Page 33 of Beyond the Rainbow (Pride Camp 2025 #11)
Heartbeats
W ednesday
When Joshua awoke the following morning, Colin was already up and in the bathroom. “Babe?” Joshua called out. “You OK?”
Colin opened the door and grinned at him. “I’m totally OK.” He scooped Joshua into his arms and kissed him several times, then jerked his thumb toward the shower. “I was just trying to figure out how to take a shower, then I need to get to the baseball diamond.”
“Much pain?”
“I took one of the pills the doctor gave me and it helped a lot.”
“Only one ? You’re supposed to take two.”
Colin’s brows narrowed. “Josh, I’m taking the pills. That’s going to have to be enough. You know what two of those things would do to me.” He paused and stared hard at his husband, his brows arched as if challenging Joshua to respond.
Joshua stared back, his jaw tight. He wanted to argue, to insist Colin take the full dose. But he also knew his husband’s stubborn will. Pushing would only make Colin dig in his heels. He sighed and nodded, then opened his mouth to speak but a knock on the cabin door robbed him of the chance.
Colin maneuvered to the door, his movements quick despite the awkwardness of the scooter. He opened it to find a grinning Trent carrying a leg-shaped plastic contraption which he thrust at Colin. “Need a shower, coach?”
“What the hell…”
“It’s a waterproof cast covering. Pull it over your cast and you can shower without getting it wet.”
Colin took the covering from Trent’s hand and backed into the room. “Come on in, Trent. I’m sorry I missed baseball practice yesterday. Everything go OK?”
Trent glanced at Joshua, who was standing on the other side of the room, his expression gloomy. “Everything went fine.” He gave Colin a quizzical look, then tilted his head toward Joshua.
“Ah! He’s pissy because I’m only taking one of those narc bombs the doctor prescribed.”
“I’m not pissy!” Joshua shot back.
“OK, OK,” Trent soothed. “Everybody’s a little tired and stressed out. We can’t have you two scrapping.” He turned to Joshua. “I know what the doctor gave him, Josh, and one of them should be plenty.”
“We’re not scrapping,” Joshua told him. He moved to Colin’s side and kissed his cheek. “OK, you stubborn Irishman, have it your way. I have counseling sessions to prepare.” He turned to Trent. “Can you help him get that thing on so he can shower?”
“You suggesting I might be dirty ?” Colin teased, pretending to be offended before nuzzling against Joshua’s cheek. “I’ll stop by and grab you for breakfast after I’ve chiseled a pound of river mud out of my hair.”
Once the door shut behind Joshua, Trent showed Colin how to don the cast covering. “See? Easy-peasy. I’m headed back to set up for practice.” He patted Colin’s back. “See you at breakfast.”
Nate’s writing class gathered around him at breakfast, all of the campers clutching the small notepads and pens he’d given them.
He scanned their eager faces and asked, “Have you been writing down your observations? Your thoughts and feelings about what happens here at camp? Because that’s where great writing comes from: from inside you. ”
“I have, Nate,” one of the boys responded, flipping open his notepad to reveal pages crowded with scribbled text.
Nate’s face lit up. “Perfect. Did any of you write down your feelings about Colin getting hurt?”
Several heads bobbed, a few faces turning solemn. “Would anyone be willing to share?”
A younger boy lifted a trembling hand, his fingers pale against his notepad. Nate’s expression softened. “Go ahead, Caleb. We’d love to hear what you wrote.”
Caleb swallowed, his voice wavering. “Everyone feels sorry for Colin, and I do too. But … I feel sorrier for Josh. He looked so sad when he found out Colin was hurt. It must be awful to see someone you love get hurt. I hope he feels better soon.”
A quiet understanding seemed to ripple through the group, and Nate placed a gentle hand on Caleb’s shoulder. “That’s beautifully said, Caleb. And I felt the exact same way.” His gaze moved across the circle, his smile warm and reassuring.
“And now,” he continued, his voice gaining an excited edge, “I have a very special surprise for all of you. Trent and Jeff have asked us to help write part of their wedding ceremony. How does that sound?”
The students’ eyes widened, as excitement battled nervousness. A few glanced apprehensively at each other, shifting in their seats.
“I know it’s a big moment,” Nate acknowledged, “and it might feel a little scary. But I’ll help you, every step of the way. And together, I know we’ll create something wonderful—something Trent and Jeff will always remember.”
