Camping It Up

PART 1

“So who’s coming on this little trip again Richie?” Paul asked as he continued collecting bags from the front doorstep and hurling them into the back of the navy blue station wagon that was parked a few metres away. Rich carried the last bag out of the flat and then helped transport the last few from the pile and into the car as well.

“Wil, Rove, and Gatesy,” he replied. Paul frowned. He didn’t know any of Richard’s friends, even after knowing him for a few years now. He had only a scarce few friends himself and they were all from the Uni. course he and Rich were in, and to tell the truth he felt that they were more like acquaintances than friends. He hadn’t had to make new friends for quite a while now so he was a bit uncertain as to how things would go over the next two weeks with these complete strangers.

“Do you go camping with them often?” Paul asked as they walked back inside and into the kitchen. Rich sat down at the table and Paul turned the kettle on and leant back against the bench while he waited for the water to boil.

“Yeah, we usually go two or three times a year; whenever we can all manage it really. They’re all pretty eager to meet you.” Paul didn’t know about that.

“I don’t know a thing about these people. You hardly ever talk about them or anything.” The kettle boiled and Paul produced two mugs of tea and brought them over to the table, sitting down opposite his friend.

“Ah well, you’ll get to know them in no time. You’ll get along just fine, I can tell.” How could he tell? He was obviously blind.

“Hmm… How’d you all meet?” Paul asked, taking a large gulp of his tea. It wasn’t long before they would have to leave so it would only be a quick break. Rich copied Paul’s actions before answering the question.

“It might sound like a bit of a coincidence, but we were all out camping at the same time in exactly the same place. We hit it off straight away and ended up sharing our campfire for the whole time we were there. Lots of late night story telling and all that – we were young.” Rich sighed “So from then on we’ve been meeting up in the same place on a regular basis. Since we started Uni. and careers and things it’s gotten a bit more difficult of course, but when we do get together we always have fun.” Paul looked down at his fingers as he slid them up and down the cup slowly, concentrating on the heat coming from it. Richard and his friends certainly sounded like a very close-knit bunch. With each new piece of information Rich gave him he became more and more certain that it was a bad idea agreeing to accompany his friend.

“Are you sure you want me to come? I don’t want to barge in on your little clique.”

“No, no, you’re welcome to join us. I’m sure they’re sick to death of hearing the same stories year after year – I know I am; they’d love to have someone different in the group!”

“Is that a compliment or should I be offended?” Paul mock-frowned. Rich rolled his eyes, gulped down the rest of his tea, and went to rinse his cup in the sink.

“Shut the fuck up.” Paul finished his drink and Rich collected his cup and rinsed his as well, leaving them upside-down on the drying rack. “Now have we got everything?” Paul looked around as though he could see into all the rooms in the house from where he was.

“Umm…think that’s it.”

“Great, let’s go then!” Rich began to bounce out towards the awaiting vehicle.

“Shit, hang on!” Paul called out to him.

“I’ll be in the car.” Rich answered. Paul yelled back, acknowledging that he’d heard him, then ran into his room and grabbed the leather-bound journal from under his pillow and jogged outside. Richard was sitting in the car, and he smiled and waved to Paul to get a move on. Paul nodded to him to be patient and locked the door to their flat before finally jumping into the passenger seat. He slipped his book into the glove box for safekeeping, but also to keep it close so he could write in it on the way if he had some sort of an epiphany or anything. Rich started the car up and immediately the radio blared to life with the wailing riff of Led Zeppelin’s ‘Stairway To Heaven’. They reversed out the driveway and then they were off.

PART 2

“This is it!” Richard announced as he pulled the car to a halt between two towering gum trees. Paul climbed out of the car and stretched, looking at their surroundings. It was a fairly secluded campsite, surrounded by hundreds of native trees and foliage, with the remnants of the last campfire slightly to the left of centre of the clearing. “Isn’t it great?” Rich asked in a dreamy tone, taking a deep breath “I love it out here.”

“Yeah, it’s alright,” Paul shrugged “Where are the others?”

“Probably late, as usual. I tend to always be the first one here for some reason.” Richard chuckled “But there is an upside to this scenario – it means we can set up our tents wherever we want.” He looked around before his eyes settled on a patch of ground that to Paul looked no different than the rest of the place. “That looks like a good spot, what do you reckon?” Paul shrugged.

“Whatever.”

“Let’s get to it then.” Rich grabbed his tent from the car and dropped it in the spot he’d chosen, then began to unroll it. Eventually he looked up to Paul. “Well are you gonna just stand there or what?”

