be doomed then bean pole.”“Hey!”Casual and playfully bickering, they made their way back to the van where everyone had seemed to fully settle into the fact that they were stranded in unfamiliar wilderness with no guide.“Found him!”“Oh good, we were starting to worry!” PJ admitted, getting up to hug Max. “Do you have a plan at all? Because I’ll be honest, we’re all a little clueless.”Ha! So was Max, “First I’m gonna get my other coat. I’m freezing my ass off. Anyone have any ideas?”If it weren’t so cold, a cricket would have been singing. Bradley, though nervous, spoke up, “The stream over there is travelling downwards, right? And we all felt the temperature change as we increased altitude, so if we just make our way down following the stream, we’ll at least be able to A: breathe, and B: find a road or some kind of town.”“Are you kidding?” Bobby cried, “With these lions running around, I’d rather stay here and rot.”“Slower death but okay.”It was silent for a heartbeat, but Stacey had to agree, “If we stay here, we will catch our death faster than we fell to it. I say we pack our light necessities and start walking.”Max rejoined the group’s conversation, “Yeah, it’s going to get even colder at night. Plus, we don’t know what the forecast is.”“I hate to agree with you guys, but I took a meteorology elective in high school. Snowstorms are more likely the higher the altitude, and it depends on how warm the air is on the ground.” PJ added.Bobby looked around, outnumbered four to one. He threw his hands up and started marching towards the van, “Ugh, I can’t believe this bullshit.”While he continued to murmur to himself, the rest gathered what they could each member sharing the load. The first aid kits with their toiletries, bottles of water with their food and snacks, and camping gear which consisted of a cheap tent that barely fit four people and some branch rope. Once everything they needed was settled on their backs, they all began their long descent down the mountain, praying the stream would lead them in the right direction.No one talked much during the trek. They were all too tired and panting with the lack of oxygen in the air. All they were going to do was keep going until nightfall. And that’s just what they did. Determination mixed with desperation made them want to continue, but it was evident that rest was going to get them there faster. As Bobby filtered more water from the stream they were following, PJ and Max set up the tent while Stacey and Bradley hung the food to avoid any predators that might draw. They all shared in some fruit snacks and protein bars inside the cramped tent as the night air drew in and blew inside the cracks from the poor design.“I should have ordered a tent online.” PJ groaned. Stacey could only pet his hair.“It’s alright Peej, besides, we’re all gonna need to snuggle up to stay warm anyway. I swear this mountain got colder as we went down.”“It’s called nighttime Max.” Bradley said.Max playfully mocked his words and earned a small punch on the shoulder. Bobby pulled out a lighter and a joint he saved from the crash because duh.“Who wants to hotbox?” he asked.“Would we have a choice?” Bradley asked.Bobby nodded, “If you don’t want to I won’t smoke it amigo. I respect the word of the DARE lion.”Bradley shook his head, “I don’t care. Go for it.”After getting consent from his other tentmates, Bobby lit up the greens and gently exhaled. “Woah man, this tastes great!” he said, passing it to PJ.From PJ, to Stacey, to Max, and finally Bradley (who shocked everyone with how easy he smoked), the rotation went around and within five minutes, the effects of the cannabis hit the group pretty fast. The potency was no different than when they would regularly smoke, but due to their exertion, it hit them quick. Being surrounded by the smoke in the tent didn’t really help their oxygen either. The marijuana definitely grounded everyone, PJ and Stacey were in a weird Shakespearean sounding conversation, and Bobby was trying to count the microscopic squares in the tent threading. Max was engrossed in Bradley’s shoelaces. They were like, worms. But, laced. Laced worms. He said just as much.Bradley on the other hand, didn’t focus on anything. His mind was finally blank. And it felt good, he hadn’t had a good joint in a long time. Most of his source had come from the dispensary which always left him with a weird bulbous headache and nausea. Not to mention the god-awful spins. He was free to let his mind wander aimlessly in nothing. Not even the laughter or prodding of Max’s fingers on his shoes would deter him from it.*A couple hours after smoking, everyone’s high and exhaustion caught up with them and they began to turn in. Sleeping was uncomfortable. Max even felt the heat from the hotbox get to him as he tried not to toss. His body was begging for sleep, but for some reason he just couldn’t do it. He sighed and cautiously stumbled out of the tent into the cold where it would peacefully shock him to his senses. The crisp air of the night felt almost perfect, that he didn’t need a jacket. There were no clouds, the moon shown blue, and in the mix of the mountain’s landscape it was a gorgeous sight. He wished his eyeballs would somehow take a polaroid for him.“It’s pretty huh?”Max turned in surprise to see Bradley standing beside him. He didn’t even hear his footsteps.“Yeah, it is.”“Aren’t you cold?”“Nah, it feels great right now.”“Yeah, there’s no wind so I’m sure that helps.”“Mhm.”The two watched in silence, Bradley’s gaze flickering down towards Max on more than one occasion. He sighed and held a nervous hand against the back of his neck.“Can I talk to you actually?” he asked.“Sure man, that’s chill. What’s up?” he set himself on a rock near the stream and Bradley followed.“I just, I don’t know. It might be the weed talking, it might be the panic of dying with loose ends, but I just wanted to give you a proper apology for how I was when we met. And uh, fuck. Sorry, I guess you can tell I don’t do this often huh?”Max laughed, “Take your time its alright.”“Yeah, well. I know I owe everyone in there their own apology, but I wanted you to hear it first. I just sucked. I still do. But I am sorry about it.”One quick look at his eyes and Max knew he was being sincere. He smiled. “Thanks Brad. It means a lot.”The other cringed, “Please, don’t call me Brad. I really don’t like it.”“Oh, okay, is it cool if I ask why?”Bradley looked at the stream, his face despondent though he radiated a nonchalant aura. “That’s my dad’s nickname.”Max nodded despite not fully understanding. He was so curious; Bradley seemed like he was a feral cat that needed coaxed with time and food.
“Well, since we’re good now, if you want to talk about it, I won’t say a word.”Bradley looked at Max, face full of true sincerity. Could he really trust it?“Thank you Max.”“Anytime Bradley really. You’re welcome over to our little group. We’re not really much but we’re pretty chill.”Bradley stood up, wiping snow off his pants, “I think your group has more than enough, but I appreciate the offer.”“Whatever you say. You going in?”“Yeah, I couldn’t sleep so I came out here, but now I’m tired again so I’m gonna try to rest a little more.”“I’ll be in soon.”“Alright. Night.”“Night!”The two parted ways and Max looked up at the stars. His eyes held a foreign emotion and curiosity over the events that had transpired. He smiled and drew a couple of shapes and images in the snow, brushing them clean before he went back in. Bradley had left a crack in the tent flap open so the smoke would air out. It was so much better than what it was that Max found himself drifting off, back-to-back against the one and only Uppercrust.Dreamland didn’t last long. What seemed like an endless sleep also seemed like the blink of an eye. PJ was the first to wake up, and they all agreed early on that whoever woke up first would also get everyone moving. PJ gently aroused Stacey, then shook the rest of the crew. Bradley struggled to get his legs free from Max’s tight grip, he was using them as a pillow, and Bobby kicked himself awake.“Good morning sleeping beauties!” Stacey cheerfully said, “Are we ready to hike our lives away in this snowy escape?”“Ugh, why are you so happy?” Bradley asked.“Aw, because my dear glass half empty narcissist, I want to be in a good mood. Hop to! Let's eat and then leave.”Everyone slowly brought themselves out of their comatose state, packing up their supplies and eating more protein bars and applesauce. Frankly, they all wanted to throw the protein bars over a cliff, but then, starvation didn’t seem like a better option.“Any idea how far we might be?” Bobby wondered.Max shook his head, “There’s too many trees to tell. Do any of you remember a town or something nearby?”No one had. No one had been able to locate a map, phones still had no service. They continued down the stream's pathway. The air was starting to become a little better, no one felt like their lungs were going cry anymore so that was one good thing about it all. Bobby even pulled out his trumpet and began to play.“Why do you have that?” Stacey asked.“We smoked all the weed, gotta entertain somehow!”He continued to blow on his instrument, disrupting the quiet that Bradley so enjoyed. It was beginning to scratch his ears in the worst, most overstimulating way.“Ugh, knock it off Blues Clues.” He grumbled.“Hey! That’s a good jazz name, too bad copyright exists.” He continued to play.“Least Blue had a Clue,” Stacey piped up, “you’re terrible playing is giving us all air sickness. Practice when we’re not on the brink of death?” she asked.Bobby ignored everyone and continued to play before Bradley shoved some snow into his trumpet horn.“Gasp! How awful! I’ll show ya, no good snotty too good for music Uppercrust!” Bobby blew his trumpet so hard and blasted Bradley right back in the face with the snow he had packed.Everyone stood stock still, Bradley slowly wiped his face of the cold snow before giving an evil grin.“I’m gonna make you eat that Ginger.”He picked up a chunk of snow and hurled it back at Bobby’s face. Trying to suppress their giggles at his misfortune, Bobby tried to return fire, but Bradley ducked behind Max who was the new victim.“Wow. Okay, I see how it is! Wanna play? Let’s play.”That’s how their snowball fight started. Max hitting Bobby, Bobby hitting Stacey, PJ hitting Max, Bradley hitting everyone he possibly could. They all ran around down the mountain, around each other, lost in their game. When was the last time any of them had a snowball fight? It wasn’t recent, that much was known. Stacey had the best aim out of all of them, and when she hit Max square in the face, he stumbled against Bradley who slipped on some ice and fell into the deep snow.“Sorry man!” he said, leaning on top of him.Bradley stared up at him, the snow sparkling in his black hair shone bright with the sun. It was beautiful to say the least. Max got up from the ground and pulled Bradley to his feet, “You good?” he asked, smile glazed with warmth.“Yeah,” Bradley said, “I am.”When the snowball fight died down and everyone caught their breaths, the journey was continued, without the activity of Bobby’s trumpet. Following the stream only got them so far. Sometimes, mountains have small caverns embedded inside them, and sometimes, they poke out. With the stream guiding the group, the disappointment shown on everyone’s face when they found that the water supply they were following turned to flow into the opening. Five pairs of eyes stared holes into the darkness of it. It had to be nearly noon by now given how the sun was rising, and everyone decided to take a break and have some last moments with their only source of direction.“Well, anyone have any ideas?” PJ asked.Max looked around. The cavern that consumed the stream was only a couple feet taller than him. If he climbed to its top, he might be able to get a view of their landscape. Bradley shut down the idea.“We’re still on literal thin ice. If one of us trips and falls, that’s it! Do you see how far of a tumble it is?”“Yeah.”“So don’t do it!”“Pfft.” Max stuck out his tongue. “You got any better ideas right now?”Unfortunately, Bradley didn’t, and the face he wore said as much. Max smiled at that, and despite the protests, was able to shimmy his way up on the rock and peer out as best he could. He scanned and squinted hard for any signs of life but came up short.“Anything?” Bobby called.“No, just more stupid green tre-FUCK!”“Max!”Max had turned to answer Bobby, and that turn was what sent him reeling downhill. He slammed against trees, rocks, sticks, shrubbery, but all of that was too slick to stop his descent. He rolled down for what felt like ages, and when he stopped on his side, he was too beaten to immediately move. He could hear everyone scurry to his aid, maybe the fall wasn’t that far? Hands touched his body, one moved his shoulder, and he hissed, flinching away from pain.“Fuck I’m sorry. Can you look at me? Look at me Max.”Max groaned but sat up and looked into Bradley’s eyes.“Follow my finger, don’t move your head.”Up, down, side to side. He was good there. No damage was done to his head.“Okay, move your legs like you’re on a bike.”He did.“Good, okay, now don’t let my hands push your feet. Give me some resistance and wiggle your toes.”He did. Bradley repeated the same thing with Max’s hands and arms, but when it came to his shoulder, he noticed that it had a large gash in it given the blood soaking through his shirt, but thankfully, there were no signs of dislocation.“I know its cold but take off your shirt.”“Jeez take me to dinner first.”“Now Max!”“Alright alright!”Just as the others finally made it down, they saw Bradley helping their friend out of his garments. Max had worn a black undershirt, and when removing it, Bradley saw another large gash in the forearm. He tensed his jaw.“Max! Are you okay?” they asked, flocking over like mother hens and fretting.He shooed them away, “I’m fine. Just scratched and bruised a little.”“A little? You call this deep gash in your shoulder a little scratch?” Everyone fixed to see where Bradley was referencing and true to his word, there was a three inch deep cut that was oozing blood. “Whoever has the first aid kit, give it to me.”Max poked his cheek, “Say please.”“You could literally die from this, shut the fuck up.”“Its, shut the fuck up, please.”“Insufferable. You’re insufferable.”PJ handed over the kit and Bradley yanked it open. He found the tourniquet and quickly fastened it tight between the shoulder wound and his clavicle. He grabbed some cotton balls and stuffed him them into the wound, tightly wrapping it with gauze and sports wrap and continued to do the same with his forearm, murmuring small apologies when Max made any indication of pain due to his actions. Once he secured his work with a makeshift sling, he stepped back and flicked Max on the nose.“What were you thinking you idiot!” he screamed.“Thought I could see a town from there.”“And did you?”“Well, no.”“Yeah. Get up. We have to keep moving.”
Max groaned, “Can’t I just lay here for a little bit?”“Are you dizzy?”“No.”“Then no.”Max rolled his eyes and moved to stand up, however, he went too fast, and his vision blurred. Was it blood loss? Was it low iron from the college diet? Anyone’s guess really. Bradley and PJ steadied him and eased him back to the ground. With a huff, Bradley agreed to let Max rest while he elevated his feet on a stump. As the rest began to chastise their friend for his stupid choices, the adrenaline Bradley had been running on was fading. He looked at Max with worry in his eyes, this was a serious issue. God damn it all, he had his father to worry about, his life to worry about, and now this idiot’s life as well. He bit his tongue, trying not to lash out. He followed some breathing exercises, steadying his whirling emotions as he staved off a panic attack. After five minutes of focus and brooding, he stood up and lowered Max’s legs to the ground. Max needed medical attention, and they weren’t going to find it stranded in the woods.“Come on, you need a hospital like, now. We have to move.” He said, forcing a calm persona to mask.With the help of the others, Max was slowly lifted up off the ground and assisted in walking by Bradley so he could check his pulse every so often. They slowly hiked about a mile downhill before the group questioned the medical know-how Bradley had demonstrated.
“When did you learn to do that?” Bobby asked.“Do what?”“First aid like that. The way you jumped to his rescue like he’s a damsel in distress and you’re the hero doctor.”Rolling his eyes, Bradley ignored them, but Max argued, “I’m no damsel! I took that fall like a champ! You would have been crying!”“Uh, yeah. I have a low pain tolerance!”Max didn’t respond, the excitement from earlier was slowly ebbing away and allowing his brain to process the searing pain in his wounds and the ache where the torniquet was held.“I think that’s one thought I have to side with Bobby on, where did you learn first aid like that?”Max felt Bradley’s grip on him tense but didn’t have the energy to concern himself with it just yet, “Just something I was made to learn.” He said.“Yeah, but where? That was like, really cool. I didn’t think you’d ever do something like that.” PJ cheered. “We only had a boring health class in high school.”The praise from the group that had been his enemies at one point felt like a sharp knife cutting into a sweet cake. It seared something warm into his heart, but the memory of a summer long military school blocked it. He ignored the voices of the combat medic trainers talking down to him when he messed up on wound pressure.“Just a summer program. Nothing special.”Max looked up at Bradley, “I don’t know man, seemed pretty special. I don’t think I could ever spell turtleneck kit.”“Tourniquet. T – O – U – R – N – I – Q – U – E
