NED
“Home sweet home.” Unlocking the door to the camper trailer Toni and I will use during our stay, I pull the door open and gesture for him to enter. “After you.”
With a murmur of thanks, he climbs the two steps to the darkened interior. I follow close behind, not bothering to close the door behind me. The place will be too cramped to stay in for long.
We stand side by side as we take in the tiny living space. A small table is attached to the far wall, with a short bench seat on either side. There’s also a bar-fridge, a sink, and a double-burner cooktop, but none of them are usable here in the festival grounds. A pop-out bunk extends from one end of the trailer, the double mattress awaiting the sheets I brought with me. A second bunk is set up at the other end, behind the table seating, but it has a single mattress.
“Will we be having a visitor?” Toni asks, indicating the smaller bunk.
I shake my head. “This place is all ours.” I did offer the extra bunk to Johnny when I first booked it, but he declined. Something about not wanting to spend the night with his dick in his hand while I rocked the joint with whatever random I brought with me.No privacy curtain is thick enough to protect me from that, he’d muttered. Now I have Toni here, I have to agree. We’ll only be here for one night, but Toni’s proved himself capable of making it count. The last thing I want to worry about is how much noise we’re making.
Toni places his bag on the extra bunk before facing me. “You know, Ned, when you first asked me to move in with you, I worried it was too soon. But now I’ve seen the place,” there’s another brief inspection as he nods, “I think we’ll be very happy here.”
Snorting a laugh, I lean back against one of the counters. Our knees bump together in the narrow aisle between us. “What won you over? The lack of electricity or the absence of running water?”
“Oh no, it’s definitely the presence of an actual bed,” he says, nodding towards the open door. “I expected to be out there with the rest of the plebs.” Through the doorway, we have a partial view of the city of tents popping into existence as festival goers stream into the area.
“Not a chance.” I shake my head. “I booked one of these babies as soon as they became available, so my guest would be comfortable.” That, and I wanted to put something between me and Zac a tent couldn’t provide: a locked door.
“What happens now?” Toni asks as he stands up, careful not to trip over my feet. “Do you have stuff you need to do for tomorrow? Or are we meeting up with the rest of the band?”
“Both.” Leading the way back outside, I lock the door behind us. “Johnny and Oz should be here in an hour or two. Gavin’s coming down with his wife later this afternoon.” I take out a map as we wander out of the camping area and into the main festival grounds. “Since I’m here first, I figure I’ll go check in with the organisers, make sure everything is set for tomorrow. After that, we have the afternoon and evening to ourselves. The music begins at midday.”
“Excellent,” Toni says with a wide smile. “I think I’m going to enjoy my first music festival.”
The delighted surprise in his voice matches my own mood and I grin. “I think I will, too.”
It was Johnny who insisted we be here for the full festival experience.Who knows if we’ll ever get another chance to play Autumn Skies?he’d argued.We should make the most of it.I’d wanted to refuse. More time here meant more opportunities for me to run into Zac. The idea thrilled my body and haunted my mind. I’d wanted nothing more than to show up in the minutes before our set began and then bolt back to Brisbane the instant the final notes rang out. But Oz and Gavin had been so enthusiastic about the idea, and Johnny was so excited—I couldn’t bear to be the band killjoy. I’d agreed to join them, and then dreaded the trip every day since.
When I’d pulled up to the curb in front of Toni’s building this morning, my shoulders were heavy with apprehension, though I did my best to hide it. All I could think about was getting through the weekend with my dignity intact.
That was before Toni slid his cargo pants-clad bubble butt onto my vinyl car seat and announced we should get to know each other. At first, I wondered if I’d be forced to spend the two-hour drive listening to him talk about himself. With his primped appearance and careless arrogance, I figured he’d be the type not to notice if my own contributions to the conversation were limited to head nods and the occasional grunt of acknowledgment. While it’s true he took charge of the conversation, he’d used it to bounce the focus back and forth between the two of us, asking way more questions than he answered, and generally keeping my mind off my troubles.
Then, he’d told me his origin story.
By the time he’d completed his tale, every notion I’d held about Toni had been torn up and tossed out the window like so many discarded drive-through wrappers. I’ve been left with nothing to go on, except my curiosity.
Glancing at him now, as he walks beside me with a hint of dimple tugging at each cheek, I realise how badly I messed up the day we met. Unnerved by his inherent dominance, and wary of my own compliant nature, I’d allowed myself to be short-sighted and judgemental. I didn’t want to like Toni, so I found ways to dislike him.
It hasn’t worked.
I do like him.
Maybe that’s not such a bad thing, after all.
* * *
We’re nearly at our destination when Toni points to a stand of portable toilets. “Dear lord, I need to pee,” he says emphatically, before grinning at me. “It was a long drive.”
Chuckling, I look over at the line. He’s going to be waiting a while. “How about I keep going and do what I need to do. I’ll text you to find out where you are when I’m done.”
“Are you sure?” A flash of concern crosses his face as he glances around. “Aren’t I supposed to be glued to your side, or something?”
That was the idea. But now we’re here, with the sunshine on our faces and the festival atmosphere pulsing to life around us, my concern seems overblown, silly even.
It’s been more than three years since I left Zac. How do I know he still has any power over me? Even if he does, how do I know he would care enough to use it? Maybe he’s forgotten all about me. The thought opens a hollow emptiness inside my chest. I stuff it full of relief and yank my thoughts back in Toni’s direction.
“I’ll be fine,” I tell him. “See you soon.”
