Summer
"Which part of the building are we staying in?" Erin's older brother, Eric the Enchanter, asked Sigmund as the driver pulled into the estate. "Hope you didn't pick somewhere shabby." Sigmund only responded with a laugh.
Kyle, Erin and her older brother were over at Sigmund's to start off the summer holiday. His school friends, Ivan the Inquisitive and Nicolai the Nightcrawler hybrid, were also scheduled to come over later in the season. Erin had insisted on visiting Sigmund as soon as the summer kicked off after making plans with the sorcerer since he last visited her in the winter. He was happy to have them all over to his home, even after it took some persuasion from Erin to have Kyle over as well. Since being gifted with his newly owned estate, Sigmund hadn't had any visitors over. At least not welcomed visitors or any his age.
Usually, his parents had their own company over. That was whenever they were actually home, which was rare these days. That company was typically only over for business related meetings concerning Sigmund, golfing with his father on the estate's greens every week or a monthly beauty consultation with his mother, who hosted the get-togethers from the estate's garden with a hoard of middle-aged, opulent women who wore too much perfume.
As the car finally stopped, the group watched as a butler approached the door of the car and opened it for them. Sigmund hopped out first.
"Welcome back, Sigmund." The butler greeted. The others slowly stepped out of the luxury suv and took a look around in awe. They hadn't exactly noticed the butler until he spoke again. "Welcome, welcome."
"O-oh! Hello!" Kyle jumped, giving the butler a weak wave. He wasn't exactly sure who the dapper dressed, older man was. Sigmund chuckled.
"This is Walten, my butler." He told everyone. "If you need anything while you're here or you get lost, just ask him for help."
"Get lost?" Erin asked, reaching back for her bag in the car. The butler stopped her quickly.
"You can leave you luggage behind." Walten told her. "I'll have it taken care of." Eric and Erin glanced at one another, clearly impressed with the level of service, but also confused by the entire situation.
As Sigmund pressed on, the group followed behind him closely. Opening the heavy set front doors of his home, Sigmund walked everyone into the lobby. They couldn't get enough of the modern look to it. Matte black paneled walls, glossy marble floors, glass floating stairs and sparkling chandeliers hanging from the high ceilings.
"Whoa.." Eric breathed, his voice echoing in the room around them.
"This is really nice.." Erin added. Eric nodded.
"Did you see the pool in the back when the car was passing through? I thought this was gonna be lame. This hotel is awesome!" With everyone agreeing with Eric, Sigmund couldn't help himself. Again, he busted out in laughter. Kyle folded his arms.
"You've been laughing since we got here." Kyle spoke in annoyance. "Wanna fill us in on the joke?"
"This isn't a random building or a hotel." Sigmund chuckled. "This is my home."
There was a pause for a moment and everyone seemed to blink in Sigmund's direction before looking back at one another. They all laughed and the unconvinced laughter bounced off the walls. Sigmund watched them laugh and nodded.
"Ja, that was my reaction too." He spoke over the laughter. "I thought my manager was teasing me when I first moved in."
"Wait, are you being serious?!" Erin asked when she noticed Sigmund hadn't laughed with them. Sigmund gave her a knowing look and instantly, the laughter stopped. "Wait...seriously?"
"All of it?!" Eric gasped. "You're such a liar! The whole mansion?"
"The whole estate." Sigmund corrected, starting the walk over to the staircase. Kyle felt dizzy even hearing the word 'estate'. He knew Sigmund was well off, but seeing was believing. In this case, even though he was seeing it, it was still unbelievable. Sigmund giggled from the stairs, catching the group's attention.
"Can I show you to your rooms now?" He asked. "Or would you rather stay in the lobby all summer?" Collecting themselves, they quickly followed behind Sigmund and stayed close to him when he started down the wide hallway. The sorcerer pointed out rooms on the way, but it was difficult to keep up with them all. Erin understood how they could get lost now. There were so many rooms, she'd lost count of how many doors they'd passed.
"This is your room, Erin. It's next door to mine!"
Erin poked her head into the room as Sigmund opened the door. It was massive and could've been the size of a studio apartment in New York. Monochromatic white and off white in color. She was almost afraid to walk in, but she did after her brother and Kyle had walked in for her. The room had a lit stone fireplace, fur rugs on the ground and views of the pool out back. In the distance, Erin could even see the garden and what seemed to be a tennis court. The lawns were lush and well manicured and the sunshine coming in made the whole room brighter. The size of the bed was unreal.
