Page 5 of Beyond the Summer

"Can we just drop it?"I snapped, feeling my face grow even hotter under his scrutiny.

"Aw, don't be like that, Ben," he drawled, nudging me with his elbow."There's no shame in being a virgin.I mean, sure, you're missing out on a world of pleasure, but everyone loses their virginity sometime.Usually."Fuck, how had he guessed that I was a virgin?Or was he baiting me?

I gritted my teeth and forced myself to keep walking, determined not to sink to his level.It wasn't any of his business what I did or didn't do in my personal life, and there was no shame in being a virgin at my age.I sure as hell wasn't going to let him get under my skin.

I glanced towards Sutton, feeling irritated with his handsomeness.Everything came easy for guys like him, and it wasn't only because he was beautiful.There was something about his confident swagger that drew people to him.Not me, of course.It wasn't that I was attracted to him—okay, maybe a little, in a 'he's objectively good-looking' kind of way—but there was a certain appeal to imagining the cocky jackass on his hands and knees, begging to be filled.And Parker had told me he was a bottom and a slut.

I wasn't staring at his thickly muscled ass, though.That was just the direction I happened to be looking when his huge ass got in my way.

He turned around and possibly caught me looking, then smirked, his voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper as he leaned in close."Like what you see?"

My face flamed red at his words, and I struggled to come up with a witty retort.Something about what that comment revealed about his sexuality.Instead, all I could manage was a strangled, "Shut up, Sutton."

"Whatever you say, Ben," he chuckled, stepping back and raising his hands in mock surrender."Can I go back to the cabin yet, or are you going to lecture me on how the showers work?"

Ben

Itwasagorgeousday to be outdoors and on the archery range, an open green space surrounded by a group of massive ponderosas, which caught the occasional stray arrow in their thick red bark.The sun was shining brightly overhead, and a light breeze carried the scent of pine and summer.

Camp was in full swing.The session one campers had arrived.Nothing had changed with the cabin arrangements—Parker hadn't wanted to—so Sutton Holm still was my co-counselor.And he was driving me insane.I forced myself to ignore him as I took the kids through the basic archery safety talk.Last year, Parker had been my co-counselor, and he'd taken care of all the talking, but Sutton had been the class clown during the counselor training sessions, and I didn't trust him to do it right.

Apparently, all I needed to manage my fear of public speaking was a competing anxiety about Sutton fucking things up.I knew the material better than anyone.After all, I'd become obsessed with memorizing all the camp safety guides when I was ten.

Okay, mostly because of that.But also, I'd heard other people give these talks dozens of times.I carefully laid out all the archery equipment on the table in front of me, then raised my eyes to the twelve eager, hyperactive boys.Boys who we were about to hand weapons to.

When I was 13, I'd tried to talk Walt into replacing the archery range with a safer activity, like throwing frisbees.That request had spawned a lot of jokes from my stepbrother, and had been the inspiration for the camp's extensive disc golf course.But sadly, we still had archery.

"Alright, kids, what's the first rule of archery?"I didn't wait for their answer."We never point our weapons at our friends!I'm going to take you through the safety gear one by one."

As expected, that earned me a groan of dismay from the boys.

"This is the waiting line.This is the shooting line.We do not walk in front of the shooting line unless everyone is finished, and we need to retrieve our arrows.No one, under any circumstances, should be behind or near the targets at any other time, and no one should have their arrow in their bow unless they're at the shooting line."I turned and showed them through the equipment."This is an arm guard.It protects you from the most common injuries, which happen when the bow string scrapes along your wrist.Let me know if you need help putting yours on."I turned to Sutton, who had already picked up a bow and was messing with it."Do you need a hand with your arm guard, Sutton?"

"Oh, come on Benji, lighten up," he said, posing with the bow like he thought he was Robin Hood.

"Benji?"

"That's your name, right?Benjamín?"He said it with the proper Spanish accent, which was sexy in his deep voice.And very annoying.

"Safety is important.I don't need a hospital visit today."I grabbed his wrist and tugged him towards me, strapping the plastic guard over the thick muscles, which definitely did not send a frisson of awareness straight to my dick.I was barely conscious of how hot his skin felt, or how firm his arms were.

I didn't notice any of it, really.

"Yes, sir," he murmured, and I glanced up, meeting his eyes, getting lost for a second in the vivid, beautiful green color.Shaking myself, I finished fastening the Velcro straps and stepped back and picked up a bow, showing the kids how to notch an arrow, and reiterating my points about the shooting line and safety.

"Only put pressure on the string when you're facing the targets.When you're ready to fire, and it's your turn, you stand like this."I showed them the proper pose."Pull the string back to your ear, looking down the length of the arrow towards the target," I instructed, trying to maintain my composure as Sutton sauntered over with that infuriating smirk plastered across his face.

"I bet I could show you a thing or two about handling a bow," Sutton teased, flexing his muscular arms as he picked up a bow and effortlessly drew back the string.

"That is not how you hold it," I muttered.

He burst out laughing, then glanced at my stance and adjusted his own.He grabbed an arrow and pulled the bowstring back, following my instructions to the tee as he lined up for a shot.

"Don't be so sure that being a rugby player also makes you an expert archer," I snapped, rolling my eyes.

"Hey, you never know," Sutton replied, releasing the arrow with a flourish.It hit the target on the edge of the first gold ring, eliciting cheers from the campers."Ten points!See?Natural talent."

"Congratulations, you got lucky with one shot," I muttered under my breath, turning my attention back to the campers.I tried to ignore Sutton's presence, but it was impossible—every time I looked up, there he was, grinning and laughing with the kids like he was born to do this.

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