I could smell the smoke before I ever saw the fire. My feet ached from a grueling fifteen-mile day; up and down two mountains with barely time for lunch in between. The primitive campsite came into view with less than an hour of daylight left, a small bluff nestled between two creeks. The night was unseasonably warm for April.
A burly man sat on a log in front of a small fire, a book in his hands, wearing nothing but a pair of skin-tight black briefs. It wasn't unusual for men to show a little skin on the trail, so I didn't think too much of it. He looked like the type of man that belonged out here in the middle of the woods, thick, muscular, and covered in hair.
"Howdy stranger," he called, his voice gruff.
I smiled back at him as I approached, letting my pack hit the dirt. "Hey there," I said.
As soon as the weight fell from my shoulders, the exhaustion rolled over me; all I wanted to do was curl up next to the fire and wait for dawn to come. My rumbling stomach quickly reminded me that I still had more work to do. We made polite conversation while I unpacked and set my tent up. His name was Mark from North Carolina, he'd been on the trail for a few weeks.
"So Mark," I said eventually, "Uh...what happened to your clothes?"
He chuckled, gesturing over his shoulder. "Gave em a wash in the creek over there, figured I'd let em dry overnight." Only then did I notice the string of clothing hanging between a couple of nearby trees behind him.
"Smart man," I admitted.
"You're welcome to use my line if you'd like," he offered. "There's plenty of room on there for ya."
I sniffed myself and grimaced; a bath was definitely in order. "I might just take you up on that," I said.
Mark turned his attention back to his book while I set some water by the fire and then headed down to the creek. I stripped everything off, underwear and all, and gave it a good scrubbing. My skin prickled and at first I thought it was just from the chilly water, but an uneasy feeling tugged in my gut. I felt like I was being watched. I whipped around just in time to catch Mark's gaze, he was making a show of fiddling with his clothes on the line, but I could tell he'd been watching me. He quickly turned away when I caught him watching me.
I told myself that he was probably just making sure I wasn't dangerous or somethin; you never know who you'll meet in the woods after all. I finished wringing my clothes out and I was about to slip my wet underwear back on when I paused. Why should I care? I wondered, We're both guys. And he obviously isn't shy.
I trudged back to the campsite with my damp clothes bundled in front of my crotch. Mark watched me approach, his gaze sliding over my body before meeting my eyes again.
"I see you're embracing your wild side," he said, his tone laced with something I couldn't quite place. Teasing, maybe?
I moved past Mark and started hanging my clothes up, wondering if he could hear my heart pounding above the crackle of the fire. My back was turned but I could feel his eyes boring holes into my back. What did he want with me? Or maybe I was just imagining things.
"You don't mind, do you?" I asked as I threw my shirt over the line.
"Not at all," he said, "In fact, I'm just a bit jealous."
Jealous? The word lingered in my mind.
I busied myself with the rest of my clothes and tried to ignore the feeling of being watched, but I couldn't deny that a small part of me liked it. Having an audience made me want to stand up straighter, to put on a little show for him. When I turned around Mark let out a long, low whistle -- like a cartoon bomb falling from the sky.
"What?" I asked, trying to cover my trembling voice. The fire's warmth spread over my torso, making me shiver.
Mark's grin widened, his gaze had drifted below my waist. "Nothing, I didn't realize I was in the presence of such...a man." I didn't need to look down to know what he meant; he wasn't the first man to compliment me on my size.
"I've got nothing to hide," I told him in a mischievous tone, "do you?"
For a moment, Mark didn't move. Then slowly, deliberately, he rose to his full height, a full head taller than me. He stood just a few feet away from me, the outline of his body flickering like gold in the firelight. His eyes held mine, unflinching, as he hooked his thumbs beneath the waistband of his underwear. Then, in one fluid motion, Mark let them drop to the dirt.