"My entire family could fit on this bed..." Eric commented, standing in front of it. "What size even is this?! This couldn't be a king size, it's gotta be bigger."
"Where's my room?" Kyle asked impatiently. Sigmund motioned everyone out and over to the next room down, but Erin had stayed behind to look around more. Opening the door to the neighboring room, the boys walked in quickly. This room had two beds and was just as massive in size as the last one.
"I figured you and Eric could share?" Sigmund told the boys. "Just so you guys wouldn't get lost. Believe me, it's easy to get lost in here."
"I believe it!" Eric nodded, laying back on the bed beside the window. "I call this bed!"
"Awe!" Kyle groaned. Finally joining the boys, Erin peeked into the room and kept at the doorway beside Sigmund. After taking a quick glance around, her eyes fell on the sorcerer.
"I'm at a loss for words..." She chuckled in disbelief. Her eyes softened in realization. "I can see why you've been really lonely. This is a lot of space for one person." Sigmund sighed.
After visiting Erin during the winter break in New York, Sigmund had expressed to her how much he'd enjoyed having dinner with her and her family. Touring during the holidays had been rough, especially after his parents had already started to change with the fame. They'd never skipped out on doing something nice for the holidays, but it had been the first year that the season was all about business and zero about family. He'd also filled her in on how rare it was to see them at home. Being in the house now and seeing they weren't around was proof of that. Erin noticed his demeanor change and quickly gave him a warm smile.
"But we're here now!" She assured him. "We're gonna have so much fun!"
"Yeah! What should we do first?" Eric asked, his head popping out of the guest room. "I see a tennis court! I wanna play tennis!"
"You don't even know how to play tennis!" Erin shouted. Kyle shook his head.
"Please, no!" He begged. "The sun is out and it's so hot outside. I burn."
Sigmund smiled at all the chatter. This was the first time there had been so much life in the halls of his mansion home. It was a wonderful feeling having company. He told himself he'd invite people more often. Tuning back into the conversation, he watched Erin and her brother conjure up tennis rackets, swinging them at one another like baseball bats. Kyle ducked after Eric's had come a little too close to his head.
"Alright, Eric! If I beat you, you have to go back home!" Erin gambled. Eric laughed a snarky laugh.
"Oh yeah?! Well, if I win, you have to sleep outside!" He quickly spat back.
"You're on!" Turning to Sigmund, Erin batted her eyelashes, a gesture that made him smile. "Can you show us how to get outside, please?"
"Ja, but you're not going on my tennis court dressed like that, are you?" With the Saint'valentine siblings and the conjurer still in travel loungewear, Sigmund folded his arms. "I refuse to be seen with any of you!"
"The heck are we supposed to wear then?" Eric asked, folding his arms in response. "What's wrong with what I've got on?"
Sigmund snapped his fingers and instantly changed into quite a posh-looking, athletic ensemble. Erin liked the green, cashmere sweater he'd tied over his shoulders especially. The siblings eyed one another with knowing expressions.
"Ooooh~!" They seemed to marvel together. It was an outfit they'd always seen in magazines, but never quite had a reason to wear. Till now, that was. They changed quickly for themselves, gave a quick pose and laughed at one another when realized they both sported matching visors on their heads.
"STOP IT!" Erin laughed, pointing out her brother's hat. "I just knew you would!"
"I obviously had to!" Eric laughed with her. "Your boyfriend's real fancy!" Kyle changed, but settled on a sun hat and sunglasses. As the group headed back down the stairs, the wizard raised a concern.
"Does anyone have sunscreen?" He asked. "I should really use some before I step out.."
"It's not that hot out!" Sigmund responded, conjuring his own tennis racket. "Relax!"
"You don't understand..." Kyle mumbled. Before he could finish his thought, Sigmund was stopped at the bottom of the steps by Walten, who was holding a silver platter filled with bottles of artesian water.
"Heading out to the courts?" The butler inquired. "I'll have them turn the sprinklers off."
"I appreciate that, thank you." Sigmund nodded, taking a bottle of water from the tray. The others followed suit, taking a bottle for themselves.
"And how about lunch?" The butler continued. "The cook would like to know if you'll be having it outdoors in the garden or in the dining hall this afternoon."
"You've got a cook too?!" Eric choked, pulling the bottle of water away from his lips. Sigmund kept his laughter back to answer Walten.
"Outdoors would be nice! Thank her for asking, would you? I hadn't thought about using the garden today."
"Wonderful! And yes, I'll inform her. Enjoy the weather."
