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Five minutes later, he was tumbling out of his tent and shoving his feet into his flip flops. A couple of steps and he was at Beckett’s tent, tapping on the fabric.
“Beckett?” he whispered.
Seconds later, Beckett opened the tent. He didn’t look like he’d been asleep at all, his eyes alert. “Yes? What’s wrong?”
Miles’s face crumpled. “I…” He dropped his head and blurted everything out, “I forgot my sleeping bag and instead of telling you I lied and I know it was stupid and I thought I could deal with it by sleeping under a towel and wearing your hoodie but I can’t it’s so cold I can’t sleep and I know you really don’t want to share with me and I know it’ll be a squeeze and I normally wouldn’t ask but can you please let me sleep with you I’ll sleep in the very corner so you won’t even know I’m there and I’ll do all the dishes and all the cooking just please I’m sorry you shouldn’t have to deal with this—”
“God, Miles,” Beckett cut him off, and Miles was reminded of just how strong his best friend was as he was pulled into the tent. Beckett unzipped the sleeping bag, turning it into a rectangular blanket, and draped it around Miles.
Then he got up and stepped out of the tent.
“Where are you going?” Miles said in a panicky voice. They couldn’t swap tents. He couldn’t make Beckett sleep in his sleeping-bag-less tent. He’d drag Beckett back if he had to.
“I’ll be back in a sec,” Beckett said, “just grabbing your sleeping mat. Okay?” He waited for Miles to nod before walking away.
When he returned, he lay down Miles’s sleeping mat beside his own so that the floor was totally covered. Miles sat on his sleeping mat and shook out the sleeping bag. Thankfully, it was large enough to cover both mats, like a large duvet on a double bed. Beckett zipped the tent up and got onto his mat, sliding underneath the sleeping bag blanket.
“Give me your hands,” Beckett murmured.
Miles acquiesced, and Beckett held both of them in his larger hands, then brought them up his lips, exhaling hot breath between Miles’s cupped palms.
Miles shivered.
“What if you’d gotten sick?” Beckett asked, massaging Miles’s hands.
“Technically, just being cold doesn’t make you sick. The common cold is—”
“A virus, I know. But you would’ve been more vulnerable to getting ill.” He sighed. “Miles. You should have told me you didn’t have a sleeping bag.”
“I didn’t want you to think I was stupid.”
“Do you really think I would’ve judged you for forgetting something? I forget stuff all the time too. How many times have you had to remind me about assignments I have due? You didn’t think any less of me then, did you?”
“No,” Miles admitted.
“No,” Beckett agreed.
“It seemed like a big thing at the time,” Miles explained. “I didn’t want you to think I was incompetent. You’ve already done everything for this trip. You brought all the supplies and drove us here and had all the camping expertise. I didn’t contribute at all.”
“That’s not true,” Beckett said. “We set up the tents and gazebo together, didn’t we? We cooked together.”
“I still feel useless,” Miles said quietly.
“You don’t have to do everything all the time,” Beckett said. “To be honest, I like being the expert. It means I get to look after you. Which is nice, because most of the time, I’m trying to catch up to you.”
Miles blinked. He hadn’t expected that, and it made his chest feel funny. “No way.”
“Yes,” Beckett argued. “You’re so sure of yourself. You know exactly what you want and what you have to do to get it. I don’t think you realize how rare that kind of confidence is. Most people our age have no idea what the hell they’re doing.”
“You know what you’re doing,” Miles said.
“I guess, in so far that I know I want to get into med school. But a big reason why I’m taking university so seriously is because I met you. Not that I would’ve fucked around if I didn’t meet you, it’s just that…you’re the most driven person I know.”
Miles shook his head. He felt embarrassed the way he always did whenever someone complimented him.
“Even my mum said so,” Beckett continued. “She said you’re a good influence on me.”
That made Miles’s embarrassment worse. “That’s nice of her,” Miles mumbled lamely.
