“Hobbes,” I sighed, staring at the top of the fridge at my kitten and he blinked at me a few times before hunkering down further, “Baby, you need to get down.”

Hobbes refused to move, laying his head down and I sighed, leaving him where he was as I knew he'd eventually yell to be let down. Hobbes was constantly getting into and onto things he couldn't get out of on his own and at this point I simply let him do it. It reminded me of helping my younger brothers out of trees or whatever chaos Cyrus and Cruz got into and I was far beyond used to dealing with things like this.

“Hobbes, we're going to have company today. Can you be good?” I called over my shoulder as I went back to making lunch and he meowed quietly, “Okay good.”

It was now the day of my second date with Alexander and as I had predicted it was pouring outside. The rain refused to let up and I had spent the early morning watching it fall on the river, the dampening of the sound around me lovely as it allowed me to focus entirely on the rain and my thoughts.

Alexander and I had kept in contact the entire week through text or email until 7 pm when he would call me. We talked for an hour or two before he would inevitably be exhausted and need to sleep. I hated this, wanting to talk more but at the same time, I understood how hard he worked at the hospital.

My phone started to ring and I answered it on speaker, doing my best to keep the chicken I was cooking from burning, “hello?”

“Yo,” my brother Cyrus laughed, “what are you doing?”

“Making lunch. I have a date in an hour. What's going on Cy?”

“Cruz and Sunny set the date for the wedding. It's on January 9th at the ranch.”

“Really? Uncle Greg let them use it? It's going to be snowing!”

“Yeah, that's what I said. Apparently, they intend to rent a tent with heaters or something I don't know. Anyway, Cruz wants all his brothers on his side during the wedding as groomsmen.”

“And why isn't our baby brother telling me this himself?”

“Because I'm helping him with the wedding plans and agreed to talk to you and Cash since he's busy. Are you going to be able to make it?”

“I'll make it work. I barely made it to Cash’s wedding to Penny, I don't want the same thing to happen with Cruz so I'll come out a day or two early. January 9th, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Okay. I'll either stay from Christmas until after the wedding or fly back before the wedding. I'll figure it out. Thanks, Cy. Are you doing okay?”

“I'm fine. Thanks though. I don't need any money right now.”

“What about Cruz?” I gently pulled the chicken from the pan, setting it on the plates next to me.

“You know he wouldn't tell you even if he did need money but I think he's fine. Hasn't said anything to Dad or Baba.”

“Okay. I'll talk to you later. I need to get ready.”

“Tell me about your date!”

“No. Love you.”

“Love you too ass.”

We ended the call and I ran to my room to get dressed, wanting to look nice but feel comfortable. Grabbing my favorite black sweater and soft light wash jeans, I threw them on and then braided my hair, yawning softly as I hadn't slept well the night before.

The sound of my doorbell filled the air as I set the table, Hobbes turning his head to look at the door from his new spot on the back of the couch. Laughing, I scratched Hobbes between the ears before rushing over to open the door.

“You're better at guessing the weather than the news,” Alexander smiled, the water in his hair dripping onto the mustard yellow sweater he was wearing, “it's so bad!”

“Come in,” laughing, I let him into the entryway and he kicked his boots off as I went into the bathroom next to us to grab a towel, “lean down a little.”

Alexander immediately did as I asked and I gently dried his hair, squeezing the water from it. He watched me with a peaceful look on his face before I finished and set the towel on my arm.

“Welcome to my house. It's pretty small,” shrugging, I tossed the towel into the dirty clothes basket in my bathroom, “but it's mine.”

“It's cute. I love that it's all windows and white brick. Why is it so muted in here?” He looked around, clearly intending to discover why everything in my house was gray and white.

“I don't plan to live here forever,” I led him to the dining table and we both took a seat, “but I want to use it as a rental property if I move. I made sure everything was neutral so that I'd have an easier time finding a tenant. That's all. I'm also not a big fan of bright-colored furniture and walls. No idea why. My bedroom is rather colorful but that's because of my comforter and chairs in there.”

“How many bedrooms?” He smiled, taking a sip of water.

“Three. One is mine, one is an office, and I turned the last one into a bedroom for my gremlin so I can work on things without him in my way.”

“Where is he? I want to see the cat.”

Hobbes suddenly popped his head up and I realized he was sitting in a chair at the end of the table. Alexander giggled, reaching over to pet him and Hobbes immediately rubbed his face against Alexander's hand.

“He's so fluffy,” Alexander whispered, his eyes wide.

“He’s also massive for his age. He's only one. Hobbes is a Maine Coon per the vet and genetic test I had done out of curiosity. So he's going to be huge.”

“I love him,” Alexander smiled, “tell me about your morning. Did anything fun happen?”

We started eating the lunch I had made, lemon asparagus chicken pasta, and a fresh salad, Alexander clearly happy as he hadn't stopped smiling since his first bite.

