Ava cracks a smile at his words as she fondly thinks back to those jokes. “Tourists never change, do they?” She has to admit that she’s really glad that he kept the restaurant. “Am I correct to assume that you retired from your other job?” It just seems like he’s been out of it for awhile.
Cameron chuckled. “Nope. They don’t at all.” It was nice to see her smile. It seemed pretty obvious that she hadn’t in a while. He couldn’t help but sneak a few peeps of her happy face.
“Oh, yeah. I did. I didn’t kill anyone else after you left. I just couldn’t find a reason to anymore.”
“It’s nice to know that somethings always stay the same.” Everything else in unreliable and constantly changing. Ava raises a brow at his answer. “It’s hard to find a partner as great as me, huh?” She jokes lightly, her smile slightly growing.
Cameron chuckled a genuine chuckle that haven’t left his lips in years. It was so nice to have her back and joking.
“Ava… I…” He trailed off, not even sure what he was going to say. Something deep inside him just wanted to say something, but another (perhaps common sense) wasn’t allowing it.
Ava stretches out a little, enjoying the nice weather and the company of someone she loves talking to. “What is it?” She asks, looking over to him curiously. Having him pause like that only makes her want to know even more what he was going to ask.
“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.