27. KORIE #2
And swaying there in Holden’s arms, dreams settling quietly around us like sparks rising into the night sky, I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy.
The next couple of days pass in the kind of warm blur I never want to leave behind.
Slow mornings tangled up with Holden in the tent. Shared meals around folding tables. Card games that devolve into arguments and cheating accusations within minutes. Ezra nearly setting a hot dog bun on fire somehow. Laura threatening everybody equally.
It feels easy now.
Not because everything is magically fixed, but because I’m not fighting the shape of my life anymore. It’s just expanded now that my heart opened up to Holden.
On the last evening before we head home, Hattie talks us into walking down to the lake one more time before sunset.
The trail’s familiar beneath my shoes now, worn smooth from years of family trips. Holden walks close enough that our shoulders bump every few steps, fingers brushing occasionally like he can’t help himself.
I don’t mind.
Hattie races ahead of us with entirely too much energy, stopping every few feet to kick pinecones or investigate random plants, reminding me so much of when we were younger.
“You know,” Holden says, “she’s gonna crash the second we get back.”
“Just her? I know you will too,” I tease.
He grins immediately. “Oh, I have no doubt. I even took Tuesday off just to recover.”
“Me too.”
We glance at each other, as if imagining a full day in bed together. Alone. My cheeks heat.
The lake comes into view through the trees, evening light turning the water gold and orange. Hattie darts ahead toward the shoreline while Holden and I slow near the edge of the woods.
And then I see it.
“Oh my god,” I laugh softly. “Holden, look.”
“What?”
I point toward one of the trees near the trail. “Come here.”
He steps closer, frowning slightly while I brush my fingers over the carving in the bark.
H & M.
The edges are worn now, softened by years of weather and time.
Holden stares at it for a second before barking out a surprised laugh. “Holy shit. I remember that.”
“We were little.”
“Twelve maybe?”
“Or maybe thirteen.” I grin helplessly. “Wow, that’s embarrassing.”
“No, it’s not.”
I smile at him. Always so damn certain.
I trace the letters lightly, memory tugging at me in flashes. Summer dirt on my knees. Warm soda. Holden daring me to climb higher into the tree than him. Both of us swearing we’d still camp together when we were old and gross.
“We promised we’d always be best friends,” I say quietly.
Holden goes softer beside me. “Just like our parents.”
I’m suddenly shy about how much that memory means to me now. I flatten a hand on my chest.
For a second, neither of us says anything. Then Holden reaches into his pocket, pulling something out. The glint of metal catches my eye.
“What are you doing?” I ask suspiciously.
He flips open the little pocketknife he always carries and presses the blade carefully into the bark.
Realization hits me immediately.
“Holden—”
He grins while shaving away part of the M.
“You don’t need to do that.”
“I know. But it has a different meaning now, doesn’t it?”
I watch him reshape the letter slowly until the M becomes a K.
H & K.
Something emotional catches unexpectedly in my throat. It’s stupid. Just an old carving in a tree. But it doesn’t feel stupid. It feels like something circling back around. Something finally settling where it belongs.
Holden wipes the blade clean against his jeans before glancing up at me, and immediately pauses.
“What?”
I hadn’t realized I was crying. I wipe at the tears quickly.
“Nothing,” I mumble.
“Korie.”
I laugh weakly, covering my face for a second. “Okay, rude. I was just having a moment! Apparently this tree has emotional significance now.”
“Yeah? You gonna write one of your poems about it?”
I shove him. “I might.”
His expression turns unbearably fond.
Behind us, Hattie comes jogging back up the trail. “What are you guys doing?”
“Preserving history,” Holden answers solemnly.
Hattie squints at the carving. “You guys are weird.”
She wanders back toward the lake again, oblivious to how her brother just made me fall even more in love with him.
The second she’s out of earshot, Holden steps closer. Close enough that my breath catches a little. The evening light filters through the trees around him, catching gold in his hair. He looks warm and familiar and entirely mine in a way that still startles me sometimes.
Holden reaches up, fingers brushing along my stubbled jaw. And then he kisses me. Right there in the middle of the woods beside our ridiculous childhood tree carving.
I melt into him instantly, hands bunching in the front of his shirt as everything blooms even wider.
When he pulls back, he rests his forehead against mine, smiling softly. “You okay?”
I exhale a quiet laugh. “If by okay you mean dreamy and perfectly happy, then yes. I’m definitely okay.”
He chuckles and hugs me.
I think about the last few weeks and how quickly everything changed.
And instead of panicking, I’m excited to move forward now.
I’m ready to go home. We still have things to figure out, like combining our apartments someday, but I trust us to do it together.
More importantly, I trust Holden to stay beside me now instead of running ahead.
We’ll need to make time for our friends again too.
For city weekends and game nights and all the people we accidentally disappeared from while we were figuring ourselves out.
Maybe we can get one more trip out on the water before it gets too cold.
But for the first time, none of this feels overwhelming.
It feels real. Like we’re building something.
Now, I’m ready for it.
Holden squeezes my waist lightly. “What’re you thinking about?”
I smile before kissing him one more time, quick and easy.
“Us,” I say simply. “And how damn happy I am that you asked me on that date.”
He smiles slow and warm. “We can never remind Hattie of her role in this.”
I snort. “Ever.” I kiss him. “Love you.”
He doesn’t say it back, but he doesn’t need to.
I take his hand and turn toward the lake. “Come on.”