Navigating Hermes (Book Two)

Chapter Fifteen

Hello! This chapter will probably confuse many of you and I'm excited to hear about it. I will say that there are slight depictions of violence that will occur toward the end of the chapter, but you'll have a bit of a heads up, especially if you've already heard the myth. No more spoilers from me. Enjoy! - Amy

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     With October came Spring in New Zealand and Julie was relieved that most days were sunny and comfortable. It had been a few weeks since her and Hermes had agreed to stay in each other's lives as friends and hang out with each other more often. While she did feel happy to see him, she hadn't brought him up to Hamish.

     Hamish had continually surprised Julie. They had so much in common and he didn't pressure Julie into anything she didn't want. He also respected her personal space and wasn't clingy, but somehow knew not to go too long without reaching out

     Julie was surprised when Hamish wanted to meet after work to have a serious conversation, thinking with certainty that he'd prepared the perfect excuse for them to stop seeing each other after having sex. Instead, Hamish wanted to talk about their relationship moving forward, making it clear to Julie that he wanted monogamy from her. 

     While Julie really liked Hamish and was committed to him, she was still afraid to call him her boyfriend. She only referred to him as the guy she was seeing and aside from Danika and her goddess friends, she rarely mentioned him at all. Marcus thought she was going on casual dates and Julie always changed the topic of conversation when Hermes would bring Hamish up.

     It was a Wednesday afternoon on a particularly hot day for Spring. The sun was out longer, though the time change still wouldn't happen for another week. To enjoy the nice weather, Hamish had invited Julie out for ice cream and a walk.

     "Do you know what you're going to get?" Hamish asked Julie, who was impatiently awaiting the line to dissipate.

     "I always order the same thing, but you go first. I'm curious to see what you'll get." Despite seeing Hamish for over a month, they hadn't yet gone out for ice cream—only desserts at restaurants.

     When it was finally their turn to order, Hamish went first. "I'll get the medium size of the triple fudge."

     Julie turned to Hamish and dramatically placed her right hand on her chest. "A man after my own heart," she joked and turned to the cashier. "I'll get the same, please."

     Once they had their ice cream, Julie and Hamish walked along the pier. Although it faced north, the sunset still made the sky look pretty and Julie enjoyed the view as she walked with her ice cream in one hand, and the other in Hamish's.

     "Any plans for Labour Day?" Hamish asked.

     Julie hadn't thought much about the long-weekend, hoping to enjoy some alone time and maybe spending part of the day with Marcus. While she enjoyed spending time with Hamish, she'd been spending a lot of weekends with him. "I'm hanging out with my brother," Julie decided. It'll be good to do something fun with Marcus for a change.

     Hamish frowned. "I was hoping you'd have nothing planned to spend the day together at your place for a change."

     "I don't think Marcus is at a place yet where he can be happy for me relationship wise. Hopefully by Christmas he'll be all good."

     "Christmas?" Hamish' frown deepened. "That's still two months away."

     Julie nodded. "I'll tell him about us soon and he'll even meet you before then if all is still going well, but Christmas this year will be a big deal since it's the first one without Molly being there. Plus, you'd be meeting my parents."