12
Ethan gathered his camping gear and loaded it up into the back of his truck. He enjoyed going camping. Typically, one of his brothers went with him, and they went to the middle of the woods where they would create a campground. But he thought Lily might prefer an actual campsite since she had never been.
Once he had the gear all ready, he drove the short distance to Brewbirds to grab them some coffees before going to the resort to pick up Lily. When he got to the resort, he went inside and nodded to the front desk staff.
Lily came off the elevator carrying a suitcase. It was jam-packed, and he smiled softly at her.
“Let me get that,” he said.
She smiled up at him as he took it from her. “I wasn’t sure what to pack.”
“So you packed everything.”
“Noteverything. But most things.”
He laughed. “You know we’re only gone for two nights, right?”
She shrugged. “I wasn’t sure how far away we were going and didn’t want to risk hypothermia in the middle of the woods in case some natural disaster happens. You never know.”
He chuckled. “You’re right. You never know. Ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
They made their way out of the lobby and to his truck, where he tossed her suitcase in the bed with the rest of the gear. She peeked in and raised her eyebrow.
“And I thought I over-packed.”
Ethan raised an eyebrow to match her own. “Would you like me to toss out the sleeping bags and cooler?”
She shook her head quickly and hopped into the truck.
“That’s what I thought.”
He pulled himself into the driver’s seat and saw her staring at the coffees in the cupholder. “This one is yours.” He picked it up and handed it to her.
She looked at him and smiled. “Thank you. That was so thoughtful.”
“You’re welcome.” He turned the truck on and smiled at her before pulling out of the parking lot.
They drove down the street and turned onto a road to head out of town, but they didn’t need to go very far before turning off onto a dirt road that led into the campsites. He drove to the furthest site from the road and parked his truck.
“We’re here.”
“We’re here? But we were only driving for like five minutes.”
“Yep.”
“Not exactly a camping experience,” she said.
Ethan paused as he stepped out of the truck. “Would you like to go into the middle of the woods instead? We’d have to hike in with the gear. There won’t be toilets.”
Lily pursed her lips. “Nevermind. This is lovely.”
He only chuckled in response. For someone who wanted to experience camping, she was very critical of the plans. “Grab the tent, please.”
He pulled items out of the truck, setting them in different spots as he went: chairs around the fire, a camp table, a shade tent. When he turned back around, she still stood at the bed of his truck, staring at everything. “Are you going to grab the tent?”
Lily looked at him and sighed. “I don’t know where it is.”
