home, drenched in sweat and fatigued. New plan—be chill. I’m not going to put a label on it, not going to insist we do anything more than what we’ve been doing. Jack’s wedding got me thinking of more, but it shouldn’t have. I’m not Jack, after all.
All I know for sure is I’m not going to waste this last month with her. I’ll take her any way I can get her. That’s not as pathetic as it sounds, I reassure myself. It’s called opening my eyes to the amazing woman next door and appreciating her just as she is.
Once I get back home, I take a shower and decide to clear the air with Chloe. I’ll see if she wants to do something neutral, like Frisbee in the park. No big if she says no. I know her work is important to her. I’m sure she’s home. She’s always home on Sunday mornings, though it’s creeping close to noon.
After my shower, I head over to her apartment just as she’s coming out the door, holding a large plastic container. She freezes, standing in her doorway, staring up at me.
“Hey, I was just going to see…” I trail off. “Where are you going?”
She smiles uncertainly. “I, uh, made you sugar cookies.” She holds the container up.
I stare at the cookies. “You did?” No woman has ever baked for me before. I know what this means to her. Sugar cookies are how she gives from the heart. She’s talked about making these with Sara, growing up, with warm nostalgia. She does have feelings for me. There’s hope. A surge of affection rushes through me, my limbs suddenly light.
I lift my head and smile. “Thank you.”
She lets out a breath, her eyes watering. “You’re welcome.” She backs up so I can come in.
I take the container from her with one hand and give her a one-armed hug with the other. “You okay?”
She nods, her lips pressed tightly together like she’s trying not to cry. “Yeah.”
I lift the container. “Why?”
She stares at my chest. “I felt like things got off track last night, and I was really hoping we could still be friends. I don’t want to lose you in my life.” Her voice chokes with emotion. I must mean a lot to her. That’s all I need to know. I don’t know how this is going to work, or if it will work, but what we have is real and that’s enough.
She’s tense, worrying her lower lip. It occurs to me that she might just be scared because she’s new to the relationship thing. My protective instinct comes out, wanting to reassure her.
I dip my head, meeting her eyes. “Hey, it’s fine. You didn’t have to do this.” I lift the clear container and peer inside. There’s layers and layers of tiny cookies. “What are they supposed to be?”
“Oh.” She laughs and takes the lid off the container. “I couldn’t find any cookie cutters in the cabinet, but there were these little leaf pie cutters. You know, to decorate a pie with.” She takes out a tiny leaf cookie. “You use these on pie dough and decorate the top of it with them. It made so many.” That must’ve taken hours to cut and bake all those tiny cookies. All for me.
I try one. “Very good.”
She smiles. “I’m glad you like it.”
“Help yourself.”
She takes one too, but she doesn’t eat it. “So can we hang out today?” She sounds hesitant, like I might turn her down. Was I that harsh last night, or is she just that worried about losing me?
“Absolutely. It’s nice out. I was thinking Frisbee in the park. We could grab a bite to eat while we’re out. Unless you need to study.”
She lifts her chin, her green eyes sparkling. “I’ve decided to take weekends off in the summer.” She pops the cookie in her mouth.
“Really? The whole weekend? Are you sure the research articles won’t pile up unread, Dr. Travers?”
She smiles, shaking her head. “A wise man once told me that scientists make the best discoveries when they take regular breaks.” That would be me. For completely selfish reasons.
“What? He sounds like a guy who wastes his time.”
“No, you were right. I need it, or I’ll burn out before I reach my goal.”
“So I’m wise, eh? Never been accused of that before.”
We smile at each other for a long moment. I think she’s as happy as I am that we’re hanging out again.
I snap to attention. “Right. So let