Page 22

Wyatt

“ H ow could this hold two people?” I grumbled to myself while holding the tent.

“Don’t worry, there’s plenty of room,” Gavin said.

Since he seemed to be aware of everything that happened at camp, of course he’d heard me.

“And it really is easy to set up. Pull everything out of the bag and I’ll guide you through it.

” He walked to each pair and told them the same thing and when he came back everyone had a pile of tent parts in front of them.

“First, you’ll want to spread the tent out with the waterproof side down.

When we camp in the forest, you’ll all have a tarp to put under it, but on the sand it’ll be fine.

” He stood and took the far side of the tent and the two of us spread it out.

After making sure everyone was caught up Gavin showed how to put the poles together.

“There will be two long ones that will cross over the top. Once they’re together, you’ll want to feed them into the openings on the tent. ”

He demonstrated and let me finish it. “What now?”

“Now pound the stakes into the ground.” He handed me a rock which worked great in the sand. “We’ll have a hammer with us on the trail. The ground there is a lot harder.”

He helped me pull the corners out tight while explaining that it would be more comfortable if everything was smooth. “I know what to do,” I said once it was obvious. I stuck the ends of the poles into the rings on the corners of the tent pulling it all up. “That’s pretty cool.”

“It is. Want to check out our new digs?” Gavin asked.

“Digs?”

He ruffled my hair before unzipping the tent and we stepped inside.

Well as much as we could step in while crouched over to avoid touching the top of the tent.

It was small, and neither of us could stand up but it was cozy and there was actually plenty of room for two.

“Now we just need to add sleeping bags and we’re good to go.

” Gavin left while I sat cross-legged in the middle of the tent I’d help put up.

I might suck at volleyball, but I kicked ass building a tent.

“You did kick ass at building a tent,” Gavin said before shoving two bundled up sleeping bags inside.

“Oh shit, I said that out loud?”

“You say a lot of shit out loud.” He knelt next to me and took my face in his strong hands.

“Don’t you ever change.” He kissed me and made me want him more than I already did.

Maybe it was the small space, maybe it was because even though everyone else was within twenty feet of us, they couldn’t see us.

Or maybe it was just that I really really wanted him.

“I can’t wait to spend the night with you,” I whispered against his lips. He pulled back enough to meet my eyes before kissing me again.

“Me either,” he whispered. “Now let’s make up our beds and see if anyone needs help.”

We unrolled the sleeping bags and stepped back out into the sun.

A few had their tents up but a few more were still figuring it out.

But like we’d done with every task so far, all of us helped each other.

“I wish school was like this when I was little,” Sal said as I helped him put his poles together.

“What do you mean?”

“I like how we all help each other. Kids can be assholes, and I can say that. I have a big family and half of them are still kids.” We both laughed and between us and his partner we got his tent up.

“I like it too. I think I’m going to see if I can work here next year.” The words were out of my mouth before I even had a moment to think about it, but it was true. If I could do it, I would.

“Really? I would totally come back again, but I don’t know if I’d want to work here. You love it though.”

Did I love it? “Yeah, I guess I do. As crazy as that sounds. Did you know I tried to leave when I first got here? I drove past the entrance and was thinking of asking for a refund right there at the gate.”

Sal chuckled. “Well, it sounds like it was a good thing you changed your mind.”

I glanced at Gavin, and he grinned at me.

It was different than when he smiled at everyone else and the fact his eyes lingered on me a little longer than necessary made my heart race and my blood warm for him.

He was special, and I hoped someday he’d be mine.

But first we had to survive sleeping on the ground in a two-man tent.

“Don’t worry, it’s really not that bad,” he said when he walked over to where I stood.

“I know,” I said, and I guess somehow, I did know. Plus, I really was excited about spending the night with him.

Once everyone had their tents set up, we all went back to our cabins and brought anything we thought we had to have for the night.

Which for some was most of what they had.

Gavin said we’d still be eating in the mess hall then after that we could hang out at the tents.

He even made sure we had the telescope so if anyone wanted to get a really close view of the stars, they could, which made Drevon very happy.

That night was the longest of my life. Where I was anxious to get to bed, everyone else wanted to stay up late and sit around the campfire or look at the stars. “Did you know the rings of Saturn are tilted?” Dani asked after she took her turn at the telescope.

“No, and I didn’t know you could actually see them with a telescope,” I said. There were so many things I didn’t know before coming here and I’m sure so much more I still had to learn.

Finally, after several hours, a few people went to their tents and after chatting and laughing for a while there was silence.

Soon there was only Gavin and me left at the fire.

“Come on, I’ll show you how to make the fire safe for the night.

” We walked closer and he showed me how to make sure there was nothing flammable nearby and to spread out the logs so it would die down sooner.

Then he looked up at me and the fire was no longer just burning in the fire pit.

“I’m ready for bed,” I murmured. He nodded and held out his hand. Our tent was closest to the lake and farthest away from the other tents. “Did we choose this spot for a reason?”

“Maybe,” he whispered and unzipped the flap. Dropping to his knees, he crawled in before his hand shot out to me. “Coming?”

“I hope so,” I whispered.

“Me too,” he said, and I knew this was one more time I’d said the quiet part out loud and this time I didn’t care.