“Nope, that’s still very much between me, myself, and I,” I told him. “Anything you wanted to show me while we’re here?”
He took my hand across the table, playing with it, interlocking his fingers with mine and gently squeezing it. “I want to show you a lot of stuff here, but I don’t even know if we have the time,” he said.
“We have however long it takes,” I said.
Jace shook his head. Knowing something I didn’t. “We need to get back so I can get on the horse, and then get off it just as quick,” he said. “And then get my reward.”
I could’ve guessed. I should’ve. “It doesn’t work like that. You have to put in the work to get the reward. If you don’t, then I’ll just assume you’re trying to cheat your way into getting something from me, and that wouldn’t be good, would it?”
He gasped. “I don’t think anyone has ever accused me of trying to cheat before.”
“Well, you do have an entire thing of golden stickers, so I don’t know if you were adding more to it,” I said, winking at him. I knew he wouldn’t, but it was fun to play around with him, especially since he took his stickers seriously.
“Take it back,” he said, pouting. “Pweese.”
Usually, I’d be concerned with people watching us, but I didn’t feel eyes on me like I might’ve done otherwise. It was thenorm here, same-sex couples held hands, kissed in public, and even shared cute moments together at a table over pie.
“I’m only joking,” I said. “I’d never accuse you of doing anything like that. I promise.”
“Good. Can I have a—”
One step ahead, I planted my lips on his, getting more of that sweet ice cream residue from his lips. Then, I became conscious of the people around us, stopping me from sticking my tongue out and exploring just where that sweet stickiness came from, and exploring how sweet it actually got between those lips.
“You think anyone in here will see and tell you folks?” I asked.
He shrugged. “Probably not, but—”
“But?”
“She has been doing the delivery runs, so maybe people will speak to her.” He squeezed my hand tighter in his. “Is it that big of an issue if they find out?”
“If you’d asked me this when I first got here and I had these feelings then, I’d sayyes, but now, I—I don’t think it’s that big of an issue at all. In fact, I’m almost wanting to be public about this. In a sense of the local community knowing, and your family.”
Jace giggled. “You’re blushing,” he said. “You’re cute when you blush.”
“Not as cute as you. Now, what do I have to do to get a taste of that pie leftover?”
“Well, for starters, you’ve got to tell me that mine tastes better,” he said.
“Even if I haven’t had yours before?”
“Especially because you haven’t had mine before,” he said. “But don’t worry, that will change soon. I’m gonna make sure of it.” He scooped some of the pie up onto a spoon with alittle bit of melted ice cream and fed it to me. It was nice, very fresh. I tried not to let out a satisfied moan from the taste alone, but some things couldn’t be helped. “Enough pie for you,” he said, tapping my closed mouth with the back of the spoon.
After about ten minutes, I went back out for the wrapped gift and took it to the van where Jace was already waiting. He was holding onto his stomach as if something was wrong.
“You’re not gonna spew, are you?”
“No,” he said, shaking his head, then puffing his cheeks. “I’m just regretting the amount of food I ate.” He wasn’t even concerned with the large box wrapped in a beige paper.
“How much pie did you have?” I asked, loading the van and securing all the grocery bags in place.
“I had to try them all,” he said. “It would’ve been rude not to, and I’m not rude. I like to try as much pie as I can possibly get my hands on.”
I should’ve guessed from the way there was so much pie left on the plate that it wasn’t the first. And if it was. He’d let it sit for a very long time for the ice cream to melt, but the pie was warm, so that helped.
“This doesn’t mean you’re getting out of what we’ve got planned today,” I reminded him. “I believe in you.”
“But what if I vomit on the back of the horses,” he said, holding a hand to his mouth and one to his stomach. “They’d be so mad. They’d never let me go near them again.”
