Chapter 23

• For a split second, Kevin nearly turned and ran. "I'm just teasing you Kevin, come on, lighten up. Now get inside, it's already starting to rain." She was certainly right about that. A few minutes later, the rain came down hard; drumming against the tent while lightning turned the night into day. Rolling thunder echoed through the canyons making it difficult to communicate. But talk they did, several hours into the night Kevin lay by her side, answering questions, asking questions of her in return. He had told her of his dreams to one day become an astronaut, and shared with her his sorrow, and hardships when he'd contracted polio as a young boy. But he'd also shared with her his love of nature and especially his love for gazing at the stars.
• Stevi had listened intently to every word he had spoken. Often she had reached out, almost casually it seemed, touching his arm, resting a hand comfortably against his thigh. In the tight quarters they had found themselves, it was sometimes difficult not to. But Kevin was constantly aware of Stevi's beautiful nude form. The way her breasts lay against her chest when she rolled over on her back when sharing a thought with him. The sparse, thin intimate strip of her pubic hair nestled serenely between her legs. The tiny indentation of her naval looked like a perfect keyhole where he imagined some magical key being inserted to open up this woman's inner mysteries. Stevi was a mystery to him. Young, beautiful, funny, with an amazing intelligence that manifested itself in her conversation with him without being so overbearing as to underlie his lack of education or understanding of many subjects they spoke of together.
• By now, the rain had stopped. "Kevin? There's something I need to do. Will you wait here for me, and promise not to go anywhere or try and see what it is I'm doing?" He nodded his head, and though he couldn't see it clearly as the fire's light had long died away, he felt her smile even in the darkness.