Chapter 4
Marlow
“I can’t believe my walking buddy ditched me,” I said on our descent back to the campgrounds.
Actually, I could, but I was trying not to hurt my own feelings over seeing Blake disappear down the trailhead at a quick jog, not even bothering to come over to me to tell me something had come up and he was needed elsewhere.
I was choosing to believe at this point in time that a giant fire had broken out down at base camp and Blake was running to rescue the poor cooks trapped inside of the locked freezer.
Only he knew the code to get in and people were on their hands and knees, frantically praying for an act from God to rescue their poor coworkers and would soon be crying out of joy once Blake showed up.
“Don’t take it personally,” my new walking buddy, Lydia, said. “He gets pulled in a hundred different directions all day.”
I had half a mind to ask her what exactly had caused Blake to skip out on me like that. I highly doubted she’d get into it, though. Something about blah, blah, professional conduct or whatever.
Instead, I sighed and shook my head. “Don’t tell me, that’s just the excuse he gave you. It was because I smelled, wasn’t it?”
Lydia’s brows shot up, her face pinching into a confused and bewildered look. “No... he didn’t mention anything about that. Don’t worry.”
Man, tough crowd.
“Phew! What a relief.”
“There are toiletries down at Guest Services if you forgot to bring something with you. They’ve got deodorant, toothpaste, mouthwash, floss, extra socks, and whatnot.”
Oh, sweet, sweet Lydia.
This was the time where I was supposed to be cooling down from my constant need to put my jester hat on and dance around the court until I was able to draw a laugh out of my audience.
In any normal circumstance, I’d reel it back, read the crowd and find a better balance between continuing the bit like I wanted to and dumbing it down just enough so the other person could join in on the joke.
The unfortunate problem was that I was still riding that high of Blake getting it without me having to taper myself to a more relaxed kind of company.
And so therefore, my mouth was running way faster than my brain to be able to stop myself from saying, “No toothbrushes, though? Cheapskates.”
Her eyes widened. “No, no. We have toothbrushes. Seriously, anything you need, we probably have. If we don’t, we can send one of our councilors out to the Stop-and-Shop in town to grab something. It’s no problem.”
Regret hit instantly.
Aw, fuck. Now I was giving this poor girl something to worry about.
Coming from her perspective, I was some wealthy shithead whining about not having something that was most definitely outlined in Blake’s trusty welcome packet to bring, along with probably a plethora of other things mentioned. And now I was making it their problem to make up for my fuckup.
See, this was the problem with having a personality that centered around irony being the butt of every joke. Too many people took me seriously.
“Well, good thing I’ve got one of those fancy spin brushes back at my cabin.” I plastered on a smile to, hopefully, make sure I came across as sincere.
The last thing I wanted was for this poor girl to force one of her coworkers to take a trip into town just to buy me a bunch of bathroom essentials because I was coming across as too good to use what would’ve been provided for me.
I was a rich asshole, but I wasn’t one of those types.
I liked my luxury commodities as much as the next guy, but I also knew how to handle being without.
I’d had a rude awakening in college when I was given the famous figure-it-the-fuck-out-on-your-own speech the second I found myself in my admission advisor’s office the second week of classes after complaining about professor biases. I figured it out fast.
Took that alumni legacy wind right out of my sails.
Lydia cleared her throat. “Well, I’m glad you brought what you needed. But don’t hesitate to go down to Guest Services if you need anything. There is always someone on duty.”
“Even if I have a midnight craving for those bread pudding squares you guys had out last night?”
Her face pinched again. “Yeah... I’m sure we can figure something out for you.”
Okay, this was officially the time to shut my trap and let our poor guide do her job without feeling the need to let me keep pestering her.
A shame, really, that Blake had to ditch.
Now, he was probably going to be getting an earful once we reached base camp about how much of a high maintenance client I was.
Maybe that’d get me a swift knock at my cabin door after dinner for a little chat about guide-attendee etiquette.
Actually, I wouldn’t hate that.
Was it bad to intentionally cause trouble just to get Blake’s attention?
Or maybe that was going too far. I was letting myself get a little too wrapped up in this fantasy, or rather, preconceived idea of the camp’s director.
