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“Kickball and sex. That’s pretty much all I do in my downtime.”And believe me, I can show you those anytime.I didn’t say that part, though. As much as I wanted to sleep with him, I didn’t want to pressure him into anything.
“Whatever makes you happy.”
“You make me happy,” I blurted. As soon as the words were out, I snapped my mouth shut. I hadn’t planned to say it, no matter how true it was becoming. His cheeks burned pink, and he busied himself with the worm.
About an hour and a half-dozen fish later, the sun was setting. Travis packed up the fishing poles and put them aside. “Hungry?”
“Starving.” I looked down at my grimy hands. “And filthy.”
“No worries.” He dug into the backpack and started removing things, mostly small packages I couldn’t identify and tools for cooking and eating. From the bottom, he triumphantly removed a half-gallon of water. “Aha. Here you go. For your hands. Rinse with this, and I brought sanitizer for good measure.”
“But… what are we going to drink with dinner?”
Travis reached into his magic backpack once again and withdrew a six-pack of beer. He placed it on the table and gestured at it. “I thought ahead.”
I couldn’t help but laugh in surprise. “That you did.”
He grabbed a lighter and a fire starter and left them next to the fire ring. After putting those aside, I helped him gather sticks, leaves, and larger pieces of fallen wood for the fire. Travis expertly stacked the wood in the ring, placed a cooking grate over the small tower, and lit the fire before standing back to enjoy his handiwork.
“Wow,” I murmured. “That’s…”
“What good would I be as a park ranger if I couldn’t start a fire?” Travis squatted next to the fire and poked at it with a stick to stoke the flames a little.
“I think preventing fires is more important for a park ranger, right?”
“Good point.” He went about the business of preparing dinner for us—grilled cheese-stuffed bratwurst and a pot of baked beans. I offered to help several times, but I had no idea what he was doing and he was clearly more proficient than I was, so I mostly tried to stay out of the way.
Dinner was delicious. I couldn’t believe something that good had come off a campfire cooked in the middle of a forest, and I said so to Travis.
He took my empty plate from me and put it in a bag with the other dirty dishes. “Food is almost always better over a campfire. Especially after a day of hiking and fishing and enjoying nature.”
“Believe it or not, I’m starting to agree.”
After we ate, we sat enjoying the campfire until we’d burned through all the wood we’d collected. Travis stood and brushed himself off. “Ready to head back?”
I sighed and followed suit. “I guess so. We’re not exactly prepared for another surprise overnight in the woods.”
“I mean, it’s not far back to the truck. We could totally camp if you want.”
As tempting as it sounded, I didn’t know that I was ready to spend the night together again. I wanted Travis, in every way, and my pent-up sexual frustration was growing. I didn’t want to rush him or pressure him at all, and I knew if we spent the night cuddling again, things might get heavy fast, faster than he wanted. I knew I had to let him set the pace. “That’s okay. We have the tux appointment tomorrow. We should probably head back so I can get my beauty rest.”
He laughed and nodded. “Thanks for spending the afternoon with me. I really enjoyed showing you my favorite spot.”
I stepped forward and kissed him gently. “Thank you for showing me.” We were quiet and still for a moment, my heart rate picking up speed before Travis cleared his throat and stepped back, breaking the tension between us.
“Let’s get you home, Sleeping Beauty. Wouldn’t want you to be anything less than perfect for that tux appointment tomorrow.”
Chapter Fourteen
Travis
IhadaskedParkerto pick me up so we could go to our tux appointment and he didn’t disappoint, showing up right on time in his shiny black sedan. We arrived at the quiet rental shop right on time and the clerk welcomed us warmly after we introduced ourselves as the one o’clock appointment.
“I’m Richard. Please, make yourselves comfortable.” We each sat on a plush velvet couch and waited. “Now, are we looking at suits or tuxedos? What’s the feel of the wedding? Location? Tell me everything.”
I watched Parker as he talked, filling Richard in on everything from colors to location to catering and everything in between. As he talked, his face lit up. He gestured animatedly, leaning forward to show Richard photos of samples on his phone. I couldn’t help but stare at him. What had started as a silly joke, a way of deflecting our family’s pressure on us, had turned into something much more. I was glad I had Parker by my side.
Richard showed us to a large fitting room with a knowing wink. “I think it would be fine if you two shared a room. That way, you can comment on each other’s options without too much extra hassle.” Parker waggled his eyebrows at me while Richard brought us suit after suit to try on, hanging them on a rack outside our changing room.
