A Class Trip

Joshua Ryan Nichols, Josh to his few friends, sat in the studio at the desk near the entry door. He had been last to enter the studio and stuck with the least desirable desk. He scanned the room at the thirteen classmates he would be sharing Professor Clark Blackwell’s studio for the Semester. A few he had shared previous studios but there were several this would be his first. He was a sophomore, and it was Fall Semester of his third year. He felt the excitement and anxiousness of the start of a new year. But he also felt like he had finally made it, passed the first two years, and now could expect more difficult more complex project assignments. His other classes were more curriculum focused, no longer prerequisite classes that seemed just to be a hurdle to be cleared.

The door closed and everyone turned to see Professor Blackwell moving toward the center of the room.

“I trust everyone enjoyed your summer break and are ready to get back to work,” said Blackwell looking around the room, seeing a few nods but most were waiting to see what he had to say and how the semester would start.

Josh knew each semester started with a sketch problem, some quick project to get them back into the groove. There had been a courtyard and landscape sketch problem last spring and before that one on color combinations and one that involved them sketching buildings on campus with different time constraints. Like the others, he waited impatiently to find out what would be assigned.

“This semester will start off a bit differently,” said Blackwell. “We have a real project, one for the Game & Wildlife Department. They are planning on doing a research facility in the Appalachian Mountains. The research will involve climate change and its effects on the environment of the region. The site is in western North Carolina, between Cherokee and Gatlinburg, Tennessee, which is a hard 8-hour drive from here. We have survey maps of the site, giving us the boundaries and grades, but we need to have a small group go to the site and do a survey of any special features within the property and take photographs for the rest of the studios. We’re going to ask for a volunteer from each of the five studios to go make this survey. You will need to have experience in backpacking and primitive camping, and we hope one or two of you will have vehicles appropriate for the journey. I understand the lane into the site is a bit rough and possibly washed out. While these five students do the survey, we’ll have everyone else do a little sketch project, then work on getting the topo cleaned up and provided to everyone. So, anyone want to volunteer?”

At first no one moved, then Josh slowly began to raise his hand as Robert on the other side of the room did the same. Beth looked around at Robert and laughed.

“Robert, have you ever backpacked?” Beth asked drawing the attention of Blackwell and the class.

“No, but how hard could it be,” Robert replied, causing a few to shake their heads.

Beth looked across the room to Josh.

“What about you? Have you ever backpacked?” she asked.

“Yes,” Josh replied.

“Really?” Beth asked and everyone could hear the insinuation. The questioning of Josh of how much he had done.

“My brother and I spent six weeks on the AT during the summer and…”

“Six weeks?” blurted out Robert.

“Yeah, and we have done shorter trips in year’s past. For the summer trip I had some stuff done on my 4Runner.”

“You have a 4Runner?” asked Blackwell.

“Yes, sir. I installed a 3-inch lift and put beefier all-terrain tires on it.”

“That settles it; you’re our volunteer,” said Blackwell. “Go see Professor Winter. He’s down in the last studio. He’s organizing the trip.”

Josh grabbed up his backpack and headed out as Blackwell began telling the rest of the studio what they would be working on during the next few days.

Tyee Johnson stepped out of the studio next door at the same time and Josh nodded in acknowledgment.

“Are you doing the survey for your studio?” asked Tyee.

“Yes, and you?”

“Yep, come on. Let’s see who else is going,” said Tyee leading the way.

Josh followed Tyee once again sizing him up. They had shared fall semester studio last year and crossed paths in most of their other classes. Tyee was a couple of inches shorter than his own six foot one, but with a much better build, not skinny like his own body. With black hair and dark brown eyes and a tanned skin tone, Tyee reflected his Native American roots. Josh had heard him talk of being part Cherokee and from North Carolina. What drew him to Tyee the most was the husky voice.

“Hey, this project, the site is near Cherokee. that is where you’re from, right?” asked Josh coming up next to Tyee.

“What? You think all Cherokees live in Cherokee?”

“What? No, but…”

Tyee laughed. “I’m just messing with you. I’m from Qualla, just to the south.”

“So, you know the area?”

“Yep, last hiked through it a couple of years ago.”

“Good.”

“What about you? Have you ever camped in the woods?” asked Tyee sounding doubtful Josh had been outdoors for anything.

“My brother and I did six weeks on the AT during the summer, and we’ve backpacked somewhere every year since he was old enough to drive.”

“Really? I’ve not gone that long. This brother, I assume he is older.”

“Four years older.”

“So, when he was sixteen, you were only twelve and your parents let the two of you go off backpacking?”

“Yeah.”

“You are full of surprises,” Tyee replied.

Josh knew what Tyee spoke, for he was introverted, the quiet one that struggled to make friends. He only considered four classmates in architecture as friends, and his closest were two guys he met in the dorm his first semester. This made him an unknown to his studio classmates, and it didn’t help he was tall, skinny, and looked like the last person to do anything athletic. But his parents were true outdoor types, taking his family on canoeing trips down rivers and through swamps, hiking trips, short day trips and backpacking trips that took several days, and on vacations to one of the big national parks, or camping in some wilderness. And when Hunter, his older brother, got his driver’s license, they were allowed to go on their own trips.

Josh followed Tyee into the last studio where Professor Winter was huddled up with two other guys. Josh recognized Felix, someone he had shared both studios in their first year. The ‘token Latino’ Felix liked to joke, and to Josh, an outgoing friendly guy with a lean muscular build and a round ass he had stared at so much he could picture it as he walked up with Tyee.

The other guy was someone Josh didn’t even know. He had seen him around the building, but never had a studio with him, nor any class that was small enough to get to know him. But he did know they guy spoke with a dialect he could not place.

“Hey Tyee,” the guy said as they moved into the small circle.

“Alex; how was your summer?” asked Tyee.

“Good.”

“How was JazzFest?”

“OH man, it was incredible,” Alex replied.

“New Orleans?” asked Josh.

“No, Montreal,” Alex replied.

“He’s from Montreal,” said Tyee as explanation.

Josh found himself closer to Alex than ever before and realized he was about Tyee’s height, maybe a bit taller, with a stocky muscular build. There was shaggy brown hair and brown eyes and fair skin, and Josh struggled to divert his eyes, and when he did, he saw Tyee looking at him with a grin.

“I assume you guys are our volunteers” said Winter, looking from Tyee to Josh.

“Yes, sir,” Tyee replied.

“Well, we’re missing one person. Do we know which studio…”

“I’m here. Sorry for being late, but we had to decide who to pick,” their fifth classmate said as he came through the door.

Josh found himself holding his breath, for it was the guy he had found the greatest attraction but also considered the least obtainable of all the guys. He had not shared a studio with him, but he had searched their website for information, then built up the courage to ask someone about him in their Architectural History and Theory class. Clayton Price Morrison from Gulf Breeze, Florida, a coastal town across the bay from Pensacola. It made sense, Clay coming from the Gulf Coast, for he looked the part. Tall, taller than Josh, with dirty blonde hair, tanned skin tone and now that Clay stood less than two feet away, he could see the green eyes and light freckles over the cheeks. Clay smiled as he came into their circle and Josh saw the almost perfect teeth, only flaw the gap between the front two. Something Josh did not consider a flaw; far from it. Even being 3 hours from the coast, Clay looked like he just came from the beach, wearing white shorts, a colorful floral-patterned shirt unbuttoned to mid-chest, revealing a shell necklace, bright white against the tan skin.

‘Fuck’ Josh thought, wondering how he was going to deal with being in the mountains with Clay for the next few days. A scan of the other three, and he wondered how he was going to deal with any of the guys up in the mountains.

“…you’ll leave in the morning and be back by Friday or Saturday. We’ve got funds to purchase food and gear you may need. Do anyone of you have gear here?” asked Winter.

