Page 48 of All Roads Lead to You

I didn’t know what was currently going through my head after last night, but for now, I felt fucking good. The hangover still tore my brain apart, and I couldn’t stop yawning, but my body was completely unwound. Logan and I were finally getting along and understood each other. This trip had been epic so far, and we still had two and a half weeks left. I couldn’t help but believe I was in the right place at the right time. You know that sensation you get when even your soul is comfortable? That was me.

“Hey, man, you okay?” Logan asked.

I looked over and smiled at him. His face was full of concern, but it softened when he saw my smile. He never cared before, but he did now. I liked that. “Yeah, bro. I’m pretty stellar right now.”

Logan smiled back with those straight white teeth of his that I rarely saw until recently. “Not hungover anymore?”

I snorted a laugh. “I’m still totally hungover, but what’s the point of being young if you don’t hurt a little bit after having too much fun?”

“I’m not sure that makes sense,” he chuckled. “But I think I get it.”

By the time ‘Close to Me’ came on, Logan and I were singing along while I clapped to the beat, and he tapped the steering wheel.

A couple of hours later, we were driving through Memphis.

“Let’s look for a place to eat, then we need to fill up on gas and grab some groceries, water, and ice. Would you mind taking the wheel the rest of the way to our campsite? I’ll need to read the map.”

“Yeah, no prob. We need more beer, too.”

Logan suddenly looked green. “Ugh, I don’t want to think about beer right now.”

“Oh, you will tonight.”

“Plan to get me drunk and take advantage?” Logan’s eyes suddenly turned wide, and his face flushed bright red. “I didn’t mean… I wasn’t saying… Ah… Ugh.”

I burst out laughing. “Dude… I know you’re just joking. Chill, man. And I’ll only take advantage if you want me to.”

When I winked at him, he punched me in the shoulder, but I knew the difference between a playful punch and one of Logan’s angry punches. “Fucker.”

“Ow, fuck you back.” I punched his shoulder in return. “Eyes on the road, Snuggle-Wuggles.”

“I hate you.”

“Not anymore,” I said, folding my arms on the windowsill and resting my head on my arms as I stared out at Memphis.

“Not anymore,” he agreed.

After lunch and grabbing gas and supplies, I drove the Mustang slowly across the dirt road toward Meeman-Shelby Forest State Park. This car was not equipped for camping, but it sure was pretty. Every time we stopped for gas, the attendant would caress it lovingly and ask us all sorts of questions we didn’t know the answers to.

“Turn right about a half mile ahead. That should take us to the campgrounds,” Logan said, staring closely at the park map we picked up in town, which was much better than the state map.

“Aye, aye.”

“This place has showers on site.”

“Thank god. I love camping, but it’s been so damn hot lately. And swimming in a lake or river isn’t the same.”

“Such a suburbs boy,” he chuckled.

I rolled my eyes as I made the turn. “Yeah, so are you, dipshit.”

Once we arrived at our spot, I took in the sight. The air was so hot, heavy, and still that it silenced the world, but under the thick woods, it wasn’t too bad. We had a perfect setup next to Poplar Tree Lake. The trees surrounding the water were huge and thick.

“I can’t wait to dive in,” I said, wiping my face with my tank top.

“Let’s set up camp, then we can.”

Once we had the tent pitched and the firepit ready to go for tonight, we chugged down some water and put on our swim trunks.

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