Cooking dinner together felt great, honestly. We didn’t burn anything! Dylan’s hesitation and genuine concern for it was very amusing. He, of course, worried over nothing and made his food just fine! We shared a lot of laughs while I taught him how to make it. He agreed that it was really easy--just like making a pancake. When we ate, there was a comfortable silence between us. It felt like high school again. We’d crack a joke or two while making simple banter. I was waiting until we were ‘camping’ to truly start a meaningful conversation.

The sun had nearly set by the time we were washing up the dishes.

“Dinner was fantastic!” Dylan expressed with much enthusiasm. 

I handed him the pan that I just washed so he could hand dry it. “It was. You did a great job cooking.”

He snorted. “It was all your seasoning that made it taste good. I didn’t do much.” He finished with the pan and put it back in its correct cabinet. It appeared even after all this time, he still knew where everything went. When we were kids, our parents would have us do the dishes since they were the ones that typically cooked. 

I was scrubbing our plates. “You didn’t burn it like you insisted you would. That’s an accomplishment in itself!” He came back over and I handed him the glass plates I just washed. 

Huffing out some air, he smiled. “I guess you’re right.” 

I sarcastically boasted, “I’m always right!” 

“Pffft sure you are No.” The place the plates went was right above his head. I watched him open and put them away from the corner of my eye. 

‘No’ was a nickname most people called me by. My parents called my No-No; they were the only ones I allowed for it. Especially as a kid, I hated if other people called me that. It was a strange and funny nickname, but it was comforting to hear from my parents. Dylan also had his own nickname for me and it was Noey, but I hadn’t heard him call me that since speaking with him. It had me wondering if he no longer felt comfortable with it or if he feared I wouldn’t like it. It felt weird to me that he didn’t call me Noey. It was the same situation with my parents, it gave me some sense of security. 

I was lost in that thought process that I didn’t notice I was washing the same fork over and over again. 

“I think that fork is clean now.” Dylan chuckled while glancing over at me. 

I looked back and we locked eyes. I was pretty blunt, “You can call me Noey if you’d like. You don’t have to have boundaries as if we’re strangers.” I gave him a small smile while handing him the fork I was scrubbing. 

He averted his gaze with a small smile still planted there. He took the fork and began to dry it. “I didn’t think you’d like that so I didn’t use that nickname.” Dylan paused the fork drying and peered over me once more. “It feels a tad strange now since our time apart, but I do prefer that nickname over ‘No.’” 

His face was encased with a bitter smile and dulled emeralds. I shot him a lopsided smile in return. “I like when you call me Noey, so please do if you’re ok with it.” My attention resumed on washing the remaining dishes. 

Dylan jokingly scoffed, “I remember when you hated that name.” The blond stepped off to put the eating utensil away. 

A laugh escaped my lips as I handed him the next item to dry. “It’s comforting now. When we were kids it reminded me of Noel and I didn’t want my name to be synonymous with Christmas.” I paused to look at him. “But now I don’t care.” My lips creased into a grin. 

His eyes glistened. “Comforting?” 

“Yes. Comforting. It’s like a sense of familiarity and security to me. Same reason why I stopped protesting my parent’s embarrassing nickname.” I groaned playfully at the reminder. 

The blond broke eye contact and looked down at the dish in the blue hand towel. 

There was a moment of mute; you could only hear the water running and my fidgeting hands under the faucet. I wondered if what I said was a mistake, but I was going to be very honest with him from now on. No sugar coating. No deception. Only how I felt and what I thought. Communication is key and I learned that the hard way. 

“Noey,” Dylan said so softly that if you weren’t keen on listening, you’d miss it. 

“Yeah Dyl?” A huge stupid looking grin creased my features. 

He just chuckled and looked my way once more. “It feels right to use it so I will. Besides, I can tell it makes you happy.” He gently elbowed my side to catch more of my attention.

I could feel my face getting warm with embarrassment but I didn’t care about that at the moment. It really did make me happy. I don’t even know why it made me so stupidly giddy. It was just a nickname for god sake but here we are. I’m smiling like a moron and it’s noticeable!

The air around us felt lighter and bubblier, and it wasn’t just the dish soap. I didn’t say anything in response, only hummed. We finished the dishes in blissfulness before we headed outside. 

“Woah you set it up already?!” Dylan wandered off the porch and onto the grass. His bare feet crushed the summer grass as he approached the already set up tent.

As kids our parents did all the setting up for us and as teens we did it ourselves. Well, we tried. We both always got super frustrated and had my dad do it. I wanted to avoid any possible rendition of that encounter. I wanted Dylan to enjoy his time here while we get to know each other again. 

“Impressed, are we?” I teased

“Very.” He said quaintly with a toothy grin. 

His smile had always been infectious but it was even more sweetly transmissible than ever before. I couldn’t stop myself from grinning in response as I too stepped onto the grass. 

