Uh, hello. I don't own things.
"Keys to the hovercar?"
"Check."
"Keys to the house?"
"Check!"
"Wallets?"
"Check!"
"I know I forgot something," Cindy huffs.
"You have gone through the checklist three times. That's not possible," Jimmy replies gently.
"What if I forgot to put something on the checklist?"
"Then we will manage," he replies. "Because together we can do anything."
"Shit," she snorts. "That was cheesy."
"It made you laugh, so mission accomplished," at his answer, she rolls her eyes playfully.
"Why are you trying to butter me up? Did you set a fire in the lab again?"
There's a beat as if he's considering his next words. Then his eyes meet hers. "Cind, both of us know this anxiety isn't about packing. It's about this weekend," he answers.
"I regret agreeing to stay with mom and her new boyfriend during this family reunion. We've been getting along better, but she knows how to push my buttons. To make me that girl who was angry all the time in five seconds flat." She feels anxiety squeezing her stomach and insecurity rising like bile inside her.
"You won't be alone," Jimmy steps forward and wraps her in his arms. "You are never alone."
For a moment, she loses herself in him—the scent of his soap and the scratch of his jaw against her cheek.
"Your stubble is so damn scratchy," she complains half-heartedly.
"I know you think it's hot," he answers, his mouth brushes against her ear. "You've told me in explicit detail."
She laughs. She can't help it. "You are an asshole. I like the way it looks, but I'm not crazy about the way it feels."
"Oh?" Then he brushes his jaw back and forth, causing Cindy to squeal. When she pulls back, he's grinning in triumph, and his eyes sparkle with delight.
"It's like cuddling a cactus," she says as she breaks their embrace.
"If you say so," he answers.
Cindy turns to the bed where the open suitcase and crumpled checklist still wait for her. Jimmy reaches out and squeezes her hand. She squeezes back. Then she zips the suitcase shut and shreds her list into a thousand pieces.
"Let's go."