It was supposed to be a company trip. The Lead Manager who had initially pitched the trip ended up ducking out last minute though, so several others did the same. When the list of people attending got smaller the rest of the stragglers stayed home as well. Leaving just Dwight and Irva. 

Dwight loved camping. So much that, as the two drove up into the mountains, he had no sense for the awkwardness of their situation. Irva worked on the same floor at the office, but the two of them hardly ever spoke except in passing. As Dwight smiled wide all the way up the road, she was overcome with unease. 

“I’m afraid of the dark.” She said. In the middle of setting up her tent Dwight looked up and smiled again. 

“No worries, we’ll build a fire. A fire is half the fun of camping after all. Are you vegan?” She shook her head. 

As the sun went down Dwight gathered up kindling and sparked the flames. Irva, rather inexperienced in the whole affair, sat in a folding chair with a beer. Dwight pulled a grill top out of a plastic bag and set it over the fire, rubbing it with a lemon he had cut in half. Then he pulled a bag of hot dogs out of a cooler and set a few on the grill, a few minutes later they were both sitting next to each other, silently eating and watching the flame. 

“Why’d you come if you were afraid of the dark?” Dwight asked. 

“I thought it would be more of a party, I tend to be braver in group settings. Why’d you come if it was just going to be the two of us?” She replied. After a moment of thought he laughed.

“I just like camping, the company already reserved the site, and I didn’t want you to go alone.” On this final note she was caught off guard and scooted her chair a few inches away from him. 

“Creep.”

“Sorry? I was just trying to be helpful, I didn’t mean anything by it. Really.” He grabbed water from the cooler beside him and gave it to her. The peace offering was made, and she returned to her spot. 

As the fire died down and midnight came upon them, the two said their goodnights and fled into their respective tents. Dwight, tightly bundled in his expensive sleeping bag, made ready to sleep through the warm night. Yet, just as he closed his eyes, the zipper of his tent sounded out. 

“Why did you come if you were afraid of the dark?” He asked. From the darkness a figure moved in  and laid its bag next to his. 

“I tend to be braver in group settings. Sorry for calling you a creep.”

“It’s no biggie, we’ll talk more in the morning. Goodnight Irva.” The figure next to him blushed bright red, and she could hardly sleep at all.