…
Taylor extended his hands toward the fire, sighing as the heat took away the numbness just enough for them to hurt again. They’d both worked all day and immediately met up to come here and build some fucking trails, only stopping once the sun went down to strap head lamps to their foreheads so they could continue to make improvements. Sam, like usual, pushed through the cold and tiredness without flinching and had been the last one to call it quits.
He didn’t count, since he had only continued working to stay by her side. She constantly amazed him with her willingness to give, her complete unselfishness, which ran her life and drove every choice she made. She was always the first to offer help and the last to walk away. She did more than anyone else in the world, and yet she still strove to do more.
To be more.
She was an inspiration and a lesson in humility, all in one beautiful package.
Around her, he came up inadequate, and he was inspired to match her kindness and her heart, something he suspected he might never do. No one would ever be as good, as giving, as Sam.
Maybe that was why he didn’t want their “date” to end.
He lived by a strict set of rules, and they existed for a reason, despite how much Sam liked to tease him…and they shouldn’t be broken, because they keep life in order and under control. People liked to say that life wasn’t yours to control, that God had bigger plans than you could touch. He called bullshit on that.
You could control your life, if you wanted to. Set some boundaries, lay down some rules and routines, and you’d know what was coming next because you planned it that way.
But with Sam…
He was veering off the plan.
Here he was, in the woods, in the dark, vulnerable to attack, all because he didn’t want to end his time with Sam. This wasn’t something he could control.
What the hell was wrong with him lately?
“Feeling better?” she asked, nudging him with her shoulder playfully.
No. Forcing a smile, he shrugged. “Yeah, the heat is nice.”
“So are the s’mores.” She handed him one, which he took without hesitation.
He hadn’t had a s’more since middle school, at a sleepover he’d gone to at Mark Greer’s house. His mother had picked him up before the actual sleepover part because he hadn’t wanted to sleep in someone else’s bed. Even back then, he’d been set in his ways.
Yet he was in the woods.
Without a bed.
She broke the silence again. “Come on, admit it. You’re having a little bit of fun.”
As he took a bite of the warm treat, chocolate and marshmallow spewed out the sides. He popped the whole thing in his mouth, hoping to avoid more of a mess. Though sloppy as hell, they were fucking delicious. “The snacks aren’t so bad,” he said into the flames.
Neither was the company.
“You’ve got…here.” Grinning, she reached out and smoothed her finger over his chin, sticking her finger in her mouth and sucking on it. “There. All gone.”
He wasn’t sure whether to be turned on by her sucking on her finger or embarrassed he’d had marshmallow on his face in the first place. He settled for an awkward combination of the two that had him shifting his weight on the cold, hard ground. “Thanks.”
She closed another s’more, popping it into her mouth effortlessly. She managed to do it without making a mess all over her face, unlike him. She wiped her hands on her jeans, picking up her canned beer and taking a swig. He hadn’t had canned beer since college, when he’d been too poor to afford anything else. Apparently, when saving the world and planting some trees, volunteers liked to unwind afterward with cheap beer, fires, and s’mores.
Who knew?
“Are you doing Habitat for Humanity tomorrow afternoon?” someone to her left asked her.
“I…” The uncertainty was clear in her eyes. She wanted to say yes but worried he might not want to. He refused to be the one to stop her from living her life, so he grinned and nodded. She turned back to the woman who asked her the question, relief in her eyes. “Yep. We are.”
“And, of course, the soup kitchen after,” he added.
He remembered her mentioning that she did that every Saturday night. Every other weekend was also her time at the animal shelter. She cleaned the cages, petted the puppies, and snuggled the cats. She’d skipped last week for him, but he would make sure she didn’t have to do so again.