Chani and I woke up late today, rolling out of bed whenever we finally felt like it. We got up and had our leftovers for breakfast before going for a walk around the area. The cabin was close enough to see the other cabins, but far enough that you had plenty of privacy. I had always dreamed of having a cabin when I got older, but when I grew up, it became obvious that I wasn't going to be able to afford it, so it was nice to be able to enjoy one, even if it wasn't mine. Maybe if Chani and I stayed friends…or became more, we could use it sometimes to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
"Thanks for being willing to take a walk with me." Chani smiled over at me, the rocks beneath us crunched as we walked. It reminded me of back home and how I always refused to wear anything but flip-flops, if even that, as I spent most of my time barefoot.
"I'm glad you offered." I smiled back at her. "It really is great up here." The wind was blowing slightly. Chani told me that it's almost always windy up here, so I should get used to it. I took a deep breath of the cool morning air, feeling a sense of calmness wash over me. "It's a lot nicer up here than down in the city. I like the city, but I don't think it's really for me." I rubbed my arm. "I wouldn't want to be away from you, though."
"I wouldn't mind living somewhere else." Chani shrugged. "My dream is to live in a little mountain town, where there are not so many people."
"I'd like that." I smiled.
Chani gently grabbed my hand. We walked side by side for a while, stopping at a lake that the cabin looked out onto. "Can we sit and talk a little?"
"Of course." I nodded.
"Probably too cold to put your feet in the water, though." She smiled guilty, before sitting down on the dock. I found a spot next to her.
"Smells very fishy." I chuckled.
"I use to always come down here. I spent so much of my time out here on this dock, in this water. The cabin up there," she motioned towards the cabin up the hill, before turning her attention back to the, "was my grandparents'. Almost seems surreal being back here. It feels like a lifetime ago, and even though I was so young, I remember it so well. Playing with my horses in the water, catching the little minnows with a solo cup, begging my grandparents to let me take them home." She laughed quietly. "Fishing with my grandpa, exploring for hours on end with just my dog and me, watching the highway with binoculars." She took a deep breath, as a sadness seemingly washing over her. "I don't miss the way things were growing up. I mean, almost all of my childhood sucked. My dad is a drunk, my mom couldn't care less about protecting us, my older brother was too busy for me, and I was almost always alone. Middle school and high school were hard, as they are for most people, but add being gay and out to that, and it makes it that much harder. I hated growing up, but I guess in every bad situation, in every hard time, there is always that little bit of light from it. Even if it might just be relative." She shrugged weakly. "I guess I just miss those times when things were good. Relatively."
"When everything was simpler." I echoed her feelings, getting a nod from her. "Chani…thanks for opening up to me."
She looked over at me with a small smile. "I'm glad to have you in my life, Malia."
"I'm glad to have you too."
We went for a couple-hour hike around the cabin area, just walking up the road deeper into where the other cabins were, before turning around and heading back to our cabin. There wasn't much food besides dried things like rice and hash browns, so we agreed to head into town, to the King Soopers, to get some provisions.
We drove down to town, shopped, and headed back with our bounty, before packing up a picnic basket. Taking our food down to the dock, we had our lunch there.
"You're not such a bad cook, Mali." Chani smiled at me, taking a bite.
"It's a sandwich. I didn't cook." I laughed.
"But it's a good sandwich." She held it up triumphantly.
I shook my head with a smile. "Well, I'm glad you like it so much. So, what's our plan for the rest of our day, if you have one?"
"I don't know about you, but I want to take a nap before we do anything. I haven't had a nap in forever. My grandparents use to take a nap together on the hammock whenever I was up here. We could do that." A smile grew as she spoke.
"Sounds like a good plan to me." I shrugged.
After our lunch, we cleaned up and headed back to the cabin, where we collected a bunch of blankets. We cuddled up on the hammock, cozy beneath the blankets, and took a nap.
----
Chani and I were sitting around the fire pit roasting marshmallows for our s'mores, keeping warm from the frosty night. Each of us had a blanket around our shoulders to keep our backs warm. We ended up staying until the fire died out. I was about to go in when Chani told me to come lay beside her on the ground and stargaze. She pointed out whatever constellations she could see. After a while, it got too cold, so we moved inside to the bed, where we chatted a while before heading off to bed, ready for another day.
