Ready to Fall (19 page)

“I’m not sure about that one. Better to tell me. Or show me.” She smiled, knowing exactly what I was thinking.

I kissed her and her tongue found mine. A few minutes later all talk of zombies and babies was forgotten when I picked her up and carried her upstairs.

A
FTER
PROMISES
OF
real pillows, and much to my chagrin, an air mattress, Diane finally agreed to go camping with me the next weekend. Pillows and an air mattress for camping. I could have lost my man card on this trip.

Rather than deal with a crowded weekend campground, I took Friday off of work to head up to the state park on Thursday. Diane adjusted her class schedule and we met up in front of our cabins late afternoon.

“Look, we’re twins!” She twirled around, showing off her quilted vest, flannel shirt, jeans, and rain boots. If I didn’t know better, I’d have thought she was a real island girl.

“No gray sweater?”

“Nope. Linus without her blanket. Thought you’d be proud.”

“So proud. You have all your stuff? Please don’t tell me you’re bringing a giant suitcase for an overnight trip.” When she held up a small backpack, I smiled. “Atta girl. There’s hope for you yet.”

“Listen, Mr. Woodsman, I’ve caught my own dinner. No city slicker here.”

“That you have,” I said with pride. I grabbed her in a one arm hug and squeezed, inhaling her fresh citrus scent. “Ready to fight off some bears and serial killers?”

“Agh, don’t start with that nonsense or I won’t be getting any sleep.”

“You said last weekend you were good with staying up late to take the night watches. Are you reneging on that?”

“That was for zombies. I’d prefer to be killed in my sleep by the likes of whatever is lurking in the woods.”

“I’ll protect you from the woodland creatures. I promise.”

“You better. Let’s do this so we can get it over with. I’m already thinking about the hot bath I’m taking on Saturday.”

The short drive up the island to the campground didn’t prepare her for an old growth forest strewn with moss-covered logs and giant trees. Hidden along a regular two lane island road, the park and campground perched high up on a bluff above a rock scattered beach. Each campsite was relatively private, but I’d chosen the most private one at the far end of the loop for obvious reasons.

“This is gorgeous,” she said, spinning around with her head tilted back to see the tall trees. “Has this been here the entire time?”

“What?”

“The park. Why don’t I know about this place? It’s beautiful.”

“Yes, old growth forest. It’s existed here forever. Maybe you’re a shut-in who hides at home and doesn’t explore her surroundings.”

“I’m not a shut-in. And if anything, I’ve been hiding out in your bed, exploring your surroundings.” She prowled closer and hugged me before standing up on her toes to kiss me.

I kissed her back. There was a reason I wanted to bring her camping and it had little to do with moss covered trees. Something about being naked in the night air—everything felt different.

“Okay, before we get carried away, we have to set up camp and start dinner,” I said.

“Since I have no idea what any of that entails, what should I do?”

“Help, or sit on the bench and be pretty.”

“I’ll help,” she said. “My days of sitting around and looking pretty are over.”

I instructed her on tent poles and grommets. A plug adapter allowed me to inflate the air mattress from the truck, much to Diane’s delight.

“It’s like a bouncy castle in here.” She bounced on her knees inside the tent while I finished setting up the rest of our site.

Later we sat in chairs facing the fire, our stomachs full of grilled steak and baked potatoes cooked in the ashes of the coals.

“I can’t believe how amazing that food was.” Our hands lay intertwined on her knee and she lifted them to kiss the back of mine.

“Everything’s better outdoors.”

“Everything?” She tilted her head and raised her eyebrows.

“Yep, everything.”

“Did you bring me out to the woods to seduce me, John?”

“I won’t lie. I did.”

“We could’ve had sex at home.”

“True. We have and we will again, but where’s your sense of adventure?”

“I don’t think I had one before I met you. You bring it out in me.”

“Glad to hear it.” I smiled at her and leaned forward to kiss her.

A branch snapped in the dark woods behind us.

“What was that?” she asked, turning away from me to peer into the darkness.

“Probably a squirrel. Or a chipmunk.”

Her face showed her fright.

“How can you tell?”

“First, it wasn’t a loud snap. That means it was a small critter.”

“Or a very stealthy serial killer.”

I ignored her logic.

“Second, there aren’t large predators on the island.”

A coyote howled in the distance, echoed by others.

Diane jumped from her chair and into my lap. “What the hell was
that
?”

“Coyotes. From the sound of it, several miles away.”

“Coyotes? How could you tell they are miles away?”

“From the sound. Trust me, you’re fine. But we can continue this in the tent if it makes you more comfortable—” I didn’t even finish my sentence before she leapt from my chair and headed for the tent. “Hey, let’s make a bathroom run before turning in for the night. I have the feeling once we get inside, you’re not going to want to go back out.”

“This isn’t the time to remind me about how hot you are. Now is the time to defend me against the blood-thirsty coyotes and whatever is watching us from the darkness.”

