Page 26 of Hearts of Fairlake

He sighed. “I'm sorry."

"I am too," I told him. "I overreacted, and before we evenhad the chance to calm down, I stormed out and left you alone. That was...childish."

"No," he said with a shake of his head. "It's not childish to need space to breathe and calm down. I wasn't pissed that you left."

"I distinctly remember you growling out the door at me when I got in the car," I chuckled. "Something about being petulant."

He winced. “I wasn'tactuallypissed...not at that. Notspecificallyat that. I was just pissed in general, and that was one more thing I could add to the list of reasons to be pissed off."

"I remember you told me I gave you a list of reasons to be pissed off at me at least twice a day."

He snorted, reaching to wrap his arm around my waist. “I said you give me a list of reasons to lose my sanity. Not piss me off."

"Ahh, I see. There’s a difference?"

"There is."

"Well, I'm sorry all the same," I told him, giving in to that last little urge and laying my head on his shoulder, breathing in the smell of soap and cologne. "I didn't handle shit well either. I should have talked to you sooner."

"We'll talk about it, eventually," he said, kissing my temple gently. "Right now, I'm just glad to be here with you. It's been driving me crazy not being able to see you, hear you make some awful joke, or try to drive me up a wall just because you think it's funny."

"Mmm, it usually is funny. Your sense of humor needs some work."

"Noted," he said dryly. Normally, I would have expected a snarky comment from him, but the lines on his face were still softening, and I thought maybe he was just relieved that the worst was behind us.

"So...do we talk about this whole thing now?"

"Later," he said, leaning down to give me a gentle, sweet kiss. "Right now, I just want to enjoy the fact that we're talking again without needing to yell."

I chuckled. “Fair enough. I wasn't really in the mood for any more serious talk."

I made an effort to talk about things with him because I loved him, but talking too much about feelings and serious shit always left me feeling stretched thin and a little ragged. Expressing myself healthily had never been my best skill, and even with the practice I'd put in for him, for us, it still wasn't easy. I could only handle so much before my brain got itchy and worn down, and I found myself getting antsy and a little cranky.

"We can give your poor head a break," he said with a chuckle, pressing his face into my hair and breathing deep, letting it out with a contented sigh.

We both jumped out of our skin when the door was flung open, revealing Colin staring at us with wide eyes. After a moment, he narrowed his eyes. “Eton...you need to eat."

I sighed, not just because he still refused to say my name correctly, something I believed was probably my dear sister's doing, but because I was being lectured by a five-year-old, of all things. Before I could say anything, Devin appeared behind Colin, hustling to grab him. “Sorry guys, he slipped away when I wasn't paying attention."

"It's fine," I said with a snort, gesturing at Colin, who immediately launched toward me so he could scramble into my lap and make himself comfortable. "We just finished kissing and making up."

"Daddy and Papa Bennett kiss all the time," Colin informed us, peering over to look at the food on Trevor's plate. "Even more than Mommy and Papa Keith."

"Yes, well, sometimes when people are sickeningly in love,they do stuff like that," I said with a snort. "Maybe you'll be lucky enough to have that too...when you're older. A lot older."

He thought about it for a moment before shrugging. “I guess. But why don't I see Uncle Chase and Uncle Devin do it? I thought they loved each other."

Devin blinked, clearly thrown off by the rather blunt question and the innocent, if probably painful, insinuation. I waited a moment before clearing my throat. “Well. Everyone's different, Colin. Some people like to kiss a lot even when others are around, and others like to do it in private."

"Is that what Uncle Chase and Uncle Devin are like?"

"Well, dude, he's right there. You can ask him."

Of course, Colin promptly turned around and stared into Devin's soul. “Are you and Uncle Chase like that?"

"We're pretty private about that sort of thing," Devin explained. "But we still love each other very much."

"Are you sure?"

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