Ethan was going to drive him mad. 

Chris knew that the attraction that was steadily growing inside of him for Ethan would go crazy at the sight of the boy shirtless. So, it was no surprise when his breath halted in his chest at the sight of Ethan’s warm skin on display. 

Then, Ethan turned to face him. Chris’s eyes had dropped down to the other boy’s stomach and crotch so fast, he’d shocked himself. And, what he saw surprised him. Ethan had a surprising amount of definition for a man who he didn’t know to be a part of any school-sponsored teams. But, the faint outline of his stomach was there, framed by taut skin. Luckily, Ethan turned back around almost immediately, saving Chris’s heart the stress.

Still, the damage was done. Chris was wound up tighter than a spring and he feared that any second he would burst. Whether he would get angry or just pull Ethan into his arms, he wasn’t entirely sure.

Either way, Chris struggled to keep his eyes off of the blond, grey-eyed boy. Chris tried to stay tuned in to the conversation, regardless. After Aiden and the three younger ones ran off towards the pool, they had started talking about some of their siblings. Chris was smiling, amused by the topic when his foot seemed to hit an invisible force. He started going down but recovered almost immediately. Chris thanked his dark skin for keeping the heating of his cheeks from becoming visible. 

When Chris looked up to catch Ethan’s reaction to the embarrassing trip, he followed the shorter boy’s gaze to realize that during his fall, Courtney had grabbed onto him to stabilize him. Chris sent her a thankful smile but turned back to face Aaron when the other man tapped his shoulder.

Of course the embarrassing scene had been caused by Chris forgetting to tie his fucking shoe. Chris grumbled to himself before getting on one knee, internally relieved that Courtney wasn’t able to keep her hands on him. Chris wouldn’t want anyone to get confused. Chris had known Courtney since his first days at this school and she was definitely a friend of his friends. However, Chris wasn’t a super touchy person and Courtney seemed to touch him at every opportunity. But, because he didn’t want to offend her, he simply dealt with the casual touches. Despite his consideration, Chris was still happy to get out of her grip.

Chris was eager to get his shoes tied and be done with it, but he sighed when he noticed that the group had slowed down for him.

“Guys, just go.” He told them simply, sending them a smile when they didn’t speed up immediately. As the group walked away, Chris’s eyes found Ethan’s bare back and he unconsciously licked his lips. 

If he and Ethan would have been alone, he wouldn’t have minded that he stayed behind. Chris only let himself imagine what that experience would have been like for a second before focusing on his shoes again.

“What has you zoning out?” Aaron asked, making Chris jump. He hadn’t realized that Aaron stayed behind. Chris ducked his head again, hoping Aaron wouldn’t realize that fact.

“No reason.” 

Aaron huffed as if he didn’t believe it but decided not to push further. A couple of moments later, Chris finished and as he stood up, he saw their group turn the corner, now out of sight. He and Aaron began walking again, and the hall filled with silence before Aaron began to speak.

“You know, you’ve been pretty distracted since we got here,” Aaron told Chris, his eyes facing forward. “I’m not sure if it’s because of a good or bad thing, but I want you to know that you can tell me.”

Chris pursed his lips, thinking back on how much he had been noticing Ethan in a new light in the past 24 hours alone. The situation, which Chris still wanted to classify as simple attraction, could become more soon and Chris wanted to be able to talk to someone about it. On the other hand, while Aaron seemed open, Chris wasn’t sure he wanted to put his sexuality on display in his new school yet. It was hard to tell how people would react and for the sake of his spot on their school’s Rugby team, Chris would keep it a secret. However, Aaron’s comment about honesty made him want to address something that had been bugging him.

“So, you’ll explain why you’ve been eyeing the guy who brought us here as if you’re dating him, not your ‘girlfriend?’” Chris asked boldly, watching as Aaron’s eyes went wide. He clenched his teeth, his jaw flexing out from the strain, but didn’t turn to face Chris.

“What are you talking about, I’ve never done that.”

