A Shy Boy

The small store on the corner changed over the years, from a general store that gradually shifted product lines to support the increase in hikers, till eventually it changed completely into a hiking and camping outfitters store. It had been Hunter’s dream to make the final change and as soon as he took over from his grandmother after graduating college, he set out to make it a reality. There were times when he questioned himself, wondered if he was making a mistake, but through it all, standing by his side, was Finn. They had met in college and developed a relationship that only grew stronger over the years. Finn wasn’t the dreamer, but the pragmatic one. The half of the relationship that did the accounting, put hard numbers and schedules to ideas and concepts. Where Hunter was the vision, it was Finn who created the path to reality.

The store was rebranded, the interior renovated and storefronts changed to let them do displays like the ones Hunter saw in old photographs of the store from the sixties and seventies. They improved product line, bringing in better gear and clothing. Within a year of the rebranding of the store, foot traffic increased till they had to hire more staff.

The store opened at ten in the morning, and Finn flipped the small hand painted sign as Hunter got the two registers ready, putting the drawers with money in each one. There was only two staff members for the opening shift, with two more to come in at lunch. Shelley had just finished sweeping and was heading to the stockroom to put the broom away. Moving along the back aisle restocking the socks on the small racks at the end of aisles, Avery pulled the cart behind him with the new product. He was the newest hire. His family had moved up from Atlanta last year and he was home from college for the summer. Although he wasn’t the youngest, that was between Cindy and Thomas, who worked part time over the summer, but in many respects, Avery seemed the most naïve. He was the shyest of the staff, at times blushing at the slightest jest or joke.

Hunter moved up next to Finn and the two of them watched Avery as he filled empty hooks with socks.

“I still think he’s gay” said Hunter.

“You can’t know that for sure” replied Finn.

“You’ve seen the way he looks at boys who come in.”

“Yes, but…”

“But nothing. Straight boys may look at other boys but not like that.”

“I just wish he wasn’t so introverted.”

“I know. Shelley and Ryan tried to get him to go to lunch with them a couple of days ago and he told them he had brought his lunch and refused to go.”

“Maybe money is tight for his family.”

“Seriously? You’ve seen that house they live in. It’s eight thousand square feet if it’s a foot.”

“I don’t know, but there’s no reason to speculate” said Finn as he started toward the back. “I’m going to do the books from the last week. Let me know if you need me on the floor.”

A couple days later, Hunter and Finn were in the small office off the stock room. They were making the next schedule, going over who was available and who wasn’t, having two out on vacation that week. Through the window they saw Ryan and Melissa get up from the table where a small break area had been created. Finn watched them walk back toward the door to the sales floor, then went back to the chart laid out on the desk.

“We’ve got a gap here for someone to do sales on the floor” said Hunter, pointing to the Friday afternoon.

“What if we have Avery cover it till Thomas clocks in?” asked Finn.

“Avery?” Hunter replied in surprise. “He’s got no sales experience and I’m not sure he could even approach someone.”

“Maybe he just needs to be pushed to do it. I mean, look at the schedule? The two of us are covering everything we can but unless we want to bring Cindy in on Friday…”

“She asked if we could let her have it off.”

“I know, but she also said she’d work it if we needed her.”

“No…I don’t want to do that. Can the two of us cover the floor till Thomas and Susan come in?”

“So, why not have Avery come in and we watch over him. It’s just from one till four.”

Movement outside the window caught their eye and they watched Avery buy a soda from the vending machine and pull out his lunch from the refrigerator. He sat at the table and quietly began to eat.

“He’s such a loner” whispered Hunter, as if afraid Avery would hear him.

“I know. Do you think he’s content, or is he lonely because of it?”

Mitch came into the stock room. He was tall, lanky and a bit uncoordinated, but even Hunter and Finn had admitted he was cute. The kind that had girls and boys flirting with him. As Mitch pushed the rolling ladder to where he needed it and climbed up, Avery watched him. Sandwich held in one hand, a chip in the other, all just hovering in space, he watched Mitch reach up to the top shelf for a box. The reach caused his shirt to pull out and reveal a band of stomach. It was flat, the skin white, and Avery stared till Mitch pulled the box and turned toward him.

“Avery; can you help me a second” Mitch called out, and even Finn and Hunter heard the request in their office. They watched as Avery didn’t reply but laid down his sandwich and ate the chip as he got up and went over to Mitch. He took the box and set it on the floor, and without saying anything headed back to table. Mitch smiled at him, shaking his head.

“See, even Mitch knows Avery is too introverted” whispered Hunter.

“But you saw how Avery was watching him. I wonder if he’s gay. It would make his shyness worse.”

“Don’t know, but if I knew one of the other guys was gay, I would ask them to flirt with Avery. See if he was interested in going out.”

“What about Ryan?”

“He’s dating a boy who works for the park service. I think he’s on Grandfather Mountain this summer.”

“Really? I didn’t know that.”

“You would if you were on the floor more often. The girls tease Ryan about it constantly, asking him how many times he’s hiked Grandfather Mountain.”

“What about Mitch?”

“Mitch?” Seriously? I guess I can see how you might think that since he is the most liberal person I have ever met, but he’s dating one of the girls that work at Black Rock” replied Hunter, referring to the café on the edge of town.

“Well, he sure had Avery’s attention.”

 “I’m okay with using Avery on the floor Friday week.”

“Good; then we are done. Why don’t we tell him now?”

Hunter opened the office door and leaned his head out. “Avery? Can you come in when you finish?”

“Yes.”

Hunter left the door open as Finn put the schedule into the computer system that all the staff had access. Hunter slipped on the apron all the staff wore on the floor, preparing to go back out. Through the window they watched Avery finish, toss his trash, put the empty bottle in the recycle bin and head their way.

“You wanted to see me?” asked Avery in a nervous voice.

“Yes, come on in. You know Cindy and Ryan are gone next week and it has us struggling to fill all the slots. Do you think you could help cover the floor next Friday? It would be from one till four when Thomas and Susan would clock in” said Finn.

“You want me to do sales?”

“Yeah, why not?”

“I’ve never done it before.” Avery’s tone was nervous, nearly as bad as it had been when he interviewed for the stock position.

“We know and both of us will be on the floor too. If you’ll help us out and if you like the change, maybe we can start working you into the schedule. I know some of the others have told us they could do stocking sometimes just for a different task.”

“Okay…I can try.”

“You’ll be fine. Just remember to smile and ask the customer questions, even if it is nothing but where are they staying in the mountains” said Hunter.

Avery smiled, nodding his head, and for a minute Hunter imagined a kid much younger being asked to do something beyond his years and finding some confidence in being asked.

Over the days that followed, Hunter watched Avery whenever he was on the floor. He had kept an eye on him in the past, but now he watched like a naturalist on safari, studying some unknown creature, wondering about its habits. His curiosity got the best of him. Was Avery so introverted as to be asexual? Was he straight and just watched the other boys to see how they carried themselves? Was he gay, and so closeted he hid all signs of his feelings toward other boys? Hunter didn’t know which he considered worse, for all indicated a lack of confidence. He had never been that way, not even in high school when he was still closeted. It was college when he found that last liberating moment, coming out to the guys in the dorm, then meeting Finn in his accounting class.

They were both considered jocks by the fact they liked to play tag football or a game of basketball where there was bumping and pushing against the other team, each trying to best the other. They worked out occasionally, rode bikes, and hiked. Therefore, they looked the part, with muscular bodies and a proclivity toward playing sports, but the jock label they just didn’t see it. They didn’t go for the bravado of lewd comments about sex, nor did they obsess over a game’s outcome. And on a Saturday night, when other guys were sitting in pubs and taverns drinking heavily while watching a game, they liked to have date night. A nice restaurant then a movie or a nightcap at their favorite gay bar, a small hole in the wall on the edge of downtown.

Finn and Hunter were twenty-nine, owned their own business and kept themselves fit. Some of the girls on staff called them The Perfect Couple. It was in jest, but there was an earnestness to it too. Their weakness, as one of the other business owners said to Finn one afternoon, was they cared too much about their staff. It was true, and they declared there would be no change to it. It was why Hunter found himself worrying about Avery, how this nineteen-year old seemed to be letting life pass him by.

