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Thank-you for taking the time to read chapter three! I highly suggest you read S’mores parts one and two before delving into this.
As always please favorite, rate, comment, and send me some feedback.
I love hearing from everyone!
For the one that inspired Maya…hope your life from this day forward is amazing and you climb many more mountains as you make your way through this crazy world. I am grateful for knowing you, even if it was only for a few weeks.
A shout out to my favorite ‘editor’ a giant thank-you for always pre-reading, giving me input and for just being a great friend! I’m beyond glad we ‘met’.
Extra thanks go out to Broken Spokes for helping me clarify a few spots. (if you haven’t read her stuff.. what is wrong with you? Go. Now!)
And to the one that is slowly changing my life.. #endgame
*************************
MAYA
My heart was still in my throat when the birds woke me up. It took a moment to remember where I was and who was curled into me. My arms were around her, holding on with all I had. The events of the evening replayed as I laid there. The waves of pain that flowed off Bria when she told me her story still vibrated across my skin.
Or maybe, it was just her being this close to me. Perhaps it was her sending this electric current through me. Goosebumps rose on my arms as I held her just a little tighter. It was then that the feeling, that one that tells you that words came out of your mouth before you planned for them to, washed over me. ‘I love you Bria Winthrop’. Had she heard me? Half of me hoped so. The other half was worried that if she did, it would scare her away. But. She was laying here next to me. Had fallen asleep in my arms and was still here.
Her breathing was slow and regulated. Still asleep. Instinctively I nuzzled into her closer, smelled her hair. Strawberries and cream I think. It reminded me of being younger, when my mother bought me cutsie character body wash and shampoo. I smiled into her hair. A low sigh rumbled from deep within her. She moved just a little but didn’t wake up. That I could tell anyways. A contented peace washed over me as I laid there basking in how she felt pressed up next to me.
Far away clinking pulled me out of the void I had tumbled into. The space between myself and the edge of the bed was vacant, save a blanket I wasn’t sure had been with Bria when she joined me last night. Had she placed it there so I wouldn’t wake up as easily when she left? I pulled the blanket in closer to me, wishing it was her.
I hadn’t planned to fall back to sleep, but apparently I had. The clinking continued, forcing my eyes open. The sun beyond the tent material of the pop up was bright. Instead of birds, I heard muffled human noises. How long had I slept?
Sitting up, I looked around the small space. The pop-up was empty. After a long stretch, my feet hit the cold floor. Grabbing the blanket that was where Bria had been, I wrapped it around myself, then stepped outside.
She was crouching by the fire, back to the pop-up. Her hair was pulled up into a high ponytail. I watched her watch the fire until she stood up and started to turn around. The way she moved so lithely was entrancing.
My focus shifted to her face, those big eyes as they landed on me. My heart fluttered when they did. I stepped off the steps and moved towards her. A smile instantly spread across my own face when her smile hit me, then I started to ask if I could kiss her. Before a single sound could exit my mouth, her lips were on mine. Breathlessly I said good morning when we finally parted.
Her smile was big. “Hungry?”
“Starving.” I reached for her again, she let me for a few moments. Her lips were soft. Her hands were soft. She was soft in all the right ways.
Breaking away she said, “sit” and pointed to the chairs, then went back to the fire.
I did as she told me and sat down in my s’mores chair; the blanket still wrapped tightly around my shoulders. I loved watching her move around as she cooked eggs and bacon and assembled it all into breakfast sandwiches. Neither of us spoke, but our eyes met often, not holding long, but every time they did, flutters filled my belly.
The air was growing heavy with the knowledge I was leaving today. I didn’t plan to go until the very last moment. The latest I could leave and still get enough sleep to get to work tomorrow and be able to do my job properly.
At least, if that was okay with Bria.
I was trying to read her body language. Trying to get a feel for if she heard me last night. My urge was to say it again, but I held myself back.
“Here.” She sat down next to me and handed me a sandwich with a smile.
“Thanks.” Our first few bites were in silence.
She was looking out at the fire, or maybe the space beyond it, I wasn’t certain. “What…what time are you leaving?” Her voice cracked a little as she spoke. I heard her take a sharp intake of air at the end.
