Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The bus had been chilly with its air conditioning on full blast. Jared was happy to step out into the early summer sun.

He looked around as he lifted his backpack up and settled it on one shoulder. There was a small gas station and, according to the multitude of signs in the window, it was also the post office, general store, and fishing supply store.

Just like the email from his new employer had said, there was a huge sign on the edge of the dirt parking lot. Camp Westwind 3 M.

There was an arrow pointing roughly in the direction of a dirt road about a hundred feet in front of him.

The bus pulled away. It left Jared standing in a cloud of dust for a little while. He coughed and headed towards the camp.

“This is how horror movies start,” he muttered as he veered onto the dirt road.

He was looking forward to the hike, even in the warm weather. He’d never been the kind of person who liked sitting still for long. He was also looking forward to his job. Camp Instructor conjured up all kinds of bad summer movies in his head, but he knew Westwind was great… and different.

The camp was a retreat for young people aged twelve to seventeen that were struggling socially. They were kids who had been bullied, had learning challenges, speech impediments, they were all welcome at the camp.

One of the things that Jared liked was was that half the attendees every year were given full scholarships to the camp.

All in all the place was pretty damned great as far as Jared was concerned.

And, let’s face it, he figured he’d be able to relate to a lot of the kids. He was six foot four and he hadn’t always been very fit. He was still working on that part, but he was hoping life would continue to get better.

Jared had just turned twenty and had wanted a summer job that would look good on a resume and make him some money for College. Westwind fit the bill and the coordinator, Kim, seemed to think he would be a great addition to their staff.

During the interview, Kim had made a point of telling Jared that they did not discriminate based on gender, sexual orientation, religion or “anything for that matter”. She’s also let him know that anyone who demonstrated that they were bigoted or discriminatory in any way would be fired. There was a zero tolerance policy for intolerance. She’s looked very pleased with herself when she’d come out with that.

It was the final check in the plus column for Jared because there was another reason he wanted to work in a place like Westwind.

Jared slowed his pace and tilted his head back so the sun could warm it. He loved being outside. He loved the way the wind felt when it cooled his skin, the way he could only hear the occasional bird over the sound of the long, dry, grass moving.

High School had been tough. In addition to being too tall and not a basketball player, Jared had begun to question his orientation.

Oh, he liked girls well enough to hang out with them. Hell, he’d taken Katie Cassidy to the Prom and kissing her was not unpleasant.

The problem was that he felt something more when a good-looking guy smiled at him, or when he saw the Captain of the football team kissing Claire and found himself wondering what his lips would feel like.

He just didn’t really know what to do about it. Coming out in High School had seemed pointless. Besides, Jared wasn’t completely certain if he was gay or bisexual. He felt like he should figure that out before involving anyone else. Or maybe he didn’t have to. He just didn’t know.

As Jared hiked along the road, he realized how quiet it was. He could hear some crickets, the wind in the tall grass. It was truly quiet. It was so much better than the city and he began to wonder if he could actually spend his life out in the country.

The clay-colored dirt beneath his feet was so dry it poofed up in a cloud every time he took a step. His hiking boots were already covered. He was thankful that he had lots of water in his pack, he was going to drink all of it by the time he’d reached the camp.

Off in the distance behind him, Jared heard the quiet burr of an engine. He figured that anyone coming along that road was probably connected to the camp. Of course, there was still the horror movie premise and that would mean there was a serial killer approaching. Jared shook his head and kept walking.

It took some time before the vehicle caught up to Jared. When it finally slowed to a stop, Jared was encompassed in a cloud of dust.

He covered his eyes for a few moments and when he finally dropped his hand, there was a blue pick up in front of him. The truck was a little beat up but it had the “Westwind” logo on the side of it.

“You want a ride, son?” The man behind the wheel looked like he was in his late thirties. He had dark hair, a decent growth of stubble and dark brown eyes. He was wearing a black leather jacket with a threadbare t-shirt underneath and the overall look was pretty good.

Jared put another mental checkmark in the might be gay column.

“I’m Jeff. Jeff Morgan. I work at the camp. You Jared?”

Nodding, Jared moved closer as the last of the dust settled. “How d’you know?”

“I’m figurin’ you’re the six foot four Texan that Kim told me she’d hired.” Jeff’s smile was lopsided and made his nose crinkle.

“That’s me,” Jared said, suddenly feeling a little self-conscious.

“Good. I could use a hand getting all this food unloaded. Hop in.” He leaned over and threw the passenger door open.

Jared swung his pack down off his shoulder and threw it into the back of the truck next to the bins of food. He climbed in and got comfortable. “Thanks.”

“No problem,” Jeff said as he slid the truck into gear. “You’re not the first one here but I couldn’t pry Danneel out of the lake and Jensen was inclined to stay with her. The rest of them were hiding, I think.”

“It’s a great day for swimming,” Jared said. As dusty and hot as he was already, a swim sounded good. “How many of us are here?”

“You’re the last one to arrive.”

“Really?”

“Well, of the programming staff. The campers arrive in a little over a week. It’s nice for you guys to have a chance to get to know each other before the hordes arrive.”

“How many kids are signed up?”

“Thirty this year, ten in each of the cabins. You’re in a cabin with Chad. Jensen and Matt are sharing. They’ve worked together before so I think they sorted that out last year.”

Jared nodded. How bad could someone with the name Chad be? “Am I the only new instructor?”

Jeff nodded as he slung his arm out the open window. “Kim tries only to change a few people each year. It’s great for the kids if they recognize folks.”

“Yeah.” Jared looked around at the grasslands then caught a glimpse of water through the trees. “Must be a real challenge for some of those kids to come here after what they’ve been through.”

The homework for the job had mainly been reading. Jared had done a little extra on his own. He knew that many of the kids they would have in their sessions would come from rough environments. Many of them had been bullied, some abused. He figured they’d be brave to head off to a camp full of strangers.

“Yup.” Jeff patted the steering wheel a couple of times. “That’s what we’re here for though, right? If one person understands them here? Could change their entire life.”

Smiling, Jared swept his hair back off his forehead. “I hope so.”

“You interested in a career with kids?”

Jared leaned back slightly so he could see Jeff more clearly. “I’m not sure. I mean, I want to do something that helps people. Maybe physiotherapy, but I like the idea of working with people who live with disabilities, challenges that make them think they can’t be active. Everyone can. It’s all how you approach it, right?” Jared could feel the blush on his cheeks. He always got a little too enthusiastic when people asked him questions.

Smirking, Jeff glanced over at Jared. “You’re gonna fit right in here, son.”

Jared grinned.

-=-=-=-

The cabin that would be Jared’s home for the summer was better than he’d expected. There was the main living room with some futon furniture, a stereo that had a dock for his phone and a lot of books and games. There was a galley kitchen with a small fridge and stove. They were welcome to eat in the canteen with everyone else but also able to cook in their own cabin. There was a bathroom with a newly fitted shower and a bedroom with two beds.

Chad wasn’t what Jared had expected. He looked like the kind of guy Jared wouldn’t like with his short-cropped blonde hair and small, intense eyes. But, he seemed like he was a lot of fun. He might be the kind of guy who made questionable decisions every once in a while but he seemed harmless.

He talked a lot.

“Danneel is smokin’ hot but she’s also hilarious,” Chad said like the two things were mutually exclusive. “She looks all girlie and shit but she’s not. She’s a hell of a lot of fun. The perfect woman, if you ask me.”

Jared hadn’t asked, but as he unpacked he was beginning to realize that Chad didn’t need much encouragement to talk. “Sounds like a nice girl.”

“Genevieve is okay. She does arts and crafts or some shit. She’s rich but she’s okay.” Chad didn’t seem very convincing.

Jared wasn’t sure why being rich mattered, but then he hadn’t met anyone else who was.

“Jensen is the lake guy. He teaches sailing, kayaking, snorkeling, and swimming. He’s always looking for people to help him with stuff. Never say yes!”

Laughing, Jared sat down on his bed. It was a lot more comfortable than he’d expected. “Jeff mentioned someone named Matt?”

Nodding, Chad pulled some books out of his backpack and set them on his nightstand. “You met Jeff? He’s awesome. He teaches mechanics and does the diversity thing.”

Frowning, Jared searched through his memory. “Diversity thing?”

Chad’s bed squeaked when he flopped down on his stomach. “You know. The panel about diverse and varied lifestyles.” Chad grinned.

“Right,” Jared said. He chuckled and pulled his backpack over so he could look for his board shorts.

“He’s a good guy. He can fix anything,” Chad said. He punched his pillow and stuffed it under his head. “And Matt. He’s awesome too. He teaches parkour and climbing. You two should probably work on some things together.”

There was a scream off in the distance and Chad sat bolt upright. “Dude. Danneel is in the lake. I would know that scream anywhere. Swim shorts. Now!”

-=-=-=-

By the time Chad and Jared arrived at the beach, it looked as though everyone else was already there.

“Everybody!” Chad yelled.

The splashing stopped after a few moments and all eyes turned towards them.

“This here is the six foot tall Texan Kim told us about. Jared,” Chad announced.

A handsome young man with black hair and dark eyes waded towards the beach with a blonde girl on his back. “Nice to meet you, Jared. I’m Matt and my passenger here is Adrianne.”

The blonde dropped down into the shallow lake water with a splash and adjusted her bikini top. “Hi, Jared. Glad you could join us. It’s good to see you again, Chad. Did you bring your chicken?”

Everyone started to laugh and Chad grinned.

“I’m Cindy,” said a lithe brunette as she splashed towards the shore. “The chicken rules.”

“Chicken?” Jared asked.

“Long story,” Chad said quickly. “Yo! Ackles, stop fussin’ over Dani and bring her here.”

Jensen stood up in the water and Jared’s mind kind of went into slow motion. Jensen was about the same height as him, tanned and really fit. He swept his wet hair back and shook the water off his face and Jared was pretty sure he really was in a summer camp movie.

Then Ackles scooped up a petite woman with long, red hair and cradled her in his arms as he sloshed towards the shore.

Danneel giggled and looped her arms around Jensen’s neck. “Hello, new guy.”

Jensen nodded at Jared, an almost-shy smile on his face. “Hi, Jared. Kim told me about you, she’s really pleased you’re joinin’ us this year. I’m Jensen.” There was a Texan lilt in his voice, it suited him.

“Hi,” Jared managed to say. It was difficult not to look at the bulge of muscle in Jensen’s arms.

Chad folded his arms across his chest and leaned towards Jared. “Pretty boy here, generally monopolizes Danneel’s time but she’s secretly in love with me,” Chad said.

“Isn’t everyone, Chad?” Danneel kicked her feet and Jensen swung her down into the water so she could head over to Jared. “Nice to meet you, Jared. We can always use more handsome men around here.”

Popping up onto her toes, Danneel slung her arms around Jared’s neck and hugged him.

“Jesus, you’re wet,” Jared exclaimed as he tried to figure out what to do with his hands. He finally looped them around Danneel’s slight frame.

“Of course I am, I’ve been swimming.” Danneel smooched Jared’s cheek and was gone again. It felt like the tips of Jared’s ears were on fire.

Jensen smiled at Jared then turned and dove into the water.

“Like I said,” Chad muttered. “Water dude.”

“I see that.” In fact, it was all Jared could do not to stare as Jensen swam towards the center of the lake. His arms sliced into the water, hardly even making a splash. “He’s a good swimmer.”

“He’s good at everything,” Chad muttered. “It’s really fucking annoying.”

Pressing his lips together, Jared watched as Jensen dove down under the surface of the water. He was starting to hope that he would get to work with Jensen. After all, most water activities would require a swimsuit and Jensen in board shorts was-

“Earth to Jared,” Chad’s finger flicked at Jared’s ear.

“What? Sorry.” The flush that had begun on Jared’s ears was crawling down his cheeks to his neck.

Shaking his head, Chad sighed. “Jared, this is Genevieve. I told you about her earlier.”

For a few seconds, Jared wasn’t sure what Chad was talking about, then he remembered. “Hi, Genevieve.”

“You can call me, Gen. Nice to meet you, Jared.”

“What do you teach here?” Jared asked.

The petite brunette smiled as she pulled her long, dark hair up into a ponytail. “Drama workshops and a bit of art. You’re the sports guy, right?”

Jared nodded.

“Jensen will probably ask you to help him. Say no, unless you want pruney fingers all summer,” Gen said.

“I like the water,” Jared said quietly.

Genevieve nodded, turning her attention back to Chad. “Maybe we could collaborate on a project, Chad.”

“We can collaborate any time!” Chad exclaimed, looking very pleased with himself.

Grinning, Genevieve headed back down to the water and waded in.

Jared watched as Jensen began the swim back to shore.

“I’m gonna go talk to Gen about our collaboration,” Chad said as he slipped out of his sneakers.

“You know that doesn’t mean anything sexual, right?” Jared asked as he tried not to smile.

“I’m hurt that you’d think that’s what I’m after,” Chad said.

He didn’t look at all hurt. In fact, Chad looked quite pleased with himself as he headed down to the water.

Jared sighed and kicked off his flip flops so he could get in the water. Even though the sun was on its way down, it was still really hot out.

When Jared waded into the water, it felt great. He dove in and twisted over to pop up to the surface and float on his back. The sky was a beautiful mix of blue and purple behind the huge, fluffy clouds that were floating by. Jared was really going to enjoy living there for the summer.

Bobbing on the surface, Jared let his mind wander. He wondered if Danneel and Jensen were serious about each other. They were perfectly suited. They were both good-looking, they both seemed friendly, and they obviously enjoyed spending time together.

The top of Jared’s head bumped against something and when he opened his eyes, he found himself staring up at Jensen.

As Jared’s body lurched into action, he somehow managed to up-end himself in the water without any air in his lungs. When he finally figured out which way was up, he came up coughing and sputtering.

“Hey, you okay, Jared?”

Great first impression.

Jensen had grabbed Jared’s shoulders to steady him as he tried to get his feet back on the bottom of the lake. The grip was firm and secure and wow Jensen was strong.

After coughing for a few more moments, Jared nodded. “I’m good. Sorry.”

Jensen’s brow furrowed as he smiled warmly. “What are you apologizing for?”

Jared was apologizing for being clumsy, for staring, for making an idiot of himself. “Oh, nothing.”

“You swim?”

It sure doesn’t look like it, Jared thought as he cleared his throat and wiped the water out of his eyes. “I do. I can, I mean.”

Finally letting go of Jared’s arms, Jensen swept his hair back from his face again and looked over at Danneel and Chad. Chad was chasing her through the shallows and she was doing a surprisingly good job of evading him. “I was on the swim team in High school.”

The muscles that curved Jensen’s shoulders were strong but he was lean like a swimmer. He was definitely fit. “I can tell.”

When Jared looked up from the tanned skin of Jensen’s chest, he found Jensen staring at him. “You can tell?”

The blush that had been cooled by the lake water appeared on Jared’s cheeks. “You ah, saw you swim out. Nice front crawl.”

Jensen grinned and turned to watch Danneel again after she let out a particularly loud squeal. “Everyone’s probably warned you about me already.”

“What?” For a couple of seconds, Jared couldn't breathe properly. Warned him of what? That Jensen was hotter than hell? That it was impossible not to stare at him when he was in a swimsuit? That he was everything the straight, high school jock should be?

“You’re heading up the fitness programming, right?” When Jensen turned back to face Jared, his bright, green eyes were so intense it made Jared’s heart flop around a little in his chest.

“I. Yes. I am.”

“I can always use some help if you have any time.”

Jared nodded. Oh yes, warned about that.

“It’s just wrangling the sailboats in if there’s bad weather. Sometimes I need a hand to get the kayaks back on the rack too.” Jensen gestured to the dock off in the distance and Jared’s gaze followed.

“Right.”

“So, if you have free time,” Jensen shrugged. “If not, don’t worry.”

“It’s okay.”

Jensen nodded then looked as though he was about to dive back into the water and Jared felt a little desperate to keep him there longer.

“I’ll help,” Jared clarified. “Would you teach me how to kayak?” He didn’t care if Jensen was married to Danneel. He’d love to spend extra time just looking at Jensen.

“You’ve never kayaked?”

Jared shook his head. “Nope. I’d like to try it though.”

“Sure!” Jensen actually looked quite happy. “Buff as you are, you’ll have no problem.” Jensen grinned then looked over Jared’s shoulder.

The blood in Jared’s veins felt like it was fizzing and he shuffled his feet on the smooth rocks below his feet.

“He’s hardly buff,” a voice said right at Jared’s shoulder. Chad.

Laughing, Jensen sank down into the water and swirled his arms at his sides. “Chad, you worried that the women will prefer Jared?” Jensen sat back as he trod water. he looked at Jared and winked. “Chad is very competitive and he likes to think he’s pretty hot.”

The flames of Jared’s cheeks burned even hotter. So, Jensen hadn’t actually thought he was well-built; he was teasing Chad.

Chad snorted. “Jensen, you and your Hollywood good looks have nothing on me and my bad-boy reputation.”

Danneel called out to Jensen and after smirking at Chad, he dove deep under the water and swam off.

“You okay, Jared? Your face is all red,” Chad said as he stared.

“I’m fine,” Jared muttered. “Too much sun.”

Chad mumbled something about Jensen again then waded towards where Jensen was splashing water at Danneel.

The heat on Jared’s face was a reminder that he would have to be careful around Jensen. Seeing as he was plagued with blushing when he was the focus of a hot guy’s attention and Jensen was really fucking hot. It could be a very long summer.

Cupping his hands, Jared splashed some water on his face and turned to head out of the water. Not a bad beginning, he liked everyone and he’d only been embarrassed fifty percent of the time and nearly drowned himself once.

-=-=-=-

Kim’s arms were covered in colorful tattoos, her short hair was bleached almost white and her dark eyes were alert, warm and brown.

“Hello everyone,” Kim said as she crossed one long, thin, leg over the other.

Jared shifted on his chair. He hated sitting in circles because it was always blatantly obvious that he was two feet taller than everyone else. He didn’t mind being tall now that he was older but he’d never been able to completely shake the self-consciousness.

Jensen was the last one to arrive at the meeting and made quite an entrance. He busted in through the door in board shorts and a tank top that appeared to be sticking to his damp skin.

He picked up a chair, swung it around, straddled it and grinned as he sat down. “Sorry, Mom. I was chasing a kayak that somehow got free last night.”

It might have been Jared’s imagination but he thought that Jensen shot Chad a quick look. Chad was smiling way too innocently, so Jared made a mental note to grill him after their meeting.

“Let’s get this show on the road,” Kim said.

As Kim gave an overview of Camp Westwind, Jared looked around the circle.

Most of the faces were familiar. Chad - still looking pleased with himself so he had definitely done something to Jensen’s kayak.

Matt was dressed in baggy old jeans and a hoodie. His black hair shone in the sunlight that was already streaming through the window. He was listening intently to Kim while flipping a pen over and over in his fingers.

Adrianne was sitting cross-legged on her chair, tall body folded up as though with no effort at all. Her long, blonde locks were piled on top of her head in a messy ponytail.

Gen was wearing a short, pink, summer dress and was leaning back against the arm of her chair with her feet up on Chad’s lap. Apparently, their collaboration was going well.

Even though he was trying to look casual about it, Chad was smiling as he looked over at Kim.

