Page 23 of Yours and Mine (Friends with Benefits)

“Youhopeso?”

“They will. Let’s get more wood for the fire. Maybe they’ll see the smoke.”

We put on our dry clothes and gathered enough wood to last us through the night. Nick moved the fire pit over to a spot where the smoke could escape through the canopy. I gathered more blueberries and found a few wild strawberries as well, and then sat down beside Nick, against the trunk of a tree. He had spread evergreen branches at the foot of the tree and covered them with leaves for more comfort.

“I really don’t want to spend the night here.” I sighed.

“It’s not that bad, is it? I bet you the night sky looks the same as from our rooftops.”

“I guess you’re right. If there was anyone I’d want to be lost with, it’s you.”

“Not Carter?”

“No way. He acts all brave, but he would have peed his pants the moment he saw that bear. You were calm and got us out of trouble.”

“Carter’s strong. Very strong.”

“But you’re…you.”

How could I explain to Nick that I could never feel as comfortable around anyone other than him, without him taking it the wrong way? So I changed the subject instead. “Who taught you to make a fire so quickly?”

“My father. It was one of the last things I remembered him teaching me before he was deployed.”

“That must have been hard, you know, losing him in battle. You’re brave. He would have been proud of you.”

He gave me that grateful smile. But it was true. Nick had inherited the best parts of both his parents. He was as patient and talented with pastries as his mother and as strong and courageous as his father who’d served our country and died for our freedom.

“You were brave too, Jo. I don’t think anyone else would have jumped off that cliff.”

“It was only because I was with you.”

“I don’t think so. You’re the strongest woman I know.”

He thought of me as a woman? Maybe this was the right time to bring up what Carter had mentioned before. “Can I ask you a stupid question? I mean, I know we’re friends – actually, make that best friends – but have you ever thought about dating?”

“Dating you?”

Maybe I shouldn’t have asked. I didn’t want to ruin the best part of us — our friendship. Nick reached for another log and added it to the fire along with two handfuls of dried leaves we’d collected. If there was anyone nearby, there was no way they could miss the billowing black smoke.

“Ahm, yes. Like, would I be the kind of girl you date?”

“No.” He shook his head, making me regret my question.

“What?”

“You’re the kind of girl someone like me would want to marry.”

I sucked in a sharp breath. “But you have to date before you marry… you know, to get to know each other.”

“Jo, I don’t think anyone else in this world, other than my mother, knows me as well as you do. In fact, I’m pretty sure that you know me better.”

“But dating—”

“I always felt like you were mine, anyways,” he stated.

“Yours?” That statement made me feel alive inside. I didn’t understand the feeling, but it was a good one, despite Nick’s alpha posturing.

“That’s why I don’t like seeing you with Carter.” He turned his body toward me. His eyes were dreamy; or maybe it was just me, imagining them to be so. Their green depths held compassion — Nick didn’t usually speak so seriously about our friendship. “I’m afraid if we dated, it’d be weird, and I wouldn’t want to do anything to ruin our friendship.”

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