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I stepped in and kissed him on the lips, uncertain and awkward with it. Public displays of affection were generally frowned upon in Japan, but the Village was less strict, and nobody was around.

“Oh, hey,” he said again, half laughing. “So, I got you these.” He held out the flowers. “But they sorta froze while I was waiting. I didn’t really think it through, and I’ve been freezing my balls off out here. Can we walk? I can’t feel my legs.”

“Of course.” We started walking along the river path, lit by the subtle Village lighting. Fresh ice crunched under our feet. “You bought me flowers?”

“Yeah, to celebrate. But I don’t want you thinkin’ you’re the woman in this relationship or anything.” He grinned.

I mock-frowned at him. He was taking a deliberate jibe at my faux pas when I’d bought him flowers. “Thank you.” I took the flowers. They were, in fact, very stiff. “They’re beautiful.”

“They crunch a bit.”

“You ate them?

“No.” His laugh echoed. “Just that they’re hard—” He coughed. “From the cold.”

“Are you flustered, Cam?”

“Me? No?” Another little laugh fell out of him. “Maybe. Look, it’s been a day. Cut me some slack, Hasegawa.”

“It’s been a day, has it?”

“Yeah, so . . . you’ll never guess. The guy I’ve had a thing for . . . for like . . . years . . . decided to kiss me and come out in front of the whole world—oh, and hey, I won a gold medal. Almost forgot that part. How was your day?”

“You won’t believe this,” I repeated.

“Try me.”

The sounds of our steps crunched on the snow-packed path. Distant voices drifted on the wind toward us.

“I stopped trying to resist the man I’ve cared about for years and came out in front of the world’s press.”

“Huh. That really is a day.”

“I know.”

“How do you feel about that?” His smile stayed but his voice had gained a serious note.

“Good, actually.”

“Yeah? So, it wasn’t a one-off, crazy thing you did in the moment? You know, you got swept up in the emotions and oops, kissed a guy, but you didn’t really mean it?”

I stopped on the path, making him stop too. The wide, dark river steamed behind him. “Is that what you think?”

“I dunno . . .” He shrugged, hands in his pockets. “Maybe?”

“No. It wasn’t a mistake.” I moved close, lowered the flowers in one hand, and cupped his face with the other. “I meant it with every part of me.”

His right eyebrow arched. “Every part?” He smirked.

I kissed the smile on his lips, going slow, relearning the feel of him now that I was allowed to. The kiss ended slowly, leaving us both standing here, in the cold, the big river sweeping by under its thick ice, occasionally making it crack and grind.

“We should think about what to say . . . My socials have gone nuts. I have like a million missed calls.”

“What do you want to say?” I asked, stepping back a little.

“I’d tell them I love you. What else is there? But I’m guessing things might be more complicated for you?”

“You’d think so, but there’s nobody whose opinion I care about more than yours.”