Page 52 of Sass in the Grass

“I suppose,” he said, trying to be as noncommittal as he could.

They walked slowly together, and Jovian didn’t want to meet his eyes and get that chill that he seemed to always get around the guy. The only other thing he could look at, then, was the scenery.

The lake to their left was as calm as it could be. There was a little breeze, and that showed on the still water that lapped lazily on the shore. There would be no waves at all if a boat wasn’t being rowed half a mile from them.

“Nice day for a leisurely row,” Dixon said, following his gaze.

“On the lake, just in that little boat? No, thank you.”

“Oh, I don’t know. It’s pretty relaxing.”

“So is a pedicure,” he said defiantly.

“I wouldn’t know.”

Head spinning to him, Jovian gasped loudly. “You’ve never had one?”

“No. I’ve never had one,” he said with a little chuckle.

“How do you live?”

“Differently than you’re used to, obviously. Maybe one day, you can take me for a pedicure, and I can take you on a boat.”

“If you’ve never had one, I’d be too embarrassed to take you! I can’t imagine the calluses!”

“Oh, for sure! My feet are like shoe leather. I usually walk everywhere barefoot. Then there’s the hair. It grows pretty thick on my toes on the tops of my feet.”

Jovian stopped walking. His jaw dropped until he saw Dixon shaking as he laughed silently. “You’re lying.”

“Yeah, I am, you little snob. Come on, we don’t have long until we turn off.”

The mountains stood towering around the lake, and the sloping hills were steep, decorated beautifully with ledges of stone and blankets of trees, shrubs and grasses. The crunch of his shoes on the rocks as they turned from the sandy shore to a trail he’d never walked before reminded him, he was indeed in the country.

He expected the trail to be like all the others, ascending and wearing him out before he could get to the top of whatever mountain they were climbing, but when it never sloped up, he could enjoy the walk more.

The field the trail ran through was gorgeous, a lime green carpet of tall grass, some of it going to seed with the seed clusters rising above all the green.

The gentle sounds of a creek could be heard off to the left of them, and it all lulled his determination to be a prick. It was hard there, with all the beauty around them and the sky so big and blue above their heads.

Dixon stopped and nodded to the right of them. “No trail here, so be careful walking through the grass.”

“Why? It’s grass, and it, like…I don’t know, grows in front of most houses in America.”

“Jovian, shit, you really didn’t hear a damn thing I said, or True, or Bernie. If you walk off the trail, be careful of snakes and other critters.”

“Critters?Snakes?And you expectmeto walk in there?”

What happened next would go down in his memories as one of the best of his life.

Dixon got the backpack over both shoulders and then he grabbed Jovian into his arms, holding him like a bridegroom holding his bride. “Excuse me,” he said, meaning to sound offended, but he was laughing too much for it to stick.

“Yeah, excuse you,” Dixon said, smiling. “My little princess needs to be carried.”

“I’m not a princess, but I would have made a fabulous one.”

“I’m not arguing that.”

The beautiful scenery was lost on him as he was carried over the tall grass. All he could see was Dixon, carrying him like he weighed nothing at all. It was one of the greatest moments of his life.

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