Kenn passed on the bottles and the joints going around the fire as the wind blew a fresh chill over them, noticing the light was out in the tent he shared with Charlie. Good. As he grew closer to Adrian, the time he spent around the teenager reminded him more and more of the secrets he was keeping, of how unworthy he was to hold the place at Adrian's side.
Kenn stared moodily into the dark, unable to see any of the surrounding mountains. His mind returned to Tonya, wondering if a redhead was slipping into a blond man's tent right now. She wanted Adrian in a way that was almost an obsession, his name always on her pouty lips, and Kenn felt a sharp connection with her because of it. There was just something about the man that silently seduced. Not that it was a sexual thing for Kenn. He wasn't a closet-case. He just needed to be near Adrian and the authority he represented. Others felt it. Kyle and Neil for sure, and Doug too, but Tonya was the only one to pursue him so shamelessly, and was often humiliated by him and the camp as punishment for it.
Kenn saw a flash of flame red and subtly watched Tonya move through the crowd of slightly drunk and very unfriendly people with an air of haughty contempt that he admired. Everyone moved aside, whispering, staring at her, and she held her head held high, glaring back at some of them when the whispers became too loud.
Each time, the person fell silent, aware that she would back up her words with actions and Kenn felt a bolt of want. Her skintight, black slacks caressed her long legs and her red net top made men consider breaking rules. It caused the women here to hate her for making them feel plain, second best.
The Marine watched her from under lowered lashes, not making eye contact, and was disappointed when she slipped into her tent, almost had to force himself to stay where he was as the conversations resumed. These people had mostly accepted him, but they were still watching, waiting to see him cross even the smallest line and be denied the position he was aiming (campaigning) for.
He couldn't be seen making time with Tonya or any other woman yet, not until there had been a proper mourning period. He wouldn't ruin his chances here on a piece of ass, no matter how hot. It would be a betrayal of Adrian, but worse, of the wife he'd spoken of back in Ohio. That would be unforgivable thanks to Adrian's strict, but simple moral code: Do what you want and be shunned, or do the accepted thing and be welcomed. Both types of people lived here, but only one held any power, and being a cut above the rest was also a lure for the controlling soul Kenn's father had given him.