"Thank you so much!" Erin smiled politely toward the butler as she followed behind Sigmund. The butler gave her a smile in return and turned away to the kitchen. Walking down the hallway, the group passed by a small cluster of photographs. Erin paused for a moment to take a look. Sigmund turned around when he noticed she had stopped. "Who's that?"
"Him?" Sigmund asked, pointing out an oil painting of a well dressed, silver haired man. Erin nodded.
"Yeah, he looks a little scary. He's got really long nails and red eyes."
"That's my great grandfather." Sigmund chuckled. "And he is. He's super scary."
"You guys have the same hairdo! And he looks kinda evil too, no offense." Eric added, his hands resting on his hips as he viewed the painting. Sigmund grinned.
"Well, you're not entirely wrong." The sorcerer shrugged. The eyes on his guests had gone wide. He figured he'd continue. "My great grandfather, Steiner Nightbreed, was actually a dark magic sorcerer and an energy vampire. Our hairstyles are unintentionally identical, I swear."
"A VAMPIRE?!" Everyone seemed to gasp. Since they'd come to visit, Sigmund just couldn't stop laughing.
"Ja, hahaha! Full on vampire, though he practiced alchemy and was a well known as a sorcerer. He was highly revered academically and helped to build the foundation of Milkweed Academy. He's realm royalty and I'm pretty sure he's still alive somewhere."
"You never mentioned vampirism before..." Kyle mumbled, recalling a brief family history lesson with the sorcerer previously. Sigmund shrugged.
"I showed you his photo. You never asked."
"You know, you've always given me vampire energy, but I never wanted to say it." Eric snickered. Sigmund seemed to take the comment as a compliment and he walked with his nose high in the air. The group followed behind him. "Are you evil too?"
"Oh, no! No!" The sorcerer waved. "I practice light magic. We haven't practiced dark magic in my family since the age of my grandfather. At least that's what I've been told."
"Not that there's anything wrong with dark magic..." Kyle spat, rolling his eyes. Sigmund returned the gesture and walked over to the back wall of the home. Pressing a button, the door to the garden entrance opened automatically. Sigmund led everyone around yet another bend to a shed. Opening the shed revealed a golf cart.
"Who's driving?" Sigmund asked, pulling the keys out from the cart's glove compartment. "Because I don't feel like it and it's a longer walk than you realize."
"ME! ME! ME!" The siblings hopped. Kyle quickly snatched the keys from the sorcerer's hand.
"No, I will." He answered. "I refuse to have either one of them drive me around with the way they were just swinging those tennis rackets!" They pouted as Kyle took to the driver's seat and started the cart. Eric sat beside him, resting his racket in his lap. Sigmund and Erin sat side by side in the backseat, facing outward.
"Just go straight down the path." Sigmund told Kyle, turning around in his seat to point it out to him. "It's gonna be to the right after a while. We have to pass by the pool house and the basketball court."
"Holy smokes..." Eric muttered, rubbing his temples in disbelief. As the golf cart jerked forward, Erin and Sigmund grabbed the handles to the side of them, the sorcerer outstretching his arm to also keep Erin seated.
"Hey! You can't drive either!" Sigmund complained. Kyle smiled sheepishly.
"Just figuring out which pedal is gas, is all." He giggled, starting the journey down a little smoother.
As they passed through the garden, the gardeners there stopped what they were doing and waved at the passing group, surprised to see young people for once. They all waved back till they disappeared from view behind the tall, lush shrubs of flowers on the trail. Sigmund reached out the back of the golf cart to pick a flower from one and handed the stem of the yellow flower to Erin. With a blush, the witch set the flower in her hair and quickly pulled her phone to take a picture, sitting closer to Sigmund to get him in it as well. The sorcerer hugged onto her lovingly for the picture and as soon as it was snapped, the cart seemed to come to another harsh stop.
"HEY!" Everyone shouted at Kyle. The wizard gave another guilty smile.
"Sorry..."
"Nope! Get up! I'm driving!" Eric spat, pushing Kyle from his driver's seat. Sliding down in his place, Eric took off before Kyle could hop back in. Sigmund and Erin had a great laugh watching him chase after the golf cart.
"H-HEY! WAIT! STOP!" Kyle called out. He grew tired pretty quickly. Sigmund hadn't laughed that hard in a long time. When Erin insisted on the boys to stop for Kyle, they gave in and did as she asked, riding the rest of the way together when he'd finally caught up.
Parking outside of the gates of the tennis court, the group hopped out with their rackets and made their way in. Eric spotted a cart filled with tennis balls and pushed it over, pointing out his sister from the trio with his tennis racket.
