Page 22

Chapter Fifteen

The sky could barely be seen in tiny slivers as they lay on the blanket, staring up through the branches and leaves. “This tree is nice.”

“Oak too. And it is not common around here. Mostly there are elm and evergreen, aspen.”

“So, someone planted it,” Jovian mused. “Maybe they planted it for their partner, and they pictured it shading a picnic like this. Of course, they’re long dead, but…”

“That was almost romantic,” Dixon said, laughing. “Besides the part about them being dead.”

“You never know, maybe they’re both buried here, together, and they will be all sorts of angry with us, using their tree to have our date. They’ll come up and start to haunt us, and we’ll be driven crazy before we drink drain cleaner to stop the voices.”

“Ha! Jovian, that’s detailed!”

“I think about horror stories sometimes, you know, when I am in certain situations, and it calls for that. Like this.”

“Oh, like a hermit bringing a beautiful young man to the woods, and because his skin is so cared for and perfect, I picture wearing it as a skirt?”

Up and leaning on an elbow, Jovian laughed, “Like that! But, if that’s true, my face would never make a skirt for you. In fact, it would barely make a decent sized clutch.”

“It would barely make an eyepatch for me.”

“Ew!”

Dixon laughed as he looked up at Jovian. “That’s where you draw the line? Being an eyepatch?”

“No, I’d make a stylish eyepatch, if they were stylish, which they’re not! I refuse to be made into anything that is unstylish!”

Dixon pulled him down and kissed him roughly, then bit his bottom lip before letting him go. “You’re a weird little fucker, that’s for sure.”

“Good weird or bad?”

“Weird is almost always good. At least, from my perspective.”

“Oh. Okay, great. So, more kissing now?”

“More kissing, yes.”

In his arms, on that blanket, Jovian could, for once, block out everything else.

There was nothing but them, the breeze that had gotten a little more aggressive, and the sounds of the birds in the trees.

In those strong arms, Jovian felt protected by the world, and he felt, for the first time, what having a daddy actually could be.

Not someone spending money on him, buying him trinkets and clothes, letting him sit by a pool or taking him to four-star restaurants. It was where he was, on a lumpy piece of ground, separated from it by only a thin blanket, being held and kissed slowly, seductively.

It was being in Dixon’s arms, the warmth of the man, the beautiful man that he was falling for, despite his reservations of ever letting himself fall for anyone.

When Dixon parted from him for a little breath, Jovian pled, “Don’t hurt me.”

“Never. Don’t hurt me either.”

“I still don’t see how I could, but I promise.”

When it was time to leave their picnic spot, Dixon packed up the rest of the food, the plates and blanket, then slung the backpack over his shoulders and then picked Jovian back into his arms. “Snakes, you know.”

“I might really get used to this and make you carry me everywhere.”

“I might just do that. You feel pretty good in my arms.”

Jovian wrapped his arms around Dixon’s thick neck and kissed his cheek. “Carry me away.”

When Dixon left him at Cabin C, Jovian waved, then ran up the steps to find his friends all sitting on Mike’s and Kathy’s bunks.

Jovian plopped down on Kathy’s, next to her, and Alan and Mike stared at him. “What happened to you? Did you guys already fuck?” Alan whispered.

“No! He’s…he’s honorable or whatever.”

Mike rolled his eyes. “Or whatever. So, tell us.”

“It was…the best time I think I’ve ever had without being naked.”

Kathy sighed heavily. “How romantic.”

“It was! You would never think someone like Dixon could be romantic!”

“Why?” Alan asked.

“Well, he’s so rugged. He’s more like a caveman, and he’d sling a guy over that amazingly broad shoulder and carry him to a cave, but…he carried me like…”

“He carried you?” Kathy asked.

“There are snakes here? Did you know that?”

All three of them fell backwards onto the bunks.

“What? There are!”

When they recovered, Jovian told them about the date, and all three leaned in, hanging on every word. Alan, twice, whispered, “Wow, that’s hot.”

Kathy was fanning herself. “Either I took too much E, or I’m just swooning.”

“E? You took ecstasy?”

“Estrogen, Jovian. Estrogen.”

