“But this was a good kind of torture,” she said, snuggling in against him, not wanting to think about him undergoing any other kind.
“Yeah.”
They lay like that together for a few minutes, neither of them moving. Overhead, a meteor blazed, and she was too awestruck to say a word.
Finally, he sat up, gesturing toward their picnic trash. “I need to get this back to the truck before we attract any bears.”
“Um, Mark.” She was staring at his dick, which was still semi-hard.
He followed her gaze, hardening even more. “Already at a six.”
“That is impressive.”
“I may be hard for the rest of my life after everything you put me through tonight.”
She grinned, reaching for him. “Let me help you out with that.”
“As soon as I take the trash back to the car.” He reached for his jeans and pulled them on.
“Stubborn man.” She rolled over, wrapping the blanket tighter around herself. “Hurry back.”
***
Mark woke sometime during the night. Jess had zipped their two sleeping bags together, and it was toasty warm inside them. He was naked. So was she. She slept next to him, curled on her side, her brown hair fanning around her face. So beautiful.
A flash of light caught his eye, and he looked up. The night glistened overhead in a shimmering blanket of stars, and there went another meteor. It shot across the sky, disappearing behind the treetops at the edge of the clearing. Mark had never been that interested in outer space, never dreamed of being an astronaut or any of that. But okay, this was pretty cool.
As he watched, another fireball blazed in the sky, then another. Should he make a wish? Were meteors the same as a shooting star? He wasn’t sure. Still, it couldn’t hurt.
He closed his eyes and wished for Jess’s health. Then he reached out and brushed a lock of hair back from her face.
Her eyes fluttered open, and she smiled, scooting up against him.
“Look up,” he said.
She did. He held her close while they stared up at the stars. A meteor shot across the sky, and Jess gasped.
“It’s so beautiful,” she whispered. “I don’t know why, but there’s just something so magical about it, especially being out here in the middle of the woods under the stars.”
As he held her close, he felt the magic too. He would never have done this, never have even known there was a meteor shower tonight, if not for Jess.
She lay in his arms, a peaceful smile on her face. They lay together like that for a long time, and he saw more meteors than he ever would have imagined possible. After a while, Jess fell back to sleep, and then he finally did too.
When he woke up again, the sky had begun to brighten with dawn, and Jess was still asleep in his arms. He could lie here in this sleeping bag in the middle of the forest with her for a million years and never want to leave. When he held her, everything else seemed to melt away. There was just him and Jess and an overwhelming sense of peace inside him.
And he hadn’t known much peace in his life.
She snuggled closer against him, murmuring in her sleep. He couldn’t make out the words, but she looked pretty damn peaceful too. Protectiveness welled up inside him. He wanted to hold her so close that all the pain she’d been facing would just disappear. It fucking killed him that he couldn’t just kiss her and make it all better. And he was terrified that something serious might be wrong with her.
But one thing was for damn sure: Whatever she was facing, she wouldn’t face it alone. He’d be right there beside her, no matter the diagnosis, no matter if she never got a diagnosis. He’d walked away from her once, and he’d step back again romantically if she asked him to, but he would never turn his back on her again.
He lay there and watched the sunrise through the treetops as Jess slept in his arms.
“Good morning,” she murmured, her voice thick with sleep.
“Sure is.” He tucked her in closer against him.
Her warm, naked body landed flush against his. “It was a good night too.”
