by Mia Clark
"We've only got two tents now," Ashley says, sort of frown-pouting. I don't know what you call that, but it's cute as fuck.
"This is bad," her mom says. "What do we do?"
You don't stab and rip your tent! Duh!
"It's too far of a drive to get a new one here," my dad says. "I guess we're going to have to share. How about this? Ashley, you and your mom can take the tent that we were going to use, and Ethan and I can share his tent."
"Oh! Oh, no no no," Ashley says, shaking her head fast. "I wouldn't want to do that."
"What do you want to do, honey?" her mom asks her.
I mean this in the nicest of ways. I'm not saying this out loud. I'm not calling Ashley and her mom a bitch, so please don't take this the wrong way, but...
Yeah, for real, these crazy bitches planned this out. They planned all of it out. Complete fucking insanity, that's what this is.
It's working, though. Holy fuck. They're too smart.
"What we should do is you two still share a tent like you planned," Ashley says, nodding to my dad and her mom. "Then Ethan and I can share his tent?"
"Do you think that's a good idea?" my dad asks, brow furrowed.
"It's a pretty big tent," Ashley says.
"They are a good size, hun," her mom says to my dad. "I'm sure there's more than enough room."
Well, fuck, why don't I just join in on this?
"Yeah, I picked them out because we'd have some room to stretch," I add. "Mine's the same size as Ashley's, and both were bigger than the tent we used to share way back when, Dad. It's not like I wanted to share a tent with her, but I guess it can't be helped."
It could have been helped. It completely absolutely definitely, no fucking doubt in my mind could have been helped. It could have been helped if they just didn't plan on ripping the tent.
Yeah, whatever. Who am I to complain? I just got easy access night visits with my secret girlfriend over here. Aw yeah!
Good job, Ashley. I knew I was dating you for a reason. You're pretty fucking smart.
She winks at me and I smirk at her while my dad inspects the rip in the tent. My stepmom smiles and holds a finger to her lips; this is our secret, I guess. Don't tell anyone. Secret secrets.
My dad looks up and sighs. "As long as it's not a problem with you two. If it's too much and you want some space, we can switch, though. Ethan said you two have been hanging out while we were gone, though, so maybe this'll be fine, too."
"Did you know he made her soup last week?" my stepmom asks. "Ashley wasn't feeling well the day before she went to visit her friend, and Ethan made her soup and they watched a few shows on Netflix. Isn't that sweet?"
"Yeah?" my dad asks me, one brow raised.
I shrug. "I felt bad," I say. "I was kind of sick the week before coming home for the summer so I figure she must have caught it from me. I thought I should make it up to her."
"It was very nice of you, Ethan," Ashley says, prim and proper.
This girl was not prim and proper last night when she was using a sex toy on herself while sitting on my cock, that's for sure. Now she's just Little Miss Perfect Angel, though, huh? She's pretty good at this, I'll give her that.
"I guess it's decided, then," my dad says, clapping me on the back. "If you change your minds later, just let me know. If Ethan snores too much, you can switch, too."
"Ethan doesn't snore," Ashley says, confused.
Holy fuck. Seriously? Really really? I take it all back. I thought she was smart, and then she goes and says something like that. Yeah, explain to my dad how you know I don't snore, Princess? Go right ahead and tell him we've slept in the same bed for over a week now, so you know exactly what I do and don't do at night? Why don't you just go ahead and tell him about my morning erections while you're at it, too? Good idea, right?
My dad's oblivious, though. "I was just joking," he says, laughing. "Hopefully you two will be fine! It's just sleeping, right? The rest of the time we'll be out and about and enjoying nature."
Yeah... about that just sleeping thing, uh... I do not think so.
*** Ashley
My plan worked! Twice in a row! I'm very good at bad plans, I guess. Bad girl plans, I mean. Naughty ones, like how to share the same tent with my sexy boyfriend without his dad realizing my ulterior motives.
And I did it without even giving myself away or looking suspicious! My mom helped. It was kind of partly her idea, too. We shared the plan.
