Page 23

Chapter Twenty-Three

GRAHAM

For the fifth time in an hour, I open the tent flap enough to watch Tyler’s chest rise and fall. Once I’m sure he’s still breathing, I close the tent back up and collapse into one of the chairs.

The kettle over the fire whistles, and it takes every ounce of energy left in my system to fix myself a cup of tea. I prefer coffee, but the last thing I need is caffeine coursing through my system. Today’s events got my adrenaline pumping enough.

Thankfully, the hives didn’t spread any further once he took the drugs, and nothing more serious cropped up. The drugs did their job, but they also knocked him out. The minute we got in the car, he fell asleep, his head lolling to the side as we drove back to the campsite. He barely registered me getting him out of the car, fixing his bandage, and putting him in his sleeping bag.

I check in on him every ten minutes to ensure he’s breathing. Overkill? Absolutely. The internet said that if he didn’t have any more severe symptoms by now, we’re probably safe. Probably. That’s not my favorite word. I need a few more minutes to come down from the day.

Hence, tea. I take my cup and settle in next to the fire. Logically, my brain knows we’re out of danger, but my body hasn’t gotten the memo yet.I can feel the tension tugging at the fibers in my body. This trip is working against me.

Maybe when Tyler wakes up, I’ll suggest we move this party to a hotel room. A nice hot shower that doesn’t require flip-flops, room service, and a comfy bed would go a long way toward relaxing both of us.

And make up for the spectacularly lousy day.

A rustling in the tent grabs my attention. Tyler sticks his head out, eyes barely open.

“How are you doing?” I ask gently. He’d been pissed off with me on the hike back to the car. I asked that same question repeatedly. I know it’d been partially his own worry combined with the pain of the sting and itchiness of his skin, but he’d told me never to ask him that again. It was a heat-of-the-moment thing, though. Right?

“Um, okay. A bit foggy.” He rubs his eyes and squints at me.

“How’s the arm feeling?”

Tyler stares at his arm as though he needs to see it to decide. There’s not much beyond my white bandage over the top of the site. “Okay, I guess. Still smarts a bit, but that’s normal.”

I like that he’s suddenly become the expert on bee stings. “It’ll probably hurt for a day or two. What about the hives?” I force myself to stay in my seat and not hover.

He runs a hand over his skin. “They’re gone,” he says. When he walks over and offers me his arm, I relax a bit. He’s right; there’s no sign of the angry bumps that were there earlier. I bring his arm up and kiss around the bandage, careful not to bump where he might still be sore.

“That’s much better than those pills,” he says. I snort. Yeah, I’m not sure kisses are that good. “With the added benefit that I don’t sleep like the dead for… how long have I been out?”

“About four hours. You fell asleep in the car on the way back.” I leave out how he didn’t even get his seatbelt on. He must’ve been fighting to hold it together for the last mile of our hike. I wish I could’ve carried him or gotten the car closer.

“Fuck. I’m sorry.” He runs his hand through his sleep-rumpled hair. “I ruined our whole day.”

“You did no such thing.” I pull him into my lap. The need to be close to him and feel him in my arms is overwhelming my desire to not act like an overbearing ass. “It’s not your fault you got stung.” I nuzzle in close to him.

“Oh? And whose fault is it then?”

“The bee’s.”

“I can get on board with that. He was an asshole.”

“You scared me,” I mumble against his skin. It’s a massive understatement, but it's the best I can come up with. What if he’d had an anaphylactic reaction out there? Who knows how long emergency services would have taken to get to us? Too long when someone can’t breathe.

“I know. I’m sorry,” he says softly, running a hand over my head. It feels so good to have him touching me again. I never want it to stop.

“Promise you won’t do it again?”

Tyler kisses the top of my head. “I’ll do my best, but I can’t guarantee anything on behalf of the bees.”

“Or the children who trip you.” Was that earlier today?It feels like it’s been longer.

“Them, too.”

I hum softly. “What if we didn’t camp tonight?”

Tyler pulls back and puts a finger under my chin, forcing me to lift my head and look into his eyes. “You want to go home? I’m okay. Really. Now that I’ve slept off the medication, I’ll be set for the rest of the trip.”

“What if we went somewhere else? We could find a hotel or a bed and breakfast? We could cuddle up together in real bed and watch Netflix .” I already checked. They have rooms open tonight. It would take us less than an hour to break down camp and drive over there.

“I asked you to bring me camping because I want to get to know this side of you. Today didn’t go according to that plan, but I’m not ready to throw in the towel yet.”

I search Tyler’s face for any sign that he’s doing this to make me happy. As long as we’re together, I’ll be happy.“Are you sure? Because this is the worst first camping experience I’ve ever seen.”

