Between the Raindrops

"Ahhhh!"

"Easy, Sean, easy, it's me!" There is laughter in Nick's voice as he tries to get me to chill out, but the blindfold he's tied around my eyes is still sort of unsettling.

My heart is pounding. "Jesus, Nick." I grin, putting my fingers to my eyes.

"ah ah ah..." Nick chastises me. "Don't touch it."

I lower my hands slowly. "What are you doing?"

"Not what you think."

I laugh. "Oh yeah? What am I thinking?"

"You're thinking I'm going to tie you to the bed and fuck you."

Yeah, ok that's totally what I was thinking. "You're not?"

I must have sounded more disappointed than I had intended because Nick quickly replies, "Well not yet." and he laughs and starts steering me out of the bedroom.

I take careful, blind steps forward. "Where are we going?"

"Camping." He tells me in a matter of fact tone.

"Nick, it's raining."

"I know."

"It's been raining for a fucking week, Nick."

Nick turns me around a corner. "I know, Sean."

We stop then, and Nick taps my shoulder. "Sit." He says and I feel around for a chair. "No, on the floor, it's a picnic, Sean."

I roll my eyes, not that Nick can see it under my blindfold. "A picnic in the rain?"

"Sit!" He says again, and pushes on my shoulders so I end up on my ass. I feel around on the floor. "Hands in your lap!" Nick snorts, and so I put my hands in my lap and sit there like a good boy until I am told otherwise. Nick puts a glass in my hand, a cold glass with a stem. I run my fingers over it and discover it's a champagne glass.

Next thing I know, Nick's untying the blindfold. "OK close your eyes and don't peek."

"You know I'm not good at the 'don't peek' thing, Nick." I grin.

"Well you're just going to ruin it for yourself if you do." He says and takes the blindfold away. After a few moments of shuffling he finally says, "Ok you can open your eyes."

So I do.

"Oh. my god. Nick." I grin, looking around what is usually the living room, but today is a campsite. Nick has pitched his REI Coupe on the rug, and set up a picnic on a red and white checkered tablecloth in front of it. He sat one camping lantern in the corner of the tablecloth and the other he hung inside the tent. There are two sleeping bags inside, and two pairs of hiking boots in the vestibule.

Nick leans over and kisses me. "I know you were disappointed by the weather." he says, smiling. So I pitched us a tent anyway.

Well he's right, I had been disappointed. Nick and I get so little uninterrupted time to ourselves. Camping is something we both love, but also a great way for me to get Nick to myself, away from the pretty boys and alcohol, away from his cell phone and the temptations of the clubs. He's mine, for two days, or sometimes even three.

Nick starts pulling food out of a picnic basket. Fried chicken, potato salad, fruit. it seems like a never ending spread.

"This looks great, but it's not really the same as camping." I say, smiling as I hold out my champagne glass for Nick to fill. "The champagne is nicely chilled instead of luke-warm."

Nick laughs, raising his glass in the air. "A toast!" He says.

"A toast?" I raise my glass.

"Yes, to the rain." Nick says, smiling.

"The rain?" I ask incredulously. The stupid rain is the reason we're stuck at home this weekend.

"Yes, the rain." Nick nods, and his brown eyes get that look, the one that makes my knees weak and my pulse race; that look that makes me hot all over. "Here's to the rain, for reminding me that you are all the sunshine that I need."