“Ahh, no kidding. As if I’d let you get away. Come on.” He grabbed her hand, heading around the house toward the tree line.
“Have a good time.”
“We will,” Sam called over his shoulder without stopping.
Mina turned to see Lilith through the screen door.
“Yeah, watch out for bears.” Winona appeared behind Lilith and laughed.
They hit the tree line and kept going. After a few feet, Mina saw they were walking on a road or a track, tall weeds growing in the center. Glancing around Sam, she recognized his truck parked farther ahead. He tossed her backpack in the bed of the truck next to a couple of large coolers and climbed into the driver’s side, waiting as Mina made her way to the passenger’s side. Sam started the truck and worked his way along the road. Mina hung on as best she could. The road was so rutted, she bounced all over the seat, not daring to talk, afraid she might bite her tongue if he hit a bump at the wrong moment. After about a quarter of a mile, Sam stopped. “Ready?” He climbed out of the truck. Scooping up her backpack and one of the coolers, he headed down a path to the left.
She walked to the front of the truck and stopped. “What’re we doing?”
“I told you. Camping.” He continued walking.
“Camping? We’re camping? You and me?” She followed after him. “Wait a minute.” She stopped again. “My Dad said he saw Winona yesterday. Did he?”
Sam stopped and turned. “No, I saw him.”
“At Vin’s Market?”
Sam shook his head. “I went to see him at the state garage.”
“You did?”
Sam nodded.
“And you told him I was going camping with Winona?”
Sam shook his head.
“You told him you and I were going camping?”
Sam nodded again.
“He agreed?”
“Yup. Can we go now? I still have to get the other cooler.”
Mina nodded and followed along the path. The trees gave way to a small clearing backed by a steep hill. Winding down the hillside, a large brook fed into a small but deep natural pool before escaping as the brook continued on. Near the pool a campsite was set up, a tent, a circle of stones with a grate on it, paper and kindling ready to light, and a supply of wood stacked nearby. Mina had never been camping, but it looked like everything they needed.
“I’m going to get the other cooler. I’ll be right back.” Sam tossed her backpack into the tent before disappearing.
Looking around, Mina wasn’t sure what to do. She hadn’t expected this. She walked over to the tent and parted the flap. Sleeping bags, unzipped like blankets, filled the bottom of the tent. She heard Sam’s footsteps and moved back closer to the fire pit.
“Done.” He set the cooler down by the first one. “What do you think?”
What do I think? I don’t know. I wanted time alone. But now that it’s here, I’m nervous. She kept the thought to herself. “Nice,” was all she said, looking everywhere, but at Sam.
“Mina? Are you okay?”
She nodded, but didn’t move, studying the ground and the rocks of the fire pit.
“Mina?” Sam cupped her chin and lifted her face. “What is it?”
“I’m scared.”
“Scared? Of the woods? Winona was kidding. There aren’t a lot of bears here.”
“I’m not afraid of the woods or bears.” But I think I’d rather face one that have to say this out loud. “I’m just a little nervous about, you know,” she paused, waving in the direction of the tent. “It.”
“It?”
“It,” Mina reiterated, hanging her head to hide her flushed cheeks.
“You mean making love?”
She nodded, still unable to look him in the eye.
“Honey, no pressure.” He tipped her face up. “I just want to spend time with you and not have to share you. Honest.”
She knew he meant it. If anything happened, it would be because she promoted it.
“Okay?” he asked when she didn’t say anything.
“Okay.”
“Good.” Sam gave her a quick kiss. “How about you help me finish unpacking some of this stuff?”
They set to work. Mina opened two folding chairs and placed them in front of the fire pit. She looked around. It took some time to set this whole thing up. The growth in the campsite area was cut close to the ground, while the rest of the field sported grass about a foot tall. The considerable woodpile stacked up next to the fire pit was dry. It had to have been brought in. The fire pit itself must have taken a couple of hours to build.
