Ben
S pending my summer with Sutton Holm wasn't the disaster I'd expected it to be. Sure, he seemed to delight in egging me on, but I'd read three books and finished four sketches for my portfolio. Sutton—well, I wasn't completely sure what he spent his days doing. Helping the campers, I guess, which was probably what I should have been doing.
I could begrudgingly admit he was good with the kids. Far better than I was.
As the session went on, we'd formed a quiet truce, and it seemed to be working. Parker was happier, and Ravi was a great friend. The three of us were reading the latest book from my favorite series together. Sutton had eyed my bookshelf with curiosity for the last few days of the session, but he hadn't asked for anything. In fact, he'd completely left us alone.
Which was why it had blindsided me when Sutton had stalked into the cabin with his full, sexy, flirtatious smile and asked Parker to spend the break with him.
I didn't think about chasing Sutton down to confront him; it just happened. The look in Parker's eyes had spurred me on, nothing else. Certainly not any expectations of Sutton.
I caught him as he was approaching his car—a green Mercedes SUV that probably cost more than my house. I jogged across the camp's gravel parking lot, which was half empty as most of the staff had left for break, my boots kicking up dust. He glanced at me with that insufferably cocky grin plastered on his face.
"You chasing after me because you want to party over break, Torres?" he asked.
What? "No. Definitely not." I cleared my throat. "I mean, I enjoy parties." That might have been the biggest lie I'd ever told him. "But not with you. It looks like it's going to be a party of one." Fuck, what was I saying?
"Harsh," he said with a smirk that told me it wasn't.
I had to think quickly before he could throw me more off balance, launching into the real reason I'd sought him out. "Why did you offer to take Parker away for the weekend? What the hell are you playing at?"
Sutton stepped in closer, forcing me to look up at him, an eyebrow arching in amusement or challenge—it was hard to tell which. "Chill out, ," he drawled, his deep voice infuriatingly calm. "It's a weekend trip. Parker's a big boy; he can handle a little casual fun."
"You chill out." Fuck, why had no one ever taught me how to trade insults? I was terrible at it. I stepped forward and placed my palm on his chest, shoving until he stumbled back against his SUV. He didn't fight back. "This isn't about fun, and you know it. You're messing with Parker's head—playing with his feelings like they're some kind of game for you."
"Well, he said no. No need to run in like the hero. He's off looking for Ravi, I think."
That derailed my rage a little, and I cleared my throat, shifting on the balls of my feet as I tried to get mad again. "Leave Parker out of your mind games, okay? He doesn't deserve to be another one of your conquests."
"Conquests?" Sutton repeated, a little smile playing around his mouth. He bit his bottom lip, his green eyes darkening as he pushed off his SUV and moved closer, making me realize my hand was still on his chest, the firm mass of his muscles rippling beneath my fingertips. I wanted to snatch my hand back, but I couldn't very well remove it now. That would be a sign of backing down. He stared at me for a long moment before he spoke. "Maybe you should ask Parker what he wants instead of trying to babysit him. Unless, of course, you're projecting your own issues onto him."
"Projecting?" I countered, the anger rising again. I shoved his chest a little, boxing him in against his car. "This isn't about me. This is about you and your inability to admit who—"
"Careful, ," Sutton cut in, a warning note threading through his words. "You care a little too much about what I'm up to."
It was then that I noticed how close we were standing, our faces mere inches apart. I could feel his minty breath as it feathered across my mouth, see the flecks of gold in Sutton's green eyes. My gaze flicked down to his lips briefly before snapping back up. My heart thudded loudly, and a strange warmth spread through me.
"Look," Sutton said finally, his voice low and controlled. "I'm sorry if I stirred shit up. That wasn't my intention."
"Why ask him then?" I managed, struggling to keep my composure as the odd attraction to him threatened to derail my thoughts. "Because it sure seems like you're playing with his head."
"I'm not," he murmured, holding my gaze intently. "It was a moment of weakness. But now that I know you care, it won't happen again."
I stared at him, trying to understand how he could be so cavalier with my friend's feelings, but his face was an impassive mask—handsome but unreadable. When a shrill, slightly ominous ringtone pierced through the thick tension between us, Sutton's face went pale, and his muscles tightened against my hand.
"Is that yours?" I asked, letting my hand drop away and pointing at the rectangular bulge in his hoodie pocket.
"I'm allowed to have a cell phone in the camp parking lot, aren't I?"
I frowned. "Of course you are. You can even have it in the counselors' cabin. Matt's only rule is not to use phones in front of the campers. Many of their parents rely on us to provide a break from screens." Why did I always give him so many unnecessary details?
The ringtone continued to play. He made no move to answer it. I frowned, wondering why, but Sutton continued to stare into my eyes, not flinching, and I found myself examining the darker circles around his irises that made the green color really pop. The ringing stopped, and he didn't check to see who had called.
"Look," I sighed, finally breaking the weird eye contact and rubbing a hand through my hair. "I'm just worried about Parker, okay? He's one of my close friends. And I don't have many friends, so I take care of them."
Sutton nodded, his expression softening. "I get it, . Your fierce loyalty is something I admire about you. And I swear, I'm not trying to hurt him, I'm just…" He trailed off with a shrug. "It was an impulsive mistake. Chasing away loneliness or whatever."
I searched his face, trying to decide if he was being sincere. With Sutton, I wasn't sure you could ever know. He certainly didn't act like he admired anything about me.
