Evie
evie
A romatic bacon and the sound of Bagel and Archer’s playful yips rouse me from sleep. Eric’s laughter as he talks to them drifts through the tent’s thin walls, sending a shiver down my body despite how warm the heater kept the enclosed space through the night.
After multiple—and I do mean multiple —orgasms, Eric and I finally fell asleep what feels like not that long ago. However, the sun is shining high in the sky, signaling that it’s probably late morning. I stretch, my sore limbs and aching muscles groaning in protest.
I haven’t slept with anyone since Jonathan. It’s just been me, my hand, and MGK—my vibrator. Don’t judge. I was going through a phase when I named him, and afterward, it just felt disrespectful to call him anything different.
Eric worked my body harder than it’s been exercised in a long time. That, paired with yesterday's walk, has my bones screaming in objection to the longer hike we’re going on today.
Rubbing the sleep from my eyes, I sit up, knocking my forehead straight into something hanging mid-air. Eyes flying open in fear of it being a giant spider, I relax when I see it’s a box of Sweethearts—the heart-shaped candies—hanging from a string.
That’s right, it’s Valentine’s Day.
As the box spins, I see writing on it. Beneath the large bubbled ‘ Be Mine’ letters that cover the yellow heart on the front of the box, Eric has written,
…well, you already are, so I guess I got my gift early.
His script is more elegant than I’d have guessed for a man, while at the same time it’s not surprising at all.
A stupid grin takes over my face as I push my chin into my shoulder, hiding behind both hands as I fall back against the pillows.
Girl, you got it bad.
Since Eric is cooking, I grab my bag and quickly wipe myself with a hygiene wipe. He may have pulled out all the stops to make this camping trip as glamorous as he could for me, but having no shower while having all this sex is something I’ll have to get used to.
I dress quickly in jeans and a regular white shirt with a black and red flannel before brushing through my curls and spraying the roots with some dry shampoo. Then I check my appearance in the hand-held mirror I brought. Something tells me it doesn’t matter what I look like. Eric won’t care as long as I’m looking at him with adoration and acceptance shining clear in my eyes.
Before I unzip the door, I realize I have morning breath and silently thank him for all the gadgets he brought while rushing over to the mini portable sink to brush my teeth before I go outside.
When I finally exit the tent, awe strikes me as I take in the transformation our campsite has gone through. There are lights in the shape of hearts strung from tree to tree, passing low over the tents and giving off a faint pink glow. The picnic table is decked out in a white tablecloth with pink and red hearts and bright pink disposable utensils. A bottle of champagne is chilling in a red bucket, with two glasses next to a carafe of orange juice.
Bagel bounds over to me with Archer in tow, both sporting bright red bows on their collars. “Good morning, my good boys,” I coo, bending to give them head scratches and pets while they lick my face.
“Down, boys. The only one who gets to lick your mom is me,” Eric jokes, turning from the fire pit to pull me into his arms and kiss the cheek the dogs didn’t slobber on. “Good morning. Happy Valentine’s Day.”
Winding my arms around his neck, I press up on my tiptoes and kiss him, my body melting into his. “ Good morning. Happy Valentine’s Day. Thank you for my candies. And for…all this.” I gesture at the decorations. “You really went all out.”
“I told you I was pulling out all the stops.” He grins, returning to what looks like pancakes on the griddle.
“I don’t know. You’re setting the bar pretty high for our first official date, aren’t you?” I arch an eyebrow and throw him a smirk over my shoulder as I head to the table to make a mimosa.
A bowl of strawberries cut into heart shapes sits next to the bucket of champagne, and I pluck a few for my glass before popping one in my mouth. “How long have you been up?”
He checks his watch. “A few hours now.”
“You should have woken me up!”
“You’re not a morning person, and besides, I kept you up all night. The least I could do is let you sleep in.” He brings a platter over and sets it on the table, taking a sip from the glass I offer him.
My mouth waters at the sight of the thick, fluffy dough dotted with fat, juicy blueberries. It’s not until I get one on my plate that I realize they are also heart-shaped. Picking up a piece of bacon from the second platter he sets down, I bite the end and wave the rest in a circle as I say, “Are you always this sugary?”
His brows draw together as he sits across from me. “You mean in terms of what I eat?”
I laugh. “No, and thank you for breakfast, by the way. This all looks amazing.” I dip my knife into the butter dish and spread it over my pancake before reaching for the syrup. “I mean with all the decorations and themed stuff.”
Eric continues to avoid my eyes as he dishes up his plate, calling the dogs over to give them each a piece of bacon. “Does it bother you?”