Three nodded yes. “Yes,” Clay replied.

“What about you?” asked Tyee looking at Josh.

“Oh, yeah, I’ve got my two-man tent, sleeping bag, backpack, walking sticks…”

“Okay man, you have your gear,” Tyee interrupted, laughing. “I’ve got a sleeping bag, two-man tent, and backpack.”

“I have a sleeping bag and backpack, but no tent,” said Clay.

“You can bunk up with one of the other guys,” said Winter, then looking at Felix and Alex. “What about the two of you?”

“All my gear is in Montreal. Never thought I would have a use for it here,” said Alex.

“Same here; my gear is back in San Marcos.”

“Are we setting up a base camp and doing just day hikes?” asked Josh.

“Yes,” replied Winter.

“Then a good backpack like this will work,” said Josh, slipping his backpack off and holding it out.

“Good, so we just need a sleeping bags and tents,” said Felix.

“With Tyee and Josh’s two-man tents, you only need one more. When we finish, you guys take off and hit Creek Mountain Provisions,” said Winter, referring to the outdoor store in the edge of town near campus. “Now, who can drive and has something suitable?”

The guys looked around, then Alex and Felix shook their head no.

“I have a Jeep Wrangler,” said Tyee.

“That’s not practical for gear,” said Winter, then he looked at Clay. “What do you drive?”

“A Grand Cherokee,” Clay replied.

“And you?” asked Winter looking at Josh.

“A 4Runner and it’s lifted with better tires on it.”

“Perfect. You two will be driving. Go down to the office and get the funds then go get supplies.”

Josh was parked closest to the building, so everyone climbed into his 4Runner. He maneuvered around the back of campus to the main road that separated campus from the town, then headed to its center, where he would turn back along the north side of campus and go out to the store.

It was busy, students milling about the gear each imagining a weekend away from campus. But most were in the clothing and shoe departments, checking out the latest fall fashions. Clay led the group inside, with Josh in the rear, and they made their way to the sleeping bags first.

“It is cooler in the mountains, but not that cold, so look at the all-season bags,” said Tyee.

A few minutes later, a roll under Felix and Alex’s arms, they moved to the tents.

“I think we should get a two-man tent. It’ll give us some protected storage for gear,” said Josh, coming up next to Tyee.

“I agree; this one is nice, and it’s in our budget,” said Felix, holding out a bright yellow and orange Marmot tent.

“That is a good one,” said Tyee.

“What else do we need?” asked Clay.

“Water bottles?” asked Josh, seeing Felix and Alex nod in agreement.

Thirty minutes later, gear stowed in the back of the 4Runner, they were headed to the grocery store for additional provisions. They had gotten some freeze-dried dinners, but with the ability to take in a cooler, went for some items they could cook the first night, only roughing it for the next day or two.

After five hours on the road, the Grand Cherokee and 4Runner were entering the Appalachian Mountain range. Josh followed Clay, had done so since they left the campus. Tyee and Alex were with Clay, Tyee giving directions, and Felix was riding with Josh, the back of the 4Runner packed with most of their gear.

Josh was glad Clay was the other driver. It meant he wouldn’t be stuck in a vehicle with him for hours where he would stammer and studder and struggle not to look at him. The other guys were bad enough. Felix was so extroverted and friendly, it made him ‘fuckable’, something that embarrassed Josh to admit to himself.

Josh followed Clay up into the mountains, the valleys getting narrower, the slopes steeper, in places rock outcroppings overhanging the road. Rock falling warning signs lined the road and it seemed they went from one curve immediately into the next. Traffic kept them below the speed limit, making the timeline from the navigation system make sense.

Eventually, they arrived at Cherokee where they stopped for a bathroom break and something to snack on before driving the last few miles to their destination.

Josh was back at the two SUV’s first and he leaned against the front of his 4Runner waiting. Clay came out next, carrying a sports drink and a nutrition bar and Josh couldn’t help but smirk at the predictability of it.

“Did Tyee say how much further we have to go?” Josh asked as Clay came to stand next to him, even leaning against his 4Runner.

“He said, we should be on the campsite in about twenty minutes. The road section won’t take long, but he thinks the trail road is going to be bad and take us some time to navigate it.”

“You’re Grand Cherokee handle it?” Josh asked. He had been serious, wondering if that higher end Jeep without a lift kit could handle the trail road, but he saw the look, one of shock he would even ask.

“Of course. It’ll handle it with ease,” Clay finally replied.

“Just asking,” Josh replied, looking away from Clay, then toward the front of the store as the others came out carrying sodas, candy, and salty chips.

“Let’s go,” Tyee exclaimed as he moved to Josh’s 4Runner. “I’ll ride with you on this last leg. It’ll be better for you to be in front if Clay gets stuck.”

Clay looked hurt as Josh stifled the desire to chuckle.

Josh found himself leading them up a trail road as rough and washed out as he feared. Behind them Clay struggled not to drag or let the body hit a rock as he worked his way around them. The going was slow, a pace one could walk in several sections. After what was only about fifteen minutes on the trail road, they came to a small clearing on the side of the mountain. It was crescent shaped, hugging the side of the mountain, and in its center wide enough to make a camp. Down below about fifty meters, a stream cascaded down rock on its way to the river down in the valley.

The campfire was down to a few pieces of burning wood and glowing embers. Sitting around it, the five guys had settled into a quiet calm. Clay and Felix had brought bourbon, and the bottle sat on the ground nearly empty. To each of them, it seemed late, after midnight late. It was Alex who checked the time, shaking his head in disbelief.

“It’s only a quarter to eleven.”

“That’s all?” replied Felix.

“Yep.”

“Happens every time I’ve camped. Your inner clock shifts to align more with the sun,” Josh uttered as he tossed a twig into the fire and watched it burst into flame.

“Let’s call it a night. We need to get up early and get started,” said Clay, surprised no one argued the point.

“Who’s sleeping with who?” asked Tyee.

“We have three tents, so someone gets to have their own tent.”

“I call dibs on the lone tent,” said Alex as he jumped up and stepped back to the new tent.

Clay looked at Josh, then at Tyee and Felix.

“I’ll bunk with Tyee,” said Felix.

Josh glanced over at Felix shocked at his luck. Whether it was good luck, or bad, remained to be seen.

“Okay, Josh, you’re stuck with me,” said Clay coming to his feet.

Josh always slept in a sleeping bag stripped to his boxers. He even hated wearing socks in one, no matter how cold it got. But most of his backpacking trips were in summer and it was more important to stay cool and sleeping stripped down made it easier. But on this night, with Clay standing at his tent and tugging off his shirt, it suddenly seemed like a situation he wasn’t sure he could handle.

“Come on, Josh, time to turn in,” said Clay as he unzipped the tent.

Josh climbed in behind Clay who had moved to the far side and lay on top of his sleeping bag. He avoided eye contact, and avoided looking at the bare upper body, as he sat down on his sleeping bag. He hesitated, then reached up and turned off the small light secured to the top of the tent. It was dark, pitch-black dark, and in the privacy, it afforded he slipped his shirt off but kept on his cargo shorts. Laying on top of the sleeping bag, he wondered how long it would be before the mountain cooled down enough it would be comfortable to slip inside it.

“This is nice,” Clay uttered while shifting position next to Clay.

“Yeah,” Josh replied, hoping the nervousness in his voice wasn’t evident to him.

Alex lay in the dark listening. He wasn’t listening for wild animals or the hoot of an owl. He was listening for sounds from the other tents. It didn’t make sense, this sense of being left out, but he had jumped at the chance not to share a tent. Now he wondered if maybe he shouldn’t have been so quick to do so. But there was the closeness of these backpacking tents, when a two-man tent seemed so small, even to him alone. He couldn’t image sharing one with one of the guys. But then again, he did imagine it.

