Love Is Always Write Volume 4

back. I've got to…um. I mean, you probably have to start work early tomorrow and…."
    "I do, but you're welcome to stay as long as you like."
    Dan doubted that, because he'd like to stay until dawn, maybe even longer. He might never want to leave. That thought made panic rise. Dan's heart slammed against his chest. He stood, knocking over his beer.
    "Damn." He grabbed it and turned it upright. "I really should go."
    Parker looked at him quizzically. "Ok, but I'd better walk you home."
    "No, I'm fine. I can find my way back to camp." He tripped over a root and nearly fell.
    Parker grabbed Dan's arm, and he jumped like he'd been electrocuted. Parker's hand was warm from the fire. Dan would've expected his skin to be rough between his job as a ranger and the work he was doing on his house, but it was smooth, soft, comforting.
    Dan pulled away. "I'm fine. I'm not drunk. It's just dark."
    "Drunk or not, you're going to have a hard time finding your camper."
    "I'll be fine." Dan started walking. He didn't hear any footsteps behind him. Was Parker going to give up? He cursed himself for being disappointed. He didn't want Parker following him home. Did he? No, he needed to be alone to sort out his feelings.
    "You're going the wrong way." Parker was right behind him, but Dan hadn't heard him approach.
    Dan stopped. "What do you mean?"
    "Camp is in the other direction."
    He'd screwed up again. "Fuck!"
    "Let me get my flashlight, and I'll show you the path."
    "Okay." Parker was right. He'd never find his way home in the dark.
    When they got to his camper, Dan turned toward Parker. The camp was dark, but there was just enough moonlight to illuminate Parker's face. Dan's heartbeat pulsed in his ears. His chest tightened. Breathing was impossible. He was going to suffocate on his need for Parker.
    Parker took a step toward him. Moonlight glinted off his wet lips. Had he just licked them? Dan's cock jerked against his pants. He forced himself to look at Parker's eyes. Dan couldn't read his expression. He seemed to be about to say something, but they both stood frozen.
    Dan swallowed. Did he dare?
    Then it was too late. Parker stumbled backward.
    Dan started to reach for him, but he righted himself. "I'm fine. Just…tripped on a root I guess. I'll see you around." He turned and started walking away.
    Dan nodded. "Yeah." He squeezed his eyes shut. He didn't want to let the other man leave, but surely he was imagining the chemistry between them. Parker just wanted a friend.
    "Parker?"
    The ranger turned, his flashlight beam swinging across the path.
    "Um…never mind. I'll see you tomorrow."
    "Okay."
    Dan stood outside until the glow of Parker's flashlight couldn't be seen anymore.
    CHAPTER 4
    Dan didn't see Parker the next day. Another ranger passed through the camp while he was eating his bowl of cereal on a stump outside his camper. He almost asked the man why Parker wasn't on patrol, but he was too embarrassed. Parker was probably busy saving daredevil campers from bears or giving a boat safety lesson to some fishermen who liked whiskey in their early morning coffee.
    Dan assumed he'd see Parker later in the day. He both wanted to and didn't. What would it be like to face him in the daylight? Had Parker realized that Dan wanted to kiss him?
    To keep from getting restless, Dan took a hike, tried his hand at fishing again, and went wading in the creek that ran by the camp to cool off. Parker still didn't turn up.
    Dan walked down to the marina and did some people watching until he was hungry for dinner. Then he came back, grilled some hot dogs, and sat in a camp chair, sipping beer and doodling in his sketchbook until it grew too dark to see. Still no Parker.
    Clouds had been gathering all afternoon, and he'd noticed the wind picking up. Just as he was getting ready to clean the grill and neaten up the campsite, rain began to fall. By the time he got inside, he was soaked through. Lightning flashed and thunder echoed across the mountains.
    He stripped off his wet clothes, dried himself, and slipped between the covers naked. He turned on a light over the bed so he could read, but the storm distracted him. It grew closer until there was almost no delay between the lightning flashes and the boom of the thunder.
    The camper rocked with the wind, and he wondered if he'd be safer out there in the elements. He looked out from the camper at the trees as they swayed, seeming almost to bend double. Rain slapped against him, and he had to