The Camping Trip
‘What’s up?’, I asked, looking over at Antonia’s tired face.
‘Huh? What’s up? Nothing, nothing at all… I’m just super tired. It’s been a long day’. I looked at my wristwatch and realized we had been walking for much longer than we had intended to. The day had been pleasant; no rain and a refreshing breeze to cool us in the sun. ‘Shit, you’re right! We could have bedded down a couple of hours ago. You should have said if you wanted to take a break!’.
‘No, no it’s fine! I’ve only just realized how heavy my legs feel, is all. Do you think here’s a good enough place to stop? Or maybe over there by that ridge? We could get the tent up underneath that tree for a bit of protection in case the wind picks up’. I looked over at where Antonia was pointing to and saw they’d picked a good enough spot as any for us to settle down for the evening.
‘Sure, I hope you didn’t forget any of the tent poles or we’re going to have a pretty cold night’.
‘Never mind what I may or may not have forgotten and get your ass over here to help me set up’.
The two of us went to work organizing tent poles and ground sheets, we worked seamlessly; getting the tent up and the pegs hammered into the tough earth in no time. ‘I haven’t been camping in forever, you know, I’m excited!’, I smiled at Antonia.
‘Yeah me too, I think I’ll sleep like a baby tonight whether the wind blows or not, how far do you think we walked?’.
‘I’m not sure, but I hope you’re not too tired cos we have to do the whole thing all over again tomorrow’. We started unrolling our sleeping bags and gathering bits and pieces up for us to eat. Antonia had a tiny, gas powered stove that we set up just outside the opening to our tent and lit. We cooked ramen noodles and mixed tinned vegetables and hot sauce into them in matching mess tins, before hungrily devouring them. As we sat eating and chatting, the weather began to change. The previously clear skies turned a murky shade of grey and the temperature dropped sharply. Antonia looked worried, and I tried to reassure them. ‘I’m sure it’ll pass soon… Shall we zip up the door and move further into the tent? It might be warmer’.
‘Yeah, good idea. Did you bring many layers? I might put my fleece on if it’s going to be as cold as this all night’, Antonia said as they began to dig to the bottom of their rucksack in search of warmer clothing.
Whilst Antonia wrapped up warm, I boiled us some water to make tea and took it back to Antonia where they sat huddled against the far end of the tent wall, knees pulled up almost to their chin with their sleeping bag pulled tight around them.
‘Oh, get off it! It’s not that cold’, I laughed.
‘Is that tea? I could do with that, I feel like my bones are made of ice’.
‘Jesus, have I ever mentioned quite how dramatic you are?’, I giggled, knowing full well just how many times I had complained to Antonia about their habit of over exaggerating. I watched them as they sipped tentatively at the steaming canister of tea I’d made, and felt an overwhelming urge to reach out and touch them.
It had grown dark by now, and the only light we had was from a crappy, wind up lantern. ‘Do you mind if I squeeze in with you? My sleeping bag smells too much like the dust from the attic’. Antonia smiled a knowing grin and unzipped their sleeping bag, holding it open for me to squeeze into. The heat of their body against mine was intoxicating, and I wanted desperately to let my hands explore their body. Suddenly, the shitty lantern gave as crackle and we were plunged into darkness. The two of us erupted with laughter, and Antonia mocked me for being such a cheap ass.
Our fits of laughter suddenly shifted as the two of us found each other’s mouths in the darkness and kissed passionately. As my tongue flicked gently across theirs, my hands moved down inside the sleeping bag and began hungrily grabbing at the layers of clothing they wore, trying desperately to reach Antonia’s bare skin. All the while they ran their hands through my loose hair, pulling me closer to her and gasping breathily as my hands finally broke through their clothing. ‘Touch me’, they whispered in my ear, taking my hand and guiding it exactly where they wanted it. I obliged, moving my fingers first delicately and then more intensely across them. Awkwardly, they managed to manoeuvre one of their hands free from the sleeping bag and clawed their way past the waistband of my underwear. As soon as I felt their warm touch on my skin, I cried out loudly, my voice echoing outside the tent. I began panting, whispering over and over again in their ear about how good they were making me feel. It was like I never wanted it to end but I could feel pressure rising within me and knew soon enough it would erupt. Antonia was even closer to ecstasy than I was, unable now to form any actual words and instead just plunging their nails into the back of my neck and calling my name over and over.
When it was over, the two of us wrapped ourselves around one another and slunk deeper into the sleeping bag. Before I had realized it, we were both sound asleep; exhausted from the long hike and what had happened after. I groggily opened my eyes and realized Antonia was no longer next to me, keeping me warm. I sat up and saw her silhouette at the entrance to the tent, crouched over the gas burner and the smell of strong coffee wafted my way.