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Stepping out of the SUV, I took in the idyllic scene around us. The soft breeze brushed against my face, carrying the scent of damp earth and wildflowers. Wispy clouds drifted lazily in the blue Texas sky, and the distant sounds of cows mooing and leaves rustling in the wind greeted us. It was a reminder of the simple beauty of nature, a sanctuary away from the chaos of the world.
Leo joined me, stretching his arms above his head as he surveyed our surroundings. “Man, I never get tired of this place,” he said, a warm smile on his lips. “It’s like coming home.”
I couldn’t agree more. “Always worth the trip,” I replied, feeling a sense of nostalgia wash over me. This place held so many memories for us—laughter, late-night conversations, and the excitement of exploring the night sky together.
He walked down to the riverbank and peered at the water. “It’s low. Guess they haven’t been getting much rain lately.”
“Supposed to get some rain tomorrow, if I remember right.” I nodded at the low river. “Looks like they need it.” A glance back at the SUV, packed down with a month’s worth of gear for an overnight trip, made me chuckle. “Okay, let’s set up camp.”
We wasted no time and got to work setting up our campsite. As we worked together to erect the tent, I kept stealing glances at Leo. There was a subtle but definite shift in our dynamic, an underlying energy that I couldn’t ignore. It was as if the stars above, hidden away until the darkness of the night, were aligning for some cosmic purpose, urging us to explore the depths of our connection.
It was both exhilarating and terrifying.
“Hey, you’re not spacing out on me, are you?” Leo smirked, snapping me out of my thoughts as I realized I’d been staring at him.
“Of course not.” But I smiled at him, unable to keep the heat out of my eyes. “Just admiring the view.”
Leo blinked, but laughed with a flush, breaking the tension. “I guess I can’t blame you for that,” Leo teased, his own warm eyes lingering on me a moment longer before returning to their task.
Eventually, the tent was set up, and we moved on to arranging our sleeping bags inside. Leo hesitated, his gaze flickering between me and the cozy interior of the tent, and it took me a second before I understood.
We had always taken opposite sides of the tent, keeping our spaces separate. But tonight—was he going to put his bag over on the opposite side, or next to mine?
Leo sighed, then dropped his gear in his usual spots. “We’ll figure shit out later on, I guess.”
“We’ll figure it out.” Leo looked at me, questions in his eyes, and suddenly this sense of confidence came over me, and I truly believed it. “I promise, baby.”
Leo nodded, looking down and breaking our eye contact. But the smile that lit up his face told me that we’d be alright.
An hour later, we sat in the river bend, where the rocks created rapids and deeper pools. We drank beer and tossed small stones into the water as it flowed downstream past us. “I can’t believe it’s been eight years since we started coming here.” A smile curled my lips as I gazed out at the hills and trees and our campsite, our small tent tucked away under a large cedar tree.
Leo snorted and took a sip from his beer. “Seems like just yesterday I was cursing all the math I never signed up for. I just wanted to look at some constellations. No one told the poor liberal arts major that astronomy was another word for astrophysics.” He chuckled softly. “I’m still grateful you didn’t let me drop that class.”
I chuckled too. We’d been so young. “Hey, what are friends for?”
Leo nodded, then took a deep breath. His hands twitched as he spoke and I recognized his nervousness. “Ben—you know… no matter what happens between you and me, all this dating and Mangle and shit—I still need… I still want…”
I saw Leo’s conflicted expression and understood his fear of jeopardizing our friendship with romantic complications. But I wanted to reassure him. “We’re good, Leo. We’ll always be cool.” Our bond was already stronger than any romantic entanglement could ever be. “I love you, man.”
Leo caught my eye and understood the message behind my words. Love, yes, but a different kind of love. This was a love built on friendship, one that saw us through the best and worst times of our lives. “Love you too, buddy,” he said with a smile before playfully splashing some water on me.
Yeah, we’d be okay.
Even though the water level was low, we decided to take a walk upstream with our fishing poles, and we found some deeper eddies along the river bend. Leo managed to catch and release three small trout while I caught two perches. “I actually think that I just caught the same perch twice,” I told Leo with a laugh as we made our way back to our campsite.
“Maybe he’ll be smarter next year.” Leo collected our fishing poles and leaned them against the tent. Meanwhile, I glanced up at the sky to see some dark clouds gathering in the west.
Concerned about rain ruining our evening, Leo asked, “What do you think?”
“I think we’re okay.” My eyes tracked the direction of the clouds. “They’re heading the other way. It’s not supposed to rain here until tomorrow after we leave.” Walking over to the cooler, I opened it and eyed our dinner. My stomach growled at the sight of our steaks and veggies, ready to be cooked on the fire. “Let me know when to start dinner. I’m getting hungry.”
Leo rubbed his belly in agreement. “I’ll go get the firewood.”
Dinner was a success, cooked over a campfire, and built on years of trial and error. After I finished the last of my steak, I set my plate down on the folded camping table we’d set up next to the campfire. “How come everything tastes better when you eat outside?” I asked, reaching over for the small hand towel that doubled as a napkin, wiping my face.
“No idea, but it’s true.” Leo’s head fell back as he gazed up at the sky. The last traces of sunlight were almost gone, and the first stars began to emerge, despite the pesky clouds still threatening. “I think we lucked out on the rain.”
“I just wanna see some stars. It can rain after that.” I pointed at Leo’s tent. “That old thing’s waterproof, right?”
