Kyle was usually up for whatever activity Hal suggested—look at how well flying had turned out—but this time? This time he had a feeling he was going to regret it. He was hiking on a rocky path through a forest, an enormous pack strapped to his back, in what could only be described as desolate wilderness that would probably devour them if given the chance.
When Hal had first suggested a camping trip, Kyle’s idea of camping was staying at one of those parks where all the RVs had satellite dishes. But Hal had other ideas. He’d dragged Kyle off to a sports store for boots, backpacks, a tent and a myriad of odds and ends one apparently required for wilderness survival. Okay, this won’t be that hard, Kyle had thought as he inspected the nifty little water filter.
Yeah, right…
A sense of unease had come over him since they’d left the car at the trailhead. Kyle was certain that Mother Nature knew right away that a city boy was entering her domain and she was out to get him. They weren’t even out of sight of the car yet when Kyle nearly tripped over a massive root in the middle of the trail. He swore it had reached out and grabbed his foot. Then Hal had barely pulled him back in time as he was headed over to take a piss on a tree that turned out to be covered in poison oak. And he didn’t think it was at all accidental that a fox had leapt across the path, scaring the crap out of him and making him stumble off the trail and into the creek—the little bastard had obviously done it on purpose. So now he had an unhealthy fear of trees and one boot that had a wet squish when he walked. And did he mention it was unbearably hot and there were bugs the size of—
“I think the campsite is just over there,” Hal said.
Kyle sagged with relief, which wasn’t too difficult when you had sixty pounds weighing down your shoulders. He let Hal go ahead of him, then followed him off the trail, down through the trees to the bank of a river. There was, indeed, a campsite down there, complete with fire ring and picnic table. It was much more than Kyle had expected.
He snapped open the belt and dropped his pack on the table, but didn’t dare sit down. He knew he’d never stand up again if he sat down right now. He rolled his shoulders, wincing at protesting muscles. “Explain to me again why this is fun?”
Hal sat on the bench next to him, apparently unaffected by hauling a massive pack nearly ten miles through the woods, and leaned down to unlace his boots. “It’s fun if you give it a chance,” he scolded. “My dad took us camping all the time when I was a kid. You know, some male bonding.”
Kyle gingerly stretched his arms over his head. His shoulders were never going to forgive him for this. “If this is supposed to be male bonding, then why aren’t Guy, John and Alan out here suffering with me?”
Hal reached over to run his hand up the back of Kyle’s leg, all the way up under his shorts, and grinned up at him. “That’s not the only ‘bonding’ I had in mind,” he said suggestively.
Kyle snorted. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to do much.” He rolled his stiff shoulders again. “And just remember that you’re the one who insisted we couldn’t use the rings to haul this stuff, so you have no one to blame but y—oof!”
Hal had grabbed him by the back of the shorts and pulled him down to sit on the bench. “Turn sideways.” Hal swung his own leg over so he was straddling the bench.
“Ow?” Kyle complained, grimacing. “I’m in pain here!”
“And I’ll make it better,” Hal said. He twirled his finger, indicating that Kyle needed to turn.
Kyle sighed and did as he was told, straddling the bench in front of Hal. Hal scooted forward so that Kyle was between his thighs and helped him pull his shirt off. “We’ll get the tent set up,” Hal said soothingly as his hands began to work on Kyle’s tight muscles, “and then we’ll have five days of peace and quiet. We can do a little fishing, take naps whenever we want, and just be generally lazy.”
Kyle closed his eyes, his body relaxing as Hal kneaded his shoulders. He could feel the tension leaving him, taking most of the pain with it, the day’s hike fading into a distant memory. He probably would have fallen asleep right there, lulled by Hal’s hands and the soothing rush of the river, but then Hal stopped and pressed a kiss to the back of Kyle’s neck. “Feeling better?”
Kyle nodded. A massage made everything better.
Hal slid his hands down Kyle’s back, then around his waist, pulling him back against his chest so that Kyle’s head was resting on his shoulder. “If you’re up to it, maybe we can hike over to that meadow tomorrow.” Hal brushed his lips against Kyle’s ear. “I’ve never had sex in a meadow before.”
“Mmmm, sounds good.” Kyle sighed happily. Maybe camping wouldn’t be so bad after all.