4. You Miss Your People
4
YOU MISS YOUR PEOPLE
I blink my eyes open at the sound of a phone. It’s not mine, and I push up from Amy, looking at her blearily. It was so comfortable resting on her that I must have dozed off. Amy looks at me with a smile, and her eyes widen when her phone rings again.
“Shoot.” Amy scrambles and twists from under me and starts moving out of the bedroom. “Where is my phone?”
Rolling off the bed and onto my feet, my thoughts keep knitting together. “I think near the kitchen?”
Amy curses under her breath as she sashays back into the kitchen, bending to grab her jeans and pulling the phone from the back pocket, tapping the screen before holding it to her ear. I grin as I collect my boxers and step into them, pulling them up around my waist, before bending to grab her discarded panties and hold them up to her.
“Hey, where are you?” She smiles as she takes her panties and tries to hold the phone to her cheek with her shoulder. I catch it as it slips, bringing it back to her, grinning. She shrugs and smiles as she leans and pulls her panties up. “Oh! You’re close.”
“Leah and Paige?” I mouth as Amy takes her phone from me. She nods, holds her finger to her lips, and taps the speaker button.
“Drive around to cabin ten when you get here,” she says into the phone while she winks at me.
“The one opposite the lodge?” It's an unfamiliar voice, and Amy mouths at me. “Paige.”
“Yeah, I’m with a guest. I think you’ll want to meet him.”
“Oooh you’re with a maaaan?” Another voice I determine is Leah's singsongs. “Do we know him?”
“You do.” Amy kisses my chest. “You went to high school with him.”
“That’s scandalous,” Paige giggles. “I didn’t like any boys in high school.”
“We were kind of a thing before outdoor school.” I kiss her forehead before picking up our clothes from the floor.
The girls chat back and forth, and while I appreciate her keeping the line open, it’s also a little awkward listening to them gossip and giggle. I realize, listening, though, that I enjoy Leah and Paige's banter, and seeing them again excites me. We pull our clothes on while she keeps up the conversation. My thoughts cycle with unfamiliar feelings, but I keep smiling. I haven't allowed myself to feel emotions for a long time. I kept my distance from the few lovers I’ve enjoyed of late to stay free from entanglements. Living on the road isn’t conducive to being in a relationship. But I'm beginning to hate the grind of endless travel.
“Yeah, okay. See you in five!” Amy says and ends the call, looking at me. “They just turned off the highway.”
“That’s great.” I smile, walking into the bedroom to straighten the sheets. “Why did you want them to come here?”
“I dunno. I panicked. It’ll be fine.” She laughs and starts helping on the opposite side of the bed
“I know it will.” I grin and nod. “I believe you.”
She grins, and we go quiet, working together to fix the messy bed. I realize that I trust her. The raw emotions from our lovemaking return. They feel odd because I’ve been alone for so many years, never having a connection with my sexual partners. Having a sense of home is weird, but I can’t reject the comfort that has taken up residence in my chest. I hug Amy close as we finish the chore.
“It feels natural, being with you,” I admit, kissing her forehead and rubbing my palms up and down her back.
“Same, Kurt,” Amy says, resting her cheek against my chest. I know she is listening to the steady beat of my heart. “I’ve always felt that way with you.”
Her voice is soft, and we share a quiet moment with our arms around each other until we hear tires crunching on the gravel outside. Amy looks up at me, combing my hair with her fingers, and I chuckle and do the same. She twists her head and lifts her brow at me with a question in her eye.
“You look great. Not a hair out of place,” I say, and she giggles.
“You too.” she takes my hand, which feels just as comfortable as holding her.
She pulls me to the front door, opening it wide and squealing as she lets go of my hand to hurry down the stairs. I follow behind her slowly and watch as she wraps the driver in her arms. Paige looks as I'd expected from her Facebook profile. Her raven hair is styled in a pixie cut, and her light-blue eyes sparkle as she hugs Amy. When she turns and sees me, her mouth falls open.
“Kurt fucking Darby!” She shoots a glance at Amy. “ This is the secret guy?”
Amy nods as I approach them. I peer over the car and smile at Leah, whose trademark red curls are slightly faded. Her bright-green eyes twinkle as she winks at me over the car’s roof. “Hey, Kurt.”
Amy breaks away from Paige to walk toward Leah, who is walking around the back of the car. Paige focuses on me, tilting her head. I open my arms, and Paige laughs as she wraps her arms around me. “Still a nerd."
