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“That’s okay,” I mumbled. “Sleep is worth it.”
But I still sat up. We didn’t get to come out here together often, and as much as I loved to sleep, I’d regret missing out if I stayed in bed. A few hours off-roading in the WRX would wake me up. Hopefully, Manson, Lucas, and Jess were still out on the trails.
I left Jason’s shirt draped over my head as I trudged to the bathroom and did my business, scrubbed my face, and tied my hair up into a bun. It got wilder the longer it grew, but there was no way in hell I’d ever cut it. It was a part of me now; I’d been growing it out for years. Besides, Jason would lose his shit if I cut it off.
When I came out of the bathroom, a text from Manson was waiting for me.Hey, bring a pair of briefs out to the trails for me, yeah?
Snickering, I responded with,Was Jess’s driving really so bad, you pissed your pants?
Haha, very funny. Actually, Jess ate my other pair.
I wasn’t even going to ask.
We warmed up some frozen breakfast burritos in the microwave and ate them in the car as I drove the short distance up the road. Dirt trails wound through the trees, some so narrow that only bikes could get through them.
It didn’t take me long to spot them, considering the Bronco was parked sideways across the trail with the back open and three pairs of dirty bare feet sticking out.
Parking beside them, I howled and slapped my hand on the side of the Bronco as I walked up. “Ah-yoooo, wake up, ya’ fuckin’ hippies!”
Poking my head into the back, I found them all lying side by side, naked, with Jess between the two men. Their hair was still damp, as if they’d all gone skinny-dipping. Jason came around the other side, grabbing Lucas’s feet as they dangled over the edge of the SUV.
“Is this you volunteering to rub my feet?” Lucas said, barely opening one eye. He lifted his leg so he could poke his foot toward Jason’s face. “Come on, you know you want these dirty toes.”
Jason laughed, swatting him away. “You wish. You’re going to have to try harder than that if you want me at your feet.”
Jess sat up, reaching out for me so I could help her out of the back. Satan, have mercy, she looked like a feral goddess — smudged with dirt, ruddy-cheeked, her hair wild. She smelled like sweat and sex as I held her close and kissed her.
“Damn, look at you,” I said. “I love that just-fucked look on your face. So sexy.” I leaned down so I could close my mouth over her breast, sucking her nipple between my teeth until she gasped.
“Looks like you wore these two out,” Jason said.
Lucas sat up, smacking the back of Jason’s head as he got out of the SUV. He wandered toward the water, where their clothes were discarded on the old dock.
“We’re just catching our breath,” Manson said, scratching his fingers through his disheveled hair. “This girl doesn’t go down without a fight.” He got up, wrapping his arms around Jess from behind and kissing the side of her head. She tipped her head back to look at him and her expression could have melted the glaciers.
I loved that shit. I wanted to see my people happy. I wanted them tothrive. The world was a goddamn mess but as long as we were together, we could handle whatever life threw at us.
I wanted Jess to be a part of “us.” In so many ways, it already felt like she was. As she’d sat with Jason last night, quiet words passing between them, I’d seen the sincerity on her face. Jason hadn’t told me everything she said. I hadn’t asked him either, nor would I. He’d told me she apologized for the things that had happened before, and that was enough for me.
It made me so damn proud of her; she was brave enough to have those conversations.
But these things took time. Trust took time — more time for some of us than others.
“All right, my turn behind the wheel,” Manson said, after he’d dressed and dusted the dirt off his clothes. “I’m getting you back for that wild ride earlier, Jess, just you wait.”
***
The WRX could whipthrough the trails far faster than the Bronco ever could, but Manson still kept shockingly close behind me as we sped through the trees. Every time I let off the gas to get around a curve, Jess’s screams of excitement carried through the air and made me laugh.
We were all dripping sweat and covered with dust by the time we made it back to the cabin that evening. The WRX looked like it had been buried and dug up again, but I wouldn’t have been satisfied with anything less. A day out in the woods wasn’t proper unless you looked like a wild creature when it ended.
Lucas and Jason made sandwiches, and we sat on the floor in the living room to eat, too filthy to sit on the couch. We sprawled out on the cool hardwood, the back and front doors left open to allow the breeze to flow through.
Jess stretched her arms as she finished eating, sighing tiredly. “Ugh, I need a shower.”
“I think you look sexy covered in dirt,” Manson said, and she rolled over to kiss his cheek before she got to her feet. Jason and I followed her in unison, and she tweaked up an eyebrow at us in question.
“They got their turn,” I said, motioning to Manson and Lucas. “Now we get to clean you up and help you relax.”
