by Helen Juliet
Riley had spent a solid couple of hours memorising the YouTube video on how to erect it. He was pretty confident he could tackle it now. Kai hovered for a minute or so. But Riley insisted he knew what he was doing, so he took himself off to fetch more bags and boxes from the car.
“Seriously, what is all this stuff?” said Kai as he deposited the next load on the grass.
“I read up on glamping and ran with it,” he said wryly.
A quick glance told Riley that some of the bags were intended to stay in the car, but he felt too awkward to tell Kai that. He’d just wait until later and put whatever he needed to back in the boot when Kai wasn’t paying attention. He also felt a fresh wave of guilt threaten to render him mute like it always used to. But, he told himself, if Kai wanted to help, then Riley was going to be gracious and accept it.
Maybe this was part of how he wanted to pay Riley and his family back for bringing all the food and drink. Brendon must have told him not to worry, but still, it had been clear earlier that it made Kai feel awkward. So if he wanted to play pack mule in return for sustenance, Riley was fine with that.
Speaking of which…
“Hey, do you want to open that one?” He pointed to one of the coolers Kai had lugged over already. He raised an eyebrow at Riley, but did as he was told. Riley was rewarded with Kai’s happy exclamation as he realised there was chilled beer inside. “Help yourself,” he offered.
“I will!” Kai pulled two bottles out and opened them with a gadget he had on his keyring. “Thanks dude. Cheers,” he toasted.
It wasn’t exactly like having a drink down the pub, but it was just the two of them that clinked bottle necks and Riley felt the tiniest of thrills as they both took a gulp. If Riley squinted hard enough, it wasn’t a million miles from date-like behaviour.
Kai’s Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, a sight which Riley was able to add to his growing list of New Reasons to Fancy Kai. There was something so incredibly male about a prominent Adam’s apple.
Riley touched his own flat throat self-consciously and shifted his weight before his dick could get too excited in his shorts. He turned his focus back to pulling the tent components out of the bag and onto the grass in front of where he was sat. Kai followed his lead, setting his bottle down near Riley’s and heading back to the car to retrieve more boxes and bags.
Inevitably, Riley got flummoxed. He wasn’t quite certain how he was supposed to angle the first of the poles that arched over the width of the small, dome-like tent. The two poles were supposed to create a sort of tunnel arch, and then the entrance was a zipped up doorway in the middle of one of the long sides. He even had the option to secure the front cover flap with an extra couple of small poles to create a canopy. But first, he had to get the blasted main rods to behave and this one kept pinging out when he tried to tighten it.
He muttered under his breath, conscious that Kai was still ferrying all his crap back and forth whilst he sat on his arse mucking about with the tent. No matter what he did though, the damn thing wouldn’t cooperate.
“Here,” said Kai after his next trip to and from the car. “What about this?” He plopped down on the dry grass next to Riley and crossed his legs. Riley expected him to grab the pole off him in frustration. Instead, he merely pointed at where he was trying to slot it in and took another swig on his beer. “Try angling it to the left.”
Riley could feel a droplet of sweat sliding down his back into his arse crack. He fidgeted as he tried to ignore it while he did what Kai said. It irked him that all the obsessive video watching hadn’t paid off and he’d needed help after all. If he couldn’t even manage this task, how was he going to cope with what the rest of the week was going to throw at him?
“Ah!” said Kai, triumphantly. Riley had finally managed to convince the pole to slot where it should go. He was frustrated he hadn’t been able to manage it by himself. But the practical side of him was still grateful it had worked. Better to get the tent up with a little assistance than not at all.
“Thanks,” he mumbled. He leant forwards to thread the rest of the pole through the silky tent material. “I think I can do the rest now.”
Kai shrugged and grabbed the second pole. It was still in small sticks connected by a bungee that ran through their hollow centres. He began clicking them together to form the one, singular pole. “I’ve got most of your stuff over now. And staying here means I can drink my beer easier.”
