Alex laughed, unable to help it as happiness bubbled up inside him. He was practically giddy as he stood there wrapped in Peri’s embrace, and he pulled her in close for a bear hug, a grin on his face as he buried his nose in her hair. “Good, because I plan on doing it a lot more in the future.” Loosening the hold he had on Peri, he kissed her between the eyes, smiling as he pulled back. “You just made me really happy, if you couldn’t tell,” he teased, his smile widening some.

Peri grinned at Alex’s laugh, wrapping her arms just a bit tighter around him when he squeezed her. She had just opened her mouth to protest to protest – she understood that he was happy (so was she), but he was crushing her and she bruised like a peach – when he pulled away. He cut her off when he placed a kiss between her eyes, surprising her so much that she forgot what she was even going to say. “You know, you are kind of giving off that vibe.” She nodded. “It’s kind of infectious.”