“Do you feel comfortable without the hood?”
His blush deepened and he glanced away from her. “I feel a little naked, if I’m being perfectly honest,” he muttered.
“Then hold these again for a second.” She shoved the bouquet back into his hands and unwound the scarf from her own neck. “Bend down a little so I can reach.” His brow twitched into half of a bewildered frown, but he did what he was told, his eye widening in surprise when Audrey stood on her tiptoes and tied the scarf around his neck, hiding it and his scar from view. She straightened it for him and patted it down gently with satisfaction. “Now give me my flowers back.”
She could have sworn his mask lifted over his cheeks, concealing what could only be a grin. He winced and it dropped again, but what was left behind was unmistakable: the part of his face she could see had definitely lit up.
Theo passed her the flowers again, and she took them and slid her free hand in his, clasping her fingers as much as she could around his enormous, warm palm before they crossed the street and set off for the park together.
It was crowded today, filled with playing children and chattering couples and friend groups picnicking in the sun or throwing Frisbees in the perfect fall temperatures. They wove through the crowds and wandered through the trees, not really needing to talk, simply enjoying each other’s company. While it was warmer in the sun, it was chilly in the shade, and Audrey clutched her cardigan around her bare neck, drawing it in closer.
“I shouldn’t have let you give me your scarf,” Theo said, finally breaking their silence. He’d been watching her intently as theymeandered and tried to find a quiet place to sit. “I don’t want you to get cold.”
She beamed at him. “I’m fine, don’t worry. I’m plenty warm.” But her gaze dropped to his right hip. She’d noticed that his limp had become more pronounced the longer they walked around the park, and he was rubbing absently at it now. She nodded at a nearby bench. “Let’s sit in the sun for a bit.”
She interlaced their fingers to pull him over to it, and he sat heavily beside her, stretching his leg out and setting his bag between them.
“So who’s your friend Diego? Tell me about him.”
“He’s, uh…well, yeah, I guess he’s my best friend. I don’t have many in general, but I grew up with him. We’ve known each other since we were kids. He’s maybe more like my brother than a friend.” He flipped the top of his bag open and rummaged around. “Played lacrosse together in high school and were roommates when we went to college.”
Audrey peered curiously inside the satchel. It was filled with sketchbooks and art supplies, little tins of pencils and erasers, charcoal sticks and pastels and packs of fancy, well-used colored pencils. The back camera of an iPad Pro glinted from a tablet pocket, safely covered and surrounded with generous padding, the pencil stylus held close in a loop built into its leather case. His coffee mug was there too, tucked next to a few bright blue paper bags.
Theo plucked out his little black sketchbook and flipped it open to a blank page, reaching for his fountain pen next before pulling out one of the little blue paper bags. He handed it to her and then unscrewed the pen cap, fixing it firmly on the end and pressing the nib to the paper.
“Oh yeah, I got you that too. In case you were hungry.”
Audrey opened it up and was immediately struck with the intense aroma of browned butter and sugar and chocolate.
She knew that logo.
“Did you get me Levain cookies?!” she cried before biting into one. She closed her eyes and moaned while she chewed, tilting her head back in the sun and sobbing a little as she crunched through the crisp edges, letting the gooey, doughlike center and chocolate chips melt in her mouth and coat her tongue. “Oh my god, Theo,” she groaned again between bites. “You’re going to spoil me.”
“That’s the plan.”
She glanced at him again. His eye was fixed on her, but his hand was flying across the page of his sketchbook, the dark black strokes gradually taking shape. His fingers spasmed as he struggled to grip the pen, but he kept at it, and when she tried to peek at what he was drawing, he shook his head and tilted the sketchbook away to hide it from view.
“No. You don’t get to see yet.”
She slowed her chewing and scowled at him before holding the cookie out as an offering. “Do you want some? It’s so good, and we should both get to enjoy it.”
His sketching hand slowed and came to a stop. The mask shifted over his mouth. “Maybe later. I’m not hungry. But thank you.” He pointed toward his bag with his pen and went back to drawing, dropping his gaze down to his work. “I didn’t know what kind you might like best, so I got three. There’s a dark chocolate peanut butter one, and a chocolate walnut one too, but I wasn’t sure if you might be allergic to nuts or something, so I went with the classic double chip first, and—”
“Theo, it’s all right with me if you take your mask off, you know.”
He froze.
“I really don’t mind your scar.” Audrey leaned over and put her hand on his arm. “Promise.”
“Maybe you don’t. But I do.”
Her face dropped and she lowered the outstretched cookie.
Theo still didn’t look at her. Instead, his eye skipped between the clusters of people sitting in the grass nearby. It followed the couple walking past their bench, arm in arm and deep in conversation, before traveling over to the group of runners just traversing the bend in the path down the way. He shook his head.
“It’s not you I’m worried about. It’s everyone else.” He reached over, pen still gripped between his now ink-stained fingers, and covered her hand with his. Audrey continued to stare at him, one brow slowly raising, and he sighed. “All right, fine, I guess I’m still a little worried about showing you. I don’t like it. Or the way it makes me feel about myself.”
“But I’ve already seen it.”
