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Thane grinned, wiping his mouth before he answered, “I’m a veterinarian.”
Internally, I laughed because I knew that would stump my father. “Oh, hmm,” he sat up, resting his elbows on the table. “That sounds interesting. Competitive work?”
“No, not really.”
“Hmm.”
“So, you get to play with dogs and cats all day?” Noah asked, taking an interest.
“Sorta, sometimes, I have to figure out what’s wrong with them too and make them feel better.”
“That’s so cool.”
“And where do you live, Thane? Slade’s never mentioned you before,” my father tried again to gain the upper hand.
“Oh, well, that’s a tough one to answer. Slade and I’ve not spoken in a few years. I’m trying to patch things up. I’ve been working out west and just moved here to improve our relationship. It’s been a bonus meeting this cutie.” He smiled at me. “Right now, I’m currently in Tennessee.”
“What did y'all fight about?”
“Just a family disagreement. It’s boring, actually.”
Thane dropped his eyes, the first sign that he was hiding something, the pressure from him at my dad’s questions getting to him. It bugged me, his response. Not that I wanted to dig into their history, but something about it felt wrong. My mother, feeling the tension, cut in my dad’s game of twenty questions and ended it. After that, we finished dinner making polite conversation.
When dinner was finally over, I wasn’t sad to be done. It had been exhausting hiding my feelings with Simon and trying to manage Thane’s presence as well. Walking him out, Simon lingered back, giving me time to do whatever I needed. The unfortunate part was, I wasn’t sure what. This situation was so strange.
“Thanks again for inviting me to dinner.”
“Ah, but you kind of invited yourself, remember? Or through my mom at least.”
“Minor details, Cherry.”
I gave him a tight smile, my body tense at the nickname. He still made me lose myself when I stared into his crystal blue eyes, but the effect was lost when I wasn’t. “Well, I guess I’ll see you around the shop when you visit Slade?”
“Nah. I think I’ll head back and try again another time. Don’t mention it to him, though. We have things to work out, and hearing I was here mingling with his people might not go over too well. I’ll tell him when we touch base.”
“Uh, yeah, sure thing.”
He went in for a kiss, and I turned, offering him my cheek as I hugged him quickly. Stepping back, I did an awkward wave, leaving him with a farewell. “Be safe.”
Thane looked at me oddly, hurt shone in his eyes, and I hated how it made me feel like a bad person. I had too many other things going on though, to worry about it right now. “Yeah, okay. I’ll text you.”
“Perfect. Sounds like a plan, Stan.”
Cringing, I turned and made my way inside, wondering how I ended up in this predicament in the first place. Simon had been right. I never should’ve done online dating again.
My Starry Nox,
Can you believe it’s been two years already since we first wrote? We’re moving again, so I’ll have to send your next letter from my new address. Every week, I look forward to your letters, they’re the best thing in my life. You’ve definitely kept your end of the bargain, the promise you made to me. For that, I thank you. So, I’m sending you a gift. Don’t worry, it’s not expensive or anything, just something I saw and thought of you. I do hope you enjoy it.
I’ll keep this short since I need to finish packing, but I couldn’t leave without getting this in the mail to let you know not to write back just yet, I don’t want to miss a letter.
Your Blaze
I foundSimon in the backyard, swinging in the hammock, his head tilted back as he took in the sky. I approached with soft steps, enjoying the quiet as I watched him. This part of the backyard was thankfully out of sight from the back windows of the house, making me feel bold in my movements. How many times had I dreamed about making out with Simon in this very hammock? Too many to count.
The stars were out, and it made me yearn for the innocence of the girl who felt they were the cure-all. At one time, they’d been my connection to a boy, a shared pastime providing me comfort. Now, they were a reminder of how not everything that sparkled was gold. Sometimes, it was just the deceiving wrapper covering the poison in the middle.
I was almost to him, my hands out in front to pounce when his voice spoke into the night.