Last spring, he had been in a relationship with an accounting major. Emily Goodwin was five foot five, blonde and too perfect. A sorority girl with an extroverted personality, blue eyes and dimples that just didn’t stop. So, why did he break up with her near the end of the semester. It didn’t make sense, but it felt wrong, something missing.

Laying in the dark on a mountain side with four other guys, he tried not to admit how he wondered about sex with a guy. He had always thought of it, but it was less of a desire than his desire of the opposite sex. But in the last year, he felt drawn to other guys. Maybe it was the college atmosphere, this notion that it was a time to experiment, to test boundaries. Maybe.

He saw Felix crawl into the adjacent tent with Tyee and jealously, real jealously reared its ugly head. He felt guilty for it. Not for his wanting to be with one or the other, but guilty for his jealously. Then there was Josh, someone so introverted, sharing a tent with Clay. Such a waste, for he knew Josh would never, ever try something with Clay. Maybe Clay would start something, and the imagine of Josh on his back with Clay over him, pumping cock into his ass rose shockingly vivid in his mind. He rolled to his side facing away from the tents and waited for the thoughts to stop so he could fall asleep.

Tyee felt another brush against his leg. The soft rub then a shift taking it away from him. It was the second time, and he lay there picturing Felix stripped down to his boxers. They were white and sharply contrasted with the dark skin, darker than his own. He knew the labels some applied to Latinos, labels as harsh and cruel as those applied to his people. Indigenous to this land and yet considered alien by the worst of the white race.

He fought to escape the lot in life that befell far too many of his people and arriving on campus had been more freeing than he could ever imagine. There were still bigots, those that made crude comments about Indians and savages, but most were friendly and inclusive. The studios had been more so. He found girls of all types flirting with him in bars and on campus. Freshman year he had followed through with a few, but by last fall, he knew he was kidding himself. He had never acted upon his sexual desire for another guy, for he felt like he had enough hurdles in life. But being on campus changed that belief. Suddenly, it seemed possible, if only he could take the first step. The problem, as he saw it, was he had been on campus a year making friends who viewed him as someone like them. A straight guy who liked girls. It was who he pretended to be and began to feel trapped by it. He knew he was overreacting. Stan had come out last spring and most were supportive on the dorm floor.

Laying in the dark with Felix so close, so close he could hear him breathing, he knew it was up to him. Then he wondered if Felix would be game for a little horsing around.

“Felix? Felix, are you asleep?” Tyee whispered.

There was no response and he breathed out a sigh of relief.

Felix lay next to Tyree, pretending to be asleep. He had brushed Tyee’s leg twice and felt tempted to do it again. He had thought Tyee might be gay, or at least bi-sexual by the way he looked at the other guys. Then there was the look when Tyee climbed into their tent, after he had stripped down to just his boxers. He wanted to push him to respond, but now he wasn’t sure Tyee would ever respond to another guy.

Maybe tomorrow he could get one of the other guys alone. Alex seemed the least likely, but Clay was a possibility. Then there was Josh. He was definitely a possibility.

Clay lay on his back, resting his head on one arm. He could feel the cooling air against his skin along his chest and stomach. He raked his other hand down his chest, over his stomach, and daringly over his crotch. His cock flexed while he thought of sex. Sex from his past. There was Lisa whom he dated in eleventh and twelfth grades, then there was Robert, the new guy to arrive at Gulf Breeze High School. It had been so easy, far too easy. A graduation party on the beach. Then just the two of them taking a boat ride late in the day, pulling up on shore near the old fort. They had found a secluded place in it after dark. He had touched Robert first, but it was Robert who went down on knees, took out his cock, and sucked it that set everything in motion. For the remaining summer, they messed around, but neither asked the other for more. They both had plans for college, Robert back on the west coast where he was from and Clay staying in the east.

He heard Josh shift into a different position, and he was tempted to reach over and touch him. Would Josh be receptive to his advances? He wasn’t sure. There were times Josh looked ready to fuck, then there were times he seemed to turn inward, pull back from them. Clay knew Josh was shy. It made it hard to read him, but it was also enduring, something that made Clay want him even more. With Robert he had always been on top, but thinking about Josh, he imagined other scenarios. He in different positions, one where he is bent over and feeling Josh inside him.

“Fuck! It’s time to get up,” exclaimed Tyee, stirring everyone to wake up. It was morning, the sun not yet over the ridge to the east. The light was soft, everything appearing to glow.

Tyee climbed out of his tent and tugged on his shirt. Felix followed, and in the adjacent tents, Clay, then Alex, and finally Josh climbed out, each pulling a shirt.

“I’ll cook breakfast,” Alex joked, taking out the breakfast bars as the others went to the cooler for something to drink.

“The ice will be gone soon,” said Felix.

“We’ll just drink water after this morning, and it doesn’t need to be chilled,” said Tyee.

“Are we still breaking up into two groups?” asked Clay.

“Yes. Since Josh and you have been hiking before, the two of you take the path to the north and west, and I’ll take Alex and Felix with me and go down to the south,” said Tyee.

Clay smiled, then looked over at Josh.

“You’re stuck with me,” Clay joked.

“Yeah,” Josh uttered.

It was late afternoon when Clay and Josh returned to the campsite, finding they were first back. They were soaking wet with sweat, tired and hungry. It was ten after five, about two hours of daylight left.

“I wonder when the others will get back. I’m starving,” said Josh as he took two bottles of water from the cooler, still cool but ice completely melted.

“Tyee said they were going down to that fire break. I think it was about a half mile further out,” Clay replied, taking one of the bottles.

“Maybe they will be back by six.”

“In the meantime, we should go down to that stream and get cleaned up. I feel disgusting.”

“Yeah, okay,” Josh replied feeling anxious about being alone with clay, while also being excited about the prospect.

After getting their thirsts satisfied, Clay went to their tent and pulled out a change of clothes, including boxers, and a small bath cloth and towel. Josh looked at everything in Clay’s arms and knew it meant Clay would be getting naked. He moved to the tent when Clay stepped away and pulled out his own change of clothes and bath cloth and towel.

“Come on, let’s go,” said Clay as he moved toward the path that led to the stream.

About halfway down, working around a rock outcrop and some undergrowth, Clay turned to look at Josh.

“Damn, its hot as fuck. I can’t wait to get out of these sweaty clothes.”

“Me too,” Josh replied, not sounding as convincing.

A couple more switchbacks, and the stream came into view. Josh followed Clay as he turned and went upstream a short distance to a place it pooled behind a rock with a large nearly flat rock creating one side of it.

“Tyee told me about his pool. It’s not very deep, but it is deep enough to get cleaned up,” said Clay as he tugged off his shirt, then began to undo his cargo shorts.

Josh moved up on the rock, putting as much space as he could between them. It wasn’t much for if he reached out and leaned a bit he could touch the now naked Clay looking over the pool.

A foot dipped into the pool; Clay then jerked it back.

“Fuck, that feels really cold.”

“Just step out in it and sit down. You’ll get used to it faster that way,” said Josh.

“Yeah, well, you hurry up and come join me.”

Josh was hesitant to strip. Not because he was ashamed of his body, despite thinking he was too skinny. He was worried about having a reaction in front of Clay. Of his cock trying to get hard. He knew the water was freezing cold and it should make him shrink up tight, but he knew the opposite was possible once he adjusted to the temperature. But Clay looked back at him while stepping into the pool of water and he knew how it looked for him to be acting shy. He tugged his shirt off, then began undoing his shorts seeing Clay standing a few feet away watching.

“Damn it is cold,” Clay uttered, turning around, and moving to the far side.

