Page 7

Chapter Six

There were a few truths in Jovian’s life that were undisputable. If it can happen, it will, and Dix seeing him hacking and coughing. Nearly puking in the middle of the gangway of the camp was one of those.

Miserable, he dragged himself to the cabin and fell back on the hard-as-stone bunk, knocking the rest of the wind from himself.

“God, how lame!”

The thing was, right in the middle of his internal meltdown when Dix set his eyes oh-so-briefly on Jovian, he got the chills again. It was like some weird sign or…or something.

He prayed his phone had bars and was delighted to see one. “Please, be enough for international! Wait…do I have to have bars for international? Who cares?”

He called Ciana, and as soon as he heard her voice, he cried, “Ci! I’ve died and went to hell!”

“Jov, what the hell? I am in the middle of a mani/pedi. I’m in no mood for your theatrics.”

“Meow, bitch.”

As she laughed, he groaned.

“Fine. What drama is happening now?”

“There’s a guy here, a man that is so fine! But…the first time he really sees me, I’m…not…cute.”

“Not cute? No makeup? You were in your laundry day boxers? I need more details.”

“Just, not cute . What do I do?”

“Be cute. Every time he sees you from now on, be cute. Smile, flirt, shake that tiny ass, you know, be you.”

“Be me,” he said, sitting upright. “Of course! Thanks Ci. How’s Europe?”

“Eh, it’s foreign people, doing foreign things, but at least they look fabulous doing them. Gotta go. I’m about to get my toes eaten by those gross little fish. Ciao.”

Oh, to be in one of those comfortable chairs, getting his feet nibbled by the little fish, drinking a latte and laughing at the old ladies in the other chairs with Ci. Instead, he was lying on a hard bunk in a camp filled with strange people, crushing on a guy that saw him in an inopportune moment.

Be cute. Well, he could be cute. He’d always been cute. He’d have to erase that tragic moment when Dixon saw him from the big man’s memory bank and replace it with his tight little ass.

It was doable! Jovian vowed to work slower the next day, cleaning the damn latrines.

He’d bring his makeup, his brush, breath freshener, in other words, his entire arsenal.

After he was finished, he’d get all pretty and make Dixon notice him for something good.

Instead of the moments after swallowing a damn bug.

Yeah, he’d be ready for the man the next time.

He got scrubbing the next morning after getting up earlier than normal, cleaning up and getting three cups of coffee. As he scrubbed, he kept an ear out for anyone entering. The sign was in front of the door, so anyone entering had to be there to inspect.

As he made those toilets glisten, he hummed to himself, keeping his mind on Dixon. The man was truly a god, that body…that voice…

He could see himself wiling away a few weeks getting dick like that. Maybe he could get through the camp with some iota of a good time.

Another day when Dixon didn’t show. He took his time, then still waited for over an hour, until people complained that the other bathroom was full and they needed the one he’d cleaned.

He took down the sign and stowed the cleaning supplies, then went on a mission to find Dixon.

He’d confront the man, if he had to, and ask him to go inspect. But when Jovian found him, he saw Dixon was teaching some class over by the boathouse. Hiding in some trees, Jovian listened to part of the lesson.

“Now, you are going to see a lot of tracks when you’re out hiking, and I promise, most are just animals that don’t want to see you anymore than you want to see them.

The booklet that Peaches is handing out right now gives you the visuals of all the animals in this area.

You’ll need to have them memorized for the survival camps, if you’re joining.

Remember, that is no mandatory, but campers seem to enjoy them. ”

Survival camps. Dixon ran those. Alone in the woods together. Well, besides the other campers, but many more chances to sneak away with Dixon than at the main camp.

He went to the Mess Hall to get some coffee and found Kathy and Mike at the table, eating muffins. He warned, “You know those will go straight to your asses, and neither of you can afford that.”

As Mike laughed, Kathy smirked at him. “Must be nice to have a narrow ass.”

“Narrow but perky.”

“Listen, Jovian, keep those remarks on the DL here, huh? Body shaming is a big no-no. Didn’t you read the rules?”

“Are you going to snitch on me?”

“Well, no, but…”

“Then, no, I didn’t read the rules, and it was a friendly comment to help you. That’s all.”

Kathy groaned, “So helpful.”

Jovian ignored that and asked, “How do you get to go on survival camps?”

Both of them stared at him like he’d grown another head. Finally, Mike choked out, “Survival camps? You?”

“Well, yeah!”

“Dix,” Kathy whispered.

“Oh, well, that makes more sense than Jovian wanting to actually learn survival.”

“Hey! Rude!”

“Be real,” Mike said to him.

Laughing a little, Jovian gave in, “Fine. It’s Dixon.”

Kathy snickered as Mike nodded, but then, when they’d gotten enough laughter from it, Mike explained, “Well, everyone must take the beginning course. It’s no big deal, gives you the basics.

You should get your two courses in before the end of the second week.

Then, the beginners go on an overnight camp with no food, thin blankets, you know, roughing it a little more than normal, but it’s not bad at all.

Then sign up for the advanced courses and if you do that, you can go on the big survival camping trips.

They’re three and four nights each and they’re much more real.

You go out with no food or equipment except for a Leatherman. ”

“A leather man? Oh my!” Jovian said, wriggling on the bench.

“It’s a multi-tool, like a Swiss Army Knife. But thanks for letting us both know what you’re into,” Mike said, laughing as Kathy was finishing her long, almost silent gasp.

“Oh, right, right. Go on.”

“Okay, anyway, it’s a hard trip. I’m not gonna lie.

You get really hungry on the second day, and you are fighting for survival against the other campers.

Now, what Coach Dix likes the campers to do is to work together, find food, and stuff like that.

Since we’re on BLM land and state forests, we can’t eat the plants or animals, so instead, the camp leaves food around for the campers to find, like they’re foraging. ”

Jovian barely heard any of that. “So, I just need to get to the advanced classes to go on these hikes, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay, where do I sign up?”

Kathy asked Mike, “When do you think you lost him?”

“After I said he’d be in the woods with Coach Dix four nights?”

“That’s where I figured too.”

Jovian looked from one to the other. “What?”

After Mike explained it again, Jovian ran to the cabin to see when Cabin C was due for their first survival class. It was the following day. Jovian tore through his suitcases to find his cutest outfit and then planned out how he’d look for the class.

“Be cute,” Ci said. “Well, that is definitely something I can do.”