Page 21 of Here In Your Arms

“Who what now?” I ask, blinking in confusion.

“They’re tiny round pancakes you can cover in powdered sugar or any other sweet deliciousness. I personally enjoy spiced, sauteed apples on mine, but to each his own,” Wes explains.

I shrug. “Sounds great. Where to?”

We navigate the crowd to the food booth that is serving up these little treats and get an order each. Finding a bench, we sit and eat, watching the other people as they walk by.

“So what do you guys do for work?” I ask, wanting to learn a bit more about them.

“I work as a VP down at Donar.” Kyle says.

“Oh wow, that big tech company? You’re like super important then.”

Kyle smiles and I look over to Wes.

“Well, I work in construction, as you can see from my large muscles,” Wes says, and brings up his arm to flex as he says it.

I bring my hand up to squeeze his muscle that he’s put on display. His face is full of humor and mischief, so I go with it.

“Meh,” I say, shrugging.

“Meh?” he repeats incredulously. “MEH? Do you hear this, Kyle?”

Kyle chuckles and shakes his head. “Not touching that one.”

Wes looks over at me, his eyes intense. “I will have you know—” He clearly has not thought this through because he seems to be searching for the right words.

“Yes, Whes?”

“These muscles have tickled people until they cry,” he finishes triumphantly.

He then proceeds to begin attacking my sides, and while I’m not overly ticklish, I am caught by surprise and having fun with him. So, I shriek and pull away, standing up and facing him. My empty food tray comes out of my hands, and I realize Kyle is collecting our waste to throw away.

The moment serves as my downfall, however, when Wes pounces on me and begins a relentless onslaught of tickling. I shriek in delight as he laughs along, and we play a small game of chase around the bench, grinning like maniacs. I was worried it would be too hard to interact without having to be “on” for work and having a physical barrier between us, but Wes is making it easy to let my barriers down and enjoy myself.

He gives up the chase, holding his hands up in mock surrender. “Okay, I’m done, I promise,” he says, panting a little from the activity. I give him a look, showing I don’t believe him. He chuckles. “I promise!”

“I’ll protect you,” Kyle says, rising from the bench.

“Ha!” I say to Wes, sticking my tongue out like the mature adult I am.

He laughs and takes one hand while Kyle grabs the other and we begin walking around more, checking out everything the festival has to offer. Veering off to a plaza, I notice that there are a few activity spots in addition to what appears to be a craft market. As we stroll, I peek into one of the tents and I can see T-shirts all over.

“What is this?” I ask, not really expecting an answer.

“This is where you can make a T-shirt with the festival logo on it,” Kyle explains.

“Oh, that sounds cool. Have you guys done it before?”

Kyle frowns. “You know, I don’t think we have.”

“We haven’t,” Wes agrees. “I think we always get caught up in the food.”

I laugh. “The food IS pretty amazing. This looks fun, though… Do you guys wanna try it?”

The guys look at each other and shrug.

“Yeah, let’s do it!” Wes says, smiling.

---