So, here’s the thing! Have you read Miles Kasey’s promo yet? If you have, well then carry on! If not, then perhaps you best wait and come back to this one because trust me – it’ll make a lot more sense once you do. Either way - tally ho! Or… carry on!
Pigeon Forge, Tennessee - Dollywood
June 13
Dollywood is located in the Knoxville metropolitan area in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, near the gateway to the great Smoky Mountains, as people from across the country have come to know them as. Jointly owned by Herschend Media Entertainment and country music legend Dolly Parton, it is a renowned destination for tourists who aren’t even fans of the country genre of the music industry where nearly three million visitors visit annually. And it is not just your average fan of music and movies who come to Pigeon Forge to visit this cultural amusement park. Celebrities from movies, music and the like are sometimes seen walking the paths of Dollywood, eagerly visiting and enjoying themselves just like any other. In fact, two such celebrities are the entire reason behind why we are visiting today, as standing before the prominent floral hedges and the gateway, bearing the butterfly emblem of Dollywood is none other than…
“I still can’t believe that you pulled this off.” Carter stared in a quiet awe at the sign above the front entrance to the theme park that he had once ranked at the very pinnacle of his “bucket list” of places that he’d like to visit one day. He turned his head toward his immediate right, toward the slightly taller and more physically structured man that stood beside him, his boyfriend Miles. Miles was looking over the park from the outside, watching casually as many visitors walked past them and inside, passing the employees their vouchers for visiting. Carter said, somewhat impressed and a little concerned, “You didn’t go through a lot of trouble on my behalf, did you?”
Miles smiled, all but executing this worry from his boyfriend. Carter was, in most cases, supremely confident in himself and who he was as a person and a member of the LGBTQ community. It was a very large part of what attracted Miles to him in the first place. But Carter was also self conscious in what others did on his behalf. Such as spending money on him. How many times when the two went out on a date to the movies or to a nice dinner, did Carter act timid, almost embarrassed, when Miles got to the check before he did (which was the vast majority of the time). Miles simply loved to take care of Carter - treat him. Spoil him a little even. Privately, Miles thought to himself that it was just something about himself Carter was going to have to get used to. Outwardly however…?
Miles turned to Carter who looked at him with those gorgeous eyes of his and answered, “Trust me, Carter. It wasn’t any trouble. And even if it was…” Miles took a step closer, feeling the heat rise between the two lovebirds at such close proximity. “It would have been worth it just to see that smile.” To which Carter did indeed smile, showing off those dazzling pearly whites of his.
“Come on.” Miles said casually, draping an arm around Carter’s bare shoulder, both men sporting muscle shirts and shorts ensembles due to the hot Tennessee weather, and escorted him toward the entrance…
And from the moment the pair entered the theme park dedicated not just to Dolly Parton herself, but to the way of life that she had known and valued the entirety of her life, Carter and Miles did not stop moving as both young men wanted to see everything that was offered and explore as much as they could. It was their initial intent to explore today and dedicate tomorrow to the rides and attractions, but that was by far easier said than done as the two gave way to temptation and soon found themselves riding on Big Bear Mountain, one of many roller coasters that Dollywood offered. Carter absolutely loved roller coasters, as did Miles, and both were mildly surprised that such a down home park offered ones that would be the envy of many fair and amusement parks across the globe!
And true to form, it did not stop there for the pair as they found themselves on a raft, speeding down the daredevil Falls ride, water splashing and soaring on both sides! Once they reached the bottom of the ride, the water drenched everyone on board, which given the humid and hot Tennessee weather could be seen as both a bad thing as well as good. Still, neither Carter nor Miles complained as Carter had to grab Miles’s arm to venture further into the park rather than let his man go straight back on the ride for a second go and get even MORE soaked!