“Oh! Right. Well, I know I’m swooning. He’s just incredible, and I’m falling hard for him, but that’s not good. I never, ever wanted to fall. I wanted the other guy to fall so I could hold all the strings, but…”

“This, Jovian, is better,” Mike assured him. “Don’t hold strings. Hold his heart. Let him hold yours, if all this gets that far. Don’t play games with him. I don’t know him in that way, but guys like Dixon don’t like games.”

“I can see that. That’s the problem. I only know games when it comes to trying to get a guy.”

“What did you do today?” Alan asked him.

“Um…” Jovian couldn’t think of anything, except what he’d planned to do. That had gone out the window fast. “I tried for about a minute to be aloof.”

“Good. You said tried. You’re doing fine, Jovian. Stopped worrying and just go with it. It’s not like you’re totally gone for the guy. You’re just getting used to this.”

“I guess, but…what if I screw it up? You guys have got to be my Jimmy Cricket.”

Alan barked a laugh and then snorted on top of that. “Jiminy Cricket.”

“What ever , Alan. You don’t have to be rude.”

Kathy grabbed Jovian’s hand. “I’ll try, but I’m new to this, too.”

“Your date went well, mine did, so I guess we’re about to be wifed up.”

“Jovian, you’d be a husband,” Mike reminded him.

“He carried me like a bride.”

“Lord. Okay, fine, but neither of you should count your chickens before they hatch.”

Aghast, Jovian whispered harshly, “You don’t think he has chickens, do you? Oh, god, did I eat a chicken that was alive recently?”

“How long do you think it takes the stores to get them? I’d wager he killed one of his chickens. He has meat chickens and egg-laying hens,” Mike told him.

“That’s awful!”

“Jovian, Coach Dix is self-sufficient. He relies very little on going to the store. He grows and raises his own food, hunts for it, gathers in the woods for it, and what he can’t get that way, he buys.”

“Well, I will talk him out of all that once we’re together. I refuse to get to know an animal just to eat it. We’ll…make the chickens pets, and just take their eggs, but only if they don’t want them.”

Alan whispered to Mike, “He’s going to make a chicken rescue and adoption agency.”

“We’ve got a lot to teach him.”

“Will you both please stop talking about me like I’m not here?”

“Why?” Alan asked. “You never listen to us, anyway.”

Jovian took offense to that. “I do. At times.”

“Well, listen to this, Jovian,” Alan said, and his voice was much warmer and more patient.

“I know that man likes you. We’ll help all we can, but we will not be there when you’re alone.

Just…just remember, he’s a real man with real feelings.

He doesn’t care about money or things. He cares about people and this place. ”

Mike agreed, “He’s right. Don’t play coy or be aloof. He won’t understand that.”

“I don’t want to do anything that would hurt him. I think it would hurt me as much if I even tried.”

Kathy lay her head on Jovian’s shoulder. “I think you’ve come a long way already.”

That evening, everyone gathered around the dock, letting their feet dangle as they ate hamburgers, hot dogs, chips and drank generic soda.

Jovian sat with his friends, but he was soon taken away when Dixon tapped him on the shoulder. “I don’t want to intrude.”

Alan was the one to say, “Oh, Coach, we’re good. We were just gonna hang here for a while longer, then take the swim, and he won’t. He doesn’t want to swim in. What was it, Jovian?”

“Smelly fish and smelly fish piss,” Jovian answered. “That’s just disgusting. You know that water gets into…places you’d rather it not.”

Dixon grabbed his hand and hefted him to his feet. “No swimming in smelly fish piss then. Come on. I want to show you something.”

Jovian gladly followed Dixon, but it wasn’t like he had much of a choice. Dixon’s strong grip on his hand made him follow. It was hot, like the caveman they’d discussed earlier.

He was led to the office, and once the door was closed, Dixon grabbed him into his arms and kissed him solidly. “I couldn’t wait to see you alone. I guess that makes me lame.”

Jovian’s entire body lit in happiness. “Really? You…really?”

“Yeah. Why does that surprise you?”

It shouldn’t. The old him, the one before he’d ever come to the camp, would have told him he knew all along he’d come back for more. In his heart, however, he doubted Dixon would ever want to see him again. “It doesn’t,” he tried to say with confidence. It came out barely above a whisper.

“Well, it surprised me. You’ve got me spun around, Jovian.”

Before he was put on the spot to say words he didn’t have, Dixon held him a little closer, kissing him in the sweetest way. Jovian felt like a prince, but not the kind of prince he’d always pictured.