“Oh, sorry, right…” Paul said, jumping to action and beginning to join the poles together.

*****

They’d just finished setting up their tents a few metres apart when Paul heard yells of ‘woo-hoo’, ‘Richie’ and ‘we’re here’ coming from a purplish black coloured four wheel drive as it pulled up near theirs. He watched Richard walk over to greet the group as they emerged from the vehicle. They all exchanged hugs and pats on the back with Rich and Paul turned away and unzipped his tent, pulling the flap across to peek inside.

“Hey Paul! Whatcha doin’?” Richard yelled. Paul ducked out of the tent. “Get your arse over here!” Rich beckoned to him impatiently and Paul shoved his hands in his pockets and leisurely strode over to where the small group were waiting. He hadn’t really looked at them since they’d arrived, but now he raised his head and saw the three men for the first time. He took a sharp intake of breath and his whole body seemed to freeze for a moment, except for his heart, which he could hear pounding resonantly in his ears. Finally he gained control again, looking to the ground quickly. He convinced himself that his reaction couldn’t have been avoided. They couldn’t help that they were all absolutely gorgeous! He looked up again and held out his hand to the first of them.

“Hi, I’m Paul,” he said, easily regaining his composure and staring directly into the tall man’s eyes as he took his hand. Paul could see the surprise registering on his face already.

“Gatesy,” he replied, a slow smile creeping over his face as he gave Paul’s hand an extra squeeze before releasing him. Paul unconsciously wiped his sweaty palm on his jeans before turning to the next of the group.

“Nice to meet you Paul. Rove here.” he said, flashing a show-host grin at Paul and gripping his hand tightly. Paul returned the pressure correspondingly.

“Hey Rove.” Paul murmured, holding Rove’s eyes in an intense gaze. Before Paul had a chance to do anything else, the last of Richard’s friends took a step forward, easily drawing his attention away from Rove.

“Wil Anderson at your service!” he almost barked, doing an extravagant bow. He looked up from his bent over position and grinned cheekily up at Paul, waggling his eyebrows – an obvious comedian.

“Well that’s nice to know,” Paul replied quietly, returning the grin as Wil rose back to his full height. He studied Wil’s face momentarily and he was sure that he was blushing just a little. Paul looked around at their little party with newly found interest. Richard caught his eye and gave him a puzzled look, and Paul looked away carefully. He hoped his friend didn’t suspect anything. Rich didn’t know about his homosexuality and he didn’t know whether he was ready for him to know yet. Of course, if things went how he was hoping on this camp, he might have no choice but to tell him. He wondered if Richard knew that all his friends were gay. Paul glanced at Rich scuffing his shoe in the dirt and smirked. This was going to be fun, and not to mention very, very interesting.

PART 3

Paul was sitting in the passenger seat of the car with the door open writing down his revelations about Richard’s friends when he heard a voice calling his name. He snapped his book shut instinctively and looked up to see who it was.

“Hey Paul, wanna help me put my tent up?” Gatesy called from where he was having a bit of trouble keeping both poles up at the same time. Paul was motionless for a moment before he finally put his journal away and walked over to join Gatesy.

“Hey,” Paul greeted him and patted his hands on his legs as he looked at the task at hand before bending over to pick up one of the poles while Gatesy secured the other one.

“I thought you might’ve been bored and would appreciate something to do. What were you doing over there? It took ages to get your attention.”

“Oh, nothing really. Just writing.” Gatesy raised his eyebrow in interest.

“Are you a writer?”

“Occasionally,” Paul shrugged. It was true; he did dabble in writing a bit, but it was usually just a series of short personal pieces that he only let the choice few, if any, lay their eyes on. “I guess I’m an artist; I’m doing the same course as Rich.”

“Right.” There was silence for a few minutes as they hammered all the pegs into the ground. “That’s one thing I’ve always wondered,” Gatesy continued out of the blue “Just how good is he? I never would’ve thought a straight guy would be all that good at art, especially someone like Rich.” Gatesy looked across the tent at Paul with a quizzical and slightly amused look on his face. It was such a completely obvious attempt to let him know he knew that Paul had to laugh.

“He’s quite good really. We tend to major in different mediums, but he’s taught me a few things, and I’d like to think I’ve helped him as well. He keeps me sane. If I didn’t have Rich around I’m sure I’d go out of my mind,” Paul frowned at the truth in what he was saying “That’s just what I’m like I guess.” He shrugged and ducked down so Gatesy couldn’t see his face, and pretended to adjust one of the pegs. Gatesy walked around to stand next to him.

