Ollie let out a quiet sigh, and as Sam watched, holding his breath, Ollie turned over onto his back and mumbled something unintelligible in his sleep. He then reached out toward Sam with another sigh.
Sam’s heart stuttered, and he lowered himself back down to the bed and carefully gathered Ollie up in his arms, brushing a gentle kiss on his forehead. Ollie made another quiet sound and snuggled up next to Sam, settling into the crook of Sam’s shoulder. And the all-too-familiar feelings of comfort and belonging, along with the unmistakable flutter of love, filled Sam again as he kissed the top of Ollie’s head.
He closed his eyes, reveling in the wonderful feeling of being here with the man he loved, and he couldn’t help telling Ollie one more time, even though he knew his boyfriend was still sleeping. “I love you so much. I’m so happy to be here, with you.” Sam kept his voice low, barely audible, barely a whisper.
And Ollie didn’t wake up. Not really. Yet, he sighed, his fingers pressing into Sam’s chest just a little stronger, and he hummed a response that was quiet but unmistakable.
“Love you too, Sam.”
Chapter 5
“He hasn’t told me. Says it’s a surprise.”
“Oh, I see.”
“Wait, you know, don’t you?” Ollie stopped abruptly, narrowing his eyes at his mom as she grinned sideways at him. She stepped off the trail and leaned on her trekking pole, and JoJo flopped down on the ground right next to her, panting. “You know where he’s taking me next week?”
“I admit to nothing,” she said, still grinning.
“Ugh,” Ollie groaned, shaking his head as he reached around to grab his water bottle from the side of his backpack. He took a quick swig and then put the water bottle back. “You won’t give me even a little hint? Please?”
His mom shook her head, laughing, as she crouched down and ran her hand through JoJo’s fur. The dog sat up and wagged her tail.
“Sorry, not a chance. I promised Sam.”
“But—”
“Not. A. Chance.” She stood back up and patted Ollie’s shoulder with another silly smile. JoJo jumped to her feet as well, circling excitedly on the end of her leash.
Ollie rolled his eyes dramatically at his mom’s teasing.
“Let’s keep moving, huh? We’re almost to the top, and Ithinkwe seem to have beaten the crowds.” His mom motioned to the trail, and Ollie sighed but nodded and started out along the path again.
The trail narrowed to a single track as they moved higher up the mountain, and they picked their way up the steep path slowly. Though they’d been chatting most of the hike so far, they fell into a comfortable silence as they continued the rest of the way up the trail. When they emerged out from the partiallyforested path to an open, flattish stretch of land just below a massive rocky peak known as the Haystack—the true peak of Mt. Si—Ollie was surprised to see only a few other hikers. Two men stood near the base of the Haystack talking quietly, and another lone hiker sat off to one side of the clearing, staring out across the landscape, where the forests and mountains seemed to stretch on for miles.
“Climbing the Haystack today, Mom?” Ollie joked as the two of them walked closer to the edge of the mountain.
“Would you believe I actually thought about it?” his mom said, stopping as she looked out over the incredible view. The sun had moved a little ways up from the horizon to the east, its heat beginning to warm up the day.
Ollie stopped next to his mom but didn’t answer. JoJo sat on her haunches next to them, her tongue lolling out of her mouth as she panted.
“I know that was more your dad’s thing. Taking risks like that. Rock climbing, skydiving, bungee jumping. All those things I’d never have even considered, really.”
“‘Life is short, Oliver James. Do the things that make you happy,’” Ollie quoted in his best Dad voice.
His mom laughed lightly and moved closer, wrapping one arm around Ollie’s shoulders. “He loved you, you know that, right?”
“Of course, Mom.”
“Just sometimes he forgot to tell you, I think. He got busy with work, and then he’d take off traveling. I mean, he wouldn’t just take off. We’d agree to it first. But he always just... needed togo. He needed to explore, to do things. And so, we’d plan for it, and then he’d go and be gone for weeks or sometimes months. And it was what he needed. So... that’s what we did.”
“I know, Mom.”
“I just... wish he’d been around long enough to really get to know you. To see you graduate. Gosh, with a PhD of all things! And...”
“I know, Mom.”
They moved to a spot near the edge of the cliff and sat. His mom poured a small bowl of water for JoJo and then took out a granola bar for each of them. They ate in silence, just watching the sun continue its reliable path upward.
