“They don’t know I’m… I haven’t….”
“You haven’t come out to your friends yet,” Luke finishes with a knowing smile. “Yeah, I kind of figured that part out already.”
“I want to tell them, but I don’t think I can do it this weekend,” I reply softly.
“It’s okay.” Luke shrugs. “You don’t need to explain anything to me. I don’t mind if you’re not comfortable coming out yet.”
I frown down at our joined hands, and Luke squeezes my fingers gently before letting go. But he doesn’t leave it there. Coming back to face me, Luke runs his hand through my hair to fix the wild mess as I tilt my head back to look up at his face. He leans down and kisses me again, smiling, and my stomach flutters.
“Only you get to decide when you’re ready to come out,” he murmurs as he pulls away. “I’m good with being as discreet as you want or need to be, so don’t worry about it.”
I swallow hard and look away, feeling the weight of his generosity. It’s heartbreaking how willing Luke is to hide this for me, and a wave of guilt washes over me at the relief I feel regardless.
“Come on.” Luke gestures back toward camp with a nod, and he holds his hand out for mine. I don’t hesitate to take it, our fingers interlacing as we walk back through the wooded trails.
We don’t let go again until we’re closer to the campsite, but not before Luke pulls my hand up to his lips and kisses the back of my fingers like I’m some kind of prince in a fairytale. I’m notgoing to lie; it does something to me, and I can’t keep the grin off my face as we walk back to join the rest of the group.
Chapter Twenty
Cloud Nine
TherestofSaturdaymoves by in a blur. The gang obviously saw how my mood had improved when Luke and I showed back up at camp, but their assumptions were only half correct that we had made up from our fight by talking it out. None of them guessed at the other half of the equation that involved Luke’s tongue in my mouth.
Still, my heart is light as a feather for the rest of the day, fueled by the knowledge that everything somehow turned out okay. It seems impossible that it had ever been wrong in the first place, and every time I look at Luke and see his return smile, I’m reminded that he sees me and understands.
It doesn’t hurt that we steal kisses from each other whenever we’re safely alone. It feels like a secret mission to see how often we can do it without getting caught, making it more fun. There’s swimming (with underwater kissing), kayaking (with cave kissing), and rock hunting (with not nearlyenoughkissing). I feel like a teenager again with how often I want this man’s lips on mine, but it’s not just me. Luke will go through as much effort to kiss me first. It’s exhilarating.
Later, sitting around the campfire while the sun goes down, we’re given an impromptu musical performance by Luke and Tiff. They didn’t plan it ahead of time, but Tiff always brings her guitar, and the moment Luke saw it, he insisted they revive their old high school ritual of singing duets.
They cycle through the Beatles’Blackbird,Leonard Cohen’sHallelujah,Queen’sSomebody to Love,Jewel’sStanding Still,ABBA’sChiquitita,Fleetwood Mac’sLandslide,and so many others that I lose count.
I knew Tiff was skilled with the guitar, but I didn’t know she could sing. She’s good, too. Luke’s velvet smooth voice is hard to match, but Tiff manages to hold her own in the spotlight with her flawless accompaniment. Even though they haven’t sung together since high school, no one would ever know. They know each other’s tones and pitch like the back of their hands, harmonizing and improvising as if it comes second nature to them.
I could see how it would be easy for Luke after his training and years of experience, but Tiff’s an anesthesiologist by day. I guess she’s allowed to have a passion for hobbies outside of work. I just never really paid attention to what they were.
But I smile to see Marcus watching with obvious pride as his wife has a blast showing off something she loves, his entire attention focused on her. He probably doesn’t even know Luke’s there.
It’s one of the best nights of the entire weekend.
By the end of it, I’m like a zombie, overtired from my lack of sleep the night before and completely exhausted from the day's events. I barely get to the tent and onto the air mattress before I pass out with Luke’s fingers in my hair.
A thunderstorm rolls in around 4 a.m., waking me up as rain hits the tent, lightning illuminating the sky. It’s freaky listening to the wind blow against the tent walls, knowing that it’s not the safest place to take shelter if it gets bad, but the worst part of the storm seems to be miles away from us, with how distant the rumbles of thunder are.
Luke somehow manages to sleep through most of it, only stirring once or twice with the more significant thunder clashes. It’s a marvel how comfortable and relaxed he is with his head on my chest, one leg draped over mine in a possessive way. With every flash of lightning, I study the sharp lines of his jaw and how his golden blond hair looks almost silver in the light.
Rubbing my hand along his back, delicately tracing the curve of his spine with my fingers, I revel in the awareness that I get to do this now, and it’s welcomed. The irony of us being in the same position only the night before, but under wildly different circumstances, still blows my mind. To have him here now, curled into my side like he belongs there, almost feels too good to be true.
For a minute, I wonder if I’m imagining this whole thing. Maybe it was all just a dream, and when I wake up, Luke will still be mad at me for kissing him on that beach.
But then Luke stretches a little in his sleep, sighing as he resettles with his head nuzzled into the crook of my neck, draping his long arm across my chest, and there’s no way this is only in my head. A smile spreads on my lips, and I lean down to brush a kiss over Luke’s hair, thanking all my lucky stars that we somehow made it here.
When we finally get up, it’s almost nine. The sky is dark, and it’s still pouring rain outside, which makes for a miserable trekacross the campground to the toilets in the cold, but Luke and I manage to get there in one piece.
We run into Marcus on the way back to our tent, and he informs us it’s supposed to rain like this until noon, but should clear up for the rest of the trip afterward. It means no fire or home-cooked breakfast, though there are breakfast bars we can nibble on if we’re starving. So, until the rain clears, there’s not much to do but hang out in the tents and wait it out, keeping ourselves occupied however we can.
When Luke and I make eye contact after that statement, the corner of his mouth pulls up into a devilish little grin, and my face goes hot at the implications. Thankfully, Marcus doesn’t seem to notice the exchange, too busy grumbling about how cold the rain is as he hurries away to get out of it, leaving Luke and me to rush off toward our tent with sudden eagerness.
The zipper to the tent barely reaches the top before we’ve kicked our shoes off, and Luke grabs me, pushing me down onto the air mattress so that I’m on my back. He straddles my hips, running his hands over my chest as he leans down and catches my mouth with his own. He lets out a satisfied moan against my lips, smiling as he looks at me, his eyes traveling across my face with delight. My heart flutters in my chest.
