Chapter 2

Two

ZEKE

The group is full of chatter as I continue to collect paper plates and close up containers. We made pie iron sandwiches for dinner, so everything needs to get put away before we all get too tired to clean up. Everyone jokes that I’m the group “dad” and I suppose that’s true to a degree. I’ve always felt a need to be in control, in charge, and I honestly don’t mind it most of the time. Once in a while it gets old, like someone else can order the damn pizza sometimes, but usually it’s fine.

I’m putting the last jar of peanut butter away when I hear Kara laugh extra loud at something. I’m sure Flynn is making raunchy jokes again; those always seem to get her laughing. Smiling to myself, I close the lid on the storage container and look over at her relaxing by the fire. She’s gorgeous and my stomach never fails to fill with butterflies when I see her. It would be easy to drown in her deep, chocolate eyes and never come up for air. At some point I’m going to cave, I just know it, but I haven’t wanted to attempt anything and ruin our friendship.

With the food safely stored in the truck, I make my way over to the fire, grabbing a beer from the cooler as I go. Kara’s face lights up as she sees me, and she pats the seat next to her on the camping bench she’s sitting at. Happily obliging, I settle in next to her and try to pay attention to the conversation around me. As I crack my beer open, Flynn tees up another raunchy joke.

“Hey, did you guys hear about the new camo print condoms?” he asks.

“Oh god, do they really make those?” Kara exclaims.

“Nah, they tried, but it was a total flop. Nobody could ever see the guys coming.”

Kara cracks up while Dan chuckles in good humor. I find myself chuckling along, not necessarily because I thought it was funny, but because Dan and Kara enjoyed it. The evening is spent sharing jokes and reminiscing about past events. Most of them involve Dan misunderstanding something or Troy making a big deal over nothing.

“Look, you guys didn’t see what I saw, okay?” Troy yells good-naturedly.

“What was there to see? You got stung by a bee!” Flynn laughs.

“That bee was angry. It landed, looked me in the eyes, and stung me on purpose!”

“Do bees even have eyes?”

“Duh!” Kara chimes in. “They have like fly’s eyes with all the different hexagon views or whatever. I saw it in a museum.”

“Nah, they have five eyes and see ultraviolet,” I tell them.

“How’d you know that?” Kara asks.

I shrug. “I liked science in school.”

“Well, that bee definitely glared at me with all five eyes before intentionally stinging me.”

“I promise that’s not how it works,” I tell him.

Troy sighs deeply. “I am so misunderstood in this group.”

“You poor baby,” Kara coos at him.

“Thank you! Someone here understands!”

“Do you need a hug for your poor hurt feelings?”

“Yes!”

Kara stands up and moves over to Troy, plopping in his lap and pulling his head to her shoulder, running her fingers through his long hair. Troy snuggles his face in close, and wraps his arms around Kara, holding her tightly. I’d be a liar if I said I wasn’t jealous. I am extremely jealous. I want to be the lap she sits in with my hands on her body.

Then again, I think she still sees me as just a friend. She’s never pushed for anything more and I don’t want to cause problems. Part of me hopes I can make a subtle pass soon, but I don’t want to get my hopes too high. Besides, she might not even be interested that way. No, I’ll just stay the course for right now. Besides, she’s friendly and touchy with all of us from time to time. She humors Troy for another minute before tugging on his hair playfully, signaling she’s done.

“It’s starting to get dark, and this guy needs his beauty sleep so I’m gonna get ready for bed,” Troy says.

“I’ll come with you. I’m not ready for sleep yet, but if I don’t brush my teeth now, I’ll forget and then I’ll have gross teeth fuzz in the morning,” Kara says.

“TMI babe,” Flynn quips.

“You love it,” she fires back, wrinkling her nose at him.

Dan and I chuckle as Kara and Troy sashay off together towards the tent, then the restrooms. Flynn smiles and shakes his head, taking the moment of quiet to weave his fingers together with Dan’s. For his part, Dan just smiles and looks indulgently at Flynn. Deciding that they need a small moment alone, and that we all need more beer, I get up to grab another round for the four of us who will be staying up a big longer. As I sit, Flynn is flushed, and Dan has a wicked gleam in his eye.

“You guys make it official yet?” I ask mildly.

Flynn looks at Dan for guidance, knowing that he’s the one who has been a bit hesitant to put a label on it.

“You all know I don’t like labels, but I’d say it’s not a passing thing,” he concedes.

Flynn all but beams at Dan, who is smiling widely himself. The smiles are infectious as I find one appearing on my own face while opening my beer. I’ll never admit it to the group, but I’m a sucker for love. Something about love gives me warm fuzzies every time. I have enough need for control, though, that it also freaks me out a little.

