Page 30

30

CONNOR

I ’d finished my paper and nailed my finals. My first year in grad school had come to an end. The night of my last final, Spencer and I went out for beers to celebrate. He was headed to Boise the next day for the summer break, and as luck would have it, Evan was going to keep him company on the bus ride to southern Idaho. I doubt luck had anything to do with it.

Evan graduated with honors and finished his senior year at EOU. Once he was finished with school, he planned to work and be groomed in his dad’s business, and I knew Spencer was going to miss him next year. I just hoped they planned on spending time together over the summer.

We sat in a bar close to the university where most of the students of drinking age hung out. “Do you and Evan have any plans over the summer?” I asked him as the bartender put our beers on coasters.

Spencer took a drink. “Nothing set in stone. We talked about going camping around the Fourth of July, and that’s about it. He’ll be busy learning the ropes of his dad’s cybersecurity business, so I doubt we’ll see much of each other besides an occasional date.” He looked forlorn.

Since I was curious, I asked, “Has he come out to his family yet?”

“No. We’ve had long discussions about it. His family is quite conservative and Mormon. I can’t imagine him coming out any time soon.” Spencer looked at his beer mug. “I don’t really see a future for us. He’s graduated, and I’ll be headed back here for another year. All we have left is the summer, and I hate being his secret. It’ll be difficult.”

“Don’t think too hard about the future, Spence,” I replied, trying to comfort him. “Think positively and give his family some credit. It’s his fear, and all you can do is support him. Coming out is a big step, and I hope his family will be supportive for his sake.”

Spencer turned to face the bar with his beer mug. “I’m kinda envious of you right now,” he said, not glancing my way.

“Why’s that?”

“You’re headed out with Mason for the summer, traveling from state to state, and you’ll be together the entire time. In my head, that’s a chapter in the Envy 101 textbook,” he said sadly. I put my hand on his knee.

“Listen, Spence. There are no guarantees about how things will pan out with Mason. I’m enjoying my time with him right now and the opportunity to be by his side. And I get to learn more about the trucking and freight business.”

I turned on my stool to face him which took my hand from his leg. “It’s not all going to be ‘sex in the rig' with my trucker daddy,” I said, using air quotes. “I plan on writing a research paper on the experience. I’ll also be lifting and pushing freight around. Fuck, manual labor in the summer heat. Are you still envious?” I snorted.

Spencer sat quietly. “I’m envious that you’ll be together all the time, and I won’t have that with Evan.” I was beginning to wonder if his original statement about their relationship not being serious had ventured into something more for both of them. I noticed they’d grown closer through the school year.

All I could do was respond positively. “Just enjoy each other’s company and see what happens over the summer. You may be surprised.” I moved into his space, bent over, and looked at him with a smile. He simply nodded and took a deep breath. “If I’m not mistaken, you seem to have taken on the overthinker’s role you love to scold me about,” I said. He chuckled.

“When is your sexy trucker man picking you up?” His mood lifted some when he asked.

“Day after tomorrow. We decided to make it easy, so I didn’t have to pack for Portland and the road. Mom was disappointed I wouldn't be home for the summer, but she was happy with my opportunity. Mason will be coming through town here and said he’d pick me up at the dorm. He told me we’d be making a delivery in town to some mom-and-pop store while he’s here.”

Spencer looked at me and grabbed my hand, bouncing it on my thigh. “I’m going to miss you, buddy. I hope it works out that you guys can swing through Boise on one of your routes, and you can meet my family since I spent Christmas with yours.” He hesitated, then asked, “Have you talked to your brother since Christmas?”

I skirted his question with a quick ‘No.’ I took a swig of beer. “I’d like to meet your family, Spence. I’ll be sure and bring it up to Mason.” I squeezed his hand. “Let’s have one more beer and head out. You need to finish packing and get some rest for your early bus ride in the morning.”

We chatted through another round of beers, then headed back to the dorm. Spencer didn’t seem quite as down on the walk back, but I could tell he sensed changes were taking place. We’d both miss each other, but it was only for three months. I didn’t like it when my golden retriever wasn’t in his normal, upbeat, happy mood.

The next morning, Evan came by to grab Spencer, and we said our farewells. Spencer and I decided to share a small cubicle at a local self-storage facility for the summer. He didn’t want to haul everything to Boise, and I didn’t have any place to store my stuff while on the road. We discovered that getting the same dorm rooms wasn’t guaranteed, but we’d requested them back in the fall. Strike up another change we might have to deal with.

