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Chapter Twenty-Three

They trekked all the way to the other side of the trail that led to Cherokee’s house, then flipped around and went back to the camp. He found his friends in the Mess Hall and told them all about his adventure, down to telling Cherokee those three important words.

“You said it first? You?” Mike asked, laughing. “I would have lost that bet.”

“I blurted it in a moment of irritation.”

“How romantic,” Alan quipped. “Well, did he say it back?”

“Of course he did. He’s mad about me, as he should be. I’m cute, sexy and brave enough to hunt a mountain lion,” he boasted. “Who wouldn’t want me?”

His friends laughed but also congratulated him. “Now that’s over, Alan told us all about the rich guys you have sponsoring your gig at the club in Denver. What can we do?”

“I’m not sure. I’m not even sure what I should do. I need to be there to assure it’s all set up right. But how do I leave without telling Cherokee?”

“Just tell him,” Alan suggested. “I mean, he’ll only love you more.”

“I don’t want pats on the back for this,” he said. “That…that isn’t why I’m doing this.”

“Why are you, Jovian? You didn’t like it here until you got with Coach,” Kathy whispered.

“I did. I mean, I wasn’t in love with the place, but…you all…I like you, okay?”

Kathy hugged his shoulders, and Alan winked at him. “We like you too, Jovian. And I get it. It’s not charity with your name written all over it.”

“Exactly. You all know how I am, or I was, or whatever. They’ll all think I’m doing it to get out of something, or to pat myself on the back, and I’m not. I really just want to help.”

“We know that Jovian,” Kathy said. “And we think it’s great. So, what do you need from us?”

“Well, for one, help me get out of that camping trip. Cherokee’s gonna be so mad at me.”

Jovian felt that surety in every bit of him. Cherokee wouldn’t understand, and if Jovian disappeared, he’d think…terrible things.

Alan suggested, “Maybe just go. I mean, any way you slice it, he’s gonna be pissed. Do what you can via the phone, and when you need to go, just go.”

“Leave him word, though,” Mike interjected. “You can’t just leave. The whole camp will think a bear ate you.”

“Good! A note, maybe. What would I say in it?”

They discussed and even went back and forth with a few good-natured arguments until they came up with a plan. “You say that you had an emergency back in Denver that you had to handle. It’s the truth,” Alan started.

“Yeah, yeah right,” Mike agreed, adding, “Then, write that you’ll be back, that he’s your pookie or whatever.”

“It’s not a lie, none of it. This is an emergency.”

Alan took out his phone and his smile was huge as he read a text. “My husband, he’s been trying to get through. He said that he’s got friends in Denver that can help with anything we all might need.”

Jovian was overjoyed. “Really? That’s amazing! Well, we have the funding for the event itself, but we need help to set up.”

“I’ll let him know, and if you can ask those two men that you went to speak to, give them my husband’s number and then you can leave the day of the event, instead of two days before. That will help get Coach a little less angry.”

“God, that is perfect. That’s perfect!”

With things looking up, he felt a little of the stress slide from him, but not all of it. “He’s still going to be so mad that day.”

“He will, but eventually, you’ll tell him why you had to go,” Mike said flatly. “I get you don’t want credit for helping save the camp, but this is your relationship. You all should be honest with each other.”

“I know,” he said, though he hated it. He wanted to make them happy, sure, but he wanted them to just be happy, period. Not happy with him. That was the old, selfish Jovian, and he didn’t want to ever be like that again.

Not when he lost that and gained friends and a guy like Cherokee Dixon.

Cherokee came over to the table and he shushed his friends as he approached. “Hey, everybody.”

“Hi Coach,” Alan said. “How’s the hunting?”

“I think we can release you all soon. The agents are here, following up, but they don’t see hide nor hair of our mountain lioness.”

“That’s good,” Kathy said. “That was frightening. Jovian told us all about it.”

“He did good.”

Jovian preened over that. “I was amazing, wasn’t I?”

“God,” Mike groaned. “Yes, I’m sure you were quite the warrior!”

“I would be, if he’d have let me keep the knives.”

“What knives?” Alan asked.

Cherokee walked off, laughing, as Jovian told that part of the story. “He was going to go by himself, totally spitting on all he told us about staying with a buddy!”

“Jovian, he lives here,” Mike said. “He knows how to deal with wild animals, but I still think you did well, you know, going with him.”

“Just because he’s this big, tough hunter guy, it doesn’t negate the fact he’s got someone now and he can’t run around, playing with lions and tigers and bears.”

“Oh my,” the three of them said in unison.

“You’re all droll!”

Besides the basket class, which he barely knew he was in, while he was coordinating the people helping him, he had survival class, but Cherokee cut it short. The time in the Mess Hall while the mountain lion was watched killed a lot of the day.

