“Mmm just makes you sweeter.”
He wipes his nose with a napkin, then decides to dive into his slice of cake. I watch the muscles work in his jaw as he chews. “This is so sweet.”
“It is. I eat a few bites a day.”
“You just hack into it with a fork?”
“Yeah, didn’t you notice?” I turn my plate his way and show him the jagged fork marks he missed. “It’s satisfying. Just a little treat to keep me going. Lasts me for, like, two weeks, and then I go get another.”
“This is how mice eat.”
“So then I’m a silly goose, whimsical elf, mouse. Proud of it.”
“I would be too.”
The flush creeps up my neck and concern creases Zander’s forehead, as if I’ve suddenly developed a new sunburn. A blink of understanding comes over him. He leans in to kiss me. The salty tang of my lips meeting the sickly sweet of his.
“You feeling okay?”
“Uh huh,” I whisper. “Much better.”
“Okay, good. Now, tell me why your bathroom is devoid of colour. It’s the only place in the house like that.”
I nearly choke on the giggle that comes out of me. That was the last thing I expected him to ask. I point to a corner of my bedroom with a giant cardboard box.
“I’m working on it. The white pisses me off so I’m swapping the tub tiles for these gorgeous mosaic ones. Each one is adifferent colour, so I’m going to start red and go all the way to the purples.”
“You have so many things on the go.”
I shrug. “I like keeping busy.”
“You busy yourself into heat exhaustion.”
I cringe. Zander runs a hand over my face, smooths the line between my eyes.
“Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if I did. Today was more about me being outside for too long and not touching up my sunscreen while being a fair skinned redhead…but I think a lot of my little projects are about distracting myself.”
“Oh, Addie,” he says. He brushes hair away from my eyes, cradles my face, kisses my forehead. “You don’t have to do that.”
“I know. I don’t want to do that. Not now. I think you may be the reason why I’ve paused so many of them recently. You make me want to be here and face things head-on.”
He exhales shakily. “I like what you see in me. Who I am around you.”
“God, that’s so funny, because I like that you seemeperiod. It’s like everyone always sees the Beaver Creek darling, or the pathetic girl whose mom left her, or the weird girl who makes her own clothes. With you, I’m all those things, but I’m also just Adelaide.”
“You’re more thanjustAdelaide.”
I smile. “I know. And you’re more thanjustZander.”
We stare at each other, the weight of words unsaid between us. I know he feels the same way I do, just as I know we’re both biting our tongues. He nudges the tray of food out of the way with his foot, nearly to the edge of the bed. I roll and let him pull me flush against his chest.
We don’t move for the rest of the night, talking about nothing and everything, listening to each other breathe. The light wanes.Fireworks crackle overhead. Zander and I fall asleep in each other’s arms.
Chapter Twenty
Adelaide
Irealize I forgot to close my curtains when sunlight jolts me from sleep around 6:00 a.m. I am categorically not a morning person, so to say this is a rude awakening is an understatement. I groan at the light and throw an arm over my face. The pillow beneath me vibrates.