The tents are set up now and everything's good to go. It's getting kind of dark, though. We got here later in the day, and we probably still have a few more hours until it's completely night out, but it's definitely evening now. My stomach grumbles, and everyone looks over at me.
"Hungry?" my stepdad asks.
"A little," I say. A lot!
"We can get some more food tomorrow, but how about hot dogs for tonight? They aren't fancy, but they're easy and they should get the job done."
"I like hot dogs," I say, smiling.
I know they aren't exactly good for me, but I used to have them sometimes when my mom worked late before she married Ethan's dad. Hot dogs and french fries while I watched TV after finishing my homework.
"I'll go find some sticks we can skewer them on," Ethan says. "You ever roasted your own hot dog over a fire?" he asks me.
"Um... no?"
"It's fun," he says. "The real camping experience. Everyone should give it a try at least once."
I smile at him and he smiles back at me. I know we aren't doing anything extreme or intense or extra exciting, but I like this still. The experience is fun, and it's so different from anything I've ever done before. Almost everything with Ethan is so different from anything I've ever done before.
While Ethan scavenges for sticks we can use to skewer the hot dogs, the older man from the office comes hiking up the road towards us. The younger boy about my age is walking alongside him. The older one waves as he approaches. The one my age keeps his hands in his pockets, but he smiles and nods at me.
"Hey, John," Ethan's dad says.
The older man nods. "Howdy, folks. Just checking to make sure everything's going alright. I didn't get a chance to meet you all earlier, so I wanted to stop by."
Ethan's dad smiles. "Sure. You met me and my wife earlier, but that's my son, Ethan, and my daughter, Ashley."
That's how he usually introduces us, saying I'm his daughter. It's a simpler introduction. This isn't exactly strange or anything. It just, um... it feels kind of strange now, because of what Ethan and I are doing. I know my stepdad doesn't know, but it makes me a little uncomfortable still. I fidget and shift side to side, nervous.
John waves to us all. "Great to meet everyone. This is my son, Caleb. I'm always up at the office if you need me. Caleb does work around the campground sometimes, but he's not an official worker here. You might see him hiking or swimming, too. If you need anything, you can let him know, though. We're always happy to help."
"Yeah, definitely," Caleb says, looking right at me. When our eyes meet, he glances away, sort of shy, but determined.
It's cute in, um... it's cute, but I'm with Ethan. He seems nice, though. I glance away and look towards Ethan, who is giving me a strange look.
"I don't want to take up too much of your time, but there have been some reports of howling in the woods the past week or so. It's just rumors so far and we haven't seen wolves around these parts in forever, plus nothing's confirmed, but it's always better safe than sorry," John says. "I assure you there's nothing to worry about, and the forest ranger keeps a close eye on all the campgrounds in this area. Just make sure you clean up everything and dispose of your trash as soon as possible."
"I do trash runs every day," Caleb adds. "There's barrels up at the office. As long as you bag your trash up, I don't mind taking care of it if you see me passing by. I'm usually around here a lot."
Everyone nods, but I keep nodding even more. Caleb doesn't seem like he's talking to anyone but me. I blush and look
away, and he does, too. Um... is he flirting with me? It's not like how Ethan flirts with me, so I'm not really sure. I don't know if I've been flirted with before, to be honest.
Ethan's dad grins when he sees us like that. Like what, though? I have no idea. I'm kind of confused here.
"Ethan and I have a good amount of camping experience," my stepdad says. "We'll make sure to keep everything cleaned up, hang the trash up at night if we have to, or just bring it to the office. You don't have to worry about anything. Ashley's new to camping, though. She just broke up with her boyfriend, so we thought it'd be nice to come here and relax, just get away from it all and have a nice time."
Caleb's ears perk up, and he looks at me again. Um... I don't think... why did Ethan's dad say that...?
"You should come back during the day if you want," my stepdad says to Caleb. "I'm sure Ethan and Ashley wouldn't mind some company their own age to hang out with, right?"
"Sure?" I say. I don't know if that's a yes or a no.
Ethan glares. At something or someone or everything and everyone. He grumbles, but I'm not sure what he's saying.
