Get-Together Summer by Lotus Oakes

and tilted her head. "Morning, Simon."
    He chewed the inside of his cheek before he could
make himself answer properly. "Good morning. Dirk said you should
come downstairs. It looked like stuff was done."
    She smiled, still heavy-eyed. "You're getting along
with him," she said. "I'm glad."
    He gave a guilty little start at
her words, then drew himself up, huffing. "I, I am not! He's not a
bad cook, but that doesn't mean I like him or anything! Actually, I
don't at all! He's still not proven himself to me! And anyway, he
was the one who offered, it's not like I have to if you're going to
be like that about it--"
    Before his rant could gain any more momentum, though,
Haley reached up and patted his cheek lightly. Her fingers were
blood-warm and soft and smelled very faintly of lavender. "That's
good," she said. Up close he could see the softness in her eyes. "I
really am glad."
    Caught by her words, Simon could only snap his mouth
shut again and nod dumbly.
    "I'm going to shower," she added, pulling back to
cover her mouth for its yawn. "Tell him I'll be down in a bit."
    "Um," he said, but when she stopped and cocked her
head at him, he found himself at a loss for what to say. He
shrugged, awkward in his own skin. "... Nothing."
    She bit her lip, tipping her head back further,
looking up at his face. "Are you sure?"
    He hesitated, then reached to poke her in the
forehead, making her rock back slightly. "Of course I am," he said,
and managed a smile for her, a little surprised at himself. "I'm
always sure about everything."
    Haley wrinkled her nose. "Liar."
    "I am not." Simon poked her forehead again, and she
grabbed at his wrist, using it as leverage to pull herself to her
feet. She leaned into him for a moment, soft and sweet-smelling,
and Simon half-lifted a hand to curl it around her waist -- then
turned it into a shoulderpat instead. "Go shower."
    She hummed, sticking her tongue out at him, then
brushing past him as she meandered her way to her bathroom. He
watched her go, and the slow easy roll of her hips as she walked.
He could see the faint outlines of her body under the straight fall
of her nightgown, and he had to clench his hands to keep from
reaching out to her. Only when he heard the sound of water begin
did he turn away and head back downstairs, his ears still
burning.
    Dirk was setting the places when he returned to the
kitchen. At his questioning look, Simon shrugged. "She's
showering."
    "Well, her loss." He pointed to the same chair Simon
had been using. "Go ahead, sit, eat. It's better when everything's
still hot."
    He hunched his shoulders a little, circling a little
warily towards the chair. "What about you?"
    "I'm eating too, hell yeah," said Dirk.
    "You're not going to wait for Haley?"
    He blinked, taking his seat. "Why would I?"
    "Because ..." Simon pursed his lips. "Well, isn't
that the thing to do? If she's your girlfriend. You wait for
her."
    Dirk raised an eyebrow. "She's my girlfriend, yeah,
not my symbiotic twin or something. She's a big girl, she can eat
whenever she gets down here. She doesn't need either of us holding
her hand."
    "Yes, but--" Simon subsided, sinking back in his
chair with a small scowl. It seemed odd to him; they had done so
much together already this vacation -- even beyond the things that
they'd invited him to, like shopping and other movies and just
going out together holding hands; he didn't understand why suddenly
Dirk would be so casual about not waiting for her to eat. He picked
up his fork, prodding at the bright yellow piles of eggs; they were
nicely fluffy, interspersed here and there with splashes of white,
speckled with black pepper. It smelled good, better than he wanted
to admit, and his stomach gave a small eager growl.
    "But nothing," Dirk said, one cheek already stuffed.
He gestured with his own fork to Simon's plate. "If you're hungry,
eat. Don't let it get cold on you."
    "Never mind," he muttered. He stabbed a large lump of
eggs, stuffing it into his mouth. They