this is my four leaf clover

***

When Chrissy woke up the next morning, Steve was still fast asleep. He was laying flat on his back, and she had draped herself around him with her head resting on his shoulder and her arm slung across his chest. She almost couldn’t believe that this was real. That she liked him and he liked her back. That she got to fall asleep in his arms and wake up still snuggled up to him. It felt like a dream. 

She kissed his jaw before settling back in and hugging him a little bit tighter. As she was debating about how much longer she should let him sleep before waking him up to get ready for breakfast, he stirred beside her.

“G’morning,” he mumbled before kissing the top of her head. “You been up long?”

She moved to prop herself up on his chest so she could look at him and shook her head.

“Only a couple minutes,” she told him.

“Did you sleep okay?” he asked, his hand moving to rub up and down the small of her back. “Any bad dreams?”

“No bad dreams that I can remember. Why do you ask?”

“I got up to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, and when I came back, you were whimpering in your sleep. The second I was back in bed, you were reaching out for me, and you clung to me pretty tightly after you found me.”

“Oh.”

And just like that she’d managed to ruin everything. She had no memory of that happening, but it did sound like something she would do. She was always invading people’s space and putting herself where she wasn’t wanted. How many times had Jason told her that her constantly hanging off of him was annoying if he wasn’t allowed to touch her? How many times had he pushed her away because she wanted to feel just the tiniest bit of affection without him trying to force her into something she wasn’t ready for? She’d lost track after the fourth or fifth time it happened, and now the cycle was going to start again with Steve. This was just his gentle way of telling her that she made him uncomfortable and he needed his space because he didn’t want to hurt her feelings by outright telling her to move over.

Chrissy moved off of him without another thought and tried to put at least a few inches between them as she sat up in bed.

“I’m sorry,” she told him. “I can ask Nancy to always make sure our room has two beds so you can have your space. Or, I’ll just pick up an air mattress while we’re out today because that's probably easier for everyone.”

“Why would you want to do that?”

“I know I can be clingy.” She avoided looking at him as she spoke, choosing to stare at where she was now picking at the bedspread instead. “Most people find it annoying and don’t like it when I get too close. I’m pretty good at keeping my distance and asking for permission before cuddling up to someone, but I can’t help it when I’m asleep. I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, so it’s probably for the best if we sleep in separate beds. You deserve your space, so I’ll do whatever I have to do to keep that from happening again.”

“Wait. Do you think I told you that because it bothered me?”

“Well, yeah. Didn't it?”

“Absolutely not. Get back over here.”

Steve gently pulled her over to lay back down with him. She was cautious at first, but she relaxed enough to rest her head on his shoulder again and let him hold her a little.

“Okay, so first of all, I didn’t tell you that for any of the reasons that are probably running through your head right now,” he started. “I told you because I was worried about you, and I wanted to make sure that you were okay. I don’t want you to think you have to keep your distance from me because that’s the last thing I’d want.”

“So, I didn’t make you uncomfortable?”

“Not even a little bit. The opposite of uncomfortable actually. It made me feel good about myself that you feel safe enough around me to seek me out for comfort even in your sleep. I thought it was cute. You were like a little koala.”

She was finally able to fully relax beside him after he said that, and she moved to cling to him again as he held her in his arms.

“So no wasting your money on an air mattress or asking Nancy for a room with two beds. As long as you’re okay sharing a bed with me, you don’t have to worry about reaching for me in your sleep. Okay?”

He punctuated his point by holding her just a little bit tighter, and she felt herself melting into his embrace.

“Okay.”

He wanted to ask her if this had anything to do with why she ran away from him when he hinted at his feelings for her the other morning, but he didn’t want to force her to talk about that. She had to bring that up on her own. He couldn’t shake the feeling that the two instances were connected though, and there was another part of him that was sure that this all had to do with her last relationship.

“In case you haven't noticed, I can be pretty clingy, too,” he told her. “Or did you forget that I was dead set on keeping you trapped in my arms the other two times we’ve shared a bed together?”

He kept his tone teasing and light. It was clear that this was something she struggled with - whether it was an extension of her uneasiness with PDA or not - and he didn't want her to think he was making fun of her when he was only trying to poke fun at himself.

“It must have slipped my mind,” she told him. “My memory is a little fuzzy. Maybe you could remind me?”

“It would be my pleasure.”

Steve made quick work of rolling them over so Chrissy was the one laying flat on her back, and he rested his head on her chest as he snaked his arms around her waist.

“Now, I know we're supposed to go get breakfast, but I'd like to request at least ten minutes of morning Chrissy cuddles before that happens. And, if you'd like to give me head scratches while those cuddles are happening, I wouldn't be opposed to that.”

“I think that could be arranged,” she said as she threaded a hand through his hair.

And really, it was the least she could do for him after he silenced yet another one of her bad thoughts. It amazed her how he always knew just what to say to calm her down and keep her from going into a full blown hate spiral. Part of her wanted to assume that it was because of how much experience he had with other girls, but there was another part of her that was certain that wasn't the case. This wasn't some rehearsed speech that he gave to just anyone. He made her feel seen in ways she'd never felt before, and because he could see her for who she really was, he could be her calm in the storm of her self-loathing. That fact both terrified and excited her, and she couldn't tell which feeling was stronger.

She didn't want to dwell on that though. She just wanted to enjoy this moment that she got to share with him, so she relaxed into his hold relishing in the little sigh of contentment he let out as she started to massage his scalp. And, because she was feeling especially nice, she gave him fifteen minutes of cuddle time instead of his requested ten.

***

After their breakfast date where Steve stayed true to his word from the day before and let Chrissy treat him, they made their way back to the hotel to meet up with Eddie and Nancy. The plan was to load up the car and get on the road to Philadelphia soon enough that they'd be there early enough to get lunch and do some exploring before dinner. And since it was only a little over three hours drive there, that was definitely doable. So, after Chrissy took the time to exchange contact information with Fred and Ethel with the intention of writing to each other once she was back home, the group set off for their next destination.

The drive itself passed mostly without incident. This time, Chrissy used her aux cord privileges to play one of Steve’s personal playlists when she realized that she’d only been catering to everyone else’s preferences, and it wasn’t fair that they hadn’t listened to any of his music yet. And maybe it was a little bit because he rewarded her with kisses whenever one of his favorite songs came on and he could safely manage it - even if Eddie complained about them being disgusting from the backseat.

It was only when they were stuck in traffic to get into the city that things got chaotic. They were in a complete standstill when someone drove past them on the shoulder, and Steve had a breakdown.

“There’s no - there’s no road there,” he said, staring out Chrissy’s window at where the car had just been. “How did - why would he - there’s no road there.”

“I think that guy broke Steve,” Eddie said from his spot in the backseat.

“Why would someone do that? And there’s those ridges on the edge. He’s just gonna go -” Steve started to click his tongue and make a thunking noise as he rotated his wrist the way the car wheels would go.

“How’s he gonna go?” Chrissy asked when he stopped.

Steve did the same thing again.

“Sorry, I didn’t quite catch that,” she told him. “One more time?”

Steve repeated the sound and motion again for only a second before he looked over and saw her attempting to look like the picture of innocence and failing to hide her shit-eating grin.

“I’m so sorry,” she said as she finally let out a laugh. “I had to. It was just so funny.”

“You think my mental anguish is funny?” he asked, punctuating his question with a poke to her side. “Me losing my mind over the insanity of other drivers is funny?”

“Maybe a little bit?” she told him. “Just the part where you imitated the way his car would sound.”

Steve gasped in mock offense and moved to repeatedly squeeze at Chrissy’s thigh directly above her knee. She squeaked before dissolving into a fit of giggles and gripping his hand to pull it away.

“No fair. You can't tickle me when I can't get you back,” she told him. 

“So you're saying it's always okay to tickle you as long as I give you an opportunity to fight back?” He quirked an eyebrow and offered up a mischievous smirk. 

“That's not what I meant, and you’re supposed to be paying attention to the road.”

“We’re in standstill traffic. I can multitask.”

“If you’re multitasking, you could kiss me instead.”

“And you think you’re deserving of kisses after making fun of me?”

“I’m always deserving of kisses actually.”

“But does that mean I deserve to vomit in the back of this car?” Eddie asked. “Get a room if you’re gonna be that sickeningly sweet.”

“But we can’t get a room,” Chrissy pouted. “We’re in standstill traffic. Don’t you want us to be happy?”

“Yeah, Eddie,” Steve teased. “Why can’t you just let us be happy?”

He leaned over and made a show of planting a sloppy kiss on Chrissy’s cheek that left her giggling at the spectacle.

“I’m going to throw myself in front of the fastest car I see the second we’re moving again,” Eddie told them. “When I was rooting for you two to kiss, I didn’t think I was going to be forced into so many nauseating situations.”

“You say that as if you weren’t even more nauseating than that when we first got together,” Nancy told him. “Cut them some slack.”

“Never. I need to run very far away from this. And not just because I’m being forced to watch my honorary sister get slobbered all over. I’ve spent way too much time trapped in the car already today. I need to break free.”

“Maybe we stop at Franklin Square Park first then?” Nancy suggested. “We can pick up lunch and head there to eat. Give you some time to run around and get out the zoomies?”

“I’m not a dog, Nancy. I don’t get the zoomies,” he pouted.

“Do you want to run around a little or not?”

“Yes. Please.”

When they’d finally made it through the traffic jam and into the city, they found a place that served cheesesteaks and then made their way over to Franklin Square Park to eat after buying their lunches. The group spread out in a grassy area to enjoy their food, and Eddie practically inhaled his the second they sat down. As soon as he finished, he turned to Chrissy.

“Airplanes?” he asked.

She gave a quick nod before wrapping up the half of her sandwich that was leftover.

“Airplanes.”

Eddie got to his feet and pulled Chrissy to get up with him. The two took off running through the playground area with their arms spread out at their sides like the wings of a plane. Steve watched them from where he was sitting, trying to ignore the slight pang of jealousy he was feeling.

“It gets easier,” Nancy told him. “Watching them interact like that, I mean.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“You forget how well I know you. I know what you look like when you’re jealous.”

“I’m not jealous. At least, I don’t want to be.” And he didn’t. He had no right to try to claim all of Chrissy’s attention just because she was letting him kiss her. He shouldn’t be jealous of the bond she had with her best friend, and yet here he was wishing that he was the one she’d asked to hang upside down on the jungle gym with her.

“I was jealous, too. For the first couple months, I felt like an outsider looking in on their friendship whenever the three of us hung out. I figured it was because I thought they were dating the first time I saw them together, and for the longest time, I thought Chrissy didn't like me. I didn't realize it was because she's the shyest person I've ever met, and Eddie is maybe the only person she's ever been able to fully be her true authentic self with. And I think that's why he's so fiercely protective of her. To the extent she'll allow it, at least.”

“Yeah, he mentioned something about having to promise to stop fucking up his life on her behalf?”

“That's because he pretty much failed his first attempt at senior year for her.”

“He did what?”

“This fully stays between you and me. You can't tell either of them that I told you any of this, but Eddie told me about the heart to heart you had on the beach with Chrissy, so I know you know that her mom is just about the worst woman in the world.”

“Yeah, Mrs. Cunningham has quickly found a place in the top five of my shit list.”

“Well, until Chrissy started dating Jason, she was number one on Eddie's. I don't know the full story since Eddie and I didn't start dating until much later, but he told me he didn't want to leave her to deal with her mom alone. His grades already weren't that great, so he just stopped trying. He said that she was maybe the maddest she's ever been at him when he told her, and that's when she made him promise that while it was okay for him to worry about her, he wasn't allowed to do things that would put his life on hold for her. And that included confronting her mom or Jason about the way they treated her.

“And before you ask - because I know you, and I know you will - I don't know what Jason did to her. Even though he shares everything with me, he won't share Chrissy's secrets. That loyalty is one of the things that I love the most about him, but it still frustrates the hell out of me sometimes. She's his Robin though. They have their own little language, and if her mom would have let her get a job, I’m sure she would’ve dragged Eddie all over town to find one they could do together. Don’t get me wrong - I love that he has that with her. It’s just hard to look at them and know you’re not a part of it. Now that Chrissy and I are finally starting to become friends, that feeling is almost gone, but it really sucked at the beginning, so I get why you would be jealous.”

Steve glanced over at where Eddie and Chrissy were still doing acrobatics on the jungle gym before turning back to Nancy.

“So it gets easier?”

“Infinitely so. Stick with me, Steve. I’m a seasoned professional when it comes to dating into their friendship.”

Steve huffed out a laugh.

“Any other tips you wanna share?”

“You don't need any tips. From what I've seen, you're doing just fine on your own.”

“I just wish I knew what she was thinking the way he does. Every time she gets quiet on me, I'm afraid that I did something wrong until she lets something slip about the ways she's been hurt in the past. I've spent more time thinking about how much Jason Carver sucks in the past week than I did when I saw the guy every day.”

“You should talk to Eddie about that one. I know he won't tell you what happened between them, but he's well-versed in the art of suppressing the urge to punch Jason in the face. I think that might be partially why he's being so openly disgusted about you two kissing in front of him. He wants you both to be happy, and he knows that being all lovey dovey with each other is doing that, but he's also the one that put the pieces back together after Jason broke her. He'll never admit it out loud, but I know he's afraid of seeing her like that again, and that fear doesn't go away easily - even when he's friends with the new guy who's clearly already found a place in her heart.”

“I wouldn't hurt her. That's the last thing I'd ever want to do.”

“I know. I'm pretty sure he knows, too. You just gotta give him some time to get used to you kissing his sister.”

She leaned over to nudge him and knocked their shoulders together.

“You're a good guy, Steve. Chrissy's lucky to have you.”

“I’m pretty sure I'm the lucky one.”

Nancy didn't have time to respond before Eddie and Chrissy were running back over to them.

“Nance, there's a dragon seat on the carousel,” Eddie said as he approached them. “I need to ride it. Care to join me?”

“I'd love to.”

Nancy let Eddie pull her up and drag her off towards the carousel.

“Do you wanna ride it, too?” Steve asked Chrissy as he got to his feet.

“I'm not really a carousel kind of girl,” she told him. “But I noticed they have mini golf here, and I was thinking maybe that could be kind of fun if you'd want to go do that with me?”

“I don't know,” he said as he took her hand in his. “I'm kind of a pro when it comes to mini golf, and I wouldn't want you to feel bad when I absolutely decimate you.”

“Oh, I wouldn't mind. Maybe you could give me some pointers? Teach me how to play on the first hole so I might have a fighting chance?”

“As you wish.”

Chrissy led Steve over to the mini golf entrance, and after they’d paid for their tickets and equipment, they headed over to the first hole.

“Watch me do it first, and then I’ll help you with your stance, okay?” he said as he took his spot. He easily got the ball in on his second stroke before making his way back over to Chrissy.

“It’s a piece of cake,” he told her.

“I don’t know. Maybe you should show me how to stand?”

She was the picture of innocence, but he knew what she was really asking. This was just an excuse for him to wrap his arms around her for a moment without her having to be clingy like she feared she was that morning. He was more than happy to play along with whatever charade he needed to if it meant getting to hold her close.

He went to stand behind her before wrapping his arms around her to correct her grip on the putter. He ducked his head to press a soft kiss against her neck before resting his chin on her shoulder.

“Since when is kissing a part of mini golf?” she asked.

“It’s the most important part actually,” he told her as he kissed her neck again. “You've gotta relax to be good at this, and what better way to relax than with a few kisses?”

“You're crazy if you think kissing me like that is going to help me relax. I can't focus when you're doing that.”

“Mini golf first and then kisses?”

Chrissy nodded.

“As many kisses as you want.”

“Then I'll be kissing you forever.”

He noticed her starting to turn pink, so he kissed her blushing cheek one last time before actually helping her. He showed her how to line up her shot, and after a few practice swings, he backed up to let her play. She seemed a little uncertain on the first hole, and it took her four putts to get the ball in, but she was excited all the same.

“Wanna make this a little more fun?” she asked as they moved to the second hole.

“What did you have in mind?”

“How about a friendly wager? Loser has to buy the winner ice cream?”

“If you want to buy me ice cream, you can do it without making it a competition.”

“I wouldn't get too cocky,” she told him. “I could surprise you and win. C’mon. It'll be fun.”

“Okay, it's a bet.”

Steve got another hole in two on the second hole, and Chrissy surprised him by getting a hole in one. Part of him thought it had to be beginner’s luck, but he also thought it could be because he was an excellent teacher when he wasn't distracting her with kisses.

But then she got two more holes in one in a row, and beat him on the next hole after that. He must have looked just as confused as he felt because Chrissy giggled when she saw the look on his face.

“Did I forget to mention that my little brother absolutely loves mini golf, so I've taken him to the Hawkins Putt Putt almost every month for the last three years?”

“Yeah, I think you left that part out.”

“Must have slipped my mind,” she said with another giggle.

Steve took a couple steps to close the gap between them and wrapped his arms around her.

“Did you just hustle me?”

“Is it really hustling when I would've done much better on that first hole if you hadn't gotten me all worked up by saying you wanted to kiss me forever?”

“So that's the trick to beating you?” he asked. “Because I told you I don't like losing, and I will happily tell you everything I’d like to do with you later. Want a preview?”

He moved one hand to cradle her head, and the other pressed against the small of her back as he pulled her in for a kiss. Of course, they’d kissed before, but there was something different about this one. Something more desperate and needy as he deepened the kiss and held her closer. It left her weak in the knees and grabbing at him for support, and when he started to pull away, she was chasing his lips for more.

It was only when the fog cleared and she remembered that they were in public that she felt herself heating up with embarrassment. She buried her face in his chest to hide her beet red cheeks and willed herself to calm down.

“Steve,” she whined. “There are kids here.”

Steve glanced around the area still holding Chrissy trapped in his arms.

“I don’t see any kids. Besides, it's not like any kid’s just never seen a little kissing before. There’s a kiss at the end of every single one of those Disney movies.”

“They aren’t kissing like that in Tangled, Steven.”

He tried to peek around to see her face, but she turned her head to keep it hidden from him.

“No. I don't look cute when I'm embarrassed, so I don't want you to look at me.”

“I thought we'd already established that I think you're beautiful no matter how much you're blushing?”

Chrissy finally turned to look at him and pouted.

“That was mean,” she told him. “You can't get me all worked up like that in public. I don't like feeling so out of control in regards to my appearance when other people can see me. It makes me worry about what my mom would say if she could see me, and that's not fun for me even if the activities leading up to that feeling were more than enjoyable.”

It scared her to be so open about her insecurities with him, but she knew that she had to tell him this. If she didn't establish her boundaries now, all she'd be doing was setting the two of them up for failure later on. She braced herself for the anger and disappointment that she was sure he was going to express, but it never came.

“I’m sorry,” he told her. “I thought that we were just messing around and being playfully competitive, so I didn’t stop to think about how I was crossing your boundaries about PDA and making you uncomfortable. I promise not to do that again unless I have your permission first, okay?”

“Okay.” She wrapped her arms around him a little tighter. “Thank you.”

He kissed the top of her head before releasing her from his embrace.

“You know, you calling me Steven again reminded me that I haven’t tested out any new nicknames on you yet.” He took her hand in his and started to lead the way towards the next hole. “Is Chrissy short for anything?”

“Christine. But I don’t particularly like that either,” she admitted. “I’ve always just been Chrissy. My parents only ever use my full name when I’m in trouble or they want me to sound more mature in front of someone they’re trying to impress. It’s never felt like my name.”

“How about Teeny? It’s like the second half of your name, and it fits with how tiny and cute you are.”

Chrissy scrunched up her nose and shook her head.

“It’s not as bad as Chris, but it’s still not me.”

“I’ll keep thinking then. I’m gonna find the perfect nickname for you. Just you wait.”

For the rest of the game, Steve threw out increasingly ridiculous nickname options. Some of them sounded like they could have been derived from her name, and others were just random names that he threw out to make her laugh. At one point, he suggested calling her Esteban which had her doubled over and clinging to his arm for support as she told him that was just a Spanish version of his name.

Despite the distraction from all his silly nicknames and her laughter, Chrissy still managed to beat Steve by two strokes at the end of their game.

“I think I’m in the mood for strawberry,” she said as she bounded over to him.

“Whatever you want,” he replied. “I still can’t believe you hustled me.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and stood on her tiptoes to give him a quick kiss.

“You say that as if you wouldn’t have bought me ice cream anyway.”

“You’ve got me there.”

“Now, about that kiss from earlier.” She twisted her fingers in the ends of his hair, lightly scratching at the back of his neck. “Maybe keep that energy in mind when we’re alone in our room tonight?”

“As you wish.”

***

When they met back up with Eddie and Nancy, it was finally late enough that they could check into their hotel and come up with a plan for the rest of their evening.

“I’m thinking we drop our stuff off in our rooms, and then we can go grab takeout somewhere and have a movie night back here,” Nancy said as they stepped into their hotel’s elevator.

“Sounds good to me,” Eddie said before looking at the ground and pausing. “Well, that’s not suspicious at all.”

The group all glanced down at where he was looking and noticed the very out of place smear of what could have potentially been blood.

“Remind me not to take this elevator for the rest of our stay,” Steve said as he pulled Chrissy a little closer to him and farther away from the stain.

Their room was only on the second floor, so they didn’t have to be in the weird elevator long. Once they were on their floor, they separated to drop off their things. Chrissy was just about ready to leave their room again when Steve tackled her onto one of the beds.

“What are you doing?” she asked through her giggles as he pinned her to the mattress. “We’re supposed to be back in the hallway in five minutes.”

“A lot of kissing can happen in five minutes,” he told her before leaning down to capture her lips with his own. This kiss wasn’t as intense as the one from earlier, but she could tell it was on its way to getting there.

“Later,” she told him when they broke apart. “We both know that five minutes isn’t enough time for all the kissing you wanna do. Besides, right now I’m a little more concerned with the fact that I think someone was stabbed in the elevator.”

“You’ve got nothing to worry about. I’ll protect you.”

“My hero. Now, let me up so we can go get dinner.”

Instead of climbing off of her, Steve went limp and laid across her.

“She hates me. She says she hates me.”

“I didn't say that. I said we had to get dinner.”

“Same difference.”

“Would a kiss help convince you that I don't hate you?”

“Maybe.”

Steve lifted his head and waited for a quick peck, but the mischievous smile on Chrissy’s face said she had other plans. Before he knew what was happening, she was using all her strength to roll him off of her. She moved to straddle his waist and easily pinned his wrists to the mattress beneath them. He was still in shock when she leaned down to give him the most intense kiss that she'd initiated so far.