My brain caught up about five seconds late in telling me it would be a bad idea to laugh. I chuckled, watching her standing by the tent and staring into the darkness around the camp.

“You can see better with a flashlight. There’s one right next to the flap inside the tent.”

“Are you crazy? I don’t want to actually see what’s out there.”

“We’ll need it for the hike to the facilities. I need to grab water to put out the fire, too.”

We survived the short path to and from the small building housing restrooms and showers. Diane appeared calmer after we returned to the campsite.

Inside the tent I stripped down to my boxers. The air mattress took up a lot of space in the four person tent, which was sized more for two men. She crawled into the joined sleeping bags and removed her jeans and shirt, tossing them toward her feet.

“Cold?” I asked. She wasn’t shy about her body.

“Freezing. Remind me why we are out here?”

I lowered myself over her with the sleeping bag between us to remind her of my promise at the campfire.

“Oh, right. That.” She lifted her hips and met my body with hers. “Fresh air.” After kissing for a moment, I shivered.

“Why are you on top of the covers?” she asked.

“No idea.” I moved to join her, leaving my boxers on top along with my jeans.

A few stars littered the sky through the screen, but the moon sat too low to provide much light. My eyes slowly adjusted and I could see her better; we were both bathed in a cool, blue light from the dark. Cool air pebbled her skin where my mouth or hands didn’t. When she moaned, I swallowed the sound with my mouth. Our limbs tangled and entwined in the warmth generated from our bodies. With each thrust we bounced on the air mattress. I flipped us so she straddled me, using the bounce to our advantage. Draped in the blanket, her face illuminated only in shadows, she rode me, hands clenched with mine. I couldn’t get enough of her; I never wanted this to stop. Nothing else existed outside the bubble of our blankets and the tent.

Only us. Alone in the night woods.

Gray light diffused through the material of the tent hours later. Diane snuggled into my front and I spooned my body around her. I exhaled and my breath created a faint cloud in the tent, but we were warm. The air mattress and sleeping bag for two combined into the most comfortable sleep I’d ever had in the woods. She was right to insist on pillows. Why sleep on a lumpy pad with a balled up shirt and jeans under your head? There was no way I’d bring an air mattress on one of my guys’ weekends, but I admitted to myself this was better.

Diane softly snored beside me, her head tucked down into the crook of my arm and her hand resting in mine. I remained still because I didn’t want to wake her this early. Morning wood pressed against the dimples at the bottom of her back. I knew I should shift, but it felt too good. Staring down at her, I took in the lines of her face and the small mole next to her right eye I’d never noticed before. I memorized the faint laugh lines at the corners of her eyes—eyes that were no longer sad. Ever since our trip to Deception Pass, she seemed happier, filled with light. Laughter and lust danced across her face when we were together. She was more than pretty. She was beautiful. And I was falling for her.

The deeper we hiked into the woods, the darker it became. Tall giants formed a canopy, blocking out the sunlight. Thick, furry moss clung to fallen logs and tree trunks alike, softening the sound. Green dominated everything except the dark brown of the dirt along the trail and the exposed bark of the ancient firs.

“I feel like I’ve been transported to Middle Earth or some other magical land.” Diane threw back her head, attempting to see to the top of a massive cedar.

“Pretty amazing, isn’t it? This whole area was almost logged in the 70s.”

“Seriously? Who would do that?” She turned her head to stare at me, disgust on her face.

“Not me, if that’s what you were thinking. I wasn’t even born in the 70s.”

“What stopped them?”

“Tree huggers,” I said and scowled. I couldn’t hold it and laughed. “Honestly, a couple organized the islanders to protect the giants.”

“I’m all for tree hugging. In Pilates we do something called “Hug a Tree,” and I think of you every time.”

“Gee, thanks.” I wrapped my hand around her smaller palm. “I’m not for cutting down old trees like these, but sometimes clear-cutting is the best option.”

“For the loggers.”

“Not only the loggers and timber companies. Clearcut allows for new growth, revitalized ecosystems, and gets rid of all the dead wood which would combust in wild fires.”

“But what about the owls and eagles, and little woodland shrews who lose their homes?”

“Woodland shrews?”

“Picture adorable creature with a family of smaller adorable creatures.”

“You’re adorable.” I kissed the tip of her nose.

“Don’t distract me with your bearded charms, Day. Not when the shrew family is homeless.”

“Okay, back to the shrews. No making out in the woods for you.” I kissed her again. This time on her lips. “Sure, there are unscrupulous loggers, but my company doesn’t want the guilt of homeless shrews haunting our dreams. Environmentalists will make our lives hell, so it’s easier to do the studies. No hippies living in the trees, and no shrews in the streets.”

“And clearcut isn’t evil? It looks evil.”

“It isn’t evil if it’s reforested or replanted with fast growing crops like hemp or bamboo. Burning everything to the ground and paving it, that’s evil. And not what we do.”