Ben
L ake days were my favorite, and they were even better when we were scheduled for a larger group activity with the kids from Ravi and Parker's cabin. Session two was off to a rocky start, and though I'd been growing closer to Ravi and Parker in the evenings, my days were spent with Sutton, who had become surly since the session break. I needed someone cheerful to talk to.
Something must be broken in my brain if I was craving social activities with Parker Layton.
After Matt's advice, which had been followed by a lecture from my stepfather, I'd been trying my best to give Sutton the benefit of the doubt, and be kind to him. I was determined to be the bigger person during session two. Or so Matt kept reminding me, with very pointed looks.
So what if I'd started inventing new camp rules that helped me avoid Sutton a little more? It wasn't mean, it was just practical.
Sutton hadn't come to my mom's party; not that I'd been disappointed by that.
Not that disappointed.
And that was definitely not why I'd told Sutton to stay on the shore of the lake and "watch for stragglers" while Parker, Ravi, and I bobbed around on our kayaks, watching the campers paddle their kayaks. The gentle rocking of the water lapping against the hulls provided a soothing soundtrack to our conversation.
"What's up with Sutton?" Ravi asked, pointing to him. "Is he scared of boats?"
I sighed, adjusting my grip on my paddle, using it like a rudder to hold my kayak still. "Oh, um… I told him he has to stay on shore, because it was a rule that we have to stay on both sides of our group of campers at all times."
Parker tilted his head. "He doesn't notice that Ravi and I are both out on the water?"
"I suppose he thinks you guys are piss-poor camp counselors," I said with a shrug. "You also don't have anyone guard the door of the arts and crafts cabin."
"Guard the door?" Ravi asked. "Why?"
"He didn't ask. I'm sure I would have come up with an excuse if he had." The only plan was to keep Sutton away from me, when the tiny little arts and crafts cabin made him feel way too close.
Parker burst out laughing. "No! What else?"
"I'm the engine and he's the caboose on hikes, but that's normal, right?"
"He's definitely a caboose," Parker said, snickering. "Shit, is that why you stand so far from the rock wall when your group is rock climbing?"
I grinned sheepishly. "I told him someone needs to watch the auto belays from a distance to make sure they don't get tangled. And I may have told him that I have to do a perimeter check on the cabin while he gets the kids settled at bedtime. To look for wildlife."
"A perimeter check?" Parker hooted.
"Shh. He might hear you idiots. I think Sutton and I do better if we both have our space, that's all."
"How do you handle the backpacking trips?" Ravi asked.
I shrugged. "I bring two tents. He doesn't know that counselors usually share."
Ravi gasped and poked Parker's arm with his paddle. "Two tents were an option?"
"It's so much heavier, Rav. Not worth it," Parker said, jabbing Ravi back. Both of them wobbled for a moment, getting into a brief splashing fight as they bickered over their last backpacking trip with campers.
"Be good examples, guys," I said, scooting my kayak between them. "You don't want to see 24 middle school-aged boys in a water fight. Believe me."
"You probably have a fake rule for that, too," Parker joked.
"Shut up. Anyway, I need to come clean to him, especially since Matt wants me to be kinder to him."
"Matt wants everyone to be kind to everyone," Parker said. "Sometimes it's not possible."
"Nah, this is more. I fucked something up for Sutton over break." I quickly recounted the phone incident. "I'm still not sure who was on the other line."
"Shit," Parker muttered. "He's so damn possessive of that phone, I can't believe he let you touch it. When we were dating, I thought it was because he was cheating on me."
"It kept ringing and he wouldn't do anything about it. So I did." I shrugged, trying to justify my actions. Sutton hadn't talked to me much since that day, and I couldn't shake the guilt and worry that maybe I'd really messed something up.
Parker grinned. "Well, he deserves whatever trouble you got him in after what he did to me."
Ravi was quiet for a moment, and I followed his gaze to Sutton, who had waded into the water and was helping a shy camper named Sam with his kayak, his muscles glistening in the sunlight.
"He's certainly a favorite of the kids," Parker said.
"I'll give him that," I said, watching as Sutton said something that made the nervous camper laugh.
"Why does Matt care if you're kind to him?" Parker asked.
"He says there's more to him than meets the eye, and I should seek out Sutton's hidden layers."
