Ben
"Y ou're not my boss," Sutton griped as he followed me out of the cabin a few minutes later. "I don't have to listen to you."
I ignored him, still reeling from the power rush of taking control of the big jock. Seeing Parker's panic had done something to me, flipped a switch in my brain that had allowed me to take control. I'd ordered Sutton outside to talk, as if I was his master and he was my subject. But why had Sutton listened to me? I turned to him, tilting my chin up to meet his eyes. I forced my lips to curl into a smile that I hoped looked cocky.
"If I'm not your boss, why did you follow me? Why are you outside?"
Sutton's cheeks turned pink and his eyes darted away. "I didn't… I mean…"
"I don't know what the fuck you're doing here, but you need to give your ex-boyfriend some space."
"I'll do what I want." He squared his shoulders, folding his arms over his impressive chest, and I had an odd impulse to touch him and see what all that muscle felt like.
"Are you going to be a good boy and behave? If not, I'm happy to punish you." I hadn't meant for that to sound sexual, but… yeah. Maybe it was his muscles.
He blinked at me, his mouth dropping open as his eyes slid down my body, landing between my legs, and he licked his lips. It all happened in a second before he seemed to gather himself and shake it off, but I saw it. And my cock took notice.
"I'm not a good boy, . And I'm not gay."
"I meant… Never mind. I don't care if you're gay."
"So you take all the straight boys across your lap and spank them?" His words were taunting, and felt like a challenge, as if he might welcome that possibility.
I swallowed, trying to regain the thread of what I'd been trying to say. "There will be no spanking, as long as you're a good boy." Shit, no, that hadn't been it. I cleared my throat, tugging on my hair. "Listen, I don't know why you feel you need to lead with your sexuality, but that's not why I wanted to talk to you."
He smirked at me. "I tend to clear the air when a guy propositions me."
"I wasn't propositioning you! All I meant to say was that you need to give Parker a chance to calm down after seeing you. Camp is Parker's safe space, and I'm worried about him. It's a safe space for you, too, by the way. None of us care if you're gay, bi, whatever. And nothing you do here will get back to your douchebag frat bros, or whoever you're worried about. If you want to be yourself, you can."
"I'm. Not. Gay," he said slowly and firmly. "So whatever crush you're about to develop on me, shut it down."
I burst out laughing. "Listen, man, I'm pansexual and demisexual. I'm attracted to people when I get to know what's in here." That was a lie. There was something about him that stirred something in me that I rarely felt. But he didn't need to know that. "And as far as I know from Parker, you've got a questionable personality and a black hole instead of a heart."
"Well… Glad we cleared that up," he muttered with his eyes sliding away, making me feel like an idiot for explaining my sexuality to him. "Can I go back inside now, sir?" There was something underneath his sarcasm that itched at the back of my mind.
"Parker needs a minute, and you're giving him a minute." As I spoke, I stepped into his personal space, poking him in the chest, which only reminded me of how big Sutton was. And that reminded me of how thoroughly Sutton could beat me up if he chose to do so.
"Why do you care?"
"Parker is my friend. Frankly, I really don't want to see that expression on his face ever again."
"Expression? He wasn't—" He cut himself off, his cheeks flushing a deep shade of red as he scrubbed his fingers through his dark, glossy hair. "Like you know what's going on in Parker's head. He's probably crushing on me. As always."
Why was this guy such a dick? The summer air was thick with tension as I stood my ground, mirroring Sutton's challenging stance, wondering what the hell I was doing.
"Maybe he doesn't need you to protect him. Maybe he wants to see me," Sutton said. "You're just some dork. What do you know?"
"I'm the dork?" I scoffed. "You chased your ex-boyfriend to his summer job two states over, and yet you're still insisting you're not attracted to men."
"You don't know what you're talking about, so stop pretending you do," he drawled. But as I held my gaze steady, refusing to back down, his face reddened slightly, and he shifted uncomfortably. "Look, I didn't come to Camp Eagle Ridge for Parker. I have my own reasons for being here, okay?"
I wasn't convinced, and my skepticism must have shown on my face, because he suddenly grew defensive.
"Believe what you want," he snapped, crossing his arms over his broad chest. "But my life doesn't revolve around Parker Layton. Sure, I found out about the camp from him, but that's it."
I sighed, not wanting to engage with this argument anymore. We could keep going around in circles for days. I could see it now—he'd insist again that he wasn't gay, I'd accidentally suggest sex, it'd grow more and more awkward until I was forced to leave camp and never return. Hopefully, Parker would talk to my stepbrother about rearranging the cabins. I needed to keep Sutton away until he got that sorted.
Keep Sutton away. That was a good idea. I cleared my throat. "All right, well, now is as good a time as ever to give you your tour."
He frowned. "Tour?"
"Matt asked me to show you around. Since you're new. And we're already out here, so we can check that item off my checklist." I mimed pulling out a list, then felt like a dork and mimed putting it back away. Which probably didn't help the dork situation.
