Pip looked like she might puke all over the tent. She always had more to drink than she should. In the five years we had been together, she had never failed to wake up with a sore head after a night out.
'Lets have a sauna,' she said, lifting her head out of her sleeping bag and looking at me through greasy ruffled hair. Her breath smelled beery. She still looked cute. 'It might help me sweat it out,' she croaked, and laughed.
We were camping at a music and art festival for the weekend. It was more Pip's scene than mine, but I enjoyed it anyway. She brought lots of new interests to my life, but most of the time I couldn't keep up with her partying. We pulled on our shorts and t-shirts and went out into the sun. It had rained in the night and the air was mild and fresh. Pip squinted and put on her enormous, ridiculous fashionable sunglasses.
We walked through the tents and stopped at some catering vans to buy a crepe. I put my arm around her dark tanned shoulders as we waited. She fit right under my arm, and lifted up her chin, offering her lips. I kissed her, holding her close with my hands on her lower back. She giggled. Her body felt small and thin. She squeezed my bum playfully and went to collect our breakfast.
I thought she looked better after eating, and we carried on to the sauna. It was a shabby affair, consisting of a small shed clad with insulation boards, a chimney for the burner, and an enclosed area for showering and getting undressed. We stripped off. I used to feel embarrassed about being nude in front of other people, but being with Pip required me do it quite often, and I soon found it liberating and a bit exciting. I began to look forward to skinny dipping and saunas. Pip didn't think anything of nudity, and she pulled down her panties and went in.
The sauna was already hot, and there was a man and a women in there. They were sitting next to each other on a bench on one side. Pip and I sat down on the other bench. I didn't acknowledge them. It seemed rude to stare.
I breathed deeply through my nose and closed my eyes. The hot air smelled dry and woody, with an underlying reek of unwashed bodies and sweaty feet. It felt like it was scorching the inside of my head. Sweat started forming on my forehead and legs. I breathed deeply and slowly.
After several minutes, I think, I'm not sure how long, Pip tapped my shoulder.
'It's too hot for me. I'll see you back at the tent. I'm going to go and lie down.' She looked queasy again. 'You stay here.' She wrapped her towel around herself and pushed through the heavy curtain that kept the heat in. That girl needed to cut back. I sunk back into the heat.