I yanked a large pink Vera Bradley duffel bag out of my closet.
"You're going to take that camping?" Ryan asked me, holding in a laugh.
"Yeah, it's my favorite," I responded, totally serious.
"It's going to get dirty, Care. You'll get mad, I'm sure."
I shot him a look. "But I want to bring it!" I whined.
"Fine, whatever," Ryan said, annoyed. "Just don't cry to me when your pretty little bag gets ruined."
I bit my lip, holding in what I wanted to say. We were having an off day; Ryan was constantly getting annoyed with me and I was constantly getting mad at him. I was trying to pack for the camping trip he wanted to go on. I had never been camping before, and I wasn't looking forward to it so far. Ryan wanted to go so bad, so I was going for him. He had arranged everything, from the campsite to the people going. At first, I had only wanted the two of us to go, but then Ryan convinced me that it would be more fun with a few more people. He invited his older brother Patrick and his girlfriend Kiara, his cousin Logan, his friend Landon, and he let me invite Tasha and Payton. So now it was the day before we were scheduled to leave, and Ryan was helping me pack.
"You're going to want to bring some athletic shorts and tee shirts," he added quietly as he grabbed a Cosmo from under my bed. I had been looking through my dresses at which ones I wanted to bring.
I stared at him. "Do you want to just come over here and make my outfits for me?"
He thumbed through the pages. "Nope, just telling you. You're the one who asked me for help."
I rolled my eyes and turned back to my closet. I grabbed three pairs of Soffe shorts – black, white, and red – and threw them at Ryan. "Are these okay?" I snapped.
He threw the magazine on the floor and sat up. "Yeah, Caroline, they're great."
A few seconds passed and then I heard Ryan get up off the bed. I heard his footsteps and I thought he was leaving so I turned around. Ryan was standing inches away from my face. He grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me toward him in an intense kiss. I jumped up and wrapped my legs around his waist and he placed his other hand under my butt in order to carry me. I leaned into him and he started to step backward towards the bed. He fell backwards and hit the bed too hard and ended up biting my tongue.
"Ow!" I said, breaking away from him.
He looked alarmed. "I'm so sorry!"
I stuck my tongue out at him. "Am I bleeding?"
He started laughing. "Yeah, really bad."
I punched him in the arm. "It's not funny! I hate blood! And it tastes bad!"
Ryan laughed even harder.
"Ryan!"
He laughed and ran out of the room. I walked over to my mirror and inspected the damage. The cut was about a half-centimeter long and was bleeding bad. The taste of blood was disgusting, and I walked into my bathroom to spit it out. I heard Ryan coming back down the stairs.
"Care?"
"I'm in the bathroom," I said, completely indecipherably. My tongue was still out of my mouth.
He walked in a minute later with a bottle of water and a confused look on his face. "There you are."
I slid my tongue back in my mouth and said, "I told you I was in here."
He smiled. "I couldn't understand you."
I giggled. "Fix it." I stuck out my tongue again.
Ryan winced. "God, that's really bad," he said as he opened the water. "I'm really sorry."
"It's fine. Just make it stop bleeding, it's icky!"
He laughed again and handed me the water. I took a long drink and swished it around in my mouth.
"It still tastes like blood," I said, disappointed.
"Let me see it again," Ryan responded, and I obeyed him. He took my chin and looked at my tongue once more. He moved in really close to my face and took his own tongue and started kissing me again. I closed my eyes and let his tongue explore my mouth. He pulled away and laughed. "That's really gross. Now I have the taste of blood in my mouth." He took a swig of water and I walked out of the bathroom.
Ryan flicked off the light and caught up to me, pinching my butt. I made a surprised noise and he laughed. "Let's finish packing," I said.