Page 4 of It Starts With Summer

“I’m Ravi,” Ravi supplied with an awkward wave of the tiny vacuum.“Nice to meet you both.Kind of.”

Ben nodded, turning back to Sutton.“Let’s give Parker and Ravi a chance to settle in.”

Sutton squared his shoulders like he was daring Ben to try to move him.“Fuck that.I need to unpack.And Parker sucked my dick a few times on a dare, then accused me of breaking his heart.He’s stalking me, I swear.”

Ben’s eyebrows shot up.His expression was perplexed, but his eyes were twinkling with humor.“Yeah.Having Parker Layton suck your dick sounds like a real hardship.”Ben patted Sutton on the head like he was a puppy, not a massive rugby player.

“Listen, man, I’m straight.And he’s a level five clinger, that’s all.”Sutton crossed his arms over his chest in a defensive pose I'd seen hundreds of times.I would never understand why Sutton was so intent on denying who he was.And I’d fucked enough heteroflexible but mostly straight guys to know the difference.

Ben looked more than a little irritated.“In case you’re too slow to understand humor, that was sarcasm.Parker is fucking beautiful.You’d be lucky to have him, and if you had him and let him go, you’re a moron.Now get outside.Listen like a good boy.”Watching Ben, who was a medium-height, wiry Latino guy, face off against Sutton Holm was a thing of beauty, especially because Ben somehow managed to win.

“But—”

“Out.Now,” Ben interrupted.“Or I’ll have a talk with my brother about finding a replacement for you.”

With a long-suffering sigh, Sutton trudged out the door, and Ben followed him out.

“Why do I suddenly want to be called a good boy?”Ravi mumbled, right as Ben stuck his head back through the door.His dark, worried eyes landed on me.

“Parker, I’m so sorry.I didn’t realize he was the guy you emailed me about until fifteen minutes ago.Want me to ask Matt to switch up your cabin?”

I shook my head, feeling a flicker of hope that summer might not go so badly after all.“Don't worry about it.”I tried to keep my voice steady, to not think too hard about Sutton Holm."I'll steer clear of Sutton."

Ben studied me for a moment, then nodded and started to leave, before popping his head back in.“Oh!I left Mages of Aleron Book 6 on my nightstand.Read it.We can discuss it later.”Ben's last words echoed in the room as he closed the door once and for all.Ravi was gazing at Sutton's bed, probably trying to make sense of what had just happened.

Ravi gave me a pointed look.“You shouldn’t do it anymore.”

“Do what?”I asked, frowning.

“Have sex with that Sutton guy.Even if he wants to, you shouldn’t.”

“Why the hell would I have sex with Sutton?He broke my heart.We were dating, Ravi, going on dates, out to dinner, the whole nine yards.And he still insists that he’s straight and he was using me to nut.On a bet.”I didn’t mention that the dates were all five towns over, or that he’d asked me not to tell anyone, because, in retrospect, the fact that I’d put up with that shit was embarrassing.

Ravi gave me a meaningful look before reaching for his bag.We both sat in silence for a full minute, and I thought maybe he was done with the topic.But he wasn’t."If you truly didn't want to be near him, you would have requested a different cabin.It doesn't make sense to want to stay in the same one as your ex, unless you are hoping for something from him."

“I want to be in a cabin with Ben.Ben is my friend.”

“So?Have Ben’s brother move Sutton somewhere else.”Ravi’s direct stare was as unsettling as his words.I hesitated, not sure what to say.Because he was right.Ravi pointed at me.“I knew it.You want him back.But don’t fall for it.I’ve been in your situation.”

“You’ve been with a closeted guy who is in denial about his sexuality but still wants to fuck you daily?”

Ravi laughed.“Well, no.I’m straight.But I dated a woman who strung me along for almost a year, knowing I was in love with her.She was using me for sex.”

I blinked at Ravi.“Using you for sex.”That did not compute.For one thing, it looked like he ironed his jeans.

“I’m skilled at sex,” he said, as if it was a fact and not an opinion.With that, he went back to unpacking.

“Well, this is different.”I opened my bag and dumped the contents into the trunk at the foot of my bed, because everything fit in there.I shoved the trunk closed.Satisfied that the unpacking was done, I stood, brushing off my hands, and caught Ravi staring at me in horror.

“You can use the whole dresser.Sutton and Ben have the one at the other end,” I said as I shoved the bag under the bed and snagged the book Ben had left on his nightstand and flopped on the bottom bunk of the bed I’d be sharing with Ravi.Who was skilled at sex.

Ravi blew out a breath.“That’s not—” He blinked and looked away from my clutter with a shudder.“You can’t just empty your—” He huffed and turned away, lifting his glasses and rubbing the bridge of his nose as he took a series of slow, meditative breaths.

I could already tell that riling Ravi up was going to be fun.Leaning back against my pillow, I flipped through the book, excited to get to reading.How had Ben gotten book six of the Mages of Aleron?As far as I knew, the book wasn’t even released yet.I flipped it over and read the back, then glanced at Ravi.

He was ignoring me and neatly unpacking his belongings, meticulously folding each article of clothing.I watched as he placed a stack of perfectly folded socks into one of the dresser drawers, his glasses sliding down his nose as he focused on the task at hand.

After a moment, he straightened, glancing towards Ben and Sutton’s empty bunk.“Are you sure you should be on the bottom bunk?It’s right across from Sutton’s bunk.”

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