Page 49 of Testing the Goalie

“You’re right. Are you ready to be scared senseless?” I check, and he bobbles his head with a giant grin.

“Let’s do this,” he cheers, moving to open his door, but I stop him.

“Let me,” I request, getting out and rushing to his side.

“I love how you treat me,” he whispers, exiting the car, then wraps his arms around my torso for a tight squeeze.

“You deserve it, sweet boy. You have no idea how special you are to me.”

We hold each other for a moment, then head to the ticket booth hand in hand. Once we’re checked in and have our bracelets on, we wander around before hitting the corn maze, where people are stationed inside to jump out and scare the living daylights out of us.

“This is awesome,” Ben states as we take in everything the farm has to offer.

There are booths set up with various activities like pumpkin carving, apple bobbing, and face painting. When I first saw them, I thought they would be mainly for the younger crowd, but I’ve already passed my fair share of adults with their faces painted, which makes me smile. It’s good to stay young at heart.

“Anything you want to try out?” I ask Ben who shrugs, continuing to look around.

It’s when his feet stop shuffling and his brows shoot up that I’m aware he’s found something that’s caught his attention.

“They have a petting zoo,” he whispers in an awe-filled tone, and I nod, trying to fight my smile. His excitement is adorable.

“Did you want to check it out?” I inquire.

“Yes!” he cheers, beelining it for the gated-off area.

I laugh, following along at a more leisurely pace. By the time I catch up to my excited boy, he’s already hunkered down in the corner with a fluffy sheep on his lap.

“Can we get a sheep?” Ben asks with pleading eyes when I get over to him.

“I’m pretty sure there is a bylaw against keeping farm animals as pets in town,” I reply.

Ben pouts but nods. “I guess that makes sense,” he grumbles.

“Besides, we both already said we are too busy for a pet,” I remind him.

He sighs. “But look how cute this guy is.” The sheep is adorable, especially curled up on Ben’s lap like he is. “And there’s a goat over there in a Batman costume. Maybe I should give up my dreams of being a doctor and buy a farm.”

“And how exactly would you pay for it?” I ask him.

Ben rolls his eyes and sticks his tongue out at me. “Ugh, why do you have to bring facts into my fantasy?” he complains.

I chuckle, shaking my head. “It’s not a bad fantasy, but how ’bout you volunteer on a farm first and figure out if you actually like it that much,” I suggest. “Maybe after you’ve become a fantastic sports medicine doctor, you can buy a farm to hide away at after a long day.”

Ben’s eyes light up with joy like I just told him he could take the sheep home with him tonight. “That’s a great plan. Would you like to live on the farm with me?”

Does Ben really see us still together then? I mean, I do, but I was also worried I was being crazy for thinking that already. But now that he’s bringing it up, it’s giving me hope that we’ll make things last that long.

“I’d live on a farm with you,” I tell him.

When he beams at my response, it fills my entire body with warm tingles.

We’ve only been dating for a month, but a future with Ben is something I want. Hopefully, my sweet boy feels the same way.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

BEN

No one has ever treated me the way Ian does. It’s like I’m the most special person in the world. It’s addicting and something I would have been terrified of a month ago, but for some reason, I’m not running. Maybe it’s because I’m really learning to trust this man.

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