Grabbing the large totes in the bed, I rush over to the small porch attached to the dome-shaped structure, then get to work.
Twenty minutes later—longer than I planned—I open Ayden’s door. Warm air spills out, the sudden chill making him tense.
“Sorry about that, sunshine.” I rest a hand on his shoulder, lean him forward, and undo the knot. Since I never buckled his seatbelt back in after tying him, I help guide him carefully out of the truck.
I reach across, kill the ignition, and shut his door.
“How close are we to midnight? I feel like I was in there for an hour.” He laughs. “Just kidding.”
“We’ve got about fifteen minutes. We’re good.”
After taking him to the back of the truck, I exhale a shaky breath.
He’s going to love it. Stop stressing.
Sliding up behind him, I wrap my arms around his waist and tuck my hands into the pouch pocket of his sweater—well, my sweater that he stole. He pulls my hands fully in, threading his fingers with mine.
“It’s simple.”
“Simple is amazing.”
I hum and nod my head. “Ready?”
“Yes, please.”
Only removing one of my hands from the pocket, I pull off the blindfold.
I keep him held tightly to my front. I want to feel his reaction, not just see it. Aligning my head with his, I rest my chin on his shoulder as he sucks in a shocked breath through his open mouth.
“Oh, Keo…” A soft pillow of fog follows his breathless words.
I may not look like the romantic type, but I sure as shit try.
I’m grateful it didn’t snow tonight, and the sky’s relatively clear. Converting the truck bed the way I did would’ve been a nightmare if it had been filled with snow or rain.
Layers of comfort cover the six feet of the bed: a thin blow-up mattress that ate most of my time, two sets of blankets, another one for us to wrap ourselves in, and a line of pillows toward the cab. Battery-powered lights—Britt called them fairy lights, but fuck if I know—are strung around so we can see each other without drowning out the fireworks. One of the four sets don’t work, but I saw it too late and wasn’t going to waste more time fixing it. Hopefully he won’t notice.
He squeezes my hand, and I turn my head, ear brushing his shoulder, to look at him. “You like it?”
“Like? Pfft. Love. It looks insanely cozy.”
“I hope so. And before you ask, no. We aren’t sleeping out here.” I take his chin and turn him toward our right. “We’ll be in that.”
The dome tent sits there, plain on the outside, and anything but on the inside. I picked this place for that exact reason.
“I didn’t think it could get any better.”
I chuckle. “You said we needed to go camping together. Some might call this cheating, but to them I say—fuck off.”
That has him laughing and wiggling out of my grip to face me. He wraps his arms around my neck and pulls me down for a kiss.
“I love it. Thank you.”
I smile against his lips and bring him back for another, then grab his hips and spin him back around. “Come on.”
We crawl onto the soft bedding, and I’m grateful it holds our weight. I’m not small, and neither is Ayden at six feet, but the blow-up mattress supports us without dipping.
I rest my back against the window lined with pillows and drape my arm over his shoulder. He leans against my chest and pulls the blanket over us.
