A Touch Of Sin [BxB] - Chapter 59: Chapter 59

Callum's POV:
The last two nights I have slept well. I know it's because of Jake. The fact that he has chosen to forgive me feels like a weight has been lifted off my chest. Now, it's up to me, to spend the rest of my life making it up to him.
My door suddenly bangs open and I startle. Jake strides into my room and without a word, yanks at the blinds. The bright, morning sun floods the room and I yelp, throwing the blanket over my face like a shield.
"Get up," orders Jake.
"Why?" I whine.
"We're going on an adventure."
"Adventure?" I peep over the blanket curiously.
"Yep. Pack your bag."
After a stretch, I push myself to my feet and begin throwing things into my travel bag.
"Pack for an overnight stay," he says.
Immediately, I think of class, assignments and study time before a sharp voice interjects. Fuck it. I push all responsibility away and finish packing within ten minutes. I'm ahead in all my classes anyway.
I shower and change from my old football shorts into jeans and a long-sleeved shirt. When I come out of my room, Jake is walking through the front door, holding two takeaway coffee cups.
"Please," I groan, taking it from him.
"Don't sip it yet," he warns me.
I bite my cheek. That's a role reversal right there.
"Where are we going?" I ask as we lock the door behind us.
"Can't say."
"Why not?"
"I want it to be a surprise," he answers.
The morning air nips at my exposed skin but the coffee is warming me up with each sip. I toss my bag into the back of Jake's car and climb into the passenger seat. The car is still relatively warm from his drive here, but I rub my hands together anyway as I wait for him to re-start the engine.
We begin to drive and I take in this moment. Sipping my coffee, the music playing, the sun filtering in through the windows but most of all: Jake. He has one hand on the wheel, one loosely holding the gear stick as we drive through town.
"What are you staring at?" he asks, glancing to me.
"You."
"Why?"
"Just appreciating how lucky I am to have you."
I'm surprised to see his cheeks redden slightly as he gazes forward. He doesn't say anything but I can see him trying not to smile. He wouldn't admit it, but he loves when I'm a little cheesy.
"Why the sudden trip away?" I ask after driving for quite some time in a comfortable silence. I've been taking in the blurred trees and road signs passing us. The countryside is beautiful out this way.
Jake shrugs. "Thought it would be fun."
"It's a good idea."
"I want us to travel a bit. Explore, you know? But it's hard when we don't have any money."
I laugh. "Yeah. We can do things like this more, though. We don't have to be in a foreign country to go exploring."
"That's true."
"Am I allowed to know where we're going yet?"
"Nope."
I roll my eyes and look back out the window. It's such a nice day. It's kind of funny how quickly your mindset changes. Last week I was miserable. Today, I'm thinking life could not be more perfect.
Reaching out, I lace my fingers with his. He smiles at me. One of those rare, reserved-only-for-me smiles that I cherish.
"I love you."
"I know," he grins. "You've told me about twenty times in two days."
"I just want you to know, in case you forget."
"Trust me," he replies, squeezing my hand. "No one could forget a love like this."
***
Jake owns a tent. I never knew this until I saw him set one up. Next thing I observe: Jake knows how to set up a tent.
"I'm not sure it was possible, but you just got even hotter," I tell him as he bangs a beg into the ground.
I must admit, I have pretty much zero camping experience, excluding the few trips we did at school. My parents weren't the camping type. They were more stay in a cabin or a hotel type. My father always talked about going camping but it never happened. I don't think Ma enjoyed it and since she was the organiser, I'd say that's why we never did it.
"I've had a bit of practise," he grunts.
I'm impressed that he managed to get the tent up so quickly and efficiently.
"Practise?"
"Haze bought us a tent and every time things got bad with dad, we would go set this tent up and camp in the backyard. We never left it up in case dad or his friends destroyed it, so I've gotten pretty used to setting it up. Used to do it in the dark. Sometimes at two in the morning."
I feel a pang of pity for Jake and his brother. They went through so much in their childhood. Things I could never imagine. I may have had an abusive father, but not in the open, in-your-face way like they did. My father might have been a bad person, something I didn't know for a long time, but I always had food on the table, a roof over my head and a warm bed to hop into every night.
"Do you think about him?"
"Hmm?" he asks.
"Your dad."
Jake pauses for a moment, his hands hovering in mid-air, before he slams it into the ground with extreme force.
"Nope." There's a long silence before he adds. "Maybe." He exhales. "A lot more than I should."
"Yeah?"
"I'm still thinking about visiting him. Remember when I spoke to you about that ages ago?"
"Yeah. That was before I left."
He picks at his nails for a moment. "Will you still come with me, if I go?"
"Of course."
He nods for a moment, before continuing what he was doing.
To be of some sort of use, I pull the air mattress out from the back of his car and begin to pump it up. Within half-an-hour, we have everything set up.
I carry the camping chairs and Jake brings the fishing rods and tackle box. We station ourselves at a riverbank. A spot nice and sunny, near a huge, shading tree that will extend its shade our way within an hour or so.
Jake looks quite adorable, dressed in a long-sleeved shirt, a cap and sandals. I've never seen him wear sandals before. They must have been bought for this occasion.
"You look so cute," I laugh as I stare at him. "Look at you being all sun safe."
He rolls his eyes. "I forgot sunscreen."
I'm also dressed in a long-sleeve shirt and a cap, but mine are Calvin Klein brand and stark white – probably not suitable for this type of activity. This is partly why I don't like surprises; it affects my organisation and I hate not being organised.
We fish for about two hours and I'm feeling very sun-kissed and content. I definitely needed this time out from uni.
When we head back to the campsite, not too far from us, a young couple have also set up camp. When they see us, they wander over, introducing themselves as Matt and Vanessa.
Matt launches into asking Jake a series of questions about his car, which I quickly lose interest in.
"Did you catch anything?" Vanessa asks, motioning to the fishing rods.
She's a tall girl, about my height, with two messy braids framing her face and lightly tanned skinned.
"A few, but we threw them all back," I smile. "You camp often?"
"We try to go every couple of weekends. Matt is really into four-wheel-driving."
"That's something I've never done," I admit.
"We're going out early in the morning. You and your..."
"Boyfriend."
"Boyfriend should come," she says. "Jake, is it?"
"He's Jake, I'm Callum."
"Nice to meet you, Callum. You two really should come, if you don't have plans."
"That sounds fun," I reply. "I'm sure Jake would be up for that."
They're both really friendly and end up hanging out with us for a little while, talking all about good camping set ups and spots they've been to. When they leave, Jake starts a fire and we drag our chairs up to it.
"Guess what."
"What?" I ask, leaning forward so that my elbows dig into my thighs as I breathe in the warmth of the fire.
"I bought this." He pulls out a book.
I blink at him. "You're holding a book."
"I'm holding a book," he confirms. "I'm going to try and read it."
My mouth falls open. "You? You're going to read a book?"
He laughs, amused at my awe-struck expression. "I want to try to. For the first time ever."
"That is so fucking hot," I tell him honestly. "That is seriously such a turn on."
"I was hoping you'd say that," he grins.
"Get into the tent right now," I command, standing and pointing towards our tent.
He snorts with laughter but doesn't protest, quickly getting to his feet.
"What book is it, by the way?" I ask, crawling into the tent.
"Harry Potter."
I groan, pushing him down onto the mattress.
"You're going to really appreciate buying that."