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He chuckles and Dustin and Nick laugh along with him. “Oh yeah, I wasn’t offering to share a tent. Don’t worry.”
Nick nudges Chris, whose face is bright red. “But this big hunk right here would be the perfect tent mate.”
“There’s not a more trustworthy guy,” Dustin adds.
“Just something to consider if you don’t want to sleep in a tent with some random weirdo,” Eric says and the others nod in agreement.
I smile. “Thanks for the offer… but you’re kind of all random weirdos at the moment.”
Everyone laughs and Hannah joins our conversation, “I can share a tent with you. Don’t worry about sharing with a creepy guy.” She looks up at Nick and Chris. “No offense.”
“But babe… it’s our anniversary trip,” Anthony reminds her, looking mildly annoyed at her offer.
“I know, but she’s all by herself!”
“Don’t worry about it.” I cut in before Anthony can answer. “I’m sure I’ll find someone to share with. Preferably a female.”
Rocco, the expedition leader, announces lunch is ready and we all get up and make our way toward the tent. The food smells amazing, and we’ve all worked up an appetite. I glance around and notice David has been sitting alone several yards from the rest of the group. A very small part of me feels bad for him. Maybe if he wasn’t so grouchy he’d make friends more easily.
Our group goes through the small buffet set up in a long tent and fill our plates with rice, fruit, and chicken. Then we shuffle to find our seats at the tables the porters set up for us. David is the last one out of the food tent and the only spot left is right across from me.
He glances at me, almost as if to ask my permission to sit there. I nod and he takes a seat, looking uncomfortable. His hair is in disarray from sweating and then getting blown around by the wind. He has a smudge of dirt on his shirt, which makes me smile. I’ve never seen him look unkempt and wild like this.
Chris is next to me; I’m noticing the guys in his group keep forcing us together whenever given the chance. Eric is seated across from us with David on one side, and Nick and Dustin on the other.
“How many miles do we have left today?” Chris asks his friends.
The three sitting across from us start counting on their fingers and looking up like they’re internally calculating the math.
David glances at them, then calmly answers, “We’ve trekked seven miles so far, which means we have eight miles to go. Roughly twelve point eight kilometers.”
He takes a bite of his rice and Eric stares at him with an annoyed expression.
“Dude, we can do simple math,” Nick says defensively.
“I’m sure you can. I was merely answering his question.”
Dustin leans over to get a better look at David. “Hey man, you forgot to take the tag off your fancy new backpack.”
Eric, Nick, and Chris laugh at their friend’s jab. Eric reaches over and yanks the price tag off of David’s backpack. “Dude! Six-hundred dollars for a backpack?”
David shrugs, doing a fairly good job of pretending to be unfurled by their mocking, but his eyes are practically shooting lasers at them. “If I can afford the best, why not buy the best?”
Nick scoffs. “It’s a hike, not a runway.”
“You don’t hike much, huh?” Chris asks him.
A blush creeps up David’s neck, making his pale skin look red and splotchy. This is the first time I’ve seen him look so uncomfortable, perhaps even embarrassed.
“No, I don’t hike much. I’m usually indoors… doing simple math.”
He makes eye contact with me, and something about the look in his eyes and the guys making fun of him, makes me feel sympathetic to him being so out of his element here. I assumed he hadn’t spent much time with the group today because he’s a snob, but maybe it’s because he’s uncomfortable around people he doesn’t know well.
I continue studying his features while the guys make jabs at David. The intensity in his expression conveys a vulnerability I haven’t seen there before. His eyes are captivating by themselves but paired with his black-rimmed glasses, square jaw—complete with chin dimple—and mussed dark hair… he is a beautiful man. Infuriatingly so.
“Figures,” Chris mutters under his breath. “If you got outdoors more often, maybe you’d get a tan.”
Clearing my throat, I change the subject. Attempting to take the spotlight off of David. “Wow, this chicken is incredible!”
