Page 9 of Trolling For Love

FLYNN

After dinner some of the crew sat around a fire and talked quietly about the day, but I was ready for bed. So, after saying goodnight to those at the table, I walked over to the cabin I stayed in. The tent cabins were made to be temporary housing since the number of crewmembers varied, but staff had permanent cabins.

I got ready for bed and was lying there scrolling on my phone to check the weather when a thought hit me. I opened the Monster Match app and after updating my profile, I looked for Gunnar. His was very basic and he said the same things he’d said earlier. He wanted to meet someone who liked the outdoors, and someone who was willing to be patient with him as he learned more about the human world. He also wanted a mate.A mate?I wondered what that meant. For preference he said he neededan emotional connection, and that was really all that mattered. I wasn’t sure what it was that drew me to him. Maybe it was his strength or the way he was still gentle when he needed to be. His curiosity definitely drew me to him, and the way he wasn’t afraid to show his interest in simple things that most people walked by and never gave a second glance. He fascinated me.

Without thinking I clicked on his profile and sent him a message.

Flynn:Gunnar, I was curious and found your profile on the app, and I admit I want to know more about you. I thought we could chat here to get to know each other better. But please know if you’re not interested, I’ll understand, and I would never hold that against you.

I wanted to say more, like what was it about his horns, and had he had a mate before, and again, what did being his mate mean, but I didn’t. I pressed send and went back to looking at the weather.

A few minutes later the logo for the app flashed across my screen and I immediately clicked on it.

Gunnar:Why did you start working here?

“Okay I guess we’re doing this,” I mumbled before tapping out my answer.

Flynn:My dad worked in the woods and always brought me here with him. I love it. The smell of the trees, the way it’s always a little cold, and how alive it is. What made you come here?

Gunnar:I was lonely.

I typed then retyped a reply. I understood loneliness far better than I was willing to admit. Working in the forest was amazing and I didn’t want to change that, but it would be nice not to sleep alone every night.

Flynn:I’m lonely too.

Gunnar:I enjoyed our time in the woods today.

Flynn:Me too.

There was so much more I wanted to say and even more I wanted to ask but I closed the app and put my phone on the nightstand. At least we’ll have some time together tomorrow. I hoped that his curiosity was for more than the trees because I could think of a million more questions to ask Gunnar.

The next morning after a shower and breakfast we were back at the worksite. The crew started on the trees I’d marked yesterday, and I walked farther into the forest to plot out where else needed to be thinned. This part of the forest was thick with old growth trees, but the number of fallen branches and amount of thick undergrowth on the ground made it hard to move through. I walked back to the crew to ask if Gunnar could help clear me a path.

“Gunnar, I need you to help me clear a path,” I said, and directed him to pick up an ax. It looked so small in his hands, but he followed me without question.

“I liked your messages,” he said making me come to a stop right in front of him and causing him to nearly run over me. He gripped my shoulder to steady me, and my eyes closed at his touch.

“I wasn’t sure if you’d like me messaging you there, or if you’d even see the message,” I admitted both to him and myself while enjoying the warmth of him being so close.

“They showed me how to use the app since they knew I wanted to find a mate, but you’re the first to match with me.” I spun around to face him. He was massive at a distance and being this close was both overwhelming and somehow comforting.

“I meant what I said, I want to know more about you.” He smelled of clean air and freshly turned soil mixed with new rain.I wondered if it was just his scent or if it wasn’t, I wanted the name of that shower gel.

“For what end?” he asked and furrowed his brow.

“What do you mean when you say you want a mate?” I asked, changing the subject and turning to walk to the area I wanted cleared.

“What do you think it means?” he asked, throwing the question back at me and once again avoiding what I wanted so desperately to know.

“Well, I guess it would mean someone you have a very close connection to that you want to spend your life with. Someone you love and who loves you back and isn’t afraid to show it.” I turned then and looked up to meet his eyes. He reached out with the hand he wasn’t carrying the ax and gently cradled my face.

“What you describe is what I’ve dreamed of, but who would want a troll as a mate? Other than another troll.” His glanced down at the ground and his dark eyes were full of longing for a feeling he wanted so badly he was willing to leave his homeland to come to a strange land in hopes of meeting someone. I settled my hand over his and was again reminded how massive he was.

“I want to see if there could be more between us than a mutual love of trees. You fascinate me. Everything about you draws me in but there’s more I need to know.”

“You are special, Flynn Davies,” he said in a low rumble, and I found myself blushing.

“Come on, big guy. Let’s get to work before someone comes looking for us,” I said with a squeeze to his hand. “We need to clear this area to make it easier for the crew to access and for me to tell which trees should be cut.”

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