Page 38 of It Starts With Summer

“Fuck, how can I go all day and all night without kissing you?”Parker’s hands came up to cradle my face as he leaned in closer.Our lips met again, our kiss more tender now, filled with the longing that had been building throughout the day.When we pulled back, there was a desperation in his eyes.

“I hate not being able to sleep next to you every night.”

“Me too,” Parker agreed, his voice low and husky.“Maybe Ben and Sutton would let us cuddle.”

Shaking my head, I stripped off my shorts and my socks and turned on the shower, waiting for the water to get hot.Well, warmish — this was a camp shower, after all.I tugged him under the water, and we took turns washing each other’s hair and backs, soaping each other’s chests, and down lower.

Parker gasped as I took his hard length in my hand, stroking him slowly.“I can’t believe how perfect your body is… and I am fucking obsessed with your cock.”

“The feeling’s mutual,” I replied, my voice thick with desire.As much as I tried to focus on our physical connection, I felt a pang of sadness at the thought of not being able to share a bed with Parker every night.Our stolen moments were incredible, but they only highlighted what we were missing out on.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”I forced a smile onto my face.“Just… thinking about how much I want to be with you all the time.Not hiding this.”

“Me too.”He pulled me into a tight embrace, tracing his fingers over my lips.“But we’ll figure it out, okay?We’ll be headed back to Stanford soon.It’ll be better there, where we can be out.”

I hesitated, staring down at him.“You want to be together back home?”

He frowned.“Don’t you?”

“Fuck, yes.”I shoved him against the wall and kissed him passionately as water poured down over our bodies, rinsing away the last of the soap.He tasted clean and sweet, and I couldn’t get enough.I lifted my head and stared down into his eyes.“And we will definitely be out as a couple there.”

That earned me the biggest, warmest smile I’d ever seen on Parker’s face.

eighteen

Parker

Isplashedwaterovermy face and stared at myself in the mirror — I looked about as exhausted as I felt, and washing my face hadn’t helped.Sleeping with Ravi in the same bunk bed, but not close enough to touch, was a strange sort of hell.I wanted to snuggle him a little, but we were both afraid of what Sutton would do if he found out we were secretly dating.Ben’s family owned the camp, so he might feel obligated to spill the details to his older brother.Sutton, though, was the most unpredictable of the two.

Ravi tapped on the bathroom door and peeked in.“Mind if I brush my teeth, too?”he asked loudly, slipping inside.

“Why did you yell that?I can hear you.”

“Shh.Ben and Sutton are outside.”He nodded to the door as he squirted toothpaste onto his electric toothbrush, then lifted it to his mouth.“I’m going to kiss you after I brush.If we time it right, they’ll think I’m still washing up.”

I chuckled softly and put toothpaste on my toothbrush.There was something oddly intimate about brushing our teeth together, and I liked it.I could picture a million more mornings like this, in the bathroom, getting ready for our day.

He bumped his hip against mine, and I couldn’t help but smile at the playful contact.I slid my free hand over his ass, giving it a little squeeze.We exchanged secretive glances in the mirror as we both rinsed our mouths.He left the water running and shoved me against the bathroom wall, giving me a hot, minty fresh kiss.I groaned into his mouth, clutching him close for just a moment.

He pulled away, then shut the water off, grinning.We both peeked out, relieved to find Ben and Sutton had already left.

“I wonder if we could mess around in there,” I said, giving him another quick kiss.

He rolled his eyes.“We’re trying not to get caught, Parker.The walls are paper thin, and you scream kinda loud when you come.”

“Shut up!I do not scream, it’s like a quiet, manly groan.”

“I think screaming can be manly.”He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.“I find the sounds you make when you’re—” The loud peal of the breakfast bell interrupted him, and we sprung apart, forgetting about our bickering as we realized we were really late.No wonder Ben and Sutton had already left.

“Shit, we need to go get the campers!”I yelped, racing for my clothing trunk.We threw on clothes and bolted out of the cabin and down the short path to our campers’ cabin.They, predictably, had done absolutely nothing to get ready without our nagging.Half of them were still in bed.

“Guys, come on!We need to eat and get to the archery range,” Ravi said, earning a groan from the kids who had been still asleep.

“Don’t worry if you’re still tired from the backpacking trip.We have a mellow day planned,” I said, hustling them all out of bed.We got them ready quickly and herded them to breakfast, sneaking in little touches whenever we could — a brush of fingertips, a nudge of elbows.It wasn’t enough, but it would have to do for now.Once the campers were in line for food, we grabbed coffee and slid into our usual seats at the counselors’ table.

Ben and Sutton were across from us, where they often sat, but neither greeted us.Ben had his nose buried in a book, and Sutton stared blankly at his plate, stirring scrambled eggs around as if they held the answers to life’s deepest questions.Both guys had been quiet since we’d returned from the backpacking trip.Ben hadn’t even wanted to talk about the latest Mages of Aleron book with me.And I’d finished it and wanted to talk.

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