Josh pushed his shorts down as he watched Clay sit on a rock on the opposite side of the pool. He pushed his boxers down next, trying not to think of it. But the warm air felt like a caress to his bare skin. He stepped out of his boxers and shorts and moved to the water before he could respond. The cold waters swirled around his legs as he moved to the deepest part, the downstream side, and sat down in it as fast as possible. It was a shock to his body, the sudden submergence, but within seconds he began to grow accustomed to the water. It came up to his stomach, but with it crystal clear, nothing was concealed from Clay’s eyes.

Clay eased off the rock, shifting toward him a couple of feet.

“The bottom is rough in some places,” said Clay as way of explanation.

Josh saw the bottom of the pool was mostly small rock, but where Clay eased down was a larger rock, flat on top. It didn’t allow Clay to sit as deeply. As he sat with legs stretched out, Josh couldn’t help but notice Clay’s cock was right at the water’s surface, moving back and forth with the current.

“After you get over the shock the water does feel good,” Clay whispered.

“Yes.”

Clay leaned back resting elbows on the rocks along the pool’s edge. He angled his head back and closed his eyes.

Josh took it as an opportunity to look at Clay more closely. The long torso, muscular like a swimmer or a runner. The nickel size nipples, their nubs sticking out hard. Down the stomach, his eyes followed the abs down to the navel, then down to the cock. He looked at how the head was flared like a mushroom, slightly wider than the shaft. He saw how it looked longer than before, stretched out a few inches as it moved on the water’s surface. Below the surface, the sac with its two nuts, tightened up still from the cold. Then he scanned down the long legs, each now showing the dark blonde hairs that lightly covered each one. When he looked up, Clay still had his eyes closed.

Josh knew he had to stop looking at Clay’s body. It made him feel aroused. He looked down and saw his cock was longer, thicker, swelling with his desire. He turned to look away. He couldn’t focus on anything for his mind was still seeing Clay’s body. Oh, how he wanted to reach over and touch it, to let his hand move over it. Then something touched his foot and he jerked away wondering if something was in the pool.

“It’s okay!” Clay exclaimed. “It was me. I moved my foot.”

“Oh, I thought…”

“It was a snake or something?”

“Yeah,” Josh replied wondering how red his face had turned.

Settled back down, Clay laughed, making Josh do the same. Then they grew quiet again. Then Clay’s foot touched Josh’s and this time he didn’t jerk away.

“Have you ever just let yourself go?” asked Clay.

Josh shook his head as he watched Clay’s foot move against his own. From the corner of his eye, he saw Clay moving toward him and he dared not turn to look. He was afraid it would make Clay stop if he did so.

Then they heard voices, the other guys coming their way. Clay moved back and pulled his foot away. Josh angled away from him, feeling frustrated at how the others ruined everything. He looked up in time to see Alex, Felix, then Tyee come into view. They were shirtless, towels draped over shoulders.’

“How’s the water?” asked Felix.

“Cold as shit,” Clay replied.

“How did your survey go?” asked Josh as he tried not to look at each of the guys while they stripped.

“Good. We got more completed than planned. I think we’ll finish by noon or shortly after tomorrow,” said Tyee.

“We’ll need most of the day to finish up,” said Clay.

Josh noticed Clay was openly watching the guys, then he noticed how the guys kept looking at each other. When they stepped into the pool, Alex and Felix howling about the water being cold, they eased down near Josh in the deepest section and Josh saw how they looked at Clay then him, eyes looking at cocks, Clay’s right on the surface, and his just below it. He wanted to close his legs together, then he thought about spreading them more, giving them a full view of his cock. Would it make something happen? It was pure fantasy, but one he struggled to control.

Felix was next to Josh, with Tyee, then Alex sitting around the curve of the pool’s side. Each one was at a depth that kept their cock at the water’s surface. Josh realized he was in the deepest part, the only one with some concealment.

There was talk of the project, then some banter back and forth. At one point Felix and Tyee were horsing around, pushing the other’s foot away. Then they settled down, each leaned back and grew quiet. Felix and Tyee slide down until they could rest their heads on the pool’s edge. Their bodies stretched out and floated to the surface. Cocks that were no longer shriveled up, instead floated heavily over stomachs.

Josh watched the cocks move in the water, then looked up to see Clay watching him. A smile then a look away, Clay seemed to say it was okay to look. Josh looked over and saw Alex was looking at Tyee. It was so obvious it surprised Josh how Alex’s eyes moved down the body to the cock. He felt it, this sexual tension, and imagined how it could play out, if only one of them would go first with an advance. He imagined he would do it, just reach over and put his hand on Clay’s leg while asking if he wanted to mess around. It was part of his ongoing fantasy, something he knew he would never do. It frustrated him, this lack of confidence, and he climbed to his feet.

“I’ve had enough and need something to eat.”

Josh waded to the large flat rock, hearing someone moving in the water behind him.

“I’ve had enough too. Wait up Josh, and I’ll help get dinner going,” said Clay.

As he toweled off, Josh would steal looks at Clay, then look around at the other’s, who were watching them.

Clay was frustrated, so frustrated he wanted to scream. He had been so close with Josh, oh so very close, then the guys had to show up. He couldn’t be mad at them, for how were they to know he was out here making a move on Josh. He toweled off not looking at anyone afraid they could see on his face how he felt.

Josh was already dressed by the time he picked up clean boxers to put on. He watched Josh grab up his dirty clothes and towel. Was Josh as frustrated as he about the others showing up? He looked as if he were. Clay slipped on a tank top as he saw Josh head to the path.

“Hey, wait up.”

“We’ll be up in a few minutes,” said Tyee.

Clay heard it, this resignation in the voice, and he wondered if Tyee had hoped something would happen with all five of them. He stifled a smirk at the thought of it, all five of them out here, fucking and sucking. He wondered what Tyee would be willing to do. Then he looked at Josh, and knew what he really wanted was not to have some orgy with all the guys, but an opportunity with Josh. Just Josh.

Tyee watched Clay and Josh disappear up the path, then he turned to Felix, looking at a body that was similar to his own. Then he glanced around at Alex, and except for the light skin tone, one so white next to his brown tone skin, he saw another body much like his own. There were differences, but minor in the scheme of things. He wondered which would be more fun to fuck around with if given a chance. He had hoped for something to happen when all five of them were in the pool. Seeing Clay’s body was everything he expected. Josh had surprised him. He thought Josh was skinner than he had been after hearing Josh say something about it yesterday. But he wasn’t bones sticking out skinny. Instead, he was lean, a body that spoke more to the teenager he had been than the man he was becoming. Then there was the cock. It looked like one that would mirror the body, long and lean, able to probe deep in another’s body. He had let the imagine form, sex with Clay and Josh, wondering if Alex and Felix would play along. There were moments he had his doubts, but over the last few minutes in the pool, seeing how Alex and Felix had looked at Clay and Josh, and now were eyeing him and each other. He wished they were not expected back at the campsite right away.

Not wanting his frustration to get worse, he climbed to his feet and headed to the flat rock.

“I’m going to get dressed and head back to help Josh and Clay.”

“Okay, we’ll be up shortly,” said Felix.

Felix stretched, pushed his feet out all the way and it made his body float upward until he was completely exposed from neck to knees. His cock lay heavy over his stomach the foreskin starting to pull back from the head. He was horny, so fucking horny. Had been since yesterday but coming down to the pool and seeing Clay and Josh naked had been too much. He glanced over at Alex and saw the eyes looking at him as he settled back down.

“I wasn’t surprised about Clay or Tyee’s bodies, but Josh was a surprise.”

Felix wanted to steer a conversation to their bodies then hopefully to something more. He had noticed Alex’s cock wasn’t as flaccid as before and he hoped that Canadian was just as horny.

