Twenty minutes later, they had two cups of coffee, her caramel macchiato and his cold brew with oat milk, as well as a large cinnamon roll in hand as they strolled through downtown Applewood. Retail shops were just opening up and soon the sidewalks would be bustling with people both from the community and those looking to get out of the big city for the weekend, but for now they had nearly as much privacy as they would at home.

Spying an empty bench near the town square, a space that was really more of a small circle covered in craggy sidewalks and little else, Autumn steered them toward it and took a seat. There was no better place to have their little talk then somewhere they were essentially alone but was also public enough that she could go tearing into the specialty kitchen store and hide behind a rack of pans if Felix rejected her.

Stalling until she could come up with the right way to start one of the most important conversations of her life, Autumn sipped her drink. The strong, bold flavor of the espresso hit her like a cold breeze on a warm day, but it was quickly chased away by the sweetness from the caramel. Licking her lips, she stared down at the cup, snorting at the note she saw written in sharpie.

She spun the plastic cup to show Felix. “I think the barista likes you.” Scrawled on the side of the cup were the words “Call me, Pinkie.” followed by a phone number and a winky face.

Felix smiled slyly as he sipped from his cup. “No, that’s definitely for you.” He tugged on a lock of her pink hair. “You’re obviously, Pinkie.”

Autumn furrowed her brow and pushed Felix lightly on the chest, indicating the pink t-shirt he happened to be wearing, and quite well, she might add. The pink might make another person look ruddy or washed out, but it set off Felix’s light skin nicely and complimented the walnut colored hair that rested just at his shoulders. Her eyes traveled lower, eyes widening at the sight of soft fabric stretching across his chest, highlighting lean muscle and a trim torso. Autumn already knew what lay underneath the fabric, but there was something equally sensual about seeing it covered up, like he was a present for her to unwrap.

“Your shirt is pink, so you could be Pinkie too,” she argued. It seemed far more likely that the barista would have been hitting on Felix. Everyone in town knew what a great catch he was. Autumn was actually surprised people didn’t slip him their phone number more often.

Felix frowned at this new information, as if offended by the implication that he was desirable dating material. “Maybe I don’t want to be Pinkie,” he argued.

“Well, maybe I don’t either.” Autumn rubbed at her furrowed brow, the headache from earlier threatening to resurface. They’d gone from wanting to talk about their future to arguing over which of them the barista had been hitting on. Ultimately, it didn’t matter because they should be dating each other, not the petite woman who flirted via felt-tipped marker, and it was time she said as much. “Fe, what are we even arguing about?”

Felix shrugged, smiling sadly. “I have no idea.” He took their drinks and set them down on the sidewalk before turning on the bench to face her. Their knees brushed lightly, the small touch making her feel more grounded after the weird start to their conversation. “Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something.”

Autumn rolled her lips inward and nodded. “Me too, but you can go first.” If Felix was going to ask her to pick up a pizza on her way home from Seattle, she wanted that out of the way before getting into something far more serious than which was better, pepperoni or mushroom?

From the look of adoration on Felix’s face as he took her hands in his, he wasn’t going to be talking about food. “I’ve been thinking a lot lately. About us.” His fingers were slightly chilly from his coffee cup, but the look in his blue-green eyes was far warmer. “We’ve known each other for a long time, and we’ve been friends for most of it, but over the last year or so it’s felt like maybe it should be more than that. We should be more than that.”

Autumn ducked her head and smiled to herself, happy that they were on the same page. They always had been, and it seemed as if they always would be. “So, you’ve been thinking that we should try dating?” She looked up at him as he nodded nervously, his hands trembling as they held hers. Squeezing his hands tightly, Autumn leaned over and kissed his cheek. Her smile widened against his skin, the stubble that was ever present on his face but never growing into more than that tickling her lips as she pulled back. “I think that too.”

“Really?” he asked hopefully. His eyes were big and round, like a puppy waiting anxiously to be adopted from the rescue center. When she nodded again, he pulled her into a hug, his arms crushing her body against his. “I can’t even tell you how happy this makes me.”