Jovian begged off staying with Cherokee that night, being he was still busy speaking to everyone, and Cherokee understood his need to stay with his friends.

They were all on their phones that night, and Jovian was glad there were some bars between them, although they had to walk around Cabin C to get reception at times.

With the rain that fell, however, just before seven that evening, the reception was gone and they grouped on Jovian’s bunk, notebooks and phones, taking notes.

“Okay, Lonnie and Travis have a bunch of friends in Denver that will help decorate before, get out leaflets and then help clean up after. He also has some friends that live in Denver that are or used to be in the…film arts, if you will.”

“Filma arts?” Mike asked.

“Porn,” Alan said, laughing. “I guess that means porn.”

“It’s a legitimate business,” Jovian defended.

“Oh, I know that it was your description that made me laugh.”

“You’re unfunny,” he said then dove back into the notes. “Okay, so we have entertainment to draw in the crowds!”

Mike stopped him by asking, “Wait, do you know who?”

“Oh, the porn people?”

“Yes, Jovian, the porn people.”

“Oh! Well, there are two that were before my time, of course, though I have seen one now and then.” He looked through his notes for the first name. “Mack Irons, that’s the really old one.”

“Jovian, god, that’s mean,” Mike said. “And Mack Irons? Talk about hot daddies!”

“Right! I grew up watching his old clips online. Who else?”

“Dirty Duke.”

The two men gasped together, and Kathy laughed at them. “I take it you know the name?”

“Are you kidding? That man is fire,” Alan said. “I’ve heard he lives in Denver now and he’s got something like ten guys he lives with.”

Jovian knew the story, at least some of it. “Well, the Waltons told me they were friends, good friends, and one of Dirty Duke’s guys actually used to run Chaps. And they don’t have ten boyfriends, they have five, seven, including them. And most of them are current actors in the…genre.”

Jovian looked up the pictures, and though it took a while, due to the spotty reception, it did finally come in and he showed his friends. “There.”

“Holy shit, I’ve seen these guys. They usually perform together. And yeah, yeah, the production company there, Blew Boys, that is the one that has Mack Iron’s name in the credits.”

Jovian let the phone screen go black before he snatched it from their sight. “You, Alan, are a pervert, watching all those films. What would your husband say?”

“Who do you think watches with me?”

His gasp was loud enough that a bunch of people across the room stared over at them.

“Mind your own business, thank you,” Jovian called to them. “Rude.”

“Jovian, if they’re performing, you’re definitely going to pack in a crowd,” Mike said while swiping his phone. “They’re hugely popular, and being local boys, they always get enormous crowds when they do an event in one of the clubs up there.”

“Really? Wonderful,” he said, taking Mike’s phone. “Look, aren’t they handsome? I’m doubly glad Cherokee won’t be there.”

“I think he would probably just take you into one of the private rooms and show you a good time,” Alan said.

“No use taking chances.”

It was taking shape. Jovian scrolled through his notes, seeing everything that was falling into place, knowing that at the very least, they’d have a chance of saving the camp, even without Travis Walton putting a ton of money in for himself.

He didn’t want the Waltons to come in and save the day. Jovian didn’t want there to be one big savior. The community should save itself. Sure, he’s a member, but more trouble came from a rich person swooping in, claiming to want to help than the community coming together and helping themselves.

He’d known that a long time, but…wouldn’t admit it to himself.

Not until he came to the camp and didn’t find a rich daddy to take away all the bad parts of his life.

Instead, he’d found friends and a good man that had done it.

As a group. As a community, making him believe in that kind of power, far more than the power of money.

“We have the venue, the entertainment…what am I missing?”

“Food?” Kathy mentioned.

“I thought about a caterer, but that’s more expense and people aren’t going there to eat. At least,” he started to giggle as he finished, “food.”

“Sick,” Kathy said, laughing. “I guess you’re right. What about your friends, are they getting the word out?”

“I haven’t heard back from Ci, but the others, yes, they’re excited to see the inside of Chaps. It’s members only usually, and they’ve never passed the tests to get a membership.”

“Well, that’s amazing!”

“Ci was supposed to be back by now. I don’t know what is going on with her.”

He caught the three exchanging looks with each other.

“Okay, what?”

Alan was straight forward. “Ciana sounds like a bitch. She also sounds like you were her accessory, her pretty gay friend.”

Mike shook his head and tried to shut Alan up, but Kathy agreed. “She’s not a friend, Jovian.”

Jovian stopped Mike. “They’re right. She’s…always been that way. She was just, well, all I had. The friends that are spreading the word for me? It’s not for me. It’s to see Chaps.”

Kathy hugged him again. “You don’t need her.”

“I know. I have all of you. At least I hope so.”

“You know you do, Jovian,” Alan said.

Mike just nodded before he said, “You’re weird, you’re funny and you’re a jerk sometimes, but we like you. Everyone can be a jerk sometimes.”