“Rude,” I said. “It’s morning fuel.”
He snorted and shuffled closer, hugging me and pressing his face against my shoulder. I bent my head and kissed the top of his hair.
He tilted his face up. “Sleep okay?”
“Yeah. You?”
“Like the dead.” He gave me a pointed look. “You wore me out last night.”
I gave a small laugh. “Wait till you see what I’ve got in mind for today.”
We remained still, holding each other while the birds sang outside. I was in no hurry.
Eventually, he pulled away and found a mug. “I was thinking maybe we could walk down to the park later? It’s cooler by the stream.”
“Big plans,” I said.
“Yeah. Try to keep up.”
He moved around the kitchen as if he’d always lived there, sipping his coffee and dropping bread into the ancient toaster. My man. It still felt unreal.
Nix caught my expression and frowned. “Hey, where’d you go?”
I shook my head. “Been right here watching you.”
“Good. Because there’s no being weird this summer.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You don’t miss my brooding?”
“Not at all. I prefer happy Pack. Better coffee, less emotional spiraling.”
I gave him a quick peck on the lips. “I prefer being happy Pack.”
The toast popped up, and he busied himself spreading butter on two burnt pieces and getting jam out of the fridge. When he had everything together, we sat on barstools at the counter.
He looked up and smiled. “We’re really doing this. I love you, babe.”
I nodded and bumped his knee with mine. “Love you too.”
We didn’t hurry through breakfast. When we were tired of sitting, we pulled on shorts and tank tops and headed for the park.
The trail was quiet, nothing but the sound of the stream bubbling nearby and our shoes against the packed dirt. The woods were bright green with scattered patches of red and yellow wildflowers providing jolts of color.
“Look,” Nix said, pointing at some flowers beside the trail. “This one’s got blue flowers too.”
“Wow, nature’s getting bold.” A minute later, I pointed across the trail. “Purple and pink.”
“Want to dye your hair purple?” he asked. “Might get people’s minds off Packo.”
“Or make it all worse.”
We laughed and kept walking. Most of my life had been about the next shift, the next game, the next mistake. Now I was noticing colors.
The trail widened, letting in more sun. It baked the tops of my shoulders through my shirt.
Nix brought us to a stop. “Too fucking hot. I’m taking off my shirt.”
He stripped it over his head, and I couldn’t keep my eyes off the dip at the base of his throat, or the strong shoulders tapering into pecs to die for.