"You were talking about the two of you going swimming before, weren't you?" Ethan's dad asks him.
Oh... oh my God. What's going on? He did say that. Ethan also said my bikini was sexy as fuck—sort of, actually I said that he said that, but that doesn't really matter—and that any guy would be lucky to be with me, and if I found a guy at the lake, he'd be mine if I wanted him, which...
I'm pretty sure Ethan was talking about himself. And that's who I was thinking of when he said that. Obviously his dad didn't know that, though. His dad definitely didn't know that, and now he's trying to tell Caleb to go to the lake with me, for...
Oh my God, he's trying to set me up with the campground owner's son. I don't know why this is so surprising to me, but it is. I'm just... I'm not good at these things. Flirting things? I don't want to be good at them, I don't think. I do, but with Ethan. Except Ethan's dad doesn't know that. We haven't told him yet. What am I supposed to say?
Nothing, I guess.
I mumble and murmur to myself and blush and fidget and Ethan glares and seethes, but Ethan's dad is oblivious. My mom is trying to deflect, I think. I'm not actually sure what she's doing. John and Caleb are leaving, though.
Good. I think. Is that good? I don't know what's going on or what I'm supposed to do anymore.
"See you later, Ashley," Caleb says, waving to me before him and his dad leave. "Was nice meeting you."
I nod and try to smile and wave a little, but I think maybe I look like a blushing, nervous idiot.
"I don't want to hang out with that kid," Ethan says to his dad as soon as John and Caleb are out of sight. "I thought we came camping to have some family time or something?"
Ethan's dad shrugs. "You don't have to hang out with him, Ethan. It looked like he'd rather hang out with Ashley alone, anyway."
I don't know what's happening, or what's about to happen, but Ethan looks pissed. His face is kind of red, and he has all of the sticks for our hot dog skewers in his hand, but the way his fingers are clenched and turning white, I think he's about to snap them in half whether he wants to or not.
My mom goes over to him and whispers something into his ear to calm him down, then she gives him a hug. Ethan loosens up a little, but doesn't hug her back. He gives her the skewer sticks, then stomps over to the woods to cool off, I guess.
"I don't get it," my stepdad says.
I do. I want to go after Ethan, but I'm not sure how or what I should say. I can't really do much with his dad here. I wish we could tell him, but I'm not sure we can right now. I don't know what to do.
The decision is made for me.
"Ashley, do you mind heading up to the office and filling this water jug for us?" my stepdad asks me. "I saw a pipe and faucet next to the building. It's just sticking up out of the ground, for public use. I was going to ask Ethan, but I guess he wants some alone time. Sorry about that."
"Oh, no, I don't mind," I say. "I can do it."
*** Ashley
The walk to the main office is really nice. I take the scenic route part way, just following the road we drove on to get to our campsite instead of skipping through the woods. There's not a lot of people here right now, and it's mostly empty except for us. I wonder if that's partly because of the wolf, or if it's just because of the season. I know Ethan said more people go camping in the middle of the summer instead of right at the beginning, but maybe this is just a quieter place in general, too. It did take awhile to drive here, but it seems nice and well worth it.
I skip through some of the campsites instead of following the winding road all the way back to the front. The road's nice, but I kind of want to hurry and get back. Maybe I can talk to Ethan privately, or maybe we can go for a walk? Maybe not, since it looks like we'll be having dinner soon, and it is getting kind of late today. The sky is darker, though not completely dark yet. I breathe in deep and take in the fresh, forest air. It tastes different than I'm used to. I don't think I've ever actually spent time in the woods before this. We have some parks back home, and also at school, but nothing like this wide expanse of trees and forest.
It's exhilarating and interesting in an entirely new way. I'm not really sure how I fit in here, but I like it. I'm not exactly the outdoors type of girl, if you know what I mean? Some girls are really sporty and seem like they'd fit in a place like this more. I try to stay active and I do exercise a little, but if I got lost in the woods, um... I'd be lost. I feel kind of lost already.
