A/N: It has been a LONG time. I was thinking about this story recently and then amazingly I received a review for it today. I took that as a sign that I should update it. I had to reread the whole thing because it has been so long since I’ve done any work on it. This story is over 2 years old! I can’t believe it! And bless anyone who’s been with me throughout this whole thing, lol, and heck, even if you’re just starting, thank you! I hope this chapter is worth even a fraction of the wait. Enjoy!

Chapter 22

“Here we are!”

Vanessa winced at hearing her mother’s sing-song voice ring out across the wilderness. How she could be so chipper after a three hour car ride with hyperactive children, she’d never know.

“Okay girls, why don’t you help me unload the van and then you can start setting up your tent,” her mother instructed as she opened the hatch on the vehicle.

Vanessa shot Jenna a withered look and was surprised to see that the girl was mildly amused.

“What’s so funny?” the blonde whimpered as she hauled supplies out of the van.

“It’s strange to see you all flustered. Your family is actually kind of cute, you shouldn’t be embarrassed by them,” Jenna answered as she helped unload bags and coolers.

“They are so embarrassing,” Vanessa insisted as she began to move the supplies to where they needed to be.

“I don’t know, I can’t complain. It was very interesting hearing about your little slip up at...Clare’s? wedding,” Jenna stated, waiting patiently for a reaction from her favorite blonde.

“Shhh!!! God! It was so horrible and no one will let it go!” Vanessa exploded as she wheeled around to face Jenna.

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry,” Jenna shushed as she suppressed a few laughs. Seeing that Vanessa was still seething, Jenna went on, “It’s okay. Consider the incident forgotten.”

“Better be,” the blonde grumbled as she began to set up the anchors for their tent.

“Um, so what do you want me to do?” Jenna asked as she looked at the various pieces of the tent lying on the ground in a heap.

“Would you mind laying out the tent? I’ll get the other pieces in order once I’m done with this.”

“Sure thing.”

With amazingly little effort, the girls had their tent set up in a short while and set about helping the others with their own. Jenna proved to be a natural at this and was quickly earning points among Vanessa’s family members.

“My family’s falling in love with you already, this is great,” Vanessa said very pleased with comical intensity as she and Jenna stood out on the small dock of the lake. “Coming out may be easier than expected,” she mused.

“...You’re not planning to do that this weekend are you?” Jenna asked hesitantly.

“Heck no,” Vanessa waved off the question. “That would be slightly catastrophic. Once we get back home I’ll think about it more thoroughly. But since they really like you, it’ll be easier for them to accept it.”

“I hope so. They love you a lot, so I imagine that will help. I think it’ll be okay.”

Vanessa indulged Jenna in a smile of appreciation before looking out over the small lake. Several feet away, her small cousins were splashing around in the cool water with their mom wading around nearby.

“How is it?” she called out to her family members.

“Good!” came a unified response.

“Come join us!” One of them yelled out to their older cousin.

A look of subdued displeasure crossed Vanessa’s features. “Oh no, that’s all right. Maybe later, you guys.”

“Please!” they all whined.

“Not right now, okay? I don’t feel like changing into my swim suit,” she responded.

“Jump in like that. It’ll be funny!”

“In this?!” Vanessa cried unbelievingly. “This shirt cost me nearly half a paycheck! These are Guess jeans! No way!”

The kids just stared at their cousin, thoroughly confused and somewhat disappointed. They clearly had not been exposed to the glory that is high end retail, or else they totally would understand the worth of Guess jeans and the like.

Jenna snuck a peek out from behind Vanessa and over to the girl’s now pouting cousins. An idea struck her. Should she? Or shouldn’t she? Gesturing as discreetly as possible to the kids while ensuring that Vanessa couldn’t see, she received numerous looks of excitement and a couple of stifled laughs. Guess that answered her question.

Serene birds took urgent flight as a high pitched squeal ripped through the quiet air. Soon an explosion of laughter followed, and finally a flailing body emerged on the surface of the water.

“Jenna!!” Vanessa shrieked after a few sputtering attempts.

For a split second the redhead was actually a little concerned for her newfound relationship with the blonde, but just couldn’t take her girlfriend seriously right after she so gracelessly tumbled into the lake and was now thrashing about, soaked from head to toe with her makeup running down her face and her hair an unsightly mess. Let’s never mind that she was thrust unsuspectingly into the lake though.

“What?” Jenna asked as she refused to maintain eye contact with the bristling blonde and focusing greatly on not bursting into laughter along with Vanessa’s other pint-sized tormentors.

“What!! Are you kidding! This water is freezing!” Vanessa erupted. “And my clothes are ruined,” she whined as her splashing came to an end and she began to lightly tread the water.

“Your clothes aren’t ruined, Princess,” Jenna said gently to sooth her poor drenched lover. “Besides, serves you right for wearing designer clothes out camping,” she finished with a smirk.

“Princess! Princess!” the cousins began to chant in a teasing manner.

