The car door burned gently in the heat as Chris leaned against it. The warmth was comforting, like the feel of the sun beating down as you lay sun-bathing. Casting his eyes over the back of the truck and two of his sons talking on the other side of the bed, Chris Clarke thought about the trip ahead, the drive, and what adventures he and the boys would get up to. He had been looking forward to this long weekend, time where he could spend it with the boys just him and them, a proper guys weekend, even as he knew that with his sons being as old as they were now they wouldn’t want to spend all that time with him. They likely had other plans.
Oh he had heard about the party their friends were planning up at the old abandoned lodge near the lake, and he knew well how much time they would spend chasing women who came out to enjoy the sun as they were. They were that age of course. But he didn’t mind. They would spend time with him — he had a lot of fun things planned — and when they were off being young men he could take the time to kick back and relax and have some time to himself. Nothing but beer, the sun, and a relaxing rest on the lounger. Not to mention he would hear about all their mishaps from each other and teasing them about that would be half the fun of being there. They may be young enough but they were far from experienced enough.
Yes, the trip was going to be just perfect. At least it would be if Casey arrived before it was too late to set off. Chris had a boating trip planned not long after they arrived so he wanted to make sure they got there on time, and as per usual his youngest son was nowhere to be seen. He had told Casey that he had to be on time and Casey had promised that he would be back. That kid had more of a life than his two brothers combined. He was always off doing something with his friends. But Chris knew that this time Casey’s friends would all be heading to the party at the lodge — it was part of the reason his youngest son had agreed so quickly to come on the trip in the first place — so Chris had had no doubts that Casey would be there bright and early.
Only time ticked on and there was still no sign of his son. He had gone out with some friends the night before and murmured something about staying out with them and that he would be back in the morning, muttering that he would definitely be there when Chris had reminded him of how early they had to leave. Yet the sun rose and with it the heat of the day and Casey was still nowhere to be seen.
It was at that moment that a small smile spread across Chris’ face as amusement tickled his insides briefly. The same feeling always flowed through him when he thought of a way to play up someone and this time was no different. Glancing at the bags in the back of the truck and at his other two sons waiting for his word to go, Chris thought for a moment how funny it would be to play with Casey when he showed up. Maybe by making a joke about him being late or by pretending to drive off without him.
The amused feeling within him twisted further at that latter thought. The idea of what his son’s face would be like as Chris waved and said he had told him what time they had to leave and he would see him there, after he made his own way. The small smile became a large grin as Chris thought of how Casey would react, and how, now he thought of it, deserving it would be. It wouldn’t be like Casey couldn’t get to the lake — after all, the kid had other friends and even a couple of bus journeys that would get him there. And it would show him that he couldn’t be late. More importantly, it would get one up on him for him thinking that he could dawdle and make his father and brothers wait on him.
Imagining it in his mind Chris laughed softly to himself until a perplexed glance from his sons stirred him out of his reverie. He couldn’t do that. Holly would kill him if he left without Casey. But it was funny to think of. Casey would surely learn his lesson, and in a funny way, if he saw them drive off waving without him because he was so late. Chris was half-tempted to do it, it would be too funny, but he was too good a parent to just leave, and they still had a good half an hour before they had to be on their way.
And so the good-looking father of three stood and waited, calling out to his sons to joke around with them as he leaned against the truck and waited for his youngest son. All the while amusing himself with the thought of just driving off and telling Casey to catch up. And so the sun rose and the day grew hotter, yet the street remained empty of Chris’ son.
That playful side of Chris just grew as time passed until he began joking about it with Kayden and Reilly, who found it equally as amusing and joined in in trying to get Chris to leave early. But he waited, as Holly would want. Until the time they had to leave had come and gone and still Casey was nowhere to be seen. Tapping the side of the truck Chris waited and waited… until his playfulness and patience both reached a crescendo at the same time.
– – –
Casey Clarke walked down the blistering street as the sun beat down on him relentlessly. The heat would have gotten to him as he walked with his hood up and his earphones in but he was too hungover and tired to really think of the weather right then.
Fuck he had had a great night with his friends last night. There was nothing but sweet days off for them all at the moment before college started in the fall and so Casey and his friend had been making the most of the time as they could. Fuck but he had been so wasted. It had been an awesome night though, even if he was paying for it now.
He had woken up late, much later than he had hoped, and despite knowing that he had to be home half an hour ago he still couldn’t make himself walk any faster or look up at the blinding whiteness of the pavement. And so he ambled along as quickly as he could while lost in thought of the night before and what everyone had planned for the night ahead.
Oh he was looking forward to spending some time with his dad — these guy trips always turned out fun, especially as Casey’s father would always buy him and his brothers enough beer to get wasted, saying it was all part of the fun of a guys’ night out — even if he wasn’t looking forward to hanging out with his brothers so much. They were very much like his father, always trying to one-up each other and picking on him as the youngest. And who wanted to spend all their time with their brothers anyway? No, Casey was much more looking forward to the party at the old lodge and what he and his friends had planned for the rest of the weekend!
Well, he was looking forward to that and seeing Cristina Hodges, the girl he had had his eye on for months! Cristina would be at the party and out with his friends, and despite being the most gorgeous girl he had ever seen this weekend would be the first time that Casey would actually get to have a conversation with her. Maybe even more. It had taken him months but he had finally decided, with a little push from his friends, that this weekend would be it. He would finally ask Cristina out. He would take the leap. He had wanted to for so long. Abandoned other women who had been interested in him for how he felt about her. And nothing would stop him. Hopefully it would all pay off.