Page 31 of Honeymoon Phase
“After he moves in with you,” Luke growls and begins pacing in front of me, murmuring expletives under his breath.
He slices his hand through his wild hair and I find it really irritating how good that floppy hair looks on him. He looks good in pretty much anything though. Even in his dorky little water shoes. Damn him.
“I don’t know what’s gotten into you today, but you need to chill the fuck out because I’m going to do what I came here to do and no man—well-meaning or not—is going to stop me.” I lick my lips and pause before adding, “And if you keep pushing me like this, then you’re no better than that walking embodiment of toxic masculinity Ivan out there.”
Luke stops pacing and stares back at me like he’s been shot and I have a moment of hesitation, wondering if I went too far. I know Luke is a good guy, but whatever kind of tactic he’s using right now to get me to fake marry him instead of Ivan or anyone else is too much. This is my life and my decision and no man is going to get in my way.
“Try not to drown out there,” I snipe as I brush his shoulder to storm past him, desperate to get some space from his wounded eyes. Luke is clearly going through something that has very little to do with me, and the less I know about it the better. I pause and turn on my heel to add, “And if you ever call mesnookumsin public again, I will knee you in the nut sack.”
He rolls his eyes and I walk away to find my seat with my dad and Edith. My brows are stuck in a constant state of furrowing as I sulk through the next thirty minutes.
However, the entire time I watch the event, I can’t seem to shake the memory of Luke’s hands on my body. Luke and I don’t touch likethat. Ever. We shove and hit. Or I should say,Ishove and hit. Luke just kind of takes it from me. He takes a lot from me, come to think of it. And he never complains.
But today he seems to have found his voice with me and it’s bothering me how much I seem to like that side to him. His assertive voice is hot.
Unfortunately, that macho bravado doesn’t help him in the booms. He comes in third and is seated in fifth place in the overall lineup of twenty lumberjacks with only two more events to go. Ivan took first, making it look far too easy for a man his size, but I can’t even bring myself to cheer for him. I’m irritated by his remarks earlier and not really sure why I defended him to Luke. Ivan deserves a knee to the nut sack as well.
As I look up at the scoreboard, I realize that it will take a miracle for Luke to win best overall. Ivan would need to bomb the next two events to even give Luke a chance and I really don’t see that happening.
We make our way over to the bucking saw competition and I cringe when I look at the board and see that Luke’s paired up with none other than Ivan, who seems to really have his hackles up around Luke. This should be interesting.
The announcer explains that the bucking saw event has two men using a two-person bucking saw to pull through a twenty-inch white pine log. They have to sever a complete wood cookie off the end of the log faster than the other teams who are all lined up to go at the same time as well. I realize that even if Luke and Ivan take first place, it will only further improve Ivan’s standing, which does nothing for Luke.
Luke and Ivan glower at each other as they stand across a three-foot-long cross saw, neither of them taking their eyes off each other as the announcer reads off the teams all ready to roll right alongside them. They begin a countdown and the two ready themselves, eyes on each other as they bend over and grip their saw. Luke’s muscles are glistening in the October heat and it’s such a sight, I can’t even be bothered to look at Ivan.
The buzzer goes off and I swear to God, I blink and they’ve sawed their cookie clean off, crushing through the timber in barely three cuts. The other teams are still sawing away as both Luke and Ivan continue holding on to the long blade, the metalbowing in the center as they both refuse to let go, yanking on the handle to force their teammate to stumble.
Finally, the scorekeeper comes over to announce them as winners and they release their saw handles, both walking away and refusing to celebrate their victory. Luke’s eyes find mine and are pools of molten lava as he glares up at me.
“What is wrong with that boy?” my dad husks from beside me.
I inhale deeply, my heart rate thundering at his intense eye contact. “I wish I knew, Old Man.”
Chapter 12
Fact or Fiction?
I’m probably going to die today.
Luke
“Okay, folks, the final event of the day is the ninety-foot speed climb. This is the big event everyone has been waiting for. Climbers will scale a ninety-foot cedar spar pole using steel-core climbing rope, spurs, and lots of grit. Once they reach the top, athletes will descend at rapid speed, tapping their spurs inside designated sections on the pole as they make their way back down to earth at a staggering speed to stop the clock.”
Wyatt, Calder, Max, and myself all stand shoulder to shoulder, arms crossed, staring up at the ninety-foot pole suspended upright by ropes and cranes as we watch lumberjack after lumberjack fly up the pole and practically fall down to the bottom. There’s a bell at the top contestants have to ring and a large crash pad at the base that catches them when they drop the last ten to twenty feet or so. A few of them have come down a bit faster than they intended and there’s been some limping off to the nearby medic tent, which has only stoked my anxiety. A uniformed EMT is currently on the mat, assessing one of the competitors on the mat now, casting an ominous glow on the entire event.
“This pole is at least four times longer than what you practiced on at our jobsite,” Calder says, swallowing nervously as he squints up to the top of the pole.
“Yeah,” I reply with a huff. “Everly texted me and said I should probably just forfeit this event.”
Max nods seriously. “That’s a good idea.”
“I’m not forfeiting,” I state firmly.
“Why?” Max asks, moving to stand in front of me. “It’s not like you’re going to win the competition. That Ivan guy has it all but won.”
“I don’t give a fuck,” I reply with a growl. “I’m finishing this shit today.”
Wyatt scratches his beard and shakes his head. “This isn’t smart, Luke.”
