“Maybe we should try camping?” Derek suggested, his tone both amused and excited.
“Hey, now,” I grinned. “What an amazing idea!”
“I hate you both,” Aiden grumbled.
“Nah, you love us,” I teased, holding him closer to me.
“Sadly, I do,” he admitted with a sigh.
“So, was that a no on camping?” Derek asked, this time his tone was all humor.
“Definitely,” Aiden muttered.
Derek let out a deep sigh. “That’s too bad. I wanted a romantic getaway with campfires and snuggling in a tent.”
He sounded so sincere when he said it, I couldn’t help but ask, “Do you want that?”
I felt him shrug against me. “I mean, it does seem romantic.”
“Then we’ll do it. I just need to buy us some bug spray beforehand,” I decided, grinning at the thought of cuddling with my mates under the stars somewhere.
“Fine,” Aiden huffed. “But it better be the good stuff! I don’t want them anywhere near me.”
“I thought you went camping with your dads?” Derek questioned. “Daddio told us how they tried to teach you to fish while camping.”
“And I hated every second of it,” he responded. “Just not the smores, I looove those. But fishing is icky and so is getting sucked dry by mosquitoes.”
“I’m certain you’ll love it with us,” I stated confidently. I knew my mates well already, and Aiden was always a tad reluctant to try anything unless he’d thought long and hard about it first. The only times he’d been spontaneous had been when he’d travelled before meeting me, and then when he kissed me for the first time.
“As long as you promise to protect me against bears,” he sighed dreamily and snuggled further into my side.
“Always,” I promised with a fond smile.
Derek
Four months later.
“Stop biting your nails!” Aiden chastised me, slapping my hand away from my mouth.
“Sorry,” I said, feeling nervous and then stupid forbeingnervous.
It was a whole mess.
“It’s gonna be fine!” Aiden assured me, holding my hand in his as we watched the clock tick down to midnight.
“Of course it is,” Nolen’s calm voice reached us from the kitchen. “Remi and Juno will be here any minute and I know Remi will be nervous, too.”
“But he isn’t green in this world career wise,” I argued.
I knew Nolen and Aiden were just trying to help, but this was my first app launch in this world. Remi had helped me with the whole using-magic-to-tech-thing, but even with his help, I felt like I wasn’t good enough, that I should’ve lived here for longer before launching anything.
“Hush,” Nolen demanded kindly. He came over with a plate of cookies and smacked a quick kiss on my lips. “Have a cookie, they heal mind, body, and soul.” I snorted, but took a cookie. Anything that could keep my mouth occupied.
Remi came flying inside without knocking, Juno right behind him. “Did you see it?!” Remi squealed.
“See what?!” I demanded, my nerves rising.
“It’s already mentioned online!”
