Page 54 of Play the Field

Cleo bit their lip as they looked up at the juicy fruit tempting them. Groaning, they conceded. “Fine, pop me up. I know my legs are too weak to hold your muscly ass.”

With a laugh, I knelt on a clean patch of grass. Patting my shoulders, I signaled for Cleo to hop up there. Straddling my neck, Cleo draped their legs over my shoulders and placed a hand on my head for balance.

Once they were settled, I grabbed their shins and pressed up. Standing upright, I carefully walked us closer to the tree. “It’s all you.”

Giggling, Cleo stretched out their arm to the tree and pulled off a ripe apple. They popped it into the bag and reached for more.

I looked up at them, hunting for the perfect fuji apple, and felt my chest tighten. We'd have to talk about the phone call eventually. But I feared that they’d run like they did the last time we were together. A part of me hoped this was different, that we could fix it now.

“Alright, I’m good. Bring me back to earth, Houston.” Cleo teased as I slowly bent my knees. Once their feet had made contact with the ground, they removed their legs from my shoulders and planted a kiss on my cheek. “Thank you.”

“Any time.” I turned around to look at their blue eyes, shimmering in the last fall sun. Most of the trees were starting to lose their leaves at this point and the fall was quickly growing cold.

They offered me a hand up, which I took gladly as we kept walking. “Oh!” Cleo’s face lit up. “Can we get apple cider donuts?”

Laughing, I nodded and put my arm around their shoulder. “Of course we can.” We walked on, enjoying each other’s embrace. Something in the air told me we both feared this would be one of our last moments together like this. We’d managed to avoid reality as we fell back in love with each other.

But now, the real world was banging at my door. And I needed to decide what exactly I wanted for my life. I shook the feeling, letting the sun warm my chilly face. There was no point thinking about it right now. Instead, I just kept putting one foot in front of the other.

We wandered back to the massive white tent where long tables filled with families stretched out across a wood-chipped clearing. Spotting a table, Cleo jogged ahead and claimed it.

I sat across from them and popped open the bag of donuts we’d grabbed on our way to the seating area. Passing one to them, I smiled. “We should buy some for your mom. She likes these right?”

“Yeah, they’re her favorite.” Cleo nodded as they took a bite, the sugar on the outside crumbling onto the table. A blush grew on their cheeks as I mentioned it.

Maybe it was a bad idea to mention family again when we weren’t sure what was next for us. The more I talked like this, the more confusing our conversation would be. But looking across the table, all I wanted was to make it complicated.

They pointed behind me. “Look at that kid absolutely downing a donut while his parents are distracted.”

Turning around, I laughed at the kid. He kept sticking his hand in the bag of sweets and pulling out whole donuts. His parents were too busy chatting with each other to notice. But I had a feeling when they realized just how many the kid had taken, that they would have a good laugh and head home.

“What a cutie.” I giggled.

Looking around, I watched the other tables as they enjoyed their food. There was so much joy here. And I feared I’d never feel it if I kept hiding from Cleo.

33

CLEO

After we finished our food,I walked Cat over to the farm stand and bought another bag of donuts for my mom. The orchard was getting really crowded by the time we trekked back to Cat’s car.

Happy to avoid the crowds, we piled into the car and headed home. I was more exhausted from all the walking and the beaming sun than I’d realized. The gentle rocking of the car could’ve put me to sleep if my mind hadn’t been racing.

But as much as I enjoyed our apple-picking date, I knew I had to bring up the phone call at some point. We’d been forced out of our delusional vacation and forced to reckon with everything we’d avoided talking about.

I used the car ride to try and formulate my thoughts and by the time Cat was pulling the Mercedes into my parking lot, I felt like I had a pretty good grip on where I stood.

Grabbing the bag of apples from the car, I headed for my front door with Cat trailing just a few feet behind me. I tried not to think about how cute she looked in her loose flannel and torn jeans.

With each step, both of our moods grew heavier. The tension of our looming conversation started to weigh down on us.

Once I’d gotten us upstairs, we set our stuff down.

Cat leaned against the peninsula that separated the kitchen from the living room. Taking my position by the couch, I sighed. “So. Your team is coming to the championships?”

Biting her lip, Cat nodded. “If we make it and the league is cool with it. I’m sorry I didn’t mention it earlier.”

“I get it. It’s fine.” I looked back at her, her brown hair draping over her shoulders. A golden light came in through the living room windows. “What does that mean?”

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