“You sure you don’t want something stronger? No minibar, but I’ve got a bottle of warm prosecco stashed somewhere.”
Nate shook his head. “Tempting, but no.”
Allegra filled the kettle, the metallic clink of water settling in the bottom sounding unusually loud in the quiet room. Behind her, the bed creaked as Nate settled himself onto it.
“What happened to the lamp?” he asked.
“Oh.” She coughed, her ears tingling. “Uh, I tripped.”
“That’s unfortunate,” he said mildly.
“Devastating loss,” she agreed. “We were very close.”
The kettle hissed and clicked off. She dropped the tea bags in, poured the water, and balanced the mugs. “Careful, they’re full.” She handed one to him, then eased onto the bed beside him, close enough that the warmth of his shoulder brushed against hers.
Nate rolled the mug between his palms, watching the steam curl and fade. “Mint’s good when it’s this hot,” he said. “There’s like a five-minute window where it’s perfect.”
“After that?”
“Too strong or too sad,” he said, taking a sip. “My mom used to top it up and nuke it. Swore she could make it last forever.”
“And?”
“Warm water pretending.”
Allegra smirked. “Warm’s better than nothing, though, right?” She blew on her mug, then added, deadpan, “Then again, my mother refused to drink herbal tea altogether. Said if it wasn’t black in a silver strainer, it wasn’t serious.”
“Harsh,” Nate muttered, amused, and for a moment neither of them said anything.
They finished their tea and abandoned the mugs on the nightstand. Then, almost in unison, they flopped backward onto the bed, their legs dangling off the end, toes barely brushing the floor.
“Want to see the photos I took today?” Allegra asked.
“Yeah,” Nate said.
She pulled out her phone, angled it above their heads and began flicking through the photos: a flock of geese strutting along the lake, the fountain catching the late afternoon light, and the selfie from the Ferris wheel.
“Wait—go back.” Nate reached out, his arm brushing hers. His fingers skimmed lightly over hers while he pinched the screen to zoom in.
Their knees nudged together. Allegra felt a jolt—not the swoony kind that makes your stomach flip, more like the “oh, huh… this is nice” kind. She could almost hear her brain whispering,someone hit pause on this moment, please.
“That one’s good,” he said, smiling at the screen—then at her.
“I’ll send it to you,” Allegra replied.
“Yeah, I’d like that.”
She tapped the screen and heard the buzz of the incoming message in Nate’s pocket. Then she let the phone fall onto the bed, and for a beat they just lay there.
“So,” Allegra said, letting out a tiny yawn, “what’s the first thing you’re going to do when you get back home?”
“Bacon cheeseburger. With extra fries.”
Allegra wrinkled her nose. “Gross.”
“What about you?”
“A proper pretzel withobatzda. And a giantblutwurst. It’s like a blood sausage.”