Cindy and Danneel were sitting beside each other. Danneel looked like she’d gone back in time in her long, patchwork skirt and headband. Cindy was wearing cut-offs, her long, almost-black hair flowing down over her shoulders.

Sitting off to the side of the room was Jeff Morgan. He’d nodded at Jared when he had arrived, flashed a smile his way. Next to him was an older man with greying hair and a beard. He had small, brown eyes that peered out from under a chef’s hat so Jared assumed he was Jim, the cook.

There was another man, slighter of build, dark blonde hair and ice-blue eyes. Jeff had called him Misha, but Jared had no idea what he did.

Kim continued to run through the written material she’d emailed to Jared. His gaze wandered back to Jensen. His tank top was definitely damp, his chest clearly defined underneath it.

Jared lowered his head and looked through his lashes as he continued to study Jensen.

He was an unusual combination of super-hot and approachable. His gaze was warm and friendly, especially when he was looking in Danneel’s direction. The freckles that were scattered over his face made him look young, his full mouth, lush lips and wise smile made him seem older.

Of course, Jared could be totally overthinking the entire thing, of course. There was just something about Jensen that made Jared want to know him. He wanted to sit on the end of the dock at night, legs dangling in the cooling lake water while he listened to Jensen talk about down home.

“Jared?” Kim’s amused voice broke into his thoughts. “Do you mind starting us off?”

Heat flared in Jared’s cheeks as Jensen looked across at him with a lopsided smile on his face.

“Sorry?” Jared said.

Kim laughed. “It’s all good, Jared. It’s early. I was asking if people could share some experience they may have had in their past that would help them to relate to the kiddos here.”

Right. Some of Kim’s words had filtered through to Jared’s brain.

“Jared’s not a morning person,” Chad offered, and everyone laughed.

Smiling, Jared felt the all too familiar blush burning on his cheeks. “I didn’t really fit in when I was in High School. You know. Too tall. Too skinny. I guess I’m outgoing or maybe too honest too. I don’t have much of a filter between my brain and my mouth and that hasn’t always worked out well for me.”

Kim nodded as though she understood. When Jared looked across at Jensen, he was watching intently.

Jared shrugged. “I didn’t get into sports until after I graduated. It might have helped me to make friends.”

“I can’t imagine you having trouble making friends,” Jensen said with a warm smile on his face. “But, I get it. Being different, I mean.”

Right, Jared thought and Chad laughed as though he knew exactly what Jared was thinking about Mr. Perfect-face, hot-body, dating-Danneel knowing very little about being different.

“Chad! Don't start being an ass so early in the summer,” Kim admonished in a playful way.

“Well, hell,” Chad began again. “We all know Jensen is a freak like the rest of us.”

Danneel cheered and everyone else laughed.

Kim shook her head fondly. “For Jared’s benefit, I’ll explain. We reclaim the word freak but we don’t use judgment-laden nicknames around the kiddos.”

Jared nodded. It made sense. When Chad thumped his hand down on Jared’s shoulder, he jumped.

“Jared will fit right in,” Chad said. “Ladies! Fresh meat!”

As Jared’s face heated up yet again, Kim came to his rescue. “Chad! Remember that talk you and I have every time we meet about how not every thought in your brain needs to come out of your mouth?”

Jared found himself hoping that Chad would master Kim’s advice.

“It’s okay,” Gen declared. “We already know that Jared is a great guy.” She grinned at Jared.

There was no way the burn on Jared’s face and neck could get any hotter. He took a deep breath, nodded his thanks to Gen and looked down at his hands.

Kim moved on to Misha, the groundskeeper. He talked about how he and his wife had an open marriage for a period of time and how people had been judgmental about it. He seemed a little odd, but Jared thought he would probably like him.

Cindy spoke in her quiet, deep voice about being bullied in high school because she had gained weight while she was on the cheerleading team. Jared had never really thought about it, but he could see the hurt on Cindy’s face.

While he listened to Danneel talk about being teased because her birth name was Elta, Jared scratched at his cheek. It was a nervous gesture. When he lifted his gaze, Jensen was watching him. It could be Jared’s imagination but he thought Jensen looked a little disappointed. But then, the corners of those soft looking, red lips curved up into a bone-melting smile.

For a few seconds, Jared managed to hold Jensen’s gaze, then he dropped his eyes to his sneakers again.

Adrianne spent some time telling the group about her brother. He was born with some disabilities that made his life a bit of a challenge. It was clear that Adrianne was her little brother’s biggest fan and they seemed to have an enviable relationship.

Startled by the squeak of Jeff’s chair as he stood, Jared looked over at the older man. “I’ve met all of ya,” Jeff said. “But just as a refresher, I’m Jeffrey Dean Morgan. Jeff or JD is fine. Don’t be a dick and we’ll get along fine.” He shrugged his shoulders slightly. “In addition to keepin’ everything mechanical running’ around here, I head up the Diversity training.”

Unable to help himself, Jared lifted an eyebrow. There didn’t seem to be much about Jeff that was diverse but that was exactly the wrong kind of thinking.

Catching Jared’s eyes, Jeff smiled slightly and his dark eyes warmed. “I don’t want Jared to be the only one here who doesn’t know. So, I’m gay. Most people wouldn’t make that assumption, given the way I look and talk. Works well on the kids when I finally tell ‘em.”

Well. Even though Jared returned Jeff’s smile, he found himself feeling embarrassed, yet again. It wasn’t that he’d done anything inappropriate or wrong, but he had no idea what to say.

Chad’s mouth opened wide in mock surprise and he sank back in his chair. “Wait. Jeff? You’re gay? But, you’re such a paragon of manliness!”

Jensen busted out laughing and the sound gave birth to a little burst of warmth in the middle of Jared’s chest.

Danneel giggled and beamed over at Jensen.

Kim rolled her eyes. “Okay, you fools. I can tell this meeting is going to be a challenge. How about a coffee break before we get down to the nitty-gritty?”

“Yes!” Chad leaped out of his chair and headed towards the urn of coffee on one of the side tables.

Jim stood, folded his arms and huffed. “I’m Jim. I cook. I’m not the nicest guy. I’m going to make lunch now.” He left the room to a chorus of we-love-yous.

Laughter and chatter filled the room as Jared stood and stretched. Everyone seemed to be talking to someone so he headed to the door and stepped outside onto the deck. He drew in a deep breath of fresh morning air and stared out over the lake.

It really was beautiful. Jared couldn’t wait until he knew Jensen well enough to ask if he could use one of the kayaks in the mornings.

“You good, Jared?”

The deep voice was familiar and Jared turned just as Jeff hopped up onto the wooden railing.

“Yeah,” Jared answered quickly. “Why? Did I do something?”

JD chuckled as he sipped some of his coffee. “Nothin’ ya did. Just wanted to make sure I didn’t bother you by singling you out.”

Jared shook his head. “No. It’s fine.”

Realizing what he’d said could be misunderstood, Jared felt the blood drain from his face. “I mean. Not you being gay, that’s not fine. Shit. I mean, it’s fine but that’s not what I meant was fine.”

God.

When Jared managed to make eye contact, he realized that Jeff was grinning.

“Son, you are pretty high strung today.”

“Me?” The question came out much higher than Jared had intended.

“Relax, Jared. I won’t hit on you,” Jeff teased.

Suddenly, everything changed and Jared could feel his blush overtaking the cool on his cheeks. “No. I didn’t mean that. Not that you’re not good -” Jared clamped his mouth shut and longed for a pit to open up beneath him so he could disappear before saying anything else.

“Jared, I’m just teasin’ ya,” JD said fondly. The man actually looked like he felt bad.

The last thing Jared had wanted was to make Jeff feel bad. He seemed like a great guy, hell, the kind of guy that Jared could probably ask for advice. “Jeff, I think. I mean, I’m pretty sure that I’m gay.”

“Yeah?” Jeff said without the slightest change in his expression. “No one here will give you any shit if that’s what you’re worried about.”

Jared shook his head. He didn’t feel like he was worried. “I’ve. I’ve never told anyone that before.”

Jeff nodded once and his smile softened. “That’s alright.”

Jeff sipped his coffee again and turned slightly so he could see the lake. Expecting to feel uncomfortable with the silence, Jared was surprised to find that it was easy to just be there with Jeff. He sighed and relaxed slightly.

Chad came barreling through the door and handed Jared a coffee. “I remembered that you liked it with half a pound of sugar, Jared.”

Jeff slipped down off the railing and hung his arm over Jared’s shoulders. “Fuck, you are tall, son.”

“Good genetics,” Jared answered.

Chad rolled his eyes. “This is turning into the pretty boy camp. All you perfect people.”

Jared smiled as he took the coffee and sniffed it. He wasn’t used to being teased so much, but he was beginning to enjoy it.

“Why are you sniffing your coffee?” Chad asked. “Poison? If I wanted to kill you there are easier ways to do it. We live together.”

Laughing, Jared drank some of the coffee. He almost choked when Jeff flung himself at Chad and got him into a headlock.

“Save the coffee!” Chad yelled at Jared as he flailed backward.

Yes. Westwind was a good place.

-=-=-=-

Five days of training flew by and then there was a day of last minute jobs around the camp before a couple of days off before the campers arrived.

Jared had offered to help Jeff out in the workshop. He’d spent the morning sweeping out the place and making sure that each workstation was equipped with a list of the appropriate tools.

It felt good to work hard. Jared always found that the time flew by when he was busy. He was surprised when Jeff showed up with pizza and two beers.

Jared took the beer with a sheepish look on his face. It was going to taste good.

“Don’t tell Kim. Jim and I have a private stash. It should be against the Geneva Convention to prevent us drinking when we work with kids.”

Jared laughed and popped the top off his bottle. He was right; the beer tasted good. “Jim make the pizza?”

Nodding, Jeff nodded and set the pizza down on the open tailgate of the truck. “I took a chance that you were a meat guy.”

The mounds of meat and cheese looked good to Jared.

Jeff headed over to the truck. He sighed happily when he sat down and swallowed a big gulp of beer.

With a slice of pizza in one hand and beer in the other, Jared got settled on the tailgate. “Thanks. Didn’t even know I was hungry until I smelled this.”

“Jim is a cranky old guy, but he’s the best cook in the state, I’ll wager.”

As Jared chewed, he nodded. It was an awesome pizza.

“Everything going alright for you here? Chad’s not driving you crazy yet?” Jeff set his beer down and picked up a slice of pizza.

“Yeah,” Jared said with his mouth still half full. He chewed and swallowed. “He talks a lot but I don’t mind. That means there’s never uncomfortable silence.”

Jeff chuckled. “Can’t imagine silence ever being a problem around that kid.”

It certainly wouldn’t be. Jared was pretty sure he had fallen asleep the previous night while Chad was still speaking. “I haven’t told him yet. You know. That I’m gay.” Jared shrugged. He was surprised at how much easier it was to say out loud the second time.

“There’s no deadline,” Jeff said casually. He took another bit of pizza.

“I’d like to. I mean, Chad’s a good guy.”

“Like I said, there’s no deadline. No rules about how to do it or if you have to do it.” Jeff smiled and picked up his beer.

“True.”

“You sound like you’re feeling more certain about it,” Jeff said. He took a mouthful of beer then set the bottle down.

“I am. I guess. I mean. The night I arrived, spending time with everyone down at the lake.” There was a struggle going on in Jared’s mind as he tried to figure out how to describe it.

Jeff turned his head slightly and looked at Jared.

“It’s just obvious, I guess when everyone’s playing around in the water... what it is I’m attracted to.”

Jeff chuckled softly.

“That made me sound terrible.” Jared drank a few gulps of beer, mainly for the distraction.

“Made ‘ya sound normal,” Jeff answered easily. “How old are you, nineteen?”

“Twenty.” Jared picked at the label on the beer bottle. It was craft beer, no doubt from a local brewery.

“Right. Exactly the age when you should be at the beach appreciating the finer things in life.” Chuckling again, Jeff rubbed at a smudge of oil on his forearm. “So, did one particular finer thing catch your eye?”

For a moment or two, Jared wasn’t sure what Jeff was asking. When he realized, he let out a breathy laugh and nodded. “Yeah.”

“Care to share?”

“Jensen.”

“He’s a sweet kid,” Jeff said with a fond smile on his face. “Makes everyone feel special. Entirely too obsessed with Danneel though, if ya ask me. Those two are attached at the hip.”

Just like that, Jared’s heart fell. Because yeah, he wanted the most of the stupid summer camp movie. He’d wanted Jeff to announce that Jensen too, was gay. Maybe, he’d even told Jeff he felt the same way about Jared.

But, no. That wasn’t how real life worked. “Danneel seems really great.”

“She is,” Jeff said. “Not nearly as girlie as she looks. She’s one of those young women who will grow into an amazing person. Someone, anyone would be lucky to know.”

Nodding, Jared sat his bottle down. “Yeah.”

Danneel had to be someone special because Jensen seemed like the kind of guy who would end up with someone special.

Jared’s disappointment must have shown on his face because Jeff patted his shoulder then squeezed it. “Listen, it’s a summer. One summer in the big scheme of things and then... there’s a whole world out there waiting for all of you.”

As realistic as Jeff’s words were, Jared couldn’t really find a thought that would cheer him up. The camp really would have been the perfect place for summer romance. And anywhere out there in the middle of nowhere would be the perfect place to date Jensen.

Jared sighed.

After a quick sip of beer, Jeff glanced at Jared out of the corner of his eye. “Did anyone tell you about Chad and the chicken yet?”

Frowning over a smile, Jared shook his head.

“Good. Scar ya for life, that shit will.”

-=-=-=-

It was their last evening of freedom before work started. Jensen had borrowed the camp truck, Jim had prepared them some food and JD had sneaked a cooler of beer into the back of the truck.

Jensen, Danneel, and Genevieve were in the cab of the truck and everyone else was settled in the back.

Jensen was taking them to a secret swim hole, somewhere they could have some peace and quiet before the campers arrived.

For the better part of the drive, Jared lay on a pile of their backpacks in the middle of the truck bed. He watched the blur of green trees speeding past until he felt a little sick, then he lay on his back and stared up at the cloudless blue sky.

It was a two-hour drive along the lakeside road to the trailhead and by the time the truck bumped to a stop, Jared felt drunk on sun and wind.

As everyone poured out of the truck, Jared looked around. There was a small clearing, some weathered stumps for seating and a metal rimmed fire pit. Behind a stand of trees, there was a small bay. It was sheltered and private and Jared could see why everyone loved the spot.

Jensen came up behind Jared and pressed his hand to the small of Jared’s back. “Give me a hand with the tents?”

Little prickles of heat snaked along Jared’s skin and he stepped away from Jensen to hop up on to the tailgate. He absolutely didn’t do it to avoid the close contact. Nope.

Jared bent and picked up the small tents and tossed a couple of them to Jensen.

“They look small,” Jared said as he bent to pick up the remaining two.

“Two-person tents. Worried about sharing a small space with one of us?”

“Hadn’t really thought about it,” Jared lied. He’d done nothing but think about it in the totally obsessive way of someone trying to appear completely casual.

Danneel appeared at Jensen’s side and grinned up at him. “Sweetheart, I’m going to share with Cindy were we can talk about you men, okay?”

Feigning being stabbed in the heart, Jensen stumbled back a few steps. “You’ve forsaken me.”

“Dramatic much?” Danneel laughed and grabbed one of the tents from under Jensen’s arm.

“I’m hurt,” Jensen muttered but when he looked up at Jared, he was grinning. “Wanna be my roomie, Jay?”

So, first of all, Jay? The nickname Jared hated made him feel like someone had just dumped warm honey all over his body when Jensen said it. Roomies. “Sure, I’ll room with ya.”

Act like it’s not the best thing in the universe, Jared.

“See!” Jensen called out towards Danneel’s retreating back. “I’ve already replaced you.” Still smiling, Jensen headed off with one of the tents to set it up.

Jared stood in the back of the truck a while longer, wondering if sharing close quarter with Jensen was a good idea or a bad one.

Not that he was going to change his mind.

-=-=-=-

They swam and sunned themselves for most of the afternoon. Jared managed to distract himself from watching Jensen by trying to teach Chad how to do a handstand. Even Jared had to admit that watching Chad faceplant repeatedly was entertaining.

Genevieve and Danneel had brought a beach umbrella and they read and chatted under it for most of the day.

Jensen and Matt tried to help Cindy and Adrianne improve their swimming strokes but it seemed like there were more teasing and water fighting going on than anything else.

They were already a group. That was probably what Kim hoped to accomplish by having them come to the camp a little early. They were already planning things they could work on together when the kids arrived.

By late afternoon, everyone was hungry. Jensen set about starting a fire and Chad tidied up the makeshift log seating.

It only took about an hour for the guys to get dinner ready.

“Ladies! Dinner!” Jensen called out.

Jared had already made himself comfortable on one of the logs and was scratching a bug bite on his arm when Chad arrived. He was carrying the old, beat up, blue cooler. “Beer?”

Jared nodded and took the bottle Chad held out to him. He watched as the first round was handed out.

Jensen began calling people up for their burgers and there was a happy buzz in the clearing for a time.

Once they had eaten and made it through their first drinks, the light was already fading.

“Don’t stray too far from the fire, girls. Wouldn’t want you to get eaten by a wolf,” Chad said quietly. He seemed to be aiming for sinister but didn’t quite make it.

Danneel laughed but Cindy actually looked a little nervous.

“Chad!” Jensen admonished. “There are no wolves around here.”

“Thank God,” Cindy said and let out a relieved sigh.

Jensen winked at Jared across the fire then continued. “Mountain lions, rattlesnakes and the occasional bear, but no wolves.”

Cindy took a few steps back towards the fire then sat down beside Jared.

“You guys are awful,” Danneel said. She strode over to where they were sitting, looked at them a moment, then sat down on Jared’s knee.

Even in the short time they’d been working together, Jared had accepted the fact that Danneel paid little attention to personal space and a considerable amount of attention to her own comfort. He looped his arm around her waist and propped his cheek against her arm. “Don’t worry, Cindy. Nothing will come near a fire.”

“Unless it has rabies,” Chad added. He plunked himself down on a stump and patted the one next to him as he looked over at Genevieve.

As she made her way to Chad’s side, Gen leaned down and kissed the top of Cindy’s head. “Nothing to worry about, Cindy. The boys are being assholes.”

“Hey!” Jared protested. “I didn’t say anything!”

Danneel beamed a smile at Genevieve and circled her arm around Jared’s neck. “Jared’s Prince Charming. He’d be the one in the horror movie who died because he was trying to save us all.”

“Thanks. I think,” Jared said quietly.

Jensen chuckled and moved over so Adrianne could share his log. Matt tousled Jensen’s hair as he took the last spot by the fire.

For a while, Jared watched the roaring fire. The sun had disappeared behind the trees and he could see sparks zipping up from the fire like little explosions.

Chad held up his beer bottle. “To this year’s team.”

Everyone raised their bottles in agreement and drank. Jared already knew that he would miss the ragtag crew at the end of the summer.

Matt picked up a stick and poked at the fire. “So. What are we playing this year?”

Momentarily confused, Jared glanced around the circle. “What?”

Danneel shifted on Jared’s lap and nestled closer to his chest. “You’re so warm.”

Jensen glared across the fire. “Danneel, leave the poor man alone.”

“What?” Danneel protested innocently.

