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I hadn’t signed up for sleeping in a tent.And there were three sessions over the summer — that was six backpacking trips.
Aiden was thrilled by the thought.He couldn’t stop talking about how great it was, how it had been one of his favorite memories.I started to think that the dude didn’t have much of a life outside of camp, though he was sexy enough that he was probably popular and cool wherever he went.He certainly fit into that role at camp, with friends everywhere.Even our boss, Matt, seemed to be wrapped around Aiden’s little finger, as had been apparent in our recent class on building campfires.
Matt had let Aiden lead the whole thing, showing off his skill to an awestruck group of college students who looked ready to worship him like a god.I, of course, was also frequently ready to worship him, but I would have preferred my worship to happen in privacy.I’d worship him on my knees, kissing the gorgeous bulge between his legs, not in front of a group of 18- to 20-year-old frat bros.
I trudged back to the cabin and flopped face-first on my bed, hoping never to have to hear another one of his stories about cooking things over campfires.I mean, how did you know everything was sanitary?Sure, the fire killed germs, but what about stuff that was at the edge that never got hot enough?
Ben was lounging on the orange plaid sofa that was probably older than my mother, reading a book, and Parker and Aiden were nowhere to be seen, probably off gleefully preparing to put our lives in danger.
“Shit,” I muttered.“What are you doing here, Ben?Why didn’t you have to go to that stupid campfire class?”
”So dramatic,” Ben said, chuckling.“Maybe you should try to enjoy yourself.”He hadn’t answered my question, but he rarely answered questions.Or talked at all.
“Enjoy myself?We’re about to go camping.In a tent.What if a bear eats us?”The pitch of my voice rose with my panic, but it was involuntary, so whatever.
“Dude.Loosen the fuck up.A bear won’t eat you.They’re more afraid of us than we are of them.”
”Fuck off.I’ll stay on guard if it’s all the same to you.Have you googled bears?A black bear can weigh 600 pounds, and I’m only a buck forty, max.You know who wins that fight.”
He shook his head and returned to his book, but then looked up again.“Stop being such a dick about camp.It means a lot to a lot of people, including Parker and Aiden, and Aiden is…”
“A bundle of joy?”
“He is a fucking bundle of joy, and who are you to act like that’s a bad thing?Aiden is a good guy, and he deserves better from you.He’s been through so much shit.Camp was his anchor, his refuge.”
“How do you know that?You two aren’t even friends.Are you?”
“Aiden and I went to high school together.In Eagle Ridge.”Again, he didn’t answer the question.But that certainly blew my mind.I didn’t know they’d both grown up in the area, but I supposed I’d never asked.I also supposed it explained why Aiden knew everything about starting a fire and Ben could skip all the counselor classes.
I picked at my blanket, feeling a bit like a jerk.“He didn’t say that.”
Ben shrugged.“He’s not one to talk about himself, especially not his life outside camp.Camp is like holy ground to him, his home away from home.Let him have that much, at least.That’s all I’m saying.”
“Why didn’t he pronounce your name right?”
Ben shrugged.“One can only assume he likes to fuck with me.Or he didn’t realize it was me.”
I stared at him for a moment, trying to think of an appropriate response to that, but I couldn’t, and sarcasm won.”That’s the most I’ve ever heard you talk,” I said.“Did it take a toll on you?Tire you out?”
Ben snickered and picked up his book, shaking his head in amusement.
“Alright, alright!I’ll be nicer!”And if I wasn’t mistaken, he was actually smiling now behind the book.
A moment later, Aiden and Parker burst through the door.“Campers are here!”Parker yelled.I did my best to summon some enthusiasm, jumping out of bed at a moderate pace so as not to sprain anything.
four
Jay
Benhadtoldmeto find something I could appreciate about Camp Eagle Ridge, and as our campers settled in for the first two-week session, I resolved to do just that.I put a smile on my face as Aiden and I herded our campers down to a sandy beach at the edge of the lake for our afternoon activity.As I set out water bottles and snacks out on a picnic table, I took a deep breath and looked around — it was a sunny day, and even a city boy like me could admit that the scenery around the lake was beautiful.
A creek on the other side of the Eagle Lake tumbled down from the mountains, surrounded by a bright green meadow, creating the perfect picturesque mountain lake with snow-capped mountains reflected in the clear water.On this end, the camp had built a shallow swimming area, and the water was supposedly a nice temperature.I let my eyes roam around the beach, feeling at peace for the first time since getting here.An osprey soared across the water.Tall, red-barked ponderosa pines soared along the western side of the beach, and right below the trees, Aiden Yamada was taking his shirt off.
My gaze halted, my mouth going dry as I watched him laugh with some campers and toss his shirt aside, muscles rippling.Truly, the scenery was decent here.I was enjoying the mountains, and the way the sun glinted off of Aiden’s golden skin.Fuck, I needed to stop leering before he noticed.
But I couldn’t stop watching him until after he ran down the dock, doing a cannonball into the water, splashing the campers.That was worth watching in every single way.For safety, to make sure he didn’t drown, not because water was beading on his perfectly proportioned muscles in a way that made a person want to lick him clean.His body was a thing of beauty, cut and muscular and golden-skinned.And the way his baggy swim trunks hung low on his hips, giving me glimpses of things I probably shouldn’t see…
”You look more cheerful,” Ben interrupted my thoughts, sitting at the picnic table beside me as Parker led their group of campers into the water.He followed my gaze to Aiden, who was now chasing a camper out of the lake, water droplets glistening in his glossy black hair.“Ah.So you’re gay?”
