tantrum.
"Yes?"
Beth
couldn't speak. Images of what had taken place shuffled around in her
mind - the early hour he would have gotten up to hike all the way back to the
truck; the thick mud that would have made the trek more difficult; his
rummaging in her truck to find the clothes she had mentioned; her haughtiness
when he came striding back into camp, his mission accomplished.
A
mouthful of humble pie was making it impossible to speak, though she wanted to
thank him. After hesitating a moment, and then trying and failing to
speak again, she stood on tip-toe and brushed a kiss on his cheek. She
could not bring herself to look at him now, and her eyes dropped to the ground
as she turned away.
Les
looked up when Beth entered the tent in William's blanket, and simply smiled at
her like nothing was amiss. Leaning over Jenna with a hand on her
forehead, he seemed to be checking for a fever. Jenna, awake but still
lying down, looked weak and tired, and was clearly in pain. After
pressing a concerned kiss to Jenna's forehead, Les politely excused himself -
presumably so Beth could dress. The clothes William had retrieved from
Beth's truck were cold but dry. Beth remembered throwing them hurriedly
in her truck with the intention of hitting the gym earlier in the week.
Luckily her experimental psychology lab had gone long and she hadn't made
it. Way to find the silver lining, she told herself.
"How
did you sleep last night?" she asked Jenna, folding herself into a sitting
position beside her.
"Okay,
I guess." Jenna always downplayed her own discomfort, so Beth knew
she hadn't slept much, if at all.
"Does
your ankle hurt?" While she asked this, Beth unzipped Jenna's sleeping bag
to assess the damage. Her ankle was swollen, and some faint bruising was
trying to surface.
"It
hurts." If Jenna was admitting pain, then it must be much worse than
she was letting on. "Are those your gym clothes?" Jenna asked,
sidetracked.
Beth
blushed a little at her prior indignation toward William, and she blushed a lot
when their parting scene passed in front of her eyes. She said in a small
voice, "He walked to the truck and got them."
Jenna
opened her eyes, which were paler than usual, and raised her head
slightly. Then a confused scowl creased her forehead. "He
did?" The question hung in the air for a moment before Jenna's head
dropped heavily back to her pillow and she closed her eyes again.
"Huh."
"Yeah,
pretty much."
A
silent moment passed with no response from Jenna, so Beth pushed on.
"I
just don't get him, Jenna. One moment he seems genuinely concerned - even
considerate. The next he's pompous and self-righteous. It's
so…..Jekyll and Hyde."
"We
haven't known him that long, Beth. Maybe he's just a little shy."
"Then
why does he provoke me all the time?" Beth wasn't really looking for
an answer. She had to laugh about the scene that played out earlier, so
she took the subject to a new level as she changed clothes. "Well,
anyway, I took you up on that dare from yesterday."
"Dare?"
"I
kissed him."
Jenna's
eyes popped open, and she propped herself up on one elbow. " You …..kissed….. him? "
she repeated slowly. "Details."
"Don't
get excited Jenna, it wasn't like that. It's just that I wasn't very nice
to him this morning, and when he brought me the clothes I felt really bad.
I couldn't bring myself to say thank you after all the times he's cut my legs
out from under me."
"So,
where did you kiss him?" Jenna asked this shyly so as not to appear too
eager for the juicy details.
"We
were standing by Les's truck," Beth answered distractedly.
"No…..I
mean where on him ," Jenna clarified.
"Oh.
Just on the cheek." Beth suddenly felt the need to busy herself with
folding William's flannel blanket, aiming to appear unconcerned with the fact
that she had shared a painstakingly intimate moment with her nemesis.
"What
did he do?"
"I
didn't stick around to find out.
"Yes?"
Beth
couldn't speak. Images of what had taken place shuffled around in her
mind - the early hour he would have gotten up to hike all the way back to the
truck; the thick mud that would have made the trek more difficult; his
rummaging in her truck to find the clothes she had mentioned; her haughtiness
when he came striding back into camp, his mission accomplished.
A
mouthful of humble pie was making it impossible to speak, though she wanted to
thank him. After hesitating a moment, and then trying and failing to
speak again, she stood on tip-toe and brushed a kiss on his cheek. She
could not bring herself to look at him now, and her eyes dropped to the ground
as she turned away.
Les
looked up when Beth entered the tent in William's blanket, and simply smiled at
her like nothing was amiss. Leaning over Jenna with a hand on her
forehead, he seemed to be checking for a fever. Jenna, awake but still
lying down, looked weak and tired, and was clearly in pain. After
pressing a concerned kiss to Jenna's forehead, Les politely excused himself -
presumably so Beth could dress. The clothes William had retrieved from
Beth's truck were cold but dry. Beth remembered throwing them hurriedly
in her truck with the intention of hitting the gym earlier in the week.
Luckily her experimental psychology lab had gone long and she hadn't made
it. Way to find the silver lining, she told herself.
"How
did you sleep last night?" she asked Jenna, folding herself into a sitting
position beside her.
"Okay,
I guess." Jenna always downplayed her own discomfort, so Beth knew
she hadn't slept much, if at all.
"Does
your ankle hurt?" While she asked this, Beth unzipped Jenna's sleeping bag
to assess the damage. Her ankle was swollen, and some faint bruising was
trying to surface.
"It
hurts." If Jenna was admitting pain, then it must be much worse than
she was letting on. "Are those your gym clothes?" Jenna asked,
sidetracked.
Beth
blushed a little at her prior indignation toward William, and she blushed a lot
when their parting scene passed in front of her eyes. She said in a small
voice, "He walked to the truck and got them."
Jenna
opened her eyes, which were paler than usual, and raised her head
slightly. Then a confused scowl creased her forehead. "He
did?" The question hung in the air for a moment before Jenna's head
dropped heavily back to her pillow and she closed her eyes again.
"Huh."
"Yeah,
pretty much."
A
silent moment passed with no response from Jenna, so Beth pushed on.
"I
just don't get him, Jenna. One moment he seems genuinely concerned - even
considerate. The next he's pompous and self-righteous. It's
so…..Jekyll and Hyde."
"We
haven't known him that long, Beth. Maybe he's just a little shy."
"Then
why does he provoke me all the time?" Beth wasn't really looking for
an answer. She had to laugh about the scene that played out earlier, so
she took the subject to a new level as she changed clothes. "Well,
anyway, I took you up on that dare from yesterday."
"Dare?"
"I
kissed him."
Jenna's
eyes popped open, and she propped herself up on one elbow. " You …..kissed….. him? "
she repeated slowly. "Details."
"Don't
get excited Jenna, it wasn't like that. It's just that I wasn't very nice
to him this morning, and when he brought me the clothes I felt really bad.
I couldn't bring myself to say thank you after all the times he's cut my legs
out from under me."
"So,
where did you kiss him?" Jenna asked this shyly so as not to appear too
eager for the juicy details.
"We
were standing by Les's truck," Beth answered distractedly.
"No…..I
mean where on him ," Jenna clarified.
"Oh.
Just on the cheek." Beth suddenly felt the need to busy herself with
folding William's flannel blanket, aiming to appear unconcerned with the fact
that she had shared a painstakingly intimate moment with her nemesis.
"What
did he do?"
"I
didn't stick around to find out.
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