“I was too. The way he mentioned being skinny yesterday made me think he would be…”

“Collar bone and ribs sticking out skinny?”

“Yeah.”

“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. He is lean but after all that talk of backpacking and hiking…”

“Don’t forget the biking.”

“Biking?”

“Josh bikes three or four times a week. Some of the guys went with him down to the bike trails in the park last spring and they said he left them in the dust.”

“Explains the legs.”

“If he ever realizes he is…attractive,” said Alex, thinking of the term ‘hot’ first, “he can ditch that shy shit.”

“No kidding.”

They fell silent, and Felix would glance over at Alex, afraid to look up enough to see his face, wondering if he were thinking the same. He slipped his right hand over the rock between them, determined to try something. He slid it over and as his fingers grazed Alex’s thigh a foot rubbed his leg.

“You horny too?” whispered Alex.

“Yeah,” Felix replied, emboldened to keep going. He rubbed the thigh then slipped over it until fingers were toying with Alex’s cock.

Alex moaned at the touch, then reached over and began to toy with Felix’s cock. Fingers manipulated each until they stretched out, then angled upward, sticking out of the water. Then hands grasped each one and stroked. Soon hips pushed upward, pumping cocks through tight fists. They grew more animated, thrust upward harder and harder. Then they fell still while stroking the other with a slower pace.

“Fuck this,” Alex uttered, then leaned over Felix, held up him up while slipping his lips over the head.

Felix lay back and moaned. Then pushed up slowly into the sucking mouth. He had had to let go of Alex so he could scoot down, and now he ran the hand up the back, along the neck until fingers combed through the brown hair.

Alex lifted his head and looked up at Felix.

“Will you do me?”

“Yes. Let’s get on that rock and do each other,” Felix replied.

They moved to the rock and lay in a sixty-nine, heads at hard cocks. Soon both were sucking the other’s cock. They were so desperate, so horny, they didn’t hold back. Mouths descended nearly all the way with lips tight around the cocks. At the heads, tongues swirled over them, poked at the slit, both soon leaking. They slurped noisily at the heads, then pushed down and began to move their mouths up and down.

Neither warned the other. They didn’t need to for each wanted it. They felt cocks flex, swell thicker between their lips, then flex harder. Then they were having to swallow, wad after wad as they filled the other’s mouth.

Tyee got the water boiling just as Alex and Felix came up the path. There was something in their demeanor that puzzled him. They looked flush, almost out of breath again. And they were grinning at each other as if they shared a big secret. He wondered if he had left the pool too quick. Had something happened between them after he left. He looked over at Clay and Josh, laying out the freeze-dried meals for everyone to pick which one they wanted. Water was already on the small camp table along with bowls and silverware, or in this case, plasticware.

“We were about to start without you,” said Clay toward Alex and Felix as he moved next to Tyee. “I see the water is boiling.”

“Yep,” Tyee replied, then he looked over to the others, “grab a bowl and one of the packs and come on over.”

They sat around the burned remains of last nights campfire, it still too hot to even think about building another fire. While eating they began to gossip about classmates back on campus. Those in relationships, such as Rebecca and Joey, both dating high school sweethearts back in their hometowns. There was several dating within their classes and nearly as many who had broken up with someone already, the two avoiding each other in their studios and classes. Then they steered into which guys were gay, which were probably gay, or just messing around with other guys. The conversation was made to be light, just joking around, but when Clay said they shouldn’t be making fun of Justin, someone everyone knew had been busted in the park on campus with a guy, an uncomfortable silence descended over the group.

For Tyee it was too much, this treading close to how he felt. He went to the area they used to clean up, careful to make sure remnants of food were raked into the garbage bag. He heard the silence behind him knowing Clay’s reprimand had stung Alex and Felix.

“I’m going to take walk,” said Tyee as he went to his tent to get his hiking shoes.

“Can I come with you?” asked Felix, going over to clean his bowl.

“Sure, change your shoes,” Tyee replied, stopping at the path that led toward the ridge of the mountain. “Grab a flashlight while you’re over there,” he added, knowing it would be dark soon and he wanted to go to the ridge and look over the mountains in the fading light.

When Felix strolled over, hiking shoes on, Tyee turned and headed up the path. He didn’t need to look back to know Felix was following. He could the occasional footstep, and an exhale or a sucking in of breath when the path began to climb. The path was nothing but switchbacks for about a thousand feet of climb, then there was a rocky section so rough he had to help Felix. By the time he came out on a rock outcropping right at the ridge line, one he had been to a few years prior, the sun was dropping below the horizon. The sky turned red, yellow, and orange along the ridge, as the sky behind them turned darker, going from blue to violet to the inky midnight blue.

“Wow; that is nice,” said Felix standing next to Tyee.

“Yeah, it is, isn’t it?”

Felix eased down, sitting at the edge with his legs dangling over the side. Tyee looked down at him, then eased down next to him.

“Makes one feel small,” uttered Felix.

“Or huge.”

“Huh?” asked Felix.

“We’re a part of all this, everything a system working together.”

Felix nodded in agreement.

“It’s why I get so frustrated when I feel like I can’t just be myself,” whispered Tyee.

“What do you mean?” Felix replied, but he thought he knew. He almost asked.

“We have expectations put on us and if we don’t adhere to them, well…”

“What do you want?”

“I don’t know,” Tyee uttered.

“Or you can’t say.”

Tyee looked around at Felix, then back at the darkening ridge line to the west. He knew it would not get pitch black dark. Behind then just over the ridgeline to the east a full moon hovered in the sky. Once it got dark and their eyes adjusted, they would be able to see again.

For a long time, nothing else was said, the two of them just sitting on the edge of the rock and watching the sky become dark. For a few minutes everything was in total darkness, then their surroundings came back into focus in the silvery moonlight.

Tyee was about to suggest they head back when he felt fingers rub his thigh. He froze while his heart began to race in his chest. The fingers rubbed, then moved up to the top of his thigh. Finally finding the courage to do so, Tyee turned to Felix. Felix was looking down where he was moving his hand. Up Tyee’s thigh, then slipping down between them.

“Is this, okay?” Felix asked when he finally looked at Tyee.

“Yeah.”

“Can I touch you?”

“Yes.”

“Will you touch me?”

“Yes,” and Tyee reached over putting his hand on Felix’s thigh.

Hands moved up thighs until rubbing, then groping crotches. Cocks grew hard as they manipulated each other. For Tyee, it seemed as if some barrier that existed fell away. He daringly leaned toward Felix until kissing him. The first kiss was a simple press of lips. Even the second, but soon their passions got the best of them. The kissed passionately while feeling the other’s cock. Felix broke the kiss, scooting back from the edge.

“Take off your clothes,” Felix uttered breathlessly, as he began to do the same.

Tyee moved back as Felix tossed his shirt down, then began to undo his shorts. Tyee pulled his shirt off, then leaned back to undo his shorts as Felix raised his ass working everything down his legs. By the time Tyee was naked, Felix was moving to him.

A hand touched Tyee on the chest, then pushed him back as Felix moved over him, head going down to his cock. There was the first touch of lips, and he was holding his breath. Then there was the feel of them sliding down his cock. He shivered from the feel of it. Soon wet lips were moving up and down his cock. Noisily, more than he thought possible. He heard those lips slurp and suck on his cock. He began to push upward, and hands pushed down on his thighs.

Felix raised up and looked at Tyee. “Not yet,” he whispered, then moved over Tyee. He straddled the narrow waist and eased down feeling that thick cock press against his ass. He knew what he wanted, something he would have tried with Alex if there had been time. But they had been rushed and settled for quick blowjobs from each other. But this was different. He knew they were alone on top of this mountain and Tyee was willing. He felt the cock flex against his ass as hands came to rest on his thighs. Fingers dug into the muscle, then massaged them as he began to work his ass back and forth.

