[This story features characters that are all consenting adults 18+. It is loosely tied to a personal experience but to protect the privacy of others involved, no actual names are used. Life is an adventure that gets better when you can find others to share the adventures with! <3]
It all started when my partner started receiving drunk texts from the guy she had dated right before we got together. At the time, I was quite a bit more insecure and nosey, worrying about any guy that came sniffing around, especially my partner's former lovers.
We had little arguments, but my partner reassured me that his texts were harmless and that he was just really struggling with loneliness and addiction. He was trying to reach out for help because he wanted to get better. She was, and still is, a really generous person, and I like to think that I am as well. We both hated to see people hurting, so we wanted to help.
Fast forward a year later, we had decided that moving in with him would be the best option to help with his loneliness and to help him keep his hands off of the bottle.
He was, and still is, a really good dude. I could tell right away that he still very much loved my partner. She had been a friend to him when others had written him off and I think it honestly saved his life. I think he felt that it was a debt that he would spend a lifetime trying to repay.
The house was small, but my partner and I were given the largest bedroom. We were still young and the sex was good, but sex in a household with one other adult can be awkward, or at least it was for my brain.
Summer had come and my family had invited our household to join them on a camping trip to a state park on Lake Michigan. It was a beautiful park with hiking trails, river kayaking, and miles of freshwater coastline. My folks had a camper but there was only so much room. We had a tent of our own, one that was intended for 8 people. It was a bit large for us, though, seeing as there were only three of us staying in it. It worked out well because it provided room for two queen size air mattresses so that nobody had to rest on the hard ground.