Page 41 of Beyond the Summer

My stomach clenched.I forced a laugh, hoping it didn't sound as strained as it felt."Ha, yeah, I guess."

Ravi paddled over to join us, his brow furrowed."I don't understand the appeal, personally.Sutton is so…" He waved a hand, searching for the word.

"Hot as hell?"Parker supplied with a snort.

"Arrogant," Ravi finished, giving Parker a look."Or cocky.Do those mean the same thing?"

"And hot as hell," Parker said, laughing.

"Yeah, well.I have my own hot guy to leer at," Ravi said, waggling his eyebrows."Speaking of which, paddle ahead so I can examine how your back muscles look as you row.For biology reasons."

"Right," Parker said.

"I'm a scientist!"

I gripped my oar tighter, biting my tongue against the urge to jump to Sutton's defense.They had no idea who he really was beneath that cocky jock exterior.The sweet, vulnerable guy who'd trembled in my arms two nights ago, gasping my name like a prayer as I moved inside him.

An awkward silence descended.I cleared my throat."Well, there's more to Sutton than meets the eye," I said carefully."He's just…going through some stuff."

Parker raised an eyebrow."You two seem to have gotten closer lately…"

Did he suspect something?I schooled my features into a neutral expression."Nah, we just…talk sometimes.About life and whatever.You know, we're on these long hikes with the campers."

"Right.I'm sure you have very deep, meaningful conversations in between eye-fucking each other," Parker said dryly.

I nearly dropped my oar."What?No, it's not like…"

"Relax, I'm messing with you," Parker laughed, holding up his hands."Honestly, I'm surprised Sutton talks about anything besides himself and his latest hookup."

I couldn't listen to this anymore.The dismissive way they talked about Sutton, when they didn't even know him, didn't see the scars he kept hidden… It made me want to scream.Or grab Sutton and kiss him senseless in front of everyone.Consequences be damned.

But I couldn't do that.We'd agreed to keep things secret, at least until we figured out what this intense, electric thing between us even was.Were we boyfriends?Friends with mind-blowing benefits?I had no fucking clue.All I knew was that every cell in my body craved Sutton like a drug.And I was in serious danger of losing control of my addiction.

As the other two paddled off, joking about which one should go in front and which one should do the leering, my urge to claim Sutton grew with every stroke of my paddle.The sight of him gliding across the lake, sun-kissed and gleaming, made my heart race and my swim trunks feel two sizes too small.I needed to get my hands on him, to brand his skin with my touch and erase all the doubts swirling in my head.

But I bided my time, until the kitchen staff showed up on the beach with lunch, until it made sense to get him alone.

"Alright, everyone," I called out to the campers once we reached the beach."Time for a picnic!Get your snacks and drinks, and enjoy some downtime."

The kids eagerly grabbed their items from the coolers, and I watched as other staff members took over the supervision.My heart raced as I approached Sutton, who was still dripping wet from the lake, his muscles glistening in the sun.

"Hey," I said, trying to sound casual."Can you help me put away the kayaks?They're going to play on the beach and swim after lunch."

"Sure thing, Ben," he replied, his green eyes sparkling with mischief.He knew exactly what I had in mind, and it only served to fuel my need for him even more.I let Ravi and Parker know we were putting the kayaks into storage, and they agreed to watch the kids.

One at a time, we hauled the kayaks into the shed in charged silence, doing our best to pretend that we were doing work.Nothing more.But the second the door swung shut behind us, I grabbed Sutton and slammed him against the wall, crashing my mouth into his.He met me with equal ferocity, fingers digging into my shoulders as our tongues dueled.

"Fuck, you were so sexy out there on that kayak," Sutton groaned as he backed off to catch his breath."All I could think about was this."

I raked my gaze over his heaving chest, eying the way his swim trunks tented obscenely over his hardening cock."What are we, Sutton?"I rasped."What is this thing between us?Are we boyfriends or what?"

Sutton's eyes clouded, a sheen of vulnerability tempering the desire."I've never….I'm not sure."

"But you're not just my fucktoy."

He laughed."I'll be any kind of fucktoy you like."

"I want that.But I also want you, Sutton.All of you."

---