It's all I can do to keep from embarrassing myself with excitement, "You want to play?"
He nods with a short smile, "The jocks at my school are tools. My uncle and his friends seem pretty cool, so maybe this school is different."
"Let's talk with the guys and see what they say," I tell him, not wanting to promise something that is out of my control. I can pay for him to go here, but going as far as sports and shit that's different.
As if conjuring them with words, I see their heads pop over the hill headed towards us. A couple of heartbeats later, and I'm swept up in Teagan's arms as he drops a kiss on me. We pile into the truck with me and Teagan riding up front with Lucas, leaving the other three to claim the backseat since there's more room.
I wait until Lucas has navigated us out of the game traffic and onto the highway before bringing up the school topic, "So, I was thinking. If Will's going to be with us for a while, why don't we transfer him over to Primwoods?"
Lucas nods, "That's not a bad idea if he wants to switch schools." His eyes flick up to the mirror where he can see Will sitting in the back, "You'd get a hell of a lot better education than where you are."
I slide a hand across Teagan's thigh, "He wants to play football, too."
Teagan's head whips around with a grin plastered on his face, "You do?"
Will must nod, because I don't hear him say anything, but Teagan answers, "That's fucking awesome, dude. You're built like Mav, and we could definitely use you on the team."
They go back and forth as Teagan asks him questions about if he's played before and things like that. It pulls Will out of the shell he covers himself in all the time, and I can already tell this would be a very good thing for him. Resting my head on Lucas's shoulder, I wrap my free hand around his forearm, and he smiles down at me.
By the time we make it to the campsite Mav had called and reserved for us earlier, it's already getting super late. Between the six of us, we get the tent put up in no time at all. Then we split duties. Me, Will, and Lucas lay out all of our sleeping bags while grabbing the rest of the stuff that needs to go in the tent with us. Teagan, Mav, and Grant unload the stack of firewood and kindling we brought with us to get our fire going. We stopped on the way here for dinner, but I'm not missing the chance for some roasted marshmallows.
That's the first thing I go to find as the guys start setting up our chairs around the already warming fire. After the third bag and not finding them, I'm seriously beginning to think I've lost my mind and only imagined packing them.
"What are you searching for over there, sweets?" Teagan asks.
Without looking at him I can tell there's a smile on his face. Tossing a quick look over my shoulder, I find him relaxed back into his folding chair with my bag of marshmallows sitting in his lap. He holds its up and shakes it, trying to entice me over. Little does he know; he doesn't even need to steal my treats for that to happen.
Circling around behind him, I wrap my arms across his chest as he pulls the bag to it. Fully aware of the fact that we aren't alone like usual, I peck the side of his cheek instead of nibbling on his ear like I want to.
"Can I have my marshmallows back?" I ask sweetly.
His head turns, so he can press his lips against mine before loosening his grip on the bag, "Only if you promise you'll make me one, too."
Call me nostalgic, but a smile lights my face remembering the first kiss we shared back in the day. The setting wasn't too far off from this one, and there were definitely marshmallows involved. My expression must send him back down memory lane, too, for he sends me a wink as I take my seat between him and Grant.
Lucas uses a knife to scrape us some sticks clean and pointy, and I pass the bag around to all of them, sharing the goodness. By the time I'm finishing off my third one, I decide to call it quits. If I keep eating like this, I'm going to turn in to a giant fucking marshmallow.
Arching my belly out, I turn to Grant, "Would you still love me if I turned into a marshmallow?"
The light from the fire flashes on his teeth with his grin, as Lucas side mouths to Will, "The answer to that is always yes. It's a trick question."
Will's face is lit with amusement as he smiles at him, "I'll keep that in mind."
We sit around the fire for a couple more hours just talking about anything and everything. Will asks the guys questions, and we have more laughs than we've had since being home from our honeymoon. I've grabbed a thin blanket from the tent to wrap around me. The nights are starting to cool off, and as much as I'd rather be tucked between my men in the tent, I feel as though this right here beside the fire is something we all needed. Especially Mav and Will, who talk to each other without one biting the other's head off. I'm close enough to Grant that I'm able to rest my head on his shoulder, and their voices lull me to sleep.
It can't be more than five minutes later when he's nudging me awake, "Come on, sweetheart."
Through squinty eyes, barely clinging to consciousness, I let him lead me into the tent where I take off my shoes and roll up tight in my sleeping bag. I don't even remember putting my head down on the small built-in pillow before I'm asleep again.
I get up earlier than everyone else the next morning and get the fire going again. Coffee isn't really a necessity while we're out here, but it will be nice to have it. Making the least amount of noise that I can, I try to let everyone sleep in a little longer as I heat up the pot of hot water. Should've known better than that. We must be getting old, because it's like our bodies are their own timeclocks now. I can't even remember the last time I slept in super late. Maybe on our honeymoon, but I don't think so.
Grant is the first one out of the tent. He unzips it, and I snicker at the curse that comes from inside when he lets in the chilly morning air. Sounds like Teagan, but it's muffled, making it hard to be certain.
Grant comes up behind me and wraps my body in his arms, all that warmth seeping into me. He sighs into my hair, "Good morning, sweetheart."
"Morning," I reply, twisting my head to get a kiss from him. The others make their way outside with us as we start to pull out the stuff we brought for breakfast. Will is the last one out of the tent and lets out a huge yawn as he sits down at the little picnic table where we've got everything spread across the top.
"What's wrong, kid? Have trouble sleeping without your nightlight?" Teagan teases him.