Open Road (17 page)

They stood in the Texas heat for nearly an hour, and were told by others in line that an hour wasn’t really all that bad by Franklin Barbecue standards. But for Angus, it was like another part of the adventure. Something he’d done that he would’ve never done before, something he’d done with Reece.

He looked over at Reece, who was excited like a kid in line for a ride at Disneyland, and couldn’t help smiling—a real smile, finally, not a show, but one he felt to the bottom of his gut. It felt good being with Reece and not worrying if Brad was going to be pissed off about it. It had felt right the other night when Reece had slung an arm over his shoulders when they were walking around Vegas, and it had felt impossibly good when they’d danced close, touching more than they may have ever touched before. Reece, with his impossible gold skin, long-lashed eyes, and beautiful smile. He was… really the best part of Angus’s life. And he probably always had been.

ANGUS HAD
never felt so old in his entire life. Except maybe the night his ex left him for a
child
. They were walking around the 6th Street area, and bus after bus of college kids kept pouring in to party. It was Thursday. Honestly. He’d have thought Thursday would be tame, but they were surrounded by kids having a great time, and Angus didn’t know if he wanted to be one of them.

“This is kind of cool. Little more rowdy than Vegas,” Reece said. They’d been looking for a more chill place to grab a drink and something small to eat after their mammoth lunch.

“Yeah, I don’t think the average age here is more than about twenty-three.”

“You’re probably right.”

It was cool, though, with the lights and the open-doored bars. He’d started to figure out that every city’s entertainment district had a different feel—luxurious and a little hedonistic, rowdy and down to earth, expensive and celeb filled…. They all had their place and their culture within the city. Angus wondered if that was something he could do someday soon, fly around the country and write about all the places to party.
Deep pursuit, moron.
At least there would be pretty pictures.

He’d been too busy staring at the lights and the people to notice Reece had walked up to a group of guys and was talking to them. Angus made his way over just as Reece waved and said, “Thank you.”

“What were you doing?”

“Just asking those guys where we can find a quieter place for some food and a beer. They gave us a few recommendations. Said Licha’s is great Mexican.”

“Burritos?” Angus said. He’d never say no to a burrito.

“Burritos.”

“HEY, YOU
wanna go home yet?” Reece asked when they got back to the hotel that night. “I’m just checking.”

Angus didn’t know why Reece felt the need to test that idea with him every day. He didn’t want to go home. And he was having fun. Finally. Real fun. Not the manic distractions of Coachella and Vegas, but he was honestly starting to be really, really happy. He had a sneaking suspicion it might be because of what he was starting to feel for the guy next to him, which could be good. Or a total disaster.

“Not really. Do you?”

Reece gave him a slow smile—the kind that usually came before a rare bit of misbehavior when they were kids. “No. Where do you want to go?”

Angus thought about it for a second, then pulled up a map on his brand-new phone. Really… once he took a quick look, the answer was obvious.

“I believe we’re going to New Orleans.”

New Orleans

THERE WAS
something about the French Quarter, Reece decided. He’d been fully prepared not to be into it. Kind of saw it as an older, smaller version of Vegas. But it wasn’t like that at all. The farther they drove into the city, the more he realized it wasn’t all lights and glitz and hedonism. Yeah, they hadn’t hit Bourbon Street yet, and Reece fully expected to see some of that, but what he’d found so far was… charm. And history. It was gorgeous.

He and Angus drove down street after street of old buildings with wrought-iron balconies, antique streetlamps, and covered sidewalks.

“This place is incredible,” Angus said. “I’d never really thought about visiting, but I love it.”

“I kind of always assumed I wouldn’t like it, but so far… this is beautiful.”

Angus wriggled in his seat. “I can’t believe we managed to hit this place on a Friday night. We’re going to have an awesome time.”

THEY’D JUST
driven into the heart of the French Quarter, from what Reece could tell, and were searching for their hotel. They’d passed the street a few times, but circled around the block. Either they were missing the place or doing something wrong. Reece was seriously looking forward to getting out of the car and walking around for a little while. Angus had found their hotel online and booked them a room. Reece was fairly sure they’d be fine; there weren’t
that
many places it could be, but the blocks were starting to all look the same.

