I bit my lip and waited to see what he’d do, but he grabbed it straight away, and we walked together, all three of us, as if we were a family.
Out of nowhere, thoughts of winters spent cuddled up in front of the fireplace, sipping hot cocoa, tickling Ella’s tummy until she burst out laughing in that cute way that could put a smile on anyone’s face flooded my mind.
Images of waking up at Christmas and showering each other with gifts and kisses.
Of lazy mornings in bed with Ella napping between us as we stared into each other’s eyes.
A flurry of emotions and potential came over me all at once, knocking the wind out of me, and I had to chew on the inside of my cheek to distract me, to remind me that wasn’t a reality. It was probably not even something that could happen.
Or could it?
Was I being silly for dismissing the notion? After all, we were dating. Though was it even serious? Did it mean anything or were we doing it because we had to?
That was stupid.
We didn’thaveto do anything.
So did that mean we were actually dating?
I let out a sigh before I gave myself a headache and recalibrated to the task of locating a tree to take home.
“Those look tall enough,” I said and stopped in front of a row of trees that stretched higher than me.
“Yeah,” Samir added, and I narrowed my eyes.
“How tall are you?” I asked.
“Six two,” he replied.
I smiled and pointed at the tree.
“Would you stand next to it?”
Samir obliged me and stood beside it, which was how I realized the trees were a bit taller than what we needed. But we found onethat was a few inches taller than him, and he offered to help cut it down.
We stood back, and I watched as Samir took a swing, and I couldn’t help but smile.
I didn’t know what this was between us, not yet anyway, but I wanted to get to know this man better.
He missed with his first try, and then on the second try, there was a sharp popping sound. He turned around to reveal one sleeve had ripped.
“Oh, shoot. I knew it was tight, but not that tight,” he said.
I laughed.
“Do you need me to take over?” I asked.
“No. It’s okay,” he said.
“Okay. Though I am a firefighter. I am a pro with an ax.”
Samir stepped back and grimaced then quickly handed me the ax and grabbed Ella’s hand.
“Don’t let me stop you, Mr. Firefighter.” He grinned, and I responded in kind.
I may not know what we were yet, but what I did know was that I hadn’t smiled so much in years. And that counted for something. Right?
16.Samir
