Page 77 of On the Mountain

She gave me a wave from inside, and I appreciated that she didn’t get out, likely because of the man standing beside me. He would have warned her for me.

“I’ll be back, okay?” Cyrus gave me a small, unsure smile, then started toward his friend.

I grabbed his wrist, pulling him to me, then took his mouth with mine. The need to claim him was too strong to deny. I rubbed my face against his, as if I could bathe him in my scent, warning everyone he was mine and to stay away.

“Okay, that was hot. Hold that thought until I get back.”

I tried to smile but couldn’t.

“I love you,” Cyrus said, and the ball in my chest loosened.

“I love you too.”

I could live off the smile he gave me in return.

I watched until the car was out of sight.

After the dump, I made my trip to the hardware store, then the post office. When Cyrus came back to the apartment, Melody wasn’t with him. He would be following me up the mountain in his car. I didn’t like the idea, worried it wasn’t safe, but Cyrus stood firm in his decision.

The second he reached me, I pulled him into my arms, kissed him, then fucked him over the kitchen counter.

“God, I needed that,” he said breathlessly, fingers clinging and touching. “I missed you too. It was hard to be away from you.”

I nodded, sucking and licking at his throat.

“Can we go to the grocery store and then hurry home?”

I breathed out a sigh of relief. “Yes.” My voice was rough with the same need as his.

There were some foods Cyrus wanted, things he’d been craving that we hadn’t had all winter, like ice cream and Cool Ranch Doritos. Apparently, he was a big fan of both, and I didn’t eat either, so there hadn’t been any at the house.

We met at the grocery store and parked close to each other at the end of the lot. My nerves twisted up my insides, tying me into tight knots. I hated the eyes on me, but even more than that… “They will look at you differently, treat you differently because of me.”

Cyrus frowned, looking at me like he couldn’t believe I’d said that. “Fuck them. All of them. I don’t care what they think. I’ve spent my life being an outsider. It’s where I belong.”

“It’s where I belong too.”

Cyrus nodded, grinned, then interlaced our fingers. I didn’t pull away, wanted the stares from others now because they would see he was mine.

And stare they did, whispering, pointing, but we shopped together, heads held high, hands tight together as we got Cyrus’s junk food and flavored coffee creamer.

When we went through the line, the cashier, a woman who looked to be around fifty, with slight lines around her eyes, looked at us and smiled. “How are you two today?”

Again, relief escaped me on a whoosh of breath.

“We’re good, thank you. Just getting some essentials,” Cyrus told her. I couldn’t give her words, couldn’t give them to anyone here.

“Cereal?” She quirked a playful brow.

“Obviously.”

She and Cyrus chatted while she finished checking us out, before she said, “Have a good day.” Then looked at me. “You too, Crow.”

I would still never belong here. There would always be people who treated us badly, but maybe, just maybe, it would all be okay.

I gave her a nod in return.

We took the groceries out to the vehicles, Cyrus pushing the cart while I kept my hand on his nape in support.