"And now he's acting like it was some kind of weather event. Like a temporary atmospheric disturbance."
Ziggy laughed. "You're gone. Completely gone. I haven't heard you this tangled since you fell for Silas's guest barista who spoke Icelandic and made coffee art that looked like tiny glaciers."
I grumbled. "That was different." I stopped walking and let the wind whip salt spray across my face. "This is... God, Ziggy, I don't know what this is."
"Tell me everything. And I mean everything. What happened?"
I shared it all. I told him about the meteor showers and bourbon-laced hot chocolate. I described Wes's hands exploring my body.
"And this morning?"
I sighed heavily. "This morning, he's fixing the stove like his life depends on it and calling last night good in the same tone he'd use to describe adequate weather."
"Ah, shit." Ziggy was quiet for a second. "Okay, look—this guy sounds like he's been living in a cave or whatever. You can't just... I mean, you had one amazing night, but that doesn't mean he's gonna wake up all fixed, you know?"
I picked up a smooth stone and hurled it toward the waves. It disappeared with only a tiny splash. "So what am I supposed to do? Pretend it didn't matter?"
"Hell no, but maybe give him room to catch up with what happened. Some people are just... weird about good stuff happening. Like they think it's gonna disappear or whatever."
A seal bobbed in the distance, dark head barely visible above the swells. I watched it disappear and surface again.
"What if he decides it was a mistake?"
"What if he doesn't?" Ziggy shot back. "Dude, I've known you since we were like eight, and you made me help you catch that injured seagull because you couldn't just leave it there. You don't fall for random people. So if you're this gone over him, he's gotta be worth it."
"I'm scared I'm going to fuck it up and push too hard or not hard enough."
"Or maybe just... I don't know, trust that he wanted you last night. Like, that was real, even if he's being weird about it now. Some people are just better in the dark, you know?" He chuckled. "Kade is awesome in the dark."
I thought about Wes's hands on my skin, how he'd touched me like I was something precious that might break.
"How long do I wait?"
"However long, I guess. But don't just sit there like a sad puppy, okay? Show him you're not going anywhere. Like, make it super obvious this isn't just because you're stuck on an island together or whatever. Prove you actually want him."
A gull landed near my feet, studying me with one bright eye before deciding I wasn't worth investigating. It lifted off with a dismissive flap, already focused on more promising prospects down the shore.
"Thanks, Zig."
"Anytime. And Eric? Call me when something happens. Good or bad. I want details."
I ended the call and stood there for a while longer, watching the waves tug at the shore. Somewhere behind me, the cottage waited with its practiced silences and the man loading all his concentration onto the stove to avoid focusing on me.
Prove you actually want him.
I considered all of Ziggy's advice as I walked back. When I reached the cottage, Wes had progressed from the pilot light to a wiring diagram spread across the kitchen table. He'd put his shirt back on, but it hung unbuttoned, revealing the hollow of his throat where I'd pressed my lips the night before.
"Still at it?" I settled into the chair across from him.
"Thermostat's been reading wrong. Off by maybe ten degrees." He didn't look up from the paper. "Need to trace the connections and figure out where the signal's getting lost."
I watched him follow wire paths with his finger, jaw working like he was grinding something between his teeth.
"Wes."
"This is important, Eric. If the heat goes out during a nor'easter—"
"Look at me."
