Chapter 6: A Wild Ride

Katie's words echoed in my head, fanning the fires of my anger. I sure that Katie meant it to be ... well, something sexy, but the last thing I wanted was to be compared to Darrell. Katie seemed to confuse my anger for passion and egged me on through her orgasmic haze.

"Fuck me!" she cried, slamming her ass back into me. "Grab my hair and fuck me!"

Her words were like a cattle prod. We'd had some wild nights, but this was the first time I'd ever had sex while truly angry, and I felt myself using her purely for my own pleasure. Yet the rougher and more demanding I got, the more Katie seemed to like it. At first this just fueled my anger, but then something snapped and I felt my anger replaced by an animalistic need to rut.

As my anger cooled I felt compelled to completely control our coupling. It was almost like my afternoon with Julie, only this time I relished the feeling of power as I squeezed Katie's ass to me and exploded deep inside her. I felt guilty as I came off my orgasmic high and, looking around, caught the Twins staring at us. Nyx had a weird expression as she glanced first at me, then over at where Julie and Darrell were coupled. I assumed she was jealous, but couldn't be sure.

As we slowly came back down, I noticed Katie was like putty in my hands and I'm not sure if I've ever seen her look so satisfied. I felt guilty, but had my emotions mostly under control by the time she recovered.

"I worried that we'd worn you out in the Glen," Katie panted from beneath me. "But that was incredible."

"Yeah, that was sure something else."

I tried to move us to the couch, but Katie kept us upright. "The party is just starting and will probably go late. Let's go grab a shower in the counselor cabin and head to bed."

"Okay," I sleepily agreed, too tired to argue.

Battling my anger had left me feeling beaten, exhausted, and guilty. I don't think Katie noticed, but I caught Nyx once again staring at us as we left. There was something about the hungry look in her eyes that set me on edge, but I was just too tired to think about it.

Thursday - Day 4 of 8 at camp, October 23th
My entire cabin was grouchy the next morning as we prepared for the departure of the campers from Union High. Friends had been made, experiences shared and soon half would head home. For their sake I tried to be cheerful and to console them that things would be okay, but to be honest my mood wasn't much better than theirs as I was plagued by a lingering feeling of guilt over using Katie at last night's party. I felt hung-over as I replayed everything I'd done at the party and started second guessing whether I'd truly been able to hide my rage.

Even pretending not to stare at all the nubile flesh in the communal shower couldn't brighten my mood and I found myself glad to be eating breakfast alone. Miss Romero worked hard to cheer us up during our morning class after Steve's leadership lecture, but it was an uphill battle as everyone was cranky. Even Julie seemed a bit off as she kept looking at me with a weird expression, but we never got a chance to talk. Nyx cornered her during the break and after class she virtually disappeared.

After class I was still feeling pensive and volunteered to help Darrell out in the barn over lunch. I'd hoped that mucking out the stalls and saddling a few horses would help clear my head, but my thoughts were way too knotted and it didn't help to have Darrell be so close. I'm sure he noticed my occasional glare, but he was content to wait me out as we worked in near silence.

By the time I stopped by the cafeteria for lunch Julie and Katie were nowhere to be found, yet Twins were waiting for me. I was feeling better and decided that eating with the Twins was better than eating alone. Joce seemed to sense my unease, but Nyx dominated the conversation.

As the meal progressed, Joce slowly drew me into the conversation. At first it felt weird, but I could have sworn Joce was actively flirting with me. Not to be outdone, Nyx cranked up the heat, but this time I found my body responding and was glad when they decided to join me as I strolled around the Green.

The Green looked empty without Rhianna and Saba holding court, but there were a few wannabe queen bees who looked eager to take their place. At first I was glad to see that Ali wasn't one of them, but then I noticed her off to the side talking with Eric. It could have been an innocent conversation except for the pleading look on Eric's face and the rosy blush on Ali's cheeks. I could practically hear her sigh when she finally acquiesced and, contrary to her previous anger, went up on tip-toes and soundly kissed him on the lips.

"Aren't they a cute couple?" Nyx sighed, nodding her head towards Eric and Ali.

"Wait, Ali's dating him?"

"Oh, you didn't know?"

Her voice was sickeningly sweet, but I wasn't listening. Up until last night I would have thought Eric was a nice enough guy and left Ali to her own devices. But after watching him fuck Rhianna ... well, just watching the two of them kiss was enough to set my blood boiling. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Nyx elbow Joce, but I really wasn't paying attention. I just couldn't believe that Ali would be so dumb as to date a guy like Eric.

"She's grown up fast," Joce soothed, grinding her breast against my arm. "We all have."

Her comment was so out of place that it caused me to pause. Off balance, I stared at her.

"I've heard he's quite good in bed," Nyx added. "Not as good as Darrell, but then who is?"

"What?" I gasped.

Nyx looked significantly at her twin, but Joce pretended not to notice.

"Speaking of Darrell," Nyx continued, "is it true that you were asked to leave the rodeo squad because he's so much better than you at riding broncs?"

