In The Still Of The Night

Flanagan's

Louis leans his chest into the car door and drapes his arm over the window's edge, the summer breeze feathering his fringe as the last of the day's sun warms his cheeks. He lets the air lift and drop his hand, riding the waves as he watches the shadow of the car dance along the white guard rails. The sounds of his aunt humming drifts through from the front seat as the radio delivers the dulcet tones of The Supremes singing about being patient and waiting for love. Louis can relate.

At nearly nineteen he feels like his life has barely begun, the years spent working hard in school had been his driving force, leaving him no time for frivolous distractions from the alpha boys who tried to catch his eye, much to his inner omega's displeasure. But this trip would be something different, something special, something to make the summer of '67 one to remember forever. School is over, next stop college, and for these two last glorious weeks, he's going to take his foot off the accelerator and let himself be free to enjoy whatever comes his way, setting aside all of his worries and fears and single-minded studious dedication and just suck in every morsel of life from the experience.

"How much further, dad?" Liam asks from beside him.

"About ten minutes, give or take," Lionel says from the driver's seat.

The last sign for Flanagan's had been about ten miles back, just near the turn-off for Liam's college, which will be Louis' college too come the fall. The impressively sized billboard had stood big and bold at the tree line on the side of the highway, promising luxury and relaxation for the well-to-do vacationer.

It's not a destination Louis' aunt and uncle would normally have been able to afford. They're not poor by any means, well-ensconced in the middle class, and with their standing in the community, but definitely not rich. His uncle's job as an insurance adjuster, and his aunt's part-time work as a secretary at the local car dealership are more than sufficient to provide a comfortable life for the four of them, but somewhere like Flanagan's would normally be out of their reach. So when his uncle's old army buddy, Arthur Flanagan, had extended an invitation for Lionel and Maryanne's twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, they'd graciously accepted. Two weeks, fully paid, in one of the resort's best cabins on the lake was an offer too good to refuse.

Louis has barely been able to think of anything else since the letter arrived two months ago, starting the process of packing in his head almost immediately. He spent hours pouring over the brochure that had accompanied the invitation and picturing himself in all the various scenes that leapt off the glossy pages; lounging by the lake, dancing in the rotunda, dining in the grand hall, afternoon tea on the sweeping verandah while the setting sun painted the mountains a dusty pink in the distance. His waking hours have been filled with nervous excitement and his nights have been heavy with dreams of the people he might meet, the alphas he might encounter.

Louis has read countless stories of holiday romances—more than he cares to admit, really—the dogeared paperbacks hidden away under his bed and kept secret from judgemental eyes a testament to that; pages poured over time and again, words conjuring vivid images in his head. The scenarios skip through his mind as they make their way towards their destination. Ones where he and a faceless alpha lock eyes across a crowded room and feel the zing of anticipation in their gaze, or at a buffet where they reach for the last slice of some delectable dessert and sparks ignite at the touch of their fingers, or spinning around on the dance floor and finding themselves thrust together as the music changes to a slow song and they have no choice but to hold each other close and let the music guide their movements.

He yearns to make his fantasies a reality, to bring the stories he's read to life, to find someone who makes his heart skip a beat, someone who can feed the desires that he's had to keep pushed far down in the depths of his soul. Setting himself free from his self-imposed confines could be a dangerous move, but one he doesn't want to shy away from. He doesn't want to wait to start living his life anymore. He wants to live now, to feel, and to throw caution to the wind. Even if only for a fleeting moment, he wants to release the rush of desire and pretend that this trip is the norm and not an exception in his mundane existence.