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Close call, indeed.
My back is sore all over. I’ve got a tender spot on my head. I do not recommend ever sleeping on the floor of a horse stall. But if that’s the price I have to pay for what happened last night, I’ll pay it a dozen times over.
Because my heart is singing today.
As I help Emmalea and the others, I catch myself smiling for no reason. The sun is burning especially sadistically today, and I don’t seem to mind; I’m giddy and have boundless energy to spare. I almost walk straight into Fred, who calls me some weird long made-up word, and I just laugh and call him one right back, which makes him wrinkle his face at me in confusion.
Nothing can wreck this perfectly perfect day.
They keep me busy in the field all day. Lunch is the first time I reunite with Harrison. I know how to keep a low profile, and I’m all about keeping what we’ve got a secret, but I can’t help cracking a little smile whenever Harrison and I make eye contact. Though he seems significantly more careful about showing his happiness, he still gives me a nod back, at the very least.
We didn’t get a chance to talk all morning, so when the time comes for Harrison to make his leave, I have no idea whether or not we plan to meet in the barn tonight again. I catch up with him outside the door of the mudroom. “Hey, hey, wait up,” I call out.
He stops at the foot of his porch. “Just need to grab something before heading back out there.”
I stop next to him and lean against the porch banister. “That was a close call this mornin’, huh?”
He glances out at the field, then nods stiffly at me. “Sure was.”
“You look jumpy, Harrison. Don’t worry. Everyone’s off doing their thing. No one’s around.”
He meets my eyes, then lets out a sigh. “You’re right.”
I smirk. “You shouldn’t be stressed today. After last night …?” I let out a delirious laugh. “Fuck, man, every time I blink, I’m right back there with the itchy straw in my butt crack.”
That makes him chuckle. “Sure. Me, too.”
“C’mon.” I take a few steps closer to him. “I want to hear how you’ve been feeling all morning. It’s been killin’ me, working out there in the fields with Lea. I thought I was supposed to be the new animal-tending bitch boy.”
“Animals are everyone’s responsibility. That’s just where you were started, I guess.”
“You guess? Aren’t you the guy who’s in charge of everything around here? The unofficial foreman? Y’know, if you wanted, you could have me assigned permanently to the animals. That way, I’m always out here on your end of the farm, and—”
“After all of your begging to ride the tractor like a big boy, how will it look now if you’re wanting to come back to the animals?”
I shrug. “Like I miss Wilbur and Charlotte and Peepers?”
He thinks it over for a moment, then nods. “I’ll talk to Lea.”
“Good. We have to name more of the animals, by the way, if they aren’t already. That’s my birthday present to my sister. Don’t respond to that now, I already see your lips tryin’ to move. More important thing I’ve gotta ask first.” I take another step closer to him. We’re next to each other. “Are you gonna stop being a coy boy and tell me how you feel about last night?”
He lifts an eyebrow. “Coy boy …?”
“Or a shy guy. Scare bear. Couldn’t think of what to call you.”
“I’m not a bear, for one. And secondly …”
“Don’t evade the question.” I nod toward his door. “Y’know, we could … have a little rendezvous right now in your cabin. I’ve got at least ten minutes before Lea comes lookin’ for me again.”
Harrison glances out at the fields again. Something settles on his face—something pleasant. He allows himself a smile. “It was … like a dream.”
“Yeah?”
“I didn’t think I’d ever feel that way. Not ever. It was amazing. It was exciting. All of my fear was gone. I knew exactly who I was, who I am, what I want.” He faces me again. “It was great for me.”
“My words exactly.”
I go for a kiss.
He resists for half a second out of paranoia, then gives in. The moment our lips connect, it’s like fire and beauty and magic in my soul. If the heart has a food it requires, it’s this, right here, right in this moment, whatever unseen magic his kiss gives me.
The kiss ends, and he gazes into my eyes.
That’s when it hits me. “Wait. What day is it?”
He squints for a second, thinking. “I think it’s the—”
“My sister’s birthday.” I step up onto the porch and pull out my phone. Sure enough, I see the reminder I set for myself. It must have dinged at me while we were still in the barn, waking up and freaking out. I look up. “Harrison. I’ve got a big ask. A real big ask.”
