Never Will I Ever

Two

Kaleb

The pulse hammering in my throat hasn’t lessened since the moment I walked into Colin’s office, ready to show the new summer counselor around the grounds, only to find Avery Reynolds sitting in the chair across from him.

Not while I ask Colin what the hell is going on. Not while I listen to him explain that Avery is the new counselor on staff this season. Not when he explains how Avery is going to be assigned to the same group of kids as me for the summer so I can show him the ropes.

Even as I slip out of Colin’s office with Avery on my tail, I can still feel the thrum of blood rushing beneath my skin. It floods me with a scalding heat that rivals the sun’s. Hot enough, even the cool mountain breeze can’t seem to temper it.

Awkward silence creates a toxic fog between us, and despite being in the open air on this gorgeous June day, it’s stifling. And though I wouldn’t have thought it possible, it only gets worse the second Avery tries to break the ice as we head down the deck steps.

“So…it’s a small world.”

It is, and his presence here is making it smaller and smaller by the second. Which is why I have no intention of engaging in any bullshit small talk with him. Or any kind of talking, for that matter. Around the kids and for my job’s sake? Sure, I’ll play nice. But I’m planning to make sure any and all encounters besides those required of us are kept to a minimum.

It’s the only way this will work.

“Let’s not.”

He doesn’t take the hint.

“Kaleb. I—”

“The grounds are set up in something of a half circle,” I start, cutting in before he has a chance to finish his thought. I don’t wanna hear anything he has to say.

We pass by the bathhouse, which is situated near the center of camp, and I continue explaining the layout. “You’ve already seen the lodge. Offices and housing for administration, bathrooms, laundry facilities, and the cafeteria are all in or near it. And then all the cabins for both campers and counselors run down six paths that radiate in an arc from the center of the complex.”

Rather than try explaining it again if he’s confused, I stop at the activities board near the bottom of the steps and rip one of the maps off. I press it into his chest—the heat in my veins shifting to straight-up boiling levels when I feel the hardness of his pecs beneath my palm—before turning away.

“At least there’s indoor plumbing,” he says while folding the map and tucking it into the pocket of his jeans.

I don’t answer, instead leading Avery down the third path from the left—where all the cabins for the eleven-year-olds are located—that winds between the firs and hemlocks. Silent prayers for peace and tranquility are sent into the universe, and all I can do now is hope they’re answered. Or maybe being immersed in nature can bring those things to me. Otherwise, I very well might lose my shit on this guy.

“Counselors have their own cabins for our age group. It’s set up so there’s one on either end of the path. I’ll be on the end closest to the center of the complex and you’ll be set up on the far end.”

“So I’m the first one eaten by bears,” he deadpans from behind me.

“We can only hope,” I mutter under my breath.

The cabin layouts might be the only fortunate part of this entire situation. The small amount of added distance between his sleeping location and mine should make it easy enough to avoid him during my downtime at the very least.

I chance a glance at him to find dread and discomfort written all over his chiseled face. It’s got nothing on the anxiety etched into those piercing blue eyes that are the same color as the sky on a clear day, or the way his six-two frame seems to shrink with anxiety.

Even out of his element, Avery’s still able to hold on to that conventionally attractive rich-boy swagger he has. Much to my displeasure. I’m sure he smooth-talked his way right into Colin’s good graces too. He’s just got that air about him. Always saying the right thing at the right time, oozing charm and charisma at every turn.

I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t fallen victim to it my first couple years at Foltyn too, back when I was still doing my best to find new friends and fit into the team. We built a friendship over the first few years at school, fraught with laughter and memories that now serve no purpose but to haunt me. But after what he did to Keene and Aspen, I feel like I barely know him. Like everything we shared was just his persona, and in reality, we’re nothing more than acquaintances.

And now, I have no problem keeping it that way.

Silence once again lingers between us as we reach the end of the path that dead-ends at the steps leading up to Avery’s cabin. I take them two at a time, reaching the top in two strides, and begin unlocking the door.

“You and I will each have a master key that unlocks your cabin as well as all the other cabins on this path.”

“Including your cabin?”

The question gives me enough pause to stop what I’m doing. Because I sure as hell hadn’t thought about that.

Fucking wonderful.

“I said all the cabins , didn’t I?” I manage to grind out before flicking the lock out of place and shoving the door open for him.

A double bed, lounge chair, and nightstand between the two take up the majority of the cabin’s footprint. There’s a small built-in coat rack behind the door, as well as a few cubbies to store clothes, shoes, and toiletries.

