Watching Lakyn thrive was like a medicine I didn't know I needed. His smiles were addicting, and with each day that passed, the more often I saw them. He laughed at things, and made jokes, and was more often the person I knew in private out in public.
He finished drivers ed later than most people, but it didn't surprise me for some reason. Lakyn lived in some paradox where he was older than most adults, but younger than his peers at the same time. Like how he didn't have a license until he was 17, but by the time he graduated High School he'd already have a college degree.
Lakyn James was strange, but I loved him.
He started planning things in advance, concerts he wanted to see and movies he was excited for. He bought a big ass wall calendar and sacrificed one of his posters so he could hang it up and write things down that he wanted to do.
He made fun of me for being excited about it, but I didn't care. I just cared that he was excited about stuff. Normal life stuff.
I woke up early on Friday morning in an empty bed, which would have been normal at home, but I was at Lakyn's. I shot up, trying to convince myself that he'd probably just gone to the bathroom, but I couldn't help thinking something had happened.
"Hey, sleepy head," Lakyn said from across the room. He was dressed, and there were two duffle bags at his feet. "Get up."
"What time is it?" I asked, rubbing my eyes. "Aren't long weekends for sleeping in?"
Lakyn shrugged. "It's six."
"Fuck you," I said, and fell back into bed, pulling the covers around me like they could somehow protect me from whatever craziness he'd caught.
The bed dipped when Lakyn joined me before he pulled the blankets down to my chest. He lowered his mouth to my neck and I managed to swallow down my moan, but my traitorous back still arched into his touch.
"Get up," Lakyn whispered near my ear. "I promise it will be worth it."
"I promise staying in bed will be worth it," I murmured, and worked one of my hands under his shirt. I felt him smile against my skin and thought I'd won until suddenly he pulled away.
"Get up or I'm leaving without you."
I whined, and thought about staying, but the cold side of the bed felt too weird, so I pulled myself out of bed and into the bathroom.
By the time I was ready, Lakyn was already in his truck. The bed was full of bags I didn't recognize and Lakyn grinned at me when I got there.
"Hey hottie," he said. "I'm lookin' for some company."
"You can't afford me," I said as I swung into the passenger seat.
Lakyn looked me up and down in a way that should have been illegal and definitely made my stomach warm before he said, "I bet we can work something out."
"You're terrible," I said.
"You love it," he said.
"True," I agreed. "Where are we going?"
"You'll see," he said, and started up the truck. He didn't answer the question no matter how far we drove, and eventually I got tired of rambling, so I fell asleep with my head against his shoulder. When I woke up it was nine in the morning and we were stopping for a bathroom break.
Lakyn still wouldn't answer my questions, so I turned the radio on and played air guitar until I noticed we were well out of the city. "Are you going to murder me?"
"If I was I would have a much better alibi," Lakyn said.
I narrowed my eyes. "I really hate the fact that I know you would get away with it."
Lakyn grinned at me and I couldn't help but smile back. Addicting.
When he pulled the truck over I suddenly realized where we were. River View Park was breathtaking, I had always wanted to hike it. I'd begged Matt for years to go with me, but he never would. He said the forest was too dense, and he didn't believe in my ability to get us back out if we went in.
I twisted around in my seat and stared at Lakyn, lost for words. He held my gaze for awhile, then shrugged and started the truck again, "I mean, if you're not interested, we can go back home."
"Shut up," I told him, quickly. "Tell me you're joking?"
"Scott, baby, you're the one in this relationship that makes bad jokes."
"Fuck you," I said.
"Maybe later," he offered, then killed the truck again and jumped out. He grabbed the duffle bags and tossed me one then pointed to the on-site bathrooms. "Get changed, you aren't gonna wanna hike in your vans."
I followed his lead, vibrating with excitement, as I switched out my clothes for hiking gear. I wasn't sure when he'd gotten a hold of them, but I had a feeling Matt was a culprate. It turned out the other bags were camping gear, and Lakyn loaded me up before grabbing a much smaller backpack and water bottle for himself.
He let me pick the trail and let me hold his hand as we walked down dirt paths. He let me take his picture when I couldn't get past the colors the leaves were and only rolled his eyes a few times when I couldn't stop talking about how beautiful fall was. He didn't smile, but he didn't look unhappy either.
"Did I ever tell you that we used to camp a lot when I was a kid?" I asked that evening, before the sun had gone down so we still had enough light to pitch the tent. Lakyn watched me from where he was sitting on the ground, his knees propped up and a rare joint dangling from his fingers.
"Why'd you stop?" he asked.
I grinned. "Racoons."
Lakyn arched an eyebrow and waited me out. I chuckled and finished with the stake I was working on before I told the story.
