Chapter 25
Although our stay in Canada has been pretty nice so far, it’s now one step closer to being heaven on earth. Slex is back on the table, and I mean that metaphorically and literally, given the two steamy breakfasts we’ve had right on the dinner table.
Our routine remains kind of the same—we still have our quality time, board games, movie night, breakfast together—but now with amazing sex sprinkled on top and two to three hikes per week.
Overall, we’re being reasonable, though. My recovering stamina didn’t really allow for a proper slexathon, and by the time my endurance grows back to the way it used to be, we don’t require two days of uninterrupted sex to make up for it.
Isolated in the middle of nowhere by a minor lake in British Columbia, we find our harmony again.
We’re happy, truly happy like there’s no limit to bliss, happy like only we could be.
Everything else becomes background noise, even the danger we’re in, the uncertainty of our future.
It’s all in a sealed box in the back of our minds, as we focus on the present instead, on enjoying each other and whatever is at our disposal.
But I’m not immune to nostalgia either, so now and then I find myself missing my life, my friends, and my family. I talk to my mom and Kate nearly every day, video calling when possible. So I miss everyone in a physical manner. I miss going out and getting drunk with my friends, or hugging my mom.
We’ve been up here for nearly two months now, and they’re growing restless, asking when we’ll be back.
In all truth, I don’t know. Lex has looked into Norman Becker, but so far, he hasn’t found anything more damaging than what we already found and released to the public.
We need our five stones and a sling, like David when he killed Goliath, but so far … we have nothing.
That might be why I’m in no rush to return to Seattle. By being here, we’re avoiding our responsibility, staying safe with our heads deep in the sand as we ignore the looming threat. For as long as we’re here, we’re protected from Norman Becker and his trigger-happy goons.
Or maybe I love nature a lot more than I thought I did. That’s the only way I could explain why I suggest we try the two-day hike Lex has been eyeing for a while.
“To celebrate our two months here,” I explain.
“Are you sure? It’s seventeen miles on day one, fourteen on day two.”
“Yeah, I am. I’ve gotten a lot better.”
“We’d have to sleep in a tent.”
“I realize that.”
“Carry enough food and water for two days.”
I sigh and give him a blank stare. “Do you want me to change my mind?”
“I want you to be sure. I don’t want it to be a bad experience for you.”
“I’ve been camping before, you know. I’m not so sure you have, city boy.”
“I haven’t.”
“Then you are the one who will suffer. A camping mattress is nothing like the memory foam ones you’re used to. And given your age, your back is just going to be—”
“Do you want me to change my mind?”
“I’d simply hate for this to be a bad experience for you,” I retort with feigned nonchalance.
“Alright, how about the first one to complain gets a penalty?”
My competitiveness immediately has me perking up. “Go on,” I encourage.
“Oral. For an hour.”
“Giving or receiving?”
He frowns at me, confused. “Doesn’t one of those feel like more of a penalty to you?”
“With you? I’m not sure. Last time you went down on me for an hour, I felt like my clit might fall off. But then again, I’ll definitely get lockjaw if I have to suck on your dick for that long.”
“Then we’re allowed to spread it out. An hour in total, over several times.”
With any of my exes, this would have been a sweet deal. Getting them to eat me out was a whole thing, but with Lex … It’s not much of a penalty since we go down on each other all the time. But I like the challenge of it, and I’m fairly sure I can do this hike without complaining a single time.
“Two hours and you have a deal,” I suggest, extending my hand.
“It’s on,” he agrees, shaking it.
To prepare for our hike, we drive to the nearest town to get some gear.
Neither of us really knows what we’re doing, but thankfully, the store clerk is very helpful and knows exactly what we need.
By the time we return to the house, we have a tent, an inflatable mattress, a tiny gas stove, and two sleeping bags.
We also bought a bunch of trail snacks, as well as two cans of beans and a Moka pot for the morning coffee.
Three days later, the weather offers us the perfect window. It’s sunny, warm, and perfect for our hike. I’m not so sure I want to do it anymore, but there’s no way I’m backing down from this. This would count as me losing the bet, and I’m not getting my jaw stuck open wide for weeks.
I’m truly loving all those hikes, sensing my body grow stronger with each one.
My butt is firm, as well as my thighs, and I’m feeling muy bonita—probably because Lex can’t keep his hands to himself.
But we always space out our hikes with at least a day in between, so I’m slightly concerned I might suffer on the way back.
