Sidequest for Love by L.H. Cosway

“I need to pee,” I said as Neil and I made our way over to our tent.

“I brought a roll of toilet paper if you need some,” he offered.

“That’s okay. I brought my own, but, um …”

“What is it?” he asked, frowning.

“It’s just that it’s dark, and I don’t want to pee too close to the tent, for obvious reasons, but I also don’t want to go too far away on my own.”

“I’ll come with you then.”

“But you’ll hear me peeing,” I complained.

“For crying out loud, I’ll put my hands over my ears if you want.”

I smiled. “Yes, do that. Thank you.”

I grabbed my toilet paper, and we walked a little distance away from the campsite until we found some bushes that would afford me enough privacy.

“Do you need to go?” I asked.

“No, I went earlier.”

“Okay.” A pause. “Are you sure you don’t need to go? Because I’m not coming back out here if we get back to the tent and you suddenly feel the urge.”

“Afric, stop temporizing and pee. It’s getting cold out here.”

“Fine,” I huffed. “But you better cover your ears as you promised.”

“I’m covering my ears,” he said, and I watched as he brought his hands up to cover them.

I quickly did my business, snapped off a few sheets of toilet paper, then used some of the hand sanitiser in my pocket before re-joining Neil. We were both quiet on the walk back to the campsite, and Neil seemed to be stewing on something. I could tell by how he kept frowning and acting like he wanted to say something but didn’t know if he should.

Finally, he asked, “So, who is he then?”

I shot him a confused glance. “Who is who?”

He heaved an irritable breath. “This bloke you fancy.”

Oh. Oh. I’d mentioned liking someone while we ate dinner, and I’d made it sound like there was some mystery man when, in fact, the person I liked was Neil himself. There was something about the dark and being miles away from civilisation that made me feel like I could speak freely. At long last, I wanted Neil to know how I felt about him. Then he could decide what he would do with the information, and it would be out of my hands. The ball would be in his court, so to speak. And besides, it wasn’t like he was completely indifferent to me. He was obviously attracted to me given what he’d said about my looks and the very obvious erection he sported when he pinned me to the blanket earlier.

“I’m not sure how to put this,” I said, and he groaned.

“Christ, don’t tell me it’s someone I know.”

“It is, actually.”

He raked a hand through his hair then stared up at the sky as if talking to a higher power. “This is a sick joke, isn’t it? You’re going to keep on doing this to me, aren’t you?”

I reached out and grabbed his arm. I met his gaze, and my voice was sincere when I said, “Neil, it’s you! You’re the bloke I fancy.”

He blinked. Then he blinked some more. Then he just stood there, dumbstruck.

I laughed awkwardly. “Say something.”

He swallowed thickly. “You fancy me?”

I more than fancied him, but tonight wasn’t the night for that conversation. I lowered my gaze. “Yes, I do.”

“I didn’t know.”

“Duh. That’s why I told you.”

He fell quiet again. I nudged him with my elbow. “This is the part when you tell me you fancy me back.”

His eyes flickered between mine, and there was such intense emotion in them that I felt taken aback. He moved closer, and my breath caught. His hand came to rest on my shoulder, and his eyes practically blazed. My throat thickened, and just like that, he didn’t need to say a word. He was channelling his attraction at me so intensely I felt like my skin might burst aflame.

Neil’s hand moved from my shoulder and slid all the way up to cup my cheek, “I fancy you,” he breathed, and my insides heated. He glanced at my mouth, and I thought he wanted to kiss me, but then his eyes traced my features before he exhaled reluctantly. “We should get back.”

I nodded, a little disappointed that he didn’t kiss me, but my skin still tingled with awareness as we made our way back to the campsite. The atmosphere between us had changed. It felt lighter and heavier all at once.

Outside the tent, we quietly used bottled water and toothpaste to brush our teeth. Neil had even brought a tiny bottle of mouthwash. He always thought of everything. For a second, I imagined us as an old married couple with one of those His and Hers bathrooms, the two of us standing side by side as we completed our night-time rituals.

After my unexpected confession, Neil was looking at me differently. He seemed charged like a battery overflowing. Once we were done brushing our teeth, he politely offered to wait outside while I changed into my sleep clothes. A part of me wanted to reply and say I didn’t mind at all if he came in and watched.

“You can come in now. I’m decent,” I called as I shimmied into the toasty sleeping bag. I noticed with delight that when Neil had gone to relieve his bladder earlier in the evening, he must’ve snuck in here and placed a hot water bottle inside my sleeping bag.

“Where did this come from?” I asked, showing him the hot water bottle as he entered the tent.