“I want to try, okay?” Felix whispered.

“Yes,” Tyee uttered while pushing upward.

Felix moved over Tyee until he was so aroused, he had to try. He rose on knees and reached back. Tyee was thick in his hand, rock hard and wet, and he eased down until he felt the head touch his ass. He moved back and forth over it until wet, then let his weight carry him down. He stretched open and let Tyee enter him. He moaned as he considered how he had a man’s cock in his ass. Easing down, he took inch after inch until half of Tyee was buried in his hole. The thick cock had him stretched tight and he shuddered when Tyee pushed upward, sinking another inch into him. He moved with it, upward then down, over and over, taking a little more of Tyee each time. It was a slow fuck, one that allowed him to feel every inch slide through his tightness. He kept taking more and more until he was bouncing off Tyee’s hips. His pace had increased, no longer a slow fuck, but one physical, with an urgency to it.

“Fuck,” Tyee uttered beneath him. Felix leaned forward and felt his own cock slap down on Tyee’s stomach. His cock hit wetly, each smack sending shivers up his spine. Then he leaned back, all the way until resting on his hands, then he really began to fuck his ass on Tyee’s cock. A hard brutal pace, ass rising and falling as fast as he could move it. At times he smacked down on Tyee’s hips, the sound of it echoing out over the valley. With every plunge down, he felt that cock hit his insides. He twisted his hips and slammed his ass down harder. He saw stars as he kept it up, up, then down, over and over and over.

Tyee surprised him, no longer passive. Tyee sat up, pulled him close until his cock dragged up and down Tyee’s chest and stomach. There was a sense of want and need within the arms that held him. The loose way they circled his body. Their skin rubbed slicky together as he took every inch of Tyee’s cock. It bore into his depths until his own cock flexed and drooled on Tyee’s chest. He wrapped his arms around Tyee’s neck, pushed his hips forward and came. His cock gushed wads up Tyee’s chest, then he pumped his spurting cock through the first wads adding more and more until spent. He was exhausted, and he settled all the way down on Tyee.

Felix didn’t want to stop but he had to catch his breath, but then Tyee solved their dilemma. He was quickly rolled to his back. Hands took each leg and spread him wide. Cock touched his loosened opening, then bore back into it and Tyee was suddenly hammering his ass. Fucking with an urgency, driving into his depths so hard the sound of it echoed around them.

“Yeah, fuck me, fuck me harder,” Felix uttered as he arced his back and took every thrust.

Felix felt so opened up to Tyee and their sex. His still hard cock lay wetly on his stomach, then Tyee had it in hand. He closed his eyes to the feel of Tyee stroking his cock as rapidly as he was fucking his ass. Then the hands grabbed both legs with a tight grip. Tyee put his legs together and pushed down. His knees pressed against his chest as Tyee moved over him putting him in dark shadow. He felt how his ass was angled upward, spread wide for Tyee to use, and use it he did. Hovering over him, Tyee bore into his depths, then hammered his insides while hips smacked down on his ass. He grunted and moaned, and unbelievably, came again. Cum hit his chin, then sprayed over his chest and stomach. Then Tyee slammed down, and kept jamming against his ass and he knew he was being pumped full of cum.

Clay sat near Josh, feeling protective of him. Across from them sat Alex, the burned down fire between them. He was waiting on Alex to go to bed and Alex seemed to be waiting on Tyee and Felix to return. Their conversation about music and what decade had the best had finally played out and he hoped Alex yawning was a sign he was about to give it up. Then he heard voices coming down the path. A minute later, Tyee and Felix stepped into the circle of dim light put out by the fire. Both were stripped to the waist, each carrying their shirts. Clay initially figured it was due to the night still being warm, but he saw the shirts looked stained, wet spots on each, and it made him take notice how Felix seemed to be following Tyee and the two of them grinning at each other.

Fuckers messed around up there, he thought as he looked over at Alex who looked as if he had come to the same conclusion and wasn’t pleased about it.

“Hey guys,” said Felix coming into the circle, “did we miss anything?”

“Nah,” Clay responded, “but I am turning in. What about you?” he added turning to Josh.

“Huh…oh yeah, I’m ready to turn in too.”

Clay tried not to do it, but he smiled as he climbed to his feet and saw Felix, then Alex smirk at him. Did they know? he wondered as he headed to the tent. He pulled off his shirt before unzipping the tent. As he slipped through the opening, he sensed Josh right behind him. Sitting on his sleeping bag, he looked up to see Josh was shirtless too. Josh eased down next to him and without looking his way, began to undo his shorts.

“What are you doing?” asked Clay, surprised but glad to see Josh taking them off.

“Honestly, I hate sleeping in clothes. I just did it last night because, well, I just did. But it’s more comfortable in just my boxers.”

“Agree,” Clay replied,” and he leaned back and began to undo his own shorts. He saw Josh glance over then turn away and he smiled as he tossed them to his feet next to Josh’s.

“I hope the others don’t stay up all night,” Josh whispered as he lay down, back to Clay.

“I think they’ll turn in soon,” Clay whispered, lying on his side facing Josh’s silhouette.

They could hear Felix, then Alex bantering back and forth then Tyee announce he was turning in. Someone extinguished the fire, then a flashlight beam crossed over the tent. It grew quiet after that except for the sound of a tent zipper.

Clay replayed the events at the stream, how things were about to get real when the guys came down and ruined everything. He wondered if Josh was thinking about it and if he was just as frustrated.

“Josh?”

“Yeah,” a soft whispered reply.

“You know, I was really disappointed the guys showed up so soon at the stream.”

After a long silence, Clay finally responded.

“Me too.”

Clay moved closer to Josh, slipped an arm around him as he pressed his chest against him. He hugged him tight while feeling a hand hold his wrist. There was no attempt to push him away, instead Josh held tight.

“You won’t stop me, will you?” Clay whispered, his mouth only inches from Josh’s ear.

“No.”

Clay kissed Josh on the neck, ran his nose through his hair, then moved to the ear, kissing it then following its curvature with his tongue. With his hand, he rubbed the smooth chest, feeling the hard nub of both nipples, then he rubbed along the stomach until he felt the waistband of boxers. Fingers tantalized Josh by slipping underneath the waistband, then he ran his hand across the abdomen, then back up over the navel. Josh was breathing hard, stomach undulating beneath his hand. Clay kissed his neck below the ear as he rubbed his hand back down, not stopping this time. He slipped it underneath the waistband and worked it through pubic hair and over cock. It flexed with his touch and as he toyed with it, felt it grow thicker, longer, until he couldn’t fit all of it in his hand.

“Take them off,” Clay whispered.

Josh rolled to his back, tight against Clay’s chest, lifted his ass, and worked the boxers down until they were at his knees.

“I want them completely off,” Clay uttered, leaning over Josh to work them down until Josh could free each foot.

Clay didn’t move back next to Josh, instead he stayed hovering over him. Below his head was Josh’s cock. He couldn’t see it in the dark, but he knew it was there. He leaned down until his lips touched the hard shaft, and he worked them along it until at the spongy head. He sucked it into his mouth, then pushed down until half of Josh’s cock was in his mouth.

“Clay!” Josh exclaimed in a stifled breathless voice as he pushed upward.

Clay moved on Josh, let the cock fill his mouth. Up and down, he slid his lips along the shaft, and at times he toyed with the head, swirling his tongue around it. Josh kept trying to push upward and he held him down while sucking his cock. He sucked until he felt Josh tremble and cock flexed against the roof of his mouth.

Clay raised his head and looked toward Josh in the dark.

“Fuck me.”

“What?”