“Is this what you were doing yesterday?”
He nodded. “You like it?”
She looked around again. Blue sky, the rounded clearing lined by trees so old she wouldn’t be able to get her arms halfway around the trunks, the brook, the pool. “It’s beautiful here.”
“I think so too.”
“How’d you know about this place?”
“A year or so after we moved here, I found it when I was out hunting.” He brushed off his hands as he looked around. “I think that’s everything. What do you want to do now?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve never been camping. What are my choices?”
“Well, we can go swimming. I want to warn you though, the water is cold. You’ll get used to it, but at this time of the day, it may be more than you can handle. We could pack a picnic lunch and go for a hike, or we could lie around doing nothing. It’s up to you.”
“How about a hike? That sounds like fun.”
“Yeah, right. Hikes are fun,” he said in a good-natured tone, before throwing some food and water in a pack and slinging it on his back. “Ready?”
They set off toward the other end of the clearing, walking hand in hand. Soon they had to shift to single file as they moved deeper into the huge trees Mina had admired earlier. Continuing on for twenty minutes, she enjoyed the view of his broad back and profile as he turned to point something out to her every once in a while. Sam stopped and handed her a water bottle.
“Thanks.” Mina took a deep drink. It was getting warmer. She knew the sun had to be almost overhead, but it was difficult to judge with the leaf cover so thick. “These trees must be at least a hundred years old.” She circled the trunk of one of the giants.
“Probably closer to two hundred.” Sam studied the tree for a minute before putting the water bottle back in the pack.
“Want me to carry the pack for a while?”
“You’re kidding, right? We have to do twelve mile hikes carrying sixty pound packs. Mina, I could carry this pack and you at the same time.” He led the way down the trail.
And Mina thought he might have to by the time they were done, relief washing over her as they entered the clearing again. A nagging headache had started. She suspected it was a combination of the rising heat and lack of sleep from the night before.
“You want to go for a swim?”
The thought of going into the cold water made her head throb harder. “Maybe in a while.” Mina rubbed her temple. “Did I see you with a first aid kit earlier?”
He nodded. “What do you need?”
“Aspirin or something like it.” Taking the tablets he produced, she dug the water bottle out of the pack and washed them down.
“C’mon.” Opening the tent flap, he secured it. “In.”
“What?”
“Lay down a while. You’ll feel better. And take off that sweatshirt. You’re overheated.”
“No, no. I’ll be fine. I didn’t get much sleep last night. But I’m sure the aspirin will help soon.”
“Let’s go.” He guided Mina to the opening and lowered her to a sitting position on the sleeping bags before pulling the sweatshirt over her head. Sam tugged her sneakers off, setting them outside the tent. “Stretch out for a while.” He moved around the outside of the tent, opening the rain flaps over the windows. Mina had to admit the cool breeze over her arms felt good. She’d scraped he
r hair back in a tight ponytail this morning. Dragging the tie out, Mina fluffed up her hair, relieving some of the tension on her scalp. Lying back on the pillows, she relaxed. Only one thing would make this better. “Sam?”
“Hmm?” he answered from somewhere outside.
“Would you come and lay down with me?”
Bringing one of the lawn chairs over in front of the tent, Sam sat. Mina thought at first he wasn’t going to join her, but he paused only long enough to pull his boots off. Sam stretched out next to her and folded his hands behind his head. They lay that way a few minutes.
“Why didn’t you get much sleep last night?”
Mina didn’t want to answer. Laying here today with him, her careening thoughts of the night before seemed childish. “Nothing really.”
“Mina, you’ve always been a lousy liar. Fess up.”
“I thought you’d left.”
“What?” He rose up on one elbow. “Why would you think that?”
“I don’t know. Because you were gone early in the morning. Because you never called last night. I thought you got tired of waiting around. I’m sorry, I know it was foolish.”
“Mina, how many times do I have to tell you?”