- T.”Bobby strutted around waving his hands to his hips mockingly, “Oh I’m Bradley and I know big words with big letters!”Stacey threw a pinecone at his head.The next two miles were slower. Near the end of it, Max moaned, and he held a firm grip onto his coat that Bradley was wearing. He felt sore all over and despite the cold, he was beginning to sweat. Taking notice, everyone fell quiet in the shared desperation that was felt in getting their friend some painkillers as well as finding a way out of the never-ending forest. The late afternoon sun was beginning to become clouded over. All Bradley could do was monitor Max and pray for some quick escape. The sooner the better. He couldn’t deal with this anymore, he wanted to break so bad. His constant anxiety regarding his father and that meeting were in a loop of paranoid (but not unrealistic) fears and trepidations. He focused each foot in front of the other. Unfortunately, that could only take him so far. Max was beginning to grow exhausted. Bradley felt the grip on his arm tighten and Max let out a breathy, “I need a break.”They needed to keep going, but those eyes screamed for rest. Fighting his internal conflict, knowing he wouldn’t be allowed to push him, he decided that they could all use a break. He set Max down against a tree and stretched his back. Everyone set down beside him and Max rested his head on Stacey’s shoulder. Bradley sat across from them, jumping his leg up and down and trying to keep himself from picking the chapped skin on his lips. He was racking his brain trying to think. What could they do? How far down was this mountain? Why was he stuck here like this? Why did this have to happen during one of the most important trips of his life?As Max rested, he dazedly looked around the scene before him, mostly focusing on Bradley’s shoes. One of them was jittering up and down so bad that it nearly gave him anxiety. He peered at Bradley.“You good man? You seem antsy.”Bradley stopped bouncing his leg and let out a huff of air, “I’m fine. I’m just thinking about a way out of here.”“It’s like that Mazerunner movie.” Bobby offered.“Um, disrespectfully no.” PJ shot back.“I never saw it.” Bradley said.Those words would cause him to regret the next five minutes of listening to Bobby’s ramblings about the movie. Bradley eventually tuned out, eyes settling on Max’s breathing. Slow, steady. Rationally, he was probably fine and his immune system was just trying to keep up despite all the stress that was going on. It was an odd type of quiet when Max was present and not talking, laughing, or setting a comfortable silence. Bradley bit the inside of his cheek.“- and the actor? Don’t even get me started on him!”There was the snap of a twig and a rustle behind Bradley. A few surprised curses were heard before they ceased any noise. He shot up and turned around, grabbing a stick off the ground, ready to defend himself from whatever loomed in the brush. Moans and groans could be heard, and everyone was now on high alert. Bobby supported Max in a standing position while PJ and Stacey joined Bradley on surveying the scene with bated breath. Suddenly, a hand shot out of the trees and everyone screamed.“I told you Greg it was a huge bull! Oh…hello.”Wide eyes with gaping mouths answered. Before them, stood a little elderly lady, roughly seventy to eighty years old with a large hiking backpack and walking stick. A man pushed past the bush to join the woman.“Well what do we have here? Nothing I’ve seen in a good while.”“You kids are hiking the Everglade trail with just that junk?” the lady squinted, adjusting her glasses.“Uh- what.” Bobby asked.“Yeah, that sure isn’t a smart way to go, but I remember when I first started out as a young buck. Bright and shining ignorant eyes! You going up or down?” the man, Greg apparently, had asked.“People.” Bradley whispered. He slowly smiled in a crazed fashion and nearly began crying tears of relief, “Oh my god you’re people!” he said.The couple looked at Bradley as if he had grown a new head. “Greg honey, is this one of those ‘snow cone’ people Darla talks about?”PJ immediately shoved the implied coke addict away and began to explain the situation, “Sorry, we’re just shocked is all. We’ve been trying to walk all the way down the mountain, but we have no clue where we are. We were travelling through, and a mountain lion came out, we slid on some ice and our van fell. We’ve been trying to find a way to some road get some help, our friend is injured and, I’m sorry but could you please help us?”Out of breath, PJ stepped back and awaited their reactions. Concern written all over their faces, the woman went over to Max and began to check his wounds with the tender care of a mother, but firmness of a grandmother.“Oh my goodness, you poor dear what happened?” she asked, placing a cold hand on his forehead.“Fell.”Greg shook his head, “Gosh kids you’ve been put through the wringer quite a few times huh? Well don’t worry, I said it earlier, but we’re on the Everglades trail right now. A few yards that a way behind us and there’s a map, but we’ll lead you kids out of here in no time. It’s not far to the Ranger’s cabin, we’ll call someone up to help you and drive you back to town. My name is Gregory Jackler and this is my wife, Sophia Jackler. We hike these mountains every couple of weeks so we know this trail like the back of our hands.”“Come on honey, let’s get you up and moving now, chop chop!”Bradley and Sophia ushered Max to his feet and Bradley resumed helping him walk while the rest of the gang quickly grabbed their stuff and followed the old couple as they led the way out.“I know you kids crashed, but how did you end up all the way down here from the road?” Sophia asked.“We thought following the stream down the mountain would bring us to some sort of town.” Bobby answered.Greg laughed but looked at the group with pure sympathy, “Oh no you poor kids, the road going out of the mountain has the Cardelta stream right below it. The way these mountains formed; the stream eroded a pathway that nearly spirals. Basically, it was going to have you walking around instead of down. If you had gone straight down, you would have hit our little town where that stream eventually flows into.”Stacey slapped a hand on her head, “Are you kidding me?” she groaned.“Greg is right regarding this mountain, but you kids had the right idea. Following the water is the best thing you can do when you’re lost. Oh! Speaking of lost, what are your names?”“My name is PJ and this is my girlfriend, Stacey.”Stacey waved.“Bradley, and this idiot is Max.” Bradley gestured his head to Max who was heavily leaning on him with his good shoulder, he smiled with a half wave at Sophia.“Nice to meet you all, and what about you sweetie?”“Oh, my names Bobby, and let me tell you I’m so glad we ran into you.”She laughed, “Be glad your friend saved you half a trip by taking a tumble. Talk about taking one for the team huh?”The little joke was enough to make Max giggle a little bit and the mood’s tension relaxed significantly. The couple seemed incredibly knowledgeable, and despite the surprising introduction, they all took comfort in knowing the burden of survival wasn’t on their shoulders.“The boys and I truly are grateful for you ma’am,” Stacey began, “I have to know, how did you two get into hiking such a place? This terrain is…well…-““Too much for old croons?” Sophia had a teasing twinkle in her eyes.“Speak for yourself doll! Soph and I used to hate nature. Too many bugs, predators, and the weird sludge in the water didn’t look appetizing.”“We actually went to the gym quite a lot, but for a little lady most people didn’t see that as something to be proud of. It was the 30s after all.”Greg nodded, “We met when I bet against her in a deadlift competition. She beat me by fifty pounds and I was hooked ever since. It was fun to be carried across the threshold.”Entranced by their story, the aggravation of walking seemed to fade as the couple told their story.“He’s such a teller!” Sophia laughed, “He’ll catch a guppy and tell you its trout.”“That’s a different story and one we agreed to keep to ourselves!”Sophia laughed but cleared her throat to continue, “Anyways, we kept going to the gym even after we had children because we loved the routine and companionship it brought us. But then I fell on my back.”“Actually it was Darla’s train toys.”“Oh yeah it was! I tripped and fell on my daughter’s toy and the way I landed broke my back. I was immobile for two months. Of course, when you don’t move, you atrophy. You kids know what that means?”“The loss of muscle tissue.” Bradley answered.“Exactly. Greg here was so patient, handled me and the kids like a nanny on top of his own job at the electric company. When I healed, I wasn’t the same and the doctor’s advised me that I don’t do any more heavy lifting, that my injury was permanent.”Greg ruffled his wife’s head, “You should have seen her, she was a real spitfire about it. I caught her trying to squat our kids once.”“That was the only gym I had!”“I would have probably done the same.” He said.“Probably? You tied an oily car rag around your ankle when you scrapped it on the boat in a lake!”Everyone else stared at Greg in shock.“Hey! Bacteria was a new concept! Besides, I got it back to one hundred percent, unlike someone’s gelatin spine.”Sophia hit him with her walking stick. “Quiet you, I’m finishing the story! Greg went to the gym once without me and said he hated it. He canceled his membership the next day and stayed with me while I was bedridden. When I was able to function normally again, the doctor suggested walking to build up my strength again. And since I couldn’t go to the gym anymore, I decided to try my hand at hiking.”“You mean your foot. Try your foot at hiking.”“Can it Gregory.”He laughed, “I went with her to hike and we had no clue what we were doing, what we should bring, how we should handle different scenarios, etcetera etcetera. Eventually we learned along the way and fell in love with nature in the process. Kept at it ever since.”Seeing such a pure love made everyone’s hearts swell. Even Bradley. Never seeing marriage as anything more than a financial gain, he admired how beautiful two people could make something so trivial seem so necessary. Greg proudly called Sophia his wife, and that made Bradley smile mournfully at the future he’d probably never have.“Man I want a marriage like yours.” Max said.“Ah you’re still alive!” Greg joked.“It’s a lot of work!” Sophia started, “But if something doesn’t fit, you make it!”PJ held Stacey’s hand a little tighter, “How did you guys make your marriage last?”Greg smiled at his wife as she pulled some brush back for everyone to walk through, “Well, there’s no real secret to making love work out. If you love each other, truly, then you’ll do everything you can to respect your partner, care for them, treasure them like they are the only item in the world. Cuz they are! Ain’t no one like my Soph, ain’t no one like your Stace!”“Exactly, when we got married, the first few months had no fights, we were all smiles and giggles. That didn’t last long. Remember the plate honey?”Greg tilted his head trying to remember, “Oh yeah! The antique duckling plate! Oh boy howdy I sure messed that one up!”“We had this beautiful plate with a family of mallards painted on it. It wasn’t meant to be eaten off of, my mother had passed it down to me. Dumbo here washed it like it was from the diner!”“I didn’t know!”“We spat on and on at each other. It went on for months after that, we just kept fighting and fighting and there seemed to be no end. Divorce was a fairly new idea, but if you got a divorce you weren’t seen as a fit partner no matter what.”“What’d you guys do?” Bobby asked.“We sat ourselves down one day and decided enough was enough. We love each other, why keep hurting each other? I learned to recognize her feelings and viewpoints; she did the same for me. We told each other that we loved each other, and we wanted to stop fighting, so we did. Now that doesn’t mean we never fought again, but we learned that arguing for the sake of arguing wouldn’t go nowhere. Kids these days have one argument and that’s it, they breakup.” Greg shook his head.“By the way kids,” Sophia added, “this isn’t in tandem with abuse. Emotional or physical. If someone who tells you they love you and doesn’t do a thing to prove it, isn’t willing to make a small sacrifice once in a while, that’s not a healthy person.”Greg moved Sophia’s walking stick to her right hand so he could hold her left as they guided to group towards the cabin. Casual conversations, stories from the old couple, and little facts here and there about nature were what filled the space. Max appreciated all of it. Hearing the couple’s wise words, his heart swelled with new devotion and admiration to something he wasn’t yet aware of. Life? Love? Who knew. Despite the raging throb in his arm, Max took comfort in the view of the snow, the green trees, the twittering of birds above him that Greg would name by their call. Most of all, he relished in the warmth of Bradley’s body and the lingering smell of cedar and pine that he had on, and the lingering emotion of the couple’s trials and tribulations.Finally, after walking around the mountain, from the van, falling from high rock, the group finally made it to the ranger’s cabin. There, Sophia and Greg dialed for service and explained the situation to the officers. After taking some information, the ranger gave the couple a passcode to a breakroom area that had coffee supplies, snacks, and a heater.“Dig in kiddos! Y’all still growin’ you know.” Greg opened the pantry door.
Food. Food that they didn’t have to ration! Bradley set Max down on the sofa, and moved to get some food with everyone else. Max went to get up but Bradley pushed him back down.“Stay.” He said. “What do you want?”“Get me a peanut one.”Food in everyone’s hands, they all settled in the cozy furniture (albeit a little dusty) and waited. Greg brewed some coffee and skillfully poured his wife a cup, his hand knowing the exact measurements to get it just the way she liked. When he finished his cup, he sat down beside her and eyed Max.“So how long you boys been together?” he asked.Max stuttered, was he losing too much blood? Did he hear him right? “Um, sorry I don’t think I caught that?”Bradley threw the peanut protein bar at his head, “Ha! Got that right!”A mild glare but Max tore into the snack. Greg maneuvered his question to Bradley, “I was askin’ how long y’all been together.”Bradley was quick to defend, “Oh no no, we’re not like that.” He said, putting distance between himself and Max.“Shut up, you totally wanna bone like a dog.” Bobby teased.Max groaned, “Oh my God Bobby!” he began to laugh, “I’m not even his type.”“As if you would know.”“Like you’d go for poor.”Sophia and Greg were holding back giggles like two kids in school misbehaving. The two looked over with curiosity.“What’s so funny?” Max asked them.Sophia wiped her eyes, “Oh nothing sweetie, you two just remind us so much of when we were younger. We used to bicker back and forth all the time.”“Used to?”“Whatever. You’d make a unique pair, like blue and red.” She said.Not knowing what she was getting at, the boys left them to their conversation as they reminisced with Bobby and Stacey. Max grew entirely too aware of the heat that Bradley was radiating, his gaze turned away and body on the other cushion. Max assessed how he felt, he didn’t know. Bradley was attractive, no doubt about that, and sexuality wasn’t an issue. He was secure. But him and Bradley? Impossible. Besides, all Bradley had were chicks lined up left and right. It was a fleeting thought, almost intrusive. The most he could ever get out of this trip was a distant friendship. Bradley would go off to his father’s home and the gang would return to their trip (if they still wanted to hike) and separate ways would be forced on them. Swallowing a particularly dry part of a peanut almost covered up the slight clench in his chest at the thought.It took a couple of hours for park rangers to show up at the cabin. It took a lot of time to get the legalities sorted out when it came to retrieving Bobby’s van, but once the ranger’s had the information they needed, they packed the group up in the squad cars and drove down the mountain. Bradley stared out into space at the nature that passed by. Him with Max. He had to admit, he was letting himself dwell on the thought. The comment that they could ever possibly be a match. He knew he liked guys, he also knew that if his dad caught wind he’d beat him senseless. He clenched his eyes shut as he kept his head facing outside the window. He shook himself out of his fog, but what replaced its haze was the man sitting beside him. The man that was implied to be his partner. He forced his thoughts to follow elsewhere.He was tired.Arriving at the hospital first thing, Bradley was made to stay with Max to cover the medical aspect of his first aid and the situation while the rest of the group left with one of the rangers to further go over details of the crash. Sitting in the uncomfortable chairs in the hospital room, Bradley ran a hand through his hair and sighed.“What stick is up your ass now?”“I’m just tired, shut it.”“Sure thing babe.”Bradley flushed, his surprise easily written on his face, “Excuse me?”Max laughed, “They were a really nice couple weren’t they? So sweet. I wanna find a love like that.”“Yeah, don’t we all.”An awkward silence filled the room, the sound of the vitals machine being the only grounding sense Bradley had.“Does gay-ness bother you?”Bradley shook his head, “Nah. Romance wasn’t really something I was allowed to have paid attention to.”“Really? You got all those girls lining up to see you though?”Bradley gave a dry laugh, “More for show than anything.”“Mm.”“God can’t these people hurry up?” Bradley impatiently asked the air.“Come on man, they’re busy. I’d rather they save someone crashing than fuss over me.”With a sigh, Bradley sat down and tried to get service on his phone. No use. WIFI systems were blocked in critical care rooms. In some weird way, a part of him was grateful. He was terrified of what was going to happen to him when he heard his father’s voice again. He instead focused his attention on the other and watched Max as he fell asleep from the drugs the doctors had pumped into his system. Lucky. He didn’t have to worry about money, sex, fame, image or anything like that. Bradley bit his lip hard enough to bruise the skin. He was envious of Max, but also glad in some weird way that he didn’t go through what he had. His family wasn’t meant to love or have genuine interests that weren’t in benefit some way. Bradley closed his eyes and let his head fall back against the wall, listening the steady rhythmic sounds of the vitals machine. If it wasn’t so uncomfortable, he could have slept there, but alas, it was. The metal of the chair and awkward placement of the cushions that forced his posture to become stiff annoyed him to no end. What he’d give to be in a nice warm bed right now. What he’d give for a nice hot drink. What he’d give to feel warmth inside, a warmth that wasn’t only for survival or comfort. He sighed and waited for the discharge paperwork, watching the vitals on the machine going up and down, staying within their normal range and Max took his nap. Bradley began to come up with ways he could get away with being so late. One would think a car wreck down a mountain would be enough. Whoever would think that would also be forgetting that he was an Uppercrust.Max was discharged with sixteen stitches and a few days supply of antibiotics. Since he was an adult, he chose not to contact Goofy about the incident, what could be done really? The old couple that saved them all were able to secure a discounted room (senior benefits) at a hotel until the van was fixed (also senior benefits) and bought everyone dinner (using senior benefits) much to the gratitude of the dirt poor college kids minus Bradley. They were such a sweet set of people, and were thanked handsomely with hugs and kisses and the tears of graciousness mixed with melancholy that this would more than likely be the last time they saw the tender grandmother and the steady strong hand-on-the-shoulder grandfather. After dropping them off at the hotel, the couple waved goodbye and made their way towards the taxi station where they were quickly spotted and sped off into the cool night. Stacey wiped her teary eyes and closed the curtains.“Oh my god, they were amazing! I don’t know if there’s a heaven, but if for any omnipotent and immutable reason they aren’t on St. Peter’s list, then I will gladly give up my spot.” She said.Humming in agreement, everyone decided it would be best to begin to turn in. Using the last remaining pair of clean clothes, everyone got ready for bed and began talks of their plans for the next day.“We don’t know when the van will be ready, so do you just wanna wander around tomorrow?” Bobby suggested.Bradley immediately countered, “No, we have to get a new road map and go wait for the van ourselves. Our presence there will put pressure on the mechanics to get it done faster.”“Hey, you remember the route you wanted to take to ‘get home faster’? How’d that go?” Max snapped.“Besides, if we did that they’d probably mess something up with my baby. I gotta make sure she’s perfect.”“Bobby-“ Bradley stopped himself. He needed to regulate. “Sorry, just, let me step out for a moment.”Shocked at the undeniable proof that he was capable of calming himself down, the four let him go.“What’s going on with him?” PJ asked Max.“How should I know?”“I mean, you two did get paired together by a couple of old people.”“Not helping Bobby.”Stacey sat on the bed next to PJ, “You two just seem a little closer than we are is all. His aura, his vibe, his chakras all are radiating ‘I’m scared and stressed’ so hard that we’re about to blow like Chernobyl.”Max held up his hands as a calming gesture, “All I know is he has a strained relationship with his dad.”Stacey rolled her eyes, “Duh, his entire goal has been to get to him and he avoids any topic regarding fathers. I just feel like there’s something more.”“Ooo are we playing psychic? Quick, what color am I thinking!”PJ threw a pillow at Bobby’s head getting him to shut up. “Its called being attentive.”“iTs CaLLeD bEiNg ATteNtIvE.” He mocked.Another pillow.The sounds of friendly laughter and banter didn’t miss Bradley’s ears. He was standing outside staring at his phone. He had reached the front office and got the wifi name and password. Now as he stared at the loaded screen, he was met with silence. Not one notification from his father. If his dates were correct, the meeting would be held in two days. He had two days to get from this place in a random town to his father’s home, quickly get ready and become presentable as if he didn’t have any near death experiences and roller coaster emotions.His hands hovered over the keyboard letters debating if he should write a message to him. Every time he began to type, his hands would shake and he’d resign to leaving the message bar blank.He’d kill for a drink right now.“No, Stacey, PJ, mercy!”Max’s voiced with no real danger in it flew to Bradley’s ears. Curiosity got the better of him and he went back inside where he saw them attacking each other with the hotel pillows. Before he could blink, one of the pillows slammed into his face, ruffling his hair with static. Eyes wide with surprise, he looked at Max who was giggling at Bradley’s misfortune. He bent down to pick up the pillow, a playful competitive gleam in his eyes.