“See what you’ve started? You’re cruel,” the blonde continued to whine before reaching her hand up and out of the water. “Help me out.”

“Phff, I may be cruel, but I’m not stupid,” Jenna stated as she took a step back from the edge of the dock just for good measure. “Swim to the ladder.”

Vanessa grumbled as she began to swim over to the ladder of the dock. She thanked heaven that her aunt had gotten the kids to stop taunting her.

In a few short moments, the blonde was standing on the dock with what felt like half the lake beginning to pool around her shoes. At least her shoes were knock offs, she thought to herself.

“Are you okay?” Jenna asked softly as she walked up to Vanessa, fighting the urge to wrap her arms around the drowned girl.

Vanessa’s blue eyes slowly came up to meet with Jenna’s green ones. “Yeah, I’m fine,” she replied in a low voice as she did her best to wipe up the mess around her eyes that she was sure had formed from her mascara and eyeliner.

“Good,” Jenna said with a small smile. “Let’s get you back to the tent. I’m sure you could use some dry clothes.”

“Ya think?” Vanessa asked dryly before cracking a wry grin; much to the relief of her girlfriend.

Thankfully the walk to their tent was short, but that didn’t make it uneventful. Jenna attempted to smother her laughter after nearly every step the blonde took. With each step, there was a resounding squishing noise coming from the poor girl’s water filled shoes.

Vanessa made sure to send a few lackluster glares at her dry counterpart, but soon gave up realizing that they were having little effect.

Once Vanessa had changed into a set of dry clothes, she sat on her sleeping bag and pulled out a small stand up mirror and began to do away with the cosmetic damage on her face.

“Well, at least out of all this you got the respect and admiration of my cousins,” she said to Jenna as she rolled her eyes briefly before returning them back to her reflection.

“I guess I did,” Jenna stated, admittedly a little pleased with herself. “But I guess that’s not worth too much if you’re so mad with me that you send me packing.”

Vanessa let out a small chuckle. “No, don’t worry. I’m not sending you anywhere.” She set down the now black cotton pad she was using to wipe away her smudged makeup to look at the red head. “But, don’t think I won’t be hunting for revenge. Just you wait and see.”

“I like a challenge. And thanks for not sending me away; I hear it’s hard to hitch a ride in this part of the hills.”

Vanessa scoffed lightly before beginning to dig in her makeup bag for her eyeliner.

“You don’t need to do that.”

“Hm?” Vanessa asked as she pulled the cap off of the charcoal colored pencil.

“That,” Jenna said as she gestured to the eyeliner. “Come on, you’re on vacation. We’re out in the middle of no where. What’s the point?” The blonde hesitated, giving Jenna room to go on. “You don’t need it, remember?”

Vanessa offered the red head a shy smile. “Well, if you insist. Still feels strange without it though.”

“So what?” Jenna asked with a shrug.

“...Good call.”

---

Long after everyone had eaten their cooked-over-an-open-flame dinners and had gone to bed, Vanessa lay awake in the modest tent that she and Jenna shared. She turned her head to look at the sleeping form beside her. It was very dark, but Vanessa’s eyes had adjusted to the low levels of light and could make out her girlfriend’s features. If Vanessa couldn’t tell that the girl was asleep just from her slow, steady breathing, she’d be able to tell from the calm, peaceful look on her face right now.

The redhead had her arm draped over the abdomen of the track star and was resting her head on the track star’s pillow as well. They had unzipped their sleeping bags and overlapped them. There were better ways to keep warm at night than simply keeping to oneself inside a zippered cocoon. Vanessa smiled to herself at the picture before her.

The blonde had been laying here for what felt like hours, she just couldn’t fall asleep. She missed her bed. Was camping always like this? It seemed easier before. And did she always have such a fear of bugs crawling about in the night? She let out a shaky sigh and snuggled deeper into the sleeping bag. Her body stiffened and she held her breath as she felt Jenna stir. Vanessa watched as Jenna’s eyes slowly opened and gazed blankly at the blonde before her mind lurched into gear.

“You’re awake,” she muttered as she subconsciously pulled herself tighter against Vanessa.

“Can’t sleep.”

The redhead closed her eyes again, asking, “Why not?”

Vanessa shrugged lightly. The movement shook the smaller girl and drew a small grunt of displeasure from her.

“Sorry,” Vanessa apologized. “Go back to sleep.”

“What about you?” Jenna asked, reopening her eyes.

Vanessa shrugged again.

“Stop,” Jenna moaned with a small laugh.

“Sorry. Now, go back to sleep.”

Jenna shook her head before mustering up the strength to prop herself up on her elbow, still lying on her side. “No. I’d feel bad.”

Vanessa groaned. “Don’t be difficult. It’s too late...or early, to be difficult.”

A yawn escaped the redhead’s mouth before answering, “I’m most difficult at night and when I’m short of sleep.”

“Exactly!” Vanessa whispered while nodding earnestly. “So go back to sleep. I’m the one who has to deal with you and I’d prefer if you weren’t grumpy and impossible.”

