-Devin-

He wasn't surprised when he came out to the truck the next morning to find Marc waiting for him instead of Avery. It was probably for the best to let Avery cool off, especially since he still needed to figure out what to say to Avery to properly apologize to him. He knew he owed him at least that much.

"Keep your hands to yourself and we won't have any problems," Marc told him as they got in the truck.

Rather than returning a snarky remark, he kept quiet. He was determined to do a better job in general, and not just with Avery. Avery would think something was up if Devin was cooperating with him, but was slacking off when working with the others.

Keeping his head down and getting all of his work done paid off, at least with Marc. It earned him a "good job" and a friendly slap on the shoulder when they returned to camp. 

At dinner, he ate quietly, keeping to himself and avoiding Avery's eyes. Avery seemed happy as he talked with everyone else, so he didn't want to do anything to change that. Avery's eyes were bright and his laugh was infectious, and he snuck glances at Avery whenever he could. He wanted to be the one making Avery laugh, but he knew he had to be patient.

-

Over the next few days, he alternated working with Marc, Amanda, and Peter. He and Marc were content to work in silence, but Peter and Amanda were more chatty with him. They really were nice people, and he felt bad for judging all of them without getting to know them. 

As they were all sitting down for dinner that night, he noticed Avery wasn't there yet. He was about to ask where he was when Avery came through the door. He was walking slowly, almost as if it hurt him to move.

"What's with Avery?" he asked Amanda.

"He's been repairing one of our roads. We don't have the funding to have it officially maintained every summer, so we have to fill in the potholes and ruts ourselves. It's a big project and fairly demanding physically. No one ever wants to do it, but Avery has stepped up both years he's been here."

He found himself feeling mildly annoyed at the group for leaving tiny Avery to do this particular project. Avery certainly held his own whenever Devin worked with him, but he wasn't a big guy and the work was probably taking him longer than someone Devin's size or larger.

"How's the road coming along?" Peter asked.

"It's getting there," Avery replied, his voice bright despite how tired he looked. "I fixed that really bad hairpin turn, but it'll probably take a few more days to finish the rest."

He decided right then that as long as Avery would allow it, he was going to help him tomorrow. It was painful watching Avery make his way through dinner as though every muscle in his body was stiff.

After dinner, he ran outside to catch up to Avery, which wasn't difficult given Avery's snail-like pace.

"Avery!" he called.

Slowly, Avery turned.

"What you did today sounds rough. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. I'll be better in a couple of days."

"Do you want a massage?"

Avery looked at him warily, as if Devin were going to trick him.

"I promise that's all this is. Come on, I'll even give you a piggyback ride to your cabin." He stepped in front of Avery and knelt down. "Get on."

He was relieved when he felt Avery's arms around his shoulders. He reached back and grabbed Avery's legs to support him, and then stood up again.

"Thanks," Avery said quietly. "I can't say I've ever been carried back to my cabin after a tough day."

"You look like you need it."

Inside Avery's cabin, he gently set him down. He'd never given anyone a massage before, but it couldn't be that hard. He sat on the bed while Avery changed into a pair of shorts. Once Avery was laying down on his front, he began rubbing Avery's back and shoulders and kneading the muscles. He wanted to talk with Avery and apologize for what had happened, but he knew it wasn't the right time. Poor Avery was exhausted.

He was fairly thorough in his massage, even moving down to Avery's hips, and as he rubbed Avery's back one more time, he noticed Avery was asleep. Although he wanted to climb in beside Avery and spend the night next to him, he wasn't going to do anything to ruin the small amount of trust he'd built with him tonight. Instead, he pulled the blanket over Avery and went back to his own cabin.

-Avery-

When he woke up the next morning, he lay there for a minute, preparing to feel awful as he got out of bed. But when he did roll over and sit up, he was surprised to find that he didn't feel that bad. Sure, he was a little stiff and his shoulders were sore, but he felt a lot better than he had when he fixed the road last summer.

He remembered Devin giving him a piggyback ride to his cabin, and then Devin's warm hands all over him. He didn't trust Devin, but he'd been too tired to refuse Devin's offer of a massage. To Devin's credit, he hadn't said or done anything manipulative. He seemed like he truly wanted to help, and he had. Although he had fallen asleep, he vaguely remembered Devin gently pulling the blanket over him. It had been sweet, and he found himself conflicted again about his feelings for Devin.

The last few days away from Devin had helped. At first, he had been nervous to see him at dinner, but Devin had kept quiet and left him alone. It still hurt to see him, knowing that all this time Devin hadn't wanted to sleep with him at all. 

He had never thought of himself as unattractive or undesirable. He knew he was small and that no one would consider him hot or sexy, but a lot of people had told him he was cute. Now, he wasn't sure what to think about himself. 

Devin had come on so strong and he had fallen for it, truly believing that maybe he could have a guy like Devin after all. All the nights Devin had spent in his bed holding him close had been real to him. The times they'd had sex, with him riding Devin as Devin softly touched him, had felt just as powerful as those moments with his previous boyfriends. He'd liked Devin so much, and now he had to get over the heartbreak of losing him. But in reality, he'd never really had him in the first place.

He trudged out to the truck, trying to put Devin out of his mind, but Devin himself was standing there, arguing with Marc.

"What's going on?" he asked, looking between the two of them.

"I'm trying to help you, but Marc is insisting I come with him," Devin shot back, glaring at Marc.

