“Hey there, stranger.” She kissed me on the cheek.
“Excuse me, miss, but I have a girlfriend. She runs that summer camp across the highway, and she’s scary good with an ax.”
She came around the bench and fell dramatically so that her head was in my lap. “She sounds hot.”
I ran my fingers through her hair, her murmur sending a tingle straight through me. I tried to think of other things, but it was difficult with the love of my life hovering over my junk. “She’s actually got a pretty big ego, if I’m being honest.”
She blew her bangs out of her eyes. “Which contributes to the hotness.”
“Sure,” I deadpanned.
She ran her fingers up my neck and massaged my scalp. I released a groan at the feel of her fingers on me again. It had been too long. “How was the dinner?”
I spent last night at my family’s home to avoid driving late after my sister’s birthday dinner. I’d missed these kinds of events the last couple of years because I was working. Back when I didn’t know how to take time off. Autumn had wanted to be there, but she was knee-deep in preparations for the new season,which started tomorrow, and I’d planned to spend the night in Portland, so she’d stayed back.
“It was great.” Except for when I was playing with Adam and he dropped off a swing set. Thank god Autumn didn’t want kids either, because holy fuck, that feeling that I’d almost killed a child was still eating at me, and it was a complete accident. “I have something for you.”
She bounced up, reaching for the container I was pulling out of my bag. “Tell me your mother’s blueberry cheesecake is in there.”
“My mom’s blueberry cheesecake is in here.”
She kissed me hard on the mouth. I was going to thank my mom for that later, in a way that didn’t reveal just why.
Other than the swing set scare, being a more present uncle came to me pretty easily, but not as easily as becoming an auntie came to Autumn. I’d fielded questions about where she was the entire time, especially from the kids.
“Come on, let’s get some mocha-ritas,” Autumn joked, her hand warming mine. My lunchtime vice had been coffee and enchiladas while I studied and Autumn frequently met me at Beans and Beans on her lunches, which gave me something to look forward to.
Autumn spoke quickly once we started moving, waving her hands with more vigor than usual, a nervous energy I suspected was due to her starting camp tomorrow as an assistant director. I could only imagine how she’d been without me here.
“Hazel and Leo just got in yesterday.”
“Cutting it down to the wire?”
The camp directors had been getting the second Camp Starlight location up and running after I’d helped them negotiate terms with their investor.
“Yeah, but I could have handled it,” she said, more to herself than to me.
“I know you could, sunflower. You’re ready.”
“I’m ready.” Her voice was laced with humble confidence.
I didn’t think she’d had time to overthink this one, because she’d been so busy getting ready, our cabin was covered in a variety of sticky notes, and I could see the traces of her brainstorming through each activity we did, whether it was eating, snuggling with a movie, or walking through the wilderness. There was even one time I’d been kissing down her neck and she mumbled the word “registration” as if a lightbulb had gone off. I’d flipped her on her back and gone down on her after letting her write it on a Post-it to truly take her out of her head.
Based on what I’d learned about her new role, Autumn had been doing some aspects of this job already, just not continuously. She’d always liked taking on more each year, and Hazel and Leo were smart to put more responsibility into her hands in an official capacity.
“So my dad called today.” Autumn’s tone didn’t give anything away, but it still had me wondering if this could be good news. The mile-wide smile on her face told me it’d gone well. “He wanted to wish me luck on a new season.”
This was a first for her, and I was so glad it was happening. She’d been speaking with her parents a lot more often than before, and they’d even joined us when my family was visiting for my birthday. Her dad and stepmom had been surprisingly supportive of our relationship and with me starting a practice. I’d half worried they’d take issue with me leaving my former law firm and starting something new. But I felt brave, just like Autumn, jumping from a plane without a backup parachute, never knowing what the next day would bring.
Autumn wrung her hands together as our first drinks were delivered—surprisingly without us ordering them. My girlfriend didn’t notice, but I nearly jumped in my seat. Was I a local now?
“Things are going to be fine.” I pulled her hands apart and squeezed one of them.
“It’s just first-week jitters,” she reassured me. “I know we’re ready. The axes are sharpened. The glitter is glittering. It’s going to be a good year. The real question is, areyouready?”
“What do I have to be ready for?” I asked honestly.
“It’s a big change, going from living alone to moving in with your girlfriend to living on a campground withforty-pluspeople at a time. And that’s just one session.”
