Tasted

LOVE IS BORN WITH THE PLEASURE OF LOOKING AT EACH OTHER, IT IS FED WITH THE NECESSITY OF SEEING EACH OTHER, IT IS CONCLUDED WITH THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF SEPARATION - ANONYMOUS

..::Joshua::..

Saturday. Thank God.

I winced as I got out of bed. Though the hotel I was staying at was lovely, the owner was a very nice woman that reminded me of mom a lot, the bed's were bloody uncomfortable. I quickly got dressed, not really looking at what I was pulling on. I left the bed unmade and made a quick trip to the bathroom.

It was I was fastening on my watch that I realised the time. Shit! It was a few minutes past three. Ah, fuck it. I grabbed my guitar, ran out the hotel, leapt onto my bike and sped towards Morgan's house as fast as I could, trying to think up of excuses to tell her why I was late. I'd slept in, but I couldn't exactly say why. YEAH MORGAN, I SLEPT IN BECAUSE I WAS BUSY PATROLLING HAVEN LAST NIGHT, TRYING TO SNIFF OUT OUR ROGUE VAMPYRE. Yeah.

I got there and ran up to her truck and discreetly tucked my guitar behind some objects, thinking of entertainment for tonight then ran up to her front door. I took a deep breath and knocked once on the door. I heard a muffled, "Come in!" I tried opening the door, but it was locked. I chuckled and looked around for a spare key. I caught a glint of metal sticking our from under a nearby stone and discovered the key. I unlocked the door and went inside.

OH. The place smelled like her, was drenched in her scent. My body reacted and I clenched my teeth, breathing shallowly. I scanned the living room, absently thinking that there wasn't a lot of furnature. My eyes caught sight of a pink sock peeking from the arm of a rocking chair. I walked over, but Morgan didn't look up. She was curled in the chair and I felt warm at how comforable she looked. She was reading and I peeked over her shoulder to see what it was. I read a few lines and realised that it was THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS by Lewis Carroll. It was one of my favourties and I took a moment to read the page.

I felt eyes on me and when I glanced up I saw Morgan watching me. Her cheeks were tinged pink and there were a few beads of water on her forehead. I gave her a bashful smile, not realising how absorbed I'd been. "Sorry," I said, meaning that and also being late.

She closed the book, a little abrubtly I thought and said, "It's okay. Ready to go?" I cleared my throat quietly and nodded, looking forward to today. I'd wanted to get her alone since she'd gotten on my back and drenched me with her scent. She stood up. "Alright. If you just give me a minute, I'll get ready and we can go." She looked ready to me, but I gave her a polite smile anyway.

She went through one of the doors, holding a mug. She came out a moment later and disappeared behind another door. I looked down at the chair she'd been sitting on. It was hand-made and actually quite charming. I ran my fingers alone the wood, feeling the grooves and softness of the wood. It was a beautiful piece of work. I looked up and caught Morgan watching me. Her cheeks darkened and to take her mind of it, I tapped an arm of the chair and said, "This is beautiful." SO ARE YOU.

She gave me a small smile "I think so too. Let's go before you slap eyes on my kitchen." I smiled and we left. We got into her Chevy and Morgan drove us out of town. I knew where we were going, because of my patrols, and couldn't help but frown. This wasn't what I had in mind.

We stopped in the parking lot of the popular camping grounds. I didn't like it. The place was drenched in the smell of humans and I could hear families. People chatting, eating, babies and toddlers crying. I'd wanted somewhere private, where it would be just her and me - without the distraction of the real world.

Morgan cleared her throat, and eventually said, "Josh? Is . . . Are you okay?"

"Where are we?" I snapped, then regretted it. I didn't want to seem like a dick, I was just . . . frustrated. When she didn't answer, I said, "Where Morgan?"

"Um, Ardgarten Camping Grounds." She sounded timid. God, I'm an idiot.

"Why are we here?"

She didn't sound as timid this time. "Because we're going camping, Josh. Remember? CAMPING FOR DUMMIES?" I bit back a smile. It was hard to stay mad when I was around her.

"No. Here. Why HERE?"

"It's the most popular place for camping around here. A lot of tourists come."

"You're not a tourist," I pointed out. She shrugged. "I want to go somwhere else." I was aware that I sounded like some spoiled brat, but whatever.

"What? Why, where?"

I tried to explain it without seeming creepy. "Some place . . . not here. Special."

"Special?"

"Yes. Not public. Not well-known. Do you know any places like that?" Because if she didn't, I did.

