𝐧𝐚𝐯𝐲 𝐩𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬.

A chuckle escaped Navy's lips as she nodded. "I did. I do." She laughed, letting her lips press against his, eyes gazing up at him under her lashes. He was a beautiful man; not just externally but internally as well. She couldn't seem to get enough of him. His hands were pressed into her sides and Navy let out an audible exhale, shifting so she was now straddling his waist. Both hands now pressed against his cheeks, she let her lips move hungrily with his, trying to get as close to him as she could.

There was something comforting about Brad. She still couldn't believe it, but something about him made her want to be around him more and more. The way he seemed to be intoxicating, she nearly couldn't get enough. "I knew there was a reason I liked having you around." she winked at his words, though they were genuine she thought it was cute how encouraging he was being. His hand on her knee made her heart skip and she looked up at him as he leaned forward, his words echoing in her ears as his lips met hers. The softness of his kiss made her eager; grounding her before she leaned in, hand pressed to his cheek as she deepened the kiss, her own cheeks reddening.

There was something about Bradley that Navy had always admired. Maybe it was the way he carried himself, or the way that he seemed to want to carry himself around her, but either way it was admirable. Like a man that knew what he wanted and wasn't afraid to get it. The mention of her name made her laugh. "Well, that's one thing about being an adult that I admire." she nodded, eyes focused on him now. "I don't get the same reaction to my name as I did as a child." she admitted, which was maybe something he didn't exactly care about, but, one thing he'd quickly learn about Navy was that she were an open book. "Well lucky enough for you I knew you could charm the pants off of anyone that you came in contact with, I just didn't know if I was actually right." a smirk tugged at her lips, only ending when she brought her bottom lip between her teeth at his question. Of course she liked him; why else would she have confessed her darkest secret - not that it was anything to hide it was just not something she didn't tell a lot of people unless she was letting them in - nor would she have invited him over. She really liked his company, and she'd decided a long time ago that if things never worked between them romantically at least she could look at him as a friend. The mention of her nephew nearly made her teary eyed and she nodded. "I love that kid like he's my own." she stated, thinking about him in that moment. "I think in a lot of ways he saved my sister and I both, even if she's no longer here to vouch for herself." she stated with a shrug. Though there was a shift in the air and she let herself nod at him. "I think I'd like that." she nodded, her voice barely a whisper. She leaned forward, face inches from his. "What's stopping you?"

"I mean there's always that, but." Navy spoke, eyes focusing on the other before she took another bite of the food in her hand. "That's why I usually wait until I'm standing in one spot to eat, put it back in the container to keep moving and so forth." she shrugged. "I get it. And thankfully I'm not typically clumsy but I do have to look out for other people." she laughed. "No, I think that just means your smart. And someone that really loves their food."

She listened as he confessed it wasn't the first thing she thought about. Sure the first thing she thought about when she heard even the color these days was herself, but, that wasn't usually the case with everyone. But now that he'd confessed it wasn't his thought, she was curious what was. "So what do you think of first when you hear it then?" she questioned, despite the fact her racing heart likely already gave her the answer she needed. Her eyes watched as he began to chew on his bottom lip and she exhaled, only feeling the breath catch in her chest when he admitted that he did just tell them. "I- oh." she smiled, though she quickly averted her eyes when she felt her cheeks redden. "That's interesting because I think I feel the same." she stated, refocusing on him. "Falling for someone I consider a friend that is." she shrugged as if it was the most casual thing that she's ever said. She was thankful for the small shift in conversation, allowing herself to relax as she listened to Brad's words. "It was a lot. To give up what I wanted to come back here and take care of my family." she stated. "I wouldn't trade it for anything but it wasn't easy."

Shaking her head, Navy's eyes landed on the other as she shifted into the next yoga pose. "No way in hell is this a beginners class." she commented, feeling herself a little more winded as she tried to speak again. Though that ended in just her trying to focus on her breathing, keeping an asthma attack from hitting her; of course today had been the day she'd left her asthma inhaler at home. "Dammit.." she cursed, shaking her head before she nodded enthusiastically at the other's words. "Don't gotta tell me twice." she added. "One. Two-" she paused, not even saying the word three before she hit the mat, lying flat on her stomach and groaning. "Dear lord this is the worst thing I've ever volunteered to do." she admitted. "What kind of steroids is this instructer on?"

The offer for a coffee made Navy smile, nodding. "I think a coffee sounds great." she added. "The wind is a bit much today so it'll be nice to indulge in something warm for a change." she admitted, eyes landing on the other. "Sweet treats are always a necessity in my book, but, maybe start with coffee." she smiled. "I'll never say no to coffee."

As the night wore on, his original thought and aim for calling her had faded from his mind. However, he was very much so enjoying their time together, and thought maybe this in fact turn into a beautiful friendship. What that friendship entailed? That was up in the air but he was enjoying every minute of being by her. As she brought the bottle back and settling back on the couch, it wasn't lost on him that she was closer than before, and he liked that as he felt some sort of pull between them. Whatever that maybe, he could feel in the air and wondered if she felt it too. His eyebrows raised as she chimed up about her secret, his nodding a signal for her to go ahead. "Wow," he hummed, "what made you change?" He asked, then feeling bold, "I have another secret," he took in a deep breath, "I'm starting to think I might be falling for a friend, and I hope she's feeling the same."