Her teasing doesn't bother me, and I barely glance back when Leah plows into me. She giggles, and we squeeze together. When everyone leans into the group hug, we all laugh. It feels natural to enjoy the company of these three women I haven't seen in years.
As we break from the huddle, my head spins as my thoughts rewind to the past. All of them were a year behind me in high school, but we ran in the same circle when I was a senior. Amy moved away before my senior year, and I took Leah to the prom when neither of us could find another date. When I went to college the following year, Amy was a senior at the local high school nearby. I readily accepted when she asked if I wanted to escort her to the winter dance. We had a great time, but with the separation because of her new morals from bible camp, we didn’t do much besides dance and talk.
I’d been friends with all of them during my last two years of high school but never really saw any of them as romantic interests. Amy and I burned hot that summer but faded quickly when she returned from bible camp and moved away. Leah and Paige were always playing sports. They were all energetic and fun. Reconnecting on Facebook was nice, but our brief interactions stayed casual. Through the years, they've always made me smile.
Amy points to the cabin next to mine. “That’s your cabin, girls,” she says before pointing to my cabin. “Kurt’s in this one.”
“Where are you staying?” Paige smirks, her eyes sparkling.
Amy and I trade a look, and I nod at her and turn back to the new arrivals. “She’s going to stay with me. Unless she wants to sleep alone in the lodge.”
“Sounds boring.” Amy laughs and pulls my head down to kiss me, whispering. “A little presumptuous cowboy, but I like that you took charge.”
I grin before looking back at Paige and Leah, whose mouths are agape. “Can I help you with your bags?”
“Oh, um. Sure,” Paige says, double-clicking her key fob, and the trunk pops open.
I fill my arms with their bags, feeling an upwelling of satisfaction. I like Amy a lot; she and I could have fun this weekend. That’s all it would be. We wouldn’t get all mushy or catch any feelings. I ignore that I don't believe that.
I follow the three ladies as they chatter and climb the steps to the cabin next door. As I walk into the open living space, I notice their cabin mirrors mine with a bedroom, an ensuite bath, and a kitchen, but everything is opposite. Amy takes their linen grocery tote from me while I take the rest of their bags into their room. As I place their bags on the bed, I notice my cabin’s window faces theirs.
Returning to the main room, I see Amy and Paige storing the food in the kitchen as Leah sits on one of the sofas. The kitchen is small for one person, let alone two, so I walk in and sit beside Leah.
“It’s good to see you, Kurt,” she says. “It’s been a long time.”
“Yeah, it’s a long story. I moved to Texas when I got out of the Navy,” I say, turning toward her. “Congratulations. Amy told me you and Paige are married.”
“I never saw myself settling down with a guy.” She shrugs. “Paige and I just fit, you know? Never any squabbles. We communicate. Once it was legal here, we decided to do the paperwork. It’s a good feeling to have a home with someone. What do you do in Texas?”
“I travel.” I laugh. “I’m hardly in my apartment, which doesn’t feel like a home. It's more like a lower hotel-class suite than where I stay when I travel. When I’m in Texas, I always note the absence of mountains.”
“Yeah.” Leah smiles and reaches to pat my thigh. “You miss us, don’t you? It’s not just the mountains or the ocean. You miss your people. I can see it when you smile at Amy.”
Her words resonate with the ripples of thoughts I’ve had while hanging out with Amy. We connected physically as if twenty years hadn’t passed, and it felt oddly comforting. Talking to Leah and my short hug with Paige brought the same soothing, chill vibe that feels more like home. I glance at Amy and shrug, “It might be that. I know I’m feeling burnt out with the schedule I keep.”
“Why do you keep doing it?” Her question hangs in the air, and she pulls her hand back and leans against the sofa. “I’m prying. I’m sorry. I want to know what you’re up to. You have this aura of… It’s not sadness, but it has a similar flavor.” She laughs and shakes her head. “Paige says I’m too empathetic and that it’s uncomfortable to some people. I don’t want to freak you out.”
“You’re not freaking me out,” I say, hearing the defensiveness in my voice. “I… Let’s have a nice weekend. I’ll have plenty of time to sort things out after I give my body a few days of less stress. I’m just overworked.”
“You’re more in tune with your needs than you think, Kurt.” Her smile is genuine, and I return it, feeling something warm stir inside me. “I’ll be here if you need anyone to listen or vent to. Clearing the stress you’re feeling is important.”