Slowly, she said, "Yes, I do. It's about five minutes away from here, but we'd have to walk a mile to get there. Is that okay with you?" I bit back a smile. BABY, I COULD RUN A MILE IN A FEW MINUTES. "Alright," she muttered. We left. My spirits lifted, I switched on the radio and happily watched the scenery go by, humming along with the music absently.

After a few minutes, she pulled over next to a boulder. We got out and Morgan climbed onto the truck bed then handed a sleeping bag to me. She paused and I winced, realising that the object I'd tucked my guitar behind had been the sleeping bag I held in my hands. I put it on the ground just as she turned to me with raised eyebrows, holding up my guitar. "What is this?" she asked.

I shuffled my feet, hoping that she would like the idea. "Uh, yeah. Entertainment. Just in case, you know?"

She gave me a bright smile that took my breath away. "Good idea." I let out a breath I hadn't realised I'd been holding and took the guitar. She proceeded to hand me various things and when she'd done that, we pushed everything into rucksacks. Watching her, I deliberaly filled one more than the other. I pulled it on and carried the guitar.

She struggled to put hers on and I frowned. I hadn't put enough into my own. "Morgan, maybe we should take some of the stuff from your rucksack and put it in mine. Make yours lighter."

She gave me a brave smile that didn't hide the strain on her face. "It's fine. You don't have to trouble yourself." My frown deepened.

"But I -"

"If we don't leave now we won't get there in time." She wouldn't let me. I decided against an argument, but made a mental note to make the pace slow and easy on her. We began the trek and I deliberately kept my body close to hers, watching her reactions every time I 'accidentally' touched her. Her breath caught, her heart thumped faster and the colour on her cheeks got darker every time. It was the most adorable thing.

We were soon there. It was a small clearing, just big enough for a camping ground, and I loved it. It was quiet. It smelled faintly of human, but mostly of earth and air. It was perfect.

When I felt her watching me, I turned. Her blue-grey eyes had gone soft and at that moment I wanted desperately to kiss those lips. "Voila," she said.

Before I would kiss her, I stalked forward and we both started unpacking, setting everything up. A sudden grin lit my face when I remembered one of the best points of camping. "Could we build a fire?" I asked her.

Carelessly, she said, "If you want to, I guess we could. But someone would have to go back and get the coal."

"I'll do it." If I did it, I would be faster.

She looked surprised. "Um, alright. I guess I'll put up the tent." I nodded in agreement. I walked normaly until I was sure I was out of sight, then raced to the car. I grabbed the small bag of coal sitting in the trunk of her car. I ran back until I was about five minutes away, then walked slowly to not arrouse suspicion at being too fast.

Morgan had set up everything, everything the fire. She was sitting in front of the tiny grill, flipping burgers. I tossed some coal onto the fire pit Morgan had built and when I looked up, she was holding up some dry moss. "Quick tip?" she said. "Dry moss is the best way to start an outdoors fire. Wet moss is useless, but dry grass will do just as well." She got a lighter out of her pocket and lit it up, quickly putting it onto the fire pile before it could do her any harm. I watched her, dreaming of kissing her, touching her. Of her moaning my name.

She looked up and caught my gaze. But instead of blushing and lowering her head like I expected, she returned it. God, she turned me on.

I was distracted when a burning smell filled the air. I glanced over her shoulder and saw the raw burgers smoking on the grill. I bit back a smile. "What is it?" she asked quietly.

"Dinner," was all I said.

Her eyes widened and she jerked away and crawled over to the grill. I followed her, enjoying her panic. She settled in front of them, a helpless look on her face and I suddenly wanted to growl at the burgers for upsetting her. I picked up a plastic fork and poked one, hoping to make her smile again. "Well, at least they're cooked," I lied, trying to lift her spirits.

I failed. She groaned and covered her face with her hands. "I'm a horrible cook."

I bumped my shoulder with hers, glaring at the burgers. "You're not a horrible cook."

She growled at me and I desperately tried not to laugh. "Am too."

Pressing my lips together, I quickly grabbed the cut rolls and put the burgers into them. I put them back onto the two plastic plates and nudged her arm with one. She glared at me and snatched it away. "I promise," I said, preying I wasn't about to break it. "Try it."

She tilted the plate, gazing at it as if an alien had just taken up residence on the plate. Eventually, she mumbled, "You first." Her eyes dared me. I snorted at the challenge and quickly devoured the roll. I won't lie - it wasn't the best. I held the plate up to her, but she seemed unimpressed.