She turned her head away at the frustration in his voice. “I’m neurotic sometimes, I know. I guess I’m afraid you’re going to get tired of me.” She picked at a seam in the tent. “Or meet someone who’s fun.”
“I don’t want someone fun.”
That brought Mina’s head around.
“Mina, you’re fun. I didn’t mean it like that. Sometimes I don’t know what else to say. I love you. Just trust that, and don’t forget it. Okay?” His eyes showed the truth of his words. Pushing her wild array of hair away from her face, Sam massaged her temples with his thumbs.
“Okay.” She closed her eyes. The aspirin and his ministrations were soothing away some of the pounding in her head. Drifting, Mina dozed off.
Mina shifted. Since when had her old mattress been this firm? She yawned and opened her eyes only to snap her mouth shut. Sam lay next to her.
“Hey, sleepyhead.”
Mina looked out the tent window and tried to judge the time without success. “What time is it?”
“I don’t know, around five thirty or six.”
“Morning or night?” She bolted upright. Did I sleep the whole night away?
“Night. Why?”
She flopped down on the pillow again in relief. “I thought I had wasted another whole day.”
“It’s not a waste. You needed to sleep. How do you feel?”
She pushed her hair back and lay still for a moment. “Better, much better as a matter of fact.” Mina’s stomach growled. “What’s that smell?”
Sliding her t-shirt up a little, Sam planted a kiss right above her navel. “Dinner.” He worked his way up her midriff.
Mina sucked in her breath, his lips sending shivers up her spine. He continued on along the defined edge of her rib cage and back down toward her abdomen. Her stomach growled again. “Sorry,” she whispered, breathless, not caring what her stomach had to say.
Laying his cheek against the soft flesh of her abdomen, he was still for a minute. “Hmm. No problem.” She rested her hand on his shoulder. Neither of them moved. Her stomach grumbled in hunger again.
“Okay, I get the message.” He smiled as he pushed up to a sitting position. “C’mon. I don’t want the burgers to burn.” Rising effortlessly, he had to duck down to get out of the tent. Mina’s sneakers came flying through the flap. “Let’s go. Chow’s almost done.”
Mina stuffed her feet into her sneakers and rose. She had plenty of room. She stepped out and moved closer to the fire. Sam was crouched down, taking burgers off the rack with an old spatula. “Let’s eat.”
Settling on the blanket he’d laid out, they munched on burgers and chips. Mina was full and stopped eating long before Sam. As usual, he ate a ton of food before saying, “Done,” with a contented sigh and rubbing his stomach under his t-shirt. He stepped back into work boots he’d left unlaced and scooped up the paper plates to toss them into the fire.
“Sam?”
He turned.
“Restroom?”
She could see his smile in the flare of light as the plates caught fire. “Right down that path. There’s a lean-to.”
Mina came back a few minutes later, impressed with all the work he’d done to make this area comfortable, right down to the towelettes.
Sam had picked up the rest of the stuff from dinner and stoked the fire. Light from the flames bathed everything in a warm orange glow. Sitting on a large log near the fire, he looked up when she approached. “Have a seat.” He tapped the wood next to him.
Mina sat watching the hypnotic flames as Sam wrapped an arm around her to pull her in close to his side. A piece of wood popped, sending embers floating into the air. Following the flight of one, she was relieved to see it go out before it drifted to the nearby trees. “Should we be worried about the fire?”
Sam shook his head. “No. The dew is already starting to fall.”
“Good. It’d be horrible if some of these old trees burned.” Someone would certainly be angry. “Sam? Did you get permission to camp here?” Mina had visions of some irate landowner coming along to throw them out.
“Yup.”
“They don’t care we’re camping here?”
“Nope.”
“Really?” If she owned this land, she wouldn’t want a bunch of people camping on it. “You’re sure? We won’t get in trouble?”
“No trouble.” He smiled. “We own it. Actually, Ina and Dad own it.”
“All of this?”