It was over almost as quickly as it started though, and soon she was climbing off of him to head towards the door to their room. Steve made no moves to get up and follow her though.

“Aren't you coming?” she asked.

“Give me a minute. That was maybe the hottest thing a girl has ever done to me, and I need a moment to recover.”

Chrissy giggled as she moved back over to him. She grabbed his wrists and pulled him up into a sitting position.

“C’mon. It wasn't that hot.”

“Oh yeah? Well, we'll see how you feel about that when I've got you in the same position later.”

“I’ll eagerly await it then.”

***

The group ended up getting Chinese takeout and heading back to Steve and Chrissy’s room to watch a movie. It wasn't that he was trying to rush their friends out of their room, but Steve was faking a yawn as soon as the movie was over. He just wanted a little alone time with Chrissy, and he wanted it sooner rather than later.

“So, what should we do now?” he asked her as soon as Eddie and Nancy were out the door.

“Well, why don't we get ready for bed, and we just go from there?” she suggested. “You can take the bathroom first since I'm pretty sure my nighttime routine takes longer than yours.”

Steve took almost no time in the bathroom and waited for Chrissy by lounging on their bed and catching up on the texts he'd been neglecting. Dustin, El, and Robin had all been blowing up his phone with questions about how he was enjoying his trip and news about what they were doing in his absence, and he'd been too focused on being in the moment with Chrissy to respond with the frequency he normally would have.

When she was finally done in the bathroom and reentered their room, Steve threw back the blankets on Chrissy's side of the bed and opened his arms for her. He was still thinking about what she'd said that morning about being afraid that she was too clingy, and he was going to do everything in his power to prove to her that he'd always be more than happy to hold her in his arms and cuddle her to her heart’s content. She had the biggest smile on her face as she climbed into bed and snuggled up to him, so he was taking that as another win in his crusade to make her feel better about herself.

“Give me five minutes to finish up this conversation with Robin, and then I'm all yours, okay?”

She nodded and kissed his jaw before settling in with her own phone. Soon, she was laughing at whatever she was looking at, and he was peeking over at her screen.

“What's so funny?” he asked.

“Oh, it's nothing,” she said as she angled her phone towards him. “Just this picture of my friend April from her private stories.”

Steve took in the photo which consisted of a group of people that he recognized as mostly members of the basketball team and cheerleading squad. Chrissy’s friend April was front and center with Jason basically hanging off of her. He would've thought this might have upset her, but April had added “it's giving desperation” with a vomiting emoji over the picture.

“I think he's been trying to make his way through the entire squad since he dumped me, and April is the only hold out. Even if she wasn't the only one who's stayed my friend through all of that, he wouldn't have a chance with her. He'll never be her type if you know what I mean.”

Chrissy immediately clapped a hand over her mouth.

“I shouldn't have said that. Pretend I didn't say that.”

“Oh, so she’s-”

“Yes, but you have to promise you won't say anything about it to anyone. I'm pretty sure I'm the only person who knows outside of her family.”

“I knew about Robin for ages before she came out at graduation, and I never told anyone, so her secret’s safe with me.”

But the wheels were already turning in Steve's head with ideas of him getting to go on double dates with his best friend. His conversation with Robin was close to wrapping up anyway, so he just had to slip in the framework for this idea before he gave Chrissy his full attention.

Steve: chrissy and I are probably gonna go to bed soon so I should wrap this up

Steve: but I need you to keep the rest of your summer free for me once I'm back

Robin: I mean you're my entire social calendar until college so

Robin: does this have anything to do with the girl that's currently in your bed?

Steve: maybe

Steve: just prepare to be sick of hanging out with me by the time you leave

Robin: impossible

Robin: love you or whatever dingus

Steve: love you or whatever too

Steve set his phone aside and turned his attention back towards Chrissy. As soon as he'd set his phone down, she was moving to set hers down on the nightstand, too.

“So, what did you have in mind for us tonight?” he asked her.

“I don't know. It just occurred to me that my parents would lose their minds if they knew that I’ve been sharing a bed with a boy.”

“Oh, really?” He moved to hold her a little closer. “What if they found out you were cuddling with that boy?”

“They'd be positively scandalized,” she said with a knowing smirk.

“You don't say,” he said with a smirk of his own and a raised eyebrow. “And if you were kissing that boy?”

“Oh, they'd never recover. They'd have to flee the country in shame because their darling disappointment of a daughter was such a common whore.”

They were both holding back laughter as Steve finally leaned in to kiss her. This was different from any other kiss they'd shared. He'd been trying to be so respectful of the boundaries that Chrissy had put in place that they hadn't really made out like this before. It had all been quick kisses and cuddling up until now, but she'd told him to hang on to that desperate energy from earlier, so that was exactly what he planned on doing.

At first, it was all wandering hands and trying to figure out exactly how they fit together until she wrapped one arm around his neck and tangled the fingers from her other hand in his hair. He gripped her hips and held her flush against him as he replicated that kiss from earlier. The only difference was that she was just as greedy as he was this time around, tugging at his lower lip and chasing him for more when he pulled away slightly.

“And what if that boy kissed you right here?” he asked before moving to nip at her neck, his teeth grazing against her pulse point.

She couldn't find the words to respond. All she could manage was a gasp as her grip tightened and she tugged on his hair. He groaned against her neck, and he felt the way she shuddered against him.

“Maybe we take your parents out of the equation now?”

She nodded vigorously.

“Please,” she uttered before pulling him in to kiss her again.

He would never tire of hearing her say please before a kiss. To hear that she not only welcomed his advances but was just as desperate to be touched by him as he was to touch her - it was almost too much for him to handle.

As their kissing intensified, he felt her rocking her hips against his own, and she moaned into his mouth from the pleasure of that friction. He moved to fiddle with the hem of her shirt, but the second he touched the bare skin of her stomach, she froze on him. She wasn't kissing him back anymore. She was barely moving. She only stayed like that for a moment before she was grabbing at his wrist and struggling against him.

“No,” she said as she pushed his hand away from her body. “Don't.”

Steve pulled away immediately and moved to sit up next to her. That last thing he wanted to do was keep touching her when she clearly didn't want that, but her reaction stung more than he wanted to admit.

“What did I do?” he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.

Chrissy moved to sit up next to him, and he could see the tears welling up in her eyes.

“Shit. I'm sorry.” He wanted to do something to try to comfort her, but he was afraid that she'd push him away if he tried to touch her again. “I don't know what happened, but whatever I did, I'm so sorry.”

“Too much,” she whispered. “Too fast.”

“Do you want some space? I can go to the other bed.”

He started to climb off their bed, but she grabbed his hand to stop him.

“Don't. Please stay.”

She was quiet for a couple minutes almost as if she was willing herself not to fully cry in front of him, and every minute felt like an eternity for Steve as he waited for her to tell him exactly how he'd messed up.

“I'm sorry,” she said when she finally spoke up. “You touched me, and I panicked, but that was fully a me issue.”

“Can you please explain it to me then? I want to understand, so I don't make the same mistake again.”

“That's the thing though. You didn't make any mistakes. If I was any other girl, that wouldn't have happened.”

She wiped at her eyes with the back of her free hand.

“Maybe I should have talked to you about this before we started,” she told him. “But I didn't realize I would react that way. I thought it would be different with you.”

She took a deep breath and squeezed his hand.

“I know there were rumors about me in high school, and I'm sure you heard some of them just like I heard rumors about Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington. Rumors about just how far I was willing to go with Jason and all of the things I let him do to me.”

Steve would be lying if he said that wasn't true. Jason wasn't exactly quiet when he bragged to the guys in the locker room. He'd always thought that Jason was exaggerating a little bit, but he'd also figured there was at least some truth to what he'd overheard.

“But I need you to know none of that was true,” she continued. “Jason and I . . . We never . . . I mean, we didn't . . . I never let him get past second base, and even then, his hands always stayed on the outside of my clothes. It never felt right with him. Like it was an obligation that I was required to fill as his girlfriend, but it was never something that I felt ready for, so it never happened. I always assumed that I would be ready eventually, so I let him say whatever he needed to say to the guys to placate him. Those rumors were probably all true in a sense. I’m sure he really was doing all the things that he claimed he was doing. He just wasn’t doing them with me.

“I don't want to talk about that though. I just needed you to know that I'm not as experienced as you might have thought I was, so that was a part of why I reacted that way. So, I'll understand if you don't want to share a bed with me tonight or be anywhere near me for awhile really. You'll probably want your space. That's how it always goes, so I'm used to being pushed away by now. I won’t be upset if that’s what you want. Honest.”

Steve's anger at Jason had moved past just wanting to be an annoyance in his life. He was starting to wonder if Hopper would let him get away with running the guy over with his car.

“Permission to hug you?” he asked as he opened his arms a little.

Chrissy nodded before moving to wrap her arms around him with her head tucked into the crook of his neck. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close being careful to keep his hands on her back. She never pulled away from him when he touched her there, so he figured that was a safe place for them.

“Thank you for opening up to me,” he started. “That didn't seem easy for you to say, and I want you to know that I appreciate you doing that for me. I realize we're doing this whole dating thing in a weird order. I mean, we shared a bed before either of us were even able to admit we liked each other. That's definitely not the norm. But that doesn't mean you have to rush into something you're not ready for.”

“It doesn't?”

“It doesn't. I really like you, and I don't want you to ever feel like I'm pressuring you into something that you don't want to do. You get to set the pace here.”

“And you won't be mad at me?”

“Why would I be mad at you?”

“I don't know. Just because.”

“Well, I'm not mad at you. I'll never get mad at you over your boundaries. Just let me know what I did wrong, and I won't do it again.”

She stayed quiet again as she struggled to find the right way to tell him why she reacted the way she did.

“My stomach,” she finally whispered. “You touched my stomach.”

She held him a little tighter, and he started to rub her back doing what little he could do to provide some comfort as she explained herself.

“There are parts of me that I'm self-conscious about,” she admitted. “I don't want to feel that way, but I do. So, when you touched one of those spots without my clothing as a protective shield, I panicked. I just don't think I'm ready for that kind of skin contact. I thought I was, but I’m not. Not tonight at least. And I'm sorry if my reaction hurt you. It was involuntary, but I need you to know that I want to be with you. It just might take me a minute to be ready.”

“I want to be with you, too,” he told her before kissing the top of her head. “I'm happy to slow things down if that's what you need. And I think you're perfect, you know? I know that I don't get everything that’s going on in your head, but I think you're beautiful inside and out.”

“Really?”

“You think I’d lie to you about something like that? There isn’t a single part of you that I would change.”

“Thank you. And, for the record, I feel the same way about you. Don’t let it go to your head or anything.”

“Too late. I can already feel my ego inflating.”

Chrissy snort-laughed and hugged Steve a little tighter.

“I'm sorry I killed the mood.”

“Don't be. If you're not comfortable, we're not doing anything. Simple as that. Do you wanna watch a movie or something until we fall asleep instead?”

“Can we watch Fraggle Rock? That always makes me feel better.”

“Whatever you want.”

Chrissy pulled away from Steve to grab her iPad from her bag. She took a moment to set it up with an episode of her comfort show and propped it up on the nightstand before moving to lay down. Steve laid down with her and draped an arm over her waist to pull her back against his chest.

As he tucked his chin around her shoulder and moved to kiss her cheek, Chrissy felt herself holding back tears again. She established a boundary about how far she was willing to go, and Steve had respected that boundary immediately. And even then, he still wanted to be close to her in the ways she was comfortable with. If this had been Jason, he would’ve kicked her out of the bed and spent the rest of the evening doing his best to make her feel small for disappointing him. Never in a million years would he have let her cuddle up to him and choose what they got to watch. It was so refreshing to know that her feelings mattered, too, and that alone helped to melt away some of her insecurities about physical intimacy.

As she started to drift off in the middle of their second episode, it occurred to her that this is what a healthy relationship felt like. And maybe - just maybe - that was the kind of relationship she deserved to be in.

***

When Chrissy woke up the next morning, she felt cold. She and Steve had rolled away from each other in the middle of night, and she missed the comfort of his embrace. His back was to her, so she wormed her arm between his and his side and pressed herself up against his back so she could be the big spoon.

Steve stirred as she clung to him and took her hand in his to give it a little squeeze.

“G’morning,” he mumbled as he rolled over to face her.

“Good morning. You sleep okay?”

He nodded. “Kiss?”

She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss before snuggling deeper into his arms.

“Thank you again for being so understanding last night,” she told him. “I really appreciated it.”

“Don't mention it. You deserve to be comfortable with whatever we're doing.”

“Yeah, but you went above and beyond to make sure I was okay. It was really very sweet of you.”

“Stopping immediately and making sure you were okay is the bare minimum here. I'm just the first decent guy you've ever been with, so it feels like I did more.”

“Well, I can't argue with you there.”

She kissed him again and moved to trail her fingers up and down his spine.

“Can I ask you a question?” she asked.

He nodded.

“Remember that morning when you and Eddie overslept, and Nancy and I had to come wake you up?”

He nodded again.

“Well, I noticed that you weren't wearing a shirt when you got up, and you didn't wear a shirt to bed the first night that we all shared that motel room together. But I also noticed that you've worn a shirt every time that we've shared a bed, and I was kind of wondering why that is?”

“Well, that first night, I just didn't think you'd be comfortable if I didn't have one on especially because I was worried you were already uncomfortable about sharing with me and just pretending you were okay with it to be nice.”

“You thought I was just being nice?”

“Until you started torturing me, yeah,” he teased. “But after that, I just didn't want to push your boundaries, and you never said anything about it until now, so I figured I was doing the right thing.”

“Well, you've cared so much about me being comfortable, and I want you to know that I care about your comfort, too. So, if you're more comfortable sleeping without a shirt, I'd be fine with you doing that.”

“Oh, you'd be fine with that, huh?” he asked with a teasing smirk. “And it has everything to do with my comfort and nothing to do with you wanting to see me shirtless? I'm onto you, Chrissy. I know what games you're playing here.”

She moved to tickle his side, and he flinched and barked out a laugh before rolling them over so he could pin her to the bed beneath him. He leaned in to kiss her, and it was only when he felt her smile against his lips that he struck, tickling up and down her sides and relishing in the way she squirmed beneath him and giggled into their kiss.

This only lasted for a moment, and soon he was moving to lay back down with her, holding her hands in his own to keep her from trying to get him back while he talked to her.

“So, I know it's my turn to buy you breakfast, and I still intend on doing that, but I need to know if I can have another half an hour of sleepy cuddles first?”

“Not a morning person?” Chrissy asked.

“Not even a little bit. When Dustin inevitably invents something that allows him to become supreme ruler of the world, my only request is going to be that he makes it illegal for anyone to wake me up before ten at the earliest.”

“So what I'm hearing is that I'm going to be sent to jail immediately if that happens.”

“I think I'd let them make an exception for you. Only if you promise to stay in bed with me as late as I want.”

“And what if I want breakfast before you're ready to get up?”

“Obviously, Dustin will also assign me my own personal butler as a thank you for driving him around all the time, so he can bring you breakfast in bed.”

“Well, you've just got everything figured out then, I guess.” Chrissy took a quick glance at the clock on the nightstand. “My alarm actually isn't supposed to go off for another forty-five minutes, so if you wanted, we could go back to sleep until then. But you'll have to let me get up to shower as soon as the alarm goes off if we want to have enough time for our breakfast date.”

“Have I mentioned that you're my favorite?” he asked. “Because you are.”

“I don't think you have, but it's lovely to hear.”

“Then I'll say it again.” He leaned in and gave her a kiss, lingering just a moment longer than he normally would in an attempt to convey everything he felt for her in that moment. That he wanted to be with her, and he knew whatever was starting between them was something real even if it was brand new and scary. “You're my favorite.”

Steve rolled over to lay on his back so she could rest her head on his chest and snuggle closer to him as they fell back asleep.

“You're my favorite, too,” she whispered.

***

Going to a major league baseball game was one of the few things that Steve had put on his list for the trip. Since there were no Indiana teams at that level, it wasn't something he got to do very often, and he thought it could be a fun excursion for everyone. And, since he was willing to buy everyone’s tickets to the game, even Eddie couldn’t complain about going to a sporting event. That might have been because he was having what appeared to be an allergic reaction to his room, and he was thankful for any reason to get out of the hotel. And the fact that the murder elevator was out of service that morning didn't help either.

“I don't understand it,” he said as they took their seats in the ballpark. “I'm fine literally everywhere else in the hotel, but I feel like I'm dying when I'm in our room.”

“We can stop and pick up some allergy medicine for you on the way back to the hotel,” Nancy told him. “And most of tomorrow is our drive to Salem, so you can get some more sleep then if you have another rough night.”

“We can swap rooms with you tonight if you think it'll help,” Chrissy offered.

“I'll be fine,” Eddie said. “It's only one more night, and if whatever I'm allergic to is something like the fabric softener or whatever, switching rooms won't make a difference.”

“Okay, but the offer is still on the table if you change your mind.”

“So which team are we rooting for?” Eddie asked. “Or does it matter?”

“The home team.” Steve gestured to the well-loved Phillies cap on his head.

“Cool. Now I know who not to heckle.”

“Do you even understand baseball?” Chrissy asked.

“Barely. I just like to be loud.”

And loud Eddie was. He spent the majority of the first two innings yelling whenever it seemed like the rest of the crowd was reacting to what was happening on the field, and while he wasn’t really following the game, he had the spirit.

But, what surprised Steve even more was the fact that Chrissy was just as invested in the game as he was. She was cheering along with every run or incredible save that the Phillies made and grumbling under her breath about how the ref was clearly blind when he made calls in favor of the other team. If he wasn’t already smitten with her, seeing her like that would have sealed the deal.

“I didn’t know you were such a big Phillies fan,” he mentioned during a break between innings.

“Oh, I’m not loyal to any one team in particular,” she admitted. “But I’ve always enjoyed watching the games no matter who’s playing, and if you say we’re rooting for the Phillies, the cheerleader in me is going to understand the assignment. I’d be willing to pledge my undying loyalty to them if it’s important to you though.”

Steve laughed and took Chrissy's hand in his.

“That's not necessary, right now,” he told her as he gave her hand a little squeeze. “Maybe in the future, but I just like that you're enjoying this, too.”

They shared a look, but their moment was interrupted by Eddie swatting at Chrissy's arm.

“Take a look at the screen, lovebirds.”

The two turned their attention towards the scoreboard where they saw that their faces were blown up and displayed surrounded by a Kiss Cam frame.

“I didn't realize they still did that at games,” Steve said. He was frozen in place and unable to decide what to do. On one hand, he had absolutely no issue with kissing her and would happily do that if it was what she wanted. On the other hand, this was a pretty large amount of PDA, and he didn't want to do anything that crossed her boundaries and made her uncomfortable.

He was about to offer to lean over her and kiss Eddie just to make her laugh and take the attention off of her when she surprised him by leaning in and kissing him first. It wasn't an intense kiss by any means necessary, but it was definitely more public than anything she'd been comfortable with before. As soon as she pulled away, she took the cap off of his head and placed it on her head, lowering the brim to hide her blushing cheeks from the camera. He leaned in to kiss her cheek and wrapped an arm around her shoulders as soon as a different couple was on the screen.

“Wanna go get some ice cream?” he asked.

“Won't we miss part of the game if we get up?”

“We'll still be able to hear the announcers, and I'm sure we won't be gone that long.”

“Can we find one of those places that serves soft serve in one of those tiny plastic souvenir hats?”

“That’s the only acceptable way to eat ice cream at a baseball game, so absolutely we can.”

The two got up from their seats and ventured into the stadium to find a concession stand that was selling what they wanted.

“So, have you always been a Phillies fan?” Chrissy asked once they were in the proper line. “Most of the guys I know follow one of the Chicago teams or even Cincinnati since they're all so much closer to where we live.”

“They were my grandpa’s favorite team. He grew up out here and moved to Hawkins for work after college. Baseball was always one of his favorite things, and he hated that he ended up in a state that didn't have their own team. I think he would've moved back here if he hadn't met my nana. He loved her enough to live two hours away from the closest major league stadium.”

“That's really sweet.”

“It is. My parents don't exactly have a great marriage, and my dad's parents were about as involved in my life as he was, so I think I can count on one hand the number of times I actually saw them. But my mom's parents were the real deal.”

“Were?”

“They were a lot older than my other grandparents because they had my mom a little later in life. I probably got to spend as much time with them as I did because my grandpa was already retired by the time I was born. Whenever I wasn't with a nanny, I was with my grandparents. Why spend money on childcare when you have perfectly good parents to dump your kid on, right?  But my nana passed away from cancer when I was in middle school, and grandpa passed right before Nancy and I started dating.”

“I'm sorry. That really sucks.”

“Don't be. I miss them, but I'm not overwhelmingly sad about it anymore. All of that information was just to say that my grandpa was the one who got me into baseball. When I was seven, he took me to my first ever major league game in Cincinnati when the Phillies were playing the Reds. We had the best seats right behind the Phillies dugout, and he let me eat more hot dogs than any child should ever consume. It was maybe the best day I ever spent with him. He actually bought me that hat as we were leaving the game as a memory of the day we had together. I never got to see his favorite team play their home field with him, so bringing the hat here was like having a little part of him with me today.”

Chrissy pulled the hat off of her head and tried to hand it back to him.

“I wouldn't have taken it if I'd known how much it meant to you.”

“It looks cute on you,” he told her as he took the hat out of her hands to place it back on her head. “I'm gonna want it back at the end of the day, but you can keep wearing it for now.”

Chrissy stood on her tiptoes to kiss Steve's cheek, and when it was their turn to order, she insisted on paying.

“You paid for all of us to come here, so the least I could do is get you a mid-game treat.”

“But I was the one who suggested we go get ice cream in the first place, so it was implied that it was gonna be my treat.”

“Absolutely not. Sometimes I get to treat you, too, Stephen.”

“Whatever you say, Chrysanthemum,” he teased, throwing out another one of his jokey nicknames.

“I think that one is really pretty actually,” she told him after considering the name for a moment. “I wouldn't mind being called a flower when you're teasing me.”

“Then that's what I'll call you. You'll be my flower. My Chrysanthemum.”

“Oh, so I'm yours now?” she asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“Well, yeah. You're mine, and I'm yours. I figured we'd established that already.”

Chrissy couldn't stop her smile from spreading across her face. She really liked the sound of that.

***

After the Phillies absolutely decimated the other team, the group went out for dinner. When Eddie noticed the wall decorated with colored kids menus, he spoke to the hostess for the group.

“We'd like four of your finest kids menus and the best crayons you can find,” he told her.

