Eden immediately looked up when she heard Sterling’s soft voice. She smiled and jumped off the swing, closing the distance between them.
“Hey yourself,” she murmured when she stopped in front of him. “You look tired. PE give you a rough time?”
“A bit. Nothing I can’t handle, though. And nothing a hug and kiss from my girlfriend can’t fix,” Sterling declared, his smile widening as he opened his arms for her.
He wasn’t upset, Eden realized as relief flooded through her. She immediately fell into his embrace, breathing him in.
“You’re wonderful,” she murmured. “The best. Have I told you that?”
Sterling hummed and wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace. He kissed the top of her head with a smile, nuzzling her hair.
“Not today you haven’t. I’m glad you think so,” he murmured before sighing. “…Please don’t just leave like that again…”
Eden exhaled softly through her nose, burying herself deeper in his embrace. “I’m sorry,” she murmured. “I thought you’d have your phone on you. I didn’t think you would see my message so late. And… I just wanted to be alone, I guess.”
“It’s okay. I’m just glad you’re okay,” Sterling whispered against her hair. “Let’s go, yeah? We can get your stuff from school and then leave.”
Eden pulled away to look back at the swing where her bag was leaning against the pole. “I already got it,” she murmured. “I sort of knew I’d be gone the whole class, so… I brought my stuff with me.”
Sterling smiled a bit and nodded. “Well, all right, then. One less stop we have to make. Do you want to go back to your apartment?”
“Uh, we can,” she shrugged. “Or we could go to the bookstore? I really, really want the next book of ACOTAR.”
“Oh, those were the books you were telling me about, right? Sure, we can do that,” Sterling agreed, offering her his free hand, the other holding the keys for his car.
“Wait, one more thing,” Eden stood on her toes and pressed her mouth to her boyfriend’s. “There. You had your hug and now you’ve had your kiss.”
Sterling chuckled and brought his lips down to hers again in another gentle kiss. “There. That’s much better. Now… Shall we go get you some books?”
“Yes,” Eden smiled at him. Having had her alone time, and not having Sterling upset with her, she felt better. Enough to be cheeky and a little pesky. “And then I won’t respond for at least a day because I’ll be busy finishing the book.”
Sterling snorted and led her to the car. “Well, I wouldn’t dare interrupt your reading time. You would probably bite my head off,” he chuckled as he unlocked the doors.
Eden opened the door for the passenger seat and chuckled, shaking her head. “You could read with me,” she offered. “That would be nice.”
“Book date? That could be fun. Maybe we could go to a park, then?” Sterling suggested, closing the door behind her and making his way around the car.
Eden scrunched her nose. “I was thinking more along the lines of a couch book date,” she hummed. “Because that’s fun.”
“Cuddles and reading?” Sterling hummed as he sat down and started the car.
“Cuddles and reading,” Eden nodded in agreement. “Definitely cuddles and reading.”
Sterling hummed and leaned over to peck her on the lips before backing out of the parking lot. “And maybe a small snack. Just a small one.”
Eden looked at her lap before sighing. “All right,” she murmured. “A small snack. What sort do you have in mind?”
“What do you think of chocolate-covered strawberries?” Sterling asked as they made their way to the bookstore.
Eden scrunched her eyebrows. “Don’t like them,” she shook her head. “Or pineapples. I hate pineapples.”
Sterling shot her an incredulous look before turning g his attention back to the road. “You don’t like chocolate-covered strawberries… Or pineapples? Geez, woman, how am I supposed to woo you without using pineapples?” he joked with a chuckle. “Okay, how about marshmallows? Anything covered in chocolate?”
“To be honest, I’ve only had strawberries dipped in Nutella, and I absolutely hated the mixture. I like Nutella, though,” Eden shrugged. “Uh, marshmallows covered in chocolate? I’ve never tried those… actually, my brother keeps snacks around the house for a movie night. He’s… a junk food eater, I guess. He won’t really care if we happen to take a few…”
“You want to steal food from your brother?” Sterling chuckled, shaking his head. “Whatever’s you want, beautiful. Otherwise, I am not adverse to buying something for us to share.”
“Hey, in my defense, he keeps them in the kitchen,” Eden’s smile widened at the pet name, “So… technically, it’s not stealing. If it’s in the kitchen, it’s neutral property.”
Sterling laughed quietly and shook his head in amusement. “All right, then. Stealing your brother’s food is the plan, I guess.”
“Definitely,” Eden reached over to squeeze his hand. “You bet it is.”
“We’re almost there,” Sterling said as he pulled onto the street the bookstore was on.