"Avery needs a break from you," Marc said curtly.

"He needs help fixing that road! I don't see any of you stepping up to help!" Devin shouted. "You're all letting him do it alone because you know he will and you can get away with not doing work you hate."

"Seeing as this is the first time you've stepped up to help with anything, this is ridiculous," Marc scoffed. "I can't believe you're criticizing everyone else for what you do on a daily basis."

"Hey," he said, gently resting a hand on Marc's arm. "There's no need to argue about it. It's okay if Devin comes with me. I'm fine working on the road on my own, but I'd appreciate Devin's help too."

"Like he's actually going to help," Marc retorted, rolling his eyes.

"I will!" Devin insisted. "Besides, there's something I need to talk to Avery about."

"Oh boy," Marc said, shaking his head. "Well, good luck, Avery."

"It's fine, I promise." 

He unlocked the door to the truck so Devin could get in. As reluctant as he was to be around Devin, he was curious about Devin's insistence on helping him. Devin had been kind to him last night, and he could feel himself letting his guard down again, even though he knew that was a bad idea.

While they drove out to the road, he explained the situation in depth and the different areas they'd need to fix and how they would go about doing that. When he parked the truck and took off his seatbelt, Devin leaned over and lightly placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I need to talk to you first."

Devin fidgeted, and he realized Devin was nervous. Devin finally looked up, his gaze intense. 

"I'm sorry for what I said to my cousin about you. I wish I had never said it, and I feel awful. I don't think that about you anymore after getting to know you better. You're not pathetic. You're a hard worker and a really good friend, and you've been nice to me when no one else has."

He was surprised, to say the least. He didn't think he'd get an apology from Devin, especially since Devin didn't do apologies. Although it wouldn't make him forget how Devin had felt about him in the beginning, or make the words hurt any less, it was something.

"I appreciate that," he replied, giving Devin a smile. "Thank you."

"And one more thing. It's true that you aren't my type, but that's not a reflection on you, that's a reflection on me. You're a cute guy and you're probably a lot of men's type."

His heart sank at hearing again that Devin wasn't attracted to him. While Devin didn't say he was unattractive, it was clear that he would never have a shot with him since he wasn't the type of guy Devin went for.

"But just because you aren't my type doesn't mean I haven't had a good time with you," Devin continued. "I kept coming back because I liked having sex with you, and hanging out with you."

He looked over at Devin, feeling his spirits lift a little at hearing that. Devin didn't seem to want to look at him though, and he was fidgeting even more, his eyes shifting around the cab of the truck. Avery was confused all over again. He didn't think Devin was lying, but something was off.

"I'm glad you've had a good time," he began, not knowing quite what to say to that. "But I hope you understand why I don't want to hook up again."

This got Devin's attention and he looked up, his brows slightly raised in surprise. "Oh. Okay. I mean, I guess I shouldn't have been expecting that, since you're not happy with me."

Devin had expected for them to hook up after all this? He knew Devin didn't have any other options, but he would have thought that after the truth came out about Devin not being attracted to him, that they'd both be off the hook.

"It's for the best," he replied. "I told you from the beginning that it wasn't a good idea, and since you're not into me anyway, it's better to just be friends."

"Okay," Devin agreed. "Sure. Friends it is."

Devin sounded like he was just fine with the idea, but he couldn't help but be bothered by the feeling that there was something Devin wasn't telling him.

-

They made a lot of progress on the road that day, and he was impressed by how hard Devin worked. Maybe he was finally starting to take this whole thing seriously.

"I see why you were in such bad shape," Devin said, breaking the silence as he tried to climb out of the truck without bending anything. "Moving all that gravel is no joke."

"It's tough, so I appreciate you helping. You worked hard today," he said, giving Devin a smile.

Devin returned the smile, and he felt butterflies. Try as he might, he just couldn't stop falling for Devin. He reminded himself that he had to be more careful.

After his shower, he heard a knock on his door. He was slow to open it, and he found Devin standing outside, looking just as stiff as he felt.

"Want a massage?" Devin asked.

"How are you doing to do that? I know you must be feeling bad too."

Devin shrugged. "I'll manage. Besides, when I'm sore after strength training at the gym, doing cardio or some kind of activity the next day helps with the soreness. Me giving you a massage will probably help."

"Okay," he agreed, even though he was reluctant. He was torn between wanting to feel Devin's hands on him and still not trusting him. He knew it wasn't a good idea. But he did want a massage and Devin was the only one offering, so he might as well let him do it.

This time, he didn't fall asleep. He enjoyed every minute of Devin's strong hands all over his body, and when Devin was rubbing his hips, he felt himself getting hard. He willed himself to think of anything else.

When Devin had finished, he sat up. "I can give you a massage too."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. Lay down."

He tried not to get distracted by Devin's bare chest and back. He had to sit on him and put his weight into it to apply enough pressure, but it seemed to be working.

"This is great," Devin said, his voice sounding slightly slurred. "I'd work on that road every day if it means you'll do this."

He smiled and kept kneading Devin's shoulders. He felt the same way. It was nice to get a massage, and he was grateful that Devin was helping him. He felt more tired today than yesterday and he was going to be glad when the project was done.

He glanced down at Devin and noticed that Devin had fallen asleep. He laid down next to him and gently rubbed his back, intending to wake him up, but before he knew it, he had drifted off to sleep as well.