Before Someday- Part Four: The Forever

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Hair: Kim Moreno

Makeup: Christina Brandts-Buys

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This book contains content intended for mature YA/adult audiences.

Dedication

For Samantha

Part 4- The Forever

Chapter 23

I still can’t believe Meg’s folks are okay with a coed camping trip to the mountains, Dad says as both my parents walk me out to his truck.

Meg’s folks? How about all the girls’ parents? Those are some trusting people, Mom says, following behind him.  She still has things to tell me, but I can’t imagine what. Since we decided to take this end-of-the-summer trip, my parents have been pumping me with information about Mammoth, the roads to get there, weather alerts, how to pitch a tent, and the basics of cooking with a propane stove.

Are you saying we’re not trustworthy guys?

Mom and Dad steal a glance at a each other and laugh. I was a teenage boy once. I would not let my daughter go on an overnighter with my teen self.

I roll my eyes at them both. I hate to break it to you, but whatever we can do on an overnight trip, we can do during the day at home. There’s really no difference.

Ouch. Mom’s quick with a backhand to my stomach. What was that for?

That was for Meg’s parents, she says. "Go on and get the hell out of here before I change by mind and you can’t go."

She doesn’t have to tell me twice. I say goodbye to my mom and dad, giving them each a hug and then I’m off to Meg’s house.

Twenty minutes later, I’m tossing her bags in the back of my dad’s truck.

You sure you still want to go? she asks.

Of course. Why wouldn’t I?

She winces, the sides of her mouth pulled down into a frown. Well, dealing with my dad can be a bit difficult.

And my parents aren’t? I chuckle. You’re kidding, right? Your dad wouldn’t hurt a fly. He’s cool. I think about what Mom and Dad said earlier. I don’t know if I’d let my daughter take off on a weekend camping trip with a bunch of dudes.

She shakes her head with a smile. Me neither. My parents are crazy. We share a laugh at their expense.

Taking Meg’s hand, we walk back toward her house as I explain how I thought Steph wouldn’t be coming along. I never thought she’d be able to convince her parents to let her go.

Me, too, she says. But, we all did it. We’re all going.

We’re gonna have a blast. I kiss the top of her head. And then it’s gonna suck because I have to drive up to school when we get back.

The summer flew by way too fast. It feels like I just got back home yesterday and now I’m going to be leaving again. This coming and going shit is getting old, if you ask me.

Let’s not talk about that now. Her tight smile says she’s been thinking about it, too. Let’s just forget about it and have fun.

I chuckle inside. Who is she trying to convince? Me? Or her? Probably both.

By the time we make it on the freeway, I’m winded and sweating like a dog. Keesha packed a year’s worth of shit. She’s got us covered if there’s a natural disaster and we’re stuck on the mountain. If we run out of food, we can always start gnawing on one of the twenty pairs of shoes she brought with her.

I took a picture of all her crap and sent it to Jon. He’s lucky he’s in Texas or we would have had him handle it.

If I were there I would have shown her who’s boss and made her leave half that shit at home.

After showing Keesh his text, he quickly retracted his statement with a JK. Just kidding. What a dumbass.

We’re only an hour into the long drive when Steph asks, Are we there yet?

I was waiting for it. I just thought Meg would be the first to say it. I steal a glance at my girl who’s sitting in the passenger seat. She smiles at me before looking at her best friend in the back seat. 

It’s only been an hour. Try that again in about five.

Five hours. Fuck me. We should have just gone out to the desert, to Joshua Tree. That would have been a quick drive with some badass rock climbing.

I know. I’m just bored already.

In my rear-view mirror, I can see Steph sticking her tongue out at Dom. He knocked out shortly after we got on the freeway. The dude is a lump on a log. The girls have been chatty Cathys since we left and he hasn’t batted an eye. The big guy can sleep anywhere.

Tell me about it, she says.