"See? Edible," I said confidenly. YEAH, EDIBLE. JUST.

"Yes, but will it stay down?" How did she do that?

"Just eat your damned burger."

..::Morgan::..

It was Saturday, and I was so jittery it was ridiculous. I woke up at six in the morning because I was so excited, even though Josh and I had agreed to meet at three so I had too much spare time on my hands. I'd showered thoroughly and had the strange impulse to use my vanilla and honey bodywash. I only used it for special occasions and this . . . this was not a special occasion. So I'd scowled at the bottle and used the grapefruit stuff. Special occasion my ass.

I'd tied up my wet hair and set about collecting all the stuff we'd need. A large tent that could fit four. Two sleeping bags and two yogs mats. A few pillows. Spare clothes and basic toiletries, as well as toilet paper (don't ask.) A small, portable grill along with a small bag of coal, chips of wood, lighter fluid and a lighter. A water clenser. Plastic cups, plates, bowls and cutlery. Two large bottles of water. I'd also added a few books for myself.

For dinner, I'd gone out and bought burgers, sausages, rolls and a bunch of fruit. I wasn't entirely sure what Josh liked, but burgers were pretty universal. At least, that's what I hoped.

I'd carted all the stuff into the truck-bed of my Chevy then gotten dressed. I wasn't exactly dressing to impress anyone, so I just went for jeans and a black jersey. I'd brushed out my damp hair and bundled it all up into a bun.

So here I was now, curled up in my rocking chair with a book. There was a cup of cooling tea sitting on my knee and I circled the edge of the ceramic with a fingertip. And that's how Josh found me.

There was a knock on the door and, knowing who is was, I yelled, "Come in!" There was a pause, then I heard some clicking sounds. I decided to ignore them. I didn't look up, but I heard the door opening and closing, boots clomping over to me then silence. I read for a few more seconds - until I'd finished the chapter - then looked up. My breath caught. Josh was standing behind me, looking over my shoulder and reading. He didn't acknowlage me and I let out a shaky breath then inhaled, accidently breathing in his scent. Mmm. He smelled good. Like musk and sharp aftershave.

After a minute, he glanced up at me. His ears turned slightly pink and he gave me a bashful smile. "Sorry."

I closed the book. "It's okay. Ready to go?" When he nodded, I stood up. "Alright. If you'll just give me a minute, I'll get ready and we can go." He gave me a polite smile.

I went into the kitchen, dumped the rest of my tea down the sink, washed out the mug and set it upside down on the draining board. I hurried to my room, resising the urge to look over at Josh. Tossing my book onto my unmade bed, I pulled on my shoes then quickly returned to see Josh admiring the rocking chair. I watched him for a minute, loving the way his clothes fit him. How his small actions were graceful and thoughtless - like the way he tossed his hair out of his green eyes, or how his long fingers carressed the wood of the chair.

Eventually, he looked up. He tapped one arm of the chair and said, "This is beautiful."

I couldn't exactl say THANKS because I hadn't made it, so I settled for, "I think so too. Let's go before you slap eyes on my kitchen."

He smiled at my lame joke and we left. Josh's motorbike was parked behind my Chevy and I couldn't deny how much I liked seeing it there. We got in my truck and I drove out of town. The place I had in mind was only a few miles out of Haven. Soon enough, I saw the turn-off. I followed the dirt road until we'd reached the large, flattened parking lot beside a picnic area and public toilets. There were already a bunch of cars, family-size. I parked then looked over at Josh in confusion when he didn't get out.

His jaw was tight and his hands balled into fists on his thighs. I tapped my thumb on the hard leather of the steering wheel as I watched him curiosuly. I didn't know Josh well - not that I wouldn't like to - but this was strange behaviour. What was going on?

My patience lasted all of ten seconds. I cleared my throat but he didn't so much as blink. I stopped tapping and said, "Josh? Is . . . Are you okay?"

"Where are we?" His words were curt, sharp and angry. I gave him a surprised look. I'd never heard him speak like that. When he glanced at me, he let out a breath and asked in a more controlled voice, "Where, Morgan?"

"Um, Ardgarten Camping Grounds."

"Why are we here?"

I gave him a look. "Because we're going camping, Josh. Remember? CAMPING FOR DUMMIES?" Dummy being the operative word here.

"No. Here. Why HERE?"

Oh. "It's the most popular place for camping around here. A lot of tourists come."