“Does he know?” Paul didn’t say anything for a moment and then he slowly rose to his feet. He glanced at Gatesy and saw a slight flicker of uncertainty cross his face.

“No, he doesn’t know I’m gay, and I’m guessing he doesn’t know about you three either?” Paul shot a grin at Gatesy, who seemed a little taken back at Paul’s veracity. ‘Well, blame the gay radar for that’ he thought. Paul chuckled and gave Gatesy’s shoulder a quick squeeze before walking over to where Richard and Wil were sitting on one of the logs that surrounded the campfire.

*****

“…so that’s basically it.” Wil shrugged and looked up to Richard. When he saw Paul coming towards them his face lit up suddenly. “Hey Paul!” he exclaimed.

“Hi,” Paul nodded his greeting as he sat down on a log. Rich got up and stretched, then looked down at his companions.

“I’m gonna go get some wood for tonight, you guys wanna come help?”

“Nah thanks Richie-boy,” Wil replied “You know I’d really love to, but I think I’ll just stay here for a while with Paul.” He looked up at Rich innocently and Paul snickered at the hurt confused look on his friend’s face. Richard opened his mouth as though he was going to say something but then he simply shook his head slightly and walked away. Wil and Paul watched him walk away, then turned back to each other and broke out laughing. Wil shook his head sadly. “Poor Rich, he’s so naive. Sometimes I wonder what we’re ever gonna do with that boy.”

“And you’re such a good friend too!” Paul said mockingly as he moved to sit beside Wil.

“Oh, I just love to tease him. He doesn’t mind, honestly. If he didn’t enjoy it as much as I did he’d have beaten the shit out of me long ago!”

“Whatever you reckon…” Paul chuckled.

“You should try it one day – it’s very refreshing!” Paul was laughing non-stop now and fully enjoying it, as was Wil judging by the rapt expression on his face. Wil sighed and his eyes roamed over Paul’s features. “You look so good when you’re happy.” Wil murmured as he stared straight into his eyes. It was an extremely corny thing to say, but Paul instantly stopped laughing, a smile frozen on his face. It was only then that he noticed that Wil was leaning slightly towards him. His smile widened as their faces moved slowly closer together. He could almost feel Wil’s lips on his already.

“Guys! Rich is coming back!” came an alarmed whisper from nearby. Both Paul and Wil jumped back from each other and looked around to see who it was. Rove emerged from the trees and unloaded his pile of wood not far from the campfire. He gave them a knowing nod as he sat down on one of the logs. Rich appeared a moment later, his arms also laden with a stack of firewood, which he added to the pile. Wil snickered and Paul was a bit bewildered for a moment until Rich slapped him on the back and plonked himself down next to Rove. Finally Paul started breathing again. That had been close. Rove and Wil grinned at him. Paul looked up to the cloudless bluish-grey sky. It was getting dark and the stars were coming out. Who knew what the night would bring?

PART 4

Paul was sitting on the ground in front of the fire, leaning back against a log with his eyes closed, listening to the murmured voices of his companions. It had been a long night of non-stop questioning as they all got to know each other a bit better, to an extent at least. No one talked about their sexuality, but whenever they mentioned someone they had been with it was always ‘my partner’ or ‘my lover’, never revealing the sex of that person. Despite this, Richard still remained completely oblivious. Paul opened his eyes when he heard Rich raise his voice slightly.

“Well I’m going to bed guys,” he yawned “See you in the morning.” He gave a small wave and smiled sleepily at Paul then walked over to his tent and climbed in. Paul turned back to see Gatesy and Rove sending each other a mischievous grin and then they got up and both entered Rove’s tent. Paul smiled. Those two had been flirting all night and Richard hadn’t noticed a thing. Paul glanced at Wil, whose eyes were unashamedly running over Paul’s body, and yawned with a slight smile on his face. He rose to his feet and stretched slowly, watching the hunger in Wil’s eyes grow.

“Well,” he began, breaking Wil out of his trance “I think Rich has the right idea, so I’m gonna go to bed too. See ya.” Wil looked seriously confused, and Paul turned away and smirked. Now it was Wil’s turn to be teased instead of Richard! He climbed into his tent and turned on the light. He knew Wil would be watching and his skin tingled at the thought as he slowly began to undress, turning it into a kind of silhouetted strip show. He left his boxers on and got out his journal, lay on his stomach and continued writing the entry he had started earlier.

