Cherished

30

Eva squeezed Pierce's hand tightly, her arm wrapped around his. There were so many people.

"It's okay," Pierce said softly. "I am right here, baby."

He guided her to a less crowded booth where a lady was selling clay jewelry. A pair of earrings had caught her eye. They were daisies with a small strawberry that dangled. They felt like summer.

Pierce picked them up, offering them to the lady so he could pay for them.

"Thank you," Eva told her when she was handed the little bag. It wouldn't be much longer before she could wear her fun earrings.

The crowds were thick, and it was difficult for Eva to breathe in them, but Pierce navigated them smoothly, avoiding the people and keeping her where it was quiet.

"There you two are," Graham said, with Miles on his tail. Miles had a bag of popcorn and something else. The four of them moved to an empty area.

Miles offered them the open bag, and Eva copied Pierce who took a small handful. She was surprised to find that it was sweet, but still salty.

"I like that," she said.

"Kettle corn," Graham said back. "Pierce will have to walk you over to see how they make it."

"In a kettle," Miles said.

Even Pierce couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"I'm pretty funny. Aren't I?" Miles grinned.

"The funniest and the sweetest," Graham said, before Pierce had a chance to ruin the moment by saying something sarcastic.

Miles held out the other bag. The contents looked really strange, and it was a light pink and blue.

"It's cotton candy," Pierce said, pulling a chunk from the pile.

"Cotton?" Eva asked, putting a small piece in her mouth. She was surprised that it just melted on her tongue. It was sickly sweet.

"It's sugar that they spin around and around and around," Miles said.

Eva wasn't sure how she felt about it. Her fingers were sticky.

Graham chuckled. "You're so adorable. I wish Miles and I had a little more time to stick around."

"There you guys are," Kenzie said with Bri, Van and Logan all close behind. "I think this is your biggest turn out yet. You all did a great job."

"Thank you, Kenzie," Graham said. "Thank you for helping yesterday morning. We really appreciated the extra hands."

Miles and Graham had to go, and Eva watched them walk away.

"What did you get?" Bri asked, gesturing to Eva's bag.

"A pair of earrings," Eva said, pulling them out to show.

"Do you want to walk with us?" Kenzie asked.

Eva looked up at Pierce. The crowds were still so thick, and she was very afraid of getting separated.

"I think I want to stick with Pierce," she said quietly. "Thank you though."

They walked a few more booths before Eva decided she had enough.

"Thank you for taking me," she told Pierce as he handed her into his car.

"Of course," he said. "Although, it was really hard for us to get up this morning after last night."

Pierce offered her his phone as he usually did. She still didn't know much about music, and she really just liked to tap on his phone. She hardly knew how to work one.

"You guys kept waking me up," she said quietly. She hadn't felt too tired when she woke up, but now that things had slown down, she was starting to feel those hours that she had lost.

"I'm down for a nap if you are," Pierce said, and Eva nodded eagerly. She hoped he just meant sleep this time.

---

It didn't take long for Pierce to fall asleep, and Eva moved quickly. She wanted to make a fancy set up for dinner tonight. She had a table cloth, some candles and flowers, and she was going to make chicken for dinner.

Graham and Miles were probably going to be starving when they got home. She hoped they ate more than just popcorn and candy.

Eva was lighting the candles when she heard Pierce moving in the bedroom. Graham and Miles were coming up the stairs. That was great timing.

"Look at this," Graham said. "Is this for us?"

Eva nodded.

"You are just the sweetest thing, sunshine," Miles said with a bright smile. He gave her a noisy kiss. "I feel like we should be celebrating you after such an amazing night last night."

Eva blushed. "It can be that too."

Pierce yawned stretched, looking a little ruffled. He shuffled over to Graham for a kiss.

"Don't we have just the most perfect girl in the world?" Pierce asked, reaching for Eva and Miles.

Eva went to Graham and Miles went to Pierce.

"The most perfect," Graham said, squeezing her tight.

"You did a good job today," Pierce whispered to Miles.

"Thank you," Miles said, leaning up for a kiss. "Missed you, though."

"Me too," Pierce admitted, skimming his thumb along his cheek.

"Really? You like when I follow you around all the time?"

"I fucking love it, baby," Pierce said, low in his ear, letting his lips skim the sensitive skin.

Miles shivered. His smile was much more bashful than usual. 

"We should eat," Graham said.

Eva was still blushing. She couldn't help it. Seeing any of her men being intimate flustered her.

Miles reached over to poke her cheek and she couldn't help the giggle that bubbled up.

She got to hear all about Miles' and Graham's crazy day. She couldn't believe that the market was every single Saturday throughout the summer.

She couldn't believe that it was almost summer. She just felt really good.