Chapter Six

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-Oliver-

My good mood after my hike with Cooper didn't last long once I was back at the hotel with Brad. When I showed him pictures from the hike, he barely glanced at them. I knew this trip was more my idea than his, but when I was honest with myself and really thought about our relationship, I realized Brad rarely showed interest in the things that were important to me. I felt like I was always trying to get his attention.

This morning we were headed over to Lake Crescent before continuing on to hike at Sol Duc Falls. I was excited about seeing the falls, and I was enjoying the drive along the lake. The winding road clung to the lakeshore, with trees or rocky cliffs on the side of the road opposite the lake.

"This is beautiful," I murmured, staring out the window at the lake. "Pull over there," I told Brad, pointing to a pullout along the road.

"We've already stopped at every pullout we've seen," Brad complained. "How is this one any different?" Even so, he still pulled the car over and shut it off so we could get out and look.

I took pictures in every direction, and made Brad pose in front of the lake before taking a picture of the two of us. It was going well until we got back in the car and it didn't start when Brad turned the key.

"You have to be kidding me," he groaned, and then tried again. Still nothing.

"Is the battery dead?" I wondered.

"It's possible, since we kept stopping and shutting the car off and turning it back on. I knew that wasn't a good idea."

"Are you blaming me for this?"

Brad sighed. "Didn't say that."

Not wanting to start a fight, I picked up my phone. "We need someone to look at it. I'll call Cooper."

"Who the fuck is Cooper?"

"I met him on the plane. He sat next to me and gave me a ton of tips about Washington. He lives around here."

"Why do you have his number?"

"So I can get more recommendations about stuff for us to do. And it's a good thing, cause he ended up hiking with me yesterday when you couldn't go. It helped that I didn't have to go alone."

Brad rolled his eyes. "Alright, how soon can he get here?"

I gave Brad a slight glare as I called Cooper, hoping he wasn't busy.

He answered after three rings. "Oliver! What's up?"

"Hey, so...I'm not calling for a great reason. I need a favor, if you have the time."

"Sure."

"Brad and I are on our way to Sol Duc Falls, but the rental car quit. Neither of us are car guys and I don't know what to do, or if we should call a tow truck."

"Where are you?"

"At a pullout along Lake Crescent. We stopped to look at the lake."

"I'll be there in about thirty minutes. You and Brad go sit and look at the lake and relax. See you soon."

Before I could say anything, he hung up.

"What's going on?" Brad asked.

"He's on his way. Come on, let's go sit by the water."

Brad grumbled, but he followed me through the opening in the guardrail and down to the little beach. After a half hour passed, I turned so I could keep an eye out for Cooper. A few minutes later, I saw his truck pull in alongside the rental car. I stood up, and Brad turned. Cooper got out of the truck and waved.

"What kind of redneck did you befriend?" Brad muttered.

I turned and glared at him. "He's not a redneck. That's rude to say about someone who is going to help us."

Ignoring Brad, I walked up from the beach over to the car. "Thanks for coming. I'm sorry you drove all the way out here."

Cooper laughed. "Thirty minutes is nothing on the peninsula. Now, what happened with the car?"

"It won't start. It seemed fine when we were driving it."

"That could be a few things. Battery is what I'll check first."

Brad appeared at my side and nodded at Cooper. Cooper smiled and held out his hand.

"Cooper."

Brad shook it. "Brad."

"I know who you are. Oliver talks about you. How are you liking Washington so far?"

"It's pretty. Great scenery."

Cooper nodded, and then opened the hood of the car and began looking around. Brad wandered off back towards the lake, and I watched as Cooper tried jump-starting the car, then looking around in the engine some more, then back at the battery again. At one point he hauled a toolbox from his truck and started doing something with the battery. When he tried starting the car again, it turned right on.

"What was it?"

"The terminals on the battery were loose. I've tightened them up, but the whole thing needs to be replaced. I wouldn't risk driving around the peninsula with this car, since there are long stretches of road with nothing and cell service isn't always good. You should take it to one of the rental agencies in town and swap it out."

I was disappointed, because this meant going back to town rather than continuing on to Sol Duc Falls, but there wasn't anything I could do about it. "Thanks for your help. We never would have figured that out."

"I'll follow you into town in case you have any more trouble with it along the way."

"You don't have to do that. It'll take you even further from home."

"Not a problem. I'm not gonna leave you on your own and risk something else happening."

I smiled at him. "You're a good guy. At least get lunch with us after we get the car sorted?"

"Sure. I'm always down for food."

-

A couple hours later, the three of us were sitting at an outdoor table at a restaurant. I'd had to endure a few comments from Brad once he found out we were having lunch with Cooper. "He looks like he could eat both of us."

"What's your plan for tomorrow?" Cooper asked.

"I guess it'll be Sol Duc Falls, since we didn't make it out there today."

