Run. Just Run.

Chapter 29

"Where are we gonna sleep?" Ashley asks, a small feeling of panic suddenly arising.

"I don't know....let's keep walking, maybe we'll find something." James replies.

James and Ashley keep walking, scanning their eyes over the terrain, searching for anywhere they could spend the night. As the sun fades away over the mountains in the horizon, James knows they're going to have to settle for something. His eyes go to an enormous tree. He considers it, then speaks up.

"Ash, we're gonna have to sleep in this tree tonight. It'll be dark in minutes, and we won't be able to find much better." He says with a glance at Ashley.

Ashley looks up at the tree, surprised at what James said. Well, there were worse places than this tree. It was a huge tree, with giant limbs, and about ten feet up there was a little place, made naturally by the way the limbs grew, where their backs would be up against the trunk, and limbs all around them, almost ensuring they wouldn't fall out while they were sleeping.

"Okay, sounds good." Ashley agrees slowly. "I've always wanted to sleep in a tree anyways!" She says as she brightens up.

James walks over to the tree, and starts climbing. He gets to the little hollowed out space and leans back against the trunk.

"Come on up!" He yells to Ashley. "There's plenty of room!"

When Ashley got up there, she realized there wasn't plenty of room, but instead just enough to fit in. Barely. She almost had to sit on James' lap, but she could just squeeze in so she was sitting beside him. Then she leaned back, and she realized she'd be laying on James chest the whole night. Well that wouldn't be too bad, she thought with a smile.

"Oh, and just so you know, you can't take of your jeans while you sleep tonight. Sorry." James says with a huge smirk.

Ashley's face turns bright red and she hits James in the arm. "Shut up. That's so embarrassing." She says, mortified and full of embarrassment. So he had noticed. Well that was beyond embarrassing. Why in the world hadn't he said anything?  Well, maybe it's better that he hadn't.  Still.  He saw her in her underwear. Her underwear.  Well, at least he hadn't stared. That would have been even more embarrassing.

"Well then you can't sleep without a shirt, mister." She says playfully as she pokes his stomach, trying to play it off like it's no big deal.

James' face falls. "Why not?" He says as he sticks his bottom lip out, fake pouting.

"Because I said so." Ashley says with a smirk. Then she turns her head around so he can't see her and bites her lip. Though it wouldn't be that bad if he did...she thinks to herself.

"Fine...." He says in fake disappointment. "I'll sleep with my shirt on." He says as he can't hold it together anymore and laughs.

Then James wraps his arms around Ashley and gives her a hug, pulling her closer.

"Goodnight, Ash." He says with a smile, even though he knows she can't see his face. "Sleep tight."

"Goodnight Jay!" Ashley says back. "And I will, especially if you keep holding me this tight." She says as she laughs. James laughs, then loosens his grip. "Oh, I wasn't complaining about it." she hurries to add.

James smiles. "Well in that case..." He says as he squeezes her tight, before finally just relaxing his arms while still hugging her.

Ashley turns her head to the side so she's laying on James' chest and can hear his heartbeat. This is going to be a comfortable night. She smiles and drifts off to sleep.