"My mom was always a really good sport about the camping thing, but my dad was bad about remembering to pack up the food. One night he forgot to put the lid on a jar of peanut butter and just tossed it into the tent. Racoons are stubborn little bastards."
"With hands," Lakyn said.
"With hands," I agreed. "I woke up to a lot of screaming from my mother and about three or four racoons taking off. Scared the shit out of my mom though. She was convinced they were baby bears and that the mother would be after us soon enough."
"So no more camping," Lakyn guessed.
I shook my head. "My dad wasn't allowed to take me by myself either because my mom said he'd get too drunk and a bear would actually maul us. Matt goes with me on occasion though. And now you."
"And now me," Lakyn repeated, and when I finished with the tent and went over to him, he passed me the joint.
I nodded in agreement and sat down across from him, taking in a long drag. I watched a mosquito land on his arm and Lakyn swatted it off with a screwed up nose.
I blinked at him. "You haven't complained."
"What?" Lakyn asked.
"You haven't complained. Not once. Not about the dirt or the bugs or being outside. You don't like to hike. You definitely don't like to camp. You didn't even like it when we had cabins and people in charge of us."
"I don't like authority," Lakyn countered.
"You don't like anything." I pointed out.
He smirked at me and motioned to have the joint, so I handed it back to him. He took a long drag and said, "I love you. Relationships are a two way street. You do a lot of shit for me, I can put up with a little fresh air."
I smiled slowly. "I love you, too."
"I know," Lakyn said smugly. "Can you make a fire?"
"Of course I can."
It turned out to be a lie. I remembered watching my father make them when I was a child, but no matter how hard I rubbed sticks together, I couldn't get a spark. Lakyn watched me like the smart ass he was, occasionally poking fun, until I gave up and told him to do it.
The little fucker had brought a kit with him, and got a flame going within minutes. He laughed when I tacked him and I tried not to think about how it made me love him a little more that he let me take him down into the dirt and kiss him senseless.
***
"Stop it," Lakyn muttered sleepily, but his hand still went to the back of my head and my tongue worked at the sensitive skin of his hips. I knew where he liked it best, just how to tease him, how to make him swear and lift off the ground.
"Seriously?" I asked back, barely lifting my mouth from him. I loved the way he tasted. I loved how warm he was. He hummed a 'yes' but his body was still responding to me. He was half hard already and I hadn't even gotten his pants off.
"You never say no to sex," I muttered. "You're kind of a whore."
"I'm definitely a whore," Lakyn agreed, and pressed down on my head so I was forced to kiss him again. I bit gently at the curve of his hip bone and he sighed softly. "But I'm not fucking you in the woods."
"Oh, come on," I muttered, curling my fingers into his waistband. "We have a tent."
"This is how white people die in horror movies."
I froze.
Lakyn was silent for a moment and then he laughed before gently tugging me up so he could look at me. "Did I seriously just freak you out?"
"Yes," I said. "You make me watch a lot of fucked up movies."
"You're ridiculous."
"We're out in the middle of nowhere," I pointed out. "Anything could happen to us right now."
"I hate you."
"I'm serious" I strained my ears to listen, and jumped when something, somewhere, made a noise that I didn't quite recognize. "Did you hear that?"
Lakyn pushed me off of him and I landed on the comfort of the sleeping bag. We had a double, because Lakyn was gay like that, and I was incredibly thankful for it. He huffed and rolled onto his side. "It was probably a fuckin' racoon."
"You're such a little shit."
He snorted. "Go to sleep."
"I can't."
"Scott."
"Lakyn!"
***
"I cannot believe you right now," Lakyn said as he dropped onto the hotel bed. I waved him off while I pressed 'call' on my phone and paced around the small room.
Matt answered on the third ring, sounding like I'd woken him up, "Dude, what the hell?"
"Hey, man, I think I need, like, one of those blessings you do."
"It's seven in the morning, Scott," Matt replied, his voice taking on an angry growl.
"I know, but -"
"You don't even believe in God, dude."
I hesitated for a moment. "I don't not believe in God."
"I'm hanging up," Matt said.
"Wait-"
"It's Saturday," Matt said, followed by the dial tone.
"Freaking rude," I muttered, then startled as something small and plastic hit me in the chest. I caught it out of instinct. A condom package.
"Are you going to fuck me now, or not?" Lakyn asked. "Or do you want me to top, since you're being such a bitch baby bottom."
"You're such a fucking asshole," I said, and Lakyn cracked up laughing the second I pounced him. He kept it up until I had his pants off and two fingers inside of him. Then the sound cut off into a moan, and I grinned as I leaned down to kiss him. "I'll show you who's a bottom."
"I bet you will," Lakyn said back, a dark smile appearing on his face. "During round two."
I laughed and kissed him again. And again. Until he was shaking, begging, and beautiful. I loved him. I loved him with everything in me. And I intended to show him. For the rest of our weekend.