"Let's go!" He challenged her. "No procrastinating! Let's do this!"
"Ready when you are!" Erin called back, quickly pulling her hair into a ponytail. As they took to opposite sides of the court, Sigmund looked to Kyle.
"Let's play a match too, on the other court!" Sigmund suggested. Kyle shook his head.
"Me? Play sports? Absolutely not!" He protested, settling under an umbrella topped bench. "I'd much rather watch."
"You're no fun..." Sigmund pouted, sitting beside him to watch the siblings play off. Surprisingly, they were actually pretty good, but Erin seemed to be pressing harder than Eric. Slowly, but surely, she overtook Eric match after match. Eric timed out the game to take a sip of water and wipe his forehead from the sweat that had formed.
"I'm sending ya home!" Erin teased from her side of the court, tightening her ponytail. "Shoulda never challenged me!"
"Oh, so is that why you're playing so hard?" Eric realized. "Trying to send me packing? Not gonna happen! Ya gonna be sleeping on the soggy lawn tonight!"
"Let's go! Ya talkin' too much! This is the match point!"
Kyle and Sigmund were enjoying listening to them bicker with one another. The New York accents making their appearances as the game grew heated and dramatic gestures between them were entertaining to say the least. Typically, witches that studied enchanting were mild mannered, soft spoken and elegant. They were charmers, refined company and cultured scholars. Seeing Erin outside of school was always the complete opposite of what she was like otherwise. Sigmund liked that best about her.
"YES!" Erin screamed, hopping in celebration as Eric tossed his racket forcefully on the ground. "BYE ERIC! I WIN! YOU LOSE!"
"I ain't goin' nowhere!" Eric spat. "You cheated!"
"How'd I cheat?! You're a sore loser!"
"Yo, red head! You saw her cheat, right?!"
"Don't bring me into this!" Kyle called out from the bench, shaking his head in disagreement. "You hit the ball out though, so she's technically right. She didn't cheat."
"HA!" Erin laughed, wiggling her fingers at her brother. "Bye~!"
"Can I at least get that lunch I heard about before I go? You really gonna send me home on an empty stomach? Sheesh..."
"I could honestly eat something too." Kyle nodded. "And I'm burning up. This umbrella isn't helping."
"I really wanted to play a round with Sigmund, but I guess it can wait." Erin pouted. Sigmund sighed. He would've liked that.
"Alright." Sigmund replied. "Let's go back to the garden. I'm sure lunch is ready by now. I'm driving this time though, you're all horrible."
As the group headed back down the pathway towards the garden in the golf cart, Erin pointed out the pool.
"I really wanna go swimming." She told Sigmund. "I actually haven't been to a pool in a long time." Sigmund smiled.
"Anything you want." He replied sweetly.
"Nah, I'll pass!" Eric spoke from the backseat, intruding on the conversation. "I'm tired now."
"Me too..." Kyle scoffed. Sigmund pouted in frustration. He was surprised to hear the sudden complaints. Since they had arrived, Eric hadn't wanted to do much of anything but tease him and Kyle didn't want to do anything at all!
"Who was talking to either of you?! You two aren't even supposed to be here!" He shouted, catching the attention of the boys in the back. "If Erin wants to swim, we're gonna swim!"
"But I'm hungryyy!" Eric whined.
"You're a really crummy host." Kyle poked. Sigmund stopped the golf cart abruptly in front of the garden, nearly causing the boys in the back to fall out. Before Erin could stop him from getting angry, Sigmund was already seething. To her surprise, he didn't shout at anyone. Instead, he walked into the garden and his silence had honestly said more than anything that would've came out of his mouth. Erin frowned.
"You guys aren't being very nice..." She mumbled, hopping out of the cart herself. "Quit picking on Sigmund, will you?"
"We're just teasing!" Eric laughed. Erin wasn't impressed.
"No, you're being really rude." She lashed back. "You're a guest here. If mother saw how you were acting right now, you'd be scolded."
"Oh, c'mon sis—!"
"I mean it!" Erin interrupted, stomping her foot down. "Sigmund's the sweetest and you're embarrassing me. We're his first guests here, ever, and I'm sure he's nervous about it! I've had enough now! Cut it out with the complaining and teasing! Both of you!"
Eric was shocked to see Erin turn away from him. The wizard and the enchanter exchanged guilty expressions as they slowly stood up from the golf cart. They didn't know Sigmund had never had guests over before. Clearly, they weren't making the best first impression for others. Eric sighed.