Avery was putting out shirts, a few on hangers and others that needed to be folded before placing on the tables. Hunter watched how proficiently he folded the shirts, each one perfect, and gently placed them in a neat row or small stack. He moved along the four tables down the middle of the store making each one neatly arranged. At the last table, the bell over the door rang and three guys came in. They were wearing backpacks which were placed on the floor at the front. It was obvious they had come off one of trails, probably the AT, for they were not only dressed as such, but were sweaty from their exertions. One wore a floppy hat and the other two caps. They were average in height, the tallest maybe five ten or so, but each one had a lean muscular body, their legs showing definition with curved calves, two lightly covered in brown hair and one with thicker dark hair.

“Hey guys, help you find something?” asked Hunter as the three guys approached.

“Yes, I need a water filter. I just broke mine this morning” the dark haired one replied.

“He fell into the creek when using it and broke the handle off” one of the other guys added, laughing.

“It happens” said Hunter, thinking of his own misadventures. “Avery, will you show them the water filters?”

“Yeah…sure.”

Hunter saw the surprise, then for the briefest moment, a smile. A small upturn at the edge of his mouth. He watched Avery led the three guys to the back aisle and gesture to the selection. One of the guys asked which one he recommended, and Avery stuttered at first, and Hunter started to go help, but then Avery began to tell of each one’s features, the pros and cons of each one, before holding up the model he recommended.

“Thanks, I’ll take it. Now where is the best place for three sweaty hikers to grab a bite to eat?”

“There’s Black Rock down at the end of the street and back up on the next block is a sandwich shop. Both are accustomed to hikers coming in.”

“Jack; let’s do Black Rock. My uncle mentioned it and said it was good, and I’m starving for something other than a sandwich” said one of the other guys.

“I agree” Jack replied, then looking at Avery, “thanks for the help.”

Even across the room, Hunter could see how Avery blushed red and nodded his head. The three guys didn’t notice their effect on Avery. They just headed to the register to check out. Hunter moved to the side of the store where he could watch Avery. See him stand at the back aisle and watch the three guys at the register, Jack sliding his card into the reader as the other two talked about getting back on the trail. Eyes stayed glued on the three guys as they picked up backpacks and made their way out. Watched as they slipped the backpacks on and made their way down the sidewalk till out of sight.

Damn, he has it bad, Hunter thought as he headed toward him.

“Avery, that was good the way you explained the different filters. Why didn’t you tell us you know so much about the products?”

“I…don’t know. I’m just not good with sales.”

“You didn’t have any trouble selling a filter.”

Avery nodded his head and blushed again.

“While stocking, if you see someone needing help don’t be shy about helping them. Okay?”

“Yes, sir.”

The formality of Avery’s reply still bugged Hunter, and he had tried to stop it. He knew it was a sign of respect, but for Avery it seemed to be something else. This insecurity of being considered an adult; able to be one with others. It was like Avery was afraid to let go of his teenage self.

Friday arrived with Avery moving around the sales floor. He was obviously nervous, but Hunter and Finn left him alone and when one then another customer came to Avery for help, they watched him guide them to the products they were searching, explain each one, answer their questions, then back off letting them decide. It wasn’t the way others worked sales, but for Avery it worked. None of the customers left the store empty handed, and all thanked him for his help. As four o’clock approached, Avery still spoke softly, made as little eye contact as he could, but there was a crack in his shyness. A sense of gained confidence. Finn had been at the register and asked each customer Avery helped if they had found what they were looking for, making sure none left disappointed in some way. It had surprised Finn how each one praised Avery for his knowledge then letting them decide what they wanted.

At fifteen till four Susan came in with Thomas only a couple of minutes behind her. They were on the floor just before four, allowing Avery to clock out for the day. He had come out of the stock room, apron removed, ready to leave when an older couple came in. Hunter saw the change in expression. Avery’s face tightened up and his posture immediately became more submissive, head down not looking up.

“Avery; are you clock out?” the woman asked, and Hunter knew immediately it was his parents.

Hunter nodded toward the couple when he caught Finn’s attention, then made his way toward them. Avery had slowed his pace and Hunter had no trouble beating him to his parents.

“Welcome to The Trailhead, is there something I can help you find?”

“No, we’re just here to get Avery. We’re going to eat an early dinner at Black Rock” Avery’s mother replied.

“I’m Hunter. I assume you’re his parents?”

“Yes, I’m Louise and this is Franklin.”

“Well, its nice to meet you. Avery has been doing very well” Hunter replied, and he saw the questioning look pass over Franklin’s face, as if he doubted what he had said.

“That’s nice, but we wish he would make better use of his time. He doesn’t need to do this…” Louise stopped, realizing she was about to say something patronizing.

“Maybe he just wants to feel a bit of independence, and…”

Franklin scoffed, cutting Hunter off. “He should be learning something that will be of benefit to him. He is so stubborn, refusing to work in my business.”

“Dad” Avery cut in as he came up beside Hunter. It was a rebuff, as simple as the reply.

“Let’s go. Your mother and I have a plane to catch” said Franklin, obviously impatient to leave.

“Oh, you’re traveling?” Hunter asked.

“Yes, we’re flying to London for a couple of weeks” Louise replied as Franklin headed to the door not waiting any longer.

Hunter watched Avery follow his parents out the door and to a Mercedes parked across the street. The conversation lasted about a minute, but he got a read on Franklin and Louise and he didn’t like either. Louise seemed to dote on her son, pamper him, while his father was belligerent toward him, making comments about what he was doing wasn’t good enough, and implied in it, Avery wasn’t good enough. Louise probably thought she was protecting her son, but Hunter saw it as just pulling the boy in two different directions, not letting him find his own way.

“What was that all about?” Finn asked as he came up beside Hunter.

“That was Avery’s parents and I know part of the reason he is so introverted.”

“That bad?”

“His father is a piece of work, and…hey, let’s not discuss this on the floor.”

Avery clocked in on Saturday just before noon, scheduled to stock and clean up for the next six hours. There was a full rotation of staff for the day, it the busiest in any given week. Customers milled along the aisles as staff helped them, answering questions or showing them the location of a specific product. Avery came out pushing the cart with product stacked up ready to put on display.

“Avery” Finn called over to him, meeting him in the back aisle. “We’re pretty busy, so if you see someone needing assistance don’t hesitate to help them.”

“Okay.”

“And if it starts to put you behind too much, let Hunter or me know. I’ll be in the office handing some orders.”

“Okay.”

The store continued to be busy, customers coming in on a regular basis. Every staff member on the floor was busy at one time or another and Avery found a customer stopping him frequently. His cart unattended for long periods of time as he helped one after the next. By three o’clock, taking a break, Avery went to the office, tapping softly on the frame of the open door.

“Finn?”

“Avery; what’s up?”

“I just wanted to let you know I’ve been busy with customers and haven’t got much of the restocking done.”

Finn laughed, leaning back making the old chair squeak, “I figured that would happen. I’ll come out and help you after your break.”

Avery pulled out a container full of fruit from the refrigerator and sat at the table enjoying being off his feet. From the office Finn watched him, wondering about the solitude Avery found himself. He kept to himself and now he was home alone. The stock room door swung open and Thomas and Mitch walked into the room.

“…just help me get some sleeping bags down. I can’t stand dragging boxes down the ladder from the top shelf” Thomas was saying as they walked to the back wall.

“Avery, if I’d known you were back here, I’d let you help Thomas. He gets dizzy on the ladder” said Mitch, making fun of Thomas’ fear of heights.

“Very funny” replied Thomas.

“I can help him” said Avery getting up from the table.

Mitch walked back to the sales floor as Avery stood at the bottom of the ladder looking up at Thomas. Unbeknownst to him, Finn watched how he looked at Thomas climb up, eyes roaming up and down the body above him. He looked at the bulge in the crotch of the jeans, he looked up the gap of Thomas’ t-shirt at the trail of hair that led up to the navel.

When Thomas left the stock room, two sleeping bags in hand, Avery watched him leave the room, and not before disappearing through the door, did he return to the break area table.

He looks so lonely, Finn thought as he saved the files on his computer and prepared to help Avery with stocking on the floor.

Monday morning, a UPS truck pulled up to the rear, horn honking to let them know of his arrival. There were two handcarts of boxes rolled into the stock room and Hunter set them on the break area table. Finn came out of the office, clipboard in hand.

“That the new product lines they want us to carry?”