“Well, I have to be the best at something.” I shake my head and laugh. “And I’m sure someone has had worse. There haven’t been any bears or wolves. The tent is still standing, and I have the most handsome outdoorsman in the world keeping me company.” He runs his hand over my chest and kisses me softly.

“I don’t think we’re near bear territory.”

“That’s what you took away from my little speech?” He pulls back and glares at me.

“Okay, we’ll stay the night.” I must be insane, but he’s made a good argument. “One condition, though.”

“Name it.”

“I want you close to me all night, touching me at all times so I know you’re safe.” Tears burn in the back of my eyes, threatening to spill over. Tyler squeezes my hand.

“I’ll be right here.”

TYLER

So camping? Not so bad if you take out the sleeping on the ground, communal bathrooms, and insects. The part where we cuddle while roasting marshmallows for s’mores? That part is heavenly. Even if we’re using sticks from the ground to do it.

I snuggle into the blanket Graham has wrapped around the two of us. He wasn’t kidding about wanting to stay physically connected for the rest of the night. Some part of him has been touching me at all times. Sometimes, it’s a hand on the edge of my thigh. Sometimes, like now, he’s got his whole body draped over me so that nearly every part of him is in contact.

No complaints. It’s a perfect night.

“Another one?” Graham asks, holding a marshmallow out in front of me.

“I think five might be my limit.” Okay, three was probably my limit, but they’re so good.

He puts the marshmallow back in the bag and closes it up, setting it aside with the other supplies.

“I think this is what I love so much about the lake and being outdoors in general.”

“The desserts?” He gently pinches my side, and I wiggle in his arms. It’s all for show. He’s stuck with me. At least for tonight.

“The quiet. Getting to be here, holding you, watching the fire, and listening to nature around us. It’s different than being in the city.”

I close my eyes and listen for what Graham’s talking about. There are a few bird calls, crickets chirping, and the rustle of leaves. If I listen hard, I can almost hear the lake lapping against the shore.

I’m a city boy, so it’s what’s missing that makes a bigger impression. No traffic or sirens. No one’s screaming or arguing in the background. I let out a big breath. It’s a nice sound. Not quiet, but calm.

It’s the heat radiating off Graham and his stubble rubbing against my neck as he nuzzles closer that really gets me. Yeah, we can cuddle on the couch, but it’s not the same. Here, there are no emails or TV getting in the way of simply enjoying one another.

“I like it here. Will you bring me again?” The words are out before I can process them fully. Again. There could be a future time when Graham might not be living in Cardinal Falls. It’s easy to forget that there’s a clock ticking on this relationship.

“I’d love to. Maybe next time we can get a cabin, though. I’m getting a little old to sleep on the ground.” Thank fuck. A real bed would make the experience so much better. The cabin seems like a nice halfway point between what we’re doing this weekend and something fancier. “Maybe you can come with me and my family next summer. I know it might not fit with your work schedule, but you could come for a few days over a weekend. Then you’d get to meet everyone.”

“You’d want that?” Meeting the family is a big deal. I’ve never met a date’s family before. Unless you count high school, but that’s unavoidable. As an adult? Nothing ever got that far or that serious.

Graham hums his approval. “They’d like you. Plus, it’s best to meet them the first time when you have somewhere to hide. That way, if they start asking a lot of intrusive questions, you can hide out in our space.”

I don’t ask about the kind of questions he thinks his family will ask. Instead, I let my body relax even further into Graham, imagining what it would be like to be here with his family. Obviously different from my adventures with my parents. We have hotel rooms, fancy dinners, and more art museums than most people know exist. It’s wonderful, but there’s something about the picture in my mind of all the chaos that brings me a bit of comfort. I can’t make sense of it, but I guess I don’t need to. Not yet, at least.

We talk for a while with Graham telling me about his siblings and their antics over the years. Eventually, the fire starts to die down and we clean up the campsite for the evening.

“You aren’t really going to make me put my pajama pants back on tonight, are you?” I ask once we’re in the tent. I hold them up to show off the dirt and blood stains. I’m down to my shirt and briefs. If I get my way, I’ll sleep like this. The ridiculous sleeping bags Graham brought are warm enough.

“I guess not. As long as you don’t get too cold.”

“I can think of a few ways you could help keep me warm.” Graham’s down to his briefs, as well, having stripped off his clothes to get ready for bed. I can’t stop thinking about how he’s cared for me today, ensuring I had a good time.

I crawl over onto his sleeping bag and take off my shirt. Graham gets the hint and stretches out, giving me room to straddle him.

“What exactly did you have in mind?”

I decide to show him, rocking my hips against him a few times. Graham moans and presses his hips up into me. “Fuck, that feels good.”

