Page 96 of Our Secret Moments

“Connor,” I whisper, twisting my thumb in my sleeves. “You want me to plan a morning date with five minutes notice?”

“You’ll figure something out, sweetheart,” he replies, tugging on my arm and pulling me into him. “I’ve already told you that everything you do is perfect.”

Perfect.

I’ve lost count of the amount of times Connor has used that word when he’s spoken to me. I’ve never felt like what I do, or what I say is perfect. I’ve struggled with perfection in everything for years, but Connor throws that word around so easily.

“How do you feel about walking to your parents house?” I ask, knowing how far it is from here. The walk there is a trail people take in Colorado. It takes you through the forests and winding roads that lead to a stop just behind their estate that overlooks the mountains. We’re in the dead of winter, so I know it’s going to be freezing, but the sight will be worth it. “If we leave now, we could catch the sunrise, but it’s a long walk.”

“I’ll walk for days if it’s you I’m walking with,” he replies, kissing me softly.

After sneaking out of my dorm, we picked up some snacks from the grocery store and got on our way.

It feels like it’s been months since I’ve been outside in the fresh air, and whenever I’m with Connor everything feels better. It’s as if all my senses and every single thought I’ve ever had become louder. He makes me giddy, makes me feel like there’s a tiny fire bubbling in my stomach whenever he says something sweet to me.

He holds onto my hand just as he said he would and doesn’t let go until we’re closer to the edge of the forest that overlooks the top of our old estate.

Connor’s warmth radiates from behind me, locking his arms around my shoulders as we both take in the view. We’ve both wrapped up warm, but when Connor’s body is pressed behind mine I don’t have to worry about getting cold anytime soon.

I knew just how pretty it would look, but my breath is completely knocked out of me when I truly take it in. The sky has faded into a pink-orange colour, the snow on the tips of the mountains is slowly melting and the air is still thin and chilly.

We’re both quiet as we watch the sun grow brighter. We don’t have to speak. Just existing in his presence is more than enough for me. Just breathing the same air as him, looking at the same sky, knowing that we have each other’s back is all I need.

When his arms tighten around me and my gloved palms reach his forearms, I know that he’s going to continue taking care of me when I don’t feel like looking after myself and I’ll do the same for him.

I hear him sigh behind me, his face nuzzled into the side of my face between the folds of my scarf.

“It’s gorgeous, isn’t it?” I murmur, unable to tear my eyes away from the scene.

“You are,” he responds quietly and I can feel his eyes on me.

“You’ve become such a softie, Connie,” I say, laughing. I turn around to him, hooking my arms around his neck as he looks at me intensely.

“So have you,” he argues, “If I said that to you months ago, you probably would’ve punched me in the balls. Now, you have a much better relationship with my balls so I’m sure you wouldn’t want to punch them.”

I scoff. “Pretty full of yourself now, huh?”

“Not really, but you could be full of me if you wan’t. It felt so fucking good last time,” he whispers. It amazes me how he can have such a filthy mouth with the cutest smile on his face as he’swrapped up in a puffer coat, a beanie and a scarf. He leans in to me, our lips only millimetres apart, but I don’t let him kiss me.

“If we start now, we’re never going to stop, and you owe me the rest of today as a date,” I reply, the excitement I had in my stomach earlier bubbling again.

“Fine. I’ll take you to the next destination,” he says, as chipper as ever.

And we do exactly that.

He doesn’t let go of my hand the entire way to his parents’ house. He wanted to go for a pit stop and I didn’t mind. Even when he makes us both a cup of hot cocoa and he sits right next to me, he just tells me all of his new tactics for the next few games coming up and doesn’t tell me at all where the second part of our day is going to be spent.

Still, now, I don’t even know how to react as we stand hand-in-hand outside one of the largest bookstores in our town and I look at the displays in the window. It’s still early in the day and the store only opened a few minutes ago and there is nothing that beats the fresh smell of a bookstore when it opens.

“Can you repeat yourself one more time, because I don’t believe this,” I say to Connor, basically bouncing on my heels. I sink my teeth into my bottom lip, desperately trying to contain my excitement.

He laughs quietly. “We’re going to go in there and you can pick out a book from every floor and something from the cafe and I’ll buy it for you. If you want special editions, I’ll get those too, no matter how much they cost, and I know how expensive they can be.”

“Are you sure? I don’t want you to feel like you have to spend money on me,” I whisper.

“Yes, I’m sure,” he responds, “I want you to spend my money, Cat. What’s that saying? What’s mine is yours, right?”

I squint my eyes. “Yeah, but we’re not married.”

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