Page 19 of It Starts With Summer

“So?I’m not making private jokes with Ben.Ben's a fucking prick, and Ravi’s a nerd.”He raked his fingers through his hair, tugging on the ends the way he did when he was agitated.

“Sutton.Ben is my friend.Don’t call him a prick,” I admonished.Ben and I hadn’t ever gotten along that well until we'd been forced to work together as co-counselors last summer, when I'd learned a whole new side of the snarky, quiet man.I didn’t enjoy hearing Sutton speak that way about him.“And Ravi may be a nerd, but he’s cool in his own way.He’s a really good guy.”

“Ben is a prick, and Ravi is a geek.Is that the company you keep now?”Sutton sneered at me, his eyes cold and hard.Had he always been this much of an asshole?

“Fuck off, Sutton.I don’t know what pissed you off today, but you need to settle the fuck down,” I said, stepping up to him.“Ben is a fantastic friend.Ravi is cool.”

“Is that all?Just ‘cool’?”Sutton pressed, narrowing his eyes.“You’re not attracted to him?”

“Look, Sutton,” I sighed, trying to remain calm.“There’s no need for you to get all worked up.You broke it off with me and we are never going to be anything after the things you said.I have friends who are male.You can handle it.”

“Fine.”He kicked at the floor, clearly not satisfied with my answer.“Just… be careful, alright?You don’t want to make things complicated around here.”

“Thanks for the advice.”I couldn't keep the sarcasm out of my voice."What are you even doing at camp?"

His face shuttered."You wouldn't understand."

“Maybe I would.Try me.”Why had he complicated things by showing up?Sutton didn’t want a relationship, so why chase me?But he wasn’t going to explain himself, because Sutton never did.Instead, he flopped face down on his bed, ignoring me.

Shaking my head, I reached into the trunk at the end of the bed and dug around, looking for a swimsuit that was both camp appropriate and cute enough that maybe it would make Ravi look at my ass.Which was silly, of course, but it made me happy to think about Ravi noticing me, thinking I was pretty.

Right as I was pulling out two swimsuit options, the cabin door burst open, and Ravi and Ben barged in.“Whew, this is a good day for the lake!”Ravi said.“I am not built for the heat.”He collapsed on the scratchy sofa in our tiny sitting room with a groan.

“I’m here for it!”I said, grateful for the distraction.“Pink or purple?”I asked, waving the two pairs of trunks in the air.The tension between Sutton and me had become palpable, and I couldn’t wait for a chance to escape it.

Ben reached for his swim trunks and his book.

“Can’t take the book in the lake,” Sutton snapped.Ben narrowed his eyes at Sutton, but for once, left the book behind.What was up with that?

“Okay, let’s swim,” he said, tearing off his shirt.I caught Sutton’s eyes on Ben’s lean body and smirked, turning away from the other guys to strip and tug on my swim trunks.Maybe there was a different kind of frustration behind Sutton’s bad mood.Ben was sexy in his own right.

My trunks were a little shorter than regular trunks, but nothing obscene, though they did hug my ass perfectly.I bit my bottom lip and glanced over at Ravi.His movements were precise and efficient as he changed into blue striped swim trunks and a tight-fitting tank top that accentuated the lean muscles of his torso.I couldn’t help but admire the smooth expanse of his gorgeous skin, the way his toned legs flexed as he moved.Desire for him surged through me.

He tossed me my t-shirt and met my eyes for a beat, then dumped sunscreen and towels into a bag.“Get your shirt on.Come on, let’s go pick up our campers before they get into any trouble.”He eyed Sutton and Ben, who were in some kind of staring contest.“You guys meet us down there with your campers?”

They didn’t answer, but Ravi didn’t seem bothered by it.I wondered if something was going on between Sutton and Ben… something involving sucking each other's dicks.But that was even more absurd than Ravi and me.

We were too late to stop our campers from getting into any trouble.They had chosen to use their twenty minutes on a massive pillow fight instead of getting ready, which shouldn’t have been a surprise.We had a rowdy bunch this year.

“Do you guys hate the lake?”Ravi’s voice was quiet, but somehow his commanding tone cut through the noise, and the rowdy campers froze in place.No one spoke, but they all eyed him.“Five minutes.Clean this up and get your swimsuits on.We’ll be waiting outside.If you don’t get it done, we’ll be spending the day picking up litter around camp.”With that, he turned and shoved me back out the door, slamming it behind him.

“Wow, you were good at that,” I said.

He laughed.“I have five younger siblings.You get used to it.Aiden's recommendation got me in the door, but I nailed that part of the interview.Matt was interested in having more people who knew how to handle rowdy children.”

“Ah,” I said, thinking back to the past summer and to Jay and his fear of everything in nature.“I was under the impression that he just hired anyone.”

“No, he said he had lots of applicants this year, so he was looking for people who had experience with children, or experience outdoors.Preferably both, but he fell for my charms,” Ravi said, waggling his eyebrows.

I blinked at him.“Did he now?”

“That was a joke.I don’t have any charms.But Aiden’s recommendation was really good.”

I laughed, bumping my shoulder with his, feeling the subtle electric current of attraction as his arm hairs grazed over mine.“You may have a few charms.”

He let his fingertips graze mine, and I was this close to holding his hand when Owen burst out of the cabin door and announced they were done cleaning.As we gathered up our wayward campers and made our way toward the lake, Ravi glanced nervously at me.“Sorry about earlier.I don’t know why I was holding your…”

I shrugged it off, trying to sound nonchalant.My reality wasn’t something I shared with people.Didn’t bother me.“Sutton had me on edge, so it helped a little.I’m a physical person.You can always touch me.”Again the scene popped back into my mind, letting Ravi explore his sexuality with my body.

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