“She’s fine,” Jared said. He wondered if Jensen was a little jealous. Of course, he had nothing to worry about but Jared hadn’t had that conversation with anyone yet.

Danneel grinned at Jensen and turned to look at Jared. “We always play one of the typical Camp games. Truth or Dare. Spin the bottle, twenty questions - about personal things only, of course.”

To Jared, each game sounded terrifying. He was a terrible liar, he hated talking about himself and he definitely didn’t want to be dared to strip naked and run around pretending to be a monkey or something worse.

Chad let out a satisfied sigh after swallowing a mouth full of beer. “Well, you all know that my favorite is truth or dare.”

Cindy leaned towards Jared to explain. “Ever since we added the non-discrimination clause, he always picks that.”

“The what clause?” Jared found his terror level increasing quickly.

Danneel gigled. “It’s 2018, Jared dear. All dares are gender neutral.”

“Meaning what exactly?” Jared asked nervously.

“Same-sex kissing etc is allowed on a dare,” Danneel answered.

The way Jared’s heart began thumping in his chest, he started to wonder if he was having a heart attack. “That sounds terrifying.”

Jensen cocked an eyebrow and then looked over at Chad. “Jared doesn’t want to kiss you, Chad.”

“No,” Jared declared quickly and everyone laughed.

“Don’t worry, Jared,” Danneel added sweetly. “Chad’s not my type either.”

“You always go for tall, dark and underwear model,” Chad grumbled.

Jared snorted. “Guess I don’t have anything to worry about, then.”

“I don’t know,” Jensen said as he stared at Jared through the flames. “I think you could model.”

Swallowing became impossible for Jared and he smiled weakly at Jensen. He really needed to get out of playing truth or dare.

Chad leaned forward and grinned. “So. Truth or Dare? You all know I’m the reigning champion.”

Matt spat out a mouthful of beer as he started laughing. Once he had wiped his face he held the beer up towards Chad. “No one will ever beat the chicken.”

“What’s the chicken thing anyway?” Jared asked Danneel.

Cindy started to giggle and bumped her shoulder against Jared’s. “It’s hilarious.”

Danneel shifted on Jared’s lap so she could see him more clearly. “We were playing truth or dare last year-”

“- no way! Jared only gets to hear the chicken story if he’s played truth or dare with us,” Chad declared. he wiped his hands on his jeans and stood. “You in Padalecki?”

There were times when Jared wished he could be as carefree as other people. He was already embarrassed and nothing had even happened. But, it would be really shitty to lie in the tent and listen to everyone killing themselves laughing.

“Come on, Jared,” Danneel teased. “Maybe we’ll get to kiss.”

“Dani!” Jensen blurted out.

Jared averted his gaze from the frown on Jensen’s face. The last thing he wanted was to cause a problem with Jensen.

“Chill out, Jen. I’m just trying to get him to play.” Danneel unwound herself from Jared and wandered around the fire to squeeze in beside him.

“It’s just kissing,” Adrianne said as though that explained everything. “We’re all adults.”

“Playing kids games,” Genevieve added as she giggled.

“Be that as it may,” Chad interrupted. “All in or none of us get to play because of Jared.”

“Dude,” Jensen blurted out again. “Don’t be a dick. If Jared doesn’t want to play, that’s fine.”

“I’m not a dick,” Chad protested.

“It’s okay, I’ll play,” Jared said loud enough to be heard over the banter.

“Excellent,” Chad said.

Danneel pulled lipstick out of the pocket of her denim jacket. “Ready!”

There was a lot of eye rolling around the fire. Jared focused on finishing his beer. His throat was suddenly very dry and he felt a little like he’d rather deal with the wildlife in the bush than the potential kissing around the firepit.

Adrianne crossed her long legs and smoothed her hands down her tights. “You boys are so predictable. It’s juvenile all this ‘truth or dare’ crap.”

For once, it was Cindy who spoke up. She flipped her long, dark hair back over her shoulders and looked over at Adrianne. “I didn’t see you complaining last year when you were kissing Matt.”

“That’s because Matt is lovely,” Adrianne said as she tried to keep a serious expression on her face.

“I’m lovely,” Matt echoed with a mischievous twinkle in his eyes.

“God,” Chad muttered loud enough for everyone to hear. “Another thing we’ll never be allowed to forget.”

Glad that the attention was no longer on him, Jared sat watching everyone. He saw Jensen and Chad exchange a look that he couldn’t figure out.

Chapter Text

Chad offered to be the first victim and promptly chose dare. There was a brief argument about who should come up with the dare, then it was decided that the person to the right was responsible. Jensen rubbed his hands together gleefully and the game began.

Jensen had Chad spin around in a circle ten times, and then try to run around their circle. He tripped halfway around and ended up tangled between Matt and Adrianne while they were all laughing.

Chad made a point of not asking Genevieve to kiss anyone and made her reveal the story of her first crush.

When Cindy told Genevieve she wanted a dare, Gen declared that she should try to give Jensen a piggy-back ride around the fire. Although there were a couple of close calls, she made it most of the way around before declaring she was done.

Everyone was still laughing when Jared declared he would take truth.

Cindy was kind to him and asked only why he had decided to work at the camp. It was easy for him to relay how he wanted to help kids find ways to be active. He even talked a bit about not being a basketball player in High School and all the teasing he suffered because of it.

They went a few rounds that way. Innocuous dares that involved climbing trees and dashing to the beach and back. Jared learned that Adrianne would take unlimited pizza with her to a desert island. Chad would date a Kardashian. Cindy couldn’t live without her childhood teddy bear.

The beer was steadily consumed, and by the time it was Jensen’s turn again, Danneel was looking quite devilish. “Alright, Jensen. What’ll it be?”

Jensen chewed on his bottom lip for a few moments then nodded decisively. “Dare.”

Jared grinned and finished the rest of his beer. Jensen was a good sport. His last dare had been to get all the way around the outside of the truck without touching the ground. It was pretty funny and very creative.

“Okay, Jensen. I want you to make out with Jared,” Danneel said proudly.

Jensen’s expression darkened as he glared at her. “Danneel.”

Jared had never heard Jensen sound so stern.

Chad let out a celebratory yell. “Now, we’re talkin’.”

“No,” Jensen said firmly.

It was another one of those times when Jared found himself hoping that he could just magically disappear. In fact, he figured it would be a perfect time for a bear to emerge from the trees and drag him off to certain death.

Genevieve flipped her hair back and slapped her free hand on her thigh. “You had me kiss Danneel last summer!”

“And,” Danneel added. “I’m pretty sure I’ve kissed everyone here but Jared.”

“No,” Jensen said again in a softer voice.

Chad was laughing, amused at Jensen’s predicament. Matt looked like he wasn’t sure why it was such a big deal.

“If he doesn’t want to…” Jared said. He was glad that a round of boos made it impossible for him to finish the sentence.

Chad stood, jammed two fingers in his mouth and whistled everyone quiet. ”Rules are rules, Jensen. Everyone else has done their dare. You have too as well. It is 2018 after all. Danneel and Gen are right.”

“How long?” Jared asked. Well, if he had to do it what was wrong with him enjoying it a little?

“You kiss for thirty seconds, and you can’t just press your lips together and stay there.”

Jensen was looking down at his sneakers, shaking his head back and forth slowly. When Danneel leaned over and whispered something to him, he glared at her. When he turned his face back towards the group, his cheeks were flushed. “Fine.”

“How do we do this?” Jared asked quietly. He stretched his legs out in front of him, uncertain he would even be able to stand up. Jesus. He was going to kiss Jensen.

“Rules are that you can do it here, or you can do it in private with a witness,” Chad offered. “We came up with that for Adrianne last year, ‘cause she’s shy.”

“No,” Adrianne corrected. “I just didn’t want you watching me, Chad.”

“Whatever,” Chad muttered.

Jensen stood so quickly that Danneel was almost knocked off the stump. “Dude!”

“Private,” Jensen said. “And Danneel can witness seeing as this is her rotten idea.”

Wow. Jared hadn’t expected Jensen to be excited, but rotten set the bar pretty low.

Danneel muttered something under her breath that only Jensen heard, but he did nothing but shoot her another look. “Come on.”

As Jensen and Danneel headed into the trees, Jared set his beer down and struggled to his feet. He managed to get around the fire without falling in which was both a blessing and a curse.

It was dark as soon as they were away from the fire and Jared adjusted his hoodie. The sounds of laughter and chatting drifted after him as he finally caught up with Jensen.

Danneel didn’t look the slightest bit cowed by the furious expression on Jensen’s face.

“Dude,” Jared said quietly. We don’t have to do this. I can say I don’t want-”

“-it’s fine,” Jensen answered quickly. When he looked up at Jared's expression softened. “It’s not you, it’s Danneel.”

“Oh, come on,” Danneel said. She stuck her bottom lip out a little bit and hooked her pinky finger through Jensen’s. “You know I love you. I just wanted to make you-”

“- make me miserable,” Jensen finished.

Jared couldn’t help the dry laugh that escaped. Sure, he was no Danneel but he didn’t figure it would be the worst things that had ever happened to Jensen.

“Boys.” Danneel took a deep breath and blew it out between pursed, pink lips. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and opened the timer. “Thirty seconds on the clock. I’ll start it when you’re really kissing.”

Jared’s heart started to thump loudly in his ears. He couldn’t believe what was about to happen. It felt wrong that there was a tingle running down his spine because it seemed like Jensen was feeling exactly the opposite.

Shrugging a shoulder, Jared stepped forward on unsteady legs. He could feel his pulse throbbing in his neck and pulled his hoodie away from the beads of sweat that had appeared on his chest. He felt like he should say something to Jensen to make him feel better, but he couldn’t think of anything. “I won’t be a jerk.”

For a moment, Jensen looked a little puzzled, then a small smile slid onto his lips. “Just kissing, right?”

God. Jared’s head felt like it might explode. It was not going to be just a kiss, but Jared would make damn sure he tried to act like it was.

“Don’t mind me,” Danneel said sweetly.

After a final glare at Danneel, Jensen closed his eyes and rubbed them. When he opened them again, he gave Jared a real smile and closed the distance between them.

Jared felt frozen. He stood there, feeling Jensen’s warm breath on his chin. He was so close that, even in the dull light filtering through the trees, he could see how green Jensen’s eyes were.

“I’m not hitting start until there’s a real smooch happening,” Danneel said.

“Shut up,” Jensen answered softly.

Their lips met even though Jared hadn’t even managed to move. It was all wrong at first. Their mouths were just pressed together, static and uncomfortable.

Jensen made a soft sound that slithered down Jared’s spine and held on tightly.

Jensen’s lips parted and the sweet, soft, wet slide of them made Jared feel like his legs were made of jello.

Without his brain being able to contribute at all, Jared’s body took Jensen’s lead. He leaned in closer to Jensen, his lips parted and his tongue explored the fullness of Jensen’s bottom lip.

The taste of beer, marshmallow and Jensen made Jared’s heart quiver. He could feel himself trembling as their mouths slanted and the tip of Jensen’s tongue teased its way into Jared’s mouth.

Jensen’s hand settled on Jared’s hip, his fingers digging in slightly. He deepened the kiss and Jared’s thoughts fizzled away to nothing.

As their mouths moved together, Jared felt heat creeping all over his body. His blood was rushing in his ears and he could feel the roughness of Jensen’s stubble against his cheek.

Jensen’s tongue slid forwards, danced along Jared’s teeth and set off a shudder of pleasure.

Jared felt Jensen shift closer and then the heat of Jensen’s fingers slipped under the hem of Jared’s t-shirt. The barely-there touch was like an electric shock.

Jared felt like his knees were going to give out. His hands flailed out. Jesus, he wanted them on Jensen’s body.

He pressed his hand to Jensen’s chest and Jensen sprang back away from him.

Panting slightly, Jared leaned back against the closest tree. When he glanced over at Danneel she was wide-eyed, her phone held limply in her hand. Her bright, pink lips were parted in a small, surprised O.

When Jared looked across at Jensen, their eyes met briefly before Jensen looked over at Danneel. When he spoke, his voice was rough and strained. “Was that thirty seconds?”

Danneel looked over at Jensen and nodded weakly. She looked back down at her phone then back up at Jensen. “More than thirty.”

Jared drew in a deep breath and tugged his hoodie down. His entire body was buzzing with pleasure and he shifted his leg to try and hide his arousal.

“You should have told us,” Jensen said. He wiped the back of his hand across his mouth and looked everywhere but at Jared.

This was where things would get awkward, Jared thought. He dragged his thumb along his bottom lip and smiled weakly at Danneel.

“Let’s get back to the party,” Jensen said gruffly as he shouldered his way past Jared.

Sighing, Jared looked down at his shoes, then back up at Danneel. “He really didn’t want to do that.”

Jared had never gone so quickly from ecstatic to miserable. He’d thought a chance to kiss Jensen would be worth the awkward outcome, but he was beginning to realize he was wrong.

Danneel seemed to shake off her reverie and walked over to look her arm through Jared’s. “Don’t worry, honey. It’s not about you. He’s just pissed at me.” She grinned up at Jared as she tugged him back towards the fire. “The good thing is, he can never stay mad.”

Stumbling over some brush, Jared righted himself and ran a hand through his hair. Everything felt a little surreal. His heart was still pounding, he could still taste Jensen’s lips on his. And the sweet smell of Danneel’s perfume enveloped them as they emerged back into the clearing.

Chad tossed Jared an unopened beer. “Danneel keep you back there for some… research?”

Snatching the beer out of the air, Jared stared at Chad. “What?”

“None of your business, Chad,” Danneel said coyly. She pushed up onto her toes and kissed Jared on the cheek.

Jensen walked over to the cooler and grabbed another beer before striding back to his stump. He glanced briefly at Jared, smiled, then looked away.

A weird kind of pit opened up in Jared’s chest, it ached and he hated it. Why did kissing a straight guy have to feel as amazing as it had? It was a cliche and it was completely lame. And, it was the best kiss Jared had ever had.

“Go sit,” Danneel whispered. “I’m going to go work on grumpy.”

Somehow, Jared made his way around the fire and back to his stump.

Chad yelled, “Dare!” and leaped over to punch Jensen’s shoulder. “Swim out to the old stump and back,” Jensen ordered then he took a long drink of beer.

“The water will be freezing,” Chad whined.

“Tough shit, I had to kiss Jared,” Jensen snarked.

Wow. There it was again. “Ouch!,” Jared said with a forced smile on his face.

Danneel’s small fist connected with Jensen’s shoulder so hard that he winced. “Don’t be a dick! Jared is a great kisser!”

Frowning, Jensen glared at Danneel then looked across the fire at Jared. “Guess you two didn’t need to be dared to get at it.”

Blinking slowly, Jared almost choked on the beer he was trying to swallow. “I didn’t-”

“Skinny dip time!” Chad yelled as he threw his t-shirt at Jared.

There was chaos for a few moments, squeals and laughter filled the air, clothes were shed and everyone leaped over stumps to make their way down to the water.

Suddenly, Jared realized he was alone with Jensen at the fire. He smiled and stayed seated.

“You gonna swim?” Jensen asked as he shed his t-shirt.

Shaking his head, Jared smiled. “Nah. Too cold for me and I’m pretty tired anyway.”

“Hey, Jared?”

“Hmm?”

“I was just mad at Dani,” Jensen said. “Sometimes, she thinks she’s got a great idea but she doesn’t really think it through.”

“It’s all good,” Jared said. He glanced up at Jensen briefly then looked away. The last thing he needed was a lasting image of Jensen shirtless. “She didn’t kiss me, you know.”

For a moment, Jensen looked puzzled, then he smiled and nodded.

“Jensen!” Someone shrieked from down at the lake.

“I’d better go,” Jensen said.

“Okay. Don’t drown,” Jared said as lightly as he could manage.

Chuckling, Jensen walked around the fire and stopped at Jared’s side. “We good?”

When Jared looked up, he saw Jensen’s hand outstretched. He smiled and clasped it. “All good. Go save Danneel.”

“I might just drown her.” Jensen patted Jared’s shoulder then jogged off down the path.

What a night. Juvenile games that lead to the best kiss of his life, then a bro shake and a friendly pat on the back.

Awesome.

-=-=-=-

It was inevitable that Jared would end up alone in the tent staring at the nylon roof.

By the time everyone had returned from their skinny dipping they seemed subdued. Perhaps it was the cold water, maybe they had burned off some of their extra energy.

For a time, soft voices drifted around on the air. The popping sounds of the fire died down and, eventually there was a hissing sound as someone doused the remaining flames with water.

Jared rolled over onto his side, facing away from Jensen’s empty sleeping bag. He had decided that it was likely that Jensen would find a way to spend the night with Danneel. After their squabble earlier he imagined that they would spend some time making up.

He did not imagine what making up would entail.

The kiss hadn’t changed a thing but it had infected every thought Jared had had since it happened. It was completely unfair that such an amazing kiss could come from someone who wouldn’t actually choose to kiss him.

It was stupid. There was a reason he hadn’t enjoyed stupid games when he was a teenager and that was doubly so now that he was older.

There were soft footsteps outside the tent. Someone whispered something, then he heard the sound of the zipper on the tent flap.

Whoever it was stepped into the tent and promptly fell over the bottom of Jared’s sleeping bag. There was a dull thump and a muttered curse in a deep, familiar voice.

“You okay?” Jared rolled over to find Jensen sprawled across his sleeping bag.

“Yup.” He turned his head so he could see Jared. “Believe it or not, that was me trying not to disturb you.”

Jared smiled. “It’s all good. I was just lying here.”

“Good,” Jensen said. He began to struggle up to his knees and slipped his hoodie off.

As soon as Jared realized Jensen was undressing, he rolled onto his other side. “No one drowned, I assume?”

Jensen chuckled quietly. “Nah. I kept an eye on everyone. I used to be a lifeguard.”

Of course, you were, Jared thought. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to eradicate the image of Jensen in board shorts that popped unbidden into his mind’s eye.

There was rusting behind Jared, then he heard the zipper on Jensen’s sleeping bag.

“You asleep?”

Jared really wished he was. “No.” He rolled back over to face Jensen.

There was enough moonlight seeping through the roof of the tent that Jared could see Jensen’s face clearly.

Jensen dragged his teeth over his bottom lip then smiled. “I’m sorry about all that game shit. I hate playin’ those things, to begin with, and then I let Danneel get under my skin.”

“It’s okay.” Tucking his arm under his pillow, Jared tried to look as though the entire day hadn’t been a big deal. He wasn’t sure if he succeeded but Jensen didn’t look too concerned.

“Danneel has this thing… she likes to interfere in my life when I don’t want her to-”

“-I’m sure she means well,” Jared said quickly.

“Still…” Jensen shifted around a little, closed his eyes and licked his lips. “No hard feelings?”

Finally able to stare at Jensen’s face, Jared found himself smiling. It was pretty easy to answer the question truthfully. “None at all.”

“Good.”

Sighing, Jared began to count the freckles on Jensen’s nose. There was one freckle nestled just above Jensen’s top lip and Jared wanted to reach out and touch it. He glanced up to find Jensen watching him.

There was a creeping heat moving around in Jared’s body. “You have a lot of freckles,” he said by way of an explanation.

Jensen’s smile warmed. “Family thing. My mama has ‘em too. I used to hate them.”

