Page 24

Wyatt

C amp would be over soon, and while I thought I’d be counting down the days in relief of getting out of here, I found I was upset to know it would all be ending in just a few days.

I’d made more friends here than I’d ever had, and I met someone who I could possibly love but wasn’t willing to think about that.

“Wyatt, are you ready?” Gavin asked. Today was the day of the big hike.

Everyone was packing in a tent and food for the night, and Gavin and I would be leading them in.

He said since I was so good with the compass that he wanted me to read the map and use the coordinates to get to where we’d stay the night.

“Yes, I think so.” I hoped I was, but the look he gave me told me he knew I was more than ready and just being nervous.

“You got this. We checked your backpack three times so I’m confident you are indeed ready,” Gavin said so full of confidence and encouragement I wanted to kiss him just to feel his closeness.

He leaned in and kissed me, and I soaked in all the feelings he gave me before finally opening my eyes and smiling at him.

“I’m ready now,” I said. We’d stayed together every night since that first night in the tent.

It turned out Gavin had his own cabin that had a bathroom with a shower that was big enough for the two of us, and a comfortable bed he didn’t mind sharing.

The night after the tent he woke me up after I’d fallen asleep and whispered that he’d really like me to go to his cabin. Like I could say no to that?

“You’re always ready,” he said with a wink. “Let’s make sure everyone else is.”

We were leaving early, and Gavin had said Jimmy would be bringing us lunch because it turned out they had a boat that they used to take extra food and anything they thought we needed to us. After that we’d be on our own for dinner and breakfast.

“Are you ready?” I asked Timmy who had decided he wanted to go, mostly because Sal was his partner and the two of them were getting along very well. Even if nothing came of it, at least they’d have fun.

“Yes. I checked and then had Sal double check. He’s very thorough,” Timmy said with a hard stare that I fought to ignore.

“Okay then, I think everyone is ready,” Gavin said when he walked over to me. “We brought poison oak soap and treatment just in case.”

“Thanks,” Timmy said and looked down at the ground.

“Just keep an eye out for it this time,” I said, which pulled a laugh from him.

“I will. Now that I know what it looks like.”

We started out on the same trail we’d used a few times, so I didn’t have to use the compass, but I still checked it, not wanting to lose track of where we were going.

We were a new group of people now, and the hike was so much easier than it had been that first day.

Everyone chatted and laughed as we made our way, but they were still on alert for anything that could change the perfect day into a nightmare.

A few squirrels skittered in the underbrush, but now we were used to it, and no one reacted.

“Guys, we’re ahead of schedule for lunch so we can all take a break until Jimmy gets here. I’m going to check in with him and see if he’s ready early,” Gavin said and after squeezing my arm he walked away to do just that.

“So, do you think you’ll come back next year?” I asked John. He and Drevon had taken a seat on a nearby rock and were both having a drink of water.

“It depends what’s going on with ball, but we both want to. It’s been a great experience,” he said in the calm and assured way we’d come to expect from him. “I survived the night in a tent which I did not want to do, but it wasn’t that bad.”

“No, it really wasn’t.” I forced myself not to think about just how good that night had been before they noticed and continued. “You two are going to be great. They’re lucky to have you.” I took a drink of water and watched Gavin go person to person to make sure everyone was okay.

“Good luck with Gavin. I think you two must have been meant to be,” Drevon said. “Like it was written in the stars.” I wanted to laugh but when John draped his arm around Drevon’s shoulders and pulled him close, I knew he wasn’t joking.

“I hope so and we’ll know soon enough. I’ll be with him for two more weeks after this,” I said and hoped once again it wasn’t a mistake even though Gavin had said I could leave anytime I wanted.

“That’s right. I forgot about you helping with cleanup and maintenance. Not that they really need more cleaning up. They keep everything neat and clean around camp,” John said.

“We’ll be clearing trails and making sure everything is safe for kids. There’s a lot more safety requirements apparently,” I said.

“Hey, the boat will be here in ten minutes, want to go down to the lake with me to wait?” Gavin asked.

“Sure,” I said.

“Did you need more help?” a few people asked.

“We can always use more help,” Gavin said, and I pushed down the disappointment of not getting a few minutes alone with him.

“Don’t worry, we’ll have time alone later,” he whispered as we walked along the steep trail that led to the water.

“I’m going to hold you to that.”

“I know you will,” he said, and kissed my cheek.

And I did. Later that night, in a tent we’d put up together under a sky full of stars, we made love.

Things were changing and in just a short time I’d gone from wanting to fuck his brains out to showing him how he made me feel and making sure he knew there were different emotions now, not just lust. It was true, I was falling in love and if the way he looked at me while we lay in each other’s arms was any indication, I’d guess he loved me too.