Page 15 of Never Will I Ever

Perving onhim,on the other hand…that just makes me horny. Unfortunately.

There’s still a slight amount of judgment in his tone when he asks, “And you knowingly did that with someone else in the stall next to you?”

He’s got me there, and I do the only thing I can in this situation.

I lie.

“You’re not the only one exhausted enough to think you were the only one in here.”

A slight blush tints his cheeks, and I’m not sure if it’s from the steam in the bathhouse or the insinuation I made. Either way, it’s enough to throw him a little off balance, and he clears his throat before he plays it off as best he can.

“Yeah, well…make sure you’re actually alone next time.” He coughs before clearing his throat again. “But I, uh, I guess you can…get back to it.”

The buzzing feeling hasn’t gone away while we’ve been in this little showdown so much as it’s faded into the background with the conversation. But now that it’s over, and he’s still standing here in only a damn towel…well, shit. Let’s just say I’m happy my dick is currently hidden from view.

“Thanks,” I murmur sarcastically, painfully aware of the thickness suddenly present in my voice. I try to keep my eyes locked on his face instead of his insane body while he stepsback toward the counter, but nope. The second he turns his back toward me to comb through his hair, I’m ensnared by those muscles instead of his abs and pecs.

“You can shut the curtain now, LaMothe,” he says while meeting my gaze through the mirror above the sink. “Unless you’re planning to give me a show.”

My stomach rolls, a mix of fear and anticipation rushing through me as I yank the fabric shut, effectively closing me off from him. And it’s only when he’s out of sight that I feel as if I can finally breathe again.

I need to get this baseless attraction under control.

I guess it’s not entirely baseless; Avery’s an obviously good-looking guy, from an objective standpoint. It’s something I noticed early on when I met him; it was just super easy to lock down because, one, he’s fucking straight. And two, we were friends, and I wasn’t gonna ruin that.

Thankfully, after seeing him become a grade-A asshole, the attraction began fading on its own. Though, apparently not as much as I thought, if the state of my cock has anything to say about the matter.

I squeeze around the base again, trying to ease some of the pressure building, but it’s no use. Release is the only thing that’ll bring me relief at this point.

And, God, I hate myself for how much I wanna be listening to his voice while it happens.

“I shower every night at this time, just so you know,” I call out from behind the curtain, slowly stroking my length some more as I wait for him to respond. When he remains silent, I add, “Wouldn’t want to have this kind of run-in again.”

Still nothing.

From the lack of response, I don’t even know if he’s still in here or if he’s just screwing with me all over again. I’m not sure why it matters to me. I can get off just fine with or without him here.

And I certainly have no fucking clue if giving him that tidbit of information was meant to be a warning…or a hopeful invitation.

Five

Avery

Week Two

I fucking hate this place.

Loathe it with the passion of a thousand burning suns, and I have no idea how I’m supposed to survive the next two months out here in the middle of nowhere. We’re only a week in, and I’ve already regretted every second I’ve been living in a tiny log cabin tucked deep within the bug-infested wilderness.

Even with every activity over the past few days being on the lake just outside of camp—all thanks to the unseasonably hot temperature for June—I’m still miserable. Don’t get me wrong, I love being out on the water, but I’d much rather it be on a sailboat. Or anything that’s a lot harder to tip over than a kayak or paddleboard.

And believe me, I did tip over. On multiple occasions.

Needless to say, I’m entirely out of my element here. To the point where I might as well be Matt Damon inThe Martian,stuck on a foreign planet and having to find a way to survive.

But today, we’re finally doing something that should be easy, even for me.

Hiking.

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