I smiled and hit his back. “Especially for you, dude. You’re getting married in a few weeks, babies on the way this summer. Your world is about to be turned upside down.”
He frowned and snarled his lip. “Gee, thanks for the pep talk there, Gunner.”
“Keeping it real my friend, keeping it real.”
“You both packed up and ready to go?” Jeff asked as he made his way over to us.
“I think so. The next time we want to do a weekend getaway, I vote for somewhere warm, with a place on the beach and comfortable beds,” Josh said as he rubbed his lower back.
“Too much sex on the blow-up?” Jeff asked with a straight face.
Rolling his eyes, Josh gave Jeff a dirty look. “You could probably have sex anywhere, I swear.”
Jeff nodded. “My goal someday is sex on a horse.”
Josh and I both stared at Jeff. Pinching my brows, I asked, “Sex on a horse. With Ari?”
“Well certainly not with the fucking horse, Gunner. Yes, with Ari. What in the hell, dude?”
Tossing my head back, I laughed then punched Jeff on the arm. “Hell, you don’t really know with you, Johnson.”
Josh chuckled as we made our way over to the girls. “Think they had fun?” Josh asked.
“Well I don’t know about you two, but I made sure my wife had a good time. At least when we were alone I did.”
“Jesus, Jeff. Is that all you think about is sex?” Josh asked.
“Yes,” Ari answered as she turned and looked at us. “Ninety-nine percent of the time.”
Jeff pulled Ari to him and kissed her on the lips. “And you love it.”
She rubbed her stomach. “I must if I’m pregnant again with your baby.”
Heather seemed to melt into Josh as he held her close to him. She looked up at Josh then over to Ellie and smiled. “I’ll be the first to admit I wasn’t so sure about this trip, but I’ve had a blast. I miss my bed, but it’s been a nice break from reality.”
I motioned with my finger for Ellie. She stood and walked into my arms. Her warm body brought mine to life. Standing on her toes, she kissed me gently then said, “This has been so much fun, but I miss Alex.”
Ari let o
ut a sigh of relief. “I’ve been almost on the verge of tears I miss Luke so much.”
“I can’t wait to see the little guy,” Jeff added.
I looked around at my best friends and felt a peace settle into my chest. I wasn’t sure when the next time we would be able to sneak off like this for a weekend would be, but I made a promise to myself that I would make sure we had small moments like this. Just us, being us.
Ellie turned in my arms and faced everyone else as we stood in a circle. Turning my attention on Josh and Heather, I said, “So, in a few weeks we’re marrying off the last two of the gang.”
Heather’s face lit up as did Josh’s. “I’m ready. More than ready, honestly,” Josh said as he placed his hands over Heather’s swollen belly.
Looking up at Josh, Heather softly said, “I’m counting down the days.”
We stood there in silence. It was almost like no one really wanted to leave, but I knew we were all ready to get home and get settled back into life.
“I guess we should head back,” Jeff said first. “But there is one thing I want to do before we go.”
Ellie looked at her brother and asked, “What’s that?”
With a smile, he looked at each of us, one at a time. “I want us all to stand here and make a promise to each other that someday we’ll return to these campsites with our kids and their kids.”