While I was gone, Robin worked, laying out our bags and arranging them pretty similarly to the way we had them the night before. I was gone about five or six minutes at most, gathering up another fat armload of wood. When I came back, I saw that she had zippered our bags together, a warm feeling spreading through me at the sight. We had only had sex once, and I will admit that the entire day was one of the best of my life, even with the little spat we had, but seeing Robin arranging our bags like that was the icing on the cake. Stepping back into the firelight, I dropped my armload on the ground and inspected her work. “It’s good, but turn the heads sideways. I’m going to sleep on the far side tonight, and you can sleep closer to the fire.”
Robin blushed slightly and nodded, adjusting the bags. I got out our gathered food and one ration pack, dividing it up between us, making sure Robin got the yummier bits. “If we keep this up, food is going to be no problem,” I happily said, handing her half of the gathered berries and other food, along with part of the packet of rations. “I’d save a chunk of the berries for the morning though, rations alone suck for breakfast.”
We shared our dinner while gazing silently into the fire. It felt normal, a lot like the vacation I had originally planned, and the fire added a nice touch to the atmosphere. “Thank you,” she finally said, crunching on the last bite of her cracker.
“For what?” I asked, chewing on a berry. “For getting you lost in the Canadian Rockies?”
“For being brave enough to love me, even when I didn’t want to admit the truth,” Robin said, kissing me. “Now, are you joining me in the sleeping bag or what?”
I could kiss Robin forever, but my body needed something else right then. Grinning, I shook my head. “Not yet. I gotta take care of nature’s call first. Thankfully, I can pee standing up.”
Robin laughed. “Well, regardless, no offense, but as much as the spirit is willing, the body is weak after that hike. I will most likely be asleep when you get back.”
Kissing her quickly, I chuckled and nodded. “Yeah, me too.”
As I wandered off into the darkness, I kept close, just far enough away that I had a bit of privacy as I peed against a tree. I could still see Robin though as she pulled off her boots and stripped down to her thermals, rolling her clothes into a pillow that she stuffed into her jacket. She was learning quickly, and her brains were becoming an asset. It took me three nights as a soldier to figure out that same trick in the field. She was shivering when I came back, but still dropping off to sleep when I joined her. I wrapped her up in my arms and buried my nose in her dark, beautiful hair. I don’t know how much longer I was awake, but it wasn’t long, although I am sure I at least kissed the top of her head before sleep overtook me as well.
Chapter 6
Robin
I woke up the next morning as stiff as a board. I felt positively ancient, and most of my body was groaning in pain, especially my legs and my lower back. This is what hiking all day felt like? How in the hell was I supposed to even get out of our sleeping bag, let alone make my way down a bunch of lakes to civilization?
My groan of pain woke up Wes, who was about the only good thing about that chilly, clear morning. His right arm was still around my waist, and I appreciated the feeling of his strong arm around me. If we had been in a regular bed, I would have been all over him, a day’s worth of grime and sweat on us or not. As it was, even thinking of turning over to kiss him filled me with pain.
“Stay here. I’ll get the fire going, and we can at least warm up and eat breakfast,” he said as he got up. Somehow, he was able to slither his way out of the top of our shared sleeping bag without opening the zipper, and I was able to greet the morning with the sight of my six foot four, very handsome stepbrother squatting down to start the fire, his nicely toned ass just about two feet from me, wearing nothing but some thermal underwear and combat boots. I reached out and pinched it, laughing when he started and jumped up, mock outrage on his face. “Hey, that’s sexual harassment!”
“Emphasis on the ass,” I retorted, snuggling deeper into the bag. With him gone, the temperature difference was already evident. “Now, are you going to get the fire going or not?”
Wes did, finding some embers and coals deep in the bed that were still warm. He nursed them back into a small fire, nowhere as big as last night, but still helpful. From there we divvied up our so-called breakfast and got dressed. I was surprised when he didn’t start packing his gear immediately, however, but instead went over to a clear section of ground, calling me with him.
“Warm-ups,” he instructed. “Our bodies aren’t used to this right now, and we need to make sure we don’t pull a muscle or something. There isn’t exactly a medic or even any Advil around if we need it.”
“You’re joking,” I replied, rolling my eyes as he shook his head. “You’re serious?”
“Totally. Come on.”