“I think they look good,” Jared said. He immediately bit his cheek to stop himself from saying anything else.

“Yeah?” Jensen didn’t look bothered by Jared’s observation. One hand appeared from under the top of the sleeping bag and Jensen trailed his fingers along his cheek as though he could feel the freckles. “They show up even more in the summer.”

“I guess you’re in the sun a lot,” Jared said and immediately wished he was a better conversationalist.

“All summer! Dani says I must be part merman though because of the amount of time I spend in the water.”

“Why do you like it so much?” Jared asked.

The sleeping bag covered lump of Jensen’s shoulder shrugged. “It’s the best place to be. It’s kind of how I imagine it would feel to fly. It’s so easy to move… in the water, you don’t have to worry about how tall you are, how much you work out… shit like that.”

It made sense, although Jared had trouble thinking of Jensen as the kind of person who worried what other people thought. But, if he’d learned anything from the camp already, it was that it was never easy to guess what people had been through in their lives.

“When did you learn to swim?”

The smile on Jensen’s face grew. “When I was seven I met my friend, Steve, at the local pool. He asked me if I could swim and I said I didn’t know. He shoved me in the deep end and I just… swam.”

Jared chuckled quietly. “Wow. Things could have gone very differently.”

Grinning, Jensen nodded. “So, true. Steve’s still the kind of guy who pushes me though. He’s a good friend.”

“It’s good to have someone like that in your life,” Jared said.

“What about you?”

“I guess, well, my friend, Sandy. We were dating for a while and even though that didn't work out, we stayed good friends. She’s is never afraid to tell me what she thinks.”

It was true. Jared was fond of Sandy, but he’d had to be honest with her. He thought of her as a best friend, not a partner. Looking back, it all made sense. It was strange the way life worked out.

“It’s good you’re still friends. You’re a good guy. You’ll leave here with a lot of friends.”

A good guy. That seemed like the kiss of death. “I’m looking forward to it.”

Long, dark lashes fluttered down and Jensen nestled down into his pillow. “Still gotta help me out this summer.”

Jared stared at the beautiful face in front of him, watched as Jensen’s features began to soften as he relaxed. No! Don’t. “Of course, I will.”

“Thanks,” Jensen murmured.

-=-=-=-

The morning was like any other morning. The birds were way too loud, the roof of the tent way too bright and Jared’s morning wood was pressed uncomfortably against a warm thigh.

Jensen’s warm thigh.

Jared’s eyes widened and he turned his head slowly to look down at Jensen. Their legs were tangled together and Jensen’s arm was slung across Jared’s bare chest.

It wasn’t unusual for Jared to wake up with the covers thrown off. It was unusual for him to wake up practically cuddling someone.

Jensen.

Jared swallowed in a dry throat, then shifted slightly to try and withdraw his hips. As he pulled away, Jensen groaned softly and pressed his palm flat to Jared’s chest.

At least Jared had managed to roll onto his back. He pressed his eyes closed and tried not to focus on the weight of Jensen’s arm, the heat of his palm. “I’m in hell,” he murmured softly.

Jensen shifted again, fingers dragging slowly across Jared’s chest… then he rolled away.

There was a rustling outside the tent and Jared pushed up onto his elbows as the zipper opened slowly.

He couldn’t see anyone at first, as he squinted into the early morning sun. Beside him, Jensen yawned and stretched his arms high above his head. “What’s happenin’?”

“Someone is-” A crash of cold water slammed into Jared’s face and chest. His lungs ceased working instantly and for a few seconds he was frozen then he let out a yell.

Jensen, clearly assaulted at the very same time, tried to lunge towards their attacker but only ended up tangled helplessly at the bottom of their sleeping bags.

Chad’s laughter ran out in the clearing outside the tent and Jensen swore. “I’m going to kill him.”

Jared couldn’t help it. He started to laugh. He’d gone from waking up mortified to shocked and then amused as all hell so quickly, it was like a roller coaster ride.

Jensen had one arm hooked through the open door of the tent, the other looped around Jared’s ankle. He was soaked; his hair spiked up all over the place, water dripping from the end of his nose.

A crooked smile appeared on Jensen’s face as he watched Jared laugh. “Sleep okay?”

-=-=-=-

They all joked that once the kids arrived at the camp, everything went into overdrive. It was true.

The younger camp volunteers got the kids up and herded them to breakfast each day. After they ate, they split into their different groups.

In the mornings, Jared worked with a group of kids who had never mountain biked before.

Jeff had helped him to turn an old running track into more of a bike obstacle course and the kids loved it. They were all dusty, a bit beat up and exhausted after a few spins around the course, but they looked pleased with themselves.

Lunchtime was another round of herding cats. Jared usually picked up something to eat in his cabin so he could have a few minutes to try and stop the pounding in his head. Kids, he’d discovered, were very noisy.

The afternoon classes were a combination of climbing the rock wall and assisting Matt on the parkour course.

The kids were natural at climbing. Jared had a theory that humans were born with the spirit of a climber but just forgot as they got older and became all tangled up in adult stuff.

In the late afternoon, Jared had a bit of a break. Jensen had all the kids down at the lake.

It was great to see the small sailboats out in the late afternoon sun. Laughter wafted to the shore whenever someone capsized or crashed into another boat. Jensen definitely had his hands full.

The first few days were exhausting. Jared woke himself up way too early with strong coffee and fell into bed face first as soon as he was able to at night.

The good thing about being busy was that he hardly ever had time to stare at Jensen while he was in the lake. It seemed there was quite a contingent of kids who also had a crush on Jensen and he was rarely alone when he was walking around camp. There was usually a gaggle of kids vying for his attention.

He seemed to have unending patience; he was always smiling. These kids loved him.

Of course they did.

Jared was standing outside the cabin when Chad trudged up the hill. “Dude. Ackles is looking for ya.”

“For what?” Jared rubbed his shoulder and looked down at the water. He couldn’t see much of anything happening.

“Something about the dock and needing someone tall to help him.”

“What?”

“Dude!” Chad pushed the cabin door open. “I don’t know. I had to work with fifteen kids today who were each writing a different short story. I can barely remember my own name, never mind your message.” Chad walked into the cabin and kicked the door shut behind him.

Chuckling, Jared headed down the path towards the lake. He could hear the odd sound coming from the kid’s cabins. They had some free time before lights out so they were probably getting into trouble.

When he arrived at the dock, he couldn’t see Jensen but there were waves radiating out from under the dock. Jared paced a little further out and looked around. “Jensen?”

“Under here. Just a second,” came a muffled reply.

Still looking around, Jared wandered out to the end of the creaky dock. As he reached the end it swayed slowly back and forth on the waves generated by the wind. He widened his stance to keep his balance; the dock didn’t usually move.

Jared knelt down and Jensen popped up in front of him, shaking water from his hair. He bobbed there smiling. “Can you give me a hand?”

“Does it involve me getting wet?”

“If I say yes, will you still help?”

There were little drops of water clinging to Jensen’s eyelashes and Jared smiled then rolled his eyes. “Of course, I’ll help.”

“Yes!” Jensen sounded delighted. “I need your help under the dock.”

“Under?”

Jensen nodded, hanging onto the dock with one hand and treading water with the other. “The anchor chain has come loose somehow. I can’t hold it in place and hook it up at the same time. I need another pair of hands.”

“You’re lucky you’re a nice guy, Jensen,” Jared said as he toed off his sneakers. He hesitated before taking his shirt off, waiting for Jensen to go back under the water, but he didn’t. Jared pulled his shirt off and tossed it onto his shoes.

“It’s not too cold,” Jensen said as he wiped the water out of his eyes.

“It’s always cold, Jensen.”

As Jensen chuckled, he smoothed a hand back and forth over his head. “No leeches though. That is a plus. You haven’t lived until you’ve had to pull one of those suckers off your-”

“- Not helping, Jensen.”

There it was again. That smile on Jensen’s face that made Jared think he would probably do anything Jensen asked him to. Jensen winked.

It was adorable and conspiratorial and Jared wasn’t sure if Jensen was even aware that he did it.

Sitting down on the end of the dock, Jared dropped his legs down into the water. He splashed some onto his chest and goosebumps popped up immediately. “Fuck.”

“It’s not that bad,” Jensen teased. He patted Jared’s shin. “Just jump in. Get it over with.”

Knowing it wasn’t a good idea, Jared let himself fall forwards into the water. It was freezing. But, after a hot, sweaty, dirty day, he had to admit, it felt okay.

When Jared popped up for air, his teeth were chattering.”L-l-lovely and warm.”

Laughing again, Jensen rubbed a hand vigorously on Jared’s shoulder. “You’ll warm up quickly.”

“Y-you mean when hypothermia sets in?”

“Lovely way to die, I’m told,” Jensen said. “We gotta swim under the floats. Pop up underneath. There’s a good two feet of headroom once you’re under. You good with that?”

There must have been a bit of apprehension showing on Jared’s face because Jensen frowned. “You want me to get Matt?”

“What?” Jared definitely wanted to be the knight in shining armor who helped Jensen. Matt could go jump off a cliff. “No. Just make sure I don’t get lost.”

There was a gentle smile on Jensen’s face and he held out his hand. “Come on.”

Jared took a deep breath then slipped his hand into Jensen’s. Jensen’s fingers tightened and he nodded.

They both dove down. Jared let the pull of Jensen’s hand guide him. They swooped down about five feet then Jared felt Jensen tugging him forward and up.

When they broke the surface of the water again, they were underneath the dock. Jensen let go of Jared’s hand and grabbed hold of one of the supports. “You okay?”

Jared nodded. He shoved the wet mop of his hair out of his eyes and looked around in the dim light that was sneaking through the planks above them. “What are we doing?”

“Okay.” Jensen grabbed Jared’s hand again and moved it underwater until he could feel smooth metal loops. “You feel that?”

Oh yes, Jared thought. I can feel how warm your hand is and how smooth it feels because of the water. He just nodded and tried not to notice how their legs bumped every so often as they floated there.

“I need you to hold onto that. Try and keep it here. The dock tends to float back away from the anchor. I’ll swim down and get the chain. When I have it up here I need you to help me pull it this way so I can hook it in.”

“Got it.” Jared held on to the loops with his left hand let his right hand float towards Jensen.

“Every time I pick up the chain it sends silt flying all over so I can’t see much. Don’t kick me?” Jensen grinned a grin that made Jared’s chest feel a little tight.

“I won’t.” Jared liked the way Jensen’s eyes sparkled when the sun just happened to sneak through the boards at just the right angle.

Jensen took a deep breath, then dove.

Jared saw the tanned skin of Jensen’s back, the green of his board shorts and then he was gone.

The seconds tripped past slowly. Jared, occasionally, felt the water move, as though Jensen was swimming closer, then he felt nothing. He kept his legs still, eyes straining to pick out a moving shape in the murky water. He should have been timing Jensen. How would he even know if Jensen was in trouble?

There was a swirl of water around Jared’s feet, then a hand smacked into his ankle, grabbed on and pulled. Jared reached down and managed to get his fingers around Jensen’s upper arm. He tugged and felt Jensen moving higher. Eventually, he was able to loop his free arm around Jared’s waist.

Yanking on the hook, Jared pulled the dock slowly towards the chain in Jensen’s free hand. He could only just see it in the murk.

The chain was only about an inch away. Jensen tightened his hold on Jared’s waist and wrapped a leg around Jared’s for leverage. As he pulled, he let out a storm of bubbles.

Something thunked and Jared felt the pull of the dock lessen. He hauled Jensen up out of the water.

Coughing and sputtering, Jensen slung his arm around Jared’s neck as he gasped for air.

“You okay?” Without even thinking, Jared smoothed Jensen’s hair back from his face and cupped his cheek. “Don’t die on me.”

Finally managing to breathe in between coughs, Jensen smiled slightly as his eyes locked on Jared’s. “Tougher than I thought.”

He was panting slightly, hanging there from Jared’s shoulder, still staring into Jared’s eyes.

Heat was swelling in Jared’s body. It wasn’t just that Jensen was wet and pressed up against him. It was the way those eyes were burning into his. He felt like Jensen could see everything Jared was trying to hide from him. He averted his gaze and pulled back slightly.

Slowly, Jensen unwound his leg from Jared’s. “It’s cold too.”

Smiling, Jared nodded but only glanced at Jensen’s face to avoid being snared by his eyes again. “Cold. Very cold.”

“You’ll thank me later.”

“I will?” Jensen’s hand was still on the back of Jared’s neck. Why was Jensen’s hand there? He seemed to be breathing fine. God.
Jensen’s fingers moved, tucking under Jared’s hair as though it was the most natural thing in the world.

“The dance later. It will be roasting in there,” Jensen said. He bobbed closer to Jared, then away, as the waves moved between them.

Right at that moment, Jared was very glad he had agreed to help. He could feel the way Jensen’s skin was warm in the cold water, his arm slid against Jared’s shoulder smoothly. When the swell of water pushed them closer, Jared could feel the tickle of Jensen’s fine leg hairs against his shins. He closed his eyes for a moment then took a deep breath.

Straight. Remember Danneel?

“You’re going, right?”

Blinking his eyes open, Jared found himself staring into the striking, green eyes once more. “What?”

“The dance.” Jensen’s fingers moved almost imperceptibly at the nape of Jared’s neck.

It was difficult for Jared to focus on the conversation and not the way little shivers of pleasure were tripping down his body. “The… yeah.”

“Good,” Jensen said.

It could have been Jared’s imagination. Maybe it was wishful thinking. But Jensen seemed to move a little closer. Those green eyes moved from Jared’s eyes to his lips and back and that idiotic little voice in Jared’s head screamed, he’s going to kiss you.

Just as Jared was trying to convince himself to breathe, Jensen’s other hand brushed his waist and he couldn’t help the way he jumped. Just like that, the tension of the moment broke and Jensen let go. He floated away from Jared, rubbed his hand over his face and smiled almost apologetically. “So, I’ll see you there I guess.”

“Sure,” Jared said. His throat felt tight and dry and he’d never been more confused by anyone in his life.

Jensen sighed and smiled. “Save me a -”

Feet pounded on the dock above them and Jensen peered up.

“Jensen!” Danneel’s familiar voice called out. “Are you still alive? You promised to take me to the dance!”

It was difficult to detest Danneel for her really bad timing because she was about the sweetest woman Jared had ever met.

“He’s fine,” Jared called back.

“We just secured the dock,” Jensen said as he looked straight into Jared’s eyes.

A pretty brown eye appeared at one of the gaps between the planks. “Boys! Nice hiding spot! There’s chili for us in the kitchen and Chad’s got a punch he managed to slip some vodka in.”

“Oh goody,” Jensen teased. He finally tore his gaze away from Jared. “On my way.”

Jensen held out his hand to Jared. “Ready?”

“I’m good,” Jared said quickly. “I’ve got the hang of it.” He really needed to stop torturing himself before he went completely insane.

Jensen frowned slightly. “Jared, if we weren’t-”

“Come on!” Danneel said impatiently. “You have to change before we can go. Have to set an example for all the little ankle-biters.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Jensen said. He nodded at Jared. “See you at the dance.” He took a deep breath and dove into the water.

Jared let his head thump against the wooden support.

-=-=-=-

By the time Jared had showered, had something to eat, decided what to wear to the dance and wandered there as slowly as he could, the dance was in full swing.

Jared lingered by the side door to the big house, said hello to some of the campers, then headed inside.

There were Christmas lights up all over the room, and Jared had to admit that it looked pretty good considering the limited resources. He’d never been much of a dance guy when he’d been in school, but he could see why the kids had been talking about it all day. It was a chance for everyone to be who they were; be the one who got asked to dance. It was good.

As Jared watched the dance floor, he couldn’t help smiling. In just a few days, some of the kids had really come out of their shells.

The music changed to a slow song and Jared was jostled by someone at his side. He looked down to find Cindy standing there. He leaned down to kiss her cheek. “Hi. You look beautiful.”

Cindy curtsied in her bright yellow summer dress then twirled for Jared. “Only nice dress I brought with me.”

She slipped her arm around Jared’s waist and swayed in time to the music. “You clean up good.”

Jared felt his usual blush creeping onto his cheeks. he was wearing his only pair of jeans, a white button down and his blue tie. “Feels weird to be wearing so much clothing.”

Cindy laughed and offered Jared some of her drink. It was pink and looked like it probably tasted terrible. Jared took a sip and blinked a few times. It had enough of a kick that he had to clear his throat and tilted his head slightly.

Cindy giggled. “Sorry. Should have warned you. Chad.”

Of course. At other camps, there might be a problem with the kids spiking their drinks. “What do you think Chad was like as a kid?”

Cindy smiled fondly. “A holy terror, I imagine.”

“Probably.”

“He seems to be making progress with Genevieve.” Cindy pointed to the center of the dance floor.

Chad had his arms slung low on Gen’s waist. Her hands were clasped behind his neck and they were talking as they danced. Jared nodded.

Then his gaze was caught by a blur of red material. Danneel was in a long, red, skirt that swirled around her ankles. Jensen swung her out and then pulled her back against his chest.

Jensen looked amazing. He was wearing slim fitting black pants and a red v-neck t-shirt. There was a leather bracelet on his wrist and as he held Danneel’s hand against his chest, something on it glinted in the lights. He was gazing down at Danneel as they danced, smiling softly as she spoke.

“Almost sickening, isn’t it?” Cindy said.

“What?” Jared tore his gaze away from Jensen.

“Jensen and Danneel. There should be a law against two people that beautiful dancing together.”

“Yeah,” Jared answered without evening thinking. He glanced down at Cindy and shrugged. “They really love each other.”

“They’ve been friends since junior high. Been through some pretty epic shit together.” Cindy took a sip of her drink. “They’re good too.”

“Good?” Jared let his gaze wander back towards Jensen. The music sped up and Jensen began to sway his hips in time to the beat. His forehead was glistening with sweat and his smile was bright and wide.

“He’s pretty gorgeous, isn’t he?”

“He is. I mean-” Jared cleared his throat, then looked down at Cindy.

There was a warm, knowing smile on Cindy’s face and her eyebrows lifted slightly. She nodded then squeezed Jared’s side.

“Is it that obvious?” Jared asked. He wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or worried that Cindy had figured it out.

She shook her head. “I just like watching people. Especially gorgeous people like yourself.” She winked.

Jared looked down as he grinned so his hair would fall forward and hide his obvious embarrassment. “You’re very sweet.”

“You know, Jensen is one of the kindest men I’ve ever met,” Cindy said.

They were both watching as Jensen and Danneel continued to dance. Danneel’s long hair had come loose from her ponytail and was like a halo around her as she spun.

“Last year, he took one of the first years to her prom. She was so shy. Took her the whole camp to work up the courage to ask him.”

Jensen seemed like the kind of guy who would do that. It didn't surprise Jared at all.

“He came two weeks early too. Just to help Jeff work on the truck. He’s that guy, you know?” Cindy sighed and held up her cup. “Here’s to the unattainable men.”

As soon as Cindy had drunk, Jared stole her cup and drained it. He was wiping his mouth with the back of his hand when Danneel dragged Jensen towards them.

“I love ties,” Danneel pronounced as she reached them. She curled a small hand around Jared’s tie and pulled him down so she could plant a kiss on his lips.

