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“Oh fuck. Cheese. I love cheese.”
Theo eyeballs me like I’m insane. I feel like I am. But can you blame me? I’m kind of giddy that he’s opening up to me right now.
“I’ve never been there,” I tell him. “I haven’t traveled much.”
“I haven’t traveled much either,” he says, tugging on his oversized sweater that nearly hangs down to his knees, covering a good portion of his black skinny jeans.
“Do you miss it?” I ask, forcing my gaze back to his.
He shakes his head. “Sort of, but I have no one there anymore.”
“What does that mean?” I ask.
Theo shoves his hands in the sweater pockets. “My mom…passed away.”
I stop walking and fully face him. “You’re shitting me.”
Theo shakes his head. “I wouldn’t make that up, Logan.”
I run a hand through my hair and then reach out and pull him into me and squeeze him against my chest.
“Oof,” he mutters, his face smashed against my shoulder and neck.
I expect him to push away like he normally does, but instead, he just melts into me.
“I’m so sorry to hear that, Theo.” I can’t even imagine losing my parents. It makes my chest ache. “When was this?”
He turns his face slightly, his lips brushing against the skin of my neck.
“Summer after I graduated high school.”
My arms tighten around him, crushing him to me. He wheezes a little and I loosen my hold just a bit.
“Thank you,” he says before pushing away and staring at me awkwardly.
“Any time you need a hug, I’m game.”
He scuffs his shoe in the dirt. “It’s probably better if we didn’t do that.”
I roll my eyes. “You do realize that saying that shit just makes me want to hug you more, right?”
He grunts in horror, and I chuckle.
“I’m going to hug you all the time now.”
He steps a little farther away from me and I follow him.
“All the time, Theo. I’m a hugger.”
He shakes his head, but before he can move away from me, the bushes behind me rustle again and I latch onto his arm.
“Did you hear that?” I ask and Theo bites down on his bottom lip like he’s holding back a laugh.
“It’s the squirrels,” he whispers ominously.
“Don’t fucking joke about that shit, Theo. It could have rabies, and if I get bitten, I’ll have to get a shot. I hate shots. I don’t want to have one stuck in my butt.”
“It’s actually four shots,” he clarifies, and I scoot even closer to him.