She didn’t look at me when I answered her. gorukle escort “Around 6. If that’s okay with you?” I attempted to said upbeat as I spoke, but I failed utterly. What was it about her that had me never wanting to leave this campground?
She smiled. Her face stayed forward, but her profile lit up. “Yeah. That gives us most of the day.” She went back to her breakfast without saying anything else, he lips stayed upturned in a slight smile as she finished her meal.
The air clung to me as we both finished in silence. I was usually okay in silence, but my time left with her was too limited to sit here not talking. “What’s your favorite season?” So far, she had answered every one of my silly ‘get to know her’ questions. Now seemed like a moment that needed one.
She bit her lip slightly then spoke, “Autumn. Especially early Autumn.” A dreamy look spread across her face as she continued. “I love the way you get the cool mornings and nights but then also the warm days. The colors, the death all around. With that slow death that lingers in the air and the cold undertones in the wind, there is this promise of Spring and new life. So yeah. Autumn is my favorite.” She was nodding her head ever so gently in agreement with herself.
Fuck. She was so…profound. Was that from being more educated than I was or simply who she was?
I took a deep breath before I gave my less than profound answer. “Summer. I can’t get enough of the hot weather. I love being able to walk outside in a T-shirt and shorts. Also, I love being barefoot.” It was simple. But it was real. Me.
Bria’s eyes met mine as I finished. “I rather like you outside in shorts too.”
A slight blush filled both our faces as I just stared at her. Before I could say anything more, she stood up and started picking up from cooking.
“So, what do you want to do today?”
You.
But I knew better than to say that out loud. I could feel deep down and even in my rebellious little toe that Bria was my future. I couldn’t let me mess that up. She still needed time to realize this herself.
“I believe we need a tie breaker air hockey game to start.” We were one and one on winning rounds and it seemed like the perfect way to start our last hours together. She was fun to play with. Serious. Competitive and the weird way she held her paddle worked for her. She laughed and smiled so much when we played, it was addictive to see her like that.
Bria groaned just a little then smiled. “Fine. Is this for the official crown?”
“Yep.” I grinned at her. She smiled back then walked towards the pop-up.
“Um…that’s the wrong way.”
She stopped and gave me a look. “Maya, I’d like to get changed. You might wanna get out of that blanket.” Her head cocked to the side just a bit as she spoke. Fuck the way she did that send shockwaves through me every time.
I was certain she was thinking that I was a little daft. I had forgotten that I was still sitting in jammies wrapped up in a blanket that smelled exactly like Bria. The thought of taking it off sunk my heart just a little.
“Oh, yeah.”
I got up and followed her inside. We both gathered our stuff, walked to the bathhouse, and got ready for the day. The whole walk there and back I was stealing glances at her. Now that the glow of the morning had faded, she looked tired, and sadder than she had since I arrived. Last night must have taken a lot out of her. I intertwined my fingers in hers while we walked back to the pop-up.
My hand went back in hers when we finished inside and walked to the rec center. She didn’t stiffen up like she sometimes did. I took that as a good sign. She might not think we were a couple yet, but I aimed to change that. To show her that her past was not a thing for me. Who she was months or even years ago had nearly zero baring on my view of who she is.
I knew this whole summer of camping was her way of doing that, even if she had never explicitly told me that. It wasn’t hard to see the way she changed on the trails. She opened up differently, released little bits of her pain and gained back little bits of herself with each hike.
We all have pasts. We all make mistakes. It’s the seeing and wanting something different, then going after that version of yourself that matters.
At least to me.
I wasn’t so blind as to think she would understand and accept that easily though. Her past was hard. Painful. Gut wrenching and I only knew a small part of it. She was in the middle of taking the steps in her life to find herself again, and she let me in. Was letting me be a part of this, even just a little. She had so many more stories I was certain. I was planning on being here if, and when she wanted to tell me more. I don’t scare easily. My intention was to be here for as long as she wanted me around. Then fight to stay when she didn’t.
We were alone in the rec center except for the pimple faced teen manning the cash register. He kept eyeballing us. I was sure he was hoping for another eye altıparmak eskort bayan full of me kissing her. Keeping my emotions in check would probably be a good idea. That wasn’t easy though. I was so drawn to her. Like I had never been to another human.