“Fuck me. Come on Josh,” Clay replied, moving over him, straddling his waist. “Let me,” he whispered as he held up the slick cock.

Josh lay silent as Clay held his cock and eased down to it. Clay felt it touch his opening and he rocked his hips back and forth until Josh pushed upward. Then he centered himself on it and let his weight carry him down. He shivered when he stretched open to take the head and he stifled a moan as inch after inch sank into his hole. He hoped no one could hear anything but felt it too late to stop. He had to have Josh.

Clay eased down until sitting on Josh, then he began to move. He lifted himself up then dropped down, moving faster and faster until he was fucking himself.

As he rode Josh, Clay took himself in hand. He stroked his cock roughly, hand tight around it, slamming down to the base. In rhythm to their fuck, he kept up his pace. Up and down while he stroked nearly the full length of his cock. He heard Josh stifling a moan, then struggle to hold his breathing down. Then there was the rhythmic push upward, trying to get cock deeper in his ass. It aroused him more than any sex with Robert. This struggle to keep quiet while riding Josh’s cock, letting it fill his hole while bringing himself to the point of release.

“Clay,” Josh uttered in a breathless whisper and Clay felt a shove upward, then another, and he knew Josh was pumping his hole full. The thought of taking it, every spurt of cum, was too arousing to consider. He slammed his ass down on Josh’s spurting cock, rocked his hips forward and came. It seemed to last forever, his cock spurting wad after wad, but then just as quickly, it was over.

Josh lay still trying to get his breath. He was covered in cum, one wad having hit him across the chin up to his nose. He could smell it and when he stuck out this tongue, he tasted it. His first time, and he had his cock buried in someone he lusted after, and now he had their cum in his face and spattered over his chest. Clay kissed him, sharing his cum, then sat still.

Josh didn’t want to lay still. He was still hard. Still aroused. He wanted more. He wondered how Clay would respond if he asked to fuck him again. Would he be agreeable? He wanted it so bad. He got Clay to sit up and he hugged their bodies together and rolled Clay to his back. They had to shift and make their way back to the center of the tent. Clay helped him and he knew he would not be denied. He stayed buried in Clay’s ass during their movement and now felt legs wrap around his waist. He pushed inward, all the way and ground his hips against Clay’s ass.

“I want to do it again,” Josh whispered, finally admitting the obvious.

“Yeah, me too. Do it, fuck me,” Clay whispered in Josh’s ear, then tongued it, tugged on the earlobe, then kissed down Josh’s neck.

Josh worked his hips, tugged outward and pushed inward, over and over, increasing his pace until in a hard fuck. Clay slipped fingers through his own and he pushed down holding each hand down while he hammered cock in Clay’s depths. The sound of flesh smacking flesh broke the silence and Josh slowed, suddenly worried the others had heard.

“Josh, don’t stop,” Clay whispered.

Josh pushed inward, all the way, then slowly built up his pace, increasing until thrusting hard again, never sinking all the way in to avoid the sound of their bodies coming together. He worked his hips until the muscles in his stomach and legs burned. He trembled and shivered as he pushed himself to a second release.

“Do it,” Clay uttered, “pump it in me.”

Josh kept up his pace as his body began to feel feverish. He was sweating and breathing hard. Suddenly he was on the verge of release. He pushed into Clay’s depth and kept jamming hips against ass.

“Fuck…I’m coming,” Josh uttered as he shuddered with his second release.

Across the site in the next tent, Felix lay beneath Tyee. They had been listening. The soft grunt, a whisper, the tone obvious of what Josh and Clay were doing. It made them feel their own arousal, their own need. At some point Felix touched Tyee. A graze of the thigh, then fingers moving over it. Soon Felix was toying with Tyee’s cock, making it harden. He slipped it out of the boxer’s fly and stroked it. When Tyee put a hand on his neck and pushed him to move down and over to take it in his mouth, he did so willingly.

Now Felix sat on Tyee’s cock, moving up and down on it. He stifled the urge to moan and cry out as the cock filled his hole. He felt it bore into his depths with every descent. His own cock bounced between his thighs, at times smacking wetly against Tyee’s stomach.

“Fuck, ride my cock,” Tyee whispered as he pushed upward.

Felix took himself in hand, stroked slowly at first but as he rode Tyee faster and faster, he stroked faster and faster. It seemed impossibly loud. A hand stroking a wet cock. A body dropping down on another, impaled on a cock. Felix leaned forward and felt Tyee hold his waist, then the fast brutal pace of getting fucked. Tyee piston cock in his ass faster and faster until his own cock erupted, spewing cum over Tyee’s stomach.

Felix shuddered with each ejaculation, then he moaned when Tyee grabbed him by the thighs and pushed him down all the way. He felt Tyee jamming cock into his depths, each push upward rocking him roughly, then Tyee shuddered beneath him while pumping his ass full of cum.

Alex lay still, not even moving, listening to the sex from one tent, then the next. He smiled at how everyone showed a willingness. Tomorrow, he would test it.

It was late in the day when Clay and Josh hiked back into camp. When questioned why so late, they talked of getting turned around, then struggling to get to the far edge of the site with a stream to be crossed with steep banks of shear rock in one section. They left out the sex. At the stream where it started off as just cooling off then horsing around in the water, and finally, standing in calf deep water, Clay bent over and took another fuck from Josh. Then on the way back, they had begun to talk about what they had done, last night and earlier in the day. They grew more descriptive, then began to mess with each other, until Clay had Josh on his back riding his cock.

Alex had been biding his time. Their survey had not taken long, the three of them finished shortly after one. They had made it back to the camp and sat around cleaning up their notes, then napped in their tents while waiting on Clay and Josh to get back. Now he looked at Josh, grinning sheepishly, then there was the way he looked at Clay. He saw the score and knew they had already been having sex that day, and by the way Josh was moving around, he was spent.

Looking over at Tyee and Felix, he wondered how hard it would be to get them alone.

“Hey guys, we need a little time to get our notes squared away. Can we wait another hour or so to do dinner?” asked Clay.

“Yes, not a problem,” Alex blurted out. “Felix, Tyee, why don’t we go get cleaned up at the stream and let them finish?”

“I agree,” Felix replied, smiling at Alex, then over at Tyee.

Alex had come to know that smile. It was one full of mischief, and it spoke of Felix thinking the same thing as he.

A change of clothes wrapped up in a towel, Alex followed Felix to the stream, with Tyee right behind him. He watched the shoulder blades shift and move, then considered how that brown skin felt so smooth last time. He watched the ass cheeks move within the cargo shorts, then wondered if Tyee was doing the same to him.

On the flat rock, he tossed his towel and clothes down next to Felix and Tyee’s, then began to undo his cargo shorts. Felix was naked first and he watched him wade out and sit down on the opposite side where the depth kept Felix’s cock at the surface.

“Fuck,” Tyee whispered as he strolled past Alex.

Alex watched Tyee wade out and sit at the downstream side where it was the deepest.

“I can still see that cock,” said Felix to Tyee as Alex waded out, not stopping until he stood in front of Felix.

“Can you see mine?”

Felix looked up and smiled.

“Yes.”

“Will you touch it?”

“Yes,” Felix replied again as he moved up on his knees and buried his face in Alex’s abdomen. He kissed the cock at its base, dragged his tongue down its growing length, then took the head in his mouth, sucking on it, tonguing the head, then working his lips on the hardening shaft.

“Fuck, suck him,” Tyee exclaimed as he moved close.

Alex watched Tyee move behind Felix. Cock half hard, Tyee pushed it against Felix’s round ass, and Alex felt a hot exhale, then a swallowing of his cock. He watched Tyee lean over Felix, wrapping arms around the narrow body. Felix moaned around his cock, then buried it in his mouth while Tyee obviously toyed with his cock. Alex held Felix’s head and began to fuck, to work his cock through the lips and over the tongue.

