She laughed, sudden and bright, and scooted over to make room for him.
Even now, years later, after grief and change had weathered them both, Collin couldn’t pass that part of the lake without feeling the memory flare behind his ribs like a buried ember. From the beginning, she’d made space for him in her world. And part of him had never left it.
Collin struggled to keep Dragonfly’s bright smile in his mind, but his reverie was melting like snow in the heat. Aries was talking to him again.
"Did you hear me?"
A wave of frustration washed over Collin. It was the heat, his interrupted vision, and... "No! What?"
Without breaking his strong, even strokes, Aries glanced back. "Maybe you should just ask her for a night out! Watching you drooling after her is tiresome!”
Collin huffed derisively. “Oh, sorry to be the cause ofyourdiscomfort.”
“Come on. I’m sure a rendezvous would do you good.”
Collin raked a hand through his hair and let out a groan. “She’ll refuse. I’m certain she only sees me as a friend. We’ve known each other too long—there’s no mystery left.”
Aries scoffed. “That’s rich, coming from the most mysterious man in Crimisa. Brooding silences and tragic gazes? You’re practically folklore.”
Collin gave a half-laugh, half-sigh. “I appreciate the sarcasm disguised as encouragement.”
“Oh, come now. If you managed to fall for her after all these years, she can just as easily realize you’re more than the barefoot boy who stole her apples. Besides, you’re not entirely unappealing—though that’s just my opinion. The women of the valley may form a different committee.”
“Glad to know I haveyourendorsement,” Collin muttered, a faint grin tugging at his lips. “I wonder what kind of fellow she actually fancies...”
Aries made a show of squinting into the middle distance, as if consulting some divine oracle. “Let’s see... tall, with dark hair and haunting gray eyes, and an unparalleled talent for rowing. Possibly with a tendency to speak in tortured poetry.”
Collin snorted. “You sound like Nic. Both of you assume all women are just lying in wait for your next dramatic entrance.”
Aries pressed a hand to his chest. “That’s slander. Nic thinks they fall for him because he’s mysterious.Iknow it’s because of the dimples. We suffer in different ways.”
Collin rolled his eyes. “Suffer is the right word.”
“If you’d just ask her out, I could retire from the matchmaking business in peace,” Aries said, lounging back with theatrical exhaustion. “My talents are wasted on you.”
Collin dipped his hands into the lake and flung a sparkling arc of water across the boat.
Aries yelped like a startled goose, jerking the oars and nearly sending them into a spin. “Hey! Aquatic assault!” he cried, scrubbing at his dripping shirt.
Collin grinned. “Thought you could use a bath.”
“I bathed last festival!” Aries protested, rowing with sudden fervor as if he could outpace another splash. “Quit it! The fish are judging me!”
The last buoys on the far side of the lake had brought in nearly two dozen fish. Still flushed with laughter, damp from sun and spray, Collin and Aries returned to shore with the warm satisfaction that the long, sweltering day hadn’t been wasted after all.
As they hauled the canoe up onto dry land, a sudden rustling from the woods caught Collin’s attention. Hadria burst from the tree-lined path, her figure long and fluid, moving with an ease that made it impossible not to notice. Her raven-black hair streamed down her back, and as she ran, the colorful beads at her wrists jingled like wind chimes.
“There’s a bonfire tonight!” she called out, breathless but bright. “I shall see you both there!”
Aries waved just before Hadria vanished down the road to the North Town circle. He grinned and said eagerly, "I completely forgot about bonfire night! It will be your chance to confess your undying affection through the universal language of awkward dancing and poorly roasted root vegetables!”
Collin mumbled something vague in reply. How was he supposed to get Dragonfly alone? How could he even begin to ask how she felt without tripping over every word? He didn’t have the nerve—or the finesse—for that sort of thing. He should’ve paid more attention to Nic and Aries. Somehow,they’d managed to crack the code of girls—at least the part about asking them out.
While Aries prepared the smoking box for the fish, he kept chattering about Collin’s hopeless romantic efforts. It was maddening. Yes, Collin needed the advice—but did Aries have to act like he’d never spoken to a girl in his life?
Only half listening, Collin sat on the edge of the canoe with a knife in hand. He cleaned and gutted each fish with practiced ease, dropping them into the clean bucket one by one. The more Aries talked, the more his words grated. Collin said nothing. He just kept working, quiet and methodical, until the bucket was nearly full.
Aries was only a few months older, but sometimes he carried himself like he’d already wrestled the world into submission and now found it mildly amusing. He didn’t need to try to be impressive—he justwas. People noticed him. Women especially. His grin alone could throw conversations off course, and Collin had lost count of how many dreamy stares followed in his wake.