Laughing, Jensen picked up a can of Coke from the nearby table and popped it open. As he gulped it down, as his throat worked and Jared caught himself staring again.

“You better save me a dance, Jared. I always manage to tire Jensen out,” Danneel said brightly as she attempted to poke her hair back into place.

Feeling it was safer to make no comments, Jared just smiled.

Danneel flipped a piece of hair off her face. “Matt was hilarious earlier. You missed it. He did a terrible impersonation of a B-boy.”

Cindy laughed. “I adore Matt, but he has no rhythm.

Jensen slid closer to Jared. “Thanks for helping me with the dock earlier.”

“No problem,” Jared answered. He slipped his hands into his pockets, feeling a little nervous.

“You still want to kayak?”

“Yeah. I do,” Jared said. Because what he really needed was to spend even more time with Jensen.

“I swim out to the float in the morning around six. I could show you then.”

“I’m not much of a morning person,” Jared muttered.

Jensen leaned in closer to speak nearer Jared’s ear. “Okay. What about after lights out tomorrow night?” Once the kids are in bed, they won’t hear us. Kim is used to me being out on the water at all hours.”

Jared turned to look down at Jensen and realized too late just how close he was standing. He moved to pull away but Jensen slid his palm over the small of Jared’s back and leaned up on his toes to speak against Jared’s ear. “Come on. Meet me tomorrow night. It’ll be fun. Then you can help me take the kids kayaking.”

Jensen dropped back onto his heels and looked up at Jared from under his lashes.

Danneel grabbed Jared’s hand and tugged. “Jared, Jensen. We’re dancing.”

Cindy smiled as she pulled Danneel towards the dance floor.

Jared managed to slip his hand free.

“Jensen!” Danneel called out as she disappeared into the crowd. “Bring him!”

Looking oddly shy, Jensen held out his hand towards Jared. “Can’t disappoint Danneel, ya comin’?”

Jared shook his head and sank his hands deeper into his pockets. “I’ll pass. I’m gonna…”

“Oh. Okay,” Jensen said quickly. His fingers curled into his palm and he let his arm fall back to his side.

“Want a drink instead? Chad’s got some really bad vodka,” Jensen said with a slight smile on his face.

“I had one,” Jared answered. He forced a smile onto his face. He didn’t understand why he found it so difficult to just be normal around Jensen. Well, he did, but he felt like he should be able to act like an adult.

Danneel burst out of a group of kids and snagged Jensen’s hand. “C’mon boys!”

As Jensen was swept away into the crowd, he smiled at Jared and it almost looked sad.

Great. “Now, I’m pathetic,” Jared murmured. He slipped out the side door and headed down the path to the lake.

He’d spent most of his life without having to deal with confusion and he wasn’t enjoying it. Even when he’d been with Sandy, he’d known they weren’t it for each other in that same mystical way he knew the sun would come up every morning.

When it came to Jensen, he wasn’t certain of anything.

Well, anything except that he wasn’t able to do what he really wanted.

-=-=-=-

The lake was pretty calm even though there was a cool wind coming across the water. Jared had kicked off his flip-flops and was dangling his feet in the water off the end of the dock. It was cool and felt good.

The music from the dance was still going, louder than ever and every so often Jared could hear laughter or a smattering of someone’s conversation. It sounded as though everyone was having a good time. Jared hoped that, as the summer progressed, he’d figure out a way to be around Jensen and Danneel without feeling so much like something was missing from his life.

The dock began to sway from side to side as someone walked out on it.

Jared looked over his shoulder and smiled. “Hey, Jeff.”

As he sat down next to Jared, Jeff groaned. “M’gettin’ too old for this.”

Chuckling, Jared bumped his shoulder against Jeff’s. “Yeah, whatever. Nothin’ old about you.”

“Son? You’re good for my ego.” Jeff shifted to get comfortable then kicked some water up with his feet.

“Are you wandering around barefoot?”

“Hippie at heart.”

Jared chuckled.

“How come you’re not in there?”

“The dance? I dunno.” Jared shrugged. “Got a lot on my mind. Don’t want to subject everyone to that.”

There was a warm smile on Jeff’s face as he scratched at the stubble on his chin. “You doin’ okay?”

Looking down at the water, Jared sighed. “Just figuring shit out.”

If Jared wanted to tell Jeff what was going on in his head, he wasn’t sure where to even begin. Okay, so Jensen was good looking, sweet, friendly and when they kissed there had been enough chemistry to light Jared on fire. He was also straight and had a girlfriend. That should be enough, right there, to put everything in perspective for Jared.

“You missed Jensen slow dancin’ with Matt. And, Danneel is in there right now leading a conga line.” Jeff chuckled quietly and leaned back on his hands as he swung his feet back and forth in the water.

Smiling, Jared leaned down and wet his hands so he could sweep his hair back with them. The cool water trickled down onto his scalp and made him shiver. “I’m sure someone got it all on their phone.”

“Not too late to go back in. I heard Chad sayin’ they’re gonna go swimming later,” Jeff said. “That guy ain’t nearly as stealthy as he thinks he is.”

“I’m not feelin’ very social,” Jared said. He didn’t want to spend another night trying not to watch Jensen in the water.

They were quiet for a while and the only sound was the splashing of the water at Jeff’s feet. “Okay. I know it’s none of my business, but you know you can be yourself here, right? None of these folks are gonna judge you.”

Jared closed his eyes for a few moments, then turned to smile at Jeff. “It’s just. It’s new. I’m workin’ out how to be the same guy I always was.”

“And bein’ around Jensen doesn’t help?”

Jared wasn't sure if Jeff was being sarcastic or not. “It’s just weird. I mean…” Jared sighed.

“Weird?”

“I’m twenty, ya know? I should know how to do this by now. It’s not like I’m a kid.” Jared could feel himself blushing already. That was as close as he was going to get to admitting how he was feeling.

“Trust me, Jared. You're still a kid,” Jeff answered quietly. “And this is big life stuff. Hell, I’m still figurin’ things out and I’m twice your age.”

Jared pressed his lips together and nodded. He studied Jeff’s face. His eyes were gorgeous, dark brown with long lashes. The crows feet on his suntanned skin gentled his harsh features.

Jared cleared his throat. “I want what Jensen and Danneel have, you know? I want to date my best friend, know that there’s someone that has my back no matter what.” Jared shrugged and looked back out at the water. “I want that crazy feeling that I don’t know how to be without someone. I’ve never had that.”

There was a slight frown on Jeff’s face as he turned to look at Jared. “Jared, not everything is as simple as it looks from the outside.”

“I know,” Jared answered quickly. “Summer camp movies aren’t real.”

Jeff huffed and elbowed Jared. “What the hell are you talkin’ about?”

“You know,” Jared smiled. “Those bad movies about summer camp and falling in love.”

“Like Friday the 13th?”

Jared laughed. “Not sure I want to know what your idea of falling in love is, Jeff.”

“There’s romance in Friday the 13th,” Jeff muttered.

“Dude. Everyone gets murdered when they have sex!”

“Okay, so it’s not perfect,” Jeff relented with a smile on his face.

Still chuckling, Jared rested his hand on Jeff’s shoulder. “I appreciate the effort.”

“Now, you’re just messin’ with me.” Jeff leaned down and splashed water up at Jared.

“Look out suckers!” Chad screamed from the shore behind them.

Jared and Jeff just had time to get out of the way before Chad was leaping between them and cannonballing into the water.

Chapter Text

“Fuck! We’re all gonna die of rabies!” Chad yelled.

Jared couldn’t stop grinning.

It had all begun with screaming. Jared, Jensen, and Chad had been standing outside the cabins after dinner chatting when screaming kids had run out of one of them.

They headed inside to find a rather pissed off raccoon on one of the bottom bunks. Chad had scoffed and said it looked cute. When he lunged at it to scare it out, everything changed. The raccoon had snarled and charged at Chad, and he had scrambled up onto the top bunk screaming.

Jensen had looked frantically around the cabin for a weapon and ended up armed with the broom. He was holding it like a spear and standing near the end of the bunk bed.

That was the point at which Jared began to laugh.

“It’s not funny, Jared! Do something!” Chad exclaimed as he peered over the edge of the bunk.

“Don’t. Move.” Jensen said as he slowly crept forward between the bunk beds.

“It’s a raccoon, not a grizzly bear,” Jared managed to get out between laughs.

“That asshole is vicious,” Chad said in a low voice as though he didn’t want the raccoon to hear him. “He’s got pointy teeth!”

“He’s probably way more scared of you, Chad.” Jared sat on the top of the desk in the corner of the cabin. He was finding the whole thing pretty entertaining. “Two big, strong men like you can take care of one little raccoon.”

Jensen flinched back when the raccoon growled at him. “Dude! Don’t antagonize him.”

Laughter burst out of Jared again and it took him a while to be able to answer. “Jensen? You know he can’t understand us, right?”

Jensen never took his gaze off the raccoon. “Oh, he understands us just fine, Jared. Look at those beady, little eyes. He’s plotting our deaths right now.”

“Where is it? I can’t see it,” Chad hissed. He was on his knees in the middle of the top bunk, wide-eyed and sweaty.

“I really wish I had my phone,” Jared said before snickering again.

“Don’t mock me from over there in the safe zone,” Chad snapped.

Jensen held out the broom closer to the raccoon and it let out a vicious snarl and lunged.

“Don’t piss it off!!” Chad yelled.

“It’s already pissed off,” Jensen yelled back.

Jared was laughing so hard his stomach was hurting. He was doubled over on the desk, struggling for breath. He was pretty sure he’d never seen anything funnier in his life.

Very slow, broom held out in front of him like a shield, Jensen moved along the side of the bunk bed until he was almost behind the raccoon. “Steady there, fellah.”

The raccoon was still growling but he was shuffling slowly towards the bottom of the bed.

“Easy, Jensen. Easy.” The serious expression on Chad’s face was epic.

Jared sucked in a breath and continued to laugh behind his fist. His lungs were aching and he was feeling entirely too fond of the two idiots in front of him.

“Nobody… move,” Jensen almost whispered. He moved the broom closer to the bed, the raccoon still muttering and snarling as he scuttled nearer to the end of the bed.

Jensen let out a war cry and lunged at the raccoon. Chad screamed. The bunk bed shook. The raccoon, hardly bothered by the broom at all, simply looked annoyed and trundled to the end of the bed, hopped down and scurried out of the cabin.

Not wasting a moment, Chad scrambled off the top bunk and flew out the door yelling, “You’re my hero, Jensen.”

“I can… hardly breathe,” Jared said as he tried to stand up.

Jensen set the broom against the wall in the corner of the room and ran his hands over his hair. “That was a close call, man.”

Still chuckling, Jared leaned back against the wall and shook his head. He could hardly see because he was crying. “Good thing you were here to save the day, Captain America.”

Looking very much like he was trying not to smile, Jensen wandered over to lean back against the wall as well. “I think I saw my life flash before my eyes.”

With his grin making his cheeks ache, Jared glanced at Jensen before looking down at his sneakers. “Were there lots of images of you having epic battles with tiny woodland creatures?”

“You’re a funny guy, Jared,” Jensen teased. He elbowed Jared in the ribs and chuckled.

“No, Jensen. I think you are one of the funniest people I’ve ever met.” Jared said easily. Jensen was full of surprises. He wasn’t as predictable as Jared had thought he was.

“I’m brave,” Jensen said in a slightly indignant tone. He only lasted a few seconds before he busted out laughing.

It started Jared off laughing again and he ended up coughing.

“You gonna die?” Jensen asked as he reached out and patted Jared’s chest.

Jared blinked the happy tears away from his eyes and lifted his hand to press it over Jensen’s. “You have the best laugh, Jensen.”

When Jared rolled his head to the side to look at Jensen, he could see that Jensen was staring at their hands.

Suddenly, the weight of Jensen’s hand was like lead. The heat from his palm was bleeding through Jared’s t-shirt and making his chest tingle.

Jensen’s fingers dug into Jared’s chest almost imperceptibly and a frown flickered across his face. When he finally looked up and their eyes met, he opened his mouth as though to speak, then closed it and shook his head once.

There were steps on the wooden porch and Jensen slid his hand out from under Jared’s and headed towards the door. He opened his arms wide and Danneel ran straight into them. She giggled against his chest for a while then beamed up at him. “Chad says you two almost died.”

Jared closed his eyes for a moment then pushed off the wall. He smiled at Danneel as he walked past the couple. He felt certain he could feel Jensen’s eyes on his back, but he didn’t turn around to check.

-=-=-=-

For several days, Jared managed to avoid meeting up with Jensen to kayak. He really did want to learn, but he was getting tired of himself. When he was around Jensen and Danneel together, he didn’t like the guy he turned into.

Finally, one night though, it seemed Jensen had done enough waiting.

Chad was editing some short stories written by the kids and Jared was trying to replace some spikes on one of the mountain bikes.

Someone pounded briefly on their door, then flung it open.

Jared almost dropped the wheel he was working on and Chad yelped.

“Jesus, Ackles. Where’s the fire?” Chad barked.

Standing in the doorway with a couple of paddles tucked under his arm, Jensen grinned.

“Didn’t want to give Jared the chance to avoid me again,” Jensen answered. “Let’s go kayaking.”

Blinking slowly, Jared stared at Jensen for a few moments. He was wearing a tank top and board shorts, of course. he seemed to be more tanned every day. He was barefooted, still wearing an anklet that one of the kids had made for him.

Summer camp movies aren’t real, Jared reminded himself.

“Haven’t been avoiding,” Jared muttered. “I’m busy.”

“You don’t have to do that right now,” Jensen said pleadingly. “Come on. The summer will be over before you know it. Take a chance.”

Jared sighed and made it as dramatic as he could. “I need to fix this wheel.”

“God, Jared,” Chad grumbled. “Get out of here and take Ackles with you.”

When Jared looked up, Jensen tilted his head and smiled. “Come on. Just try it. If you hate it, I’ll never ask again.”

Jared set the wheel down and wiped his hands on the cloth beside him. How did anyone ever say no to Jensen? “Fine.”

“Great,” Jensen said. As soon as Jared was within reach, he held out a paddle. “Should be about the right length for you.”

It hadn’t even occurred to Jared that there might be different lengths for paddles.

As they headed down to the water, Jared listened to Jensen’s explanation of paddling a kayak.

Twist from the waist or you’ll hurt your shoulders.
If you roll over, just slide out and swim up with the bubbles.

Nothing much beyond that stuck in Jared’s mind because he was busy watching the way Jensen moved as he demonstrated correct paddling technique. It was mesmerizing, the way Jensen’s muscles moved under his tanned skin.

“You got it?”

“What?” Jared looked down at the kayak that was suddenly floating right in front of him. “Yeah. I think so.”

He stared down at the kayak, then looked back up at Jensen. “How do I start?”

Grinning, Jensen shook his head fondly. “I’ll hold it to steady it. This one is a sit-on-top. you can take it out a little deeper, then sit on it, then swing your legs in, yeah?”

It sounded easy, but Jared wasn’t convinced. He grabbed the side of the dark, green kayak and waded out until the cool lake water reached his thighs.

“Okay. Ass down on the seat. I’ll keep it steady and then you can swing your legs up.”

“Okay,” Jared said. He stood there a bit longer, trying to work out how long it would be before he was upturned in the water.

“You good?”

“Yup.”

“You’re not moving.”

“I’m visualizing,” Jared said as seriously as he could manage.

Jensen began to chuckle and that made the kayak bob up and down in the water. “It’s three feet of water and I’m a lifeguard. What’s the worst that can happen?”

Jared glanced over his shoulder and smiled wryly. “I can be a bit clumsy.”

“Oh… you’ll be fine,” Jensen soothed. He patted a hand on the back of the kayak. “Let’s go.”

Jared cracked his knuckles, took a deep breath and hopped up onto the kayak. For a few treacherous moments, he felt himself over correcting for the sway and felt as though the kayak was going to tip.

Jensen had one hand on the side of the kayak as he waded deeper. “Think of it more like riding a horse.”

“I’ve never ridden a horse.”

“How have you not ridden a horse? You’re from Texas!” Jensen said.

Wobbling from side to side, Jared glared at Jensen. “Can we focus before I drown?”

Chuckling, Jensen slid his free arm along the small of Jared’s back, his fingers settled on Jared’s hip and squeezed. He leaned in close as he waded out until the water was at his waist. “It’s like riding a motorcycle. You go with it, but don’t overcompensate. Trust me, Okay? I won’t let you tip. You’re getting it.”

Very gradually, Jared felt the kayak stabilize. Jensen was right; he just had to stop fighting it.

“Better?” Jensen stepped back slightly, hand settling on Jared’s thigh.

Jared nodded. He looked down and smiled at Jensen and tried not to focus on the palm that was hot and heavy on his thigh. “You can let go.”

“Right,” Jensen said as he withdrew quickly. He turned and grabbed one of the paddles that were floating behind him. “Curved side towards the water, hands shoulder-width apart.

“Gotcha.”

-=-=-=-

Kayaking was easier and much more fun than Jared had expected. They stayed pretty close to shore until Jared had the hang of paddling. Ultimately, Jensen was right; kayaking was pretty cool.

The raced a couple of times. Naturally, Jensen won, but Jared felt like he was doing pretty well. By the time they were pulling the kayaks out of the water, he was pretty confident that he could help with the kids.

Jared grunted as he tugged the kayak almost to the grass. “Didn’t feel that heavy on the water.”

“Never does.” Jensen let the rope on his kayak go and flopped down onto his back.

“How long were we out there?”

“Couple of hours, at least.”

Jared lay down beside Jensen and looked up at the night sky. “It’s beautiful out here. Can’t see the sky like this in the city.”

“Too much light pollution.” Jensen tucked his hands under his head and sighed. “Where do you go after this?”

“Honestly? Not sure. I’m taking a year off before College. I wasn’t sure what I wanted to study so I figured working for a while might help.” Working for a year would also give Jared more time to figure out how to be more relaxed just being himself.

“Makes sense,” Jensen said quietly. “Danneel thinks I should move to Calif with her when she starts College. But, I think I want to spend some more time working with Jeff.”

“I didn’t know you worked with him.” It shouldn’t surprise Jared. There was a lot he didn’t know about Jensen.

“He’s got his own shop. Builds custom bikes. He’s been teaching me some stuff,” Jensen answered.

“Like a job?”

“Kind of. He teaches me stuff. He only pays me when I’m workin’ unsupervised. Seems fair.”

“Sounds cool to me,” Jared said. He had no interest in mechanical stuff himself, but he thought it would be great to work with Jeff. “You live with your folks?”

“Hell, no,” Jensen said quickly. “Not for years. Jeff helps me out with that too. There's a room above the shop. Noisy as hell during the day, but it’s free.”

“You’ve known Jeff for a long time?”

Jensen nodded and stretched his arms high above his head. “Help wanted sign in the window of the garage. I couldn’t answer any of the questions he asked me about bikes so he laughed and asked me why I was there.”

Jensen was silent for a while and Jared rolled onto his side, propping his head up so he could see Jensen’s expression. “And, why were you there?”

“Nowhere else to be.” Jensen sighed again. “By that time, my parents had made it clear they didn't want me around. I guess I didn’t know where I belonged.”

Jared had never seen Jensen look sad before and he found that it made his chest feel tight and uncomfortable. “They should be proud of you,” Jared said. “Everyone here talks about how great you are, sweet, you’re one of the most positive people I’ve ever met. You’re great with the kids.”

