What do lumberjacks do at a gay, clothing-optional campground during the off-season? Play with wood, of course. It’s time for the Jackolympics, the camp’s annual wood-splitting competition. This year I’m more determined than ever to win because I’ve got skin in the game. I fell in love with Gunner the first night I met him. Two and a half years later, I’m still deep in the friend zone. I can’t go another season without telling him how I feel. The wager is: if I win, he has to go on a date with me. The Uncut Wood is a 12,000-word short story prequel to the Bear Camp series, featuring friends to lovers, a cabin in the woods, and a kilt-wearing lumberjack. This story can be read as a standalone.