Page 57 of Estranged Heart
“Of course you didn’t. Don’t worry, I have everything we need. Fold-out chairs, a tent, blankets, pillows, and more.”
“Good, because I’m not sure the tent we had is even meant for camping.”
I laugh again. “Of course not. You brought the most important thing at least.”
“I did?”
“Yup. You.” I kiss his lips, and those tingles I’ve grown accustomed to spread all over my body.
“I also brought some other essentials.” He pulls out a hammock and a large float from one of his bags.
“Yeah, we definitely wouldn’t have survived without those,” I quip.
Waving me off, he starts blowing up the float and I lift an air pump from my trunk. “This will do the job a lot faster. You can plug it into the car. You do that and I’ll set up the tent. It’s one of those pop-up tents, so it shouldn’t take me long.”
“It looks new.” He glances down at the tent next to my bags.
“I told you I don’t camp.”
“You did.” He grins, taking the pump from my hand. “I guess not everyone collects random things just in case.”
I arch a brow, reaching for the white box. “You’ve had that float and hammock for a while, huh?”
“Yeah. Being bedridden for long periods at a time leads to lots of shopping on Amazon. I’ll have to put the snorkeling gear and roller skates to use someday too.”
I bark out a laugh, pulling out two boxes of twinkling lights from my bag. I tried to think of everything, spending hours after leaving his house yesterday searching out romantic camping ideas. I want this experience to be one he remembers for a long time. I have my laptop for watching movies, a bluetooth speaker for playing music, plenty of matches for a campfire, and lots of snacks. I sent Silas a text last night, asking what his favorite foods and drinks were. I feel like he gave me a list of things he wanted to try more so than anything he’s actually had before.
He doesn’t ever hold back with me, almost as if he’s been hiding all these ideas and curiosity for such a long time that he can’t help but burst at the seams with them the moment he feels like he can. Has Stacey gotten a chance to see this side of him?
His eyes light up when the avocado float is full of air in a matter of minutes. He blows up the second part next and it’s the ball that goes in the center. I can’t help but smile at how much of a wild card he is. As if I haven’t been taken by surprise enough, he randomly strips out of his clothes and changes into swim trunks with a sloth riding a unicorn on them.
I choke back a laugh, having to steady myself against the car to keep from rolling around on the ground when he pulls on a shirt that says “two seater” with two arrows pointing up and down.
“I don’t think I can be seen with you as long as you have that on.”
“Too bad, because I got you a matching outfit.” He pulls shorts and a shirt identical to his out of his bag, wiggling his eyebrows.
“Absolutely not.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll keep you so dirty these next couple of days they’ll be the only option you have. Well, that or your birthday suit. The second option is preferable, though.” He winks.
He’s growing more and more comfortable with his sexuality each day. It’s wonderful to see him feel like he can be all that he is with me. That he can flirt so openly without a second thought. And flirt he does, the whole time I set things up. The tent is ready within ten minutes, all of Silas’s distractions surprisingly not delaying the process. He misses no opportunity to slap my ass and pinch it.
“Should we do the hammock next?”
He looks at the hammock on the ground and back at me, nodding. “Yes. There are two trees over there that should hold it perfectly.”
“I see you’ve chosen this place with lots of consideration.”
“As far as privacy and hammock placing goes, yes.”
The laughter keeps coming. Especially when he puts on the song “Nasty” by Tinashe and dry humps a tree, shaking his ass and twerking.
“I take it that dancing was one of your many hobbies while being stuck at home.”
He stops to catch his breath as the next song comes on, one I don’t recognize. “Yeah, except I had to take a lot more breaks than I do now, and I mostly watched people shake it on TV while wiggling my hips a little on the couch.”
“I think I’m okay with you not taking any breaks today and testing out those wiggling skills on me. Especially if you’re doing it against me with your clothes off.” I wink, and finish up securing the hammock to the tree. I test out the durability, resting my knee in the center, pressing down on it.
