******
“I have to pee,” I whispered, for what felt like the tenth time that night.
“No, you don’t,” Axel muttered through the darkness of our tent.
We’d had a campfire dinner and some beers; I’d even peed in the woods for the first time with moderate success. Axel stood with his back to me, giving me crap the entire time about making sure I didn’t fall over or let anything bite me on the ass.
Then we turned in.
At first I liked the tent and snuggling close to Axel, especially the snuggling part. But the moment we said goodnight and I realized there wasn’t a bathroom nearby I felt like I had to pee. I’d already gotten up once to try, dragging Axel with me.
“I do,” I insisted.
“You don’t; it’s just in your head, babe, would you relax?” he mumbled, rolling over and pulling me close. We’d opened up two sleeping bags, one for the bottom and one serving as a quilt.
I let the silence wash over us for a little while, taking in the night sounds of the wilderness in a way I’d never experienced. It was beautiful, peaceful even. My mind just couldn’t seem to rest.
“What’s the plan here anyway?” I whispered after a time.
“The plan is to sleep and not go piss in the woods again,” he grumbled.
I socked him lightly in the shoulder. “You know what I mean. I keep thinking about my father. He’s been quiet. Too quiet.” I shared my anxiety through the darkness.
He sighed and rolled to his back, scrubbing a hand over his face. “I know. I have a plan. I just need you to trust me and let things play out for now. Do you think you can do that?”
“Why can’t you tell me the plan?” I asked with a knitted brow.
He sighed, feigning patience. “Because it’s not ready,” he answered simply.
What the heck did that mean?
“What the heck does that mean?” I voiced my question aloud.
Axel shifted beside me, pulling me close as his mouth moved to my neck. “Trust me.”
Even though I wanted to know what he was thinking, I trusted him implicitly. Something, I realized I’d never felt for another person in my life.
“You’re the best friend I’ve ever had,” I told him, feeling extraordinarily brave in the darkness.
He kissed me. “Oh, baby, we’re a lot more than friends.”
“Of course we are. But I never had true friends. People I could trust. I trust you with everything, even my life. You and Mad mean more to me than anyone else has in my entire life,” I told him seriously, needing him to understand.
He pulled me close, as his breathing changed to something deeper. Something more ragged. What I’d said had touched something deep. I knew that.
His lips found mind in a desperate kiss, much different from the light fooling around we’d done earlier. I felt his hardness against my belly and answered with a soft moan. His hand lifted my shirt up and off, his mouth latching on to my nipple with vigor.
I surged into his mouth, wanting more, wanting everything. My hands caressed his bare chest before wandering lower. I stroked him over his boxers thinking not for the first time that he must be larger than normal. Surely this wasn’t typical, was it? I certainly didn’t have anything else to compare him to.
“Christ,” he bit out as my hand explored the expanse of his hardness. He felt so smooth and yet hard, like velvet wrapped over steel.
His hands removed my pajama pants and underwear as we continued to explore each other’s bodies.
His hand moved to my core, cupping lightly before his fingers honed in on their destination. In mere moments, he had me gasping and calling his name.
I was still recovering when I heard him rustling around in his discarded jeans and I realized he was putting on a condom.
My entire body hummed with anticipation.
