Making
It Work
Well, that kills that,
Cameron thought as he stared out the sliding glass patio door. The rain was
steadily hitting the metal railing that jutted out near the edge of the old
brick apartment building. The weather report had said that it was going to be a
nice day with only the chance of a passing shower. Of all the days for them to
be wrong!
Brody
was supposed to be here in ten minutes to pick him up for their date. The only
problem was that they were supposed to go hiking. Brody told him to pack some
hiking gear and a swimsuit because he knew a great spot with a secluded lake
where they could go. It had sounded like so much fun.
Brody
and Cameron had met about two months ago at a hiking group meeting. The two hit
it off immediately and starting dating. They quickly discovered after one
dinner date that neither one of them really liked being inside. They both were
inside enough with their jobs: Brody as a doctor and Cameron as a sous chef in
a local Italian restaurant. Ever since that first date, all of their planned
activities involved being outside.
But
now the rain had spoiled that. It was not lighting, but it would still make for
dangerous hiking conditions. Especially considering the difficulty of their
hikes lately. Cameron was debating calling Brody to see what else he wanted to
do when his cell phone buzzed from inside his jean pocket.
Taking
it out, Cameron saw that he had a text from Brody. It was a simple message,
just reminding Cameron to bring his swim trunks. But it confused Cameron.
Surely they were not going to go hiking in this. Were they?
Cameron
was still trying to figure his boyfriend out when he got another text,
informing him that Brody was outside waiting for him. Shrugging, Cameron
grabbed the black book bag he had packed earlier in the morning and headed out
of his two-bedroom apartment.
Brody
was waiting for Cameron in his 2009 Chevy Cobalt. He looked as great as ever
with his floppy black hair draped over his smother shaven cheeks. But what
confused Cameron was how he was dressed. He was wearing a pair of casual plaid
shorts with a blue T-shirt that stretched over his slightly muscled form. And
were those flip-flops?
“Hey,
baby,” Brody said as he casually leaned over to kiss Cameron.
“Hey,”
Cameron replied as he settled his tall frame in the passenger seat. “So what
are you wearing?”
“What?
You don’t like.”
“No,
it is not that. But I don’t think that we can go hiking with you wearing that.”
Brody
laughed. “Cam, we can’t go hiking in this. And you know it. No, I have other
plans.”
Cameron
gave his man a curious look, but sighed as Brody turned away shifting the car
into drive. He knew that he was never going to get an answer now. Brody was a
huge supporter of surprises.
Brody
kept driving outside of Philadelphia towards his unknown destination. Cameron,
for his part, allowed his curiosity to die down and started enjoying his time with
Brody. Their schedules did not always allow them to share a ton of time
together. Soon they were talking about funny things that happened at work, what
was going on with friends and family and all the other components of their
lives. Cameron found that he was having such a good time that he did not care
if they ever stopped.
Of
course, their talk did end when Brody pulled his car into a massive parking
lot. Cameron looked around and quickly figured out where they were.
“You
brought us to an amusement park?!”
“Trust
me.”
Cameron
gave Brody a wary look as his boyfriend parked the car. Nevertheless, as soon
as the engine was cut, Cameron was grabbing his bag. It was a little scary, but
he was quickly getting to the point where he would follow Brody to the end of
the Earth.
Brody
led Cameron to the front of the park, the rain starting to soak their clothes.
After quite a bit of protest over the money end, Brody paid for two day-passes
and led Cameron into the park.
From
what Cameron could see just inside the gate, it was a very nice amusement park.
The giant Merry-Go-Round sat in the middle of the fairway, which was lined with
stores and restaurants. Giant metal roller coasters sprang up in the sky,
making Cameron’s heart race. He had never been much of a roller coaster fan.
Thinking
that he should probably explain that, Cameron turned to Brody only to see his
man walking off to the right.
“Brody?”
“Come
on!”
Cameron
followed Brody off the fairway onto another major walkway. After a few steps,
Cameron realized where they were going.
“You
took me to a water park?”
“Absolutely.
Haven’t you ever been to a water park on a rainy day?”
Cameron
shook his head.
Brody
smiled. “Then you are in for a real treat. Come on. You are being very slow and
we need to get changed.”
Cameron,
still skeptical, followed Brody into the park. They quickly got changed and stashed
their clothes in a rented locker.
That
done, Brody led Cameron to one of the water slides near their locker. They
quickly grabbed an inner tube and carried them up the massive metal staircase.
“There
is no line,” Cameron remarked, as they reached the top.
“Of
course not. It is raining,” Brody said with a smile.
“You
knew this.”
“Yeah.
No one wants to go to an amusement park if it is raining, so there are no
lines. But it does not matter of you go to a water park, because the whole goal
is to get wet anyway. As long as it does not thunder, you are safe. Most people
don’t think about that.”
“You
are a genius,” Cameron said, giving his man a gentle kiss on the lips.
“And
you are just learning this?”
Laughing,
the men set their tubes in adjoining tubes and pushed off down the slide.
Cameron forgot how awesome it felt to go down a water slide.
Luckily
for him, he had the chance to remember that time and time again. Brody and
Cameron spent the entire day going up and down the water slides, unimpeded by
lines or crowds. It was the most fun that he had in a long time.
But
for Cameron, the best part of the day came right after lunch. The two men
decided to take a break from the water slides and take a turn on one of the
river rides. Basically, they each got an inner tube and set it on a river that
ran around the water park. It did not get its riders very wet, just allowed
them a relaxing ride. By that point, the rain had slowed to a drizzle so they
were not pelted as they went around the river. But the park was still deserted
so they had the best of both worlds. The two men decided to hold hands so that
they could ride the river together without the current carrying one tube
farther than the other. They went around telling stories and jokes, smiles
permanently stuck on their faces. Cameron could not remember a time when he felt
more loved.
Eventually,
the rides became tiring and the men changed their clothes so that they could
leave the park. The rain had ended, so it seemed appropriate that their day
should end at the same time. Cameron had to admit that while he was skeptical
at first, he had a great day.
“Thank
you for today,” Cameron said as he and Brody left the park hand-in-hand.
“You
are welcome. I am glad that you enjoyed it. But it is not over yet. I know of a
great restaurant around the corner that we can have a great dinner at.”
Cameron
smiled. Brody always thought of everything.
“Hey,
look at that.” Cameron looked up at Brody’s remark to see his boyfriend
pointing towards the sky. There was a rainbow in the sky! Cameron always loved
rainbows and not just because of what they had come to represent. They always
felt refreshing to him.
“A
beautiful end to a beautiful day,” Cameron whispered as he stared at the colors
arching in the sky.
“Never
the end,” Brody said turning towards his man. “This is just the beginning.”
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