Page 55 of Ethan
“Dessert walk?” Ethan asked, raising one eyebrow.
“You know. A walk to digest dessert. It’s a thing. Very romantic,” I explained.
He rolled his eyes but stood. “Fine. But only if you promise not to try and race me to the tree line again.”
“No promises,” I said, standing up and brushing crumbs off my shirt. “I’m very competitive.”
The air outside was cooler now, the lingering heat of the day giving way to a crisp summer breeze.
The woods behind the pack house stretched out like a dark curtain, shadows deepening as the sun disappeared. Fireflies danced near the tree line, blinking like stars trapped just above the ground.
We didn’t speak for a few minutes, just walked shoulder to shoulder on the dirt trail that wound through the forest.
It wasn’t long before Ethan slid his hand into mine.
We stopped near a bend in the path where the moonlight slipped through the trees. I turned to face him.
“Ethan,” I said, voice low, “I’m not good at slow. I’ve never really known what it looked like.”
He tilted his head. “And now?”
“Now I’m learning.” I stepped closer. “Because you’re worth learning for.”
Ethan didn’t answer with words. He leaned in and kissed me.
It was slow, deep, the kind of kiss that sent warmth blooming through every inch of me. I wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him in, felt the steady thrum of his heartbeat against mine.
When we finally pulled apart, his forehead rested against mine.
“I like you, Dean,” he murmured. “I’ve liked you for a while.”
I smiled. “Yeah. I figured that out around the time you didn’t yell at me for sneaking coffee into the clinic.”
He laughed, soft and breathy. “That was awful coffee,” he said.
“It’s the thought that counts.”
He leaned into me again, arms circling my waist, and I held him close. The forest was quiet around us, the hum of crickets and rustling leaves the only sound. I wanted to stay right here forever.
But eventually Ethan said, “We should head back.”
I sighed. “Yeah. You’ve got herbs to dry.”
“And you’ve got training at the crack of dawn,” he pointed out.
We walked back slower this time, fingers still laced, hearts beating just a little bit lighter.
Chapter 13
Ethan
I reachedfor the other side of the bed and found it cold. My hand sank into the sheets where Dean should’ve been, and I frowned at the empty space.
He was up already? This early?
I’d lost count of how many nights I’d crashed here. Lately, it just made more sense.
Dean’s place was closer to the clinic than my own house, and the walk home at midnight had started feeling longer and longer after the days we’d been having.
