Page 11 of It Starts With Summer

Yes.Everything was pretty to look at.

He poked me again.“Stop zoning out.We have to get the gear ready.We leave right after breakfast.”He inclined his head towards Ben and Sutton, who didn’t need to be up yet and were still sleeping in the bunk bed across from us.“Quiet as you get ready.Why did Matt put us on the first backpacking trip of the session?”

I blinked, glancing towards Sutton, and cleared my throat.“No idea.”I wasn’t a good liar, but he just nodded.

“You feeling ready?”

“Would be more ready if I wasn’t still finding all this glitter.”Annoyance laced my voice as I picked up a few pieces from my pillow.Parker giggled and picked a speck of glitter off of my cheek.He kept touching me, cleaning the glitter off of me.He acted like it was no big deal, so I didn’t stop him.Hell, I might have even liked it.

“It adds character,” Parker said, eyes sparkling.The muscles in his broad shoulders rippled as he leaned across to the dresser and handed me a cup of steaming coffee.I took it, trying not to stare at the way his body moved beneath his tight T-shirt.Focus, Ravi.

“Character or not, glitter is the bane of my existence right now,” I sighed, sipping my coffee and feeling a little more awake as the caffeine kicked in.I raised the cup to him.“Thanks for this.”

He grinned.“Consider it me making amends.Now up and at ‘em.We have to check our gear, then the campers’ stuff.And I should make sure you didn’t pack any whoopee cushions.”

I grinned.“They’re an effective prank — no glitter, no mess, all laughs.”

Parker only gave me a moment to sip my gross coffee and wait for the caffeine before he coaxed me out of bed, and we got dressed quickly, sneaking out of the cabin without waking Ben or Sutton.The evening before, we'd been exhausted from the welcome campfire, but Parker had helped me pack and distribute lists to the boys in our cabin.For someone who was so carefree, Parker was efficient and organized with the gear, telling me that when it came to wilderness preparedness, you had to take packing seriously.

He'd also promised no glitter.

We sorted through the checklists, finding the campers had most of what we’d asked them to pack.We’d made a few notes of things for them to grab after breakfast, but aside from that, we were ready to go, and sat down on the bench outside the gear shed to drink more coffee and eat some breakfast burritos.I didn’t know where he’d gotten those, but I was grateful not to have to run across camp to the noisy dining hall.

Feeling hopeful about the day ahead, I zipped up my backpack and took a moment to appreciate the beauty of Camp Eagle Ridge.The sun was low in the sky, casting a warm golden glow over the trees, and the air was cool enough that a soft layer of fog floated over the lake.

“Hey, Parker!”A now-familiar voice made my jaw clench, and we both turned towards the man who’d spoken.Sutton sauntered over, his muscular frame and attractiveness intimidating as he approached us.Sutton wasn't much taller than me, but he was bulky with muscle where I was more lean, and I felt small around him.

“Ready for your backpacking trip?”Sutton asked Parker.“I’ll admit, I’ll miss you.Ben is a hardass.”

Ben?A hardass?

Parker’s eyes lit up at his ex-boyfriend’s presence.For whatever reason, he was an idiot around this man.Ben had told me what he knew of Parker and Sutton’s backstory, and it made me like Sutton even less.He seemed like an ass.

And okay, I barely knew the guy, but Sutton didn’t even bother to acknowledge me as he approached.“Hey there, Sutton,” I said, narrowing my eyes at him.He ignored me.Rude.

“You’ll miss me?”Parker's voice was friendly, with an underlying flirtatious tone I couldn’t ignore.

“Oh yeah,” Sutton said.“You make the cabin so much… hotter.”Fuck, how cheesy could this guy be?They stepped closer, until they were breathing the same air, their eyes locked on each other.

“Okay, guys,” I interrupted, stepping between them right as they leaned in for a kiss and shoving Parker away.“We have a group of campers waiting for us.Let’s go.”

“Right,” Parker said, tearing his gaze from Sutton and nodding at me.Sutton smirked, enjoying the situation.

“See you around, Parker,” he said, shooting him a wink before heading back to wherever he’d come from.“And Devi.”

“Ravi,” I snapped.“Jackass.”

“Shouldn’t Sutton know your name?”Parker asked, rubbing his jaw.“We’ve been working together enough over the past three days.”

“I think it might be because he doesn’t care about anyone but himself.”I didn’t mention that Sutton had barely spoken to me at all.

Parker groaned, scratching the back of his neck.“Yeah.Thanks for interrupting us there.I don’t know what happens when he gives me intense eye contact.It’s like he has me hypnotized.”

I couldn’t think of anything nice to say, so I stalked off, and the crunch of gravel behind me told me he’d followed me down the path toward the lodge.As we gathered our campers from breakfast, my initial excitement about our hike vanished, replaced by irritation.Glancing over at Parker, who was lost in thought, I felt grumpy.

“Alright, everyone,” I announced, trying to push aside my annoyance.“We’re about to embark on a backpacking trip.The wilderness is a dangerous place.Stick together, stay hydrated, and don’t touch any snakes!”

“This is going to be so fun!”Parker smirked at me as he stepped forward with a sheet of paper.“I have a list of the things you guys missed in your packs, so you all have ten minutes to run back to your cabin, get the missing items, and use the bathroom.Who’s stoked for some backpacking?”

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