His phone rang again, the weird ringtone grating on my nerves. "Aren't you going to answer that?"
Sutton's eyes flicked towards his pocket, and for a split second, he looked almost queasy. Had I imagined that? He shook his head and clenched his jaw, determinedly ignoring the call. "It can wait."
"Are you okay?" I asked, pressing my hand gently into his chest. I could feel his heart racing, and I didn't think I was the one that had caused it.
"I'm fine," Sutton ground out, his gaze locked with mine. "Why wouldn't I be fine?"
I had no idea what was going on, but he remained frozen like that as the phone continued to ring, and I studied his face. There was something delicate about his face. Maybe it was his pale, porcelain skin, which hadn't darkened after a few weeks in the sun. He must have been reapplying the sunscreen more than I'd noticed, because while my complexion had gone from light tan to medium brown in a matter of days, Sutton was still pale enough to play a vampire in a teen movie. And he had the cheekbones to pull off the role, too.
He pursed his lips, which were plush and pink and too full for the fine angles of his face, but somehow worked. He was almost too beautiful to have the big, brutal body he did.
His phone went silent, and he cleared his throat, combing his hand through his dark hair, and looked away, breaking the strange moment. "What are you doing over break?"
I shrugged. "Not much. I'm headed back to the homestead. It's my mom's birthday."
"Ah," he said. "Where's that?"
I pointed at the dirt road at the south edge of the parking lot that led to my family's personal property, which bordered the camp. "About a half mile that way. And don't ask me why my stepdad calls it the homestead. If you meet him, you'll immediately understand. They built a big, beautiful house a few years ago up on the hill overlooking the lake, and gave me their old cabin. So that's where I'll be. Matt has his own place, too, a bit deeper into the woods…" I snapped my mouth shut. "Sorry, you didn't need to know any of that."
"It's okay," he said, shrugging. "Your family seems nice."
"Do you have plans?"
"No. I don't know." He looked a little sad for a moment, and I almost felt sorry for him. Almost. "I'll get a hotel room, I guess."
"The Yamada Lodge is nice. Aiden's family owns it. You know Aiden from Stanford, right?"
He chuckled, kicking the gravel and scuffing the toes of his perfect sneakers. "Yeah, I think he likes me about as much as you do. Your friends are crazy tight. And a little scary."
The thought that I was part of a tight-knit, protective group of friends made my little introvert heart feel all warm and fuzzy. I tried to stop myself from smiling like an idiot, but it was impossible.
"If you get bored, you're welcome to come to the birthday party. It's tomorrow at 3." Crap, why had I invited Sutton Holm to my mom's birthday party? That was a bizarre choice of olive branches. "I mean, it's not like a cool party, just family stuff. Cake."
"Cake," he said, studying me, that hint of a smile back, making his lips twitch in the cutest way.
The third ring of Sutton's cell phone pierced the tense air between us like a siren in the night. My patience snapped, and before I could think better of it, I reached into his hoodie pocket and yanked the phone out, swiping the answer button.
"Holy fucking shit, you don't have to keep calling and calling. Haven't you heard of voicemail?" I snapped into the phone.
"Who is this?" a deep voice demanded through the speaker.
"You can call me the phone police. I'm here to tell you to stop fucking calling."
"Shit. ! Give me that!" Sutton suddenly burst into action and lunged for the phone, his face paler than usual, his eyes wide with sheer panic. He snatched it from me and scrambled to his car, shooting me a glare that could've melted steel as he yanked twice on the door handle before realizing it was locked, then fumbled with his key fob.
"Hello?" he said into the phone. His voice was strained as he finally opened the door and sank into the driver's seat, his eyes downcast and worried. "Sorry, that was another guy from camp. He was goofing off, he didn't mean it." He swallowed hard. "Sorry. No, it won't happen again."
"Is everything okay?" I asked, my voice softer now, concern overriding my earlier annoyance. "I didn't mean to…"
He shot me another hard look and slammed the door of the SUV in my face, starting the engine and peeling out of the parking lot before I could say anything more.
"Well, that was interesting," a deep, cheerful voice rumbled from behind me. I turned to see my stepbrother standing there, laughing his ass off. "You invited him to Mom's birthday? Was that like a date?"
"Shut up. Aren't you supposed to be all chill and wise and shit?"
He wiped the tears of laughter from his eyes and ruffled my hair. "Come on, let's go to the homestead. We'll watch the new Star Trek before you start over-analyzing every moment of that conversation. The phone police, huh?"
"I thought you were trying to stop me from over-analyzing."
Matt giggled. "That was such a gem, though." He looped an arm over my shoulder and dragged me off. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Sutton had stopped his SUV at the edge of the parking lot. He was still on the phone, and I wasn't sure who he was talking to, but it did not look like it was going well.
I felt like an ass.
"He'll be okay," Matt said. "Hell, maybe you can help instead of acting like a grumpy little jackass every time he comes near."
"I'm not grumpy! Or a jackass!" I elbowed my stepbrother.
Matt shot me one of his wise camp director looks. ", have you been kind to him?"
"I mean… but he's…" I trailed off, frowning. "He was mean to my friend."
Matt clapped me on the back. "You can't fight mean people with harsh words and insults, you know that. It turns you into one of them."
I stared at my stepbrother for a long moment, feeling a little sick to my stomach. "Why do you always have to be so annoyingly right about everything?"