I can imagine him here, in my tent, with me, the door closed—well, zipped—and it doesn’t scare me anymore. Another human, a man, in my space doesn’t cause shivers of fear down my back and tingling inside my skull. It doesn’t scare me. Mark doesn’t scare me.
I let myself breathe again and smile before carefully climbing out of my sleeping bag to poke my head outside. Mark is shoving Ghost’s nose out from under his head, where he’s currently trying to sneak in despite their sizes.
“Hey,” I call, and Mark instantly jumps, sitting up.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah.” I smile at his worried face. “I’m just wondering if you maybe want to… you know…” And suddenly I feel awkward. “Like sleep in here.”
“Inside with you?” His brows shoot up.
“Yeah.” I give him a small smile.
He inhales loudly, looking around him. “Alicia, I’ll be fine here. Really. Don’t worry.”
“Of course you will be, but it’s comfy in here, and there’s enough space for the both of us.”
Ghost whines, looking up at his dad with the biggest, saddest, most pleading eyes.
“Three of us.” I smile at the dog, and he instantly jumps up, runs past me, and disappears inside the tent. I look at Mark. “I guess you’re outnumbered.”
“I guess so.” He smiles sheepishly before sobering up. “I don’t think it’s a good idea. You know—” He motions toward me, leaving the unspoken in the air.
Something cold and wet falls onto my nose, and I look up—the first snow picked the perfect time to happen.
I smile. It seems as if the sky has spoken. “I think it’s a very good idea. I’ll be waiting for you inside.” I disappear back into the tent, where Ghost has already found his spot in the corner. He spent no time getting to work cleaning his junk. “Gross, no kisses for you.”
He lets out a loud fart and looks up at me as if surprised before returning to his previous activity. A loud laugh comes from outside.
“It wasn’t me!” I cry out, and the laughter grows louder.
The tent opens, and Mark stands at the entrance, holding the door panel to the side. “We’ll need some fresh air. That dude is straight-up toxic after ground beef.”
I scrunch my nose. “Tell me about it.” I hurry outside. “Let me out.” I squeal as I push him aside, running past him without even putting my shoes on.
Mark’s laughter is so deep and contagious, I can’t help myself but join. A minute later, the cold creeps into my bones, and I shiver.
He notices. “I think it’s safe to go in now.”
“You sure?”
“Yeah.” He chuckles and motions for me go first then and follows me.
Once we’re inside, it’s awkward again. The bed takes almost the whole floor besides the little spot we’re crouched in. There is no way such a big man can fit on the side along the bed.
“Where is your sleeping bag?” I ask.
“Here.” He shows me the balled-up material.
I take it and notice how thin it is. He was planning to sleep outside in this the whole night? This thing barely holds any warmth.
I shake my head and move to the bed. Unzipping his bag, I spread it on the bed like a second mattress. The bed will help for sure, but it’s filled with cold air, and it’s cold by itself, so this should help. Then I unzip my bag and lay it out on top like a cover. I take my puffy jacket and make a double pillow before stepping back to admire my creation. I feel pride, like one of my werewolf characters whenever they’re nesting, minus the sexy moves happening.
I switch my attention to him—he’s crouching, supporting his weight with a hand on the floor. His lips are pursed, like he doesn’t understand what I’m doing.
“All done.”
“What’s done? You stole the last barrier between me and pneumonia.” A hint of humor is in his voice.
