Page 38 of Beyond the Summer

Sutton released me from his mouth, looking up at me with those big, green eyes.His cheeks flushed as he licked his lips, then stood.I pulled my jeans back into place and jumped up on the workbench, pulling him to stand between my legs, kissing him gently and tasting my cum on his lips.He smiled up at me, his expression unguarded and full of worry.

"I don't want to mess things up for Parker with Ravi.I feel badly enough about what happened with Parker, about risking his scholarship."

"You're worried about how to behave around them?"

He nodded, biting his lip."I can see that he's falling for Ravi… and they seem perfect together."

"And you're jealous?"I frowned, not liking the sound of that.

Sutton licked his lips, his cheeks turning pink."No.I just… they think I'm an asshole, and maybe it's better to let them."

"Or you could open up to them and let them be your friends."I felt a pang of disappointment because I much preferred the real Sutton, but I also knew how much he was going through.I couldn't fall in love with a man who was damaged goods without knowing I'd have to work through the mess inside his head.

Fall in love.It didn't sound wrong, and my chest tightened, nerves warring with a strange, joyous feeling.

He swallowed, his eyes darting up to me."Should we break this off?You don't want to be with someone closeted.I heard you say that."

"Fuck no."The words slipped from my mouth with a vehemence I hadn't intended."You are not running away from this, Sutton Holm."

A surprising smile broke out across his lips."You're perfect, Ben Torres.I hope you know that."

"Hardly.And forcing you out of the closet isn't my idea of a good time, especially not with your family situation."

"Fuck my family," he whispered, burying his cheek against my chest.I pulled him close, and he wrapped his arms around my waist, his breathing shaky like he might be crying.There was nothing to do but to hold him.I cared enough about Sutton to wait.

Sutton

Izippedupthetent flap on Scotty and Adam's tent after tucking them in, tapping the taut nylon."Sleep tight, guys."The last of the campers were settled.Adam had been the most nervous about sleeping outdoors, but he was too worn out to fight sleep for long.I'd tried to be patient with the kids, but my mind was on Ben, alone in our tent, waiting for me.

While we were at camp, I'd been keeping my distance out of respect for Parker.Or at least, that was what I was telling myself.Part of me knew that the fear of the intensity between us, of the things my father might do, was eating at me far more than the thought of upsetting Parker Layton.It was Ben's heart and Ben's happiness I truly cared about.

Maybe that was why I'd volunteered to stay up and help the kids get settled instead of diving into the tent with Ben straight away.Maybe that was why my heart was racing as I walked across the dark campground toward our tent.After an endless day of hiking and wrangling campers, after a week of sleeping in a cabin with Ravi and Parker, we were finally going to be alone together.

The thought made my cock stiffen in my shorts.

I kicked off my flip-flops, unzipped the fly of our little two-man tent, and ducked inside, nerves and anticipation twisting in my stomach.Ben had watched the campers, giving me some time to myself earlier to sneak off and get cleaned up and prep myself.The implication had been clear.Tonight we were going to fuck.Prepping for him only built the anticipation, making the ache deep inside me even more intense.

A shiver ran through me as I imagined Ben filling me up, stretching me open, claiming me.A week was too long to go without him, and I was desperate to feel his thick cock driving into my hole.I'd been a cock slut since I found out what that meant in high school, always craving that perfect full feeling.But with Ben, everything was so much more intense.The pleasure, the emotions, the connection.He wasn't using my ass.He possessed me, body and soul.

I wasn't sure he understood how strong my feelings were growing.

I stripped down to my underwear, my hard-on tenting the thin fabric.Ben was sprawled on top of his sleeping bag, his long, lean body on display in a tight pair of boxer briefs.He was reading a book, probably one of his smutty fantasy romances, which I now knew made him horny as hell.He looked up as I crawled over to him.

"There you are," he said with a sexy smirk."Everyone okay?"

"A few of the kids are a bit nervous, but I got them calmed down," I replied, snuggling against his side.His warm, bare skin and clean, masculine scent enveloped me.Beneath the earthy notes of pine and campfire smoke, I could detect the musky tang of his arousal.

Ben noticed my pensive expression and smiled, reaching over to pull me even closer."What's got you so hard?"His eyes dropped down to my cock, and he boldly reached between my legs, squeezing and massaging my growing bulge."Ready for our night alone?"

Was I blushing?It felt like I was."Yeah."

In these moments, I couldn't help but think about how much I wished it could always be like this with Ben.How much I'd like to hold hands with him around camp, call him my boyfriend.I knew I couldn't go public with Ben without destroying his life and future.My father's influence and bigotry cast a long shadow, one neither of us could escape.

"Hey," Ben murmured, interrupting my downward spiral of thoughts."You okay?"

I looked into his eyes, which held genuine concern, and forced a smile."Yeah, I'm fine," I lied.

He pulled me into his arms, and I fell against him, enjoying the way his hard body felt against mine, firm and reassuring.

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