15. A Reason
15
A REASON
T heo
I slept better than I had in years, with Lux tucked into my arms, her soft breath fanning across my chest. The sun had fully risen before I opened my eyes to the sounds of the day. People were up and moving around, talking amongst themselves down at the beach.
I could smell coffee and food being prepped, but I still didn’t want to move. Not when Lux was still sleeping peacefully in my arms, her warm breasts pressed against my side.
I could lay like this with her forever and be content to do just that, raging morning wood and all. But Lux started stirring too, stretching beside me, her fingers splaying out across my chest.
“Mmm,” she murmured, nestling closer to me. “Good morning.”
“Good morning, beautiful,” I pressed a kiss to her forehead, and she smiled sleepily at me.
“What time is it?” she asked.
“Probably ten or eleven, judging by the sun,” I replied, and Lux’s eyes widened as she took in the sounds of the camp.
“Oh,” she blushed. “So much for sneaking back to my tent. I need to change and brush the nest out of my hair.”
“You could still do that,” I assured her.
Neither one of us moved, though.
“Don’t worry about the others. Like I said last night, they might tease us a little, but I think we can handle that.”
Lux nodded, biting down on her lower lip, her eyes contemplative. “I bet Jasmine’s dying to launch an inquisition.”
“Oh probably,” I chuckled, holding her closer and running my hand along the small of her bare back. “But for the record, I really like you, Lux. A lot. I’d be willing to see where this takes us, if that’s what you want. But if you just want a hookup, I’m more than happy to be that, too.” It pained me to say it, because I wanted to be more than a rebound hookup for her—but if that’s all I was to her, I’d be happy for that tiny slice.
Lux’s mouth opened and closed, she was at a total loss for words. She took a minute before responding.
“I like you a lot too, Theo.”
“That’s all that matters then,” I said before kissing her again. Lux’s hand travelled from my chest down my stomach until she reached my throbbing cock. She arched her brow, finding me hard.
“What can I say, I loved waking up with you in my arms,” I added, unashamed of my body’s reaction to her.
“I’d love to help you out, but I have to pee again,” she giggled, giving me a squeeze and a pump that made my hips tense and a groan escape me before she withdrew her hand and sat up.
“God damn, you’re vicious,” I teased as she moved about my tent, collecting her clothes. She put her bra on and sent me a devious smile over her shoulder before she pulled on her t-shirt and sweater.
“Want me to kiss it better?” she asked, eyeing my massive problem. I wrapped my hand around my cock, stroking it, the very idea of having her lips on me made me feel like a hormonal teenager.
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Lux. If you start that, we’ll end up fucking again—and I can’t promise to go gently on you. You won’t be able to keep quiet.”
Lux’s eyes widened, her cheeks pinkening as her tongue darted out to lick the seam of her lips. “Rain check?” she asked hopefully, and I grinned wider.
“Bet on it,” I told her. She shivered with delight before standing up and unzipping my tent, peering outside. When she found the coast was clear, she snuck out, zipping it up behind her.
I could see her shadow walk around my tent, towards her and Jasmine’s. I remained in my tent, willing my throbbing erection to calm down so I could leave.
It took me ten minutes of forcing myself to think about unpleasant things before it went away. Then I got dressed and tidied my tent, throwing away the used condom in one of the small empty garbage bags I’d had tucked in my bag for dirty clothes.
I brushed my teeth outside my tent, using the water in my water bottle to rinse my mouth before shoving my toothbrush and toothpaste back in my bag. After putting on some deodorant, I felt presentable enough to join the others.
Rhiannon, Baz, Talia, Zoey and Kai were all gathered around the fire on the beach. Breakfast had been cooked and coffee had been made. Baz saw me approaching and sent a knowing grin my way.
“Morning, sleepyhead,” he said.
“Sounds like you had a great night,” Talia chimed in. “Not much sleeping at all, huh?”
Lux still hadn’t come down from her tent, so I sent them all a no-nonsense look. “Yeah, and I’d appreciate it if you guys could leave her alone about it.”