“Eat feather freshman!”“Ahhh!”Bradley grabbed the pillow with both hands and lunged onto Max, slapping his body with the plush. Stacey laughed and began to whack both of them while Bobby and PJ harnessed their focus on Max and began beating him.“Okay okay! White flag! I surrender!” he called.Everyone backed off, but Max grabbed a pillow and slammed it onto Bradley’s face again, beating him relentlessly. The game went on and Max eventually pinned Bradley on the bed with one of the pillows against his chest. The two were panting, winded from exertion of controlling such a floppy item and the laughter that accompanied. Willing his body to hide the furious blush on his face and the overly obvious position they were in, Bradley turned his face away with an awkward cough. Max laughed at it with a soft red hue of his own, he ruffled Bradley’s hair with the pillow causing it to stick up in all directions. Moments later, everyone was panting, hair was sticking out in all directions, and soft winded chuckles escaped at separate occasions between them all. Max was the first to sit up and wipe the humored tears from his eyes.“Oh lord I haven’t had a good pillow fight in years.” He said.“Same.”“Right?”“I’m gonna get changed I’ll be back.”Max got off the bed to grab the clothes bag and went into the bathroom. Stacey and Bobby sat up.“I didn’t expect such a performance from a walking twig.” Stacey teased.Bradley rolled his eyes, “As if you would know anything.”“Ah the troubled soul, yearning for semblance, destined for disparity.”“Shakespear wannabe.”She laughed and was about to bite back when Max exited the bathroom in nothing but jeans.“Hey I don’t have anything that’s kinda clean in here. Do either of you have a spare?” he asked.Bradley’s eyes would have fallen out of his head and rolled themselves all over Max’s body if they could. The boys helped look for a shirt while Stacey tried to see if she would have anything big enough. Bradley was focused on not drooling all over the bed.Fuck, he was gay.He caught Max’s eye who smiled and gave a wink. That seemed to snap him out of his lustful stupor and he cleared his throat, thinking about anything that would get rid of the impure thoughts and reddened cheeks.“I think I have one in my bag, one second.”Bradley took a moment to rummage through his belongings and was pleasantly surprised when he found a nice white dress shirt. He handed it to Max.“It’ll probably be a little tall on you, but it doesn’t look like there’s anything else.”“Thanks!”Max stepped back into the bathroom to finish changing while Bradley kept thinking about things that would push away his thoughts.Damn. Max was hot. He was probably gay. The two were not going to be a good mix if he kept this up. He looked up to see three pairs of eyes staring at him.“Bradley,” PJ began carefully, “has your heart been singing for Max?”And the red tint was back again. He might as well tattoo it on, “Pfft, no! Come on get real.”Oh but they were real. Stacey crossed her legs and arms, fixing a hard stare at Bradley.“Don’t play that with me,” she whispered, “you’re heart is thrumming to the sound of his drum and singing a long loud opera. I see you, you can’t hide that strong of a blush.”Bradley shook his head, “No no no, you’ve got it all wrong. What is that old saying about a assumptions hm? You make an ass out of you and me right?”“Preeety sure you did that yourself but y’know.” Bobby shrugged.“Ugh. I can’t.” he moved to sit on the bed with his phone.Stacey smiled and leaned over, “It appears to me you very much can” she teased, loving the power they all had in this situation.Bradley ran a tired hand down his face, “Shut up. You’re making me not want to give you guys apologies.”Bobby’s glasses dropped, “What?”“I meant to give each of you your own apologies for how I acted, but now I think I’ll just keep them to myself.” He smiled.“No come on!” PJ begged, “Lets hear it!”“No lets wait for Max to get back so he can have his.”“Already gave it to him Robert.”“No fair!”Bradley smiled but with all seriousness sat up and faced each one of the three. “I truly do mean it when I say I’m sorry. I was a complete dick overpowered by my competitiveness. In the end it only ruined me and I hurt you each of you or tried to. You’ve been more than helpful to me when I don’t deserve it and it was just something I wanted you to know.”Stacey thoughtfully hummed, “Well, I guess if you wanted our blessing for Max that would be a good way to start.”Bradley fell back on the bed. “I take it all back. My toes were crossed.”Max walked in to laughter and Bradley being the target, “What’d I miss?” he asked.“Nothing, just us embarrassing Moneybags here.”
Bradley turned his gaze over to Max and had to swallow his tongue in order to keep his mouth from falling open. He wore jeans and the much too large dress shirt with the top buttons refusing to stay open. If he were in short shorts…“Thanks for the shirt man! Its so soft guys feel it!”They all pet Max’s arm and relished in the velvety texture of the smooth fabric while Bradley tried hard not to slip into the impurest of thoughts.“I’m gonna take a shower!” he exclaimed.Acknowledging murmurs danced around his ears as he could feel them heating up. A cold shower would do nicely and that was just what he did. How dare his mind do that to him? In the most critical times of his life too? Chalking it up to stress and the need to relax a little, so a little jack off to what was his rival turned survival buddy should be no harm no foul. It’s a shame how in denial he was.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Morning light shone through the white curtains and beaming on each face. Despite the protests from their bodies, they all got up and went to sample the oriental breakfast. They hadn’t even spent ten minutes there before they were finished. Everyone had wolfed down the food, their bodies still coming down from survival mode.“So, the car isn’t gonna be ready until tomorrow morning, what do we wanna do today?” Bobby asked.Max shrugged, “Sight see?”“I did some digging last night, this place has a museum, a cute ice cream shop, a small aquarium where they attract tourists, and they’ve got a crafts store.” PJ stated, reading a list from his phone.“Makes sense, I mean, what else are you gonna do.” Max leaned back in his chair thinking. “Don’t they have a bunch of Ma and Pa shops around here?”PJ nodded.“Well why don’t we go then? Got nothing better to do other than wait.”Everyone agreed and with that, they cleaned up and walked out into the foreign town. Making a goal to stop at every ‘creative’ shop each one of them wanted to go to, the day was no longer boring. Spending no more than ten minutes in one area, the group easily hit each entertaining store by the time lunch had rolled around of which Bradley paid for with no complaint.“Oh my god did you see that gorgeous statue in the RinkyDink?” Max said, shoveling a few French fries into his mouth.PJ laughed, “It was just a cow statue Max.”“Uh no, she was gorgeous and her name was Benny.”Stacey cocked an eyebrow at him, “Where did it say her name?”“On the udders.”“Oh my god.”Rolling his eyes, Bradley tossed a fry to Max, “You’re a child you know that?”Max ate it with no complaints, “Oh? Well if I’m a kid and you’re an adult that means I’m in a stranger’s care with no idea where my dad is. What does that make you huh? Kidnapper.”“Weak.”“Exactly!”“No, ugh. Shut up.”Max chuckled and began to pick up everyone’s trash, stacking it in a neat pile for the waiter. Bradley stared at him in confusion.“Why are you doing that?” he asked.“To help out the waiter dummy.”“Why?”With a playful scoff, Max grabbed Bradley’s napkin and shoved it into a little ball with the others. “Because it’s a hard job? When I was a senior I used to work with my dad at the House of Mouse restaurant. I kind of bounced between valet and waiter. I liked it, but being a waiter was hard work. You gotta refill this and that, make sure the food comes out correct and if it isn’t burning your hands as you carry it, then it better be a salad. That was a summer gig and I saved up some money for college along the way.”“But if that isn’t your job anymore then why are you doing it?”Max shook his head, “Man you need lessons in sympathy. I’m saying that I get that it can be a difficult job and that if I can take a small load off of someone’s hardworking shoulders, then I will.”Ah. That’s why it made sense. He was sympathetic to the workers. Bradley cracked a miniscule yet 100% genuine smile, “That’s pretty admirable.”He added a balled up straw wrapper to the pile.Bobby belched rather loudly earning a couple of glares from his own table and other patrons. “Well hot dog, that was too good. I haven’t had a decent burger in forever!”“You mean two weeks?” Max teased.“Yeah! How’d you know?”All was forgotten with a few eye rolls and chuckles at his expense.“So oh Wise Master of the Road, what’s your plan after all this? I know we’ve asked before but I mean after summer is over.” Stacey began, “I know you like to brood and be a cool cat, mind sharing some boring secrets?”Bradley pursed his lips and shook his head, but being a better person was only going to work in his favor so he humored her, “If we get to my dad’s house in one piece,” he glared at an unassuming Bobby, “I have to meet with a few people who get to decide my future I guess. Then I finish my last semester and move on with my dad.”“You guys are gonna share a company?” Max gawked.“Um, kinda.”He didn’t want to tell them all much. Used to in the face of a crowd he would puff out his chest proudly and tell them he would be taking over his father’s company, ignoring the searing dread that flowed through his veins every time. He was too tired to put on that kind of show now. He fiddled with a napkin that had flown loose.“I gotta admit, meeting a bunch of people who decide your future has got to be rough.” Max mentioned, there was something about his eyes that screamed, ‘I know something about you’ and that terrified Bradley while also comforting him.“It won’t be too bad, I just need to be there on time.”Stacey yanked the napkin out of his hands, “Why must the elk follow the crab?” she asked.“What?”“A life of a mammal is not that of a crustacean, having someone choose your world no matter how unhabitable, does that not sound like the cancer of an ecosystem?”Oh god did she know? She was terribly perceptive. Seemed the return to society brought that back in her. Whatever she was blabbering about, he could tell right away she and Max knew something he didn’t care for them knowing.“It’s a few shareholders and executives. All I have to do is arrive by tomorrow evening, make a good impression, and I’ll have secured the next line of my father’s company. That’s it.”Max looked confused, “Wait, if you’re ‘next in line’ or whatever, then wouldn’t that make it your company instead of your dad’s?”No. And it would never. Not until he died. And even then he would be living under the weight of his father and grandfather’s reputations that were built. Each were supposed to be more ruthless than the last.“Well, did your dad leave you alone when you legally had your own life?”“Fair.” Max cringed at the memories.“Well Mr. Uppercrust, what else do you want to do in life other than kiss blimps again?” Bobby made a kissy face at Bradley. Max slapped him.“Uh, get money buy bitches?”“BRO.”That earned the entire table laughing so hard they were snorting and crying. Of course, a word from their Stacey about misogyny had to enter, but she ultimately joined in with a smile. Max’s knee bumped against Bradley’s as he shook at his joke.“Sorry!” he apologized.“No no, it’s alright.”Put it back again.Woah.No. No no no. His mind was going to shut up. But then again, what’s a little look see? As the group carried on, Bradley teetered between self-awareness and becoming lost in the face that sat across from him. Chocolate eyes so rich each glance could send him into a heart attack, piercings a sign of rebellion and expression, something Bradley envied, yet it looked radiant on Max. The veins in his hands, the ruffled hair that always bounced back to where it grew. Soft and silky. Best of all, the too large shirt on him, Bradley’s shirt, fit so well on him. It would also fit well thrown haphazardly onto the floor.He’s in my shirt.My shirt.He’s in my shirt.Mine.“Hey buddy you good?” PJ asked, shaking Bradley out of his dazed world.“Yeah, sorry, just lost in thought.”God help him was he lost.As the rest of the evening carried on, the group had wandered down past the square to an old wooden bridge that overlooked the scenery and the river from the mountain below. It was a small recreational trail, but the heavens had blessed it tremendously. There were stone benches on either side of them, each engraved with words of love or encouragement. One block that Max had sat on read: ‘To the star that holds my dusty heart, My Darling Sophia’“Hey, Sophia was the lady that helped us right?” Bobby asked, removing his glasses for a better look.Stacey gasped tears flowing into her eyes at the display of such a simple declaration. “Yes!” she read the inscription aloud, “This is the sweetest thing I’ve seen! Its rare to see such a love like that in the world of gray and black, to find the one who makes you see the rainbow in such a place is nothing short of a universal gift.”Bobby jabbed PJ in the sides, “Greg’s got you beat man. Good luck topping that.”“Love is not categorical with competition, to find our one true means to find our you. The mirror first to the one, but nothing is said in the order of one.”Stacey turned to look at him and jumped in his arms, “Oh you sweet prince! Gimme that sugar.”She grabbed his face and pulled him in for a passionate kiss. Though the PDA was a little much, Bradley couldn’t help but yearn terribly for it. He sat down beside Max who stared at the couple as well, happy for his friend to enjoy such a moment. He remembered the people he’d go out with sometimes. Roxanne held that first love excitement, but not the commitment. They were young and dumb and wanted to try what everyone else was doing, but still had a great amount of care for each other. A few other people he’d been with hadn’t really had THE spark, but there was still electricity. Max looked over at Bradley who was also watching the make out scene before him. He had to admit, he was handsome. Too bad they were from different classes, no way in a thousand years would he ever have a shot with an Uppercrust, no matter how cute. It was a simple fact, one that dug into him a little, knowing he wasn’t good enough for someone, but as Stacey said, different worlds don’t belong together, he repeated it in his head as he glanced at Bradley’s hand.“Ayo! Kiss your girl in your own time! Don’t show off to the rest of us singles.”PJ broke away and gently set Stacey on top of the wide guardrail, “How could I resist such a teardrop that fell from the stars themselves?”“Uh, I don’t know man, blindfold?”PJ was lost in his girlfriend’s dark eyes, “Look how she lights up the sky, my belle, my dear, Stacey.”Bobby let out a giant snorting laugh, “Brother you sappy dog- OW”Max threw a rock at Bobb, effectively shushing him. Let them have their moment together, he silently gestured. Bobby shrugged and pocketed the rock, adding it to his travel collection.“So far above me, yet I, know her heart belongs to only me.”He kissed her hand, “Je t’adore”“I adore you” Bradley whispered to Max.PJ kissed her other hand, “Je t’aime”“I love you.” Max stared at him with wide eyes. Bradley held up his hands as distance, “I’m just translating!”“You’re my Queen of the night, so still, so bright.”Bradley wanted nothing more in that moment than to hear PJ sing, and to grab Max’s hand to dance.“That someone so beautiful as she, could love someone like me.”Bradley stood up and grabbed Max’s hand, he pulled away like it was fire, “Oh no, I don’t wanna get in their way.” Bradley ignored him and tried again, Max stood up off the bench.“Love always finds a way, its true.”“I don’t know how to ‘correctly’ dance y’know?” he shyly admitted. Bradley chuckled.“Well now you can learn.” Bradley vice gripped Max’s hand.“And I love you, my dear, Stacey.”Taking this as an opportunity to practice blowing his trumpet, Bobby leaned against a tree and began to play. Bradley held Max’s waist and his good arm, placing the injured one to rest on his shoulder. He pulled them back quickly, making Max stumble before guiding them apart and back together. He spun Max around, stopping and slowly guiding him in the classic dance. Max was clumsy, he gripped onto Bradley, trying to keep up and avoid his toes, his gaze cemented onto his feet, biting his lip ring in focus. Bradley was a goner. He took his hand away from Max to lift his chin up to face his eyes.“Looking down will make you fall, keep your eyes on me and just follow.”When he touched Max’s chin, Max nearly keeled over with the level of intimacy that it was. He was grateful his blush was hidden in the night, but he did slip out a small chuckle and continued with Bradley who prayed that his heart couldn’t be heard thumping.“Love is beautiful, love is wonderful, love is everything you need, don’t you agree?Bradley grabbed Max’s and lifted him into the air, spinning him princess style.“Woah you’re strong!”“Mais oui!”“Thanks.” Bradley laughed.He spun Max again, and as the music and tone shifted to a slower, gentle setting, Bradley dipped Max slowly down supporting his back and head, ignoring the fearful grip on his shoulders as the other didn’t want to fall.“Look how she lights up the sky,”His eyes were so big, he could see the stars reflecting in them. His arms began to tire so he slowly pulled back up, keeping a firm supportive grip on Max’s waist. His awkward dance partner was BUZZING with excitement and joy! This was fun, Bradley’s dark blue eyes meeting his, there was an unreadable expression in it. He saw it once with Roxanne but none so deep, so telling. It was soft, safe, those eyes that held him said so much, but it was like a language he wouldn’t understand. He needed a translator.“I love you, my dear, Stacey.”Bradley pulled them up, both incredibly lost in the moment, it was perfect. They were right there, inches away, centimeters away, eyes closing. His mind was screaming inside yet remained still in anticipation. But then, the music and singing had slowed and stopped, and Max was brought back. He awkwardly chuckled and pulled away, gently patting Bradley’s chest and smoothing any wrinkles.“That was pretty fun,” he said softly, “I bet you’ll have a ton of dance partners back home huh?”Bradley deflated, masking with his own awkward laughs and neck rubs, “Uh, yeah sure.” He said, letting go of Max.“Well, come on, we’d better get some sleep if we’re going to get you home on time.”Who was Bradley kidding. He shouldn’t. He couldn’t. How could he possibly? It had only been a few days, how did he get so down bad all of a sudden? When did he begin to develop feelings? Was it before the walk? Before the chaos of the trip? When Max called off their deal? Before the XGames? When?All Bradley knew about time was that he was in the present walking silently with the group back to the hotel, and that he was running out of it as he neared closer to the meeting of his life. He also knew, all too well, how cold his hands felt when they left Max. His heart was hurting desperately, calling out to grab him back. Telling Bradley all the money and status in the world wouldn’t matter if it meant being with him. But one thing about the heart and the mind is that they clash. And Bradley’s knew it didn’t stand a chance going against his father. He remained silent, keeping up a face of normalcy while he ached. He was growing more exhausted day by day. Even before this godforsaken trip. If only he knew how badly Max began to want him back. Maybe then there would be some kind of shot, luck, or whatever that would get him out of this train wreck.Once they arrived at the hotel, they all settled in bed and ready for whatever the day awaited them. Max curled up underneath the covers, a considerable amount of space between him and Bradley. Ignoring the sting of perceived rejection, Bradley mouthed a goodnight to Max and turned to switch off the lamp. He sighed and allowed a fitful sleep to take over his body.And fitful it was!
Bradley dreamt he was in a fancy hotel suite, his left hand holding a gentle pressure that wasn’t there before. A golden ring bound on his finger, he looked around. Champagne in ice, white robes hanging on the door (he noticed he was nude), and dim candlelight.

