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But I had eaten it with her after she’d placed it between us.
God, I missed her.
In front of me, Oaklynn nodded. “She seemed so nostalgic and wistful as she talked, that I…I… I thought for sure she’d be happy to see you. I just… I’m really sorry, Damien. I totally miscalculated that one.”
I shook my head and waved a hand to excuse her as I swallowed down a hard knot in my throat. “Not your fault,” I rasped.
“Ididmention to her that you’d like to talk to her, though,” Oaklynn added. “Except…” Her brow furrowed in confusion. “I don’t think she really heard me. She got so into watching one of the scenes. She said it was your favorite part, where Hulk calls Loki a puny god.”
I sputtered out a watery laugh because she was right; that had been my absolute favorite scene, and I think only Thalia had known it.
But that day at the theater with my sister was such a fond memory that it hurt to recall. Tightening my jaw, I turned away, admitting, “Fuck, I can’t do this.”
I wanted those days back, when Thalia had been my best friend, and we’d gone to the movies together and stole popcorn and laughed at great scenes. I wanted them back so much that the wish made my joints ache.
“Damien?”
Soft fingers caught my arm, and Oaklynn’s concerned voice caused me to freeze.
I spun toward her, needing answers.
“Why won’t she just—?” I started to demand in a broken voice, only to cut myself off because Oaklynn had no idea what had happened and couldn’t even begin to answer me.
I could feel everything inside me grow unstable before I quickly reined it back in and slapped my knuckles against my lips.
“I’m sorry,” I gushed. “I didn’t mean to—”
“Oh, hey, no!” she cut in and stepped toward me. “You have nothing to apologize for. I’d be straight-up pissed if I were in your shoes. It doesn’t seem as if she’s giving you a fair chance to reconnect at all.”
I lugged out a small grateful smile. “Thanks,” I mumbled. “I’m gladsomeoneunderstands.” But I’d still missed out on my first, real chance to see Thalia in forever, and it made my chin tremble and my eyes sting.
Oaklynn seemed to grow alarmed as her gaze darted around my crumbling expression. “Are you…?”
“I’m fine,” I assured, waving a hand to excuse my behavior. But halfway through the reassurance, my fingers curled into a fist, and then I almost immediately shook my head and admitted, “God. No, I’m not.”
“Oh, Damien,” she breathed, her voice full of pity. “Come here.”
Horrified by the notion of losing my cool in front of her, I started to turn away, already ducking my chin and hiding my expression. But Oaklynn touched my arm, low down, almost near my wrist.
Not expecting the gentle brush of her soft fingers on the sensitive spot, I sucked in a sharp breath and glanced at her. Her eyes were full of sympathy for a man she barely knew. Sympathy that tugged at something inside of me, urging me to accept her unspoken offer.
“It’s okay,” she murmured kindly. “I just want to hug you.”
Cautiously, I lifted my gaze to hers. I think she was holding her breath as much as I was to see what would happen next. Then, with a heavy exhale, I nodded and released the tension in my shoulders. Twisting back to her, I tipped my forehead down to hers, seeking comfort.
“There you go.” She lifted her hand without hesitation and cupped my bearded cheek.
I closed my eyes, relishing the contact as I buried my nose in peach-scented hair. Then I stepped in more, not pressing against her in any way, but moving in enough that we shared body heat.
When she finally did hug me, I wound my arms around her in return and tucked my face against her neck, gratefully gobbling up every last crumb of emotional support she provided.
I breathed her in fully while the rest of the world melted away. This cocoon of pleasant sensations surrounded us until we were the only two people left on the planet.
Oaklynn gave me all the time I needed and let me stay there in her arms, luxuriating in her warmth and smell, and relishing the physical closeness between us. At some point, I forgot why I’d been upset in the first place.
My bones turned to jelly, and I just wanted to nuzzle against her forever. But in patching my nerves back together, she also made reality return for me, and eventually, I regained my senses until I realized I’d been getting emotional all over a near stranger.
Releasing a shaky, reluctant breath, I lifted my face slowly to take in the world around us.
