Page 59

SLEEPING UNDER THE STARS

“Chris, don’t screw this up.”

Flick. Nope. Flick. Nope. Flick.

“I bring you fire!”

The tinder caught, and sparks turned to flames.

Seconds later, the crackling spread to the log, and I had overcome the biggest hurdle of the night.

The dwindling lines of light coming through the canopy speckled the stream of smoke.

The burst of warmth pushed at the forest’s dampness.

It was the final step to prepare for Bobby’s arrival.

I checked my watch. “6:58. He has two minutes.” Nothing about tonight required rushing. No plans required us to speed through our date. I went all out to embrace Bobby’s world. I was a terrible gift-giver. Before they cut through the first piece of tape, I’d blurt out the gift.

Nature had a rhythm, a softness in the way it spoke.

Bobby’s truck disturbed it, seeming unnatural amongst the trees.

I stood at the end of the driveway, waiting for him to turn down the small road.

As he pulled in, the light reflected off his windshield, making it impossible to see him.

This had been a crazy idea; I just hoped it was the right type of insane.

“What are you doing?” He climbed out of his truck. I told him to dress comfortably, but he had opted for a button-down and jeans. Him ‘churching it up’ was not lost on me.

“Do you want to hear how this happened?”

His eyes fixated on me as he chewed his bottom lip. When he reached for my hand, I breathed a sigh of relief. “Start from the top.”

I gestured to the giant square I had scratched into the ground.

He walked to the clearing where he dreamed of building a cabin.

I held up a hand. “Here, let me get that for you.” I reached for the imaginary door.

It fought back, and I had to give it a vigorous shake before it opened. “That lock could use some oil.”

“I’ll get right on that.”

I guided him into the boundaries of the house.

“Okay. I called Simon and asked if he could do something special for dinner. He suggested checking out the farmers’ market.

So, I texted Laurel and asked her about your favorite foods.

She didn’t reply, but thankfully, Dorothy at the grocery store knew you loved steaks. ”

“Who didn’t you talk to?”

I held up a finger. “So then Laurel called and told me if I was going to make steaks, I had to do it on an open fire.”

“I knew there was a reason I liked her.”

“So, I went to the hardware store to see if they had grills. Then I talked to Junior, and he mentioned a camping grill. Once Logan showed up, he said we might as well go camping.”

I pointed to the tent in the back of the imaginary cabin.

“Have you ever gone camping before?”

“Does one time on a set count?” He shot me a concerned look. “I won’t confess how long it took me to set it up. Those directions might as well have been written in Japanese. Of course, once Logan and Junior got to asking me what type of camping I wanted to do, it got complicated.”

“There better be air mattresses. I’m not as young as I used to be.”

Score. Logan had said the same thing. Pulling down the zipper, I revealed the interior. Sleeping bags, a large air mattress, and a lantern suspended from the top.

“We can pretend we’re roughing it.”

“I don’t have words.”

Bobby covered his mouth, staring at the tent. When he turned to the fire, I thought I had overstepped and lured him into a date that went too far. We had skipped the part of dating where we encountered boundaries. He took a seat on a log I had dragged near the fire.

“What made you do this?”

I sat next to him on the log. What had started as a simple dinner and night by the fire had spiraled. “I can pack it up. I didn’t mean??—”

“No. No. I’m not mad. I’m curious.”

Why this?

“I realized at the dinner, that dating you will be impossible.”

“Not selling it, mister.”

“If I’m going to date Firefly’s beloved handyman, they’re all going to be involved. They want to see you happy. I want to see you happy. Why not enlist the troops to make an impression?”

Bobby slid over on the log. His hand rested on my thigh, giving it a squeeze.

When he rested his head on my shoulder, I couldn’t image myself anywhere but here.

The rest of the world could break through the woods and intrude on our moment.

I kissed the crown of his head before wrapping an arm around him.

We sat like that for a while, watching the fire. After sitting behind Rose and Edward’s house, I realized that gathering by the fire slowed time. It had almost become therapy since arriving in Firefly.

“You asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up.”

He never replied to my text. I assumed he thought it had been a joke. But apparently, it had weighed on his mind.

“I didn’t say anything ‘cause I’m not sure how you’re going to react.”

It had been an innocent question. When he pulled away, looking at me, I realized it had somehow struck a nerve. Short of him wanting to be a pool boy, what would have him this concerned?

