Unwholesome Things - Part 7

 Beta by LP, all remaining mistakes are mine.

“Even though it's warm during the day, it gets cold at night. I guess I should have told you that before you packed.”

Oren tried to view Rezo's concern as endearing. It made it easier to overlook how unnecessary it was.

“My sleeping bag is fine,” Oren said.

“Some are better than others. Let me see it.” Rezo took it from Oren to inspect it without waiting for Oren's consent. “This has a removable liner. Did Norman pick it out for you?”

“No.” Rezo was fortunate Oren wasn't still holding it. Otherwise he would have felt it up the side of his head.

“Ah. Well, it'll work.” Rezo set it down. “Lucky for me.”

“Why is that lucky for you?” Oren knew he was being set up, but he couldn't resist asking anyway.

“It saves me from the awkward situation of having to zip our sleeping bags together to rely on body heat.”

Oren rolled his eyes ignoring Rezo's grin. Still, joke or not the image it created made him wish he had neglected to bring the liner. If only there was a way to get rid of it. It was probably too late to pretend it was mildewed and dump bleach all over it.

Rezo yawned, betraying himself as a habitual early riser. The combined effect of alcohol and the ever later hour had sent everyone else stumbling into their sleeping bags a while ago. Even Oren, with his preference for late hours and his Rezo-enforced sobriety, was beginning to feel tired.

Rezo spread both of their sleeping bags across the floor of the tent, instead of letting Oren set up his own. Maybe Rezo thought Oren would endanger them both with a hazardous method of unrolling. Or maybe he wanted to make sure their sleeping locations weren't too close together. Although there was very little he could do about that. Any tent that claimed to fit three people only did so if they were arranged in some exotic positioning system that took advantage of diagonals, singular angles and parallel dimensions. Or perhaps if the people were exceptionally small.

“Would you mind waiting outside for a moment?” Rezo asked.

“Why?”

“So I can change. You can have your turn when I'm done.”

“Change?”

“Into whatever you're going to sleep in.” Rezo paused. “You did bring something to sleep in?”

“No.” 

“Then what are you going to…” Rezo gave him a look that might have been comical if it wasn't so insulting, “you're not going to sleep…?”

Oren always slept fully clothed while camping in case he had to get up suddenly, and because he felt more comfortable that way in a group. His prior experiences hadn't led him to be too trusting around his peers. Rezo's assumption, however, was a lot more fun.

“What did you expect?” Oren smiled. He watched Rezo's expression change into one that made Oren suspect he was about to be made to sleep outside. “Actually—”

“How about you borrow mine?”

“How would that help? One of us would still be—”

“I brought enough for two nights.”

Leave it Rezo to be unwilling to re-wear pajamas even once. Oren was disappointed; he'd barely had time to get started before Rezo ended the game.

May as well tell him he preferred to sleep fully dressed. “No that's…” Oren stopped. What was he saying? “Um, I guess I can, if it means so much to you.” Oren did his best to look inconvenienced, so Rezo wouldn't know his actual opinion of sleeping in the other man's clothes. Although he would have preferred it if they'd been dirty. 

After modestly zipping himself inside the tent, Rezo switched on a small battery powered lamp. Oren watched in wonder as Rezo began to strip down while fully illuminated by the light. He'd apparently never heard of shadow bar dancing. Oren thought about averting his eyes for privacy or respect or whatever…well, thinking about it had to count for something.

“It's all yours,” Rezo said as he emerged and held the tent flap open for Oren. He paused to look at Oren strangely. “What?”

“Nothing.” Oren brushed past him to get into the tent. He switched the light off, allowing his eyes a moment to adjust before putting on the pajamas. As much as he'd like to think some deeply buried part of Rezo would enjoy looking at him nude, he knew it was more likely to lead to a bruised ego and an awkward revelation.

Once dressed, they climbed into their sleeping bags.

“G'night,” Rezo said, before turning his back on Oren.

