19. Theo
Theo and Sarah walked back to the campground, where it was now dark. He held tight to her hand and shone his phone’s light on the path in front of them as they returned to the tent.
Alexis must have been waiting for them because she hurried over as they neared.
‘You guys have been gone forever! We were about to send out a search party! Anyway, now that you’re here, I thought we could all have dinner together. Instead of cooking, we could just go up to the lodge?’
‘Yes, please,’ Sarah said. ‘I’d like to pretend we’re normal people for at least an hour.’
Theo laughed. ‘Normal people camp.’
‘You know what I mean. I want civilisation.’
Alexis waved her hands toward their tent. ‘Well, go freshen up, and I’ll grab a table with Levi. We’ll order some wine and have it ready when you arrive.’
‘Now you’re talking.’
Theo ushered Sarah ahead of him. ‘After you.’
Sarah unzipped the door, and Theo expected her to walk through, but she suddenly stopped.
‘What’s wrong? Is there a spider?’
Sarah didn’t respond, and Theo peered over her shoulder. ‘Oh, wow. How did this happen?’
Sarah turned to him. ‘Are you responsible for this?’
‘Sadly, no. Although I was contemplating it earlier. I guess I don’t have to now.’
They both stepped into the tent and slowly turned in a circle. While they were out, the double bed had been made over with soft linen and a thick velvet blanket. Half a dozen white pillows rested artfully at its head. The floor now contained a plush cream rug, and fairy lights were strung from the ceiling. A timber side table had been placed along one wall and adorned with a mirror and candles. The bottom half of the bunk bed in the other corner now looked like a couch, full of neutral-coloured cushions. Theo couldn’t decide if it looked more comfortable than the bed.
‘This is amazing,’ Sarah breathed.
‘I’m assuming your bestie had something to do with it.’
‘She’s a good one.’
‘Do you need to change? I brought a second jacket, so you can keep wearing the one you’re wearing or borrow the other one?’
‘This one is fine.’
Theo rummaged around in his overnight bag and pulled out a very cool-looking black leather jacket.
‘Have you changed your mind?’ he asked, smiling.
‘No. I wouldn’t know how to do all the buckles properly. Besides, you’ll look amazing in it.’
He shrugged on the jacket and watched as Sarah touched up her lipstick in the mirror. She spritzed some perfume on her neck and joined him at the door.
‘I’m already feeling more human,’ she said.
‘You look much better than just human.’
Over at the lodge, Levi and Alexis had secured a table in the dining room in the corner.
Theo and Sarah sat opposite them, and Levi slid a glass of red wine across the table to Theo. Alexis did the same to Sarah.
‘Thank you,’ Sarah said. ‘And thank you for what you did to the tent.’
‘You’re welcome. I’d actually organised it beforehand, but there was a delay in setting it up, and I wasn’t sure it was actually going to happen. But I meant it when I promised glamping.’
‘Sorry for acting like a brat earlier.’
‘It’s all good. I know you still love me.’
‘What did you two lovebirds get up to this afternoon?’ Theo asked Levi.
Levi raised an eyebrow. ‘I don’t think you really want a play-by-play, do you?’
‘Ah. Enough said. No, thanks.’
‘What about you?’ Alexis prodded. ‘Have you admitted your feelings for each other yet?’
Theo looked questioningly at Sarah. She gave him a small nod and then inhaled deeply.
‘We’re kind of… seeing each other.’
‘I knew it!’ Alexis screeched. ‘Since when? I want to know everything!’
‘See, this is why I didn’t want to tell you. You’re making it weird.’
‘Sorry, sorry. I promise I won’t be weird again. But when did it start?’
Sarah turned to Theo. ‘You want to tell them?’
‘We kind of got together in Byron, but then I went to Europe. We stayed in touch for a month, but it eventually got too hard with the time difference and my schedule.’ Theo didn’t want to blame Sarah, but he had felt she was the reason they stopped talking.
‘It was kind of obvious something happened in Byron, and it’s a shame you had to be separated for so long afterwards. But you’re good now?’