“Are we actually going to sleep outside like we did as kids?” He inquired. 

“That’s part of the experience! We can even start the fire pit if you want the full sha-bang!” My excitement for the evening wasn’t subtle in the slightest. My childish demeanor was evident to Dylan. 

His soft laugh filled the backyard. “That sounds like fun. I’ll help you with the fire.”

Taking advantage of the last of the sun’s rays, we started to get the materials to start the fire. We both easily gathered the wood and I used some dried up garden weeds to start with before putting the logs on. It didn’t take very long for two amateurs to accomplish the goal. By the time the radiant hues cracked off the wood, the sun was completely engulfed into the ebony night.

“I missed the smell of fire.” Dylan sat close to it in one of our lawn chairs. The fire sparked quietly as I looked at him. The red and orange flames swam inside his sea green eyes. The way the colors complimented his skin and hair color made him look like he was Helios, God of the sun. It was very picturesque. I always thought he was handsome when we were kids, but as adults? It was another level. Especially in a situation like this: so natural and unfiltered, the true form of beauty. 

It was just simple admiration for his looks. Nothing more.

Then he looked at me with his radiance. I paused with my mouth agape and my eyes wide.

“Are you okay? You’re just looking at me.” He laughed nervously.

I was only a few feet away from him in another lawn chair. 

I remembered what he told me the other day at the cafe: “I don’t take compliments well. I view them as jokes, not with sincerity. Especially from you since we’re not particularly close.” I know I told myself just before that I was going to be honest, but I didn’t want him to feel uneasy either. His comfort was just as crucial. 

“Do you want me to be honest or do you want to talk about something else?” I placed my elbows on my thighs and leaned into my hands, cupping them around my cheeks. 

He wrinkled his nose in a peculiar smile while letting out a wavering laugh. “What does that even mean?”

“I also missed the smell of fire. I didn’t do much camping in Florida.” I switched gears to make it less confusing. 

“Trying to be slick and changing the conversation are we?” He briskly said while tucking a stray lock of hair behind his ear. 

Really? How is one man so eloquent! 

“I just don’t want to make you uncomfortable is all. I know being around me is like a mixed bag so I don’t want to overstep any boundaries.” 

He turned his head idly towards me with a confused facial expression. “I’ll let you know if I’m uncomfortable, so please don’t censor yourself on my behalf.” He moved his hand up and down in a ‘shoo shoo’ motion to say ‘let bygones be bygones.’ 

“I’ll keep that in mind,” I gave him a thumbs up.

“You’re ridiculous.” Dylan laughingly said while shaking his head at me. 

“I’ll always be honest as well. It’s easier that way.” 

I watched as the blond combed his curls with his fingers before peering over at me. “Being honest isn’t always easy but it’s always for the best.” The way he said it made it sound so serious yet transparent. It was like he was standing in front of a mirror and saying it more for himself than a piece of advice for me. 

His eyes were averted towards the fire again, reminding me of the flames dancing in his emeralds. The hues kissed his cheeks and twinkled throughout his curls. 

“You look beautiful.” I said it so unwavering and so matter of fact that it couldn’t be refuted or questioned. It was said with truth and nothing but. It clearly wasn’t what Dylan was expecting to hear because his face turned redder than the fire. 

I bit the inside of my cheek to prevent myself from laughing. I didn’t want him to think I was patronizing him because I sure as hell wasn’t. 

“H-how can you s-say that so seriously and without getting embarrassed?” He stuttered while quickly covering his flustered face. 

This is a cute side to Dylan I didn’t even know existed. 

Smirking, I nonchalantly spoke, “I can certainly compliment my friends without feeling weird about it. It’s healthy in fact! And you’ve always been attractive so that’s a plus.” 

I heard a mumble coming from behind his hands but I couldn’t make out what was said. I just waited patiently for Dylan to calm down a bit. I thought it was adorable how flustered he became but I didn’t want to force him to say anything before he was ready. 

He inhaled and huffed out slowly while taking a sideways glance in my direction. “Was that really why you were staring at me before?” The way he questioned it, I knew I had to pick my words carefully. I already knew he was sensitive and I didn’t want to laugh it off as a ‘yeah!’

“I would never lie to you, Dyl.” I found myself getting a bit flustered when I thought about how I looked at him. I really did think he was beautiful with the fiery colors radiating onto him. 

“Well t-thank you, I guess. I’m bad at taking compliments.” He scratched the back of his head nervously. 

I smiled, feeling accomplished that he accepted my compliment, sort of. At least a little bit. “Anytime!” I stood up from the chair. He eyed me curiously. 

“Wanna go look at the stars and try to remember our stupid constellations?” I gestured towards the blanket I laid down over the grass close to the tent. 

There was still a hint of pink under his eyes and on his cheeks as he stood up too. He only nodded and followed me to the set up.