“Yep” Hunter replied as he slipped the box cutter along the taped flaps for each box.  As he pulled out a tent from the first box, Avery came into the stock room to clock in for his shift. His eyes grew large, excited, as he came to the table.

“Is that the new Notus tent? It is supposed to be a great tent” exclaimed Avery as he watched Hunter take it out of the box.

“You’ve read about this tent?” asked Finn.

“Yeah, it’s got this fly that is supposed to be better at deflecting wind and…oh wow, it has windows on two sides, not just one.”

“So, you can better see the bear that is about to maul you” joked Hunter as he held up the bag of poles and clips.

Finn pulled out a new light weight sleeping bag (the fabric a bright red-orange), holding it up to unroll so he could see the shape of it.

“A Eurus sleeping bag! I didn’t know it was out” exclaimed Avery.

“Avery?” asked Hunter.

“Yes?”

“I’ve never heard you talk of backpacking or camping, and yet you seem to know more about the gear than some of the other guys.”

“Oh, I don’t get to go. Dad says its…stupid. I have some gear I use at home. I set up in the backyard to…” Avery stammered, looking at the guys realizing he was admitting more than he was comfortable.

“To what? Get out of the house?” asked Finn.

“Yeah.”

“Well, clock in and help me get this set up as new product arrivals” Hunter cut in, referring to the special display at the front of the store.

It was just before four, Ryan and Susan due to come in any minute, and Hunter and Finn were at the register talking. They watched Cindy working with a young couple for a new tent and moving along the central aisle, cart pulled along behind him, Avery was restocking the cooking gear. The fuel cannisters, folding stoves and cookware.

“I wonder what it’d take to drag him out of his shell?” Hunter whispered to Finn.

“I don’t know; someone who is outgoing and aggressive in their approach to someone.”

“You think he’s gay?”

“He watches the other guys with such longing; you should have seen him looking at Thomas up on the ladder Saturday, or this morning when those four college guys came in. He followed them around like a puppy dog, blushing red in the face the whole time.”

“He’s still a virgin” Hunter whispered, not a question, but a statement of fact.

“Probably, but its none of our business. He just has to experience it that first time and I think he’ll be fine.”

Hunter leaned on the counter, watching Avery watch a young guy move down the aisle away from him. “Jesus, look at him stare at that guy.”

“I thought about seeing if Craig or Landon would come in and ask him out” said Finn, referring to two friends that lived nearby, both in their mid-twenties and single.

“Craig? No way. And Landon…maybe, but he has sworn off casual dating, only wanting to go out with guys who are serious. I’m afraid Avery will not be right for him, a college kid too young and not settled down yet.”

“If I knew Thomas was gay…”

“You’d do nothing, for we can’t be involved with staff like that.”

“And what if we’re wrong about Avery?”

They stood at the register, the store quiet for the first time in a while, and watched Avery look disappointed when the guy he had been following with his eyes left the store.

“Let’s take him camping” Hunter whispered.

“What? What are thinking….wait…no, no, no” Finn replied.

“Hear me out. Let’s just take him camping. We can take some of the new gear and try it out. We’ll just feel him out. Maybe get him to tell us if he’s gay and who he’d like to go out with.”

“And what if we find he is so introverted, he can’t make such a confession?”

“Maybe we drag him out of his shell.”

“I don’t know…”

“I’ll go ask him if he’s willing to go camping and if so, you get next weekend’s schedule revised and I’ll call Mitch to see if he is ready to step into that manager’s role he’s been hinting at for a month.”

“Weekend’s are too busy. We can’t do that to Mitch.”

“Well, then let’s do Wednesday and Thursday.”

“I’ll have to do some fast shifting of schedules and you’ll have to see if Mitch is willing to change his schedule and…”

“I’ll go ask Avery if he would like to go camping” Hunter interrupted as he stepped around the counter heading toward him.

Hunter drove his 4-door Jeep Wrangler along the twisting, curving road, winding their way into the mountains. Finn in the passenger seat, Avery in the back and the rear crammed with coolers and gear. More gear was on top in the carrier. It was just after ten and they were nearly to their destination. It wasn’t a park or a section of the AT or a private campground they were headed but to property owned by Hunter’s uncle. It had been a property with a private residence up the late seventies, then the house had become abandoned. It burned down when some kids were playing in it and set it on fire sometime in the mid-eighties. The property sat unused for nearly ten years when Hunter’s uncle purchased it, thinking he would build a cabin on it. It would have been a weekend retreat for him and his wife. But his job took him from Atlanta to Denver and it no longer was practical to plan for such an endeavor.

Hunter was negotiating with his uncle to purchase the land, something he planned as a surprise to Finn once they reached a final agreement. It would eventually become their weekend retreat outside of town.

“Where is this place we’re going?” Avery asked, breaking his silence for the first time since setting out.

“It’s just ahead about two miles” replied Hunter as he negotiated around a series of switchbacks. They wound down to a valley, followed a creek till they came to a drive with a gate across it. Hunter pulled in and handed Finn a set of keys. “It’s the one with the green cap on the key.”

Driving into the property, Avery sat up to look at the place they were to camp for the weekend. Although the grass and weeds were shoulder high, it was obvious what had been the yard of the house. At the tree line behind the clearing sat a small barn, one side collapsed from rot.

“The house sat right there and back there the small barn they kept lawn mowers and other garden tools in. The main roof is okay, but the lean to is totally rotten. I’d take the whole thing down if it was me.”

Hunter eased passed the old house site and climbed up a narrow lane that cut back into the woods. It turned and ran parallel with the side of the mountain, gradually climbing till they came to another small clearing. It was crescent shaped and hugged the side of the mountain.

“This is the pond site. It’s spring fed and if I were to build here, I would put a cabin just above the pond” said Hunter pointing to the tree line along the back of the clearing. Avery leaned up to see better and saw the reflection of light off the surface of the pond. It was narrow and long, mimicking the clearing in shape. He was surprised to see the area around it mowed down from the pond up to the woods.

“Who cuts the grass?”

“I got the neighbor to do it. He watches the place for my uncle and will bring his bush hog over if we need the place cut.”

Hunter pulled the Jeep into the clearing at the edge of the cut grass and parked. For the rest of the morning they set up tents, four in all, to see how easily they were to erect and how well they handled a little use. Hunter set up a cooking area at the other end of the clearing, hanging their food from a tree till it was time to prepare lunch. Avery and Finn pulled out the sleeping bags and new tools to check them out, putting everything in the tents.

As Hunter set up a firepit and brought out camp chairs, Finn motioned Avery to follow him. They walked down to the pond then followed its bank. The water was crystal clear and the fish that swam along the edge could easily be seen.

“We should have brought some fishing gear” said Finn.

“I’m surprised to see a pond up here.”

“Yeah, I guess it would have been easier to build it down in the valley where the house was located but this pond has been here since the early fifties…”

“Early fifties? How do you know?”

“There’s a date in the concrete at the damn. You’ll see.”

Avery walked beside Finn as they made their way along the pond’s edge. A splash of a trout making a strike, a bird swooping down for a drink and dragonflies hovering along the edge caught their eye. The pond was its own ecology, brimming with life. At the far end, they followed its gentle curvature walking out on an earthen dam that span the depression in the side of the mountain. At the high side the damn was only a few high, but toward its middle the dam angled down thirty feet or so.

“What’s that?” asked Avery pointing at stone bands in the dam in front of them.

“It is the sides of the spillway. It is made of stone and is where the date is stamped.”

Avery sped up, arriving at the edge of the spillway first. A thin sheet of water ran over the depression that was ten feet wide with sides over a foot high, all made of laid stone. He saw a square of concrete in the stone side nearby where he saw the date: 1953. At the back of the dam he watched the water cascaded down the stone slope to a small pool at the base of the dam that drained into a narrow stream.

“Where is the water coming from? A spring?” asked Avery.

“Yes, there is at least one in the bottom somewhere, possible two or three by the amount of water flowing out.”

Looking in the pond, the bottom disappeared from sight, the water too deep to see it regardless of its clarity. Avery picked up a flat rock and stooped down flinging it across the pond’s surface. Rings spread from each strike of the water’s surface where the rock skipped. It skipped the surface in shorter and shorter arcs over the surface till the drag of the surface finally pulled it under.

“Let’s see if Hunter has the everything set up so we can prepare lunch” said Finn turning to head back.