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To my detriment, we woke up early. Though I was a bit grumpy, we got up and around, so we could take an off-roading drive. After packing up some drinks and snacks, we headed off to the mountains. Thankfully I fully trust Chani, or else I'd be more than a little scared of some of the spots we drove in. She told me that her dad had her driving off-road since she first got her license, calming me a bit more.
"So," she glanced over at me as we were moved around by the rough terrain, "we took this trail that my dad said would be a shortcut to the pool. All of us trusting him and his navigation skills thought nothing of it. Turns out the road was closed for the season, and for very good reason, as there was this one muddy hill we went down that there was no way we could get back up in the F350. My dad has a steel bladder, but on that trip, he was so nervous that he peed like ten times." She laughed. "My brother also almost broke his neck too, when we hit a bump. That was pretty funny."
"Not for him, I'm sure." I chuckled.
We eventually made it down the pass and into a small town, called Pitkin, in the valley. It was so cute and quiet that the entire time Chani and I were there, all we could talk about was moving here when we retired. We had lunch in Pitkin, before heading back out on the road. It took most of the time until dinner to get back, leaving us only a bit of time to get cleaned up before we headed into town to get some dinner and catch a show. After that, we headed back to the cabin and went to bed early.
----
Chani and I were lazily laying in the bed, not having plans for the day yet. I shifted in the bed, looking over at Chani.
"Chani, you're so pretty."
She smiled and looked over at me. "Right back at cha, girly."
"Chani…" I trailed off, taking a deep breath. "What exactly are we? We're more than friends, right? Or are we just friends?"
"I'd say we're more than friends." She shrugged. "But we can be whatever you wanna be."
"I'm not sure." I admitted. "I like Arthur, and I like what I have with him, but I also like you a lot and want more with you."
"Why not both, Mali?" She turned on her side to fully face me. "I don't mind you being with Arthur. I'm fine with us being somewhat open, as long as you're honest about it."
"Real--really? You'd still want to be with me even if I continue things with Arthur?"
"Sure." She sat up; I sat up with her. "I really, really like you, Malia. Hell, I may even be in love with you, so if I get even just a piece of you and I know you'll be there for me, then I'm willing to let you fuck some old guy." She cracked a smile.
"Wow, you must really love me, Chani." I joked, a small smile on my face.
"If you agree to be my girlfriend, you'll have to get used to being smothered with my love."
"I kinda like the sound of that."
"Maybe once we finish school, we can reevaluate things once if we're still together."
"Sure." I nodded. "I'm fine with that. I'm sure Arthur and I won't last that long. Eventually, he'll probably just get tired of me and move on to someone else." I shrugged.
"You think so little of yourself, girly." Chani tilted her head to the side slightly.
I shrugged. "It's not really a diss to myself, as much as something I think will just happen."
"I guess we'll see." She shrugged. "As far as your stuff with Arthur, or anyone else you want, goes, just be honest and open with me and don't hide it."
"Sure thing."
"As long as you meet my needs, I doubt I'll need to ever be with anyone else, but that doesn't mean you can't."
"One more time, Chani, are you sure you're sure that you're okay with this?"
"I am. I promise."
"Alright…girlfriend." I smiled.
"I like the sound of that."
Eventually, after talking, we got out of bed and went down to town. We walked around a couple of thrift stores, killing some time and finding a puzzle. Heading back, I worked on the puzzle while Chani made us lunch. We spent the rest of our afternoon, until dinner listening to music and doing the puzzle. I admitted to her my love of virtual puzzles on Tabletop Simulator, due to the fact that the game tells you which way the puzzle piece faces, making it a bit easier to do, while not taking away the enjoyment of figuring it out.
We finished a little bit before starting our dinner, finding out there were missing pieces, ruining our build. After eating dinner, we took the liberty of cracking open some beers that were in the fridge.
Chani and I sat on the porch, watching the sun go down. She had her fingers laced in mine, before moving over and kissing me. We made out for a while, before Chani's hand slipped under my shirt. She looked at me, looking for permission.
"I don't want our first time to be after we've been drinking." I admitted quietly.
"That's alright." She nodded with a soft smile. "Can we keep making out, at least?"
"For as long as you want." I smiled.
She smiled back before leaning in to kiss me again.