Page 39 of Cherry Picked
I snorted. “If you say so.”
“Besides, I’m not sureyouare gonna qualify for your club much longer. Didn’t you agree to consider a date with Simon the Enviro Geek?”
“Welllll,” I hedged. “Sort of. I maybe typed out a message to him earlier, but I was too keyed up to send it.”
“Boo. It’sbecauseyou’re so keyed up that youneedto send it. If you de-escalate the importance of the cherry-popping moment and just let it happen with any decent guy, then maybe you’ll stop stressing about it so much. Things with Jack will have more time to develop naturally… if they’re going to develop.”
I looked up from my drink to stare at her. “You think I’m stressing myself into rejection?”
“No,” she said with a laugh. “It’s just… sex doesn’t have to be such a big deal. It’s fun and powerful and beautiful and transcendental even, but sometimes it’s more like a stress reliever. Like knife throwing… but with penises, in your case.”
I choked on my drink. “Considering how badly I failed at knife throwing, that’s maybe not the best comparison. But… okay, let’s say I agree with you. Simon only asked me to dinner. How would I even go about getting him to agree to no-strings sex?Hello, Simon, I would like you to throw your penis at my target?”
“That would do it.” Crys had a mischievous sparkle in her eyes. “Then let the conversation flow naturally from there.”
I set my cup down and buried my face in my hands to cool my burning cheeks. “I’m being serious. How do you ask a guy for sex?”
“Hawk.” She shook her head. “You are the most precious pearl, and never change, okay? But also… do we really need to revisit the dirty probable meaning of his leaf emojis? He’s already on board, and if he’s gone anywhere in the Hollow today, I can guarantee he’s heard exactly what’s on your mind right now, too. Just let him know you’re interested. He’ll take it from there.”
I nodded to let her know I heard her, but when I tried to picture it—Simon’slips on mine,Simon’shands on my body, the scent ofSimon’scologne in my nose—it felt exciting but wrong.And when the two of us heard the crunch of approaching footsteps coming up the trail to the campsite and I peered out the tent in excited expectation… it wasn’t Simon I was hoping to see.
But when the visitor ducked down to peek into the tent, it wasn’t JackorSimon who’d come to visit.
“Webb?” I blurted. “What are you doing here?”
“Bringing you a sleeping bag.” He tossed the bag on the ground inside the tent on top of the one Crys had brought. “Drew said you left without yours, and he was worried. We all kind of were. Can you and I…” He coughed uncomfortably. “…talk, or whatever?”
Anyone who’d only known Webb since Luke came into his life would probably be pretty shocked to learn that the man had never been particularly comfortable with emotions. Since I tended to run on emotion the way cars ran on gasoline, that meant Webb and I hadn’t deliberately sat down for a heart-to-heart since…
Well, ever.
Crys lifted an eyebrow in unspoken question, and when I nodded, she zipped her backpack and crawled out of the tent. “I’m leaving you the bottle, boo. Be good, okay? May Mother Earth keep her pet snakes safely tucked into their beds tonight.” She held an imaginary phone to her ear. “Call me if you need me.”
“Spotty cell reception up here,” Webb and I said at the same time. I added, “I’m gonna climb to the peak every day to post pics and check email, though. I’ll be in touch.”
Crys waved and headed back down the trail, and Webb stood outside the tent for a moment. “Can I…?” He gestured at the spot on the sleeping bag that Crys had vacated, and I scooted all the way to the edge to make room for him, looping my arms around my knees.
Webb ducked inside, drawing up his long legs. The tent immediately seemed way, way too crowded with his lumberjacky shoulder pushed up against mine. “So. Camping, huh?” Webb scratched at his beard with one fingertip. “I love camping.”
“I’m not up here for recreation. I’m protesting. I’m strategizing.” I shrugged. “I’m sucking in whatever remaining moments I can in case I fail and all of this goes away.”
I expected an argument. An eye roll. AnOh, Hawk, stop being dramatic!But Webb just looked pensive.
“You seem calmer now,” he ventured. “You were pretty upset at the diner earlier.”
“Yeah. Being up here, talking with the Mini Nature Scouts… it cleared my mind a bit.” I picked at a frayed spot in my jeans guiltily. “Look, I’m sorry I yelled at you. You didn’t deserve that. Luke definitely didn’t deserve it. I’ll apologize to him.”
He nodded. “That’d be good. Luke loves you, and he was a little worried he’d upset you. I told him it seemed like you had something else on your mind, though.” He gave me a sideways look. “Given what you mentioned about… cherries?”
I set my jaw. If Webb was expecting me to confess all my deepest feels, he was in for a long wait. None of the things I was feeling were suitable for discussion with the man who still thought I was a kid.
After a long moment, he nodded slowly again. “I see. Well, if you aren’t in the mood to share, maybe I’ll take a turn.”
“Unnecessary,” I said through my teeth. Just because I didn’t want to share my feelings didn’t mean I wanted to hear his. I was all too aware of Webb’s opinions on most things.
“Too bad.” He leaned back on one elbow, stretching his long legs so they stuck out of the tent, and took a deep breath. “You know, I waited a long time for Luke Williams—”
I immediately broke my resolution to stay silent. “I don’t know how that’s possible, since you were married to Amanda for yearsanddidn’t know you were gayandyou didn’t even like Luke at first,” I said pointedly.
