I made an unhappy sound and ram my fingers through his hair, trying to work some of the tension out of him. The last thing I wanted was for him to be upset. The thought of it made my stomach hurt.
“It matters to me,” I tried, unsure whether or not to push. I felt so close to Milo right now, and I wanted to help. If only he’d let me.
Milo chewed and swallowed the first bite of his omelet, but it didn’t make him nearly as happy as food normally did. “It was just Dad,” he said.
Milo’s dad had climbed his way to the top of my shitlist. He was actually the only person on it. The thought of him making Milocryafter he’d been so open and relaxed and playful this morning made something in my guts twist.
“Your dad is my least favorite person and I haven’t even met him,” I said.
Milo snorted, taking another bite of his omelet. “You know, I don’t think meeting him would improve your impression,” he said.
At least he knew. I didn’t know what I’d do if Milo defended a man who clearly treated him so badly.
“Eat your breakfast,” he spoke up again, softer this time. “I’m a big boy, I’ll be okay.”
I pulled the other bar stool over so that our thighs were pressed together when I sat down.
“This is good, by the way,” Milo said. “Wish I’d made it for you, though.”
“Some other time,” I promised him, resting my head against his shoulder. “Wish I wasn’t so busy today, prepping for the picnic. I’d flip the sign and crawl back into bed with you.”
Milo chuckled, which felt like a good sign. “Dawn would come up here and personally skin both of us,” he said. “Picnic’s gonna be busy, too.”
“Oh yeah,” I said. “Speaking of. There’s this… thing, after. The picnic’s more a family thing but then they have this… they call it the Spring Fling. Dante says it’s the most ridiculously quaint small town crap in the world, but uh. There’s dancing. And also probably food. If you, umm. Wanted to, uh…”
“Be your date?” Milo asked, setting his fork down.
“Yes?”
“Yes,” Milo said.
Yes?
Yes.
The grin on my face must’ve been a hundred times more ridiculous than the Annual Otter Bay Spring Fling, but I didn’t care. Milo wanted to be my date.
22
MILO
“Sooo,”Wes came to a stop behind me while I was rearranging things on the table he and Hayden had set up for me to work on, by the window that faced the bay. The lighting today was perfect, and I’d already gotten some great shots outside.
“You and Xander, huh?”
Me and Xander.
Xander and Me.
I’d gotten this from Dawn this morning, too. Me-and-Xander.
Wasn’t sure yet how I felt about it.
“Does everyone in town know?”
Wes chuckled. “You really are from the big city, huh?”
“Born and raised,” I said, shifting a pastel pink ice cream bowl a quarter-inch to the left. “Sorry.”