He nodded. “Originally, three hundred acres came with the camp, but my parents decided to sell half of the land to pay for the renovations on the house. That left about a hundred and fifty acres, plenty to hunt or camp. No one will bother us here. We have the whole spot to ourselves.”
“Wow, that’s a lot of land. I thought my parents’ thirty acre woodlot was big.” As she continued to watch sparks, one or two stars faintly showed in the darkening sky. Another day gone. She wanted to stop time, but knew it would march forward regardless of her wishes. “Thank you for doing all of this. It’s better than anything I would’ve thought of.”
“You’re welcome. But this is for me too. I’m selfish. I want you to myself for a while,” he said, drawing her forward.
The urge to get closer was back. Mina straddled his legs, draping her arms over his shoulders and leaning in to barely skim his lips once, twice. The third time was more demanding as she slid her hands into his hair, grasping a handful in an effort to bring him closer. Sam’s hands slid up under her shirt to caress her back. A tightening started in the center of her being, sending radiant shards of heat outward. In response, her body instinctively arched, pressing toward his, seeking relief. “Sam,” she moaned against his mouth.
“Hmm?” He kissed her neck and worked down while his hands glided to her waist and then upwards.
“I want…” She stopped, lost in the sensations he created with his hands.
“You want?”
“I want…you,” she managed to stammer.
“You’ve got me, baby. You’ve always had me.” He kissed her as his hands continued their explorations.
Sliding her fingers under the edge of his shirt, she lifted it over his head and tossed it to the ground. Mina ran her hands over chest muscles outlined by the light of the fire, then traced her fingers over the faint scar he’d carried for years. How do I show him how much I love him? Mina tugged her own shirt off before reaching behind her. The cool air felt foreign and raised goose bumps on her skin as she fought the urge to shield herself.
“Mina, honey, are you sure?” Sam kept his eyes trained on hers.
She nodded.
“Yeah?”
“I love you so much,” she whispered. Sam pulled her close, and Mina reveled in the feel of his warm skin pressed to hers. Carrying he
r to the tent, he set her down, dropping to his knees before her.
Mina unzipped her jeans and stepped out of them. Sam kissed her navel before traveling to the tender skin of her lower abdomen and eventually back up to her navel. Sam slipped his hands around her waist and pulled her close, resting the side of his face against her middle.
The unrest building in her increased in volume. She pulled Sam upright and reached up to kiss him. Mina rested her hands on his taut shoulder muscles before letting them drift downward to remove the last article of clothing between them. Sam stood naked. He’s beautiful. Extending her hands to both sides of his face, she stretched up to kiss him again.
His arms were around her in a second, crushing Mina to him. Sam laid her down and kissed her from head to foot, worshiping her body in ways she’d never in her young life dreamed of. Inexperienced though she was, by instinct she gloried in his body too. Rolling Mina onto her back, he was gone for a second. Kissing his way back to her mouth, he entered her tight body gently, the movement drawing gasps from both of them. Not moving, he kissed her again.
“Okay?”
She nodded. “Okay for you?”
“Better than okay,” he whispered, starting to move.
A multitude of impressions washed over Mina all at once. Sorting them out was impossible, so she let go, allowing the feelings to flood her senses. Sam kissed her face, her neck and the ridges of her collar bone. Deep inside, Mina felt a tight winding as if her body were a spring, not sure how to relieve this tension or how much longer she could survive it. “Sam?” Gripping the rigid muscles at the back of his neck, she threw her head back and let go. Waves of pleasure flooded over her. She was vaguely aware of Sam’s voice, hoarse, saying her name and shuddering. The light from the fire flickered on the outside of the tent and Mina watched it, feeling as if her bones had liquefied.
“I love you. So much,” he whispered, planting a light kiss on her shoulder.
Their time together passed too quickly, and before either could believe it, they sat in front of the fire on their last night. Two days of hiking, swimming, laughing, talking and loving. Tomorrow, they would break down camp and the day after, Sam would be gone again.
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