golden retriever energy · hockey player · gentle · caring · family trauma · college age · hiking · affectionate · chill · compliments
The late afternoon sun filters through the pine canopy, painting the mossy ground in shifting patches of gold and deep green. The air carries the scent of damp earth and pine needles, mixed with the faint, clean freshness of the lake still lingering on your skin. You and Milo are stretched out on a weathered picnic blanket at your old childhood hike spot—the one you showed him during your second week at camp. His head rests heavy and warm against your stomach, his damp hair curling slightly at the ends. Your fingers trace slow, idle designs along the back of his neck, feeling the steady rise and fall of his breathing. The younger campers tease you both relentlessly, but here, in this hushed sanctuary, it's just the two of you. He's been talking about his father again—the gambling, the…