“Oh, Cruz set the date for his wedding. So I might be in Montana for about three weeks. It's on January 9th and I don't know about flying to and from Montana so many times. I’ll probably just stay. Rent a house for the time that I’m there. I love my family,” sighing softly, I took a sip of my water before wiping my mouth, “but I can’t go back to living with them for nearly a month. They get in my business too much and it drives me insane. I know I’m the most standoffish of my siblings, I like to keep my private life as private as possible, but my dad Teddy tends to be pushy to get information and I freeze up. It’s always been this way. I find Remi a lot easier to talk to. He tends to just listen and chime in when he needs to. So I honestly can’t imagine sitting there for weeks, trying to mentally deal with it. I’ll be a wreck and I’m warning you of that now. I might seem colder than usual when we talk but I’ll do my best.”

“Ah. I hadn’t considered you going home for Christmas. It’s two months from now anyway. I was uh… actually going to see if you’d want to spend it with me.”

“Really?” I whispered, my eyes wide and Alexander nodded, reaching across the table to take my hand, “I would love to but… with the wedding, I can’t just… stay here.”

“I know. Your baby brother is getting married. That’s a huge deal. We can video call on Christmas to have some sense of spending it together, I suppose. But three whole weeks… that’s a long time apart. I’ll miss you, Cae.”

“I know. I’ll miss you too. But I should make some attempt. No one in the family realizes I feel this way. Even Delaney doesn’t. You’re the only one I’ve told. I’m leaving this country at some point and will go back to Montana yearly to see them. But that’s all I can do anymore.”

“Fair. Wanna come with me to New Zealand?” he laughed, making me smile, “I leave in two years. I bet you could transfer your license easier than I can.”

“Yeah? Two years huh?”

“Mhm.”

“Sure. If we’re together in two years, I’ll move to New Zealand with you. I mean that, by the way. This isn’t a joke. Two dates in and making decisions. You’re a weird one, Alexi.”

“I find what I want and do what I can to get it,” he shrugged, “lunch was delicious. Thank you.”

“Of course, I’m glad you liked it.”

I gathered the dirty dishes as Alexander picked up Hobbes, holding him close and talking to my cat in a baby voice. Hobbes' purring was loud enough to hear from across the room and I smiled, feeling content as I washed the dishes. Alexander suddenly joined me, rinsing and drying the plates before I showed him to the sitting room, the rain still just as intense as it had been when he arrived.

“Aren’t you worried that’ll flood?” he pointed to the river as we sat on the couch together.

“Not particularly. It rains like this a lot and never has.”

“Fair. I keep thinking about you going to Montana for three weeks and it just… kinda sucks. That’s a long time to be away from each other.”

“I know,” sighing, I leaned against his arm, “but you understand my reasoning so…”

“Yeah. Yeah, I do. What about Hobbes? Is he coming with?”

“I have no idea. This is the first year I’ve had him and my parents aren’t big on pets.”

“Do you want me to take him while you’re gone? He can stay at my house and I can watch over him. It’ll be fun and you won’t need to worry. With you and Laney gone, I’ll be lonely.”

“Why not go home then? See your family?”

“I have to work until two days before Christmas and then come back five days after. That’s not enough time to go back home and have a proper visit. How can you take three weeks off?”

“I never take any time off during the year. I save it to either use or cash out my vacation days in December. So I’ll just use all of it now.”

“Oh. Got it.”

“You really are trying to find a way for us to spend Christmas together, aren’t you?”

“A little bit. Not exactly thrilled to spend our first holiday together apart but I can live.”

“I’ll make it up to you as soon as I’m home.”

“Deal,” he laughed softly, kissing my temple, “it was nice still getting to talk throughout the week. Made my excitement of today a little easier to deal with.”

“I was so nervous you wouldn’t come over to be fair. I thought you would cancel.”

“I told you, I find you fun and interesting. Even if you don’t see that about yourself.”

“Thank you, Alexi,” I whispered, squeezing his hand, “no one has really said anything like that to me before.”

“I’ll keep reminding you. Oh… Cae look,” he pointed out of one of the windows, “the rain has stopped and there’s a bright rainbow.”

“Wow,” I jumped up and ran to the window, staring at the rainbow, “they’re never that noticeable! I love it.”

Alexander suddenly wrapped his arms around me from behind and I fully leaned into him, covering his hands after he rested them on my stomach, “hey?”

“Hm?”

“Thank you. For dating me. For trying to see where we can go. It’s not easy to put yourself out there. In my case, I’m afraid of rejection or being left again. But I trust you. I already know that I should.”

“I trust you too. Even if we decide to stop dating, I can see us being hiking and climbing buddies. Keep each other safe on the trail and things like that.”

“Agreed. In the spring, we can start climbing finally.”

“I can’t wait.”

“Neither can I.”