Rainbow Road

chapter 1 Kyle Meeks stirred from a sex dream, vaguely aware of a ringing phone."Kyle!" his mom's voice called from the hall. "It's Jason."Blinking at the summer morning sunlight, Kyle grabbed the receiver on the nightstand and cleared his throat. "H-hello?""Hey, Sleeping Beauty!" replied the boy from his dream. "Wake up!"Kyle had met Jason four years earlier, on the first day of high school. Kyle had jostled through the crowded halls, lost, till Jason helped him find his homeroom. But not till senior year, when Jason stepped into a gay youth meeting, did a chain of events unfold that led to their becoming friends and falling in love."You'll never guess what's happened," Jason now announced, rattling out something about going to high school in Los Angeles. "You know I've always wanted to see the Pacific Ocean."None of it made any sense to Kyle's groggy brain, especially since they'd graduated high school two months earlier. Not to mention that they lived in the suburbs of D.C., three thousand miles from L.A."Huh?" Kyle yawned and rolled over, wishing Jason were in bed beside him. "What're you talking about?""We need to talk about our camping trip," Jason replied.Kyle sat up against the headboard, accidentally bumping his head. He was suddenly wide-awake. "Our camping trip?"He'd been looking forward to that trip for weeks, hoping for at least a little magic with Jason in a summer that had somehow gotten eaten up by a drudge job at Chicken Little Rotisserie, boring family obligations, and freshman orientation at Princeton.Both Jason and he had been so crazy busy they'd barely had time for romance. ("Hey, I just got home from work. My mom and dad went out. Come over, quick!")The camping trip would be their last chance for quality time together before separating for college. Was Jason now canceling?"Hurry over here and I'll explain," Jason told him before hanging up.Kyle immediately speed-dialed his best friend Nelson, whose turn it was to drive them to work. "Hey, can you pick me up at Jason's? I think he's bailing on the camping trip.""But you had your heart set on that.""Tell me about it," Kyle grumbled and jumped out of bed. chapter 2 Jason Carrillo hung up the phone with Kyle, grabbed the basketball from atop his dresser, and raced to the driveway, hoping a few hoops would help him figure a way out of his dilemma."Here's the deal..." Jason wiped the sweat from his forehead as Kyle strode up the driveway. "I got a call from this new high school for gay and lesbians kids in L.A. They heard about my coming out last semester."In the spring, when Jason had come out to his coach and basketball team, the news had raced through school, and because of his varsity athlete status, he'd been interviewed on local TV. That story reached the Web -- and the entire country."The school wants me to give a speech at their opening ceremony. They'll fly me to L.A., pay my hotel, and everything!""Jason, that's awesome!" Kyle high-fived him, leaping into the air."I know!" Jason agreed, relieved to hear Kyle's enthusiasm. "Can you imagine? Seeing the Pacific Ocean? Movie stars? I'm so psyched. Except...it's the same time as our camping trip.""Oh." Kyle's smile fell.Seeing Kyle so downcast, there was no way Jason could bail on their camping trip. "I'll tell them I can't do it.""But you've got to go!" Kyle protested. "It's too important.""So is our camping trip," Jason argued."We'll go the weekend before," Kyle suggested. "I'll switch my work schedule. I'm not going to miss our camping trip."Jason smiled, thinking how Kyle always brimmed with support and enthusiasm. "You really think I should take them up on it?""Jason, they're inviting you to California!" Kyle gazed across the driveway at Jason, his hazel eyes full of encouragement. "I just wish I could be there to see ySanchez, Alex is the author of 'Rainbow Road', published 2005 under ISBN 9780689865657 and ISBN 0689865651.