A little confused, I brush it off and act like nothing happened and hold up my bandaged hand with, “You did a nice job, better than my brother would have.” I offer a friendly smile, if for no other reason than she seems like she needs it. “Ash is good at a lot of things, but first-aid isn’t one of them. I was lucky you came back.” I leave out the inconvenient part where she’s the reason I cut myself in the first place.
It appears I said something right because the tension in the air evaporates and her shoulders relax.
“How long have you guys been out here?” she asks as she comes back to stand next to the log she had been sitting on.
I toss two more logs onto the fire. “This was a short trip, only seven days.”
She turns and bends over to put the first-aid kit back in my pack. “That’s a short trip? What’s a normal trip for you guys?”
I curse whoever invented yoga pants, especially the kind that ride up a girl’s ass like that. Dead kittens, dead kittens, dead kittens.
It takes serious effort to look away, but I have to. “Usually three months, sometimes a bit longer, but never less than that.”
“Three months!” She zips up my pack and sits on the log while pulling a strand of hair from her face and tucking it behind her ear. “What exactly do you do for a living?”
I like that she doesn’t know. To her, I’m just another guy, as opposed to a rich, internet-famous single guy who could be her sugar daddy, which is how Ash and I appear to most women.
Because I never get asked this question, I don’t have a prepared answer. “Where to start?” I scratch the back of my neck trying to think of an easy way to describe what we do. “My brother and I do outdoor adventures. It’s for our sister’s YouTube channel, well, technically it’s our channel, but it’s really Elsie’s channel. Anyway, she was the one on the phone earlier.”
Blondie gives me a raised brow. “I heard.”
I can imagine how that conversation must have sounded. “Yeah, I should have known better than to put it on speaker. I knew she’d be upset, but I didn’t expect her to be that upset.” It’s a lie. That’s exactly what I was expecting. I was just so tired and hungry I wasn’t thinking when I put thephone on speaker in front of total strangers. And speaking of being tired and hungry, I need to get the chairs made so I can get out of here. I wonder if that lodge has an all-you-can-eat buffet. In the meantime, I should probably defend my sister. “Anyway, when we haven’t pissed her off, she’s actually nice. You’d like her. Women generally do.”
“In a way, I can see that. I like how she’s not afraid to speak her mind.” Blondie uncrosses her legs and swivels on her log to face the fire. Sticks left over from making the shelter are scattered at our feet. She leans down to pick one up and holds the end in the flames. “What did you do that made her so mad?”
Fair question. I’d be curious too if our roles were reversed. “We were supposed to meet with some pretty important people at Big Bear Lake yesterday. Obviously, we didn’t make it.”
While she plays in the fire with her stick, I gather up the remaining sticks left over from making the shelter and start on the first chair.
Blondie watches intently, asking smart questions along the way like she’s truly interested in learning how it’s done. That doesn’t happen very often. Usually, people are only interested in our personal lives and couldn’t care less about our outdoor skills. They want to know every intimate detail about us, even private ones that they have no business asking about. Ash and I get it, but that doesn’t mean we have to like it, which we don’t. And to make it worse, when they’re asking us questions, they record everything with their phones and one misstep ends up going viral. It’s happened to us a few times, so we’ve learned that no matter how fucked up someone’s question is, like asking about what size condomswe use, we have to politely deflect without seeming like total assholes. That’s not always easy, especially for me.
I finish the frame then retrieve a net from my pack. Ash and I make all our own nets, and this one has been with me for years, so it’s stretched in all the right places. As expected, it slips over the frame like a glove.
“Wow!” Blondie hops on it and leans back. “It reclines? That’s incredible, and it’s so comfortable.”
I’ve made a million chairs, and I don’t think I’ve ever been this proud of one. I love that she loves it. “Glad you like it. I have one more to make then we’ll be done here.”
“No!” she protests, sitting up straight. “I came to help, remember? I get to make the next one.”
I stare at her for a moment trying to decide if I want to tell her to leave because that’s the only way I can keep from falling for her, or, if I want to drop to one knee and beg her to marry me.
It’s a tough decision.
On one hand, she’s a lot of temptation, too much, way too much, so making up some excuse, even a lame one for why I need to finish this on my own is probably the smart choice. On the other hand, every part of me wants to get to know her better. The girls I’ve dated would never get their hands dirty. I always wanted to go camping, even glamping with them, but I have yet to date a girl who would even consider spending a single night in a tent. I have a feeling Blondie would love camping.
I wasn’t going to, but I decide to make a simple rack for holding our packs and other gear. Ash and I don’t need it for this camp, but it’s a way to keep my hands busy while she attempts to duplicate my chair. As I assemble the rack, I can’thelp admiring how well she’s doing with the frame. I help a little by showing her some shortcuts, but she’s able to do everything on her own for the most part. It’s nothing short of impressive, and the best part is, she seems to be really enjoying it.
When she finishes stretching the net over her frame, she stands with her hands on her hips examining her craftsmanship. I know that look. She couldn’t be more proud, and a curve pulls at the corner of my lip. Good for her.
Satisfied, she plops down and leans back with a pleased “oooh” like it’s the most comfortable chair she’s ever sat on. And it just might be. Ash and I have been perfecting the design for years.
“This is so awesome!” she exclaims. The twinkle in her eyes warms my chest.
I set the coffee table in front of the fire then realize, to my delight, and dismay, that the chairs are sitting side by side. Everything about this situation is… dangerous.
The sun is approaching the tree-lined mountain range while an amber glow emanating from the flames in the dimming light creates an intimate vibe. If I wanted to create the perfect romantic evening, this would be it. Fuck me.
“You did a good job,” I offer as I plant my ass in my chair. I’m going to take a moment to enjoy this before we go to the lodge.
