2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Andy

By the time we pulled into the campsite, I'd never been so relieved to get out of a vehicle before. Not that Victor and Jesse hadn't been nice; of course they had. They'd even gone out of their way to make sure I was included in their conversation, but the whole thing reminded me of being a little kid when I'd beg Vic to let me tag along with him and his buddies. He never wanted me to come, but Mom always made him take me.

Jesse calling me kid when I was loading up my bag didn't help at all. I wasn't a kid. I was a grown-ass man. Hell, I was a firefighter, for fuck's sake. I rushed into burning buildings and saved people's lives. Or that was the plan, anyway. I hadn't actually saved anyone yet, unless you counted when I helped get Keith out of a structure fire a month or so ago, but the truth was Ford and Robert could've done that without me.

I think I apologized for making them run late at least three times until Vic finally got annoyed and told me to stop saying I was sorry, which, of course, I started to apologize for, but thankfully, I managed to catch myself.

For the rest of the ride, I'd sat back and contemplated this morning's calendar shoot. I'd thought it sounded fun, and honestly, I'd been thrilled to be included. At least I was until the photographer handed me those stupid bunny ears. From that point on, all I wanted was to get the thing over with before my brother and Jesse got there.

I'd made a lot of stupid mistakes in my life, and I wanted my brother to see that I'd changed. When he'd shown up to get me last year, I was a hot fucking mess. And the way he'd looked at me—I'd never seen anyone look so disappointed in anyone. And I was raised by Ezekiel Ward, so that said a lot.

Posing for a charity firefighter calendar was something the new Andrew Ward would do. Posing half-naked in a pair of bunny ears was way too much like something I would've done two years ago just for fun. Of course they showed up way before we were done, so in the end, I decided just to go with it, and it had actually been a lot of fun. Not the impression I wanted to make on my stuffy older brother and his hot as fuck business partner.

I'd never been camping before. Roughing it wasn't something my family did as a rule, so I was looking forward to this weekend, even if I felt like an interloper. As soon as Jesse picked a spot and parked, I hopped out, hoping to make myself useful. We made quick work of unloading the truck, and Jesse pulled out a large tent and got to work setting it up. He'd stretched it out and was kneeling down, putting some kind of metal stakes in the ground. I guess to hold it in place.

"So we're all sharing one tent?" I asked, surprised.

"Yeah, it's actually a two-room tent, which just means it's really large and has a fabric divider we can put down if anyone needs privacy." Jesse grinned up at me. "Do you need privacy, Andy?"

It was an innocent enough question, but there was nothing innocent about the way he said it. I bit my bottom lip and looked down at him on his knees on the ground in front of me. I swear to all that is holy, I could've come just from the idea of this man on his knees for me.

"Where do you want the clothesline?" Vic called over, thankfully killing the moment before I did something stupid like beg him to suck me off.

Jesse cleared his throat before answering him. "Between those two trees over there. I figure that'll be out of the way enough."

"Do you want me to help you do that? I've never put up a tent before, but that looks simple enough," I said.

"I only brought one hammer, so I'll put the stakes in. You could set up the camp stove, though. It's pretty self-explanatory even if you've never used one before."

"Cool. I'll do that. If you need any help with the rest of that"—I motioned at the big pile of canvas that was sitting in the center of what would be our sleeping accommodations—"just let me know."

I went over to where the picnic table was and got started on setting up a makeshift kitchen area. The stove was just as easy as Jesse had said, and I was almost finished setting it up when Vic came over. "Do you need help with that?"

"Nope, got it. Thanks, though." I tried my best to sound cheerful and unbothered, but I swear you would think I was a helpless kid the way he acted. It didn't take two people to set up a camp stove, and if anyone here was qualified to hook up fuel to a portable stove, it was me.

"Just make sure you—" I shot him a look that shut him up quick. He held up his hands in surrender. "Sorry, I just know you haven't camped before."

"I haven't, but it's not rocket science, Vic. I got this."

"Alright, I'll go see if Jesse needs any help."

I finished setting up our kitchen area while the two of them finished the tent. It didn't take long, and our camp was complete. They'd set up three chairs around a fire pit, and I totally ignored it when I noticed my brother pulling a tag off one of the chairs. He could've just told me they only had two chairs, and I would have bought myself one. I smiled to myself. He could be overbearing, and sometimes he frustrated the hell out of me, but he really was the best older brother.

"Okay, if we want kayaks for the weekend, we need to go get them before they close for the day. What do you think, Andy? I know Vic and I both plan on doing some fishing, but I wasn't sure what you wanted to do."

"I'll give it a try. I've never been out in one before. I'm not overly interested in the idea of fishing, but I bet I could row out to the center of the lake and just float. That sounds amazing."

