Page 59 of Hush

“You tore it out without any plans?” Tom laughed. “What on earth?”

“It had to come out.” Mike topped off Tom’s champagne, and then his own. “I found my ex and his new boyfriend in there.”

“Oh.”

Mike grinned. “Felt really great smashing it all to bits.”

“I bet it did.” Tom drank, trying to stall. “Are you… okay, after all that?”

“I am.” Mike smiled, really smiled. “I am good. We needed to break up. Maybe notthatway, but it got the job done and it made it a clean, definitive break. I needed the time apart, and I needed to be a little more reflective.”

More reflective. Huh. What did that mean? He wanted to ask, but didn’t know how.

Etta Mae snorted and woke up, shaking herself silly before looking at Tom expectantly. Napped, she was ready for their next adventure. Mike chuckled and slipped the waiter his credit card while Tom wasn’t looking.

“Any plans today?” Mike looked at him as he signed the receipt.

“None. Just gearing up for Monday.”

“Want to go to Rock Creek Park?”

“Sure!”

Rock Creek Park wasn’t far from Georgetown, and they followed behind Etta Mae as they wound through the streets. She picked up her pace once they entered the park.

“She loves going off-road. She’s an adventure Basset.” Tom grinned as Mike laughed. True to his word, Etta Mae poked her nose in flowers and snuffled at the dirt, tracking squirrels and rabbits into and out of the brush. She leaped low-lying logs and picked her way over wooden bridges, her tail happily wagging away.

On the trails, Mike reached for his hand, threading their fingers together. He squeezed back, and held on tight.

The park was gorgeous, tall, dark trees shading the looping dirt trails, the creek running through the underbrush, and birds twittering above. It was cooler in the park, an escape from the heat, and joggers, bikers, and other couples had the same idea as them. Parts of the trail were crowded, and they passed through politely, pulling Etta Mae along when she wanted to stop and say hello to each and every person.

Tom held Mike’s hand, but dropped it every time they heard someone else on the trail.

At a bend in the trail, under a shady overhang of pine and maple, and above a slope that led to the creek, Mike pulled Tom to the side. He held up his phone. “Lemme get a picture of you and Etta Mae?”

Tom crouched down next to the slobbering, sweaty, smelly Etta Mae, and beamed as her tongue lolled out of the side of her mouth, and dirt clung to the ends of her long ears. “Can we take one together?”

For a half-second, Mike seemed to hesitate, but then he crouched alongside Tom, Etta Mae between them.

The first picture was just the two of them smiling, heads almost together. “Let me take another one.” Mike shifted, squatting over Etta Mae, and pushed his cheek against Tom’s.

The second picture captured Tom’s surprise. The third, his face-splitting smile and sidelong gaze, staring at Mike like he was a rock star, the hero of Tom’s life.

The fourth picture, Mike sneaked a kiss on Tom’s cheek.

Tom turned into the kiss, and Mike shoved his phone in his pocket. Tom pulled Mike closer, practically toppling him over, but Mike grabbed him, held on. Ran his hands up his arms, over his shoulders. Etta Mae looked up at them both, staring.

Laughter broke them apart, coming from up the trail. A family appeared around the bend, out for an afternoon walk. Mike smiled at them, and Tom crouched down, holding Etta Mae back from running to the kids. Her tail kicked up dust and she whined, wanting attention.

“I’m sorry.” Mike looked contrite.

“What for?”

“I know you’re not out. I don’t want to stress you about getting caught.”

“I’m not exactlyin, either. I just want to live my life. I want to be happy.” He held out his hand for Mike.

Mike took it, smiling slowly.