Chapter Twenty-One
The air was crisp as they started out just after dawn. It was a much drier climate than he was used to, so it wasn’t as cold as he feared. Lee walked ahead at first, checking his old hunting trail, but soon, he walked beside Eli, and even held his hand.
“This is new for me. Never thought I’d be in public with a guy.”
Eli gazed around at the trees, mostly pine, and the hills on either side and whispered, “Lee, it’s…not exactly public.”
“It’s public for me.”
The hike was mostly silent, and they didn’t hold hands much, as they needed to get into single file for the steeper climbs. Then, like magic, they hit a plateau, and Lee brought him over to gaze over at it.
There were rolling hills and further west, there was taller mountains, peaks hidden from the top by fluffy white clouds. “It’s so beautiful here, Lee. No wonder you love the cabin.”
“This is one of my favorite places, but anywhere around here is. No people, no one bugging me or trying to bribe me. I really love the quiet.”
“You’ve had very little quiet in your life, haven’t you?”
“That’s astute.”
Eli turned around to see an even better view. Lee, humbled and smiling. “I’ve gotten better at reading your needs. I guess I’m growing in my job.”
“Guess you are.”
On top of that hill, in the middle of nowhere, they were finally able to kiss and not worry anyone would see. Lee didn’t so much as look around before he moved in for the kiss and held Eli tightly.
When the kiss was over, in order to avoid a messy discussion, Eli asked, “So where are we camping?”
“Oh, sweetheart, we’re not even close yet.”
Eli groaned, “No way!”
“Come on, city boy.”
They walked for another two hours, but Eli didn’t feel it, as he was too busy looking around, streams, rock formations, trees and then fields of tall grass and wildflowers. He couldn’t get enough of the landscape, the air, how sweet it smelled, how dry it was.
Lee watched him, laughing at his wonderment. The sky moved the clouds quickly over them, making shade where there weren’t trees, then sun when they were shadowed. He fell in love with the place quickly and wished they could leave DC and all their worries behind for good.
When they came upon a clearing, Eli heard yet another spring gurgling. Lee pointed to the flat ground and said, “We’re here.”
“This? Lee, this is perfect.”
The small clearing was surrounded by trees, the water was glimmering in the sunlight nearby and the smell of the juniper and pine was a natural air freshener. Not that that air needed it.
“Yeah. It’s central to two streams, and if we wanted another mile or so hike, there’s a small lake to the north. Grandpa and I used to fish for our dinner. I’m not so inclined so that’s why I brought the food in the backpacks.”
The thing had been heavy, but he had grown used to it quickly enough. For some insane reason, he didn’t think they were filled with food. He thought they had dildos.
Lee told him to start a fire, so he went around the area and started to gather firewood. He hadn’t made a campfire since he was a kid in the Boy Scouts. He hoped he could still do it and not make a fool of himself.
Once he had an armful, he got back to the campsite to see the fire already started, a cup of water on it, starting to heat, and the tent sitting prettily near the stream.
“What? I thought you wanted me to make the fire.”
“You took long enough to get the wood, I thought I’d start it. You got a good bundle though.”
Eli sat on the ground near the fire. “Thanks. Thanks for…all this, Lee. It’s amazing.”
“I knew you’d appreciate it. There’s something about it, out here, that makes all the troubles of the cities seem so…stupid.”