“Hello?” he called out in the dream space.

“Good morning babe, how’d you sleep?” Max’s voice asked him.

“Max?”

Out appeared Max, only in boxer shorts and Bradley’s shirt holding a coffee in one hand, “Hey babe, what’s up?” Dream Max crept closer to the bed sitting on the footrest at the end.

“You’re…beautiful.”

“Well thanks handsome.”

“No like, really.”

Max smiled and set the coffee down on the table. He climbed up and laid down on Bradley’s chest humming. “Not as much as you.” He purred. Just as Bradley was getting comfortable with the man on top of him, Max sat up and towered over him with dark eyes that Bradley couldn’t read. He saw them, but he couldn’t see them. Max crashed their lips together in rushed passion. Bradley met him just as fast and clawed his shirt off Max, tossing it to the floor. Max mouthed at his neck.

“Oh fuck Max yes, please that’s so good.” He gasped. Max let out a moan, as if sucking a hickey into his neck was right there with an orgasm.

“Let me fuck you.” Max whispered, biting on Bradley’s earlobe.

“Please.”

Max ground his hips against Bradley, searching for friction. Just as he was about to pull his boxers down, the door opened and a faceless woman barged in screaming unintelligible profanities of betrayal and cheating. Max, carefree as ever, got off the bed and got dressed like he had come back from the shower.

“Wait don’t go.” Bradley pleaded.

Max didn’t even look at him, “Gotta go to your trophy wife and life right? There’s no room for me. There never was.”

“No no Max no please.”

The woman was wearing the same wedding band as Bradley, she pushed past Max and began beating down on Bradley. But he didn’t feel any of her hits, he only watched his passionate flame walking away to never return.
When he gasped awake, back in the cheap hotel room, he breathed a deep sigh of relief. No golden band, no wife, no fancy suite, just the comforting smell of a cheap hotel and Max’s scent on the blankets they shared. Bradley shook his head and got off the bed. That dream really fucked him up. He let his feet hit the floor and held his head in his hands while his elbows dug bruises into his thighs. With a sigh, he forced himself out the door, praying the night air would bring him some sense of relief.
Meanwhile, Max was in the bed still wide awake, his thoughts running wild over the moment they had shared. He had been debating whether or not to wake his bed buddy up, the groans he overheard were easy to confuse between nightmare-ish and pleasurable, so he left it be. However, when he heard and felt Bradley’s motions, he decided it wasn’t something of intimate passion, he seemed distressed.“Fuck.” Max groaned to himself.Ultimately, he stayed in bed, waiting up for Bradley and pretending to be asleep when he returned an hour later. It wasn’t his business after all, no matter how bad he wanted it to be.Max was really beginning to hate the sunlight, yet ever the morning person, Stacey pushed back the curtains and let the sun burn holes into everyone’s eyes. Ignoring their protests, she began to brush her hair and put on her shoes.“Come on boys, we’ve got quiet the drive ahead of us.” She bounced into the bathroom.“Only seven more hours.” Bobby groaned.Everyone begrudgingly wiped the sleep from their eyes and followed suit.“Hey MaxMan, Peej, did we ever get a new map?” Bobby asked.The two stared at each other, their silence enough to give an answer that no, they did not have a map.“Just go to the library that’s by the square,” Bradley suggested, “they’re bound to have one. It’d be weird if they didn’t.”Bobby scratched at his stomach, “Ay that’s smart thinking! How come we didn’t think of that?”“Cuz you’re not smart.”“Bah, screw you rich boy.”Bradley threw Bobby’s shoes at his head.“Be nice.” Max chided, poking the middle of Bradley’s head.“Yeah Bradley, be nice to me.” Bobby stuck out his tongue and Max threw his other shoe at his head.“If you boys are done playing footsie I’d like to eat now.” Stacey said, emerging from the bathroom.Cheers and ‘woo hoos’ for food could be heard three rooms down, they all scurried out the door and made their way into the hall. Max noticed that one head was missing, he turned around to see Bradley standing at the doorway, phone in hand and face scrunched into one of disdain.“Hey, you comin’?”Bradley shot his head up, he looked like a deer in the headlights, “Oh yeah, sorry. My dad wants me to call him, I’ll meet you guys in a bit.”Unsure of how to approach the situation, knowing there was an underlying darkness, all Max allowed himself to do was nervously eye Bradley up and down, “Alright man, don’t be long.”“Wouldn’t dream of it.”Bradley closed the door with a smile and immediately sank down to the floor covering his mouth. His dad not only sent him the message to call him, but he had also missed five of them. His phone was accidentally set to silent mode and he was the idiot to have missed it. He huffed profanities, he gripped his hair and furiously swallowed back the lump in his throat, threatening to release all the fearful tears that were ready for him.“Okay, its just a phone call. It’ll be okay. It’ll be fine.”With a wince, Bradley hit the call button and held the phone up to his ear, a shaking hand on the wall to steady himself.“Bradley.”“Father, how can I-““Shut up.”His father’s voice was oddly calm. Bradley knew he was in deep shit. He was breathing in his own demise. Bradley clenched his eyes shut as he braced himself for what was coming.“Son, I have raised you to know that being early is on time, being on time is late, and being late is a cancelled appointment. Right?”He swallowed, “Yes Father.”“So tell me, why the executives are two hours away, and you aren’t here to greet them?”Bradley’s heart dropped, that wasn’t right. That was not the plan.“Father, I thought they weren’t supposed to show up until tonight?”“Goddamn it Bradley you fucking idiot! That’s the point of the saying! Being early means you’ll be prepared for shit like this! I tried to call you last night, but where were you? Partying? Buying another skateboard behind my back? You were supposed to be here by last night!"
“Please just-““Oh? Now you have the nerve to plead with me? I gave you so many warnings and chances and outs Bradley, and here you are shoving it in my face! What am I supposed to tell them huh? My son doesn’t know the meaning of priority and time?”Bradley felt sick. His future, his life was on the line with this meeting, “Car wreck!” he blurted. “Listen to me dad-““Oh no I saw the news. I know full well what happened. I also know the group that gave you a ride and I saw the towing expense from your car. I have to say, its all rather convenient, isn’t it?”His frustration was building, “What do you mean? What’re you talking about, I don’t- ““Shut the fuck up! You hated that car, I know you did. So it makes sense that you didn’t take care of it, that you let it fail you so your friends could shockingly pick you up and then fake a car wreck to get you out of this. I expected better from you. I really did. You’re lucky its me and not your grandfather talking, he would have hauled you out and beaten you till you died. I’m gonna beat you until your body can only run this company and make an heir. Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t?”Bradley could barely get any sound out without his voice hitching, “I’ll be there dad. I promise.”“Promise this and that, good Lord, you sound like your empty-headed mother. I’m the idiot for putting you in that cumdump of a whore.”The mention of his mom sent his stomach in whirls, he pushed his head against the door, “Just stall them for me. I promise I will be there tonight.” No words met his on the phone. It sounded like his dad was taking a drag from a cigar.His dad lowered his tone, true disappointment could be heard in the words he spoke next, “Bradley, they are two hours away. You were supposed to greet them. You won’t arrive in time. And I won’t lie to you son, this is where it either begins, or where it ends. You are aware of the circumstances I will subject you to in order to secure you right?”Bradley, ever naïve, felt a small flicker of hope, “Really? What?”“I’m sorry and overall disgusted to say this son, but lonely executives have needs. All it takes is just one. If that’s what it comes to, you will deliver. Clear?”Stunned, the air was sucked from out of Bradley’s lungs. He knew what his father was implying, he knew it because it happened to his mother when his dad nearly lost a deal. He felt dizzy and knew his face had paled at the thought.“Um, I-““Are we clear goddamn it? Or do you want to spend the rest of your life slaving over a grill?”His dad had screamed so loud into the phone it vibrated his eardrums, “I got it dad. We’re clear.”“Good. Do not fuck this up.”And with that, the call ended and Bradley threw the phone. He began panting like he’d run a marathon, anxiety gripping his chest. Just as he stood up, a knock came at the door. Startled, he moved away and that’s when it opened to reveal Max with a breakfast croissant in his hand.“Woah, hey you okay?” he asked, taking in the situation.Bradley tried to form words, but his breathing was too erratic to let him speak. Tears were cascading down his cheeks as he hauled himself off the floor to lean on the nearby hotel desk.“Hey man look at me, come on. What happened?”Max couldn’t know. He couldn’t understand. Bradley couldn’t cry, and the shame and humiliation that it was right there for someone to see, someone he had never wanted to show, his breathing increased rapidly. He tried to stifle his sobs, tried to stop the shaking in his shoulders but it was futile, Max gently guided him to sit on the bed and sat kneeling in front of him on the floor.“Hey, its gonna be fine.”He grabbed Bradley’s hand away from his face and traced smooth patterns, “Just breathe with me alright? That’s your job right now. Breathe in….” he traced a long circle into Bradley’s palm.“….and breathe out.”He repeated the motion a few more times before Bradley’s anxiety began to seep out of his lungs with each exhale. He was still sobbing, but now he could form words. Staring into Max’s soft eyes that held so much care for him, HIM! Of all people, Max should be the last one to care about him. To help him. He sobbed harder.“Are you okay to tell me what happened?” he asked.Bradley took in a deep breath, “M-My dad he-“
*ding*