“Good night,” Oren echoed. He'd known Rezo was tired, but he'd still expected some kind of conversation. One moment Rezo wanted to spend the evening watching the stars with him; then the next he was distant. Oren's feelings were developing into something that seemed to be more than just infatuation and he had hoped that maybe, just maybe Rezo felt the same. Except now Rezo's sudden withdrawal left him confused again.

Oren stared at the roof of the tent. He had abruptly become everything but tired. It was impossible not to be aware of him. Lying together in the dark. Body parts aligned and less than a foot away. Was Rezo completely oblivious of this? If not for a few inches of fabric, Oren would have access to…

How was he going to get any sleep in these conditions? He considered asking Rezo to take pity on him and let him have a beer. It had certainly worked for everyone else. Although indulging in a substance notorious for its ability to lower inhibitions might not be the best idea either.

He turned away from Rezo to remove temptation.

Oren was grateful when it was light enough outside to justify getting up. He'd managed to get some sleep, but it had been restless. Only part of that was Rezo's fault, the rest of the blame fell on the hard ground. Too bad that with all the other luxuries Rezo brought he didn't include an air mattress.

Despite being the last to bed, Oren and Rezo were the first to rise. Oren dressed as quietly as possible. He put on his jacket before exiting the tent.

The sound of the zipper woke Rezo. He sat up and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He mumbled something Oren couldn't make out, but he assumed had to do with getting up.

Oren was just beginning to build the fire when Rezo approached carrying a blue enamel percolator. As much as Oren looked forward to having coffee, it was yet another thing that made him wonder why they didn't simply rent a cabin.   

Rezo stopped to look at Oren's progress. To Oren's amazement Rezo began to reposition the logs he'd set in the fire pit. Oren started to protest but stopped himself.

“When you build a fire,” Rezo said. “It's important to make sure it can get enough oxygen.” Rezo took over, explaining each step as he worked.

Oren managed to survive Rezo's litany by focusing on how warm his hands were inside his jacket, and imagining how cold Rezo's fingers must have been. He hoped they went numb.

By the time the coffee was done the others began to drift out of their tents. Breakfast was a disorderly and lengthy process. Which person was responsible for what seemed to be assigned based on the individual's varying degree of hangover. 

After breakfast, Will and Jessie volunteered to clean up. Someone had brought not only dish soap but a dishpan. It must have been a difficult decision to leave the sink at home.

“We should head out to the lake as soon as possible,” Dan said.

“I thought we were hiking today?” Oren looked at Rezo for clarification.

“We are.” Rezo said. “It's a two mile hike to the lake, then we're renting canoes and going out to a small island. Dan and some others are fishing. I plan on exploring the island.”

“Why would you want to rent a canoe?”

“Would you rather swim?”

“That's not what I meant. Why wouldn't you bring your own?”

Rezo tilted his head to the side. “Oren, how many of us do you think own something like that?”

“Anyone that takes it even vaguely seriously.”

Rezo shook his head. “Never mind. Even if we had enough canoes, it would be difficult to carry them through the woods.”

“They make small kayaks for—”

“Stop. It doesn't matter, we're renting them.”

Oren shrugged, it didn't really matter. Done with the conversation, he left to gather the few things he wanted to bring with him.

*          *          *

Two hours later Oren was standing on a dock with Rezo and Jeff. Everyone else had already left. Dan and his sons took one canoe, while Will went with Jessie and Alyssa. Oren thought it was odd that the girls always seemed to prefer to be with each other even if it meant not spending time with one of their boyfriends. 

 

Rezo handed Oren a life-vest and then began to fasten his own. Oren watched as Jeff untied the canoe from the dock. It was a bit premature to be doing that. Maybe Jeff secretly wanted it to drift away before they were prepared to climb in. Whatever happened, Oren wasn't going to be the one to jump in and swim after it.

“Having trouble?” Rezo asked.

“What?”

Rezo gestured at Oren's life-vest. Oren had slipped it on but that was as far as he'd gotten. He'd been too preoccupied watching Jeff make mistakes.

“No, I've got it.”

“Here.” Rezo came close and began to tug at the straps across Oren's chest.

