“Ah, fuck. Well, all we have left is your thirty percent of battery, then.”
“It shouldn’t be a problem. It’s not like we have cell coverage anyway.”
We proceed to set up the tent, or rather, Lex does, while I emotionally support him. He’s the certified genius, after all, not me. Another couple arrives about an hour after we set up camp, and they settle their own tent about a hundred yards from us.
“Oh, that’s a good thing,” I tell Lex as we watch them take out their stuff.
“How so?”
“If a bear attacks in the middle of the night, it might go for them first. And their screams of horror will wake us up, allowing us to strategize.”
A disbelieving smile breaks on his face. “You’re a terrible person,” he eventually says, still grinning.
“What can I say, your pragmatism is rubbing off on me, Mr. Wilson.”
The sun is setting as we eat our canned beans, and once the night is fully here, we stargaze for a few hours, lying on our mats, covered by a common sleeping bag. We don’t last very long, though, since the way up here was tiring.
We’re getting ready for the night when Lex realizes what the sleeping bags mean. “So, we’re sleeping in separate bags?” he wonders, glaring at them.
“Yeah, that’s how it works, baby.”
“I don’t like that.”
I roll my eyes at his clinginess but return to brushing my teeth. He does something with the sleeping bags, and once he’s done, he proudly brandishes his creation. “Ta-da,” he says in a manner that is way too endearing.
“Is that a double sleeping bag?”
“Yes, I zipped them together.”
“Clever.”
While he takes his turn with the water and toothpaste, I slip into the wide sleeping bag and wriggle until I’m comfortably settled on the air mat. Lex soon joins me, seemingly as excited as a child on Christmas, and wraps his arms around me, pulling me close.
“You did so good today, freckles,” he murmurs against my forehead.
“And I didn’t complain once.”
“We went even faster than we planned. You nailed it.”
“You did the same trail,” I remind him, proud of my performance but not that impressed by it. “And you would have been much faster without me.”
“Yes, but my legs are twice the length of yours,” he teases. I pinch his ribs, making him jolt.
Silence falls in the tent, but outside, the noises of the night seep in. Some frogs are chanting the song of their people, there’s an owl somewhere out there doing the same, and some cricket-like insects, too.
Enchanted by it all, I melt into Lex’s strong body. He smells like the wet wipes we used to clean up, and still a little sweaty beyond it. His fingers draw random swirls on my shoulder, and the lulling sound of his strong heart thumps in my ear. Like every time I’m this close to him, something awakens in me. Maybe he’s right. Maybe I’m a sex addict.
“May I interest you in a tent quickie?” I try.
“Thought you’d never ask,” he groans.
I’m giggling as his hands get busy in the shared sleeping bag, pulling down my shorts and underwear. Since we have twelve miles left tomorrow, the reasonable thing would probably be to sleep now and be well rested.
But how the hell am I supposed to rest when this is my husband?
Waking up to the joyful sounds of birds is definitely something we don’t get in Seattle. Maybe I’ll program Iris to play chirping sounds when we go back home because this is lovely.
“Did you sleep well?” Lex mumbles behind me, guessing I’m awake somehow.
