Page 12 of Kiss-Fist (Deaf Hearts #1)

CHAPTER SEVEN

THOM

“Hey, Leaf!” I say, catching sight of my new best friend out in the wild.

I’m striding down the street with Isaac, the humidity in the air from the recent storms making our shirts stick to our skin, but it didn’t keep us from going out to grab coffee and a bagel this morning.

Honestly, I don’t mind the storms because they remind me of Robbie and how hot he was, moaning against my lips.

Told Isaac all about it around a mouthful of cream cheese.

He told me to keep my cum in my mouth.

“Leaf! Hey!” I shout again as I see my new friend pushing a large cart from the nursery two stores down.

“Who the fuck is Leaf?” Isaac asks.

“A friend from work.”

Just as I say that, Leaf turns his head and grins, holding up a hand in a wave as the large cart he’s pushing starts to roll forward.

His eyes widen as he grasps for it, and Isaac and I rush forward to help him.

We all grab it at the same time and bring it to a stop.

It’s full of small potted plants, vegetables and herbs from the looks of it.

“I thought Michael was eating all your shit,” I say.

“Who’s Michael?” Isaac asks, completely lost. Shit, they don’t know each other.

“Oh, fuck Michael,” Leaf says. “He’s a groundhog that has taken over my yard. He’s insidious.”

“I hate groundhogs,” Isaac says. “Unless it’s a hot man with buck teeth who is trying to burrow into my ass.”

I gasp, and Leaf lets out a surprised squeal.

“Isaac! That is not something you say to someone you just met,” I say.

“He looks gay though. I mean, am I wrong?” Isaac asks.

Leaf stares at Isaac and then grins. “I am. Very gay. And you?”

“I am too. Name’s Isaac.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Leaf. And yes, these are my replacement plants. I swear to god, if Michael touches these, I’m going to put TNT in the ground and blow up his little hidey-holes.”

The manic way his eyes gleam when he says this tells me that he’s had a rough few days since I last saw him. And that there’s a good chance TNT is in his shopping cart online.

“You okay? Do you want to talk about it?” I ask.

“I think we should definitely talk about it,” Isaac says before glancing down at his phone and swearing. “Except I can’t right now. I have to run. Sister shit. ”

He leans toward Leaf and pats him on the shoulder. “Tell Thom everything. I want to know it all.”

Leaf nods, and Isaac turns, jogging away.

We watch him go, and I huff out a laugh. “Sorry about him. He’s my best friend. Nothing I can do to change him. I’ve tried.”

“Don’t apologize. I get it.”

His hand flexes on the cart, and he stares at the plants he just bought.

“You wanna talk? I just ate and had coffee, but I can totally do another shot.”

“Nah. I mean, no to the coffee. But how about you help me plant these things, and I’ll unload on you while we do it. Then you can hear all my tales of woe since our last workout session. Unless that’s unprofessional? Shit. Is it?”

“No, it’s fine. I’ve decided we should be best friends since, you know, I don’t want to bone you. No offense.”

Leaf lets out a loud laugh and shakes his head. “Same, bro. Same. So, you in?”

I consider my day. Doing this with him will cut into the time I’d planned to rot in my house and think about the way I’d had Robbie against the desk, so…

“You know what? Why the hell not. I have a few hours before I need to get to the gym.” And honestly, I’ve found that doing hard manual labor works out muscles in my body that I didn’t even know I had. So it’s really a win-win situation. Also, I get to meet Michael. I can’t fucking wait.

I help Leaf push the cart to his car and unload everything into the trunk before jogging to my own and following him to his house .

It’s on the other side of town, situated outside of the city limits. I glance around and realize that Leaf owns a huge parcel of land with an old, slightly worn Craftsman house sitting right in the middle of a few acres.

The neighbor’s house isn’t as close as I’d expected it to be. It’s not like the closely built homes in the center of town. But it’s close enough that Leaf’s neighbor can warn him about the dreaded groundhog when needed.

“Where do you want these?” I ask as I pull two basil plants from his open trunk.

“In the backyard. Just go through that gate. It’s unlocked. Set them on the raised beds so Michael can’t get to them.”

I snort, and Leaf arches an eyebrow at me. “I’m serious about that groundhog, man. He’s vile. Just you wait.”

