A Walk to Eden

19

"How you feeling?" Danny asks me. I smile up at him.

"Feeling like a little plant in the wind." I giggle. They all laugh and continue talking. I'm looking around the property and see a little trail. I look over at Sam who is poking a stick in the fire. I lean over and gently tug his sleeve. He looks at me.

"Yes?" He asks. I giggle at him.

"I want to go walk." I say. He nods.

"Where to?" He asks. I point towards the trail and he chuckles. "Alrighty." He stands up and grabs a bottle of wine, and then grabs his blanket. He turns to look at me. "You ready?" I nod and stand up. Wobbly knees we begin walking. It's a clear night, stars are out and the moon is bright enough to light the trail. "So, why did you want to go walking?" He asks.

"I just felt like walking." I say. I'm trying not to sway a lot while walking, but there's no hope. I nearly trip and he catches me by grabbing my hips.

"You good?" He asks. I look up at him and bust out laughing. He laughs too. I hold onto his arms and catch my balance again. He sets the stuff down and turns his back to me and squats.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

"Giving you a ride." He chuckles. He turns his head back to me and I shake mine. "What?" He asks.

"I'm too heavy." I say. He fully turns to me and gives me a look.

"What?" He asks.

"I'm too heavy." I say looking down at my bare feet. He steps up to me.

"What makes you think that?" He asks. I shake my head again. "Hey." He bends down eye level with me and I peek back up to him. "You are not." He says. I nod my head again. "Why do you think that?" I look away.

"Edens dad said so." I sigh. He takes a deep breath. "And look at me." I look up at him. "My thighs are squishy." I say. He chuckles and shakes his head.

"Nothing wrong with 'squishy thighs'. If anything they are better when 'squishy'." He says. I giggle. "Now will you let me carry you? Or am I going to have to sit and wait until you do?" He asks. I laugh and nod my head. He turns around and squats again, and i jump on. He bends down and grabs the stuff and he starts walking. "Ya know. I don't mean this in a bad way, but your lighter than I thought you were." He says. I squeeze my arms and legs to mimic a hug. He laughs and a sudden burst of confidence flows through me. I lean my head down and kiss his cheek. He slows his walking and turns his head. I smile and he chuckles, and starts walking again.

We finally get to a nice open spot on the trail and he sets me down. "Thank you for the ride." I blush.

"I hope the weather was nice up there." He chuckles. I help him set the blanket down and he opens the bottle. I lay down on the blanket and stare up at the sky.

"It's beautiful out here." I sigh. "I feel like I shouldn't talk. It's so peaceful and quiet." I feel him lay down next to me.

"We always come out here to get away. Jake and Josh built a little shack out here and that's where we filmed Josh's movies." I look over to him and smile. I love watching him and how he talks about his family. "And Danny and I we-" He busts out a laugh. "We always come out here and look for big foot." I giggle.

"Did you ever see him?" I ask.

"No. But one day." He laughs and looks over at me.

"Sammy." I whisper.

"Yes?" He answers.

"I'm really high." I giggle.

"Me too." He laughs.

He lifts his head and looks at me. He stands up and hold his hands out. I grab them and he pulls me up. Still holding my hands, he puts our arms up like we're about to dance. "What are you doing?" I giggle.

"Dancing." He smiles. I giggle and lean into him. We sway along to non existent music. Laughing and talking. After what seemed like not a long time, we grab the stuff and head back. When we got back to the fire everyone was passing around another joint.

"Hey! Guess who's back!" Danny yells. I smile and sit in between Danny and Jake. I nudge Jake and he hands me the joint. I take huge drags of it and feel the slow buzz begin.

"Let's play a game." Josh says.

"Like what? We're adults?" Jake answers.

"Truth or dare." Danny says. Josh snaps his fingers and stands up.

"I'll go first. Danny, truth or dare?" Josh asks.

"Dare." Danny stands up.

"I dare you, to jump in the pond naked." Everyone laughs and Danny shakes his head. "Alright. Since you won't do the dare, there must be a punishment." Josh laughs. Jake taps Josh on the arm and hands him a beer. They look at each other and grin. "Danny. Shot gun this."

"Ugh." Danny rolls his eyes and shot guns it. He finally finishes and throws the can into the fire. He turns to me.

"Truth or dare?" Danny asks.

"Truth." I say.

"What happened to Eden's dad?" He asks. Everyone looks at me.

"I-" I stammer. "I choose the punishment." I say. Jake grabs a beer and hands it to me. I quickly shot gun it and wipe my face when I'm done. "That's absolutely disgusting." I gag. I turn to Jake and grin. "Truth or dare?" I ask.

"Dare." He grins back.

"I dare you to lick the bottom of Sam's foot." Everyone laughs except for Jake who looks mortified.

"What? That's gross!" He pretends to gag. Sam laughs and sticks his foot in the air. Jake rolls his eyes and takes and deep breath. Jake licks a strip from Sam's heel to his toe. Immediately Jake begins to chug anything and tries to rinse his mouth out. "I very much dislike you." He points at me and I smile like I wasn't guilty. Danny next to me yawns.

"Guys. It's 3 am. Im gonna head to bed." Danny gets up and says night and walks to the house. Jake and Josh agree and start putting out the fire. I look at Sam and he helps me up.

"Feeling good enough to walk?" He asks me. I try to stand on my own but can't. I shake my head and he laughs bending down for me to get on his back. He carries me inside. Karen is sitting on the couch reading.

"Where's Eden?" I ask.

"She's laying in my bed. Kelly went out with some friends and won't be back for a while yet." She answers and starts reading her book again.

"You can sleep in my room." Sam says pulling me along. We get to his room and I sit on the bed. "Do you need sleep clothes?" He asks. I nod my head. I try to take my shirt off but I can't feel my hands.

"Sammy." I say.

"Yes?" He answers turning to me with clothes in his hands. "What's wrong?" I look at him and huff.

"I can't feel my hands." I say. His eye widen and he stares at me.