Talia lifted her hands, surrendering. “Easy, cowboy. We won’t comment on your ride in front of the missus. Just saying, congrats on finally growing a pair.”
I ignored her, fixing myself a coffee. “Where’s Des and Jasmine?”
“Still getting ice. They left around eight this morning, so they should be back soon.” Baz answered.
I looked up, seeing Lux approaching the group warily. I made her a coffee the way I’d seen her make it the last few days, adding cream and a few scoops of sugar to it. She smiled when I handed it to her and went to sit in her chair.
“Morning, Lux. Hope you slept well last night,” Rhiannon said warmly, her smile welcoming.
Lux had been taking a sip of coffee, and choked on it a little. She coughed, her cheeks heating. “Yeah, I slept great,” she managed after a moment.
Talia sniggered, but Baz kicked her floaty and when I shot her a glare, she peered up at me innocently.
“Are Jasmine and Desmond still gone?” she asked. I knew she was trying to change the subject.
“Yep,” Talia answered. “When they get back, we’re planning on doing another day of cliff jumping—if you’re up for it.”
“That sounds fun,” Lux nodded.
“There’s some egg hash if you guys are hungry, it’s a little cold but it still tastes good,” Rhiannon commented, gesturing to the cast iron pan with breakfast in it.
“Thanks,” Lux smiled at her, but before she could stand up and fix a plate, I was already grabbing two plates.
“I’ve got it,” I told her, our eyes connecting across the fire. She smiled, her cheeks heating beneath my gaze.
I could tell Rhiannon and Zoey were struggling not to make a big deal of it, and Talia was acting fully absorbed in her playlist. I had to give her credit, the only tell she had was her twitching lips. I knew the second we were alone, she’d razz the hell out of me about it.
I didn’t care, though. Lux was worth every moment of razzing from my friends, I didn’t want them to make her feel uncomfortable about what had transpired between us, or what would continue to transpire between us on the rest of the trip if I had my way.
After grabbing us something to eat, I moved to sit in Jasmine’s empty chair beside Lux, handing her the plate I’d fixed for her. She smiled her thanks, her gaze timid as she accepted the plate from my outstretched hand.
“Gonna be a beaut of a day!” Baz remarked, glancing up at the clear sky with approval.
“Might suck packing up and leaving tomorrow, though,” Talia snorted, holding her phone up to show her weather app. “A massive thunderstorm is moving in tonight.”
A flash of alarm filtered across Lux’s stunning face, her fork freezing halfway to her mouth with a scoop of egg hash on it. “Thunderstorm? Aren’t we supposed to not be on the water for that? Or in a tent with metal poles?” she asked, her voice full of concern. She set the fork down without taking a bite.
“How much rain, Tal?” I asked, leaning forward.
“8 millimetres per hour from midnight, and steadily coming down until dusk with scattered thunder and lightning throughout the day.”
“That sounds like a lot of rain, and thunder,” Lux worried her bottom lip.
“Hmm,” Rhiannon said thoughtfully. “Maybe we’ll pack it up and head home later this afternoon.”
At that moment, Jasmine and Desmond rounded the corner in the canoe, paddling up to the beach.
Jasmine jumped out of the canoe carrying a bag of ice. “Morning, friends! Glad to see you’re all awake and functioning,” she said, her attention going to Lux and me with a knowing look.
“Yeah, yeah, we slept in. So sue us,” I shook my head, watching as Desmond pulled the canoe onto the beach.
“We were debating on whether we should pack up and head home later this afternoon, actually. It’s a beautiful day today, but tomorrow’s supposed to be a nightmare.”
“Yeah, Des and I were talking about that too. I wouldn’t mind packing up and canoeing in the rain, but I’m worried about the thunderstorms. That’s gonna make getting back to the marina a little sketchy. I guess we could always miss check-out and get charged another night.”
“I work Wednesday, so that won’t do,” Zoey frowned with a sigh.
“Well, we could pack up camp, then go do some cliff jumping, then come back to get our supplies before we head to the marina?” Rhiannon suggested.
“Sounds good to me,” Jasmine shrugged, opening the main cooler we were using for food now and dumping the ice in. “What do you think, Lux?”