It’s as simple and understated on the inside as it is on the outside—though it’s actually one of the nicer cabins on the property. It’s one of the ones built after last summer, when we got the funding to expand the program, allowing us to almost double the number of kids able to attend this season.

I drop his key on the tiny hook beside the door and lean against the doorjamb, watching Avery like a hawk as he quietly glances around the space.

“This is it?” he asks while setting his bags on the bed.

Something between incredulity and disgust leaks from his tone, and it instantly grates on my nerves. I shouldn’t be surprised this style of living wouldn’t be up to his standards. When he heard the word cabin, no doubt he thought of some fancy ski chalet in Vail or Park City, not the tiny one-room style those of us without butt-loads of money think of.

The fact that he has to walk a few hundred yards to the bathroom or won’t be able to send all his clothes out to be laundered will be a rude awakening for him.

“Home sweet home for the next eight weeks.”

A low groan comes from him as he runs his fingers through his golden locks. “If I survive that long.”

More irritation courses through me, and I’ve just about had it with his bullshit.

“What the hell are you doing here, Avery?”

The frankness of my question must take him off guard because he freezes instantly, those sky blues locking with mine. And for the briefest moment, I think I see something alluding to uncertainty in their depths.

“Look, I wasn’t aware you—”

“Save it,” I seethe, cutting him off. “I asked what the hell you’re doing here. That’s all I wanna know.”

Biting his head off must snap him out of whatever stupor he briefly fell into, because on a dime, the fighter in him comes out with a vengeance.

“Why’re you coming at me like this?” he snarls. “If one of us should be pissed at the other, it’s me. Because you were the one who got me kicked out of Foltyn, not the other way around.”

I arch a brow. “Last time I checked, you got yourself kicked out.”

Something between a snort and a laugh comes from him; a clear attempt to make little of my accusation. Too bad for him, all it does is light a fire under my ass.

“Try and brush it off. Blame me if you want, but what you did was wrong,” I snap, arms crossing over my chest. “It’s not my fault you can’t own it or take responsibility for your actions.”

A sneer takes over his face, one I can only describe as vicious and feral. Anger and even a little hatred swimming in his glare as he crosses the room to me, getting up in my face like his proximity does anything to intimidate me.

“In case you didn’t realize, I’ve done everything in my power to make it right. Apologized and—”

“An apology is supposed to magically make the fact that you outed not just one person, but two people, better?” I scoff and shake my head, knowing full well it doesn’t. “Why’d you do it, anyway?”

The sneer on his face deepens, and he steps in closer, making his inch of height he has on me feel more like a foot. Close enough for me to catch a whiff of his cologne or body spray or whatever the hell he wears. It smells like ocean salt and some sort of citrus, and it makes my stomach flip unexpectedly before a buzzing feeling sets in. It feels eerily like…butterflies. Even in the midst of whatever kind of showdown we’re having.

Then the asshole goes and opens his mouth again, effectively breaking the moment and reminding me exactly why I can’t stand him.

“The time for asking questions was the second you saw me looking through Keene’s phone. Not now, after the damage is done.”

“Damage you caused,” I point out.

“And it all would have been avoided if you’d spoken up.”

His statement gives me pause, because even without him saying it, I’ve wondered if it’s true. Plenty of times over the past few weeks, I’ve thought about how things could have played out differently. Because, while I’m perfectly aware that Avery made his own choices, I made mine too. And I chose to not say anything to him at that moment, instead quietly observing rather than making my presence known.

Maybe I could have talked to him. Distracted him enough to stop him from finding the picture—which ended up being exactly the kind of ammunition Avery was looking for. Or at the very least, stopping him from sending the damn thing.

But the more I dwell on those what-ifs, the more miserable I get.

Avery shakes his head, still spitting mad from the looks of it, but he also takes a step back, giving us both some much-needed space. “This is pointless. You’re never gonna agree with my actions, just like I sure as fuck won’t agree with yours.”

“Finally. Something we can agree on.” I’m practically seething when I circle back to my original thought. “So, are you gonna tell me why the hell you’re here?”

His blue eyes turn to ice as he glares at me. “Nah, I’m gonna just let you fill in all the blanks. Feel free to go to Colin with your theories, though. You know, ’cause you’ve already had the practice.”

My jaw tics hard enough my molars might crack from the pressure, and I’m damn sure steam is shooting straight out of my ears.

This fucking douchewaffle.

“Forget it, Reynolds.” Shoving off the doorjamb, I head down the stairs and call over my shoulder, “Campers arrive tomorrow morning, seven o’clock. Do us both a favor and stay out of my way until then.”