“Want a slush puppy?” I asked her after we had completed four games. We were tied. The next one was ‘winner take all’. She asked me what that ‘all’ was, and I had to control my desire to tell her it was me. I could be her prize. I knew that wasn’t what she needed right now. She was very upfront about what she could and couldn’t give me right now. Not pushing her when she wasn’t ready was essential. It was the hardest thing about all of this for me.
“Sure.”
We walked over, both ordering a blue raspberry cup of icy, sugary, goodness. Before we could walk back to the air hockey table a couple of younger kids were playing. I walked over, put four quarters on it and told them we had next game.
“Did you just bully those kids into giving us the next game? Is this crown that important to you?” The laughter coming with her words told me she was mostly kidding. “I really never took you for someone who would do that.”
I stuck my tongue out at her then quickly pulled it back in. The look that washed over her face in that moment wasn’t lost on me. I averted my eyes hoping to hide the way my own body reacted to the look on her face. “I did not bully them. It’s normal arcade etiquette to do that. Girl, did you never go to an arcade as a kid?” Almost as soon as I asked the question, I regretted it. She was a Winthrop, odds were, she had never been in one.
“Nope, I did not. We had our own air hockey table.” She replied very in a flat voice.
She sat down on one of a few chairs scattered in the space. I followed. The kids were taking forever to play their game. Bria was staring off into space again. I wondered what she was thinking about, but I didn’t ask. Fear of what she might say filled me. I wasn’t sure why. She had let me come visit, spent time with me. Every kiss was filled with more passion and emotions than I had ever felt. Why was I worried?
Because she was still an enigma.
The kids looked close to done, I shook myself out of my head, stood up and walked closer to the table. I glanced at Bria, motioned for her to get over here. She grinned and did.
“Ready to go down Winthrop?”
I instantly regretted my word choice yet again but loved watching that look fill her face once more.
Yeah…we were going to be a couple. I had no doubts.
***
BRIA
“I can not believe you are serious.” I was laughing at the adorable bouncy girl standing outside the rec room, the crown she made herself from construction paper she had located in the corner where various art supplies lived for campers, adorned her blonde hair. Just seeing her bouncing around that air hockey table, her tongue peaking out of her mouth, had flared up the eel of desire that lived in my chest to new heights and I was trying to calm it down. Add to that she doesn’t always think through what she’s saying, which left us both blushing more than once. And my self-control was barely working.
“Very. I worked hard for this.” Her right hand reached up and touched the purple crown, fixing its position on her head. When she did, her t-shirt lifted just a bit and her belly button piercing came into view for a moment. I felt my teeth on my lower lip, and quickly forced myself to regain control.
Was she this way in the parts of her life that I didn’t know? This perfect combination of adorable, sweet, nice, and sexy? I knew I wanted to find out. Find out who she was. I wasn’t even certain how I had allowed her in my world, never mind been lucky enough she wanted in. Even after I rejected her at first.
I watched her with that crown, my mind going back to the night before. The soft way she whispered that she loved me. Wasn’t it too soon for such things? We barely knew each other. Looking at her though, I knew that I could easily love her. Maybe already did.
I shook myself out of that thought pattern. “Lunch?”
She nodded her head yes, momentarily forgetting about the crown, which slipped off her blonde waves. It landed softly in the dirt beneath our feet and I picked it up, dusted it off, then placed it back on and gave her a small kiss. She almost instantly reacted and pressed herself and her lips into me. I was grateful I was able to prepare for a millisecond and we didn’t fall over. She was surprisingly strong.
Moments later, I pulled her away, holding her at arms length. “Maya… girl.”
Her whole face got red as she apologized. Her adorableness was going to be my undoing.
Back at the camp site, we made sandwiches together than sat inside to eat. The way we managed to move around each other with ease as we did so, felt right. She continued to be easy to be around and I continued to wonder when the bottom would drop out of this.
Stop expecting the worse nilüfer eskort bayan B.
Sorry Liam, it’s what I’m used to now.
“What’s next?” Her eyes were almost completely gone as she smiled at me. When her voice hit me, I realized we were both just about done eating. Time was slipping away from me.
