Sunshine Kisses

When her vision started blurring and her body grew heavy, she shut her laptop, dimmed the lights, and crashed into her pillows with a huff, visions of Erik’s intense stares still dancing behind her eyes.

Abby’s alarm clock mingled with the sound of three gentle taps on the door separating her room from Erik’s. She opened her eyes with a groan, wondering if she had imagined it. The knock sounded again, slightly louder. Abby slid out of bed and shuffled towards her door.

Erik was expected when she yanked it open. The cinnamon twist he held out to her was not.

Her heart swelled slightly at the sight. He’d woken early enough to shower, ready himself for the day, and head down to the dining room to collect her favourite treat before she got out of bed. It was kind. Thoughtful. Erik. And most of her annoyance from the night before evaporated.

She looked up from the pastry in his hand and found his eyes taking her in. An amused smile curved his lips as he glanced at her ridiculous top-knot, curly tendrils escaping from the large bundle. The smile tightened as his eyes dipped lower, taking in her shirt.

His shirt, actually.

He’d given her the old athletics team shirt to sleep in one Saturday night, before he padded down the stairs to spend the night on the sofa. It had been almost routine for him to hand her a large shirt and shorts when she spent the night at his family’s house. But the routine had been disrupted the following morning, when the large grey shirt she now wore had found its way to the bottom of her bag instead of his laundry basket. For whatever reason, that soft, heady mix of Erik had clung particularly strongly to that shirt, and she hadn’t been able to bring herself to part with it. Erik had never mentioned it. She’d hoped he’d never noticed.

Judging from the surprise in his voice when he spoke next, she’d been right. ‘Did you bring any of your own clothes?’ he croaked.

Abby shrugged, and the motion sent the shirt swishing around her thighs. The brush of fabric against her skin reminded her that, unlike when they were teenagers, her legs were bare where the hem hit her thighs. Erik’s gaze drifted further, stopping on the spot where soft grey cotton met pale skin. ‘It’s comfy,’ she said simply.

When she spoke, Erik snapped his eyes quickly back to meet hers. Something suspiciously like guilt crept onto his face, and he held out the sugar-dusted peace offering. Abby eyed it with just enough scepticism to pretend she wasn’t drooling inwardly.

‘What’s this?’

‘An olive branch. I’m sorry.’

Abby’s face softened slightly. ‘You should be.’

Erik gestured at the pastry again. She tore off the edge and popped it into her mouth with a pleased sigh. In a fight between cinnamon twists and sex, she wasn’t sure sex would come out on top.

‘You can have some if you tell me why you were being a dick,’ she said.

Erik shrugged, extending the pastry towards her again. Abby finally took it and enjoyed another large bite. ‘Fine. No treat for you. I still want an explanation.’

‘You were right last night. I was jealous.’

Something twisted in Abby’s chest. He couldn’t mean—

‘Not like that,’ Erik rushed out. ‘It’s just…I haven’t been able to spend any real time with you in years, Abby. Despite what I will have my parents believe as long as they’re paying for this very nice room, I’m not here for them. I’m here because I wanted to see you.’ He ran a hand through his already destroyed hair. The sight made her heart ache a little, knowing how much he must have been anxiously tugging on it before knocking on her door to get it into that state. She was still going to give him hell, but maybe she could go a little easier on him than she’d planned.

‘You didn’t even know I was coming when you agreed,’ Abby observed, narrowing her eyes. ‘I wasn’t coming.’

Erik flashed a grin that somehow managed to be simultaneously cheeky and bashful. It was annoying how adorable it was.

‘It’s true that I would have joined them anyway. But I was counting on my powers of persuasion to convince you.’

‘Prick,’ Abby muttered. But he’d made her smile as she said it, and she knew he’d know the game was up.

Eyebrows raised, Erik looked at her imploringly. ‘I realise it’s dumb and childish, and I definitely overreacted, but you’re my best friend and I’ve missed you, and I saw that guy and the thought of you spending this trip hanging out with someone else just— I’m sorry, okay? I guess I’ve always been a little selfish when it comes to sharing you,’ he finished with a crooked smile.

Abby wasn’t sure what she’d expected him to say after their spat in the hallway. Perhaps that was why her stomach was tied into confused knots that felt a lot like disappointment.

‘It won’t happen again?’ She eyed him shrewdly.

Erik faltered, before saying he would try.

She found herself wondering how much was left in the gaps between his words, but she nodded, prepared to take him at what he said. Not prepared to let herself hope for more. The cinnamon twist long since demolished, Abby threw her sugar-dusted hands around Erik’s neck, pressing a sticky kiss to his cheek.

‘You know after all these years, you’re still my favourite person?’ she whispered in his ear.

Erik nodded, bringing himself even closer with the motion. Abby tried to ignore how perfectly her body curved into his. How she was just the right height to rest her cheek over his heart, feeling the steady flutter against her skin. How his arm fit snugly in the hollow of her back.