Message received.
Bradley looked at his phone, and in the text message was an image of another man’s erect penis. He didn’t recognize the number, but after that came the notification from his father:“They’ll be in touch.”Bradley froze, Max peered over to read what had been sent, and when it dawned on him what was happening, he was shoved to the ground as Bradley raced to the en suite bathroom.“Bradley?”He threw himself on his knees in front of the toilet, lifting it up just in time to vomit all that was eaten yesterday. Loud retches reverberated his eardrums. His breathing, which had just become somewhat controlled, was now back to hyperventilation as he cried and threw up.A gentle hand slowly came up to rub his back. At first, he was startled, yet he couldn’t help but let himself sink into it. Another retch.“Shh,” Max whispered, “Easy there. Its alright.” He pushed back some of Bradley’s hair and while it wasn’t long enough to touch the water, it was still a nice gesture. He threw up again.“Heh, well, least you chew?”If Bradley could slap him in his wounded shoulder he would. He let out a few coughs and spit the remainder of what he could out. Max handed him a few squares of toilet paper which he gratefully accepted. The exertion of vomiting had done wonders for his anxiety, now he was just trying to get his breath back from it. He flushed the toilet and Max closed the lid for him, guiding him into his chest and letting him cry. Max continued to whisper small words of comfort, meaningless to the situation, but everything to Bradley.Time passed, and Max could feel that the other had regained some of his stability. Still, he didn’t let go. Opting to rest his chin on Bradley’s head.“Care to talk about it?” he asked.He already saw the image, no doubt he’d find out the rest later. How could he possibly cover this all up? No amount of lying would have saved him, and Max was too smart. Bradley sighed and closed his eyes. Max continued to run a soothing hand up and down his back.“My dad just sucks.” He said. His voice sounded like shoveling gravel.“Its more than that come on.”Running a hand down his face, he admitted everything. “My father has been preparing me for this meeting, it’s a bunch of executives, shareholders, dealers, etcetera. If enough of them like me and what I have to offer, that means it’s a better deal for my dad’s company and secures me when I take over one day. He doesn’t want his company to crumble, and making sure it all stays the way it is and better is the entire goal. He can’t retire until I personally have enough people that support the business.”“So why’s he such a dick?”Bradley chuckled, “I don’t know. He’s a terrifying man. I may seem like I have money, but in reality, I am dirt poor. I don’t have an honest penny to my name, it’s all his. I just have to abide by him if I want to get anywhere. If I mess this up, he will kick me out, I will lose everything, all my work will be useless, he’ll make sure I go homeless, and-“He turned away from Max to gag into the toilet, briefly resuming his vomiting session.“Woah shit, slow down.” Max steadied him by the shoulders. “So he basically has control over every aspect of your entire life?”Bradley nodded, “Yeah.” He managed to crack out, voice raw from the acid. “Partially why winning the XGames was so important. It was the only thing I had, he said if I lost once, then that was it.”Christ this guy is a bastard, Max thought. “So what was the dick pic about?”Bradley swallowed down some of the bile. “If I don’t show up on time, I’m gonna make up for it.”Horrified, Max’s jaw hit the floor. “The fuck?”Bradley let him process.“Your dad, your own fucking dad, is going to pimp you out just for some security?”He nodded. Max was fuming, his mind trying to process something so sick. Something so wrong.“Your own dad.” He whispered. “Bradley, you can’t go back.”He shot up out of Max’s arms, “No I have to Max, you don’t understand.”“I understand that this is not a life to live. Your own father is willing to destroy you to build himself up, you realize how fucked that is right?”Bradley turned on the water faucet and rinsed his mouth, “It’ll be worse if I refuse to go. He’ll find me. Trust me Max, I’ve thought of all this before.” He spat, “By the way, not a word of this to your friends alright? Its bad enough you know everything.”Max stood up and stared at him in the mirror, arms crossed, “Why?”“Because of this. No one was supposed to know.”“Come on man you can’t expect me to just leave you there knowing you'll be hurt?”Bradley stared back at him, tired dark eyes contrasting his pallid face, “You’ll have to. Trust me, the sooner I get there, the better. Besides, its all I know.”Desperation, confusion, and questions all swam inside of Max, it was easy to tell he was rushing to find a solution to an issue Bradley knew had no answer. He ran a hand through his hair.“I’ll text you the address and let you know if you need to call the cops how’s that?”It was a small attempt at humor, but the reality bore too much weight to let the desired effects slip through. Max’s sad eyes pleaded with Bradley.“Fuck man this is so fucked!” he screamed, running a hand down his hair and face. He scrunched his eyes closed thinking.“It’s not that bad.”“Not that- what? Bro you hurled your guts out because of this! How much of your life has this- ““Max. Come on, besides I was an asshole to you, kinda deserve it don’t you think?”“NO!”Max grabbed him by the shoulders staring up at his face, “No one deserves this treatment! If anything it makes more sense to me why you were a dick. I mean, still not cool, but like damn.”As much as he wanted Max’s arms wrapped around them, Bradley had to put them back down, forcing on a calm demeanor, really, it was the demeanor of an exhausted man, unwilling to fight any longer.“I can get through it, its more terrifying not to if I’m honest.”Max leaned against the shower door, what was he supposed to do? Say? The guy was an adult, older than him even. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Fuck, fine, but you had better text me that address asap got it? I’ll find some excuse to stay in town until I know you’re okay.”“Whatever mom.”“Bradley, please. I’m really going out on a thin limb here.”He was. It was written all over his face how much internal conflict he was fighting, Bradley pulled out his phone and messaged Max the address.“You’ll be dropping me off anyway, why do I need to text you?”“Memory's sake in case its nighttime.” Max scanned his eyes over the road and house number and put his phone away. He stepped out of the bathroom, “Are you feeling okay enough to eat something?” he asked.He was not. Anxiety plagued his stomach and subsequently his appetite. “If I get hungry, I’ll just have something from the car.”“You don’t wanna try to eat?”“Think I’ll just throw it up again to be honest.”Nodding in sympathy, Max shuffled his feet in his shoes, not really knowing how to handle this, “Well, do you want to come down anyway? Avoid questions?”Knowing he was probably right, that the others would wonder why he hadn’t eaten, Bradley agreed but needed to brush his teeth first. While Max waited outside the room, he stared at himself in the mirror as the bristles moved. What was he thinking? Where was this going?He spit into the sink. “Idiot.” He whispered.He managed to make it through breakfast without too much fuss, but once they got in the car, all the questions came racing forward.“Is it a mansion?”“Do you have a pool?”“How much money does he make?”“Is your college really free?”“How does he afford it?”Bradley was getting extremely uncomfortable with all the questions, and defensive. They looked at him like he was so special for having money, when really it wasn’t even his. He tried mindlessly playing around on his phone, but then another image from the unknown sender came through. It was of a gaping asshole with the message“Or you can have a slice of cake” with a winky emoticon.Bradley blocked the notifications from the number, saving it in his memory to block it once the meeting was over.“So Brad, did you get to go to a private school?” Bobby asked.“I just wanna get back home.” He groaned.Max shot him a look.“Where is it by the way?”“Keep heading north for a couple of hours.”What could be said and done in a few hour drive? Bradley fell quiet again, ignoring Max’s lingering eyes of worry. When they had reached their two-hour mark, they were in Wyoming. A bit more to go.“Follow state highway VF until you reach Bonaparte freeway.”“Aye aye captain!”It came faster than Bradley thought it would, as soon as they reached the Bonaparte freeway, it was all downhill from there. They were close. Twenty minutes. He felt his heart rate spike and tried to wipe away the anxious beads of sweat that collected on his forehead. Max tapped him with his shoe, silently asking if he was okay. He wasn’t. Bradley looked at him and promptly dismissed him with the slight shake of his head. Max’s shoe lingered on his, and no attempt was made to remove it.“What street after Maine?” PJ asked.“Follow Thorton all the way until you reach the third fourway stop. Then turn right.”Ten more minutes.His tongue was dry and his leg wouldn’t stop bouncing up and down. Max no longer could keep his eyes off him.Eight minutes. It was ten in the morning. He watched a mourning dove on a fencepost.He remembered watching those with his mother, he almost pet one when he was a kid. His mom coached him into patience and pretty soon, the bird ate out of his hand. He couldn’t have been more than six years old. He smiled at the memory.Six minutes.His father shot a bird once. They were going deer hunting. His dad found him playing with his mother’s old necklaces, seeing how pretty the jewelry was. Not having any of it, his father reintroduced him to the rugged ‘man’ side of things and took him to go kill an animal. He didn’t make any shots, but his father made several.Five minutes.His father made him clean the deer. Showing (forcing) him to make the cuts and scoop out the intestines. He had accidently stabbed the lower intestine and the smell was awful. He gagged and his father, pissed that Bradley refused to do anymore, angrily cut into the dead animal and finished everything, but made his son watch the grizzly scene.Four minutes.“-ley. Bradley!”“Sorry! What?”“Did you say right or left at the four way?” PJ asked.How were they so close already? He held back a shudder. Was it left? Or right? It had been so long since he came to this house.“Um.”“You said right didn’t you?”“Um.”“Nah man, he said left.” Bobby chimed in.Bradley suddenly grew incredibly nauseated.“Bradley come on was it left or right?” Max gently asked.Looking over, Bradley had a death grip on the arm rest of the car door. Max gently touched his shoulder.“Hey, you okay?”Shifting his blue to Max’s brown, remembering his dad, his repressed sexuality, his repressed feelings, Bradley unbuckled his seatbelt and launched out of the car with a huge retch, hands over knees.Exclamations of surprise came from the group. Max was out of his seat and Stacey met them with a water bottle in hand.“Hey hey bud, easy there.” Max whispered. He placed a hand on Bradley’s back and shoulder to keep him upright.Bradley couldn’t shake him off, he threw up what little water he was willing to drink and water else hadn’t made it out of his system yet. He spat, clearing his mouth of any remains. Stacey rubbed the back of his neck and offered him a water bottle.“Fuck. Sorry.” He whispered.“Don’t be sorry,” Stacey said, “remember, whatever is forced down will eventually come back up.”Bradley eyed her, “What’re you getting at?”“Its pretty obvious don’t you think? I just trust that the stars will guide you to the courage and wise decisions you need to make.”Max lightly rubbed his back, “She’s right man, its okay to talk about it.”Bradley rinsed his mouth and sighed, “Easier said than done. Come on, we’re wasting time.” He shook off Max’s hand and latched himself in the car, the others following suit. PJ looked back with a worried face.“You okay?” he asked.“Yeah I’m fine, just a little carsickness.”“Ugh, I hate that, there was one time I was with PJ’s dad and Max tryna find a good birthday present and I was so glued on this puzzle on a cereal box that I threw up into it.”He never thought he’d be glad for Bobby talking, but it got the attention off of him and that’s what he was aiming for. He directed them the rest of the way, until what stood before them was a large house, modern style with some earthy tones, and a long driveway with the classic fountain out front. Bradley’s legs had pins and needles.“Woah dude sick!”“This is rachet!”He ignored everyone’s admiration for his father’s house and began shuffling out of the car.“You want help?” Max asked him.Bradley bit his lip, he wanted to stay. He wanted to shove his suitcase on the ground and be crushed into a bone breaking hug that made everything okay. He wanted to scream, cry, curse, and flail about. But most of all, he wanted to have one last moment with the person who helped him.“What about your arm?”“Its fine! Come on, its just one other suitcase right?”“Kinda heavy.”“Fine by me! I’ll be right back guys!” Max hollered.“Thanks for the, ride and stuff.” Bradley said, awkwardly rubbing his arm.“Don’t worry about it man, thank you for apologizing and trying to be better.” PJ lightly punched Bradley’s forearm.Bobby joined in, “Yeah, maybe soon we can smoke again huh?”“Good luck Bradley,” Stacey said, eyes piercing his soul, “We’ll see you around.”Ominous. Bidding farewells, Bradley grabbed his suitcase and waved goodbye. Turning to Max, he saw his companion’s smile drop as they made their way up the stairs.“What’s wrong? Shouldn’t I be the one that’s worried?” Bradley asked.They set the bags on the front steps. Max had glazed eyes that Bradley wished would disappear, “I guess I’m just scared.”Bradley ignored the small fire of happiness that ignited his chest, now wasn’t the time, “I promise I will call you if I need to.”“Can I at least, I don’t know. Give you a hug or something? I feel horrible just leaving.”Bradley pulled him into a bone crushing hug, one that he wanted to be receiving, “Thank you for everything Max.” he whispered. Max returned the hug just as hard before they parted. “Now, get out before my dad shoots you.” He smiled. It didn’t quite reach his eyes; he was only a little serious.“Alright, good luck. Keep me updated.”“I will. Bye.”“Bye.”Watching Max enter the van and it travel down the paved road, Bradley sighed and knocked on the door, the loud echoes chilling his bones. The door opened to reveal a maid, young, nervous, and trying to find her footing in the place.“Mr. Uppercrust, please do come in.” she said, respectfully opening the door.“Thank you.” He stepped inside in the cold unwelcoming tile. “I see not much has changed.”“He’s in study sir.” The maid mentioned quietly. “I will take care of your belongings, he requested that you arrive immediately upon arrival.”Fighting the swirl of anxiety in his entire torso, Bradley nodded and went to seek out his father. He never went into the study much unless it was to be beaten, berated, or have some kind of teaching moment. Sometimes all of the above. He rapped on the door.“Come in.”Wiping his sweat off the doorknob, Bradley stepped inside the room and went to have a seat across from Bradley Sr.’s desk.“Father.”“I didn’t think you’d make it.” His dad said, tapping a half-smoked cigar on the ash tray.“I made it, I’m prepared, and I am ready to face our dealers.”Bradley Sr. clicked his tongue and nodded with his eyebrows raised in faux agreement. “Always antsy to get going. Lucky for you and I, I managed to sway the others into the country club golfing course so you and I can have a little father-son bonding time.” An evil glint shown in his face.“I understand, I would expect nothing less.”Another nod and fake smile, “Of course, I did raise you myself.”Lies.“Yes you did. I feel I’ve learned a lot from you, lessons that I will carry all my life.”His father laughed, “Oh my, oh goodness son!” he was bent over the desk, “I didn’t think they’d give comedy lessons at that college! Ah ha ha!”This was genuine laughter, Bradley gave a few nervous appeasement chuckles, but then stopped when his dad rose from his chair, chest softly stilling as the laughter subsided.“Oh good god you kill me.” He walked to the window and blew smoke onto it. “Oh Brad. Lessons I taught you? Come on.” He turned around, “We both know better than that.”Bradley Sr. walked over to his son and forced him out of the chair by the arm, “Repeat after me son…”“Early is on time, on time is late, and late is unforgivable.”“Good. Now. Why the fuck did you take so fucking long to show the fuck up you no good bastard?”There it was. There was the fire. Bradley swallowed, eyes wider than saucers, “I-““Don’t even start! You knew how important this was, and instead of using that brain you obviously inherited from your mother, you were still fucking late. Do you see this?”He held up the cigar he was smoking, “You see this right?”Bradley nodded, “Yes.”He shook his arm hard, “Yes what?”“Yes sir.”“Good. Now feel it.”He drove the lit cigar into Bradley’s skin so hard it quickly burnt out. Bradley winced hard, but did not scream. After what felt like an eternity, his father released his arm.“Wear a long sleeve tonight, you’d better hope and pray everything goes well.“Yes sir.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Bobby fiddled around with the rocks from his collection, “So amigos, where to now?”“I can’t lie to you guys, I’m pooped” Max admitted, he lazily rest his head on the backrest in the seat. Bradley’s absence didn’t go unnoticed.Stacey turned around, her steely gaze piercing daggers in his eyes, “So, care to explain everything?” she asked.PJ and Bobby looked at her, confusion slapped onto their faces.“My dear companions, it was apparent as the sun and moon that our zealous yet insipid hitchhiker has been troubled for some time. Did you not notice the strings between him and Max trying to lace together? Or the way they spoke silently through shared windows in their eyes?”Everyone wore blank expressions, PJ focused on the road.“Ugh. Impossible. What I’m trying to ask is, what’s going on Max?”Max played with his thumbs in his seat and nervously chewed on his lip. His internal turmoil wrapping him in arms. Bobby turned around, glasses off, his serious expression.“Max, if something really is wrong we need to know. We’re your friends man, there's no reason to keep things in.”Something about Bobby, his incredibly nonchalant and jokester nature carried beneath a protective defense and when he meant business, he made whoever was listening to want to spill all the beans. And that’s precisely what Max did.He told them what he knew or assumed about the relationship Bradley had with his father. He told them about the pimping. About the supposed ‘importance’ of the meeting he was going to have. He told them about every moment they had alone where Bradley opened up. He told them about how Bradley’s body was trembling at the door. He told them about how scared he was Bradley’s safety. And something he hated to admit most of all, was that in the short span of their trip, he developed feelings for Bradley.