"Jett…" Wilkin warns.
"What?" he fires back. "Reeve's a big boy." He aims those pretty eyes at me. "You can tell me to mind my own business if you want to." Then he narrows them at Wilkin. "It's called open communication, and it's what adults do, thank you very much."
It's clear I'm missing the subtext, but I'll just add this to the list of things I want to find out about them.
"I don't mind talking about it," I say, mainly to placate Wilkin whose usual calm demeanor is already being tested, and it's not even seven. "I guess it's my nomadic lifestyle. I'm away for months at a time, and I haven't found anyone who wants to give up a quote-unquote 'normal life' and join me in exploring the world."
"Ah." Jett butters his toast. "So commitment issues then."
Wilkin's eyes are the size of golf balls, but he stays quiet.
I chuckle, enjoying Jett's forthrightness. "I have no problem with commitment. It's more that I equate being in a relationship with having to compromise and not being able to do what you want to do. Take Granny. I love her more than anyone in this world, but she married when she was sixteen, had kids, and that was her life. No career. No independence. She doesn't even have a driver's license. I don't want to be restricted like that. It's not for me."
"I can see that," Jett says, seemingly satisfied with my response.
"What about you both? Single, attached, rather not say?"
"Single," they reply at the same time, which draws frowns on both of their faces.
"Dating is hard in LA," Wilkin explains.
"Yeah," Jett concurs. "Impossible to find someone who isn't keeping one eye on potential future prospects. It sucks."
Wilkin nods. "You can say that again."
"Impossible to find someone who isn't keeping one eye on potential future prospects. It sucks."
Jett stares at Wilkin.
Wilkin stares right back.
Then turns to me, expression softening.
Then I look at Jett who's half-smiling at me, which elicits that semi-smug smile out of Wilkin.
It's awkward, but it's also not. I'm not sure they're even aware of it, but they did just technically agree about something. Is that a first for them?
As eager as I am to dig into their past, I'm also itching to do some hiking.
"Come on," I say, wiping the crumbs off my lap. "It's a beautiful day. Let's get out there and explore."
10
Jett
"Man, I feel like a different person already," I say, eating a sandwich, staring out from a grassy ledge on the mountainside. "It's amazing what being out in nature can do for a person."
"Know what you mean," Wilkin concurs. "Old me would have made some sort of crack in response to that comment. New me is only going to point out that you have some mayo on your chin."
I swipe my finger along my chin and scoop up said mayo and lick it. I could volley back with an insult, but this damn fresh air has my mouth saying "Thanks" instead.
Reeve turns his head dramatically to face me, caught off guard, mid-chew.
"What? I can be a nice person."
"He can," Wilkin says with a small nod.
My immediate instinct is to wait for the inevitable smart-ass barb like, 'When he's sleeping,' but Wilkin picks up another sandwich and takes a bite. No barb forthcoming.
