Memorial Day Weekend - Saturday
BEN
"Whoa. That's her friend?" Eli says as we pull up to Lainey's apartment.
I peel my gaze away from Lainey and her gorgeous legs on display in a pair of cutoff jean shorts and look at the woman standing next to her. She's already familiar to me since I saw her in the picture Lainey sent me on St. Patrick's Day. She's attractive—dark hair, seafoam green eyes, and a nice curvy body. It's too bad I feel zero attraction to her. But if Eli does...
"Yeah, that's Josie. I haven't officially met her yet."
"Nice. Looks like you're in good hands."
Well, damn. Eli thinks I'm interested in this double date, but I'm mostly focusing on keeping my cool while Eli hits on Lainey all weekend. We park and get out of Eli's SUV. Lainey introduces Josie, and I do the same for Eli.
"So, you're the famous Eagle Scout?" Josie asks Eli.
Lainey and I look at each other at the mention of Eagle. Last I heard, Kathleen was still keen on Lainey meeting her yoga instructor, and Lainey was doing her best to ignore her.
Eli smiles charmingly as he glances between the women. "I'm famous? "
"I was told you could do all the camping things. Have to admit, it's one of the main reasons I agreed to go. Nature and I have a love-hate relationship."
"Don't worry, I know my way around a campsite." He winks at her.
Josie laughs. "Oh my God, did you just wink? Man, this is going to be fun."
Eli looks a little taken aback by that before he shifts his focus to Lainey. He gives her a kiss on the cheek. "Hey, gorgeous."
Lainey blushes. "Hey." She glances at me and quickly averts her gaze. “So, ready to get this show on the road?” She gestures to the stuff waiting to get loaded.
While Eli brought his own tent, Lainey's company provided one too, which is still in the box. Lainey and Josie provided most of the food and drinks, so there are two giant coolers. Lainey only has one backpack that's stuffed to the gills, but Josie has three bags at her feet. Eli picks one up, his expression slightly annoyed. "You know it's a camping trip. You don't need a wardrobe change each day."
Josie gives him a sassy look. "One of them is a first aid bag. I don't leave home without it."
"I've got a first-aid kit. We don't need two."
"It's going. You can leave yours if you want."
"Yours is twice the size as mine. We're already low on space." Eli's frustration is clear.
Josie puts her hands on her hips. "Look, Scout, this bag is going. I'll keep it in my lap the whole time if it bothers you that much. I'm a nurse, and this bag covers almost any emergency situation. There's no way I'm going camping without it."
Eli puts his hands up in surrender. "Fine."
He turns toward the back of the car and looks at me, then rolls his eyes. So much for hoping Josie would woo his interest away from Lainey. Once we're packed, Eli opens the passenger door for Lainey, so I get relegated to the backseat with Josie. We have a campsite off the Guadalupe River with close access to the river, so we have over an hour's drive ahead of us. She gives me a sympathetic look. Does she know how "close" Lainey and I have gotten these past months? Something tells me she isn’t completely in the dark.
Another laugh comes from the front seat thirty minutes later. That’s the tenth time he’s made her laugh—not that I’m counting. I tear my gaze away from the video Josie was showing me to see Lainey lean closer to Eli and give his arm a playful push. And that’s the sixth time they’ve touched. I can’t wait to get out of this fucking car.
When we get to our campsite, we unload, and the girls assign us to tent pitching. Eli gets his tent up with relative ease, but struggles with the bigger, newer one Lainey brought.
He presses his fingers to his forehead and mutters a curse as he stares at the instructions.
"What's the problem, Scout? I didn't think it would be so hard for you to pitch a tent," Josie tosses to Eli as she lounges in a camp chair with a beer in her hand.
He glares at her. "I can pitch a tent just fine."
Josie smirks and lets her gaze fall to his crotch. "Sure you can."
I'm pretty sure if Eli could shoot lasers from his eyes, he'd eviscerate Josie. He turns back to the pile of poles and the groundsheet, wincing and pressing his hand to his forehead again.
I go to the drink cooler and pull a couple beers from it and hand one over to Eli. "How about a beer break?"
Eli's mouth flattens as he tosses the instructions on the ground. "Why not? Already have a headache. It can't get any worse," he says, as he takes the beer .
"You sure? I can grab a water instead. I bet Josie has some great headache medicine in her first aid pack."
Eli glares at me and I cover up my laugh by taking a sip of beer.
"A tent this fucking fancy shouldn't be this hard to put together. Isn't it for bougie campers who don't know shit about camping?"
"I don't know, man. You're the professional."
Eli actually laughs at that. We finish our beers and tackle the tent again. Eli hands me the instructions this time, saying his headache is making it hard for him to focus. This does the trick, and we have the tent up within fifteen minutes. Eli falls into a camp chair like he's just run a marathon.
"Tent pitching really took it out of you, huh, Scout?"