There were no mansions in a future with Dixon. There was no huge pool, media room with a wall sized television, and rows of reclining chairs.

There was no wing for his clothes and makeup.

But he had arms that surrounded him in strength and security. He had eyes that chilled him even as the man they belonged to warmed him through. Jovian had a voice that told him the best things, things he needed to hear, without realizing he did.

Dixon smiled as he pulled away and pinched Jovian’s chin. “Tell me.”

“Tell you what?”

“Anything. I want to know your thoughts.”

“I’m not known for my thoughts,” he said, trying to be funny, but it was unfortunately true.

“Well, I’d like to hear them. I want to know you, Jovian. The good and the bad.”

Jovian moved to kiss him again, and he thought Dixon would pull away, but instead, he swept Jovian up into his arms and kissed him while holding him.

“I told you I’ll get used to this.”

“I told you I don’t mind.

Jovian lay his head on Dixon’s shoulder, purring, “I know. But…I don’t know why you even like me.”

“Shh, Jovian. Stop with all that. I like you for a lot of reasons.”

“Take me…away from here. Take me to your house.”

Dixon chuckled a little. “We’ll talk, and I’ll make you tea.”

“That sounds so wonderful.”

“And you’re walking. I’m not carrying you the whole way.”

Jovian laughed. And it was a great feeling. “I think I can handle that, but you’re walking in front of me. Sorry to say, I’m still selfish enough to let you get bitten by the hordes of snakes around here instead of me.”

“I like honesty, but ouch! That hurts!”

He was grinning, so Jovian whispered, “I’ll make it up to you.”

“I believe you will. Okay, let’s go, but I’m leaving a note for True. He’ll worry if someone reports you missing. That’s a serious thing around here.”

After setting Jovian back on his feet, Dixon wrote out the note for True and left it at his desk. Taking his hand, Dixon led him out the door and they started on the familiar route to the cabin.

It looked completely different at night. It was terrifying. The evergreen trees looked like tall black specters; the white trunks of the aspen were the bones of giants. Each crunch of their shoes on the dirt and rocks sounded like those giants were crunching on the bones of their enemies.

Swapping his fear of snakes for the terror of the darkness, Jovian sped his steps and wrapped Dixon’s arm around him.

“You okay?”

“It’s a little dark. I just don’t want to lose you.”

“Yeah. Okay, honey,” he said, though his words were dripping with humor.

Up the trail they went, the long trail that led to the home Jovian had seen at a distance. The closer he got, the more lovely it looked, however. Even in the dark, with the silvering wood like a beacon, it felt more like home than anywhere he’d been.

“If you’re still here when it gets light, I’ll give you the outside tour, but for now, we’ll go inside.”

Walking up three stairs, they were on the rather wide porch and reached around each side of the cabin. The house wasn’t especially wide, but close up, it was bigger than it had looked when he’d last seen it.

A bench with thick beige cushions was on the right side of the porch, and two old-fashioned rockers on the other. Plants were on each side of the door.

Jovian hadn’t known what to expect, but he figured he’d see a lot of camo and leather. When he got inside, however, he was surprised completely.

The inside wasn’t raw wood walls like the outside, but flat, painted a soft milk chocolate, and on them were shelves filled with books, macrame hangings, plants and hand-drawn pictures in raw wood frames.

It was positively bohemian, but not in the cluttered, gaudy way. Even his sofas were soft brown with white and dark brown pillows.

“I love your living room.”

“Thank you. I want it peaceful and comfortable.”

“It’s definitely that,” he whispered.

The rug was thick and light colored, and it lay over the wide planks of the floor. Everything was so beautiful, so…homey.

“Why are you crying?”

He hadn’t realized he was. “I have no idea,” he said with a laugh, while his tears just fell harder. “It’s pretty. It’s…not some dump.” He heard himself and spun around to face him. “I’m sorry! I am so stupid.”

“No, you’re honest,” Dixon said while cupping Jovian’s cheek. “It’s refreshing.”

“I’m blunt and rude. And…I never want to be rude to you.”

“I’m glad you don’t want to be rude to me. Listen, Jovian, I’m not pressuring you about anything. I just want to help you become the best person you can be.”

“I’d like that. I’d like that a lot.”

“Good. Let me make you some tea.”