A few miles pass and Meg’s cell phone rings. It’s her dad. She glances over at me as she talks to him. She rolls her eyes, but she’s beaming from ear to ear. I’m surprised he held out as long as he did. I half expected him or her mom to text every half hour. Hell, I expected my mom to call or text, too. But the truck has been quiet. Besides singing along with the tunes coming through the speakers, the girls haven’t said much. Steph is reading a book and Meg is playing games on her phone.

It’s comical to glance over at her and see her facial expressions working overtime as she taps away on her phone. She’s adorable when she’s thinking hard, her eyes squinting at the small screen and her chin pinched between her fingers. I give up on holding her hand throughout the drive. The girl can’t sit still for more than two minutes at a time.

Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beeeep!

Oh crap, babe, look! Steph calls out to Dom.

The honking is coming from the van next to us, which happens to be Ben’s. I look over and instantly wish I hadn’t. Still, I laugh anyway at the sight of Josh mooning us, his bare ass on display from the backseat window.

Meg lowers her window and yells, Josh, your ass needs some sun.

My stare flits back and forth from the road to Josh. Now, his face is in view and he’s practically hanging out of the window, shouting back to Meg. I know. I was trying to get a tan.

The four of us in my truck are laughing our asses off. The drive isn’t so boring after all. Leave it to Josh to wake everyone up. Including Dom.

I should moon them back, Dom says.

Steph climbs over his lap. No, Meggie and I will do it.

I turn my head to get a glimpse at Meg. What the hell?

I’m not flashing my ass at them, she says, turning around in her seat to talk to Steph.

Just lift your top.

She has got to be kidding me. Steph? Flashing her tits at Josh? Hell, Josh, Ben, and Travis? Not to mention Keesh and Andi are in the van as well. There’s no way she’s going to do it.

Fine. Meg adjusts her seatbelt and kneels down on the seat.

No way. No fucken way. Just a minute ago she didn’t want to show off her ass and now she’s up for a Girls Gone Wild promo?

Ready, Steph shouts. On the count of three, we flash, and Alex honks.

I don’t have time to say anything in protest or in favor of flashing before Steph starts to count. One. Two. Three.

Beep! Beep! Beeeeep!

Meg turns away from me and lifts her shirt. Fuck. I can’t see a damn thing. Those lucky bastards in the other car. I have to swerve to the left when Ben yanks his van uncomfortably close to the truck. What the hell?

What did you do, Meg? Ben almost caused an accident, Steph asks.

Meg pulls his shirt down, and flops her ass back into her seat. Same thing you did. I flashed them.

Just your bra, right?

As soon as Meg reacts to Steph’s question, I know something is wrong. She whips around to look at her. I catch a glimpse of her widened eyes before I look in my mirror at Steph. Her eyes are just as big.

No! You said flash them. You didn’t say fake flash them. Her voice shrieks as she asks, You left your bra on?

You didn’t? Steph responds.

Dom can barely control his laughter. I should’ve been in the other car, he says between chuckles.

I’m right there with him. Me, too.

Oh, Meg. You’re too funny. So innocent, yet so, so not.

It takes us just over six hours to get to Mammoth. That’s after two stops to take a leak and grab some food. By the time we arrive at our campsite, everyone is beat, but it doesn’t stop the mad scramble to get acquainted with our surroundings and pitch our tents. There’s banter about proper storage of food and toiletries, bears, and a buddy system for going to the bathroom.

My mom prepared me for all of this, but she didn’t account for one thing—Josh. The kid is a damn fool, a hilarious one but a fool nonetheless. Everything takes twice is long to accomplish because he’s too busy making dick jokes and farting on the girls. Too bad for him, he took a tent pole to the eye and screamed like he a girl in a horror flick. Everyone had to drop what they were doing to tend to him, since he’s sure he’s blinded himself with a scratched retina. See, he’s a fool.

Just before dark, our camp is finally set up and dinner is ready. Dom and Steph have the food covered. They’re professionals at camping since they go out riding ATVs with their families several times a year. All I had to do was set up the stove with Ben’s help. My mom was worried for nothing. If she could only see these two together, she’d certainly be impressed. They’re like an old married couple. It’s cool.

