“I don't know. It’s just nice to have you around. You make me feel really happy and carefree. No one’s ever really made me feel that way before,” He murmured to her, cupping his face into his hands. “And you coming back to see me after all of these years just… helped me realize that.”
At his words, her face heats up a little. “I’ve missed you so much.” She tells him quietly, gently nudging his shoulder with her own. She loves her brother more than anything but it’s just not the same. “Being around you makes me more happy and more relaxed than I’ve been in years. I just……I want you to stay in my life.”
Cameron glanced up at her hot face with a hopeful smile on his face, his eyes round a little. He listened and sighed softly. “I want to stay in your life too, Ava. I really like you around.” He couldn’t just say ‘I really like you’ alone. Though why not? He already told her a lot of how he feels about her.
Ava smiles at him, her eyes lingering on his face so just a second too long before she looks away. “That’s good because I wouldn’t have left you alone anyways. Lily is just too sweet.” Rather than saying what she wants to she ends up saying that.
Cameron turned a faint shade of red when she looked away and he himself followed suit, sticking out his hand to gently pet Lily, who made a gruffing sound. He wished it was as easy as the pair of dogs made it seem. They just melted together. So comfy…
Ava picks up her beer and polishes it off. Once again the conversation ceases and they lapse into silence. This unfortunately allows her to be left alone with her thoughts. She doesn’t know why she’s struggling so much with this much. It makes no sense.
Cameron bit his lip as he watched the two dogs sleep peacefully, sighing in almost a sense of relief. It felt good to tell her how he felt. Despite the silence, he felt… alright. It didn’t affect him as much as he thought it would.
Ava reaches over and pets Kreja on the head, scratching him behind his ears. With a soft smile, she then moves onto petting Lily. Slowly, she begins to block out her thoughts and just focus on what’s going on around it.
Cameron zoned out with his hand resting on the vibrating scruff of Lily. He was jerked out of his thoughts when Ava’s hand touched his every so often when she petted the pretty dog, and he blushed faintly.
“Sorry about that, I zoned out,” He muttered, putting his hand back onto the neck of his beer bottle.
Ava pays no mind to the fact that she’s occasionally brushing hands with him. It’s not something that bothers her. “You’re fine,” She assures him lightly when he apologizes. “It’s nice to be out here with you and the dogs.” This is a big change of pace from her usual schedule but she’s enjoying it.
“It’s nice of you to come around with Kreja. It’s really nice to have company.” He glanced back behind him and scooted forward a little. “I’m in the way, aren’t I? Sorry about that.” Now he was apologizing for everything, a bad habit he picked up again.
“Cameron, stop apologizing,” She says, his actions causing her to laugh lightly. “You’re fine where you are.” With an amused look on her face, she pulls her hand away from Lily after giving her one more pet on they head.
Cameron turned so he was sitting on the ground in front of the dogs, giving Ava more space to lean over and pet them.
“Nah, I’m good.” He smiled shyly. “I bet you wanna pet them better.”
Ava shakes her head a little before scooting over and starting to pet the dogs again. “I would never stop petting them if that were an option.” She loves these dogs so much. Most people will fail you but you can always relay on dogs.
Cameron chuckled and gently stroked Lily’s muzzle, the only place he was confident Ava’s rough fingers wouldn’t be able to find his. “You’re too right. These guys are too sweet.”
“When I retire I’m going to start an animal rescue out in the country so I can spend all day cuddling with animals,” Ava comments, humming quietly. “If I don’t die before then, of course.”
Cameron chuckled softly. “You’re not gonna die. You’re too stubborn. You’ll be the first woman to live till the end of the world,” He joked, gently hooping Lily’s nose before setting his hand down with a huff of a sigh.
“I appreciate the vote of confidence.” Ava stops petting the dogs and just lays back against the porch, looking up at the sky. With a relaxed smile on her face, she watches as the cloud lazily drifts along the sea of blue.
Cameron glanced at her, barely catching himself before he started to stare and looked back down at the dogs. What’s wrong with me, Lily? He asked her. He pressed a small kiss to her nose.
Ava sighs contently as she keeps her eyes on the sky. “Do you want to go somewhere tonight?” She asks suddenly, turning her head so that she can look over to him.
“Us? Like… on a date?” He asked slowly, glancing at her again. He wouldn’t be able to express how much he would like a date with her. But he was prepared to laugh off the suggestion.
Yes, us. You are the only person out here.” She props herself up on her elbows. A date? She hasn’t meant it like that but she definitely would like to go out on a date with him. After a moment she nods her head. “Like on a date.” If she doesn’t try asking him now then she never will.
Cameron sat up when she rose on her elbows, his dark eyes rather bright with hope when she told him it was a date.
“Then yes. I would like that. A lot.” He willed himself not to blush, but a bit of it fought through onto his cheeks. “Where should we go?” Should I dress up for her? I bet she’d like that.
Ava blinks in surprise when he actually agrees to it. That’s a pleasant but unexpected surprise. She can’t be bothered to stop the smile tugging at her lips. “Is that Japanese place we used to go to still open?” She asks, hopeful. The food there is amazing. Oh fuck. This is actually a date. I haven’t been on a real date since I died. That’s a sudden and painful realization.
Cameron mirrored the smile on her face, excitement building up in his chest and making his heart thump in his chest all over again.
“Yeah, it is. We could go there and ask to get our usual seat near the oceanside if you’d like?” Now he was keen to make it the best date, to set off a chain of better ones. Well… hopefully.
“That would be great,” Ava agrees, excitement in her eyes for the first time in a long time. The restaurant is pretty nice so that means she’ll have to get dressed up a little but it’ll be worth it.
Cameron smiled warmly at her excitement, standing up and dusting himself off.
“I’m gonna go get ready. You’re welcome to go home and come back if you want.” He glanced down at Lily with a slight frown. She was sleeping away peacefully with Kreja. That’d probably be the only way she would stay down.
“Do you think you can keep Kreja here?”
Ava raised to her feet as well. “Yeah, I’ll be back a little later.” She’ll have to get dressed and then check in with her brother and father to let them know that she’s okay. “Of course he can stay. He was so excited when he realized we were coming. Kreja really does love Lily.”
“Okay. I’ll be sure they stay that way.” He looked down at the sleeping dogs again, his lips pulled up in the first genuine smile he had for a while.
“He does, doesn’t he? Lily does too, I think. She’s such a sweet girl. It’s hard to say that she wouldn't.”
"Kreja normally doesn't get along well with other dogs but he's always loved Lily. They are just so sweet together." She smiles softly at the dogs before stretching out a little. "Yeah, Lily is a sweet girl. I don't think she knows how to dislike anyone.'