Her

: : XLIX : :

: : Part XLIX : :

Friday 23rd November 2012. Carson {19} and Sienna {17}. Western Australia. Sienna's 17th Birthday.

You drove for almost four hours that morning trying to find the perfect spot and now you can't remember where the hell it was. Good job, Cars, you thought.
"Where are we going, Carson?" Sienna asked beside you. The night fell into the cab of the ute and your lights were blinding your memory of the spot.
"Patience, Jellybean, patience." You smile. Finding the sideroad, and pulled off the highway.
"You didn't have to do this you know." Sienna said. "It would have been fine at home."
"No it wouldn't, not in your house. Not tonight." You say, almost too heavy. "And besides I figure I need to show this spot off before I leave anyway."
"I'm the only one you bought here?"
You still had not much memory of how the hell to get there. "Yeah."
"Okay, I trust you." She sighed, leaning against the cool of the window's glass. It was uncharacteristically cool for this time of the year. The summer is usually like a brick wall, but tonight the air conditioning wasn't on. "How did you convince Alex to let you do this?"
You laughed softly. "I didn't ask him." You mumbled.
"Carson!" She slapped you softly and you laughed louder.
You slowed down and put the car back to first, pulled the handbrake and turned off the engine. "We're here."
"Where the hell is... here?" Sienna asked confused.
"Here is camp, babe." You say laughing, jumping out of your hilux.
The lights were still on, shing a dim glow around you. The grass was flat for kilometers and there was nothing but plains before you. You opened the back door and grabbed your bag and lugged it to the tray of the ute. The tray was almost completely covered with a mattress which you bought specifically for this purpose; truck camping.
"I can't believe you forgot pillows." Sienna sighed on the opposite side of the ute. She smiled though. "Good thing I bought my own." She threw a big fluffy pillow at you, and you caught it."
"How did you know?" You asked confused. "This was a surprise."
"I thought when you asked to bring a spare change of clothes, and when you said that we were leaving just after dusk we would be camping or something that requires laying somewhere. And you're never organised, Carson." She laughed. Throwing her overnight bag onto the tray. "So are we going to do something? Or just stand here...in the dark...kilometers from help or assistance."
"We'll be fine. I remembered a tarp this time, so we won't get wet."
"If I remember correctly, Cars, last time. You got wet I went inside the Hilux." Sienna laughed.
"Damn..." You mumbled.
"Yes?"
"I forgot sheets."
Sienna just laughed. "Here." She pulled some out of her bag.
"What else is in there?" You asked shocked, at her lack of tartiness.
"Wouldn't you like to know." She giggled. Skipping around to your side of the truck, past you and back into the vehicle.
You ignored her, and boosted yourself up from the wheel of your ute and onto the back tray. Careful to not step on the bags or the clean sheets or pillows. You began to make the bed, knowing that if you made a comment about sexist roles you would be sleeping alone again tonight. Not that you bought Sienna out here to sleep with her. But you still wanted to be close to her.
Some music began to play from the radio and you smiled. "Is this song okay?" Sienna called from your driver's seat, the door still wide open leaning on it's hinges.
You listened to the familiar song. "Yeah, it's fine." You knew Sienna loved the song by Run DMC.
You heard the door being shut, and gravel crunching under Sienna's feet. A soft humming voice came from behind you, and Sienna jumped up onto the tray sitting on it.
"Really?" You questioned.
"Oh come on, everyone loves this song. It's tricky."
"I don't know if you're being ironic or just sarcastic..." You trailed off.
You finished making the bed and turned to Sienna, and sat on the corner of the mattress. You finally had a moment to look at her properly. Sienna had readjusted her stance so she leaned her back onto the side of the truck with one of her legs spilling off the edge of the tray and the other tucked almost under her. She wore skin tight faded jeans which made you wonder how she could breathe under all that...constriction. She also had on her favourite pairs of white lace up shoes, with a pink and white floral singlet. Her tanned skin was showing a little at her shoulders and at the join from the jeans and the shirt. Her hair was half pulled up in a high ponytail while the rest of her white blonde curls flowed down her back and over her right shoulder. And around her neck hung a long chain with a locket on the end, it was her gift you got her last year for her birthday.
"Carson? Were you even listening to me?" Sienna laughed.
"Sorry?" You said.
"I said, do you have any dinner prepared?" She repeated, eyebrows raised.
"Yes. I do." You laugh reaching into your bag and pull out a furness and two packs of two minute noodles in the little styrofoam cups.
Sienna smiled, and crawled over towards the bed. "Oh, man, you know the way to my heart."
***
After dinner and some snacks, Sienna jumped off the tray and stood out a few meters from the truck. "Are you coming?" She asked, impatiently.
"Where?" You asked, already off the truck walking towards her.
"Dance?"
"Sienna, I'm horrible at dancing." You mumbled knowing the moment she was in your arms you would have a lot of trouble letting her go.
"Actually we both are, but I still had to dance with you at my formal remember?" She smiled, laughing at the memory.
