Page 12 of Never Will I Ever

Both their noses wrinkle up, speaking more about their feelings than words ever could. And if I had any worries about my brothers being influenced by Avery this summer, they’re completely gone with that single look.

But this is supposed to be the fun time of year, and I’m not about to let it start off with heavy shit. So I change the subject.

“C’mon, let’s get you to your cabin,” I say before ushering them deeper into the camp. “I’m sure you’re both excited. Seemed like it when you couldn’t even say hi earlier.”

They both nod, the same giddy energy they had when they first got here, back with a vengeance. But then Dayton lets out a little disgruntled noise before whining, “But why’d you have to pair us with Elijah for a bunkmate?”

“Dayton Matthew,” I hiss in warning, glancing around to make sure no one—especially Elijah—is around to overhear my dickhead little brother’s callow remark..

“Kaleb Jackson,” he retorts back, all attitude and sass.

Oh, the joys of fighting with a preteen. And lucky me, I get to spend the camp season doing it with not just the twins but eighteen others too. Then add in the one guy on the planet I’d rather never see again being my co-counselor, and this is bound to be one interesting summer.

What the hell have I gotten myself into?

Four

Kaleb

It’s quarter after midnight when I step into the bathhouse, both expecting and hoping for it to be deserted this time of night. Most of the camp is usually dead asleep by now, doing their best to recharge for a jam-packed day sure to come tomorrow.

Tonight, though, it seems someone had the same idea as me since one of the three showers is already in use, causing steam to fill the room.

I glance at the vanity to find a small leather toiletry bag—the letters AJR embossed on the side—and my mood instantly takes a plummet off Mount Hood. While I might not know what the J stands for, the A and R are clearly Avery Reynolds.

“Fucking great,” I mutter under my breath before dropping my own things on the sink to unpack my shampoo and body wash.

I’ve worked at the camp for the past three summers, and it’s always grueling. Long, sometimes very hot, days outdoors. Constantly handling a bunch of kids who need this, that, or the other thing. Activities packed in our schedule from dawn to dusk to make sure they’re all so exhausted when it’s lights out, there’s no shenanigans after—something a few returning campers are notorious for causing.

So when it comes to the end of the day, I need these thirty minutes of alone time to take the hottest shower imaginable. It’s my time to wash away not only the dirt and grime from the day, but also all the stress and frustration I have to keep bottled up while I’m around the kids.

StressAverynow adds to.

He’s fucking everywhere.

Spending all this time with him is starting to really wear on me, and it’s only been a few days. And most of it is thanks to the intense buzzing feeling I get whenever we’re within a few feet of each other.

I felt it when we were in his cabin the day he got here, then when he grabbed me and pulled me to the side the following morning. A few more times in the days since then too, like when we took the boys on the lake and I was forced to witness Avery in nothing but a pair of swim trunks for hours at a time.

It’s taken me a few days to place the feeling. And after today, I know exactly what it is…no matter how much I wish I didn’t.

It’s attraction. Desire.

Fucking lust.

All things I’d never want to feel for him.

I thought I’d left this stupid crush in the past, all the way back in freshman year. Tucked it in theNever Gonna Happenbox and buried it in the recesses of my mind. Add in everything he’s done recently, and I was certain that box would never see the light of day again.

A mistaken notion on my part, it seems, since the head in my shorts is severely at odds with the one on my shoulders. Which is just fucking wonderful.

I do my best to shove thoughts of him aside, even if he’s within a couple feet of me at the moment, and slip into the empty stall beside him. Blowing out a long breath, I flip the nozzle on the shower to let it heat and then I undress, all the while perfectly aware of that damn feeling growing inside me.

Avery hasn’t made a peep while I’ve been in here, so he’s either ignoring me, or he must not have heard me over the running water in his own stall. Either way, I can only be thankful and then hope he’s in and out before I’m done…or vice versa.

No run-ins. No interactions.

Last thing I need after my epiphany earlier is to run into him half naked in a towel. Or just plain naked. Or just run into him in general.

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