His Naughty Lessons-Chapter 207: Kid-Friendly

** Eli **

The crescent moon was partially hidden behind clouds, making it a dark night perfect for clandestine meetings or elopements with a lover. Eli followed the bushy path to the bathhouse before turning around at the back of the building, winding his way quietly to the firewood shop.

He had barely located the bench Harper was talking about when a blur of frizzy auburn hair swept into his view, followed by a familiar soft body flying into his arms.

"Mmm, you feel so much nicer to hug than the teddy bear," Harper sighed in a happy whisper.

The silly comparison made Eli laugh. "And you feel so much nicer to hug when you aren’t spilling water all over me," he reminded her of her earlier attention-stealing show that had almost left him drenched in a puddle. "Nicer to kiss too, I bet."

He wasted no more time claiming those delicious lips that had been out of reach for him for three days, a tortuous sight that kept tempting him with sin.

Absence made the kiss grow sweeter, indeed. They both sighed the moment their lips touched, and the familiar scent of her seemed even more intoxicating than usual under the moonlight, faint yet lovely like the night wind carrying the gentle fragrance of summer flowers. The press of her body against his chest was warm and soft as a cloud, definitely a thousand times comfier than any teddy bear could be.

Eli felt heady from all the sensations he had missed so much. Before he knew it, his hand was already moving under the spell of her enchantment, sliding deftly down her back and under the satiny fabric of her pajamas ...

It wasn’t until a tiny moan drifted free between their lips that he remembered where he was.

"Damnit." He reluctantly pulled away with a disappointed groan. "I almost forgot that this campground is kids friendly ... Guess I can’t do anything to you right now that you won’t do to the teddy bear. What a shame."

Harper blinked up at him, her eyes still glazed over with that dreamy glassiness, and oh how close she was to succeeding in tempting him to say "just screw the campground".

The two of them took a moment to both calm their breaths. Then they laced their fingers together and sat down at the bench, with his arm around her back and her head leaning over his shoulder.

"I can’t believe it’s only been three days," Harper muttered. "It feels like my idiot brother has taken you away from me for half a lifetime already."

"It’s three days longer than it should be," Eli agreed. "But only one more. After tomorrow, it’ll finally be all over."

Well, it’d be all over one way or another ... and he could only hope that it’d be the way they wished it to be.

Harper squeezed his hand in a reassuring manner, apparently fully understanding the part that he didn’t say out loud. "I think the signs are looking good for us," she ventured. "Tyler is warming up to us today, isn’t he? At least he should believe that we’re truly on good terms with each other by now."

True that. Even though it still felt ridiculous to think that they had to put on such a show just to prove they were "on good terms", a hundred percent innocently.

"Come see me tomorrow evening after he leaves?" Eli asked. "Once he’s gone, it’ll be a good time to go back to our normal terms ... And give your poor teddy bear a little break."

Harper laughed at that. "Oh, should I inform you that I’ve already packed up a week of things to bring with me tomorrow evening? Not including the teddy bear this time — lots of not-kid-friendly items on my todo list, so I’ll keep its innocent eyes untarnished as you have so kindly requested."

Eli pinched her hips, and he gathered her closer into his arms as she ouched.

~ ~

** Tyler **

Tyler slept like a big baby that night.

The full day outdoors was relaxing but also tiring, making it all the more comfortable to roll into the cushy sleeping bag. Some people might find it difficult to enjoy nature in its true form — perhaps Harper and Eli were getting closer to that group these days, given how clumsy they looked struggling with their tents and spraining their ankles and spilling their water — but not Tyler. He loved the fresh scent of grass and evergreens wafting in the air, the cool earth pressed against his back, and the lazy songs of summer insects slowly lulling him to sleep.

Or at least, half asleep ... Because the sound of a tent unzipping broke the rhythm of that lulling song, pulling him back into the realm of waking.

Hmm ... Was that sound coming from Harper’s tent across from him? Was she still having trouble falling asleep so late at night, even with the help of that teddy bear she brought?

Tyler felt a little bad for his sister. Maybe she had truly been enjoying the trip to Hawaii, and the return was hard on her vacation-deprived mind. Maybe that meant he actually should’ve thanked Eli for the trip instead of suspecting the guy for giving his sister a difficult time ... Though either way, Tyler was too drowsy to stay awake long enough to think through it, and he quickly drifted back to sleep once the rustle in Harper’s tent quieted.

Or rather, he drifted back to sleep for a few seconds, until a second sound of a tent unzipping interrupted him yet again.

This time, it appeared to be coming from Eli’s direction. More awake now, Tyler could even hear footsteps that he hadn’t picked up earlier, treading back from the bathhouse before stopping at the tent two spots away and climbing back in.

What the heck, were both of them having trouble sleeping?

Tyler tossed around with a muffled grumble about these spoiled city people. Maybe he should simply go camping by himself in the future.

Like last time, though, he didn’t get much chance to dwell on that thought before the tide of sleepiness returned, pulling him under once more.