Page 29 of A Little Christmas! 4: Song
When Song laughed, his whole face lit up, his head tipped back, and his hair spilled from the messy bun he’d tied it upin. Their boy was stunning as he paced with the phone, looking rather pleased with himself.
“Yeah, they weren’t kidding; we did a great big snow-snow dance the other night at the club and several little ones too. Sorry, sis, I know how you feel about the fluffy white stuff, but it was so much fun.”
There was a pause, then Song’s nose scrunched up as he started glaring at his phone like it had personally offended him.
“Don’t you dare! That’s not even a thing! Sun dances don’t exist.”
More silence; this time Song’s expression changed several times, from bewildered to downright exasperated by the time his sister finished speaking.
“Okay, okay, brainiac, sun dances exist, I get it,” Song declared. “Didn’t need a whole-ass history lesson. You made your point. I don’t require a demonstration, especially not in the middle of summer. Burned to a crisp and drooping from heat exhaustion isn’t a good look on me, and you know that better than anyone.”
Cooper immediately committed that bit of information to memory with the intent of getting him to elaborate more on that later, despite summer being several months away. If there were things they needed to know or keep on hand to better prepare for summer activities, then it was best to start planning now rather than have something happen and be caught off guard.
“So far, we haven’t lost power out here, but my daddies have prepared for it if it happens, so we’re all good. Yeah, you heard me, my daddies. We made it official last night. Uh-huh, they’re coming to New York with me too, so you can stop worrying so much about the trip; I won’t be unsupervised. Ajay’s daddy is going too.”
There was a brief pause as Song shook his head, lips moving, though Cooper couldn’t hear what he was saying. Finally, he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“I will, and I’ll call you as soon as we get back. The forecast looks good for next week, so I don’t think it will be an issue, but Mark has already texted everyone in the band about potential replacement dates if we do have to cancel anything. We’re going to head up a day earlier than planned too, just in case. The hotel is central to all the venues, and Mark has everything mapped out, so it’s all good, I promise. Yeah, yup, I’ll tell them. Uh-huh. Later, Solo.”
He was chuckling as he hung up and shaking his head too as he returned his phone to the basket.
“The power is out all over the city, and she couldn’t remember which tote we’d put the spare lanterns in,” he explained, keeping his voice low as he crossed the room to return to Cooper’s side. “She wanted to thank you guys for going to New York with me too; it’s the furthest away from home that I’ve ever been, and with her promotion she wasn’t going to be able to go with me, so she was glad it wouldn’t just be me and the band. I wish she’d quit worrying so much. The biggest issue has already been dealt with, and good riddance.”
“She’s your family; she’s always going to worry,” Cooper explained as he cuddled back up beside him. “You’d better get used to more worrying now that you have Gage and me in your life.”
He flopped dramatically along Cooper’s side and groaned. “Not another pair of mother hens.”
“Cluck, cluck,” Gage muttered, making Song giggle, groan, and cover his eyes.
“I’m doomed,” Song whined, so adorably cute and playful that it was easy to tell he was just giving us crap.
“Yeah, you are,” Cooper said. “Doomed to find yourself swathed in bubble wrap if it ever looks like you’re about to come home bruised again. Doomed to be coddled whenever you’re sad and cuddled whenever it looks like you could use a hug. And doomed to be peppered with questions whenever one of us is worried about you. Like right now.”
“I’m good,” Song insisted. “Why would you be worried?”
“Overhearing the part of your conversation with Solo where you mentioned having heat exhaustion,” Cooper explained. “Is that something that happens often? Do you overheat easily? Should we be worried about prolonged sun exposure? Is there a type of sunscreen we need to keep on hand for outings, and do we need to keep an eye on how long we’re outdoors without shade or taking breaks to go indoors?”
When Song wiggled, Cooper loosened the hold he had on him so Song could roll over in his embrace. The fierceness with which Song hugged him stunned him at first as his boy clung to him, but he quickly recovered and remembered to hug back. For several moments they just stayed that way, Cooper stroking Song’s hair as they held one another. Even when Song drew back so Cooper could see his face, they never lost contact with one another.
“Thank you,” Song murmured before leaning in and brushing the sweetest kiss over Cooper’s lips.
Stunned, Cooper could only stare at him. “For what?”
“Paying attention,” Song replied. “Caring enough to ask immediately instead of waiting for it to start getting warm. I am heat sensitive, and I burn easily. I do have to use SPF 70 and even 100 when I can find it. I usually order them online and reapply them regularly if I’m going to be outside. I love to swim, but I have to be careful and take breaks because the sun can be really draining for me.”
“Does it bother you when it’s too warm indoors?” Gage asked, keeping his voice low but still clear enough that they didn’t miss the question.
“No, not unless I have too many layers on, which is why I only wear one and a lighter coat instead of a heavy, fluffy one. If I’m going to be in a store for a while and it’s warm in there, I just take it off, fold it up, and tuck it in the upper basket of a cart. I can’t sleep with an electric blanket, or I wind up sweaty, itchy, and overheated, but it’s being outdoors in summer that I really have to be careful of. I constantly drink water too and avoid anything sugary because it just dehydrates me and makes me more susceptible to heat exhaustion. I’ve never had heat stroke, but I do get heat cramps, and those suck.”
“That’s a very important thing for us to know and be on the lookout for,” Cooper explained.
“It will help us know what to keep in our backpacks for you when we go on outings, too,” Gage said. “As well as things to keep stocked in the fridge and freezer once the weather turns warm. Are colder and lighter meals easier for you in summer? We happen to love salads and fruit in this house, so adding a bit more variety in those areas won’t be an issue.”
“I love both, and pasta salad and potato salad too, just not with mayo. It makes my stomach hurt as soon as I start getting warm, which sucks, because I love it on sandwiches but have to switch to honey mustard in summer,” Song explained.
“What do you use as an alternative in your pasta and potato salad?” Cooper asked.
“Plain yogurt and sour cream. I don’t eat a lot of eggs in summer either, even though deviled eggs are my absolute favorite. I limit myself with them if I’m going to go outside after eating them.”