06
1085 Words
I moved into Garret's spacious tent because Ariel's tent was already overcrowded—especially since Justin insisted on sharing with Kevin. Garret's tent was impressive. It had a divider at the entrance, another layer for the sleeping area, and enough room to fit almost all his teammates' bags.
"Sorry about the mess," Garret said, pushing some bags to the corner with his foot. "Make yourself at home."
I smiled. "It's fine. Thanks for letting me stay." I dropped my bag beside the others.
I looked around, still impressed—it even had a window. I unzipped it to let in some air and was startled to see Dean outside. Our eyes met, and I instinctively zipped it shut again. That was rude, I realized—but honestly, he caught me off guard. I kept bumping into him everywhere.
Before dinner, the coaches told us to gather firewood for the bonfire they planned to build in the middle of our circular tent setup.
While some of the guys were playing around with twigs, I tossed the last piece of firewood I'd gathered from the wooded area onto the pile. When I turned around, I was surprised to see Dean approaching with a group of log balanced on his shoulder. He dropped it on the pile and clapped the dust off his hands.
"Hey," he said, catching me staring. I hadn't even realized I was.
"Uh, hey," I replied quickly.
"You're that weak kid who passed me the ball once, right?" he said.
I raised an eyebrow. "Well, I'm not as weak as you," I shot back.
He smirked, and I instantly regretted talking to him. I turned and headed back toward my group, not wanting him to ruin the rest of my day.
As I walked away, someone gripped my shoulder and started massaging it. I groaned slightly—it actually felt amazing.
"Did I hit the spot?" Felix asked.
"You f*****g did," I muttered with a chuckle.
He laughed and then slung his arm across my shoulders, leaning in closer.
"I've noticed Dean keeps staring at you," he said, making me frown. “Did you do something wrong?”
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"Yeah," Justin chimed in, grinning. "You sure you wanna sleep in that tent? They might do bad things to you." He laughed.
I rolled my eyes. Honestly, I was glad Garret offered me a spot in his tent. Justin slept like the hands of a clock—spinning all over the place—and always ended up throwing his leg on someone. Sleeping next to him was a nightmare.
"Yeah, especially with you there," I replied, smirking.
He burst out laughing, already knowing what I meant.
"Dude, don't you wanna sleep with me?" he teased.
"I'd rather sleep with the mosquitoes outside."
"Ouch," he said, still laughing.
Later that evening, I went to Garret's tent to sleep. A few of them were already inside, including Dean. Our eyes met again as I stepped in.
I couldn't deny he was good-looking—but he always looked so smug, and I hated that.
"My visitor's here!" Garret announced with a grin.
He stood up and slung his arm around my shoulder, guiding me into the circle where they were all hanging out.
"No need to be shy like a cute girl. We're all gentlemen here," he teased.
"I'm not shy," I said, taking a seat beside him. Dean sat across from me, still watching me. I looked away.
I occasionally caught him looking, but I told myself it was just coincidence. My friends liked to read into everything.
"This is Ned," Garret said, introducing me even though I already knew most of their names.
"Yeah, we know," one of them—Jude, I think—said. "Nice to meet you. I'm Jude."
He was one of the tallest on the team.
Leo, Lukas, and Tristan introduced themselves next. Then it was Dean's turn.
"Dean," he said, reaching out a hand.
I shook it, not wanting to seem rude, but planned to let go quickly. He squeezed my hand—and held it longer than necessary, making me frown as I pulled away.
"That's our best player," Jude added.
I looked at Dean, who was still looking at me.
"Don't hype me too much," Dean said casually. "I don't want him to think I'm bragging."
Sure, he didn't brag—but somehow he still looked arrogant as hell.
They mostly talked about basketball, video games, and girls. I joined in a bit but still felt strangely uncomfortable. Maybe it was because of Dean.
At dinner, I ate with my volleyball teammates. As the sun began to set, we arranged the firewood and lit the bonfire. We watched as the flames slowly grew, the fire crackling and radiating warmth into the cool night.
We stayed out for a while, enjoying the moment, then eventually decided to turn in early since we had to wake up at dawn.
I headed back to Garret's tent and was surprised to hear low moaning from inside.
"Yes, that spot. Harder..."
All the hair on my body stood up.
What the hell?
I hesitated before peeking inside. Earl was lying on his stomach, and Garret was sitting on his back—giving him a massage.
Relief washed over me. My mind had gone somewhere else entirely. Of course, they wouldn't do anything like that here. Were they even a couple? I wasn't sure. They were so close, but they looked more like brothers. That's probably why people called them "the twins."
Garret saw me and motioned for me to come in. "Yo, come in!"
"Hey, Ned," Earl said, turning his head to look at me.
"Hey," I said, and Earl groaned again under Garret's hands. That massage looked really good.
"How much for a massage like that?" I asked.
Garret chuckled. "Your virginity."
Earl laughed, and I did too—after a second of awkward silence.
I wasn't against gay people, not at all—but I couldn't picture myself in those situations.
"Don't tell me you already took Earl's virginity," I joked.
They went quiet for a moment.
"That's a secret," Garret said, grinning.
"Don't believe him," Earl added, pointing a thumb at Garret, who was still smirking.
Well... that was suspicious.
"We should sleep early," Earl said, motioning for Garret to get off him. "Big day tomorrow."
"Yeah," Garret agreed.
I nodded but the thought of the two of them together was still in my mind.
- Writer