“-and I’m just, I don’t know. I’m so worried. What could I possibly do?” he finished, hand holding his cheek with his arm resting on the window. The only response he received was the rustling of the wind against the car as they drove.“This is way too fucked Max.” Bobby finally said, rubbing a nervous and thoughtful hand on his neck.“Yeah I mean, is he even telling the truth? Or was he trying to gain sympathy points?” PJ asked. Max quickly went on defense.“No! He wasn’t lying man! He threw up after he got the image of some banker’s boner! He let me see him cry, he let me hold him, and tried to refuse my help over and over. It took so much back and forth to let him give me ethe address. And you didn’t see his eyes man. He was terrified.”“Okay, okay,” PJ relented, “then what can we do to help?”Max sighed and rubbed his forehead, “I don’t know.” He whispered.Stacey placed a hand on PJ’s shoulder, “There was a Best Western a few miles away from the house.”PJ nodded and continued down the highway, making a U-Turn when it was available. She looked back at Max, “How about this, he already said he’d call you if anything went wrong right?”“Yeah?”“Then we will stay at a hotel for just a couple of nights and just wait and see. That way you can stay in touch with reliable reception and we can stay for the rest of our vacation. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I think we’ve fulfilled the nature portion of our trip all too well.”Bobby leaned back with a relieved groan, bowing before Stacey, “Thank God someone said it! I missed civilization. I’m stoked to just crash in a cheap motel and green out!”“I agree, I’m content to sight see. My body must recuperate its cells in order to sustain my conscious on this earthly matter.”“You guys are for real?” Max said, his eyes gleaming in hope.Bobby turned and offered him a bag of chip, “Of course man, we’d do anything for you and anything in the name of love. Though I gotta say, your taste in men? Not what I expected.”Max chuckled and turned his head towards the fields of sugar beets and grains. “You and me both.”Stacey smiled at the love stricken face visible from the passenger mirror, “What started it?” she asked.“I don’t even know. I mean, I never hated him. My first thought was that a hot older college dude wanted to take to me! He annoyed me, and pissed me off, but I never wished anything bad on him. I felt bad when his car broke down, I mean, you guys know the story of when my dad took me on a ‘vacation’. He seemed stressed and I figured it’d be good to lend the guy a helpful hand and maybe things would be okay. It was tense, but fine. I think it re4ally started when we tumbled on the mountain. There were moments that I saw he was just a person. Money, popularity, skills, all that aside, he was a person like you and me. When we had that snowball fight, we were laughing and something about it was so raw and real and right there. He looked so pretty covered in snow.”“I knew you two had a moment there!” Stacey laughed.“Right? I was embarrassed cuz I thought you all saw, but no one said a peep and we went on. He probably thought I was weird. Anyways, when I fell off the rock-““Really stupid of you by the way.”“Uh, it saved us in the end Peej, you’re welcome! I fell off the rock and for a bit it was just blinding pain, but Bradley was the first one to help me. Which reminds me, how did he make it down so fast?”Bobby laughed, nearly begging to answer this one, “That twink must’ve had gymnastics classes because he absolutely glided down! You know the trees that grow on a hill that you can use as leverage? This mofo gripped on one and launched on the other as you went down. Didn’t even notice the ice that was there, or if he did he ignored it. We all just shimmied cuz we didn’t wanna end up like a squished bug.”Max hid a blush that formed on his face, “Wow, that’s pretty cool.”“Yes, very cool twink. Anyway carry on bro.”Max lightly shoved his friend and continued, “he made it down there and went into like, paramedic mode or something. I remember feeling cared for and I was a little surprised at what he knew to do. He looked good playing nurse I’ll say. But it really touched me that he helped as much as he could, willing to go so far as to half drag and half carry me the rest of the way down had it not been for that couple. And when they made that remark about us being a couple it made me think about what we might look like together.”“An odd pair?” Bobby suggested.“Exactly! I tried to shake it away and myself it was just the stress of the ordeal and I clung onto who I could, but it feels more than that. When we danced to PJ’s serenade, I swear, if the lighting was better I would have needed a fire extinguisher I know how bad I was blushing. I could have misread the situation completely but, it really felt like we were going to kiss. Then when it all got quiet, I got it together and didn’t want to push him so I ignored it.”PJ looked at Max in surprise through the review mirror, “He was crushed man! He acted fine but when I glanced back every now and then he looked like a kicked puppy.”Max shook his head, “Ugh, I should’ve went for it. I think I finally came to terms that I liked him that night in bed. I had a hard time falling asleep, he was right there and as sappy as this makes me, I just wanted to cuddle. After learning about his dad, I felt sick. I wanted to do what I could to help him, but chance do I stand against a gazillionaire?”Stacey coyly smiled, “That’s his greatest weakness don’t you see? Should any distress come from your damsel you will pull out a phone and record everything as best you can when you get inside that mansion. There’s a voice recording app I have for my morning lectures, I’ll send you the link.”PJ rummaged around his pockets while keeping one hand on the wheel and finally pulled a pink travel sized mase, “If anyone gets aggressive, you can use this too.”“Thanks man, but what about Bradley himself? He’ll be freaking so hard.”This time, it was Bobby’s turn to offer a useful item, he unbuckled his seatbelt and stretched to grab his green bag. From its contents, he produced two large blunts, “Get him to smoke and get a new phone. His dad probably has a tracker on him.”Max’s eyes glazed over, the help his friends provided and their care for his well-being overflowed his emotions, “Thanks guys really, I couldn’t ask you for more.”“No need bro, we can read you well enough.” PJ smiled, “especially since we have such a perceptive beauty.”Stacey smiled and held his hand in her lap, “Max we care more than you know. And if this is the man that makes you happy, then we will care for him too.”“Thank you.”By 7pm, Bradley was dressed business casual. A white shirt with a medium gray blazer, some jeans and a simple brown belt. He wasn’t a big fan of the jeans, he felt like they clashed, but it was what his father laid out. He was clean shaven, diluted cologne gently wafting from his skin, and though he tried to get a brush up look on his hair, he had a middle part with a
90s fringe and layers which resulted in fallen wispy strands on either side. Turned out for the better, but the process sucked. The warning alarm on his phone went off startling him. He sighed and looked in the mirror. He was Bradley Uppercrust the third. He wasn’t going to pansy out about the situation. He lightly fixed himself up here and there, silenced his phone and made his way downstairs to the dinner party.Surrounding the table sat several men, some puffing cigars, others pouring whatever alcohol was served. At the head of the table sat Bradley Uppercrust the second, burly, booming with empty laughter at the conversation. When Bradley entered the room, his father sat his drink down and moved to grab his son by the shoulders.“Gentlemen! It is my greatest pleasure to introduce my pride and joy, my son, Bradley Uppercrust the Third! Come, have a seat next to your old man!”The grip on his shoulder was solid, fingernails piercing through Bradley’s blazer and shirt. A warning not to screw this up.Welcomes were echoed, falling on Bradley’s passive ears as he smiled and pretended to be joyous about the occasion. Appetizers had been sat out, some were munching on the bread with butter, but Bradley didn’t even want to taste the scent of the bread that came through. He politely declined, making the excuse that he didn’t want to ruin his dinner.“Haha! Once you get to where we are kid, you’ll become a bottomless pit in no time!” one of the laughed.“Hey now, what if the kid makes a deal with a workout company? Gotta keep image. That waist would see everywhere.”He bashfully (uncomfortably) shooed their compliments.His father took a large sip of alcohol and began introducing the guests. Mr. This and That. Mr. Give and Take and Take. Mr. What’s His Face. All their names fell into his short term memory. He didn’t need to know their names just as they couldn’t care less about his.“Well kid its nice to meet ya! Seems like you have a good head on y0our shoulders, its at least pretty.” The man sitting beside him clapped his shoulder. “I mean honestly, that’s more than enough am I right?”Irregular cigar puffs of laughter and wet smiles filled the room at his expense, Bradley smiled. The hand on his shoulder remained.“So,” one of them began, “I hear you’re in school right?”The hand came off of him.“Yes sir, finishing up my Master’s degree next semester.”“You gonna go PhD?”Bradley did his best to see his father’s reactions or hints to what he should say from his peripheral, but that was hard to do. “Well, I’ve thought about it. I quite enjoy what the college has to offer, and I would like to pursue a variety of challenging subjects. However, education can only take me so far, what I really need is the experience. I believe once I have a few years of that, then I will see if I would like to try my hand at another degree. I do enjoy learning, even about mundane things such as anthropology and architecture, but none satisfy mean such as intricate details of business.”A few gave nods of approval and thoughtful expressions. His dad remained unreadable. The man next to him carried on.“So business satisfies you huh?” he asked.Bradley nodded and tensed when he felt the man brush a hand along his knee and thigh from under the table. He swallowed his disgust and surprise, “That’s right! I mean, on paper it appears complicated, especially first starting out, but seeing as how my father has implemented his practice it actually seems like a fair ground.”The hand rubbed closer up Bradley’s thigh. He crossed his legs. This must have been the man that sent him those vile messages.“You have a girlfriend?” he asked.Bradley shook his head. “No sir, I haven’t the time for anyone really. Even this summer I’ll be studying alongside my father.”The hand squeezed his thighs and he subtly tried to move away. He felt sick.One of the men leaned forward and snuffed out the remains of what he had smoked. It looked top brand and was only halfway through.“That’s reasonable son, real reasonable. But don’t forget, you’ll need to find yourself a honey before too long! I’m sure Brad here wants grandkids!”Bradley’s chest clenched at the thought of Max being his partner. His father chuckled beside him.“Oh I’ll definitely need a few years of a break! This lil hellion nearly sent my wife and I to the asylum! He was quite the spitfire!”“That’s what we need!”“Cheers to that!”As if his father raised him. As if his father hadn’t shoved his son in the arms of a nanny. As if his father hadn’t ignored every cry he had for him. The hand on his thigh rubbed heavy, burning circles on him.The doors opened from the kitchen and serves removed the appetizer plates, replacing them with chicken Galliano, a chickpea salad and a side of crab cakes to appease those that enjoyed them. Bradley thought they looked like eating fancy bugs. The burning hand finally removed itself to begin eating. They all did. However, what replaced the hand was the foot that stretched to caress Bradley’s calf.He forced himself to eat.The night progressed, luckily without too much trouble. The cheating in the XGames was mentioned only briefly, the saving grace being that everyone did it. Some of the guests laughed it off, others weren’t phased by it, some asked why they made it so easy to get caught. When the news story was brought up regarding his escapade down the mountain, Bradley’s father glared daggers at him while he recounted the events. They finished their meal, finished dessert, and finally sat digesting while they talked about their successes and exploitations.They were so close. The hand that scorched Bradley’s skin would come and go, its owner switching between the food and the leg. Bradley hoped that the sweat he produced wouldn’t seep through the blazer.At long last, members of the dinner party began to fade out. Some of them needing to go for the sake of early phone calls or getting back to their lovers. By 11pm, four hours since the start of the meeting, it was only Bradley’s father, the man beside him, and two others whose names or significance he could not recall. Bradley knew he couldn’t leave the table, not until he was granted permission. He knew this wouldn’t go on forever, but the anxiety and desperation of wanting it to be over were getting to him as he was slowly being left alone with a predator. He grew cold. The hand, no longer needing to cut into any food stayed on his thigh rubbing tense circles into it. He was grasping at straws at this point to just be able to lock himself into the safety of his own room. His father poured his fifth drink.“Well my boy, seems you’ve a lot to learn huh?” he asked, leaning back in his seat.Bradley nodded, the water he was nursing not helping his dry throat. “Yes sir, I’ve got nothing but school so far.”The hand was moving further up his leg and Bradley tensed his jaw.“Well son, I hate to leave you alone, but I believe I have indulged a
bit much in the beautiful whiskey Mr. Thomlon brought. Gentlemen, it was lovely to get together! I wish you all safe travels and a wonderful evening.”Dismiss me! Bradley pleaded in his mind, ‘Please let me leave for the love of everything! Dismiss me!’The last two men stood up as well, shaking hands with the father and son before leaving. Whatever they said sounded no more than a fly buzzing in the room.His father left, not for the bedroom. But for his office. Bradley felt the pit in his stomach drop as he realized what was happening. The hand grabbed his crotch and he shot up from his seat surprised.“No, don’t.” he said, breaths heaving out. The man that was next to him all night laughed and stretched his back.“Young man, while it has been a pleasure to get to know you, please understand that I was the first one to arrive and Lord forgive me, I am an impatient man. I take it you received my messages?”Bradley stood still, like prey backed into a corner, his face stark white, eyes blown in fear. He never responded and the man laughed at him.“You know as well as I do that your father wants you to carry on this business, we do too! We think you’ve got a firm head on your shoulders, a nice bravado, but you lack the discipline it takes. I spoke with your father, and I’m one of the only people you really need to pay attention to.”Bradley shook his head begging the man, “No, please just, get away.”The man sighed, “Ugh. I won’t lie, your dad doesn’t want this for you either. But this is capital we’re talking about and its what we all need to survive. The deal he had for me wasn’t exactly fitting the bill, so we decided to make a small little trade. Just the one-time thing, won’t hurt. Much.”He stepped closer and Bradley ran around the table. He picked up a knife, his hand shaking.“No, no no. Stay away!” he screamed.The other man rolled his eyes and tossed his head back, “Ugh. You kids, I swear. Brad! He’s doing what I said he would!”The door to the office swung open, and out came Bradley’s father, his surprisingly calm demeanor was the scariest part of him.“Put the knife down son. You had more than enough time to prepare.”“Why the fuck are you doing this to me! I’m your son!” he cried, tears streaming from his eyes. “You said ‘if’ it didn’t go well! And it did!”Brad Sr. nodded and rubbed his brows, “Yes, I know. And I’m sorry about this, but son this is a deal I cannot risk. Bradley, I’m sorry, this one is out of my hands. Had you shown up on time, maybe this wouldn’t have been the case and something else would have been figured out.”“This doesn’t make any fucking sense! Why are you gonna let him fuck me because of some stupid deal? Do I matter that little?”“That’s just it,” the man (Markus) insisted, “You matter too much. There are many secrets about the company you won’t know just yet. The deal was that your father provided enough pharmaceuticals to ensure safe travel through customs. Wipe that look off your face, everyone trades in drugs. He wants to use my freight operation to smuggle, and that puts me at risk. The money we’ll make won’t exactly pay off the legal fees if something does go wrong. We have to be safe. That’s where you come in. I know you’re still in school so this is only going to be something we deal with, but if I am to risk my life for this, I might as well do whatever I want while I’m still free.”“He’s paranoid that we’ll be caught but its been fool proof in the past. My old partner decided to retire so I needed a new one.” His dad offered.The other man nodded, “I mean, really I don’t have to fuck you, but your dad and looney mom made quite the handsome devil. And I want to destroy it.” He smiled with such an evil grin it sent prickles down Bradley’s spine.None of it made sense, their explanation was stupid, the deal was stupid, but what mattered now was keeping himself safe. He looked between his father and Markus, and he looked at the knife in his shaking fist, and he looked at himself, and he ran. He ran and locked himself into the bathroom. The two men shared groans of frustration at the fight he was picking.“Bradley, it won’t be that bad.” The executive taunted banging on the door. “You can’t live in there you know, and I’ve got all night and day.”He held the knife close to his chest, the man was right. He was trapped. No where to go. He didn’t want to be touched. He didn’t want to be used. He didn’t want anything to do with this anymore, his father be damned. The company be damned. His life be damned! There was no way out. The only exit was blocked by the scumbag and his father. Also, a scumbag. He was panicking and had no idea what to do. He gripped the railing beside the toilet as he trembled, racking his brain for an idea. The lock jiggled and Bradley’s father sighed.“Hang on Mark I think I’ve got a key somewhere.”FuckFuckFuckFuckFuckFuckFuckMax! Bradley quickly remembered what Max had said, to call if he needed help. But shit, if he got here, what would happen to him? The man on the other side of the door full body slammed it. A small crack appeared in the wood as Bradley forced himself to trust whatever fate would decide and pulled up Max’s contact information.
-Help-
He held the knife and now the phone close, an instant message vibrated back. He looked at it.
-OMW wsp?-
A choked sob escaped from him as he smiled at the message, grateful that Max responded.