“I could really use something to eat” replied Avery as he sped up to fall in step with Finn.

Finn washed the cookware as Avery helped Hunter clean up. They moved the small table to the side and set the chairs around the firepit. It was after one and the sun lit up the clearing, shadows short and dark against the brightness. Hunter walked down to the pond, and looked out over the surface, then turned back to the others.

“Let’s go swimming.”

“Okay” Finn replied as he came down to the firepit where Avery was sitting.

“I didn’t bring a swimsuit” said Avery, resolved to just watching the guys swim.

“Neither did we” Hunter jokingly replied as he came back to the campsite.

“What?” Avery whispered.

“No one is going to see us, so what the hell” Finn replied as he pulled his shirt over his head.

Avery looked from Finn then to Hunter seeing him unbuttoning his shirt then tossing it over a chair.

“You guys are going to swim in your underwear?”

“Hell no, I don’t want them wet” said Hunter as he slipped his cargo shorts off.

Finn was doing the same, stepping free of his shorts. As he tossed them on top of his shirt, he looked down at Avery. “Well, come on, it’s too hot.”

Hunter slipped his boxers off and Finn watched Avery stare at him, eyes glued to Hunter’s nakedness. Finn admitted again how Hunter was such a man. Chest covered in a mat of hair that laid in a neat pattern over it. The hair trailed down the flat stomach and fanned out over the thick cock hanging loose over its sac. Hunter wasn’t one to shave or trim, allowing the hair to grow. It was thick under each arm and covered each arm and leg. And Avery sat frozen, eyes roaming every inch of his body.

Finn grinned at the blatant way Avery stared. When Hunter headed toward the pond, he cleared his throat capturing Avery’s attention as he slid his own boxers off. Where Hunter was hairy, Finn was naturally smooth. Even the hair under each arm was sparse, barely noticeable. His skin looked smooth, glistening in the sunlight, and he was more muscular than Hunter, working out more often. His chest and arms bulged with muscle and his stomach reflected clearly every line of it. His cock hung long, uncut, the skin dangling over an inch past the head. He tugged on it once watching Avery’s eyes lock on his hand. Then he headed to the pond to join Hunter.

“Come on, Avery, get out of those clothes and get in” said Finn as he walked away feeling those eyes on his back, or ass, watching every movement of his body.

Avery sat for a moment, not daring to move, as Hunter and Finn dove into the pond and surfaced out near its middle. Hunter waved at Avery then both called out for him to hurry up. Avery stood and slowly removed his t-shirt. He laid it on the chair he had been sitting in, then undid his cargo shorts, letting them fall down his legs. He stepped out of them and laid them with the shirt. He turned away from the pond, and the guys, and slipped his boxers down and laid them with his other clothes. Hand in front of his cock, he walked down to the pond. He stepped oddly a couple of times, trying to decide whether, or not to run to the pond or walk slowly keeping himself covered.

He had been around naked guys before, all the time in P.E. But this was different. A lot different. Hunter and Avery were ten years older and looked it. Mature, grown men, with muscular bodies Avery could only admire from a distance, or he told himself.

For Hunter and Finn, they watched Avery approach and saw the tall skinny teenager that had yet to fill out. Chest and stomach flat, no definition at all. There was a small patch of hair dead center of his chest and a thin trail from navel down to the small fan of pubic hair over his cock, but Avery didn’t think it added to his looks, for he felt more a kid, still a teenager, than someone about to be a man.

“Don’t watch him” Finn whispered as he swam toward the opposite bank away from Avery’s approach.

“Okay” Hunter replied just before diving under.

Avery stepped into the pond and eased out till water came up to his thighs. Looking across the pond he watched Finn moving away from him and bubbles surface revealing Hunter’s location beneath the surface. Hands together, he dove into the chilly waters, swam under the surface till near the center of the pond and surfaced. The water was colder than he imagined, his skin covered in goosebumps.

Hunter and Finn swam toward Avery then began to wrestle with each other, dunking heads under and pushing and pulling each other. Avery watched fascinated by their roughhousing. He watched naked bodies pulled to the surface or arch up to the surface in a dive down. Finn got behind Hunter, arms locked around him, trying to pull him down.

“Come on, Avery, help me” said Finn.

Avery hesitated to join, then in a moment of enthusiasm, he moved to them. He came up to Hunter, face to face, and grabbed him around the neck and pushed to his left, working with Finn to flip him over. Hunter pitched over, taking Finn and Avery with him. Under the surface they pushed away from each other and surfaced. Pushing hair back, spitting water, they struggled to catch their breath with their laughing.

Avery realized it had made him half hard, this contact with Hunter. The memory of that contact made him grow harder and he swam away from the guys afraid for them to see how aroused it had made him. He kept his eyes on the two guys, making sure they didn’t head his way. Hunter rolled to his back and floated across the pond as Finn made comment he had had enough. Avery didn’t want them to notice but he couldn’t take his eyes off Hunter’s exposed body. The chest down to the half hard cock, thick and rolling over thicker in the exposed warmth of the sun.

“I’m going to get out” said Avery heading to the bank, hoping the guys would give him time to get to his clothes before they saw his aroused state.

“We’re getting out too” said Finn and Avery heard the soft splash of two guys swimming toward the bank.

Avery eased up the slick bank at the pond’s edge and headed toward the camp. Before he knew what was happening, Hunter came up beside him, grabbed him in a head lock and pulled him toward camp at a faster pace.

“Come on Avery, let’s sit out and dry off. The sun feels good” said Hunter as Finn strolled up beside them.

“Yeah, it does after that cold ass water” added Finn.

Finn sat the camp chairs in a line, all facing the pond and the woods beyond while Hunter grabbed some drinks from the cooler. Avery picked up his boxers to put them on.

“What are you doing? They’ll get wet then itch the rest of the day” said Hunter strolling past.

Avery couldn’t help but notice how Hunter, and even Finn, had cocks there were thicker and longer than before. He felt it himself, the warmth of the sun on his body, the way it increased his own arousal. He was embarrassed by how he was responding, even if the guys were the same. Glancing around he saw Hunter hold out a drink to Finn and the two of them sit down, legs stretched out in front of them.

It’s just three guys hanging out naked. What’s the big deal. We’re naked in shower rooms at the gym, and…relax Avery, it’s nothing. And they are gay, and you are too, even if you have not admitted it. So, what if you are aroused. Let them see it.

Avery repeated this to himself, over and over, as he headed to the empty chair, struggling to make himself really believe it.

They sat silent, Hunter with his eyes closed and Finn just staring off into the distance while Avery tried to stop cutting his eyes over to them. But it was difficult. The sun warmed their bodies and each relaxed in it. Cocks relaxed, thickened and elongated to near aroused proportions. And Avery watched them, especially Finn’s, who sat next to him giving him the best view. He watched as his own cock swelled between his legs. Laying a hand over it to conceal how he was responding to the warmth of the sun and to the naked display beside him, he struggled with how it made him feel. After a few minutes, he jumped up, hand over his cock and went to the tent that had his belongings.

“I’m going to take a nap” said Avery.

It was nearly dark when he came out of his tent to the smell of burgers on a grill. Finn and Hunter were wearing cargo shorts and sandals, their upper bodies bare. Avery had slipped on gym shorts and a t-shirt, the shirt hanging on his skinny frame. Finn and he sat to the side while Hunter cooked. They talked about the tents, which were easiest to erect, how they were configured, and which had the best features. There was no mention of the swim.

The next day, after a sandwich for lunch, they packed up, discussing the ease or difficulty of each tent to take down and get rolled up in his storage sack. A little after two o’clock, they drove out to the main road and headed back to town.

It was the drive back that a conversation turned to sexuality, mainly Ryan and Mitch’s.

“Hey, Avery, you think Thomas is gay or straight? I mean, we know Ryan is…” said Hunter.

“Ryan’s gay?” Avery interrupted.

“You didn’t know? He’s dating some guy working in the Park Service.”

“No…” Avery’s voice trailed off, the contemplation of his new information causing him to stare out the window.

“We know Mitch is straight and all the girls are too, but Thomas is an unknown” Finn replied.

Avery considered Thomas, and all the times he had watched him, wondering the same thing. Then it hit him, this conversation about those that worked in the store.

“Hey, you guys don’t talk about me like this do you?” said Avery, nervous with the knowledge they did.