“No,” Jenna frowned. “And God, I’m not that miserable nowadays.”

The track star grunted in defeat. “Fine. So? What now?”
“How should I know? I don’t care.”

“Not miserable, hey?”

Jenna gave Vanessa an exasperated look, but was confused by the look she got in return. “What?” she asked, all irritation now gone from her voice.

“Oh nothing,” Vanessa replied nonchalantly as she too rose up from her spot on the sleeping bag. “I just happened to figure out a way to, A) cheer you up, and B) keep you quiet.”

The redhead rolled her eyes. “And how to you inten-”

Her unconvinced response was cut blissfully short by Vanessa pressing her body up against the redhead’s and pulling her into a smoldering kiss. A few seconds into the kiss, Jenna finally relaxed into the hold of the blonde and soon found herself eagerly returning the blonde’s actions. On some level Jenna slowly acknowledged that she was running a hand through Vanessa’s wavy golden locks, while the other was beginning to play with the bottom of the track star’s shirt. If she had been a little more awake, it may have been a bit too much for her to comprehend and digest. But, she wasn’t more awake, so instead she just sank into the feeling of Vanessa softly moaning into her mouth and the track star’s hands beginning to roam over her body. Soon enough the blonde’s lips were on her neck and driving her insane.

Too soon for her own liking, Jenna reluctantly pulled away from her girlfriend signaling the end of their make out session.

“Maybe we should cool it for now. Your mom’s tent is like, 5 feet away,” Jenna pointed out.

Vanessa sighed heavily as she laid back and rest her head on the pillow. “Yeah. You’re right.”

The two lay in silence for several moments before the blonde broke the silence with a frustrated groan that formed deep in her throat. “What was I thinking, dragging you out here? We could’ve had the house to ourselves!” she complained in a harsh whisper. “It’s going to be such a long weekend.”

When Vanessa didn’t get a response from her girlfriend, she looked over to see if everything was okay. Taking from the way the girl’s brows furrowed just slightly and the worrisome look in her eyes, Vanessa gathered things weren’t.

“Are you all right?”

“Mm?” Jenna startled somewhat, apparently not having been paying too much attention to the blonde’s dialogue.

“Are you okay?”

“Oh, yeah.” A pause. “Well...” Heat rose up to the smaller girl’s cheeks and her eyes flit to all corners of the tent while pointedly avoiding the blue eyed girl’s concerned gaze.

“Hey,” Vanessa said gently as she grasped Jenna’s hand and caressed the top with her thumb. “Don’t worry. You can talk to me.”

The red head squeezed the blonde’s hand and hoped her appreciation showed through. She let out a short sigh before asking deadpan, “How was it?”

The blonde gave her companion a baffled look. “How was what?”

“The making out, you jerk!” Jenna whispered as harshly as a person can, while delivering a swat to the blonde’s arm.

“Ow, God! Calm down,” Vanessa responded as she rubbed her arm. “Sorry, God. I just, I don’t know, you made it sound like a sex question.”

“What?” Jenna asked with edge still evident in her voice.

“I don’t know. That type of question is usually associated with sex, not making out. Not that it’s a bad question or anything. Sorry. I-”

“Well I’m concerned!” Jenna interrupted, struggling to keep her voice down to an intense whisper. “I’m not very experienced in anything like this. And you...well...you definitely are.” Jenna shut her eyes in frustration, immediately regretting her wording and how bad it sounded.

Vanessa’s eyes narrowed at the girl across from her. “I’m not some slut, you know.”

Jenna let out an exasperated sigh. “I know that,” she insisted in a soft voice. “I know. I’m sorry. That came out all wrong. I don’t honestly think that about you.”

The girl in question stared at Jenna a few moments longer before her features softened and she accepted the apology.

Very tentatively, Jenna scooted close to Vanessa and was relieved to feel the benevolent athlete wrap an arm around her.

“I’m really sorry,” Jenna repeated. “I get too defensive. Self-conscious. I guess I’m just not, I don’t know, totally convinced that it’s me you want.” Seeing that the blonde was about to interject, Jenna rushed on, “It’s nothing you’ve done. It’s just, I still don’t get why you picked me. You could’ve had anyone. I don’t see what can keep you here.”

“I don’t know how to make you see what an amazing person you are,” Vanessa said in a tone that bordered on defeated. “I love you. I know we haven’t actually been officially together for long, but even within that short time I’ve been happier than I was the entire time I dated Mike or anyone else. Please believe me.” She sighed quickly and took a breath before continuing on, this time more determined, “And if you’re concerned about being compared, just take comfort in the fact that now that I’m not being a totally blind idiot, I can admit to myself that I want you more than I ever wanted anyone else.”

Jenna gave Vanessa a chaste kiss on the cheek and hugged her tightly to her body. “You’re wonderful. I don’t know how you put up with me.”

“We just went through this!”

Jenna snickered. “Well, you could always tell me again.”

“No.”

“I love you.”

“Go to sleep.”