Camping in the Wilderness

Short Story

When my friend Skylar invited me out camping with her and a group of her friends, I was on the fence about it. I loved nature and the great outdoors, but she was talking about her boyfriend, Mark, his brother Jake, and myself. It seemed like we would be in for some awkward situations. However, I put on a smile and agreed to it.

Now, as we finished putting up the tents, and gorging on a meal of hot dogs and potato chips, I was starting to second guess my decision. Don’t get me wrong…the weather was amazing. We were talking 70’s during the day and cooling down to nice lower 60’s and upper 50’s. So, I couldn’t complain there. Sitting in front of the fire, it was like I was lost in the perfect world.

Yet, that also meant that when the evenings cooled down, Skylar and Mark heated up. I kept glancing at them, while we all sat around the fire on that first night. It was awkward and Jake noticed it too. A few times we would look at one another and smile at each other, both feeling rather uncomfortable in the situation. Until Jake would be nice and open things up to a conversation.

“So, Brynlee, Mark tells me you’re going to school to be a teacher. Do you know what grade you’d like to teach?” he asked.

I looked up at him, arching my eyebrow slightly. I was surprised that Mark would even know that, so he had to really have listened to my friend when she talked. I smiled. “Yeah! I’m thinking Elementary Education, so possibly second or third grade.”

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that Skylar and Mark were still heavily touching one another, as they kissed, unaware that we were even still outside by the fire. “That’s a commendable profession,” he said.

My eyes met his and he smiled. Jake and I had just met, as Skylar and Mark had only been dating for a couple months, but for the first time I was drawn into his smile. “Thank you!” I said. It suddenly felt very warm around that fire, so I looked at the flames, then slowly took a deep breath. “What do you do, Jake?” I asked, carefully lifting my gaze back to him.

“I sell insurance. It’s not an exciting job, but it pays the bills.” The way he now looked at me, had me almost forgetting that Skylar and Mark were around us.

“Sometimes that’s all that matters,” I lightly said.

He nodded and agreed with me. We kept the light conversation going, until I found myself picturing me kissing him in the way that Skylar was kissing her boyfriend. I knew that I needed to excuse myself, before I had any crazy ideas.

“I think I’m going to head to bed,” I said, standing from my chair. Jake stood up, but neither Skylar nor Mark made an attempt to move.

“You would think they would need to take the time to breathe,” he said, laughing lightly.

I snickered. “I was thinking the same thing. Goodnight, Jake.”

“Goodnight!” I went to where Skylar and Mark were kissing and tapped her on the shoulder. She jerked and looked up, shooting me with angry stares.

“May I help you?” she hissed.

I tilted my head. “Uh…I’m going to bed. Enjoy the rest of your night!”

“You too!” she said.

Mark then spoke. “Sleep tight, don’t let the bed bugs bite.”

I smiled and nodded, while Skylar giggled in his lap, then went back in for a kiss. I tossed Jake a wave and left him, wondering if he would also go to his tent.

I got dressed for bed, then crawled into my sleeping bag and pulled it up to my chin. I don’t know what time I drifted off, but I awoke to the sound of bird’s singing and the wind slapping hard against the canvas of the tent.

I got out from my sleeping bag and found Skylar still sound asleep. I wondered when she had finally got in the tent. I got dressed, watching to see if she would wake up, then unzipped the tent and stepped out of the tent. Everything was quiet and it was clear that I was the only one awake.

I put my hands into the pocket of the sweatshirt and left the campsite to head to the hiking trail. I was itching to get onto the trail and just let nature envelope me. With the sound of the birds moving and flying overhead and the rustling of leaves that signified there were animals running around, I felt at peace.

I didn’t expect to discover I wasn’t the only one on the trail, but as I rounded the corner, I spotted Jake. He was sitting on a rock and just looking around the woods. I slowly approached him, not to startle him, but he looked up.

His smile widened. “Brynlee…” He said. “How’s it going?”

I smiled. “Great! Did you sleep well?”

He nodded. “I did. How about you?”

Since I hadn’t woken up during the night, I nodded. “No complaints!” I said.

“Good,” he mumbled.

I looked around the bare woods, then back at him. “What are you doing out here?” I asked.

“Just thinking,” he said. He then paused and crossed his arms in front of him. “How about you?” he asked.

I laughed. “Enjoying nature!”

He nodded and looked around. “It’s nice. Isn’t it?” I nodded and glanced around the woods. It really did seem perfect. “So beautiful,” he said. When I looked up at him, I realized that he was staring right at me when he said the words.

I blushed and we both knew, but neither spoke of it. “Maybe we should head back,” I said.

He shook his head. “Not quite yet!”

I started to argue, but from the look on his face, it caused me to pause. He got back on the rock, then pointed to the spot next to him. I was hesitant, at first, but I found myself going to it. It wasn’t as much room as I thought it would be and we were scrunched together. I could hear my heart racing quickly in my chest. I was awkward and needed space. But when he turned to look at me and his face was inches from mine, I couldn’t move.

“My brother really loves Skylar.”

I smiled. “Skylar really loves your brother.”

We laughed and he said he was glad to hear that, then as I started to get up, he reached out and grabbed my hand, pulling me back down next to him. I opened my mouth, but before I could say anything, he kissed me. At first, thoughts of pushing him away were quick to evade my mind. Then I fell against him. I didn’t know how the weekend would end up, but I did know that I wanted to see if things would evolve between us, because in that moment, it all felt as it should be.