-Two men-

-Strong-

-b careful-

-need cops-
After a couple of moments, the phone began to ring just as he heard his father’s voice on the other side.“Jesus Brad, it took you long enough!” Markus huffed.“I really need to reorganize it.”In an instant, Bradley’s heart stopped beating at the white hot realization that his father had just unlocked the door, and he was face to face with his attacker. His phone fell out of his hand, but he hadn’t realized that he pressed the green call button to answer Max.“You do realize that this is annoying right?” Markus asked. “I don’t know why a bathroom would be your first choice but I’m game.”“No, get the fuck away from me!” Bradley swung the knife but his wrist was caught by his father.“Stop it Bradley! You’ll only make it worse!”His dad grabbed the knife from his hand and threw it out the door. The other man launched himself onto Bradley and they began to struggle. He threw the soap dish, the toothbrush holder, he scratched and bit and kicked and punched. But he was no match. Eventually, the man dragged him out of the bathroom, and secured him flush against his back as his father led them to a bedroom nearby.The phone remained in the bathroom. Still on the call, a witness to everything.Max was a shaking mess. He stumbled out of his hotel bed, a tank top and PJ bottoms with shoes haphazardly thrown on. He grabbed the keys and took off at the first message, using voice to text as he dashed out to the car. The others were away at some bar trying to relax, but he couldn’t so he made the choice to be their DD when called. When he saw the last four messages sent he hit the call button and the record call button. For a moment, he didn’t think he’d answer, and before he hung up thinking it was stupid and that Bradley would need to stay quiet, the phone answered and a scuffle could be heard on the other side.“Bradley? Bradley?” he called, but he knew that he wouldn’t get an answer. He was resigned to listen to everything, picking up whatever details he might need. It echoed where they were, it might have been a bathroom. He heard shouts and screams, and his anger soared like nothing else. When the fight was carried away, he realized that was it. He hung up the phone as he sped down the road and emergency dialed the police.The first thing he shouted to the operator was the address, multiple times, he had burned it into his memory. He described everything to her, and she reassured that help was on the way. Max thanked her and let her communicate with the officers as he raced down the road, ignoring nearly all laws of traffic. As soon as he saw the mansion, he floored the pedal and quickly threw the car into park as he launched himself out. He remembered the warning he got, to be quiet. He went around the side of the building and tried to find an entrance. He tried to keep calm in his panic, but a loud scream from an upstairs window made him say“Fuck that.”And he threw a rock into the window causing the alarm system to blare. He pushed the glass away and hauled himself inside. The loud beeping of the alarm ringing his ears. He could hear muffled curses and followed them, hiding when he felt necessary. A large man that looked similar to Bradley saw the window and screamed several profanities before running down a hall, probably to shut it off or catch the intruder. Max used that opportunity to follow the stairs that he had come from, trying to listen for any other sounds other than the alarm.Boy did he hear it.There was a loud cry coupled with a slap behind him, he had nearly walked past the door, and found it still unlocked. Trying to restrain himself from making any unwise moves, he peered in and saw Bradley, bruised and half naked. His pants were down to his thighs and the shirt he wore was torn open; the buttons ripped off. He could hear sobs and pleas as the man that stood over him pinned him to the bed trying to get him to submit. Max looked around the room, and that was when he saw a trophy with a star on its center top. It looked like a charity award. He quietly crept in, grabbing the object and just as the other man was about to turn around, he whacked him hard across the head and on his face as he fell. The man groaned and reached for Max, but he had the upper hand here and began stomping his head into the floor, effectively making him unconscious. He spit on him for good measure.Bradley sat up from the bed and pulled his pants back up, discarding the belt and grabbed his shirt closed. Max threw the award weapon down and grabbed Bradley in a hug to which he fully reciprocated. But as quick as it came, he broke away from Max and grabbed his hand.“We can’t stay, we gotta go.”And just in time too. Markus stirred awake and reached to grab Max’s arm, hand digging right into the wound. Max screamed, the pain in his injured arm following all the way down to his insides. Bradley kicked Markus’s hand off and pushed Max to down the corridor. Just as they reached the staircase on the other end, they came face to face with his father who had a crazed expression comparable to a horror movie.“Oh, so you brought a friend?” he smiled, eyes going to the blood that appeared on Max’s wrist.Bradley stood in front of Max, “Don’t touch him. Please. I don’t want to be a part of this anymore! I don’t want to be an heir and I don’t want to be your puppet!”His father chuckled and climbed the stairs, “Oh, I’m afraid you don’t have a choice kiddo. I’m all you have! You are nothing without me!”He raced up the stairs and Bradley grabbed Max’s hand again and raced down the other end of the hall. Quickly, they became trapped when a bloody Markus appeared in their way. He was pissed.“Babe I was tryna be nice, but now I know you like it rough~” he teasingly purred.Caught on both ends, no escape, Max pushed Bradley behind him as they became backed in a corner.“I’ll fuck you guys up so hard don’t you dare try to touch him!” he screamed. “Why are you pimping your own kid man? That’s so fucked.”Markus rubbed his head, “Can we not go through that conversation again. Swear to god everyone wants to talk. Its for a drug deal, and if you give him to me, I can make sure you get a good pack of whatever you kids use these days!”Max rolled his eyes in the face of the danger, “Wow old man, you are one gross bitch.”“They’re in a pharma scam Max, please don’t egg them on.” Bradley asked, gripping Max’s shoulders hard.“Son, its not a scam, I told you. I just need to get Mark here to want to deal with me, and you are the key to do that now shut the fuck up and be a good boy and get ass fucked by this bastard so we can all move on!”His father made a grab for Bradley, but Max aimed the pepper spray in his face and blasted him straight in the eyes and quickly did the same to Markus.“Run!” he screamed.Didn’t have to tell Bradley twice, once again, they made it down the stairs and finally crashed into two officers. Max’s adrenaline halted in relief, and he pointed at the stairs, “Upstairs!”The two officers ran up the staircase, but the boys didn’t stay long enough to watch the scene. When they barged through the doors and into the front of the house, two ambulances and six police cars stood outside.Finally, Bradley was safe.
Markus was taken to the hospital for a concussion while Bradley’s father went straight to holding. Bradley was pushed to go to the hospital, but he managed to sway the paramedics by telling them that he had no head wounds and was only a little scratched up. More than that, he didn’t want to go to the same hospital as Markus.Statements were made, sides were told, and Max’s arm was redressed. More important than anything, Bradley’s statement immediately held weight when Max produced the recording from his phone that he had started when he was waiting for the clear to first make entrance up the stairs after setting the alarm off. With that, officers detained the two men and assigned detectives to scope out the entire mansion and the other properties Bradley Sr. may have hid information. By 5am, Bradley and Max were free to go with the promise that the officers would be in contact, even when they made it back to home after the trip.Max opened the door for Bradley who thanked him as he stepped inside. When Max finally settled himself in to drive, Bradley broke down into sobs more painful than Max could have ever imagined. His heart broke at the sight, and he immediately wrapped the other up in his arms.Bradley cried and he cried and he cried and he cried. Max held him, and rocked him, and shushed him and reassured him all as best as he possibly could. But no hug could take that kind of trauma away.Incoherent thank you’s and I’m sorry’s could faintly be heard, but Max persistently brushed them all away. He cradled Bradley’s head to his chest until finally, thirty minutes later, Bradley finally quieted down and reduced to small hiccups as his exhausted body calmed down. He removed himself from Max and rubbed his face dry.“Fuck, I’m sorry. Got your shirt all gross.”Max laughed, “Don’t be, you couldn’t possibly be gross man. I’m just glad its over.”Bradley gave a small sigh, “Yeah. I guess it pretty much is.”Max looked at him and all around the car, but by his luck, he got a call from Stacey. How the hell was she always up so goddamn early?“Hello?” he asked.“Max, hey, how is everything?” she asked.“Its good, we just got out of the police station and we’re on our way back.”“No injuries?”He shook his head with a faint smile, as if she could see, “Nah, couple bruises but all good. Could definitely use an Icy Hot though.”“Alright, I don’t think it would be a good idea if we were all here asking questions, I’m going to take the boys and I to the mall in town and let you guys sleep.”“Aw Stace your sweet but you don’t have to do that.”“Too late! I talked with the hotel manager as soon as I saw the van was gone. Then I got your messages and arranged to have you guys transferred into a vacant bedroom to rest.”Max’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head, “How’d you pull that off?”She laughed on the other end, “Don’t worry about it, turns out it was actually a cheaper deal. We’ll be here when he’s ready okay?”“Thank you Stacey, for real. I’ll get you back sometime got it?”“Whatever Max. Take care now.”“Will do, see ya.”“Bye.”They hung up and Bradley expectantly looked at Max for insight into the conversation.“Stacey set us up a hotel room so that way they can do their thing and we can get some sleep.”Bradley, now too exhausted to even be surprised reached into his wallet that was recovered from the mansion and pulled out two fifty-dollar bills and gave them to Max.“Bro, no. Keep the money.” Max said, trying to give it back to Bradley.He shook his head and leaned on the window, eyes closing. “Give it to her, take it as my thanks. I refuse to touch it again.”Max knew in this moment not to argue with him, so he pocketed the money and began the drive. Luckily it wasn’t far, maybe twenty minutes and a few directions from Bradley, but they finally made it back to the hotel where Max kept Bradley in the car while he grabbed their new room details and hauled them inside, making sure to both deadbolt and chain the door.“I need to shower.” Bradley groaned.“Alright man, I’m gonna go find Stacey and keep her and the guys updated. I’ll be back.”Bradley left no response and Max was gone by the time the water started running. When he got back to the room his friends were staying in, he was yanked in and bombarded with questions.“What the hell happened?” was the biggest one. Stacey pushed through them.“Boys settle, our little hero must have quite the story to tell, but what good is a story if the teller can’t even see his own hand? Look at him.”Max was exhausted. From the road trip, the mountain, the continued road trip, the emotional distress, the adrenaline and sleepless night, he was ready to become modern day Rip Van Winkle.“Thanks Stace, first and foremost, we’re fine. Bradley’s showering and once he’s done we’re gonna crash for a few years. I got a few texts while you guys were out that were from him asking for help. I called the cops on the way there and broke in through the window. Bradley was um, he…he uh.”Stacey frowned, her eyes closed as she willed her anger under control, “He didn’t consent?”“Yeah. But nothing happened, I got there in time and bashed his attacker in the head with a trophy. We got blocked by the guy and his dad but your pepper spray did wonders Peej! We barely made it out. Turns out, his dad was trying to seal some drug transport deal with the guy that attacked Bradley.”Bobby whistled, “So he’ll be in jail for a while right?”Max shrugged. “He’s rich. Who knows?”After playing a little bit of catch up, Max collected his main suitcase, promising his friends that once everyone had rested and calmed down, they’d all hang out and finally enjoy their vacation. It was supposed to be three weeks long, and they were already through a good chunk of it. Max bid his farewells and went back to his room. Opening the door as the keypad clicked green, he saw a nearly nude Bradley fresh from the shower.“Shit sorry!” he said, clasping a hand over his eyes, “Didn’t think you’d get done so fast.”Bradley rolled his eyes. “You can look dumbass. Turns out the clothes from last night are all I have.”Max took his hand away, “Oh, do you wanna borrow some of mine? I’ve got organic linen!”Bradley laughed at Max’s poor attempt at humor, “If you don’t mind I would appreciate it.”Max tossed over a red and black plaid patterned set of PJ bottoms and a simple white T-shirt too big for both of them.“Why do you choose clothes eight times your size?”“The swag man.”“What swag?”“Gasp! I’m wounded.”Bradley quickly changed and settled into the bed as Max showered. No longer having his phone, he flipped through the old TV channels no one watched anymore, settling on some an 80s sitcom he didn’t know. After an episode, Max emerged wearing blue pants that were like the ones he loaned Bradley and decided to forego a shirt. Air drying was the way to go.“Thought you’d be asleep in all honesty.” He said, sitting on the bed opposite of Bradley.He shrugged, “I don’t think my brain will shut up if I don’t rot it with whatever entertainment this is.”“Hey, leave Designing Women out of this!” Max playfully scolded. “I wanna watch, move over.”“Hey! You’ve got your bed!”“Yeah, but you got the TV. Terrible room design in my opinion. Now scooch!”Bradley relented and made room for Max on his bed, keens knocking. If he weren’t so tired he’d be a blushing mess at the proximity. They sat together for a couple of episodes before Bradley noticed that Max had fallen asleep. It was seven in the morning by now. Feeling at ease around Max’s presence, he let the TV run on low volume, and decided to sleep himself. He did not whack the arm that wrapped around his side a few minutes later.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The loud crackling beep the hotel alarm set off had both boys reeling from its sound. Max turned over and slammed his hand on the snooze button and immediately turned it off. Bradley groaned and rubbed his eyes.“Ugh why did you set an alarm?”“I didn’t! Must be automatic.”“What time is it?” he threw an arm over his eyes.“Six thirty.”“PM?”“AM.”“What!”Bradley shot up from the bed and looked at the clock himself, Max gave a sleepy laugh, “Yeah dude we were wiped out! I didn’t even do that while in high school!”Bradley threw himself back down onto the bed, “Me neither. So that was like what? Twenty four hours of sleep?”“Yep!” Max replied between a large yawn. He stretched and smacked his mouth, “Ugh, my stomach definitely isn’t happy about it.”“You okay?”“Yeah, I just mean I’m hungry, wanna head down and get some food?”Bradley shrugged, “Yeah I could eat, but I’m not really in the mood to socialize with your friends. No offense, I just…can’t yet.”Max cracked the joints in his neck and back, “No problem man, if you want I can bring something back for you.”“Nah, I need to get up. Can’t believe I’m going out in public like this.”Feigning offense, Max tossed on his shoes, “Oh however will the sight of the king dressed in peasantry affect young idle eyes? Shall he perish on the spot?”Squinting at him in a, ‘what the hell was that’, kind of face, Bradley rolled his eyes and gave a dry, but humorous chuckle, “You’re dumb”“The king insulted a peasant! Quickly! Where’s the cake?”Bradley already had his shoes on and rushed out the door, smiling at the pleas from Max to wait up for him.