"Like an onion?" Ravi offered, and we all burst into laughter at the absurdity of the comparison.
"Sure, Ravi," I said, wiping away tears. "Sutton is like an onion."
"A dead sexy onion, though," Parker added, and we laughed even harder.
As our laughter died down, I looked up and caught Sutton watching us, his face inscrutable as always.
Sam said something, and Sutton turned back to him, saying something that made Sam smile as he slowly slid the boy's kayak out into the water until it was waist-deep on Sutton. He stood in the water, holding the kayak steady while speaking softly to the nervous kid. Somehow, Sutton always found the campers that reminded me of my struggles at camp. And he always made things better for them.
I watched as he worked with Sam, his muscular arms flexing gently with each movement as he demonstrated how to hold the paddle, offering reassurance and support. Something about the way he cared for Sam's feelings made my heart do a weird squeezy thing. As they got deeper into the water, I caught bits of their conversation, carried across the lake on a breeze.
"Alright, Sam. Remember what we practiced," Sutton said encouragingly. "Keep your hands centered on your paddle and dip it into the water beside your boat."
Sam looked up at Sutton, his eyes wide with fear but also determination. He nodded and began to paddle hesitantly, his strokes shaky at first. Sutton walked deeper into the water alongside him, never taking his hands off the boat.
"See? You're doing great!" Sutton exclaimed, beaming as Sam gained confidence. "Just keep going, you've got this!"
"Fuck, he's good with kids," I muttered under my breath.
As Sam finally paddled further away, Sutton let out a triumphant whoop, pride and joy radiating from his expression. It was as if Sam's accomplishment was his own, and for a moment, I could see the genuine happiness dancing in his eyes.
"Way to go, Sam!" Sutton shouted, clapping his hands as Sam continued to paddle with increasing skill.
"Yeah, Sam!" I shouted, getting into the fun of it. Sam turned to look towards us and beamed as Parker and Ravi cheered for him too.
"Looks like our sexy onion does have layers," Parker said.
"Don't fall in love with him again." Ravi poked Parker with his kayak paddle. I backed off as the two of them got into a playful water fight, which was cute and flirty enough that I had to wonder what else had happened during the session break. They seemed like an odd couple—the awkward science nerd and the popular guy—but maybe sometimes the odd couples complimented each other best.
As I paddled towards the shore, my gaze was drawn back to Sutton, who was wading back toward the shore. He came out of the water like Jason Momoa playing Aquaman, dark hair dripping water. Except Sutton was much paler. I couldn't tear my eyes away from his body, from the way water slid over his slick muscles, channeling down lower to a part of him I suddenly really wanted to see. He shook out his wet hair and lifted his head, his eyes sparkling even from this distance as he caught me looking.
"Hey, ," he said, adjusting the waistband of his swim trunks in a way that drew attention to the V of muscle at his waist that was usually covered. Parker would call them his cum gutters, and that thought made me picture Sutton naked and messy after sex.
Oh my god, I needed to stop my brain from spiraling into sexy fantasies.
"I'm so fucked," I muttered, and Sutton smirked at me.
"Are you in trouble? You look pretty good on that boat."
I coughed, blinking hard. "What? I said, look, a duck!" We both looked in the direction I was pointing, and I belatedly realized that I'd pointed at the only part of the lake that didn't have any waterfowl on it.
"Don't see it," Sutton said.
"Must have dove under the water or something," I muttered, hoping he didn't know anything about ducks.
"Or something," he said. "Want to take the Blue Heron kids out to circle the shoreline? A few of them have asked me if they could go out further, and I said we had to wait for you."
"Sure," I said.
"Nice!" Was it me, or did Sutton look weirdly excited as he turned around, waving his arms. "Okay, Blue Herons, circle your kayaks around! We're going to go check out the birds. I spotted a real blue heron across the lake, and there's a nice flock of mallards on the south shore, plus saw a duck diving, so there may be another species here, too!"
I stared at him, blinking slowly. "Are you a bird watcher or something?"
He grinned. "Onions have hidden depths, right?"
Fuck, he had heard that conversation? I sat back in my kayak and groaned, taking the rear of the line of campers as we slowly paddled around the lake, with Sutton stopping to very clearly point out a mallard dabbling, talking loudly about how they rarely dove underwater.