CHAPTER EIGHT DREW

Day Fifteen

I spent the day gathering wood that the river had deposited along the shore and then stacking it at the open end near the tree line of our makeshift tent. The tarp was stretched between two trees just off the beach using the rope included with the tarp I'd brought along as one of my items. The problem was that both ends of the triangle shape allowed cool wind to travel through it. Now that fall was in full swing and we were getting a bit of rain, it was damn cold in the tent.

Erik was down the beach scrounging for anything we could use that may have washed up on shore. I wanted to surprise him with the remodel and comfortable space I was attempting to provide us. Figuring out how to make a door for the front of our tent facing the river was harder than I thought. If we couldn't close both ends, there was no need to do either one. It was necessary for us to block wind as well as keep the heat from our fires inside the cramped space.

A sudden yell from down the shore caught my attention, so I looked toward his location on the beach. He was struggling to hold up a large piece of plywood, and I hurried to him. "Holy smokes, buddy," I exclaimed after arriving at his side. "I swear I was just wishing we had something like that. Where'd you find it?"

"In a junk pile around the bend in the river about a half mile down there," he said, pointing east. "There's a ton of trash and stuff we should rummage through before other teams find it."

The rules of the game were that you could each only bring three items from home, but anything of use that you found around the area was available for teams to utilize. Erik had already found a bunch of tangled fishing line with three hooks we'd been using to catch fish.

"You are the best partner ever," I said, my chest filling with excitement. Erik was shaping up to be the best partner I'd ever had. "Let's get this back to camp and then head back to your junk pile."

Awkwardly, we dragged the damp plywood sheet back to camp and leaned it against the front of the tent, blocking the entire entry. "This is amazing, Drew. Great job." Erik beamed. "And the back opening?" he asked. I pulled the plywood out of the way and pointed inside. The back wall was blocked with the wood I'd scavenged while he was hunting for stuff we could use. Erik's eyes widened and he grinned, his eyes dancing in delight. "Did I ever tell you I love you?" he said.

"Not yet, but it's only been two weeks," I replied. "There's still time."

"We are going to be so warm and cozy now," he said, placing a hand on my shoulder. Erik was unable to contain his excitement.

And then I suddenly realized that I may have made a huge mistake by insulating us from the cold, wet climate. He wouldn't be so desperate to cuddle with me. Fuck!

"I wanted you to be warm so we could stay out here as long as possible," I said. "But I may have just screwed myself."

"Why is that?" Erik asked. "It's remarkable."

"You won't need to spoon with me," I said, making sure I frowned and glanced at the camera. "Stupid move on my part," I added, addressing the audience so they'd have something to talk about.

Erik, who had begun to play along with my narrative, moved in front of the camera. "I might not need to but what if I wanted to?" he teased, batting his eyelashes. "I mean you are Drew Montana and I'm just a small gay guy out in the woods." We were ridiculous, and he knew it.

"Are you playing with my emotions, you tease?" I added, moving closer to him while grinning like an idiot. "Because this farm boy falls hard."

"Oh trust me, I know," he began, "I've seen you play football."

"What did you say?" I asked.

"You heard me." His eyes bounced between me and the water.

"I'd run if I were you."

Erik took off running down the beach, his bare ass cheeks tightening as he swiftly outmaneuvered me. He was the sexiest creature I'd ever seen and to have this much time with him was all I could think about. I didn't want the show to ever end.

I tore after him, my handheld camera in my hand when I sprinted. He was a quick little fucker but I was a professional athlete. I'd let him think he won.

He squealed in laughter, finally stopping and bending over to catch his breath. I grabbed him from behind and folded over his back, lifting him from the ground and spinning around as fast as I could.

"Take it back," I teased. "I've won Super Bowls, punk."

"Your team carried you," he taunted, playfully. "Like all the teams you played on."

He broke free and stood across from me, moving in a circle and ribbing me. I set the camera on the ground, making sure it would capture our entire interaction. "I'm warning you," I began. "I'm twice as big as you."

"Your mouth maybe," he replied. "I've seen you scramble in a backfield, Montana. I'm not impressed."

Erik had never spoken about football around me, and I had no idea he knew what he was talking about. "You watch football?" I asked. "I saw you as more of a figure skating fan."

"Lumping all of us into one big basket of fabulousness, are you?"

"What else you got?" I joked, joining him as we both circled one another, hands out like we might wrestle. "You wanna piece of this?"

In one of the most surprising moves in my life, he came running at me, screaming like a wild man. "I'm going to…"

He leapt at me, and I lifted him off the ground and over my head before he could finish his threat. "You're going to what?" I asked.

"Put me down, you hulk," he screamed, struggling as I held him aloft. He wriggled as best as he could but was no match for my strength. "Lemme go, you brute," he hollered.

"As you wish," I said, getting ready to toss him on the ground, until he managed to roll out of my arms and straddle me like some crazy-ass monkey, wrapping his legs around my waist and his arms around my neck, holding himself against my naked body. I spun around but couldn't pry him off. Erik was much stronger than I'd given him credit for. I was also majorly turned on and encased my arms around him, burying my face into his neck and holding him as tight as possible.

That was when I thought about kissing him. His body fit perfectly into mine. I craved Erik with every fiber of my being.

My cock sprung to life as his smooth ass cheeks rubbed the tip of my expanding shaft. His dick was solid as a rock against my abdomen. Remembering the camera feet away, I stepped toward the handheld device and bent down with him still in my arms, careful to shield our cocks from view. I clicked it off and glanced down the beach toward camp. We were too far away to be anything more than shadow figures in the distance in those cameras.

I stood up with him still holding on and holding tight. "Did you turn it off?" he whispered, his mouth against my ear. I nodded and mumbled in the affirmative. Erik moved his face from my ear and pulled back to look me in the eyes. "Did you wanna do this?"

"It's all I've wanted to do," I admitted. "Since the day we met at the studio when I prayed that you would be the last pick available."

Erik smothered my mouth with his. We kissed without inhibition. Every wall in my heart, every fear I'd ever had, melted away with the warmth of Erik's touch. I pulled him into me as hard as I could. I would never be able to get him close enough to me even if I was inside of him. I knew at that moment that I wanted to be part of his life. Whatever that meant. Whatever that would take.