He wiggled his eyebrows at Riley, before leaning back to snag his bottle from where he’d stashed it and took another sip. His t-shirt rode up a few inches, revealing a sliver of light brown skin over tight muscles. Riley gulped, trying not to stare. Now would be a really awkward time to get a boner.
If his fourteen-year-old self could see him now he would probably have a heart attack. He’d always become hopelessly tongue-tied when Kai was around, which was most of the time. When he had managed to utter a handful of intelligible words, he inevitably came out with something awkward or cringe-worthy. Then he’d promptly run off to find somewhere to die of shame.
Yet here they were, sitting side by side, chatting almost comfortably. The four-year age gap didn’t seem half so daunting now they were both in their twenties. Riley allowed himself to feel just a little bit proud that he hadn’t turned into a mute weirdo.
His cock had calmed down enough by the time he got his pole all the way through to the other side that he felt confident standing. Of course, Kai managed his side with much greater ease. He got the metal rod fed through the narrow channel about the same time. They stood side by side and pulled the two archways upwards, giving the tent its main structure.
“Cool,” said Kai, then looked around for the rest of the kit.
Riley knew from the video they now had to tighten the buckles on the straps at the bottom by the grass. Then, they drove the silver pegs into the ground while catching the loops on the tent’s corners, securing the whole thing to the ground. Riley didn’t feel like the tent would survive a hurricane, but after checking the pegs several times over, he figured for the purpose of this holiday it would all stay well enough.
Once it was all complete the sparse shell looked a bit pathetic. But Riley wasn’t done setting it up by any means yet. When he’d added all his personal touches he was pretty confident he’d have somewhere almost comfy to spend the next seven nights.
“Nice,” Kai said. Riley watched as he stood and folded his arms, observing their work. It was about a third of the size of Kai’s tent, but Riley wasn’t laughing at it’s diminutive size. He allowed himself a small smile and sipped his beer.
“Thanks for helping.”
“Ah don’t mention it,” Kai replied with a wink.
Riley gulped and try not to let himself think of that as flirting. Kai was just exuberant, he always had been. Riley couldn’t read anything into something as innocuous as a wink. Although, he was pretty sure that was the second wink he’d given him.
Instead, he took another gulp of beer and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Kai had managed to empty most of the car by himself, but Riley was happy to follow after him now to grab the rest of his gear. Kai chuckled as he hoisted out a green folding table. Then he shook his head at the accompanying polyester chairs Riley had clutched to his chest.
He wasn’t sure if Kai was laughing at the childish bright colours of the patio furniture, or the fact he had brought it at all. To be fair, it hadn’t cost him much. The main set of the table and four chairs had been on sale from Asda and the extra chairs he’d got on eBay. As every piece was one block colour or another, the additions actually looked like they matched too. Riley was proud of his purchase, but embarrassment threatened to creep up his neck at Kai’s reaction. “It’s a bit excessive I guess.”
“No, it’s brilliant,” Kai insisted. His tone was sincere and he stopped laughing as they started walking, but kept the grin. “People always end up complaining about lolling on the grass after the first few days – I b
et you’ll be Mr Popular.”
Riley couldn’t help but scoff. He’d never been popular in his life. He was certain that he was just asking for whispers behind his back about how much of a nancy-boy he was. But fuck it. The point was to be comfortable and his funky little table and chair set would definitely help with that.
Besides, if Kai thought he was cool and worthy of popularity, he didn’t really care what any of those other Scout people thought. As the two of them set about unfolding the chairs, he couldn’t help but smile to himself.
Perhaps, it wouldn’t hurt too much to spend a little bit of time together?
7
Kai
Riley was cute to watch at work. That was probably a strange word to use for another guy, but he’d always been a cute kid, and it was something that had followed him into adulthood. It was the way he gave absolute focus to a task; his brow would crease and he licked his lips a lot. When he stood, he’d place his hands on his hips as he looked around at whatever he was doing, which, okay, was pretty gay. But Riley was gay, so mannerisms like that weren’t a parody. They were just…Riley.
