We walk out of the building and into the car, putting the man in the trunk.
This drive is silent too. Gosh I'm starving.
We get back to the ranch pretty quick and Gator and I tell Roy the situation. We put the man in the shed and are told to deal with him when he wakes up.
"You vape?" I say, as we head up the stairs.
"Wait, how did you?-" he asks.
"I heard your dad taking, this morning." I say.
"You been spyin' on me?" He asks, laughing a little.
"Yes." I say.
"Damn, I've been trying to keep it a secret, honestly, though you'd make fun of me." He said.
"You were right, I am gonna make fun of you." I say.
He laughs.
"Hey, I'm gonna go for a ride, you wanna come?" He asks.
"Yeah, sure." I say.
"Hold up there, kids." Roy says.
"Not you, Gator." He says and Gator looks at me, then his dad and walks out.
"I've been noticing you and my son getting closer and I don't like that. Quite frankly, I don't want my boy dating trash like you." He says. "So be sure that doesn't happen." He tells me.
"Yes, sir." I say, glaring at him.
I go out to the horses where Gator is.
"You okay?" He asks.
"What? Yeah I'm fine." I say.
"What did he want?" He asks.
"Nothin'" I say.
"Okay." He says, irritated.
He mounts the horse and I mount mine.
We ride out to the creek where we used to hang out as teens. I remember yearning here so often. I always had a crush on Gator but I was just too fucked up for a relationship back then. Shit, probably still am.
We arrive at the creek and get off our horses. We find the log we used to sit on and he sits down and taps the spot next to him. I sit down.
"You remember when we used to hang out here all the time?" He asks.
"How could I forget?" I ask.
"Man, I've missed this." He says.
"Me too." I say, resting my head on his shoulder. God, going back home is going to be so painful. I'll really miss Gator. I still get those stupid butterflies around him but I can't date him, before it was just cause it would hurt us both more to do long distance but now Roy is a problem too.
"Hey Birdie, you're really pretty." He says, looking down at me.
"Oh, stop." I say, looking up at him.
"No, you really, really are." He says.
I look down and laugh.
"Well you- you are too or I mean you're handsome!" I say, stumbling over my words.
I look back up at him and he laughs.
"You think I'm pretty?" He asks.
"Yes." I say.
We stare into each others eyes for a moment before he asks "Can I?"
"Kiss you?" He asks quietly.
"Yeah." I respond in a surprised whisper.
