Page 127 of Talk About… Rivalry

“Alright, mystery bag time,” I said, grabbing a bag and heading for the table, sitting down and waiting while the others did the same. Sully jumped up on the table next to me, giving a soft meow as he watched everything unfold.

Our food was ordered and I was too excited to wait any longer.

“Hold on!” Leo yelled, coming in from the garage with tools to hang pictures if we needed it.

“Sidney first,” Maverick said.

I reached into the bag to grab the first thing, holding it up for everyone to see before I started laughing.

The small figurine was an emo gnome.

“Oh my god, now I need to guess whose this is,” I said, eyeing each of them before stopping on Bennett. “It was you.”

“I had an emo phase,” he joked, almost defensive. That had our attention now, Taylor letting out a gasp.

“Oh my god, we need picture evidence,” he demanded.

“Later,” Bennett said. “Your turn.”

It was an obvious distraction technique, but it worked. Taylor reached into his bag and pulled out a picture of a dog in glasses, dissolving into a fit of giggles as he pulled out two more to match, a full set, different breeds.

We continued down the line, one after the other until every bag was empty and the table was full of wall art, table decor, a few random kitchen gadgets, and knickknacks.

The fact Maverick lost his mind over an egg timer shaped like a tiny t-rex was killing me.

Our challenge had done its job, the bond was brimming with genuine, unfiltered happiness.

Even when the food was delivered, we simply filled our plates and grazed as we found places to fit everything.

Two hours later, Bennett hung the final piece over the fireplace, the canvas of the ghost I’d found.

We all collapsed on the couch, looking around at our hard work. We’d mainly stuck to the common rooms, though I had every intention of going back without this challenge, and finding stuff to make my room just as cozy as this.

Maverick pulled me into his lap and kissed my temple before asking the question that I knew was coming.

“Does it feel like home?”

My eyes scanned the room before settling on them. It wasn’t just the house, the decor, but all of it combined with their presence. The house had little pieces of us all in it now. A mix ofvintage, modern, and downright strange decor that felt so cozy I never wanted to leave.

“It’s home.”

Sidney

A Year Later

Rockwood Valley had more traffic than I’d ever seen in my life. People were filling the streets and heading north toward the fairgrounds.

The Artisan Fair quickly became a pack labor of love. Leo took over the admin, even when his own business was opening. The lounge had shorter hours but the town absolutely loved the atmosphere. It had drawn the attention of a local wine club, and thanks to Sinclair Vineyard’s selections on the shelf, they’d decided to call it their new spot.

After that, word of mouth had his place just as full as Whitaker Brews was. Leo had been right all along, it was not a competition. Rockwood Valley was big enough to accommodate both of them.

Taylor worked at his family restaurant, though he didn’t wait tables unless I came in on lunch breaks, a tradition that alwaysended with him eating lunch with me. Bennett sometimes joined, but he had his own job.

Thanks to his family being ‘so happy he found a pack’ but unwilling to travel to see us, they let him start working from home. He did some of the behind the scenes work now, only traveling from time to time.

When my art supplies were delivered, the pack made sure that the garage studio was perfect. It was now my oasis and constantly covered in paint splatter. The walls were lined in art ready for our first fair and a few commissions I’d done.

Thanks to Leo asking me to paint myself, I had found a new appreciation for art and started seeing myself differently.

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