Carlo

The moment Es's lips came crashing down on me, I melted. He kissed me with such desperation my initial thought to push him away scurried out of my head like the little animals that were running away from us.

     And yes, I did want to push him away because come on, I just dove head first into the bushes to escape Es's attackers landing me in temporary unconsciousness and when it was time to breath, Es's lips took away my chance. I mean, I've got to breath dude.

But then it was Es's lips and I could never say no to such full plum lips.

I moaned deep in my throat from Es kissing me so hungrily as if he wanted to take me right that minute. Heat surged through my groin and I moaned again before trying to pry myself from him. We were in the middle of a war, the last thing I needed was getting naked in front of my enemies.

     For a moment, Es looked hurt by that that I almost brought him right back for another kiss but the look was gone the minute it came. Es's forest green eyes that I loved staring into, softened as he said, "What happened? Did you faint?" He touched my cheeks lightly and stared into my eyes as if he was searching for something. "I almost thought you were dead."

I was just about to call on his bluff when I remembered the way he kissed me and pressed my body to his. It was almost the way you would want to hold someone who just came out of a coma. The heat moved up from my groin to my face and I looked away quickly until I calmed down.

"I'm fine. Let's just get this game over with."

Frowning, Es sat on the floor beside me, leaning back on the tree behind him. "I don't want to go back to the game. Let's just stay here until it's over."

"But I still want to play."

"I don't." He scoffed and continued before I could say anything. "And if I'm not playing, you're not playing."

"Why?" I frowned at him. "And give me a reasonable answer." Because knowing Es, he could bring up anything dumb.

Es's forehead creased in concentration and he said, "You have two minutes timeout?"

I gave him a dry look. "I'm sure I spent two minutes kissing you."

He nodded quietly then suddenly brightened up as if he had gotten another brilliant idea which I assumed was lame making me roll my eyes.

"What don't we talk about our relationship?"

     Hearing those words from him set my entire body on fire. He had told me back in the cabin that we were going to talk about it after I had kissed him. Something that shocked me and left me entirely confused-not the talk part but the part where I kissed him. I had only gone to his room to suggest being his roommate, but after Jacob kept teasing me about being family-zoned, I lost it.

     Mostly because Es always looked terribly beautiful in the morning.

Out of habit, I reached up to scratch my hair as I bit on my lower lip in thought. I wanted to talk about our relationship but I didn't feel ready. I knew down there somewhere I had really deep feelings for Es but I wasn't ready to admit it.

     Last time I admitted I loved him, it was mainly because of the situation. I wasn't even thinking straight then but now.... Now if I said the L-word, I was saying it in a non-brotherly way. I was saying it in a romantic non-bromance way. I was admitting I was in love with him.

I wasn't ready for that.

"If you are nervous, I can go first." Es' voice cut through my thought and I looked back at him to see him sitting up right, squaring an ankle over his knee in a relaxed way. He didn't look the least bit nervous and for some reason, it made my heart race with anticipation. "Whenever you are ready to tell me, I'll be there to hear it."

      I relaxed at that, withdrawing my hand from my awful hair and letting them fall to the ground. I gave him a nod and he smiled even though it didn't reach his dazzling eyes.

     He cleared his throat dramatically which surprisingly had an effect on me. I swallowed and listened as he started. "I like you, Carlo. In fact, I am in love with you. And I am not just saying it because you kissed me or anything. It was once a crush back when we were thirteen. You were cute and you got nervous around everyone but me. I was really jealous back then because you were always crushing on this girl or that girl or getting insecure about what that girl said or what this girl said. I was always feeling like, 'what about me? Don't I deserve your shy smile or am I not worth your effort?'

"And then I kissed you one day and you punched me." Escalante laughed lightly but the hurt was now evident on his face causing my heart to twist in pain. "I told you I liked boys but God knows you were the only boy I ever liked. Then you dated that Karma girl and I knew I had to stop crushing on you. Sure, I dated guys to try and keep my mind off you and while it was fun, I was still hurting. I wanted you to look at me for me and see me as not just your gay best friend but that fucked up gay best friend that was in love with you.

"I even told you that I loved you and even though you didn't say it back then, I was glad to have said it out loud. I've said it to you more times than I can even count Carlo. For so many years...six years to be precise. Then when you finally replied me three years later and I felt awful. I felt awful because I have been in love with you for so many years and when you finally say it back to me, it felt like you were saying that to a brother. It was like a tap on the back with the, 'I love you, no homo, hahaha.' "

     With every short pause Es gave, I felt a little of myself die with the broken heart I gave him unconsciously. "So I gave up chasing you. But you have got to give me credit because that was the longest time I've been after someone." Es grinned at me. "Hence, being a pervert helped me get over you. And then I kissed you back then in the cabin when I teaching you how to have sex."

