by J. M. Snyder
They were getting close to Sumter, Court knew. He could feel it in his bones, a swelling like the tide rising in response to the moon. Maybe Ronnie felt it, too. Maybe he’d change his mind and decide to see what the old fort held for them, after all.
Could Court maybe convince him to check it out? He didn’t know, but he didn’t want to come this close and not go all the way. Ronnie was right, he knew—Sumter couldn’t begin to replace the world that had disappeared over the course of a few short months, but that didn’t mean Court couldn’t hope for it to, right?
The sun was setting behind the trees when they saw the first sign for Interstate 26, leading to Charleston. Bree goosed her ATV ahead, and Ronnie easily matched her speed. Even though Court knew the sun set early this time of the year—it had to be no later than five in the evening, tops—the growing shadows made him feel as if they should be looking for a place to bed down for the night. He squeezed his arms tight around Ronnie’s waist, then put his mouth against the back of Ronnie’s ear to holler, “Shouldn’t we be stopping sometime soon?”
Ronnie let off the throttle and the bike slowed. Bree raced ahead, but when she glanced over her shoulder and saw Ronnie gliding to a stop on the shoulder, she did a U-turn in the highway and came back. Cutting her engine, she glided close to them and sighed. “So you’re really not going with us, are you?” she asked.
“Court wants to stop a moment,” Ronnie said with a nod behind him.
Court ran a hand through his wind-blown hair and sighed. “I just thought maybe we could set up camp or something…”
“We’re so close,” Bree said. “If we keep going, we’ll get there before midnight. Then we can eat and rest, whatever. But if you’re still not going to Sumter—”
Ronnie said simply, “I’m not.”
Bree looked past him at Court, her eyes pleading. “You guys! We’re so close. I know you think it’ll be overcrowded, and you might be right, but what if you’re not? You’ll never know unless you see for yourself.”
“You know, she’s right,” Court said softly. “We could just go and see, and then if we don’t like it, keep going south. It isn’t like we’re on a schedule or anything.”
Ronnie’s back stiffened; Court felt it beneath his hands, and a sudden chill radiated from his friend. “If you want to go, then go,” Ronnie muttered. “I’m not stopping you.”
Gently, Court touched the small of Ronnie’s back. “Only if you come, too.”
“I’m not going,” Ronnie said again.
From behind Bree, Adam sighed. “God, why don’t we just camp here for the night, hmm? Sleep on it and see how we feel in the morning.”
“I already know how I feel,” Bree told him. “I’m going to Sumter. Aren’t you?”
Adam nodded meekly. “Yeah, me, too. How about you, Court?”
For a long moment, Court considered it. Literally gave it serious thought. He never would know what Sumter was like unless he went and saw it for himself, yes. But if Ronnie didn’t want to go, and Court left him behind, how would they ever find each other again? There were no phones anymore, no email, no way to stay in touch once Ronnie was out of sight. Nothing to bring them together again, and after all this time, after holding onto whatever they’d had for so long, Court didn’t want to risk losing everything they might still be to each other.
Softly, his voice so low only Ronnie heard it, Court asked, “You really don’t want to go?”
He knew what Ronnie’s answer would be, but he had hoped maybe being so close to their destination would change his friend’s mind. It didn’t. With a half-hearted shrug, Ronnie turned towards him and, in the last of the sunlight, pierced him with pale eyes that still had the power to haunt Court’s dreams. “You can go if you want,” Ronnie told him, speaking just as softly. “But I won’t.”
Bree must’ve caught this last bit because she wanted to know, “Where are you going to go then?”
“I don’t know,” Ronnie admitted.
“If you had some end in mind,” she continued, “then I’d say sure, let’s go. But Sumter is here, right here, and you’re just going to wander…where? Why?”
Ronnie shrugged again. “Wherever. Because I can.”
A long moment passed, then Bree sighed. “Well, fine. It’s getting too dark to travel, anyway. Let’s camp here like Adam said. In the morning we can divvy up the supplies, if you still want to go.”
Ronnie still held Court’s gaze. As Bree and Adam dismounted their bike, he asked, “Do you want to go with them? You can say yes.”
“God, no.” The thought of leaving Ronnie made Court go numb, and he wrapped his arms tightly around Ronnie’s waist. “I’ve been in love with you all my life,” he said, the words tumbling out in a rush, “and I just didn’t realize it until it was almost too late. Everything else I had, all of it, fell away one by one until all I had left was you.” He squeezed his eyes shut against tears he didn’t want to cry. They pricked his lids and he clenched his jaw, biting back a sob. “I don’t care where we go, or why, or even how we get there. All I want is you. All I ever wanted was you.”
Ronnie covered Court’s hands with his. He turned and planted a tender, lingering kiss on Court’s forehead. “I don’t want you to leave me,” he murmured.
Court replied, “Then I won’t.” What Sumter was or was not no longer made any difference to him. If he never managed to recover the world he’d lost, he didn’t care. All he needed was Ronnie. Together they would live, and love, to the very end.
THE END
ABOUT J.M. SNYDER
A multi-published author of gay erotic/romantic fiction, J.M. Snyder began writing boyband slash before turning to self-publishing. She has worked with several different e-publishers, including Amber Allure Press, Aspen Mountain Press, eXcessica Publishing, and Torquere Press, and has short stories published in anthologies by Alyson Books, Aspen Mountain Press, Cleis Press, eXcessica Publishing, Lethe Press, and Ravenous Romance. For more information, including excerpts, free stories, and monthly contests, please visit jmsnyder.net.
ABOUT JMS BOOKS LLC
JMS Books LLC is a small electronic press specializing in gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender fiction (including erotica, romance, and young adult), as well as popular and literary fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. While our preference is for GLBT stories, we accept stories containing any and all sexualities, as well as general fiction without a romantic subplot. Visit our site at jms-books.com for our latest releases and submission guidelines!