AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Will do.”
I didn’t go far. The last thing I wanted was to lose sight of where we had set up camp and end up aimlessly wandering around the forest while I tried to find my way back. Luckily, I found plenty of twigs and leaves to gather from the forest floor only steps away from our campsite. I brought as much as I could and dumped it near the firepit in two trips. By the time I was done, Sally and Bess seemed to be finished with everything they needed to do. Then, they joined me and got to work on getting a fire started.
I was in awe of how quickly Sally could get a flame going with the stuff she’d had me gather. Bess brought over a couple of larger pieces of wood, and the fire was roaring in no time at all. “Wow, you guys are really good at this. If you were ever on Survivor and got stuck doing the fire-making challenge to stay on the island, you’d win for sure.”
“Yeah, that’s never gonna happen,” Sally muttered with a shake of her head. “I’d never be caught dead on a show like that.”
I turned away so she didn’t see my eye roll. Her judgment didn’t bother me. Sally probably hadn’t ever even seen a single episode of the long-running show. If she had, then she wouldn’t be so dismissive of it. The cast’s challenges would’ve been right up her alley.
“We should have lunch,” Bess suggested, patting her stomach. “That hike left me starved.”
“I could definitely eat,” I agreed, eyeing the cooler Sally had carried all the way up here. “And the cold stuff will only stay that way for so long.”
“That’s not going to be a problem.” Sally walked over to the cooler and patted the top. “This sucker is top of the line, and I packed it so we’ll still have cold steaks to grill on Sunday afternoon before we leave.”
“Nice.” I peered over her shoulder while she undid the latches and flipped open the lid. When I spotted something wrapped in newspaper on the top, my nose wrinkled. I really hoped it wasn’t fish she’d caught and planned on grilling. “What’s that?”
“Dry ice. It doesn’t melt as quickly. Don’t touch it with your bare hands,” she warned.
I was starting to wonder if Sally thought I was a fool who didn’t know even the most basic of things. She had made a few comments during our hike that sounded as though she had a very low opinion of me. I couldn’t help but wonder why she had invited me in the first place. But I was stuck in the woods with her for now, so I didn’t want to do anything that would make her even more irritated with me than she already was. “Thanks for the warning.”
Bess walked over and gently bumped her shoulder against mine, offering me a soft smile. “Have you ever roasted hot dogs over an open fire?”
I shook my head. “Nope.”
“Then you’re in for a treat. We wrap them in biscuit dough instead of using buns, and they’re the best thing ever.” She rubbed her hands together. “Let’s grab some sticks, and I’ll show you how it’s done.”
Bess showed me how right she was about how delicious the hot dogs were…almost good enough to make up for Sally’s crappy attitude.
2
Laina
My first night in the tent was a disaster. Each time I tossed and turned—which was a lot—I was reminded that there wasn’t much space between Sally and me. By bumping into her. Over and over again. While she snored. Loudly. Something that Bess should have warned me about because then I could have brought a pair of ear plugs like she had. Or stayed home in my nice comfortable bed with air-conditioning and a television. Had I known how miserable I was going to be out here, I never would have come. Then I would’ve been snuggled up in my room streaming the last five episodes of the reality television show I’d recently discovered.
Thinking about the premise of the show, I giggled. Sally looked up from the small camp stove where she was making scrambled eggs. When she couldn’t figure out why I was laughing, she asked, “What’s so funny?”
“There’s this reality show that I’ve been watching”—she wrinkled her nose, but I didn’t care if she wasn’t a fan of reality television since I figured out pretty quickly last night that we weren’t going to walk out of the wilderness as best friends or anything—“where people give up all the modern amenities they’re used to for a chance at true love with someone who lives off the grid. You get to see how they adapt to moving from the city to the middle of nowhere. One of the couples is in the middle of the desert and another is in a forest kinda like this one. But with a small cabin and an outhouse.”
“That sounds like a reality show that I could actually get into. What’s it called?” Bess asked.
“You don’t need to watch the stupid show.” Sally rolled her eyes and circled her hand in the air. “We’re basically living it right now, just without the love and sex part.”
“Too bad. Those are the best parts.” Bess jabbed her elbow into my side and wagged her brows. “If we’d thought to bring some guys with us, maybe we could’ve recreated a steamy scene from it. Please tell me that one of the couples has sex outside against a tree or something like that.”
My cheeks filled with heat as I shook my head. “Ah, nope. Sorry. I think the closest anyone came was getting a little hot and heavy on an old mattress while gazing at the stars.”
Bess frowned. “Darn.”
“Breakfast is ready,” Sally announced, ending our awkward conversation.
When we finished eating, I volunteered to bring the dishes to the creek to rinse them out. Bess had taken me down there after we had lunch yesterday, and I was pretty sure I could follow the trail there and back without getting lost. Taking care of the task would give me a little time to myself. I also hoped that doing what I could to help out around the campsite would break some of the ice between Sally and me.
My trip down to the creek went smoothly, and I was headed back in no time at all. Leaves crunched and twigs snapped beneath my feet, but the underbrush cleared a little the closer I got to our spot. The sound of feminine voices drifted toward me, but I couldn’t make out what Sally and Bess were saying. It didn’t seem as though it was a friendly conversation, though.
Curious, I slowed down my pace and stepped as carefully as I could—each little crackle beneath my feet echoing in my ears. I must have made less noise than I thought because they kept talking as I got close enough to hear what they were saying.
“Seriously, Sally. I mean it. You have to stop being mean to Laina,” Bess hissed. “It’s not her fault that John is so into her.”