“Fuck him,” said Alex.

Tyee looked up, glassy eyed, and nodded in agreement. Alex watched him stand on knees, then rub hard cock up and down Felix’s ass, then slowly, sink it in him. Alex slowed, sinking his cock in Felix’s mouth at the same pace Tyee sank into his ass. Then they slow fucked, tugging outward and pushing inward, and Alex could see it all. His own cock and Tyee’s coming into view, then disappearing again.

“Fuck him harder,” Alex uttered as he held Felix by the head and slowly increased his pace. Drool dripped from his sac as Felix took every inch, and before him Tyee began to fuck harder, faster. A tight hold on the narrow waist, the sound of bodies coming together in rapid secession. It spurred Tyee to keep it up, to drive into Felix relentlessly. Alex couldn’t take it. The feel of Felix sucking his cock and watching Tyee fuck him. He took Felix by the head again, pulled that mouth all the way to the base of his cock, threw his head back, cried out, and came.

Alex looked down at Felix sucking the last of his cum from his spent cock. He looked up to see Tyee slow fucking again. A tug outward, one that pulled cock free, and Tyee let it hover a second then slammed it back into Felix. Tyee did it over and over, then pushed in all the way and began to fuck.

Alex moved back, cock still hard and watched. Tyee grabbed Felix around the neck and pulled him up and against his chest, and Alex could compare their brown skin tones, seeing Felix was darker. Tyee fucked him, drove into him so hard, cock flopped upward, at times smacking against the stomach.

“Fuck, let him have it,” Alex uttered as he absentmindedly found himself stroking his cock to renewed hardness.

Tyee looked over while continuing to pound Felix in the ass. He watched Alex, with eyes focused on the hardening cock.

“Alex…do me,” Tyee uttered. “Come on, fuck me while I fuck this punk.”

Alex smiled, knowing he didn’t need to be asked twice. He waded over, moving behind Tyee. Tyee pushed Felix to bend over, his chest tight to the back. Alex moved between the spread legs, rubbed his leaking cock up and down Tyee’s ass until it was wet, then he pushed through the tightness and sank inch after inch into Tyee until half of his cock was in him.

Tyee began to move, to push back, then thrust forward. His pace increased until it was a fuck. A hard driving fuck. Felix moaned and grunted, and Alex watched how Tyee buried his face in Felix’s hair. Looking down, Alex watched his cock sink into Tyee then reappear.

“Fuck, I’m coming,” Tyee exclaimed.

Alex watched Tyee shudder while jamming his cock into Felix. Then Tyee feel still. Alex grabbed him by the shoulders making him stand up straight and he pulled him back until slipped free of Felix’s ass. He moved Tyee to the flat rock and guided him to lay back on it where it hovered over the stream at the best height for him. Holding each leg, Alex spread Tyee wide, then put his cock to the loosened hole and sank his cock into it. He fucked, drove into Tyee’s depths until once again hard as rock. Looking over his right shoulder he saw Felix stroking his cock.

“Felix,” Alex whispered.

Felix watched Alex position Tyee on the flat rock, take each leg at the ankles and spread him wide. He looked at the exposed ass, the loose sac, and wet cock, then he watched Alex sink unceremoniously into Tyee’s depths and fuck. He was so aroused, so ready to get off, he began to stroke his cock while watching Alex pound Tyee. Then Alex looked around and said his name. It made him smile at how there was so much asked in just saying his name. He waded to Alex, moving behind him. A push between the shoulder blades and he had Alex laying on top of Tyee, ass spread for his pleasure. He rubbed his wet cock over the puckered opening, then he put his cock to it and shoved through the tightness.

Alex cried out, then pushed back taking more of Felix’s cock. Felix took Alex by the waist. He wanted control of this fuck. He pushed forward, hard, all the way, driving into Alex’s depths, then driving Alex into Tyee’s. He pulled back and when his cock was about to pull free, he tugged on the narrow waist, pulling Alex out of Tyee’s ass. Then he shoved back into Alex, pushed until Alex was buried in Tyee, and he kept it up, this physical fuck that drove cock deep into two asses. He hammered Alex’s ass, hips smacking against it, and it drew cries and moans from Tyee and Alex.

“Fuck; keep fucking. Keep fucking,” Alex cried out and Felix smiled as he kept up his brutal pace. He knew Alex was close and he intended to fuck the cum out of him.

“I’m…coming,” Alex uttered breathlessly.

Felix pushed Alex down on top of Tyee and fucked. Fucked to cum. He hammered Alex’s ass rocking him roughly on Tyee, then after what seemed such a long time, he pushed into his depths and came.

The campfire was dying down as everyone sat around listening to each other talk of the project. It was dark, as dark as a full moon night would allow, and it set the mood over the group. They were tired, each spent from hiking the mountain and from the sex with each other. For Felix, Alex and Tyee, it had been just sex, a couple of days of just cutting loose. Across from them, sitting close to each other, it had meant more than just sex to Josh and Clay. It was obvious to all present, they would continue having some type of relationship once back on campus.

Josh seemed to be the one most changed by it all. No longer as shy, so introverted it had been painful to see. He joked around more that evening than at any time in the past. There was some internal release, and it was reflected in his mannerism, and even in the way he was dressed. Shirt left unbuttoned, and cargo shorts that rode low on his hips. So low, Felix had told Alex he had to be commando by the lack of any boxer waistband showing.

They retired all at once, noting it was only ten. Alex went to his tent and as he unzipped it, watched Tyee crawl into the adjacent tent with Felix right behind him. He wondered if they would do anything that night but a few minutes later heard one of them snore softly.

Clay and Josh retired last, taking the time to extinguish the campfire, then secure everything for the night. Despite their fatigue, there was a goodnight kiss, then another, then another. Josh reached out first, touching Clay, then manipulating him until erect. They fucked slowly, quietly, Clay on top. There was no rush, no urgency to come. They just wanted to feel the other, to move together, pushing their arousal until after a long time, Clay, then Josh finally came.

“Very good, this is very good,” said Professor Blackwell. “This will help all the studios get a good start on the project.”

“Thanks,” Josh replied.

“How did it go? No problems with you guys dividing up the work. Everyone pitch in like they were supposed to?”

“Oh, yeah, everyone did their part.”

“Good.

Josh went to his desk and opened his laptop. He brought up the survey with their field notes. He pictured the site, and the sections Clay and he had surveyed. Then he pictured the pool on the stream, then he pictured Clay; naked, standing in water up to his calves.

“What’s so funny?” asked Cheryl, who sat next to him.

“Oh, nothing. Just thinking about something from the weekend.”

Cheryl leaned close, lowering her voice.

“Rumor says you and Clay Morrison had a real good time.”

“What?” Josh replied, trying to sound shocked, but he couldn’t do it. He couldn’t hide this aspect of himself any longer. He smiled at Cheryl, then nodded his head.

Cheryl laughed, shaking her head.

“I knew Clay was gay or bi, or something, and expected you guys to come back with stories about him and, I don’t know, Felix or Tyee. But you were a surprise.”

“You okay with it…with me?”

Cheryl smiled, nodding her head.

“Of course. To each his own. But what about Felix? Or Tyee? Or, the other guy, what was his name?”

“Alex.”

“Alex, yes, what about him?”

“I don’t know for sure,” Josh replied, not wanting to say anything about one of the others. And it was true to a degree. “I mean, well, Clay and I…”

“I get it, you two were too busy fucking to pay attention to what the others were doing.”

Josh blushed.

Blackwell moved to the center of the studio and clapped his hands to get their attention.

“Okay, let’s get started, shall we?”