There were also games a plenty for anyone to take part in here at Dollywood, whether it be throwing balls or beanbags at bottles with the intent to knock them over and win a prize, or using a squirt gun on ducks on a track with the attempt to knock them over. For the most part, Carter and Miles bypassed these attractions because of the old belief from state fairs that the games were rigged, but then Miles had noticed Carter’s eyes fall to one game in particular - or the prize for that matter. A colorful, patchwork teddy bear dedicated to Dolly and her famed ‘Coat of Many Colors’. The look of appreciation in Carter’s eyes was all the motivation Miles needed, and after a few attempts, Miles sent the bottles flying and the much desired souvenir was handed to Miles, who handed it right over to Carter who held it tight.
Of course, the day had only just begun and there was so much more to explore and experience. Carter and Miles visited the Chasing Rainbows Museum, and rode the Dollywood Express Train Depot before closing the visit out by visiting Dolly’s Tennessee Mountain Home, an expert rendition of the small, two-room cabin that Dolly and her large family had grown up in, in the town of Locust Ridge.
6:15 PM
The afternoon was growing late and slowly turning into evening, and while the sun would not descend into the horizon until near 8:00, giving way to night, Dollywood did, in fact, close to the public at the hour of eight. Many theme parks around the world would stay open later, especially given the warm temperatures and tourist seasons, but not Dollywood. Here a vast majority of the attractions employed people from these very parts in the Tennessee hills. People with families that they wished to get home to and Dolly herself thought that was reason enough for these folks to get home and on time. But as evening slowly did approach, that brought up another little birthday dilemma that Miles had wished to solve for the birthday boy.
“So,” Miles broke the soft and brief silence between the pair as they walked along the cobblestone paths amidst the rest of the park’s visitors, Carter’s one arm intertwined in his own, his free arm cuddling the large, patchwork teddy bear Miles had won for him earlier in the day. “There is still the small matter of your birthday dinner.”
From the moment the two men had arrived, they took full advantage of all the many food offerings Dollywood held out before them, and there were plenty. Everything from ice cream to soft serve pretzels were purchased and devoured. Hotdogs. Cotton candy. Hamburgers. Cinnamon bread and they even split a pizza between them for lunch. They were two growing boys and at this rate, they were more likely to grow out than up. But, come on! One of the best reasons to come here, or any amusement park or fair, is the food! And as much as Carter and Miles have both traveled, they had to admit that Dollywood was offering up some of the best.
But we’re getting away from the entire point. Miles had addressed the issue, and the pair paused in the ‘town square’ of the park. They had been walking most of the day without stopping and by their own admission, their dogs were barking. Carter sat on a small partition wall, the teddy bear on his lap, while Miles leaned against a lamp post, creating quite the striking image.
Miles said, “Pigeon Forge isn’t exactly overflowing with five star restaurants but I’ve done some research and there are some pretty nice places we can have your birthday dinner at.”
“Miles,” Carter smiled, shaking his head slightly. “That’s not…”
“If you say it’s ‘not necessary’ I swear you are this close to not getting a spanking.” Miles threatened, playfully wagging his finger at his man. He went on, “It is necessary. It’s your birthday!”
“No, I mean it’s not necessary we have to leave to have my bday dinner.” Carter said. “When we were doing all that walking around, I was checking things out too.”
“I know.” Miles quipped. “I’m blushing.”
“Your fault for wearing tight shorts.” Carter returned fire, then said, “ANYWAY… there’s a place here I thought maybe we could have dinner at?”
“Well, lead on.” Miles offered Carter his hand to help him to his feet and the two started to walk off in the direction that Carter himself intended until they arrived at…
The Front Porch Cafe
A homey cafe/restaurant that offered good, home cooking and many dishes served were of the favorites of none other than Dolly Parton herself.
“Here?” Miles asked, bemused. There were times where he felt he knew everything that there was to know about this wonderful young man beside him, and yet still Carter would tend to surprise him. Carter had great taste in restaurants, and in wine - something Miles believed he had inherited from his Mother and Grandmother up in Seattle. But to pass up the chance to celebrate his birthday in a fancy restaurant, or whatever passed for one in the hills of Tennessee, to want to eat at such an old fashioned and comfortable looking place just made him adore this man all the more than he already did.
“Why not?” Carter shrugged his shoulders. “It reminds me of Cracker Barrel. Mom used to take me there all the time when I was a kid. Plus…” He sighed. “I don’t want to leave before we really have to.”
