Once we graduated high school, my entire friend group went separate ways. Most of my friends went to the closest state university, with only one or two going to some small private school halfway across the country. Being from the midwest, college seemed to be the first chance at escaping small-town life.
I was no different, and I was drawn to other people who felt the need to run away. I didn't anticipate, though, missing people.
College didn't seem like the right place for me right out of high school; I needed a break. I bought an old twelve passenger van and took a gap year, road-tripping around America. Most of the time, it was heaven, but it did get lonely. I had gotten good at talking people online, and spent time talking to people whenever I had a scrap of cell service, or when I could stop into a town nestled into the rocky mountains for some free internet at a local cafe. I headed west as fast as I could, and stayed on that side of my hometown for the entirety of my year off.
As nice as talking to friends and family over video call is, sometimes you just need to be held. I was never one for hookups, especially in unfamiliar areas, it just seemed too unsafe. In fact, I missed one person the most out of anyone:
My ex-boyfriend, Ash.
We didn't break up because of anything other than distance. It was a high school relationship, that's all. It wasn't worth all the work of long-distance dating, so after five months, we split. No hard feelings.
When I was on the road, though, I couldn't stop thinking about him. I missed it all, the late night talks, the fun dates, the tender kisses, and, well, you know...
He went to school in Oregon. The situation kept running through my mind, of me taking my busted van up to his dorm and whisking him away, begging for just one weekend together. Eventually, I bit the bullet. I was in the northern part of California, not far at all from his school. We had texted quite a bit, but seeing each other never came up. Not yet, at least.
Ruby: Hey, Ash! I'm in your area soon and was wondering if you would want to maybe hang out?
Ash: Yeah, totally! When will you be in town?
Ruby: Whenever works for you
Ash: I'm done with class at noon on Thursday. What do you wanna do?
The whole thing went way better than I was expecting. We didn't set up anything too extravagant, just planned to have dinner together. A few days passed, and I made my way to his campus, stopping to take in the beauty of nature around me, since I had three days to drive about twelve hours. Every mile was worth it though, when I parked in the lot outside Ash's building.
He came walking out of the main doors when I texted him of my arrival. He looked more mature than when I had last seen him. His deep brown hair hung longer around his shoulders, and he was more tan, which really brought out his golden eyes, and he has on jeans and a colorful hoodie, all finished up with a big brown backpack full of god-knows-what. I won't even lie, I was still so into him. Upon seeing me in my car, he quickened his pace. Hopping out of my seat, I ran to greet him as well.
"Ruby!" He shouted as he pulled me into a hug. "It has been too long!"
"I know!" I said back.
"Well, what do you want to do this weekend?"
"What?"
"Come on, you don't think I dragged you all the way out here to eat cheap pizza and drink shitty beer in my dorm, right? Let's go on an adventure!"
Oh my god, I missed him.
"What were you thinking of?" I asked, my mind running through all the things we wanted to do in high school but never had the freedom to.
"What have you been doing since you left?"
"Camping, mostly." A smirk creeps across my face. This weekend might just get a whole lot more eventful.
"Fuck it! Let's go camping." He said, hopping in the passenger seat.
"Let's go camping," I murmured to myself with a smile. Once I was in the car, something dawned on me. "Do you have everything you need?"
"In my backpack," He said. "I was hoping something like this would happen," he said with a wink, which filled my stomach with butterflies.
He was hoping something like this would happen.
We drove to a campsite not far from Ash's college, only thirty or forty minutes out, but it felt like a whole different world. The busy college town gave way to picturesque mountains, and we found ourselves isolated from the outside world.
It was a small state park, one that had very little foot traffic usually. Ash picked it; he said he wanted somewhere secluded, and I was certainly not about to fight that. When we arrived in a valley full of wildflowers, we parked the van and loaded the camping supplies into backpacks, walking to where we could still see the vehicle, but out of sight from most of the trails.
I was really looking forward to that night, I'll tell you that much.
"Ash, can you help me with this tent?" I asked, he did as he was told, but seemed to be trying to hurry the process along. I certainly wasn't opposed to getting a private space up sooner rather than later.
After a few minutes, the tent was up. It was a simple, two-person tent with small windows and a zip-up door, but once we got the air mattress down and the rest of our belongings inside, it felt like a paradise.
The tent went up relatively quick, but the tension between Ash and I had been building so much that it felt like an eternity. We sat down on the air mattress, which was covered with our unrolled sleeping bags. We only made eye contact for a few seconds before he wrapped me in a kiss, one that we had clearly both been waiting for.
"Oh my god, I've been wanting to do that since July," Ash sighed when we finally pulled away.
"Me too." I tackled him down, eager for what was to come. I guess I wouldn't have to wait for that night. Laying together on the mattress, we continued kissing, passionate kisses of lovers separated for far too long. Air felt unnecessary, like all that I really needed was Ash's lips on mine, the taste of mint chapstick shared between us. His arms wrapped around me felt right, and I held on tight, feeling like there was nothing better tan just being close to him.
Eventually, we stopped, just for a moment. I took my shirt off, and Ash followed suit. We sat up, and I positioned myself on his lap, ready to continue making out.
He began to suck on my neck, creating hickies I was glad my parents would never have to see. I smiled to myself, filled with glee to be reunited with him.
He began to feel my breasts over my simple bralette, until I told him to stop.
"Get over yourself," I chuckled. "Let me take it off." I did so, leaving nothing on but my shorts and underwear. He took his pants off as well, once I scooted off of his lap to throw my clothes to the side. I decided, why not, and took my own shorts off while I had the chance, leaving me in nothing but my panties.
