Page 5 of My Grumpy Mountain Man

Lying to her is easier than I thought it’d be. That is until I see her smile falter, only to be replaced with a big fake grin.Good you prick, now she’s sad.

“I’ll camp here for a whole weekend and you’ll give access to all the kids who want to come swim at the lake.”

I want to say no but she looks so desperate, so earnest. And a thought occurs to me that I’d give her the world if I could. I don’t want to give her a reason to look this sad. I certainly don’t want to be the reason. But I also don’t want to give her access to the lake.

“I’ll consider giving them access if you do.”

“Consider? No, you have to promise me.”

“No can do.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll take it.”

Am I a shameful dirtbag? Maybe. I’m hoping she’ll understand when I tell her. But for now, keeping her close is everything I want.

And I’m not going to read too much into it. I’m just bored, that's all.

Chapter 5 - Bethany

“Trust me, I got this!” I say as I try to understand how to set up a tent. It seems so easy in the movies. And the heat is making the structure pieces incredibly slippery and adding to my impatience. He suggested I’d set up camp on the other side of the hill, it’s very close to the lake but close enough to his place that it doesn’t feel that scary. At least in the light of day.

After Marcus agreed with our terms, I asked him if he’d be okay driving me to get some clothes. He didn’t look too happy with my proposal, grumbling something about changing the terms of our arrangement, but he did drive me. It would’ve been nice to have a response to my comments throughout the trip other than nods and grunts, though. We just need to get to know each other, he likes his privacy so I’m okay with being the over-sharer for now.

What I’m not okay with is not being able to set up the tent.

“Are you sure?” Marcus looks at me with his arms crossed, not convinced by my performance. It’s been thirty minutes and I’m no closer to setting this up than when I first started.

“Okay, I need help.”

I take a step back as I see him set up the tent. It’s easy when I’m looking at him, just like in the movies, it’s effortless. It makes me envious.

“This is what you were doing wrong, see?” I crouch down to see what he’s saying, the way the pieces fit make way more sense than what I was trying to shove them into. Eager to try, I grab the piece, brushing the back of my hand against his. He flinches immediately, looking disgusted by the touch. I, on the other hand, still feel a ghost touch, like he burned me somehow.

I want to touch him again just to see what it’d feel like, but I know I’m being too much. Like I always am. It works great with kids–they love the way I’m teaching them Math but making it fun at the same time. The adults? Not so much.

I’m too much, the person who’s always running around doing a million things and over sharing every single thought. I’ve come to accept that part of me, but it still hurts from time to time. And now with Marcus I guess I feel safe enough to feel a bit hurt. Which is ridiculous, but we can’t always feel what we want to feel, can we?

I stand up, helping him but making sure I’m far enough to not repeat the touch. Mostly holding things, but at least doing something.

“If you can’t even set up the tent by yourself, doesn’t that mean you’ve already lost?”

His lips still form a thin line, but his tone sounds a bit more playful. I grin.

“I don’t think so. You offered to help me, so that’s on you. I’d get it done, eventually.”

I wouldn’t.

“Well, I will not help you anymore.”

Something tells me that isn’t true. Behind his abrupt words, there’s a sweetheart in this man.

I open my bag full of games. Board games are my usual weapon to make conversation with people. People feel more relaxed when there’s a game around, and I’m hoping Marcus is the same.

“Are you going to play these by yourself?”

“No. I thought it’d be fun to play together.”

“I’m not playing board games with you.”

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