Chapter 12
CHAPTER TWELVE
PERCY
I’m warmer than I expected. Hot, even. In a half-asleep haze I try to shrug the sleeping bag off of me so I can cool down, but it tightens around me.
Oh, shit.
My eyes fly open, and I immediately squint against the morning light that’s barely blunted by the tent.
It’s not my sleeping bag wrapped around me, it’s a massive set of arms, holding me tight, crushing me against an even larger chest like I’m a teddy bear.
I guess the thick, hot erection nestled against the small of my back should have been a clue.
I’ve never known a sleeping bag to be so well endowed. If they were, I’d own three.
I swallow hard and wiggle in Butch’s grasp, ignoring the way my own cock throbs with an almost dizzying need, trying to convince me that I should grind against Butch’s stiff length.
He makes a sleepy, rumbling sound and his arms stay firmly around me, his warm breath tickling the back of my neck with every slow, steady exhale.
Now that I’m fully conscious, the memory of last night comes flooding back.
My lips tingle with the ghost of that kiss.
Fuck me, that kiss. No one has ever kissed me like that, all slow and sexy, like he wasn’t in any hurry to do anything else.
A silent gasp catches in my throat and my cock jerks eagerly.
No, I scold my rogue appendage. Don’t forget what else he said.
Butch waxed poetic about his love of all things masculine, and while I’m one-thousand percent secure in the fact that I am a man in every single way that matters, I’m just not sure I’m man enough for a guy like Butch.
Besides, last night was probably just a case of being lonely and horny in the woods.
He wasn’t about to try to hook up with one of his friends, so he came to me to try his luck.
I squirm in his arms again, desperate for some fresh air and a little space to clear my head before I have to face him. I need to be ready with a casual smile when he wakes up and tells me last night didn’t mean anything. And, also, I need to pee, dammit.
Sleeping Butch finally loosens his grip with another little grumble. I quietly scramble out of the sleeping bag, and he immediately wraps his arms around my pillow and keeps snoring. I slip on my shoes and drag my fingers absently through my hair, then crawl out of the tent.
“Fuck,” I mutter, shivering immediately at the chill in the air. The dew on the grass is frosty and I can see my breath when I exhale. Birds are still chirping though, and the sun is streaming through the branches of the trees to melt the frost little by little.
On the opposite side of the campsite, Ezra steps out of the largest tent, his hair in full bed-head mode, wearing a pair of flannel pajama pants and an oversized hoodie I’m guessing belongs to one of his boyfriends.
He rubs his eyes and yawns, then he spots me and waves.
I raise my hand in a friendly gesture and smile.
He’s less intimidating than the rest of the guys at least. Relatable almost, if I overlook the whole “two hunky boyfriends” thing.
“Morning,” he says quietly, coming across the clearing towards me. “Are you heading up to the bathroom?”
“I was just trying to decide if it was worth it or if I should pee in the woods,” I say, and we both laugh.
“Well, I need the real bathroom.” He reaches me and loops an arm through mine, dragging me along with him. “I swear, I’m getting too old for this shit. Next time Dre and Xeno suggest camping, I’m going to tell them to go without me and I’ll book myself a nice weekend at a four-star hotel instead.”
“With top-notch room service,” I say wistfully.
“Exactly. You can come. You clearly have the right attitude.”
I chuckle again. “I doubt I’ll be invited camping again. This time was just…” I trail off, still completely unclear on why Butch invited me this weekend to begin with. “Can I ask you something?”
“About Butch?” Ezra guesses, a big grin stretching across his face.
“No, never mind.” I shake my head and bite my lip.
“I probably wouldn’t be able to give you much of an answer anyway. I see Butch at the gym when Dre manages to drag me there a few times a month, and for stuff like this, but we’re not close or anything.”
“Oh.” I stuff my hands into my pockets while we make our way down the gravel path. “I guess I was just hoping you could help me figure him out. He’s so friendly all the time, it’s kind of confusing.” My face heats and I grimace. “Don’t tell him I said that though.”
Ezra mimes zipping his lips and grins again. “For what it’s worth, I get the feeling he’s a ‘what you see is what you get’ kind of guy.”
I guess I can live with that answer. Butch is being friendly because he is friendly, and it’s nothing more complicated than that. I bob my head in understanding and commit myself to that view of the situation. Butch is uncomplicated and I shouldn’t read anything into anything he does.
We reach the bathrooms, and it turns out Ezra was right yesterday.
They really are only acceptable in the most dire of emergencies.
I consider just peeing in the woods after all but decide that as long as I don’t touch anything, it’ll be fine.
I peek into the shower area while he finishes using the bathroom.
There’s rust around the drain and spiders in every corner.
I shudder and decide that a shower can definitely wait until I get home tomorrow night.
Ezra steps out of his stall, his oversized hoodie rucked up on one side, giving me a quick peek at the waistline of a pair of lace panties before it falls back into place.
Seeing anyone being the least bit gender non-conforming in this group of hyper-masculine gym bros eases a fraction of the nerves I’ve been carrying around since I got in the van yesterday.
