Page 1 of It Starts With Summer

one

Parker

CampEagleRidgewasmy favorite place on Earth.It was the place where I’d found myself, where I’d made friendships that lasted a lifetime, where I’d first come out as gay.And it was the place that had welcomed me with open arms during my darkest times.

But was there something magical about the camp — about the beautiful lake and scenic Cascade Mountain backdrop?Or was it the people that made the camp so special?

Standing in the circular grassy field outside the lodge, I started to doubt the magic of Eagle Ridge for the first time since I was twelve years old.It felt off, wrong.And I didn’t see a single person I recognized.I scanned the crowd of counselors and staff milling around, wondering if, at 22, I had aged out of being a camp counselor.My friends had moved on to bigger and better things, but I hadn’t.

And my heart ached a little as I thought about the group of counselors I’d worked with last year.

My gaze locked on to a familiar face in the crowd.Not exactly a friend, though.Matt Blackstone, the camp director, was an idol to me, and even, at one time, a crush.He’d changed my goddamn life when I was a pimply, sexually confused twelve-year-old.Matt had a way of finding me the people I needed and inserting them into my life, and that included my best friend, Aiden.

Right now, Matt was talking to a tallish, slightly nerdy-looking South Asian guy who I didn’t recognize.The stranger wore a pair of pristine dark wash jeans, rolled up at the cuffs, and a plain, light gray t-shirt.His thick, black hair was tucked under a forest green beanie, and there was a pair of dark-framed glasses perched on his nose and two enormous suitcases at his feet.His eyes darted around as Matt spoke.

Matt, on the other hand, was cheerful and gregarious; the sort of mountain man lumbersexual you expect to see wandering around the Pacific Northwest forest.I wasn’t sure Matt owned any shirts that weren’t flannel, unless you counted the beard pun t-shirts he wore under the flannels.Today’s said, “I mustache you a question.”

“Matty!”I yelled, and Matt glanced up and saw me, a broad smile spreading across his face.I threw myself into the hug he offered with a little too much enthusiasm, if the grunt he made when my chest hit his was any indication.But sometimes I needed a cuddle, and Matt was a mentor to me.He scooped me up in his thickly muscled arms and gave me a hard, welcoming hug.

“Hey, Parker!”Matt said, squeezing me close for a moment before stepping back and clapping me on the shoulder in the way that straight guys did.“Fantastic to see you back at camp.”

“Sorry for the crazy hug.I’m realizing coming to Camp Eagle Ridge might not be the same without Aiden and Jay, and panic is setting in.”

Matt shook his head, looking around.“What?You’ll do fine without them.Everyone loves you, Parker.It always feels like this at the beginning of the session.”

“When you told Aiden to be my best friend when we were middle schoolers, I bet you didn’t expect us to become quite this attached to each other.”

“I didn’t tell Aiden to become your best friend,” Matt said, cocking his head to the side as if searching for the memory.“You two clicked.”

“Matty, I was standing right there.You were like, 'Aiden, those kids are bullying the gay kid.You know karate, right?Be his best friend.'”

His eyes crinkled at the corners and his eyebrows raised in amusement as a laugh burst from him.I'd had a crush on Matt for a few years in my teens — he was a handsome bastard, if a bit of a hippie.“That’s not how I remember it.Anyway, you’ll find new friends.We have a lot of new counselors this year, and a few guys who were campers last year.I expect you to take on a leadership role.”

“Yes, sir,” I said with a mock salute.

“I put my little brother in your cabin again, since you two got along well last time.He's around here somewhere.I bet he was in the middle of a chapter and read right through the bells.”

I smiled as I thought of Ben, who was a decent guy, but always had his nose buried in a book.“At least some things never change.”

Matt grinned.“Since you’re both experienced, I paired each of you up with one of the newbies.”Matt turned to the guy he’d been talking to before I walked up.“This is perfect timing, because I was talking to your new co-counselor in the Raven cabin, Ravi Chandra.Ravi, this is Parker Layton, the guy I was telling you about.You two will work together all summer.”

Ravi was taller than me, with a lean build.I raised my hand in a greeting, but he quickly looked away, avoiding making eye contact with either of us.He shifted on the balls of his feet, looking uncomfortable.I stuck out a hand for a handshake.

“Hey, I'm Parker.”

Ravi stared at my hand as if it were a confusing foreign object and, after an awkward moment, I let my hand drop again.

Matt ignored the failed handshake and turned to Ravi.“Ravi, trust Parker to show you around.He’s been coming to Eagle Ridge since he was twelve, and graduated to camp counselor when he turned 18.”He spun back to me, making eye contact.“Parker, Ravi hasn’t been to a summer camp before, so I'm trusting you to help him get settled in.”

“Never?What kind of person has never been to summer camp before?”Camp had been such a big part of my life that it was inconceivable to me.

“Some people can’t afford it, which you well know.”Matt shot me a look.He knew I’d been a scholarship kid.“Anyway, Ravi came with a sparkling letter of recommendation from Aiden, so I'm sure it'll be fine.”

I studied Ravi.Aiden had met a new group of geeky but friendly people with his recent change of major, and I hadn't met a lot of them.Ravi, with his neatly pressed khakis and crisp white button-down shirt, didn’t exactly scream ‘outdoorsy’ to me, but I could see him fitting in with a group of biology majors.

"Hi," he said, looking a little flustered."Sorry, I should have shaken your hand."

I chuckled.“No worries.It's nice to meet you.”

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