“Mmhmm.” She didn’t trust herself to form any more words because every sentence rolling through her head started with “kiss” and ended with “me, please.”
Penny didn’t remember falling asleep. She only remembered warmth. Peace. The hush of pine branches. And staring into deep blue.
ChapterSixteen
As Brett’s consciousness rose,he became aware of three things at once. First, there was light streaming in through the thin tent walls. Second, he was sleeping on his back, which he never did. From the time he was able to roll over as a baby, he was a stomach sleeper through and through. Third, his arms were wrapped around something soft and warm . . . and breathing.
Brett tried to look down, but couldn’t because a part of the something he was holding was buried between his neck and shoulder. Adrenaline shot through his veins as the night before slammed back into his brain.Penny.This was Penny in his arms. No longer in her own sleeping bag with her feet cooling his knee, but fully pressed up against him, at least one of her legs draped over his, both of them under his sleeping bag, and . . .was her hand inside his shirt?
Her palm was definitely flat against his stomach. His skin prickled and warmth spread through his thighs. Each time she exhaled, Penny’s breath whispered against his Adam’s apple. There would be no getting out of this gracefully.
A gentle breeze rustled through the trees above their tent, and he stared up at the swaying branches, working to calm his breathing. His cognitive functioning was a bit off first thing in the morning under normal circumstances, and this was testing his self control.
Penny doesn’t want more than a friendship, he reminded himself, but that didn't stop his nerve endings from standing on point or the tips of his fingers from burning. Was there anything he could do to move without waking her up? As he calculated his options, Penny stirred against his chest.
Brett held his breath as Penny’s fingers twitched against his bare stomach. He was going to explode. His chest felt like a shaken up keg, and the soft sigh that slipped through Penny’s lips was about to pop his cork.
He knew the second she realized where she was and what her hands were touching because Penny’s whole body stiffened. She pulled her hand from under his shirt with a mumbled apology and attempted to roll back to her side of the air mattress, but landed right back on top of him. He grunted as her knee landed dangerously close to his groin.
“I’m sorry!” she squeaked, pushing up against his shoulders. Her braid was disheveled and tendrils of hair fell around her face as she hovered over him. “I think the mattress lost air.”
Brett breathed a laugh. “The rock under my left thigh concurs with your assessment.”
Penny wobbled, trying to maintain her balance while she lifted to her knees and attempted once more to remove herself from his personal space. She laughed as the sleeping bag slipped under her, then flopped backward, pushing a little more air under his backside.
“Well. I’m so sorry for—”
“For what?” Brett sat up, pushing his hair away from his face.
Penny’s eyes dropped briefly, then shot back up. “For—there was—I—” She stopped and drew a deep breath as her cheeks flushed. “For using you as my own personal heating blanket.”
He chuckled and gestured at himself. “What else is all this good for?” Penny’s lips parted, but she didn’t say anything, just pulled out her elastic and started re-braiding her hair. “You don’t need to apologize. I didn’t realize this air mattress had a slow leak.”
“Or it’s not used to holding two people.” Penny glanced up. “Not that—I mean, I’m sure you’ve taken other people camping, I just—”
“It hasn’t held two people in a long time.” Brett pulled his legs from his sleeping bag, then searched for the air pump along the side. “I’ll fill it back up and see if I can figure out where we’re losing air.” His heart jolted at the thought of them sleeping here a second night.Did he want to fix the leak?
“I can help you with that, but I need to pee first.” Penny pulled on a sweatshirt.
“Not a bad idea.” Brett found the pump and set it above his pillow, then pulled his sleeping bag up. With the grace of two baby deer learning to walk, Brett and Penny managed to slip on their shoes and climb out of the tent. They walked to the bear bin and pulled out their toiletries then started on the path down to the plumbed bathrooms.
“How is nobody else awake yet?” Penny peered through the trees at the other two tents.
“It’s only eight o’clock.”
“Exactly. I’m surprised I slept so late.”
Brett grinned. “You were cozy.”
Penny rolled her eyes and nudged him with her elbow. “That’s all I need to sleep well? A man-sized heater in my bed?”
“I’m available anytime.” He laughed, then caught the blush on her cheeks.Too far?He always joked like this with friends, but he was pretty sure they were both very well aware of the tension between them.Less funny when it was true.
They went to their respective bathrooms, and when Brett walked back outside, Penny was nowhere to be found. Since he wasn’t sure if she was still in there or if she’d already walked back, he decided not to wait.
When he returned to the site, he set to work preparing breakfast, reveling in the fresh morning air laced with the scent of fresh pine. He grabbed the cast iron skillet from his camping gear, a hand-me-down from his mom. His sister Cameron inherited the Dutch oven from their trips growing up, which was okay by him since he preferred to cook fast and furious.
Thankfully the backdoor of the van was unlocked since Sean was still MIA. He pulled out the cooler and fold-out camping stove and set up his workstation on the picnic table. Penny walked back into camp and joined him. They cooked the bacon first, and Penny used tongs to pull out the finished strips, setting them to cool on a plate with paper towels while Brett cracked eggs into a bowl.