I reach the office after a decent trek, maybe ten minutes or so, and it doesn't take me long to find the water faucet. It's just like Ethan's dad said, just a pipe coming from the ground next to the building. The lights are on in the office, so John and Caleb must be there, but the faucet's in the back so I don't see them.
This jug is kind of huge, though. I knew that when I took it, but I didn't think about filling it or taking it back with me. It's one of those big gallon ones with a twist off top and a spigot at the bottom. I take off the top and put it under the faucet, then turn the water on and wait for it to fill up.
"Hey," someone says right next to me.
I jump. "Ohmygod!"
I almost slap the person, but he steps back quick and catches my hand in his. He laughs at me, and I just keep staring, surprised.
"Caleb, you scared me," I say, smiling now. It's kind of funny. That really shouldn't have scared me, but I wasn't expecting it.
"Sorry," he says.
We're still holding hands. Sort of. He caught mine and I didn't pull it back, and now our hands are dropped in front of us, kind of a cross between holding hands and shaking them.
I've never really held hands with anyone before. I tried to hold hands with Jake back before I found out what a jerk he was, but he always pushed me away. He said he didn't like public displays of affection. I'd love to hold hands with Ethan, but we have a similar issue going on. A lot of people back home know that we're stepbrother and stepsister, so it seems kind of weird to hold hands out in the open. I'm not sure if people would judge us now.
This isn't really the same thing, but now I'm holding hands with Caleb, and...
I just kind of imagine it's Ethan for a second. Not really, because Ethan and Caleb don't even look the same. Caleb is cute in his own way, though. Not um... I'm not checking him out, alright? I'm just saying that I bet he has a girlfriend or something, because someone that looks like him probably does. Granted, someone who looks like Ethan could probably have a girlfriend, but he didn't until me, so what do I know?
What if Caleb is like Ethan? A bad boy player, who has quick flings with girls and then ignores them? Or what if he's the good parts of Ethan: sweet and considerate, a little careful and a little rough?
Why am I even thinking about this?
We've been holding hands for awhile now. Awkward or what? I try to extract myself from this weird situation, but it's not exactly working.
I think Caleb has realized it, too, because he makes some lame attempt at shaking my hand to shake the awkwardness off as an introduction or something. I don't know.
I smile at him, sort of forced, then check the jug. It's only halfway full. Ugh.
"I didn't think I'd see you again this soon," Caleb says.
"Yeah, I'm just getting water," I say.
"That's a big jug," he says. "Do you need help bringing it back?"
"I should be fine," I say.
I actually could probably use help, but I don't think that's a good idea. What would Ethan think if I came back with a guest? No... not a good idea at all.
We're silent for awhile, neither of us talking. I stare at the water, willing it with my mind to fill up faster. I'm the smart good girl and all, but apparently my psychic abilities haven't manifested yet. They make it seem so easy in the movies, don't they?
"So, you broke up with your boyfriend?" Caleb asks.
"He broke up with me," I say, correcting him. "Right before I came back home for the summer. He's kind of a jerk, to be honest. I just didn't realize it at first. It's not a big deal."
Why am I rambling like this? Why am I telling this strange boy my entire life's story? I have no idea!
Then I say something stupider while trying to stop saying stupid things. "Do you have a girlfriend?"
Yeah, um... I'm smart with grades, stupid with people. Who asks something like that? Someone who is interested in whether the cute boy who is showing interest in her is actually interested and available, that's who. Which isn't me. I'm not interested, and I'm not available, either.
I'm not exactly uninterested, though. I don't want to be mean about it, you know? I just don't want him thinking I'm trying to put the moves on him or anything. Honestly, I have no idea how to put the moves on anyone. Is that something girls can do? I don't even know.
"No," Caleb says. "Haven't found the right girl yet, I guess."
That's an answer. It's definitely an answer. Alright, then. Good. Um...
Why do I feel so awkward? I still don't know if he's flirting with me. This isn't at all how Ethan flirts with me. Is that what it's called, though? I thought I knew what flirting was, but honestly I have no idea. Am I flirting back? I don't mean to be if I am. Maybe I should just tell him that? Just so you know, Caleb, I'm not flirting with you...