"Sheesh..." He groaned with a stretch. "I guess we should ease up, huh?" Kyle nodded.
"Yeah, I don't like your sister being cross with me. It's a little scary.."
"Me neither. She doesn't get mad like that very often. C'mon, let's go eat something. I'm starving!"
Erin sat beside Sigmund at the table in the garden. It was beautifully made with three separate bouquets of flowers, glowing candle lit lanterns and platters of fresh fruit and grilled foods. It was like the summer spread you'd see in a better homes magazine, come to life in front of her. The chef finished off the table with a tall, glass pitcher of freshly made lemonade.
"Thank you!" Erin spoke to her. "This is lovely. You've done such a great job." The chef seemed surprised by the compliments and blushed thankfully.
"Please, enjoy." She spoke to Erin. "And if you'd like, tell me what you want for dinner later. I'll accommodate you."
"I trust your judgement, completely." Erin responded. "Anything will do. Thank you, again." With the chef bowing out, Erin stood up to pour out the juice. Kyle and Eric approached the table as Erin handed off a glass to Sigmund. Each of the boys grabbed a plate and grabbed a couple items from the table before turning away. Erin frowned.
"Aren't you gonna eat with us?" She asked the boys, setting the pitcher down. Eric shook his head.
"You wiped me out with that tennis game..." He told her. "I'm exhausted."
"And I've had enough of the outdoors for one day." Kyle added. "I'm pretty sure I've burnt. I'm gonna eat this and take a bath."
"You aren't mad at me, are you?" Sigmund asked. Erin's expression seemed to think the same. The boys quickly shook their heads.
"No, no! Honestly, I'm tired." Eric quickly replied. "And I should be the one saying sorry. I've been messing with you all day."
"It's fine, I actually expected it." Sigmund snickered. "No need to say sorry."
"I was just testing you, ya know?" Eric added. "Around my sister. Just because you're a celebrity or rich or whatever, doesn't mean nothing to me! So, I guess you passed the test."
"Seriously?" Erin groaned in annoyance, rolling her eyes. "A test? Shut up!" Sigmund considered it a great compliment. He knew a lot of people that wanted to be his friend, solely because of where and how he lived. The fact that neither Eric nor Kyle seemed to care in the slightest made him feel pretty good.
"Well, thank you. I don't fail tests. That's what makes me Wizard of the Year." The sorcerer smiled when Eric laughed at his comment. Erin and Kyle had enough of both of them. Sigmund motioned to the food. "Can you take a little more though? You hardly picked anything up."
"Oh, thank goodness! I thought you'd never ask!" Eric breathed out, quickly diving into the table of food. Erin shook her head as her brother grabbed more items and stuck a barbeque skewer into his mouth before finally being on his way inside. Sigmund held back laughing for Erin's sake.
The couple finished their lunch together, finally enjoying time in one another's company. Deciding they were too full to go swimming, Sigmund decided to show Erin around the estate instead to walk off the food. Erin still couldn't believe the way Sigmund lived. For all that he had, he was actually pretty humble. A diva, yes, but humble.
"You've got a duck pond too? My goodness, this is practically Central Park!"
"This is actually my first time walking this far down." Sigmund chuckled as they sat in the grass.
"Seriously? You didn't know you had this here?"
"There's actually a lot here that I haven't even seen or touched. I don't know, I'm still not exactly used to this place. It still doesn't feel like home."
"I could understand that." Erin nodded, looking over the pond. "I mean, I thought it was a hotel when we first got here!"
"And there's always so many people around, just doing work." Sigmund added. "In my old village, that was me and my family. We were the ones in the garden. We were the ones doing the work. I've felt really lazy since we've moved here."
"I still can't get over you being a farmer boy."
"Haha! I enjoyed it!" Erin paused to admire Sigmund as he laughed, smiling to herself. Taking notice, he smiled back at her. "I think this is the first time I've felt at home since moving here."
"Yeah?"
"Ja. Even with your brother picking on me, I'm happy to have you all here. You especially. You feel like home."
"Oh! Hehehe~!" Erin blushed, letting out a dorky giggle. "I've never gotten that compliment before!"
"Well, that's how I feel."
"I've also never had someone tell me they're in love with me before..."
"Ah, you're gonna bring that up now? I should've seen that one coming." Erin raised a brow in his direction, sliding over on the grass to elbow him. She obviously wanted an explanation. Sigmund felt his face heating up. "Well, if I didn't mean it, I wouldn't have said it."
"You really meant it?"
