With the help of her best male friend Taylor, vintage toy seller Nina Cox opens a dating profile to comply with her family's dare to go on ten dates. Dating in the geek world proves challenging when among the dates are Star Wars fans, Harry Potter l...
Reluctantly, I accepted to have a date with Kent after chatting for almost two weeks. I officially hate Taylor and Evan for picking this guy. I'm here now in his pick-up truck on the way to the mountains to camp for the night.
He looks better than his pictures. His hair turned out to be a darker red and his face is kind of cute. His brown eyes are so dark that at first I thought they were black.
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He is trying his best to make me feel comfortable. I told him straight away in the first emails that I'm not into camping and his adventurous hobbies. He found it hilarious and said that it was because I have never done it properly. My little weekend bag pales in comparison to the monstrous backpack at the back of his truck.
"Here we are," he says with a warm smile.
We arrive in a parking lot that is surrounded by beautiful gardens. A large wooden cabin is on one side. We grab our gear and head inside. A few couches are scattered around the place and a chimney is lit. This is not bad at all. If it had a few Christmas trees and garlands, it would have been the setting for a postcard, or a cheesy family photo.
I browse the brochure stand while Kent registers us. The people in the cover photos look as if they are having the time of their lives. I hope that I also look like that by tomorrow.
"Okay, we can continue," Kent says while carrying his backpack.
I follow him outside and head up a trail together. I see a few cabins in the area but we seem to be walking away from them. We make it eventually to a flat area that has a view of the valley under us.
"Breathtaking, right?" he says, inhaling deeply.
"Yeah, sure," I say, taking my phone out to snap a picture. I see that I have no signal. I expected as much, so I brought other stuff to keep me entertained.
"Let's set up the tent,"
Kent unrolls some fabric and gets out metal sticks. He instructs me where to put them and how to tie the cord to the spikes and hammer them to the ground. This is quite amusing.
"Resources are limited, so the menu for tonight is simple. I have mac and cheese and some dough to bake bread on the fire. I hope that it stays dry long enough so we can make s'mores later. Let's gather some wood first,"
We walk around grabbing twigs and dry branches. He is a sweet guy and seems interested in whatever I have to say. I'm actually enjoying myself. Camping is not so bad after all.
We get water at a small creek nearby and he reassures me that it is cleaner than any treated water. I have my doubts. The water is an unhealthy light brown color.
His backpack reminds me of Mary Poppins' bag. It seems bottomless and besides the sleeping bags and clothes, he has everything in there to make and serve a meal. The food is delicious and I feel a bit flustered when he cleans a bit of the melted marshmallow from my chin. Then I feel a tiny raindrop fall on my hand.
"Oh, I think it is going to rain soon," I say. "Where is the nearest bathroom?"
"Down by the reception, but you can go behind those bushes. I have toilet paper somewhere in here," he says, rummaging in his backpack.
Bushes? No way on earth I'm going use that as a toilet.
"If it is number two you need to do, then I have a little shovel in here to make a hole on the ground,"
Camping has just lost its appeal.
"I will head to the reception if you don't mind,"
"Okay, here is a flashlight. Stay on the path,"
I grab the flashlight and make the fifteen minute walk to the reception. I feel grateful and relieved when I see the modern sanitary facilities. I should have brought my toothbrush as well.
After finishing my business, I head back to our camping spot. It is darker than when I left and I realize that I don't know where we are anymore. I walk around, pointing with the damn flashlight at the ground to find the path. And then it starts raining... hard.
The ground has become muddy and I have to support myself from trees as I'm either slipping or my shoes are sticking. As the time passes, I'm more convinced that I will have to spend the night soaked to the bone under one of these trees.
Suddenly, I feel something on my arm and I let out a piercing scream.
"Jeez, you just left me deaf!"
I point the flashlight at the direction of the voice and see Kent wearing a parka and covering his ears.
"I'm sorry. You scared me," I say.
"You didn't come back and I felt worried, so I decided to look for you,"
I thank him and we return to our tent. The fire is out so we huddle in the tiny tent to keep warm. He hands me a thin towel that is surprisingly absorbent and turns around like a true gentleman as I change clothes. The rain seems to be getting less and only the rumble of thunder can be heard in the distance.
Kent reads a book using a light attached to his forehead and I use my mobile to illuminate a graphic novel. It is quite a comforting setting. Then I hear a loud cracking noise and see a shadow next to my side of the tent.
"What was that noise?" I say in panic, holding his arm. "A bear? I saw a shadow!"
"Nah, it was too soft to be a bear. Maybe a fox," he says, not taking his eyes away from the book.
"A fox? So there are animals here?" I say, my eyes widening with every minute that goes by.
"Are you scared of animals?" he asks.
"If it isn't a dog or a cat, yeah,"
"That is silly," he says, shaking his head and going back to his book.
The cracking noises continue mixed with the sound of rain. I start praying. It is the only thing that occurs to me to make the damn night go by quicker.
"Nina, what are you doing?" Kent asks while looking at me in a strange way.
"I'm praying,"
"What language is that?"
"Language?" I ask confused.
"It wasn't English for sure. More like dah dah, jeh jeh,"
"Dammit, not even for one night," I whisper.
"Not even for one night what?"
So I didn't whisper after all. I take a deep breath and tell him the truth.
"I hate camping. I'm miserable and even when I find you cute and like being around you, I'm afraid that this is not going to work. I'm at the happiest sitting on my couch and you out here. I'm a geek. We are like vampires and we burn out in the sun. To top it all, apparently I pray in Klingon. I'm weird and proud,"
Kent looks at me and throws his arm around my shoulders.
"My sweet Nina. I don't think that you are weird. I knew this wasn't going to work since the beginning, but I wanted you to give it a chance anyway. I like you a lot and I hope that we can keep in touch often and be friends,"
I'm shocked by his words.
"You... don't find me weird?"
"We all are," he says and kisses my forehead in a brotherly way.