“Of course; what else do we have to do during the day” Hunter replied, laughing, making it a joke.

“What do you say?”

“Honestly? We don’t know. You haven’t given us anything to go on. We know you can’t go by looks, so we need some hint from what someone says, and Ryan and Mitch have said things that are blunt about it. But Thomas…and you; nothing.”

“Does that bother you?” Finn asked, turned to face Avery.

“No…I mean, maybe. I don’t know.”

“Do you think it’s a big deal with us, one way or the other? I mean, we’re are partners in more than just the store. You did know that, right?”

“Yeah, I knew you were gay, but I didn’t know about Ryan…or the others.”

“If you hung out with them. you’d know. Boy, would you know, probably more than you would want to know” said Hunter.

Avery smiled, then looked at a tourist trap on the side of the road.

“Avery, for us it’s a game, just wondering who might be gay, or straight, or hell, might be somewhere in the middle and defies our categorization.”

“What do you think I am” asked Avery, his voice low, nervous.

Finn turned and looked at him.

“You want the truth?”

“Yes.”

“I think you’re gay but have never had a chance to act on it, or maybe you’re afraid to act on it. I’ve seen how you look at other guys, especially Thomas.”

“Huh?”

“Avery, do you think we care? The thing we do care about is whether, or not you act on your feelings. If you see someone you want to know better, you should feel confident in pursuing it. You know, have no regrets later on.”

“Regrets” Avery repeated the word, then looked away, out the window unable to face Finn as he added, “if I were…gay I mean, would you not tell anyone?”

“Of course not. If you’re not ready.”

After a long silence, Hunter keeping his eyes on the road, and Finn watching the scenery passing by, a quiet low reply came from Avery.

“Yes.”

Hunter and Finn didn’t say anything for a long time, let Avery’s reply settle between them. As they came into town, slowing for traffic, Finn turned to face Avery.

“Avery, if you ever want to talk about it, just come to either of us. We see you alone all the time and…”

“It’s not that I want to be, but…I’m just not sure how to talk with the others. What if we don’t have anything in common?”

“You have the camping and hiking.”

“True.”

“Look, just do something small at first. Maybe go to lunch with some of them. I’ve seen them ask you.”

“Okay.”

The next Monday, Thomas was at the table taking his break when Avery walked in to pull more product down from stock. He felt Thomas’ eyes follow him to the last aisle then come back carrying a box.

“Hey, Avery.”

“Yes?”

“Come here a minute.”

“What’s up?”

“I heard Finn and Hunter took you camping over the weekend.”

“Yeah, we went to test some new gear.”

“Well, damn, I wish I could have gone.”

“I…huh…” Avery stammered.

“It was a last-minute thing” Finn interrupted, coming up behind Thomas. “We didn’t plan ahead. But Thomas, if you’d like to take some of the new gear and try it out, we’d be good with that. It helps if you guys know first-hand about the features.”

“That would be great. I’ll see if anyone else wants to go” Thomas replied.

“What about Avery? He knows how to get to our property and you guys could camp out there.”

“Huh” Avery uttered as Thomas spoke over him.

“Really?  What do you say Avery? Would you go with me?”

Avery looked at Thomas, stunned by how quickly things were aligning for him to be around Thomas. He wanted this more than anything, especially with Thomas. He wanted to feel like he had a shot at being with someone. And Thomas captured his eye more than the others. No, Thomas wasn’t as muscular or possessed model perfect looks. The waviness of his jet-black hair meant it never stayed combed long, especially with its need for cutting. Thomas had an angular face, a narrow nose, strong jaw line and cheeks that had a slightly sunken curvature that made him look under weight. And supporting his head, a neck that was a little too long, with Adam’s apple prominent. A few inches taller than Avery, he looked long limbed, all arms and legs and despite it all, Avery found him attractive, more so than Ryan or Mitch, or any of the guys who had come into the store.

“Avery? What do you say?” Thomas asked again, sounding like he expected a negative response.

“Yes…yes, Thomas, I’d like that” Avery finally replied, smiling shyly.

“Let me look at your schedules and work something out” said Finn as he turned toward his office, trying to suppress the need to laugh. They had only been back one day and already Avery was set up with Thomas, and if he worked it right, only Thomas. He just had to fool around with the schedule a bit.

“Hey, you want to go get lunch at Black Rock? I’m sick of sandwiches” asked Hunter, leaning into the office.

Finn looked up, smiling, with eyebrows arched up.

“What? What have you done?” asked Hunter.

“Do you think we can cover a shift on Thursday afternoon?”

“Why?”

“Well, it looks like we can let Thomas and Avery go camping and test out some gear on Thursday and Friday, in fact, I think with an adjustment, they can stay till Saturday morning to work the afternoon here.”

“Thomas and Avery…test some gear, really? How did you pull that one off” Hunter replied, coming into the office and closing the door?

“I overheard Thomas asking Avery about going camping this past weekend and how he wished he had been invited.”

“And you told him to take Avery and go on their own?”

“Yep.”

“And Avery has agreed to this?”

“Yep.”

“That was quick. And yes, I can work on the floor that afternoon.”

“You have your key to the gate?”

Hunter pulled out his keys, slipping one off and setting it on the desk corner.

“Here is the key” said Hunter, then stopping before opening the door, added “do either of them need to work Wednesday evening?”

“Nope” Finn replied, leaning back smiling. “Three nights to let human nature to take its course.”

“I’ll tell them to check with you before they leave for the day.”

Wednesday afternoon found Thomas waiting in front of the store, sitting on the wood bench watching for Avery. He had clocked out and had his gear, along with the new gear from the store in the stock room. The plan was to hit a grocery store on the edge of town then head on up getting to the property well before dark. Avery had a morning shift and left at two that afternoon, telling Thomas he would get his dad’s SUV out for them to use. Thomas had a GTI and Avery had a Jeep, that would be perfect in the mountains but lacked the cargo space they needed with all the extra gear they were taking. So, Thomas sat, waiting, for Avery to show up in some SUV.

Traffic creeped by the store, the tourist crowding the small town, and Thomas looked at each SUV to see if Avery would be behind the wheel. He saw Suburbans, Grand Cherokees, BMWs and a host of others crawl by, but none with Avery at the wheel.

The door opened causing the bell to ring and Thomas looked around to see Avery leaning out.

“Thomas, I’m parked in back” said Avery.

“In back?”

“Yeah, I used the alley from Beech Hill Lane to come up behind the store, knowing the traffic would be like this” Avery replied, gesturing toward main street and the traffic crawling by.

In the stock room, they grabbed up the largest items and headed to the door. In back, Thomas froze in the door looking at the SUV backed up to it, tailgate raised. It was bright yellow, so bright the reflection of sunlight temporarily blinded him.

“Fuck Avery; your dad has a Lamborghini?”

“Yeah, it’s a bit garish but it has four-wheel drive and can carry more cargo than my Jeep.”

“Garish? It’s…”

“Thomas, come on, load that up so we can get on the road” Avery cut Thomas off, always embarrassed by his dad’s obsession with the latest car or SUV, or wearing the most expensive suits or bragging about how much a meal was from entertaining a client.

“Does your dad know you took it?” asked Thomas as he set gear in the back.

“I texted him last night if I could use it. He said yes.”

“Seriously?”

“He considers it showing off, so…don’t make a big deal of it, will you?”

“No, no, but can I drive?” Thomas asked, smiling like a child in a toy store.

“I don’t think so” Avery replied, smiling at Thomas for the first time.

Gear loaded, Avery behind the wheel and Thomas in the passenger seat, the motor roared to life, then settled into a calm idle.

“Let’s go before someone sees us” said Avery.

“Your dad’s toy really is a bit much” Thomas replied running his fingers along the metal band separating the black leather dash.

Avery drove back streets till on the edge of downtown, where he finally got on the main road. Traffic moved briskly without traffic lights every block and they soon were at the by-pass where shopping centers were located, pulling into the one on their right.

Thomas took the lead inside the grocery store, pushing the cart calling out what he thought they needed but it was Avery, voice barely above a whisper, who made the final decisions, picking fruit and vegetables, meats they could grill and breads from the deli. It was items that required little preparation.

