AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Alone now by the fire, I turned my attention back to Jay, my fingers tracing lazily up and down his back, under his shirt so that I could feel the warmth of his skin and the ridges of his muscles.
“It won’t be so bad.I made it through and so can you.”
Jay sighed.“I know.And maybe it’s good for us to not be so attached.After all, college starts soon.”
“I don’t want to think about school,” I admitted, my heart swelling with love for this incredible man in my arms.As our lips met again and again, fueled by passion and desire, I knew without a doubt that I loved him.The thought of having to leave him when we went back to school only made me hold on tighter.
A little voice in the back of my head reminded me we would be going to the same school, to Stanford, but I shut that down.Jay didn’t want to deal with my real-life bullshit.Jay liked who I was at camp, and at camp, everything was different.
Standing, I reached for the buckets of water by the fire and doused the flames, then led Jay back to our cabin for a more intimate kind of activity.Jay rushed inside and bounced on the bed, laughing.
“Finally home,” he sighed.
And it really felt like home.
thirty-one
Jay
Icouldn’tbelievehowquickly Session 2 had flown by.The backpacking trips, the laughter, all those stolen kisses with Aiden when we thought no one was looking—it felt like a dream that I didn’t want to wake up from.And sexy fun in our cabin whenever we were alone.
But as we said our goodbyes to the campers, I realized that our time together was slipping away like sand through my fingers.Soon, I’d be back in California, and he’d head off to his college, and what would happen?We’d exchange a few text messages, maybe.Or follow each other on social media, where I’d get to see photos of him with gorgeous college girls.
Shaking that thought out of my mind, I hugged each of the campers goodbye, tears coming to my eyes as I realized that I wanted more time with these kids.It never seemed like quite enough.I’d definitely follow them on social media, if they had it.
Or would that be weird?
“Bye, Jay,” said Michael, who had quickly become my favorite camper of the session.His eyes were red-rimmed as he hugged me tightly.“I’ll miss you.”
“Take care of yourself, kiddo,” I whispered, my voice cracking.I blinked back tears, trying to maintain some semblance of composure.“And remember what we talked about!”
He nodded sagely.“Don’t be an asshole?”
“Exactly,” I said, laughing.
As the last of the campers left, I turned to Aiden, who had finished saying goodbye to his own group.There was something bittersweet in the air, and I wanted nothing more than to wrap Aiden up in my arms and never let go.
“Let’s pack up for the break,” he suggested.“It’ll distract you from missing the campers.”We headed back to our cabin, where our belongings were strewn across the bed, fresh from the camp laundry.As we folded the clothes and picked out outfits for our break, Aiden’s phone buzzed.He was still laughing at something I’d said when he glanced down at it, his expression hardening.
“Shit,” he muttered under his breath as he read a text.“My parents are demanding that I go home for the break.”
My heart sank.“So, we won’t be together?”After so much time apart for backpacking trips, the thought of being apart from Aiden for even a day was nearly unbearable.
“I want to spend the break with you.But I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to come to my parents’ place.You don’t want to spend your time listening to the Yamada family argue about my future, do you?”
“Okay,” I whispered, feeling like the wind had been knocked out of me.“I guess you’re right.”I couldn’t look at him; it hurt too much.So, instead, I grabbed my phone, pocketed it, and hurried out of the cabin before the tears streaming down my face betrayed my feelings for Aiden.
“Jay!”Aiden called out, jogging to catch up to me.“Wait!”
I stopped in my tracks, wiping at my eyes with the sleeve of my hoodie, but I didn’t turn around.I couldn’t bear the thought of seeing the pity in his eyes.
“I fixed it.”
“What?”I whispered.
He chuckled softly.“It’s going to be a disaster, but I don’t want to spend a moment away from you.Look.”Aiden held his phone up for me to see the text message conversation he was having with his mother.I scrolled through the texts, frowning as I saw a photo Aiden had sent them, one of me kissing his cheek as he laughed.It was a sweet photo, and one of my favorites of us.One where we looked like a couple.
“Are you serious?”I stammered, disbelief and relief flooding through me simultaneously.“You came out to them, just like that?Over a text message?”I scrolled down, frowning at the way Aiden’s family was reacting with a mixture of shock and disbelief.