Jesse chuckled. "Paddle. You row a boat, but you paddle a kayak, and so you know, I love to fish, but sometimes, when the fishing is slow, I do just that."

"You should at least give fishing a try, A. I know we didn't fish as kids, but it's really relaxing." Vic looked at me hopefully, and I knew all he wanted was for me to have fun, so I just nodded in agreement.

"I'll try it first, but if it isn't my thing, I'll float."

"Okay." He grinned, and we walked down to the area where we could rent kayaks.

After getting a quick explanation of how they worked, mostly for my benefit, we all chose the kind you sat on, not in, and then picked our colors. The kayaks were surprisingly light, and I said so.

"Yeah, this kind is. I have one at home that's made for fishing, and it's much heavier. It's designed so you can stand on it while you fish," Jesse explained.

"If you own one, why are you renting one?" I asked.

"With all the camping gear, there isn't room in the back of the truck for the kayak. I could get a rack or a trailer, but that seems like a lot of trouble when I can rent one on those rare times I go camping."

"Of course, if you buy a cabin up here, you could just bring it and leave it," Vic pointed out to Jesse.

"True enough. One more point in its favor. Y'all ready to paddle our way to camp?"

I was about to say yes when Jesse reached down, gripped the bottom of his t-shirt, and pulled it up over his head, and for a second, I forgot how to talk. I knew he was hot. I mean, you couldn't miss it. When he worked as a bartender at Kirby's, he wore these black t-shirts that fit his body like a second skin. All the bartenders did. But seeing those muscles all covered up and seeing them on display were two very different things.

"Holy shit, nobody told me kayaking came with a show," I teased before I remembered I was trying to behave.

He just laughed and said, "Well, one good show deserves another, mister bunny ears and firefighter pants."

I scoffed. "They're called turn-out pants."

My brother cleared his throat, reminding me that it wasn't just the two of us. "Let's get going. Andy, stick close to me, and I'll show you how it's done."

It didn't take long for me to get the hang of it, and I discovered pretty quickly that all the physical training I'd done to be a firefighter gave me an advantage over my brother for sure, and probably Jesse, as well. With a few deep and powerful strokes, I could overtake them if I wanted to. Spoiler… I did not want to.

Instead, I hung back, staying behind Jesse so I could watch the muscles in his back flex and work as he paddled his kayak. At this rate, I would need a dip in the lake to cool off before I could get off the kayak at the campsite.

Vic looked back over his shoulder at me. "You keeping up, kid?"

"Yeah, Vic. I'm just taking it easy." I held back the eye roll, but it was a near thing.

By the time we got back to camp, it was getting late, so we pulled our kayaks up on the land that was part of our campsite and left them there. It seemed a little reckless to me. They were rented, and what was to keep someone from taking the kayaks during the night? But Jesse assured me that they were perfectly safe there, and that was the way it was done at the lake, so I didn't argue.

The guys had brought sandwich stuff for us to eat the first night since they knew they wouldn't have time to catch any fish. As we sat there eating our sandwiches and chips, I had to fight the urge to apologize again. If I hadn't come with them, they would've had plenty of time on the lake to catch their dinner.

By the time we were done eating, the sun had gone down, and the temperature had dropped. I would never understand a place that was so hot during the day but cool enough for a fire at night. Not that it was actually chilly or anything, but it was nice enough that we could start a small fire to give off good camping vibes.

Earlier in the day, when we'd unloaded the truck, I'd seen a bundle of firewood, but I hadn't expected us to actually use it since it was in the nineties at that time, but I admit I was happy when Jesse suggested we start a fire. I volunteered to get it going since, you know, fire is kind of my thing.

I grabbed the bundle of firewood and started placing it in the fire ring. I started with a row of smaller pieces, tucking in the kindling between them. Then I placed the next row on those in an alternating direction. More kindling, and then a third row. We didn't want a large fire, so I figured that would do it.

When I finished, I looked up at Vic and Jesse. "Anybody got a lighter or a match?"

Vic looked at me like he didn't know who I was. "Do you need a lighter or a match? From the way you stacked that wood like an expert, I thought maybe you were going to strike two rocks together and make a spark to start the thing."

I let out a sigh. "Vic, I'm a firefighter. Fire is what I know. Now, do you have a fucking lighter?"

"I know you're a firefighter. It's just hard for me to think of you that way. I mean, you were going to school to be a wedding planner, for fuck's sake."

"An event planner, Vic. Not a wedding planner, an event planner. And that was another life ago."

Jesse was looking at me like he was trying to figure me out, but he handed me a lighter. He nodded his head, lips pursed. "An event planner, huh?" Then he shrugged his shoulders. "I can see it, but I have to say I think the firefighter look suits you."