“Atlas, stand by the railing, look like your cute-ass self, and let me take a couple of pictures,” I said, pulling out my phone.
Atlas leaned back against the fence, draping his arms on each side, and placing one foot against it. I took a couple of shots of him like that before he posed by resting his head on his arm, looking adorably at me as he nibbled his bottom lip. What a ham. Seriously.
“Okay, pretend like you’re looking out at the water. You look amazing with the breeze blowing back your curls. I want to capture your profile like that.”
Atlas stood straight and frowned before plastering on a fake smile. “Oh, you have enough of me.” He rushed over to Hugh and tugged him toward the overlook. “Take one of us together.”
What was that about? Atlas went from enjoying himself in posing to instantly shutting it down.
I shrugged and took a few more with him and Hugh together. Then Hugh took over and took a few of Atlas and me.
As we headed back, Atlas climbed a huge boulder and posed some more for my camera.
“Ah, I don’t think I can get down now. I’m not exactly the outdoorsy type.”
Hugh stood there with his hands on his hips like he was some scolding father. “Well, you climbed up there.”
“Yeah, I know, but that was the easy part. What if I fall coming down? What if I twist an ankle? Then you’d have to carry me, take me to the doctor. I’ll go to work, limping and whining… You don’t want that, do you? Please be a dear and help me.”
I chuckled, rolled my eyes, and stood with my back turned to him. “Climb on my back,Princess.”
“My hero!”
Once he was on my back, I tucked my arms behind his knees and just carried him the rest of the way.
Hugh laughed and shook his head. “So spoiled.”
“Psh, you love it,” Atlas said.
“We both do,” I agreed.
After a bit of shopping, we sat outside at a nice restaurant for an early dinner. The area was bustling with tourists as they shopped and ate. The street was closed to cars, allowing everyone to explore without worrying about traffic. And we had a fantastic view of the Potomac.
The day was perfect, and the area was beautiful, with the trees covered in fall leaves lining the street. The buildings were very old, and I loved going inside some of them that still had the old woodwork to get creative ideas or just rub it lovingly.
I took a quick picture of Atlas, sitting on Hugh’s lap as my cousin fed him an olive from the charcuterie board we ordered before our meal. People looked at us strangely, but fuck them.
Atlas was happy as a clam, as always, but Hugh… I’d never seen himthishappy. Hugh needed it. He really needed to find that after spending most of his life catering to his father at the expense of his own joy.
Part of me wanted to step back and let them have a thing together. It wasn’t that they ever left me out or never tried to include me. They always made sure I was part of everything, but as Hugh evolved and changed, I found my feelings for him growing to the point it started to hurt.
I’d seen many sides of him over the long years. His happiness always seemed so fleeting as he sacrificed everything to please Uncle Hanley. The only time he was truly himself was during our sexual games. Now, with Atlas, he was more himself than ever… or the person he should’ve been. It was a beautiful thing. Truly.
The problem was that I was attached to Atlas, too. Walking away would be no easy thing.
I sipped on my beer as we waited for our food and stared out at the crowd of families or couples dating. Yeah, it was a good day.
Someone pushed my leg off my knee, and I faced Atlas, climbing onmylap this time. “Hi there, sweet stuff. Having fun?”
“So much fun, but it would be better if you told me what was wrong.”
I glanced at Hugh, unable to help myself. He was watching me like Atlas was, with eyes full of concern. Shit, I must have been wearing my feelings on my face.
I gave them both a smile. “Nothing’s wrong. I’m just enjoying the day. It really is perfect out here, and I’m with my favorite people.”
Atlas curled up on me and rested his head on my shoulder. I kissed his curls and squeezed him against me. I never truly realized how much I loved affection and being held like that. Once I had it from Atlas, I wanted more. Just when I was feeling a bit out of my element and out of sorts, like some homing pigeon, he flocked to me and pulled me out of my growing funk.
“Itisa perfect day, and you’re some of my favorite people, too,” he said.
