"Boyfriend" was more than I could muster. Technically, he served as that geriatric euphemism, "companion": n. a person with whom one spends time, or who shares the experiences of another, especially when unpleasant or unwelcome. A plague-mate.
He said he'd deleted his dating apps anyway and just wanted to do this, even if it wasn't a forever thing. We settled on exclusive companions.
We lucked into a permit to hike a range of mountains from someone who'd been applying for 10 years. Over a four-day, 20-mile adventure, we not only perfected our tent game, we became the only ones who'd remember how the mountain's reflection painted onto water.
He greeted me with his sea breeze voice like I was a pleasant surprise. When he texted, "Hey beautiful!" to make plans, then arrived with his gym bag, it felt like magic.
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