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I crouched to open it and stuffed a few grapes in my mouth before opening the to go container. The turkey club had seen better days, but I was too hungry to care. I found my lemon water bottle under some trail mix and brought the trio back over to the air mattress.
My freaking toes were frozen.
I slipped into the sleeping bag setup he had going on and for the first time in my life, I didn’t care about crumbs in bed.
The first bite of semi-dry sandwich made me moan. Without shame, I washed it down with water like a scavenging raccoon. I watched Lucky stake lights—were those Tiki torches?—into the ground. Instead of lighting them, he shoved one of his big fingers into the center and a LED light flickered on.
“Not so much for bugs, huh?”
He lit three more around each side of the truck. “It’s been pretty dry. Safer to go with battery lights than starting a fire.”
Surprised that he was so thoughtful, I couldn’t even make a quippy reply. The truck bed bounced a little as he put a knee on the tailgate and climbed on. He flicked his boots off at the end and snapped the tailgate closed before climbing up the bed to me.
My heart tripped as he filled the space. More of that soft soap scent hit me, from his hair this time. He braced his arm around me on top of the sleeping bag and took a bite of my sandwich.
Frowning, I pulled my quarter of sandwich out of reach. “What is with you sharing food?”
He shrugged. “We shared a lot more than spit not twenty minutes ago. What’s the difference?”
“There’s a difference,” I said stubbornly. I knew I sounded ridiculous, but I do did not care.
He laughed, then collapsed beside me.
Now that my feet were nice and toasty, I kicked them out, hoping that he’d catch a hint. He did not. He simply propped his head up on his hand and watched me eat. With the other, he played with my hair.
“Mind if I fix this?”
I frowned down at him.
He nudged me forward and sat up. “Looks all knotted.” Gently, he tugged out the elastic I’d used to tie the braid then unwound the pieces.
I kept munching on my sandwich, unsure how this was going to go.
I wasn’t used to people in my space. A hug here and there with family was about the extent of it. And okay, the occasional forced hug from Luna, which I didn’t know how to handle.
But this was…something else. Intimate in a way that made my skin tingle. I wasn’t sure if it was because I was uncomfortable or because I liked it.
Maybe both.
He massaged my neck and shoulders. “So tense. After what we just did, I figured you’d be as loose as spaghetti. I know I am.”
“I am.” I hunched my shoulders.
He laughed. “Sure, you are. But you will be by the time I’m done.” He rummaged through his bag and came out with a comb.
“You don’t have cooties, do you?”
“Just eat your sandwich.” He shucked his jeans and sat cross-legged behind me.
“Why do you need to remove your pants to fuss with my hair?”
“A dude needs to breathe.”
“Which dude are we talking about here? Big or little?”
He chuckled. “Both are big, honey.”
I didn’t know what else to do so I picked at the triangle of sandwich I had left. Bacon first because it was the best part then the tomato. All the while, he unwound the tangled mess of my hair. I shivered as he lightly combed it with his fingers before he used his thumbs to massage the base of my neck.
