Saving Scott

14. Normal Life Stuff

Lakyn grinned at me and I couldn't help but smile back. Addicting.

When he pulled the truck over I suddenly realized where we were. River View Park was breathtaking, I had always wanted to hike it. I'd begged Matt for years to go with me, but he never would. He said the forest was too dense, and he didn't believe in my ability to get us back out if we went in.

I twisted around in my seat and stared at Lakyn, lost for words. He held my gaze for awhile, then shrugged and started the truck again, "I mean, if you're not interested, we can go back home."

"Shut up," I told him, quickly. "Tell me you're joking?"

"Scott, baby, you're the one in this relationship that makes bad jokes."

"Fuck you," I said.

"Maybe later," he offered, then killed the truck again and jumped out. He grabbed the duffle bags and tossed me one then pointed to the on-site bathrooms. "Get changed, you aren't gonna wanna hike in your vans."

I followed his lead, vibrating with excitement, as I switched out my clothes for hiking gear. I wasn't sure when he'd gotten a hold of them, but I had a feeling Matt was a culprate. It turned out the other bags were camping gear, and Lakyn loaded me up before grabbing a much smaller backpack and water bottle for himself.

He let me pick the trail and let me hold his hand as we walked down dirt paths. He let me take his picture when I couldn't get past the colors the leaves were and only rolled his eyes a few times when I couldn't stop talking about how beautiful fall was. He didn't smile, but he didn't look unhappy either.

"Did I ever tell you that we used to camp a lot when I was a kid?" I asked that evening, before the sun had gone down so we still had enough light to pitch the tent. Lakyn watched me from where he was sitting on the ground, his knees propped up and a rare joint dangling from his fingers.

"Why'd you stop?" he asked.

I grinned. "Racoons."

Lakyn arched an eyebrow and waited me out. I chuckled and finished with the stake I was working on before I told the story.

"My mom was always a really good sport about the camping thing, but my dad was bad about remembering to pack up the food. One night he forgot to put the lid on a jar of peanut butter and just tossed it into the tent. Racoons are stubborn little bastards."

"With hands," Lakyn said.

"With hands," I agreed. "I woke up to a lot of screaming from my mother and about three or four racoons taking off. Scared the shit out of my mom though. She was convinced they were baby bears and that the mother would be after us soon enough."

"So no more camping," Lakyn guessed.

I shook my head. "My dad wasn't allowed to take me by myself either because my mom said he'd get too drunk and a bear would actually maul us. Matt goes with me on occasion though. And now you."

"And now me," Lakyn repeated, and when I finished with the tent and went over to him, he passed me the joint.

I nodded in agreement and sat down across from him, taking in a long drag. I watched a mosquito land on his arm and Lakyn swatted it off with a screwed up nose.

I blinked at him. "You haven't complained."

"What?" Lakyn asked.

"You haven't complained. Not once. Not about the dirt or the bugs or being outside. You don't like to hike. You definitely don't like to camp. You didn't even like it when we had cabins and people in charge of us."