“It’s okay.”
My head shot up at the words spoken. A voice I’d heard almost every day for the past few weeks, a voice that filled my head with inspiration and the reason I needed to leave the house today.
But here he was.
Ryker was standing in front of me with his hands still on me, holding me up quite close to him. We stared at each other, not saying a word. Our eyes were searching each other’s.
I had no idea how much time had passed before Ryker let me go, but he didn’t step away. He lifted a hand to my face and pushed a piece of hair behind my ear before brushing across mycheek. My eyes involuntarily closed before snapping back open when I caught myself.
“Hi,” I finally said.
“Hi,” he whispered back, like it was only us two here.
“Well, look at you two lovebirds.” Emmie had poked her head out of her tent, and I looked back at her and then at Ryker.
Fucking coriander.
Odette was in front of me. It wasn’t a dream.
I thought I’d seen her when I’d looked down the row of vendors, deciding where to start my morning, but I thought I was going crazy. There was no way Odette was here in the same town as me after I drove thirty minutes to get here.
But yet, here she was in all her glory.
“Lovebirds?” I questioned the woman in the vendor tent beside us. No way she was talking about Odette and me, but then again, I wouldn’t object to the pet name. Odette still consumed my thoughts, even more so now that I talked to her every day.
“Ignore her.” Odette grabbed my arm as she steered me away from the woman and down a different row. I wasn’t sure where we were headed, but she was leading the way down to the end of what looked like a tea booth.
“Back so soon, sweetheart?” The older woman at the booth seemed sincere and worried all at the same time in her questions.
“I need some napkins and another tea, please.”
“Coming right up!”
Odette grabbed napkins from the table and turned to me, dabbing at the wet spot that was quickly drying due to the sun shining. She wasn’t saying anything to me or even looking atme. I could tell from her touch that she was unsure of what was happening, but I wanted her to know that this was okay.
I put my hand on hers, stopping her. Her hand froze, and I moved my other hand to grab her chin and lifted her head so her eyes could meet mine.
“Hi,” I said again.
“Hi.” She seemed out of breath with her response.
“It’s nice to see you.”
“What are you doing here?” Odette looked back down at my shirt and continued to dab at it before moving on to hers. I was less worried about my old Black Mesa shirt and more about how she was in this moment. We both clearly didn’t know that either of us was going to be here, or even that bumping into each other was a possibility.
I wouldn’t say I was upset at all. Surprised, maybe a little scared.
With all the talking Odette and I had been doing, we’d both been skirting around the conversation of when we’d see each other again. I’d sequestered myself into my office most of the time, doing more streams than normal since Odette had been popping up in them to write, and then afterwards, I’d message her as Ryker. It was a full-time job I was loving, but I needed to get out of the house. I needed fresh air, and today was the day I chose to come to a farmer’s market.
One that was away from where I live, which I found recommended online.
Completely random.
“I wanted to see the farmer’s market.”
“Of all the farmer’s markets in the world.” Her voice was low; I almost couldn’t hear her.
“I wanted to see this one specifically.” Odette looked up at me, disbelief still in her expression. “I’m also just as surprised.”
