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Parker knew she was just having fun. Knew that she was just stoned. He hadn’t ever said anything about Pen, Paige didn’t know any better. Couldn’t know how sensitive he was about his sister. Plus, he'd just been digging in Paige’s past. He didn’t have a reason to get upset. But he could feel his temper rising.
“Yeah yeah, hilarious. Wanna help me out here, giggles?” he grumbled. Her laughter softly died and she glanced over at him.
“Third cabin down, left side,” she told him, pointing ahead. He nodded and pulled up to the spot.
They didn’t say anything as they unloaded essentials. Parker left her to pick out which bed was hers and get settled in – he decided to walk around, check out the amenities and chain smoke for a little while. He found a pool and a hot tub area, though hanging out with elderly couples in a bubbling froth didn’t sound like his idea of a good time. Besides, a sign on the fence said the pool area wasn’t supposed to be accessed after sundown. He wandered on, strolling through a wooded area for a long time.
Figuring he’d been gone more than long enough for her to get comfortable and to ease any tension between them, he headed back to the cabin. The light in the sky was very quickly disappearing. By the time he walked in the front door it was almost completely dark.
The cabin consisted of one full size bed against one wall, and a twin-size bunk bed set against the opposite wall. Next to the door a flat screen tv was mounted on the wall. Two lamps were on either side wall and a small table sat between the beds with a small lamp on it.
Camping has changed a lot.
His eyes fell on Paige and he smiled. She was sitting cross legged on the single bed, her backpack at the foot of the mattress. She had on a pair of headphones that led to an iPod – he was a little surprised at the almost-current technology. She was looking down and judiciously rolling another joint. He raised his eyebrows. The little baggie that had been full of marijuana was now full of neatly rolled joints. She'd put herself to good use while he'd been gone. He felt bad for snapping at her.
“I found a pool, maybe we can check it out early tomorrow,” he said loudly. She didn’t look up. He could faintly hear the music coming from her headphones and he figured she couldn’t hear him. He walked over and waved a hand in front of her face.
“SHIT!” she screamed, swinging an arm up violently.
“Fuck!” Parker yelled as her knuckles connected with his nose.
“Sorry!” she immediately said, scrambling to get her headphones off.
Parker pinched the bridge of his nose and tilted his head to look straight up. Luckily, her fist hadn’t been closed or she might’ve accidentally broken his nose. As it was, it still smarted pretty good. He wiped his fingers under his nostrils to make sure he wasn’t bleeding as she climbed to her knees.
“I didn’t mean to scare you, I said something but you -”
He stopped talking, shocked when she grabbed his head on either side and tilted his face towards hers. He was pretty sure it was the first time she'd touched him, willingly, in a non-violent or non-playful manner. She was also very close to him. He couldn’t remember ever standing that close to her, face to face. He noticed her eyes were almost the exact same shade of brown as her eyebrows and hair – it all harmonized with her uniformly mocha skin. He felt his heart start to beat faster.
“God, you scared the shit out of me. I didn’t hear you come in at all. Is it broken?” she asked in a rush, bringing one hand around to his face and feeling the bridge of his nose with her thumb. Her lips were very close to his own ...
He cleared his throat.
“Uh, no, I think it’s fine, but remind me to never sneak up on you,” he joked, pulling his head out of her grasp and stepping back. She sank back so she was kneeling.
“Probably not a good idea. You were gone for like an hour. I guess I just zoned out,” she said, reaching for her iPod and turning the music off.
“Yeah sorry, I didn’t realize. But I found the pool and the cafeteria and all that good stuff,” he told her, sitting on the bottom bunk across from her and taking his jacket off. She nodded and put her iPod and the baggie of joints into her backpack. She picked up the remaining joint she'd just finished rolling and held it out to him.
“Sorry for being nosy about your sister, or whatever. Like I said, anytime you want this hijack to stop, just tell me and I’ll hit the road. I really don’t mind,” she told him quickly. He laughed, digging in his jacket pocket for the lighter.
“Nah, I’m just sensitive about her, it was my fault. She’s my baby sister, I’m ... protective. How about I promise to tell you when I’m sick of you, if you promise to tell me when I’m being a jerk?” he offered, lighting up. She smiled at him.
“I’m pretty sure that wasn’t ever going to be a problem for me,” she joked and he laughed.
“No, probably not.”
*
ACOUPLE HOURS LATER, Parker stared at the bottom of the bunk above him. Paige was laying in her bed. Neither of them were asleep, the little lamp still on between them. It was around 1am, and the campground was pretty silent. His high had left him a while ago and they'd fallen silent around the same time. But he felt restless.
Being next to her did that to him.
“Wanna go swimming?” he blurted out. He heard her shift on top of her covers.
“What? Right now?”
“No, next Tuesday.Yes,right now.”