Oren's first instinct was to push him away and tell Rezo exactly what he deserved to be told for assuming Oren was too incompetent to operate buckles. But as Rezo's hands adjusted the vest, fingers errantly touching Oren's chest; he decided the fussing was more tolerable than he had previously thought.

“Norman would probably put a hit out on me if you drowned.” Rezo smiled and Oren found his eyes drawn to the curve of his lip.

The sound of a splash brought an abrupt end to the moment.

“Damn it!” Jeff was staring into the water.

“What happened?” Rezo moved close enough to stare with him.

“I lost an oar.”

Rezo appeared amused. “Why did you do that?”

“The boat got too far away to step into and I tried to use the oar to move it back, but well,” Jeff rubbed the back of his head, “it didn't work.”

Rezo looked at the canoe drifting at the end of the rope Jeff held. “Maybe you should have waited to untie it.”

Obviously.

“That doesn't matter now. Help me get the oar and then we'll tie the boat back to the post.”

“Give me the rope, I'll tie it,” Oren said, not wanting any part of trying to retrieve the oar. The way Jeff was going he was likely to end up in the water.

“Ok.” Jeff handed the rope over before lying down on his stomach. Rezo held onto his legs to prevent him from falling in.

Oren quickly tied the rope in such a way that it could be easily undone. He kept his eyes on Jeff, not wanting to miss him getting dunked.

Much to Oren's disappointment, Jeff managed to remain dry while retrieving the oar.

With the crisis averted, they began to climb into the boat. Oren volunteered to go last, preferring to wait until the boat was stabilized by the others, rather than risk it overturning. He handed the oars to them before getting in himself.

“This knot looks complicated,” Jeff said.

“Just pull there.” Oren indicated the spot and at Jeff's tug it came unraveled instantly.

“Where did you learn how to do that?” Jeff asked. “You don't seem like the boy scout type.”

“That's not the only way you can get good at this.” 

Rezo gave him an odd look. “I'm not sure I want to hear about this.”

“What?” Oren looked at them for a moment before realization came. He smiled. “You don't want the details on how I became an expert at tying things up?”

Rezo made a face and Oren laughed.

“Here.” Jeff handed Oren a set of oars. “Let's get moving. Everyone else is halfway to the island by now.”

Once they started moving, however, it became clear that they would not be making up any lost time.

Despite being such good friends, Rezo and Jeff were completely incapable of rowing in synch with each other. Of course, they probably would have been better at working together if they weren't so busy arguing.

“How can you say that?” Rezo said, momentarily forgetting to row. “The only reason someone would have a so called disorder with impulse control would be because of their life experiences. Everyone has the same goal: status. Which in this country is measured by wealth. Not everyone is in the same position to achieve it so they turn to criminal activity.”

It was amazing how someone so built could be so nerdy.

“Exactly how much wealth does someone accrue by stealing a bag of chips?” Jeff said, distracted enough that he pulled unevenly on one side causing the canoe to turn.

“Stealing food is entirely different from other types of deviant behavior. People steal food because they need to eat, or feed their families.”

“Whatever. Greed is a basic driving force in humans. A twelve year old stealing a bag of chips from a gas station is not thinking about feeding his family.”

“Greed is a conditioned response not an instinct. Humans…”

They continued to talk but Oren did his best to tune them out. He wasn't even sure how it started. At least this side of Rezo only seemed to materialize around Jeff (as did so many other unpleasant things). Jeff seemed to be arguing that brain chemistry was responsible for deviant behavior, while Rezo blamed everything on society.

Oren would have to remember that the next time he did something wrong. Then Rezo could spare him and give society the spanking it deserved.

After many wide arcs, a few circles, and Oren's ever encroaching headache, they finally managed to get across the lake. 

There were a number of other campers on the island. If even half of them rented from the boat shop, that would have made it a very successful business. The whole thing felt more like a tourists trap than a wilderness retreat. Oren wouldn't have been surprised if they found a gift shop on the other side of the island.