He paused again and frowned, "Honestly, I was forcing myself to be with Preston. I kissed you once after that time six years ago and all my feelings were rushing back. You even became nervous around me and even though surprisingly confident, that shy sweet self still showed in you whenever you were with me. I wanted to kiss you again so badly but I focused all that anger and affection on Preston because I knew he was going to return it. Then I didn't talk to you much after and I apologize."

     Escalante exhaled deeply and fell silent which could only mean he was done and was waiting for me to respond. His deep gaze didn't leave mine and it forced me to say what had been running through my mind.

"Why didn't you tell me back then?"

"Gee, I don't know. I told you once and you punched me. What difference would it make if I told you again?"

I sat up right, hoping to defend myself. "We were thirteen, Escalante. That was six years ago. How was I supposed to know you still liked me?"

"You should have asked!" He was growing angry and I didn't need him to be angry at me. I was already angry at me. If he's angry and I'm angry, who was going to comfort me later?

"You should have asked the day after or the day after that or the day after that. For Christ sake Carlo, you had six years to ask if I still liked you!" Es's nose flared, his teeth gritting as he stared down at me.

"Punch me if it will make you feel better." I said after he just kept looking at me like I had destroyed his favorite toy-which I did.

     Es seemed to realize just how angry he was and he frowned, sighing deeply before scooting closer to me to run his hand through my hair. "I'm sorry I got mad."

"What? Don't be sorry. You should be mad." I knew if I were the one in Es' shoes I would be beyond pissed at myself. I was already pissed at myself and I wasn't the one to experience the heart break.

He found my hands, entwined one with his and kissed the other on its knuckle. "Carlo, it's you. You would cheat on me now and I would still come back crawling to you." He kissed my knuckles again and my heart speed faster this time.

There was an oddity in the way he was treating me right now. It was un-Es-like because pushing someone against the door and fucking them senseless was a very Escalante thing to do.

"I'm sorry." It was the highest I could manage, but I said it with as much sincerity as I could.

     Es smiled again and left a kiss on my forehead, giving my heart a fluttering feeling. "It's okay. I think I forgave you this morning when you came to my room and kissed me." He laughed when he saw how red I was and I pouted, hating how embarrassed I looked.

"I don't want to talk about it." I mumbled and looked at anything but him. If he knew what his eyes were doing to a part of my body, I wouldn't hear the end of it.

Cupping my cheeks, Es tilted my head back to him and I inhaled when he leaned down and kissed me. Something about this kiss was so slow and passionate, it sent sparks down my spine and every part of my body felt suddenly alive. I kissed him back, opening my mouth slightly and letting his tongue slip into it. A moan erupted in my mouth when Es started to push me down on the ground but before I touched it, the camp bell rang so loudly, Es and I rolled away from each other to cover our ears.

"They should stop that." Es grunted.

I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to drown out the sound and finally it stop.

"I hate that horn."

Es nodded in agreement as he stood then helped me up.

"It is 6:30pm and I am happy to inform you that the paint ball battle has ended. All campers please return to the main stage to officially announce the winners of this year's battle. You all played well and fair so a special request will be granted by us." Ariesa's voice flooded the camp and I cringed at how loud the volume was. Her voice came back up again but this time, the volume has been turned down a bit. "Sorry for the noise. I just wanted to wake the few dozen who were asleep."

Shivering a little from the cold breeze that passed, I turned to Es just as he said, "Think we won?"

"I have this weird feeling that if we didn't, they are going to blame it on us."

"So," he started as we made our way out of the bushes, "We just look for some dumb excuse."

     My lips worked up a frown, sliding my hands into my pocket. "You are my excuse. You held me back."

"I wanted to define our relationship but more like confess the feelings I've had for you for years. I wanted you to know I loved you and I do not see you as a brother." His hand encased mine, warming my heart to the point I almost thought it was on fire.

I subconsciously rubbed my chest to calm my beating heart and I squeezed his hand to show him how much his words matter because right now, words were failing me.

10-19 team mates were up on stage and it took a while before Val found us in the crowd of people. How he was able to find us was beyond me because it was pretty rowdy. Val waved us to come on stage and Es and I shoved and squeezed ourselves to pass through the crowd. I think some deliberately pushed us back but I ignored it since we got to the stage eventually.

Dave was the first to run up to us, Jacob hot on his tail. He grinned up at us and held my shoulder. "Dude, we did it."

