Night came and Makenna hated to admit that she hadn't had that much fun in a long time. Will had ordered some food and they'd all sat on the floor around the coffee table and just talked and laughed. Makenna had tried to keep her stoic expression with the stories that each of them told. It was very challenging and she'd caught herself smiling way too many times.

When they all finally got up, it was time for Vanessa to leave. They put away the leftovers and disposed of the empty packets. Makenna checked her phone and saw a message from

When it was finally time to leave, Will offered to take Vanessa as they all headed outside. Makenna chose that time to check her phone and she saw a message from Tim.

New inventory arrived today.

"I could drop you off too, Mac." Will offered and Atlas opened his mouth but Makenna beat him to it,

"No, you're heading in a different direction." Makenna shook her head, "I'll get a cab."

"Or I could drop you off," Makenna looked at Atlas, "If you don't mind riding on my bike."

Makenna's breath held in her chest until she reminded herself to breathe.
"I don't," Her voice sounded weird to her, "I'm heading to the store,"

"Ok,"

"It's settled then," Will smiled, "Thank you guys for coming again,"

"Anytime, mate," Will and Atlas did a handshake thing and Makenna said bye to Vanessa before they both headed to their vehicles.

Atlas hopped on his bike and Makenna got in behind him.
"Hold on,"

Makenna placed her hands on his shoulders and held on just enough that it was too tight. Atlas pulled out of Will's place and headed towards the store. Makenna loved every second of the ride. Thankfully, her puffer jacket helped keep her warm with the rush of cold breeze that came at them.

On arriving at the store, Atlas slowly brought his bike to a stop outside. Makenna hopped off and looked at him as she stood at the side. Atlas' gaze roamed her face and he took in her flushed cheeks which was probably from the cool air.

"Do you want me to wait?"

Makenna's eyes grew slightly bigger at his question and she schooled her features and shook her head,
"No, I-I would be a while."

The wind blew at them and her hair moved with the wind. His gaze shifted to the colour he spotted and he frowned to himself.

He nodded at her,
"Ok."

"Thank you," Makenna hadn't felt as nervous as she was feeling in that moment,

"You're welcome."

Makenna turned around and headed into the store. She had the urge to glance back at him but fought against it and won. She went to the front desk where Tim was seated,
"Put me to work."

Tim looked up and his expression turned to one of surprise,
"I didn't mean for you to come today,"

"I know. I was out and thought I'd drop by and get it done."

"Oh, Mac, that's so sweet,"

"Hey. Don't get all mushy on me now."

Tim laughed,
"Of course. We wouldn't want you going all soft on me now, would we?"

Makenna smiled and got to work.

Atlas headed to his apartment and couldn't help but remember the picture he'd seen at Makenna's home. He'd gotten just a glimpse and hadn't thought much of it. But after seeing a hint of red in Makenna's hair today, he was unable to let the thought go.

Makenna is a redhead.
Atlas smiled.

It was almost unbelievable. He'd have a harder time than he was if he hadn't seen that picture himself. It was a family picture and she was much younger but it was definitely her. He couldn't imagine Makenna having red hair because the black was very fitting. But picturing her with red made his heart race. Or maybe it was just her and not the colour of her hair.

Atlas' mind went to the kiss and he let out a sigh. It was weird how it felt like a distant memory yet like it happened a second ago. He needed a refresher.

Atlas smiled at his train of thought as he walked into his apartment. He dropped his keys and pulled out his phone from his pocket as he fell onto the sofa. He had a message notification and frowned when he saw it was from an unknown number. He opened it and read the message. Even without the name, he knew who it was from.

Simon.

Atlas had blocked his number after getting a missed call and message from him the last time. He should have done that a long time ago. Obviously, that hadn't stopped Simon from contacting him again. He couldn't figure out why his former mate was trying to get in touch with him after everything that had gone down the previous year. He wasn't ready to get into a conversation about that with him. He didn't think he ever would. He simply wanted to move on from all that had happened.

Start afresh.
He thought. But that even sounded strange to him.

Would he ever be able to do that?

Atlas read the message again. It said the same thing it always did. He was asking Atlas to call him about something he had to tell him. Atlas didn't want to know what he had to say.

He typed a quick response telling Simon not to contact him again. He blocked the number and deleted the message then tossed his phone on the coffee table.

Atlas fell back onto the sofa and stretched out his legs so that his shoes weren't touching the sofa. He didn't want to think about Simon, so he thought about the one thing that could get his mind off it.

Makenna.

He had an intense urge to get something from the store. Anything. But he mentally talked himself out of it. Shutting his eyes, he replayed the moment over and over again in his head.