Page 31 of Nightmare For Hire
“Good. Now, no more sad eyes. Screw Mick the dick. He doesn’t deserve you. Not even close.” He points. “Turn here. I want to show you someplace pretty for your camera.”
I follow his directions for the next couple of turns until we reach a park I hadn’t found yet.
“I want to show you my favorite part, so you gotta park.”
I pull into a spot, and he squeezes my hand before hopping out of my truck.
He takes my hand again when I join him after grabbing my camera from under the bench.
Nox looks around. “This isn’t anything like the redwood forest, but there’s this nice little path I like to float through. And there are a lot of pretty flowers. Do you like flowers? I do. Do guys get flowers? Or—”
“Nox?” Why does my voice have to come out broken?
“Yeah?” He whips around, eyes wide. “What’s wrong?”
“Thank you,” I whisper. Stupid tears well in my eyes. I don’t want to cry, I want to send them back.
“I’m gonna hug you. If that’s okay?”
I nod, moving my camera out of the way, and he pulls me into his arms, wrapping me in his warmth.
“I got you, Cy. Don’t worry. I’ll keep Mick away from you.”
I have no idea how long we stand here, but it’s like he’s sucking away all my cares and worries and I let him. When finally I feel strong enough, he smiles.
“There’s my Cy. Now let’s put these boots to good use.” He takes my hand and tugs me towards an opening through the treeline to a well-worn path. “Do you have a favorite bird? Idon’t think I do. They’re annoying in the morning with all their chirping. But hawks are pretty.”
“I never gave it much thought, really. Or flowers.”
“I’m gonna get you flowers. For your hair!” Nox skips away from me and snatches a bunch of blue blooms from the ground. I can’t help but snap a few candid shots of him being absolutely adorable. He examines each flower before brushing my hair behind my ears and putting a flower on each side. “Perfect. They go with your eyes.” He nods and skips ahead again.
“You need flowers for your hair, too.” I pick a few of the same kind and mimic what he did with me. “Beautiful.”
I take a few more pictures of Nox, some of the trees, and a couple of the flowers before we start walking again. Nox is so patient, Mick never would have stood for this.
“Oh! Here we are.” Nox’s favorite part of the forest path is a little concrete bench. There’s nothing really special about it, but he grins and hops over to it and plops down. He pats the spot next to him, and I can’t stop myself from joining him. Why would I?
“I like watching the woods here. Sometimes deer come out and sniff me. It makes me laugh every time. Their noses feel funny on my skin.” He leans his head on my shoulder. “But I think right now you just need peace and quiet. I think this is a good spot for it, don’t you?”
I nod and lay my head on top of his. “Thank you, Nox.”
“Any time.” He squeezes my hand, and we sit in comfortable silence.
It doesn’t take long for a pair of his deer friends to venture over. I keep as still as possible not to spook them. Nox practically vibrates next to me as if he’s anticipating their touch. Unfortunately, he giggles loudly. Their ears twitch and they run the opposite direction.
“Sometimes that happens.” He slaps his knee and pushes to his feet. “I get too excited and forget to be quiet. But it’s okay. I’ll bring them deer snacks sometime and they’ll come up to me even if I’m laughing.”
“Maybe we can come here together every week?” I ask.
“Really? I’d love that.”
“Me too. But how about we go meet Dani? If he’s up to it, that is.” Because I’m feeling brave.
“Let me check!” Nox pulls his phone from his purse and shoots a text to his friend.
By the time we get back to my truck, Nox is vibrating with excitement again. “He said he’d love to meet you! Let’s go! Let’s go!”
The entire drive, I have to remind myself that Noxwantsto show me off,wantsto introduce me to his best friend.