"Did what?" Es asked but with that tone, it was safe to say he understood. He just wanted to clarify.

Jacob rubbed the back of his neck and said, "We were able to gather a couple allies and by the time we met up with MK, he had already pinned everyone down by giving only our teammates the rifle."

"Does that mean we win?" I asked.

     Someone came up behind me and ruffled my hair, startling me and making the hairs on my neck rise. A deep throaty chuckle escaped the person and I relaxed slightly at the familiar voice.

"You did well Carlo." MK's voice came up a bit dry and I pulled away from Dave to turn to him but it wasn't like Dave was going to stay away. He pushed himself between Es and I and threw his hand over my shoulder, earning an eye roll from Jacob and a scary glare from Es.

Dave ignored them all and smiled at MK. "You did good."

"If I didn't, Alex was going to use that to deprive me of something I need." He rolled his really dark eyes in annoyance and crossed his arms over his chest.

     He was supposed to look like a sulking brat but all I saw was an intimidating black dude. I guess dating a black guy had it's perks.

"Does said 'something' have anything to do with constant moaning and leaving everybody in the cabin in some sexual atmosphere?" Jacob questioned, rocking back and forth on his heel with a cocky smirk playing on his lips. "I mean you leave me and my roommate in an awkward position every night the both of you get down and dirty."

     MK snickered, feeling proud about that, but Dave had a different opinion on the matter. He quickly withdrew his arm from around my neck the moved to stand beside Jacob like a protective boyfriend. MK and Es didn't notice because Dave changed the topic to something about motorcycles but I did and I knew Jacob did it on purpose because his cocky grin widened.

"Are all the teammates up on the stage?" Ariesa's voice echoed through the camp speakers.

     We turned to see her in front of the team and the crowd had turned to listen to her. After telling them to be quiet, she continued, clearing her throat into the mic. "I hope you all had a good day. I can see that you enjoyed yourself today. Did you?"

     The crowd yelled their different opinions and Ariesa looked like she was interested. She nodded and smiled cheerfully at them. "I'm going to sum it all as a yes." She ignored the crowd when they screamed their protest and she continued, "As a reward for following the rules and playing dead when shot, the management has added a day of camping out in the woods. More details will be given by next week. If there's any more event like that, it would be announced."

     The crowd cheered loudly and she waited for them to calm down before continuing, "Yes. Yes. Anyways, we have an event coming up this Friday. It is an annual thing and for new campers, it is called Faceoff party. It is when boys and girls put on makeup, dress in clothes that would match what monster they are gonna put on your face and party the night away. If you need more explanation, it would be on the notice board. Please try not to put on something too scary." She sighed when the crowd whined in response to the statement she tacked on.

"Okay, back to today. And the winner of this paint ball battle is Team 10-19 because they were able to save their team mates and take in some prisoners while they were at it. Please give a round of applause to the team."

     My team along with the crowd hooted and cheered. Val gestured for Es, MK and the rest of us to join up with them and we did a very big group hug. When we finally pulled away, Ariesa smiled at us then said, "So, what would your team like to do as your reward?"

Dave snatched the microphone from her answered, "We want permission to ride the motorcycles and the monster truck."

     The crowd behind me yelled in agreement and the woman nodded quietly, forgetting to take the mic back from Dave. "Okay but you will have to ask Mr. King personally because they are all his."

"We don't mind." Dave answered then turned to us, "Do we?"

"No!" They chorused and I had to smile. This was fun.

Ariesa nodded again, shrugging her shoulders. "Fine. The game has ended so enjoy the rest of your day. By the way, it's pizza today."

I was expecting the crowd to ignore that last statement but it was like the minute they heard 'pizza', their energy got refilled and they ran to the cafeteria. Even majority of our teammates took off. The only people left on the stage with me were Es, Alex and MK.

     MK was even staring off at the cafeteria with a longing that pissed off Alex because he was glaring at him. He turned to nod at Es and I before pulled MK along with him, mumbling to him how he was going to lose what he needed if he didn't walk faster.

Now it was just Es and I.

     He smiled at me and led me to sit on the edge of the stage so our legs would dangle off from it. I sat beside him so closely, our shoulders were touching and I felt relieved to have his arm wrapped around my shoulder. It felt relieving to have Es give me this attention even if it was just a day. And he even confessed that he loved me.

Staring up at the redden sky as it slowly and gradually got dark, I couldn't help wondering if this was how things were supposed to be or if everything was just a big mistake?

__________________________

Gosh, Carlo you think too much. Chill a lil. Hehe.

Carlos Marti as (Carlo) What do you think of him?