Page 22

22

TASHA

“ L ook at this one!” The pumpkin in front of us was literally the size of a boulder.

“Maybe we should pick ones that’ll fit in the car,” Trevor suggested. This may or may not be the fifth big pumpkin I'd asked for us to get. Each time Trevor said no. Apparently, one the size of a car wasn’t allowed.

The two of us walked around the pumpkin patch for a good thirty minutes. Trevor tugged a wagon behind him that already had his pumpkin since he picked it out fifteen minutes ago. There were plenty to choose from, but I wanted the perfect one.

Trevor leaned down to pick up a decent-sized pumpkin. “How about this one?”

“It doesn’t have a good stem, though.” I thought, at that point, Trevor would have been over it and ready to go, but he just smiled and put the pumpkin down.

I weaved in between rows as the gray clouds about us got darker. I was glad I decided to wear jeans and a sweater, not the cute dress I initially picked out .

When Trevor asked me out on a date, I never expected we'd end up on a farm. I wasn’t sure what he had in mind, but this was beyond what I could’ve imagined.

We were doing things a bit backwards. Sleeping together and then going on a date, but I didn’t mind. We were doing things our way, and I liked it.

I looked around for another few minutes before spotting the pumpkin I wanted. It was perfect—light orange, tall and wide, and a stem that curled at the end. Bending down, I grabbed it.

“This one.” I declared to an amused Trevor as I held it up. He reached out and took it from me, putting it on the wagon next to his.

“Ready to go?” With rain threatening overhead, it was time to go, even though I wanted to stay forever. I always enjoyed getting out of the city and enjoying somewhere more peaceful.

“Let's go.” Placing my hand in his, the two of us made our way back to the front of the farm to pay for our pumpkins.

As we walked hand in hand, a sudden image popped into my head, making me pause. I could see it. See us a few years from now doing this exact thing every October. Us walking around and laughing, taking pictures on top of giant pumpkins with gourds surrounding them. It was bizarre, but I could see it so clearly.

Glancing up at Trevor, I realized the thought of being with him years from now didn’t freak me out. Instead, I was almost giddy from the idea.

“Getting hungry?” Trevor asked as we got back in the car. Pumpkins secured in the backseat.

“Starving.”

“I have the perfect place in mind.”

As Trevor started driving back in the direction we came in, I frowned down at his hand that was resting on the gear shift. With a huff, I reached down, grabbed it, and moved it onto my leg.

Beside me, Trevor chuckled, squeezing my thigh softly.

“The hand goes here. Always.”

“Noted.”

Aside from the fact that physical touch was one of my love languages, I just liked having Trevor touch me. It made me feel safe.

We drove for another ten minutes before we hit a little town. It was one of those towns you read about in books where only a few hundred people lived and everyone knew everyone. We must have been driving down the main road because shops lined both sides of the street.

Trevor turned the car into what looked like a cute diner, the sign out front reading Lucille’s . When Trevor told me to stay put, my lips twitched into a smile. I waited as he came around the front and opened my car door for me like a true gentleman.

“M’Lady.” Trevor bowed, holding his arm out.

“Thank you, good sir,” I replied back in a fake British accent.

With a shared smile, the two of us walked hand in hand inside the diner. The moment we stepped through the doors, I was hit with that homey vibe that only family-owned diners had.

The place was small and almost every seat was filled. We managed to find a booth near the back and took a seat. Glancing around, I noticed all the stuff on the walls. From what I could see, there was a mix of pictures, posters, and jerseys.

“The Boone family used to bring me here with them when we went to the pumpkin patch,” Trevor said out of the blue.

“Oh really?”

“His family pretty much took me in even though I was nineteen and in college. Evelyn would all but demand I come to their house during the weekends for dinner and on holidays. We would do the pumpkin patch then hit up this place afterward.”

The way Trevor spoke about Wyatt’s family brought a smile to my face. He clearly loved them like his own. It came as no surprise that Wyatt’s mom, Evelyn, would take Trevor under her wing. She was literally a mom to everyone. Every time I saw her she treated me as if I were her own.

“Well, I’m honored you brought me here.” I placed my hand on his across the table. It was clear this place meant something to him.

“Now, let me tell you a secret about this place.” He leaned forward with a grin. Intrigued, I leaned close to him, waiting for him to share. “They have the best pie shakes.”

“Pie Shakes?”

“They put actual pie slices in their shakes.” My eyebrows raised at his words. Now that sounded good.

“Since you seem to know what’s good here, I’ll let you order for me.”

“What if I choose something disgusting?”

“I trust you.” I shrugged. My words seemed to make him pause. He looked at me with an expression I couldn’t place. Before I could say anything, the waitress appeared next to us.

