Page 22 of Strictly Curious
I snatched the bottle from the ground and unscrewed the cap, chugging it down quickly. It felt really freaking good going down my throat. Maybe I needed to pay better attention to the heat today. I looked around and spotted Tyler sitting under the shade of a tree nursing his own bottle of water.
“Yeah, I could probably use some help.” My pride wanted to deny it, but I also was tired and wanted to rest. Dad nodded and helped me stand. With the two of us working, we got the tent set up quickly. Once it was all done, it didn’t seem as small as I thought it was initially, but it was still going to be a tight squeeze for the two of us. It was a good thing we were already used to sleeping together.
“Your mom has some hot dogs prepared to cook over the fire here shortly. You boys should finish up over here and then head over for dinner.”
I nodded, taking another swig from my water bottle. It was then that I noticed that he’d brought another smaller cooler with him. He reached in and grabbed another bottle out and handed it to me. I nodded my thanks before waving Tyler over.
Dad walked across the street and Tyler and I set our sleeping bags out inside the tent. He was busy setting up the pillows when I crawled inside with our bags. I zipped it closed, and he turned to stare at me.
“Come here,” I prompted.
Tyler fell into me, lips crashing into mine. Fortunately, we were far enough away from the other sites that no one would hopefully notice if we got a little carried away, but we were outside and sounds carried more at night time. We’d have to be careful.
He pulled away, face flushed and panting. “Do we have time?”
I laughed at his question. “Time for what?”
He scrunched his eyebrows in concentration, like he didn’t know what he wanted to ask for. “I—I don’t know. For anything. Shit, Gar, I wanted to spend this time with you and now we have to be out here for a few days.”
I nodded, pulling him into my chest. He twisted until his back rested against me. I spread my legs, and he rested between them and we sat like that for a few moments. I kissed the side of his head until I realized someone would come looking for us soon.
I grabbed a flashlight from one bag and we climbed from the tent and made our way across the street. I didn’t know how long we’d be over there, but it was better to be prepared in case it got dark before it was time to head back.
“ButIdidn’tevenrealize that they had accepted me until the last second,” Tyler explained. He licked something off his finger and I was transfixed. He’d been eating some barbeque chips, so maybe he’d been sucking the residue off, but all my mind kept thinking about was what else he could be sucking. It was dangerous territory with all of our family around.
“That must be nice, though. Weren’t they your first choice for schools?” My aunt Joyce asked.
He nodded before he looked up and noticed that I was watching him so intently. He quickly pulled his finger from his mouth and his cheeks turned pink. It was like he knew the dirty thoughts that were running through my head. It was kind of fun that the same thoughts must have run through his as well.
“Uh… yeah. They were my first choice.” The blush didn’t fade, but he looked down into his lap.
My heart sank, reminding me we were on borrowed time. Not only was I quickly realizing that I was a summer experiment for him, but this summer may be all we had. He was off to some fancy out-of-state nursing school and I was staying here, going to a local community college for trade school.
The sun was setting, and I tried to not let the conversation sour my mood too much. Lucy came around the corner with Ava. They had their arms looped together and were carrying supplies to make smores. I jumped up to meet them, grabbing the bag of marshmallows from Lucy’s hands. Ripping open the bag while we walked, I popped one into my mouth.
“You ass,” Ava griped as she tried to yank the bag away from me. I held it out of her grasp. The benefit to being so much taller was that It didn’t take much to keep things away from her. She jumped for the bag a few times before giving up.
We joined everyone around the campfire and I sat next to Tyler. We loaded marshmallows onto the same skewers we’d used to roast our hotdogs from dinner. Everyone around us carried on and laughed as I helped Tyler build his campfire treat.
Toasted marshmallow oozed over the side of his graham cracker as he brought it to his mouth and I watched as he bit into it. A smudge of chocolate and the gooey substance stuck to his lip, and I fought the urge to lick it off. There were too many eyes.
Before long Mom stretched her arms above her head announcing that she was turning in for the night. Dad agreed and everyone headed to their respective sites. When Tyler and I got to ours he grabbed his shower supplies from his bag.
“I think I’m going to go find the showers. I feel so gross after today.”
I nodded and watched as he wandered off into the dark with his flashlight. I gave him about a five-minute head start before I followed him.
Tyler
Warmwatersluiceddownmy neck and shoulders. I hated these campground showers because the water pressure wasn’t always the greatest and there was always the fear that someone would walk in on you. There was only one stall, and it’s part of why I wanted to wait until so late at night to come up here.
I tilted my head back under the spray to wet my hair when I heard the shower door open. I panicked and turned into the water attempting to cover myself.
“Chill, Ty. It’s just me.”
Oh fuck. I turned, and there was Garrett in all his naked glory. He held his hands at his sides like he wasn’t the least bit ashamed of his body, and he shouldn’t be. He hadn’t been on any teams in school, but it wasn’t unheard of for Garrett to play different sports with his friends. Mostly a lot of basketball and occasionally, football. He stayed in shape.
The cut of his abs and the v that led to his groin made my mouth water, and I was once again struck by how crazy it was that these thoughts were so new to me. How do you spend nine years with someone, and in one profound moment, have your view of them completely changed?