They fell into mild conversation, minds still slightly addled from sleep. To Bradley’s pleasant surprise, there were only a few people at the dining hall, and none of them seemed to know who he was. He felt himself relax.“I’ll get the food if you grab a table, whaddya want?”“Whatever fruit and carb they have. But nothing heavy.”“Done.”Bradley chose a table beside the wall, he found an odd comfort in the weary flooring beneath his feet. A small happy cry from a baby nearby made him think of how many happy families had visited this same floor. How many didn’t have to go through what he did. He found himself recounting the memories of the previous night, thoughts going back to the forceful tug on his jeans as Markus tried to assault him. He could still feel the burn from the fabric trying to resist the belt and the bruises that followed. He shuddered as he remembered the hand that lingered all throughout, tracing every inch of itself into his bones. He was only in Max’s T-Shirt right now, his arms were exposed so he held them together. A hand brushed his shoulder, and he jumped.“Sorry man! Didn’t mean to scare you!”“Oh, no its fine. I was just in the zone.”Max tilted his head, “You okay?”Bradley nodded, “Just a little jumpy after, all of that.”Max hummed in understanding and pulled out his seat, “I got you a muffin, banana and strawberry yogurt, orange juice, and these crescents.”“Croissant?”“Huh?”“They’re called croissants.”“Nah.”“What do you mea- ugh. Never mind.”Max giggled and dug into his own plate of waffles and bacon. He was able to keep a distracting enough conversation that Bradley found himself enjoying the moment. He was perfectly content to listen to Max’s ramblings while he idly listened. He noticed how the sun’s rays made the ends of Max’s black hair shine red, and the way he talked with his hands and his voice. He would be an excellent speaker. He also noticed the gentle slide of the shirt moving down Max’s shoulder ever so slightly as he talked. His collarbone was exposed and Bradley quickly forced his eyes to where they belonged, face tinting red.After finishing breakfast, Bradley spent his time doing routine hygiene while Max had a quick phone call with his friends and found out they were exploring new restaurants choices, the first option being a breakfast place down the street. Max made time for them later in the day, he had plans to take a mid morning nap, and ended the call.“Yo! Do you wanna meetup with the gang later today?” he asked, “I told them I’m visit at about one or two if you wanna come with.”Bradley shrugged and handed Max the toothpaste. “Eh. Why not? I probably need some vitamin D anyway.”“Gay!”Bradley slammed the bathroom door on Max’s laughing face and hopped back on the bed staring up at the ceiling. At this moment, thoughts never came. He kept watching the pattern of the fan above swirling around and around. Must be dusty. Around and around and around and around. The yellow tinted egg white blades moving fast enough to make one big circle. Around and around and around. His pants being pulled down by force flashed before his mind.“Fuck” he winced, rubbing his eyes, rubbing away the memory that dare show itself when he was finally at peace. He shook himself off and went back to staring.Around and around and around. The fan blades could be heard making a loud buzzing sound. He wondered what would happen in the middle of the night if it broke and fell down. What would he do? Would it hurt? Given the night from the bed maybe. The smell of the man’s overdone cologne made him sick. He squeezed his eyes shut and held an arm over his face, trying to remember something else. Like….like….Damn.Did he have any good memories that didn't have any bitter endings?The fan continued to swirl. Around and around and around.“Whatcha doin’?”“Ah!”Max had jumped on the bed to lay down beside Bradley, taking pride in startling him.“Jesus man fuck!”“Haha, sorry, I couldn’t resist!”“More like you wouldn’t.”Hiding a few snorts of laughter, Max turned onto his side staring at Bradley, “You right you right. But for real, what’s on your mind?”Bradley sighed and stared back at the fan, “Nothing really. Its just, I keep seeing flashes of what happened. I hate myself for it too, like, I agreed to it. And then ran away from it like…I don’t know. Not like a coward, but, something.”Max patiently listened,“And like, I feel like an idiot. Cuz I think a part of me knew, and I still, shit. I don’t know. I was never good enough growing up. I was never good enough on my own. I was never good enough in boot camp or college or sports or getting fucked by a gross dude.” His eyes grew glassy.“And like- maybe I could’ve taken a different route. An easier one. But I just, it never seemed like a real thing. And now I’m here, cut off from the only family I really had, which wasn’t a lot to begin with, now I’ve got court bullshit to deal with, a bachelor’s degree I don’t know if I care about, and I have no idea what to do next. What do I do with all of this? I don’t even know if I have a good memory I can focus on and feel nostalgic about.”At some point, Max had gingerly grabbed Bradley’s hand as he talked his feelings through, listening and taking in what he could. He began to slowly rub tiny circles into his knuckles.“I don’t know how to be. That’s probably a dumb ass thing, and maybe that’s just it. Maybe I’m just a dumbass. I have to go make everything difficult all for a more things to go wrong and more people to hurt and disappoint. I feel so still right now, but like I’m going ninety to nothing at the same time. I don’t want to die, but living right now just sucks.”He stilled himself with a hand to his eyes and sighed.“To be frank, I was mostly just staring at the ceiling fan.”“It’s a pretty ceiling fan.”“Shut up.” A small chuckle snuck out of his chest cavity and he allowed himself to laugh. “Sorry, I don’t mean to dump all this on you. You shouldn’t even be here with me at all.”“Shut the hell up. No one deserves to go through what you did. How could I live with myself? I couldn’t. I saw you on the side of the road, I saw someone that needed help despite the history that we had. We’ve all got baggage, some more than others, and I guess I’m Pandora and you’re the box.”“That’s a dumb analogy.”“Whatever!” Max threw a pillow at Bradley, “What I’m saying is, you deserved none of that. And despite all that’s happened, all that you’ve done and where you’ve come from, I’m proud that you decided to become a better person and make a better life for yourself. It takes guts.”Bradley looked away, taking in each indent of the A/C beside him. His face was burning bright with a blush he did not want to be made noticeable.“Didn’t really decide it.” He mumbled.Max grabbed his chin and forced his face back, “But you didn’t really reject it either. You have no idea how the real-world works, but I think you’ll do just fine with a little bit of help.”He swallowed hard, he was staring at Max with a deer in the headlights look that made him look so small and yet, so invoking. A couple of heartbeats passed and before he lost his nerve, Max leaned down and finally kissed Bradley with such a gentle passion that he was afraid the other might break. Startled, Bradley gasped as it happened and settled a hand to grip Max’s wounded shoulder. It was a complete mistake, he had forgotten about it, but at the touch, Max pulled away with a jolt and a horrified expression on his face.“Fuck Bradley, I’m so sorry. Oh shit I’m sorry. I’m so fuckin’ sorry.” He scrambled off the bed, his eyes panicking, avoiding Bradley’s gaze and simultaneously wanting to read it so bad, but he was scared of the possible rejection. He turned around and crossed his arms, one hand coming up to cover his mouth as his brows furrowed so hard they nearly made a unibrow.“I’m so sorry.” He kept mumbling, between curses and vocal bursts while pacing the room.Having overcome the initial shock, Bradley could have laughed at the sight, but his body shook with the need to reciprocate even if his vocal cords were paralyzed. He quickly launched himself out of the bed and turned Max around. He held both of his shoulders (gently now), searching within the expression from the other that had become severely apprehensive.“Bradley, I know I shouldn’t have-Mmh!”His sentence was cut off by Bradley grabbing the back of his head and shoving his face onto his. It was sudden, but it conveyed the right message. A millisecond of fixing their lips’ posture and they were heavy into sinking into each other with fervor. Max sighed into it and returned with more heat. As they continued to make out, Max guided them back onto the bed with a small whine, the height difference not mattering a single bit as he fell with Bradley onto the bed, one hand feeling up his torso and chest, the other hugging his back closer to him. Bradley keened when Max bit his bottom lip and accidently bucked up and into him causing Max to moan. He pulled away from Bradley’s lips and gazed at his flushed face, both of them breathing heavily and Max searching for any kind of confirmation, still anxious if what they were doing was okay.Bradley didn’t give him time to ponder long, he sat up and captured his lips into a kiss once again and shifted to grab him all the way onto the bed. Max dutifully followed, enamored by the exquisite beauty and sexuality that was his crush. After a minute of enjoying each other’s kisses, Bradley’s hand began to wander towards Max’s pants which were obviously tented. The pajama bottoms on both of them were full of room, but also incredibly uncomfortable. Max broke their kiss and leaned upright on his forearm, the hand caressing Bradley’s cheek with his thumb as he kept a firm grip on his waist while trying to catch his breath.He was gorgeous, his hair tousled beautifully with silky wisps sticking out from where Max had tangled, his chest rose and fall and the T-Shirt he was wearing (Max’s), had slipped off the shoulder and revealed a delicious collarbone that further contoured as he panted.“You okay?” he smiled.Max could’ve swore he drooled, “Uh- fuck, yeah I am. Really-um, didn’t expect that heh.”Bradley rolled his eyes, “So charming.”Max smiled at the playfulness, but he turned serious, concern etching into his features. Bradley, already overwhelmed quickly panicked and sat up so that Max was sat on his heels on the bed.“I just- are you sure?” he asked, “I don’t wanna take advan- “Bradley covered Max’s mouth, “I know what you’re worried about, I promise this isn’t me coping with sex, I don’t feel pressured, and I don’t feel like I owe you my body. I know what I want Max, I need this and I need you, and I trust you with that.”“You had me on the mountain.” Max whispered, kissing Bradley’s forehead, “How far are you comfortable with going?”“As far as you’ll take me.”“Oh baby…” Max sighed, leaning back down for a kiss. “Mm, just let me know- if you-““Shut up I know.”“Mhm.”Max resumed their previous position, however this time he began to slowly make his way down Bradley’s neck, kissing and nipping down all the way to that prominent collarbone. He moaned as he nibbled and kissed the skin over it, his body was heating up fast. He licked a stripe up from Bradley’s collar to his neck and settled on biting teasingly at his earlobe. Bradley whined at each touch of Max’s lips on his skin. Each kiss and bite ignited him with a fire he wanted to dance in for all eternity. Max slid a hand up the T-shirt and lightly brushed a thumb back and forth on the left nipple while the other hand was placed over Bradley’s throat, the other thumb stroking his Adam’s apple as he tried in vain to catch his breath. The T-Shirt didn’t last long, it was thrown over his head in seconds. Max grabbed Bradley and placed him to sit on top of him. To have him feel how hard he was. A preview. Sitting on top of Max was a little embarrassing, but the feel of his dick pressing against his through the pajama pants almost made him melt. Without thinking, he thrust his hips against Max and let out a high-pitched moan. Max did too.“Fuck!” he moaned, a pleased frown on his face as he moved to kiss Bradley once again. “Fuck baby I’ll humiliate myself if you keep that up.” He smiled.“Wouldn’t be the first time.” Bradley shot back.Pulling away, Max stared at Bradley’s smug face and smirked. He flipped them once again.“I’ll show you humiliating.”Max reached down between Bradley’s legs and firmly palmed him.“Ah fuck! Max! Mmmm!”“Like that huh?”“Uh huh~” he whined.Max made quick work of ripping off the pants to reveal the rest of Bradley, he was beautiful. Toned legs and torso, dick at full staff and dripping wet, begging to be touched by the way it twitched. Max gently pet the sides of Bradley’s thighs and kissed at their crease where they met the pelvis.“Max…” Bradley breathed, awestruck at the sight.Forcing his gaze up from his body, Max met Bradley’s eyes as he lowered himself and began to lick the precum off. Bradley let out whines of anticipation as he tried to keep himself together. Max had tried to keep it slow, but watching a lover come undone from a single touch (or lick) was enough to send him reeling. He bowed his head onto Bradley’s dick and began to suck, making sure his tongue pressed on the base and bobbed his head.“Fuck! Max, Max oh God!” Bradley’s head was thrown back, too encompassed in the fireworks threatening to explode. He focused on keeping it together, refusing to buck into his partner’s mouth like some animal. He placed a hand on Max's shoulder earning a wince.
"Watch the arm lovely.""Sorry.""You will be." he smiled, and resumed sucking extra hard and faster, hands coming up to tease around his scrotum.
“Oh Max yes, just like that. Mmm! Fuck that mouth oh God oh Max! Max, I’m gonna come. You’re gonna make me-“Max popped off and used a thumb to wipe away the spit that collected on the corner of his lip. He began to kiss up Bradley’s stomach, chest, and neck until he reached his lips.“You taste good.” He smirked.Bradley hummed and grew even redder, his dick twitching at the compliment, “Thanks?”Max laughed and kissed him again, “I’ve got lube, do you want to bottom?”“Is that okay?”“Of course honey, I’m not picky.”Max gave him one last peck and maneuvered to the other end of the hotel room where he dug around his backpack and produced a travel size bottle of lube.
He grabbed a condom as well and hopped back on the bed.“Giddy are we?”“Says you.”“Hey I’m not the one that packed intimate items besides their boxers.” He shot back.Max rolled his eyes as coated the pad of his middle finger and began to circle around Bradley’s ass hole. Watching Bradley carefully, he slowly inserted his finger in and held it there a moment to let him adjust. Bradley was watching half-lidded when Max tipped up his chin to look at him.“You okay?” he asked. Bradley nodded but Max didn’t believe him. “Baby you are so tight my finger is gonna fall off. Relax for me.”Max rubbed small circles into Bradley’s hip with the one free hand he had while he took a couple of minutes to coax open his partner.“Another?” he asked.Bradley could only mumble a barely audible confirmation. Max followed and added a ring finger. That one hurt a little more and Bradley grit his teeth to accommodate, Max began to lean forward and kiss him without jostling too much. After a few more minutes of scissoring, a third was added and the pattern repeated, this time with oral to accompany. Finally, when Max felt Bradley was stretched enough, he pulled out, wrapped up and lubed himself, using his own shirt as a rag and throwing it to the side.“Ready?” he asked Bradley, lining up.Bradley already drooling from the finger work Max left gave a faint nod. Max went ahead and slowly pushed in, refusing to give into the beautiful hot and tight feel. He pushed only a fourth of the way in before Bradley hissed and groaned, face scrunching in pain.“Shh, shh. I’ll go slow baby. You call the shots okay?”Max kissed all over Bradley’s face and pet his hair as he took the needed time to adjust.“Lil- little more.” Bradley stuttered.“Alright baby, just tap the good arm when you need me to stop.” Max pushed another fourth (halfway) before Bradley put a hand on his arm, tears in eyes. Max obeyed and waited; he was a patient man.“Mmm fuck!” Bradley breathed.“Shh, I’ve got you baby. You’re so tight baby, do you want more prep?”Bradley shook his head and let out a breath, willing his body to relax. “Please, just go for it.”“You sure?”“Like a band-aid right?”Trusting his partner, Max inserted himself the rest of the way, watching as Bradley once again was met with the uncomfortable burning intrusion, but only a bit less painful this time. He let his head fall limp on the pillow. Max cradled him and kissed his forehead.“Good job babe, so good. You adjusted so fast for me.” He praised.“Max…..move.” he punched out.
Starting out with micro thrusts, Max slowly moved his hips and let out a low moan in gratification.“Bradley oh my god. Fuck, it feels so good….you feel so good baby.”Steadily, Max picked up the speed and when he did, he found that he had punched the right button to make Bradley scream.“Fuck! There again! Please!” he cried.Max followed, ramming against his prostate as fast and hard as best he could, resisting the urge to just use him. He continued his motions as he held Bradley.“Mm Bradley…” he whined.“Max ah!”Through a series of punched out moans, Bradley was quickly reduced to simply whimpering, his groans and whines hitching as his breathing quickened along with the sound of wet sweaty skin pounded on each other.“Fuck Max I love it!” he cried, “Faster, please, don’t stop don’t stop don’t stop!”Grunting, Max picked up the pace as he lifted both of Bradley’s legs onto his good shoulder as he rammed into him, increasing the pressure against his prostate.. Bradley was folded into a pretzel, neither really cared. His whimpers increasingly wet and shaky, he was close and it could be heard in his breathing.“Please please please” he begged over and over between ragged pants and whines.Max held his legs with an arm and placed a palm on Bradley’s chest, “Breathe baby.” He gently spoke as he continued to ruin his insides. “Keep breathing.” He grunted.“Max fuck! Max, Max fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck!”“That’s right, mmfh, that’s good honey!”“Max, Ah…AH!”With that final scream, Bradley came hard all over his stomach and chest. His body tingled as he came, the thrusts from Max quickly becoming overwhelming, the thrusts into his asshole slowly turning from a pleasurable tingle to a dull ache and he voiced it just as well.“I can’t! Too much Max I can’t!” he cried, his nails digging crescents into Max’s forearms.“I know baby, little more. I’m almost there.” He promised. It wasn't exactly his intention to keep ramming into Bradley’s prostate, it just so happened that he stayed that way.“So good babe, so fucking good, fuck. Oh fuck!” he howled.Max wrapped Bradly in a bear hug as he thrust into him a few final times before hiding his face in Bradley’s neck and holding his head as he came with a loud satisfied groan. They held onto each other a moment before pulling away and calming each other down by kissing. Max slowly pulled out and flopped down beside Bradley and cradling him into his chest as they rode out the endorphins and caught their breath. Bradley felt his left ear had its hearing diminished and he laughed.“What is it?”“You fucked the hearing out of me!” Bradley laughed.“Not like you ever listen anyway.”“Mhm.” He agreed, snuggling more into Max’s chest.“Hang on, let me get us cleaned up.”Max gave a quick kiss to Bradley’s crown as he went to grab a hotel hand towel and wiped the cum and lube clean off of their bodies. He tossed it in the hotels hamper and bounced back into bed with Bradley and began running his hand along his arm. They sat like that in utter bliss, taking in each other’s post – orgasm high, Max giving small forehead kisses or extra squeezes here and there.Then, Bradley turned around and stared at Max.“Hi.” Max smiled.“What do you want to be with me?”“Straight outta the gutter huh?”Bradley kept staring, his face was beginning to fall, he didn’t know how he could possibly deal with this being a one time thing. A friends with benefits deal would only hurt more. Max would see the turmoil going on behind his eyes so he intertwined their hands together and kissed their overlapping fingers.“Well, I was hoping that, if you want, we could try seeing each other? Exclusively?”Bradley smiled and squeezed his hand tighter. “I want that too.” His admitted, laying back down into the cuddle. After the food and sex, he was ready to nap for another century.“Thank you.” He whispered.Max smiled and pet his hair, holding him tight, “Any time baby.”