“Aren't you guys a little too old for the kids menu?”

“You're never too old for reasonably priced chicken tenders and coloring pages.”

The hostess just shrugged and grabbed the menus and crayons Eddie requested before leading them to a booth.

“I'd like to make a wager,” Eddie announced to the table. “Specifically with Steve, but you lovely ladies are welcome to join in if you want. Whoever colors the picture on the back of their menu the best wins. Loser buys everyone ice cream after dinner.”

“And who's going to be the judge of this contest?” Steve asked.

“Chrissy and Nancy, obviously.”

“And if it ends in a tie?”

“Then we'll ask the waitress for a tie breaker, but I doubt we'll need one when everyone sees how much better my picture is than yours.”

“Okay. You're on.”

As the boys worked on their coloring pages, Nancy tried to hold a conversation with Chrissy, but she noticed that her friend seemed to be overly distracted by the competition happening next to them. She watched as the girl’s focus seemed to be entirely on Steve and what his hands were doing, and she had to stifle a laugh when she noticed Chrissy sneaking a picture of him.

“Your heart eyes are showing,” she said as she nudged Chrissy's foot with her own under the table.

That snapped Chrissy out of her focus, and she set her phone face down on the table in front of her as she tried to ignore the blush growing on her cheeks.

“Sorry. I was distracted.”

“I could tell. It's cute though. I like seeing how happy you two make each other. And, yes, I'm saying this while he's in earshot just to embarrass you a little bit.”

Steve lifted his head from his work and turned to kiss Chrissy’s cheek.

“So, you're happy?” he asked her.

“Very much so.”

“Good. I'm happy, too. And I'll be even happier once I've won us that free ice cream.”

He gave her another quick kiss, and then he was back to his coloring.

The girls started playing hangman on the backs of their menus, and soon enough, the guys were ready for them to judge. And, as Steve had anticipated, their contest ended in a tie.

“Judas,” Eddie said when Chrissy voted for Steve over him.

“Look at the shading on his picture though,” she replied. “How could I not vote for him?”

Steve draped an arm around her shoulders, and she tucked herself into his side.

“She likes me best,” Steve grinned.

“What did I tell you about letting my affection go to your head?” she asked.

“It's too late. I can feel my ego inflating as we speak.”

“So does that mean your hair is going to get even bigger?” Eddie asked.

Steve wadded up his straw wrapper and flicked it at Eddie’s head.

It was then that their waitress appeared with their orders.

“Is there anything else I can get you guys while I'm here?” she asked after she'd distributed their food.

“Actually, could you do us a favor?” Eddie asked. He pulled Steve’s picture towards himself and then held up the two pages for the waitress.

“Settle a wager for us. Which one of these is the better coloring job?”

She considered their work for a moment before pointing at Steve's.

“I think I've gotta go with this one,” she told them. “I mean, he wrote ‘by: Steve, age 19 ½’ it the corner. It's kind of iconic. Do you care if I hang it up on the wall with the others?”

“Go right ahead.”

The waitress took his picture, and Chrissy and Nancy burst out laughing as soon as she was away from the table.

“The party is going to lose it when they hear about your ‘iconic’ work,” Nancy said between giggles.

“Absolutely not,” Steve replied. “None of them can ever hear about this. They make fun of me enough already. I just wanted the free ice cream. Promise none of you will ever say anything about this to them.”

“You think I'm gonna tell ‘em?” Eddie asked. “The only thing more embarrassing than winning a coloring contest is losing one.”

“I make no such promises,” Nancy decided. “But I'll accept bribes.”

“You won't tell them, will you?” Steve asked Chrissy.

“Me? Never.”

“I knew you were my favorite for a reason.”

As they ate their meals, Chrissy couldn't help but think that it was a little silly of Steve to think he needed to ask that of her. She didn't even know the party, so why would he need her to make that promise? It was unnecessary unless he intended on introducing her to them once they were back in Hawkins. It warmed her heart to think that he already wanted to share such an important part of his life with her, and she never wanted to forget that feeling. 

So, before they left the restaurant, she made a point to go over and take a picture of Steve's artwork on the wall. She wasn't going to share that picture with anyone. She just wanted it as a reminder of this moment.

***

“I'm stealing your pajama top,” Chrissy said as she pulled the t-shirt that Steve normally slept in out of his suitcase. He'd already changed into what he was wearing for bed that night, and he'd left his shirt off like she'd told him he could that morning. “It's so much softer than mine, and I might as well wear it if you're not going to.”

She was about to gather her things off of the dresser and head into the bathroom to get ready for bed when Steve spoke up and stopped her in her tracks.

“You know, you don't have to go into the bathroom to change if you don't want to,” he told her. “I mean, I just change out here, and it's not like I've never seen boobs before.”

She wished it was that easy. That he could say that and she'd magically feel comfortable taking her clothes off while he was in the room. Of course, she wouldn't need to get completely naked in front of him, and he'd already seen her in a swimsuit, but this was different. Her underwear didn't cover nearly as much as her bikini did, and that was already a struggle for her. She wanted nothing more than to be able to be that vulnerable with him, but she was frozen in her spot.

Maybe he noticed how shaky she seemed at that moment or maybe it was because she had gripped the hem of her shirt and started tugging it down so tightly that her knuckles were stark white, but Steve immediately backtracked his statement.

“I don't want to make you feel like you have to do anything you're uncomfortable with,” he told her. “I was just saying that you don't have to put that extra effort into getting changed if you didn't want to.”

He never reacted badly when she told him about one of her insecurities, so maybe she could share this with him, too. She took a deep breath and calmed herself down a little bit before speaking.

“It's not that I don't want to change in front of you,” she told him. “It's that I physically can't bring myself to do it.”

“You can't, but maybe I can?”

“What?”

Steve got up from his place on the bed and crossed over to where Chrissy was standing. He took her hands - which were still gripping the hem of her shirt - in his and rubbed gentle circles into their backs with his thumbs until she relaxed her grip.

“Let me help you,” he told her. “Just say the word, and I'll stop, but let me help you so it feels less scary.”

He dropped her hands and moved to the hem of her shirt. She moved to rest her hand on one of his wrists, and he paused.

“It's just you and me,” he said, looking into her eyes. “Just us. The only thing that matters right now is what you want.”

She took another deep breath.

“It's just us,” she repeated. “I want you to do it.”

“As you wish.”

She dropped her hand away from his, and he slowly lifted the hem of her shirt, pulling it up and off of her body. The only time he broke eye contact with her was when her shirt was blocking her face, and he couldn't fully see her. His eyes never wandered towards the parts of her that she was so desperate to keep hidden, and that helped her to relax.

“Tell me what to do,” he told her. “Whatever you want.”

“My shorts. You can - you can get rid of those, too.”

He nodded, and once again, he kept his eyes on her face as he worked on removing her clothes. And, when his knuckles brushed against her stomach as he unbuttoned her shorts, she didn't flinch or try to push him away like she had the night before. Maybe it was because they weren't in bed this time, but she had a feeling that wasn't the case. This felt so much more intimate than that, and she didn't want to shrink away from him anymore. She didn't want to deny herself because of the horrible things people had said to her in the past.

It was just the two of them. Nothing else mattered.

Soon, her shorts were falling to the floor, and Steve held her hands to steady her as she stepped out of them. She'd never felt so exposed in front of another person before, but she wasn't scared. Not of Steve and not of what he thought about her. He didn't expect her to be some flawless little plaything. He accepted her flaws and all, and that helped her more than she knew how to express in words.

He didn't make any moves to try to remove her undergarments after that. Just kept holding her hands and looking at her like he was trying to read the emotions on her face. And that was exactly what she needed. She didn't think she was ready to be fully bare in front of him. She wasn't ready for what that would lead to. But, she was ready for this. She could do this little bit, and maybe tomorrow she could change in front of him without his help. She was willing to try. He made her want to try. But for tonight, that was maybe enough.

“I think I'm ready to cover up now,” she told him.

“Whatever you want.”

He dropped her hands and handed her his shirt that she'd left on the dresser. She pulled it on over her head and gathered up the rest of her things.

“I'm going to go finish getting ready for bed.”

And with that, she scurried off into the safety of the bathroom to go through her nightly routine. It was only when she really looked at herself in the mirror as she wiped away the toothpaste that had dribbled onto her chin that the realization hit her.

Steve hadn't pawed at her. He hadn't asked her for more than what she was willing to do, and he hadn't ogled her even though he had every opportunity to do so. He respected her and let her be in control of the situation even though he could have touched her in whatever ways he wanted with the position she’d allowed herself to be put into.

Oh.

Oh.

She didn't need to hide from him like she'd needed to hide herself in the past. He wasn't going to take advantage of her. Of course, deep down she'd already known that. It just hadn't fully clicked into place until now.

When she exited the bathroom, Steve was sitting up in bed and playing with his phone, but he set it aside as soon as he saw her. Wordlessly, she moved to climb into the bed, but instead of sitting next to him, she straddled his waist and sat back on his thighs. She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him soft and slow. His hands moved to grip her hips, and soon he was chasing her lips for more as she pulled away.

“What was that for?” he asked.

“You see me,” she whispered. “I don't have to pretend with you the way I've been pretending with nearly everyone else in my life for who knows how long. And I want to show you how much I appreciate the way you push me to open up while still respecting my boundaries.”

Her hands fell away from his face and moved to start lifting up the hem of her shirt, but it was Steve’s turn to grip her wrist and stop her.

“You don't have to do this if you don't want to,” he told her. “I'm not expecting this from you. We don't have to do anything tonight, or even for the rest of this trip. I'm not going to pressure you for more, and I don't want you to feel obligated into doing anything.”

“Has no one ever told you that respecting a girl’s boundaries is the biggest turn on?” she asked. “That's not why I'm doing this though. I know I'm not ready for that, so that's not happening tonight. But I still want to show you something more. Let me be brave.”

He nodded and let go of her wrist allowing her to take off her top and set it next to them on the bed. She'd taken off her bra in the bathroom, so, with the exception of her pajama shorts, she was bare before him.

“I'm not ready for everything,” she told him as she leaned in to whisper in his ear. “But I’m ready for a little more. If you can see skin right now, that's where you're allowed to touch me when things start to heat up again. I want you to touch me.”

She kissed his jaw and then moved back to let him really look at her. She'd taken down her ponytail, so the ends of her hair curled around her shoulders. She nervously bit her lower lip, and as she looked at him waiting for a response, he was rendered speechless by how beautiful she was. How any girl who looked like her could have any insecurities was a mystery to him. She was perfect.

She placed a hand under his chin to close his mouth, and it was only then that he realized his jaw had dropped at seeing her like that.

“Whatcha starin’ at?” she asked with a slight laugh. “I thought you said you'd seen boobs before?”

“None as perfect as yours.”

She started to blush, and he watched as it spread to her neck and collarbones. It made him wonder just how far he could make that blush go and how much teasing it would take to make that happen.

“I think I've exposed myself enough for one night,” she said as she pulled the t-shirt back towards her and started to redress. She didn't sound uncomfortable though. She was content, and she didn't want to push herself too far in one go.

Once she was covered, she leaned in to kiss him again.

“I'm not used to accepting compliments,” she said as she pulled away.

“I'm more than happy to help you practice.”

He moved to tuck her hair back behind her ear and press a kiss against the stretch of her neck that he'd just exposed.

“You're beautiful, Chrissy, and your vulnerability is a gift that I'm so thankful you were willing to share with me. I'll do whatever it takes to make sure you never regret that.”

“I won't regret it. Not with you.”

He wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer to flip them around so she was the one leaning against the pillows and he was holding himself up over her.

“Tell me what you want from me.”

“I want you to show me what you would have done to me last night if I hadn't stopped you.”

“And you'll stop me again when I've hit your boundary?”

She nodded. “I trust you.”

That was all the confirmation he needed before crashing their lips together. Maybe she was right about respect being the biggest turn on because she was just as greedy with her kisses as he was. When she started to grind her hips against his, he pulled away slightly, and she whimpered beneath him.

“You wanted to know what I would've done last night, right?” he asked as he kept her from pulling him back in. “Let me show you just how much I want you. Let me focus on you for a minute because I know that no one has ever appreciated you in this way before.”

He pulled the neckline of her shirt aside so he could pepper her neck and collarbones with kisses being careful not to bruise her since he wasn't sure how she'd feel about hickeys. He didn't need to mark her to know that she was his just as much as he knew that he was hers and hers alone for as long as she was willing to have him.

When he scraped along her pulse point like he had the night before, she whimpered again and gripped his hips in an attempt to guide him closer to her and create some friction to satisfy the ache that was growing between her legs.

“Not yet,” he said, resisting her pull.

“Mean.”

“I'm mean?” he asked before leaning in to kiss her neck again. “You think this is mean?”

“Mean,” she repeated as she tried to pull him closer again.

“I could be worse,” he told her as he played with the hem of her shirt. He slipped his hand underneath, and this time, she didn't pull away as his palm glided up the expanse of her stomach. She arched her back into his touch, but he pushed her back into the pillows again as he explored her body. When he made it to her breasts, he moved to kiss her lips again, and he felt her breath catch in her throat as his thumb brushed against her nipple.

“It won't be for your first time.” As he spoke, he broke up his sentences with more kisses and lingering touches as he catalogued the way she reacted to each little touch. “If I'm lucky enough to be the first person who you give yourself to - God, I'd worship you. Do whatever it takes to make sure that it's enjoyable for you and only care about your pleasure. Prove to you that you deserve to put yourself and your needs first.

“But I can be mean, too. Once you know what it means to feel that good, I'll bring you right to the brink only to stop what I'm doing without ever letting you feel that release. I'll use my hands and my mouth to take you there again and again and again, and only when you can't take it anymore and you're begging me to finish will I finally let you tip over the edge.”

He punctuated his last statement by pinching her nipple, and it took everything in him not to come apart himself when she moaned into his mouth. He gave her what she wanted after that and moved his thigh between her legs to offer her that friction she so desperately desired, and she rewarded him by pulling him even closer for another kiss where she was tugging on his hair and biting at his lower lip.

She had never wanted someone so badly before. Not even when she was alone in her bedroom at night, certain that everyone else in the house was asleep and letting her hands wander did she ever think being with another person could feel this good. This satisfying. It would have been so easy for her to tell him to keep going and lose herself completely, but she just wasn't ready for that yet. 

So, when it got to the point where what they were doing wasn't enough anymore, she gave him one last kiss before pulling away. He stopped what he was doing, but he didn't let go of her. He just held her in his arms as she pressed her forehead against his and tried to catch her breath.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

She nodded.

“I think I need to be done now though.”

“Whatever you need.”

She hadn't noticed it in the heat of things, but now that she was coming down from that high, she was painfully aware of Steve's erection pressing up against her thigh.

“If you need to go take care of that, you can,” she told him.

“Are you sure?”

“As much as I enjoy you holding me like this, I'll never be able to calm down with you this close to me, and we'll both be a lot more comfortable when you come back.”

It was nearly impossible for Chrissy to get Steve up for the day, and she really only had herself to blame. Instead of staying up after the sunrise, she’d pulled him back to bed because she wasn’t ready for him to stop holding her just yet. She’d had the realization that admitting her feelings to him could make this all go away if he didn’t feel the same way about her, and she selfishly wanted to hold on to the daydream of being his for as long as she possibly could. And if that meant snuggling up to him in bed for just a little longer, that's exactly what she was going to do.

But a quick glance towards the clock on the nightstand told her that Nancy and Eddie would be expecting them downstairs for breakfast soon, and that meant that getting ready for the day and making sure their bags were packed was a necessity.

“We really should be getting up now,” she told him. “Unless you want Eddie to break the door down and drag us out.”

“I'd like to see him try.”

He hugged her to his chest a little tighter, making no moves to get up.

“Or maybe Nancy will have him hotwire your car and leave us stranded here.”

“They wouldn't. They like you too much.”

“But they don't like you enough?”

“Not as much as they like you.”

Chrissy rolled over in his arms to face him - their faces so close that their noses were practically touching - and frowned at him.

“That's not true. You were part of this trip from the start, so you're clearly the favorite.”

“Don't make me force you to put another dollar in the jar.”

“That was not a dig at myself, and you know it. You can't make me give you a dollar for that.”

“Yes, I can. That's the beauty of the jar. I made it, so I get to make all the rules. Perfectly sound logic if you ask me.”

“You're terrible.”

“Am I really all that bad?” he asked.

She knew that the smile on her face betrayed her true thoughts, but she took a page from Eddie's book and committed to the bit.

“The absolute worst actually,” she teased.

“It must really suck for you to be trapped here then. Since I'm obviously so repulsive,” he teased right back.

“Careful, Steve. This is the second morning in a row where you've refused to let me get out of bed. I'm starting to think you might have ulterior motives here.” She repeated his words from the night before hoping that he'd stay in on the joke with her.

“Maybe I do.”

And just like that, the teasing nature of their conversation was gone, and this all felt far too real and intimidating for her. It would be so easy for her to admit that she wanted him to have ulterior motives. That she had them, too, and that everything in her was screaming to tell him how she really felt. Her gaze flicked down to his lips for just a moment, and she was struck by just how easy it would be for her to close the almost nonexistent gap between them and kiss him. She could feel his warm breath on her skin, and every second that she stayed quiet felt like an eternity as she struggled between what she wanted to do and what she should do. And while what she wanted was for him to kiss her until she was breathless and stupid enough that she forgot her own name, she knew that what she needed to do was get out of that bed immediately and put some distance between them before the impulsive parts of her ruined everything.

She couldn't tell him how she felt while they were in bed together. Logically, she knew that Steve was nothing like Jason, and she didn't think he'd try to pressure her into something more if she admitted her true feelings, but that fear was still there with its ever-present and aching gnawing feeling. And she couldn't explain these fears without telling Steve about her whole messy relationship, and that would mean admitting things to him that she'd never told anyone. Not even Eddie who she normally told everything, and he was the one who'd held her hand through her breakup. She couldn't be that open and vulnerable with Steve until she knew for sure that she could trust him with her heart.

She also knew that they had to get out of bed, but if that happened because Steve was pushing her away in disgust or anger over the fact that she wouldn't put out, it would absolutely destroy her. She wasn't equipped to handle that kind of rejection. Not when she knew they still had so much time to spend together on this trip. She still planned on telling him how she felt that day, but this wasn’t the right moment no matter how much she wanted it to be.

So, instead of doing what she really wanted, she let her panic take over as she lifted Steve's arm off of her and climbed out of bed.

“I'm going to go get dressed,” she said as she grabbed her bag off of the spare bed. “You should probably do the same.”

She avoided looking at him as she ran into the bathroom, but if she'd turned to face him for just a moment, she would have seen him looking confused and a little hurt by her actions.

***

Steve spent the better part of the morning silently kicking himself for whatever he did that scared Chrissy away. He was just keeping up with what he thought was a bit of playful flirting, but the second he tried to hint at how he really felt, she froze on him and ran away. He’d been thinking that she felt the same way, but now she had him second guessing every interaction he’d had with her and looking for anything he could have missed that would have resulted in her fleeing the bed like he really was repulsive to her.

He was so deep in thought that he barely spoke during breakfast, and he didn’t react at all when Eddie convinced Chrissy to put on his personal Motionless in White mix. He almost missed Nancy asking him to stop for a bathroom break, too, but Eddie kicked the back of his seat and snapped him out of it for long enough that he was able to find a decent place for them to stop.

Chrissy ran off to the bathroom with Nancy, and as soon as they were out of earshot, Eddie was practically diving over the center console to climb up into Chrissy’s seat.

“What is up with you today?” he asked as he situated himself. “You’ve been zoned out this whole time, and we were starting to worry you were gonna crash the car.”

“It’s nothing,” Steve replied. “Just something stupid.”

“Well, is it stupid, or is it nothing? Because I don’t think it can be both.”

“I think I messed up with Chrissy, and I don’t know what I did, so it’s messing with my head a little.”

“You wanna tell me what happened?”

“That depends on how much of a dick you’re going to be.”

“How much of a dick I am depends on what you did to her.”

“That’s the thing. I didn’t do anything to her. At least, I don’t think I did.”

Steve let out a frustrated sigh and ran a hand through his hair.

“Are you really sure she likes me?” he asked after a moment. “I know you said she was interested the other day, but I’m getting whiplash from how back and forth she seems to feel about me.”

“What’s happened since we last talked about this? Give me the cliff’s notes version.”

Steve laid it all out in the most basic of terms. He told Eddie about their heart to heart on the beach and how they had bonded over their shitty parents. He told him about the joking and the tickle fights and falling asleep cuddling. The only thing he left out was Chrissy’s wish from the sunrise. That felt almost too personal to share. Like it needed to be kept a secret for just the two of them or it wouldn’t be as special. But everything else was laid out for Eddie to decipher for him.

“And when she asked me if I had ulterior motives, I said that maybe I did, and that’s when she freaked out, and it’s been killing me that I can’t figure out what happened. There was this split second where I thought she was gonna kiss me, but she didn't, and I don't know how I could have misread the situation that badly.”

“So let me see if I have this straight,” Eddie said as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “You thought that trapping Chrissy in bed with you and then telling her you had ulterior motives for doing so was a good idea? Even though you know she scares easily and has been shy about even holding your hand for prolonged periods of time?”

“Well, when you put it like that, I might actually be the biggest idiot on the planet.”

“Maybe not the biggest idiot, but yeah, I think you’re going about this all wrong. Nancy and Chrissy would both probably punch me for using such bullshit reasoning, but Chrissy isn’t like the other girls you’ve tried to hook up with lately, and you’re operating under your normal King of Hawkins High methods that had all those other girls falling at your feet and swooning even though you were wearing that ridiculous sailor suit. Maybe just apologize to her for making her uncomfortable? I don’t know. I’m rooting for you, but short of grabbing you both by the back of the head and forcing you to kiss like a couple of real life Barbie dolls, I’m not sure what else I can do to help since you won’t let me talk to her for you.”

Before Steve could respond, Chrissy was opening the passenger door and frowning when she saw Eddie was in her seat.

“It’s my turn to ride shotgun,” Eddie told her. “I wanna be the passenger princess.”

“But I like sitting up front with Steve.”

“Tough.”

“Fine. I’ll just tell Nancy you didn’t love her enough to help her decide what drink to get when she specifically asked me to go get you for her.”

“You're evil.”

“I learned from the best.”

“Touche. I’d probably be proud if I wasn’t the one on the receiving end of this.”

Eddie hopped out of the car allowing Chrissy to take her seat back. As soon as she’d shut the door, Steve turned to her.

“Listen. I’m sorry about -” was all that he managed to say before she placed a hand on his shoulder and stopped him.

