Page 56 of Out of Place

The whole table laughs, but I don’t care. I’d do literally anything to make Olivia more comfortable. She takes a bite, and I set it on her plate.

“Aw, Camden. Sounds like you’re jealous. Are you having trouble finding pussy?” Olivia asks, unbothered by his comment. Benny lets out an exaggerated “Ooooh.”

“I get plenty of pussy,” Cam defends himself.

“I’m sure you do,” Olivia teases, nodding at him as he rolls his eyes.

Cam isn’t wrong. Olivia has me wrapped around her little finger. Let them make fun of me all they want. I’m the one who’s winning at life.

CHAPTER 22

Olivia

I assumed it would start cooling down in September, but I was wrong. Very wrong. The high temperatures haven’t gone anywhere. I didn’t even know my body could produce this much sweat, but I feel like I’ve been dripping non-stop since I got here. It’s honestly disgusting, and cold showers in the afternoon have become a staple for me.

We’ve been busy today, running all over the farm. I saw Landon and the boys at lunch, but that was it. Aunt Dottie has me checking in on several of the crops now. She says I’ll be able to tell if something is wrong, but I’m not sure that’s true. I’ve been Googling what could go wrong with certain crops just to make sure I don’t fuck anything up.

I don’t want to let her down.

The walk back to the main house for dinner feels like the longest part of my day. I’m exhausted. My feet ache, and all I want to do is peel these sweaty clothes off. I don’t get the pleasure of using one of the UTVs to ride around the property like the guys do, so I have to walk everywhere. My legs feel like Jell-O at the end of every day.

The house comes into view, and I stop in my tracks when I see someone with bleach-blonde hair standing on the back porch with Aunt Dottie.

I squint, trying to see who it is.

Is that. . .?

My pace picks up even though my feet scream in protest, and the woman runs off the back porch. It is! It’s her! We crash into each other’s arms, both of us squealing so loud that Cam and Landon come running from wherever they are.

“Jesus Christ,” Cam says when he sees us. “There’s two of them.” He rolls his eyes and walks away. I’m assuming he knows she’s my friend, not only because of the screeching but because she’s dressed to the nines in a hot pink jumpsuit with matching platform heels. It’s not something you see every day in Thundersville, and I’m starting to realize how they must have seen me when I showed up.

Landon comes a little closer. “You alright, sweetheart?” he asks, glancing between us.

“Oh my god,” Serena says, doing a double-take when she sees Landon. “Are you him?” She looks back at me. “That’s him, isn’t it?”

I smile and nod.

“Ugh, I understand everything now,” she says.

“Landon, this is my best friend, Serena. Serena, this is Landon.” I gesture to each of them.

“Her boyfriend,” he adds as he sticks his hand out to shake hers. I laugh at his possessiveness. I never thought I would like a man like that, but Landon? I don’t know. He makes it kind of hot.

Serena shakes his hand, the smile never leaving her face.

“Serena, what are you doing here?” I ask, still surprised that my best friend is in Thundersville.

“I came to visit you, duh. It’s been months since I’ve seen my best friend, and that’s just unacceptable. So, I packed my bags and flew down for the weekend.”

A whole weekend with my best friend? It’s such a relief to see her that I could cry.

“And don’t worry. I talked to your parents, and they said it was fine if I came down for a visit, but I only have two nights.”

“Oh my gosh, this is so great.” I hug her again. “I’m so happy to see you.”

“Me too!” She looks at my outfit. “You were right. These clothes are hideous.”

I groan. “Ugh, I know.”