“Well, I definitely don’t want to get caught in a thunderstorm, so I’m down for that.” Lux replied. With the issues resolved, she resumed eating the rest of her breakfast.
Desmond and Jasmine grabbed something to eat, and once we’d cleaned up from breakfast, we started packing up camp. Everyone went off to start taking down their tents.
Once all the tents were put away and all our gear piled nicely beneath the shade of the trees, we packed a small cooler of food and drinks and headed to the cliffs.
Lux
Jasmine and I lagged behind the others, following at a distance enough away that we could talk quietly.
“So, you didn’t come back to the tent last night,” she said.
I glanced over my shoulder, and she wiggled her eyebrows at me.
“You’re right, I didn’t…I uh, crashed with Theo,” I replied, turning my head to face forward again. My gaze went forward to where Theo and Desmond were cutting through the water ahead of us.
“Mmhmm, and how was crashing with Theo?”
“Amazing, actually,” I answered, smiling to myself. “He was incredible.” I shook my head, trying to find the adequate words to describe how I felt and coming up short.
But Jasmine didn’t seem to need me to elaborate. “That’s great, Lux! I knew you guys would be amazing together.”
“How did you know that?” I frowned, glancing back at her.
She lifted a shoulder in a delicate shrug. “Call it intuition, but I’ve been wanting to introduce you to Theo for years. You kept dodging my attempts to get you to come visit.”
“Hmm,” I murmured, returning my gaze to the front. Jasmine was right. I had dodged her invites to visit her in Sudbury or join her on camping trips. “Well, I don’t know what’s going to happen tomorrow—or in the future, for that matter.”
“Did he say anything?”
“He said he really likes me, and that he’s willing to see where this goes…” I shrugged.
“That’s awesome! All the more reason for you to move to Sudbury and be my roomie.”
“Jas, I don’t want to move for a guy.” I sent her a look over my shoulder.
“I know, and you’re not. You’re moving to get away from your toxic sister and your enabling parents,” Jasmine replied.
I stopped scowling, she had a point there.
After a few days of clarity, I could honestly say I didn’t want to go back to that environment. I loved my parents dearly—hell, I even loved my sister, despite the pain she caused—but I knew I couldn’t stay in that situation. It was breaking me apart bit by bit. I knew if I stayed there, my confidence would continue to take hit after hit as these wounds festered in the toxicity.
“I could get you a job at the Burger Bar,” Jasmine added. She’d worked at a bar that served burgers and other grilled foods part-time for the past four years to bring in some extra cash while she was in school.
“We’ll see,” I said. I wasn’t against the idea, but I was still holding out hope for a position in my field. I reminded myself that it might take time, and a job would be a job, regardless of its description. Plenty of post-graduates had to find filler jobs while looking for positions in their new fields, Jasmine included. She still worked at the Burger Bar.
We joined the others. Talia had been the first to arrive, and she’d already tied her kayak off and was helping Theo and Desmond with the canoes.
Talia held Rhiannon and Baz’s canoe steady so Moose and Rhiannon could climb out. Baz handed Talia the cooler, and she took it, setting it down on the rocky platform.
Once Baz was out on the platform, Theo swam the rope, tugging their canoe along behind him to tie it off with the others.
Then it was our turn.
“The way you guys work together is impressive,” I remarked, taking Talia’s hand while she tugged me out. She grinned.
“Lots of practice, Princess,” she told me, winking.
Jasmine threw her pack out onto the ledge, then tossed the rope to Theo in the water. She took Desmond’s hand, pulling herself out. Her foot caught the edge of the rocky platform and she tripped, falling into him. Desmond caught her with ease and smiled down at her. I couldn’t help but giggle; that same pesky edge had gotten me the other day.
Jasmine wasn’t usually a blusher, but her cheeks flushed. She stepped back abruptly, busying herself by picking up her pack from the ledge while Theo swam our canoe over to the others and tied it off.
“Let’s get this party started!” Talia rubbed her hands together gleefully. We all started walking up the pathway, and I ended up walking in front of Theo and behind Jasmine and Desmond. I could feel Theo’s eyes on me, and I tripped on the uneven ground.