Kai was glad to see something about his posture had definitely relaxed as well. Although they were of a similar height, there was no escaping how much bigger Kai was compared to Riley’s slender frame. At first it felt like he was consciously keeping space between them, like Kai would accidently hurt him if he didn’t. But now they occasionally brushed shoulders or skimmed hands as they worked getting everything unpacked from the hundreds of bags and boxes Riley had brought with him, and something about it was weirdly nice.
Kai had felt certain it would be enjoyable to hang around with Brendon’s little brother more and it was starting to feel like he’d been right.
The sound of a chuckle drew his attention. Kai looked over to see Riley was shaking his head. He was in the process of taking one of the plastic crates they had just emptied and turning it upside down on the grass. Then he draped a rectangle of striped material over it, fussing so the corners were even and the edges almost touching the ground on every side. After that, he added mismatching cardboard coasters that looked like they’d been nicked from various pubs, a couple of cleaned jam jars with tea-light candles inside, and a washed-out glass lemonade bottle that he slipped some freshly picked wildflowers into.
“Wow,” said Kai. He knew his eyebrows were practically in his hair, but he couldn’t seem to drag them back down again. Riley had made an actual coffee table.
Riley’s hands faltered mid-air. “Um, too much?” he turned and asked Kai with a grimace.
Kai shook his head. It was his turn to chuckle. “No mate, I just… Well, you see something new every day, don’t you?”
Riley tweaked the corner of the tablecloth once more and looked to be pleased with Kai’s reaction.
“So what was so funny?” Kai asked, going back to organising cans of olives and sweetcorn and hot dogs. Apart from the meat, he noticed they were all from the cheapest ranges of several different supermarkets. Some of the labels weren’t even in English.
Riley looked back at him, then grinned. “You were humming,” he said slyly. “At least, I think that’s what that noise was.”
“Oi!” Kai chucked one of the many throw cushions his way, deliberately missing, but making Riley laugh and his hazel eyes sparkle in the evening sunshine. For a second, they just grinned at each other.
“Hello there!”
Kai turned around to see who was approaching them. Cameron Grinter waved as he walked, his grown-up children Charlotte and Daryl flanking him either side. Kai beamed and brushed the grass from his knees as he stood.
“Cameron,” he cried back. “We’d been wondering where you’d got to. Get lost in the reception?”
Cameron let loose a booming laugh as the three of them came to a halt by Riley’s tent. “Oh yes, I do apologise for that. We went to fetch the proper permit and Pamela ended up having a bit of a chinwag with the owners.” He nudged Charlotte with his elbow. “We all know what women are like when they get chatting.”
Kai laughed along with him then stuck out his hand for a vigorous shake. “Good to see you again.”
“And you,” Cameron agreed. “You get here alright?”
Kai clapped the older man’s arm and the two stepped apart. “Yeah, not bad. Took the train and then a bus as close as I could, then I grabbed a lift off the road.”
“You hitch-hiked?”
Kai turned around to find Riley had come up behind him. He looked like he’d heard the shock of his life.
“Yeah, sure,” said Kai with a shrug. It was no big deal really. For him in any case; for someone like Riley, he could maybe understand that might be a more daunting prospect. He might not be able to defend himself if someone decided to get nasty.
The thought of Riley getting hurt sent a flare of anger through Kai which was, quite frankly, ridiculous. He wasn’t going to get in a car with a stranger, so there was no reason to raise his hackles. Honestly, Kai thought, what’s wrong with me today?
He laughed it off. “I got here alright, didn’t I?” Riley seemed mollified by that and they both turned back to the Grinters. “Hey, you guys remember Riley, don’t you? Phil’s second son.”
The twins shot a glance at each other, then squinted at Riley like he was a specimen at a zoo. “Really?” said Charlotte. Daryl rubbed his thumb across his lower lip and tilted his head in consideration.
Riley shifted from one foot to the other, and Kai got the feeling that he wasn’t all that comfortable. Maybe he was just one of those people who didn’t like groups or strangers. The Grinters weren’t exactly strangers, but Riley hadn’t seen them for years. Kai stepped just a little bit closer to him, hoping that might make him feel more at ease.
