Camping Can Be Fun - 1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

I used to like Steven, I mean “really” like Steven, and, well I guess I still do. He was my best friend all through junior and senior high school… actually best friend, period. We’re both eighteen now and it looks like we’re probably just going to be friends forever, which is part of the problem. He is the sort of guy you can’t help but like, and then eventually fall for - tall, dark and handsome, your typical rugged heartbreaker.

When puberty hit me I fell for him hook, line and sinker. I’m Dan, by the way, and as you can tell I’m gay. Well, I think I’m gay.No, fuck it, I know I’m gay! I’ve just never had sex before. In fact I’ve never even kissed a guy. But it doesn’t matter, you know what you like and I like to look at guys… a lot! Well one guy really, Steven. But now he’s with this stupid fucking bitch of a girlfriend, Lisa. I guess I’m not being entirely fair there, she’s actually quite nice and she’s pretty. Maybe I’m just a little… scratch that, I’m ridiculously jealous of her. It kills me to say it, but they make a good couple, visually at least. I just always hoped that maybe someday, somehow Steven would realize that he’s madly in love with me. I mean the way we carry on together is so misleading at times; we’re as close as two guys can get without being gay together. We fight and wrestle, pin each other down, all that stuff. We’ve grabbed each other’s dicks as a joke; we’ve been naked together for fuck sake. It’s like the ultimate prick tease and it drives me insane.

Now I find myself in the back of Steven’s car on my way to a campsite somewhere in the romantic setting of the Lake District of New Hampshire, to play the role of third wheel for a week. And all the way here she’s been tickling his arm and playing with his hair… and there she goes again… HE’S FUCKING DRIVING! (Maybe my jealousy borders on psychotic rage at times.) I shouldn’t have come, if this is how it’s going to be all through this trip. Wait a minute, what am I saying? If anyone should leave it’s her. I’ve been coming on these trips with MY friend a fuck load longer than her. They’ve been together like a month; I’ve known him nearly all my life.

“We’re here,” Steven said suddenly, raising me out of my internal rant.

He was right, the country side that had spanned for miles and miles, now started to part on the horizon as the sparkle of a distant lake came in view. The sun beating down on the surface of the water gave the lake the illusion of looking brilliant white from this distance, but as we got closer the dazzling white slowly melted into an inviting, deep blue.

For a few minutes my irritations were relieved and replaced with boyish excitement to have finally arrived in one of my favourite places. Steven and I had been coming here every summer for years, and it had been our thing, our place to just relax, get drunk, and eat barbecues, swim, hike and climb. Now, of course, it would be different. This used to be the place where I could get close to Steven without interruption, and last year after a few beers… well a lot of beers…I nearly opened up to him and told him how I felt. I’d mulled on that for a full year and had decided that this year would be the one. I was going to face my fears and just tell him, kiss him, or something, but now that she’s come into the picture it changes everything. For one, I now know that Steven isn’t gay, an earth shattering blow. Two, even if he was interested in me I would never break them up... morals and all that shit. And of course three, with her here I won’t ever be alone with him.

We pulled up to our usual pitching spot and got out of the car. My legs were aching after such a long journey and it was good to finally stretch them and get some fresh country air.

“Oh Steven, it’s gorgeous,” exclaimed Lisa, immediately following her statement with a passionate kiss. I was more than a little uncomfortable being around them, so I turned on my heels and started unloading the boot.

I pulled out my tent and my bag and found a nice flat piece of ground to pitch on and got to work. I’d been using the same tent for a while and had become a dab hand at putting it up and it didn’t take me long to get all the poles in place. Then I started on the pegs, which were impossible to stab into the ground with all the hot dry weather we’d been having.

“Steven?” I shouted. “Did you bring the mallet?”

I looked up when I got no response to find the two of them exactly where I left them, snogging the faces off each other. I would usually turn away when I saw them like this, out of disgust more than anything, but for some reason being here, in OUR place, I just felt sad. This place was supposed to be, for me and Steven, our little haven away from all the shit back home and this trip in particular was going to be special. I started to feel a little tearful, not something that I’m usually accustomed to. I’m not one of your fairy type gays; I’m just a guy who happens to be attracted to other guys. I turned away embarrassed by my lack of emotional control and nearly walked right into someone.

“Shit, you scared me,” I began, startled by the unexpected presence of a young guy about my age.

Not only did I feel a bit shocked as you do when you get a fright like that, but he was shockingly gorgeous. He was, for want of a better vocabulary in these dumbstruck situations, fucking hot! He looked about average height, quite athletic, short jet black hair, tanned skin and his eyes… oh my God he had the most electric blue eyes I’d ever seen. I felt instantly hypnotized by them. He was wearing a black tank top which showed off his strong arms very nicely and some beige camouflage shorts. I was completely speechless, and to anyone watching I must have looked absolutely brain-dead.

“I didn’t mean to scare you buddy, just thought you could use this,” he said holding up a rubber mallet. “I’m Adam by the way.” He stuck out his right hand obviously waiting for me to shake it.

It took me a moment to snap out of my erotic trance and realize how stupid and rude I must look just standing there ignoring this gesture.

“Erm… sorry,” I mumbled taking his outstretched hand.

His skin was soft and warm, but his handshake was strong and very masculine.

“I’m Daniel, but you can call me Dan or Danny, whichever you prefer,” I said, all the while being once again distracted by his physique and good looks. I also couldn’t help but notice that he was filling out his shorts quite nicely, and once I had noticed I couldn’t stop noticing.

“So do you want this?” he asked me.

“I’m sorry?” I replied not fully understanding what he meant. Was he asking if I wanted to… then I realized he was now waving the mallet about, which of course made me feel rather embarrassed and ridiculous.

“Yes thanks that would be great.”

But instead of handing me the mallet he knelt down and started hammering in my pegs.

“No it’s alright mate I can do that, I mean you don’t have to…”

“Its fine, it’s nice to be nice,” he replied cheerfully as he finished forcing the peg into the ground.

“Well… thank you. I appreciate that. Let me get you a beer from the cooler or something to say thanks at least.”

“No thanks pal, I’m ok for now, but I tell you what...why don’t you and your friends bring some beers over to our pitch later on tonight and have a drink with us,” he said looking over towards Steven and Lisa who were obviously still publicly displaying their affection. “Or maybe if those two are too busy you might want to get away for a bit,” he continued with a grin, realizing that I may be suffering from third wheel syndrome.

“Yeah, that would be nice thanks. Who are you with?”

“Just my friend, Karl and my little brother Joey. They’re both cool, although Joey can be a little bugger sometimes,” he said, smiling nostalgically and reminiscing about his brotherly quarrels.

We chatted while he finished pegging the tent and then we chatted some more, before he headed back to his pitch. He was really nice, friendly and genuine. I had no doubt in my mind that I was attracted to this guy who had just come out of absolutely nowhere. Perhaps I had finally gone completely crazy in my jealous rage and developed some sort of fictional character in my imagination towards which I could divert my sexual frustrations, or perhaps there are still nice people in the world. All I knew was that I would be having a beer with a very cute guy tonight and that it was him who invited me. That’s basically a date, right?