It didn't take much convincing you pulled her into your arms and you began to dance to the soft song trailing out from the radio. "Never Stop" by SafetySuit started to play and your hold on Sienna tightened. You both danced for what seemed light minutes, but after a while Sienna's body fell into yours more heavily than before.
"You okay?" You asked her, trying to get your face to her level. But since she fell into your chest, physics wasn't on your side.
"Tired." Sienna mumbled, and you nodded. You pulled her into your arms and carried her bridal style to the mattress. You lay her down and walked over to the driver's side and turned off the radio and the lights. You finally got back onto the tray and mattress and more importantly Sienna. And you sat on the edge of the mattress, taking both of your shoes off. Before taking Sienna's off. Knowing that she would be too out of it to remove her own shoes.
You started to get ready for bed, you pulled out a heavy duty flashlight (which had dual purposes; light and protection), a lamp that you put on Sienna's side and turned onto the soft glow knowing how she felt about the dark, and a handful of insect repelent as well as your tooth brush and paste.
You hopped back off the truck and brush your teeth. And when you turned back around Sienna was looking at you from a seated position from the truck. "What the hell are you doing?"
"Teeth..." You mumble.
"Can you grab mine."
"Your teeth?" You asked confused.
"No my toothbrush, Idiot." She laughed. "Why would I want you to grab my teeth?"
"I have no idea." You laughed. You put down your teeth supplies back into your bag and began searching her bag. You pulled out what looked like a toiletry bag. You unzipped it and out flung an assortment of pads and tampons. You didn't say anything, just took a deep breath, but you couldn't help yourself. "Really?" She giggled at you and apologised. You continued to dig through her toiletry bag and found more surprises, makeup, brushes, bobby pins, hair ties, perfume, deodorant, and finally a toothbrush and some paste. But before you could put everything back into the bag you noticed a small stack of wrappers. You pulled at one and saw five or six unopened condom packets. What the hell was this woman packing for!
"Carson?" She asked. "Can you not find it?" She crawled over and took the bag from you.
"Here," you gave her her tooth brush, paste and 'lady things' and looked down in confusion. What did she expect tonight? Is that why she looks incredibly beautiful? Did she want...
"Carson?"
"Hmm." You looked at her in shock, like a deer in headlight.
"Are you okay?" She looked worried.
"You have...in there..."
"I do have a tendency of getting my period, Cars. I mean, I didn't want to get it on my birthday, and you know...it would be uncomfortable for me out here, without anything."
"That's not what I meant. I've bought you them before. But I was referring to the ummm..." Words would not leave your mouth. You couldn't say it.
"Oh. Those things. They aren't for you, Cars." She smiled softly. "I like to be prepared."
"You bought them."
"Technically my brother bought them, I have a stash in my bag because I take that bag when I go out. Carson, we both know that I can't be tied down here."
"I understand." You didn't like it but you understood. Someone else would and could do something to your girl that you knew you could never do. And you hated that guy.
***
The stars shone brightly above you and Sienna. Her sleeping body was cuddled right beside you pressing against you. She shivered against your body and you pulled off your grey jumper and pulled it over her body.
She stirred slightly and awoke with a furrow on her brow.
"What's wrong, beautiful?" You asked.
"Nothing, just... thank you for this. You were right I couldn't be able to take being at home today."
"It's okay, I thought you'd like being out here. It's a nice atmosphere."
"More than that. It's beautiful."
"Well, you're welcome." You say. Sienna pulls herself away from your body and you sigh sadly. But before your side becomes cold she's on you again, but this time closer, your arm instinctively wraps around her and she presses herself against you. Trying to warm her chill-riddled body.
"Those things you found," Sienna mumbled quietly. "I didn't know what you were expecting tonight..."
"Jellybean..." You respond. "That's not why I..."
"I know." She cut you off. "But I thought that maybe you'd want to. You and my brother have a reputation and I didn't know..."
"Shh," You whisper... pressing a soft, small kiss onto her plush lips. I love you, you wanted to say. But couldn't.
"Carson?" Sienna's soft voice asked.
"Yes, Jellybean?"
"Do you think they would be proud of me?" She spoke almost inaudibly.
"Yes. They are incredibly proud of you. Heck, I imagine your Dad is up there cheering you on while your mother just tutts around him, shaking her head." Sienna laughed quietly.
"It does sounds like them." Sienna was silent for a moment. "What will I do once you leave? What will I do without you?"
"Not much, I imagine." Sienna giggled and slapped your chest.
"That wasn't nice, Cars."
"I'm not a nice guy." You say.
"On the contrary, you are the best. You're the best guy." She said, snuggling deeper into your body and you felt the lines of your body blur into hers, and you had no idea where your body finished and hers began.
That night passed in an unspeakable blur, her hand melded into yours and you felt her gentle breath on your chest. You pulled her closer to you and fell asleep dreaming of what could be.