Mason texted me throughout the day as I finished packing what I’d need to take for the summer. He said he’d arrive the following day to pick me up. By the time I packed, repacked, and repacked again, I had just the essentials that wouldn’t take up too much space in his rig. I felt rather proud of myself.

The next morning, Mason arrived right on time. Our greeting was heated and charged, and he asked to see what my dorm room looked like. He got a blowjob after my nickel tour, and I figured that was the reason he wanted to see my room in the first place. When we finally got my things into the sleeper portion of the cab, we were off to make my first delivery before leaving town.

“Okay, boss, where are we off to?” I asked rather excitedly.

Mason gave me the side eye. “Boss? That sounds weird coming from you.”

“But you call me ‘Bossy’?” I teased.

“That’s different,” he retorted.

“How about, ‘Sir’ then?” I asked with a wink.

He snorted. “That I like, even in bed!”

“Noted, Sir.” We both smiled as he put the truck in gear and headed to our first destination.

It only took a few minutes to reach the convenience store. Mason told me about the owners and that he’d always enjoyed making deliveries to Elmer and Ruthie. I’d been in the store before and remembered I’d had one of the best cappuccinos I’d ever tasted. As Mason backed the truck up next to a side door, it was opened by a jovial-looking older man. Mason parked the rig, and we both jumped out.

Mason was the first to deliver the hellos. “Hi, Elmer. Great to see you again.” I stayed quiet and waited for him to introduce me.

“Good to see you again, Mason,” he said, looking at me but shaking Mason’s hand.

Mason noticed Elmer was sizing me up and quickly said, “I’d like you to meet Connor. He’s a graduate student here at the university, learning the trucking business. I hired him to be my ride-along for the summer.”

“Pleased to meet you, sir,” I said, keeping it formal and taking in his kind features.

“Ah, call me Elmer, son,” he replied with a big smile. He looked at Mason. “Finally tired of being lonely, Mason?” I felt there was something more meaningful in that question, and I heard Mason’s breath hitch slightly, as if he’d been caught.

“Well, it’ll be nice to have someone to chat with on the road, but I thought giving him the chance to see how the freight industry worked would be beneficial to his future career.” Mason didn’t give anything away, but I noticed his cheeks had reddened a little.

Elmer gave me his attention. “Must be a business major,” he said matter-of-factly.

“Yes, sir…er, Elmer.” I smiled. “Possibly in import/export or something involving transportation.” It was the same answer I’d given Mason months ago when we met.

“Oh, so either smuggling or trafficking?” Elmer said with raised eyebrows and a wink. I knew he was joking.

I looked at Mason. “I like this guy. He’s funny. I think we’ll kill him last.” I kept a smile on my face, and we all cracked up, which brought an older woman out from the front of the store.

“Connor, this is my wife, Ruthie. Ruthie, this here’s Connor,” Elmer said, introducing us.

Ruthie said hello and shook my hand but immediately gave Mason a big motherly hug that he melted into. She backed up, giving me an approved once-over. Mason explained to her why I was with him, just as he had with Elmer.

“I’ve seen this handsome young man in our store before,” Ruthie said.

My face flushed at the compliment. “Yes, ma’am, a couple of times. You make the best cappuccinos I’ve ever had,” I said, complimenting her. She beamed proudly.

Mason and I got to work after our pleasantries. We unloaded their boxes into the back storage room and stacked them properly. Mason explained the usual routine he had, and I could tell they held a special place in his heart. They treated him like a son, and after losing his parents at a young age, Elmer and Ruthie had obviously become surrogates in a way.

We rearranged the freight in the back of his truck and secured it. Mason had a system he shared with me, and it made perfect sense. With two of us, it didn’t take long, and I got excited about how the summer would go. When we’d finished and locked the back of the truck up, we went to say goodbye to Elmer and Ruthie in the store.

I noticed Ruthie had Mason’s attention, so I took to the snack aisle to grab chips for the road. They chatted for a few minutes, her hand on his arm, and I saw her give him a couple of soda cans—he laughed as she gave him another big hug.

I went up front to pay, my arms laden with bags of carbs, and Elmer rang them up. Once I’d handed him the money, I realized he only charged me for about half my stash as he finished bagging them up. We said our goodbyes, and they said they hoped to see me again once school got back underway.

We settled into the truck cab before pulling out. Mason checked his laptop to figure out travel times and distances. He coached me on how he planned his trips, and I found it difficult to concentrate as I took notes. I noticed the tick in his jaw when he focused on what had to be done. And the way he bit the end of his pen before writing on his printouts. They were simple gestures, but so Mason. I was falling for him.

It scared me a little.