Eyes closed, Eli's only response is to raise his middle finger in Josie's direction.
"Now that we're settled, do we want to tackle a hike? The trailhead down that way is supposed to have a great view of the river. It's only one and half miles," Lainey suggests.
"I suppose I can handle that," Josie says.
"That's one-way. Three miles total."
Josie scrunches up her nose. "Um, no thanks. I'd rather put my swimsuit on and lounge in the water with a bevi."
I look at Eli, who still has eyes closed. "Eli?"
He blinks an eye open. "Yeah, sure."
He sits up and goes to stand then winces and sits back down. Josie sits up and looks at him with concern. "Hey, not trying to bust your balls or anything, but I don't think a hike is a good idea right now. Professional opinion."
Surprisingly, he doesn't argue. He looks at Lainey apologetically. "Let me take some meds and hydrate so I can enjoy this evening. Just gotta get rid of this headache."
Lainey nods. "I think that's a good idea. I'm sorry you're not feeling well." She glances at me. "Do you want to hike or hang here?"
Like I'm going to pass up a chance to spend alone time with her. "I'd like to hike, if you're up for it."
Her smile is brilliant as she nods. We grab daypacks and water, then head off toward the trailhead.
"You think Eli is okay?" she asks, as we hit the trail.
"Must be a hell of a headache, because it's not like Eli to miss out on a hike. Hopefully, he'll be back to normal when we get back."
Okay, maybe there's a part of me that hopes he doesn't recover too quickly. It's not the best look on me, but I'm really enjoying having Lainey all to myself for the next couple of hours.
"So, um, you and Josie seemed to be getting along in the car."
I glance at her. "No more than you and Eli."
The way Lainey's mouth tightens tells me that wasn't the answer she was looking for. Yeah, Josie seems great, and we were having fun in the car, but there’s zero spark between us.
"She's nice," I concede.
“That’s it?”
"What do you want me to say?"
"I don't know."
"What about you and Eli?"
"What about us?"
"You seem to be getting along. Flirting."
She stops walking and puts her hands on hips. "Are you kidding me? You’re accusing me of flirting when you and Josie had your heads pressed together the whole ride."
“We were laughing at videos. You were the one that was all up in Eli’s business while he was driving.”
"I was not, but we’re supposed to be on a date. What do you want me to do? Not talk to him? "
"I don't know, Lainey. You're the one who started this whole conversation."
Her mouth opens as if to argue then she snaps it shut. A frustrated look comes over her face right before she starts walking again. After a few steps though she stops and looks at me. "He's nice."
I can't stop my grin, and her eyes narrow at me, but there's no real malice behind the look. Actually, her own grin forms before she starts walking again. "Come on, we have a lot of ground to cover.
Despite the rocky trail, the hike is fairly easy. Lainey and I talk about superficial stuff, avoiding anything related to our complicated friendship. After an hour, we get to the overlook.
"Oh my God, it's gorgeous," Lainey says, but I can't tear my gaze off her to see what is making her so happy. The only gorgeous thing I see is her. The way the deep orange and purples in the late afternoon sky kiss her face and how it makes a wistful smile on her lips even more magical. The way it gives vibrance to her brown eyes.
I get my phone and take a picture of her. She looks at me, and I don't know what she sees in my expression, but hers shifts, and awareness sparks between us. All I want to do is reach out, pull her into my arms, and kiss her until we're both breathless. My ultimate fantasy would be to strip her bare and grind her up and down my cock until she comes so hard the whole park hears it.
Her breath hitches, and I wonder if I said that out loud or if my thoughts are that transparent. I clear my throat and show her my phone screen. "This will be perfect for your post."
She smiles at the photo with a flush on her cheeks. "It's actually not bad. Thanks," she says and looks at me. "Now, you need to look at the view."
"I was. "
The flush in her cheeks deepens as she smiles shyly. Then, she takes my face in her hands and turns it toward the river. The view is well worth the hike, but I'd still rather look at Lainey. We find a place to sit and rest and enjoy the benefits of our work. She takes several pictures before scooting closer and puts her phone in selfie mode.
"I thought you could only post pictures of your real date."
She shrugs. "This is for us."
I try not to smile at that.
We take a picture of ourselves. Then we move so the view is behind us and take a few more pics. I can't help it, but in the last one I press a kiss to her temple. She doesn’t say anything, but when she scrolls through the photos, I notice she lingers on that one longer than the others.
"Send those to me please."
She nods and seems to be purposely not looking at me. After a bit more of a break, we hike back to the campsite. We find Josie lounging in the water on top of an inner tube with a drink in her hand.
"Where's Eli?"
She glances toward his tent. "He laid down. Think Scout will feel like making us dinner? I'm more of a take-out burger girl than making my own, so I'm banking on his expertise."
Man, Eli is going to seriously regret telling people he was an Eagle Scout before this weekend is over.
"I can grill the burgers," I offer.
"Woo-hoo!"
