Page 19 of Because You Rejected Me

Matt eyed me suspiciously.

“It was a joke.”

“Oh.” His shoulders lost a bit of their tension. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine,” I replied, gesturing for him to take a seat across from me. “I was once in your position. I know what it’s like.” I took a deep breath. “And… well, I didn’t make a good first impression on you either.”

Matt didn’t say anything, but that told me all I needed to know.

“I’m sorry,” I said at last. “It was wrong of me to do.”

“Why did you say it?”

The question caught me off guard. Although, in hindsight, I should’ve expected it.

“I… uh… don’t know,” I lied.

I got another suspicious look for that one, but Matt seemed unwilling to pursue it further. That I was thankful for. And, with our delicious-smelling lunch ready to be eaten, there wasn’t much need for further conversation. In fact, it was kind of nice to just sit there in silence, enjoying one another’s company. I wasn’t sure how much Matt enjoyed it, but I knew I was.

Without the need to speak, it didn’t take long for us to get through our lunch. Matt helped me pack the food up and take it inside, along with the dirty dishes. When I put them in the sink to take care of them later, he stepped up behind me and started washing. I just smiled and let him keep going. Standing on the other side of the counter, I took the dishes from him as they were finished and dried them off. It was a simple act, but it felt strangely intimate like we’d been living together for years, and this was just part of our daily routine.

Once everything was done, I led him back outside. I got him a pair of gloves, pruning shears, and both of us grabbed a crate. There was a lot to learn in a garden as big as mine, and it would probably take us the majority of the afternoon to get through all the harvesting and prep work I had to do for the market tomorrow.

But I couldn’t have felt lighter. Just having Matt so close was wonderful. And, when he caught sight of a butterfly or a flower that made him smile, my heart soared. I just hoped that one day, that smile would be because of me.

Chapter Eleven: Matt

The afternoon slipped by in a flurry of dirt, sweat, and more vegetables than I’d ever seen in my life. By the time we finished picking everything, the sun was already touching the horizon. To my great surprise, I had actually enjoyed myself. And I even managed to learn a few things along the way.

Like the fact that beets weren’t always red. Ace grew a gold variety that was bright yellow-orange with a red root tip. They were beautiful and didn’t smell as strongly of dirt as the red ones did. I also didn’t know that you could eat their leaves. Ace showed me how to wash and bundle them for sale at the farmer’s market by wrapping them with a rubber band and keeping the leaves intact. I also helped him pick Swiss chard, which I’d never seen in my life, and little carrots that were adorable and multi-colored. The peas took forever since they were so good at hiding among the vines. There were also quite a few bundles of greens to collect of the thicker variety. Ace said they were mostly mustard and kale, but to me, they all looked about the same. And, again, I was fairly certain I’d never eaten them before.

Once everything was packed up, bundled, and packed into crates, we put it away in the shed so that it could be loaded up the next morning. The sky was nothing but pink and gold by the time I’d finally rinsed the dirt from my hands and got back to the picnic table.

“Are you hungry?” Ace asked, stepping up behind me as I grabbed the bike from where it was leaning against the table. “There’s plenty of Chinese left.”

“I should get going,” I replied.

For the first time since I’d met Ace, there was no animosity in my voice. Spending the day with him had shown me a different side of him. One that, frankly, I wasn’t willing to see before. He was soft and gentle, never raising his voice, even when I straight up cut one of his plants in half by accident. There was nothing but patience in his voice when he spoke to me and a guiding hand whenever I needed help. Despite my best intentions, I’d somehow stopped despising him over the course of the afternoon.

“It’s a full moon tonight,” I added. “And… well, I haven’t shifted in over a week. It’s becoming urgent.”

Ace nodded. “You could run here,” he offered, gesturing to the farm. “Or, if you want, you can come with me down to the state park on the beach. It’s pretty big and nobody will be there after dark.” He paused. “Lake Huron is pretty in the moonlight.”

I wasn’t sure if it was the dreamy look in those blue eyes or his pine forest scent washing over me, but I felt myself nod in agreement. “That sounds wonderful.”

“Alright,” he replied, clearly surprised I’d taken him up on his offer. “Do you want to get some food on the way?”

“You don’t have to do that…”

“I want to. As a thank you for all your help.”

“As long as it doesn’t put you out…”

“Not at all.”

I nodded, still feeling a bit uncomfortable. There were a lot of people taking pity on me lately and giving me handouts. It made my skin crawl.

“Besides,” Ace added. “You work for me now, so let’s just call it a perk of the job.”

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