Page 76 of Did It Have To Be Gnomes?!
I just had a confusing set of my own emotions trying to weigh me down.
But I didn’t want them to.
Despite everything. Despite the gnomes and the curse and the scary mansion, today had been a good day.
Or at least, it’d been a day where I felt like I had actual people in my corner. That was no small thing.
No small thing at all.
After everyone finished eating, I packed all the food up, then walked over to Aeson—since I figured he’d be more likely to accept it—and held out the two bags’ worth of leftovers.
“Here. You guys take it. I don’t have any room left in my fridge.”
I was one hundred percent sure he saw through my bullshit, but after exchanging a look with Chaos, Aeson slowly reached out for the bags. “Are you sure? Why don’t you take some of it too?”
“I’m absolutely sure. Please. It’ll just go to waste if I take it home with me.”
He took the bags with a quiet, “Thank you, Miles,” before turning toward the car.
To my surprise, Chaos walked over to me and said, “Thanks, but… don’t quit your day job. You’re a terrible liar.”
I felt my face flush with embarrassment. “I…”
He waved me off. “Thanks for the food.” Then he turned on his heel and marched over to Aeson and the car with his chicken-dragon on his shoulder.
“You’re welcome. See you tomorrow.”
The kid waved over his shoulder, and Aeson grinned widely at me, waving from beside their car. I watched them climb in, start the thing, and pull away. They seemed like really good kids, and I truly hoped they were doing okay. That they were safe.
Winter walked over to me. “Well, that went smoother than anticipated.”
I found myself leaning against his shoulder without even realizing it. “Yeah, it did.”
After a brief hesitation, he asked, “I don’t suppose I can convince you to stay out here when we go in tomorrow?”
“Nope.”
He sighed. “Miles, you don’t have to come in there with us.”
“I have to help protect Chaos while he’s doing his magic, and I don’t want Aeson to get hurt either. It’s better if there’s more of us going against all those gnomes. What if there’re even more of them by tomorrow?” I held in a shudder at the thought.
He surprised me by wrapping me up in a hug. I froze for a few seconds, then slowly sank into his arms, wrapping my own around his waist. I definitely wasn’t used to all this affection I was getting from him.
Was Winter always this touchy-feely? Or was it because he liked me? Was he like this with all his… dates?
I had no idea, and there was no way in hell I was gonna ask him either.
“What do you think of dropping Lyric off, then you and I can each go home so we can shower and get ready? Then we can meet up, go shopping for Chaos’s supplies, and go out to dinner together?”
“I have to pick up some more bird seed for Sola.”
He spoke into my hair, and I could hear the smile in his voice. “We can definitely hit up a pet store while we’re out then.”
“That… honestly sounds great. Really great.” I wasn’t used to having help with anything, and the prospect of having Winter tag along while I ran errands was… kind of amazing, if I was being honest. Such a simple thing, but I had a feeling it would make a world of difference.
“Awesome. Let’s clean up, lock up the house, and get going… I can’t wait to spend some time alone with you.” Then he released me and called out, “Hey, Lyric, help me lock the cellar.”
“Coming!” Lyric skipped over to their best friend, and I watched the pair for a few seconds, kind of flabbergasted, before I rushed over to help.
