“Come on,” he said, holding out a hand.
I stepped up onto the bumper and tried to hoist myself into the truck bed. But my foot slipped, and I flailed like a newly hatched duckling.
Ben caught me with both hands on my waist and steadied me like it was nothing, except when he looked at me, it wasn’t like I was nothing at all.
His hands stayed on my hips for a second longer than they needed to, and then he cleared his throat and helped me into place, climbing in after and stretching out beside me in the shared space, both of us zipped into separate sleeping bags but not separateenough.
The air was cooling fast, and the night sounds started up, with crickets, distant rustles, a frog or two staking their territory. It was peaceful and quiet, with the stillness you only get miles from anything loud or sharp.
But the second Ben’s arm brushed mine, I shivered.
He noticed immediately.
“You okay?”
“I’m fine,” I lied.
“You’re shaking.”
“It’s just the night air.”
He gave me a look in the darkness, like he wasn’t buying it.
And okay, fine, maybe I was part chilled and part… unraveling. He wasright there.Warm. Solid. Smelling like pine and wood smoke. My brain was doing that thing where it ping-ponged betweenkissing him again and not ruining this with feelings.
He shifted slightly, pulling the edge of his sleeping bag closer to me. “Come here.”
My breath caught. “Excuse me?”
“You’re freezing, and we already agreed this space is tiny. Might as well share the warmth.”
I hesitated for a millisecond too long.
And then I moved because how could I not?
I inched closer until his body heat reached me, until our sides were pressed together, and I could feel his breath against my temple.
This wasn’t the night I expected, but it might be the night I would never forget.
It started when my chin smacked his shoulder.
A solid, embarrassingbonkthat made my teeth click and his shoulder jolt.
“Oh my God—sorry!” I whispered, mortified, reaching up to touch the sore spot. “I didn’t mean to…”
Ben shifted quickly, his voice low and warm. “You okay?”
He dipped his head, and the concern in his eyes stole my breath.
That was my first mistake, looking at him up close like that.
Because the second mistake was moving, just a little, and landing half in his arms.
Which, you know, wouldn’t be a crisis if his arms weren’tinsanely solidand his body wasn’tunfairly warmandhis lips weren’t right there.
My brain saidabort, abort,but my heart went full on,oh no, this is happening.
And then?