Autumn laughed into his shoulder, the feel of their bodies nearly merging making her warm and tingly all over. “Me too,” she mumbled. They embraced for a while longer before finally pulling back, staring at each other with sappy grins and bright eyes. Grabbing her coffee and pastry bag, Autumn stood and held out a hand for Felix. “Walk me to my car?”

Felix took it, the feel of his hand familiar, but also new. It wasn’t one friend holding the hand of the other anymore, but two people excited to explore the possibility of an epic romance together. “Of course,” he said, kissing the back of her hand. Instead of rolling her eyes, as she would have done in the past at the old-fashioned gesture, she blushed like she was a teenager again. In some ways, it felt exactly like that. Like they were at the beginning of their relationship again, but this time they would take it in a whole other direction.

They snuck glances at one another as they walked back toward the coffee shop. When they got to Autumn’s tiny red car, she turned around at the driver door to face him. Before she could start debating how they would part ways, Felix put his drink down on the hood of her car, cupped her face, and leaned down to kiss her. His hands were slightly rough against the smooth skin of her cheeks, but his lips were as soft as the cinnamon roll she was holding in her hands.

Their noses bumped slightly, and they smiled against each other’s mouths before he went back in for more, Autumn reveling in each light caress of his lips over hers. It was sweet, and chaste, and even though it was only a hint of what could be between them, it was enough to have her heart beating rapidly in her chest and those damn butterflies soaring once more. This time she didn’t mind their presence because they signaled the start of something different, something new, something wonderful.

When he pulled back, Felix smiled at her like she was the most precious thing in the whole world. “Are you sure I can’t come with you? We can bring back way more stuff in my SUV than we can in your toy car.”

Autumn mock glared at Felix. It was a running joke between them that her subcompact was closer to the size of a child’s plaything than an actual car. The assessment wasn’t that far off, but before she had her loans paid off, the tiny car was all she could afford. It was tempting to ask him to come, but she was excited to wander the aisles of the pottery store for as long as she pleased.

“Yes, I’m sure. Besides, you’re just jealous because it’s super cute and you couldn’t possibly fit in it.” The former was a lie, but the latter was absolutely true. They’d tried once and Felix’s knees not only hit the dashboard, but his head was tilted against the roof as well.

He shrugged. “It’s not my fault I’m descended from giants.” His parents were both very tall, so it made sense that all of their sons were over six feet. Autumn was no slouch at five foot eight, but she still felt dwarfed standing next to any of the Kemps. Felix pulled her into a sweet embrace and kissed her forehead. “Drive safe and text me when you get there please.”

“Okay, Dad,” she sassed, earning herself a swat on the behind. The tingling sensation that traveled up her spine at the feel of Felix’s palm against her jeans clad ass was an exciting new addition to their dynamic, once she welcomed and would like to repeat. She pointed at him as he backed toward the sidewalk. “Save that for later, Mister.”

Felix crossed his heart with his finger as he stood by and waited for her to drive off, even staying there as she pulled out onto Main Street and took off toward the freeway. Autumn watched him disappear in her rearview mirror, biting her lip and wondering if maybe she shouldn’t put off her trip into Seattle for another week or two if things went as well as they had this morning. As quickly as the thought had come, it was also dismissed. Autumn might not need money from her wares as desperately as she had at certain points in the past, but throwing clay made her happy. Almost as happy as the person she’d just left behind.

Smiling, Autumn merged onto the freeway, letting the first hour of her drive pass in a haze of thinking about Felix and all of the fun they could get up to later when she got home. Evergreen trees flew past her window as did a sign for deer crossing. It had been a while since Autumn had seen one of her favorite wildlife creatures, so she kept her eyes peeled for any that might be along the side of the road. Sadly, as the miles of her trip meter ticked over, no deer were found. What she did encounter was a moose sprinting across the highway, and then another. At the sight of the robust creatures, Autumn slowed her vehicle, but not in time to avoid the straggler at the back of the line. Crunching metal, shattering glass, and the smell of burned rubber were the last things she experienced before the world as she knew it faded to black.