“It’s just history, you know? We all have it. It’s how we get where we’re going.”

Jensen glanced at Jared and smiled. “Anyway… you know you have to help me teach the kids to kayak now, right?”

Grinning, Jared nodded. “I figured that would happen.”

Jensen sat up and tousled Jared’s hair. “We better head to bed or tomorrow morning is going to be even worse than normal.”

Jared nodded.

-=-=-=-

A storm had blown in suddenly, and caught them all off-guard. Jared and Danneel dashed around to all the kids’ cabins, making sure the shutters were closed and they were all warm and dry.

Kim and Jeff were up at the big house, making hot chocolate to take to all the kids.

Chad, Cindy, and Matt were all at Gen’s cabin watching a movie. They had decided that there was no point in everyone being cold and miserable.

Danneel appeared at Jared’s side in front of the last kids’ cabin. “All good here!” she called out over the wind.

Jared grabbed her hand and they started to turn down the path to the staff cabins. The rain was cold and felt like it was slicing into Jared’s face.

A loud clap of thunder rumbled over them and Danneel leaped forward laughing at herself. “It’s crazy out here!!”

Jared didn’t bother agreeing. As they rounded the last corner, a burst of lightning flashed off something white down by the water. Jared slowed down and squinted as he tried to see down to the dock.

There was someone on the end of the dock wrestling with one of the sailboats. There was another flash of light and Jared saw that it was Jensen.

“Danneel!”

Danneel returned to Jared’s side, pulling her hood down over her forehead. “Okay?”

“Jensen’s down there. Go on ahead. I’ll help him,” Jared said over the storm.

Stepping back, Danneel nodded, gave him a thumbs up and raced off towards Gen’s cabin.

Jared ran down to the dock and walked out on it carefully. The wind had whipped the normally calm lake into white-capped waves and it was hard to keep his footing.

When Jared arrived at Jensen’s side, he could see that Jensen was having trouble with one of the main sails. It had come loose and was flapping in the wind. Jensen looked frozen and was having trouble hanging on to the sail.

Jared grabbed the rope Jensen was holding. “What can I do?” he yelled.

“Thank God!” Jensen looked completely pale. He wasn’t wearing a jacket or shoes and his shirt and shorts were soaked through. “Hold her steady while I secure the sail. Then we’ll pull her in against the floats.”

It probably didn’t take more than fifteen minutes to get the sailboat secured, but Jared was exhausted. His Henley had kept the worst of the rain off his body but his legs were numb.

By the time they struggled back to the end of the dock, Jared could see Jensen was shivering.

“Our Cabin,” Jared said next to Jensen’s ear. “Closest.”

Jensen just nodded and jogged along at Jared’s side.

By the time they closed the cabin door behind them, the storm had kicked up another notch.

“Holy shit,” Jared said when he took his jacket off.

Still shivering, Jensen smiled weakly. “They can come outta nowhere.” His teeth were chattering.

“I’ll get you a towel.” When Jared toed off his sneakers, they made a horrible squelching sound. “Gross.”

He grabbed his towel out of the bathroom and a couple of clean ones from the shelf for Jensen then headed back out.

“I smell like a wet dog,” Jensen muttered.

Chuckling, Jared gave Jensen the once over. He was soaked through. “Here. I’ll get you something to wear.” He handed over the towels.

He didn’t wait for an answer, just headed to his bag and pulled out a clean sweatshirt and some shorts. He looked into his bag for a moment, then picked out some hiking socks.

Jensen was rubbing one of the towels across his bare chest when Jared returned. Even wet and cold, Jensen looked good. “I’ll, I’ll just leave these here.”

Leaving the clothes on the chair by the door, Jared went over to the kitchen counter, filled the kettle with water then put it on the stove. “I’ll make some hot chocolate. Chad has the good kind.”

“Where is ol’ Chad?” The sound of wet material hitting the floor made Jared’s heart beat a little faster. He opened the cupboard and pulled out a bag of marshmallows.

“Chad is at Gen’s cabin with everyone else. Dani’s there too. She and I checked on all the kids’ cabins before she headed there.”

“Storm sleepover,” Jensen confirmed.

“Hmm?” Finally willing to risk it, Jared turned around and leaned back against the counter.

Jensen was wearing the borrowed clothes and hopping on one foot as he tried to dry his feet. “They’ll all sleep over in Gen’s cabin. We call it a storm sleepover. The only time we get away with it.”

Jared smiled and picked up Jensen’s clothes.

“I could have done that.”

“It’s okay.” Jared tossed the t-shirt and shorts over the shower door and headed back out. He went across to the stove and set about making the hot chocolate. “You probably want to head out?”

“Where?” Jensen finally had Jared’s socks on but he was still standing by the door. “Gen’s? Nah. There are already five of them in there. That is never comfortable. I always end up having to sleep on the floor.”

Jared shouldn't be feeling quite as happy as he was about Jensen’s choice. But, what the hell? “You’re welcome to stay here.”

Taking a few steps toward the center of the cabin, Jensen smiled. “I was hoping you weren’t going to kick me out now that I’m mostly dry.”

Jared picked up the two steaming mugs and held one out. “Here.”

“Oh, thanks.” Jensen wrapped his hands around the mug and closed his eyes as he sniffed it.

“Make yourself at home. I’m gonna change.” Jared pulled out his pajama pants and stepped into the bathroom to kick out of his wet shorts. He hung them up beside Jensen’s.

“Which is your bed?” Jensen called out.

“Grey blanket,” Jared answered as he tugged his shirt off. He headed back out into the main room in search of a dry t-shirt. “Why?”

Jensen was already sitting on Jared’s bed with his feet tucked under the blanket. “I didn’t want to sit on Chad’s bed.”

Laughing, Jared tugged a shirt out of his bag and pulled it on quickly. He rubbed at his arms to warm them up.

Jensen was looking down at his mug. “This is good.”

“Yeah, I love this stuff. Chad says it’s some gourmet thing.” Jared sat down cross-legged on the bottom of his bed.

A particularly strong wind rattled the door to the cabin and Jared looked over his shoulder to make sure it was still closed. “Is this normal for this time of year?”

Jensen nodded and set his mug down on the nightstand. “At least once a summer since I’ve been coming here. Power will probably cut out too. But Jeff and Misha will get the generator going eventually.”

Almost as though Jensen had uttered magical words, the overhead light flickered and went out. The only sounds around them were from the storm pummeling the cabin.

“Spooky,” Jared muttered. Awesome. In the dark, on his bed with Jensen. His life really was a summer camp movie or, at least, it should be.

“There’s a flashlight under the sink,” Jensen said and Jared felt him get off the bed.

It was a good thing Jensen knew where everything was because it had never even occurred to Jared that there might be a power outage.

There was some bumping in the kitchen and as Jared’s eyes became accustomed to the dark, he could make out Jensen crouched down in front of the cupboards.

“Candles!” Jensen said. A small flashlight beam appeared then Jensen lit a match and touched it to a small candle in a tin. “One of those survival candles.”

“What?” As Jared watched, Jensen turned the flashlight off and headed over to the nightstand in the globe of flickering yellow light from the candle.

“It’s one of those candles in a tin. It’s supposed to keep you warm too, but I’m not sure I believe that part.”

Jensen climbed back onto the bed, a little closer to Jared.

“Do we need to check on anyone?” Jared asked. Not that he wanted to head out into the storm again.

“Nah, Kim and Jeff will take over. The juniors will stay in the cabins with their kids.”

“What about Danneel?” If Jensen was his boyfriend, Jared would be worried about him.

“You told her you were going to help me, right?”

“Yup.”

“She won’t worry then.”

“Won’t she expect you at the cabin sleepover?”

Jensen looked down at his hands, then peered at Jared out of the corner of his eye. “You tryin’ to get rid of me?”

“No,” Jared answered quickly because no, he really wasn't. Even though he should be. If he were a well-adjusted adult, he would be suggesting that they both head over to Gen’s cabin and join everyone. That was psychologically healthy behavior.

Jared took a deep breath, blew it out slowly and tried to stop overthinking everything. He let himself smile. “Just don’t want to piss off Danneel. Seems like that would be a bad choice on my part.”

“She’s been known to castrate men with a look.”

Jensen looked so serious that Jared couldn't help laughing. He leaned back against the wall and drank a few gulps of hot chocolate.

“Everyone will sleep well tonight,” Jensen said in a hushed voice.

Jared got it. The storm was so loud that it seemed wrong to try and speak over it. He leaned closer to Jensen, allowing himself that much, and when their shoulders were touching, he smiled down at his hot chocolate.

“When things were good at home,” Jensen began. “When I was a kid. We used to go camping a lot. My Dad loved to hike and fish. He hunted too. There was this one lake we went too and it rained every time we were there. But, you know, I always slept great there.” He angled his head up towards the ceiling and closed his eyes as though he was listening.

Jared couldn’t stop staring. Even in the flickering light, he could see Jensen’s eyelashes. “I love the sound of rain. I don’t even mind the wind. It’s more relaxing than city sounds.”

“So true,” Jensen said. He opened his eyes and turned slightly. Jared almost fell against Jensen’s chest but he caught himself and slopped hot chocolate onto t-shirt.

“Shit, sorry,” Jensen said as he wiped uselessly at the liquid that had was already soaking into the material. There were furrows on his brow and he pressed his hand to Jared’s chest. “I’m sorry.”

There were a million reasons why Jared should move, but that simple touch held him there like an anchor. “Jensen, it’s fine.”

Their gazes caught as Jensen slid his hand slowly to Jared’s shoulder.

Jared couldn’t look away from those eyes. There was something in Jensen's gaze that made Jared’s chest tight and achy and he had no idea why. Jensen looked almost sad, maybe worried, anything but the way he usually looked. He was usually so carefree. “You okay?”

It looked like Jensen had trouble swallowing, but he nodded once slowly. He stared into Jared’s eyes, licked his lips and leaned in closer.

Jared froze where he was. He stared as Jensen moved towards him, then closed his eyes as though that could pause the moment forever. He could happily stay right there, just on the edge of wondering if Jensen would kiss him, feeling the warm weight of Jensen’s hand on his shoulder. Right there on that paused moment, he could wait forever to feel those lips again.

But, he didn’t have to. Jared gasped when Jensen’s lips pressed to his. His eyes shot open and he was stuck there, staring, everything out of focus... Jensen sat back slightly and they stared at each other again.

Jensen swallowed again, caught his bottom lip under his teeth for a moment then leaned back in.

This kiss smoldered against Jared’s lips, and his heart began to buzz.

It was happening again.

How do you not kiss Jensen Ackles when he kisses you? Jared opened his mouth slightly and was sure he heard a deep moan slip past Jensen’s lips.

It could be the storm, it could be the way his skin was still buzzing from being so cold and wet, but Jared felt a little dizzy.

When he reached out to steady himself, stop the world from tilting off axis, Jared’s thumb pushed under the hem of Jensen’s sweatshirt.

A sharp intake of breath made Jared still, and then Jensen let out the sweetest, softest moan and Jared drank it up.

He tried to catch his breath as he kissed Jensen’s bottom lip. It was soft and full and Jared couldn’t resist catching it for the briefest moment between his teeth.

The sweetness of the hot chocolate made their lips sticky and Jared felt Jensen’s tongue tease its way forwards.

A thunderclap sounded loud above them and when Jared jolted in surprise, Jensen’s fingers tightened on the front of his shirt. He held Jared there and surged forward to reclaim his mouth.

Jared wasn’t sure his heart was even beating anymore. He fell back against the wall and opened his mouth to Jensen. Heat flooded Jared’s veins and a dull, burning, ache began low in his body.

There was a sudden bang. A gust of cold, damp air blew into the room and a bright light beam swept over them.

Jared scrambled sideways at the same time as Jensen twisted to roll off the bed and stand. Jared’s mug thumped down onto the floor as the cabin door closed.

Jeff was standing at the door, water dripping from his raincoat as he trained his flashlight towards the beds. “Hey boys.”

Rather suddenly, Jared’s throat went bone dry. He tugged his t-shirt down to hide his obvious arousal, took a deep breath then held up his hand in a silent greeting.

“I knocked.” Jeff gestured to the door behind him. “Guess you couldn’t hear me.”

“S’fine,” Jensen said. “Everything okay?”

Looking everywhere but at Jensen, Jared wondered if everyone could hear the way his heart was clattering against his ribs.

“All good,” Jeff answered. He wiped his hand down his face and lowered the flashlight. “Dani said you two were down at the dock. I just wanted to make sure you were okay before I headed up to the generator.”

Jensen nodded. “We’re fine. Jared?”

Because he had no clue if he could even speak, Jared just nodded.

“You sure, son?”

The question was directed at Jared and he could see the concern on Jeff’s face. He lifted a shaking hand to his hair and pushed it back off his face. “Great, Jeff. We’re fine.”

“Okay then,” Jeff said with a strange mixture of surprise and concern on his face. “I’ll tell the others you’re stayin’ here.”

Jensen smiled slightly and glanced at Jared before nodding.

“See you tomorrow then,” Jeff said and he disappeared in a whirl of rain and leaves.

“Unexpected,” Jensen said at the same time as Jared said, “Fuck.”

“It’s fine,” Jensen said, his smile wavering.

“No,” Jared said. “It’s not.” Because, it wasn’t. He didn’t want to be that guy. He didn’t want to be the guy who kissed someone else’s boyfriend. Danneel had been nothing but sweet to him and she clearly trusted Jensen.

For a while, Jensen looked sort of blank. He looked like Jared felt, as though he didn’t know what to do next. Then very slowly, Jensen nodded once. He headed over to the door and slipped his feet into a pair of Chad’s boots.

There was a huge part of Jared that wanted to turn everything around, untangle the moment back to the sweetness of those lips against his. “I just don’t want to give anyone the wrong idea.”

Jensen looked up as though it was the stupidest things he’d ever heard, but then, he just nodded again.

“You get it, right?” Jared asked desperately.

“Oh, I get it.” There was no malice in Jensen’s voice. He looked a little blank.

“Sorry.”

Jensen nodded again for no reason then turned to open the door. “Night.”

The door closed before Jared even had time to think about what was happening.

“Fuck.”

-=-=-=-

In the morning, Jared woke up feeling nauseous. He was pretty sure it had to do with the way Jensen’s face had looked the night before, and continued to look in his dreams. It had taken Jared hours to fall asleep. He’d been replaying everything in his mind, over and over, looking for a loophole, a way to turn it all back and make it right.

He had barely cracked his eyes open when the cabin door was flung open for the second time in less than twelve hours. He was beginning to think a lock would be a good investment.

Jared stared into the bright light that was pouring in through the doorway. Finally, he could make out the petite silhouette of Danneel.

“I like you, Jared. And, ultimately, I think you’re a good guy. So. I’m gonna say this, then we go back to normal-”

“Danneel, I-”

Danneel held up her finger and moved it slowly back and forth until Jared closed his mouth.

“You did a shitty thing, Jared.”

“Dani, it’s not-”

“It is,” Danneel snapped. “You don’t get to treat people like this and have there be no repercussions.”

Nodding, Jared sat up in bed and tightened his fists in the quilt. Danneel had every reason to dislike him. Every reason and she was more than a little terrifying.

“Stay away from Jensen,” Danneel said firmly. “You can’t fuck with people’s hearts, Jared. It’s cruel and I don’t think you’re cruel. Do we understand each other?”

Simply nodding, Jared folded his arms across his chest.

Chad appeared at Danneel’s shoulder.

“Jared? Do you understand?”

“Yeah.” Jared cleared his throat. “Yes, I understand.”

“Okay,” Danneel said. She smiled with a distinct lack of warmth and turned to head out of the cabin. “Hi again, Chad.”

Danneel crunched down the path past Chad.

“Dude,” Chad said. “You’re in trouble.”

Jared flopped back down on his bed and covered his eyes with his hands. The last thing he needed was any advice from Chad.

“Do I wanna know what you did?” Chad asked as he stepped inside and closed the cabin door.

“Fuck,” Jared said into his hands.

“That good, huh?”

Jared peered at Chad through his fingers. “I fucked things up, I think.”

Chad looked around the cabin and then bent to pick up a mug off the floor.

“What happened? You and Jensen have a fight?” Chad set the mug down on the nightstand and flopped down onto his own bed.
“I. We. Jensen and I kissed. Jeff kind of burst into the cabin and saw us. I freaked. I mean, I realized what I was doing and I knew it shouldn’t have happened. But it did.”

Chad looked… not really very surprised. In fact, he didn’t look surprised at all.

Jared sat up and shrugged, widening his eyes at Chad. He expected some kind of response.

“What?” Chad rolled onto his back and stared over at Jared. “You’ve been all heart-eyes at the guy since the day you first met him.”

Really. Jared wondered sometimes if he was just the most obvious guy in the world. “Wow.”

“Okay. So after the smooching, what’d you do?”

“Like I said. I freaked out. Jensen said it was fine and I said it wasn’t, because fuck! It isn’t fine. I told Jensen that I didn't want to give anyone the wrong idea.”

“The wrong idea? Dude, brutal,” Chad said wincing.

“Tell me about it, I mean Danneel-”

Chad interrupted by laughing dryly. “Sorry man, but I’ve never seen her as mad as she was when she was heading over here. Her little fists were pumpin’ and I’m pretty sure there was smoke coming’ out of her ears.”

“Of course, she’s mad!”

“Well, her and Jensen have been-”

“- I know, I know,” Jared muttered. He could not sit there and listen to Chad talk about how long Jensen and Danneel had been a couple.

“It’ll blow over,” Chad said. he closed his eyes. “Fuck, I’m tired.”

There were so many things going on in Jared’s head that he felt like it might explode. He was kind of shocked that Chad wasn’t shocked. “That’s it? That’s all you say when I tell you all this?”

Chad cracked one eye open and peered at Jared. “What do you want me to say?”

“Give me some advice! Be a friend and tell me what to do.”

Chad’s brow furrowed and he rubbed at it. “Well, you’re right. You can’t get together with Jensen. And Danneel is definitely going to kick your ass for this because… she’s Danneel and where Jensen is concerned she’s fiercely protective.”

“And?” Jared’s expression softened slightly because he could tell that Chad was actually trying to help.

“And? Don’t they say time heals all wounds?” He shrugged a shoulder. “Okay. That’s dumb, it doesn’t heal all wounds but I bet this will get better and later on, you talk.”

Jared nodded. He didn’t feel any better, but he did feel like what Chad was saying made sense. There was no point in trying to talk to Danneel because she’s made her point concisely and quite fairly when it came down to it. As for talking to Jensen? Jared wasn’t sure how to face him.

But Chad was right. There was time.

He just hoped that things wouldn’t change… that they could just go back to normal as Danneel had said.

-=-=-=-

For the most part, Jared got his wish. The day after the storm, it was eerily as though nothing had happened.

Well, almost.

Of course, they were cleaning up after the storm. There were some trees down, the bike track was a mess and there was debris all over the camp.

Chad didn’t mention a word about Jensen or Danneel. In fact, no one that Jared ran into mentioned it. He figured it was the kind of thing that Danneel and Jensen probably wouldn’t mention to anyone.

