Page 99 of His North Star
“Okay. I’ll go first. Would you rather eat a snail raw or backcountry hike for three days?”
My nostrils flared. “Snail.”
He chuckled. “Really? Our adventure hasn’t become nostalgic over the years?”
The trip that wasn’t camping as I’d been told, but actually high adventure backpacking? The one I’d all but blocked from my memory? “Yes. You tricked me by saying we were staying at a campground. I had no idea that we were hiking along the Teton Crest Trail.”
Ty had even enlisted my parents’ help to pack my gear. Mom gathered what clothes I’d needed, and Dad had done the rest. The trail was hard. And I hadn’t trained properly because I didn’t know it was happening. In hindsight, Ty forcing me to go running with him every morning that summer was probably his way of helping me be somewhat in shape. He blamed it on conditioning for rugby.
I never fell for his family “camping” trips after that. Honestly, if I had to pee in the woods, a heads up would have been nice. From him or my parents, since they were in on it. It was a darn good thing my cycle had ended a few days before we left. I grimaced. Packingthosesupplies in andout? No, thank you.
“The look on your face when you found out I had tricked you scared the crap out of me,” Ty said. “I thought for sure Dad would kick my butt for lying to you. That first day when you refused to talk to me, I deserved it. Do you remember how I chatted at you all day long, praying you’d forgive me for dragging you up there?”
More people arrived. Their headlights swirled across our faces every so often as they turned in to the parking lot. We turned, facing away from the glaring lights.
Yes, I recalled Ty being extra nice after he’d tricked me. “I can hold a grudge when I want to.”
“Yeah, I know.” He laughed. “You ignored me the whole trip. You never uttered a word of complaint though. Any time you weren’t directing your glare at me, you had that same serene smile from earlier today on your face.”
“It was too pretty to complain.” The beauty I’d beheld in the Wyoming mountains was indescribable. I was so angry at Ty, which was why I tried to forget that memory. But Mother Nature had a calming effect on me, and I couldn’t fume at him while being surrounded by vivid wildflowers. Animals. Waterfalls. And the best views imaginable.
It was the first, and last, time I’d gone backpacking.
“No one else I know would do what you did,” Ty said. “But that trip was shortly after my parents’ divorce, and I didn’t want to be alone with my dad and Charlie. I wanted my best friend there too.”
He never explained why he tricked me. I chalked it up to teenage mischief. Ty loved pulling pranks, and I’d written that whole trip off as one.
I grabbed his hand and squeezed as my whole body flooded with gushy warmth. If he’d only asked me and explained all of that, I would have willingly gone with him.
“Well, when you put it that way, I’m a tiny bit sorry for being so mad at you.”
“Nah.” He pulled me in for a side hug. “That trip is one of my favorites.”
I wouldn’t ever classify it as a favorite, but now, understanding the circumstances, it shifted into a fond memory.
“My turn.” I stepped back from him. “Would you rather kiss a slug or never kiss anyone ever again?”
His lips turned down. “You know what this reminds me of?”
“What?”
“Remember in eighth grade when we went to Jessica Anderson’s party and played truth or dare?”
Of course I did. That night I received an introduction to Spin the Bottle. I shuddered. So, so gross. I had braces along with half the kids there. I pretended to have a stomachache, sitting on the couch, out of the circle instead of participating.
“Why does that question remind you of that party?”
His nose scrunched. “Because kissing a slug is similar to that night.”
I chuckled. Yep, I definitely made the right decision to fake an illness. “Yes, well, thirteen- and fourteen-year-olds have no place kissing. If you were as smart as me, you would’ve passed on playing.”
He shook his head. “Slimy kisses or not, I wasn’t about to let the opportunity to get my first kiss slip away.”
“Was it worth it?”
“Back then”—he nodded with a small smile—“absolutely.”
“What about now?”
