“Twenty-eight.”
Jesus, and I thought I was accomplished at a young age. To inherit such a large property and run it successfully—or at least from the looks of it, that’s how it was doing—was a feat in itself. I’d had my fair share of accolades throughout the years, starting at the ripe old age of twelve when I’d won our private school’s mathletes tournament for the first time. That was my first real taste of recognition over an accomplishment.
Since then, I’d been chasing that same high.
At this point, it was a wonder I wasn’t some kind of adrenaline junkie looking for the next insane thing to fire up those starved neurons in my brain that would most definitely kill me one day. But then again, the praise was the core crux of it all.
Without that, what was the point in accomplishing anything?
“You’re avoiding the question, by the way,” Blake prodded.
“Oh. Right. How could I forget my promise?” I held a fist up to my mouth and cleared my throat. “Let’s see... the poison plant family. There’s ivy and oak. Can’t forget about their sister, hemlock.”
“Wow, so he did pay attention.”
“I wasn’t kidding about the notes.” I was, but he didn’t need to know that little white lie. “Belladonna, cow parsnip. Queen Anne’s lace if you’re stupid enough toeatit.”
Blake let out another laugh, causing my stomach to clench again.
It had to be the freckles, or the way his nose scrunched up slightly, that was doing it for me. I had a healthy, and albeitrobust, sex life back home, so I couldn’t exactly excuse myself with the whole ‘I need to get laid’lie that I was dying to lean into with how attracted to Blake I was growing.
There wasn’t anything wrong with being attracted to a man like him, aside from the obvious of not knowing which team he swung for and causing all sorts of awkward issues because of that. He was hot, fit, and someone who was easy to keep up with during a conversation.
What more could you want?
The thing was, I wasn’t looking to get involved with someone high up in the camp’s echelon. Far from it, actually. A casual hookup here and there to spice up the day’s activities were all fine and good, because at the end of the night, I’d be returning to my cabin alone. Just how I wanted it.
Getting involved with a staff member right off the bat was probably asking for my vacation to implode in on itself. And at that point, I’d only have myself to blame.
“I’m curious.” His tone was light as he spoke. “Why’d you come to something like this alone?”
I shrugged, hooking my thumbs underneath my bag’s straps again. “No reason. Wanted to try something new. Why?”
Blake shrugged right back. “Like I said, I was curious. We don’t get many singletons unless they’re a parent of one of our kids.”
“Aw, you got little tikes running around? I didn’t see any yesterday. They stay overnight, too?”
He huffed softly. “I should probably stop calling a bunch of teenagers ‘kids’. They hate it. But I can’t help it when I’ve had a lot of them since they were preteens.”
“School program?” I wagered.
He shook his head. “At risk youth. Specifically LGBTQ identifying.”
“Oh.” That was... surprising. And not at all what I was expecting to come out of his mouth.
He eyed me from his peripheral. “Mhmm.”
Oh, I knew that tone. It was the ‘watch what the next thing out of your mouth is’ without outright asking me if I was going to be a bigoted asshole or not. Ironic in the best way, considering I felt like my preferences were made pretty clear upon opening my yawning trap of a mouth.
Though on the other hand, one could never be too sure these days. The freedom of expression knew no bounds, after all.
Who was I, or anyone else for that matter, to judge based on perceived inclinations?
Growing up in Switzerland during my formidable years was an experience I’ll never forget. Being surrounded by my two best friends, day in and day out, who accepted me for whatever I wanted to be, had shaped me in a way no other outside force else ever could.
I was indebted to those times, much simpler now that I was in the thick of adulthood and could reminisce on how small my problems were back then.
“I see it now.” I shot him a grin, elaborating when I received a brow raise in return. “You’re a softie at heart.”
