Chapter 3

I stood in front of the woods while an axe is in hand, blinking at the logs like they just personally offended me.

“Hold the fuck on!” I yelled, making the entire group stop again. A couple nuns sighed, and even Father Maveric was rubbing his temples now. Poor guy. His patience with my bullshit deserves a Nobel Peace Prize.

“Yes, Mr. Blackwell?” Father Maveric asked in his calm priest voice.

“You expect my precious hands to chop these woods?!” I shouted.

He smiled at me. A fake, plastic smile. I wanted to wipe it off his face with the blunt side of this axe.

“This will help you embrace masculine duties,” he said.

Masculine duties my ass. If being straight meant chopping wood for fun, I’d stay gay forever.

“Just listen to him, or he’ll make you stay here longer,” Damian muttered beside me.

I scoffed. “I don’t take advice from liars.”

He shot me a glare and stepped on my toes.

“Bro! What the fuck?!”

“Mr. Blackwell,” Father Maveric cut in before I could escalate. “please be considerate of others. They’re trying to focus on becoming better people.”

I rolled my eyes while Damian smirked like he’d just won the World Cup. One day, Damian. One day, I’ll make you cry.

The axe was heavy. The wood is too solid and honestly? I wasn’t designed for manual labor. But since they threatened no lunch for anyone who didn’t chop at least one log, I swung half-heartedly anyway.

Damian, of course, was already finished. Now he stood nearby, pretending to “guide” me in front of the nuns, but whispering insults like, “You’ll starve ‘til dinner, princess.” What an asshole.

Then, out of nowhere, another voice. Deep and warm like it came out of heaven.

“Let me help you.”

I turned and saw a tall man with curly hair stood behind me. Definitely another gay here. He didn’t smell like hetero nonsense, so I trusted my instincts.

“Relax,” he said, adjusting my grip on the axe. His big hands covered mine. Too close and too touchy… not that I’m complaining. “You’re heavier than the axe, you can handle it. Just don’t overthink.”

And suddenly—bam! I chopped my first log clean through.

“Yes! Lunch is mine!” I yelled. In my joy, I threw my arms around him. He hugged me back, and for one glorious second, I felt like the main character in a romance novel.

Until Damian ripped us apart like a jealous ex.

“Intimate contact with another gay is forbidden here,” he snapped, glaring at both of us.

I shot a glare back at him for breaking our happy moments. Come on, this is the only time I'm happy at this camp and this grumpy dude is trying to ruin everything. One of these day, I'll be putting a pillow on his face.

“We’re sorry. Just a burst of happiness,” Curly-hair said smoothly, being the bigger person.

“I’m Jay,” he added, turning back to me with a kind smile. “And you’re Adrian, right?”

Interesting. He knows my name. Of course, he does. I've been causing a commotion in this camp since I arrived. I feel like everyone backstabbed me once or twice now for being a bitch.

“That’s right,” I said, grinning.

He gave me a sweet smile that makes me wanna suck his dic—

"Woah!" I suddenly got dragged out of the scene by Damian. What is wrong with him? He's ruining my love life!

“Let go!” I clawed at his hand until he released me. He glanced at the scratch marks I left, muttering, “God, you’re fucking insane.”

I crossed my arms, chin high. “Stop sabotaging my life. I know your secret.”

His glare could kill. “As if they’ll believe you. My reputation here is spotless compared to yours.” He leaned in, voice low and dripping with arrogance. “You should’ve taken my offer. Now I’ll make sure you regret saying no.”

He said those words with pure confidence. He's good at being a two-faced asshole infront of everyone. He makes sure that everyone thinks we're getting along and not fighting. I know these people might think he's good at converting people but they're all wrong. He's a fraud and by the end of the camp, he'll get what he deserve.

At lunch, we were forced to hold hands and pray. Against my will, obviously. They thanked God for the food and begged Him to cure us of our “gayness.” Rude as hell.

The only thing that kept me from flipping the table was my new knight in shining armor, Jay.

