Page 48 of Love By a Landslide

Monday morning: Jonathan

Jonathan awoke feeling refreshed. The night before, an unrelenting slumber crept in and blocked out the rest of the world. Ordinarily, he didn’t allow himself to drift so deeply while leading a backpacking excursion. Typically, he remained alert—if only slightly—to tend to whatever needs or perceived emergencies his customers happened to have. He’d gotten so adept at sleeping lightly that he could wake to the sound of a cautiously opened tent zipper from across the campground. The slightest noise drifted through the air, and boom—Jonathan was awake and ready to handle anything. That was how he’d been so quick to respond to Lucy’s screams of terror the other night when she’d had the run-in with that opossum. But, because of this self-proclaimed superpower, he rarely felt restored after crawling out of his hammock each morning. Full recharges happened after an outing once he collapsed into his bed at home. It was bizarre that he had blacked out so completely this time around.

It must have been the stress and exertion from the day before.

Jonathan reached his elbows up above his head to stretch his stiff shoulders. Settling back down, he placed his hand on his belly.

Wait.

Not his belly. This was firm and round yet supple.

In a forgetful panic, Jonathan jerked his head up. Lucy had sprawled out at some point during the night, finding her more inhis space than her own. A little smile tugged at his lips. Clearly, he wasn’t the only one comfortable enough to pass out so hard. He let his eyes appreciatively drift over her. She’d thrown her left leg entirely over his waist. Her left arm was completely wrapped around his leg, hand cupping his calf. The side of her face cradled between his shins. A tangled halo of chocolate waves splayed haphazardly. Her breast rested heavily against his lower thighs, rising and falling with each breath.

And his hand was resting squarely on her ass cheek. Parts of him stirred in response to the contact.

He pulled back abruptly, feeling like an accidental creep. The hammock was close quarters. It wasn’t exactly outside the realm of possibilities that one of them would end up getting a handful of the other. Jonathan was just glad she hadn’t woken her up to his unintentional morning grope session.

Priority one: detangle himself from Sleeping Beauty. The trick would be doing so without startling her awake. With as much care as he could muster, he was able to straighten Lucy’s leg and slide it off his waist. Next, he gently rose to a seated position and gripped the hand that cupped his lower leg. At this, she roused, rolling her head off his shins, and deposited a hand between Jonathan’s thighs. It was far too close to his straining boxer briefs than he felt comfortable with, especially given her state of unconsciousness. Scoping his fingers under her wrist, he was able to shift out from beneath her.

Jonathan quietly opened the cover and slid his legs over the side of the hammock and into the crisp morning air. The cool breeze that drifted over him was cleansing. He took a deep breath, realizing just how stuffy it was with both of them huddled up inside. He moved to dismount, aiming to land on sturdy feet, but he hadn’t looked where he was going. The second set of boots tripped him up, and he landed on his ass with a noisy grunt.

“What happened?” Lucy yelped, bolting upright.

He massaged the point of impact as rocks and sticks poked him in all the wrong places. “Your boots got me,” he grumbled.

“Shit,” she said drowsily with a yawn. Leaning over the edge, she rubbed the sleep from her eye and looked at him. “You ok?”

“Yeah. Fine.” He was no worse for wear aside from a bruised ego. Rising to a stand, he brushed dirt and pine needles off his legs. Jonathan looked up and caught Lucy following his motions, her eyes lingering from time to time. He should be embarrassed by the tumble, but her perusal warmed his blood. Then he remembered the pup tent he’d been sporting since settling a hand on her lower half.

“A little privacy?” he chided. Turning quickly, he snatched up his pack and pulled out clothes for the day. As he tied his laces, he looked back up to the hammock where Lucy must have laid back down. “Need help getting out?Clearly, it can be tricky.”

“I think I can manage.”

He stood near anyway, reaching out in case she needed the support. Carefully, Lucy made her way out of the hammock, using his outstretched hand to stabilize herself once she was on her feet.

“I need to visit the privy. Do you feel up to starting the fire?”

She nodded. “I’ll give it a try. But no promises.”

He held out the magnesium fire starter. “Just shave some of this off with the serrated edge and make a pile about the size of a quarter where you want the flame to start. Flip it over and make the spark with this side.” He mimicked the motion of striking the bar, being careful not to actually make contact.

She took it and smiled. “How hard could it be?” she mumbled then turned to gather sticks and moss.

A few minutes later, Jonathan returned to find Lucy kneeling over a small crackling flame, blowing gently to encouragemore twigs to catch. He stood by and watched as she continued tending the fire, building it up carefully until it became a small but stable blaze. Something strongly resembling pride puffed up in his chest.

“Well done, Eagle Scout Lucy,” he teased, walking over to stand beside her.

“Got a merit badge for me?” she asked, sitting back on her haunches and looking up from her work.

“Sadly, no. I stashed them in your pack before we left the trailhead, so now they’re off a cliff somewhere.” Jonathan grinned, waggling his eyebrows.

Lucy stuck out her tongue and tossed the fire starter to him. “I got this beauty going, so it’s time for you to cook.”

“Fair enough.”

As he went about preparing oats for their breakfast, Lucy handled a few morning necessities and returned to sit beside the fire. The oatmeal came together quickly, topped off with a generous handful of trail mix to add a little texture. They practically licked their bowls clean.

“I’ve never been an oatmeal person, but that was really good,” Lucy sighed.

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