There was a small smile on Navy's lips as she witnessed Brad's reaction to her secret - while it was true it was nowhere near the juicy secret she was sure he was expecting - it wasn't exactly a fact she told many people either. "My name is Navy." she emphasized, eyes focusing on him again as she drank the wine in her glass, finishing it off and topping off the glass again. "It's why I hated it, but ultimately what made me decide it was kind of a cool color." she admitted, letting her fingers trace the outer rim of her glass as he spoke. Though she exhaled, about to speak up when she heard him speak and she smiled, feeling her cheeks flush a little. Maybe she wasn't the friend he was talking about, and maybe she had no business feeling the tiniest ounce of regret from his admission, but, she was human. And there was something about her pull to Brad that made her want more of him. To know more about him, to explore more of him, to have him intertwine every thought in her mind. It was something truly scary and humbling all at the same time. "You should tell her." she admitted. "Or him, if that's what you're into." she admitted, eyes focused on the other. "If I've learned anything in life it's not to let those things go unnoticed or unsaid. Don't miss out on an opportunity because you're scared." she encouraged, though, she was beginning to feel like the pep talk was for her. "I have another secret as well." she stated. "I - well, there's not a lot of people that know about this." she mentioned. "I think I told you briefly when we first met that I moved back for family. Turns out I moved back because I'm helping my parents raise my nephew." she admitted, feeling her eyes fill with tears, regardless of how much she tried to fight them. "She met a man - Jace's father - and the two were kind of toxic for each other. She ended up taking the wrong path - drugs - and addiction ended up taking her life." she exhaled, the tears now falling. "I just miss her so much, you know." she sighed. "Her son looks just like her; and there's so much of her in him and it breaks my heart she's not here to see it."

Navy didn't attend hot yoga often, and in the rare chance she did she often found herself tucked in the corner, thankful that no one else seemed to be interested in watching her. She wasn't great at it; in fact most of the time she looked as if she were contorting her body in directions that legs and arms weren't meant to be moved in, it was a shame she didn't leave sore every time. "I don't know, but I'm right behind you." she sighed, taking a moment to catch her breath, realizing how loudly she was huffing. "I swear we somehow managed to show up to the advanced class; there's no way this is the beginner class I thought I had shown up for." she admitted. Her eyes shifted to the other when she said maybe on three and Navy nodded. "I don't know if I can either." she admitted. "How much longer do we have?"

As the other admitted that popcorn was a good snack for him, she smiled. "Popcorn it is then." she smiled, eyes looking at him for a moment as she finished her first glass of wine, filling up her glass before they made their way to the living room. At his confession to give him a secret she shook her head. "I don't think I can do that just yet." she admitted, tossing him a wink. "You've gotta give me time to think of one first; I'm not great at having secrets."

The hours passed and what had originally been the plan to watch an episode or two had long surpassed that. The two were sharing time on the couch, their glasses of wine remaining full at all times. It had resulted in Navy bringing the bottle to the living room, but, it worked out for the best; with every movement from the couch when she'd return she'd inch that much closer to Brad, almost like she was magnetized to him. She'd ditched reality television a long time ago and instead had lightened the mood after their night of chatting about reality television; it wasn't doing anything for warmth but it was keeping the mood peaceful none the less. She swallowed before her eyes fixated on Brad again. "So that secret." she stated. "I used to hate the color blue." she admitted, though she laughed behind it, likely a result from being a little tipsy. "Despised it for literally years, but, now it's one of my favorites."

"Why is it that we live in a literal swamp, but yet hot yoga feels way more hot and swampy than outside?" Sydney asked the person next to her as they came up from yet another chair pose. Her therapist had been pushing for her to get out more, to try and become one of the living again since she was stuck in the past and the grief of Jesse. It felt stupid, just trying to do this when she wanted nothing more than to go home and curl up on her couch once more. "I might just lay down soon, I'm so out of shape." Maybe jumping into a hot yoga class hadn't been the best idea. Even if it was open for beginners.

"Tell me about it, it's the worst." Navy groaned, standing straighter as if to try to ease a pain in her back that she'd inflicted in that last pose. She grabbed a towel from her feet and wrapped it around her neck, trying to dry the sweat that had collected there. "I don't think I was as ready for this as I thought I was." she exhaled. "If you lay down I'll do it too. Maybe if we pretend we're stuck we don't have to finish the class and we can just vow to not come back and save ourselves embarrassment."

"That's a good way to explain it." she nodded, eyes focusing on the other. Things weren't necessarily easier when the seasons changed and work slowed down, it was most so just a matter of the fact it was less hectic as the other had stated. The work load didn't really change it just seemed easier to get accomplished because you weren't doing seven hundred different tasks on top of each other. "Sadly it's not. Which is both good and bad. Good because we get to indulge in it a little more often, even if it does make the day chillier." she smiled. "Bad because we get to indulge in it a little more, so combined with the holiday feasts we're always so stuffed."

"Well, that's good to hear." she nodded, eyes focusing on the other as they spoke. Navy couldn't deny that she'd enjoyed Teagan's company even if it was just for the sake of transferring the catch from one person to the next, and even though she'd never reached out, she was happy to have the opportunity to spend a little time with her now. "I didn't really think of the fact that people probably weren't fishing as much." she admitted. "So I guess it makes your job a little easier in the winter then?" she asked, crossing her arms before she smiled. "The zoo is still just as busy. Probably busier honestly because it's cooler so the families and schools just book back to back trips." @teagan-monroe