“You know we’re coming back tomorrow?” Miles smiled. “I got us a two day pass. All the better to get everyone souvenirs when we’re done exploring.”
“Still…” Carter turned from him and looked to the restaurant in front of them as people filed in and out. “... This is where I’d like to go.”
“Well then…” Miles placed a hand gently on the small of his back and the two walked toward the first step up onto the porch. “What the birthday boy wants…”
And only a short wait later, Miles and Carter had been escorted by the hostess to a small table to share between them in the center of the restaurant. Miles had discreetly shared a word with the hostess when Carter was getting settled, and soon enough the pair was enjoying a hearty dinner of old-fashioned, Southern cooking. Carter had always wanted to try fried green tomatoes, and lo and behold, it was one of the appetizers on the menu and he just had to have them. That, along with the Tuscan chicken and a big slab of strawberry shortcake and he was a very satisfied birthday boy. Miles, on the other hand, had a hearty appetite and it showed, as he practically devoured the large portions of chicken street tacos that he had ordered, along with the same entree Carter had ordered in Tuscan chicken but for dessert? There was no way that he wasn’t getting the chocolate cake once his eyes laid upon it on the menu page.
All in all, it was to Carter the perfect birthday dinner as the two ate quietly with casual and flirty conversations between them. They had even been approached once their meal had been finished by a handful of people that recognized them from SCW broadcasts. The fans had waited with good manners until their meal had been finished so as not to interrupt them before approaching for autographs and photos between them. Admittedly this caught Carter and maybe even Miles a touch off guard, as they were in the South and their relationship together was public knowledge. Still, Dolly Parton herself was a big supporter of gay rights and loved her gay fans, and it seemed only natural those that came here would not be so narrow minded as one might find elsewhere.
The waitress had just dropped off the check to the table when a sound that any birthday person dreaded hearing was heard, as the clapping hands of the waiters and waitresses was heard from across the Cafe, and Carter closed his eyes, a deep blush coloring his cheeks as two waitresses and one waiter marched across the cafe, heading right toward their table with a large ice cream sundae being carried by the young man.
Carter opened his eyes and arched a brow at a beaming Miles, saying, “You didn’t!” To which Miles simply answered, “I did!”
The sundae was set down in the center of the table, more than enough to share between the two of them as the trio started to sing for the amusement of all as heads turned to watch,
“I don’t know but I’ve been told…”
“I don’t know but I've been told…”
“Someone here is getting old!”
“Someone here is getting old!”
“The good news is we sing for free!”
“The good news is we sing for free!”
“The bad news is we sing OFF key!”
“The bad news is we sing off key!”
There was some applause from the other patrons and much laughter - most from Miles himself as a tightly smiling Carter just shook his head, trying to hold in the laughter at his own expense despite the embarrassment.
“Thank you!” Carter thanked the staff sincerely as a hard laugh escaped him, and once they had made their escape, Carter just stared at Miles, his own eyes twinkling. Miles tried his best innocent look and shrugged, asking, “What? That part was for my own amusement.”
Reaching for one of two offered spoons, Carter said, “You’re just lucky you’re cute!” And he was about to dig in, despite already feeling ready to burst, when Miles held up a hand.
“Before we start on that, I got something else for you.” He said, reaching into his shorts pocket and standing up.
“Something else…?” Carter frowned slightly. “Miles, you didn’t have to. You already…”
But whatever else he was going to say was cut off by Miles saying simply, “Hush. It’s your birthday and he set the small jewelry box down on the table in front of him. Miles sat back down and watched Carter – and waited. But Carter didn’t move. He seemed almost frozen as his eyes stared down at the small box and they didn’t move from it for even a fraction of a second.
“Well?” Miles prompted. “Open it.” But Carter almost flinched, and his eyes darted up briefly toward Miles with a ‘deer caught in the headlights expression. He swallowed hard, almost shaking, then stared back down at the box but still didn’t move. It was then that the proverbial bulb went on above Miles’s head and he suddenly understood the colossal misunderstanding.