He finished writing about his new ‘friends’ and how the trip seemed to be going so far and then he frowned. He was sure Wil would be here by now. He felt a pang of disappointment that he hadn’t shown up, but then pushed the feeling away and flipped his journal open to a new page. He sat up, then put his pen to paper and began to draw. His hand moved in sharp intense strokes as the black ink infected the previously pure white page. Before long the image of an abstract skull had materialised on the page. He’d been so absorbed in what he was doing that he didn’t notice Wil had come in and was now crouched behind him as he did the last few touch-ups.

“Wow,” Wil whispered in amazement. Paul jumped violently and snapped his book shut.

“Shit, Wil!” He was sure he’d almost had a heart attack then.

“Sorry, I did ask if I could come in but you didn’t answer. I don’t think you heard me.” Wil’s eyes inadvertently dropped to Paul’s groin area and Paul felt his body flush with heat. “Did I interrupt you? It’s just those two are so noisy – it’s impossible to get to sleep!” It was easy to guess what it was they were doing to cause so much noise.

“No, no,” Paul laughed “It’s fine, really.”

“Um, could I look at what you were drawing?” Wil asked cautiously, indicating to the book Paul was clutching firmly in his hand. “What I saw was really good…” He trailed off as he saw Paul’s face drop. Paul looked down at his journal thoughtfully. Could he show him? Well it was only one picture, it wasn’t like he’d be reading it. He looked up to Wil. “Look, don’t worry. Forget it if you don’t feel comfortable about it.” Wil excused, holding his hands up. He looked hurt, and this surprised Paul a little.

“No, you can look at it if you want,” he said, opening the book carefully to the page he had been on and handing it to Wil.

“You sure?”

“Yeah, no worries.” Wil looked down at the page and Paul watched him anxiously, suddenly realising how nervous he was about Wil’s opinion. He held his breath as he waited, then finally Wil spoke.

“It’s amazing.” The words conveyed a fairly typical reaction to Paul’s work, but the way Wil said it made Paul grin with a sudden burst of happiness and maybe even a certain amount of pride. Paul didn’t know why it meant so much, but it made him feel good so he decided it was better not to question it.

“I’ve got another one to show you,” Paul said eagerly and flipped back to another page and then handed it back. As soon as Wil saw it he began laughing like a hyena. Paul’s face instantly fell.

“No, Paul, it’s really good, honestly…” Wil explained. Paul didn’t seem convinced. “I was just thinking…” Wil giggled “You actually made Rich look quite shaggable, and that’s quite a feat to achieve!” Paul looked up at Wil and saw that he had genuinely been thinking that, and that was why he had laughed at his drawing. Paul looked at the picture with that in mind and couldn’t hold back a snigger. He couldn’t believe he’d never noticed it before.

“It’s not like that, truly!” Paul vindicated “I’ve never thought about him like that in my life!” Wil looked at him and burst out laughing.

“Well neither have I Paul, but you’ve got me thinking!” Paul pouted and Wil’s face grew serious. It was then that Paul noticed that Wil was dressed in much the same attire as him. He raised an eyebrow and they simply looked at each other in silence, then Wil brought his hand up and ever so gently stroked Paul’s mid-cheek length hair. Paul closed his eyes briefly as Wil cupped his cheek in one hand and ran his thumb across his lips. “You’re so beautiful,” Wil breathed. Paul opened his eyes and their gaze locked. Finally he couldn’t hold back any longer and he leant in, closing the gap between them and running his fingers up and down Wil’s side as their lips brushed together over and over with increasing intensity.

PART 5

Wil gasped for breath as Paul ground his now naked body down against Wil, both of them fully hard as Paul’s hands touched every part of his body. Paul moved down and rolled one of his nipples between his teeth and took Wil’s shaft in his hand through the cotton boxers that were still restricting him. He kissed his way down Wil’s stomach and then looked up at him. His eyes were closed and he seemed to be biting his lip rather hard.

“Look at me.” Paul ordered, and Wil opened his eyes just as Paul swiftly slid his boxers off and engulfed him totally in one go. Wil moaned and threw his head back, at which Paul stopped what he was doing and moved up to kiss his mouth shut. “Now you have to be quiet Wil, or I won’t be able to do this! We don’t want Rich to hear, do we?” Paul grinned evilly and stroked Wil’s shaft with his free hand, fondling his balls occasionally. Wil shook his head vigorously at Paul’s question and Paul moved down again and stared at Wil’s cock in his hand. He increased the pace and moved in to engulf the head, swirling his tongue around the tip as he ran his fingers along the thick shaft. He could hear Wil struggling to stay quiet and he laughed to himself. The sensation caused Wil to gasp loudly and Paul had an idea. He began humming as he took more of Wil’s shaft into his mouth with each stroke.