I love when he’s vocal with me. I curse all the time, but he tends to be more restrained. These moments, when the words pass over his lips without a second thought, are my favorite. I pull my briefs down enough to free my cock and give it a couple of strokes. Graham watches me with big eyes like I’m holding his favorite dessert. It’s tempting to make him watch for a while, but I don’t want to be patient tonight.

I lift off him enough to free Graham’s erection from his briefs. A bead of precum bubbles up from his slit, and I swipe my thumb across it, spearing it around his head. He moans again, and I press my finger against his lips.

“We have to be quiet. There are families nearby.” I’m not sure how far away the next group is, but the campsites are busy and sound travels easily without walls. I heard plenty of their conversations when we were around the fire.

Graham responds by sucking my finger into his mouth. I manage to bite back my groan, but barely. Two can play at this game. I spit into my palm and wrap my hand around both our cocks. I start slow, keeping my hand loose. Graham tries to thrust up, but I press down on him with my weight, limiting his movement.

“Tyler…” He lets his head sink back into what passes for a pillow. All of this would be a lot easier in a real bed, but I’m happy to make do. I tighten my grip and start to jerk us off faster. God, it feels fucking amazing. It’s so dark in the tent I can’t see anything except Graham and myself.

A light tapping against the tent makes me freeze.

“It’s raining,” Graham says softly. I listen for a minute, enjoying the way the sound drowns out everything else around us. Then Graham wraps his hand around mine and starts to stroke us again. Suddenly, I can’t hear anything over our soft grunts and moans.

It’s not long before I can feel my impending release starting to bubble over. “I’m close.”

“Me, too,” Graham pants. “Come with me, sweetheart.” I can’t see it, but I feel the moment Graham’s orgasm overtakes him, his cock pulsing against mine as his hot cum fills our fists. I follow him over the edge a moment later.

The sound of our heavy breathing combines with the patter of the rain.

I grope in the dark until I find my pajama pants. They’re already done for, so I use them to clean us both up, then lean in to kiss him. It’s a bit of a struggle to find the right position, but once we do, I lose track of time in his kisses.

The rain grows louder as we kiss. It’s a fucking monsoon out there. I roll off of Graham and cuddle into his side, wondering if there’s any chance we’ll both fit in a single sleeping bag tonight. Maybe we can zip them together?

“Do you think—” I’m cut off by a whooshing sound. Cold water pours into the tent right on top of us with no warning. We both scream and scramble up, trying not to hit each other in the dark. We manage to move away from the spot where the tent is leaking. It’s now raining inside our tent.

Laughter bubbles over, and I can’t help but break into a full-on belly laugh.

“I’m glad you find this funny.” Graham turns on his cell phone flashlight. He doesn’t look nearly as amused as I am. His serious expression only makes me laugh harder.

After a full minute of not being able to stop, I manage to pull myself together, sucking in deep breaths to calm myself down.

“This is the absolute worst weekend trip I’ve ever been on,” I say, fighting to keep my composure. “And I’m counting the third-grade field trip where I threw up on the bus.” I manage to find a mostly-dry blanket in the corner of the tent and toss it to Graham. I move close to him in the small corner that’s not wet—yet—and he wraps it around both of our shoulders.

“I love you,” he says.

“But you’re leaving,” I blurt out. My stomach knots and the levity of the last few minutes evaporates. The rain is still pelting our tent, but I can’t hear anything over the beating of my heart.

“Tyler,” Graham starts.

“No, wait. Please.” Fuck, what do I want to say? “Everything with you is so perfect, but you’re leaving for another job in a few weeks. I can’t… we can’t…” I don’t have words for what I want to say. All I know is that I’m fucking this up.

“Tyler, I might have to move away from Cardinal Falls, that’s true. That doesn’t mean that I’m leaving you or that we break up.”

I swallow against the lump in my throat. I want to say something, but words still seem too hard for my brain.

“I can’t make you any promises. I don’t know exactly where I’m going to be. If I have my way, it will be very close, and I’ll be able to live in the city and commute.” He kisses the top of my head. “But if it is farther away, I want us to figure things out. We both have cars and video calls. I’ll keep looking for a job here. There might not be anything right now, but something will come up. I’m not leaving you.” He fumbles in the dark until he finds my hand and pulls it close, rubbing it against his rough cheek before kissing the tips of my fingers.

“Say it again,” I whisper, my words barely audible. For a second, I think he didn’t hear me. Or worse, he’s changed his mind.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.” My voice is quiet but more confident, and my face hurts from the smile stretching from ear to ear.

“Tyler?”

“Hmmm?”

“Can we please give up on camping now? It’s only a few miles to a small town with a hotel we can stay in tonight. Please?”

“Fuck yes. How soon can we be out of here?”