In the bathroom, Penny used warm water to wash her face and brush her teeth. When they’d left that morning, she wondered if she’d regret being here, but now she couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. All week after Andrea told her about her layover she’d been missing her family, and the last hour had buoyed her spirits in ways she hadn’t known were possible.
Was this how it worked?She’d never had a friend group, only instant couple friends that came bundled with whoever she was dating at the time. Because she always poured all her energy into her relationships, most of her friendships had fizzled out after her time at UBC. All except for Kelty and her old roommate, Fiona. Friendships were magic, and she’d been missing out on it all this time.
Penny packed up her toiletries and used the flush toilet so she wouldn't have to go into the Porta-Potti in the middle of the night. Hopefully. When Kelty and Emma finished, they made their way back to camp and saw Tyler and Sean had already disappeared into their tents. Everything was put away and only Brett remained next to the fire, poking the dying coals with a long stick.
Penny put her toiletries in the bear bin and strode over to sit in the chair next to him.
Brett looked up, his face shadowed in the dim glow. “I told Sean and Tyler I’d take care of putting out the fire whenever we went to bed.”
We.There was that word again that, when he spoke it, made her stomach flip.
She breathed in the scent of cool pine and campfire, then yawned. “I think I'll head in now. It's getting a little chilly out here and I forgot my hottie.”
Brett’s brow furrowed. “Hottie?”
“Hot water bottle.”
The corner of his mouth quirked. “You use one of those?”
“Not in the summer. That’s why I didn’t think about it.”
“But in the winter you do?”
She nodded. “Our family has notoriously bad circulation in our hands and feet. See?” Without thinking, Penny pressed her cold fingers against Brett’s cheek. His warmth seeped into her skin, and she yanked her hand back.
Brett wet his lips. “Definitely cold.” He resumed his coal poking. “I’ll drench this and be in in a second.”
Penny nodded, then stood and walked toward Brett's tent nestled between the pines. What had she been thinking, touching him like that? She didn’t need to prove anything about her circulatory system. Saying the words was plenty.
She knelt and unzipped the tent, then took off her shoes and crawled in. Penny slipped off her bra as fast as she could so Brett wouldn’t walk in on her, then pulled it out the bottom of her sweatshirt and tucked it into the tent pocket.
Penny snuggled down into her sleeping bag, and as her head hit the pillow, she looked up, and her breath caught. Brett had left the rainfly off of the tent, and she was staring straight up into a star studded inky sky.
She gaped, hardly moving until scuffling outside the tent broke her trance. The zipper engaged, and then Brett pushed inside and sat down on the air mattress, making Penny’s body lift a few inches. He turned and took off his shoes, then crawled inside and zipped the tent back up.
“Sorry,” he murmured as he made his way to his sleeping bag and jostled the mattress. Finally he lay still, and both of them stared out through the top of the tent.
“How did you know this would be the perfect spot?” Penny asked.
“Perfect?”
“Yeah.”
Brett chuckled. “I've been camping enough to know what my priorities are.”
Penny thought back to his words in the van.There's nothing more romantic than staring out between two Ponderosa pines at the Milky Way.“You look for romance even when you're on your own?”
“I look for romance everywhere.” His voice was low and soft, and Penny's whole body stilled.
“What do you mean by that?” she asked, suddenly desperate to hear every thought rolling through his head. At this point, she’d gathered that Brett hadn't been in a serious relationship for a long time, and she was insatiably curious as to why.
Brett exhaled. “I guess I spent a lot of years of my life just trying to survive from one day to the next. Sometimes not even wanting to survive from one day to the next. And now I realize there's so damn much to fall in love with.”
Penny’s heart thumped against her ribs as his words sank in. A slow ache sank through her middle as she thought back to Lucas and how many conversations they'd had about all the good he was missing.
“How long?” she asked.
Brett didn't make her repeat the question. She’d told him about Lucas, and he’d told her he was in recovery. He knew exactly what she was asking. “Two years and ten months.”