They’d rolled down the windows to let the warm, odd-smelling air in. There was a scent to the French Quarter—stale beer and vomit near what Reece assumed was Bourbon Street, but once they’d pulled away from it, it wasn’t that. It was… different. It smelled old, somehow, like history and people and years of culture passing through. And Reece liked that. He liked the balconies and the way the whole place seemed to reach out and wrap its arms around him.

“Here, it says we turn
left
on here. We turned right the last time. And there it is.” Angus pointed at what looked like another one of the old stone houses, with a balcony and shuttered windows. “Chateau LeMoyne Hotel. That’s it.”

“How do you say the name?” Reece asked.

Angus chuckled. “I have no idea. I took German in high school just like you.”

“This place doesn’t look cheap.” Reece scanned the building. He wished he’d been the one to book the room.

“It wasn’t horrible.” Angus gave him a look that typically meant “drop it.” Which Reece did. It was always better not to get into it with Angus over money—that had been a constant since they were old enough to even discuss it. Angus had made plenty at the graphic design firm and seemed to feel like he owed Reece something—he’d been paying for more and more as the trip went on and he dragged himself out of his slump.

Reece found the hotel’s parking area, which was small, as expected in a place as cramped and old as the French Quarter, and they dragged their bags to check in for the next two nights. Reece decided they were going to have to make a plan after that. They were already pretty much on the East Coast, and they’d been gone for a little more than a week. He honestly didn’t want to go home. Not yet. It was like… he’d been waiting for an opportunity for it to be just him and Angus for ten years. He wasn’t quite ready to give it up. He’d gotten a bit behind on his work, but a day in the car with Angus driving had helped. He had an edited manuscript ready to send out as soon as he hooked up with Wi-Fi in their room.

Angus waved the envelope with their keys at him. “Second floor.”

“Cool.”

Reece followed Angus to the stairs and up to the second floor. “They ran out of double queens, but I told them a single king was fine. You okay with that?”

“Yeah. It’s fine.” Reece was probably a little too fine with it. Especially after their night cuddling in Santa Fe and the way it felt like he and Angus stood closer and closer. It was just…. Things felt different with them. Better somehow, like they weren’t the same two people who’d left Portland all those days ago.

“I figured.”

Reece used his key to open the door to what might have been the most charming hotel room he had ever seen. It had exposed brick walls, wooden floors, a huge four-poster bed, and a window that looked over a quaint patio surrounded by lush palms and lit only by strings of lights and hanging lanterns.

“This is gorgeous.”

“I know.” Angus laughed. “I think I want to move in.”

“What do you want to do tonight?”

“I honestly have no idea. I’d just like to see what we can see in walking distance, I guess. Grab some late dinner and maybe a drink.”

“Yeah, me too. Let me e-mail some things to my boss.”

“Sure. I can clean up and change into shorts.”

THEY DID
their own things for a few minutes and then ventured out into the French Quarter. Everything was lit for tourists, of course, but it didn’t have that bright-lights thing going on that Vegas and even 6th Street in Austin did. The lights were understated and even a little bit creepy in the best of ways. Their hotel wasn’t far from the bustle of Bourbon Street. It wasn’t hard to find, with the Friday night noise.
There
they found the lights comparable to any other party street. It was crowded, though nothing compared to what it would’ve probably been a few months before. Reece found himself very glad they’d missed the insanity of Mardi Gras. He did love the music coming out of the various bars and how much the people around them laughed and smiled.

They crossed over and made their way down the street next to Bourbon, looking at all the old buildings. It was amazing how quiet the city got as soon as they were off the main tourist drag. It was ironic. For how much he thought he wouldn’t like it, Reece could honestly see himself living there. It was crowded, sure, and he imagined it got horribly hot in the summer, but he felt like it fit.