“No,” Miles stood up. “No, Carter. It’s not a ring!” Miles walked around the table and picked the box up and offered it to Carter who seemed to finally take into account what Miles had said and his reassurance. Miles did not sit down, however. He stood at Carter’s side of the table and waited, watching as he gingerly popped open the box and stared down at the jewel necklace with the bright, translucent stone in the center.
Carter shivered and looked up to Miles, his voice cracking slightly, “It’s moonstone.”
“I know.” Miles simply nodded, “You said it was the one thing you’d buy for yourself. Your birthstone.”
Carter blinked, his eyes suddenly stinging as he felt the threat of an unfamiliar emotion coming close to overwhelming him and the walls he had erected around himself. He started to say something, but struggled to get it out for fear of a loss of composure. He sniffed back and finally yielded, asking, “You remembered that?”
“Contrary to popular belief,” Miles smiled. “I do pay attention.”
Carter’s fingers slipped under the thin chain of the pendant necklace and lifted it up, his eyes casting over every part of it as if he wished to commit it to memory. He finally looked up to Miles, and Miles could see the emotion within. Even if it remained unspoken as of yet. The tears finally streaked from his eyes and down Carter’s cheeks as the young man said, “I-I love it.”
Miles said nothing in response. He took the necklace from Carter’s fingers and stepped behind him and carefully clasped it around his lean neck. Carter lifted the pendant to look at it with appreciation while Miles stepped back around the table to resume his seat. It was then that an elderly man and woman, perhaps husband and wife, stepped up to the side of the table. The old woman placed a gentle hand on Carter’s arm.
“We didn’t mean to overhear but Happy Birthday dear.” The old woman said with a smile. Her husband offered a handshake to Carter which was accepted, and the wish was repeated.
“Thank you.” Carter said as he and Miles watched the two take their leave, the old man shaking Miles’s hand as well as they walked past. Then, as Miles and Carter dug into the sundae, every so often other visitors who had heard stopped by the table briefly to wish Carter a Happy Birthday, one by one each accepted and cherished. There truly was something to be said about Southern hospitality when one more approached…
“I heard it was your birthday!” A woman’s voice spoke with a Southern twang to it. “Happy Birthday!”
Carter turned his head to say, “Thank y-” And found himself face to face with Dolly Parton herself. His eyes shot open wide and he let out a shriek of surprise, falling backwards over his chair and to the floor! Miles simply stares, his eyes almost as wide open as his mouth as Carter rose from where he landed, the top half of his head peeking over the surface of the table where the Queen of Country laughed her girlish laugh.
Seattle, Washington
Current
In the family home of the McKinneys where Carter had a late celebration for his birthday with family and friends, Carter was seated at the desk in the bedroom he has had since he was in his early teens, but for the first time ever - he was sharing that bed. Sharing it with someone more special than he had ever dared to dream would enter his life. The lights were out in their entirety, and Carter looked out into the Seattle suburbs from the window, the street illuminated from the lamp posts as well as the moonlight. Carter cast a look back over his shoulder and could not help but smile at the almost-angelic site of Miles sleeping beneath the covers of the comforter bearing the likeness of the animated character, Stitch, his head on top of a mountain of Stitch likeness pillows.
That was something Carter had never grown out of, his love for that Disney character famous from Lilo and Stitch, and his bedroom was adorned with memorabilia of the little chaos bringer. Something he had worried at one point Miles might find amusing at his expense but if anything, the previous Christmas holiday proved otherwise. Carter then turned back and looked back out the window.
“I can’t deny that this past week has been one of the best of my life. If Miles had planned to make sure that my twenty-fourth birthday would be one to remember well then … mission succeeded. Dollywood. Meeting the Queen herself, even if I did embarrass myself in doing so….”
His fingertips caressed the necklace that he wore around his neck, having not taken it off from the moment that it had been gifted to him.
“This. No, more so the fact that Miles had remembered it was something that I wanted very much, and he made it a point to get it for me. Proof positive that the thought behind a gift from the heart means as much if not more than the gift itself. Then my late party with Miles and my family here in Seattle, and Ari and Francisco joining me… I couldn’t have asked for more - or better. And, my birthday week isn’t even technically over.”
