13
They got back to the campsite with the last remaining light. Ethan knew it was stupid to stay at the pond as long as they had, but he knew he could get them back to their campsite by the road if necessary. The only mistake was the temperature had already dropped. Now they were wet and there wasn’t a fire.
“Go get into dry clothes while I get the fire going,” Ethan said.
Lily made no complaint as she disappeared inside the tent. He put kindling on the fire and had it sparking to life by the time Lily came out. The air was chilly, and he knew he needed to get out of his wet clothes before a deep-seated cold took over that he wouldn’t be able to shake. The last thing he wanted them to do was call their camping trip off before they even spent the night, but he wouldn’t hesitate to take Lily back to his place and warm her up if needed.
Plus, this would be their first night together in the same room… or tent, in this case. Not that camping was the ideal location for it, but he didn’t want to give it up, regardless.
Lily walked over to the fire and held her hands over it. She wore a pair of sweatpants with a thick hooded sweatshirt. Her hair was pulled up into a messy bun on the top of her head.
“I’m going to change,” Ethan said. He disappeared inside the tent and pulled his clothes off quickly, discarding them into a corner of the tent. He was already way too cold and dreaded the attempt to warm up. Lily was likely as cold as he was, and with both of them attempting to stay warm, it wouldn’t make for a very fun trip.
He pulled on his thickest sweatpants and a heavy sweatshirt before stepping back out of the tent and over to the fire. Lily was now seated in a chair, as close to the fire as she could get without burning herself.
He grabbed the other chair and pulled it up right next to her, sitting down and rubbing his hands together in front of it.
“I’m surprised at how cold it got,” Lily said. “And it’s not even that late.”
“Yeah, the temperature drops pretty fast over here.”
They remained silent for a few minutes, enjoying the heat of the fire. Lily tipped her head back and looked up.
“The stars are so bright here.”
Ethan looked up. “Not a lot of city lights, so we get some nice views of the sky.”
“Have you lived here your whole life?”
Ethan nodded. “Yep, aside from when I went away for college. Sometimes it feels too small, but I’ve never found another place I want to call home. There’s something about Wintervale. It’s special.”
She pulled in a deep breath, and he studied her. Her head was tipped back and her eyes were closed. A soft smile touched her lips. “The air really does smell amazing here.”
“It’s one of my favorite things about this place. It’s pure.”
Her stomach growling had them both laughing.
“I guess we should make dinner about now.” Ethan reluctantly stood and stepped away from the fire. He was still far too cold for his liking, but they both needed to eat. “Preference on dinner? We can do meatball subs or just keep it simple with hot dogs.”
“I don’t know about you, but I prefer simple. Plus, a hot dog just sounds so good right now,” she said.
He smiled and pulled the ingredients out of the cooler, and grabbed the roasting sticks. Then he went back to the fire and sat down. They each got their beef franks on a stick and held it over the fire.
“Is this typically how you’d feed yourself on a camping trip?”
“Depends on the trip and who I’m with. If I backpack into a spot, then I typically have freeze-dried food or something simple to make over the fire that doesn’t require refrigerated ingredients. Like we could make soup, for instance. As long as you have a pot and fresh water.”
“Makes sense.”
“But since we could drive into this spot and have a fully loaded cooler, it makes life easier.”
“Who do you typically camp with?”
“Sometimes my brothers. Sometimes by myself. Sometimes with my friend, Jimmy.” He turned his frank over to heat the other side. “What do you usually do in your free time? Any hobbies?”
She pursed her lips in thought. “Honestly? Not much. I’m a homebody. I don’t get out much, and if I do, it’s because Stacy is dragging me somewhere.”
“Where does she drag you? Like, what would be the ideal night out?”