“Don’t apologize,” she told him. “You didn’t do anything wrong. I think I’m the one who owes you an apology actually. I can’t get into it now because I really don’t want to end up talking about it in front of Eddie and Nancy, but I need you to know that me running away this morning had nothing to do with you and everything to do with me. I promise I’ll explain myself eventually, but for now, can this be enough?”

“Yeah, it can be enough,” he told her. He moved to rest his hand on her knee, his thumb absentmindedly rubbing the skin there. “So, what I said didn’t upset you?”

“I promise it didn’t. Have all the ulterior motives you want. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have them too.”

“Really?”

Chrissy didn’t have time to answer before Nancy and Eddie got back in the car, and Steve didn’t dare press her about it in front of them. He was just happy that she was willing to open up to him about whatever was bothering her even if he had to wait to hear her explanation.

They settled back into their normal driving routine for the rest of their trip to DC. The only noticeable difference was that Steve’s hand barely left Chrissy’s knee for the duration, and neither of them was complaining about that. Little did they know that it had caused a frenzied group text between Eddie, Nancy, and Robin. They were oblivious to the effect that their budding courtship seemed to have on their friends.

When they arrived at the bed and breakfast that Nancy had selected for them, Steve and Chrissy both tried to hide their disappointment at the fact that they weren’t going to be sharing a room this time. They knew that sharing at the last place was only going to be a one time thing, but knowing that did nothing to stop the longing.

Chrissy was the first to finish settling in, so she went out to the common living area to wait for the others. There was an old couple sitting on one of the plush sofas, and they immediately started fussing over her as she took a seat in one of the armchairs.

“Oh, look at her, Fred,” the woman said. “She's like a little doll. Isn't she just darling?”

“Yes, dear,” Fred said as he glanced up from his paper. “Absolutely darling.”

“I’m Ethel, and this is my husband Fred.”

“I’m Chrissy. It’s lovely to meet you,” Chrissy replied with a small smile.

“Oh, she’s so polite,” Ethel said. “It’s lovely to meet you, too, dear. Fred and I are both retired, and we just love spending our time at little bed and breakfasts like this because we always meet the most wonderful people. We saw you check in with your friends. What brings your little group here?”

“We’re celebrating our high school graduation,” Chrissy told them. “Well, Nancy, Eddie, and I are, at least. Steve graduated last year. I think everyone just wanted one last big adventure before we all separate in the fall.”

“How exciting! What are you planning on studying in college?”

“Theater. Maybe with a minor in education or childhood development of some sort? I just know that theater is my real passion, and I’d like to do something with it for the rest of my life.”

“An actress! Oh, my Kenny would just adore you. Don’t you think that Kenny would adore her, Fred?” she asked her husband who just nodded in response. “Our grandson is about to start his third year of pre-med at Harvard. He wants to be a pediatric surgeon, so you know he’s smart and good with kids. And just so handsome, but maybe I’m biased because he’s my only grandson. You’re not dating either of the boys that came here with you, are you?”

“Eddie is basically my brother,” Chrissy told her. “And he’s Nancy’s boyfriend, so I’m definitely not seeing him.”

She hesitated when it came to putting a label on Steve though. She was already confused about why she was being so open with this random elderly couple, but Ethel reminded her of her own nana, so she guessed that was why it came so easily. But how could she tell them that she and Steve were in this weird limbo of not being together but acting like they desperately wanted to be? She could barely work out what was going on for herself let alone explain it to complete strangers.

“And Steve is -”

“You’re talking about me?”

Chrissy was interrupted by Steve entering the room and moving to perch on the arm of the chair that she was sitting in. He smiled down at her as he asked his question.

“Just telling my new friends Fred and Ethel about how you’re the worst person I’ve ever met,” she teased beaming up at him.

“So mean.”

“I think I’m the nicest person ever actually.”

Steve stuck his tongue out at her, and she responded by doing the same.

“You see how she treats me?” Steve asked the older couple, keeping his tone teasing and light. “The absolute disrespect.”

Chrissy reached over to tickle his side, and Steve flinched before sliding off of the armrest and onto the seat with Chrissy. While the chair was slightly larger than normal, it wasn't really big enough for two people to share comfortably if they were sitting side by side. Steve made quick work of maneuvering the two of them so that Chrissy was sitting sideways with her legs draped over his lap, and she instinctively curled into his side.

“If you're done being a menace, can I get back to talking to my new friends?” she asked. “I feel like we're being awfully rude.”

Steve made a show of acting like he was pulling a zipper closed across his mouth and gestured for her to continue talking.

“What I was trying to say is that Steve and I didn't really meet until this trip, but I've been enjoying getting to know him better along the way,” Chrissy told the older couple.

“How far into the trip are you?” Ethel asked.

“A week. We’ve got two more weeks of adventures planned, and then it’s back home for the rest of the summer.”

“Only a week? I would have assumed the two of you had known each other for much longer than that with how comfortable you seem to be together.”

“Permission to speak?” Steve asked.

Chrissy nodded.

“I can’t speak for Chrissy,” he started, “but I personally feel like I’ve known her a lot longer than that. She’s just really easy to talk to, and she makes everyone feel like they’re the most important person in the room when she’s focusing on them. I’ve really been enjoying getting to know her better, too, and as we spend more time together, I only want to know her more.”

Chrissy could feel her heart getting ready to burst. She felt the same way about Steve, but she hadn’t been able to find the words to articulate it.

“Okay, maybe you aren’t actually the worst,” she teased, trying to hide the fact that his words had her glowing.

“You’re not so bad yourself.”

“Aren’t you two just the sweetest?” Ethel said, interrupting their moment. “So, what are your plans for the rest of the day?”

“The Natural History Museum for sure,” Steve told her. “And then maybe another museum or two before dinner if we have the time? Depends on how soon we can get there.”

“Where are Eddie and Nancy anyway?” Chrissy asked. “I didn’t expect them to take this long to settle in.”

“When I left them, Eddie had taken off his pants and declared that he was taking a nap instead of going to any museums, so I‘m guessing that Nancy is trying to get him up again.”

“Sounds about right.”

The two continued talking to the elderly couple for a little while longer. It was mostly Ethel asking questions about their plans for the rest of the trip and a little about Chrissy’s college plans and the jobs that Steve was applying for once they were back home, but Steve spent the entire time doting on Chrissy. When she’d curled into his side, he’d wrapped an arm around her waist, and his other arm laid over her legs. Every so often, he’d pull the hem of her skirt down to protect her modesty when it rode up due to the way she was sitting, and every time he did so, she could feel electricity wherever his fingers grazed her thighs. It was such a simple gesture, but it meant so much more to her than she could say. She felt cared for in a way that was so unfamiliar to her that it almost made her sad. To think that no one else had ever taken her comfort into account without her even having to say anything was heartbreaking, but it was hard for her to feel anything but warm and fuzzy when Steve was holding her like this.

When Eddie and Nancy finally made their way out to the sitting area, Chrissy was reluctant to get up. It wasn’t like she was going to confess her feelings for him right there in front of their friends and two relative strangers, but she longed to stay sitting there with him holding her like that. She couldn’t admit it out loud, but this was slowly becoming her new favorite place to be, and she wanted to spend as much time there as humanly possible. She just hoped that he felt the same way.

One short walk and a metro ride later, the group was standing on the front steps of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

“How long do you think you guys will want to spend here?” Nancy asked.

“That depends on how long my secret mission is going to take,” Chrissy said with a shrug.

“It’s not going to be in the natural history museum,” Eddie replied.

“You don’t know that! They could have it here to throw me off!”

“Have what here?” Nancy asked.

“She saw a picture of the Smithsonian’s Muppet storage cabinet online, and she’s convinced that she’s going to be able to find it while we’re here even though it’s probably in a storage facility somewhere and not one of the actual museums,” Eddie told the group. “And while I am typically not above causing a little chaos and potentially breaking into somewhere I’m definitely not allowed to be, I’m pretty sure Wayne would kill me if we got arrested all the way out here.”

“Eddie Munson is actively discouraging me from getting arrested? I never thought I’d see the day,” Chrissy teased.

“Laugh it up. Just imagine how your parents would react if you got arrested because you were trying to steal one of the Fraggles.”

“Party pooper.”

“How about two hours?” Steve suggested. “And if we’re done looking around before that, we can just text the group chat and meet up sooner?”

He leaned in towards Chrissy to whisper in her ear.

“Plenty of time to see the museum and look for your Muppet vault,” he told her. “I’ll make sure you don't get caught. I’m stealthy. Like a ninja.”

Chrissy giggled and pushed him away before beaming up at him. She’d happily let him in on her secret mission even if she knew she wasn’t actually going to be able to find them. He was playful, and he let her be silly in a way that she never got to act in public.

Steve took Chrissy’s hand in his and laced their fingers together.

“We’ve gotta act like we’re actually here to see the museum at first,” he said in a hushed voice. “Blend in with the crowd a little so they don’t realize we’re looking for the perfect heist.”

“Where do you suggest we start?”

“I’ve got the perfect spot.”

Steve led Chrissy through the rotunda and into the David H. Koch Hall of Fossils. It was hard for her not to notice the way he lit up the second they were in the room, and he was eagerly pulling her over to a display where they’d set up a t-rex skeleton to look like it was attacking a triceratops.

“Did you know that the t-rex was actually super smart?” he asked her, not looking away from the fossils in front of them. “I know that a lot of mainstream media likes to play them off as mindless predators or play up the comedy of the whole big head and little arms thing, but their brains were actually twice the size of most other carnivores. And they were fast, too. Not the fastest dinosaurs by any means, but they were fast enough that they could probably catch most humans.”

A quick peek at the plaque in front of them told Chrissy that Steve hadn’t just read this information. It was just something he knew, and he seemed so excited to share this knowledge with her. She tried to pull her phone out in time to snap a quick picture of him looking at the dinosaur bones, but he turned to her before she could, and the photo she ended up getting was of him smiling at her instead.

“Still trying to take sneaky pictures of me?” he teased.

“You just looked so happy,” she told him with a tiny shrug. “I wanted to capture that moment for you.”

Steve pulled Chrissy away from the exhibit to sit on a bench nearby where they could still look around the room.

“Can I tell you something that I’ve never told anyone else before?” he asked her.

She nodded.

“You know how much you love the Muppets?” he started. “Well, that’s how I feel about dinosaurs. That nanny that I told you about got me into them. I was supposed to be taking a nap, but I was an absolute menace as a four year old, so I was not doing that, and I snuck down into the living room to find her watching Jurassic Park. Most kids that little might have been scared, but I was fascinated. I stayed out of sight for the entire movie, and she didn’t realize I was there until I popped up during the credits and asked if we could watch it again. I think I scared a few years off of her life actually.

“I had all of these questions about dinosaurs that she couldn’t answer because the extent of her knowledge began and ended with Jurassic Park. But, maybe a week later, she showed up with this illustrated encyclopedia of dinosaurs. I think I had her read something from it to me every day until I was old enough to read it by myself. I was the dinosaur kid after that. I watched every single one of the Land Before Time movies, and the only things I ever really wanted for gifts were more dinosaur books and dinosaur toys. I had this massive box full of dinosaur figurines, and I gave them all different voices depending on what I thought they would sound like. Because the t-rex had such a big brain, he was sophisticated and British, and the apatosaurus talked kind of like Eeyore because they moved really slow. Just weird little connections I made in my head, you know? I wish I still had them saved because I thought they were the coolest things ever, but my parents threw them out as soon as they decided that I was too old to be playing with toys. Same goes for my illustrated dinosaur encyclopedia.

“And those things are replaceable, so I can always buy new ones to give to any kids I have in the future. I stopped being mad about my mom throwing away stuff years ago because it was pointless when I knew she’d never change. The thing that still upsets me though is the broken promises. Every year, my parents would take me on one family vacation. They took all sorts of trips by themselves and left me with my nanny or by myself once I was old enough to be left alone. But this one trip was the only time I was included, and my mom would always ask me where I wanted to go and what I wanted to do. My answer was always the same: I want to go somewhere where I can see dinosaur bones in person. And every year, I was disappointed. We always went skiing or to some all-inclusive beach resort or something else that was equally boring to me, but my mom would always promise that we’d do what I wanted the next year. I think I was thirteen when I finally stopped believing her.

“That’s when I made a promise that I’d take myself to see the dinosaur bones the first chance I got, and I’d only go with people who were special enough to make it a good experience for me. This is the first time that I’ve actually gotten to see any in person.”

If she thought she could have gotten away with it, Chrissy would have stolen Steve’s car just to race back to Hawkins and destroy something that would have hurt Mrs. Harrington as much as she had clearly hurt her son. But then she was struck by the fact that Steve said he’d only take someone special to see this with him, and she felt her heart swell.

“So, you think I’m special enough to share this experience with you?” she asked.

“Well, yeah,” he said as he squeezed her hand. “I thought I’d made my feelings for you pretty clear by now.”

That was all she needed to hear in order to give herself the final push towards acting on her own feelings. Without hesitation, she leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss against Steve’s cheek. He responded by fully turning towards her and cradling her face in his hand, brushing his thumb along her cheekbone.

“Can I kiss you?” he asked.

“Please,” she replied, giving a slight nod.

Her ‘please’ shook him to his very core, and he wasted no time in closing the small gap between them. The instant their lips touched, they both felt fireworks. Maybe it was because they’d both spent the last two days agonizing over and wishing for this very moment, but it was everything that they’d been hoping it would be and more.

When Steve pulled away, he was all smiles.

“Wow.”

“Wow is right,” Chrissy added, unable to contain the giddy giggles that were bubbling up inside of her.

“You know, if taking you to see the dinosaur bones with me was what I needed to do to finally work up the courage to kiss you, maybe it’s not so bad that I had to wait this long to see them.”

Chrissy didn’t respond. Instead, she just pulled him back in for another kiss, positively beaming as she felt him smile against her lips.

“This does make admitting how I feel about you way easier,” she said once they'd pulled apart again.

“Oh yeah? And how do you feel about me?” he asked.

“Are you really going to make me say it?” She could feel a blush warming her cheeks as she started to get shy on him again.

“I think I need to hear it for me to believe any of this is real.”

“This feels so juvenile to say like we're kids on an elementary school playground or something, but it's the only way to accurately describe the way that you make me feel like I have an army of butterflies in my stomach every time you look at me. But the very real truth is that I have a little bit of a crush on you.”

“Only a little bit?”

“Okay, maybe it’s more than a little one,” she said, looking down towards her lap. It was almost as if she’d forgotten where they were for a moment, and she was feeling so exposed because all of this had happened in public. Logically, she knew that no one in the museum cared about what she was doing, but she couldn’t help but feel like everyone was watching her.

Steve placed a finger under Chrissy’s chin and tilted her head back up to face him.

“Don’t disappear on me,” he told her.

“I’m sorry.”

“You have nothing to be sorry about. I was just worried you were going to run away from me again.”

Chrissy took Steve’s hands in hers and took a deep breath.

“This is hard for me,” she told him. “Public displays of affection are hard for me. Whenever the last guy would kiss me in public, it always felt like he was doing it for show or because he was obligated to look like he loved his girlfriend and never because he actually wanted to be kissing me. I was just a pretty little prize for him to show off, and I have a hard time allowing myself to be wanted because of him - no matter how much I actually desperately want you to kiss me again.”

The second they were back in Hawkins, Steve was keying Jason’s car, egging his house, blasting polka music outside his bedroom window at 3 AM - anything he could maybe convince Hopper to look the other way on. How anyone could treat Chrissy like that was baffling to him. Every time she gave him the slightest hint about how Jason used to treat her, the anger he felt bubbling inside him grew stronger, and it only made him want to protect her more. To show her that she deserved to be treated so much better than she believed she did. It was his new goal for the rest of the trip and then for as long as she would allow it after that.

“We don’t have to do anything you’re uncomfortable with,” he told her. “We can just get up and look at the rest of this exhibit. I’ll info-dump about dinosaurs a little bit because I can’t help it, and maybe I’ll let you hear what I think all of them would’ve sounded like. And then we can look around the rest of the museum until it’s time for us to meet back up with Nancy and Eddie. I just wanna hold your hand and keep spending time with you - if that’s okay with you of course.”

“That sounds perfect,” she told him. “Really. Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it. But before we do that, I’d like to kiss you again. Not to show off to all of the other people in this room and not because I feel obligated to, but because it’s the only thing that I’ve been able to think about since we were interrupted on the beach the other night, and I really desperately want to kiss you just as much as you really desperately want to be kissed.”

Chrissy leaned in on instinct, but Steve paused just as their lips were close enough to touch.

“And for the record,” he whispered just loud enough for her to hear him, “in case it wasn't already abundantly clear, the feeling is mutual. I have a pretty massive crush on you, too.”

***

When they made their way into the gift shop after they were done looking around the museum, Chrissy ducked away from Steve for a couple minutes. She was on a mission, and since that mission was getting a small gift for him, she didn’t want him to see what she was doing and stop her.

She found what she was looking for in one of the far corners of the gift shop: a bin filled with small dinosaur figurines. She pulled out two matching t-rexes and purchased them without a second thought. It was only once the bag was in her hand that she realized how intimate this gift seemed to her now. He’d literally said that he’d wanted to save his childhood figurines for his own kids. They’d only just shared their first kiss. It was way too soon to give him something so meaningful. She shoved the bag into her purse and told herself to stop getting ahead of herself. She could save them to give to him later.

Just as she’d calmed herself down, Steve approached her holding a bag of his own. He pulled out a small plushie of a capuchin monkey and handed it to her.

“For me?” she asked.

“It made me think of you,” he told her. “Because it’s tiny and cute just like you are.”

“Thank you,” she said as she stood up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “But I’m not that tiny.”

“You just stood on your tiptoes to reach me. I’m pretty sure you’re that tiny.”

“I am a perfectly normal height thank you very much.”

“For an adorable woodland critter maybe,” he teased.

He took one of her hands in his and laid it flat against his palm.

“I mean, just look at how small your hands are compared to mine. You’re all little.”

Chrissy marveled at just how tiny her hand looked in comparison to his, but she couldn’t let him know just how much this size difference affected her.

“I bet you do this with all the girls,” she said as she smirked up at him.

“Maybe,” he replied before moving to lace their fingers together and hold her hand. “But none of the other girls ever made me smile the way you do.”

He brought their linked hands up to his face and pressed a soft kiss to the back of her hand.

“That was smooth,” she said, looking away from him slightly in an attempt to hide the fact that he had her blushing yet again. “Very smooth.”

“Only for you.”

****

When they met back up with Eddie and Nancy, Steve and Chrissy neglected to tell them what had occurred between them in the fossil room. It wasn’t that they were trying to hide what happened. It just slipped their minds to fill their friends in on the new development in their relationship, and with Steve being respectful of Chrissy’s uneasiness with PDA, it looked as if nothing had changed between them to the uninformed observer. They were just holding hands and teasing each other the same as always.

Maybe Nancy thought it was a little suspicious when Chrissy rested her head on Steve's shoulder and he wrapped an arm around her in their booth at dinner, but she just assumed that they'd developed a certain level of comfortable closeness at this point. Eddie had filled her in on the fact that they'd shared a bed again the night before even though they didn't have to, so this just felt like a natural extension of that. Plus, she didn't want to say anything that would push Chrissy to retreat back into her shell.

It was only when they were back at the bed and breakfast for the night that they realized something had changed between them. They were all standing outside the girls’ room to say their goodnights before separating for the evening. Without thinking, Steve gave Chrissy’s hand a little tug so she’d turn towards him, and then he pulled her in for a goodnight kiss. She melted in his arms, and he couldn’t stop smiling when they pulled away.

“I’ll miss you,” he told her as he wrapped her up in a hug.

“We’re only going to be separated for a few hours.”

“That’s so long though.”

“So needy,” she teased, burying her face in his chest to hide her blush as she hugged him. “I’ll see you first thing in the morning.”

When she hid her face, Steve remembered that Eddie and Nancy were definitely watching them, and he loosened his hold on her.

“I'm sorry. I think that was maybe too much PDA.”

“Maybe a little bit, but I liked it.”

She stood on her tiptoes to give him another quick kiss before reluctantly removing herself from his arms. She barely had time to utter out a quick ‘goodnight' before Nancy was pulling her into their room and ushering her to sit down on one of the beds.

“What was that?” she asked as she moved to sit down next to Chrissy. “What happened between you two?”

Chrissy grabbed one of the pillows and hugged it to her chest.

“He took me to see the dinosaur bones with him,” she said. She was positively glowing with this giddy little lovestruck look in her eyes.

“Is there something secretly romantic about fossils that I'm unaware of?”

“Maybe not to most people, but it was magical. He was just - I don't know. I can't put it into words. I've just never felt like this before, and it's exciting and terrifying and wonderful. So, so wonderful.”

She fell backwards on the bed and moved the pillow to hide her face. Even during the times where she’d thought things were going well between her and Jason, she’d never felt this giddy about any of their interactions. All she could think about was how Steve smiled into every kiss, and she couldn’t wait to feel that again.

She only removed the pillow from her face because her phone pinged with a notification about a text from Steve.

Steve: what would you say to a breakfast date tomorrow morning?

Steve: just the two of us? in our pajamas obviously.

Chrissy: I’d say that sounds wonderful.

Steve: perfect. meet you in the lobby at 7?

Chrissy: see you then

Steve: good night gorgeous

Chrissy: sweet dreams

“You really like him, don’t you?” Nancy asked, taking in the way Chrissy was beaming at her phone.

“I really do. He's kind of the sweetest, isn't he?”

“He can be. What’s he texting you now?”

Chrissy turned her phone towards Nancy and let her read their recent exchange.

“Okay, that’s actually really adorable,” she said once she was done reading. “And he’s getting up early for you which you should know is a very big deal. Steve doesn’t get out of bed before ten unless he absolutely has to.”

“I figured as much. He’s been very cuddly and reluctant to get up the past couple of days.”

“And I’m sure that had nothing to do with the fact that he was snuggled up to the girl he was crushing on,” Nancy teased.

Chrissy moved to hide her face behind her pillow again, but Nancy pulled it away from her and tossed it aside.

“You know, you could bunk with Steve for the rest of the trip if you really wanted to. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind at all, and it seems to me like that’s something that would make you very happy from just how pink your cheeks are right now, so I’d be happy to switch rooms with him.”

“Oh, I couldn’t ask you to do that for me. I don’t want to make things difficult for anyone else.”