At the very worst, I’ll lie down like a child and wait for Lex to carry me down the mountain like a sack of potatoes.
Or he has the means to call a rescue helicopter, which I’m also open to.
So, on D-Day, we both have our backpacks ready to go. And if Lex, like me, isn’t feeling it as much as before, he doesn’t let me know. Which means that, like two stubborn idiots too proud to back out, we load the car and get in, willing to drive an hour and a half to do the damn hike.
The ride there is beautiful, and with the Lord of the Rings soundtrack, it looks out of this world.
We easily find the track’s starting point, park the car next to a few others, and take out our stuff.
My bag is lighter than Lex’s, but it’ll still prove a little challenging.
I can do it, though. And then, I’ll rest for an entire week.
We’re out of spring, and the summer is blooming and gorgeous around us, a sight to behold.
We walk at a steady pace, take a few breaks here and there to rest our feet and stay hydrated, and I often stop to take pictures.
I can’t show them to anyone yet, but I might get to when all this mess is over.
My phone dies on me before we’re even at the campsite by the gorgeous emerald-colored lake, so I use Lex’s. “Can you give me the power bank?” I ask once I’m done taking a bunch of pictures.
“You have it.”
“No, you do. It’s heavy, so you were the one taking it.”
“Well, I didn’t,” he says with a slight wince.
“Ah, fuck. Well, all we have left is your thirty percent of battery, then.”
“It shouldn’t be a problem. It’s not like we have cell coverage anyway.”
We proceed to set up the tent, or rather, Lex does, while I emotionally support him. He’s the certified genius, after all, not me. Another couple arrives about an hour after we set up camp, and they settle their own tent about a hundred yards from us.
“Oh, that’s a good thing,” I tell Lex as we watch them take out their stuff.
“How so?”
“If a bear attacks in the middle of the night, it might go for them first. And their screams of horror will wake us up, allowing us to strategize.”
A disbelieving smile breaks on his face. “You’re a terrible person,” he eventually says, still grinning.
“What can I say, your pragmatism is rubbing off on me, Mr. Wilson.”
The sun is setting as we eat our canned beans, and once the night is fully here, we stargaze for a few hours, lying on our mats, covered by a common sleeping bag. We don’t last very long, though, since the way up here was tiring.
We’re getting ready for the night when Lex realizes what the sleeping bags mean. “So, we’re sleeping in separate bags?” he wonders, glaring at them.
“Yeah, that’s how it works, baby.”
“I don’t like that.”
I roll my eyes at his clinginess but return to brushing my teeth. He does something with the sleeping bags, and once he’s done, he proudly brandishes his creation. “Ta-da,” he says in a manner that is way too endearing.
“Is that a double sleeping bag?”
“Yes, I zipped them together.”
“Clever.”
While he takes his turn with the water and toothpaste, I slip into the wide sleeping bag and wriggle until I’m comfortably settled on the air mat. Lex soon joins me, seemingly as excited as a child on Christmas, and wraps his arms around me, pulling me close.
“You did so good today, freckles,” he murmurs against my forehead.
“And I didn’t complain once.”
“We went even faster than we planned. You nailed it.”
“You did the same trail,” I remind him, proud of my performance but not that impressed by it. “And you would have been much faster without me.”
“Yes, but my legs are twice the length of yours,” he teases. I pinch his ribs, making him jolt.
Silence falls in the tent, but outside, the noises of the night seep in. Some frogs are chanting the song of their people, there’s an owl somewhere out there doing the same, and some cricket-like insects, too.
Enchanted by it all, I melt into Lex’s strong body.
He smells like the wet wipes we used to clean up, and still a little sweaty beyond it.
His fingers draw random swirls on my shoulder, and the lulling sound of his strong heart thumps in my ear.
Like every time I’m this close to him, something awakens in me.
Maybe he’s right. Maybe I’m a sex addict.
“May I interest you in a tent quickie?” I try.
“Thought you’d never ask,” he groans.
I’m giggling as his hands get busy in the shared sleeping bag, pulling down my shorts and underwear. Since we have twelve miles left tomorrow, the reasonable thing would probably be to sleep now and be well rested.
But how the hell am I supposed to rest when this is my husband?
Waking up to the joyful sounds of birds is definitely something we don’t get in Seattle. Maybe I’ll program Iris to play chirping sounds when we go back home because this is lovely.