“Absolutely not!” I reach over the table to grab his hand, dipping my head to catch his gaze. “Eric, I love it. Thank you. Seriously. I just want this to be because you want to do it. Not because you’re trying to impress me.”
He rotates his hand to grasp mine, lifting it to press a warm kiss on the back. “I can promise you this is for no reason other than wanting to make you feel special.”
“Okay,” I relent.
“It’s not too nice guy? I know you women don’t like it when we’re too nice,” he jests.
I pop a piece of pancake in my mouth, my laugh turning into a moan as my head falls back while the tangy juice from the blueberries explodes on my taste buds, mixing with the sweetness of the syrup and the pillowy texture of the dough. “No, it’s not too nice guy. Besides, I know there’s a darker version hidden in there, too.”
Eric chews slowly before washing his bite down with a large gulp of his mimosa. His voice deepens as he asks, “Is that what you’d like for your gift, Evelyn? The darker version of me?”
I don’t know why, but I suddenly feel like I’m at the edge of a precipice. If I stay where I am, I know I’ll be safe. But if I jump off the edge… Who knows what the bottom will look like, even if the fall is exhilarating.
“Maybe.” The word comes out in the barest of whispers. Quickly, I drop my eyes to my plate. “Is that what you’d like for your gift?”
When my eyes rise back to his, his smile is positively wolfish. “Baby, you are my gift.”
Warm, gilded rays illuminate the trail as we hike up a small peak. The dogs happily romp ahead of us, their leashes continuously getting crossed, forcing Eric and I to switch places every few steps.
“You know, I was thinking about last night,” Eric starts, a wry smile twisting his lips. “I’m sorry I didn’t ask about protection.”
My confusion must show because he lets out a dry laugh. “I know we were caught up in the heat of the moment, but I should have asked about not using a condom.”
Oh. Oh!
“Honestly, it didn’t cross my mind, either.” I hadn’t even thought of it. My cheeks grow warm as I peek over at him. “There’s nothing to be worried about, right?”
Eric looks mortified, his electric blue eyes sparkling in the sunlight as they widen. “No! And if there was, I would have told you and definitely would have used protection. ”
“Okay.” I shrug. “It’s fine then, really. No need to worry.” I give him a peck on the lips before winding my arm around his waist and leaning my head on his shoulder.
The intimacy doesn’t last long because walking through the woods on a twisty trail full of knotted tree roots isn’t ideal while you’re in an embrace. His arm slips from around my shoulders, sliding down to tangle our fingers together.
“I actually have something kind of embarrassing to admit,” he says quietly, as if he’s afraid the trees will overhear his secret.
“What is it?” We switch places as the dogs tangle their leashes again, and I make a mental note to get one of those double leashes where they can cross and not get caught up. Though, on second thought, I’m not sure if that will work with their vast size difference.
“I haven’t been with anyone since just after Daphne.” He winces.
“Why is that embarrassing?” It’s surprising, for sure. Eric seems like a highly sexual person, and it certainly didn’t feel like he’s been out of the game for years.
“I don’t know, I guess because it kind of makes me seem a little hung up on her. I just haven’t found anyone I was interested in,” he peeks at me, “until now.”
As we near the summit, the trail turns into switchbacks, and the terrain transforms into a steeper, rockier landscape. “I haven’t been with anyone since Jonathan,” I admit, keeping my eyes trained on my feet and periodically looking ahead to ensure it doesn’t get too difficult for Bagel.
“Not even when you were in Europe?” I can hear the dry humor in his tone.
“I could have,” I answer truthfully. “But something always held me back. After… After everything that happened, I didn’t want something meaningless.”
Archer hops over the last ridge, tail wagging and tongue flopping out of his mouth as he turns to see Bagel struggling to get up the lip of a smooth rock. My heart flutters, and my body explodes with a dopamine hit, like whenever I watch animal videos on social media, as Archer jumps back down and nudges Bagel under his butt, helping him up before jumping to the top once more.
Eric’s hands are warm as he grips me from behind, sliding his palms under my shirt and against my skin as he helps me. While the view is beautiful, I imagine it will be breathtaking once the maple leaves have grown back, their bare gray branches resembling spindly fingers reaching between the evergreens.
“Alright, boys. Come get your snacks,” Eric croons at the dogs as he kneels to get their bowls and food from his pack.
A slight breeze carries the scent of earthy moss and the unmistakable damp fragrance of spring. It’s chilly, and I set my pack down to pull my sherpa-lined jean jacket over my flannel .
While Eric settles the dogs, I unwrap a granola bar and peer at the landscape. The forest stretches to the horizon, green speckled with gray and the occasional glimpse of a turquoise lake nestled amongst smaller peaks.
