Soren, meanwhile, helps to put up the biggest tree together with three other guys from town. “Careful, Doc,” one of them says. “We don’t want you to get hurt.”
“I am fine,” Soren grins. “How weak do you think I am?”
“You are the only doc we have,” one of the guys argues. “And we are expecting two calves right after Christmas.”
“Yeah, we need you.”
They value him so much, it warms my heart. Something else that warms my heart is seeing how Hector arrives, immediately wrapping his arms around Valentina. He is a bit smaller than she is, but none of them gives a flying fuck.
Yeah, this seems to be my perfect place here.
This revelation pushes me to work harder too; soon, I am buzzing around to help where I can and to oversee the whole process. I have always loved seeing my visions come to life. Previously, it was through marketing campaigns and ads, nowit’s more in 3D. The best part is that it seems word has been going around that we are decorating everything for this weekend’s showdown with East Sunhaven. The whole place is suddenly full of volunteers who want to help. Valentina sends half of them off with exact instructions on how to decorate their storefronts, while the rest are on Christmas tree duty.
For the big tree in the town center, Valentina and I have decided to go all out. One of the farmers comes in a tractor, with a platform he can extend. He has me crawl up on it and heaves me up towards the top of the tree, so that I can spray gold glitter wherever I want and put the gigantic gold star on top of it.
A couple of meters below me, some townsfolk are cheering me on, and telling me where to put the ornaments andLeo, there is glitter missing!Or,Put some more gold on the branch below. In between, I can hear some people arguing, sounding suspiciously like Aspen and Soren… and the farmer who has managed to lift me into the tree.
The guy seems to be on chill pills, though, and doesn’t bat an eye at the two going off on him. It’s kinda funny, but something tells me if I start hysterically laughing now, one of them or both might just climb up themselves and drag me down again.
“You two are ridiculous!” Robin’s voice reaches my ears. “Nothing can happen. There is a literal fence around him.”
“Plenty can happen,” the farmer says. “But he has good balance and footing. He is going to be okay.”
Aspen huffs. “What do you mean, plenty can happen? I swear, Carl, if my brother gets hurt, you will meet your creator!”
“Are you threatening me?”
“For my brother, definitely!”
“Boys, boys,” Hector’s voice suddenly mingles with them. “Calm down.”
I grin to myself while they keep bickering and arguing. They are preoccupied enough so that I can do my job up there. Anhour later, the platform is lowered again, taking me back to the ground just to be met with Soren’s and Aspen’s death glare.
“Oh,” I blink, faking innocence. “I didn’t notice you were there!”
By the looks on their faces, they don’t buy it. Robin, who is right behind them, just giggles slightly. Yeah, time to change strategy. Good thing that one day spent with Queen Valentina has made me much bolder. I wrap my arms around Soren’s middle, blinking up at him. “Are you still mad?”
He falters immediately. I can see his whole expression shifting to something much softer, before he hugs me back.
“I cannot believe you, Soren!” Aspen exclaims.
“Hey, don’t take it out on Soren,” Robin chimes in. “He is whipped by his brand-new boyfriend, and wants to get his dick wet! Who wouldn’t?”
“You are not helping,” Aspen groans. “Stop sexualizing my brother.”
I am not sure if Robin truly planned on distracting Aspen or if he just said what came to his mind, but he helped my case, because Aspen’s full attention is on him now. Meanwhile, Soren nuzzles my hair. “He is right, you know?” he mutters.
“You mean you want to get your dick wet?” I tease.
Soren snorts. “I mean, I am whipped by my hot boyfriend, but I wouldn’t be opposed to getting my dick into you either.”
His words make me chuckle. “So romantic.”
“You started it,” Soren says, swaying from one foot to the other with me still in his arms. “But I like how bold you are. I thought you wouldn’t like to come out to everyone.”
“Valentina told me everyone knows anyway,” I say. “And suddenly… I figured it doesn’t really matter. My parents are not around, my old coworkers are not around. I am free here.” I look up at him, a sudden twinge of worry filling me. “Or is that bad? I didn’t think that you might not be ready—"
“I absolutely am,” he reassures me before I can even voice my doubts. “If it were me, I’d blurt it out to everyone."
