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I giggle again.
“But I swear, the mushroom-flavored ice cream is good. And you know, mushrooms are really amazing organisms. There are thousands upon thousands of varieties and they’re super versatile too. Humans have used them for so many different things, including food, antibiotics, traditional medicine, and even tinder.”
Gary looks puzzled.
“Tinder? You mean like to start fires? How so?”
I nod.
“Yeah, because dried, hard mushrooms are a great source of fire-starting fuel, especially in the cold, wet winter months when tinder was traditionally hard to come by.”
“Wow,” he nods. “Remind me not to take these little suckers for granted again. But honey, I’m impressed. You sure know a whole lot about mushrooms.”
“I know,” I blush, looking down and pushing my hair behind my ears. “It’s kind of weird—”
“No,” the older man shakes his head quickly. “It’s not weird. You have a lot of knowledge about something that a lot of people probably don’t have any idea about, which is very cool. If anything, it’s impressive, and you’re super-smart, honey, which makes me wonder how you and Brian ever started dating. After all, my son is so unacademic. He doesn’t care much about school or anything aside from video games, so it’s interesting that you guys managed to get together at all.”
I nod slowly.
“Yeah, it was kind of random,” I acknowledge. “I was just eating in the quad when Brian came up to me and started talking to me out of nowhere. From then on, we started dating and it kept going from there. It does seem like a weird dream that I had a long time ago now, though,” I muse. “Maybe it was all in my head, or maybe I just read things the wrong way, somehow, because Brian didn’t seem to care one bit when we broke up.”
Gary snorts, shaking his head. “Don’t take it personally, sweetheart. It’s impossible to keep my son’s attention unless you’re in one of his video games. Those are the only things he ever seems to be able to focus on, and to tell you the truth, I think he might have adult ADHD.”
“You do?” My eyes widen.
He nods. “I’ve thought that for a long time now actually, and I’m kind of torn. I have to wonder whether his video games are helping his possible ADHD or holding him back even more by providing a hole that he falls into. I’m honestly not sure,” Gary sighs.
All I can do is nod, unsure how to respond seeing that I don’t know much about ADHD. Not only that, but I used to date Brian, so this makes for a sticky situation. A heavy silence falls over us for a few moments until I remember that I should probably ask Gary about himself too, seeing that the conversation has been a bit one-sided.
“I feel like I know so much about you, but so little at the same time,” I smile. “So tell me about yourself, big guy.”
His black brows go up.
“You mean, other than the fact that I’m big?” he jests.
I slap his arm playfully.
“You know what I mean!”
My lover grins.
“Okay, okay, gotcha. I work as a construction foreman for Rapids Construction. That’s how we met each other the second time,” he chuckles.
I nod.
“Yeah, but what does that mean? Being the construction foreman, I mean.”
“It basically means that I’m the boss of a crew, and we go about doing projects as a team. That’s why I’ve been able to control my work hours and pay you plenty of visits when I should be working,” he winks.
A sly smile makes its way onto my face as I look at him. “Does anyone realize that you’ve been playing hooky when you’re supposed to be doing important stuff?”
“Probably,” he shrugs, “although I’m not sure how much it matters. I’ve been with the company for twenty years now, so they trust me well enough, and my crew really doesn’t care, as long as things keep running smoothly.”
“It must be so nice to have so much independence,” I sigh with envy. “It seems like I have to get everything signed off and checked off all the time.”
Gary smiles, leaning over to plant a soft kiss on my lips. “When you get to be my age, you’ll have plenty of independence too, darling.” I giggle, nodding as I give him another peck on the lips before grabbing my spoon again.
But Gary’s not done yet. He leans in for another kiss and it feels a little different as his lips linger over mine. Our kisses are usually rough and hungry, filled with passion, desperation, and immense need. But this one is slow and gentle, patient and not rushed at all. Instead of being filled with lust, it’s a lot more tender and my heart flip-flops as I lean back and stare into his eyes.
“What was that?” I whisper.
