Bad Decisions

Chapter Eight

-Devin-

The next few days passed by slowly. Even though he was frustrated, he didn't try anything with Avery during work. Part of that was to let things cool down after how Monday night's dinner had gone. Since then, he hadn't necessarily avoided the others, but he'd kept his mouth shut at dinner, ate his food, and left. 

The other reason he was leaving Avery alone wasn't out of any respect for Avery, but because he was gearing up for something bigger. As long as he didn't push Avery too hard, the guy would probably give in if he tried to fuck him. He had noticed the way Avery looked at him. Even a saint like Avery wasn't immune to an attractive man. He chuckled to himself, wondering if Avery had jerked off while thinking of him. He probably had. He'd thought of Avery once or twice while he jerked off, mostly imagining what it'd be like to dominate him.

That thought was interrupted when his phone vibrated with a text from his dad. "Happy Birthday!"

Annoyed, he tossed the phone into his lap. "Ugh, don't remind me," he said under his breath.

"Is everything okay?" Avery asked, looking over at him.

He sighed. "It was my dad, texting me Happy Birthday."

"Today's your birthday?"

"Yeah. Pretty fucking lame birthday if you ask me. There's no point in even acknowledging it. I'm stuck at this forest camp when I should be in a club with my friends."

"I'm sorry," Avery responded, sincerely meaning it.

"Not your problem."

Avery didn't say anything else, but he could tell Avery was looking over at him once in a while. While they were working, Avery let him take a few more breaks than usual and went easier on him. He supposed it was Avery's way of trying to make things better for him, but there was nothing that could make this situation better.

-

He took a long shower after they got back. It was the least he could do to have some part of his day that didn't suck. He was about to go see what food he could find in the kitchen when he heard a knock on his door. He opened it to find Avery standing there, smiling up at him. He tried not to look annoyed, but this was the last thing he needed. He just wanted to be left alone to sulk in his cabin, and he had purposefully waited until everyone else would be done with dinner so he wouldn't have to deal with any of them.

"I'm sorry to ask," Avery said. "But could you meet me by the creek in five minutes?"

"Why?"

"I need your help with something."

"Seriously? Ask someone else. I just told you earlier that it's my birthday. The least you could do is let me relax instead of working extra on some bullshit project."

"Please come, Devin. No one else is available right now and I just need your help for a few minutes and that's it. Then you can leave."

He rolled his eyes. "Fine. I'll be there in five."

Although he was getting hungry, he figured he should delay dinner until after he was done with whatever this was. He put his shoes on and slowly made his way to the creek, browsing through social media on his phone as he walked. As he came up to the creek to see what Avery needed, all he saw was Avery sitting on a blanket with a fire going. It looked like Avery had a backpack with him too, and he noticed some food scattered around the blanket, along with a tiny cake on a plate, a single candle stuck in the icing. He was surprised, to say the least. It looked like Avery had set all this up for him, even though he'd just found out it was his birthday a few hours ago.