Ethan couldn’t have been more excited. The first week of hockey camp had been a blast. He had learned quickly he was a much better skater than last year, and that he was as good or better than most of the other guys there, even some of the older guys. He had learned new ways to score and how to hit someone hard against the boards. Now he was looking forward to the start of the season so he could try out all the new stuff he was learning.

However, all of that came to a screeching halt when the head counselor announced to all the boys in the camp the activity for Saturday night was a special trip down the road to a girl’s equestrian camp. Ethan had to ask his cabin counselor what equestrian meant. When he found out the evening with the girls would consist of a barbecue cookout and dancing, Ethan was horrified. There was nothing worse he could have imagined than spending an entire evening with a bunch of girls, and possibly having to dance with one of them.

He dreaded Saturday night until it arrived. On the bus ride to the girl’s camp he sat at the back, brooding silently. He had nothing to look forward to but a night of humiliation and he resented the counselors for putting him through it. All the counselors except Ramona, of course.

Ramona was the camp’s trainer. Every guy there had a crush on her, especially Ethan. Ramona, or Mona as the guys called her, was part Mexican and had long, straight black hair, dark eyes, dark, tanned skin and a great body.

When the guys were alone, some would talk obscenely about what they would do if they had a chance to get their hands on her body. Ethan always kept quiet. He had too much respect for her. He called her by her real name, Ramona. He liked her too much to say anything mean about her.

He wanted to touch her body as badly as some of the other guys, but not the way they would. He wanted to be gentle and caress her lovingly, to excite her and turn her on and make her want to make love to him in return.

He peeked over the top of the seat at her. She was sitting up at the front with the other counselors, laughing at something one of them had said. She looked ravishing. The thought of her naked body lying beneath him had given him a hard on, and it strained against the front of his jeans. It ached painfully. He wanted to get back to the camp so he could get himself off and make it go down, and they weren’t even at the girl’s camp yet.

The barbecue was the best. There were baked beans, corn on the cob, ribs, chicken, hamburgers, hot dogs, fried potatoes and a whole bunch of other stuff he loved to eat, and he had most of it.

They ate after the girls gave them a tour of the camp and let them ride some of the horses. Shortly after eating, the dancing started. It had begun to get dark and a string of lights was turned on around a square set up in the yard. The counselors from both camps were the first to dance. Some of the guys from Ethan’s camp joined some of the girls and danced. Ethan tried to stay hidden among a group of guys, hoping someone wouldn’t make him dance with one of the girls.

He was more interested in watching Ramona dance. She looked so exotic when she moved. She wore tight, faded jeans and a snug white sweater. He was practically drooling. Every song she danced with a different guy, some of them the counselors from the hockey camp and some the counselors from the girl’s camp. Ethan wished he had the courage to ask her to dance with him.

The guys Ethan was standing with were saying bawdy, crude things about Ramona, the women counselors from the girls camp, and even some of the girls. They spoke low so the counselors wouldn’t hear them and they chuckled quietly among themselves at their own jokes. He felt safe among them, until they suddenly became quiet.

One of the girls was coming toward them. Every boy in the little group watched her approach. Ethan knew she was coming to ask one of them to dance. He prayed silently she would go up to Jimmy Amonte, the most outgoing guy in the camp.