Chapter Nine #2
Nate flipped Travis the middle finger. “Not this time. I guess a tourist parked a big truck in one of the spaces off Main Street and Miss Finch is worried it will drive away her business.” He stuffed his phone into his pocket and gave Felix one more quick hug.
“Seriously, call me if you need anything.”
Felix smiled and pushed his brother out the door.
“Will do.” The rest of them followed Nate out of the building and back over to the porch.
Before they got there, Felix turned to his brothers one last time.
“Thanks again, guys. I’ll remember to lean on you for help.
” After another round of goodbyes followed by even more once they rejoined the party, Felix was left with just Autumn and their parents.
There was a photo album on the table that Felix recognized as a scrapbook his mom had made of his elementary school years.
His mom caught him staring at it and shrugged. “We thought Autumn could look at some photos from when you guys were little to see if it helped anything.” She smiled apologetically as Autumn flipped the pages. “I wish there were more than just the few class photos in there.”
Autumn looked over at his mom and beamed. “This is wonderful, Cora. Thank you.” She flipped the page and started to giggle. “If nothing else, it was worth it just to see this picture.”
Felix peeked over her shoulder and groaned at the photo before them.
It was from fifth grade and he was wearing a Pokémon shirt stuffed into pants that he’d pulled up past his belly button.
His hair was sticking up at odd angles and his eyes were half-closed as he mugged for the camera.
Felix had always been a big fan of silly faces in pictures, but right now he wished he’d taken that to far less extremes.
Wiping a hand down his face, he leaned over and closed the photo book, earning a pout from his friend.
His attention snagged on Autumn’s bottom lip for a moment, and he wished so badly that they were alone and that she remembered him better so that he could lean over and nibble on it.
Shaking off the desire to taste his best friend again, something he’d longed to do every second of every day since she drove away from him, Felix stood and held out a hand to her. “How about we go look at some more recent pictures. Ones where I actually know how to dress myself.”
Autumn chuckled as he plucked at the front of his faded graphic tee.
It was from a concert they’d attended in high school, and while the rock band was no longer together, their music lived on in his heart and his clothes.
“Are you sure those even exist?” Felix bumped her with his shoulder, happy to take the dig because she was teasing him just as she always had.
“Fine, fine.” She walked around the table to give her mom and dad a goodbye hug.
It was less awkward than before, but he could still sense that Autumn wasn’t fully comfortable with them yet.
That didn’t seem to be the case with him, however, as she came right up to Felix’s side and leaned into him.
“Ready to go?” Far too happy by her proximity to do anything other than nod, Felix waved off the rest of the group, placed his hand at the small of her back, and guided her toward their apartment.
When they were at the top of the steps, Autumn turned to him with a smile reminiscent of the old Autumn.
It was wide, bright, and lit him up from the inside.
His whole world existed in that smile, and Felix took a mental snapshot of it to conjure up later when he inevitably worried about her again.
At least in this moment, she was happy. “Thanks for lunch. It was a lot, but it was fun too.”
Ushering Autumn through the door, Felix stopped to give her hand a squeeze.
“I’m glad it was fun, and I can only imagine how crazy it must have been for you.
” He walked them over to the couches and took a seat, hoping that some time with just the two of them would help to relax her. “So many new people.”
She nodded. “But they were all great, and I can’t wait to hang out with Willa and Nicole again. They seem really nice.”
“They are.” Felix felt a pang of sadness that Autumn didn’t remember how quickly she’d become friends with the two women, but it seemed that history was repeating itself in that regard.
Perhaps it would do the same with them. Grabbing his laptop, Felix booted it up and navigated to his picture folder.
“Want to look at some newer photos, or has it already been too much?” He was very cognizant of the fact that her brain was still recovering and didn’t want to do anything to cause a setback, but at the same time he was itching to remind her of just how close they had truly been.
Autumn considered his question before settling back into the couch.
The move caused her sweater to dip a little lower, showing a hint of cleavage.
Feeling the telltale stirring of desire low in his belly, Felix shifted on the couch and tried to concentrate on the screen in front of him.