And here we go again, another endless Bible study. The same verses. The same “repent and be straight” speeches. I swear I’m one more “Amen” away from running into the woods and never coming back. I need fresh air. Fresh perspective. Fresh gay p*rn. Anything but this.

While my brain is melting from holy boredom, a folded piece of paper slides across the table toward me. My eyebrows pull together as I slip it under my palm. The nuns aren’t looking, and Damian, sitting right next to me, seems half-asleep with boredom. Perfect.

I waited until the study ends. While everyone had this break time before dinner, I sneaked out and hid behind our cabin to check what's the paper is all about.

'Let’s have some fun later after everyone’s asleep' — Jay.

Holy mother of God. Did he really just—? My hands tremble and my face burns. This is risky. This is hot. This is happening.

“What are you grinning at?”

My soul almost leaves my body. Damian is suddenly beside me like a horror movie jumpscare. I jam the paper into my pocket.

“Nothing,” I say, too quickly. Then I walk off with my heart hammering. He didn’t see it… right?

I sense that his eyes followed me as I walk away but he didn't say anything. I hope he didn't see nor read the paper I was holding. But he didn't say or reacted suspicious so I think I'm good. Why am I even thinking of Damian now? I'll be having fun later.

At dinner, all I can think about is Jay. Jay’s note. Jay’s smile. Jay who's probably a top. Jay choosing me out of everyone. I keep sneaking glances at him. Every time our eyes meet, he winks. I practically melt into the soup.

“Gross,” Damian mutters.

“Then don’t watch,” I hiss back. Seriously. Go stare at the nuns like you usually do.

“I don’t have a choice,” he says with that mocking tone. I ignore him. He won’t ruin my mood. Tonight, I’m finally going to have some fun.

Night falls while I lie on my bed, staring at the ceiling, listening for Damian’s breathing to slow and overthinking his darting eyes over me which I think is creepy. He just keeps scrolling through his phone and not sleeping. Why isn’t he sleeping?! My plan is to sneaked out once he's asleep but I don't think he's gonna sleep anytime soon. I should change my plan.

"Ugh, pee again," I muttered to myself but enough for Damian to hear. I made him hear my words so I have a reason to leave the cabin. We use a common toilet and bathroom outside of every cabin.

I walked out, trying not to be suspicious. I could feel Damian’s eyes on me as I left, but I didn’t mind. He was probably just confused about why I wasn’t being loud and annoying tonight.

The moment I stepped outside the cabin, the cold breeze brushed against my skin, making me shiver. The only light came from two lamp posts and the fading glow of the campfire we had built earlier.

Jay had sent me a paper, but he hadn’t exactly told me where to meet him. Was it supposed to be the toilet? No, that was too risky. There might be some nuns who’d overhear us there.

I glanced around at the tall trees surrounding the camp. Maybe he wanted us to meet behind them? That was both scary and risky. Well, fuck it. I wanted to get laid.

I tried my best to move quietly, careful not to wake anyone up. I spent my time searching everywhere for Jay, but he was nowhere to be found. My good mood from earlier quickly turned into irritation, and the freezing breeze wasn’t helping.

“Is this a prank?” I muttered under my breath, shivering.

I looked around one last time before giving up. I felt like a loser who had been pranked. Nobody had ever done this to me before. Was he making fun of me? Should I confront him tomorrow, or just let it go? Fuck! I didn’t want him thinking he got me good this time. I fucking hate him.

As I turned to leave, my eyes caught sight of a tall man’s silhouette near a distant tree. My irritation vanished instantly, replaced by relief—it had to be Jay.

“God, finally,” I whispered to myself as I approached. Maybe it wasn’t a prank after all. I should really stop overthinking things.

I crept up to him quietly. His back was turned, and the darkness made it hard to see his face. The moment I reached him, I wrapped my arms around him from behind. He let out a groan as I immediately grabbed his crotch. You’re not getting away from me.

“Let’s start,” I whispered, still caressing him.

Shock hit me when he suddenly slapped my hands away, spun around, and shoved me down.

What the fuck?! What’s his problem?!

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, you fag?!”

My blood runs cold and my eyes widened.

“D-Damian…?!"