“Ask me to do what? Share a room with my longterm boyfriend who I love very much? I’m pretty sure I’ll find a way to survive that torture. You don’t have to decide right now. Sleep on it and let me know sometime tomorrow. I just think continuing to share a room would make the both of you really happy. Anyway, you can use the bathroom first since you’ve gotta wake up early for your date.”

“I’ll think about it,” Chrissy said as she got up from the bed to grab what she needed for the bathroom. “And thank you.”

“You’re welcome. I’m really happy for you.”

As Chrissy went through her nighttime routine, she couldn’t help but think about Nancy’s offer. She knew that she was going to miss being able to snuggle up to Steve while she had her bed all to herself that night, but she also felt that it was maybe too forward of her to decide that they should share the same room for the rest of the trip. That could potentially lead her into situations that she didn’t know if she was ready for just yet, and she’d hate to ruin whatever she and Steve were now simply because she’d set him up to be disappointed about how far she was willing to go. She also couldn’t help but think that it was selfish of her to want to share her bed with him without being willing to do everything that sharing a bed with him could lead to.

That didn’t change the fact that that was what she wanted though. She wanted to fall asleep in his arms just like she’d done for the past few nights, and she found herself hoping that he wanted that, too. She’d broach the subject with him at some point the next day and see how he felt about it. If they were feeling the same way, maybe she could work through her roadblocks enough to allow herself that bit of comfort.

***

Chrissy ended up making it to the lobby before Steve did, so she took a seat on one of the sofas to wait for him. No one else was out and about that early other than the front desk staff, so she busied herself with scrolling through her instagram feed while she waited. Anything to distract herself from the fact that her mom would have dropped dead from the shock of seeing her willingly go out in public in her pajamas. Normally, she would have been a little self-conscious about it, but Steve had already seen her in her Barbie t-shirt and plaid pajama shorts when they’d shared a room. Plus, he was going to be in his pajamas, too, so she had no real reason to worry. She could be calm and collected about this.

Soon enough, Steve was sitting down next to her and wrapping his arms around her waist to pull her onto his lap before he’d even said hello.

“Well, hello to you, too,” she giggled as Steve leaned in to kiss her cheek.

He responded by burying his face in her neck and hugging her a little tighter.

“I thought we were going to breakfast?” she asked.

“In a minute,” he replied, making no moves to loosen his hold on her. “I didn’t get my Chrissy cuddles this morning, so I’m not ready to get up yet.”

“Did you really miss me that much?”

He nodded.

“My bed felt really empty after sharing with you the past couple nights. Feels like my whole day started out wrong.”

“I feel the same way,” she admitted. “It was weird not having you there.”

“Think Eddie would notice if I smuggled you into our room tonight? We could wait until he was asleep, and you wake up earlier than he does anyway, so you could sneak out before he gets up. It’s the perfect plan.”

“I have an even better idea, but I think you need to take me to breakfast before I share it.”

“I think that can be arranged.”

Steve stood up and pulled Chrissy up with him. With her hand in his, he started to head towards the door, but he paused about halfway there.

“Wait. I haven't given you a real good morning kiss yet,” he said as he turned towards her.

“We should probably fix that.”

“Yeah. We probably should.”

Steve leaned in to kiss her, and when she felt him smile against her lips, she couldn't help but smile in return. She didn't think she'd ever get tired of how happy every kiss seemed to make him.

“Much better,” he said as he pulled away. “Now, we can get breakfast.”

One quick car ride later, and they were parked outside of a cozy-looking diner. Steve got out of the car first and jogged over to Chrissy’s side to open her door for her.

“How'd you find this place?” she asked.

“You think I didn't do research for this?” he asked. “This is technically our first official date. I’ve gotta do things right.”

Until that moment, it hadn’t occurred to Chrissy that this was their first date even if that probably should have been obvious to her. Even with him calling it a breakfast date in his text, she hadn’t connected the dots and had been thinking about this as just another instance where they were exploring somewhere separately from their friends. The aquarium and the natural history museum hadn’t been dates either, but both of those excursions had ended with Steve gifting her a plushie which was a very date-like thing to do. Hearing him actually call this one a date changed everything, and it only made her more self-conscious about the fact that she was wearing her pajamas in public. But, Steve was wearing his pajamas, too. If he could go out in public like that without caring what other people thought, she could do the same. And, as he took her hand in his to walk her into the diner, she only felt more confident in that fact. He wasn’t embarrassed to be seen with her looking like that. He wanted people to know they were together. That was all the reassurance she needed.

As they walked into the diner, Steve noticed that Chrissy’s eyes lingered on the chalkboard sign out front that was advertising that day’s special: blueberry pancakes with maple syrup and homemade whipped cream. But, when it came time for them to order, she chose a small fruit and yogurt parfait instead. He had a feeling he knew what was going on in her head. From what she’d told him on the beach, he knew she was probably hearing her mother berating her for even thinking about ordering something with that many calories. He briefly thought about making her put a dollar in the jar for that, but he was afraid that that would make whatever issues she had even worse. He didn’t want to take that risk, so he just ordered the special for himself instead. He thought that maybe he’d be able to convince her to have a couple bites of his breakfast because he’d been able to share food with her like that before.

“So, you said that you had a better idea than me sneaking you into my room every night?” he asked her, trying to keep her from focusing on the food that they’d just ordered.

“I do,” she told him. “I was talking to Nancy last night, and she said she wouldn’t mind switching rooms with you if we wanted to share for the rest of the trip. It doesn't necessarily mean that anything needs to happen between us other than what we've already been doing, but I feel really comfortable sharing my space with you. So I was thinking that I’d maybe really like that to be an every night thing if it was something you’d like, too.”

“So, you’re saying that I would get to wake up snuggled up to the most beautiful girl I know, and I could do that every single day for the rest of this trip? Yeah, I think that’s something I’d like.”

“Oh, good. I was hoping that would be your answer,” she said with a teasing smirk. “I could really use my own personal space heater again.”

“Mean,” he said with a teasing smirk of his own. “I call you beautiful, and you only wanna cuddle with me because I’m warm. So mean.”

“That’s not the only reason.”

“Oh, yeah? What other reasons do you have?”

“You keep trying to get me to say things that you know are going to fluster me. Maybe you're the mean one.”

“Or maybe I just think you're especially beautiful when you're blushing,” he told her.

“Well, if that's the case,” Chrissy began, her cheeks already starting to get a little pink from his compliment, “I'll just say that if I told you what I really wanted to do before I got all up in my head yesterday morning, you wouldn't be calling me mean.”

“You’re definitely still mean,” he told her.

“How do you figure?”

“You told me that when we don’t have access to anywhere private enough for me to ask you if you’re willing to show me exactly what you were thinking. So cruel.”

Chrissy didn’t have time to respond because their waiter chose that moment to reappear with their food, and Steve watched as she stared at his plate of pancakes and the sides of sausage links and hash browns they came with before resigning herself to her own breakfast. He could almost see the disappointment on her face when she took a bite of her parfait and realized it didn't taste anywhere near as good as she knew the pancakes did.

He was careful about what he did next. He took a couple bites of his breakfast before cutting a small piece off of one of the pancakes.

“You’ve gotta try these,” he told her as he pushed the piece towards the edge of his plate. “They’re maybe the best pancakes I’ve ever had in my entire life.”

“That’s okay. I’m happy with what I ordered.”

“Are you sure? I think you’ll really like them.”

“That’s practically a third of one of your pancakes,” she said as she eyed the piece that he was offering her. “I’m not taking that much of your breakfast.”

Steve cut a single bite off of that piece and made sure it had a little bit of syrup and whipped cream on it before offering the fork to Chrissy.

“Just one bite then,” he said.

She ignored his offer and went back to twirling her spoon around in her yogurt.

“What’s this?” he said as he lifted his fork and started twirling it in the air in front of Chrissy. “Could it be the Pancake Express getting ready to pull in at Cunningham Station?”

It was then that he chose to start making train noises which set off Chrissy’s giggling.

“You’re so embarrassing,” she told him through her laughter as she reached out to take his fork. She ate the bite he’d given her, and he couldn’t stop smiling over the way she closed her eyes to savor the taste.

“Best pancakes ever, am I right?” he asked as he took his fork back.

“That was pretty delicious.”

“It’s a good thing the Pancake Express made it to you. I was afraid it was going to get derailed.”

“You’re such a dork,” she told him, giggling over his theatrics again.

“Maybe, but you like me, so what does that say about you?”

“That I have excellent taste when it comes to total dorks, obviously.”

“Obviously. I shouldn’t have even had to ask.”

He nudged Chrissy’s foot with his under the table, and she nudged him back before they went back to eating their breakfasts. She never outright asked him for another bite on her own, but she did accept a couple more bites from him when he offered them, so he was counting that as another win.

When it came time to pay for their meals, Steve told the waiter that it was all going on one check, and he wouldn’t let Chrissy share the tab.

“Absolutely not,” he told her. “I invited you on this date, so it’s my treat.”

“Then I’m buying you lunch,” she insisted. “I’m not letting you waste all of your money on me when I’m perfectly capable of treating you, too.”

“We’ll see. But you’re putting a dollar in the jar for thinking that me treating you is a waste of money.”

“I was hoping you wouldn’t notice that. And anyway, that’s not what I was trying to say. I just meant that you don’t need to constantly treat me to things just because we like each other. I’ve been paying for myself for ages. That doesn’t need to change.”

He wanted to ask her if that meant Jason never treated her on their dates, but he knew she didn’t like talking about him, so he didn’t want to be the one that brought him up. That had to be her choice.

“I know that I don't need to treat you to things, but I want to. I won't do it constantly if it makes you uncomfortable, but if I ask you on a date like this, I'd like to buy your breakfast.”

“I don't want things to be unbalanced between us,” she admitted. “I don't want you to end up resenting me because I can't reciprocate in the ways that you might want me to.”

Steve frowned, his brow furrowing. He reached across the table to lay his hand in front of her with his palm facing up and waited for her to place her hand in his. He gave her hand a small squeeze and started gently brushing her knuckles with his thumb.

“I don't want you to think that anything I'm doing is because I'm expecting something from you,” he told her. “Buying your breakfast came with zero expectations just like every one of the plushies I've given you or the snacks I’ve offered you. I do these things because I like you, and that's one of the ways I've always expressed that to people in the past. If it's too much for you, I can stop. The last thing I want is for you to be uncomfortable. I just want you to know that there are no strings attached to anything I give you.”

His words were almost enough to make her cry. She couldn't count how many times she'd been given something only to be told that there were expectations attached to the gift. A sweater from her mom, but she was only allowed to wear it if she lost five pounds. Money to go out with her friends after a basketball game paired with the knowledge that she’d have to show her mom the itemized receipt to prove she hadn't wasted it on junk food. And then any little thing Jason gave her came with the expectation that she'd put out for him. He'd been tolerant of her not being ready to let him touch her in certain ways in the beginning. He'd found her bashfulness somewhat endearing at first, but his patience eventually ran out, and then he started refusing to pay for her on dates because she wouldn't take her shirt off in front of him. It got to the point where she was afraid to even ask him for a stick of gum because she knew that even that would prompt him to request an uncomfortable amount of PDA.

She was so used to every gift holding a ‘but’, and yet Steve was sitting there telling her that this would never be the case with him. It all felt too good to be true.

“So you won't get upset with me if the only way I can show my thanks is with my words?” she asked.

“I promise that won't happen. I just want you to be happy.”

He gave her hand another little squeeze, and this time, she squeezed his hand back.

“Okay. Thank you for taking me to breakfast then,” she told him. “I’d still like to treat you sometimes though. It doesn't have to be lunch today, but I want to be able to treat you, too.”

“How about you buy me breakfast tomorrow then?” he suggested. “We can take turns.”

“I’d really like that. Only if you can manage to get yourself out of bed though. You seem to have an extra hard time getting up when we're sharing a bed,” she teased.

“I don’t remember hearing any complaints about that from you.”

“Oh really? Because I seem to recall me referring to you as the absolute worst.”

“So mean. I changed my mind. I don't wanna share a room with you anymore,” he teased right back.

Chrissy stuck out her lower lip in a pout that made Steve have to resist the urge to lean across the table and kiss it away.

“But then neither of us get any morning cuddles, so really, you’re just punishing yourself here.”

“You do make a good point there,” he said, making a show out of looking as if he were having a hard time making his choice. “Alright. We can room together.”

Chrissy’s expression instantly brightened, and Steve couldn’t help but smile back when she was beaming at him like that. He’d do anything to keep that smile in his life.

***

When they arrived back at the bed and breakfast, Steve offered to walk Chrissy back to her room but paused at the front desk when he realized he’d left his room key in the car.

“It’s okay,” she told him. “Go back and get your key. You don’t need to walk me to my room.”

“Well, yeah, I know I don’t need to. But I’m trying to do this whole first date thing right, and the clearly established rules of the first date say that I’m supposed to walk you to your door where I might be lucky enough to get an end of date kiss.”

“We’re already doing things a little different than a normal first date, so I’m giving you permission to break the rules. You could always give me my end of date kiss right here.”

“Even though it's PDA?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow.

“I think I can make an exception,” she told him. “My uneasiness hasn't disappeared overnight or anything like that, but I'm starting to maybe feel a little more comfortable with it. With you, it doesn't feel so scary.”

That was all Steve needed to hear for him to close the gap between them and lean down to kiss her. She tasted like strawberries and the maple syrup from his pancakes, and he could have spent the entire day falling into that kiss. Sure, he'd kissed plenty of other girls before, but none of them seemed to get him the way that Chrissy did. That only made kissing her even more thrilling, and he couldn't help but smile against her lips. It only egged him on when he felt her smile back.

“Thanks for letting me take you out to breakfast,” he said once they'd pulled apart.

“Thank you for taking me,” she replied. “I had a really nice time with you.”

“I wish it didn't have to end.”

“We're meeting right back here in an hour. You won't even have time to miss me.”

“You underestimate just how much I like spending time with you.”

A blush started to bloom on Chrissy’s cheeks, and he would have kissed her right then and there if he didn't think a second kiss would have toed the line of too much PDA.

Instead, he let her give him a quick hug before she headed off to her room leaving him to retrieve his room key from the car.

When he made it back into the bed and breakfast, he heard someone calling his name as he was walking through the lobby, and he turned to find the old couple that he and Chrissy had spoken with the day before sitting back on the same sofa.

“We hear someone went on a little date this morning,” Ethel said as she motioned for Steve to join them. “We passed Chrissy in the hallway on our way down here, and she was positively glowing. She's just absolutely smitten with you. I can tell.”

“You think so?” he asked.

“I know so. Girls don't get that dreamy look in their eyes for nothing, you know.”

“Well, that's a good thing then because I really like her, too.”

“It is disappointing that I won't be able to pass along my grandson’s number to her, but I think she might have already found her perfect match in you, and I wouldn't dare try to interfere with that.”

“Can I offer you a little bit of advice?” Fred asked. “Use a cheesy pick up line on her. That's how I won this one over, and we're going on fifty-three years of wedded bliss.”

He leaned over and planted a loud kiss on his wife’s cheek.

“Oh, Fred,” she said, swatting at his thigh. “He's always been a corny one, but I've always loved a guy that can make me laugh.”

“I'll definitely give that a shot,” Steve told the couple. “Any other tips you might have for me? I wanna make sure I do things the right way with her.”

“The fact that you're even asking is proof you're already doing everything right,” Ethel told him. “You're a nice boy. Just keep doing whatever you just did on that breakfast date. It's clearly working from how happy she was when we ran into her.”

“Thanks. I appreciate the advice.”

Steve didn't have to wait very long for the perfect opportunity to put Fred’s advice into action. When he finished getting ready for the day, he headed back out to the lobby to wait for the rest of the group and found that Chrissy was already waiting there. She was scanning the selection of brochures and fliers that was set up next to the front desk. He moved to stand next to her and leaned into her space.

“Sorry, but do you have a map in your purse?” he asked. “I think I just got lost in your eyes.”

She turned to face him, and her nose was all scrunched up as she tried to hold in her giggles.

“That was so bad,” she told him as she took his hand in hers.

“But it got you to initiate holding my hand, so I'm pretty sure it worked,” he teased.

“Well, yeah. Of course, it worked,” she teased right back. “I thought we'd already established that I like dorky guys?”

He leaned in to kiss her cheek, but she pouted when he pulled away.

“You missed.”

“I missed?”

She nodded.

“My lips are a little further to the left actually.”

“My mistake. These are your lips, right?” He kissed the tip of her nose. “No, that can't be right. Here, maybe?” He kissed her chin. “That didn't feel right either. Let me try again.” He kissed her left eye that time and then her other cheek, her forehead, and her right ear. He relished in the way she laughed a little bit more with each misplaced kiss.

“I think it's hopeless,” he finally said with an exaggerated sigh. “I'm never going to find them on my own. I think I need your help.”

“Such a colossal dork,” she said with an eye roll before standing up on her tiptoes to give Steve a proper kiss.

After their kiss, he moved to stand behind her so she could lean back against his chest and he could cage her in his arms. He snuck a quick glance back at the seating area where he saw Fred and Ethel giving him a thumbs up.

***

After a long day of touring monuments and a couple more museums, Nancy and Steve swapped rooms with the agreement that these would be the sleeping arrangements for the rest of the trip no matter where they ended up staying. In Steve’s opinion, it was the pretty perfect end to an already great day. Chrissy had held his hand through most of their adventuring, and she’d slowly started to be more comfortable with accepting affection from him in public. She’d even requested kisses from him on more than one occasion.

But maybe his favorite part of the day had been when they stopped at The Good Stuff Eatery for lunch. It was a restaurant owned by a former Top Chef contestant that Eddie insisted they had to stop at. He and his uncle were big on watching cooking competitions together, and he’d promised Wayne that he’d stop there to give him all the details about the food. When they were waiting in line to order, Chrissy had tugged on his hand to get his attention.

“Share a milkshake with me?” she’d asked. “I heard the toasted marshmallow shake is to die for, and I really want to try one, but I’ll never be able to finish one on my own.”

“Can we get two straws and be sickeningly cute?”

“Of course.”

“Then my answer is yes.”

Chrissy had beamed at him and kissed his cheek again, and he had to resist the urge to tell her how proud of her he was. There was a part of him that knew that she wasn’t allowing herself to have a whole milkshake because of her mother, but the fact that she wanted to share one with him was progress, and he couldn’t be happier that she wasn’t depriving herself of the things she wanted to try.

When the two couples had separated to go to their own rooms for the rest of the night, neither Steve nor Chrissy felt ready to go to bed yet.

“How do you feel about going on another little adventure?” Chrissy asked as she exited the bathroom after changing into her pajamas for the night.

“What did you have in mind?”

“I noticed this cute little outdoor seating area when we were leaving this morning, and I was thinking that maybe you’d wanna sit out there and look at the stars with me?”

Steve got up from where he was lounging on the bed to grab his windbreaker and slip on his shoes.

“Lead the way,” he told her.

Chrissy took him by the hand, and they made their way down to a patio off of the building’s back entrance. There was a swinging bench seat with a few plush pillows, and there were fairy lights strung up around the space.

“It’s perfect, right?” Chrissy asked as she pulled Steve over to the seat.

“Definitely.”

Steve draped his jacket around Chrissy’s shoulders before sitting down on the bench and pulling her to sit down with him. He kept one leg firmly planted on the ground to rock them back and forth a little. Chrissy let out a content sigh as she curled into his side and rested her head on his shoulder.

“Are you a shooting star?” Steve asked her. “Because I can’t help but wish you were mine whenever I look at you.”

Chrissy covered her face with her hands as she started giggling.

“That was too corny,” she told him. “Who would have thought that Prom King Steve Harrington was such a dork?”

“I may be a dork, but what does it say about Prom Queen Chrissy Cunningham that my dorky lines have such a big effect on her?”

“I don’t know,” she said with a shrug. “I wasn’t the prom queen, so I don’t think those terms apply.”

“I find that really hard to believe. You’re pretty much the quintessential prom queen. How could they not elect you?”

“Well, I think you kind of have to go to prom to be elected.”

“You didn’t go to prom?” That fact shocked him. He thought everybody went to their senior prom. Especially popular girls like her. “Why not?”

“I don’t know. Jason had just dumped me two weeks before, all of my friends already had dates, and I didn’t really feel like finding a new date or crashing Eddie’s with Nancy. Plus, Jason found a new date immediately, and I really didn’t want to be forced to watch some other girl hang all over him all night. My parents were out of town for something with my brother, so I just stayed home and watched a bunch of Fraggle Rock in bed. It’s really not that big of a deal.”

But it was a big deal. It broke Steve’s heart to think that she had missed out on such an important event because of whatever bullshit Jason had put her through, and the worst part was that she didn’t even sound sad about it. She’d just accepted that skipping prom was the logical thing to do in her situation even though it wasn’t. She never should have had to make that decision in the first place, and now he was trying to figure out how to throw her a makeup prom once they were back in Hawkins.

He couldn’t just let that information linger though. He didn’t want there to be a cloud hanging over their otherwise perfect day because of what she’d just admitted to him. So, without thinking, he got up from the bench and pulled out his phone. He opened up the link Chrissy had shared to her musical theater playlist, and he chose a song that he remembered her gushing over when she was telling him about why she loved Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella so much. As the opening bars of “Ten Minutes Ago” started to play, he offered Chrissy his hand.

“May I have this dance?” he asked.

“What are you doing?”

“This is the bed and breakfast prom, and you’ve just been crowned prom queen. As your king, I think that means we’re supposed to share a dance.”

 “You really don’t have to do this,” she told him. “It’s okay that I missed prom. I’m fine.”

“I know. I just want you to know that it’s okay if you weren’t fine. And I know this isn’t the same, but maybe it makes up for what you missed just a little bit.”

Chrissy’s lower lip quivered as she took Steve’s hand and let him pull her in for a slow dance. She’d shoved herself into a box where she felt like she had to be agreeable and give up things that mattered to her for so long that that was all that she knew how to do. And now, Steve was slow dancing with her under the stars because he was adamant that she didn’t have to do that. She didn’t have to give up the things she wanted, and she was allowed to be disappointed. What she wanted mattered, and that realization was enough to make her cry.

As the song came to an end, he gave her a little twirl before pulling her back against his chest. She wrapped her arms around him and buried her face in his chest, willing herself not to cry as he held her tight against him. She was not going to ruin this beautiful moment with tears. She couldn’t.

When she’d finally composed herself and looked up at him, he was gazing down at her as if she was the only thing that mattered, and it made her feel like her heart was going to burst out of her chest.

“How are you even real?” 

She wasn’t sure if she’d even said that out loud at first, but then Steve let out a small laugh and hugged her tighter. He leaned down to kiss her, and she melted into him.

