The gravel crunched under my tires as I pulled up to the cabin and killed the engine. Uncle Will had promised me the place would be empty all weekend. Just me the lake and whatever peace I could scrape together after Marcus walked out two weeks ago. I sat there for a second staring at the small wooden porch and the quiet water beyond it. This was supposed to be our anniversary trip. Two months ago I had asked Uncle Will if I could borrow the cabin for a surprise. He had laughed that gruff laugh of his and said ‘hell yes kid its yours’. I had pictured Marcus and me tangled up in the one bed listening to the loons at night. Now it was just me and a duffel bag full of clothes I almost did not bring because every shirt still smelled like the life I thought we were building.
I grabbed my bag and stepped out into the warm afternoon air. The place looked exactly like I remembered. Tiny weathered cabin with the screen door that always stuck a little. A narrow dock stretching out over the lake. Trees crowding close enough to make the world feel small and safe. I was already tasting the quiet I needed when another truck rumbled up the dirt road and stopped right beside mine.
A big black pickup with Marine stickers on the back window. The driver door swung open and out stepped the largest guy I had ever seen in real life. Six four easy. Shoulders that stretched the fabric of his plain gray tee until the seams looked ready to give up. Short dark hair still cut military tight. Jaw like it had been carved from stone. He stretched his arms overhead and the shirt rode up revealing a strip of tanned abs so defined they cast their own shadows.
He spotted me and flashed an easy grin that made something low in my stomach tighten without permission.
“Hey man. You Ethan?”
I nodded too stunned to do anything else.
“William said you might show. Name is Colt Harlan. His buddy from the VFW is my dad. Guess we both got the same weekend offer.”
He laughed like it was the funniest thing in the world.
“No big deal bro. We’ll figure it out.”
I tried to smile but my brain was still catching up. Colt reached into the bed of his truck and hauled out a massive duffel like it weighed nothing. Then without another word he stripped his shirt off right there in the driveway and tucked it into his back pocket. The motion made every muscle in his chest and arms flex and I could not stop my eyes from tracing the deep lines between his pecs or the way sweat already glistened along the ridge of his collarbone.
He caught me looking but only shrugged.
“Drive was long. Figured I would air out a little. You mind?”
I shook my head because what the hell was I supposed to say. No please keep your clothes on while I try not to lose my mind over how your body looks like it was built for every dirty thought I have ever had.
We walked inside together. The cabin smelled like pine and lake water just like always. One main room with a tiny kitchenette, a beat up couch that looked even smaller than I remembered and the single bedroom door standing open. Colt dropped his bag on the floor and went straight for the bedroom. I followed because my feet moved before my brain could stop them.
He stopped in the doorway and let out a low whistle.
“Well shit. Only one bed.”
I stared at the queen mattress Uncle Will had probably never replaced since the nineties. It was not huge but it was big enough for one person to spread out. Two grown men were going to be another story entirely. Especially when one of those men looked like he took up space just by breathing.
Colt rubbed the back of his neck and the motion made his bicep swell into a hard round peak.
“No big deal. We are both dudes. We will figure it out. Couch is right there if one of us needs it though it looks like a kid sized piece of shit.”
He laughed again… that deep rumble that seemed to vibrate straight through my ribs. Then he kicked off his boots and peeled his socks away. His feet were big and wide like the rest of him. He did not stop there. His hands went to the button of his jeans and he shoved them down his thick thighs in one smooth motion leaving him in nothing but a pair of white trunks that clung to every curve and bulge like they had been painted on.
The fabric stretched tight across the heavy weight between his legs and I felt heat flood my face. I looked away fast but not before I noticed the way the waistband rode low on his hips revealing the sharp V lines that pointed straight down. His thighs were tree trunks solid and dusted with dark hair. Calves like carved stone. Every inch of him screamed raw power and complete unselfconscious ease.
He tossed his jeans onto the chair in the corner and stretched again arms overhead back arching so the front of those briefs pulled even tighter.
“Man that feels better. Long drive in jeans sucks. You want the left side or right?”
I swallowed hard. My own bag felt heavy in my hand like an anchor keeping me from floating away on pure panic and want.
“Uh. Either is fine.”
Colt nodded like that settled everything. He grabbed his duffel and started unpacking right there on the bed tossing folded shirts and shorts across the mattress without a care. A pair of swim trunks landed near my hand and I could not help imagining how they would look plastered to his body after a dip in the lake.
I set my own bag down on the far side of the room and tried to focus on anything except the way his back muscles shifted when he bent over. The room felt smaller already. The single window let in late afternoon light that painted gold across his shoulders and I realized I was staring again.
Colt straightened and turned toward me. His eyes were a clear steady blue and they held mine without any hesitation.
“You good bro? You look like you just swallowed a frog.”
I forced a laugh.
“Yeah. Just. Didn’t expect company. Breakup stuff. Long story.”
He tilted his head a little and the movement made a vein stand out along the side of his thick neck.
“Sorry to hear that man. Exes can be rough. But hey at least you got the lake and some fresh air. “
He clapped a heavy hand on my shoulder and the contact sent a spark straight down my spine. His palm was warm and calloused and it lingered a second longer than it needed to before he pulled away.
“Tell you what. I am going to hit the lake for a quick swim before the sun drops. You unpack. Then we can figure out dinner and sleeping arrangements. Sound good?”
I nodded because words were not happening right now. Colt grinned again and walked out of the bedroom still in nothing but those white trunks. I watched the broad line of his back and the way his ass flexed with every step until he disappeared onto the porch.
The screen door slammed behind him. I let out a breath I had not realized I was holding and sank down onto the edge of the bed. The mattress dipped under my weight and I could already smell the faint clean scent of him on the sheets from where he had tossed his clothes.
This was supposed to be quiet. Peaceful. A place to forget Marcus and the way he had looked at me when he said it was over. Instead I had a six foot four Marine built like a god walking around half naked calling me bro and acting like sharing a bed with him was no big deal.
My pulse would not slow down. I pressed my palms to my eyes and tried to breathe.
Outside I heard the splash as Colt hit the water. I told myself I would not look. I lasted about ten seconds before I got up and went to the window.
He was already out past the dock, powerful arms cutting through the lake in clean strong strokes. Water streamed off his shoulders when he turned and the low sun caught every ridge of muscle making him look carved from bronze. He shook his head like a dog sending droplets flying and even from here I could see the wide grin on his face.
He looked happy. Free. Completely at home in his body in this place… in the moment.
I watched until he started swimming back toward the dock. Then I made myself turn away before he climbed out.
Because if I saw him in that water dripping wet with nothing but those trunks clinging to every inch of him, I was not sure I could keep pretending this weekend was going to stay simple.
I went back to unpacking trying to shove the image of Colt out of my head. Those abs carved so deep you could lose a finger in them. Fuck. Is this God's twisted little joke after Marcus dumped me. Sending a walking wet dream of a Marine built like every filthy fantasy I have jerked off to. A straight one of course because why make it easy. I laughed under my breath folding shirts into the tiny wardrobe imagining those massive thighs pinning me down while he called me ‘bro’ in that deep rumble. Men like him are probably straighter than the dock out there. I would be lucky if he even remembers my name after one night of sharing a bed and breathing the same air.
Still the heat in my gut would not settle. This weekend had just gotten a whole lot more dangerous than I planned.
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