My brain was struggling to catch up, but I was pissed. "Are you freaking kidding me? Dude, Darrell isn't half as good as I am."

"Right," Nyx drawled, a challenging look in her eye. "Prove it."

"I don't need to prove it. Besides, I promised I wouldn't do that stuff anymore."

There was a strange interplay of looks between the Twins before Joce turned her piercing blue eyes on me.

"Are you afraid of losing?" she asked.

It had been a rough day and I felt my control slipping. If it had come from anyone else I would have laughed it off, but this was Joce and there was no way I was going to back down.

"Fine, let's go," I snapped through gritted teeth.

Nyx grinned at me and was positively giddy as we stormed towards the barn. Darrell obviously wasn't expecting company as walked in on him making out with Faith. At first he seemed embarrassed and later cowed by my anger. I was glad when the Twins easily wrapped him around their finger and soon we were both scrounging around looking for equipment to use. We found a couple of work gloves, but would have to improvise a flank strap. Neither of us had chaps or spurs so it would likely be a rough ride and an even rougher landing, but we both knew how to fall and I think the lack of protection added an extra thrill to it all.

While we were getting set up, the Twins disappeared and soon the perimeter of the area was lined with people. The setup looked sketchy, but should work and Darrell volunteered to go first. I was still angry and though I yanked on the flank strap I obviously hadn't gotten it tight enough. To the untrained eye he put on a decent show, but he barely managed to get the old mare bucking and there was only a spattering of applause when he got back on his feet and helped me to get set up.

"How was it?" I asked, eying the old mare speculatively. Her ears were back and there was a wild look to her eye, but I think she'd be fine for another ride.

"It was okay," he grumped. "But I don't think the flank strap was tight enough and the gloves got caught a little so be careful."

"Right," I agreed.

I got into position in our makeshift holding pen and climbed onto the horse. We were practically riding bareback with little more than a girth and a rope to hold onto. I felt my shoulder twinge when I got my hand strapped in and my nerve began to waver.

"Come on Chuck, are you scared?" Nyx called from her perch on the corral rail.

Leaning close, Darrell whispered, "Dude, you don't have to do this."

"There are a lot of things you don't have to do," I glared at him.

"What?"

Just then I looked over the crowd and I saw Ali running towards us with Eric in tow and knew it was now or never.

"Let's do this."

Darrell yanked on the flank strap and released the mare into the arena. Things started off well. Either the mare was already spooked or Darrell managed to get the flank strap tighter, but I was really able to get the old mare bucking. Yet after the first few bucks my shoulder started aching. What felt like years later I was ready to let go when I noticed my hand was stuck. Distracted, I lost my rhythm and with one solid buck I felt my shoulder pop. Cursing I managed to yank my hand free and went sailing across the arena.

The crowd went wild when I got up and started dusting myself off, but I couldn't help from favoring my left shoulder and Ali looked pissed as she and the Twins jumped the rail to join me.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Alison demand, glaring daggers at me and eyeing my shoulder suspiciously.

Nyx was clapping with glee. "That was awesome! I didn't think we could actually get you to do it!"

I ignored the Twins. "Lay off, Ali. I'm fine."

"Fine my ass," she huffed, reaching forward and digging her thumb into my left shoulder.

"I said I was fine," I hissed, wincing in pain as I felt my eyes tearing up.

"Serves you right," she shrieked. "I thought you promised never to ride broncs again?"

Before I could answer she rounded on the Twins. "And what the hell do you think you're doing? I wondered why you told me about Eric. You knew we weren't going to be exclusive at camp, but I never thought you'd do something this low. You knew about his shoulder."

"We didn't do anything."

"Bullshit!" she spat. "I can't believe you'd involve my brother in one of your stupid pranks."

"Ali," I hedged trying to prevent her from making even more of a scene.

"Don't Ali me!" she screamed. "I don't know how you're going to get out of this one, but I'll go find Katie."

"She's with Julie in the Glen," Nyx chirped.

"And how would you know that?" she shrieked before storming off.

"They don't call her Screaming Ali for nothing," Nyx shrugged.

At that my anger turned to ice and I seriously considered murder. "You manipulative little bitches!"

"What?" Joce gasped. "We were just having some fun."

"You call this fun?" I asked, cradling my arm.

"I thought your shoulder was fully healed?"

"Dislocated shoulders never fully heal," I snapped, glaring at both of them as I shambled to the edge of the arena.

"Dude," Darrell whispered. "I'll put the equipment away and try to cover for you, but this could get messy."

"Thanks," I panted as I climbed through the rails and headed towards the barn.

Doubly embarrassed about hurting myself and being called out in front of the crowd by Alison, I just wanted to be alone. The Twins tried to apologize, but I wasn't in the mood to deal with them.

"You two have said more than enough and I'd appreciate it if you left me alone."

At the look on my face I think they finally realized that they'd gone too far and backed away. Once they were out of sight I began to tenderly probe my shoulder.

"Damn it!" I cursed.

