Page 16

Gavin

A fter kissing a while longer and after an amazing hand job from Wyatt, the two of us settled back to watch the stars. “What’s on the agenda for tomorrow?” Wyatt asked.

“We’re going on a hike around the lake.” He sat up and stared at me for a moment with a look that told me he was not happy with that news.

“When you say around the lake do you mean all the way around, or just part of the way around? What exactly do you mean?”

“We’re going to go halfway in the morning. We’ll have lunch on the other side of the lake before we hike back. It’s pretty flat and it’s not a difficult hike.”

“How far is that?”

“Halfway is almost three miles.”

“Holy shit. I haven’t hiked one mile let alone three. I don’t think I’ve walked three miles on city streets. Do you really think we can do that?”

I cupped his jaw and brushed my thumb across his cheek. “There’s nothing you can’t do if you put your mind to it. That goes for every other camper too. All of you are an amazing group.” He stared at me for a moment, probably waiting for the punchline, but there wasn’t one. I meant every word.

“I’ll expect a foot massage later if it’s horrible.”

“Of course,” I said and the two of us chuckled. “I could stay here with you all night.”

“A week ago, I was terrified of the idea of sleeping outside, now I hate the idea of going inside and missing the view. The more I see the stars the more I want to look at them.” He lay his head on my chest, and we stayed there a while longer as the lake quietly lapped against the shore and the night came to life.

I knew we should be in bed getting some sleep, but the thought of leaving Wyatt right now was too hard to face.

Morning came too soon. The two of us had gone to bed only a little later than I normally did, but thoughts of Wyatt kept me awake.

After hurrying through a shower and rushing to breakfast, I was happy to see everyone there excited to find out what we’d be doing today.

Hopefully they felt the same when they found out we were going for a hike.

“Morning, Gavin,” a few of them said as I walked by and I hefted my coffee in greeting while trying not to look at Wyatt and failing miserably. His contained smile was just what I needed to start my day.

“Morning, everyone,” I said, finally getting my rhythm.

“Today we’re going to go for a hike so please be sure to wear sturdy shoes and bring your backpack with water and anything else you might need while we’re away from camp.

I’ll make sure you’re all prepared before we leave.

Enjoy your breakfast and we’ll meet at the firepit in thirty minutes.

” I walked over to get my own breakfast and sat at a table with staff members.

There would be two of them going too just to make sure we could handle anything that might come up.

“They’re all doing great,” Joe who’d been with us a few summers said.

“They really are. All of them are willing to try, sometimes that’s all it takes,” I said and the three of us chatted over details as we finished breakfast.

Exactly thirty minutes later we were all gathered around while Joe instructed them on how to put their backpacks on so they wouldn’t have issues while we were out there.

No one had the heavier backpacks that were needed for a longer hike, but we wanted them to be as comfortable and prepared as they could be.

“Jimmy has made all of us a portable lunch. Please take one and pack it into your backpack. Believe me you’ll want it when we get there.

” They each took one of the plastic containers designed just for this and within a few minutes we were all ready to go.

“Okay, everyone, let’s get going. Remember to watch for poison oak,” I said and after adjusting my own backpack, I led them out of camp.

“How far are we hiking?” Lyn asked.

“We’re going to go halfway around the lake before stopping for lunch. Around three miles total.”

“That sounds so far,” Timmy said.

“You’re all going to do great,” I said, and everyone fell into the rhythm of walking at a good pace that would get us there in plenty of time but not so fast we were leaving people behind or pushing anyone to walk faster.

“You were right, this is fun,” Wyatt said as he walked next to me where the trail was wide enough. We’d be reaching the first mile soon and were making good time.

“Do you think anyone is having trouble? They all seem to be having an easy time of it to me, but I want to make sure no one is feeling pressure to go faster.”

“I think it’s perfect. Some of them are in better shape so I’m sure they could handle going faster, but since this is the first time we’re actually out in the wild I think they’re all just enjoying the new scenery.”

“We’re going to stop at goat rock for a water break soon, so if anyone needs help, please let me know. Sometimes they don’t want to complain and end up paying for it in blisters and sore muscles later,” I said and forced myself not to stare at his lips.

“How far is that from camp?”

“It’s the first mile marker. We always stop there to double check everyone is okay.

” We’d learned the hard way that it was important to stop there.

We were still close enough to camp that if anyone was overwhelmed, they could go back.

Kids would be so excited they’d go all the way to the halfway point then be miserable for the whole walk back.

It made everyone’s life easier when someone didn’t try to push through the pain only to pay for it for days afterward.

He bumped into my arm, bringing my thoughts back to him. “You’re doing a great job, Gavin. Everyone loves it here,” he whispered and winked before slowing down and walking with the other campers. Wyatt Andrews what spell have you put me under? Whatever it was I wasn’t complaining, not one bit.