Kara returns a few minutes later and disappears into the tent with Troy before reappearing after a moment. She grabs the unopened can from where it’s sitting on one of our side tables and settles in next to me. Trying to play it cool, I give her a smile and widen my legs a little, hoping we’ll touch. Inwardly, I grimace at myself, wondering if I’ll ever get past the flirting level of a high schooler. Probably not.

Continuing the chit chat from before Kara left, we all settle into a comfortable state of conversation mixed with quiet. The quiet with this group is peaceful, and easily enjoyable. In a moment of silence, I look up from the fire pit to see Dan and Flynn flirting quietly and sharing kisses. Taking a risk, I glance over at Kara, who seems enraptured by the scene in front of her. I smirk and lean closer.

“Enjoying the show?” I whisper.

She jumps, but her small gasp of surprise is quiet. Her eyes meet mine with a look of guilt and intrigue.

“They just look so good together,” she whispers back.

“They really do.”

“If I’m being really honest, I’m a little jealous.”

“Why’s that?”

She bites her lip a bit before answering, “They’re just so happy to be together, and I want that.”

“Are you saying you’re not happy to be with us?” I tease.

“Of course I am! You know that’s not what I mean. I mean, we’re not…”

I know exactly what she’s getting at, and this might be my chance to probe at her a little. Test the waters. Going into this trip, I hadn’t expected to have the opportunity, but it’s here now and I would kick myself if I didn’t at least try.

“Aren’t we?” I ask.

“What?”

She looks at me, her eyes wide and full of surprise and, dare I say, hope. I meet her gaze head-on, hoping she can see the interest I have, knowing I would never pressure or push her. While I’m not sure what she sees, I catch her eyes flick down to my lips and back up, a small flush coloring her cheeks. I take the chance to scoot a bit closer to her. A small smile peeks through, and she doesn’t move away.

“Are we together? Are we happy? Or do you want more?” I ask.

She swallows, and I can almost hear her thinking things through. It’s obvious she wants this, otherwise she would have shut it down already. Kara may go with the flow, but she isn’t forced into anything she doesn’t want. Our eyes meet and she bites her lip softly, telling me she’s almost to the point of giving in.

“It’s okay, Kara. Nothing’s going to ruin us. You know I won’t push you, but I hope you don’t deny this out of fear.”

Decision made, she leans forward and catches my mouth with hers, softly at first. My lips move in concert with hers, softly exploring each other and basking in the feeling of giving in. Everything around us dims as she becomes my entire world. I’m blown away by her and I’m itching to touch her. My hand grabs hers and I pull her closer. She drapes her legs over my thighs, bringing her body almost flush with mine. My hand releases hers and moves up to burrow itself in her hair. It’s so soft, I wish I could run my fingers through it all the time.

Kara’s tongue flickers against my lips as we kiss and I willingly open for her, meeting her tongue with mine. We explore each other’s mouths, and her hand moves to cup my cheek to hold me close. Her mouth is better than I could have imagined, receptive and responsive to my every move and satiny smooth. Our tongues dance and tease, enjoying every second of this. I’m tempted to push her back and pin her down on this dual camping chair, but I hold back. That’s more of a second kiss activity.

“Am I seeing what I think I’m seeing?” I hear softly from the other side of the fire.

Apparently, the guys have noticed what’s happening. Flynn comments next.

“Think we can get in on that?”

I pull back a little, giving Kara a couple more soft nips. She looks at me with hooded eyes, a smile gracing her face. Softly smiling back, I give her a small wink.

“Looks like we have an audience,” I tell her quietly.

Her eyes grow wide, and a blush works its way up her neck and settles in her cheeks. I can see the embarrassment start to settle in and move her face to look at me again. Keeping my eyes locked on hers, I shake my head softly.

“No, don’t be embarrassed, Kara. There’s nothing to be ashamed of, okay?”

“I don’t know what came over me. We shouldn’t be risking our friendship like this,” she whispers.

“There’s nothing to risk. Nothing you can do or say will make me not be friends with you. Not any of us. You belong with all of us, no matter what happens, okay?”

Some confidence comes back into her eyes, and she glances from me to Dan and Flynn, then back to me again. Dan and Flynn both smile at her and nod their heads in affirmation when she looks. Biting her lip again, she nods, finally accepting that this is okay, that none of us will judge her. Kara leans back in, and butterflies erupt in my stomach as I realize she wants to kiss more. As our mouths meet again, I hear Flynn in the background while my focus fades to her again.

“Dude, Troy’s gonna be so damn jealous.”

Dan just chuckles.