After giving Steve an ample amount of time to look around the shack, the group was back on the road. They stopped for pizza on the way and ended up making it to Myrtle Beach before it was too late. The only snag in their plan was the fact that most hotels in the area seemed to be fully booked for the night.

“Check this motel up here,” Nancy said as Steve started to turn into the next parking lot. “I’m sure they’ll have vacancies if nothing else. I can’t believe I forgot to book a hotel sooner."

As soon as Steve put the car in park, Nancy hopped out to go check and see if they had any vacancies. There was no reason for them all to get out of the car if they weren't going to be staying there. They waited as Nancy talked to the clerk for a few minutes, and soon she was jogging back to their car.

"So, the good news is that we have a place to sleep tonight."

"And the bad news?" Eddie asked.

"They only had one room left, so we're all going to have to share. But there are two beds, so Chrissy and I can share one, and you and Steve can share the other. It's either that or we all sleep in this car."

"I think the four of us can manage to share a room with no issues," Steve said. "It's better than sleeping in the car."

"Or camping again," Chrissy added.

"Definitely better than camping."

"Then it's settled. I'll go grab the room key, and then we can get ourselves situated."

The beds in the room were a little bit smaller than they would have liked considering they were sharing, but they could make do. They all took turns using the bathroom to get ready for bed, and Chrissy tried not to freak out about having to share a room with Steve. She didn't know why she was so on edge about it. It wasn't like she had to share a bed with him or anything like that. 

But then he came out of the bathroom without a shirt on, and she had to force herself not to stare. Honestly, it should have been illegal for him to walk around like that. He wasn't allowed to have this kind of effect on her. It wasn't fair.

She tried to busy herself with fluffing up her pillows, but it didn’t help that she and Steve had both chosen the sides of the bed that were next to the end table shared between the two. If she really wanted to, she could have reached out and touched him.

Despite the fact that she'd slept on the ground the night before, she had slept surprisingly well, and she was attributing that to sleeping next to Steve. She felt so safe with him, and now her mind was wandering towards how nice it might have been to share one of these beds with him. She could snuggle up next to him, and maybe he'd wrap his arms around her and hold her close. She'd fall asleep feeling protected, and she'd wake up to another one of his sleepy smiles. Maybe even a good morning kiss.

No. She wasn't allowed to have those thoughts. There was nothing between them no matter how much she might have liked that. She still didn't know why he'd been so upset with her when she showed up at his tent, and there was no way he was interested in her if he was that cold towards her. He'd only let her stay with him because she was scared, and he was too nice to turn her away even though her very presence annoyed him. That was the only logical reason why he put up with her. Why anyone put up with her really.

She pushed those thoughts away and rolled over so her back was to Steve. Maybe if he wasn't in her line of sight, she could fall asleep without thinking about how nice it would be to be his.

***

When she woke up the next morning, Chrissy felt awful. Not because she'd slept poorly. She'd surprisingly gotten a decent amount of sleep despite feeling like she was freezing from the way that the room's air conditioning was blasting and being afraid that she was going to invade Nancy's side of the bed.

No, she woke up feeling horrible because it finally dawned on her that she was going to be expected to wear a swimsuit and show off her body in public. She hadn’t been sticking to the carefully formulated diet her mother dictated for her, and everyone was going to notice how horrible she was certain she looked now because of that.

As everyone took turns using the bathroom to get ready for the day, Chrissy sat on her bed completely zoned out. There was no way she could go through with a beach day. She’d feel awful and exposed the entire time, and she knew she wouldn’t enjoy herself. However, she also knew that this wasn’t her trip. She was just along for the ride, and she felt like she had no right to dictate what they did when everyone else was really looking forward to their beach days. She thought that maybe she could say she wasn’t feeling well and opt to stay back at the hotel for the day, but she knew that would never work. She knew her best friend, and she knew that if she said that she was staying back at the hotel for the day, he’d give up his day to keep her company. Or, even worse, he’d convince everybody else to stay with her, too, and she’d effectively ruin this trip for everyone. She’d just have to suck it up and go to the beach with everyone else. Maybe she wouldn’t even look as bad as she thought she would, and then all of this worrying would be for nothing.

When it was finally her turn to use the bathroom, she gathered her belongings and locked herself inside to change. When she got a look at herself in the mirror, that ever present gnawing feeling in her chest only grew stronger. Normally, she loved her high-waisted bikini because she felt like it covered her problem areas nicely, but today was different. She thought she looked so bloated, and she knew it was because she’d eaten nothing but junk food the day before. She’d been trying to eat mostly healthy options on the trip so far, but the day before had been filled with fast food. Fat and salt and grease and all the things she was supposed to be avoiding if she wanted to be the perfect girl that she was expected to be. She’d ruined everything with her lack of self-control, and she could hear her mother’s voice repeating I told you so over and over and over in her ear.

It was then that she decided that she wasn’t taking her coverup off for the entire day. She’d sit there in her oversized t-shirt and shorts and watch everyone else enjoy the water. She couldn’t let anyone look at her, or she’d feel even worse about herself and the choices she’d made that led her to this point.

While Chrissy was struggling to get her t-shirt to drape just right to hide her body, Nancy was starting to get impatient back in the room.

“I’m going to head down to the car,” she said as she grabbed her beach bag. “We need to leave soon if we want to have any hope of finding a decent parking space. Just head out to meet me when she’s done, okay?”

Steve knew that Nancy wasn’t going to be okay with waiting very long. She was a stickler when it came to the schedule she’d made for their trip, and she wasn’t going to be happy if they had to park too far away and then walk the extra distance back when they were exhausted after a long beach day. He didn't want to make Chrissy feel rushed, but he knew that Nancy was going to start complaining about their schedule being thrown off if they didn't leave for the beach soon. So he tried to make his urging seem lighthearted.

“C'mon, Chrissy,” he said, throwing on his Kermit the frog impression. “We've gotta get moving right along.”

Chrissy was immediately pulled away from her self-loathing thoughts as she whipped out of the bathroom.

“I can't believe you told him,” she said, glaring at Eddie. “You promised you wouldn't say anything.”

“Tell me what?” Steve asked.

“I didn't say anything,” Eddie replied.

“Oh yeah? Then why did he do that?”

“Tell me what?” Steve asked again.

“I didn't say anything,” Eddie repeated, ignoring Steve again. “He's just like that.”

“Oh.” Chrissy got very quiet and stared at the floor.

“Can someone please fill me in on what's happening?” Steve asked.

“Do you want to tell him, or should I?” Eddie asked.

“It's silly and embarrassing,” she said, avoiding making eye contact with Steve. “I'm just a really big fan of the Muppets.”

“Why is that embarrassing?”

“I don't know. It just feels childish for them to be my favorites, I guess.”

“Well, I don't think it's childish. The Muppets are cool,” he tried to reassure her.

“You're making fun of me.” The pit in her stomach grew, and she couldn't help but feel so small. This was why she didn't tell people about this part of her personality. As soon as anyone found out she loved the Muppets, she instantly became a joke in their eyes.

“I promise I'm not making fun of you,” he told her. “There's nothing for you to be embarrassed about.”

“Really?” 

She finally looked up from the ground, and Steve was smiling at her. Not a mocking smirk like she'd feared, but a kind one. A smile that said whatever opinions he had of her hadn't been changed by what she'd just told him.

“Really. I mean who doesn't like the Muppets?”

A wave of relief washed over her, but it was short-lived because Eddie was incapable of letting her hold on to a single shred of her dignity.

“She sleeps snuggled up with a Fozzie Bear plushie,” he said before racing out the door to meet Nancy down at the car.

“Do you think Nancy would be upset if I drowned her boyfriend?”

“You're really that embarrassed by still having a stuffed animal? Even though I've given you two of them in the past week?”

“Fozzie is different. A gift from a cute boy is very different from a stuffie that I've had since I was a little kid. Nobody will take me seriously if they know I still take comfort from a stuffed animal.”

What she wanted to say was that no one would find her attractive if they knew about Fozzie, but saying that would mean admitting out loud that she wanted Steve to be attracted to her, and she couldn't bring herself to do that just yet. Especially on a day like today where she knew she was the opposite of desirable.

He chose to ignore the fact that she'd called him cute. As much as he would have loved to tease her for that, he could tell that wasn't what she needed right now. He didn't want to risk her going quiet on him again, and he was pretty sure that's where she was headed if he didn't do something.

“Can I let you in on a secret?” he asked as he closed the gap between them.

She nodded and looked up at him.

“I still have the stuffie that I slept with as a baby.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. I mean, I don't sleep with it anymore or anything like that, but I've kept it safe and hidden through multiple cleanings by random people my mom hired to clear the useless clutter out of the house. Sentimental reasons and all of that. So, I get it. I'm not going to make you feel bad for having an attachment to a childhood toy. I think it's normal, and if it makes you happy, there's nothing wrong with that.”

“Thank you.”

“You're welcome. I need you to keep that information to yourself though. Not even Robin knows about it, and I'd like to keep it that way.”

“I think I could be persuaded to keep that secret for you. Unlike Eddie, I don't spill secrets for fun.”

“Go easy on him, okay? He might have been the one to bring up Fozzie, but it was kind of your fault he had the opportunity in the first place when you really think about it.”

“I guess so. He's lucky I love him, or I really would drown him.” She beamed up at Steve. “So, what kind of animal is it?”

“That's classified information.”

“Come on. You know about Fozzie. It's only fair.”

“Sorry, Chrissy. I've given you all the info about it that you're gonna get. Now grab your bag and head out to the car before Nancy comes back in here and drags us out.”

“So bossy,” she teased.

Steve reached out to pinch at her hip, but she dodged him as she grabbed her beach bag off the bed. She stuck her tongue out at him before racing out the door and heading towards the car with him following close behind her.

The ride to the beach passed without incident, and they still managed to get a decent parking space, so Nancy was pleased. Everything was perfectly fine until they'd set up their spot on the beach.

Chrissy may have solved the issue of not wanting to expose her body that day, but she'd conveniently forgotten that that didn't mean everyone else would be staying covered up as well. That fact was made all too apparent when a shirtless Steve approached her with a bottle of sunscreen.

“Would you mind helping me get my back?” he asked as he handed her the bottle.

“Yeah. Sure. No problem.”

He turned around so that his back was to her, and she had to stop herself from falling over. She'd seen him without a shirt on before. Just a few brief times during the trip and only before she looked away out of embarrassment. Those few brief moments hadn't prepared her for this.

She knew he was fit, and that was even more obvious as her hands ran up and down the length of his back to work the sunscreen into his skin. Actually feeling his muscles under her fingertips was almost too much for her.

But the thing that truly made her blush was how fixated she was on the freckles and moles that dotted his skin. This man was a mosaic, and she wanted to sit and count them all.

She couldn't do that though. If she took too long doing this, it would be weird, and he'd be uncomfortable around her, which was the last thing she wanted. So, she rubbed the last bit into his lower back before dropping her hands away completely.

“Okay. You're all set.”

He turned back around to face her and took the bottle that she'd offered back to him. She hoped he didn't notice the blush that she was certain was now gracing her cheeks, and if he did notice, she hoped he'd think that maybe she was only a little sun-kissed already.

“I can get your back for you, if you want,” he offered.

“Oh, you don't need to do that. I'm not going out in the sun anytime soon. I was just planning on staying here under the umbrella for a little while.”

“You're not going to get in the water?”

“I'm not really a beach person,” she said with a small shrug. That was a lie, of course, but it was necessary. She needed a reason to explain why she wasn't taking off her clothes, and that was as good as anything else.

“Why didn't you say something sooner?”

“I didn't feel like it was my place to object to a multi-day, already planned portion of the trip. But seriously, don't worry about me. I'm happy to just hang out in the shade.”

“Do you want me to sit out with you? Keep you company?”

“You don't have to do that. Go have fun with Eddie and Nancy. Maybe I'll come hangout with you guys in a little bit, okay?”

“If you're sure. I don't want you to be bored over here by yourself.”

“I'll be fine. I promise. Don't worry about me.”

He left her to make herself comfortable in the shade of their beach umbrella, but he would have been lying to himself if he said he wasn't a little worried about her. He thought she'd seemed excited about the beach when they'd talked about this portion of the trip in the days leading up to it, and now she was isolating herself from the rest of them. 

He didn't want to dwell on it too much, but he kept finding himself glancing back towards where she was sitting. She looked fine though, so he told himself that she was just having an off day.

But then she didn't eat lunch. When everyone else was ready for food, she told them that she wasn't hungry just yet, but they didn't need to wait for her. He'd offered her some of his fries anyway, and she'd looked at them as if he'd just offered her a mouthful of sand. He didn't press the issue, but it worried him more than her sitting out all morning did.

He didn't know why he cared so much when he was still feeling somewhat hurt about the way she'd reacted when she found him reading. He shouldn't have cared if this girl who judged him was choosing to avoid having fun with her friends or skipping meals, but he did. And the more she kept to herself and gave flimsy excuses, the more he felt the urge to make sure she was okay.

When everyone else was ready for dinner, she claimed that she'd eaten a late lunch, so she wasn't hungry, and Steve's concern for her only grew. He'd tried to be subtle about it, but he'd spent the better part of the afternoon keeping an eye on her after she'd declined joining them for a swim. Other than a trip to the restrooms, he didn't think he'd seen her leave her spot under the umbrella once. Maybe she'd gotten a snack at some point, but he doubted it. Something was seriously wrong with Chrissy, and he didn't know how to fix it. He didn't know if she'd even want him to fix it. He just knew he had to do something.

When the sun was just about to set, Nancy and Eddie wandered off to have a private moment together leaving Steve with the perfect opportunity to try to find out what was wrong. He approached her with two rocket pops that he'd purchased from a nearby ice cream cart, and he offered her one as he moved to sit down next to her.

“I'm really hoping you like rocket pops,” he told her as he handed her the treat. “I wasn't sure what flavor you'd choose, and I always got these as a kid because I was really indecisive, and they're three different flavors, so I figured I couldn't go wrong with this one, you know?”

With the sun setting, the breeze seemed especially cool, and he noticed that she was shivering a little as she hugged her knees to her chest. Before she could say anything about the popsicle he'd given her, he turned around and grabbed his windbreaker from where he'd tossed it that morning. He draped it around Chrissy's shoulders and gave them a little squeeze.

“That sea breeze is no joke,” he said as he offered up a small smile.

That was somehow the wrong thing for him to say because the next thing he knew, Chrissy was crying. This was the last thing he wanted to happen, and he was struggling to figure out what he could do for her.

His struggle was short-lived because Chrissy spoke up.

“Why are you so nice to me?” she asked. She was avoiding making eye contact with him, choosing to stare at the popsicle instead.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, what is all this?” she asked as she wiped at her eyes with the back of her free hand. “The popsicle and the jacket. The plushies. Making me feel safe when I was scared and reassuring me whenever I'm upset about something. I've been racking my brain, and I can't understand why anyone would be so nice to me. And I know you said that sometimes people are nice just because they want to be, but I don't deserve that kindness. I don't.”

If he didn't think she'd brush him off, he'd pull her closer to him and hold her until she stopped crying. This was obviously something that he couldn't fix with a popsicle and a smile.

“Who made you think that you don't deserve to be treated with kindness?”

Chrissy shook her head and wiped at her eyes again.

“That's okay,” he told her. “We can just sit here quietly. You don't have to say anything if you don't want to.”

So, they sat in silence. She waited until it had started to melt a little bit, but Chrissy did eat her popsicle. Steve wasn't counting that as a win though. Not when she was still so upset and shutting down on him. Not when he could still hear the occasional sniffle coming from her direction.

Once the sun had almost completely set, Chrissy started to feel braver. Maybe it was because Steve had sat with her while she cried and hadn't tried to force her to speak or maybe it was because she felt more hidden without the sun beating down on them - she just knew that, for the first time, she wasn't afraid to tell someone what was going on in her head.

“My mother,” she said, breaking the silence.

“What?”

“You asked me who made me think I didn't deserve to be treated with kindness, and I'm giving you an answer. I don’t talk about this with anybody because it’s not exactly the easiest thing in the world for me, but I don’t have the best relationship with my mom. I’ve always been the family disappointment, and nothing I do is ever good enough in her eyes.”

“I find it really hard to believe that a girl like you could be the family disappointment,” he told her. “You’re perfect.”

Chrissy huffed out a laugh.

“That’s because I have to be. Perfect, I mean. And I thought that maybe not being around her during this trip would help, but I can hear her telling me what a failure I am every time I do something that she wouldn’t approve of, and it’s actively ruining this trip for me. I usually love the beach, but I sat out today and punished myself for my bad eating habits because I could hear her telling me that it was obvious I’d gone off my diet and that everyone was going to stare at me because of how horrible I looked. Even now, I can hear her saying how foolish it was for me to waste calories on a treat when I’ve already done so much damage to myself with all of the junk I’ve been eating on this trip so far.

“She’d be furious if she ever found out that I was badmouthing her, but right now, I don’t care. The other day, you asked me why I never sing, and that’s her fault, too. I’ve wanted to be in musicals for as long as I can remember. I love them. I love the way that they make me feel, and I wanted nothing more than to provide other people with that same feeling. But then I was eleven, and I was singing along to whatever musical it was that I was obsessed with at the time, and my mother came in my room specifically to tell me that I had a very unpleasant voice, and I needed to stop doing that because it was never going to get me anywhere. So I did.

“I did everything she told me to. I joined cheerleading because she said that was something that I was better skilled for. I dated the boy that she wanted me to date. I became friends with the people that she wanted me to be friends with, and now pretty much all of them don’t even talk to me anymore because they sided with that boy during our breakup. The only thing I haven’t gone along with is cutting Eddie out of my life. I’d be a truly miserable person without him, and I won’t let her take him away from me, too.

“It’s like she’ll never be happy if I’m not miserable though. She picks and she picks and she picks until I feel so small that I just go along with whatever she says because that’s easier than standing up for myself while she takes away everything that has the potential to make me happy. And even if I do everything that she wants, I’ll never be good enough for her. She’ll never be proud of me.”

Chrissy hugged her knees closer to her chest and willed herself not to cry anymore. Letting all of that out had felt good in the moment, but now she was embarrassed that she’d word vomited on Steve and let him see through the cracks of the imperfect mask she wore.

“I’m sorry,” she told him. “I don’t talk about this with anybody, and I just dumped all of that on you. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“Don’t apologize. It’s clearly something you needed to get out, and I’m glad I could be here for you.”

“Thank you.”

He might have seemed calm and collected on the outside, but on the inside, he could feel the anger building in his chest. Chrissy deserved better than that, and he had no way of fixing this. He didn’t know if it was something that really could be fixed.

But he understood how she felt. Her situation was different from his, but it pained him how much he related to her. So, while he couldn’t fix the hurt that she was feeling, maybe he could show her that she wasn’t alone.

“You know, your mom’s voice will get quieter eventually,” he told her. “Once you’re spending less time with her and more time with people who care about you and see the best in you.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because you and I are more alike than you think.”

He smiled at her, but she could tell there was something sort of bittersweet to it. There was a sadness in his eyes even though he was very clearly trying to be positive for her benefit.

“You know how I had that job at Scoops Ahoy?”

She nodded.

“Well, it wasn't exactly my decision to work there.”

“How does that have anything to do with the way my mother talks to me?”

“My dad and I have never exactly seen eye to eye about who I should be and what I should be doing with my life. I'm the family disappointment, too. I grew up knowing that I was never going to be good enough to be the man that he expected me to be. That's just how it was in my house, you know? I was always a problem because I didn't anticipate exactly what he wanted. Being on the basketball team or the swim team wasn't good enough unless I was the captain and did the best or the most in every single game. And even then, I still wasn't good enough. I could have scored the game winning point, and he would have complained that we didn't win by enough, which was obviously my fault because I didn't score enough. Stupid stuff like that.

“So when I graduated high school with mediocre grades and didn't get into a single college, I figured he was going to be even worse than normal. By then, I'd gotten pretty used to tuning him out, but it still hurt. It still sucked to hear nothing but negativity from him. He didn't say anything about it though. Just hung up the phone when I called to tell him since he and mom were on one of their long business trips at the time. That almost hurt worse. Yelling and belittling me? I can handle that. I was used to that. But him being so angry that he couldn't even speak? That was a whole new level.

“When they got home, the house wasn't up to their standards,” he huffed out a laugh. “It's so stupid to me now that it's almost funny. It wasn't even messy. I hadn't put the recycling in the garage, and there was a basket of laundry I hadn't folded yet in the kitchen. Maybe I'd left a towel on the floor or something, too. I don't really remember. I just know that he acted like I'd burnt the house to the ground instead of it actually looking a little lived in for once. He went on this tirade about how me not getting into college didn't mean that I could sit around the house doing nothing all day and wasting his hard-earned money. Told me that I didn't realize how good I had it and that it was about time for me to get a job and develop a real work ethic. Which is so stupid because I'd worked the past three summers as a lifeguard at the community pool, I was babysitting pretty regularly, and I was already actively looking for a job. I just hadn't found something yet. He didn't know any of that though. That would have required him to actually be present or to talk to me about something other than what a failure I am.

“Anyway, he made me apply for every single open job in Hawkins - even ones that I was in no way qualified for - and he made me put him down as a reference on every single one. That way he could bad mouth me to everyone who was interested in hiring me. He decided that the Scoops Ahoy uniform was humiliating enough, and that's why I ended up working there for the last year.”

“I'm so sorry,” she told him. “That sounds awful.”

“It wasn't all bad,” he said with a shrug. “I mean, the sailor uniform was awful, but at least it was comfortable. And I got to spend the year working with my best friend instead of in a boring office job with a bunch of mindless drones who kiss my dad's ass. The job was more for the humiliation than anything else, and he didn’t kick me out or cut me off, so I was able to save pretty much everything I made, so I'll eventually be able to move out and get my own place without using any of his money to do it. I'm glad that I never have to put in another shift there, but I don't hate that I had the experience.”

“Silver linings?” she asked.

“I guess so.”

There was more he wanted to say to her. Needed to say to her really. He was just afraid that he’d hurt her when she was already so vulnerable. It had to be said though, so he took a deep breath and huffed out a sigh before speaking again.

“The worst part about it was that I felt like I deserved it,” he started. “My dad has been telling me that I’m too stupid to make something of myself since I was old enough to understand what he was telling me. I was too stupid to get into college, so I was too stupid to work at his company or do any kind of job that wasn’t completely mindless. The only thing I was smart enough to do was scoop ice cream. I still struggle with the lasting effects of my dad’s words, so I know that what you’re dealing with isn’t easy. But, when I’m surrounded by the people I care about, my dad’s voice disappears. It gets a little easier to tell myself that I’m better than that.

