Page 69 of Muscle Cub

“No way. It’s not happening.”

“But it’s such a great song for karaoke.”

“Is it? I’m not sure anyone should be sustaining vowels for that long in public.”

“You have a great voice. Even listening to you talk turns me on.” He hummed. “I wish I had enough bars out here for us to video chat. We could jack off together.” His breaths sounded like gusts of hot wind.

“Are you playing with yourself right now?” I teased.

“I can’t help but play with myself when we talk on the phone.”

I pictured him standing out on the road with his shorts pushed down around his thighs, pulling on his cock. “We were on the phone last night for almost two hours.”

“Well, it wasn’t the whole time, just part of it. Until I got off.”

My voice went up an octave. “At what point did that happen?”

“When we were talking about you writing a book about us. If you wrote some sex scenes, you could try them out on me.”

What would he say if I pulled up the pages I’d written about him? I chickened out, blaming it on my laptop being downstairs. “I’m not sure I can handle any more feedback from you about my writing.” I also didn’t love the thought of all the men who might be watching him. Men who were right there at the campground, steeped in the collective sexual ambience, riding the edge of arousal for days. Men who were on the hunt and available while I was here. “Put your dick away. You’re gonna get mosquito bites in places you really don’t want them.”

Austin laughed. “Yeah, the light on the pole is the only one for miles. I’m kinda asking for it. I need to go take a shower anyway.”

Austin showering at the campground surrounded by easy opportunities was worse than him putting on a show at the pole. I tried to sound nonchalant. “Go shower.”

“I will. I’m buying some time. There were a few staff groupies lurking around in Bathhouse One earlier, up by the bunkhouse.”

“Well, that’s bullshit.” It was one thing if he was getting attention because he wanted it, but it was another situation entirely if he didn’t.

Austin hummed. “It kinda goes with the territory.”

“You still have a right to privacy.”

“Yeah, but it takes a lot of energy to be pissed off all the time. I don’t care if people look. Hugs and pats don’t bother me as long as they don’t cross a line.”

I got out of bed and started pacing. I was fuming. “Is management aware of this?”

“Calm down, Karen. Sawyer and Jim have our backs. If guests don’t act right, they will throw their asses out. The first weekend I worked here, right in the middle of dinner service when my hands were full with iced tea pitchers, this dude got on his knees in front of me and tried to unzip my shorts. Sawyer saw him, yanked the motherfucker off the floor, dragged him out of the dining room, and screamed at him in the lobby for five minutes. He told the dude’s friends he could stay in his cabin and sleep it off, but he’d be checking out first thing in the morning. Sawyer can be scary as fuck.”

“Well… good.” As long as someone was looking out for him.

“Listen, I chose to work here. And up until a week ago, I was ready to go all in on the debauchery. You heard the guys. They totally outed me in the pool that night.”

“I don’t want you to miss out on anything.” A part of me did.

“The only thing I’m missing is you.”

Fuck. I wanted to see him again, and I didn’t want to wait until Wednesday. I wasn’t exactly dying to introduce a guy I’d known for a week to my entire family—there was no telling how that would go—but… I wanted to keep this going.

“Prof? You’re awfully quiet over there. You beating off?”

“No,” I scoffed. “I was thinking. I’m not sure if you were serious about coming to my niece’s birthday party tomorrow, but… do you want to go with me?”

“Ah, damn!” Austin laughed.

My heart sank. “It’s cool if you can’t. If my mom asks, I’ll tell her—”

“I was gonna surprise you! I asked off. I have to be back in time for dinner service tomorrow, but yeah. I’d love to come.”