"Wake up, friendly." Lucas nudged me and I woke up, and panicked for a second. During the night I had somehow got even closer to him, and hurriedly backed away from him.
"Chill bud, it's alright," said Lucas. "Tell me though," he continued, "am I a good bed mate?"
"Very," I replied sarcastically, "I don't think I've ever slept so well." Though the truth is... Well, that is the truth. I was so comfortable laying next to him. The smell of his hair, my body up against his warmth
"So what are you making me for breakfast?" he said with a grin on his face. "I'm in the mood for french toast." I snickered at him and threw a "do it yourself" look at him, even though I knew I'd end up doing it for him. I always do.
He puts on this cute face every time he gets a little upset and what can I say? Not only do I have a good heart, but he's so cute! It's his "I always get what I want and you know it" face. Just as expected, it appeared and I melted inside.
"Alright... French toast." He opened his mouth as if to say something, but stopped. I raised my eyebrows and began to unzip the tent when I felt his hand on my shoulder. I turned around and looked at him expecting him to say something, but he never did.
"What?" Still he continued to stare into my eyes. I had no problem with this being that his eyes are so damn beautiful, but I was getting a little nervous.
"What?" I repeated. He could sense the nervousness in my voice, and in the chuckle I gave him. It was again silent for a moment until he put his arms over mine in a very long hug. It felt like nothing I've ever felt before. I wasn't even thinking; just enjoying.
"Thank you," he said.
"Sure but... For what?" I replied, puzzled.
"For asking me to come with you. On this trip I mean," he said and walked out of the tent. Weird I thought to myself. But it didn't matter, I'd just experienced the most incredible thing of my life, and I figured we could always talk later. I walked outside expecting to see Lucas starting up the fire or something, but he wasn't nearby. I assumed he went to the bathroom.
So I made the fire by myself, no big deal. By the time breakfast was almost done, Lucas had returned and was completely wet.
"What the hell?" I found myself saying.
"Dude, it's so cool," he said. "Well actually no, it's pretty damn cold."
"What is?"
"There's this waterfall not too far away, and a pond, and a cave and... It's so cool! Come on, I'll show you," he said, gesturing for me to follow him.
"Why don't you eat the french toast you wanted first?" I said. So we both sat down and ate; well actually I ate. Lucas shoveled. I'd barely even set down my fork by the time Lucas had grabbed me and forced me to go.
However, when we got there I knew why he was so ecstatic about it. The place was gorgeous. The waterfall had to be at least 25 feet high, and the pond was clear and blue with yellow, red and orange leaves floating in it. Just as he had said, there was a cave behind the base of the waterfall. There were beautiful, water-weathered rocks lining the bottom of the pond.
I instantly stripped down to my boxers hoping maybe Lucas would follow suit, and dove into the water. He was right; it was pretty damn cold! Lucas jumped in not long after I did (he stayed clothed. That was probably a smart idea), and we swam around for a bit and then decided to go into the cave. Keep in mind that to get into the cave, we had to go under raging water falling on our heads. It was worth it, though.
It was pretty small, maybe six or seven feet long and wide, and ten feet high. But it was really nice, being able to lay down on the cool stone floor with the sound of water crashing just a few feet away. We began to talk, and that's when he brought up what had happened earlier.
"You know... I really appreciate everything, Nick," he said. I could feel his eyes on me, but I was too busy looking at my distorted reflection in the waterfall. I could make out my dark brown hair (turned even darker from the water) and my skin, but that's about it. I was faceless.
"Nick?" I turned around, looked at him and smiled. I had a feeling this conversation wasn't going to go anywhere right now. I just stood up, looked at him and said "Anytime," before motioning for him to return to camp with me.
I didn't want my feelings to be obvious, but I couldn't help but flirt with him for the rest of the day. Maybe I was just having a playful day, or maybe I was starting to believe that maybe he thought about me in the way I think about him. I really had nothing to base this on, so it was probably just wishful thinking. Upon nightfall my hormones had fallen considerably, as I was no longer obsessed with touching him. I still wanted to, of course, but in a different manner.
"Dinner was excellent," said Lucas as I had once again made food for his starving belly. He was walking towards the tent, but I stopped him, called him over and put my plate down.
"Come sit." He sat down on the arm of the chair and looked down at me. "I really should be thanking you," I said, "for coming on this trip with me. I really like spending time with you." Did I just say that?! Oh Lord I hope he doesn't freak on me.
"Same here, bud," he said as he leaned over and kissed my forehead. Bud? I thought. Does that mean that his kiss doesn't mean anything? God, I can't figure this guy out. Either way, I smiled a bit and bade him goodnight.
Truth be told, I was getting pretty tired myself and followed him into the tent not too long after. He wasn't asleep this time. Instead he opened up the sleeping bag allowing me to get in and we got into a similar position as the night before. He began playing with my hair and I decided that this was my "ok" sign. I decided to take a risk and raised his shirt somewhat so that I could rest my arm on skin, not fabric. He didn't refuse me.
I felt his lean abdomen and chest which I'd seen earlier that day at the pond and several times in the past. They were both nicely built, but not bulky. He was a football and baseball player, after all. He in turn pulled me closer and put his arm around me so my face was right up against his side. I must have kissed his side at least half a dozen times before I fell asleep.