I turned and huffed as I dug it out of my wallet.

“You can head north. It’s a nice three-mile loop.”

I took the key without acknowledging his suggestion or Fisher’s satisfied smile.

I wasn’t buying it.

And I wasn’t coming back with Fisher when I did decide to buy a car. Maybe Brendon would come with me. I felt fairly certain an attorney could negotiate a car deal for me just as if not better than Fisher.

“Left,” Fisher said as I pulled to a stop at the lot entrance.

“Shut up.”

I didn’t give him my full attention, but I also didn’t miss his smirk, how much he enjoyed me in my most unruly state.

We drove a mile up the road.

“It’s a nice vehicle.”

I ignored him.

Another mile.

“You could fit four friends and some camping gear in the back. If you have four friends.”

I swerved across three lanes of traffic to an exit.

“Jesus Christ!” He grabbed the dash. “What in the hell are you doing? Trying to get us killed?”

I pulled into the empty parking lot of an elementary school. “Would you just shut up?” I punched the button to my seat belt and climbed out of the vehicle, marching with no purpose other than to get away from him.

Landing at the playground, I planted my butt on a swing, gripped the chains, and hung my head to take a timeout … a few long breaths to regain my composure.

Fisher’s work boots made it into my line of sight, but I wasn’t ready to look at him or talk to him or … acknowledge his existence on the planet.

As I said a silent prayer for him to not say anything, God answered it.

Fisher walked behind me and grabbed the chains close to the seat, pulling me backward and giving me a gentle push forward.

He did it again and again, until I was so high I felt like the younger version of myself taking a deep breath and staring at the blue sky, imagining what it would be like to touch it.

After … I didn’t know. Five minutes? Ten minutes? He stopped pushing me and waited for me to come to a complete stop without forcing it with my feet or anything else. It was hard to explain how that moment touched me. It was stupid, really, but I had never felt so much patience given to me from another human as I felt as Fisher waited for me to come to a complete stop.

Feet dangling in virtual stillness.

The mulch crunched beneath his boots as he appeared in front of me again. Kneeling in the dirty mulch, he slid his arms around my waist and rested his head on my lap.