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Colby wrinkled her nose. “This is about as roughing it as I want to get. I wouldn’t say I’m a super girly-girl, but camping just doesn’t appeal to me.”
“What would be your ideal vacation? We sort of forgot to do these questions last night. I made you work. We should really cover all the basic things we missed talking about in Cultural Geography.”
And our first date that never happened, he thought, his heart sinking. He could guess from the way her shoulders stiffened that she was thinking about that as well. But she relaxed a bit as she started to talk.
“I’ve always wanted to go to the mountains, like Colorado. I’ve never been. Beaches are great, but I always feel so sticky and hot. That’s what we did every summer growing up: going to Virginia Beach or Sandover Island in North Carolina. It was nice, but I want to see the Rockies. I’d like to learn to ski.”
“I’ve never been skiing either. Growing up in Texas, a lot of people who have the money spend summers in Colorado. Apparently so many that people in Colorado can’t stand Texans.”
“Really? That’s weird.”
“I guess they’re constantly feeling invaded. And, if you haven’t noticed, Texans are pretty into Texas.”
Colby giggled. “I didn’t miss that. That was one of the first things I noticed when I started at Rice. The joke about everything being bigger in Texas is totally true. Especially state pride.”
“Yep,” Nate said. “Texas forever. Okay, speaking of going big, are you ready for your surprise?”
Colby wiggled on her stool, nodding enthusiastically. “Yes! I hate waiting.”
Nate passed over a small plate with the two s’mores on it, grinning even before he saw the look of delight on her face. “I give you…indoor s’mores,” he said.
“No way!” She had one off the plate and in her mouth almost before the words were out of her mouth. Her eyes rolled back in her head. “Amazing. We can make more, right?”
Nate laughed, trying to decipher what she said as she spoke with a mouth full of marshmallows. “One s’more is never enough.” He took a bite. It was perfect. The chocolate just soft enough, the graham cracker nice and crispy, and the marshmallow warm and soft with the slight toasty taste.
She stuffed the last of the s’more in her mouth, licked her fingers, and dashed around to his side of the counter. Bumping his hip to move him out of the way, she stabbed a marshmallow onto a fork. Nate set up a few more graham crackers with chocolate squares on the empty burner, trying not to knock Colby. He didn’t want her to burn herself.
It was a valid concern, because a moment later, her marshmallow burst into flame. Nate tried to lean in to blow it out, but she nudged him back with her shoulder. “Not yet! It has to burn a little. Then it’s perfect.”
“Oh no! You’re one of those burnt marshmallow people!”
“Sorry. Yours was good and I appreciate it and all, but it wasn’t perfect, Nate. Try it my way and see.”
Nate watched Colby blow out the marshmallow. She pulled off and ate the outer, blackened skin. Nate swallowed, feeling a heat rise to his cheeks as he watched her lips. A tiny bit of marshmallow clung to the corner of her mouth. He made his hands into fists to keep himself from wiping it away with a fingertip. But that just left him fighting a desire to kiss it away. She was so close, so beautiful, so kissable…
His thoughts fell away the moment she shoved a s’more towards him. He took it, looking down at it. “Uh, is this the one you had in your mouth?”
She rolled her eyes and stabbed another marshmallow, setting this one on fire more quickly. “I don’t have cooties. And I’m not sick. I figured if you didn’t like burned, you wouldn’t want the black part. But when you burn them, it leaves the perfect, gooey, soft inside. Stop making this weird and eat the dang s’more.”
Nate didn’t think she had cooties. It was the opposite. His desire to kiss her was almost overpowering. He took a few steps back and took a bite of the s’more she made him, watching her lips again as she blew out the fiery marshmallow.
“Well?” she said.
Nate shook his head, hoping to shake off the thoughts that were making his skin feel too awake. He was too aware of her every movement. “It’s good,” he said. “But you’re wrong. It’s not perfect. We’ll just have to agree to disagree. I like golden brown. Move over. My turn.”
They shared the burner next, Nate carefully and patiently toasting his marshmallows to the perfect gold-brown while Colby set hers aflame and tried to light his as well. There was a lot of hip bumping and elbowing and giggling.
Nate felt sure that Colby’s long hair was going to catch on fire any moment. With a free hand, he brushed it back over her shoulder. His fingertips barely grazed the bare skin at her neck as he did, and he let them linger, drawn to the feel of her smooth skin.
Colby froze, taking in a quick breath. She turned, her big brown eyes fixed on his. Nate dropped his hand.
“Sorry,” he said, his voice low.
Colby opened her mouth but said nothing. The movement drew Nate’s eyes to her lips. Everything in his body felt drawn toward her. She was just inches away. All he had to do was lean a little closer…
“Nate!”
Flames shot up as both of their marshmallows caught fire. Nate leaned in, blowing his out. He had forgotten that he still held the fork over the burner. Colby giggled, blowing hers out and taking two steps away from him.
“I guess you do prefer my method,” she said, eating off the burned part of her marshmallow. She avoided looking at his face, but even in the candlelight, he could see that her cheeks were pink.
Nate couldn’t put together a response. He put the whole burned thing between the graham crackers and chocolate. The bitter taste of the blackened marshmallow was somehow a welcome contrast to the gooey sweetness, somehow matching his mood exactly.
