Chapter 4 #2
He had on a light jacket that wasn’t zipped. His shirt was no longer half tucked in and fell fully out from under his waistband’s trap. The clothes were baggy on him, hiding what I was suspecting was a very healthy six pack under all of that fabric.
My toes curled inside my boots. “Well, well. Look who it is.”
He had the decency to wince at least. “Sorry about earlier. Had some things to deal with.”
The gold and pink rays from the sunset bathed him in a warm tone. His amber eyes mixed with the red hues, giving them a flame-like appearance that drew me in immediately.
What was it about Blake that enchanted me instantly?
A moth to a bonfire, as it were.
This would’ve been so much easier if I hadn’t just gotten laid two days before I came on this trip and had the excuse of a fried libido. Right now, I was just simply being a fucking horndog.
Straight?
Gay?
Bi?
I was dying to know. The LGBTQ youth group threw me off until I remembered that straight people could also care about being good allies. Particularly when it came to kids. They were a soft spot for most people.
Maybe it was because he was sporty. They were always hard to read. Homoerotisim was bred into any male-dominated sport, especially if it came with any sort of manhandling, like wrestling.
Who came up with the idea that a sport like that was peak masculinity?
I’d pretzeled more guys into those positions when fucking them then ever in any competition on a mat.
“Hope it was a rescue mission.” And not something stupid like someone else needing his attention more than me.
That would be an even bigger insult to him growing bored of me.
Then again, that could also be for the best. I was supposed to be occupying my time with other participants, after all.
He stopped in front of me, crossing his arms over his chest in a loose manner. He wore a playful smile, the corners of his eyes crinkling.
How bad was it that I wanted to reach out and brush my hand through the tangled mess of his hair and smooth the front fringe out of his eyes?
It looked like he’d been running his fingers through it for the better part of the last hour or so.
“Honestly, I wished someone would’ve come to rescue me from the mountains of paperwork sitting in my office.” He laughed lightly.
He ditched me for that?
All right, now I was actually kind of insulted. There was no way I was that boring. I’d gotten him to laugh. To joke back.
Was that not fun enough to stick around and save the paperwork for tomorrow?
“Lydia told me you were looking to visit Guest Services for some things?”
Oh, Lydia. Gone off and ratted me out to the boss.
The reminder of my actual mission for tonight was welcomed, even if I was now feeling a little salty. A good fuck would get my head on straight and wrangle my ego back in. No matter how offended I felt at the moment.
Paperwork.
He ditched me for fucking paperwork...
“Yeah, actually.” I crossed my arms, too. “You got any condoms stocked in there?”
Blake instantly choked. “What?”
Even in the poor lighting, I could tell his face was instantly going red.
Too easy. Far, far too easy.
“She mentioned you guys had a little of everything. Figured I’d ask the concierge before I went poking around to the other guests.”
He blinked a few times, quickly swiping a hand over his face to cover up how thrown off he was. It was cute, really, how flustered he’d suddenly become. Maybe I was being a little crass but sue me, I was in my feelings. Plus, watching Blake squirm was... fun.
Amusing, even.
What kind of man was he in bed?
Controlling?
Dominant?
The complete opposite?
I usually saved getting into the minds of people for my clients and rarely let it slip into the bedroom. Most men I brought into my bed got squeamish when it came to giving up control, as it was kind of in our nature to crave it.
Me?
I liked a man who wasn’t afraid to leave that shit at the door and let me do the work for the both of us.
But those were rare cases and ones that seldom ever lasted more than a few months. An unfortunate side effect of our society that demanded constant performance and never rewarded the good behavior of those willing to let their inner submissive thrive.
Too bad, too. That was my ultimate turn on.
“I can check.” Blake’s voice was drawn out, unsure. “Can’t say I’ve seen that behind the desk before.”
“Really? That’s surprising.”
When he finally made eye contact with me again, his brows pulled together. “Really? Why’s that?”
Turning slowly, I gestured to the couples who were now starting to gather around one of the bonfire sites being set up.
Two of Blake’s coworkers were stacking the wood in a proper angle while another was off to the side, waiting with a gas can in hand.
“I mean... you have a bunch of fit, hot people running around. Kind of ignorant not to assume some of them were going to be fucking.”
Blake slapped another hand over his face.
“Did I burst your innocent bubble? You had to have known that, right? Surely you weren’t that ignorant.” I’d give him a little bit of slack since he was still in his twenties, but come on. Even this was a little naive.
“I thought you came here by yourself,” he mumbled against his hand. “Everyone here is, like, together with someone.
I grinned. “You never heard of swingers, Blake?”
His eyes went wide for a brief second before he turned away from me and cleared his throat once more. He shifted his weight a few times, his attention dancing around the people coming and going around us while he searched for a way out of this conversation.
Guess now I knew where the limit was. Interesting that it was hitting on the sex bit. Most young guys were totally down for some dirty talk, even if it was all hypothetical.
Did this mean he really was straight and was only interested in keeping the LGBTQ stuff at arm’s length?
How odd for someone who spoke so fondly of them earlier.
Oh god, unless he was part of some religious sect that was all about the purity before marriage thing.
“Yeah, I’ll, uh—” Right before he turned away from me, he gave me a brief nod, pulling himself together. “I’ll check on that... uh, inquiry you had.”
I gnawed at the inside of my cheek. “Yeah, cool. Stop by my cabin if you find any. If I’m not there, you know what happened.”
He didn’t say anything in response, simply fast walked back the way he’d come and soon disappeared around one of the buildings. What a shame. Here I thought Blake could handle the banter, but clearly I’d struck some kind of nerve.
Which wasn’t expected at all.
What an odd guy.
Couldn’t say I wasn’t a little disappointed. But hey, there were always more fish in the sea. Bigger and less bashful, even. More my style than hand holding the babies that had only just started flying out of the nest on their own.
Twenty-eight wasn’t exactly young by any means, however, I had almost a decade’s worth of experience on top of that. Plus my shameless and unabashed attitude to go along with my massive ego. Hardly anything caught me off guard enough to render me speechless, let alone throw me off my groove.
He’d probably avoid me now. Probably for the best, unfortunately.
Clearly, I couldn’t contain myself from stepping over the line with him.
Not even a full day into knowing him and I’d already fucked up.
See, this was why I went after guys that I had no connection with.
It was so much easier than trying to weasel my way into the good graces of those that actually tickled my brain.
Not that I was going after Blake in the first place. Camp staff was still off limits.
Sighing, I spun on my heel and headed for the bonfire to find my new couple friends.
Ignoring the disappointment was going to be easier said than done, though I was sure once I was balls deep in Luke while Aimee sat on the bed and got off while watching us fool around, I’d soon forget all about Blake and that pinched expression I wanted to kiss right off his face.