Oren chose to go exploring with Rezo and Jeff rather than fishing. The idea of gutting a fish was one of the few things he found even less desirable than spending time with Jeff.

They decided to take a trail leading to a lookout tower at the center of the island. The way up was winding and steep but the view was impressive. Jeff seemed to focus more on the climb than talking, which made it even better.

After a day of hiking and a lunch of granola bars on top of the rise, they finally returned to the canoe. Oren was surprised to find himself enjoying the trip. He even chose to pass up the opportunity to push Jeff in the water.

The rest of the evening was similarly pleasant. Rezo continued to treat Oren like he was helpless, but he was becoming adept at ignoring it. It did have some benefits as well; it was certainly less work to let Rezo do everything.

Oren was almost disappointed when it was time to leave the next day. He was taking down his tent when he heard commotion near the tables where their food supplies were laid out.

Manny swore and dropped a skillet with a bang.

“There's a snake!” Manny stumbled, nearly backing into the fire in his attempt to get away from the reptile.

“Where?” Dan and Rezo asked in unison.

“There on the table, in the dishpan. Be careful it's poisonous.”

“What kind is it?” Oren asked, but his words were lost in the excitement.

Dan grabbed a shovel from his truck and slowly began to advance on the reptile.

What did he plan to do? Bludgeon everything on the table until he finally killed the snake?

“Wait, I'll get a stick and overturn it,” Rezo said. He grabbed and rejected several branches before settling on one nearly as long as he was tall.

“Manny,” Oren said, moving close enough to be heard. “How do you know it's venomous?”

“It's a coral snake. I saw the yellow and red bands.”

Oren closed his eyes and slowly let out his breath. It was amazing any of these people could even survive in a campsite like this.

He moved quickly, placing himself in between the snake and the misguided-but-responsible duo. Peering into the dishpan, he found was exactly what he expected.

“What the hell are you doing?” Rezo said.

Oren ignored him, cautiously slipping his hands under the body of the small snake, doing his best not to startle it.

“Oren it's going to bite you, get away from it!” Rezo was clutching his branch as if he desperately wanted to hit something—or someone—with it.

“Shh. No loud noises or sudden moves.” Oren tried not to look at the others. The universal look of shock was likely to make him laugh and he needed to concentrate. Rezo was following behind Oren as he walked with the snake. Oren hoped he wasn't about to try to interfere with some heroic act.

Once he had the snake to edge of the campground, he set it on the ground, where it vanished behind a rock.

Oren didn't even finish turning around before Rezo seized him by the shoulders.

“That is the dumbest thing I have ever seen you do.” Rezo's fingers bit into his muscles. “What were you thinking?”

Oren regarded him silently, aware that everyone was watching them.

“You could have been killed! Did it bite you? Did you check?” Rezo pushed him away just enough to run his eyes down Oren's body.

“I'm fine. It was harmless.”

“Harmless? It was a—” 

   

“Scarlet kingsnake.”

“It was a coral snake.”

“No, it wasn't.” Oren did his best to remain patient. “The bands were red to black, on an eastern coral snake the bands are red to yellow. Also its face would have been black.”

“You could have made a mistake.”

“Except that coral snakes don't live this far north.”

“How do you know that for sure? Where—”

“Wilderness camp.”

“What?” Rezo seemed to be having difficulty with the concept.

“Wilderness camp, every summer, for over a decade.”

Rezo frowned. “But you don't like camping…”

“Right. I hate it.” Oren shrugged as much as he was able. “But when I was on break from school my parents had to do something to get rid of me.”

“But you don't know anything about camping, I mean—”

“You just assumed that. Besides, it's not like camping in a place like this inspires any kind of demonstration of skill.”

“You could have told me. I've been doing everything the last few days while you just sat there and…” Rezo's anger from Oren's dangerous behavior seemed to be transmuting into anger over Oren's lazy and deceptive behavior. Oren needed to stop the shift before it was complete.

“Let's talk about this later.” Oren moved his eyes meaningfully from Rezo to their audience and back again.

Rezo seemed to realize that he was still holding onto Oren. He let go of him suddenly with the smallest shove.