"You'll love it. Sometimes if you're lucky with the light, you'll get quite a few sun rays filtering through the trees."

Brad slowly spun one of the forks on the table, and I could tell he was already bored. "You were on our flight here?" he asked Cooper, looking up at him.

"Yep. I gave Oliver a few recommendations, but it sounds like he did a great job planning the trip. Is it your first time here too?"

Brad nodded. "I admit it's a beautiful area. I wanted to go to Europe, but it was too expensive for this one," he said, tilting his head towards me.

I didn't miss the slight narrowing of Cooper's eyes when Brad brought up my inability to afford a trip abroad, but he played nice with Brad.

"Do you go abroad for work?"

"Once in a while," Brad replied. "Oliver isn't a fan of my longer trips."

I reached over and took Brad's hand in mine. "I just miss my boyfriend, that's all."

Brad tolerated me holding his hand for about thirty seconds before he pulled it away. I felt rejected whenever he did this, and it was worse when he did it in front of other people. But maybe it would make Cooper uncomfortable if we held hands, since he was a third wheel at the moment. I couldn't help but wonder what Cooper thought about PDA.

Brad spent most of the meal discussing his job with Cooper. I wished we could talk about something else and I'm sure Cooper did too, but he didn't show it. Cooper being able to talk to anyone about anything didn't surprise me.

When the waiter brought the bill to the table at the end of the meal, Cooper reached for it and started to get his wallet out.

"Oh no, you're not paying for your own meal," I said, taking the bill from him. "You helped us out with the car, so I'll get it." I was prepared to skip a meal in order to cover the cost of Cooper's food.

Cooper grinned. "I was going to pay for everyone's meal. You two are the visitors here."

"Absolutely not," Brad said, reaching for the bill and sliding his credit card down on top of it for the waiter to pick up. Part of me was almost annoyed with him. He would rarely help me out, but of course he liked to show off and be the good guy for everyone else. It wasn't the first time I'd seen him pay for someone else's food. I also suspected he was doing this as a show of dominance, and I knew I was right when he looked over at Cooper.

"What do you even do? I don't think that came up in conversation."

"Deep sea fishing for part of the year, and then I help my dad with his logging business the rest of the year."

Brad nodded slowly. "Does that get tiring, the manual labor?"

I knew that was a dig at Cooper and I kicked Brad's foot under the table.

Cooper, however, was too classy to stoop to Brad's level. "It's good, honest work. And yeah, I sleep pretty well at night. I really enjoy being on the open ocean, and working with my dad and brother. I don't think I'd do too well at a job that was indoors."

"There's something for everyone," Brad said. "Anyway, we should get going, and it sounds like you have a long drive back home."

"It was no trouble. I'm glad I could help out, and I want you and Oliver's trip to go well."

We left the restaurant and walked Cooper over to his truck. I was disappointed our time with him was coming to an end, and I hoped I'd get the chance to see him again. I gave him a hug, squeezing tightly right before I let go. "Thanks again for your help."

"Anytime." He shook Brad's hand again, and then got into his truck, giving us a final wave as he drove off.

"Now that that's done with, we can go relax," Brad said.

Sighing, I followed him as we walked back to our hotel. We'd probably sit in the hot tub again, and then he'd get distracted watching something on TV. It was times like these when I felt like I was missing out on the things I really wanted to do, and Brad was the one holding me back.


-Cooper-

I hated Brad. Hated him. He was such a dick to Oliver and I don't think Oliver even realized the extent of it. He was probably so used to it he didn't even notice how bad it was. Brad clearly didn't even give a shit about him. He was condescending to Oliver and basically ignored him and it was clear he didn't appreciate this trip that Oliver had planned for the two of them. He didn't deserve Oliver at all and I was so mad about it that I wanted to floor it down Highway 101, pushing my truck far past the speed limit. But I didn't, because I was a calm man. I rarely got angry.

I did get sad though, and right now I was sad for Oliver and sad for myself. Oliver deserved better, and it was unfair that an asshole like Brad was walking around with an incredible boyfriend like Oliver, but I didn't have anyone at all. If I had a boyfriend, I'd never treat him the way Brad treated Oliver.

Instead of continuing my pity party, I took a deep breath. Honestly, I didn't know that much about Oliver. Maybe he wasn't as great as I thought. Maybe he had some major flaws that I wasn't aware of. I shouldn't get this worked up over a guy I'd met three days ago. A guy I had no chance with, because not only was he in a relationship, but he and I came from two different worlds. He probably liked the posh city life, days filled with brunches and happy hours with other guys who looked like him, and he wouldn't be interested in living in a rural town or dating a guy as big and hairy and unsophisticated as me.

I shook my head. What I needed to do was put Oliver out of my mind and focus on the people who did love me. Instead of going home to sulk, I headed towards my parents' house. 

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