Matt was busy trying to clear the paths between the cabins. Cindy and Gen were up on the roof of the big house, reattaching some run-away shingles.

Jeff was using the chainsaw to chop up a couple of trees that had fallen. Jared helped to load the wood into the truck bed so they could take it to the woodshed.

Jeff was kind. He limited his discussion around the night of the storm too, Don’t let me see that again, Son. As embarrassing as it was, because, of course, Jared knew what he was talking about without anyone having to paint a picture, Jeff could have made it a lot worse for him.

After that, if Jeff had any thoughts about Jared and Jensen and Danneel, he kept them to himself. They chatted just like usual, and if Jared caught Jeff staring at him a couple of times - he figured it was a coincidence.

He only caught glimpses of Jensen and Danneel and that was probably for the best. It still felt shitty.

It wasn’t that Jensen was deliberately avoiding him. It just seemed to work out that they weren’t ever in the same part of the camp at the same time.

For the entire first day after, Jensen and Danneel were down at the dock. They reattached loose boards to the dock, repairing the sails and a variety of other tasks that Jared figured needed to be done.

By the end of the first day, Jared was far too exhausted to do anything other than fall face first into bed.

And, that was how things went. At first, Jensen and Danneel seemed busy a lot. Then, after a few days, when they weren’t so busy, they were a little distant but still pleasant enough. Before the camp, Jared wouldn’t have even thought that combination was a possibility.

He and Jensen spoke as if nothing had ever happened between them, as if they didn’t really know each other. It was horrible. But, Jared figured he deserved it.

Danneel had obviously been hurt and really angry. No doubt, Jensen had been on the receiving end of some of that anger. If anything though, Danneel seemed more attentive than ever. She and Jensen were hardly ever apart.

Sometimes, Jared would see Danneel and Jensen on the end of the dock together. She would stand just behind him, arms looped around his middle. At meals, they sat together, and in moments when Jensen looked a million miles away from the conversation, Danneel would rub her fingers on the back of his hand to bring him back.

When Jensen spoke to Jared, it didn’t make him feel awkward. It just made him feel tremendously sad. He missed whatever it was that had been there before. That unidentifiable something that had made Jared’s heart flutter in his chest. Jensen wasn’t doing anything particularly different. He still spoke to Jared, they worked together, but there was more between them than before. It was like a thin film, so no matter how close they were, they would never actually make a connection.

It was, what it was.

Jared began to spend more of his free time with Jeff. It was apparent that Jeff knew things had changed since the night in the cabin, but he never forced a discussion. He asked, occasionally, if Jared was okay and he always answered that he was.

He wasn’t really okay.

One afternoon near the end of the camp, Jared was helping Jeff build a new desk for one of the kid’s cabins. He liked doing the detail work, Jeff had said that he was good at it. He could lose himself in the precise cuts, the gentle hand sanding. He loved the feeling of making something.

That’s probably why he didn’t hear Jensen come into the workshop. He just looked up to find Jensen standing there, watching. Suddenly unsettled, Jared’s hand slipped and the sanding block ran hard across the back of his hand. “Shit.”

“Are you okay?” Jensen reached out and circled his fingers around Jared’s wrist.

Jared winced and yanked his hand away. His instinct was to never do anything again that would give Jensen any reason to be disappointed or sad. He didn’t want to see that look on his face again.

Jensen took a couple of steps back and turned as though he was going to leave, then very slowly he turned back around and squared his shoulders. “You know? I’ve been trying really hard to just be normal around you.”

There were a thousand reasons Jared didn’t want to have a conversation with Jensen about normal. He certainly didn’t want to talk about what had happened in the cabin. “It’s all… okay, Jensen.”

“Okay? You just yanked your hand away from me like you’re gonna catch something.”

“Surely, you understand that,” Jared said in a trembling voice. “If someone saw-”

“- People touch, Jared. It doesn’t have to mean anything.”

But, the problem was that it had meant something to Jared. He should never let himself get caught up in his stupid fantasies. “I can’t deal with- I don’t like the way this makes me feel.”

When Jared looked up there was so much anger in Jensen’s eyes it was painful to meet his gaze. “Fuck you, Jared.”

Eyes widening, Jared took a step forward. He couldn’t understand why Jensen was so mad. He practically lived with Jeff so it wasn’t that he was homophobic. “Jensen-”

“Enough,” Jensen said. “I tried to make this right.”

“Boys?” Jeff strolled over and stood between them. “There a problem?”

It was a question that Jared would very much like to be able to answer.

“Jared has a problem with me. But, it’s okay,” Jensen spat. “I’m done worrying’ about it.”

Confusion furrowed Jared’s brow and he folded his arms across his chest. “I don’t. I don’t have a problem with you, Jensen. It’s just what we did -”

“I’m too old for his juvenile shit,” Jensen said snapped.

“Jensen,” Jeff said in a low voice.

After a quick breath, Jensen swallowed and turned his attention to Jeff. “Kim sent me. She wants a word with you. Something about her car.”

“Thanks,” Jeff said. “You boys got time for beer and a chat?”

Jared nodded slowly then realized his hand was bleeding all over his shirt. He grabbed a cloth off the workbench and tried to cover it.

“Jesus, Jared. Don’t put that on it.” Jeff grabbed Jared’s forearm and yanked a handkerchief out of his pocket. “What the hell did you do?”

When Jared looked over Jeff’s shoulder, Jensen was gone.

-=-=-=-

Chapter Text

By the time the final week of camp arrived, Jared was feeling ready to leave. The programming was all great, working with the kids had been a blast and it was really rewarding.

They had a lot of fun. Chad was great. If he was at all puzzled about what had changed, he didn’t mention it. All of them still spent time together, Jared just made sure he stayed away from Jensen.

There had been one night when they had been gathered around a campfire when Danneel had been saying goodnight to everyone. It was strange. She had leaned down and hugged Jared, then said, “For someone so smart, you can be really stupid.”

It had puzzled him, but much like everything else from the summer, Jared wanted to put it all behind him.

-=-=-=-

Kim looked a little tired, but she looked happy. She stood at the front of the room with Jeff and they were talking about diversity.

Most of the kids seemed a little surprised that Jeff was gay, but there was a lot of laughter as he spoke, so they were comfortable. Some of the questions were a little odd, but they were kids after all. And yes, there was a who is the girl question. But Jeff handled it with grace. Jared expected no less.

Jared was sitting near the back of the room, He wanted to slip out early and head down to the lake for a swim before dinner. He’d been working hard all day. His morning had been a mountain bike trip with a small group of kids. His afternoon had been learning how to change spark plugs with Jeff. Jared was grimy and sweaty so a swim would be good.

Jared frowned as he realized Jeff was introducing another speaker. Jared didn’t know there was someone else, but he figured he could sneak out during the welcome applause. He stood slowly and moved back to lean against the wall.

“We have one more speaker today. I’ve known him a few years now and this is his first time doing the public thing so be gentle,” Jeff said. There was a warm smile on his face as he looked towards the side of the room.

Jensen hopped up onto the small stage and slid his hands into the front pockets on his jeans. He looked nervous for a moment, then took a deep breath and smiled. “Hey everyone. Y’all know me. And I guess the best way for me to start is to just jump right in and say… I’m gay.”

Jared’s mouth went completely dry. He squeezed his eyes shut for a few moments, but when he opened them nothing had changed.

“I knew I liked guys when I was a kid. I guess not everyone knows that young,” Jensen said. He looked down at the stage and hunched his shoulders a little. “I was in High School when I told my folks; it didn’t go very well. At first, they brought people home to pray for me - stuff like that. When my Dad got physical, I realized it was time for me to leave.”

There was a strange buzzing sound in Jared’s ears as he stared at Jensen. He knew what he was hearing but it just wasn’t making sense. Everything that had happened was running through Jared’s mind and as he began to piece things together, he started to feel sick to his stomach.

He could still hear Jensen speaking about what it was like growing up in Texas, but everything was muted and dull.

Feeling a little like he was going to throw up, Jared leaned forward and dug his fingers into his thighs. “Jesus.”

“Jared,” Jeff said softly at his side.

A warm hand settled on Jared’s shoulder and despite the fact that he felt like he wanted Jeff to fix everything, Jared shrugged off the hand. He straightened and fled the room without looking back.

The cool air outside made Jared feel better for about five seconds, and then his heart started to pound uncomfortably. He wanted to run, just get the hell out of there and not have to deal with the mess.

“Jared? You okay?”

Jeff.

Jared turned to face Jeff. As he stared, he felt the burn of unshed tears in his eyes. All the time he and Jeff had worked together and there’d been no mention of Jensen being gay. He knew everything that had happened. He knew how Jared felt… had felt.

Jeff just stood by and watched everything fall apart.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

Jeff pressed his lips together and shook his head. “Not mine to tell.”

“So, you just watched me fuck everything up? You let me tell…” The pieces of the puzzle were beginning to fall into place. Jensen’s anger, the hurt in his eyes, of course, he had thought the worst of everything Jared had said.

“Jared, you know now. You can-”

“No! I can’t believe no one told me. Chad. You. Jeff, you saw us! What the fuck?” It wasn’t Jeff’s fault, Jared knew that, but he was so angry and full of so much regret it felt like he would snap in two.

“I talked to Jensen afterward. Sounded to me like you were havin’ trouble figuring out what you wanted.” Jeff took a couple of steps closer.

“He has… I thought he had a girlfriend. I’m not - I can’t be the guy who does that to someone.” There was such an upswell of emotion in Jared’s body that he rubbed a hand against his chest.

Everything hurt.

“I encouraged him to talk to you, ask you what was goin’ on but I think he was too hurt,” Jeff said.

“Well, now we’re both hurt.” Jared rubbed at the sting in his eyes and tried to catch his breath.

There was applause behind the closed door and Jared heard people moving around. “I gotta get out of here.”

All Jared could think about was every time he’d been with Jensen. How wrong everything must have sounded to Jensen.

Jeff sighed, grabbed a handful of Jared’s jacket and yanked him forward into his arms.

Resisting for a few moments, Jared felt his throat tighten. When Jeff pressed his lips to Jared’s hair, it was too much. He leaned into Jeff’s solid chest and circled his arms tightly around the man’s neck.

“It’s gonna be fine,” Jeff murmured. “You’ll see.”

Jared didn’t believe that. And he couldn’t understand why the whole thing had become as complex as it had. Why did Jensen matter so much?

The door behind them opened and Jensen appeared.

“I gotta go,” Jared whispered as he struggled out of Jeff’s grip.

He took off running and was halfway down the path when he heard Jensen’s question to Jeff.

“What the fuck is going on between you two?”

-=-=-=-

Jared ran until he couldn’t breathe. It took him a while to figure out where he was when he finally slowed down, then even longer for him to find the lake shore and wander back to camp.

When he reached the dock, it was evening. The sun was down, and the cabin porch lights were all on. Jared walked out to the end of the dock and watched the moonlight shimmering on the surface of the lake.

There was a cold wind blowing off the water and Jared wished he had his hoodie on under his jacket. It wasn’t as though he had planned such a long excursion.

His thoughts had finally quieted. It was the strange no-man's land that followed confusion. He hadn’t been blessed with any answers, but he had stopped shaking. If nothing else, some of the adrenaline had run its course. That was something.

The dock moved gently from side to side and Jared closed his eyes. He didn’t really care who it was, he didn’t want to talk.

The dock stopped moving and Jared opened his eyes. He could see Jensen. Fuck.

Jensen was quiet for a while, staring out over the lake. He cleared his throat and widened his stance slightly. “So, you didn’t know I was gay.”

Jared shook his head. “Nope. No one told me.”

“No, don’t guess they would.”

“What I’m wondering is why you didn’t tell me,” Jared said. He couldn’t help the way his shoulders tightened. It made his neck ache and he was pretty sure he was going to have a hell of a headache by the time he went to bed.

“Because… I figured you knew,” Jensen answered a little too quickly. He cleared his throat again. “All the other staff know.”

“And, how was I supposed to find out?” Nothing really made sense to Jared. He felt like they were stuck in some weird loop and there was really no way to get out.

“I… the way we kissed during that stupid fucking game,” Jensen said through clenched teeth.

When Jared turned to look at him, he could see a muscle twitching in Jensen’s jaw.

“You made it sound like the worst thing you’d ever had to do,” Jared said.

“Because I didn’t want you to be all freaked out by it. I liked you, Jared. As soon as I met you, I felt like I wanted to get to know you. And even if you were interested it isn’t allowed.” The words all rushed out of Jensen’s mouth like he wasn’t sure he’d be given a chance to finish.

“Wait. What? Allowed?”

The unsettling spinning thing was ramping up in Jared’s brain again. He closed his eyes and pressed his thumb and forefinger against them.

“Yeah,” Jensen said. “The policy?”

“Policy?”

“No dating while we are at camp? Fraternizing as Kim prefers to call it.” Jensen crossed his arms and pulled his jacket closed.

“Oh.” Apparently, Jared hadn’t read all the paperwork as carefully as he’d thought. “I don’t think I was paying attention to that part.”

“Didn’t matter anyway, did it.” It didn’t seem like Jensen was asking an actual question.

They were silent again for a while, the only sound was the lapping of water against the dock.

Jensen shifted his weight and turned to face Jared. “If I were straight, I would date Danneel in a second. She’s my best friend and she’s amazing. But, I’m not straight. I’ve never even thought about dating Danneel.”

“Okay,” Jared said. What else was he supposed to say? It wasn’t as though Jensen would lie. “You got pissed off at me really quickly in the workshop the other day.” As he spoke, he realized that the dull ache was back in his chest. It felt like someone had torn his heart out and just left a big, raw space there.

“It’s… the way things were for me when I was growing up. I made a promise to myself that I would never put up with anyone being shitty to me again-”

“I wasn’t!” Jared interrupted before biting down on his bottom lip. He turned slightly, not sure if he was quite ready to look into Jensen's eyes.

“I get it now. I think.”

“You think?”

“You could maybe explain it to me,” Jensen said.

This was definitely the part of the summer camp movie where the main character had to make a choice: go out on a limb or play it safe.

A simple choice.

Jared let the backs of his fingers brushed against Jensen’s. It was so light that he could hardly feel it. Instead, little shocks raced up his arm. He swallowed, his throat dry and tight. “The first time I saw you, I was pretty blown away. You’re kind of beautiful. And the amazing thing about you is that you don’t even seem to know it. That kiss? That was the first time I felt anything like that. I mean, I’m not an idiot. I figured out that I liked men, but that kiss was… perfect.”

Jared took a breath of air and just kept going. “And then you seemed like you were just over it in an instant-”

“-I thought you were straight! I didn’t want you to get all weird and think I was hitting on you. I thought you knew I was gay, and you were just… being like the most open-minded and nicest straight guy ever.” Jensen’s fingers brushed against Jared’s wrist.

“Your friends are very trustworthy. Jeff said it wasn’t his place to tell me.”

Jensen nodded and shifted his weight again. “I just figured everyone knew... you knew. I don’t even know why.”

“That’s pretty much what happened. When you touched me the other day? Fuck, I was already hating the fact that I had a thing for a straight guy, and I don’t know.”

“Now you know, you had a thing for a gay guy,” Jensen said softly.

“I guess.” Jared’s mind was a mess. All the crazy sadness and unfairness of it all was now twisted up with the resurgence of hope.

“Do you still?” Jensen asked.

“What?” When Jared looked up at Jensen, he knew exactly what he was being asked. He nodded. “Ah.”

It’s not like his feelings had gone away, despite how hard he had wished for it.

Jensen’s index finger hooked through Jared’s. “We’ve only got a couple of days left. Let’s just… sit with this. When we’re done working, we can see each other. You know, if it's still on the table.”

Jared’s eyes widened slightly, and he caught his bottom lip under his teeth. He nodded, not trusting himself to say a word. Words seemed to have gotten him in a lot of trouble.

Jensen finally smiled, his finger tightening on Jared’s for a moment before slipping free. “I’m gonna go and talk to Danneel. She was pretty worried when you took off. I owe Jeff an apology too.”

Jared frowned slightly as he fought the urge to grab Jensen’s hand to stop him from leaving. “Why Jeff?”

Jensen’s smile faded slightly. “Ugh, it’s embarrassing. I'll explain later okay?”

Nodding, Jared ran his hands through his hair and looked up at the night sky. He felt relief for the first time in ages. He knew they would have to talk more, he hoped he’d be able to speak with Danneel. But things were better. Even being able to leave being friends with Jensen would be great.

“See you tomorrow?” Jensen asked and actually looked as though he wasn’t sure Jared would still be there.

“Yeah. You bet.”

“Goodnight, Jared.” Jensen pushed up onto his toes and pressed his lips to Jared’s cheek.

It only lasted a moment, but Jared felt a warmth blooming on his skin. “Night, Jensen.”

-=-=-=-

“That’s it, you crazy people,” Kim announced. “You’re officially off the clock. It’s been a pleasure working with all of you.” Kim patted Chad on the shoulder.

Chad let out a whoop and picked up Kim so he could swing her around.

Matt walked straight over to Adrianne and kissed her which made Jeff chuckle.

Genevieve and Cindy were together, discussing plans for a backpacking trip they were planning together.

When Jared looked at Danneel she was on her way towards him. She reached up and slipped her arms around Jared’s neck and smiled. “I’m a bit sorry that I got so mad at you.”

“A bit?” Jared squeezed her in a hug before she could change her mind.

“Now you know what the wrath of Danneel will be like if you break Jensen’s heart.” Danneel smiled.

Jared believed Danneel one hundred percent and he was certain he didn’t want to experience it again. “You know, we haven’t even decided anything.”

“I know, I know,” she answered. “But, I’m also pretty sure I know what’s going to happen.”

Unlike Danneel, Jared wasn’t sure, but he smiled anyway. Danneel wandered off to say goodbye to Cindy and Gen.

Jared’s backpack was already leaning by the door. He wasn’t sure where he was going. He couldn’t get past the idea that it might be a good idea to just travel a bit and pick up some odd jobs.

There were still so many things he hadn’t figured out. He had time, and time might be just the thing he needed.

Jeff was outside loading bags into the back of the truck, so Jared picked up his backpack and headed out there.

In a way, he was sorry it was all finished. The last few days at the camp had gone a lot smoother. Jensen had spoken with Danneel about what had happened, and everything seemed to settle down. It was a good note to end the camp on.

He and Jensen had spoken, and things felt much better between them. They didn’t talk about what had happened between them again. Jared hoped that one day, it would just be a funny story he would tell his friends.

He stood outside with his backpack slung over one shoulder for a few moments, then smiled when he saw Jeff. “Hey! When does the chauffeur service leave?”

“About twenty minutes,” Jeff answered. He walked over to Jared, scuffing the dust with his boots. “You all ready to go?”

Jared nodded. “Just have to say goodbye to Jensen.”

“He’ll be out shortly.”

“You giving him a ride too?”

“Nah,” Jeff said as he grinned. “Kid’s got his own ride. I'll see him at home later… next week maybe.”

Jared would miss Jeff. He might look a little rough around the edges, but he was the kind of guy who would give you the shirt off his back. Jared got the distinct impression that Jeff would do, pretty much anything, for his friends.

“So, where are you heading, Jeff?”

“I like to go out into the backcountry. Camp for a few days and destress before I head back to the shop.” Jeff poked Jared’s backpack. “You?”