All I knew about that man was he was good with banter, had a soft spot for the LGBTQ youth, and was probably a little young for running a large business like this on his own.
Outside of that, he was a complete stranger.
Clearly, my attraction to him was getting a little out of hand if I was letting my mind wander this much.
Looking back at the group following after us, I eyed the couple I’d chatted with during our break—Luke and Aimee.
They were nice, friendly and were definitely giving me the once over as soon as I stood to stretch myself after the walk.
Now, I could be reading into things, but I could usually smell a pair of swingers from a mile away.
What better time to test out the ole gaydar if not to distract myself from Blake?
Thankfully, there were no burning buildings or outposts waiting for us when we got back to base camp.
As disappointing as it was to find out my conspiracy theory was in fact, just that, I was also a little relieved to know I wouldn’t be getting shipped out on a bus back to Ellington Heights once the fire department gave the all-clear.
Which still left the question: where the fuck did Blake go?
At this point, I supposed it didn’t really matter. For whatever reason, he’d ditched and I’d have to deal with it. Tomorrow, I’d most likely wake up to some other camp counselor taking his place, who would no doubt also be freaked out by my motor mouth, but such was life as the life of the party.
The time to rendezvous with my suspected swinger-couple came around just after dinner service ended and the sun was beginning to set just past the mountains, creating an incredible sight of the oranges and reds of the fading rays, glowing against the lake’s rippling surface.
I had to say, Craigleith’s lake was downright fucking gorgeous.
It put the one by Ellington Heights to shame by miles.
With ours caught in the middle of separating two small towns, and a third by extension, the banks of it weren’t exactly made for pleasure seekers.
There were small beaches here and there scattered north of our towns, but nothing like this.
Craigleith’s lakefront wasn’t marred by the lights of a glimmering town in the distance, or the distant sounds of a speedboat or other watercraft operated by one of the spoiled rich kids who lived in Ellington Heights when daddies and mommies simply wanted the kids out of their hair.
Where the camp sat had a clear shot to Craigleith Mountain with not a single thing interrupting its magnificent view.
Fucking breathtaking. Just like that damn waterfall.
I really needed to bring Silas and Avery out here. I couldn’t live with myself if I hogged this hidden gem all to myself.
“Hey, Marlow.” Turning to the sound of my name, I spotted Aimee walking toward me, a sway in her hips. “You going to join us at the bonfire later?”
Code for: you’re going to come back to our cabin afterward, right?
Honestly, I was on the money. However, we were definitely going to need some ground rules laid out before any kind of swords touched.
Namely in the form of no swords and sheaths touching.
I was all about celebrating female divinity and the delicate nature of the opposite sex, however my dick wasn’t exactly in agreement to that same admiration.
Embarrassing myself with a rapidly deflating boner the second poor Aimee got undressed and wagged her finger at me to come fuck her wasn’t exactly my idea of a nightcap.
Especially, if her husband was laid out on the bed looking like a fucking snack and a half and my divining rod suddenly sprung back to life.
“Yeah, definitely.” I shot her a wink. “I’ll see what kind of treats I can sneak out of the mess hall. I’ve got an in with one of the cooks. I heard they’ve got a ton of whipped cream back there for those bread pudding squares.”
She giggled. “Sounds good. We’ll see you soon.”
As she sauntered off, she flipped her hair over her shoulder, her hips swaying just as much as they did when she first approached me.
An obvious show of what she was offering me.
Too bad I wasn’t a man of both interests.
Aimee was beautiful and clearly ready to get down the second I dropped my drawers.
What a shame.
Checking my watch, I realized I had about a half hour to check in with Silas before nighttime plunging the grounds into darkness.
I wasn’t a poor navigator by any means, but this was unfamiliar territory and trying to find a couple I barely knew in the dark with other people wandering around would be annoying.
Especially, with a few bonfires being erected and having no clue which one they were going to be at.
I was looking for a quick fix, not some long and drawn out chase. I didn’t chase—I attracted.
As I turned to head back to my cabin, I stopped dead in my tracks, seeing a familiar face walking toward me.
“Glad to see you’re making friends.” Blake flashed me a smile.