"Okay," he murmured, studying me for a moment. His expression was unreadable. "Do your tour."
"Really?" I was a little shocked that had worked. I cleared my throat and squared my shoulders. "Um, I mean, that's right. Follow me. Like a good boy." Shit, why did I keep making good boy references? Clearly, I had been reading too much smut.
"The cabin we're responsible for is the Blue Herons. We have twelve boys, middle school-aged, so like 12-14."
"Did you go to camp here when you were a kid?"
"Yeah, since I was old enough, and I was a counselor last year and the year before. So I'm basically your boss. My stepdad owns the camp, and my stepbrother is the camp director."
"Well, aren't you the golden boy?"
I glared at him, continuing to over-explain. "Also, experienced counselors mentor new counselors. Because we know the ropes and all that. I know the lay of the land." What had gotten into me? I didn't talk like this.
Trying to get my shit together, I turned and began walking, casting a quick glance back over my shoulder to make sure he was following me. He was.
"I'm sure you've noticed Eagle Lake, which is the center of camp life," I said, motioning to the sparkling water. "There's the beach, the picnic area, the dock, and kayaks. For many kids, the days we spend on the lake are their favorites, but we keep them entertained with other activities, too."
"Thrilling," Sutton drawled, but I could see a flicker of interest in his eyes.
"We also have an archery range, through that copse of trees, the arts and crafts cabins, and a rock-climbing wall. Since we're close to so much National Forest land, we take campers out for day trips in the wilderness around the camp—hiking, backpacking, and all of that. The schedule will be posted soon, but you and I are co-counselors, so we'll work together on those activities."
He nodded, still staring out at the lake, quiet for a moment, as if mesmerized by the beauty. That I could relate to. Or maybe his mind had glitched and gone blank.
"Then we have the athletic fields here, where we do sports days. Up on the hill, there's an outdoor amphitheater, where we do bonfires and barbecues. The showers are down this path, and the main lodge contains the dining hall and meeting space, where we throw parties." I turned the corner, and we were back in the green between all the cabins. "This is the green, where campers often hang out in free time, and over there, the third cabin in the row is our campers, the Blue Herons. Our cabin is tucked into that copse of trees behind it. Ravi and Parker will be responsible for the kids in the next cabin over."
If they don't move, that is. And that was when it occurred to me that Matt might move Ravi and Parker, leaving me alone with Sutton and two other strangers. Fuck. My mind spun as we stood there, awkwardly, staring at the little cabin, which was identical to all the other little cabins, except for the sign. In high school, I'd painted a heron on the door and carefully lettered the name of the cabin over the doorjamb.
"So, since you're my tour guide," Sutton said suddenly, breaking the silence. "Tell me about the hookup scene here. Any hot counselors at the girls' camp?"
That startled me enough that I wasn't sure what to say for a beat. "No idea," I lied. "That's not really something I've paid attention to."
"Really? Not even a little curious?" he teased, raising an eyebrow. "Come on, you said it yourself. You're pan. You'll fuck anything with two legs and a hole. You can't tell me you haven't scoped out the talent around here."
Red-hot rage replaced my curiosity. "That's not what pansexual means, at least not to me. Just because my attraction isn't related to gender doesn't mean I want to fuck everyone. And this is a summer camp, not some kind of hookup factory."
"Right, I'm sure no one ever gets up to anything in the woods between the camps." He smirked at my obvious discomfort.
"Can we just drop it?" I snapped, feeling my face grow even hotter under his scrutiny.
"Aw, don't be like that, ," he drawled, nudging me with his elbow. "There's no shame in being a virgin. I mean, sure, you're missing out on a world of pleasure, but everyone loses their virginity sometime. Usually." Fuck, how had he guessed that I was a virgin? Or was he baiting me?
I gritted my teeth and forced myself to keep walking, determined not to sink to his level. It wasn't any of his business what I did or didn't do in my personal life, and there was no shame in being a virgin at my age. I sure as hell wasn't going to let him get under my skin.
I glanced towards Sutton, feeling irritated with his handsomeness. Everything came easy for guys like him, and it wasn't only because he was beautiful. There was something about his confident swagger that drew people to him. Not me, of course. It wasn't that I was attracted to him—okay, maybe a little, in a 'he's objectively good-looking' kind of way—but there was a certain appeal to imagining the cocky jackass on his hands and knees, begging to be filled. And Parker had told me he was a bottom and a slut.
I wasn't staring at his thickly muscled ass, though. That was just the direction I happened to be looking when his huge ass got in my way.
He turned around and possibly caught me looking, then smirked, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper as he leaned in close. "Like what you see?"
My face flamed red at his words, and I struggled to come up with a witty retort. Something about what that comment revealed about his sexuality. Instead, all I could manage was a strangled, "Shut up, Sutton."
"Whatever you say, ," he chuckled, stepping back and raising his hands in mock surrender. "Can I go back to the cabin yet, or are you going to lecture me on how the showers work?"