Page 47 of Covington Acres

“I like you a whole lot too,” Colby finally answered, his voice soft but steady. He looked away, rolled onto his back, as if needing them to take a step back. Honestly, Vince would be smart to do that too, so he changed the subject.

“Before you saved the day, when I was working with the vegetables, I was thinking again about how much I love it. Growing fruits and vegetables, nurturing them…it feels strangely important.”

“It is important, and you’re good at it. I don’t love it like I should.”

“Shit. I didn’t mean that. I wasn’t trying to make you—”

“I know. You didn’t. I just thought about it, is all. I love the farm and always will, but I really don’t think it’s my dream.”

Colby wanted to brew beer. There wasn’t a doubt in Vince’s mind about that.

“Anyway, what were you saying?” Colby asked.

“Nothing really. I just think when I move out of here, I’m going to look for a house with some land of my own. Nothing like the farm, of course. Smaller and closer to what you have. I’d love to have some gardens of my own.” Saying it made Vince’s pulse speed up, solidifying how much he really did want that. How excited he was about the idea of it.

“Are you going to look for a place now?” Colby asked, surprising him. That wasn’t how he’d expected Colby to respond.

“Do you want me to look for a place now?”

“What? No. That’s not what I was saying at all. I don’t know why I asked that. It’s silly. At some point, of course, you’re going to get your own place. It’s not like we’ll live together forever.”

No, they probably wouldn’t, and the thought of that, despite his happiness from a moment ago, sat like an anchor in Vince’s gut. It made him feel sad and maybe a little lonely.

“Well, it’s not like I’ll go far. I enjoy annoying you so much.”

“You’re good at it too,” Colby countered. They were both quiet for a moment, and Vince couldn’t help wondering what Colby was thinking. He couldn’t help wondering how they got here or what the future held. “I’m tired,” Colby finally said.

“Yeah, me too.” Vince rolled over and turned out the light, and then…then Colby scooted closer, rested his head on Vince’s chest, and Vince wrapped an arm around him and held him.

The two of them fell asleep that way, sated and comfortable.

“Hey, Vince. Wakeup.” Colby’s voice sounded far off, but Vince knew that’s because he’d been asleep.

His eyes fluttered open slowly. Colby was sitting on the side of the bed, fully dressed. He could tell it was almost time for them to get up for work just by the lighting outside, but Colby looked like he’d been up for hours.

“What is it? Is everything okay?” His heart damn near stopped beating for a moment.

“No. I mean, yes. Sorry. Everything is fine. I just…” He shook his head, eyes closed. “I’m just an idiot and wanted to show you something. Now that it’s happening, I’m feeling pretty dumb.”

Oh. Again, not what he’d expected, but he trusted Colby had his reasons. “Well, it must be important.”

“No, it’s actually not. I just couldn’t sleep, got up early, and got excited for some reason. It can wait until later.”

But Vince didn’t want to wait until later. If Colby had woken him up, if he was excited, Vince wanted to share in that excitement with him. Colby might be feeling embarrassed aboutit now, but there was clearly a reason he’d woken Vince up. “Too bad. I don’t want to wait.”

Vince playfully nudged Colby out of the way and got up. He washed up real quick, then tugged on clean clothes and headed to the door with Colby. He led Vince to one side of the property where there was a lot of open space, not too far from one of Colby’s sheds.

“Ta-da!” Colby held his arms out, and Vince…well, fuck, he didn’t get it. It was obvious by the smile on Colby’s face that whatever it was, he wanted Vince to be as happy about it too, and he probably would if he knew what the fuck Colby was talking about.

“Sorry, babe, but you’ll have to give me a clue. What are you showing me?”

“Your future garden.”

His…

“Maybe it doesn’t make sense,” Colby said, “but hear me out. It’s just land. All it’s doing is sitting here. It’s obvious you enjoy gardening, and since you’ll be living here for the near future, you might as well have a place to do it. I realize you’ll be getting your own place eventually, but I can help take care of it when you move and, well…well, it will be an excuse for you to come over and visit me often.”

Vince chuckled, unsure what to say. “Do you really think I need an excuse?”

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