“This will be great for your travel blog,” Eric murmurs, wrapping his arms around me. He’s holding his phone horizontally, the camera flipped so the frame is filled with us and the dogs in the background.
Smiling while he takes a few shots, I reach an arm behind me to wind around his neck and press up on my tiptoes, balancing against his chest as I kiss him over my shoulder. Eric obliges me, snapping a few photos of us kissing before pulling back.
“So you’re a fan of the blog, huh?” I ask, sitting on a large rock protruding from the ground.
His answer is merely a grin as he searches my pack for another granola bar.
Eventually, I’m startled when he asks, “Are you thinking about him?”
My gaze snaps to his, only to realize he’s looking at my necklace. It takes me a second to realize I’ve fished it out from underneath my shirt and am rubbing the pads of my fingers over the alexandrite in the middle of the star.
“No!” I exclaim with so much zeal that it makes me sound guilty of doing exactly that. “I’m sorry, it’s just a habit.”
“It’s okay, . You don’t have to hide it from me,” he says softly, coming over and pressing a kiss against the top of my head. “I guess I’m just curious if I’ll be spending my whole life sharing you with him.”
Panic settles through my bones as viciously as the butterflies that erupt in my stomach at hearing him say he wants me for his whole life. I snap my head up to look at him. “No, Eric. I promise. It’s not like that.”
Except, it sort of is because as much as I try to forget about him, Jonathan does creep into my thoughts more often than I’d like. It makes me want to explain how I feel to Eric.
Don’t let your past ruin your future.
I grab his hand and pull him down to sit beside me. He secures the dogs next to the rock before putting his arm around my shoulders and pulling me tightly against him.
“What I went through, spending those days there only to have Jonathan vanish into thin air like he never existed…it was traumatic . Even after we ran into each other—don’t get me wrong, how could I be upset when his wife and daughter were alive? Still…it was also traumatic in its own way. Yet, therapeutic in a sense? I don’t know if I’m making any sense–”
“You are,” he interrupts. “I felt the same way with Daphne. Eight years is a long time to be with someone, especially when they spend most of it grieving. I wouldn’t go as far as saying our divorce was traumatic, but it was hard to see her move on so quickly. Yet, at the same time, when I first saw them together, I understood right away, and I was happy for her. ”
“Understood what?”
“That she and Henry were meant to be together. Their story was like two pages of the same book that connected instantly as soon as they found each other.”
I reflect on my ex-husband and how quickly he ruined our marriage for his secretary. “I’m sure that was hard to watch.”
“Yeah, but I knew I’d find my own happy ending someday.” He props his chin on my head and squeezes me tighter. “What I’m trying to say is, I understand if he sneaks into your thoughts occasionally. Daphne did, too, for over a year. It doesn’t threaten me. I’ll never get jealous of him or upset that he crosses your mind, and I’ll never ask or expect you to stop wearing your necklace. It’s a part of who you are now. I can’t imagine you without that thing.”
Again, the fact that we’ve only seen each other a handful of times since we met slinks into my head. Eric keeps making comments that suggest we’ve known each other for much longer.
“Besides, it’s okay. I know I rock your world better than anyone can.” I can hear the mirth in his tone, and I grin up at him to see a teasing smile on his face.
“You, sir, are one cocky man.”
“Who, me?” He feigns shock and waves me off. “Nah. Maybe a little presumptuous, but not cocky,” he exclaims with a, ‘I would never,’ attitude.
“Presumptuous? Yeah, maybe just a little,” I tease.
His demeanor turns serious. “I’ve known I want you for a long time, . I just manifested I’d get the chance, and when I did, I knew I needed to do whatever it took to keep you.”
“Six weeks is a long time?”
His signature smirk sets my insides on fire, and for a moment, I wonder what it would be like to have sex on top of a mountain.
As though he knows precisely where my dirty thoughts have strayed, Eric maneuvers me back against the rock, covering my mouth with his in a heated kiss.
Archer whines, which causes Bagel to start making a commotion as well, and we laugh as we look at our poor pups, who are staring at us like they know we were about to scar them for life.
“Let’s head back,” Eric whispers against my lips before kissing me again. “I have a big dinner planned and then a very special dessert.”
“I love dessert.” I draw him down for another kiss. “Is it a surprise, or can I know what it is?”
“It’s not a surprise.” He shakes his head before smoothly transitioning into nodding it. “ Intimate s’mores.”
“Intimate?” I can only imagine what that means, and the anticipation of mixing chocolate and marshmallows with sex curls down my limbs, hot and heavy. “How do the graham crackers fit into that?” I ask with a lilt, arching my brow.
That damn sexy smirk crawls across his face again. “Baby, there are no graham crackers on this camping trip.”