“What can I get you two sweethearts?” I smiled over at the cute older lady standing by the table. Her gray/white hair clipped back, eyes crinkled as she stared down at the two of us.

I watched as Trevor smiled up at her and rattled off a bunch of food. When the lady walked off with our order, I raised an eyebrow at him. “You do know there’s only two of us, right? Not an entire hockey team.”

“You haven’t eaten today. Don’t think I haven’t noticed.” He shot me a look. “Plus, I had a grueling practice, and I’m starving.”

“Coach pushed you guys hard huh.”

“Yeah, typical with our first game on Monday. But what’s more interesting was Wyatt talking about you.” I had a feeling I knew what they were talking about. Earlier, Josie called to see if I wanted to hang out with her and Wyatt, but I made the mistake of telling her I had plans.

Immediately, I was bombarded with questions. I knew invading questions would only make her more curious, but I just wanted to focus on today and the time I was going to get with Trevor. I also knew she would tell Wyatt, who would probably talk to Trevor and Bryton. The three of them were worse than girls when it came to gossiping.

“Josie is probably coming up with tons of ideas on what I’m doing right now.” I knew my best friend like the back of my hand.

“Think they’ll figure it out on their own?” Trevor questioned.

“Knowing our friends, probably.” We shared a grin as our waitress came back, this time with a tray filled with shakes.

“Here you sweethearts go.”

The light orange shake with what looked like pieces of crust made my mouth water when she put it in front of me. The best part was they even came with extra shake on the side in the metal container .

“Thank you so much.” With a promise to bring the rest in a moment, she left us.

“So, that one is peach pie.” Trevor gestured to the one in front of me. “And this one is pecan pie.”

I wasted no time in swiping my finger across the whipped cream on top, sucking it off my finger. I did that a few times before I noticed how still Trevor was across from me, his knuckles white as he gripped the counter, eyes glued to my mouth.

Maybe now was the perfect time for my revenge. He teased me, so now it was my turn. Keeping my eyes on him, I scooped another dollop of whipped cream onto my finger. Slowly bringing it to my parted mouth, I made a show of sliding my finger against my tongue before closing my lips and sucking the whipped cream off.

Seeing his reaction made me want to grin. I told him I’d get him back for teasing me in the hallway of his place a week ago.

Letting my finger go, I went to do it again, but this time, I leaned over the table, dipping my finger in the creamy topping of the shake in front of him. Flashing him a grin, I sat back with my finger sliding back into my mouth. I moaned low in my throat and closed my eyes. Across from me, he groaned.

Opening my eyes, I let my finger go with a pop. Trevor looked seconds away from launching across the table at me.

“What?” I asked innocently.

“You’re playing with fire, Sunshine.”

“I’m not doing anything.” I played innocent as I licked my finger once more. His eyes tracked my every movement. “I’m just eating the food that you ordered for me.”

“I can put that smart mouth to better use if you prefer.”

His words had me clenching my thighs under the table. Goddamn. But I wasn’t about to let him get to me .

Pulling the milkshake in front of me closer, I dipped my head down. Eyes glued to his, I twirled my tongue around the straw before wrapping my lips around it. Trevor made a move to get out of the booth when the waitress appeared once more. Perfect timing.

“Looks delicious! Thank you so much.” I grinned widely up at her as she placed multiple plates on the table. From the corner of my eye, I watched Trevor shift in his seat, most likely having to fix himself under the table.

“Hope you guys enjoy it!” With one last smile, she left.

“Ready to eat?” I turned to Trevor with a teasing grin.

“You’ll pay for that later.” His tone held a promise that he would get me back for what I just did.

“Whatever you say.” I winked at him.

This time, I leaned forward and took an actual sip of my milkshake. My eyes widened at the taste, looking at Trevor. “Woah, that is so good.”

“Told you.”

Taking a few more sips, I reached for the basket of onion rings. Trevor ordered a bunch of things that he knew I liked—French fries, sweet potato fries, onion rings, fried pickles, even a plate with mini sliders on it.

With a growling stomach, I dug into the food, Trevor doing the same across from me. I liked that he didn’t need to fill the silence, the two of us having become more comfortable around each other this past week. I almost felt as comfortable around him as I did Josie, which was a big deal.

“Man, I’m going to have to go to the gym tomorrow to work off all this food.” I groaned a bit later, completely full. Between the two of us, we managed to eat everything, including the two shakes that we shared.

“You know, you could come workout with me tomorrow.”

“Workout together?’

“Yeah, why not.” Trevor shrugged .

“You’ll make me do tons of push-ups, won’t you? Some of us aren’t professional athletes.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t go hard on you.”

Yeah, I didn’t believe that for one moment. Although, working out together could be fun.

“As long as you don’t get me up at the crack of dawn.”

With that look on his face, I knew I would probably regret agreeing.