“Y’all haven’t heard about the Wolf Pack?” Nick asked.
Ty scrambled to sitting as I said. “No, what’s the deal?”
Nick sat on the foot of his bed and faced us while Ty and I moved to do the same. Cal even mirrored us so we all sat relatively close in our own space.
“The last few years, there were these four guys on the football team. They were called the Wolf Pack because of the mascot and because you’d rarely ever catch one without the other three,” Nick said.
Ty nodded. “Bullies?”
Nick pointed at him. “Bingo.”
“What happened?”
“They got suspended last year. Since all four were jocks, the school thought it’d be a good idea if we joined this camp. Teaching us better ways to deal with the aggression we might develop from the competitiveness of sports.” The last was said with his nose in the air as if he recited words straight from Principal Woodson’s mouth.
Ty snorted. “More likely, it was an answer to raging parents.”
“What was the drama?” I asked.
Surprisingly, Cal answered, expression hardening as he filled us in. The violent tale hit too close to home. Ty flicked glancesmy way. He’d been a huge part of my support system since my own run-in with homophobes. I was stronger now, but things still got to me on occasion.
One of thosethingssat across from me, practically taunting me with a piercing glare and a deep voice as if he expected me to be one of those bullies, one of those ass—
Wait.
Oh, fuck.
Fuck!
I’d given Cal every reason to think exactly that.
Fuuuuck. Maybe my intentions weren’t the same, but Cal didn’t know that. Holy hell,I’dbecome the bully this time. This wasn’t cool. This wasn’t tolerable. The fear of letting him in wasn’t strong enough to overcome this extreme possibility. Disgust rolled dangerously in my gut. No, I had to clear the fucking air, and if it ripped my heart out with it, then so be it.
I’d made a mess of things, and it was on me to straighten them out.
“Are they okay?” I asked, voice hoarse and wobbling. “Tate and Percy.”
Cal cocked his head slightly, eyes narrowing.
Nick dug his phone out of his pocket, shuffling through it with his thumb before handing it to Ty. “Yeah. Everyone’s fine. Wren’s the big guy, Tate’s the skinny one, and Percy’s the kid.”
“Jesus, fuck,” Ty breathed.
“Yeah. So the Wolf Pack got suspended.” Nick opened his arms wide. “And here we are. Volunteered to join this camp for all the shit we didn’t do.”
Cal stood and moved to the side of his bed. He dug around in his bag for a second, then just grabbed the whole thing and slung it over his shoulder. “Like we’re innocent,” he said, then stomped to the bathroom and slammed the door.
“What’shisdeal,”Tyasked just as the shower turned on.
Nick stared at the closed bathroom door and sighed. “Cal’s got stuff he’s dealin’ with. I know you like to give everyone shit, Ty, but maybe go easy on him for a minute.”
“Ha. Fuck that. Everyone gets one setting from me.”
“Asshole.”
“Exactly. Can’t be ruining the rep I’ve worked hard for.” Ty laughed but glanced at me before lying flat on his bed. I appreciated his concern, his caring, but I’d been the asshole this time, and I was determined to fix it.
The cabin was a bit chilly being out in the middle of nowhere in early November, but the next morning as we yawned our way through breakfast and hustled onto the fields with hundreds of squealing kids, it was cold enough my balls retreated.
