“
Hey, Steph. Can I help you with dinner?” I ask. Being that she’s the mother hen of the group, and the only one who really knows how to cook, she and Dominic volunteered to do meals. We all gave them money, and they did the grocery shopping. I have no idea what we’re in store for. Anything edible will be great because I’m starved. The jumbo package of gummi worms I got at our last stop didn’t do anything for my growling belly.
“
Just relax, we got it.” She smiles at me and waves me away from her chef’s table and cooler.
I leave her to her business and join the rest of the crowd around a slow going campfire. Ranger Ben, as I’ve decided to call him, told the boys not to build a big one since we have to wait until it’s entirely extinguished before we can go to sleep.
Sleep? I thought we’d be up all night talking, having a good time. I’m not so sure now. It was a long drive, and setting up the tents stole all my energy. Not to mention this forest. It’s breathtaking and relaxing. The sound of nearby running water and the smell of pines could seriously put me to sleep.
Which is just what I’m about to do when I hear the faint sound of Steph’s voice tingling in my ear.
“
Huh,” I mumble.
“
Did you get a good little cat nap?” Alex asks me. Nodding off for just a bit and waking up to those gorgeous eyes makes me smile and sigh with content. I smile at him, and he takes my hand in his and brings it to his lips for a soft peck.
“
You all ready to eat?” Dom calls out. He’s carrying a container while Steph has a hand full of napkins. She trots around handing one to each of us while Dom passes us a burrito.
Josh moans in delight. “This is bomb, Steph. You made these right now?”
I take a bite of my own and sigh once again. The intense flavor of spicy beef, beans, rice, and cheese dances in my mouth. This is delicious.
“
No, silly. I made them this morning. All we had to do was put them on the griddle and close the lid until they warmed up.”
“
Smart,” Ben says.
“
That’s the key to cooking when you’re camping. My mom always makes our meals ahead of time, and then all we have to do is reheat them.” Steph looks very proud.
There’s silence while we all devour our dinner. The only sound comes from the crackling of the fire and the shuffle of Travis’s feet as he helps himself to seconds. It’s not long before the rest of the guys join him. I consider getting another but I’m not really hungry anymore. I want to taste the burrito more than I want to eat it. If that makes any sense.
After a few hours of talking about nothing and everything, we decide to get ready for bed. Since the bathrooms are barely big enough for three people, we make the trip in shifts.
Andi and Keesh are already in the tent when I get back to camp with Steph and Alex. We gather up any scented items and store them in the bed of the truck as planned. Ben and Travis have already cleaned up after dinner, stowing our trash away in the proper bear-resistant dumpsters, and they’ve put out the fire.
Dom throws out one of his big hands, grabs Steph by her waist, and hauls her in. “Goodnight, babe.”
He plants a hot kiss on her that makes even me blush. I glance up at Alex and he flutters his brows. I fan myself, jokingly, and he nods.
When Steph comes up for air, she mumbles a breathy, “See you in the morning.”
He slaps her on the behind and watches her sway her booty for his pleasure as she disappears into the girls’ tent—part of my dad’s orders.
Dom’s silly smile makes me laugh. He turns around to see us watching him. “What?”
“
Nothin’,” Alex says. “Don’t let us interrupt your girly smile.”
Dom raises a brow at his friend. “Dude, want me to stick around for yours?”
Alex chuckles. “You got me.”
“
Good night, you two.” Dom walks passed us and makes his way into the boys’ tent.
“
So, we really have to be up at the butt crack of dawn?” I ask, jokingly, looking up into Alex’s dreamy eyes.
“
Yup, butt crack for sure.” He closes the space between us and places his hands on my arms. “Make sure you girls don’t stay up all night talking. You’re gonna need all your energy for the hikes we have planned for tomorrow.”
“
Maybe you should sleep with me and make sure I get my rest.” I tug on the waistband of his basketball shorts and pull him closer.
“
Not gonna happen. I told your dad there would be separate tents. One for the guys and one for the ladies.”
“
Technically, we do have one for each but it doesn’t mean we have to sleep in them.”
He lowers his head, and places his soft lips on mine. “Goodnight, Megan.”
I reach up and grab him by the back of the neck. One soft kiss just isn’t going to cut it. He doesn’t resist as I guide his face to mine and claim his mouth like it’s my very own property. Our lips smash together and our tongues mingle long enough for me to feel my heartbeat in every part of my body.
“
Now that’s a good night,” I tell him, and I walk away, shaking my ass just like Steph did. I turn around to smile at him as I put one foot inside our tent. “That girly grin looks good on you.”
He shakes his head with a chuckle.
“
Close the tent all the way, now that we’re all here,” Keesh says. “I don’t want any bugs to get in.”
“
Did you all put some of that bug spray on?” I ask.
“
Yes,” they say in unison. Ben brought more than enough cans for all of us to stay bite free for months. He takes this camping thing very seriously.
I remind the girls about getting enough rest and not staying up all night.
“
Dude, don’t worry about me. I’m beat. I’ll be the first one out for sure.” Andi turns over on her belly, hugs her pillow, and closes her eyes. She means business.
“
Me too,” Steph says. “We can talk tomorrow. I’m so tired. I should’ve slept on the ride over here like Dom.”
Keesh already has her eyes closed too. What you can see of them. She’s wrapped up tight in a mummy bag, and the only thing you can see is a tiny circle of her face. How she can sleep like that is beyond me. I’d feel trapped.
I unzip my sleeping bag and slide in. With blankets underneath us, the ground isn’t too hard and uncomfortable. “Fine then, party poopers, good night.”
I hear Keesh and Steph mumble something, but Andi is out.
