Page 109 of Sass in the Grass

“My vegetables taste better, aren’t covered in pesticides, and they’re cheaper. A packet of seeds is still under five bucks, and you just helped pick what amounted to a third of a bag of seeds.”

“I hate your logic. Did I ever tell you that?”

“Every time I put you to work,” he said as he crawled onto the bed next to Jovian. “Wait until spring, when you’re helping me transplant seedlings. Or, in about a month and a half, hunting seasons start.”

“I am not hunting! I refuse to kill poor defenseless animals!”

“Okay, you can stay back here and just gut and skin them for me.”

“I may have gotten over most of my ways, but I will never, ever, do that. I’m still a…”

“Princess?”

“Yes. I am. And you fell for me this way.”

He laughed and kissed the side of Jovian’s mouth. “Yeah, I did. Okay, will you at least learn to cook?”

“Not a chance,” he answered with a giggle.

“Clean?”

“Do I look like a maid?”

“So, you’re just gonna make me do all the hard and yucky jobs?”

“Mmmhmm,” he hummed, laughing at Cherokee’s consternation. “You know, I could have kept looking for that rich guy with a pool and Mercedes.”

“And I could have found a couple of twinks with a slave fetish that would do all the work around here and beg for more.”

“No, you wouldn’t.”

“And why?”

“How utterly boring would that be? You can’t get enough of my sweet ass and terribly cute self. Even if you try your best to make me un-cute, with all these chores!”

“You’re right. You’re pretty un-cute right now. Your face is dirty and,” he leaned in and gave a loud sniff. “You stink.”

Jovian cracked up and accused, “You’re lying!”

“Even a bear wouldn’t want you smelling like this.”

“You are a horrible liar, Cherokee Dixon!”

Someone hollered from outside the cabin and they both rushed to the windows to see who was visiting. It was Alan and his husband, Clayton.

They rushed outside to distribute hugs and greet their friends. “Alan, why didn’t you call?”

“Jovian, you knew I was coming to the first winter camp with Clayton.”

“You’re two days early!”

Clayton explained, “I was eager to get here. It’s been a rough month at work.”

“And…for a winter camp, where is the snow?” Alan asked as he took off his light coat and stared up at the cloudless sky.

“It’s snowing tomorrow, actually,” Cherokee told them. “All day, if my mended broken leg is telling me right.”

After Jovian rolled his eyes, he informed them, “He acts like he’s a hundred. It’s really annoying.”

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