Chapter 41
Chapter Forty-One
SAM
Naomi left the bookshop with a bag she didn’t enter with, and Logan nudged it with his nose as if to call it out.
“Great, I’m getting judged by my dog now,” she said brightly before she noticed the coffee cup in my hand. I held it out for her, trading it for the bag. It was heavier than I expected. She took a sip and exhaled dreamily. “Thanks. I needed that.”
“Just like you needed these books?” I raised the bag gently.
“Only one of them is for me. The other is for Lois and…okay, maybe two are for me. You ready to go? How was Hannah?”
We started walking towards the park, but with both hands occupied, I couldn’t thread our fingers together the way I wanted.
“She’s fine. Finding it hard to be in the middle of everything, but we’re gonna celebrate Christmas before I go, just the three of us, which will be nice.”
“Sounds like it. I still can’t believe Christmas has come around so quickly.”
“Well, it’s still November for now, so let’s pretend it’s not around the corner.”
“Oh, something you should know about me is that I love Christmas. Our Christmas decorations are locked in our parents’ garage so I don’t put them up the second November hits.”
I smiled. “Ah, well, surely they have to go up before your fake Christmas?”
“They should be there by the time this walk with Logan is done!”
Logan perked up at hearing his name and also at the expanse of green opening up before us.
Naomi came to a stop and unclipped Logan’s lead, wrapping it over her shoulders.
He ran off, but not very far, and then turned to look back at us expectantly.
She opened the bag over her torso and pulled out a ball, which Logan barked at, and she threw it, sending him tearing after it.
Within moments, he was back, dropping the ball at our feet. Naomi picked it up and looked at me. “Wanna play a game, Langkowski?”
I frowned. “I don’t understand that reference.”
“Fair, it’s kind of niche. Walter Langkowski.
The alter ego of Sasquatch. Superhero. Fought the Hulk for fun.
Possesses superhuman strength and stamina when in his transformed state.
Also covered in orange fur, but you can just ignore that,” she reeled off easily in a way that made me feel hot, especially as she was still wearing my hat, which looked so much better on her than it ever could on me.
“It does, however, feed into what my game is. Whoever Logan drops the ball to has to reveal a fact about themselves. And not a boring one. I don’t care what your favourite colour is. ”
“This might end with you just telling me things. He’s your dog,” I pointed out.
“True, but he clearly likes you. Or have you forgotten that he broke a lead so he could sleep on your leg, not even half an hour ago?”
She had me there. “Fine, I agree to your terms. Although none of your facts can be about how you’re a comic book nerd.”
“Damn,” she replied with a snap of her wrist, throwing the ball away.
The next time Logan came back, he dropped it at my feet and sat down in wait. I picked it up and sent him back on his way. Naomi looked at me expectantly.
“My first word was shit.”
“Whose fault was that?”
“Dad’s probably. I’m the youngest. Things went haywire by that point.”
“That final-child privilege.”
Logan came back, and the ball hit my trainer. I threw it, and as we watched him bound over to it, I thought of my next fact.
“I don’t like bananas, but have never figured out a better alternative for a quick boost of energy mid-match,” I offered.
Naomi laughed and placed a hand on my arm. “Oh my god, babe, that’s so tragic. There are so many. By the time the season starts up again, you will be banana-free.”
I knew then that I’d be the one to kiss her first. I just needed the perfect moment.