“Yeah, what they said. I don’t like fish, they’re wet and slimy.”
“You’re weird,” he mumbled under his breath. I glared at him which just made him laugh. Prick. “You can do the woman bit then, cook and clean.” He held his arm up and was laughing before he’d even finished the sentence, knowing what was coming. I knew I shouldn’t retaliate because that was exactly what he wanted but I couldn’t hold it back. I swatted his arm twice.
We turned off the main road and headed down a dirty track signposted for the campsite. “So, Isaac loved camping?” I asked. Kai’s mouth kicked up in a small smile at the mention of his younger brother.
Elle was the one to answer. “He loved it. Me, Carly and Kai were always excited for our holiday abroad somewhere hot but Isaac was all about the tents. It’s all he wanted to do for his birthday, every year since he was three. If he didn’t love it so much we wouldn’t be doing it now.”
I felt a bit choked up that they were including me in such an important and personal weekend.
We found a space in the car park and started unloading the many bags from Kai and his parents’ car. There was a lot and I wasn’t sure how we were going to lug them around in one trip.
“Kai, why don’t you camp here? You know, in the campsite.”
I grabbed my bag and looked around for another one that I could carry without it ripping my arm out of the socket. Kai took my heavy bag out of my hands and gave me two smaller, lighter ones.
“Because it’s more private, we found it the second year we came. You’ll like it there.” I really doubted that. “Don’t look so scared,” he said with a chuckle as we all walked into the forest. I walked as close to him as possible, trying not to freak out at every noise. I didn’t mind the campsite because there were other people and cars around.
“How far is it?” I asked.
“Come on, princess, how can you love all those horror films but be scared of the forest?” he said sarcastically.
“Um, maybe because I’m not in those horror films.”
Melanie put her free arm around me. “It’s really okay here. I was scared the first couple days, too, but it’s perfectly safe,” she said and frowned at her son who was laughing again.
Kai gasped. “Did you hear that?”
I pushed him. “Okay, go away!”
He walked ahead with his dad, laughing his arse off. We finally reached a clearing and I had to admit it was really pretty. The river was clear, too, not that I was going in it. Thankfully, it was only three minutes from the public toilets.
We set up the tents near the trees and Kai’s dad collected wood to make a fire. I was sharing a tent with Kai. Elle and Carly had a small one each and Kai’s parents had the biggest one with two separate rooms. On Isaac’s birthday tomorrow Melanie’s parents were coming, too, and apparently, ended up sleeping over.
The fire that Jason had lit seemed entirely too close to their tent but no one said anything and they had more experience than me so I kept quiet. Kai chucked our bags in our tent – literally – and wiggled his eyebrows. I wasn’t sure if he was joking about us getting down to it or not, but something stirred inside me that had me breathing quicker and biting down on my lip.
I texted Mum to tell her I hadn’t gotten lost – yet – and that I was turning my phone off so the battery wouldn’t die but I’d check in again later tonight.
“Get some water boiling, Jason, I need a cuppa,” Melanie said, unpacking a saucepan and stackable camping mugs.
I loved the dynamic of their family, loved how close they were and that they genuinely enjoyed spending time together. That used to be my family.
Kai shook his head and opened a beer from the cooler, passing one to me, too. “Come on, Mum.”
“It’s too early for me, I’m getting on a bit now.”
He shrugged and then threw his arm over my shoulders. “Well, that’s true.”
I sank into his side and sipped my beer, loving camping so far. Although that could purely be because it hadn’t rained yet.
After dinner, which was a BBQ, we sat around the fire, wrapped in blankets and roasting marshmallows. It was actually pretty perfect. “So, you okay now?” Kai whispered in my ear and wrapped his arm around my waist.
I looked over my shoulder and rolled my eyes. “I’m fine, no bears yet.”
He smiled and I got lost in the orange flames reflecting off his dark eyes. He was gorgeous, no doubt about that, and had such a good heart. Kai was someone that you could spend a solid eighty years with and still not get bored.
Just after eleven at night we all decided to go to bed. Isaac’s birthday was hanging over everyone and even though they were all about celebrating his life it was plain to see that they still found it hard to stay so positive.