chapter 3: camping trip

Soon after, we arrived at our campsite. We had to walk a bit into the woods, but Mike knew a great clearing where we could set up our tent. Since he was the one who went camping regularly, he did most of the work, while me and Tom (my friend) kinda just stood around and got him his tools or whatever. By the time we were done, it was just about time for lunch.

Mike got a fire going, and me and Tom were in charge of cooking the food. I made sure Mike always something to eat, whilst trying my best to maintain a casual conversation, to avoid any questions.

Mike demonstrated again just how much more he could eat than he looked like, having several burgers and sausages. Normally he would drink water, but as the only beverage we had brought was coke, he had to stick to that.

After lunch, we spent most of the afternoon just lying about doing nothing, Tom and I were playing a board game, while I was sneaking glances at Mike. He had gotten out a plastic chair and seemed to have fallen asleep.

At about 5, Mike woke up, and joined our game. He didn't really know how to play though, and we spent a lot of time telling him that what he was doing was wrong.

After suffering a fatal loss, He reminded us that it would soon be time for dinner. We had the same food as we did during lunch, but Mike seemed to enjoy it nevertheless. We still had leftovers, and since we would be going home first thing in the morning, Mike gratuitously offered to take care of them. He must have been pretty full after that, since he didn't stand up for a little while.

A few hours later, we were getting ready for bed and Tom went outside to go to the toilet. I was already in my sleeping bag when I heard Mike taking off his shoes outside and enter the tent. He sat down on his bag and started dressing, taking his time, he was breathing a bit heavily, probably thanks to his large dinner.

Even though I knew what he was doing, I still was surprised to see him take off his shirt. I hoped he couldn't see me staring in the darkness, admiring his strong arms, hairy chest and six pack. Wait, it didn't really look like a six pack. Now, I had never seen Mike without a shirt before, and it was entirely possible that he had always had that tiny layer of fat, still much thinner than a typical dad bod, barely recognizable. But my mind was racing, thinking about all the junk food we had eaten together, all the donuts he had been bringing home, possibly even more that he ate at work, surely that would have all contributed to.. this?

A few moments later, it was over, Mike had tossed on a new shirt, without pausing to look at himself, his mind probably somewhere else. Tom came back and we all went to bed.