Read Online Stay With Me by Carolyn Astfalk - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Carolyn Astfalk
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confirmed her suspicions when he sat up and smiled.
“Toasted and gooey sounds perfect.”
She shot him a crooked grin. She wished she had a
witty retort, but instead her stomach, which she thought had been filled to the
max with steak and potatoes, made room for a swarm of butterflies as well.
“Excellent choice.”
After a few minutes of holding the sweet treats
over the hottest part of the fire, Rebecca lifted the fork to examine their
toasty perfection before offering one to Chris. When he didn’t move from his
seat, she took them over to him, slid the gooey, delicious mess off the metal
stick and proffered it with her fingers. It smelled so good she couldn’t wait
to taste her own. Instead of taking it from her fingers, Chris took her hand
and guided it to his mouth. Rebecca froze. Chris’s lips touched her fingers,
but thankfully he didn’t do anything suggestive with them.
“No sense getting my fingers sticky, too.” His eyes
glimmered like they had last week when he had tickled her. He was playing with
her again. “Mmmm. Superb.” He licked his lips and watched as Rebecca enjoyed
her own marshmallow.
***
Chris moved his seat closer and poked at the fire.
“Why don’t you go to the restroom and brush your teeth and stuff before it gets
too late? I’ll sit here with the fire.”
“Okay.”
Rebecca grabbed her things from the bear box. The
heavy door clanged shut as she turned and headed up the trail. Chris remembered
the soft blush of Rebecca’s cheeks and the self-conscious way she smiled when
he teased her. He hoped he hadn’t gone too far with the marshmallows. He was
just trying to play with her.
He stared at the fire a few minutes longer before
he noticed the flashes in his peripheral vision. Lightning bugs. He scurried
over to the picnic table and took Rebecca’s bug container out of the bag.
Releasing its Velcro strap, he popped it open and ripped off the tag.
The bugs lit in the dark spots at the edges of the
campsite and alongside the larger trees. It was cute that Rebecca still liked
to chase the little bugs. In truth, he did, too. He spent the next twenty
minutes carefully scooping up as many as he could and filling her little
container. Not bad: about fifteen bugs flashed behind the vinyl netting. He set
the container in the middle of the table and slid the empty lantern box in
front of it so he could surprise her with it.
As he took a seat, he noticed a group hauling their
stuff down the trail to the empty campsite nearest theirs. A grown man chasing
lightning bugs with nary a child in sight? Embarrassing.
The arrival of new neighbors disappointed but
didn’t surprise him. It was a weekend, after all, and these were desirable
sites. He would miss the peace and the privacy though. He watched for ten
minutes or so as five college-aged guys tried to set up their tents using only
the light generated by one Coleman lamp. They shouted directions at one another
punctuated by insults and raucous laughter. He hoped they wouldn’t be loud once
they got settled.
A few minutes later, Rebecca came half-running down
the trail, her headlamp bobbing as she went. “Where’s my bug container? The
lightning bugs are everywhere.”
“It’s there on the table.” He pointed in the
general direction of her bug holder. He smiled and waited for her to discover
his surprise.
She circled the table once before she spotted it.
Her chin dropped and her eyes widened as she picked it up by the small handle,
looking first at the flashing bugs and then at him. “You’ve been busy.”
He grinned. “I guess you’re not the only one who
hasn’t outgrown catching them.”
She smiled. “I’ll see how many more I can add.” She
chased the flashing bugs around the fringes of the campsite while Chris grabbed
his things and headed to the restroom. Camping with Rebecca was turning out to
be more fun than he’d ever dreamed.
Darkness and quiet had settled over the campsite
during the fifteen
“Toasted and gooey sounds perfect.”
She shot him a crooked grin. She wished she had a
witty retort, but instead her stomach, which she thought had been filled to the
max with steak and potatoes, made room for a swarm of butterflies as well.
“Excellent choice.”
After a few minutes of holding the sweet treats
over the hottest part of the fire, Rebecca lifted the fork to examine their
toasty perfection before offering one to Chris. When he didn’t move from his
seat, she took them over to him, slid the gooey, delicious mess off the metal
stick and proffered it with her fingers. It smelled so good she couldn’t wait
to taste her own. Instead of taking it from her fingers, Chris took her hand
and guided it to his mouth. Rebecca froze. Chris’s lips touched her fingers,
but thankfully he didn’t do anything suggestive with them.
“No sense getting my fingers sticky, too.” His eyes
glimmered like they had last week when he had tickled her. He was playing with
her again. “Mmmm. Superb.” He licked his lips and watched as Rebecca enjoyed
her own marshmallow.
***
Chris moved his seat closer and poked at the fire.
“Why don’t you go to the restroom and brush your teeth and stuff before it gets
too late? I’ll sit here with the fire.”
“Okay.”
Rebecca grabbed her things from the bear box. The
heavy door clanged shut as she turned and headed up the trail. Chris remembered
the soft blush of Rebecca’s cheeks and the self-conscious way she smiled when
he teased her. He hoped he hadn’t gone too far with the marshmallows. He was
just trying to play with her.
He stared at the fire a few minutes longer before
he noticed the flashes in his peripheral vision. Lightning bugs. He scurried
over to the picnic table and took Rebecca’s bug container out of the bag.
Releasing its Velcro strap, he popped it open and ripped off the tag.
The bugs lit in the dark spots at the edges of the
campsite and alongside the larger trees. It was cute that Rebecca still liked
to chase the little bugs. In truth, he did, too. He spent the next twenty
minutes carefully scooping up as many as he could and filling her little
container. Not bad: about fifteen bugs flashed behind the vinyl netting. He set
the container in the middle of the table and slid the empty lantern box in
front of it so he could surprise her with it.
As he took a seat, he noticed a group hauling their
stuff down the trail to the empty campsite nearest theirs. A grown man chasing
lightning bugs with nary a child in sight? Embarrassing.
The arrival of new neighbors disappointed but
didn’t surprise him. It was a weekend, after all, and these were desirable
sites. He would miss the peace and the privacy though. He watched for ten
minutes or so as five college-aged guys tried to set up their tents using only
the light generated by one Coleman lamp. They shouted directions at one another
punctuated by insults and raucous laughter. He hoped they wouldn’t be loud once
they got settled.
A few minutes later, Rebecca came half-running down
the trail, her headlamp bobbing as she went. “Where’s my bug container? The
lightning bugs are everywhere.”
“It’s there on the table.” He pointed in the
general direction of her bug holder. He smiled and waited for her to discover
his surprise.
She circled the table once before she spotted it.
Her chin dropped and her eyes widened as she picked it up by the small handle,
looking first at the flashing bugs and then at him. “You’ve been busy.”
He grinned. “I guess you’re not the only one who
hasn’t outgrown catching them.”
She smiled. “I’ll see how many more I can add.” She
chased the flashing bugs around the fringes of the campsite while Chris grabbed
his things and headed to the restroom. Camping with Rebecca was turning out to
be more fun than he’d ever dreamed.
Darkness and quiet had settled over the campsite
during the fifteen
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