softly. "You'll be in the tent with Jenna.
Les and I will take the truck."
Beth
looked around William to the white king cab truck that stood guard duty at the
campsite entrance.
"You'll
freeze," she argued flatly.
"We
have extra sleeping bags."
Beth
just looked at him with incredulous eyes.
"I'll
be fine," William reassured. "I'm cold blooded, remember?"
Beth
inspected him for a moment. "I don't think so," she
pronounced. "I think it's an act."
"Maybe
I do have a thing for damsels in distress," William reasoned.
Beth
smiled sweetly, putting a hand to his cheek and fluttering her eyelashes.
"It's called a hero complex, Solo."
William's
eyes almost closed. When he brought a hand up to cover Beth's, she
hastily dropped hers. She had only touched him for effect, and she wasn't
about to let him toss her hand aside in disgust. Pivoting and marching to
the tent, she disappeared inside without looking back.
GALLANTRY
"…..how
insufficient were all my pretensions to please a woman worthy of being
pleased."
~Mr.
Darcy, Pride & Prejudice
Beth
awoke feeling warmer than she should have. Once inside the tent last
night she had stripped off her wet clothes and laid them out on the floor next
to the knapsack that she assumed was meant for her. She had flinched with
guilt when she saw the oversized, dry t-shirt there, probably donated from
William's camping wardrobe. The scent of pine and laundry soap filled her
nose as she pulled it over her head. As she slid into the puffy down
sleeping bag, her thoughts turned to the 'extras' William had mentioned.
Even if the said extras were as snug as Beth's, the boys wouldn't possibly be
comfortable in the truck.
In the
end, it turned out to be a moot point.
Heavy
raindrops had assaulted the roof of the tent last night, and Beth had worried
about Les and even William. Maybe they would move in with Kara and
Lucy. It would only be slightly more proper than coming in with Jenna and
herself.
Beth sat
up in her sleeping bag, running a tentative hand over her ruffled hair.
She looked over at Jenna and started at the sight of Les lying next to her
friend, sandwiched between two blankets in a makeshift bedroll. Extras
indeed , she thought.
Les
and Jenna still slept, facing each other but not touching. With
mortification Beth turned slowly to her other side, and felt a resounding sonic
boom somewhere in the region of her chest when she saw another flannel blanket
sandwich. Fortunately it was empty.
William
had slept next to her all night? The blanket that William had loaned her
last night was laid over her, and the blankets he had slept in were lying where
her muddy clothes had been. Either he had slept on top of them all night
(unlikely), or had thrown them into the river out of spite (probable).
Regardless,
she was stuck in a tent with Les inside, and William outside, in nothing but
her underwear and his t-shirt.
She
wrapped the plaid blanket around her waist and stepped into her hiking boots,
which were sitting at the door of the tent. Her toes squished into their
damp muddiness and she wrinkled her nose. She unzipped the tent and
stepped into the first beams of dawn filtering through the trees. The
rain glistened on the leaves and branches like drops of hot glue, and crisp
moisture flavored the air. The hickory tang of a campfire filled the air
as its crackling broke the early morning stillness. She looked around for
her clothes and spotted them slung over a nearby tree. Unfortunately,
they were caught in last night's downpour and were completely
waterlogged. Still, someone had hung her clothes up, and she had a good
idea who it was.
She
wandered over to the fire and plopped down on the log from the previous
night. She resigned to sit there all day, clad in the red-and-blue plaid
mercy of her worst enemy, which actually smelled quite good. She brought
the corner of the flannel to her face. It had a subtle
Les and I will take the truck."
Beth
looked around William to the white king cab truck that stood guard duty at the
campsite entrance.
"You'll
freeze," she argued flatly.
"We
have extra sleeping bags."
Beth
just looked at him with incredulous eyes.
"I'll
be fine," William reassured. "I'm cold blooded, remember?"
Beth
inspected him for a moment. "I don't think so," she
pronounced. "I think it's an act."
"Maybe
I do have a thing for damsels in distress," William reasoned.
Beth
smiled sweetly, putting a hand to his cheek and fluttering her eyelashes.
"It's called a hero complex, Solo."
William's
eyes almost closed. When he brought a hand up to cover Beth's, she
hastily dropped hers. She had only touched him for effect, and she wasn't
about to let him toss her hand aside in disgust. Pivoting and marching to
the tent, she disappeared inside without looking back.
GALLANTRY
"…..how
insufficient were all my pretensions to please a woman worthy of being
pleased."
~Mr.
Darcy, Pride & Prejudice
Beth
awoke feeling warmer than she should have. Once inside the tent last
night she had stripped off her wet clothes and laid them out on the floor next
to the knapsack that she assumed was meant for her. She had flinched with
guilt when she saw the oversized, dry t-shirt there, probably donated from
William's camping wardrobe. The scent of pine and laundry soap filled her
nose as she pulled it over her head. As she slid into the puffy down
sleeping bag, her thoughts turned to the 'extras' William had mentioned.
Even if the said extras were as snug as Beth's, the boys wouldn't possibly be
comfortable in the truck.
In the
end, it turned out to be a moot point.
Heavy
raindrops had assaulted the roof of the tent last night, and Beth had worried
about Les and even William. Maybe they would move in with Kara and
Lucy. It would only be slightly more proper than coming in with Jenna and
herself.
Beth sat
up in her sleeping bag, running a tentative hand over her ruffled hair.
She looked over at Jenna and started at the sight of Les lying next to her
friend, sandwiched between two blankets in a makeshift bedroll. Extras
indeed , she thought.
Les
and Jenna still slept, facing each other but not touching. With
mortification Beth turned slowly to her other side, and felt a resounding sonic
boom somewhere in the region of her chest when she saw another flannel blanket
sandwich. Fortunately it was empty.
William
had slept next to her all night? The blanket that William had loaned her
last night was laid over her, and the blankets he had slept in were lying where
her muddy clothes had been. Either he had slept on top of them all night
(unlikely), or had thrown them into the river out of spite (probable).
Regardless,
she was stuck in a tent with Les inside, and William outside, in nothing but
her underwear and his t-shirt.
She
wrapped the plaid blanket around her waist and stepped into her hiking boots,
which were sitting at the door of the tent. Her toes squished into their
damp muddiness and she wrinkled her nose. She unzipped the tent and
stepped into the first beams of dawn filtering through the trees. The
rain glistened on the leaves and branches like drops of hot glue, and crisp
moisture flavored the air. The hickory tang of a campfire filled the air
as its crackling broke the early morning stillness. She looked around for
her clothes and spotted them slung over a nearby tree. Unfortunately,
they were caught in last night's downpour and were completely
waterlogged. Still, someone had hung her clothes up, and she had a good
idea who it was.
She
wandered over to the fire and plopped down on the log from the previous
night. She resigned to sit there all day, clad in the red-and-blue plaid
mercy of her worst enemy, which actually smelled quite good. She brought
the corner of the flannel to her face. It had a subtle
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