Page 39 of On the Mountain

Cyrus got the message and said, “You have paint on your cheek. Were you painting?”

Yes. You. I was painting and drawing you.

I nodded. “Garlic bread?”

“Are you really eating spaghetti if you don’t have garlic bread?” he replied playfully.

I chuckled, and we both froze, our gazes snapping together as if neither of us could believe it. I knew I couldn’t, couldn’t make sense of the sound that had come out of my mouth even though I knew what it was. When was the last time I’d made that sound? Here or there at myself if I did something silly or saw an animal do something funny, but not where someone else could hear. Not since I was a child.

“I like the way your laugh sounds,” Cyrus told me. “I appreciate your sharing it with me.”

Hearing him say that made me want to do it more. I wanted to please him, wanted to make him feel good in ways no one ever had before. “I like yours too,” I admitted.

“But mine isn’t something special.”

“Maybe it is to me.”

“Oh.” His mouth made a cute O.

“Just so you know,” Cyrus said, “I might start laughing all the time now. Just for no good reason, I’ll laugh so I can be cute to you.”

He would likely always be cute to me now, but I kept those words inside.

Cyrus started to tell me about the book he was reading, and I let him, even though I hadn’t read it. I finished cooking, made us plates, and we sat in the living room like we always did.

“You can sit by me on the couch,” he prompted, patting the cushion. I shook my head. We needed to discuss the plan for tonight and every night afterward because he was going to be here, staying in my cabin with me.

The thought both excited me and made my gut twist.

Cyrus moaned as he took a bite, and that was enough to get my mind off it and make blood head toward my groin. It was just a sound, but it felt like a mating call to me, like any noise slipping past his lips resulted in me needing him.

“God, this is so good. I’m definitely going to gain weight up here.”

“Good.”

He gave me a shy grin. “I called Melody and thanked her for last night again. She’s also going to get my car and take it to her place. I’ll lose my apartment, but I can deal with that.”

I frowned, brows drawn together. “Lose it?”

“I can’t afford to pay rent on it while I’m gone, which is fine. I don’t care. You brought me everything that matters, and I’m used to starting over. How do you make your money, anyway?” He stuffed another bite into his mouth, not knowing he’d just hit a sore topic for me. If it wasn’t for my mother, I wouldn’t have money. If I lived differently and outside my means, I would run out sooner.

“I’ll pay.”

“Huh?”

“Your apartment.”

“What? I can’t ask you to do that!”

“I’m paying!” I snapped, and when he flinched, I immediately felt guilty.

“Yeah, sure. Okay. If you insist. We can pay it online, but I need to do stuff around here to earn that. And I’m keeping track so I can pay you back.”

I nodded, though I had no plans for that to happen. I wouldn’t take Cyrus’s money.

We were mostly silent as we finished eating, and when he started to do the dishes, I watched him, always interested in everything about him—how his hands moved, the facial expressions he made, how he licked his lips.

“No TV?” Cyrus asked. I shook my head. “We can watch shows on your computer.”

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