by Claire Adams
“I’m not going anywhere, Jason. I’m right here,” I whispered.
“I’m so sorry,” he said. “Lucy, I’m so sorry.”
“I know.” I stroked his hair. “I know.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Jason
Winter had officially dropped its weight on this little town, and the cold, crisp air had turned almost frigid. Lucy wasn’t wanting to go outside as much, which meant I was having to volley more of her energy on the weekends, and that meant many of our dates together were spent indoors. We went on the occasional lunch trip, and she’d come over to have dinner with Jenna and me, but I’d decided it was a good idea to stay away from restaurants for a while.
And Lucy agreed on the idea, too.
I was working on my last car in the garage when a familiar voice traveled through the corridors. I whipped my head up and saw Megan standing at the main kiosk, but when the man behind the counter pointed to me, I knew it couldn't be good.
“Oh, shit. That bitch still on your case?” Mike asked.
“Shut up, Mike,” I said.
“Hey, live up life since ya don’t have cancer, dude,” Mike said.
Holy fuck, this town had some big mouths in it.
“Hey, Jason.” Megan waved.
“Hey there, Megan. How’s it going?”
“Oh, it’s all right. I was passing by and figured I’d stop in and tell you how wonderful it is that you’ve patched things up with Lucy.”
“Yeah. It’s really nice having her back. Now, if I can just stop from being an idiot,” I said.
“Oh, you weren’t an idiot. You did what you thought was right for her. No one can fault a man for that,” she said, smiling.
I was going to find who the hell in this town couldn’t keep their mouths shut, and I was going to stitch it shut for them.
“Anyway, I didn’t get to tell you a few nights ago, but I’m glad I’m getting to spend time with Jenna again. We didn’t get to talk much about how the babysitting was going the last time I was there, so I wanted to let you know things were going really well.”
“Well, I appreciate that. Jenna being a good girl?” I asked.
“The best,” she said, smiling. She had her hands in her back pockets, which forced her chest out for everyone to see, but all I did was keep my eyes locked on her face.
The last thing I needed was someone trying to wiggle their way between Lucy and me again because of some dumbass rumor Mike would probably start.
“The two of you seem like a wonderful couple. The entire town’s talking about it.”
“So I’ve heard,” I said, casting Mike a side-glance.
“Have you thought about what you might do to apologize?” she asked.
“What?” I asked.
“To apologize. You pulled was a pretty dick move,” she said.
“Well, I-I’m not really—”
“Jason, oh my gosh. Okay, here’s what you do. Take her on a surprise getaway. Get a hotel, or take her to the beach, or fly her across the country and go see a monument or something. It’s so romantic, Jason, and Lucy would love it. Not all women like to admit it, but being in love is a wonderful thing. This entire town sees how she looks at you. That woman is head over heels for Maximum.”
She was being incredibly cheery about this entire thing for a woman who practically threw herself at me before things kicked up with me and Lucy. But everyone around here does call her a bit kooky, so maybe this is what they were talking about. It was weird but not necessarily threatening. Just a bit intrusive.
But in an endearing way.
“Lucy doesn’t get out much, so that would doubly hit her the right way. And I could watch Jenna for the weekend. You could drop her off or I’ll come house-sit, and I won’t charge you a thing. Oh, I just love romantic getaways. I could make a pie for you guys to enjoy when you get back, too.”
“Yeah, Jase. She could make you a pie,” Mike said, smirking.
“See?” she said, pointing to Mike. “It’s the perfect idea, especially if you haven’t really apologized yet. It’ll be some wonderful adult time before Christmas. Maybe you could go somewhere where it romantically snows, not like the buckets and buckets we get here.”
“Yeah, romantic snow,” Mike said, snickering.
“See? At least some men around here get it,” she said. “And it’ll kick off your newly-sealed relationship nicely.”
I mean, she had some good ideas, but I wasn’t into that sort of thing. Hunting season had come and gone, and I figured Lucy would be more of an ice-fishing-for-the-weekend kind of girl. I could rent us a little hut and get her a new jacket, and we could really stay huddled up for a weekend out there on the ice. We could come back with a cooler full of fish that I could fry up for us to eat.
Now, that sounded like a weekend for Lucy and me.
Or, I could just take her camping. I had a massive tent as well as a gas heater, and we could have a weekend by a lake where we stared at the stars and ate beans and weenies out of cans over a fire. There wouldn’t be any mosquitoes to eat us to pieces, and I’d get to hold her through the nights and keep her warm.
I could also think of a few other ways we could stay warm.
“That isn’t actually a bad idea,” I said.
“What?” Mike asked.
“Oh, Lucy’s gonna love it,” Megan said, clapping.
“Lucy and I aren’t fancy individuals, but going camping for a couple of days with a heater, a fire, and some canned goods while we slept at the lake sounds kind of nice,” I said. “And you sure you're okay to watch Jenna?”
“Just let me know if you’re dropping her off or if I’m house-sitting,” she said, smiling.
“Thank you, Megan. For the idea and for watching Jenna. That really means a lot,” I said.
“Not a problem. But, you gotta tell me all about it when you get back,” she said.