"You're not a tourist." Lost for words, I just shrugged. "I want to go somwhere else."

"What? Why, where?"

"Some place . . . not here. Special."

Pressing my lips together, I watched him for a moment before asking, "Special?"

"Yes. Not public. Not well-known. Do you know any places like that?"

Slowly, I said, "Yes. I do. It's about five minutes away from here, but we'd have to walk about a mile before we got there. Is that okay with you?" He nodded and settled back against his seat. I raised my eyes, started the Chevy and muttered, "Alright." We left the camping grounds. Josh, seemingly in a better mood, switched on the radio and hummed along with all the songs. I just rolled my eyes.

After about five or six minutes of driving, I pulled over right next to a large rock that I used as a landmark. We got out and I climbed up onto the truck bed, contemplating what was necessary and what we could leave behind. I was lifting a sleeping bad to pass to a waiting Josh when I saw something that made me pause. There was a long black object lying propped against the edge. I put down the sleeping bag and looked closer curiously. When I realised what it was, I looked at Josh with raised eyebrows and held up the weighted guitar case. "What is this?"

He actually looked EMBARRASED. "Uh, yeah. Entertainment. Just in case, you know?"

I gave him a bright smile to ease his discomfort. "Good idea." I started unloading, passing it all to Josh who placed it on the side of the road. The sleeping bags, tent, two pilloes, toilet paper, the portable grill, coal, lighter flui (I put the lighter in my pocket,) the plastic cups, plates and cutlery and one water bottle.

We put as much as we could into two rucksacks. It all fit except for the bottle of water and Josh's guitar so we just decided to carry them. Within a few minutes, we were ready to leave. Josh had pulled on the rucksack and was holding his guitar, patiently waiting for me. I locked the truck, then bent to pick up the rucksack.

Huffing and puffing, I eventually stood straight. I winced as I adjusted the thick heavy straps on my shoulders. Okay, JEEZ, maybe I should have left the portable grill behind. A frowning Josh said, "Morgan, maybe we should take some of the stuff from your rucksack and put it in mine. Make yours lighter."

Trying to hide the strain in my face, I gave him a wide smile. "It's fine. You don't have to trouble yourself." Though I couldn't deny the tingle that his concern caused. It just seemed . . . unreal that a guy this hot cared about me. Okay, so CARED ABOUT could be a little strong, but still.

"But I -"

"If we don't leave now we won't get there in time." He nodded. If my voice was a little sharp, he ignored it. He gestured and I took the lead. The terrain was mostly flat and the trees sparse. Though I was the only one who knew the way, it didn't feel like that. Josh walked beside me the entire way, as if he knew where we were going too. His arm brushed mine occasionally and I tried to act nonchalant about it. As if my arm wasn't alive with nerves everytime he did it. As if my heart didn't jump in glee. As if I didn't imagine him holding my hand and pecking my lips.

Within fifteen minutes, we were there. The clearing was small, nothing compared to Ardgarten, but it was cozy and the place seemed . . . strangely specia;. I'd never shown this place to anybody before. I glanced over at Josh, saw his soft smile and let out a breath in relief. I hadn't thought about it before, but I actually wanted his approval. I wanted him to like my secret place.

I watched him for a moment, then he turned to look at me, his green eyes meeting mine. Instead of looking away, I gave him a brazen smile and said, "Voila."

Another lame joke, but he seemed to like them. He walked forward, put down the pack and started taking things out. I followed his lead, laying out everything in a neat line. From behind me, Josh asked eagerly, "Could we build a fire?"

I stopped fiddling with the tent and glanced at the wood chips. "If you want to, I guess we could. But someone would have to go back and get the coal."

"I'll do it," he volunteered.

I blinked at him. "Um, alright. I guess I'll put up the tent." It came out like a question, so Josh nodded and left with short wave and a skip in his step that made me question his sanity. I started to unpack the tent.

Twenty minutes later, when Josh returned, I'd set up everything. The tent was up with two sleeping bags, pillows, Josh's guitar and my books inside. I'd set uo the portable grill and was currently flipping burgers. I'd even made a circle of stones with a thin layer or wood chips and collected some dry moss. Not speaking, he hefted the small bag of coal over to the make-shift fire pit. He dumped a few handfuls of coal into the pit. I walked over then crouched down and started laying on some dry moss. I glanced up to see him crouched across from me, watching my movements like he was memorising them. I held up a piece of moss. "Quick tip? Dry moss is the best way to strart an outdoors fire. Wet moss is useless, but dry grass will work just as well." Taking the lighter out of my pocket, I lit the piece of moss and put it atop the pile. Within seconds, we had a small fire going.

