His stickiness was between them, his chest to her back and suddenly, they were both laughing their fool heads off.

“Sorry. Probably should have asked before I did that. You all right?”

“Are you kidding?” she asked, her cheek against the carpet and the whole of her body just sandwiched under his weight. “That was the hottest moment of my life. But now I need a shower, and I definitely need those pancakes.”

Seb pulled them up off the ground. “I manhandle you a lot,” he noted as he tugged her toward the bathroom.

“I wish I could return the favor. Pick you up and toss you around and show you how fun it is.”

“Maybe in a pool or the ocean.”

“Coney Island this summer.”

He stopped halfway through turning the shower on. “Yeah. Wow. We’re gonna do summer stuff together. The three of us.”

“Hell yeah.” She stepped into the spray and winced when it was too hot; she leaned down to adjust the handles. “We’re gonna do all the stuff.”

THEY ATE PANCAKES that night, smelling like Sebastian’s soap and sitting on the kitchen floor. The next morning, they woke up in a tight knot of each other’s limbs and stayed in bed until they absolutely had to get up. He drove her home, watched from her bed while she changed her clothes, and then took her to school for professional development.

He picked her up from work, too. They spent the night at her house, and Seb was so wildly taken with her bedroom. He just loved it. Her full-size bed that was way too small for him, her delicate white comforter and the fussy, colorful lamps. He loved the artwork she’d chosen—bright watercolor portraits—and the scent of her everywhere.

He took her to school and back the next day, too. When they woke up in his bed on Thanksgiving, it was with just the slightest air of melancholy. He’d go back to White Plains that day. Sebastian couldn’t wait until he got Matty and Via in the same place again. Because even now, with Via laid across his chest, his heart was in two places at once. Even with all the FaceTime calls, it had been too many days since he’d seen his son. But that didn’t make leaving Via any easier.

“We’ll be back tomorrow,” he decided on the spot, cruising a hand up and down her smooth back.

“But you’re supposed to stay until Sunday!”

“Doesn’t matter. Matty and Crabby and I will be back tomorrow. I wish you could come with me today.”

They’d talked about it, spending Thanksgiving together. But in the end, decided that Matty and Cora’s parents probably needed a bit more time to adjust to a new reality with Via in it. A holiday was too high pressure. And besides, she had traditions with Fin to uphold.

“Me, too. But this way is good, too.” A sudden shyness crept into her expression. “Do you wanna get together tomorrow?”