Summer With the Bertram Brothers

We’ve been driving for over 2 hours. We are 124 miles south away from L’Acadie Beach. We have no map. There is no signal for phones. The last town past a hundred miles ago. There is nothing but this one long road and a couple of trees on the sides. I’ve just start to notice all these things when Rico and I stop talking. I look out the window and wonder. The sun disappears in the thick grey clouds. We both talked about our dumb families. He says how he’s pressured to take over the family business and move to New York by the end of summer but he doesn’t want that life. He says he wants to travel the world, see things and do things. He didn’t exactly say what, though I guess he doesn’t know yet. I told him my share of problems. I don’t usually talk about it. I only told him that my mother might be addicted to her pills and I’m afraid she’ll hurt herself since my father passed away. I didn’t tell him about Doyle or Eva. I didn’t want him to think badly of them since he knows them personally. Besides, I don’t fully trust him even though we’re friends. What I did appreciate is that he didn’t respond like everyone else and say ‘don’t worry’. He told me to encourage her to seek help because those types of problems are dangerous. He was empathetic when it came down to my father. He said it must be really hard for my mother and he understands how I feel. I don’t know why, but I thanked him. Then we became quiet.

Suddenly, Rico curses. The car made a strange noise and collapses to a sudden halt. I suck the last of my drink and shake the empty plastic cup in my hands.
“What happen?”
“We’re out of gas,” Rico jumps out the car door. I watch him walk up to the hood that was now emitting smoke, “And other things...”
I look around and we’re stranded in the middle of nowhere. No sign visible to say where the next towns are. I push the car door and follow where Rico is.
“Isn’t your car brand new?”
“Yeah, but it’s not that new...” he says. He goes to the trunk and grabs a few things that have to do with cars I’m guessing, “I often have problems with it. No big.”
Surprisingly, I’m not panicking. Usually, I panic when mom’s car breaks down, even when we’re in the city. I don’t know, I guess Rico gives off this relaxing vibe. I watch him plug stuff out and wrap some wires to some metal. Then I watch him. His tan, his muscles, his butt...
I divert my eyes quickly to my empty cup.
“Can you try starting the engine?” he asks his head still under the hood.
I go in the driver’s seat an turn the key to nothing. I try again, but the car didn’t even turn on. After a few minutes, Rico comes to my side with a defeated face.
“The battery’s out. There’s not enough gas to take us back home or even take us to the nearest gas station,” he talks. I sigh.
“This is all you’re fault,” I say, tired of thinking.
He gives me a shocked expression, “My fault—you came up with the idea!”
“Exactly, it was an idea! We didn’t have to do it, or at least come this far!”
He grins at me. He can’t seem to hold it in.
“I mean, what kind of guy doesn’t fill up before going on a pointless drive?” I pout. I’m so serious.
“Chill, will you? Somebody’s bound to drive by,” he says looking at the street.
Now I’m starting to panic.
“Rico, it’s going to get dark,” I fold my arms.
“Like I said, somebody’s going to drive by and help us out,” he sits next to me in the driver’s seat. I try to scoot over. Since the car is sleeping, there is no way to keep track of time.

“We should have walked...” I mumble, looking at the horizon. It’s night time and the sky is black. There’s no light, there’s no car passing by, there’s no toilet. The temperature drastically drops as the sky keeps getting darker. I explore Rico’s trunk and found a red blanket. I unfold it and wrap it around my shoulders. I do more exploring and find a flash light. I rush to the back seat where Rico’s taking a nap. I flash the light in his eyes to wake him up.
“Look, I found this!”
“Okay,” he shrugs.
“We can walk the rest and look for someplace with a mechanic.”
He rubs his eyes, “You sure are a survivor girl, huh?”
“It would be nice to not die from hypothermia.”
Just as we come out the car and take ten steps ahead, it suddenly drips rain. I groan in frustration as we head back in the car. This time we close all the doors.
“Too bad I don’t have an umbrella,” Rico says. The rain becomes heavier.
“It’s impossible to see outside,” I mumble as the rain blurs the windows.
“Wow, it’s pouring down,” Rico says. He simply camps in the back seats. I point my flash light to him.
“Rico, what are we going to do?” I say lowly. He must have heard the scared in my voice because he pauses and looks at me.
“Come here,” he tells me. I clutch on my blanket closer to me and crawl in the back seat next to him. He wraps his arm around me which is comforting. I worry all the time, about everything, especially when things are out of my control. I worry we’ll be stranded forever. Or some wild animal will attack us. It’s starting to become like that scene in Jurassic Park. I’m waiting for a dinosaur to appear and peak through our window before chewing us in the car. I play around with the flash light. A masked man with chainsaw is all I can think about now. I stare at the ceiling. It’s been hours... or millenniums, I don’t know.
“I need to go,” I start. I pull away from Rico and push the door open, making rain fly inside. I leave my blanket with him, “To the bathroom.”
I quickly shut the door and already feel soaked. I walk around the car like a duck. I don’t really have to go. Instead, I walk in the field and wait a few minutes. The rain is freezing. Still there are no cars in sight. I hide behind the tree. I inhale a lot of air in my lungs. My flip flops sink in the mud.
“Ahhh!” I let out a sharp scream. Before I can finish, Rico door goes flying.
“Ambi?” he calls me. I can barely see him run towards me, “Ambi!”
“I—I!” I gasp for air as he holds my arms. He looks for what is wrong, but my face stretches into a mischievous smile while I sing, “I got you.”
He turns into a statue and I laugh and run back to the car.
“Why you little—”
He chases me around his Ford. I try to close the door on him but he reaches in time to tackle me. I keep giggling and shivering from the cold.
“I thought you fell in a hole or something,” he laughs.
“Ha! I’m sorry,” I try to say.
“I’m going to get you back,” he says.
As I stop laughing, I become aware of him on top of me. I feel his hot breaths brushing me.
“Hey,” I don’t know what to say. I didn’t know pulling a prank would lead to sudden sexual tension. Rico doesn’t seem bothered by the cold. I’m shaking like a leaf underneath him. As minutes dissipate, his stern body presses against me, squishing me in the seats. I can hardly breathe with his weight on me.
“Hey,” he breathes out. I stare into his eyes.
“Hey...” I utter again. But then, Rico crashes his lips with mines. Off guard, I open my mouth to his probing tongue and shiver at the thrill of the slippery heat. He tastes musky. The feeling of him all over me like this is having a strange effect on me. I was losing my awareness of what was going on around us. I can only feel the softness of his lips as the rest of my body numbs to the cold, except for the urgent bulge in Rico’s khaki’s pressing between my legs. The sudden thrust assaults my senses. I push Rico away from me and swiftly sit up.
“What are you doing—” I whisper. Feeling weird, I go in the front seat. What am I doing?
“Sorry,” I hear Rico say, “I don’t know what came over me.”
I can hear the grin in his voice. I twist around to look at him.
“I’m not my sister! Or some girl you can score!”
“I never thought you were,” he says.
“We’re just friends,” I say.
He nods smoothly, “Yeah, okay.”
I look at him for a long while and then turn back around. Truthfully, I was more trying to convince myself than him.