The drive into the mountains had been frustrating at first, caught up in a line of traffic for the first ten miles but after turning off the main highway, they found the narrow, curving two-lane road nearly empty of traffic. Avery seemed to settle into the driver’s seat, both hands on the wheel, as he negotiated one curve after the next, always accelerating enough to push Thomas back into the seat. Since he was sixteen, his dad had let him drive whatever was in the garage, and Avery was a smooth driver, never cutting the wheel too much, punching the accelerator too hard or sawing at the steering wheel. Eyes on the road, hands on the wheel, Avery guided the sporty SUV up the mountain and down into the next valley, where they followed a creek. They came up on slower traffic and at the next passing zone Avery showed Thomas what the SUV could do.

Thomas had assumed Avery would be timid, a trait that went with being shy, but behind the wheel, Avery made him check his seat belt and hold on, as they rounded the curves and accelerated up straights. Music came out of the speakers subduing the roar of the engine, but there was no denying the determined way Avery handled the SUV.

Hunter had told Thomas it would take over two hours to get to the property, but in an hour and forty-five minutes Avery was pulling into the drive.

“Can you unlock the gate?” Avery asked, holding out the key Finn had given him last Monday.

“Yeah, sure” Thomas replied, taking the key, looking at Avery as if he had just seen him for the first time.

Avery eased the SUV along the narrow lane, passing through the clearing where the house had once sat, and cutting through the woods up to the pond site on the side of the mountain. He explained there had been a house on the property, and how Hunter was negotiating to buy the property. When they came out on the narrow crescent shaped level ground with the long narrow pond, Thomas leaned up looking at the neatly mowed area and the calm waters of the pond.

“This is where we’re camping?”

“Yes” replied Avery, thinking of last weekend and what it had been like, especially when swimming with Hunter and Finn, then sitting naked in the sun. He wondered if Thomas would be willing to do the same, swim naked, expose the body concealed beneath his clothing. He eased the SUV along the edge of the clearing on the high side, parking in the shade of one large tree. “We can set up here, facing the pond. It worked well last weekend.”

It was getting late, and they rushed to get two tents set up, a fire going in the ring of rock and steaks on the grill. Thomas brought out a bottle of bourbon holding it up in the light of the fire.

“You drink?”

“I’ve had some of dad’s when mom wasn’t around.”

“Excellent. Pass me your cup.”

Steaks consumed and everything cleaned up, Thomas stroked the fire while Avery watched him. His every move. The stretch of an arm, the flex of muscle. The focus and determination, as Thomas used a limb to push the partially burned wood to the center, bringing it alight.

“The pond looks deep. You guys swam in it, right?”

“Yes. You want to go swimming?”

Yeah, let’s cool off. It’s hot as fuck out here.”

Yes it is, Avery thought as he watched Thomas toss another log on the fire, the foolishness of this desire for a campfire even though it was so hot.

“Why don’t you let the fire die down?”

“Mosquitoes” Thomas replied, as if that explained everything.

Avery wanted Thomas to stop messing around with the fire. He wanted him to get out of his clothes. He wanted to see him in the cool waters, naked for his stares. Thomas tossed the limb he had been using as a poker into the fire and started toward the tents.

“Where are you going?” Avery asked.

“To get into my swim trunks.”

“Oh” Avery replied, unable to hide his disappointment.

“What?”

“It’s just…we didn’t wear them last time and I…didn’t bring one.”

“You guys skinny dipped?” asked Thomas, laughing. “I’d like to have seen that.”

Would you Thomas? Would you want to see Hunter and Finn naked? Would you want to see me naked?

“I can wear my underwear.”

“Hell, Avery, don’t get them wet. It’s just us, right?” Thomas replied stepping back to the camp chairs. He pulled his shirt off and tossed it over a chair, then began to undo his cargo shorts.

“Well? You just going to sit there and watch me? Come on, get out of your clothes and let’s cool off.”

“Okay” Avery replied, suddenly feeling apprehensive about what he had started. His fear rose. Maybe he was wrong to push Thomas to go skinny dipping. What if Thomas recognized his motives? It would be hard to hide. He stood and slipped his t-shirt off, and as he undid his cargo shorts, he watched Thomas free each foot from his shorts and boxers. Cock swung between lean thighs, flaccid, loose over the sac. He tried not to stare, as he pushed his own shorts and boxers down. He saw Thomas look, just a quick glance before turning toward the pond.

“Last one in has to cook tomorrow!” Thomas exclaimed as he jogged down to the pond, took a few steps out into the water, splashing loudly, then dove into its depths till out of sight. A few bubbles surfaced then out toward the center he rose to the surface, pushing wet hair back from his face.

“Fuck! It’s cold as shit.”

“You’ll get use to it,” Avery replied as he waded out then dove in swimming out toward the center, keeping some distance between the two of them.

The waters were crystal clear and when Thomas eased up closer, Avery could see everything below the surface and he fought the urge to stare, forcing himself to look Thomas in the eye. As Thomas got within a couple of feet of him, he saw a quick glance down, then Thomas locking eyes with him.

“Avery?”

“Yeah?”

“Did you see Hunter and Finn do anything?”

“What? No!”

Thomas looked like he wanted to ask something else but rolled back and swam away.

There had been no horsing around or closeness between them, for Thomas seemed to keep a distance between them, always swimming away if Avery got too close. Avery couldn’t push it, didn’t know how, and he grew frustrated, wondering if Thomas really wasn’t interested in being around him. He waded out and headed toward the camp.

“I’ve had enough.”

“Okay” Thomas replied just loud enough to hear, even in the silence of the clearing.

Avery walked up to the camp chairs and reached for his clothes. Then there was a shift in attitude, the first in a very long time. He tossed them down and sat in another chair, facing the sun, and thus the pond. Legs slightly apart on full display to Thomas. If there was any interest, just the slightest, he had to know. His heart raced in his chest as he sat, eyes closed, trying to look calm. Just a guy sitting in the sun letting it dry the water from his skin. He felt Thomas’ approach, heard the soft footfalls and he imagined eyes looking at him. He heard the soft squeak of a camp chair taking the weight of someone sitting.

The sun warmed Avery’s skin. Through his eyelids he saw its warm glow. It made him feel the blood in his veins, the pumping of his heart, and the thickening of his cock. He feared this arousal, as he had done last weekend. He worried about an open display of his cock growing thicker and longer. Hunter and Finn hadn’t cared about such a display, but what about Thomas?

Opening his eyes, Avery saw Thomas looking over at him, eyes cast down, staring at his cock as it rolled over and grew thicker. Look at me. Do I look okay? Do you find me appealing in any way? Could you want me? He shifted in the chair and Thomas looked up quickly, staring out over the pond.

“Feels good to just sit in the sun” said Thomas.

“It does.”

“Avery?”

“What?”

“What do you think about Finn and Hunter? You know…being partners…gay?”

“Why? You have a problem with it?”

“No, no, not at all. I was wondering if you…”

“I don’t have a problem with it. Not with the two of them or with Ryan.”

“Ryan? Oh yeah, he’s gay too.”

The two of them sat silent for a long time. Eyes closed for long periods of time, then opening to check out each other.

“Avery, have you every messed around, you know, with a guy?”

“No” Avery replied, wishing he could say yes just to see how Thomas would react. “Have you?”

“No…not really.”

“Not really? What does that mean?” Avery asked, sensing an opportunity.

“It was just…back in high school. It was before graduation and we were hanging out at someone’s house and this guy…he touched me.”

“Is that all?”

“Yeah.”

Did he make you hard? Did you like it? Can I touch you like that?

“Fuck…sitting in the sun is making me horny. I’m getting dressed” Thomas exclaimed suddenly after a long silence. He jumped up and began to dress and Avery saw how aroused he looked. Cock half hard, skin looking flush, and if he didn’t know better, Thomas’ breathing more labored that it should be. “Get dressed, Avery, and let’s go hike around some.”

They hiked up the side of the mountain following what looked like a trail. The grade was steep in places and about halfway up they came to a rock outcropping they had to negotiate around and over. Near the ridgeline, angling their way up, another rock outcropping rose up before them. It was different that the previous one made of mostly lose rock, this was mostly one large rock, angling out of the side of mountain.

“If we can get on top of it, we might have a good view of the valley” said Thomas leading Avery up along its side.

Avery followed Thomas, the two of them making their way up to the point the rock jutted out of the ground and stepped out on it. It was solid, unmoving but the way it angled upward, jutting out through the trees made it seem anything but. Thomas stayed in the middle, walking slowly out, obvious nervous about the shear drop either side of them. Avery walked past him, unthinking of the height, strolling out to its upper edge. Before him stretched out the valley, with small squares of houses protruding up through the trees on the slopes of mountains either side.

