=== Friendly warning: Parts of this series include incest between a man and his father ===
*****
I watched the green hills pass by as we were getting further and further away from civilization from my back seat. Wow, this place was really out there... I have to say, I was a little nervous about this whole idea. Two weeks was a long time to be somewhere in the cabin for a vacation. I’m not going to pretend like I’m not a city rat. I’m used to having my warm water, my internet connection, and my comfort. Sure, it’s nice to get out once in a while but for me personally, it gets old pretty fast.
Not to mention the company I was going with... Don’t get me wrong, Hunter - my boyfriend - is an amazing guy! A complete polar opposite of me. A person who only moved to the city because of the job opportunities. In his heart, though, he will always stay a country boy. Still, I love him. We’ve been together for over three years and it’s been my most successful relationship yet. I think this one might be the one. Nice, caring, funny... not to mention hot. Hazel eyes and a buzzcut, a constant five-o’clock shadow on his face, nicely toned body you only get when you grow up on a farm. We started dating when we were both twenty-one years old and we’re still in love. Damn, I would spend a whole month in a tent outside in the woods with him if I had to!
His dad though? He was a bit of a wildcard... I didn’t know him much. Since I was very busy at my job, I barely had an opportunity to spend any quality time with him or the rest of his family. I knew that he was very accepting of Hunter being gay and also of our relationship - all around he was probably a really nice guy, but that wasn’t apparent at first sight. He didn’t really smile much and he was the kind of person who could shut you up just by looking at you the right way.
There were some similarities between him and my boyfriend that I was able to pick up - like the nose and the eyes, for example, they were exactly the same on both of them. What set them apart though was the dad’s rougher face, graying hair, full-grown salt & pepper beard and most importantly his robust figure. Not by any means fat, more like built. He looked like he could crush your skull using just one of his fists. I quickly learned that he wasn’t aggressive in the slightest, but it was still a feature of his that was intimidating.
The distance between my boyfriend’s dad and I was one of the reasons we were going on this trip to their family cabin. Another reason was that Hunter felt that ever since his younger brother left for college, his dad was struggling with a bit of an empty nest syndrome. With their mom being gone for their entire lives, it was up to Hunter’s dad to raise him and his two brothers. Now there was nobody at home and Hunter’s dad was becoming a bit of a recluse.
Hence, this trip with just the three of us. To a secluded cabin with no internet, faulty wiring and probably tons of spiders. Greeeeaatttttt...
It was almost as if Hunter could read my thoughts. He leaned back to see me gazing out of the window and grinned.
“Don’t you worry, baby,” he said in a mocking, overly sweet voice, “I’m sure your Xbox misses you just as much as you do.”
I turned around and repaid Hunter’s grin with my own as I playfully pushed my palm against his forehead and forced him back into his seat.
“Of course, I forgot,” I added, sarcastically, “Being raised in the country makes you sooo much better than me.”
He laughed at that and even his dad let out a little chuckle. That was good. We barely exchanged any words just between us so far. If this trip was to be anything else besides incredibly awkward, that had to change.
“You know, Gary,” his dad addressed me while keeping his eyes on the road, “I don’t know what kind of horror stories my son told you about this place but it’s much nicer than you probably imagine. It was recently renovated. And when you see the surroundings, you’ll understand why did we have to get so far away to see it.”
“Okay,” I smiled, “Thanks for the kind words, but I think you two are seriously underestimating me. I’ll have you know I was in the boy scouts when I was a kid.”
“You were?” Hunter turned around again, surprised.
“Well...” I hesitated, “I mean my parents had to pick me up after about two days, but technically, yes.”
Hunter let out a howling laugh at that and reached back to mess up my hair. He knew I both hated and loved when he did that.
“Aww, that sounds so much more like you!”
“Does my son treat you like this often, Gary?” his dad asked playfully, “If so, I might have done a thing or two wrong when I raised him.”
“No need to worry, Mr. Cooper,” I assured him as I gave my boyfriend a warm smile, “He treats me like a real gentleman.”
“I hope so,” his dad responded. I could feel that the atmosphere was starting to light up already. Maybe I was a little pessimistic about this whole thing...
“And there we are!” Mr. Cooper announced as the car came to a stop, “Please, put your seats back to the upright position. We have reached our destination.”
I looked out of the window and I was surprised to find that this cabin really did look pretty nice! A little small, yeah, but the wooden exterior looked freshly new and it seemed like an incredibly cozy place - kind of like the smaller hotels in the mountains you’d normally pay outrageous money to stay in. But this was just for us - no neighbors, no other visitors... Just me, Hunter and his dad. I immediately felt bad about voicing my uncertainty about this to Hunter the night before. Perhaps we could make this a nice vacation after all!
We got out of the car and my two other companions started unloading everything immediately. Wanting to prove myself I immediately stepped in to help, even though it looked a bit funny - Hunter was carrying a briefcase bigger than my torso and his dad managed to pick up two huge coolers full of food under those muscled arms of his while I had to use two of my hands to carry one medium-sized bag. I was expecting some comments about that but both of them let it pass - they probably appreciated that I got right into it instead of sitting around and watching.
It took us an outrageous amount of time to unpack everything - by the time we were done, we were completely sweaty and panting. Hunter’s dad lost his shirt and was now wearing only a white tank top, showcasing his wide, hairy shoulders along with his pecs and a slight beer belly. If there was a gay slang dictionary, his photo is what you would find under the word “bear”. I felt comfortable having two men like this around me - I knew I was absolutely useless in the wilderness and if I was going to survive, I really needed somebody to balance that out, so to speak.
“I think that’s about it,” Mr. Cooper sighed and used one of his thick forearms to wipe the sweat off his forehead. Then his eyes grew wide as he realized something. “Oh shoot! I just remembered.”
“What is it, dad?” Hunter asked, “Did we forget something?”
“Yeah... I forgot to buy the fuel for the boiler. There’s probably not gonna be any in the basement. Dammit... Hunter, you were supposed to remind me!”
