What I know right now is that I’ve

never had a big brother, but still,

you’re the best one ever.

I soaked up some vitamin D, drank my coffee out of Axl’s hip coffee glass, and got back from Brett:

Pleased it worked out, sweetheart.

Speak soon. ♥♥

Now seriously.

What motherfucker put heart emojis on his texts?

I was still contemplating this, and a fair few other things (most of those other things having to do with the Jacuzzi, none of them having to do with contacting Dad to tell him it was pizza delivery for him that night—I’d tackle that later, after some of my joy died down and he had less time to make a fuss about it) when I heard a car approach then a garage door go up.

Not knowing the neighborhood sounds, and since the houses were close in Baker, I couldn’t be sure, but just in case it was Axl, I got up and went into the kitchen.

I was done with my coffee anyway and needed to clean the glass.

I was right.

It was Axl.

And as I set the rinsed glass in the dishwasher, he came in the back door, wearing navy cargos and a navy tee.

We both froze in place and stared at each other.

We did this for a long time, like if one of us moved, the other would go up in a puff of smoke and under no circumstances could that happen.

Then we did this for even longer, like we were prepared to do it forever.

And I had to admit I could do this forever, because Axl was just that easy to look at.

But more, I liked what this said. How much it meant to him I was standing in his kitchen, which made it safe for me to share how much it meant to be there.

Dainty Cat broke it up by slithering to Axl and rubbing up against his leg.

I chanced speaking.

“Your cat doesn’t like me.”

“My cat doesn’t like me,” he replied. “She’s only being nice because you’re here and now she has someone to like less than she likes me, and she wants to make sure you know it.”

I burst out laughing.

Axl moved to me while I did it, and he was grinning.

He stopped close, though he could have gotten closer.

Like, hello kiss closer.

Sadly, he didn’t give me hello kiss close or a hello kiss.

When I got a handle on my laughter, I said, “If asked, I would have said you were a dog person.”