On the opposite side of the campsite, Ezra steps out of the largest tent, his hair in full bed-head mode, wearing a pair of flannel pajama pants and an oversized hoodie I’m guessing belongs to one of his boyfriends. He rubs his eyes and yawns, then he spots me and waves. I raise my hand in a friendly gesture and smile. He’s less intimidating than the rest of the guysat least. Relatable almost, if I overlook the whole “two hunky boyfriends” thing.
“Morning,” he says quietly, coming across the clearing towards me. “Are you heading up to the bathroom?”
“I was just trying to decide if it was worth it or if I should pee in the woods,” I say, and we both laugh.
“Well, I need the real bathroom.” He reaches me and loops an arm through mine, dragging me along with him. “I swear, I’m getting too old for this shit. Next time Dre and Xeno suggest camping, I’m going to tell them to go without me and I’ll book myself a nice weekend at a four-star hotel instead.”
“With top-notch room service,” I say wistfully.
“Exactly. You can come. You clearly have the right attitude.”
I chuckle again. “I doubt I’ll be invited camping again. This time was just…” I trail off, still completely unclear on why Butch invited me this weekend to begin with. “Can I ask you something?”
“About Butch?” Ezra guesses, a big grin stretching across his face.
“No, never mind.” I shake my head and bite my lip.
“I probably wouldn’t be able to give you much of an answer anyway. I see Butch at the gym when Dre manages to drag me there a few times a month, and for stuff like this, but we’re not close or anything.”
“Oh.” I stuff my hands into my pockets while we make our way down the gravel path. “I guess I was just hoping you could help me figure him out. He’s so friendly all the time, it’s kind of confusing.” My face heats and I grimace. “Don’t tell him I said that though.”
Ezra mimes zipping his lips and grins again. “For what it’s worth, I get the feeling he’s a ‘what you see is what you get’ kind of guy.”
I guess I can live with that answer. Butch is being friendly because heisfriendly, and it’s nothing more complicated than that. I bob my head in understanding and commit myself to that view of the situation. Butch is uncomplicated and I shouldn’t read anything into anything he does.
We reach the bathrooms, and it turns out Ezra was right yesterday. They really are only acceptable in the most dire of emergencies. I consider just peeing in the woods after all but decide that as long as I don’t touch anything, it’ll be fine. I peek into the shower area while he finishes using the bathroom. There’s rust around the drain and spiders in every corner. I shudder and decide that a shower can definitely wait until I get home tomorrow night.
Ezra steps out of his stall, his oversized hoodie rucked up on one side, giving me a quick peek at the waistline of a pair of lace panties before it falls back into place. Seeing anyone being the least bit gender non-conforming in this group of hyper-masculine gym bros eases a fraction of the nerves I’ve been carrying around since I got in the van yesterday. Maybe I can fit in here just fine. After all, Ididclimb a freaking mountain yesterday. Or, well, okay, just a twenty-foot rock, butstill.
I wonder if we can tackle another one today. Or maybe go for a slow—very slow—jog on one of the trails. I’m actually a little excited to see what Butch comes up with today. Whatever it is, I think I’m ready for it.
BUTCH
Waking up nuzzling Percy’s pillow wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for this morning. A burst of chatter outside the tent tells me I’m not going to be able to sneak out of here without getting caught either. I don’t really give a shit about my friends givingme hell, but the last thing I want is for them to make Percy feel weird.
Maybe I could say my tent blew away in a freak gust of wind. No, they’ll be able to see it standing. Hmm. I could tell them I got up to piss in the middle of the night and ended up in the wrong tent. That might work.
I tighten my grip on Percy’s pillow, bringing it to my nose and inhaling the scent of his shampoo that’s lingering on it. Why did he get up without waking me? Am I wasting my time worrying that the guys will make him uncomfortable when I’ve already scared him off? Shit, was the kiss last night too much? I rack my brain for any sign that he didn’t want it, or that I pushed things too far. But no, if I had, he wouldn’t have told me I could stay, right?
I hear the unmistakable sound of his laughter outside, and I sit bolt upright, my heart immediately pounding like it wants to leap out of my chest and find a way to get closer to him. I rub my hand over my sternum. What the hell is wrong with me? I’ve had plenty of crushes in my life, why is this one making me feel so crazy? Is it because Percy’s so far out of my league? Because he’s not jumping straight into it like most guys have?
This much thinking so early in the morning is giving me a headache.
I throw the sleeping bag open and climb out of the tent, wishing I’d thought to bring some pants or at least a hoodie with me last night.
“Butchy, that’s not your tent.” Fender gasps the second I step out into the cold morning.
“There were rabid coyotes,” Percy says before I can try out my planned excuse.
I nod in agreement. “A whole pack of them.”
“Wow, that sounds harrowing.” Fender doesn’t even try to keep a straight face.
Silas covers his laughter with a cough, and Callan turns his attention to AJ and Slater, who are just now stumbling out of their tent.
“Speaking of wild animals, did anyone hear that ruckus last night? It sounded like a pair of raccoons mating or something,” Callan teases.
“Raccoons?” Slater scoffs. “Sounded like bears to me.”