I could feel the bulge from where I'd dislocated the joint. I knew it would hurt, but I'd dislocated it often enough to know how to pop it back in, and hoped that by doing it myself I might be able to get out of going to the nurses office. Gritting my teeth I looked around for something to hold on to. Noticing stall bars, I used my right hand to lift my left and firmly gripped the rail. I'd done this before, so I knew vaguely what to expect, but I still cried out when I used my weight to pull the shoulder back into position.

Grimacing in pain I caught sight of two blonde heads peeking from around the corner.

"I hope you're satisfied," I snapped at them, angrily wiping away tears.

The twins just stood wide-eyed and staring, as if shocked that their teasing had caused physical pain. Nyx faltered then fled under the intensity of my gaze.

I watched Nyx retreat then rounded on Joce. "I might have expected something like this out of Nyx, but you ... I thought I could trust."

Joce started to stammer some excuse, but I turned my back on her before she could reply. Now that the joint was back in position I could once again move my arm, but it hurt like hell and I was in a foul mood. I was still recovering when Darrell came rushing back with some ice.

"Hey man," Darrell called out. "I grabbed you some ice from the kitchen."

"I'm fine." I grumped, grudgingly accepting the ice.

"Chuck, what the hell has gotten into you today?"

"It's the Twins," I sighed. "They said a lot of crap, but, well, are you trying to steal Katie from me?"

"Katie? No way! We might have fooled around, but I would never steal another guy's girl."

"You did a lot more than just 'fool around' and you flirt all the time!"

"Look, Katie and I are very sexual people. Flirting is part of who I am. I flirt with everyone!"

"Whatever."

"No, we need to settle this." Looking me squarely in the eye, he explained, "We have different views on sex, but I don't know how to make this any clearer: I. Will. Not. Steal. Katie."

My eyes bore into him, yet he didn't back down or look away. Strangely I trusted him, and then I felt guilty for not trusting him sooner.

"We cool?" he asked, holding out his hand.

"Yeah, we're cool," I agreed clasping his hand.

"Good, because I hope you realize how amazing she is. I mean the positions we tried..."

"I really don't want to know the details," I huffed.

"Chuck, are we cool or not?"

"We're cool, but you're talking about making love to my girlfriend."

"No, I was talking about sex, and maybe a bit of fucking when we got carried away."

"Careful," I warned as I felt my anger begin to rise.

"Chuck, did it ever occur to you that if I'm not trying to steal your girl that I might be trying to help you out?"

"By fucking her?"

"Chuck, why are you dating a girl like Katie? You're a great guy, but you're pretty conservative about sex and you're dating one of the most adventurous girls at camp. Talk about a wasted opportunity."

"What?"

"Dude, Katie is crazy in love with you, but you're boring! I've seen you reading 'What I Really Learned at Camp?' so you must be curious. Why not try something new?"

"Like partnering with Julie wasn't new?"

"The way I heard it, that was mostly her idea and it sounds like she's usually the one asking you to try new things. Aren't relationships supposed to be about balance?"

"There's more to a relationship than just sex."

"You're the one with a girlfriend," he demurred. "I'm just trying to help."

"Yeah, and I appreciate it." I nodded thoughtfully. "But, it's going to take some time for me to sort this all out."

Darrell cocked his head to the side. "I think I can see why Katie likes you."

I wasn't sure how to respond and instead hefted the bag of ice and winced from the cold as I draped it over my shoulder.

"Thank you for the ice."

"Don't worry about it. I told them my knee was acting up."

"Thanks," I repeated.

"I knew you hurt your shoulder a while back, but had no idea it was still injured. Are you okay?"

"It's going to be sore for a few days, but I've dislocated it before so I know the routine."

"I know what you mean," he agreed, slowly rotating his right shoulder. "Let me know if there is anything I can do."

"Mind if I hang around here? I need to be alone for a while."

"Sure, I'll be in the arena teaching Faith how to ride if you need me."

With that he left me in peace. Steve dropped by soon after. He glanced around the arena and made a show of examining the horses calmly waiting to take people on trail rides. Aside from glaring at my bag of ice he made no comment. His glare and look of disappointment hurt more than any words he could have spoken aloud.

At first I racked my mind for someone to blame, but then I realized that even if I still wanted to throttle him, Darrell might have a point. It did seem unfair that it was always Katie asking me to try new things. Even after reading 'What I Really Learned at Camp?' I really wasn't sure what else I wanted to try. I mean, Katie and I already had great sex.

Setting those thoughts aside I tried to come up with a plan for how to deal with the Twins. In a vague way I knew they'd pulled some elaborate stunts in the past, but I'd never thought about who paid the price for their manipulations. As my thoughts cleared I started to remember all the subtle things they'd managed to orchestrate. The way the Nyx had been talking with Julie over the break and then knew exactly where she was. How Ali complained that they'd kept her out of the way by stirring up trouble between her and Eric...

This time the Twins had gone too far. I debated kicking their scrawny little asses, but that would hardly address the root of the problem. Unfortunately I was still too angry and in too much pain to figure out how best to extract my revenge. Instead I decided to let them stew for the rest of the afternoon and deal with it later.