Chris wasn’t convinced by Aaron’s denial for a second. The other man was lying through his teeth. Aaron had already admitted why he didn’t have to be loyal to Scarlett. But, Chris wondered if Aaron decided to finally use that opportunity to pin after Aiden.  However, because Chris also had his secrets to keep, he didn’t push it. With both of them successfully uncomfortable and on edge, Aaron and Chris didn’t speak for the rest of the journey to the pool.

Chris let out a relieved sigh when he and Aaron finally got to the pool. The tense silence had not been fun, but he had no wish for Aaron to continue pushing if he renewed the conversation again. 

They opened the clear glass door, hearing the splashing and laughing of their friends. Mr. and Mrs. Moore were lounging on some chairs off to the left while the rest of the group swam. Chris noted that the three younger ones were playing some game in the shallow end while Scarlett, Courtney, and Rachel spoke and floated near the edge of the deep end. Chris also saw that Ethan’s friends, Meaghan and Aiden, were standing on the far side of the deep end. But, what really grabbed Chris attention was the boy making his way into the middle of the pool.

Chris wasn’t sure why Ethan was so far away from the rest of his friends, but his mental question left his mind the moment Ethan reappeared out of the water. Ethan stood up, his blond hair flying away from his face as his hands followed. As Ethan continued to emerge, the water flowed down his warm skin. Chris’s breath went shallow when he watched as Ethan’s hands slid down his body, leaving silky smooth skin behind. 

Then, his eyes went a bit wide as Ethan’s hands stopped on his waistband. Chris completely forgot about where they were and simply wanted to see more. Luckily for everyone else involved, Ethan didn’t pull down his shorts. But seeing that small amount of pale skin that Ethan exposed, if only for a moment, was a bit too much for Chris. He glanced down at his own shorts and cursed. He had been so busy staring at Ethan that he had let himself get hard. 

Chris slipped into the pool, trying to discreetly keep his arousal a secret, but he couldn’t keep his eyes off of Ethan.

Even as Ethan noticed his attention, Chris wouldn’t look away. The two of them never got close enough to talk the entire time that they swam, but Chris watched Ethan and Ethan watched Chris. 

Chris wasn’t completely sure about what that meant for them. Did the excessive staring count as flirting or was he looking too deeply into things? But, Chris couldn’t ignore the way Ethan’s eyes drilled into his body because he stared at Ethan the same way.

There was a chance, even if it was a small one, that Ethan was attracted to Chris as well.

—————

Whether Ethan was attracted to Chris or not, this trip was doing nothing good for Chris’s self-control. Chris had always thought himself to be one of the more responsible ones among his friends. He not only put in effort to remember times and dates, but he was usually the first person to solidify what they were doing and how they were going to get there when his friends made plans. And somewhere along the way, Chris had also learned to keep his emotions and desires contained. One wasn’t truly mature if they didn’t have control, right?

Logically, the only thing that made humans more evolved than animals was their ability to think, reason, and overcome their instincts. Wasn’t succumbing to one’s urges just about the same as peeing any time you saw a tree?

However, Chris apparently was not as evolved as he had previously believed. A person with full control over themselves would not be struggling so much where Ethan was concerned. 

Somewhere between swimming in a pool and eating lunch, the group had decided to hang out in Ethan and Chris’s room. 

The previous night, when Chris got back to the room, Ethan had the lights off and was fast asleep. When Chris had gotten up in the morning, Ethan was long gone. If Ethan hadn’t left his scent on his bed or his luggage in the room, Chris may have not believed he was really sharing a room with him. But seeing the other boy sitting on Chris’s bed, a light flush on his cheeks as he laughed, Chris could confirm that they were in fact sharing a room. 

Ethan sat up in his seat, perking up and listening as the rest of their group got louder with their conversation. Chris tuned in just in time to hear Meaghan tell everyone to close their eyes. Not having listened to the conversation at all, Chris turned to Meaghan with a small frown. 

“Why?” He asked, praying that no one noticed that he hadn’t been paying attention. Meaghan sighed as if she found this entire process annoying, but explained it for Chris. 