Angus wound their arms together. “You want to go in there and get a drink or something? I could use a snack.” There was a restaurant that seemed to be nowhere near closing. It was filled with people and had the doors and windows flung open.

“Sure. I could grab something.”

They were seated and had ordered before Angus said much.

“I’ve been thinking a little about when we get back.”

Reece’s stomach dropped. He didn’t know what he expected, for Angus to say he was thinking he’d rather live on his own, try dating again….
Stop it.

“I might go back to school.”

“Really?” Much better than he’d expected.

“Yeah, I mean, I like graphic design, and I liked my job, but it wasn’t the passion of my life, you know?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Obviously I’d need to look for another job, but I want to see what else there is out there at the same time.”

“Where would you go?”

“Somewhere close. Maybe the art institute if I can get in. I don’t want to move away from you and Cherry.”

“So you’re still thinking you’ll move in with me?”

“If you’ll still have me after I’ve been such a pain in your butt.” Angus smiled. He made it look like a joke, but the insecurity was under there.

“Of course I will. You know that.”

“I don’t even know what I want to do. I just know… I need a change. And I think I’d like for that to be part of it.”

“Sure.”

“But I don’t want you to change. Or Cherry. I want you guys near me. Hopefully more than you used to be.” When he’d been with Brad, he’d never been as frustrated as Reece by their lack of time together. Especially after Angus and Brad had moved in together. Maybe he was starting to finally see how much time he and Reece hadn’t had with each other. Reece hoped what they were building didn’t disappear as soon as they got home.

“Yeah. I want that too.” Reece reached across the table before he could stop himself and took Angus’s hand. “You have no idea how much I missed you when you were with Brad all the time. It sucked.”

Angus pouted. “You’re making me feel bad,” he said. Reece knew he was faking, that he was actually happy Reece had missed him, so Reece just smiled.

“Good. You deserve it.”

He got a laugh and a swat in return, so he figured he’d said the right thing.

THE NEXT
day dawned warm and overcast. They had their showers and got dressed for a day of walking around.

“What do you want to see?” Reece asked.

“I honestly have no idea.”

“Just wander?”

“I can do that.”

They took off down Royal Street first, since Reece remembered from the night before that it was a little quieter than Bourbon, although during the day, it didn’t seem to matter as much. He barely looked at the street in front of him; instead he stared up at the buildings, nothing like he’d ever seen, other than in a few movies and postcards.

“You really like it here, don’t you?” Angus asked.

“Yeah. I thought it would be just like Vegas, you know, all fake and glitzy. But it’s the opposite really. A little gritty. Full of the past.”

“Yeah. It is really different, isn’t it? You just kind of want to sit there and watch the day go by.” Angus seemed as charmed by the city as he was. “I remember Brad saying a long time ago that he’d come here once and didn’t like it. I should’ve known not to listen to his ass.”

Reece decided to ignore the Brad comment. He had a lot of practice. “Can you imagine having one of those balconies?” He pointed up. “Just hang out on there and relax. I’d never want to do anything else.”

“You’d need, like… some really New Orleans-ish drink. And a hat.”

“A hat?” Reece laughed. “Why would you need a hat?”

“I don’t know. But you definitely need a hat.” Angus gave him that winning grin he always seemed to use to punctuate whatever point he was making, even if it didn’t make much sense.

“Where are we going to get breakfast? I’m starving. I think I ate too much dinner last night and it stretched my stomach out.” A drink and an appetizer had turned into Reece’s first po’boy and a number of appetizers. It was good they’d had at least a few blocks to walk back to the hotel.

“You always get hungry the next day when you chowed down, don’t you?”

Reece nodded. “Every damn time. So what are we going to get?”

“What about that famous place with the donut things?” Angus asked.

Reece couldn’t believe he’d forgotten them. “Oh
oh
. Café Du Monde. Beignets. They sell the mix at the market back home, but I’ve never gotten them.” He’d always wanted to try making beignets, but he figured it was better to buy them from the source than to ruin something he probably couldn’t make himself.