“I can do that.”
“Well, you know where to find me. Let me know when I can expect some one-on-one time with that beautiful daughter of yours,” she said.
“I’ll let you know, definitely.”
I waved her off, and she looked back one last time at me before she got into her car. I could see Mike shaking his head out of the corner of my eye, and I chucked my grease rag at him before I spun on my heels.
“The fuck was all that, man?” I asked. “I didn’t ask for a hype man during that conversation.”
“She wants your dick, dude.”
“Not even kind of,” I said. “She’s just really good with Jenna. And Jenna adores her. That’s it. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t even have these moments with Lucy like I do right now.”
“She’s gonna climb through your window at night and hop on that morning wood before you can even figure out what the fuck’s goin’ on,” Mike said, smirking.
“She’s just a bit weird, Mike. She’s not stalkerish,” I said.
“Uh huh. All right. I’ll be here when you gotta dig yourself outta that hole,” he said.
“Jason!” my boss called out. “Get back to work, please. That car won’t fix itself.”
“Then quit sendin’ busty babes back here to distract him,” Mike called out.
“Just send ’em my way next time,” my boss said.
I got back to work on the car, but the only thing on my mind was the camping weekend. I had some things I needed to plan and get in order before I could schedule the weekend, but I wanted it to be soon.
Sometime before Christmas.
And I smiled through the rest of my workday as I started thinking about all the things we could do together that weekend.
The weekend just for us.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Lucy
“Can you believe it? He’s taking me camping.”
I couldn’t stop smiling. Jason had surprised me with a romantic weekend to ourselves, and there was something very exciting about it. Out of all the times I’d been camping, going in the middle of th
e winter was something I hadn’t experienced before. Usually, I went camping during the hunting seasons and came back with coolers of smaller animals to store in my freezer.
But this camping trip would be romantic. It would be just the two of us, huddled for warmth beside a fire, staring up at the stars over the lake, while possibly fishing a time or two. It was low key, private, and the perfect way for us to keep moving forward after everything that had happened between us recently.
“Look, I’m glad you two patched things up, and you get to keep getting some or whatever, but camping? Really?”
Bri had absolutely no idea why I wanted to go camping in the middle of winter. To her, it was wet and cold, and she couldn’t imagine how anything could possibly be fun if someone was wet and cold.
“The outdoors aren’t your thing, and I get it. But they’re my thing. And Jason’s thing, too. It’s gonna be fun.”
“You and I have a very different definition of fun,” Bri said. “Why don’t you coast off to a tropical beach somewhere and sip alcohol on the soft sand?”
“Because sand in my butt crack doesn’t seem like an appealing idea,” I said.
“But it’s warm. And you can wear a skimpy little bathing suit that’ll drive that man wild.” She grinned triumphantly as if that idea were a winner.
“I don’t have a skimpy bathing suit.” I sank her idea without an iota of guilt.
“I’d help you buy one,” she said.
“And anyway, who’s gonna pay for the airline tickets and the hotel? You coming up with that kind of money?” I asked.
“If it’ll get your head out of the woods, then yes,” she said.
“Well, I’m looking forward to it,” I said, giggling. “And anyway, we went camping as kids.”
“I hated every second of it,” she said.
“What do you mean you hated it? We ran around and chased squirrels and swam in the lakes and made tons of friends doing that,” I said.
“Yeah, and I got bit by a spider that put me in the hospital, I woke up with my hair infested with ants, and a bat got tangled in my shirt one time.”
“Well, had you worn your bug repellant and stopped running off in the middle of the night with boys, it would’ve been an enjoyable experience,” I said.
“The boys were the only good part about camping!”
Whatever. I’d almost put money on her losing her virginity while camping, and I told her as much, fully expecting a sheepish grin from her.
“Nope. Lost my virginity to a boy I met while camping, though.”
That was good enough for me. “See? Had you not gone camping, you wouldn’t have found him.”
“He was the worst in bed,” she said.
“Your first time is always the worst.”
“Was yours the worst?” she asked.
“Honestly? My first time was David,” I said.
“What?”
She looked surprised, but I don’t know why. It wasn’t too big of a leap to assume I was a virgin when I’d met David.
“Yep. David and I had sex about five months into our relationship, and that was my first time. I was so scared to do it with him that I cried while he was taking my clothes off.”
“Oh, my gosh. You were a terrible lay, Luce,” she said.
“Well, I’d like to think I’ve gotten better since then.”
“Hopefully. That hunk of man meat you’ve got on your arm now deserves some good pussy,” she said.
“Anyway,” I chose to ignore the coarse language I’d grown accustomed to from her, “the camping trip will be romantic for us. Not for you—I get it—but you’re not going on it, so it doesn’t matter.”
“And I’m hurt I wasn’t invited,” she said.
“Tough titties,” I said.
“Will you guys at least have showers?” she asked.
“Nope, unless we wanna risk hypothermia in the lake.”
“How in the world is that romantic? You’ll smell like a trucker by the time you come back.”
