Hallie leaned on the handrail close to Audrey, boldly looking straight into her eyes as Zora interrogated them. “I appreciate your input, Zora. I think it might be a little more complicated than that, but I’m glad to know you made it work.”
“Right, because that’s what you do. So, I’m going to leave you to figure that out together.”
Audrey laughed. She could tell just how much Zora preferred this for her trip home than the horror of dealing with her family. Either way, Audrey was grateful to have her, but she was glad to be calling while relaxed in Michigan for a change. “Have a good evening, Zora.”
“You too, babe. I love you bigger than the whole sky. And, Hallie, I don’t yet know you well enough to love you that much, but I love you for loving Audrey.” And, with that, she hung up.
Audrey hurriedly put her phone in her pocket, as if doing so would cover up Zora overstating their relationship by quite a lot.
Heryethung in Audrey’s mind. Regardless of what happened between her and Hallie, she wanted to stay in touch. Maybe that meant Hallie and Zora would stay in touch too. Maybe, one day, Zora really would know her well enough to love her bigger than the whole sky. It probably wouldn’t even take much. Zora was so free and open with her love. The exact opposite of Audrey. But Audrey knew what it was like to beenveloped in that love and she knew it was better than living life without it. Perhaps she could use more of that energy in her life.
“Sorry about her,” she told Hallie, not quite able to meet her eye.
“You don’t need to be. I like her. She’s direct but it works, you know? I can see why you love her, why she’s good for you.”
Audrey laughed in surprise. “She said you were good for me too.”
Hallie smiled, sweet and consuming. “I’m glad. I want to be good for you.”
“You are,” Audrey assured her, voice burning with sincerity. “I can’t tell you what this week would have been like without you.”
“Yeah?” She stepped closer to Audrey.
“Without a doubt.”
Reaching for Hallie came as naturally as breathing, Audrey’s gloved hands finding Hallie’s waist, even as it was buried under layers of clothing. There was no way they were making it to Sunday without kissing.
Hallie looked entirely enamored as her hands moved to Audrey’s shoulders. Audrey was again struck by the desire to capture the moment on film. She finally understood what Hallie meant about photographs, and, now, all she wanted was to capture every single moment with her on film.
“How old were you when you got your first camera?” she asked, pulling Hallie a little closer into her body.
The snow glittered around them and everything about the moment was perfect.
Hallie grinned, shaking her head as she considered the question. “I don’t know. I remember using disposables my whole life. People were always taking pictures—my mom, mostly. I got a Polaroid camera when I was a teenager. Loved that thing.”
Several of the photos in the room behind them were Polaroids probably taken on that very camera. There really was something special about holding onto those little pieces of the past. Audrey had spent her whole life trying to get rid of things from her past because they were so frequently contaminated, but those pictures… the ones this moment could create… those were forever memories, clean and safe and always.
“I’ve never actually used a Polaroid,” Audrey told her, a little embarrassed at the confession for no good reason.
A different smile crept across Hallie’s face, something adoring and hopeful, as she wrapped her arms around the back of Audrey’s neck. “We’ll try one out together.”
“Yeah?”
“Yes.”
Audrey sucked in a breath, leaning down towards Hallie automatically, without resisting. It simply felt like the place she was meant to be. And she wanted to live in a world where she took Polaroid pictures with Hallie. “I’d like that.”
“Me too.”
“I wish I could capture this moment right now.”
Hallie hummed, the sound impossibly enthralling. “Me too.” She sucked in a breath, moving closer to Audrey’s face. “I don’t think I’m making it to Sunday without kissing you, Dr. Bee.”
Audrey breathed a laugh. That nickname was taking on a whole other dynamic now that she seemed to be exclusively using it in moments where they were both aching with the need to kiss. “It’s late, there’s basically only two days to go,” she whispered, trying for levity even as her heart broke at the idea.
“That does nothing other than make the need more urgent, Audrey.”
“Is that right, Hallie?” she asked as she shuddered at Hallie using her name like that. She desperately wanted to hear every way Hallie could say her name—whisper it, cry it, gasp it.