Maybe I can fit in here just fine. After all, I did climb a freaking mountain yesterday.
Or, well, okay, just a twenty-foot rock, but still.
I wonder if we can tackle another one today. Or maybe go for a slow—very slow—jog on one of the trails. I’m actually a little excited to see what Butch comes up with today. Whatever it is, I think I’m ready for it.
BUTCH
Waking up nuzzling Percy’s pillow wasn’t exactly what I was hoping for this morning.
A burst of chatter outside the tent tells me I’m not going to be able to sneak out of here without getting caught either.
I don’t really give a shit about my friends giving me hell, but the last thing I want is for them to make Percy feel weird.
Maybe I could say my tent blew away in a freak gust of wind. No, they’ll be able to see it standing. Hmm. I could tell them I got up to piss in the middle of the night and ended up in the wrong tent. That might work.
I tighten my grip on Percy’s pillow, bringing it to my nose and inhaling the scent of his shampoo that’s lingering on it.
Why did he get up without waking me? Am I wasting my time worrying that the guys will make him uncomfortable when I’ve already scared him off?
Shit, was the kiss last night too much? I rack my brain for any sign that he didn’t want it, or that I pushed things too far.
But no, if I had, he wouldn’t have told me I could stay, right?
I hear the unmistakable sound of his laughter outside, and I sit bolt upright, my heart immediately pounding like it wants to leap out of my chest and find a way to get closer to him.
I rub my hand over my sternum. What the hell is wrong with me?
I’ve had plenty of crushes in my life, why is this one making me feel so crazy?
Is it because Percy’s so far out of my league?
Because he’s not jumping straight into it like most guys have?
This much thinking so early in the morning is giving me a headache.
I throw the sleeping bag open and climb out of the tent, wishing I’d thought to bring some pants or at least a hoodie with me last night.
“Butchy, that’s not your tent.” Fender gasps the second I step out into the cold morning.
“There were rabid coyotes,” Percy says before I can try out my planned excuse.
I nod in agreement. “A whole pack of them.”
“Wow, that sounds harrowing.” Fender doesn’t even try to keep a straight face.
Silas covers his laughter with a cough, and Callan turns his attention to AJ and Slater, who are just now stumbling out of their tent.
“Speaking of wild animals, did anyone hear that ruckus last night? It sounded like a pair of raccoons mating or something,” Callan teases.
“Raccoons?” Slater scoffs. “Sounded like bears to me.”
AJ blushes and Slater gives a crude thrust, then flips the middle finger at Callan.
“I need coffee,” I mutter, shuffling over to my tent to grab some clothes before joining everyone around the campfire.
“Morning,” Percy says quietly when I claim the empty folding chair next to him.
“Morning.” I drag my eyes over him, still in his pajamas, his arms crossed to keep himself warm while he waits for the kettle to boil over the fire.
I grunt under my breath and get back up, jogging back over to my tent.
Come to think of it, I didn’t even pack a hoodie.
I knew it would be cold, but I figured I’d be fine as long as I kept active or stayed by the fire.
After a few seconds of rummaging through my bag just to be sure, I give up and grab my sleeping bag, slinging it over my shoulder so it won’t drag on the ground and carrying it over to the fire.
“What are you—?” Percy starts to ask but cuts himself off when I drape the sleeping bag around him.
“You’ll freeze.” I tuck it around his arms to make sure he’s covered.
That cute pink blush rises in his cheeks, and he sinks his teeth into his bottom lip again, tempting me to lean forward and kiss his poor, abused mouth.
Fuck, that was a sweet kiss last night. I’m not remembering that wrong, am I?
The way he sighed into my mouth, the way his body melted against mine…
he wanted that as much as I did, didn’t he?
I want to ask him, but I don’t want to push.
“So, what’s on the agenda for today? More rock climbing?”
For a second I forget about the kiss and sit up with excitement. “You want to climb some more?”
I wasn’t sure if he liked it or if he was just excited to say he accomplished something he didn’t think he could do, but he nods and keeps smiling, leaning towards me just a little in his chair.
“I didn’t actually think I’d like it, but it was fun.”
“It’s addictive, isn’t it?” Callan chimes in. “There are some great, easy climbs a couple of miles down the trail. There’s even a cave that’s pretty dope to climb in.”
“That sounds cool,” Percy says.
I try not to let my disappointment show as Fender and Xeno join in, saying they’d love to tag along too.
I didn’t bring him up here just to get my hands all over him…
as much as I want to. I brought him up here so he could see that fitness isn’t just about going to the gym and that there are tons of fun ways to push his body to its limits.
Our eyes meet and his cheeks pink again. Fuck, he’s cute. Hot. Sexy as hell.
Will he let me kiss him again? Maybe just one more taste. Just enough to convince myself that he can’t possibly be as sweet as I remember.
“Coffee,” Silas announces, pulling the boiling kettle off the fire and yanking Percy’s attention away from me.
I want to grumble at him for his poor timing, to find a way to get Percy to look at me again, to monopolize all his attention until I can work out why I’m so sprung on him. But I probably won’t manage that in one morning anyway, so I guess coffee is the next best thing.
For now.