“Are you sure?” I ask.
“Yeah, I scoured the bin. And there’s only one pillow. I think that was their intention.”
“You could say that,” I say as I rub my arm, the chill of the night setting in as the fire goes out and the only light provided is by the lantern and the moon peeking through the tall trees. “Well, um, I guess I could take the pillow and you could?—”
“I’m going to stop you right there. That’s not happening.”
“We can take turns sleeping.”
“Scottie.” He levels with me. “We’re both adults. We’ve been sharing a bed ever since we got here. We can make this happen. I just need to know that you’re going to be okay with…snuggling.”
With you?
Absolutely.
I’d be lying if I said I haven’t thought about what it might feel like to have him snuggle in close. His broad chest and welcoming arms are just asking to be snuggled into, but that’s also a line that we haven’t crossed yet. A line that I’m sure I probably shouldn’t cross given how fragile I am at the moment. One good night of snuggling might do me in.
Then again, do I really have any other option? If I offer to be the one who doesn’t take the sleeping bag, he’s not going to allow that to happen. He’d go without a sleeping bag and pillow, and I don’t want that to be the case. It’s already kind of chilly, and we’re both in shorts and T-shirts.
So I guess…we’re doing this.
“Snuggling is fine,” I say.
“You sure?” he asks.
“Positive,” I answer with a smile.
“Um, do you want to get in first or do you want me to?” I ask as I kneel in the tent, probably making this way more awkward than it has to be.
“You go first, get comfortable, and then I’ll slide in.”
“Sure.” I clear my throat and then slip into the plush sleeping bag that is definitely made for two but not a roomy two. Like there is no chance that we won’t be touching all night.
Once I’m comfortable, Wilder asks, “You good?”
“Yeah, I’m good.”
“Okay.” He reaches behind his head and pulls his shirt off, surprising me. He must see it in my face, because he says, “I’ll burn up if I go in there with you and my shirt on.”
“Yeah, it’s no problem,” I answer as I swallow another bout of nerves.
He slips his socks off as well and then slides into the sleeping bag, taking up every last inch of room we might have had.
“Shit, this is really tight.”
“Are you talking about the sleeping bag…or something else?” I say before I can stop myself.
He pauses and then sits up to look at me. “Did you just make a sexual joke?”
“I think…I think I’ve been hanging around the Brads and Chad too much.”
He chuckles. “Yeah, you have. But also, good one. I was talking about the sleeping bag.”
“Yeah, it is kind of tight.”
“You seriously okay with this?”
“Yes. I don’t want either of us to be cold.”