Hope sparked in their eyes, replacing fear with anticipation, and Nate’s chest swelled with pride. He could already see the words taking shape, the magic of their young voices weaving together to create something beautiful.
“After breakfast we’ll meet at our writing pavilion and talk about how to begin. We’ll set work on our play aside for today and focus on Trent and Jeff’s wedding instead.”
Across from Nate’s writing group, Jeff gathered his terrarium class around him.
“After breakfast, we’ll hike into the woods and see if we can identify the plants, roots, stones, and mosses on our flash cards.
We’re not allowed to pick any of the flowers or disturb any of the other plants and mosses.
Your leather folders have a section reserved for the card of any plant you identify.
Please don’t be afraid to help each other out.
If you see a plant, flower, or moss you know or find in your cards, shout it out so everyone can see it.
This isn’t a contest; it’s a journey of discovery.
We’re getting to know the environment we live in.
We’re getting acquainted with the plants, stones, mosses and trees with whom we share our world.
They give us so much. They give us beauty, wonderful smells; they fill our lungs with oxygen, and some provide medicine that heals us when we’re ill.
We’re here to make friends with these living beings, to appreciate their beauty and value their gifts.
Together, let’s learn to see them not just as plants but as partners in our world. ”
Later that day, Joshua wandered into the dining hall, surrounded by the group of campers from his counseling session.
They were all laughing, giggling, snickering, playfully shoving each other, poking Joshua’s arm, and whispering teasing comments to each other that had them all in stitches.
Clearly, his counseling session had gone well.
Colin watched them, a puzzled look on his handsome face. “What the hell, bud?” he asked as Joshua moved to join him. “What kind of counseling were you doing anyway? I’ve never seen teenage boys be quite so giggly. What kind of psychology were you spouting today?”
“The SEX kind!” Joshua said with a snicker of his own.
“What? Really ?” Colin said, grinning as he sat down beside his husband.
“Well, I said they could ask about anything and …” He cocked an eyebrow and shrugged.
“Well, no wonder they’re all so happy. They’ve got raging hard-ons!”
Joshua burst into laughter.
“You can’t talk to teenage boys about sex without giving them hard-ons.”
“Oh hell, you can’t talk to teenage boys about broccoli without giving them hard-ons,” Joshua replied. He shoved a forkful of scrambled eggs into his mouth. “They wanted to know how big you were.”
“ What ? The fuck , Josh!”
“Well … they wanted to know if it hurt!”
“Anal sex?”
“Yeah. Well, they called it ‘butt sex’ but … yeah.”
Colin put a hand over his mouth to keep from spewing eggs all over the table. “Butt sex, huh,” he said once he got control of himself. “Romantically put.” He leaned closer to his husband. “And just what did you tell these teenage sex fiends about your husband’s dick ?”
Joshua covered his face with both hands, laughing too hard to speak.
“C’mon, Josh.” Colin urged, poking his arm. “Fess up.”
“I told them …” Joshua began, then once again collapsed onto the table in hysterics.
Colin tapped him on the shoulder. Joshua peeked up at him. Colin didn’t speak; he merely raised his eyebrows in question.
“I told them,” Joshua squeaked out, then giggled again, “I told them you were … well-endowed .”
“Oh, fuck me,” Colin moaned. He stared at his husband, who was still laughing hysterically.
“Thanks ever so much, Josh! Do you have any idea how much fun the rest of this week is going to be for me? Especially once your little group of sex-crazed adolescents starts spreading it all over camp, how well-endowed I am?”
“They’re not allowed to talk about what’s said in counseling sessions,” Joshua told him, then snickered.
“Oh, right. I’m sure they’d never dream of spreading that juicy tidbit around.” He rolled his eyes, then lowered his head, shaking it back and forth in slow dismay. “Now I’m the camp legend for all the wrong reasons.”
Joshua pulled himself together and shrugged. “Who says it’s the wrong reason?” He grinned at Colin, then stood and pinched his cheek, before giving him a slow, suggestive wink. “I happen to think it’s the perfect reason!”
At the baseball diamond, the twelve players milled around, tossing baseballs into the air and catching them, waiting for their two coaches to arrive.
The entire team had been devastated when they’d heard about Colin’s injuries, fearful that he might not be able to continue as their coach.
But he’d rolled into the dining hall earlier that morning in high spirits, laughing with Joshua and chatting with everyone who stopped by their table.