“Avery…not so close.”

“Huh?”

“How can you stand right at the edge?”

“I just…do have you a fear of heights?”

“Yes. Step back from the edge, will ya?”

Avery smiled at Thomas’ uncomfortableness. It was probably the first time since arriving he had not felt the weaker of the two. He stepped back, and sat down, legs crossed, watching the sun hover just above the ridgeline. Thomas eased up next to him and sat, so close their knees touched.

“It’s nice up here” Thomas uttered.

“Yeah” Avery replied, watching the sun slowly sink down as he savored the feel of Thomas’ knee against his own.

“It’ll be dark soon.”

“I brought a flashlight.”

“Me, too.”

They sat silent, watching the sun drop below the horizon, the valley sink into shadow. The sky changed color, bright warm colors of fall where the sun dropped from view and in the east, it faded dark as if indigo ink were being absorbed into it. Lights came on in the valley, little stars of humanity sprinkled across the valley. With the sun gone from the sky, the air cooled, a slight breeze pushing over the mountain. Goosebumps covered their arms and legs and Avery imaged cuddling up close to Thomas, using their shared body heat to stay warm.

“We should go back” said Thomas as he eased to his feet.

“Okay.”

Avery stood and followed Thomas off the rock. They retraced their steps, beams of light out in front of them illuminating their way.

Back in the campsite, the fire burned down to glowing embers, they grabbed something to drink and sat near it.

“I’m going to turn in” said Avery, tired from their long day, and tired of constantly being on watch for how he was responding to Thomas. The avoidance of looking too much, the awareness of every word he said, fearful of revealing himself.

Avery heard Thomas stirring around the campsite, then the zipper of the other tent. He lay awake listening for any other sound from Thomas. He lay frozen in place, barely breathing, listening. There was an owl calling out from somewhere in the woods, its hoots and cries echoing around them. A rustle of leaves as the wind picked up. Even the tent fabric fluttered in its gusts. Then a tent being unzipped again. Thomas, getting out of the other tent, probably going to piss in the edge of the woods. He lay quiet, listening for Thomas’ footfalls, or some noise created by his movement. A light hit his tent, made the inside glow faintly and he held his breath, afraid to make a sound. Afraid to let Thomas know he was still awake, listening for his every sound.

“Avery?”

Avery lay still. I should pretend to be asleep. I should not respond, not yet.

“Avery?”

Avery sat up, looking at the small beam of light hitting his tent. “Thomas?”

Thomas just stood at his tent, flashlight aimed at it and Avery wondered what he could see through the thin fabric, knowing it was impossible for Thomas to see him.

“Avery…”

“Thomas, what is it?”

“Can I get in your tent?”

For a moment, Avery’s world tilted on its axis. Everything felt like it was going to be tossed away. He moved around and fumbled for the zipper, Thomas’ light in his eyes. He pulled it down, letting the entry flap fall open. Thomas stood a couple of feet back, the fly of the tent blocking his upper body from Avery’s view. He leaned out, looking up.

“Thomas?”

“Can I get in your tent?”

The question seemed so innocent, the tone almost naïve, but Avery knew it wasn’t, not this late, and not when it was Thomas asking to get into his tent.

“Okay” Avery replied, easing back in and to the back side of the tent. Thomas stooped down and crawled through the opening. He zipped the tent closed and kicked off his shoes, laying them by the entry. He was on his knees and he tugged his t-shirt over his head as Avery watched. The flashlight’s beam cut across the floor and reflected enough they could see each other. Avery watching wide-eyed as Thomas began to remove his shorts. He thought Thomas would stop, keeping his boxers on, but he watched nervously as Thomas pushed them down and off. His bare ass whiter than the rest of him, shining in the reflected light.

“Is this okay?” Thomas asked, looking around at Avery.

“Yeah” Avery replied, breathlessly, unable to say no.

Thomas turned to him and he saw how aroused Thomas was, cock angling out, almost fully erect. Thomas moved toward him, down on his hands and knees, crawling like a predator. He thought he heard a growl or a hard inhale as Thomas moved up close.

“Avery, I never could get a read on you. I didn’t know if you were…” Thomas whispered, stammering to a stop. “But I’ve seen how you look at other guys…at me. Do you find me attractive?”

Avery knew he had to say it, confess to the truth of it. He knew sooner or later, if he ever wanted any companionship, he had to show interest. He eased up on his knees and tugged his t-shirt over his head. As he tossed it to the side, he looked at Thomas. “Yes.”

Avery’s voice vibrated with his nervousness as he started to push down his boxers, only to have Thomas’ hands knock his own away.

“Let me” Thomas whispered as Avery felt fingers trail around his waist.

A hand on his chest and Avery went down on his back. Hands on his waist, taking his boxers and he raised his ass letting them slip easily down his legs. Thomas freed his legs, tossing them to the side then ran a hand up each leg till they were either side of his cock. It rolled over, thickened, began to elongate with the mere idea Thomas was about to touch him.

“Have you ever?” Thomas whispered and Avery swore he felt warm breath on his cock.

“No.”

A tongue touched him, dragged along his growing length. It swirled over the head making him gasp for breath. Then a kiss to his abdomen, then another, and another. Lips touched his cock, kissing the head. Tongue dragged over the head then lips wrapped around it and Avery shivered as he felt his cock enveloped in slick wetness. It moved along his cock till nose pressed into his abdomen and hot exhales caressed its skin.

Avery clutched at his sleeping bag, grabbed it in the tightest hold he could as he struggled to control himself. He wanted to push up into Thomas’ mouth. He wanted to squirm on the floor of the tent, arc his back and move against Thomas. To increase the sense of touch, the feel of another against his body.  A hand ran up his chest, raked over his nipples making him acutely aware of each one and the hard nub in their center. The hand moved over his chest again, then fingers toyed with his right nipple till he let a moan escape as he arced his back increasing the pressure of those fingers against it. They pinched down and he shuddered then shoved upward choking Thomas with his cock.

Cool air surrounded his cock and Avery opened his eyes to see Thomas move over him, straddle his waist. Then there was the weight of Thomas on him, ass sliding back and forth over his wet cock and he grabbed each thigh and squeezed the firm muscular flesh of each, feeling them flex with Thomas’ movement. He pushed up, increasing the pressure on his cock, feeling Thomas move over it. He wanted more, so much more, but was afraid to pursue it. But Thomas moved, sat up on his knees and took his cock in hand. Fingers toyed with the wet head then held him up.

“Don’t move…okay?” Thomas whispered.

“Okay.”

Avery felt the pressure on the head of his cock, the resistance to take him. Thomas moaned letting his body weight push down on Avery. The pressure became almost too great to take, then there was the tight squeeze on the head. Thomas opened to him. He felt the slow descent, the tightness slide over the head and down his cock. Slowly, painfully slow, the tightness milked his shaft till he began to push upward, despite his promise.

Thomas cried out, moaned with the penetration of his ass, Avery pushing upward, going deeper and deeper till their bodies pressed together. He leaned back on his hands, head thrown back with eyes closed and began to move on Avery. He lifted his hips, pulled upward till Avery nearly slipped free, then he pushed downward, all the way till his ass bounced off Avery’s hips.

The light beam from the flashlight cut under Avery’s raised knees and made everything in the tent glow. The walls rising to a peak, the bright blue sleeping bag twisted and tangled underneath the two boys, and Avery’s fair white skin glowed in the dim light. And above Avery, moving rhythmically, Thomas, darker skinned but glistening wetly in the light.

Avery put his hands on Thomas’ thighs, and felt the flex of muscle and the heat of the flesh. He squeezed as Thomas moved downward, taking him all the way, over and over and over. He watched Thomas’ cock, hard and leaking, smacking against his stomach. He wanted to touch it, to feel it fill his hand. It was thick, the head arrow-shaped and he imaged it penetrating him. He imaged that head spreading him open and sinking that thick shaft inside his own body. But he couldn’t hold the image, the sensations of his own cock, as it piston inside of Thomas, brought him back into the moment. He growled with need, consumed with his arousal. He shoved upward and took Thomas in hand, stroking the cock till his hand was wet with it.