Sometime between erecting our tents and dinner, Meg falls asleep in her lawn chair. She is adorable. Her hoodie is pulled over her head and loose strands of hair outline her face. Her fingers are laced and resting on her stomach. She’s so peaceful. I don’t want to wake her but dinner’s ready.

With a little nudge on her shoulder, Meg’s eyes open. Huh?

Did you get a good little cat nap? I can’t help but stare into her eyes. She’s beautiful. She smiles at me and I take her hand in mind and bring it to my lips for a soft kiss.

The moment is lost as Dom and Steph start passing out burritos and napkins. Everyone starts chowing down, some of us moaning and sighing with delight. Who knew a burrito reheated over a propane fire could taste so good?

It’s nice to sit down to eat and finally soak in my surroundings. I’m out in the wilderness with my friends—with Meg—and it’s amazing. The trees tower over us creating a canopy of shade from the night sky. It’s stunning to look up and see so many stars peeking through the feathered arrangement of leaves overhead. Being here. Experiencing this with all of them is overwhelming.

For the rest of the evening, I hold Meg’s hand and she rests her head on my shoulder while we chat with our friends. Beyond our own voices, the sounds of the wood crackling in the fire and the howls of animals can be heard. Staring at our joined hands makes me feel like the luckiest guy in the world. Sharing nights like these with Meg—it doesn’t get any better than this. I can’t complain. It’s perfect.

By eleven it’s clear everyone is beat and ready for bed. Not to mention Ben has pretty much told everyone to get their asses to sleep so we’re not tired for the long hikes tomorrow. We make trips to the bathroom in shifts since they can’t accommodate all of us at once. Steph, Meg, and I are the last to get back to camp. We make sure we follow Ben’s rules about storing scented items. We stash them in the bed of my truck and close the airtight lid.

The next part is going to suck. Saying goodnight to Meg and trying to fall asleep when I know she’s just a few feet away in the next tent over. It was a deal I made with her dad. Separate sleeping quarters for the guys and the girls. It would be easy to turn my back on that now, he’d never know if we followed through. But, I would. I respect the man enough to keep my word.

Without warning, Dom grabs Steph and pulls her to him for a kiss that rivals any chick flick romance Meg has made me watch. Holy shit, big guy. I turn away, meeting Meg’s stare. Her eyes are bright and she mouths the word wow to me as she fans herself. Yeah, tell me about it.

Steph is breathless when Dom backs away. See you in the morning, she tells him. He slaps her on the ass and watches as she disappears inside the girls’ tent. The dude is grinning from ear to ear.

When he notices us staring at him, he says, What?

Nothin’. I chuckle. Don’t let us interrupt your girly smile.

Dom nods at me with an arch of his brow. Dude, want me to stick around for yours?

You got me. Damn straight I’ll have that silly grin after I kiss my girl.

When he’s out of sight, Meg stares up at me with her nose scrunched and a goofy frown. So, we really have to be up at the butt crack of dawn?

Stepping closer to her, I reach out and run my hands up and down her arms. Yup. Butt crack for sure. I remind her to get some rest. The hikes aren’t going to be easy tomorrow.

Maybe you should sleep with me and make sure I get my rest. She flutters her brows at me. She pulls me closer to her with a tug on the waistline of my shorts.

Not gonna happen. Damn, how I’d love to take her up on that offer. I told your dad there would be separate tents. One for the guys and one for the ladies. Why did I make that deal? Staring down at her with her silky smooth skin, soft lips, and sexy gaze—I just want to forget what I told her dad. She smells so damn good. Good enough to eat. We should have brought our own tent.

Technically, we do have one for each, but it doesn’t mean we have to sleep in them.

God, she’s going to be the death of me with that sexy look in her eyes.

Before she can change my mind, I bend down to press a quick kiss on her lips. Goodnight, Megan.

She doesn’t allow me to escape though. Poised on the tips of her toes, she grabs me by the back of my neck and pulls me down to her level again. I should back away, but I can’t resist her. Ever. She covers my mouth with hers and kisses me like there’s no tomorrow. Our lips lock together, again and again.