Page 54 of Pinch

---

It was my favorite stuffed animal as a baby, my aunt Mimi made them for me, and I’ve always loved them. They’re very good at regenerating limbs, they symbolize immortality…

Gavin

I don’t think I’d want to live forever. After a while, you’re all alone. All your friends have died.

Haddy

So no vampirism for you—got it. What’s the word you have on your ribs? Kombucha? Big fan of the fermented tea?

Gavin

Komorebi. It’s a Japanese word… kind of hard to describe. It’s the way sunbeams filter through the leaves on the trees. Serenity, beauty…

Haddy

Unexpected.

Gavin

My mom Kenny’s a tattoo artist. She said it’s the way you feel when you find the person you’ll spend the rest of your life with.

My brow furrows, and I tilt my head at the words on the screen as emotion warms my chest

Haddy

You’re very romantic.

Gavin

Only with you, Princess. Gotta run—they’re calling us onto the ice.

Gavin

What’s your nickname?

I’m curledup in my bed, Patsy is secure in her crate, and I’m just drifting to sleep when my phone screen lights up with his question. Twisting my lips, I reply.

Haddy

Did Maverick tell you to ask me that?

Gavin

No…

Haddy

My nickname is Haddy.

Gavin

Why do I feel like it’s also something else?

Haddy

Do you have a nickname?

Gavin

---