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Wyatt Andrews

“ W hat the fuck did you get yourself into this time?” I grumbled to myself as I turned down the dirt road that led to Camp Acorn.

Just seeing the sign made me want to turn around and head back to Sacramento, or, as I had started to refer to it as, civilization.

It was a little dramatic, but I’d spent a good portion of my twenty-six years living my life indoors.

Working remotely, ordering my groceries and anything else I needed delivered to my home.

“Hey, you’re not thinking of leaving, are you?” an older man said as he tapped on my window, startling me so badly it had to have taken at least three years off my life.

“What? I—no. I don’t think so,” I stammered, my hand at my throat. He had a warm smile and tanned skin that definitely wasn’t from being inside all the time.

“Roll the window down,” he mimicked, speaking the words at the same time.

“Sorry, I just needed a minute.” There was no use in lying and I was so stressed out I couldn’t come up with an excuse fast enough.

“I’m Barry Johnson,” he said and held out his fist for a bump.

“I’m having serious second thoughts. I’ve never camped before,” I blurted out before even attempting to bump his hand.

“Don’t worry, my son Gavin is going to make sure you have fun and learn everything you need to know about camping in the two weeks you’re here. He’s been coming to this camp since he was knee high to a grasshopper, so he knows exactly what he’s doing.”

“It seems like you should be in charge.” Dressed in a worn pair of shorts, an old Camp Acorn shirt, and a floppy canvas hat, he looked like he belonged.

“I was for many years, but it’s Gavin’s turn now.

I know it seems intimidating, but I swear, you will have fun.

No one here is going to make your stay harder on you.

” His brown eyes held so much warmth and understanding I felt like a child again, being encouraged by one of my teachers to spend some time outside at recess, something I rarely did.

But this time I would, and I’d experience what everyone else did.

I sounded far braver in my mind than I actually felt.

“Where do I go?” I asked before I had a chance to drive away.

“Back up and I’ll lead the way,” he said before walking back to the entrance and waiting as I made my way along the road that I knew for sure wasn’t a road.

When I was finally at the entrance, he walked next to the car and showed me exactly where to park.

“First thing we’ll do is get you checked in.

We don’t normally open this early in the season, but Gavin wanted to add this new camp that’s especially for people in the LGBTQ community and for those that have not camped before.

So don’t worry, you won’t be the only one that doesn’t know what they’re doing,” he said and opened the door for me.

“I-I’m really not sure I can do this,” I stammered, and I knew exactly how pathetic I sounded, but unfortunately, I was being honest.

“Sure you can. Come on. Let’s get you checked in.

” He held his hand out for me and pulled me out before walking to the back of the car with me.

“Did you pack much?” As soon as I opened the trunk, and he saw the three suitcases and two backpacks I had crammed in, he chuckled and helped me unload them without any comment.

“Sorry, I wasn’t sure exactly what to pack,” I said even though I knew he knew I’d received a packet that told me exactly what to pack.

“Don’t worry. There’s plenty of room since this is a limited group and you’ll know soon enough what you need and what you can live without.”

“Sorry, Dad, I didn’t realize any campers had arrived,” Mr. Tall, Dark, and fucking Handsome said, as he hurried over to take two bags before introducing himself. “I’m Gavin Johnson, and you must be Wyatt Andrews.”

“Yeah, how did you know?” I asked, because I wasn’t wearing a name badge and I’d never seen this guy before in my life. Him, I would have remembered.

“I make it a point to look at everyone’s pictures that are part of your application,” he said, as though it was just so simple.

“You can remember from seeing a picture?”

“He has a photographic memory. Literally. Show him an image and he won’t ever forget it, including someone’s face,” Barry explained as he took the other suitcase and one backpack.

I tried to ignore how perfect his dark hair was or how brown his eyes were, friendly and warm, like his dad’s. Mostly, I tried to ignore how good his ass looked in the baggy cargo shorts he wore. Maybe camping wouldn’t be so bad.

“Snake!” someone yelled from one of the cabins. Nope, camping would be just as bad as I imagined it would be.

“Don’t worry, we make sure nothing sneaks into the cabins.

No one’s been here for months, so we go through every building and chase off anything that may have come in from the cold,” Gavin said.

“The forest is just waking up and most of the animals are starting to get more active. Sometimes they forget we’re here, so we just need to remind them. ”

“You don’t hurt them, do you?” I asked and once again my hand went to my throat. I had zero need to find a snake or any other reptile in my cabin, but I didn’t want them to be hurt, either.

“No way. We love and respect wildlife. This is their home, we’re just visiting.

” Barry smiled at me and the three of us walked along a path marked with rope strung between logs that were sunk into the ground.

“You’re going to be saying in Arrowhead cabin, it’s right this way.

Usually when the kids are here, we put ten in a cabin, but for this camp we kept it small.

You’ll be sharing with five other people.

” He said it like it wasn’t a big deal, and it was special that there were only five other people.

But oh my god it was five other people. He led us to a narrower path that went right to the door of a cabin.

Arrowhead was carved on a thick piece of wood above the door, and I braced myself for what would be inside as he opened the door and stepped inside.

It was a large room, more than enough for twelve people, or possibly even more. There were beds lined up against the walls. Each one had a cabinet between them for privacy and to store our belongings.

“You’re the first one here, you can choose whichever bed you’d like,” Gavin said, and he and his dad stood patiently while I took a moment to think about it.

“I think I’ll take the one way in the back.

” I thought about being closer to the door, but then I remembered that episode of Schitt’s Creek where David and Alexa fight over who’ll be closer to the door because that’s who usually gets killed first— then I remembered I was being ridiculous but still chose the back of the room.