Lainey shakes her head. "Josie, you might want to consider learning some new skill sets. You're a nurse, you know eating out all the time isn't good for you."
"Hey, I can cook. When I want to."
Lainey crosses her arms. "I've had your spaghetti, and it leaves much to be desired. "
"Um, it's a jar of sauce and pasta. How am I messing that up?"
I laugh. "If you don't know what's wrong with that sentence, then that's where your cooking skills falter."
"Seriously," Lainey agrees. “You could add some ground beef or Italian sausage. Or throw in some pre-cooked meatballs, at the very least."
Josie waves off Lainey’s suggestion and takes a sip of her drink. I dip my head into our tent and see Eli waking up. “Hey man, how are you feeling?”
“Headache’s not gone, but better. I still have no desire to sit in the light right now.” He lowers his voice. “Don't tell Josie, but her meds are better than mine."
I chuckle at that. "Just chill. I'll get the burgers going. Sun should be tolerable in about an hour."
"Thanks, man. Oh, and please don't let Josie cook. Her cooking skills sound like a nightmare."
"No kidding."
An hour later, I have the burgers finished, and Eli joins us around the campfire. He looks a little pale but says he's feeling better, though he barely eats.
"Let's play Truth or Dare," Josie suggests after we finish our meal.
We all groan.
"Oh, come on. It'll be a fun way to get to know each other. Oh, wait. Let's do Never Have I Ever instead."
"Fine. I don't have it in me to try a dare," Eli says.
Josie claps and passes out fresh beers. "Okay, I'll start. Never have I ever been an Eagle Scout."
Eli glares at her as he takes a sip of his beer. "Never have I ever been a nurse," he returns.
"Mine was funnier." Josie drinks then says, "Never have I ever drunk texted someone begging them to fuck me."
Lainey glares at her. As she starts to drink, her gaze darts to mine, then away. Eli drinks, too, with a raise of his shoulders.
"Never have I ever been a frat bro," Eli says, forcing me to drink.
"Never have I ever gone skydiving," I toss out randomly to get us out of these personal strikes. Only Josie drinks.
"Never have I ever had sex this year," she says and takes a drink, her eyes taking on a mischievous gleam. Eli drinks, too.
I glance at Lainey. She doesn't drink, which means she hasn't been with anyone since I met her. And what happened between us on Mardi Gras technically wasn't sex.
Eli looks at me curiously while Josie looks at Lainey. "You haven't had an orgasm in six months?" she asks her.
Lainey lifts her brows. "That's a completely different question."
"I mean by someone other than yourself."
"Again, completely different question."
"Never have I ever had someone give me an orgasm in the last six months," Josie counters, then drinks.
Lainey sighs before she takes a drink, purposely not meeting my eyes. Josie looks at me, noticing I don't drink this time either. "Aren't you some legendary CTU fuckboy?"
Eli snorts a laugh. "Maybe I should have nicknamed you Fuckboy Ben instead of Frat Bro Ben."
I give him a look that makes him grimace a silent apology before turning back to Josie. "Legendary?"
"Not anymore, it seems," Eli says. “It’s hard to believe you haven't seen any action all year. How the hell did you go from sixty to zero?"
"I hit the brakes."
Eli narrows his gaze at me. "You haven't had any sex. At all?"
"What's your definition of sex?"
"Cock inside pussy."
Josie snorts a laugh, but looks at me expectantly, clearly interested in the answer.
I sigh. "No, I haven't."
Eli leans forward. "No BJ or handy?"
I shake my head.
"But you've given someone an orgasm," Josie says confidently.
"When did the game change to twenty questions?” I ask, but Eli and Josie continue to stare at me, waiting. I look at Lainey and finally take a drink.
"I knew you hadn't been a complete monk." Eli slouches back into his chair.
I can’t help but notice Josie is looking between me and Lainey, who is suddenly engrossed with her beer can.
"I have one," I say to take the heat off myself. "Never have I ever had Mexican food on St. Patrick's Day."
Josie and Lainey groan but drink.
"What?" Eli says. "That's sacrilege."
"Don't worry. I prayed a lot that night in repentance." Lainey shudders. "It's a good thing my love for Mexican food is strong."
"Oh, I have another," Josie says. "Never have I ever been an Eagle Scout and forgot how to pitch a tent."
Eli groans and tosses his beer down. "I'm going to bed."
“Come on,” she calls after him. “Don't be a sorry sport."
Eli flips her off and disappears toward the set of bathrooms.
Lainey looks at her friend. "You're evil."
"I know, but that was too easy." She glances between us. "So...Lainey has received an orgasm, and Ben has given one. That's really interesting."
Neither of us says a word.
"I wonder if it happened on the same day. Now that would be a real coincidence."
Lainey and I look at each other, and both take sips of our beers. Josie busts out laughing as she stands up. "Yeah, that's what I thought. I'll grab the s'mores stuff."