"Did you?"
"Of course I did!"
"Then so did I."
"Okay then, say it to my face."
Sigmund paused as Erin folded her hands on her outstretched legs in front of her and crossed her legs at her ankles, waiting. His face had flushed at this point.
"H-huh?" He stammered. Erin laughed.
"You heard me! Say it again! We're right next to each other this time!"
"Say what again?"
"Oh,really?! We've got amnesia now? You should see a doctor, Mr. Nightbreed. You're a little too young for that." Sigmund deeply sighed, pulling a knee to his chest. Erin pouted, looking down at the ducks in the pond as they passed by. "Hey! It's fine, I get it. It was a desperate situation that morning and you actually ended up getting hurt, so it was probably for the best to say it at the time. Right? Things could've been really grim."
"I'm in love with you, Erin."
"Wha—!" Erin gasped, her head snapping in his direction. "Hold on! I wasn't looking when you said it!" Sigmund held in a laugh and looked for a way to change the subject. Truthfully, her looking away made it easier to say it.
"Erm—I was gonna wait till after dinner to give you a gift, but maybe it's best to give it to you now?" Sigmund conjured a small box in his hand. Erin did the same.
"I had a gift for you too!" She smiled warmly. "Let's swap!"
Sigmund looked down at the box she'd handed to him. Though it was small, the black box was topped off with a massive green bow. The white box he'd given to her was quite plain in comparison, but she looked just as thrilled to receive it. Glancing at each other, Sigmund elbowed her.
"You first." He insisted. Opening her gift, Erin's smile only grew brighter. It was a necklace with a glowing, red pendant hanging daintily from it's chain. Erin pulled it from the box and inspected it closely.
"Dragon's blood?" She asked him. Sigmund nodded.
"To keep you safe when I can't."
"Oh man, we're really cut from the same cloth after all." Erin giggled. "Open yours." Sigmund turned to his gift and did as she asked, unraveling the green ribbon and opening the black box carefully. He laughed when his eyes fell on what was inside. Though the pendant on the necklace wasn't the same, it was still formed with dragon's blood. Erin laughed with him.
"I guess we had the same thought after that incident, huh?" She spoke, looking back at his gift to her. "That's why I wanted to come visit so soon. I already missed you after winter break, talking over the phone is nice and all, but it's not the same. And then hearing that you got hurt just put a lot in perspective for me. I just wanted to be around you again. I wanted to be sure you were okay."
"I was going to ask you if you could come sooner, but you beat me to the punch." Sigmund admitted. "Just like you bringing up what I said. You always beat me to it." Looking up at him again, Erin shrugged.
"Ya gotta be faster then."
"I'll keep that in mind."
"I'm in love with you too, by the way."
"I'm not just in love, I love you."
"O-oh?!"
"You said I have to be faster than you, right?"
"I-I meant—!"
"See? I'm looking straight at you this time." Sigmund spoke, narrowing his eyes in her direction. "I love you, Erin."
"AH!" Erin gushed, frantically looking away to rub her cheeks. "I'm supposed to be the enchantress! You liar! You totally are an energy vampire! Don't look at me!"
"HAHAHAHA! Now you don't want me to look at you? Pfff...You're so cute."
"My heart is beating about a mile a minute! Give a sister a second!"
"Maybe jumping into the pond with the ducks will help?"
Erin punched Sigmund playfully as he laughed, finally laughing with him when he fell back into the grass. She sighed lovingly and stood up with her giftbox, holding her hand out to him, which he took to help himself up. She helped him dust grass off his pants, but he stopped her for a hug instead, which she instantly returned. Just as he felt like he was melting into the embrace, Erin spoke up.
"I'm pretty sure I love you too." Erin snickered, making Sigmund pull back slightly from the hug to look down at her. Erin looked back at him, clearly doing her best not to smile.
"PRETTY SURE?!"
"Yeah, I haven't made up my mind yet."
"How? Aren't I your boyfriend?"
"You've never used that title before, so yeah. I haven't made up my mind."
"Huh?! I didn't think I had to say it!" Sigmund retorted. "You know I love you, don't you?!"
"It's so fun messing with you. I see why my brother does it now. I love you, Sigmund."
"Oh..."
"And I'd kiss you if you weren't so darn tall."
"Wait! Wait!" When he quickly leaned over with his eyes closed, Erin bit her bottom lip.
"I wanna push you into the pond so bad!" She snickered. "You would've never seen it coming."
"Are you gonna kiss me or do I have to beat you to it again?"
"Beat me to it."
