nuzzle his neck.
Annnd, it was time to shove those thoughts out the window. A really high one.
I rolled over and got out of bed.
It was late morning, and Josh insisted on making us breakfast. We ate outside, took turns showering as usual, then headed into Chimney Rock Village to walk around the Lake Lure Arts Festival, an outdoor event where booth after booth lined the streets, filled with crafts, homemade furniture, food trucks, and more.
It was a little awkward between us, the conversation slower than it had been, a little stilted, but we both maneuvered our way around it without taking it head-on.
We got to a booth that had these small, silver turtle figurines that couldn’t have been more than half an inch or so. Each had a white square of paper attached. Josh picked one up and turned it over. The black writing on the bottom said: This little turtle will bring you luck. Carry him in your pocket, and he’ll make each day brighter.
“Didn’t Kell tell me you used to love turtles when you were a kid?” Josh asked.
I smiled at the memory. “Yeah, I did. I used to drag him ‘turtle hunting’ down by the water, which really just meant we’d go search for them, watch them a bit, and leave them be. Don’t really know why I liked them so much.”
“Maybe because you knew they were lucky.” He shrugged. “I’ll take this, please,” he told the woman behind the table.
I watched Josh as he paid, thinking he was going to keep it, but instead he reached over and pushed it into my pocket.
“There you go. Something to remember our trip by.”
He went to walk away, but my hand shot out, my fingers wrapping around his wrist. “I don’t… I wouldn’t need anything to help me remember. And thank you. Not just for the turtle; for everything.” I didn’t know why that damn gift made my heart beat faster and my insides somehow feel softer. It was a three-dollar figurine, but it was from him, and he’d remembered I liked turtles even though it was likely something Kell mentioned in passing.
Josh winked. “No problem, sweetheart.” He was making light of the moment on purpose. I knew he was. And the endearment…sweetheart. It wasn’t the first time he’d used it. He called Kellan babe all the time, so that didn’t mean anything either, but damned if it didn’t fill me with… Fuck, I didn’t know. Some kind of something. Not the same way Grumpy G or Griffy did.
We finished at the festival, the turtle heavy in my pocket the whole time. We drove into Asheville and spent some time exploring the city before heading back to the cabin. It was our last night. Since we’d be going home the next day, we decided to spend the evening relaxing.
So we didn’t waste the food, we warmed up the chicken for dinner.
“How are things going at the bar?” Josh asked when we were eating.
“Good. Miguel is handling things well.” I’d made sure to check in with him every day. “The gym?”
“I assume fine. I told them to call me if anything was wrong, and they haven’t. This is a vacation, remember?”
I chuckled. “Show-off.” Josh’s gym meant just as much to him as my bar did to me. I didn’t doubt that for a second, but he was better at stepping away.
As we washed the few dishes together, Josh said, “How about the hot tub tonight? We haven’t used it at all.”
“Are you kidding? I’m not leaving this place without using it at least once.”
So that’s what we did. We got it uncovered and ready to be used, before changing. Josh grabbed us each a beer, and we padded out to the deck and climbed in. The hot water sloshed against my body as I fiddled with the controls to turn the jets on against my back. The sun was setting, so it was the perfect time. Blue LED lights glowed from beneath the water.
“This is perfect.” Josh closed his eyes and dropped his head back. He had the jets going against his back as well.
“Yeah, yeah it is,” I admitted. I took a drink of my beer, looking at him again. At Josh, this man who’d been a part of my life for years now, but whom I wanted in new ways. Ways that weren’t just unfamiliar when it came to him specifically, but with anyone. It might have been because of our friendship, but still, it wasn’t as if