“Ready? Is your phone on the table? Got clothes for a couple of days in the mountains?” I asked Danny eagerly in the fake light of the light bulb in the predawn hour. I was stood by the front door, my Bergen on my back, full of all the supplies Danny and I would need for a long weekend in the mountains. I had more than enough food and emergency supplies for my trip with Danny.
“Leave my phone? What if we get in trouble and need to call for help? What if Jolene needs us?” Danny asked watching my face as he placed his phone on the table. His objections weren’t serious but more like the expected response. His smile let it be known he wasn’t seriously objecting to leaving his phone.
“Firstly don’t you trust me? Do you really think I wouldn’t have safety plans in place? That I wouldn’t have hundreds of contingency plans in place and in mind? You think I would risk Jolene’s anger by getting you hurt?” I started to tell him, my face like thunder, wanting him to think he had upset me. I let him study my face and as he started to frown, worried I was upset, I cracked into a smile and continued. “I have a radio with an inbuilt GPS transmitter, Jolene has the other handset, if we get in trouble we will radio through the code, ‘Cockroach Destroyed’ and Jolene will do the rest.”
He watched me as I slowly stepped closer to him, slowly moving to be just within an inch away from him. I looked into his eyes before leaning in and kissing him passionately. He responded and kissed me back with equal zeal and passion, my arms wrapping around him as his hands rested on my hips. He broke the kiss leaning back as he did and he started to laugh.
He was laughing at me, after everything we had been through to reach this point. I stared at him as my mind went racing trying to think of a reason for him to laugh that wasn’t an insult to me. I took a step back clenching my left fist, staring angrily at him. His laugh slowed as his eyes sparkled with mischief.
“I knew I could make you break your plan and kiss me before we got to the mountains.” Danny winked at me. I shook my head with a slight smile as I turned my back on him and walked to the door. I opened the door as I turned on my head torch, Danny following suit with his head torch.
“You and Jolene are always trying to make me break my plans, aren’t you? Why?” I asked setting off into the dark at a rapid pace.
“Spontaneity is necessary in life, you know. You can’t plan every second of every day. Hell, making plans can lead to broken hearts,” he replied as he caught me up wondering where we were going and wondering how I was navigating without a map and compass.
“And only being spontaneous isn’t good; gives you no drive, no goals.” I reiterated my point in our long-running debate. “Now why don’t we get to the campsite; at this pace, it will take four hours; did you pack any alcohol?”
For the next four hours, I deflected every attempt Danny made to find out what I was planning for our long weekend. I could see he was getting anxious as to what my devious mind was planning for him, I allowed myself to grin wickedly to antagonise him further, wanting him as on edge as I could get him. We reached the destination in a little out-cove sheltered and hidden from the main tracks. I turned to look at Danny. I had a tent already set up, a ring ready for a fire to be built and various homemade seats that I had spent time carving.
Danny looked around before moving to the tent and dumping his bag by it. The early morning rays started to illuminate the campsite. He walked around looking at each crudely carved seat and cooking stand before looking at me.
“This is why you’ve barely spent any time with me and Jolene? You know we thought you were going off us and were just trying to find a way to break it to us.” Danny sat, ashamed of what he had been thinking. I barely looked at him as I dropped my Bergen and set about starting a fire, working as if he wasn’t there; as soon as I had a stable fire going I turned and looked at him.
“If I wanted to end our relationship why would I have brought a plane ticket to come out here? Why would I spend so much money and time planning and preparing to see you both? Is my paranoia that infectious?” I said softly, moving close to him, crouching so we were eye to eye. I reached out and placed my left hand on his right cheek as I continued, “You know I love you, you know I love Jolene, and for God’s sake you know how hard it was for me to deal with being in love with you because of my past.” I leant in and kissed him softly on the lips before standing and starting to strip, letting him see me in my naked glory.
His eyes ran over my body approvingly as he took in my naked form. He didn’t move, just enjoying my words and body, a small, shy, sly smile playing on his lips. Danny watched as I started to take out the supplies needed for the weekend, trying to decide what to cook for breakfast. I started to brew up some coffee as I fried some eggs.
“Danny, this campsite is meant to be enjoyed naked, so when I turn around you had better be naked or I will send you home,” I told Danny as my back was to him. I grinned as I heard him stand and strip for me. I heard him sit back down but he didn’t say a word. His nervousness was resonating thickly in the air. I found myself getting nervous as if Danny was keeping something from me, something big. I turned around handing him a plate of eggs and a mug of coffee before taking mine and sitting by him. We ate in silence, both tired from the rapid-paced hike and early start.