“That was disgusting,” Amanda remarked as she met up again with Viktor.
“I thought you loved camping?”
“Camping, yes. Outhouses, no.”
“Duly noted.”
As they walked past Henry & Evelyn’s tent, Evelyn’s voice pierced the air. “I don’t want my cot that close to the door!”
“There’s nowhere else to put it!” Henry shot back.
“Why can’t I move it over there, next to yours?”
“Because then you’ll be trapped on your cot and unable to get out unless you crawl over me or I move!”
“But I’ll be sleeping, I won’t need to move.”
“You get up 3 times a night!”
“Well, I can just get out over there,” Evelyn countered.
“You’ll be falling into the side of the tent, Evelyn. There’s not enough room.”
Amanda and Viktor exchanged glances.
“They’re unbelievable,” Amanda remarked. “I’ve never seen two people argue so much.”
“Makes you wonder why they even got married,” Viktor added.
“Maybe they didn’t start out like that,” Amanda reasoned.
“That’s a frightening thought.”
She laughed and hung on his arm. “Oddly, they do seem to love each other, though.”
“They do, don’t they.”
“Hardly seems possible,” she joked.
“I’m just happy we’re not like that,” Viktor remarked.
“Me too,” she agreed.
“Are you changing?” Viktor asked when they arrived at their tent.
“I wasn’t going to bother. You?”
“No. It’s a little chilly. I think I’ll need all my clothes.”
“You’ll be warmer in your sleeping bag,” she assured him.
They stepped inside and removed their shoes. Amanda sat on her cot and watched Viktor as he looked for something in his bag. He finally pulled out a small bottle of hand sanitizer. He put a little in his hand and then offered her some.
She shook her head. “You didn’t use the sanitizer in the outhouse?”
“There was sanitizer in the outhouse?” he asked.
She giggled at him. “Yes.”
“Oh, I didn’t see it.”
“And here, I thought you were observant,” she teased.
“I was trying not to look at anything in there!” he quickly defended himself.
“I know,” she sympathetically agreed. “Seriously, next time I’m going in the woods even though they said not to.”
He laughed, “I won’t stop you.”
They both climbed into their sleeping bags and turned out their headlamps.
“If you have to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, I want you to wake me,” Viktor’s voice cut through the silence.
Amanda made a groaning noise like she didn’t like his request.
“We’re in the middle of the woods with a bunch of strangers and it’s pitch black. I can’t even see my hands. I don’t want you going out without me,” he insisted.
“What if it’s 3:00 in the morning?”
“I don’t care what time or how groggy I seem. I want you to wake me up.”
“So does that mean you’ll wake me if you have to go?” she then asked.
He didn’t answer.
“Viktor?”
“If that’s what you want,” he blurted.
“It’s only fair.”
He audibly sighed.
“I love you,” she said with a playful, apologetic tone.
“Love you too, trouble.”
“But I’m your trouble.”
“Yes. You’re my trouble,” he agreed.
Chapter 29
Amanda woke to an empty tent. She sat up and rubbed her face. Exiting the tent she quickly spotted Viktor sitting at the campfire chatting with Austin and James. No one else from their group had gotten up yet. Viktor’s back was towards the tent so she walked up to him and rubbed his shoulders.
“Hey sweetie,” he greeted her.
She leaned down and kissed him as she relieved him of the coffee in his hands. She then took the seat next to him and quietly sipped his coffee.
“Did you want a coffee?” he asked with a huge grin, feeling greatly amused by the way she stole his.
“Mmm. No thanks,” she replied as she gazed at the fire. “I have one.”
James held out a replacement coffee. Viktor thanked him as he accepted it and they sat quietly watching the flames. As more guests began to wake Austin and James began preparing to cook breakfast.
“Take a walk with me?” Viktor asked Amanda.
“Do I have to?” she moaned. “My body hurts.”
He chuckled and took her hand as he stood up. “Come on.”
They left their coffee mugs by the fire and walked towards the river.
“It’s so peaceful here,” she remarked as she gazed out over the water.
When they could no longer hear or see the other campers, Viktor stopped and pulled Amanda towards him. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her. She kissed him back and they spent the next couple of minutes enjoying nature and each other.
He stroked her hair and looked in her eyes. “This vacation is perfect with one exception.”
“What’s that?” she asked.
“It’s too short. I don’t want to leave you Monday.”
She smiled softly. “I know the feeling.”
“I’m going to move to Boston.”
She took a sharp breath, unable to hide her apprehension.
“Why are you so afraid of me moving close to you?”
“It’s such a big move.” She sighed and tried to gather her thoughts. “We’ve only known each other four months ...”
“Five,” he interrupted.
She gave him a look. “Four and a half.” He rolled his eyes and she continued, “Besides your company is there. How would that work? You’d have to fly there all the time. It’s just not practical right now. And it’s too early for that.”
Viktor took a deep breath, feeling frustrated. “Okay then. How much longer should I wait to move to Boston?”
“How about we talk about it in the spring?” she suggested. “You don’t want to move during winter anyway.”
“Counter offer. I just move here in the spring.”
Despite how anxious she felt about it she finally gave in. “I guess that’s reasonable.”
“And don’t worry about my company. Most meetings I’ll be able to video conference. I won’t need to fly there as much as you think.”
“Okay. That makes me feel a little better.”
He tenderly kissed her lips. “You worry too much.”
She grinned. “I can’t help it. I’m a woman.”
He chuckled. “I hope someday you’ll leave the worrying to me.”
“I’m afraid that’s impossible.”
He shook his head and