“Goodness me,” said Cameron with a hearty laugh. “Well I never. I thought you’d vowed not to ever set foot on a camping ground again after that crying incident.” He wagged his finger in Riley’s direction before grabbing his hand and pumping it twice. “See, I knew we’d win you back.”
That was a bit shitty, Kai felt. He remembered the ‘incident’ Cameron was referring to – if his memory was right that had been Riley’s very last camping trip before he’d quit Scouts and joined the drama club or orchestra or something else artsy. Cameron was probably trying to be funny, but judging by the redness creeping into Riley’s cheeks he wasn’t succeeding.
Before Kai could offer something to say to defuse the sudden tension, Riley plastered a smile on his face and shrugged. “Well, it’s my dad’s fiftieth, isn’t it? I wanted to make the effort.”
“And that you have,” drawled Charlotte. She started meandering between Riley’s half unpacked possessions. “Isn’t this all beyond precious.” She twitched one of the jam jars, then skipped back over to Kai’s side. “And you were helping him?” she asked, a tone of approval to her voice.
Daryl scoffed. “Well none of this stuff is going to be Kai’s now, is it?”
That got another laugh from the Grinters, and Kai joined in. But he wasn’t sure if that was a dig towards Riley and it made him uncomfortable. No, this wasn’t a typical pitch site, but Riley wasn’t a typical camper. Maybe it was a bit impractical, but there was no real harm to it, was there?
“So, what are you guys up to now?” he asked the twins to change the subject.
Charlotte smiled sweetly as she tucked a lock of her blonde bob behind her ear. She and her brother were both wiry with narrow hips and mouths with strong cupid-bows. His hair was more brunette, but there was no mistaking the resemblance between the both of them and their father.
Although Cameron was sporting a small pot-belly under the polo shirt he had tucked into his khaki shorts, which were currently showing off his hairy legs and knobbly knees. His hairline had receded almost to his ears and what little hair he had left he kept finely shaved. He had undoubtedly been as athletic looking as his offspring in his youth though.
“Ah,” he said, clapping both his kids on the sh
oulder. “My clever-clogs are still studying away, aren’t they?”
“Masters in Psychology,” said Daryl proudly.
“Wow, awesome,” said Kai. He’d had to do a fair bit of time at uni himself for his job, so he appreciated how hard they were most likely working.
“You’re both doing the same course?” Riley looked surprised. “Don’t you get sick of each other?” he added with a laugh, and Kai joined him. Riley had a point. He loved his sister, but if they saw each other all the time there would definitely be blood on the floor at least once a week.
The twins smiled back at him. “We’re just two peas in a pod,” said Daryl. He hugged Charlotte to his side, and she nodded in agreement.
“You didn’t go to uni, did you Riley?” she asked.
Riley kept the smile on his face, but Kai noticed the tension in his shoulders. “No, it wasn’t for me,” he admitted.
There was a slightly uncomfortable pause.
Kai had to say he was surprised, he wouldn’t have expected the Grinters to behave so off towards Riley. Could they be homophobic? That seemed so unlikely in this day and age. He thought it would maybe be a good idea to break the situation up, and luckily Pamela Grinter offered the perfect solution.
“Oh hey,” he said to the group while waving over at Pamela a hundred feet away. She waved back with a large bunch of keys before getting into the cab of the motorhome. “Looks like your mum is ready to go.”
The Grinters turned around as she started the engine up. “Oh wonderful,” said Cameron.
“Finally,” said the twins in unison.
“Well,” said Cameron, clapping his hands together. “It was lovely to see you again Kai, no doubt we’ll catch up more soon.” He nodded, then began following after where his wife was slowly steering the massive vehicle.
Charlotte and Daryl watched their parents, but they didn’t look like they were going to move anytime soon.
“I guess you’ll want to go and unpack,” suggested Kai. He could feel Riley shifting his weight next to him again.