I’m starting to fall asleep when I hear the zipper moving on our tent. Josh peeks his head in. “What are you doing?” I ask.
“
I’m sleeping in here,” he says, holding his pillow and dragging his sleeping bag in with him.
“
No, you’re not.”
“
Meg, there are four other big ass guys over there in that tent. There’s no room.”
“
There’s four of us.” I gesture to the girls.
“
Yeah, and all of you combined are like the size of two of them.” He drops his stuff between Steph and me.
Steph squishes closer to Andi. “Fine then, stay. Just shut up and go to sleep already.”
Fine. If Steph doesn’t see anything wrong with it, then why should I? I scoot closer to the wall of the tent, get cozy again, and pass out.
Hiking
The whisper of my name drags me away from my slumber. My body aches from sleeping on the hard ground. It wasn’t bad at first, but now my back hurts. My eyes squint against the brightness filtering in through our tent.
“
Megster, you awake?” I turn my head toward the faint sound of my name. Startled to see Josh smiling at me, I close my eyes tight and pull my sleeping bag over my head. I forgot he stayed with us last night. “Get up, silly. I wanna play a joke on the guys.”
“
C’mon, this is gonna be funny.” I peel the material back to see Steph leaning over him.
Keesh stands over us. “I’ll be back in two minutes with the others and a camera. This is going to be awesome.”
What do these crazy people have planned? It’s still early. Or I think it is. I’m not ready to wake up. I have a good hour of sleep left in me. “I don’t wanna get up. What are we doing?”
“
It’s okay, just come on over to Papa.” Josh lifts his arm. “Come here. I’m gonna pretend to be asleep with you and Steph in my arms.”
Laughing inside, I smile as I scoot in and cuddle against him, resting my head on his shoulder. “You’re gonna look pimp.”
Steph lifts her head off his shoulder to glance over at me. “
Look
is the key word.” She rolls her eyes as she falls against his chest and fakes sleep.
“
Shh,” he whispers. “They’re coming. Oscar performances, ladies.”
I don’t know how that’s possible since my body is already shaking with laughter.
“
I had to get a picture of this and my phone died. I can’t believe I woke up to seeing those fools all snuggled together.” Keesh’s voice is getting closer along with the sound of several sets of feet crunching on the gravel.
We hear the zipper first. And then silence.
“
Did you get a picture, Trav?” That’s Dom, but I don’t hear a response. Only a few giggles. “Okay. Do you wanna crack him first, Alex, or should I?”
“
Go for it, big guy.”
I can feel Dom’s presence in the tent before I see him. We all bust up laughing as Dom splashes his heavy body on Josh. Steph and I sit up, watching Dom slap Josh on the forehead. “You think this is funny, huh? Who’s the pimp now?” Josh tries to shield his face while the other guy sits on him continuing to plant love taps all over his body.
“
Good morning, everyone,” I say to the group.
Dom rolls off of the pimp and tugs Steph down to lay with him. “Much better.”
Like the night before, we make our trek to the restrooms in shifts to wash our faces and brush our teeth. Josh is the only one to skip the morning ritual. He claims that he’s roughing it and camping doesn’t require proper hygiene. Instead he splashes some bottled water on his face. He then takes a drink of orange soda and swishes it around in his mouth. We all look at him in disgust. “What? I’m camping,” he says, throwing his hands in the air.
After eating a nice breakfast of PopTarts, GoGurts, and bananas, we all pitch in, packing up camp before we leave for a day of hiking. We each pack two large water bottles, hoping it will be enough to keep us hydrated throughout the day. The thought of dehydration is not appealing, but neither is peeing in the woods, so my plan is to drink as little as possible.
Before we can do any hiking, we have to take a shuttle to the trailhead. If you ask me, that’s cheating, but whatever. We’re planning on seeing Devil’s Postpile and Rainbow Falls. The falls sound more appealing than a pile of rocks. You’d think we were gonna see moon rocks or something with the way the guys were talking about it last night.
We don’t rest once on the trail to the falls. We actually pass the giant columns of rock on our way but Ben says we’ll stop on our way back.
I don’t know what I expected but my heart overflows with emotion when the waterfall first comes into view. Carefully, we make our way down a steep slippery staircase to the base of the falls to get a really good look. I have never seen anything so beautiful. The mist cools my skin the closer we get. The freshness of the scenery, lush and green. The rushing sounds of water pouring over the side of the mountain. All the while, a rainbow bridges it way from one side to the other. It’s breathtaking.
“
Dude, this is bitchen.” Andi’s eyes are wide and her mouth hangs open and her head moves slowly, taking in the panoramic setting.
Steph and I nod. I could stay here forever soaking in nature, being soothed by the sounds of the flowing water. I wish we could jump in and enjoy it, like you see in the movies, but we can’t. In all of Mammoth, there are few places you can actually swim legally. And Rainbow Falls isn’t one of them. But I have to wonder what it would be like to stand under a waterfall. The crashing of the water at the bottom is a little scary so maybe it wouldn’t be the best idea after all.
Stepping out in front of the group, I take out my cell to get a picture. I take several and then use an app to send a collage of photos to my parents. Before I hit send, I add a message thanking them for allowing me to experience this beauty.
“
Hey, let’s all get a picture.” Ben stops a hiker and asks him to take a photo of our group. He passes the guy his phone and jumps in with the rest of us as we squish together.
This starts a wave of photos. Girls only. Boys only. Couples. Single shots. Funny faces. Serious ones. Shot after shot until Josh decides to get creative. He gives Travis some direction before taking his pose. I can’t figure out what the hell he’s doing standing on a rock, with his head thrown back and his hands held out in front of his crotch.