“So that we can have a vote that won’t be influenced.”

So, they were voting on something. Having that explained to him didn’t actually help him find out what they were voting on, though.

But, everyone went to close their eyes and Chris simply followed suit. 

“Ok, who doesn’t want to play?” Meaghan asked, apparently being chosen as the person to lead all of this. “Ok, who wants to play?”

Chris had no guess for what they may be playing. There was a chance that when the game was revealed, Chris would gravely regret his decision. But at the moment, he decided to at least see what it was. He raised his hand to play. They all opened their eyes to find Meaghan grinning widely. Chris caught the dark, frustrated glare on Aaron’s face at the sight of his sister’s pleased expression. It was obvious that the vote had gone her way, whichever way that was. Chris still wasn’t very sure what was going on. 

“From a vote from seven out of eight, we are playing Truth or Dare,” Meaghan exclaimed she and nearly everyone else in the group cheering. Even Ethan cheered and Chris was a bit more excited.

Momentarily.

However, when he actually processed what game they were playing, he feared that it would be the last thing he needed for his self-control. This game was notorious for bringing out things that shouldn’t have been revealed. Those that weren’t already sitting on the floor moved there and everyone adjusted to sit in a circle. As Chris struggled to keep a smile on his face, Meaghan clapped and began to speak.

“OK, who wants to go first?” She asked, looking around the circle excitedly. Barely a second after she said it, Courtney was raising her hand with a wide smile on her face.

“Oh, Me!” She said, getting a nod of acceptance from Meaghan. Courtney looked around the circle herself while biting her lips in thought. Her eyes stopped on Ethan and her smile widened just a fraction. It was enough for Ethan to grow tense, knowing who she’d chosen. 

“Ethan, Truth or Dare?” She asked him, watching as Ethan hummed softly. Chris tried not to look too eager to find out the answer but it was hard when he looked at Ethan as did everyone else. At this point, everything Ethan did was interesting and important to Chris, he just had to pray that it didn’t show. 

“Truth.”

Courtney’s eyes went wide as if she hadn’t been expecting that answer. So, now Chris and the rest of the group watched Courtney, curious to see what question she would come up with. Finally, she looked up with a dark smile. Courtney leaned forward eagerly and Ethan moved back unconsciously to put more distance between them. 

“Ok,” She began, grinning wider at the obvious unease on Ethan’s face. “Describe your weirdest dream ever.”

“Um, are you sure?” Ethan asked nervously, trying to avoid everyone’s eyes at once. “I mean there’s probably a more interesting thing to ask me.”

“I’m sure.” Courtney said simply. “Come on just describe it and we’re done.”

“Well . . . ” Ethan sighed, his expression clearly troubled. Ethan wasn’t usually a shy person, he was more outgoing and forthright than most so embarrassing things didn’t normally bother him. But talking about this, especially with certain people in the room made him uncomfortable beyond belief. “The weirdest dream I’ve ever had was a wet dream.”

Sounds of surprise and intrigue were heard throughout the circle. Chris was surprised that Ethan had even admitted this to them. And, the idea of Ethan squirming in his bed, completely turned on and hard from a wet dream had his own lower half incredibly uncomfortable. 

“Really?” Scarlett asked, a mixture of surprise and curiosity on her face. 

“Yeah, so can we not talk about it?” Ethan pleaded, sounding a little desperate to have them let it go. Speaking about the fact that he even had a wet dream was bad enough, but the last thing Ethan wanted was to give them any more than that.

Chris could see that, and despite the fact that he wanted to find out himself, he hoped that the others would drop it. Unfortunately, others among them weren’t as considerate.

“Nope.” Ethan blanched when the word came out of Courtney’s mouth. Courtney appeared to be completely ignorant to how badly Ethan wanted to keep this to himself and pushed on. “At least go into a little detail.”

Ethan sighed once again, his mind going into much more detail than anyone would want to know. His memory took him back to a dream he’d had a few months ago. Ethan had just started considering the idea that he had a crush on Chris, but this dream had confirmed it.