Page 76 of The Leaving Kind

“I’ve done the same.”

“It’s a good place to grow up.”

“Want to cool off with a swim before we eat? Or take a snack with us? It’ll still be light for another hour.”

August had arrived with a lengthening of late afternoon shadows and a sunset closer to eight than nine.

Cam pushed off his side of the bed. “Yeah.”

While he pulled on a pair of shorts suitable for swimming, Victor toyed with the idea of putting a halt to their trek through the woods. It felt dangerous. Not to him; he craved this kind of connection. The sharing he and Cam were doing had started to fill the empty spaces inside of him. But a part of him—a substantial part—suspected Cam would wake up tomorrow with regrets. That this deepening of their friendship, sex aside, might be too much for him. Or maybe, just maybe, Victor was worried about himself. He already cared too damn much.

In the kitchen, he grabbed a bag of cheddar popcorn and a couple of bottles of water. Slung them into a tote he pulled out of the laundry and added two towels from the dryer.

Cam watched the preparations with a slightly sardonic grin. “We’ve upgraded.”

“I am well beyond the age where I would run through the woods barefoot and think I could air-dry on the way home. We are also taking bug spray.”

“This is no longer feeling spur of the moment.”

Victor laughed.

Summer had thickened the woods into a jungle with barberry bushes establishing fortresses between the trees. But the air was cooler, a light breeze stirring the treetops, and the simple joy of being outside drew him on. They heard the creek before they saw it, and a moment later, they pushed through the last of the trees.

Despite the rain, the creek would not be deep enough for swimming in the traditional sense, but they could get wet.

Cam had already shucked his boots. He dropped his jeans beside them and waded into the shallow stream wearing only his underpants. Victor left his shoes with Cam’s but kept his shorts. A life-long fear of leeches, however ridiculous, remained strong.

The water was cold. Goose bumps raced up Victor’s legs and arms. He clutched his torso and shivered. “Bracing!”

“Feels amazing.” Cam found a steady space where the water lapped across his knees and sat. He leaned back, planting his hands behind him in the water, and tipped his head toward the strip of sky overhead. “I could die happy in this moment.”

The comment sent another chill up and down Victor’s spine. Shaking it off, he stalked through the cold water until he found a good spot and plopped down next to Cam. He hissed at the shock to his genitals. “Hope we’re done with sex this evening. All of my externals have run for cover.”

Cam chuckled. “Mine too.”

Quiet blossomed around them, the only sounds the water, evening birds, and the wind. Victor absorbed the soft burbles and chirps, the peace of them, and let his thoughts roam. They didn’t wander far. Cam sat less than six inches away.

Victor realized, then, that Cam was the first man he’d slept with who’d grown up here. Not just in Pennsylvania but in Milford. He wasn’t counting the boys he’d played with before going away to college, because that hadn’t been this. Two men of a certain age sitting in a creek and thinking thoughts. Sated because they’d played a silly game, but also content to simply sit.

It was so damned restful.

Cam turned to him, then, his beautiful face serene in the soft evening light. “What’cha thinking about?”

“Not a lot. How peaceful it is.” How happy I am to be here with you.

“Same.”

“How’s your business coming along?” Because if they sat here talking about thoughts and feelings for much longer, Victor might share things Cam would definitely rather he did not.

Cam let a beat of silence pass before answering. “I’m at the point where I need to start thinking about it that way. As a business. Like, doing legal stuff.” He shook his head as if bewildered by the thought. “I mean, the cash is nice, but if we want to do this properly, then we need to do it right. I’m starting to think Jorge needs it as much as I do.”

“Oh?”

“He’s been sleeping on the couch at the tree farm. I had no idea. I took him home. He’s going to live with me.”

Victor’s heart swelled because of course it did.

Cam moved on, his brow wrinkling. “We’ve got his cousin Estefan in with us now, and he wants to know if we plan to do benefits, because his wife wants to change jobs. I’m all like fuck if I know. That makes it real.” Panic edged his voice. “And if I want to bring on additional workers, I’ll need to decide that. And whether this is worthwhile.”