“Oh, hush. It was the only color I could find at the last second. Come on. Let’s get dressed.”
Korie is all smiles this morning, which is a huge relief given the last few days. I lost count of how many times I was tempted to call them or drive by their apartment.
Outside, the noise of the camp grows louder as everyone stirs. I can already smell the bacon and fried eggs. My stomach growls. It’s been too long since I’ve had a proper meal.
After getting into shorts, Korie tugs their shirt on, then turns toward me as I do the same.
“Definitely my favorite color now,” Korie says.
I snort.
We pull our shoes on, then before Korie can reach for the zipper, I grab their hand. “You know this is going to cause a scene of like, epic proportions, right? Probably worse than when Laura announced she was pregnant?”
Korie’s grin only grows. “Oh, I know. But I’m ready for it now.” They lean in, kissing me. “They’re going to be happy for us, Holden. I already know it.”
I’m not worried about that. I’m worried about the shrieking from Maris and Trista and probably Hattie too. “I should’ve brought earplugs.”
Korie shoves me.
We climb out, smoothing our shirts down and zipping up the tent. Then we wrap our arms around each other as we walk toward the tables where breakfast is set up.
Korie is buzzing with nervous energy, all giddy and unable to stay still. Quiet laughs keep slipping out as they go up on their toes, which only makes them more adorable.
It’s nice to see after the hell of the last few days.
Laura spots us first, eyes doing a quick double take. She reads our shirts, then looks up in surprise, grinning instantly.
“Oh, good morning, kids,” Maris says, scraping more eggs into a bowl.
“Hey, Mom,” Korie says.
We both stand there awkwardly, waiting for her to catch on. When she does, she literally drops the bowl. Half the eggs go flying to the ground, and her Labrador immediately trots over to gobble them up.
“Great. Now you cost us breakfast,” I mumble to Korie.
Korie pinches me.
“What… what is happening?” Maris stammers.
“Yeah, what is this?” Chris says, reading our shirts. Trista is beaming next to him, like she saw this coming a mile away.
Hattie gets up from the table with a huge grin on her face. “I knew it. I fuckingknewsomething was going on… Holden, oh my god! I’m going to kill you for not telling me. Come here.”
She hugs us both tight. Korie laughs nervously, but their joy is unmistakable.
A few more people walk around to see our shirts, catching on to the commotion.
Korie stands beside me again, arm around my waist. “Yeah, so… uh, Holden and I have some news. We’re uh, officially together now.”
I cringe when the group erupts with sounds of joy.
I definitely could’ve used earplugs.
Korie ducks into my side laughing while everyone talks over each other. But for the first time in days, my chest doesn’t hurt and I feel like I can breathe.
They’re here.
They still love me.
