Page 4 of Beyond the Summer

"Expression?He wasn't—" He cut himself off, his cheeks flushing a deep shade of red as he scrubbed his fingers through his dark, glossy hair."Like you know what's going on in Parker's head.He's probably crushing on me.As always."

Why was this guy such a dick?The summer air was thick with tension as I stood my ground, mirroring Sutton's challenging stance, wondering what the hell I was doing.

"Maybe he doesn't need you to protect him.Maybe he wants to see me," Sutton said."You're just some dork.What do you know?"

"I'm the dork?"I scoffed."You chased your ex-boyfriend to his summer job two states over, and yet you're still insisting you're not attracted to men."

"You don't know what you're talking about, so stop pretending you do," he drawled.But as I held my gaze steady, refusing to back down, his face reddened slightly, and he shifted uncomfortably."Look, I didn't come to Camp Eagle Ridge for Parker.I have my own reasons for being here, okay?"

I wasn't convinced, and my skepticism must have shown on my face, because he suddenly grew defensive.

"Believe what you want," he snapped, crossing his arms over his broad chest."But my life doesn't revolve around Parker Layton.Sure, I found out about the camp from him, but that's it."

I sighed, not wanting to engage with this argument anymore.We could keep going around in circles for days.I could see it now—he'd insist again that he wasn't gay, I'd accidentally suggest sex, it'd grow more and more awkward until I was forced to leave camp and never return.Hopefully, Parker would talk to my stepbrother about rearranging the cabins.I needed to keep Sutton away until he got that sorted.

Keep Sutton away.That was a good idea.I cleared my throat."All right, well, now is as good a time as ever to give you your tour."

He frowned."Tour?"

"Matt asked me to show you around.Since you're new.And we're already out here, so we can check that item off my checklist."I mimed pulling out a list, then felt like a dork and mimed putting it back away.Which probably didn't help the dork situation.

"Okay," he murmured, studying me for a moment.His expression was unreadable."Do your tour."

"Really?"I was a little shocked that had worked.I cleared my throat and squared my shoulders."Um, I mean, that's right.Follow me.Like a good boy."Shit, why did I keep making good boy references?Clearly, I had been reading too much smut.

"The cabin we're responsible for is the Blue Herons.We have twelve boys, middle school-aged, so like 12-14."

"Did you go to camp here when you were a kid?"

"Yeah, since I was old enough, and I was a counselor last year and the year before.So I'm basically your boss.My stepdad owns the camp, and my stepbrother is the camp director."

"Well, aren't you the golden boy?"

I glared at him, continuing to over-explain."Also, experienced counselors mentor new counselors.Because we know the ropes and all that.I know the lay of the land."What had gotten into me?I didn't talk like this.

Trying to get my shit together, I turned and began walking, casting a quick glance back over my shoulder to make sure he was following me.He was.

"I'm sure you've noticed Eagle Lake, which is the center of camp life," I said, motioning to the sparkling water."There's the beach, the picnic area, the dock, and kayaks.For many kids, the days we spend on the lake are their favorites, but we keep them entertained with other activities, too."

"Thrilling," Sutton drawled, but I could see a flicker of interest in his eyes.

"We also have an archery range, through that copse of trees, the arts and crafts cabins, and a rock-climbing wall.Since we're close to so much National Forest land, we take campers out for day trips in the wilderness around the camp—hiking, backpacking, and all of that.The schedule will be posted soon, but you and I are co-counselors, so we'll work together on those activities."

He nodded, still staring out at the lake, quiet for a moment, as if mesmerized by the beauty.That I could relate to.Or maybe his mind had glitched and gone blank.

"Then we have the athletic fields here, where we do sports days.Up on the hill, there's an outdoor amphitheater, where we do bonfires and barbecues.The showers are down this path, and the main lodge contains the dining hall and meeting space, where we throw parties."I turned the corner, and we were back in the green between all the cabins."This is the green, where campers often hang out in free time, and over there, the third cabin in the row is our campers, the Blue Herons.Our cabin is tucked into that copse of trees behind it.Ravi and Parker will be responsible for the kids in the next cabin over."

If they don't move, that is.And that was when it occurred to me that Matt might move Ravi and Parker, leaving me alone with Sutton and two other strangers.Fuck.My mind spun as we stood there, awkwardly, staring at the little cabin, which was identical to all the other little cabins, except for the sign.In high school, I'd painted a heron on the door and carefully lettered the name of the cabin over the doorjamb.

"So, since you're my tour guide," Sutton said suddenly, breaking the silence."Tell me about the hookup scene here.Any hot counselors at the girls' camp?"

That startled me enough that I wasn't sure what to say for a beat."No idea," I lied."That's not really something I've paid attention to."

"Really?Not even a little curious?"he teased, raising an eyebrow."Come on, you said it yourself.You're pan.You'll fuck anything with two legs and a hole.You can't tell me you haven't scoped out the talent around here."

Red-hot rage replaced my curiosity."That's not what pansexual means, at least not to me.Just because my attraction isn't related to gender doesn't mean I want to fuck everyone.And this is a summer camp, not some kind of hookup factory."

"Right, I'm sure no one ever gets up to anything in the woods between the camps."He smirked at my obvious discomfort.

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