“But getting away from all that stuff is cathartic, you know? Getting away from all the mirrors and the shampoos and the smells and the sounds, it really clears the mind. You’d be surprised how much all that shit doesn’t matter when you remove yourself from it.”
“Deodorant doesn’t matter?” she asked.
“And plus, it is gonna be cold. We aren’t gonna be sweating up a storm, so we won’t come back stinking too bad.”
“Luce, if you’re going on a camping trip that’s gonna be freezing, and you aren’t sweating up a storm to keep warm, then you’re keeping warm all wrong,” she said, wiggling her eyebrows.
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“I know you are,” she said.
“You know, I haven’t been camping since David.”
“I know,” she said.
“It’ll be the first time I’ve been camping with someone who wasn’t David in eight years, honestly.”
“How do you feel about that?” she asked.
I thought about it for a second while I clasped the last of my homemade apple cider in my hand. I was excited about the trip—especially after everything Jason and I had just endured—but I was a little wary about it. Part of the appeal of going camping with David was that I knew I could abandon all those philosophies on showers and makeup and how I looked. I was able to really get one-on-one time with nature as well as myself, and there was a lot of self-discovery that took place when I had gone camping alongside him.
That, and I lost my virginity to him while camping, but I wasn’t telling Bri that.
Jason was different territory. With everything that had traversed between us, I couldn’t say I was back to trusting him yet and still be truthful. I cared about him, and in a twisted sort of light, I could see how he had been trying to spare me. I guess. But he did it in a really shitty way that crumbled my world. My guardrail was slowly coming back up while I tried to protect myself from suffering that pain again, and I was hoping this camping trip would help with that.
I was hoping this camping trip would help me trust him again. But we were gonna have a serious problem if he thought I was showering over the weekend.
“While I find the entire thing disgusting as hell and not relaxing at all, I’m glad the two of you are going on this trip,” she said.
“Thanks. I’m excited about it,” I said.
“When are you guys leaving?” she asked.
“Friday. Coming back Sunday. Just a small little weekend.”
“You think it might put you in a romantic mood?” she asked.
I wasn’t about to tell her I’d already slept with Jason again. That meant I’d have to bring up the doctor’s appointment and everything that had happened, and I wasn’t ready to pick that apart with her just yet.
“I’m hoping so. I miss that closeness with him,” I said.
“But you’re guarded.”
“How do you know I’m guarded?” I asked. There she went again, reading minds.
“Anyone would be, after what happened between you. And I want you to know that, if anything happens on this trip, all you need to do is call me. I’ll come get you in a heartbeat.”
“I’m not taking my phone,” I said.
“Then take it. Charge it up, turn it off, and have it if you need to get in touch with me,” she said.
“But that kills the whole—”
“I’m not sending you out into the wilderness with a man who broke your heart two weeks ago without a way to contact me if he goes psycho. Take it, or I’m marching over there to talk to him myself.”
“Fine, fine, fine. I’ll take it. But, it’s gonna be off unless I need it. And hidden away. Out of sight. Period.”
“That’s fine. Just remember where you put it. You’re shit at that kind of stuff,” she said.
“You’re a dick,” I said, giggling.
Bri reached over and took my hand, and that’s when her face got somber. I felt something flutter in my stomach
, something deep-seated and vulnerable. It wasn’t often that my sister got up close and personal, so when she took your hand, it really was something to perk up and pay attention to.
And I was all eyes and ears.
“I’m really glad you and Jason worked things out, Luce,” she said. “I also support anything that puts you in a romantic mood. But I need you to understand something.”
“What’s up, sis?” I asked.
“What he did to you, no matter how much he did it for you, was wrong. And if he pulls some shit again, you won’t be able to talk me down from confronting him. You’re my sister. My sister who’s talking more freely about her late husband. Who’s allowing me to call her by a nickname she hasn’t been able to listen to since her late husband. He’s doing you a great deal of good, and I won’t let him rip that away from you.”
“I hear you,” I said, clasping her hand. “Loud and clear.”
“I love you,” she said.
“I love you, too.”
Chapter Thirty-Four
Jason
I was excited about taking Lucy camping, but the weather started to darken the morning we were set to leave. Lucy came over with a few things packed in a small bag, and I got nervous when I saw her phone sticking out from the side. I knew I’d been specific when I told her we were going camping in a tent without any sort of power supply around, and it made me wonder if she was really cut out for this camping thing.
We’d been hunting and fishing together, but that doesn’t mean someone can abandon their luxuries and so-called necessities in order to slum it for a weekend.
She looked excited as we tossed everything into the back of the truck, and I covered it with a tarp to keep the rain off it as we drove out to the lake. The area wasn’t incredibly remote, but with the poor weather creeping in, it was pretty deserted. We pulled up to see people packing up their tents and belongings, so we were able to snag a tent setup right by the lake.
The top of the tent I had was see-through but not mesh, and it comfortably accommodated two people. I had a queen-sized air mattress with a pump that ran on batteries, and coupled with the fact that no one was going to be around, it really was going to be romantic. We’d get to hear the sloshing of the lake every morning and watch the stars through the see-through top at night, and we’d be completely safe from the rain on all sides.