really started pulling back.
“Wait,” he said, and I stopped, causing him to slam into my back.
“What?”
“Where are we going? And why are you pulling me?”
“I wanted to talk. I’m upset. You’re telling me that you’re on a med that makes your brain foggy and you didn’t say anything? And you drove to Breckenridge like that?”
“I didn’t say anything because I’d already been on it well before I met you. And Chris drove to Breckenridge. I took it the morning we came back, but it was early and we were still loading up the last of my stuff in the truck. By the time we were on the road, I was fine. I think I know what I can handle, Hudson.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose and nodded. He did. I needed to calm down and not be so upset. He was an adult, and he was right. I didn’t know him when he had first gotten sick.
“Okay, I’m sorry. You’re right. I just…” I looked at Sawyer and cupped his face with my hands. “I don’t like knowing that your family cared so little for you that they wouldn’t help you get to the hospital.”
“Not all families are great, Hudson. In fact, some are really shitty.”
Some were. Hell, my own mother fell into that category. She up and left me for a guy.
“Okay. You’re right. Mine included.”
“Mine has their moments. They’ve gotten worse in recent years. But enough about that. We’re finally having our first date. Let’s not ruin it talking about our shitty parents.”
I had to agree. I leaned in and kissed Sawyer’s nose. It was as cold as the red color led me to believe.
“You’re right again. No more shitty family talk. Are you cold? Your nose is.”
“I’m good. Where are we anyway?”
I looked around us. There were a few people milling about here and there, but that was it. “We’re at the Christmas tree farm. They have some cut ones up over on the other side.” I glanced at the trees we were standing in and realized that although these had lights strung up around them so we could see, these were probably not quite ready to be purchased.
“I think over there are the ones we can pick for our tree this year if we want. And of course the ones that they’ve already cut. They’re at the front, already in stands just waiting for someone to take them home.”
Sawyer’s eyes lit up. “We should get one!” he said, and then he was gone. Just as I’d figured he’d be, he took off, completely full of energy, and I had to double-time it at first to keep up with him.
“Wait. What do you mean we should get one? There’s already two in the store. And that’s not counting the one you made out of books. Or the little one that’s in the window display.”
“No, you need one for your place. You don’t have one, right? We should decorate your place this weekend.”
I frantically shook my head. “No, we don’t need to do that,” I finally caught Sawyer’s arm, stopping him from moving farther into the tree lot.
“Yes we do,” Sawyer said and tugged. When I didn’t let go, he glared at me. “Okay, tell me why not? The store is decorated to the nines. Your place has nothing.”
“And that’s okay. It’s just me and Ford, and neither of us really decorate. I have enough going on downstairs if I really get into the Christmas mood.”
The look that overcame Sawyer’s face told me I was in trouble. “Fine. How about we go see those ice sculptures. And you mentioned sleigh rides.”
I didn’t trust it at all. He’d given in too easily. But I walked beside him, and we walked through the ice and snow sculptures that were on display. This year’s theme seemed to be forest creatures. Sawyer pulled out his phone and managed to catch me off guard by snapping a selfie of the two of us standing in front of a giant owl.
“Hey, you should have warned me,” I told him before I leaned in and kissed his cheek. I held there for a few seconds before I heard the camera snap another picture, and then I looked at the images with him.
“That’s not bad, actually.”
“No, it’s not. How about a hot chocolate? Or they have hot cider still. What do you say? Then we can get our tickets for the sleigh ride.”
Sawyer responded with a yawn but nodded at the same time. When we