“I’m good,” she chirped. “My brain doesn’t feel too overloaded, and I know we’re focusing on the present, but it couldn’t hurt to look back just a little, right? ”
Felix nodded, avoiding looking at her again until he got himself under control. Must not lust after recovering friend. “Sounds good.” He finally turned back to her, his brow furrowed with concern. “Just let me know if it becomes too much, okay. You’re the priority here, Auts.”
A somewhat dreamy expression overtook her face before she shook it off and nodded.
“I can do that.” She scooted closer to him, the herbal scent of her shampoo coming off of her in waves, but there was something missing.
No matter how many times she showered or washed her hands, Autumn had always smelled faintly of clay, but as she hadn’t been throwing in over a week, that was gone.
Felix missed it and made a mental note to take her down to her studio to get her reacquainted with her work.
If nothing else, it was another way to help get her back into her normal routine.
“What’s this from?” Autumn pointed at the screen where Felix had pulled up photos from their latest road trip through California.
The picture in question was of the two of them at the beach.
Autumn wore a pink two-piece that matched her hair and Felix wore a Speedo that was covered in pineapples.
It had been a gag gift from her at the start of their trip, but the joke was on her because Felix wore it every chance he got, embarrassing her anytime they were in public.
“That swimsuit is definitely a choice,” she remarked. Autumn shuddered slightly as she pulled a face at the offending item of clothing.
“Funny,” he said, bumping her with his shoulder. “It was a present from you, so how could I not wear it?” Felix clicked through more photos where he proudly displayed his tiny swimsuit, each one eliciting a louder giggle from the woman next to him. “Just wait, these aren’t even the best ones.”
Autumn stared at him bug-eyed. “There’s more of you in this thing? I’m surprised they let you on a public beach showing that much skin.”
Felix glanced over at his friend, not missing the blush on her cheeks as she stared at the photo on the screen.
The two of them were standing on a pier, Autumn in a cover-up and Felix in nothing but his suit and everything God gave him on display.
It was a ridiculously tiny thing, and it didn’t even remotely hide how much he was packing downstairs.
“It’s practically indecent,” she mumbled. Autumn shifted on the couch and if Felix was reading her correctly, she was more than a little turned on.
Debating whether or not to take advantage of that fact, Felix ultimately decided it was best to err on the side of caution.
If he made his move prematurely, he risked losing Autumn for good, and that was something he was unwilling to do.
Scrolling past his itsy bitsy, teeny weeny yellow pineapple bikini, Felix navigated toward safer photos like the ones they’d taken on the Golden Gate Bridge, at Disneyland, and at a few spots in San Diego, laughing together as he told her all about the trip.
Felix regaled her with tales of how they’d made a pact to stop for road snacks at least twice a day and he’d nearly eaten his weight in cheese popcorn in about two hours, about them walking near the bay in San Francisco and the wind blowing her hat into the water where it was promptly eaten by a sea lion, and all about how they’d been trapped on a stopped ride at Disneyland for nearly half an hour and become temporary best friends with the couple in the car behind them.
Autumn giggled and snorted with each new detail, and seeing her looking so carefree and like herself again reminded Felix of memories from the trip he would keep to himself.
How he’d watched her look at almost every snack in the gas station convenience store before finally deciding on the same peanut butter cups she always got, something other people might get annoyed by but he found endearing.
How her laughing off losing her hat made him realize that she was exactly the type of happy-go-lucky person he could see himself building a future with.
And how being trapped on a ride with her, being squeezed so closely next to her body had made his own feel safe, yet so hot with need that he “accidentally” dumped his water on himself just to cool off.
The entire rest of the day, Felix would look at Autumn, at the curve where her neck met her shoulder, the way her hair fell against her cheek, and how her eyes shined lovingly anytime she looked at him and felt the need to make her his forever.
Those thoughts would be kept private until the moment he felt she was ready to hear them.
As he watched her smile and laugh at the screen, her blue eyes dancing with mirth, Felix couldn’t help but hope that time came quickly.