My eyes swept over his backpack. He didn’t have another blanket. “This isn’t right,” I said. “I can’t take your bed and your blanket.” I retrieved my own blanket from the branch to offer it to him.

“Keep it,” he said. “I’ve been out here in much colder weather with a lot less.”

“This is silly, you know.” I pulled his blanket off the mat, sat, and patted beside me “There’s room for us both.”

James asked, “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure I don’t want to spend another night shivering myself to sleep. It will be much warmer if we share the mat. So yes. I’m sure.” I handed his blanket to him, acting as if the matter was closed.

James sat beside me, a smile playing on his mouth. He insisted I lie on the side of the mat that was closest to the fire. I made myself busy, taking an extra-long time, tucking in my blanket as he got settled beside me.

“You don’t snore, do you?” he asked.

Pursing my lips, I slapped him lightly on his arm.

“Hey,” James said, rubbing his arm as if I’d actually injured him. “Seriously, though. Thanks. It’s supposed to be colder than it was last night.”

This was my almost favorite place in the world, being beside James. What would make it my absolute favorite place? If his arms were around me. I was in heaven, but James was tense. He was careful to keep a slender gap between us as he rolled over, trying to get comfortable on the suddenly too-narrow mat.

In an attempt to make things less awkward, I remained silent and feigned sleep. A few minutes later, I could tell James was out. I fell asleep, listening to the familiar rhythm of his breathing, wishing I could rest my head on his chest to hear his heartbeat. The first beat called out to me. The second was a reminder I belonged to him. Each heartbeat reminded me that he couldn’t survive without me. It was a feeling I knew all too well, because it was exactly the way I felt about him.

My dreams that night were brief and light. The crazed boy who called for my head was replaced by a shadow of the James I had come to know and love. One dream mirrored my reality. James and I were sitting on the fallen log beside the fire. I used a long stick to move the burning logs around to make room for more wood. James was close, and I could feel his gaze on me. The dream was peaceful, a serene woodland scene in which James studied me as if he were seeing me through a new lens.