I glanced at my watch. Five and a half hours until she planned to leave. That seemed late. It was a two-hour drive and I knew she worked incredibly early tomorrow morning. I wasn’t about to say anything to her though, risk her leaving sooner.
“Whatever you want. I’m here for a few more days, I have time to do what I want to.”
“Okay, then I wanna swim.”
The thought of her in that two piece again instantly spread warmth throughout my body. I managed to agree and we both went to the bathhouse and got changed. Then she slipped her hand in mine as we walked towards the pool. It was something I had grown to expect from her now.
*
It was after 4pm when we made it back from the pool. We spent a few quiet few hours just being near each other. Talking and not talking, swimming here and there. Now, we were both in dry clothes. She was inside packing her bag up. I sat alongside the fire. It was too hot to have it burning, but it felt appropriate for us to have s’mores before she left.
I watched as she came out of the pop-up, bag in hand and walked it over to her car. The sadness I felt threatened to show on my face and I forced myself to hide it. She sat down in the s’mores chair I bought her days ago. Seeing her surrounded by the dancing treats that adorned it made me smile and helped keep my sadness from showing. I hoped.
“What’s your favorite animal?”
Ah, more twenty questions. When she started doing this, I found it silly, but now, I liked it. It was helping me get to know her too. I also knew she would not accept a one-word answer, and that the more I gave her for an answer, the more she gave me.
This one was easy. I wondered how Simon was. Jasper took him while I was gone. His kids loved my silly calico. “Cats. All the way. ‘Cus they just don’t care. At all. And they are independent. They don’t need anyone. Yours?”
She grinned as she spoke, “Cats also. They don’t give a single fuck, and a lot of them hate the majority of people and only tolerate them. Also, they can be lazy and nap a lot, but be fierce when necessary.” Her legs were nearly swinging like a child as she spoke.
I eyed her. “I didn’t take you as someone who would relate to the not liking people aspect of being a cat.” She was so cute, and bouncy and full of life. I wanted to pull her from that s’mores chair and share my chair with her. Spend the last minutes we had just kissing her.
I didn’t do it though.
“Oh, you’d be surprised. With my job, I see the worst, hardest moments of people’s nearly every day. I am also often forced to look on as people decide they have the right to take pictures, film and post those moments to social media. They revel in the hardships of others for likes. So many people suck.” Her legs had stopped moving and a look of disgust came over her as she thought about the stuff she had seen. The worst thing I dealt with at work was the occasional fight between testosterone filled teenage boys. Those were rare and often a reason for expulsion.
My highly intelligent reply came out, “Yeah, people suck.” They did. My own car crash had a few pictures taken of it. My parents fixed that for me too.
She was getting the stuff together for us each to make a s’more. “I can’t think of a better dinner or anyone else I’d rather eat with. Thank-you for letting me come and stay.” She reached over and handed me my marshmallow.
Words escaped me as I took it from her then pushed it onto the stick and slowly turned it above the flames. She was doing the same. She liked hers cooked a little more thoroughly than I did though. The results, once we added them to the chocolate and graham crackers, were the same.
Oozing melty yumminess. Memories of childhood and easier times. Memories of the first night she came over to share s’mores with me. I smiled thinking about it all.
I was two bites from done when she leaned over, finger on the skin near my mouth like she had done the first time we shared s’mores. Again, I had to resist the urge to suck her finger into my mouth. I couldn’t give her any more mixed signals than I was already afraid I was giving her. I watched her sit back fully into her seat and lick the chocolate off her finger.
Every hair on my body stood up as I watched her. “Shit. You are going to be the death of me.” My words came out low, deep. I wondered if she truly understood the affect she had on me. And how hard it was to control my desire to drag her into the pop-up and explore her.
Maya’s face went red again, but she didn’t say anything. I absentmindedly glanced at my watch. How was it 5:30?
A deep sigh filled the air. “Where are you off to next?”
My next location was another more mainstream campground slightly over two hours further north. I would be just this side of the Canadian border. The drive though, from where Maya would be and where I would be, was over four hours. I doubted she would message me and show up for a few days. I would not tell her no if that happened. I told her where I’d be.