“Fuck, FUCK, fuck” Thomas cried out, the sound of it drowning out everything. Nothing remained except Thomas. Thomas on Avery’s cock, moving up and down.

Avery felt it, the surge of his release. He couldn’t hold back; didn’t want to. He shoved upward and pushed down on Thomas’ thighs as his cock grew more sensitive, then flexed within Thomas’ depths. He came, shuddering with the release. He shoved upward with every ejaculation, uncontrollably, unable to stop.

Avery fell back, panting for breath as Thomas eased down all the way on him and sat up. Avery looked at the sweaty body, the rivulets running down Thomas’ face and chest, and he could smell it, the scent of their bodies exerted to fatigue, and their sex. Thomas eased up and down beside him and he realized he was still hard, cock angled over his stomach, flexing with his need. Thomas reached for his own cock and Avery moved quickly to knock his hand away.

“Don’t…” exclaimed Avery.

Thomas looked at him, a desperation in his eyes. “I need to get off.”

“Put it in me” Avery whispered, reaching for Thomas’s cock and pulled it toward him.

“I can do you?”

“Please.”

Thomas moved over Avery and began to kiss him, on the mouth, along the jaw and around the ear. He whispered how much he wanted to fuck him as he slipped a hand between Avery’s thighs and rubbed his opening. Avery spread his legs, inviting the manipulation.

One finger breached Avery’s tightness and sank into him. It twisted and turned in his tightness. When it pulled out Avery felt empty, but when two fingers bore into his hole he moaned, spreading his legs further apart. Then there were three fingers, stretching him open, loosening him for Thomas to fuck him. He wanted it, clung to Thomas with his need, unable to say it, but his body spoke for him. Legs spread, knees up, opening to Thomas’ ministrations. He clung to him, kissing along the long neck, the jaw with a light stubble along its length and the lips that pressed back against his own.

Hands took Avery behind the knees, pushing them over. Thomas folded him in half, and he felt his ass raise and spread open. He felt exposed, vulnerable, but he grabbed at Thomas’ thighs accepting the feeling. He wanted to submit to Thomas, give himself to him. He reached for Thomas’ cock guiding it to his opening. He felt the push against his tightness, then the stretch as he took Thomas. Slowly, gently, Thomas pushed into his depths. Their bodies came together, and Avery relaxed to the penetration.

Thomas pulled outward, pushed back in, over and over, and soon they were fucking again. Thomas moved powerfully inward, all the way, burying cock into Avery’s depths. Soon the sound of bodies smacking together echoed in the clearing. Only Avery’s cries were louder.

Thomas was too aroused, too close to last long. He rose up on his hands and thrusts with the last of his remaining strength. Every ounce of his being was focused on Avery and the feel of his cock within him. He cried out, guttural, strained, as he shoved inward all the way. He shuddered with release as he felt cum hit his chest and stomach. The smell of it filled the tent as he pushed his own into Avery’s depths.

Thomas fell on top of Avery and felt cum smear between their sweating bodies. He moved slickly over Avery as they kissed gently, slowly, with hands roaming up and down each other sides.

“Fuck, that was…” said Thomas, unsure how to finish.

“Yeah” Avery whispered, knowing what Thomas meant.

After a few minutes, Thomas giggled, and Avery wondered what was so funny.

“What?” Avery asked.

“We are a mess and there is cum everywhere. We need to clean up” said Thomas rolling over and sitting up. “Come on, lets go down to the pond.”

They held hands and walked down to the dark waters of the pond. The moon was reflected in its surface and they waded into it fracturing its image.

They swarm slowly around each other, hands touching goosebumped flesh, flaccid cocks, and pushing wet hair from faces as they moved together till lips touched. They swarm till their exhausted bodies couldn’t take further exertion. They strolled back to the tents, bodies glistening wetly in the light of the moon. Avery was turned toward his tent then stopped when Thomas headed toward the other tent.

“You’re not going to sleep with me?” Avery asked, disappointment heavy in his soft whispered words.

“Of course; I’m just getting my towel to dry off.”

Thursday and Friday the boys spend most of the day lounging around in one tent or another, or down in the pond swimming lazily in its clear cold waters. They rarely put on clothes, only to hike around the property, and fucked till exhausted and spent from their exertions. Saturday morning arrived too quickly for the two of them, their time camping together at an end. They loaded up and stood at by the bright yellow SUV looking over the pond.

“Thomas?”

“Yeah?”

“Before we leave…will you…”

“What Avery; spit it out.”

“Will you do me in dad’s SUV” Avery asked sheepishly as he pulled open the passenger door.

“You nasty fuck” Thomas replied laughing. Avery grinned and looked down.

Avery wanted the memory of being fucked in his dad’s precious toy. He wanted to know there was some things his dad couldn’t control.

“Get naked, bitch” said Thomas, his tone suddenly playful, mischievous.

Avery stripped, removed every stitch of clothing and stood before Thomas half hard from the thought of getting fucked again. Thomas seemed to understand something of the moment, and he kept his clothes on, just opening his cargo shorts and taking out his cock. Avery fell to his knees before him and took it. The heat of Avery’s mouth, the slickness of it, felt too good and he was hard quickly, angled out rock hard, glistening wetly with Avery’s spit and precum.

Thomas watched Avery stand and sit on the passenger seat sideways, facing him. He stepped forward and took each leg, resting them on his shoulders and pushed his cock into Avery’s depths, all the way, taking him, making him submit. The seat squeaked with their exertions as Thomas fucked to cum. There was no fondling of each other or kissing, not this time. This was a fuck. A fuck that was meant to spite Avery’s father.

Avery stroked his own cock till his hand was moving wetly along its length. He cried out, groaned and moaned louder than before. It was if Avery was trying to be loud enough for his father to hear him, no matter how far away.

Neither held back, pushed to cum, and soon Avery, with Thomas fucking so hard he rocked with it, shivered with release. Cum spattered his stomach then trickled down his stroking hand. The smell of it hit Thomas, and like some sort of trigger, it pushed him over the edge. He held Avery’s legs tight to his chest and thrust inward hard, then jammed his hips against Avery’s ass with every ejaculation.

Thomas pulled out and leaned over Avery, licking the cum from his stomach. No longer in a hurry, he dragged his tongue slowly through each pool till it was gone, Avery’s stomach only wet from his tongue.

When Avery stood, cock flaccid and skin glistening wetly, Thomas grabbed him by the neck and pulled their mouths together, kissing him roughly.

“I liked seeing you be more aggressive in what you wanted.”

Avery smiled and looked away. Thomas laughed and lifted Avery’s head by the chin.

“Get dressed. We need to get back for both of us have the closing shift at the store.”

“We’ll get back in plenty to time” Avery replied, and Thomas saw that aggressiveness once again.

Avery went by his home, for it was on the way, allowing the two of them to shower and get dressed for work. They pulled in behind the store about thirty minutes early and unloaded the gear they had used from the store. Thomas went in with the first arm load and Avery found him at the break area table, gear spread out on it. Hunter and Ryan were talking with him about their trip.

“Avery, just put that gear here. We’ll clean it up and sell it at a discount” Hunter called out as Avery approached the table.

“Can I just buy it all?” Avery asked and Hunter cut Thomas a look.

“Yeah, sure. So, you guys had a good time?” asked Hunter.

Oh, yes we did” replied Thomas and Avery blushed red in the face.

“I see” said Hunter as Ryan looked at Avery then Thomas.

“No...you guys didn’t?” asked Ryan.

“I think they did” replied Hunter, walking back to the office. “Get unloaded and clock in. Then you can tell me all about your little camping trip.”

The store kept to the routine. Opening and closing each day. Hunter and Finn worked most days, but slowly, gradually, gave others more responsibility. For Avery, he still struggled with being shy, but Thomas became his bridge to the others, especially Ryan. They sat together in the break area having lunch or walked down to the sandwich shop. And on days off, they got together for movies and dinner, or hiking trips into the mountains. Ryan brought John into the group and double dated with Thomas and Avery, comparing where they were in life and what they wanted in the future.

Fall arrived, and the start of college, taking Avery and Thomas to different universities. How the distance affected them was to be seen, but they stayed in constant touch, planning each break when they could be together. Avery began to understand what adults meant by college was the real start of one’s life. The time that paved the way to one’s future. For him, he saw that future gaining shape. A plan forming, and in every aspect, it included Thomas.