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His arms are tight around me. Surprisingly tight for a minute and then loosening into a more relaxed embrace. I stay there for as long as I can let myself, and then I finally pull away.
We smile at each other, slightly sheepish.
“Okay,” I say with a sniff, moving my phone from my bed to the charger I plugged into the nightstand. “I feel better now.”
“Good. We’re going to be fine.”
“Yeah.” I’m exhausted now from all the turmoil—not to mention the long hike and long day—so I climb under the covers, smiling at him when I settle on the pillow. “Thank you.”
“For what?” He’s getting his stuff together for the bathroom, including his flannel Christmas pajamas.
“For being you.”
He smiles at that before he makes his way into the bathroom. He’s in there for about fifteen minutes. He takes a shower like I did, so he smells clean when he comes back out—like soap and toothpaste.
I’ve turned off the light and turned on the television since I don’t feel like reading tonight. I turn it onto a channel with nature documentaries. That’s what Chase has found to watch two of the nights so far.
When we’ve settled into our bed, I say out of the blue, “I don’t think you can have chemistry with people you’ve never met.”
“What?”
“You said earlier that you can have chemistry with people you’ve never met. I don’t think that’s possible.”
“Of course it is.” He sounds amused and slightly baffled.
“But chemistry can’t spark unless you actually meet them. Right?”
“All the parts of the chemistry already exist even if you haven’t met. They might ignite as soon as you meet or maybe a long time later.”
I think about that. “Maybe. But I don’t think it’s chemistry until it actually ignites.”
“Sure it is. That’s what chemistry is. Different elements combining and making new things.”
“Hmm.”
“I’m right about this.”
“If you say so.”
“I don’t appreciate being humored by you.”
I giggle at that. “Then admit I’m right and you’re wrong.”
“I’m not going to admit a basic untruth.”
“Then you’re going to be humored in your wrongness.”
“Stubborn.”
“Not as stubborn as you.”
We’re both smiling in the dark as the conversation ends.
THE NEXT TWO DAYS GO surprisingly well. I’m not nearly as anxious and awkward as I might have expected to be.
There’s more driving for the next couple of days as we wind our way through small towns on country roads and stop in a number of different shops, including one seasonal Christmas store that’s mostly a disappointment in terms of local arts and crafts. But we have a good time anyway. We take turns listening to each other’s music and hit every hole-in-the-wall restaurant we can find—one day eating four different meals just for fun.
On the fifth day of the trip, we finally hit the coast, touring a historic house that gets gussied up for Christmas and then getting to the beach, where we’re planning to do the big holiday lights showcase on the main beach strip.
