Winging It with You

by Chip Pons

“Nothing complicated, remember,” he whispers just for me,

If there’s one thing this trip has shown me it’s that I had forgotten just how nice it is to wake up next to someone.

“I…I really don’t know if I can do this,” I whisper, turning to him. His eyes find mine. “We can walk away right now if you want to, Ash—you don’t have to do this.”

“There,” he says, his voice a husky whisper. Theo removes his thumb from my lip and slowly slides it into his mouth.

But then everything that followed—the flirty banter, the nonstop charm, that grin…” I lean forward in my own seat. “What grin?” I ask, hoping whatever smile I’m doing my best to plaster across my face is the one he’s referring to. “That,” Asher says, shaking his head and pointing at me. “That right there is what I’m talking about.

“Fingers crossed this time won’t end in us being lost at sea.” I rather forcefully pull the tight spandex up my legs and over my shorts. He scowls at me and does the same. “You’re still bringing that up? We got rescued by the coast guard one time.” But even he can’t hide his toothy grin. “Oh, I’ll be bringing up nearly being lost at sea with you for the rest of my life.”

to be more and more harrowing. I get the whole shock value of it all—fear and drama—and everything that comes with pushing someone outside their comfort zone sells, but it doesn’t make

Sitting in the kitchen, talking to my mom about a boy I’m clearly crazy about over coffee? It feels right. It feels like growth and acceptance and a version of self-love I never thought I would be capable of experiencing.

“Run along, Ellie. You’ve been a pleasure, as always,”