“That’s why it hurt so much when you were surprised that I was reading. I’m used to my dad and people who don’t know me or have made assumptions about me thinking I’m dumb. ‘Of course, Steve Harrington can’t read. He’s just a dumb jock. He probably doesn’t even know what books are.’ But I thought that you and I had really been connecting with each other. That you’d seen past all of that and I could be real with you. So, it really stung knowing that you saw me as that stupid, and it reinforced the fact that maybe there is a little bit of truth to everything my dad has said over the years.”

Chrissy’s heart sank. None of that was true. She’d never once thought he was stupid, and she couldn’t let him think that about himself. She scooted closer to him on the blanket and grabbed one of his hands, gripping it tightly in her own.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “So, so incredibly sorry. I don’t think you’re stupid at all, and I’m sorry that I did something or reacted in some way that made you feel like you were. That was never my intention, and I would never purposely do something to make you feel bad about yourself. I will admit that I was surprised to find you reading, but not for the reasons you thought I was. Never for those reasons.”

Steve avoided looking at Chrissy and instead stared at where she was holding his hand.

“Why were you surprised then? If you don't mind me asking.”

“You’re just so different from what I expected,” she admitted. “I may not have officially met you until this trip, but it was hard not to hear stories about the King of Hawkins High just like I’m sure you heard plenty of stories about me. You’re so different from the person that I was led to believe you were, and the Steve that I’d heard so much about didn’t seem like a reader. Not because of how smart you hypothetically were or weren’t but because that just didn’t seem like a hobby you’d enjoy. But I think it's wonderful that you're a reader. I loved getting to see a side of you that not many other people have gotten to see, and I hope I didn’t ruin whatever connection we had. I would hate it if we couldn't be open with each other anymore because of something I did.

“And, for the record, there are a lot of things that are far more important than being the smartest person in the room. You're funny, you're so incredibly kind, and you care about people with your whole heart. I mean, just look at how much time you've spent taking pictures of a squirrel figurine just because you know how happy it's going to make your friend. You're so selfless, and I see you putting everyone else's needs above your own constantly. You've been doing that with me this whole trip.

“I know I haven't known you for very long, but anyone who spends five minutes with you can see that you're the very best kind of person, and your dad is a fucking idiot if he can't realize that.”

Steve was quiet for a moment. Partially because of how touched he was by what Chrissy had said and partially because he was pretty sure the strongest curse word he'd heard her say so far was “darn,” so he hadn't been expecting such a forceful statement from her.

“Thank you,” he finally said as he gave her hand a small squeeze. “Now, you say the same thing about your mom.”

She shook her head.

“I can't.”

“Yes, you can. Your mom is clearly a fucking idiot if she can't see that you're perfect just the way you are. I know it, and you know it. You just gotta get up and say it.”

She hesitated and bit her lower lip before shaking her head again.

“I really can't.”

“C'mon,” he said as he poked at her side with his free hand, smirking when she giggled and tried fidgeting away from him a little. “You'll feel so much better if you get up and yell it. She'll never find out because she's not here to hear you say it, and I'll hold your hand the entire time if you want.”

He moved to stand and then offered her his hand to help her up. She let him pull her to her feet, and soon they were standing together hand in hand.

“I'm right here,” he told her, giving her hand a small squeeze. “You don't have to do this alone.”

Chrissy nodded and took a deep breath as she turned to face the shoreline. She could do this. She knew she could do this. With Steve by her side, she could do anything. Everything would be okay.

“My mother is a fucking idiot!” she yelled out at the horizon. Her eyes went wide, and she covered her mouth with her free hand. She was silent for a moment, but when she moved her hand away, Steve could see that it had been hiding the largest smile.

“I did it. I can't believe I did it,” she said as she turned to face him.

“You did.”

Chrissy dropped Steve's hand before practically leaping at him to wrap her arms around his neck. He caught her and wrapped his arms around her waist, but the force of her body colliding with his knocked him off balance on the uneven ground, and soon they were falling backwards into the sand. He landed flat on his back with her directly on top of him, and after the shock wore off, they both dissolved into a fit of giggles.

“I'm so sorry,” she said through her laughter. “I didn't hurt you, did I?”

“I'm okay. Are you?”

“Never better.”

Neither of them made any moves to get up or separate their bodies from each other. One of his hands was resting against the small of her back, and she felt so seen as he looked into her eyes. With their bodies pressed together like that, she could feel his chest moving with every breath he took, and she was certain that he could feel the way her heart was pounding against her ribcage. If there was ever a moment for her to kiss him and finally express that she was interested in him the way that she hoped he was interested in her, now was the time. She just had to make her move.

He reached up to brush her hair back behind her ear as she leaned in, and just as their lips were about to touch -

“Chrissy! Steve!” Eddie called out, effectively ruining their moment.

Steve cursed internally as Chrissy immediately moved off of him and tried to put a little distance between their bodies. Eddie had the worst timing in the world.

Steve tore his gaze away from where Chrissy was now hiding her face behind one of the sleeves of his jacket and looked over at Eddie who was carrying a very sleepy-looking Nancy on his back.

“Are you guys ready to head back to the motel?” he asked. “Nance is falling asleep on me, and I'm probably next.”

“Yeah, we can go,” Steve replied. “Just gotta pack up our umbrella and blanket first.”

“You good, Chrissy?” Eddie asked, finally noticing the way she seemed to be trying to get that jacket to swallow her whole.

“I'm fine,” she said without looking up at him. “Perfectly fine.”

Truthfully, she couldn't have been more embarrassed if she tried. She'd been about to kiss Steve after insisting that they were just friends, and now Eddie was never going to let her live it down. And the worst part was that she didn't even get to kiss him. They didn't kiss, the moment had passed, and she was afraid she'd never get the courage to be so bold again. Maybe, if she was lucky, Steve would take charge and be the one to kiss her, but she was afraid that their one perfect moment had passed them by to never be recreated again.

She tried not to dwell on that too much, but it was the only thing she could think of on the drive back to the motel, and it was the only thing she could think of as she waited for everyone else to be done with the bathroom so she could take a shower. That thought was surely going to consume her.

While Chrissy was in the shower, Steve headed out to attempt to find a vending machine so he could get them all a drink. Once he was gone, Eddie flopped over next to Nancy on her bed.

“Eddie, no,” Nancy groaned. “You'll fall asleep.”

“I won't,” he insisted even though his voice was barely loud enough for her to hear him.

“You will. And then where will Chrissy sleep?”

“She can sleep here, too. I don't mind.”

“No room. Get in your own bed.”

“Five minutes.” He buried his face in her neck. “I'll get up when she's done. Promise.”

When Chrissy exited the bathroom, Eddie and Nancy were curled up next to each other and fast asleep with him softly snoring as he held her caged in his arms. Chrissy would have thought it was cute if it didn't send her straight into a panic. If Eddie was sleeping in her bed, that meant she was sleeping in his bed. And, if she was sleeping in his bed, that meant she was sharing with Steve. Steve who she would have kissed if they hadn't been interrupted. They were going to be sharing a bed that had barely felt big enough when she was sharing with Nancy, and she was certain it was going to feel ten times smaller when she was laying next to him.

She cautiously sat down on the edge of the bed and tried to make herself seem casual even if her insides were in knots. She was just about to get up and go hide in the bathroom when Steve reentered their room.

“I came out of the bathroom, and they were like that,” she blurted out before he could say anything. She didn't want him to think she'd planned this or encouraged it in any way.

“I had a feeling that might happen,” he admitted. “I didn't expect either of them to be up when I got back, if I'm being honest. I figured Eddie'd at least fall asleep in our bed though.”

“He didn't.”

“No, he did not.”

Steve moved to hand Chrissy one of the water bottles he was carrying before grabbing his pillow off the bed and tossing it on the floor.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Eddie took your spot, so you need a place to sleep. You take my bed. I'm fine on the floor.”

“Oh. I thought we could share.”

Of course, he didn't want to sleep next to her. That was too much for her to expect. He probably hadn't even wanted to kiss her, and she would have made a fool out of herself if they hadn't been interrupted.

“Are you sure?” Steve asked. “It'll be kind of crowded, and I don't want to make you uncomfortable.”

“I'm not letting you sleep on the floor. I think we can manage just fine, don't you?”

“Yeah. Okay.”

He grabbed his pillow off the floor and placed it back on the bed before climbing in and making himself comfortable. She followed his lead and climbed into the bed next to him after turning off the lights, but she tried to keep as much space between them as humanly possible. He had been worried about her comfort, but she was worried that she'd crowd him too much. She had a bad habit of clinging to anyone or anything that was sharing her bed with her. She could have blamed it on her being afraid when they were sharing the tent, but she'd never forgive herself if she made things even more awkward between them now.

Steve noticed that she was trying to put space between them and failing miserably. He knew what it had to be about because it was the same thing that he couldn't stop thinking about: she'd almost kissed him on that beach. He was sure that's what was about to happen. If they hadn't been interrupted, she would have kissed him, and he would have gotten to tell her how much he'd been wanting to do exactly that.

But that hadn't happened, and now they were in this weird limbo where they didn't know how to talk to each other anymore because that missed moment was hanging over them. He was afraid that the awkwardness building between them wouldn't go away until they'd actually kissed, and that definitely wasn't going to happen tonight. Not when Eddie and Nancy were sleeping in the next bed. But he had to do something so they could both relax.

“So, my Fozzie impression is nowhere near as good as my Kermit,” he said as he rolled over to face her. “But I can give it a shot if you're missing him.”

Chrissy shot up into a sitting position and playfully glared down at him.

“Are you making fun of me?” she asked.

“Oh, no. I would never,” he said with a teasing smirk.

Chrissy gasped and placed a hand over her heart in mock offense. The next thing Steve knew, she'd pounced and was tickling up and down his sides.

“Chrissy!” he sputtered out through his laughter. “Why?”

“C'mon, Steve,” she said as she continued her playful torture. “You wanted to be Fozzie, and Fozzie just loves to laugh.”

He tried to fight her off the best he could, but she was quick, switching spots around his torso whenever he tried to grab at her wiggling fingers, and it was hard for him to anticipate where she'd move next when his eyes were scrunched shut with laughter. She couldn't help but smile and laugh along with him as he flinched whenever she hit an especially sensitive spot.

Her hands traveled lower to squeeze at his hips, and he was finally able to grab ahold of her wrists and pull her hands off of him. His laughter died down, but his smile never left his face as he tried to regain his composure.

“This is adorable. Where else are you ticklish?” she asked, wiggling her fingers in his direction while he kept her hands trapped.

“No more. Please.”

“Can I have my hands back then?”

“Never. You've lost your hand privileges for being evil.”

“I'm a big sister. It comes with the territory,” she said with an innocent smile and a tiny shrug.

“Well, if that's the case, I should probably let you know that as an only child, I don't like losing at anything. Ever. Including tickle fights.”

Before Chrissy could protest, Steve was scrambling to switch their positions, and she was laying flat on her back with him hovering over her. He kept her wrists pinned with one hand and the other hand rested against her side. He made no moves to tickle her yet. Just held her there to build anticipation.

“And what if I said I wasn't ticklish?” she asked.

“I think we both know that would be a lie.”

He punctuated his point with a quick poke to her side in the spot that had her giggling and moving away from him earlier, and he smirked down at her as she bit her lower lip and squirmed in his grasp.

“Steve, we're gonna wake up Eddie and Nancy.”

“You weren't concerned about them at all when I was the one being tickled,” he teased with a flutter of his fingers against her side. “And since I was viciously attacked for offering to do something nice, I think this is only fair.”

He kept his touch teasing and light, just enough to make her start giggling and squirming, tracing patterns on her side with the hand that wasn't pinning her wrists. Truthfully, he just wanted to see her smiling. He wanted to erase any memory of her tears from the beach because he never wanted to see her that sad again. And if playing around like this made her happy, who was he to deny her a little fun?

Once he felt like he'd teased her enough, he released her wrists to make it a fair fight and started tickling up and down her sides much like she'd done to him. Her laughter picked up, but instead of trying to stop his hands like he'd done with her, she tried to tickle him back. She got in a few good pokes, but every time she tried to really get him, he moved to attack an exposed armpit, and soon her arms were retracting to try and protect what he was assuming was her most ticklish spot from the reactions she was giving him.

When he found a spot on her ribs that had her kicking her legs and laughing so hard that she snorted, she tapped out.

“Truce,” she managed to get out through her laughter. “Please.”

“Since you asked so nicely.”

Steve's hands slowed to a stop, but he made no moves to remove them from her sides. He just held her in place as she came down from her giggle high.

“I can't believe I snorted,” she said once she'd caught her breath. “That's so embarrassing.”

She covered her face with her hands.

He really wanted to kiss her.

Instead, he removed his hands from her sides and pulled her hands away from her face.

“I don’t know. I thought it was kinda cute.”

Chrissy was thankful for how dark the room was because she was sure her face was beet red. He couldn't call her cute when her skin was still tingling from the way he'd just had his hands all over her. She wasn't strong enough to handle this.

“We should probably go to sleep,” she told him.

“You're probably right. We've got another big beach day tomorrow.”

“I might even swim this time.”

“I'd really like it if you did.”

Steve rolled over to make himself comfortable, and without him practically on top of her, Chrissy finally realized how cold it was in the room. For such a crappy motel, they were really blasting the air conditioning, and the blankets on the bed just weren't cutting it. She didn't remember being this cold the night before, but she was pretty preoccupied with trying not to obsess over the fact that Steve was sleeping shirtless in the next bed. He was wearing a shirt tonight though, so she no longer had that distraction.

She started to think that maybe she wouldn't be so cold with Steve's arms around her again. All she had to do was get him to cuddle with her. How hard could that be?

“Hey, Steve?”

“Yeah?”

“Is your offer to be my Fozzie for the night still on the table?”

God, he really wanted to kiss her.

Steve rolled back over and opened his arms for her, and she scooched over to him. She rested her head on his chest and draped an arm over his waist as she snuggled as close to him as humanly possible. As he wrapped his arms around her in turn, she immediately started to feel a little warmer. He was like a furnace, radiating heat and making her feel more comfortable.

Once she was fully settled against him, he leaned in towards her slightly.

“Wocka wocka,” he said in his best attempt at a Fozzie impression.

Chrissy gasped, and the arm that she had draped around his waist moved to tickle his side again.

“Hey!” he laughed as he grabbed her hand and pulled it away from his body. “I thought we had a truce?”

“My real Fozzie doesn't speak,” she said matter of factly. “He only snuggles.”

“My apologies.”

He gave her hand a little squeeze, but neither of them made any move to let go of the other.

“Goodnight, Steve.”

“Night, Chrissy.”

And so the two drifted off to sleep still holding hands.

Sometime in the middle of the night, Eddie woke up to use the toilet, and when he exited the bathroom, the light illuminated Chrissy and Steve snuggled up together in their sleep. He wasn't sure if he was really seeing it or if it was just a trick of his still half asleep mind. So, instead of turning out the light and going back to bed, he crept closer and took a quick picture of them with his phone. He couldn't guarantee that they'd still be like that in the morning, and he needed proof that this had actually happened to show Nancy once she was awake. It was going to be a lot harder for the two of them to deny that something was happening between them now.

***

When Chrissy woke up the next morning, she was laying on her side with her back pressed up against Steve's chest. His arm was draped over her and holding her close, and as far as she could tell, he was still fast asleep. A quick glance around the room told her that they were alone, but she could hear the shower running, so she assumed at least one of their friends was in the bathroom right now.

Normally, she was a morning person - the kind of morning person who liked to get out of bed and start her day immediately to be exact - but she was content to laze about in bed for the entire day if it meant Steve would keep holding her like that. The longer she stayed laying there the more her thoughts started to turn on her though. Even if he was cuddling her in his sleep, maybe he hadn't wanted her practically on top of him the night before. Maybe his initial offer of being her Fozzie for the evening really had been a joke, and he hadn't actually wanted to have her clinging to him like that. She'd been far too forward with him, and he wasn't interested in her in that way at all. He'd tell her that himself once he'd woken up.

And her mother would absolutely lose her mind if she knew that her daughter had shared a bed with a boy. Even if it was purely platonic - which Chrissy wasn’t even sure if it was - she could hear her mother calling her a tramp and telling her that only a common whore shared a bed with a man that she wasn't married to.

The more she thought about it, the more she needed to get out of that bed immediately, but Steve was holding onto her pretty securely. She tried to wiggle her way out of his arms, but he just seemed to hold onto her tighter.

“Good morning,” he said as he gave her a little squeeze, settling deeper into their blankets.

And, just like that, all of Chrissy's bad thoughts washed away. There was nowhere else she’d rather be when she could hear the smile in Steve's sleepy, scratchy voice. Any doubts in her mind about whether or not he'd really wanted to cuddle with her vanished when he only seemed to snuggle closer to her now that he was awake.

“Good morning,” she said, rolling over onto her back so she could look at him. His hair was sticking out in all directions, and he was looking at her with the sweetest, sleepiest smile. Her heart melted just a little bit at the sight. “You sleep okay?”

“Best sleep of my life. You?”

“Never better. Thank you for being my temporary Fozzie. I kind of really needed that comfort after everything we talked about. Plus, you're really warm. Kept me from freezing to death last night.”

“I see how it is,” he teased. “I'm just an object to you. Making me feel real cheap here, Cunningham.”

Steve tried to act offended, but it was hard to believe that he actually was when the smile never left his face which only made Chrissy start to laugh.

“And now she laughs at me! I save her from certain death, and she laughs at me. I’m wounded. Seriously wounded.”

This made her laugh even harder to the point where she snorted again and immediately moved to look away from him.

“Okay, I think I need to get up now,” she said as she started to work her way out of Steve’s grasp.

“No, I don’t think so. I’m not ready to start the day yet, so you can’t be ready either.”

“But what if I wanted to get breakfast?” she asked.

“Nope. You’re trapped. How tragic.”

He pulled her to lay with her back against his chest again as he burrowed deeper into their blankets.

“Well, if I’m trapped, I guess I have no other option than to accept my fate and stay here,” she said as she made herself comfortable again.

“A wise decision really. And, for the record, I don't mind being your personal space heater. It wasn't exactly an unenjoyable experience for me either.”

“Good to know.”

With Steve holding her like that, it was all too easy for her to fall back asleep until Eddie burst back into their room from outside.

“I come bearing sustenance!” he announced, holding up a couple of white paper bags.

She wasn't sure how long she'd dozed off, but the shower was still running, so it couldn't have been very long. But with Eddie back in the room, she was starting to feel self-conscious about how snuggled up with Steve she was. He didn't seem to care though, and he made no moves to stop cuddling her, so that helped to quiet those thoughts. If Steve didn't care about how much Eddie was about to tease them, she could try not to care, too.

But the teasing never came. Instead, Eddie just sat down on the edge of the bed that he'd shared with Nancy the night before and passed one of the bags over to Steve.

“I wasn't sure what you guys wanted since you were still sleeping when I left, but I went to this burrito place around the corner and just ordered whatever sounded decent,” he told them.

Steve moved to sit up and Chrissy had to stop herself from looking visibly upset about the fact that he wasn't holding her anymore. She moved to sit up as well and took the bag from Steve when he offered it to her. When she peeked inside and saw the size of the burrito that was left for her, she could feel her stomach starting to churn. It was massive. Much larger than anything she ever would have ordered for herself. She could already hear her mother telling her that everyone would think she was a pig if she dared to eat more than a single bite of that monstrosity, and she wanted nothing more than to set the bag aside and nibble on one of her granola bars instead.

But then Steve was nudging her with his elbow. She pulled her gaze away from her breakfast to look up at him.

“Fucking idiots. Remember?”

He offered up a small smile, and soon the furrow of her brow softened as she smiled back.

“Yeah. Fucking idiots.”

And, just like that, she was able to enjoy her breakfast. Nothing bad was going to happen to her if she ate this breakfast burrito. She didn't even notice the weird look that Eddie was giving them until he spoke up.

“What was that?” he asked.

“What was what?” Steve answered.

“You know what. Anything you two wanna share with the class?”

Before either of them could respond, Nancy opened the bathroom door and poked her head out.

“Eddie, could you give me a hand here? My bikini top is twisted, and I'm having trouble fixing it on my own.”

Eddie pushed himself off the bed and made his way into the bathroom where Nancy immediately closed the door behind him. She was already fully dressed, and there were no issues with her top like she’d said.

“After you showed me that picture, I thought we agreed that we weren’t going to pester them about what happened between them last night?” she asked in a hushed tone. “They’re not going to tell us anything if you put them on the spot like that.”

“Well, you’re ninety seven percent of my impulse control, and you weren’t out there.”

“Okay, so how about instead of questioning them before they’re ready to tell us what’s happening, you text Robin that picture and get her opinions on this situation? She might have a better insight into whether or not Steve's really interested in her or not.”

“But I already know Steve's into her,” Eddie admitted. “He's just waiting for her to make the first move.”

“When did he tell you this?” Nancy asked. “Actually, better question: why is this the first that I'm hearing about this?”

“While we were camping, and I could have sworn I told you.”

“No. This is completely new information for me, and this changes everything. What are the chances that Chrissy makes the first move though?”

“Slim to none.”

“That's what I was afraid of. Group text with Robin?”

“Way ahead of you.”

All Eddie did was drop the photo he'd taken of Chrissy and Steve asleep together, and soon Robin was spamming them with messages.

Robin: !!!!

Robin: what?

Robin: when?

Robin: how?

Robin: details! I need details!!!!!

Eddie: don't know. last night. also don't know.

Nancy: but they're clearly flirting with each other

Eddie: and neither of them are willing to make the first move so it's physically painful to watch them

Robin: has he done the hand size thing yet? that's a classic move on his part

Nancy: no. not in front of us at least. but they've been holding hands quite a bit, so I wouldn't be surprised if he has.

Robin: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Robin: why is this the first I'm hearing about this?

Robin: I demand constant updates!

Eddie: any tips for getting steve to kiss her already?

Robin: leave them alone as much as possible maybe? they're both probably feeling pressured because of you two constantly staring at them

Nancy: I am not constantly staring at them

Nancy: eddie on the other hand

Eddie: hey! I don't stare.

Eddie: I occasionally observe to make sure my best friend is having the best vacation possible

Eddie: it's what she deserves

Robin: sure

Robin: just let me know when they kiss!

“So, what do you think?” Eddie asked. “Think we can manage to give them some alone time?”

“I have an idea for that actually. Get back out there and give me five minutes to tie up some loose ends in here, alright?”