Apparently deciding it was safe to enter the conflict, Dan approached with the shovel still in hand.

“Where is it?” Dan asked. “We don't want it to go on to bite anyone else.”

“It's apparently harmless, a…” Rezo waved a hand at Oren.

“Scarlet kingsnake,” Oren said.

“So there's no point in killing it.”

Dan's brow furrowed. “Are you sure?”

“Wilderness camp,” Rezo said. At Dan's puzzled expression he continued. “Apparently Oren here is an expert on the great outdoors.”

The way Rezo said it made Oren feel guilty, which was ridiculous.

Rezo didn’t stay to elaborate; instead he stomped back toward his tent,

Rezo's movements were irregular and he didn't speak to Oren while they prepared to leave. Oren gave him a wide berth hoping it would give him time to cool off.

On the return trip Will no longer needed to borrow Rezo's car, since the time constraint that had made Will and Jessie need to leave at a different time no longer applied.

Oren stood beside the van and debated whether or not he should offer to ride with Rezo. He wasn't sure if he'd be welcome.

“Are you getting in, or are you just going to stand there?” Jeff asked.

“Yeah, sure.” Oren grabbed his things and started to move toward the van, not wanting to draw any more attention to his indecision. He set down his tent by his feet while he looked for a good place to stash his backpack in the already full van.

Rezo took it out of Oren's hands before he had the chance to do anything with it.

“Is this everything?” Rezo asked.

 “Yes. Well, and that.” Oren pointed at his tent.

“Get it and put it in my car.”

“Ok,” Oren said, but Rezo had already walked away. Oren picked up the tent to take it to Rezo's car. It really wasn't in his nature to be so compliant, but he didn't want to antagonize Rezo in his current mood. He was also relieved that he was somewhat willing to speak to him again.

Rezo got into the driver's seat without saying a word. They were the last to pull out of the campgrounds, following immediately behind the van.

They drove in silence, without even a working radio to alleviate the tension.

Oren lasted less than ten minutes before he broke. “Look, I'm sorry I pissed you off.” 

Rezo kept all of his attention on the road.

Oren looked at the hard set of his jaw, his anger not obscured by two days of unchecked stubble. He had never found another person to be so irresistible and so incomprehensible at the same time.

“If I'd known you were going to react like this, I would have said something before picking up the snake. I didn't—”

“If you ever do anything like that again, I swear I'll…” Rezo let his words trail off, returning his eyes to stare straight ahead.

Then Oren understood. He turned his face to the window so Rezo couldn't see his smile.

“You were worried about me.”

Rezo took his eyes away from the road just long enough to glare at him. “Somebody has to, you certainly don't.”

Even though he knew it was unwise, Oren turned to grin at him.

“Next time I pick up a harmless snake, I promise to tell you it's harmless first.”

“Why would you pick up something like that anyway? I thought you were scared of slugs and—”

“I'm not scared of slugs. I'm disgusted by them.” 

“But snakes are—”

“Totally different. They don't ooze mucous from every place on their body.”

Rezo just shook his head.

“So…” Oren almost didn't want to ask. “Am I in trouble?”

“You should be.”

Oren looked at him curiously.

“You didn't technically do anything wrong…I think.” Although Rezo appeared to be doing his best to repress it, Oren watched as one side of his mouth twitched upward. “Just don't do it again.”

“Do what? Get back at you for treating me like I was helpless? Do you have any idea how annoying that was?”

“How about for almost giving me a heart attack?” Rezo gave him a stern look. “You seem to be an expert at that. Apparently along with a number of other things.”

“You deserved it.”

Rezo's expression melted into a grin. “Maybe.”

“Is that all I get? A maybe?”

“Maybes are good things, full of possibilities.”

“And you're just full of it in general.” Oren rolled his eyes, but he wasn't displeased with Rezo's idea. Oren could see the appeal in having things still undecided; it meant anything was possible.

“What? You don't like my—”

“Just be quiet and drive.”

Rezo snorted, but for once he did what he was told.

Chapter Eight
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