‘I think so.’
He looked to Sarah for confirmation, but she suddenly wouldn’t make eye contact. Wait. Was she embarrassed? He didn’t think she’d be the kind of person to hide her emotions. He’d just assumed she wanted to keep their relationship secret because of his public status.
Was she regretting agreeing to date him?
A familiar insecurity came back to haunt him. The feeling that people only wanted to be around him for a photo opportunity, and not because they liked who he was.
‘Sarah?’ Alexis asked.
‘Sorry, yeah. We’re good.’
Why didn’t that sound convincing?
Theo downed his drink and reached for the bottle for a refill.
He wasn’t sure he’d get through the night without a significant amount of alcohol.
Alexis and Levikept the conversation going throughout the evening, so there were no awkward silences. And the more Theo drank, the more he felt like the person he was used to portraying.
They headed back to the campground after finishing their meal, and Theo noticed someone had lit a campfire in the fire pit.
‘I brought marshmallows,’ Alexis said. ‘Why don’t we roast a few before bed?’
Theo was up for anything that delayed his return to the tent with Sarah. He worried she’d had a change of heart about their relationship since dinner, and he wanted to put off their breakup as long as possible.
‘Good idea.’ He strode over and found a couple of leftover logs near the communal kitchen. He picked them up and put them on the fire.
Levi sat next to him on one side, and Sarah sat on the other.
Alexis returned with a bag of marshmallows and four skewers. She handed them each a skewer and sat on Levi’s other side. ‘It wouldn’t be a camping trip without some sort of game. How about we play Two Truths and a Lie?’
Levi groaned. ‘I hate that game.’
‘Well, have you got a better idea? You want to play Truth or Dare instead?’
‘No, no. Two Truths and a Lie is fine. Should I go first?’
Alexis grinned. ‘Yes, please.’
‘Okay. I once fell asleep during a Metallica concert. I love chocolate. And one of my bucket list items is to sail around the world.’
Alexis looked at Sarah. ‘Why don’t you guess that one? I know which one is a lie.’
‘It seems kind of obvious. Who would fall asleep at a Metallica concert?’
‘Is that your final answer?’ Alexis asked.
Theo smiled. He knew which one was a lie.
‘Yes. That’s my answer.’
‘Wrong!’
‘Wait. Then you don’t like sailing?’
‘He doesn’t like chocolate,’ Theo answered.
Sarah looked shocked. ‘How can you not like chocolate? And how on earth did you fall asleep at a Metallica concert?’
‘In my defence, I had been awake the entire night before. Theo had dragged me along for a weekend away, and we had stayed out all Friday night. The show was on the Saturday evening, and we didn’t have time to sleep during the day. If you didn’t know already, the guy is like the Energizer Bunny. He never runs out of energy.’
‘Okay, but then chocolate?’
‘It’s overrated.’
‘So you actually hate it?’
‘I’m just indifferent. I won’t eat it unless I have to.’
‘That’s so weird.’
‘Enough about me. It’s Theo’s turn.’
Theo scratched his head. He’d had a lot of red wine at dinner, and his brain wasn’t as sharp as it normally was.
‘Um, I just hit 1.2 million followers on social media. I won most popular student in high school. And I’m really good at cooking.’
‘They all sound like truths to me,’ Sarah said. ‘You made me a very fancy breakfast at Byron Bay. Unless you don’t think you’re good at cooking?’
‘Oh, I’m good at cooking.’
‘Then you didn’t hit 1.2 million followers? Are you being sneaky and it’s actually 1.3? Or 1.19 or something?’
‘Nope.’
Levi frowned. ‘We went to high school together. I don’t remember there being a most popular award, but I wouldn’t have been surprised if you’d won it.’
‘That’s because you didn’t see what really happened.’
‘Wait. What happened?’
Theo wasn’t sure why he was suddenly dredging this up now, but it probably had something to do with Sarah’s weird mood at dinner and the fact that everyone would find out the truth eventually anyway.
‘I was bullied in high school. A lot.’