“I am what I want to be when I grow up.”

My head tilted to the side. “I must be missing something.”

He shook his head. “You answer. What do you want to be when you grow up?”

What had once been a simple question had gotten complicated as of late. I wanted to keep acting, I think. Something about it needed to change, either the types of roles I took or… I looked up at Bobby, realizing the trap I had fallen into.

“You’re happy where you are.”

He nodded. “I am content being the town handyman. It pays the bills, and at the end of the day, I feel like I’ve made a difference. I don’t think I want that to change.”

My life, on the other hand, is complicated. One minute, I could appear on a red carpet, and the next, I’m filming in New Zealand. I loved my life, but…

“I’m just a simple guy with??—

“Mr. Wright.” He raised an eyebrow. I reached up, hand running through his beard. I pulled his face to mine. “You are anything but simple.” I tried kissing him, but I pushed too hard and he toppled backward.

He dragged me with him.

Lying on our backs, legs hooked over the log, I couldn’t stop laughing. The damp soil forced a shiver down my spine. We were anything but graceful. Our relationship had been haphazard from the beginning. It only felt fitting to be on our backs in the dirt while I tried to reassure him.

When the laughter ended, I took his hand, holding it against my chest. “I need simple.” Being with Bobby reminded me life consisted of more than my next job.

“You’ll get bored.”

“Or will I learn to appreciate the little things?”

“I don’t want you to stop acting. I’d feel like a grade-A asshole if you stopped doing what you love.”

“Would you be interested in traveling?”

“And live in Firefly?”

Whatever happened tonight, I felt my life was about to change. Firefly welcomed me, and I could see having a house here. But living here between gigs? I could foresee racking up a lot of miles in the future.

It was time to put it out there and speak my truth. “I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. My career is in a weird place. I don’t really need to act anymore. I could live the rest of my life comfortably.”

“But you love it.”

“I do. But I think I want to stop being an action hero and make movies that leave an impact. It might mean reinventing myself. I'm still feeling it out.” My career wasn’t the only thing I felt strongly about, not when I was with Bobby.

“Is this one of those relationship conversations real boyfriends have?”

The blood had rushed to my head. Bobby gave me a gentle kick. “It is if we’re real boyfriends.”

“I’m lying on my back in the middle of the woods, ready to sleep in a tent. Your favorite food is in a styrofoam cooler, and I bought a good bottle of whiskey. I think we’ve entered real boyfriend territory.”

“Did you get the tent so you could say you’re the first boyfriend I’ve had at the cabin?”

I snorted. “Yes. Yes, I did. I’m not going to lie. Dammit, I want to be the first man to spend the night.”

He propped himself up on his elbows. “Play your cards, Mr. Wilde, and you might be the last.”

I didn’t hate the potential of that statement. I leaned over, giving him a peck on the lips. We'd both be covered in wet leaves when we got up. “It’s really an excuse to get you alone and naked.”

“Oh, really?”

“And not to worry about Rose bursting in on us.”

“It’s all a lie!” He cried. “You’re just trying to get in my pants.”

“Oh, I plan on it. But not until we get those steaks cooked. Can’t have my man wasting away.” I rolled onto my side and got up, brushing the leaves off my pants.

“Keep talking about steak, and I’ll strip before dinner.”

I wanted to skip dinner and get to dessert, especially when he gave me that devilish grin. However, Bobby wasn’t some random hookup. Tonight, under the stars with a fire I made, we had transitioned from benefits, to friends with benefits, and to boyfriends… with benefits.

I balanced on my sneakers as I tried to keep from getting my socks dirty.

With a full belly, we spent the last two hours watching the stars through an opening in the trees.

As the chill set in and the fire died, there was only one thing left to do.

When I set this up, I didn’t realize there were rules.

Bobby, on the other hand, dropped his pants and crawled into the tent like a pro. He rolled up his clothes, tucking them into the bottom of his sleeping bag. When he pulled his shirt over his head, I found motivation to pick up the pace.

“You don’t want to wake up and put on damp skivvies.”

“Let me guess, every weekend you’d go camping with your dad?”

“Me? God, no. Laurel and Dad would go hunting, and I’d get the house to myself. When we were younger, she was the outdoorsy one. I’d rather sit in the basement listening to records.”