“As you wish.”

Eddie made his way out of the bathroom and back into the room’s main area where he found Steve and Chrissy still sitting practically on top of each other in bed even though they’d had plenty of time to move apart while he was gone. As much as he wanted to continue pestering them about how snuggled up they were when he came back from getting breakfast, he was trying to behave and do as Nancy said. There would be plenty of time to question them later, so he focused on finishing his burrito instead.

“I know we’re supposed to stay here for another night, but I can’t stay in this motel another minute,” Nancy said when she finally emerged from the bathroom. “That bathroom is disgusting, and we need more space than this. I did a little research this morning, and I managed to find a bed and breakfast not too far from here that has two open rooms, so we’re staying there for our last night here. Make sure all your stuff is packed before we leave for the beach so we can deal with checkout now and never have to come back here again.”

Chrissy felt a little conflicted with this new information. On one hand, the idea of a cozy little bed and breakfast where she’d have more space and a shower that didn’t look straight out of a horror movie sounded heavenly after two nights in their cramped and dingy motel room. However, she knew that meant that her opportunity to snuggle up with Steve for another night was officially off the table. She knew it was silly of her to expect that they’d end up sharing a bed for a second night in a row since that hadn’t been part of the plan for the night before in the first place, but she was still somewhat hopeful that Eddie would have fallen asleep in the wrong bed again to give her another chance.

“Sounds great,” Steve said before turning towards Chrissy. “Do you want the bathroom next, or should I go first?”

“You go first. I can wait.”

Steve finally got out of bed and gathered up the things he'd need in the bathroom. Once he was inside the bathroom, Nancy put part of her plan into action.

“I'm sorry you two had to share a bed,” she said as she started to repack her suitcase. “I told Eddie that he couldn't stay with me, but I fell asleep and couldn't stop him from doing the same.”

“That's okay,” Chrissy told her. “We didn't mind.”

“Still. It wasn't really fair to you. I know how small these beds are, and it couldn’t have been comfortable for either of you.”

Chrissy remained quiet. Part of her wanted to talk about last night with Nancy. Getting another woman’s opinion on the situation sounded so appealing to her, and maybe she’d have advice on how to proceed. The issue was that she didn’t want to talk about this in front of Eddie. She loved her best friend. Honestly, she did. There was nothing about him that she’d ever want to change, but she knew him. She knew that he would tease her about this, and that wasn’t what she needed when she was so unsure about how she was feeling and whether or not she was making a fool of herself right now.

Almost as if she could read the uncertainty on Chrissy’s face, Nancy turned her attention towards her boyfriend where he was lounging on the bed and finishing off his burrito.

“Do you mind going to get us something to drink? Maybe just some water bottles from the vending machine? Please?” she asked him.

“I thought you wanted me to pack my stuff?”

“Well, you aren’t packing right now, and I would be very grateful if you gave us the opportunity to have a little private girl talk.”

Eddie glanced back and forth between the two for a moment before pushing himself up from the bed and heading towards the door.  

“You’re lucky I love you,” he said. “Both of you.”

“Thank you,” Nancy called after him as he left.

She waited until she was sure that Eddie was gone and made sure she could hear the shower running to be sure that Steve wouldn’t be able to hear them either before turning her attention back towards Chrissy.

“Steve didn’t do anything to make you uncomfortable, did he?” she asked as she moved to sit down next to her. “Because I’ll go in that bathroom and strangle him right now if he took advantage of you or forced you to snuggle up to him like that. Just say the word, and I’ll do it.”

“It wasn't like that,” Chrissy insisted. “Steve was very much a gentleman. Honest.”

“Okay, good. Because I really would have strangled him if that wasn't the case. Can I ask you something else then?”

Chrissy nodded.

“If he was such a gentleman, why did you get so quiet when I brought up the beds?”

“I just didn't want Eddie to tease me.”

“Why would he have teased you?”

“Can I be honest with you?”

“You know, I really want us to be friends,” Nancy said as she considered Chrissy's question. “Of course, we've technically hung out together before, but that was always Eddie's doing. We were both there for him and not for each other. Other than Robin, I don't really have any friends that are girls, so when Eddie invited you to come with us, I was excited for the opportunity to finally get to know you a little better. I want us to be close, so you can absolutely be honest with me, and I promise I'll be honest with you in return.”

A smile lit up Chrissy's face. She'd never voice these fears out loud, but she'd spent a great deal of time afraid that Nancy only put up with her because of her friendship with Eddie. That Nancy only saw her as her boyfriend's annoying best friend and tolerated her being around for the sake of her relationship. So, hearing that Nancy actually wanted to be friends with her outside of the context of what Eddie meant to them really helped to push those fears aside. She never did this kind of thing with the other cheerleaders, but she trusted that she could share what was currently on her mind without fear of judgment.

“Well, if I'm being completely honest here, I'm the one who asked him to cuddle with me.”

“You did?”

“I did. I mean, he offered, but I thought it might have been a joke at first? But then I asked him, and he didn't even say anything. Just opened his arms to let me get closer to him, and he seemed to care more about my comfort than his own. It was very sweet actually.”

She stared down at her lap as she remembered the feeling of Steve's arms wrapped around her, and she couldn't help but smile at the thought. What she wouldn't give to fall asleep like that again.

“Chrissy Cunningham,” Nancy said with a beaming smile of her own. “Is that a blush I see?”

“I don't know. Maybe?” she replied.

“I think you like him.”

“I don't think that really matters. We barely know each other.”

“So? Do you remember when I interviewed you and Eddie for the school paper? For your production of Pygmalion?”

Chrissy nodded.

“That was the first real conversation I ever had with Eddie, and I knew I liked him by the time I left that auditorium. I felt terrible about it because I thought there was something going on between the two of you, but the feelings were still there regardless. So, I don't think it matters how long you've known him. All that matters is what you're feeling and whether or not you want to act on those feelings.”

“I'm not saying that I like him,” Chrissy insisted. “But, say that I do have feelings for him? Am I making a fool out of myself?”

“I don't think so. I've seen the way he looks at you, and I think that he could maybe like you, too. You just have to be willing to put yourself out there.”

“That's easier said than done. I've never just told a guy that I'm interested before.”

“You haven't?”

She shook her head.

“Jason was my first real relationship, and he was the one who asked me out. I've been second guessing a lot of that whole experience lately, so I have no idea what I'm doing here.”

“I don't know what I can say other than Steve is a great guy. He won't make you feel bad about yourself even if he doesn't feel the same way. I should know. I have firsthand experience with him.”

“Does that make this weird for you? Me asking you for advice on how to flirt with your ex, I mean?”

“Steve and I weren't right for each other, and it was never going to work out between us. Maybe if this had happened right after we broke up, I'd feel differently, but I view him the same way that I view my younger brother now. He annoys me to no end, but I can't imagine my life without him in it, and I just want him to be happy. If you'll make him happy, then I'm happy to give you a little nudge in the right direction.”

“You really think I could make him happy?”

“Yeah, I think I do. There's just something about the way he smiles at you. So, maybe just give him the opportunity to make the first move if you can't bring yourself to do it. I don't think you'll regret it.”

“Thank you.”

Chrissy didn't know what else to say. She might not have been sure how she would make it known that she was interested in starting something with Steve, but Nancy had effortlessly cleared away a sizable amount of her nerves about the whole situation.

“You're welcome,” Nancy replied. “Now pack up everything you don't need for the day. I don't want to spend a second longer in this place than I absolutely have to.”

With that, Nancy got up to finish packing her own things and get a start on Eddie's bags as well. Soon enough, it was Chrissy’s turn for the bathroom, and she found herself rushing through her morning routine to be ready as soon as possible. After the conversation that she’d had with Steve the night before, she was actually looking forward to their day at the beach. Her mother’s voice was still there - she knew it wouldn’t disappear completely overnight - but it was slightly easier to ignore it when she could recall Steve telling her that she was perfect.

So, when they were finally settled into their beach spot for the day, it only took her silently repeating that her mother was a fucking idiot to allow herself to take off her cover up and let other people see her wearing a bathing suit. Even if she felt a little self-conscious, she knew that her nautical themed bikini kept the parts of her that she was the most self-conscious about covered with its high-waisted bottoms. She could be brave about this, but she still felt herself freeze when Steve looked in her direction. As he approached her with his bottle of sunscreen, she told herself to play it cool. She could handle this. She knew she could.

“Mind giving me a hand again?” he asked, offering her the bottle.

She took it from him and helped him apply the sunscreen to his back again just like she’d done the day before. When she was finished, she handed the bottle back.

“Mind doing the same for me?” she asked.

She turned her back to him and pushed her hair over her shoulder so it would be out of his way. She tried to keep her cool as he took his time making sure he covered every inch of exposed skin on her back, but this was very different from them being snuggled up while fully clothed. Her skin was on fire with every little touch, and she hadn't realized just how large his hands were until could feel how much of her back they could cover at once.

After what felt like an eternity and still not enough time, Steve placed his hands on her shoulders and gave them a small squeeze.

“You're all set.”

“Thanks,” she said as she turned around to face him. “I appreciate it.”

“You're welcome. Cute suit by the way,” he said as he reached out to fiddle with one of the decorative white buttons closest to the top of her bikini bottoms. “I like the blue. It really makes your eyes pop.”

“Thanks,” she said, avoiding meeting his gaze. This was the exact kind of opportunity that she knew Nancy was talking about that morning. It would be so easy for her to just reach out and run a hand up his arm. She could smile at him and give his bicep a little squeeze. Look up at him and bat her eyes. Move a little closer to him and make it so much easier for him to lean in and kiss her. It would be so easy.

But she couldn't bring herself to do it. Not there and not in that moment. Flirting with him while she was so exposed felt too intimidating. She needed a little push which meant getting some alone time with Nancy to get her opinion on how to proceed.

“So, are you gonna get into the water with us today?” he asked, pulling her away from her thoughts.

“I think so,” she replied. “But I was hoping to have a little girl time with Nancy first if that's alright with her.”

“Absolutely not,” Eddie said. “You already had girl time this morning. It's my turn. You can't have her.”

With that, Eddie grabbed Nancy around the waist and lifted her to run away from his friends and towards the shoreline with her giggling and shrieking the whole way.

Chrissy and Steve shared a look, and she backed up slightly when she saw the mischievous smile that lit up his face.

“I'm not sure I like whatever you're thinking right now,” she said as she took another step backwards. 

The smile on her own face betrayed her, and soon, Steve was lunging to grab her. He lifted her with ease, and she clung to him as he ran to join Eddie and Nancy.

“Don't you dare drop me,” she managed to get out between her giggles.

It wasn't lost on her that Steve was treating her the same way that Eddie was treating his girlfriend, and she could feel her heart flutter as he gently let her down once they were about waist deep in the water.

“Look who's decided to join us today,” he announced to the other couple. “And only slightly against her will.”

“I was going to come out here eventually,” she insisted.

“Allegedly.”

Chrissy splashed in his direction which only led to him splashing her back, and soon they were enmeshed in an all out water war with Eddie and Nancy finally allowing Chrissy to act like the carefree girl she deserved to be.

***

When lunchtime finally rolled around, the group sprawled out on their blanket with sandwiches and chips from a nearby cart. After a morning of playing around in the water, they were all ready for a bit of a break.

“What are you looking forward to the most about being in D.C. tomorrow?” Nancy asked Chrissy as she started to unwrap her food. “I realized this morning that we never really got your input about what you wanted to do on this trip, and I could easily rearrange our schedule to include anything that we left out that's on any potential list you have.”

“Oh, I don't really have a list. This is your trip and not mine. You don't need to change anything on my behalf.”

“Don't be silly,” Nancy insisted. “This is just as much your trip as it is ours. If there's anything you want to do, I'll make sure it happens.”

“It's fine. Honestly, I'm just happy to be along for the ride.”

Steve frowned. If they hadn't had their heart to heart the night before, he might have believed her. But, knowing the pressure she was under to be agreeable and not be seen as a burden, he had a feeling that she wasn't allowing herself to do something that she felt might be an imposition. He felt compelled to make her realize that she was allowed to want things, and he thought he had a pretty good idea on how to do it.

When they finished eating, Steve excused himself saying that he was heading to the restrooms. Instead, he went in search of a vendor he was certain that he'd seen earlier. He quickly found them and purchased a single seashell collection jar. With a scrap of an old receipt, a sharpie, and some tape that he had in the glove box of his car, he made a new label for the jar.

Once he was happy with how it looked, he made his way back to where he'd left the group, and he found Chrissy by herself.

“I think Eddie and Nancy ran off to build a sandcastle,” she told him as he sat down next to her. “I told them I'd wait for you to get back.”

“This is for you,” he said as he handed her the jar. He watched as she eyed the label.

“The Chrissy needs to be nicer to herself jar?”

“Whenever I catch you being mean to yourself, you have to put a dollar in the jar. Every single time until we're back in Hawkins. And that includes you insisting that this isn't your trip, too. You might not have helped plan it, but you're an important part of it. For all of us.”

She was quiet for a moment, turning the jar over and passing it back and forth between her hands as she considered what Steve had told her.

“And what happens with the money at the end of the trip?” she asked when she finally spoke up.

“Well, if I see you putting yourself first, I might give you a dollar back, but I was thinking that we'd put this money towards doing something fun together after the trip.”

“Just the two of us?”

“Yeah. Just the two of us.”

“Okay. I can agree to those terms. Do I have to put a dollar in for saying I'm just along for the ride then?”

“I'll let that slide since it was before I made the jar. I just want you to realize that you're allowed to want things.”

“You know I'm not used to that.”

“I do.”

“Then you also know how hard this is going to be for me.”

“That doesn't mean I'm not going to help you get used to it.” He reached over and took one of her hands in his. “You deserve to be a little selfish sometimes.”

Chrissy didn't know if she could be selfish and put herself first. That went against everything her mom had forced her to believe over the years. She was supposed to be agreeable and go along with what everyone else wanted or else nobody would ever want her. But then there was Steve who was giving her hand a little squeeze and smiling at her and telling her that it was okay to care about her own happiness. She didn't know if she could do what he wanted her to do, but when he cared about her this much, she knew she could try.

***

Once they'd finished another long day at the beach, they made their way to the bed and breakfast that Nancy had found that morning. Nancy pulled Chrissy inside with her to check in, leaving the boys to unload and carry in all of their bags from the car.

“Now, you can say no to this, and I won't be mad at all,” Nancy said once they were out of earshot. “But I was maybe wondering if you'd be willing to share a room with Steve tonight? We have a room with one bed and a room with two beds booked, so obviously you would get the room with two beds. It's not like I'm expecting anything to happen between you two, and I don't want you to think this is me putting any pressure on you to make that kind of move on him or anything. It's just that Eddie and I really haven't gotten much alone time on this trip, and I'd really like to have a night for just the two of us, you know? But only if you're okay with sharing with Steve by yourself. If you're uncomfortable with that, just say the word, and you and I can share like we originally planned.”

The idea of sharing a room with Steve was both exciting and terrifying for Chrissy. On one hand, she'd never spent the night alone with a boy with a before. Not unless you counted Eddie, and she certainly didn't since there was no physical attraction between them. It was different with Steve. She still hadn't built up the courage to make a move or even let him know that she was open to him making a move, and sharing a room with him definitely threw that door open in a way that she wasn't sure if she was ready for.

On the other hand, the idea of potentially getting to sleep snuggled up to him again was so appealing. And knowing that there were two beds in the room helped to calm her nerves because she didn't have to share with him if she ended up being too afraid to ask him for another night of cuddles. They could just be two people sharing a room. Nothing had to happen between them.

“I can share with Steve,” she decided. “I don't mind.”

“You're literally my favorite person right now,” Nancy said as she pulled Chrissy in for a hug. “Thank you. I owe you one, okay?”

“Don't worry about it. Just enjoy your alone time with Eddie.”

Nancy got them checked in just as the guys entered carrying their bags.

“Steve, you're sharing with Chrissy if that's alright with you,” she said as she passed Chrissy her room key.

“I am?” That certainly wasn't the sleeping arrangement he'd expected.

“The room has two beds, and she's already agreed to it. You're allowed to say no though.”

“If it's fine with Chrissy, it's fine with me.”

“Perfect. We'll see you two in the morning for breakfast then.”

With that, Nancy started to make her way towards her room pulling a very confused looking Eddie behind her.

“So, are you actually okay with this, or do I need to make you put another dollar in the jar?” he asked once the other couple was gone.

“We shared a bed last night, Steve. I'm past being uncomfortable with sharing a room with you. Besides, it'll be just like our first night at the motel. The only difference is that we don't have to share our beds or listen to Eddie snoring.”

“Fair enough.”

They made their way to their room, and Chrissy called dibs on the first shower the second Steve had set down their bags. She wanted nothing more than to wash the sand and salt water out of her hair and put on some comfier clothes, and she wanted to do it as soon as possible.

When she'd finished in the bathroom, Steve took his turn which left her to think about their sleeping arrangements. To her, it was clear which bed Steve had claimed for himself. He'd set his bags at the foot of the first bed, and Chrissy's belongings were set on the second. She could easily accept this and climb into her own bed while he was in the bathroom.

But Nancy's voice was in the back of her head reminding her that all she had to do was take an opportunity to let Steve know that she was open to him making the first move. And what better way to let him know that than to be sitting on his bed when he came back into the room? And even if he didn't make a move and all they did was cuddle like they had the night before, that was still better than nothing at all. Maybe it was a little bit more bold than she was used to being, but she couldn't let herself sit on the sidelines while her life happened around her. She had to take charge in the little ways she could or else nothing was going to change.

So, without giving it another thought, she climbed onto Steve's bed and tried to make herself look casual as she flipped through instagram stories on her phone. Forget the fact that she was a bundle of nerves about how he was going to react to this. She could be cool and casual.

When Steve exited the bathroom and saw Chrissy lounging on his bed, he stopped in his tracks. He hadn't been expecting that from her after she'd made a point out of saying that they didn't have to share their beds that night. Yet there she was sitting on the bed that he'd claimed as if that was the most obvious place for her to be.

He was almost afraid to comment on it because he didn't want to scare her away. So, instead of saying anything, he just grabbed his bags and moved them over to the other bed. Then, he climbed onto the first bed to sit next to Chrissy.

“I don't know if you noticed,” he started. “But I kinda thought this was my bed.”

“I noticed. I just happened to decide that I wanted this bed, too. And I believe I recall a certain someone telling me that I was allowed to want things.”

Steve let out a laugh and smirked over at her.

“Careful, Chrissy. First, you invade my tent. Now, you're taking over my bed for the second night in a row. I'm starting to think you might have some ulterior motives here.”

She could have told him that she was hoping he'd take the hint, but she couldn't bring herself to make that final push. Instead, she playfully pushed his shoulder which only led to him pushing her back, and soon they were in a full on elbow war. Then, Steve got in one perfectly placed poke to Chrissy's side that left her giggling and squirming away from him. The same mischievous smile from earlier lit up his face again as he turned his full attention towards her.

“You know, I never did get back at you for ignoring our truce last night.”

“You wouldn't dare.” Chrissy's eyes went wide as she started to curl in on herself in anticipation.

“Oh, but I would.”

He was poised to strike, but before he could, she started laughing without him even touching her.

“Now, this is adorable,” he said with a wiggle of his fingers in her direction. All he had to do was hover his hands over her and act like he was about to touch her to elicit a ticklish reaction from her.

“Cut it out,” she said between her giggles as she tried to block his hands.

“Cut what out?” he asked. “I'm not even touching you.”

“You know what.”

She squeaked as he feigned moving to squeeze her hips, and she curled up even more in a failed attempt to shield herself.

Meanwhile, in the hallway, Eddie was trying to listen to what was happening in their room.

“Eddie, what are you doing?” Nancy asked when she exited her own room and saw him.

“C’mon. Aren't you curious about what they're doing in there? All I can hear is Chrissy laughing though, and we both know Steve isn't that funny.” he asked.

“Not enough to be pervy about it like you are right now. Get back in here and leave them alone.”

Back inside, Steve was about to tickle her for real when he heard voices outside their room that he was pretty sure were Eddie and Nancy. He paused his playful torture and signaled for Chrissy to be quiet with a finger pressed to his lips before getting out of the bed and creeping towards the door with her following close behind him. He waited a moment to make sure he could still hear them before banging on the door which earned him a very loud “fuck!” from whoever was on the other side.

“Good night, Eddie!” Chrissy called out.

They heard Nancy apologize on Eddie's behalf, and once he was certain they were gone, Steve turned his attention back towards Chrissy.

“Now, where were we?” he asked.

“Well, I think I was thinking of taking a late night stroll.” She wrapped her arms around herself in an attempt to shield all of her tickle spots from him.

“Really?” he asked. “Because I was thinking we were doing something else.”

He didn't give her a chance to run. He was quick, and he was able to pick her up and gently toss her back on the bed before she even knew what was happening. She didn't try to get away though. She just laid there giggling in anticipation as he climbed back onto the bed.

There was a moment as he climbed over her where he was struck with just how well they seemed to fit together. It would have been so easy for him to just lean down and kiss her, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He didn't want the story of their first kiss to be that they were in bed and it just happened. Chrissy was special. She deserved better than that. And even if that wasn't the case, he didn't want her to think that he was trying to pressure her into doing something more. He could wait another day to kiss her. For now, he could be content with another tickle fight and hopefully another night of her snuggling up to him for comfort.

***

When Steve woke up the next morning, he was sad to find his bed empty. After Chrissy had surrendered in their tickle fight, neither of them had really been all that tired, so they'd put on a movie and ended up falling asleep cuddling again. But now, she wasn't in his bed, and he missed that warm and fuzzy feeling he'd had waking up next to her the day before. There was barely any light in the room, so he figured it had to be fairly early. Maybe she'd only gotten up to use the bathroom, and she was going to be coming back to snuggle up to him any minute now.

A quick glance around the room told him that wasn't the case. Chrissy was sitting on the window seat with her head tilted to rest against the glass. She looked deep in thought, and she was slightly illuminated by the beginnings of the sunrise. He didn't think he'd ever seen a more beautiful girl in his life. No one could ever hope to compare the way that Chrissy looked to him now.

He pushed himself out of bed to ask her to come back to get some more sleep with him, and moved to sit next to her on the window seat, but she spoke before he could make his request.

“I wish that we could stay in this moment forever.”

Her voice was barely even a whisper. So quiet that it made him question if he was actually supposed to hear her. He did though. He heard her, and he realized that he was wishing for the same thing, too.

So, instead of making his request, he opened his arms for her. She moved to sit on his lap, and he wrapped his arms around her as she leaned back against his chest.