I was gazing at the fire when I felt the impulse to look up. So I did, and caught Josh watching me with that intense gaze of his. Instead of looking away, I returned his stare, watching in fascination as the flames danced in his green eyes.

It was as a strange smell was reaching my nose when Josh snapped me out of my revere. He cleared his throat, eyes flicking to something over my shoulder and he bit back a smile. "What is it?" I asked quietly.

"Dinner."

My eyes widened. Oh shit! Dinner! I whirled around and crawled on hands and knees to the grill. I flipped the two burgers and groaned. One side of the meats were prefectly cooked while the other . . . charcoal.

I stared at them hopelessly while Josh came up and crouched beside me. He poked one of the burgers with a plastic fork. "Well, at least they're cooked," he offered.

Groaning, I hid my face with both hands and mumbled, "I'm a horrible cook."

Trying for comfort, he bumped my shoulder with his. "You're not a horrible cook."

I growled at him. "Am too."

I heard some clanging then something poked my arm softly. "Look, they're still edible." I looked up. Josh had put the evil burgers into rolls and plated them. He was nudging me with one. I glared at him and snatched the offending plate away. "I promise. Try it."

I eyed the small roll warily, tilting the plate this way and that. "You first." Mature, I know. But he snorted, grabbed the roll of the second plate and devoured it in five bites. He winced, then showed me the empty plate triumphantly. I just raised my eyebrows.

"See? Edible."

"Yes, but will it stay down?"

His eyes narrowed. "Just eat your damned burger."

{_X_}

About four hours later, the sky was darkening, my eyes were drooping and I had a perminat smile on my face thanks to Josh. Surprisingly, he was really funny and easy to talk to which totally clashed with the whole 'intimidating' look he was trying for. He'd kept me so entertained that I hadn't once glanced at a book.

We had decided not to use the tent because it was such a nice night and instead placed our sleeping bags on opposite sides of the burning fire. Josh was sitting cross-legged on top of his sleeping bag, absently plcuking strings on the guitar sitting on his lap. He'd brought it out a while ago but hadn't played anything. He'd just plucked a few strings and occasionally touched the wood. It seemed to comfort him, so I didn't sat anything. I was lying on my side, facing towards him, propped up on one elbow.

"Okay, question," he said. "What was the last movie you saw?"

I thought back to last night and answered with, "Two Weeks Notice."

"The one with Sanda Bullock and Huge Dick?" I laughed.

"Hugh Grant."

"Sounds the same to me. Bet the ladies go mad for it."

"Is that jealousy I hear?"

"Are you saying that his dick is bigger than mine?" He looked insulted. I just laughed. "Now that was just uncalled for, Morgan Bearing."

"You think you're funny, don't you?"

"I think I'm positively adorable." My laughter seemed to crack a smile out of him that eventually led to laughter. A few minutes later, we'd calmed down and I was yawning so widely that I thought I heard my jaw crack. "Are you going to sleep now?"

I nodded slowly. "Yeah, maybe. What about you?"

"Not yet." He held up his guitar slightly. "Any requests?"

"What do you know?"

"Bits and pieces. I know quite a lot of songs from movies. Uh, the last one was, I think, from Austrailia -"

"Which one?" I interrupted.

Josh gave a short, surprised laugh. "The ukulele song."

"Fox dance?"

"I . . . guess. I take it you know the movie?" I nodded so eagerly my head hurt.

"Yeah, it's my favourite movie. Could you play it? Please?" At the last word, I bit my lip and looked down. When my request was met with silence, I winced in disappointment. Clearing my throat, I said, "It's okay. You don't have to or anything."

"Hey." His voice was soft.. I looked up and saw that crooked smile that I'd seen when we'd first met. "I am going to play it. I want to. I was just trying to remember all the notes."

My smile was all relief. "Oh. Okay." I shifted until I was lying on my back and then I closed my eyes. After a short minute, he started playing and humming. A warm feeling built inside of me and I tried to catch it, hold it, keep it to me for as long as I could because it made me feel safe, as if I were in the arms of family and I knew nothing, nothing would ever hurt me.

With the soft music playing in my ears and the pleasant warmth radiating from the fire, I soon drifted off to sleep. I thought I heard Josh whisper, his voice so soft, "Goodnight, baby." But I couldn't be sure.