Jared kept asking himself the same question. “Hell, I don’t know. I’m just not ready for college yet. I feel like I want to take some time off. Might go down to see Chad for a while.”

“Could be fun. Could be annoying.” Jeff chuckled.

There was an engine roaring to life behind the workshop and Jared glanced over his shoulder to see a motorcycle coming around the corner of the building. He couldn't see who was on it, but whoever it was, was heading towards them.

The bike sounded great. The engine ran at a deep rumble that Jared could feel in the center of his chest. The machine was sleek, well taken care of. The chrome glinted in the afternoon sunlight as the bike rumbled to a stop.

The rider switched off the ignition, swung his leg off and yanked off his helmet.

Jensen.

Just when Jared had figured that Jensen couldn’t get any hotter, he showed up in jeans, a black motorcycle jacket and riding a damned nice bike.

Jensen hooked his helmet over one of the handlebars and smiled at Jared.

“Wow,” Jared said softly.

“Right?” Jeff folded his arms as he looked over at Jensen. “2012 CVO Softail. Jensen’s practically rebuilt her while I’ve been teachin’ him. He’s a natural.”

That wasn’t actually what had prompted Jared to say wow, but he nodded anyway. He hadn’t the slightest idea what constituted being a natural at rebuilding a bike, but Jensen certainly looked great riding it.

Jensen held his arms out to Jeff. “Give me some love. You’re gonna miss me while you’re out there roughing it.”

Jeff pulled Jensen in close and kissed his cheek. “I am not gonna miss anyone.”

Jensen laughed as he hugged Jeff. When he let go, he looked over at Jared. “You decided where you’re going yet?”

Shaking his head, Jared smiled. “Chad invited me down. I don’t feel like going home right away. All I really thought about was finding work somewhere maybe.”

“Yeah,” Jensen said. He stepped closer and slid his hand over Jared’s shoulder. “No firm plans then?”

“No.” Jared shook his head and tried not to stare into Jensen’s eyes because it made it a little more difficult for him to think clearly.

Jensen slid his hand down to the center of Jared’s chest, grabbed a fistful of his t-shirt and yanked him forward.

Their lips came together with enough force that Jared felt it everywhere in his body. His heart skipped a few beats, all the blood in his veins surged faster and he closed his eyes.

The way Jensen’s mouth moved over his made vines of heat travel down his arms, over his chest and down the furrow of his spine.

The smooth heat of Jensen’s tongue teased at Jared’s lips until he opened his mouth wider. Jensen tasted sweet, his tongue sliding along Jared’s.

For a few moments, Jared wasn’t sure what was happening. The want that immediately glided through his body felt insanely good.

He slid his arms over Jensen’s shoulders and held him close.

He heard the sweet, low moan from Jensen, the one that had nearly destroyed him before. God.

When Jensen finally pulled back, he smoothed Jared’s shirt back down and licked his lips. “Wanted to do that for a while.”

Jared could feel his cheeks burning as he began to blush. He nodded and wiped his thumb along his bottom lip.

“Come with me,” Jensen said.

“What?” Frowning, Jared blinked a few times.

“Don’t go home. Don’t go to Chad’s. Come and stay with me for a while,” Jensen said.

For a few excruciating moments, Jared couldn't do anything other than stare at Jensen.

Jeff cleared his throat. “I’ll be in the truck.”

Jared watched Jeff walk over to the truck then he turned back to face Jensen. He’d barely opened his mouth before Jensen was grabbing both of his hands. “I’ve got a cabin for a few days… a treat for myself. Come and stay with me. After that, you can come see my place. I don’t care how long you stay. We can get to know each other. You can get a job there.”

Looking as though he’d finally run out of words, Jensen just stood there staring. Finally, he gestured to his bike. “I’ve got an extra helmet.”

Jared glanced over at Jeff where he was watching them from the truck. He smiled and tilted his head slightly.

“Come on, what have you got to lose?” Jensen said.

Jared couldn't think of a single reason to hold on to the notion that something bad would happen to him if he was happy.

“Please?” Jensen held out his gloved hand toward Jared. There was a serious expression on his face, his brows furrowed as though he was worried.

Over Jensen’s shoulder, Jared saw Jeff tilt his head towards the bike and grin.

Jared leaned in and kissed the corner of Jensen's mouth. “Let’s go.”

Climbing on the back of Jensen’s motorcycle was easy enough but there were a few moments of confusion when Jared didn’t know what to do with his hands.

Jensen reached back and grabbed Jared’s hands and pulled them around his waist. “Hold on to me.”

And that was how the ride began.

-=-=-=-
The cabin Jensen had booked for himself was a little rundown looking. But, once they were inside, Jared was pretty impressed. There was a wood burning stove for cooking and heat, a comfortable old leather couch, and, a small bedroom with an overstuffed double Queen size bed. There was no electricity, but who needed it? Jensen had shown Jared the view of the mountains from the front windows and said it was like having the nature channel on 24 hours a day.

It was.

At first, Jared was a little intimidated by the idea of being alone with Jensen. Their short friendship had been such a roller coaster of emotion that Jared still wasn’t completely convinced that things wouldn’t go sideways again.

Hell, it could happen. Summer camp movies being what they were, there was always the possibility that something could surprise him yet again.

It didn’t take long though, for Jared to remember all the reasons that he liked being around Jensen. They unpacked what they needed for the evening and then Jensen had suggested a hike before they lost the light.

There wasn’t really a path for them to follow, so they meandered along the ridge in front of the cabin. Some of the views were spectacular. There was even a dusting of snow along the caps of some of the mountains. As they walked, Jensen pointed out the plants he knew the names of and even made Jared taste some leaves. They were sweet and made even sweeter by the fact that Jensen fed them to him one at a time.

The conversation came easier once they were alone... and finally, things were clear between them. Jensen was gay. Jared was gay. The summer camp might be over, but things between Jared and Jensen were just beginning to settle into a rhythm that Jared could understand.

They were hiking for a couple of hours before the sun started to head down towards the peaks of the mountains.

On the way back to the cabin, they fell into a comfortable silence. Jared felt relaxed; all the kinks from sitting on the bike for hours had been worked out. He was riding a bit of a high. Just being with Jensen, finding it so easy to be in his company, had taken away a lot of his apprehension.

By the time they were heading into the cabin, the sun had disappeared behind the mountains and the air was a lot cooler. Jared shivered as he through the door.

"You hungry?" Jensen asked. He shrugged out of his jacket, hung it up on the back of the door and headed over to rummage through the food that had been stocked in the cabin.

"I could eat a horse," Jared said. Then he frowned. "Actually, I could never eat a horse. I may never have ridden a horse, but I love animals. "

Laughing, Jensen pulled out a couple of cans of stew. "I’m glad you’re an animal lover, Jared. Or I’d have to call this whole thing off. Stew it is. "

A smile worked its way onto Jared’s face and he headed over to sit down on the couch. "Thanks… for this. "

Jensen frowned slightly, then grinned. "Of course. I mean… it’s not like I’m not getting something out of it. I mean, have you seen you? All I wanted from the moment I saw you on that stupid beach was a chance to get to know you. "

Jared’s eyes widened slightly, and he could feel himself beginning to heat up.

Jensen licked his lips and busied himself with opening one of the cans. "I wasn’t trying to freak you out or anything. "

"I wasn’t. I’m not, " Jared said quickly. It felt like it was his turn to make Jensen feel a little secure. He walked over and pressed up against Jensen’s back, slid his arms around his waist and rested his chin on Jensen’s shoulder.

Jensen took a deep breath and blew it out. "Hi. "

“Hi,” Jared said softly against Jensen’s ear. "I’m glad to be here. I’m glad I’m with you. "

"Yeah? "

Jared nodded and pressed his lips to Jensen’s hair. He loved the fact that he could breathe in the scent of Jensen's hair, press his palms to Jensen's shirt and feel the firm heat of him. It was all beginning to feel real, and that felt good.

"I can't cook like this."

"You're not really cooking," Jared teased. "You're heating up food."

"Are you givin' me grief?" There was a light tone in Jensen's voice. He seemed happy. "I'm cookin' for you. So, shut up."

Chuckling as he let go, Jared wandered over to the window and stared out at the view. "I could get used to this."

"Me too," Jensen answered in a low voice.

-=-=-=-

"I think my ass is still a bit sore from sitting on that damned bike for so long," Jared said. He took a sip of the hot chocolate that Jensen had made and smacked his lips happily.

The fire in the stove popped at them. They hadn't bothered with the battery powered lamps, the room was lit by a couple of candles on the coffee table and the warm, orange light from the fire.

They were both on the leather couch, legs outstretched in front of them with their feet propped up on the small wooden coffee table. Jensen had found a blanket earlier, that they were sharing. Jared liked the way their shoulders were pressed together, their hips, and sometimes their legs when they shifted to get comfortable. They’d been talking all evening. They talked about the camp, their plans for the rest of the year, the way Jensen’s motorcycle sounded; they talked about everything.

Finally, when they couldn’t see anything but stars outside, they were quiet for a while. then Jensen shifted on the couch so that he was looking directly at Jared. "I gotta put this out there."

Blinking a few times, Jared pressed his lips together. "O…kay."

"The bed."

"Yeah?" Jared wasn't sure where the conversation was going but he was happy to let Jensen work it out.

"I can sleep out here. No pressure. I get that this is new, and, yeah."

"That's it?" Jared was a bit relieved. Out of all the things that they'd already been through together, the fact that they had only one bed was really not something that Jared considered a problem.

"That's it." Jensen sighed, and his shoulders relaxed slightly. "We just didn't talk about it before we got here."

"No, we didn't," Jared agreed. "But if you don't mind? I'd really like to share the bed. I mean." Jared smiled and peered at Jensen from under his lashes. "It's really cold in here. The fire will go out. Body heat and all that."

Finally, Jensen's lips curled up slightly as he appeared to be fighting off a smile. "Body heat? That's what you're going with?"

"It's a valid argument."

"Valid."

Jared looked down as he reached for Jensen's hand. He wove their fingers together and then looked back up at those moss green eyes. "I'm good. We're good."

Jensen nodded and squeezed Jared's hand.

-=-=-=-

Surprisingly, getting into bed went a lot faster than Jared had expected. He'd been a little nervous. Who wouldn't be? Jensen Ackles. Freckles and tanned skin and muscles and about the sweetest man in the universe was staying there with him. If he thought about it too much, Jared would find the whole thing a little overwhelming and freak out. But, fate had different plans for them.

The bedroom was freezing. They'd been so warm near the stove in the living room that the bedroom felt like an igloo. Jensen hopped around for a while and then began to undress. He ripped off his t-shirt and was struggling to get out of his jeans when he looked up at Jared. "It's fucking freezing in here. Get in bed!"

Laughing, all the nervous energy in Jared’s chest seemed to dissipate, He joined in the disrobing and undressed as quickly as he could.

They managed to dive under the down quilt about the same time. Only Jensen’s head was visible as he shivered.

Rather than being nervous, Jared found himself chuckling. "You're shaking the whole bed!"

"Are you part polar bear or something? It's ridiculously cold in here!"

"C'mere." Feeling a flush of warmth in the center of his chest, Jared lifted his arm and tucked his hand behind Jensen's head to pull him in closer.

Jensen didn't need to be asked twice. He curled up against Jared's side, slung a leg over both of Jared's and nestled down into the bed.

Jared's heart picked up speed instantly. He loved kissing Jensen. He loved all the simple touches that had passed between them: a hand to a cheek, fingers linked, a hot palm sliding across his back. But, having Jensen pressed up against him, felt pretty damn incredible. He loved the heavy weight of Jensen’s leg on him, the way he could feel that Jensen was already half-hard against his thigh, the heat of each exhale against Jared’s neck.

Jensen took a deep breath and finally stopped shivering. "You are like a furnace."

"I've been told that before."

"Yeah? You cuddle up in bed with lots of guys?"

"You jealous?" Jared couldn’t help grinning.

Jensen propped himself up slightly and looked down at Jared with an eyebrow raised. "You've seen… guys? I thought you just sort of figured all this shit out?"

Tilting his head slightly, Jared leaned up and kissed the corner of Jensen's mouth. "Actually, you're the first guy."

"Yeah?" The smirk on Jensen's face was hilarious. He was managing to look smug and cute at the same time and the combination was adorable.

"You were jealous. I knew it!" Jared laughed and tightened his arm around Jensen's shoulders. The fact that Jensen was even faux-jealous made something in Jared's chest light up. Maybe he really could have that summer camp movie ending after all.

"Not jealous," Jensen mumbled against Jared's shoulder. He grunted and shifted his weight further onto Jared's body.

"Were too."

"What are you, twelve?" Jensen laughed and reached down to pinch Jared's side.

Squirming around to avoid the pinch, Jared finally grasped Jensen's shoulders and rolled him onto his back. He followed through until he was lying on top of Jensen and the warm press of all that flesh took his breath away. He stared down into Jensen's eyes and licked his lips.

They seemed to move together at the same time. Their lips met, softly at first, almost as though they were shy with one another again. Jensen made the softest sound, Jared wasn't sure he'd even heard anything but then Jensen surged up into Jared's body. The covers slid down to the small of Jared's back and the combination of the cold bedroom air and the heat of Jensen's flesh against his, made Jared start trembling.

"You alright?" Jensen spoke against Jared's mouth in between kisses, his lips wet and warm.

"Yeah, yes," Jared answered. He took a deep breath, feeling Jensen doing the same, licked his lips and pulled back just far enough so he was able to focus on Jensen's face. "It's just… big. All of this. And … you feel fucking good."

"Yeah, you too," Jensen said quietly. His warm hands slid down Jared's back, massaged his lower back for a few moments then continued the journey down. He cupped Jared's ass and pulled him even closer.

A small smile slid back onto Jared's mouth. He kissed Jensen's lips almost chastely even though it wasn't possible for him to be more turned on. He was already achingly hard, his cock nestled in the crease at the top of Jensen's thigh. He thrust his hips forward, testing, teasing Jensen a little to see how quickly things would escalate. Hell, there'd been a long buildup to them being together; a build up that almost ended in disaster.

Biting down hard on his bottom lip, Jensen closed his eyes and arched his body up off the bed. already hard, his shaft caught against Jared’s thigh. Then his hands were moving again, nails scraping over Jared's back and up into his hair. He threaded his fingers into Jared's locks and pulled him back down into another kiss.

This time, Jared let Jensen take over. He opened his mouth to the gentle probing of Jensen's tongue and groaned as pleasure washed over him. He couldn't help the way his hands continued to move over Jensen's skin. He trailed his fingertips along Jensen's collar bone, down his arm, wove their fingers together briefly. The more he explored Jensen’s body the harder it was to continue breathing. Jared's chest ached with want, and his spine felt like it was smoldering.

Their mouths moved ceaselessly, sometimes the kisses were hard and wanting, sometimes they were gentle. Jensen would drag his teeth over Jared's bottom lip, suck on it, kiss his way down Jared's neck and along his shoulder. There were bites on Jared's arm, nails scratching down his chest and flicking over his nipple. His mind whirled with the heat and need that was spiraling through his body.

Jensen moaned low and deep and the sound of it sent ripples of pleasure skittering down Jared's back. He tried to slide his hand down between their bodies then had to roll onto his side to make more room. He wanted to touch all of Jensen, everywhere he could get his hands, he wanted to feel the firm muscles moving under the fiery skin.

Clearly, Jensen wanted the same thing. As Jared rolled away, Jensen rolled with him. He settled on his side, still as close to Jared as he could get. They took a few moments to pull the covers back up over their shoulders and catch their breath. Then it was Jensen who reached down and brushed his fingers over the tight flesh of Jared's swollen shaft.

The shock of pleasure that ripped through Jared's body completely took his breath away. He gasped for air and dug his fingers into Jensen's shoulders. As he squeezed tightly, Jensen moaned, and the sound reverberated through Jared's body. Waves of bliss began to wash over Jared until he felt like he might drown in them.

Jensen's fingers curled around both their cocks, his fist just big enough to encompass them. He stroked slowly, and the sensation made Jared's bones melt. He was barely able to function well enough to get a hand onto Jensen's stubble-covered cheek, so he could sweep his thumb along that full bottom lip. He leaned in and chased his own thumb away with a kiss, reclaiming Jensen's mouth. His heart raced as his lips covered Jensen's. He slid his tongue forward, tasting Jensen again and shivered.

Jensen's thumb swept over the head of Jared's cock and his entire body jolted. Pleasure sliced through him like a knife, cutting him to the quick. Even though he was panting, he couldn't seem to suck in enough air in between the heated passes of Jensen's lips. His body was a mess of sensations, all of them bordering on overwhelming. As Jared managed to cup one hand around Jensen's neck, he rubbed the other down Jensen's side until he could grab hold of his ass. It was impossible to get Jensen close enough.

A low moan rumbled its way out of Jared's mouth as Jensen continued to work their cocks. The shimmering heat that lurked just below Jared's skin was prickling with want. His hips were thrusting forwards to slide his cock into Jensen's grip.

Jensen's teeth caught Jared's bottom lip as he tightened his grip on Jared's ass.

It was all happening way too fast for Jared to control himself for much longer. All summer, he'd been watching Jensen, thinking about what it would be like to be with him. All summer it had been an unwelcome fantasy.

Now, the heat of Jensen's cock against his was proving to be so much better than any fantasy Jared could have come up with. They had plenty of time for taking their time… and the pounding of Jared's heart was already keeping rhythm with the throbbing ache in his balls.

Jensen's tongue slid forward again, sweeping through Jared's mouth. His hand worked the length of their cocks, just the right way to push Jared to the edge. A warm puff of air ghosted across Jared's lips as Jensen sighed. His free hand snaked up to fist Jared's hair as their mouths crashed together once more.

Everything kind of blew apart in Jared's body all at once. As his balls tightened, his lungs seized and the sharp, sweetness of release slammed into him. His cock pulsed, his come hot and wet against his belly. He wrapped his arm tight around Jensen's neck, holding on, keeping him close, keeping him right there.

Jensen moaned loudly, his body going stiff in Jared's embrace as he reached his own peak.

Finally, able to gasp in some air, Jared turned his face into Jensen's neck. He loved the way the man smelled. He loved the salty taste of his sweat and the rasp of his stubble. Even in his post-orgasmic haze, he was sure there would turn out to be a long fucking list of things about Jensen that he would love.

"I can't feel my legs," Jensen mumbled into Jared's shoulder.

With what little breath he'd been able to get back, Jared managed a weak chuckle. He leaned back slightly so he could try and focus on Jensen's face.

There was a gorgeous ruddiness to Jensen's cheeks. His eyes were heavy-lidded, and his lips swollen. His freckles were cinnamon colored against his flushed skin. Jared could stare at him for hours and never get enough. "You're gorgeous."

Jensen rolled his lips together to hide a smile and his lashes lowered slightly. "Are you flirting with me, Jared?"

"I probably am." Drunk on pleasure, Jared felt like he would probably agree with anything that Jensen said.

"I think I'm gonna like having your around," Jensen said softly. He followed the words with a soft kiss, his lips lingering on Jared's.

Closing his eyes, Jared let out a pleased sigh and nestled further down into the bed. He had no idea what he was going to do, where they would end up. Although, if his heart was his navigator, he had a feeling he would be following Jensen home.

THE END