“Because this weekend, I have another present presenting itself - an opportunity. I thought for a while that my BFF Ari and I were going to be left out in the cold when our originally scheduled opponents for the Mixed tag Qualifier were announced as not being able to make it. I thought to myself - ‘Well that’s it then.’ We’re out of the running for possibly wrestling at Summer XXXTreme XI and Ari and I won our first titles together since we were the Pride champions in Sin City Underground. But then, lo and behold… our dreams were answered, and things got even better – and a touch more complicated. Because, yes. We do have opponents to earn our way into the Fatal Fourway for the Mixed Tag Team Championship, but we’re up against a woman who means so very much to me as a friend, and a man who, quite frankly, had my number when he and I faced each other a few weeks ago. Kim Pain, and the Roulette Champion, Peter Vaughn. Once again, the Go Gym versus Hellsgate. Team GO against the Saviors, and this will be nothing if not difficult.”
“Because, Kim? The friendship that you and I share … it just kind of came from out of nowhere, didn’t it? Just out of the blue, you were there for me when I needed help. You lent me an ear and a shoulder, and truth be told, a swift kick up the ass when I sorely needed it. When Austin basically beat me into the ground and left me buried, you didn’t even have to pause to think twice. Not knowing me at the time didn’t stop you or Whisper. You reached out and offered me the rehab help I needed to get my career back on track that wasn’t available to me at the time. When Ari and I were betrayed, you responded as if it were you who had been stabbed in the back. The Hallmark of any friendship. You, Cyrus, Kat, Mac and Whisper… you’ve become another family to me. Like everyone I love at the GO Gym, you’ve proven that you can choose your family. That’s why this weekend is going to prove so powerful and hard to bear, because I have to stand back and watch my bestie Ariana and someone I care about deeply tear into one another in order to get that coveted fourth and final spot at Summer XXXTreme XI. And I know that Ari will fight her hardest, but I also know that you will do the same. But, let the chips fall where they may ladies, because what happens in the ring between the two of you – is between just you. I have someone else that I have to face and beat if I want to get to that cruise, and it’s a man who has proven capable of beating me once already.”
“And that man is the man himself, the Roulette Champion - Peter Vaughn. I have to admit that I was bitterly disappointed Peter, when you beat me a few weeks ago in that non-title match. Oh I’m not trying to take anything away from that win because let’s face it, you earned it. I blew it - and not in the fun way. You had me beat hands down, and that is a fact that I’ve come to terms with. No, the disappointment stems from the feeling we all get when we drop a match and the hopes we had going in are so much dashed on the rocks at the crest of a sinking ship. I thought – hoped – that a win against you would be my ticket to a spot in the Ultimate X match. A Summer XXXTreme XI tradition that I’ve been a fan of for many, many years. Sadly though… as I’ve stated, it was not meant to be. But this match this coming weekend, I'd like to think of it as a sort of redemption arc for myself. It won’t get me into the Ultimate X match for your championship like I had originally wished for, but it will serve as my second chance at getting a much needed win against a man of your caliber of talent. It would get me into the World Mixed Tag title match with Ariana at my side and if I’m the one that puts you down for the count, well who knows? It might also put me in line for a one-on-one against you for your gold, should you retain.”
“But, and no offense Peter, considering who they announced on twitter as one of your challengers, that future is looking pretty grim, my friend! So, we’re just going to have to wait and see. This has been the perfect birthday week for yours truly, and I have no desire or intention of letting it end on anything other than a high note. I want that spot for Ari and myself. Summer XXXTreme XI. The Fatal Fourway for the World Mixed Tag Team titles.”
Carter stood up from his desk.
“That’s a present I plan on getting for myself.”
Carter then carefully walked back around to the bedside, the only light being shone in through the windows. He sat down carefully so as not to disturb the sleeping form of Miles and he laid back. And Miles’s bare arm reached over around his upper body and pulled him in close as the scene faded.