His hands came out to steady my hips, his fingers gentle but firm. His steady touch reminded me of how his hands had felt on me last night, and my body heated in response.
I looked back at him over my shoulder, and his lips curved into a dazzling smile. “Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I replied, tucking my hair behind my ear as he released me. We continued walking up the incline.
By the time we reached the top of the cliffs, Talia, Kai, and Zoey had already set their packs down and headed to the edge of the cliff. We’d barely made it to the campfire area before the three of them launched themselves off the cliff, wasting no time getting to the business of cliff jumping.
Rhiannon was relaxing in the chair Baz had carried up for her, a paperback on her lap and her big sunglasses on. She wouldn’t be jumping but said she’d wanted to catch some sun and rest a little before our journey back to the marina. Moose was curled up at her feet, chewing on a stick he’d found along the trail up. Baz clipped Moose’s leash to his collar.
“You good?” he asked, handing Rhiannon the leash. She took it, wrapping it around her hand once.
“Yup, peachy!” she replied, tilting her head to kiss Baz when he leaned over.
Though they’d mainly kept him off leash for the duration of the camping trip, he was tied up now to prevent him from launching off the cliff after Baz.
Once Baz was sure they were situated, he saluted us and walked over to the edge of the cliff, peering down to make sure nobody was in his way.
“Are you coming, Lux?” Jasmine asked me.
“Not yet, I’ll chill here for a bit.” My thighs were burning from the exertion of climbing the steep cliff pathway, and my legs felt a little weak. I was tired; I needed a moment to catch my breath, and a bottle of water to rehydrate. It was hot with the sun overhead.
“I’ll hang with you,” Theo offered, reaching into his bag for a couple of water bottles. “Want a water, Rhi?”
“I’m good,” Rhiannon answered, holding up her giant water bottle. Theo nodded, his hand going to the small of my back as he guided me over to one of the large rocks nearby.
I sat down, sliding my backpack off my shoulders and letting it fall to the ground beside me. Theo held out one of the water bottles to me, and I took it with a grateful smile, twisting the cap and holding it up to my lips. Taking a long pull, I watched as Baz, Jasmine and Desmond all leaped from the edge of the cliff.
“They have so much energy, where do they get it from?” I commented, feeling weary down to my bones. This trip had exhausted me as much as it exhilarated and awakened me.
“They weren’t up all night,” Theo reminded me with a subtle wink. Rhiannon snorted with amusement from behind her paperback, and my cheeks heated with embarrassment.
It was strange having so many people know our business, but I suppose we couldn’t have been more obvious about what we were doing. It was easy to put two and two together.
Instead of replying, I avoided Theo’s gaze and continued sipping my water. He sat down beside me, his thigh pressed against mine.
“So, what did you think of your first camping trip? Is it something you’d do again?” he asked a few moments later.
“Yeah, actually. I would totally do it again,” I surprised myself by answering.
If I’d been asked a few days ago, I would have had a different answer. But now that camp was packed up and we were on our last little adventure before heading back…I was already missing it.
And already dreading having to face the drama I’d left behind.
Theo’s smile lit me up, and I couldn’t help but grin back. The drama felt miles away when he looked at me like that.
“It’s a lot of work, but it’s worth it for these views, huh?” Rhiannon remarked, gazing around with contentment.
“It really is stunning,” I nodded, taking in the landscape. My phone was in my bag, so I reached over to grab it. I hadn’t checked it nearly as many times as I thought I would, nor had I taken many pictures, but I wanted to take one of this view from the top of the cliffs. I turned my phone sideways and took a landscape shot, hoping I captured at least half of the beauty I was witnessing.
Once I’d taken a few photos, I shoved the phone back in my bag, not bothering to check my emails. I still had no reception, so nothing was loading anyway. I was thankful for the silence, though.
I knew it was a temporary respite from what awaited me back home. Jasmine’s idea of renting a room off Desmond and Theo fluttered around in my brain. I had to admit, that idea was sounding more and more appealing the closer time got to when I’d have to face my sister—and parents—again.