I really can’t wait. I’m so fucking excited to meet him. I hope he sticks his little head out of the ground and smiles at me with his two front teeth.

And maybe when we’re done, if Leaf is feeling nice, he’ll help me with a few phrases I want to say to Robbie when I see his sexy face again. God, the way he tasted, felt beneath me. His hard cock rubbing up against mine.

I wanted to crawl up on him and fuck him right into that desk.

But of course, I didn’t get a chance. The lights flickered on, and then he pushed me away and held out his hand for a gentlemanly shake.

Like it was some kind of transaction.

That was the part that hurt the most. I understood why he wouldn’t want to date me, but I didn’t want it to be a transaction. I wanted to get to know him. And I might have tried again for a second chance, but there’s one big, massive thing standing in my way: we don’t speak the same language.

And writing back and forth doesn’t seem to be a long-term solution.

Honestly, I need someone to break this down for me.

Like really, someone needs to spell out what happened that day with Robbie.

And I’m pretty sure Leaf may have some advice, so I’m willing to infringe upon his day to ask him everything I need to know.

Even if it means manual labor around his little farm.

Not to mention Michael. He’s a bonus.

I make my way into his expansive yard and stop to take it in. It really is a farm. Behind a wooden gate on the far end of his backyard are large swaths of land with bushes growing on them. To the right are acres of trees. I’ll have to ask what he’s growing.

“Raspberries and over there are apples,” he says, as if reading my mind.

“Ah,” I reply as I put the basil plants on top of the planter box like he told me to. “I love an apple.”

“I hate them, and raspberries are pretty awful too.”

“Who doesn’t like apples?”

“Me. I’m allergic.”

I gasp and then let out a loud laugh. “You have the worst fucking luck.”

“I know. I’m surrounded by things that give me hives.”

He rolls his eyes when I can’t stop the guffaw that leaves my mouth, just turns around and makes his way toward the car once more. I follow along.

“So what are you going to do about them apples, man?” I ask, trotting along near him. For someone who says he’s out of shape, he’s a fast walker.

“Have them harvested soon, I guess. I don’t know. I inherited this place and am just trying to survive. I know nothing about farms or apples or beavers.”

“It’s a groundhog.”

“Fuck you.”

He grins at me as we grab a few more plants and make our way back to the raised bed. The ones we placed there earlier are still there, so it seems Michael hasn’t made an appearance.

Sad.

“Can I be honest with you?”

“Sure.”

“I was surprised to see you out and about. I think I just envisioned you always in the gym.”

“I mean, I usually am always in the gym. I don’t get these muscles without work.” I flex for him, and he sighs.

“You don’t need to show off.”

“I like to though.”

He grins at me once more and power walks back to the car.

“Do you always walk like the roof is on fire?” I ask as I once again trot after him.

“Ah, yeah. I guess when you’re an interpreter and you’re rushing from assignment to assignment, you learn how to walk like your paycheck depends on it. Because, you know, it does.”

“Yeah, I guess so.” I really had no idea. To be honest, I have no idea what interpreters usually do. I thought they were called translators until he corrected me on it. But I guess it is hard work. All those arm and hand movements.

“That’s the last of them,” he says as he shuts the trunk. “Is there any way you want to stay and help me plant them? You have big muscles. You might want to put them to real work.”

I grin at him and nod. “Sure. I can do that. I have two hours to kill, and I wanna see Michael.”

“Don’t say his name. He may hear you.”

I let out a small laugh and then add, “But hey, if I stay, can you do me a favor?”

“What favor is that?”

“Can you teach me how to sign a few things?”

He arches an eyebrow at me, looking unsure for a minute before nodding. “Sure. I can do that.” He hands me a shovel and points to the raised bed. “But first, dig the holes. Chop chop.”

While planting Leaf’s vegetables, I sadly didn’t see Michael, but I did see his little mounds on the other side of the property. There were quite a few, and when Leaf wasn’t looking, I left a few tomatoes outside of one to lure him out. But Michael is obviously smarter than we give him credit for .

He hid like the groundhog he is.

Still, it wasn’t a complete waste. I was able to help Leaf plant everything and learned a few phrases from him that I’m eager to use.

He offered to tutor me weekly for help on his farm, and I immediately took him up on it.

I want to learn ASL as quickly as possible, and I know for damn sure I’ll need more than the app I’ve been using.

Only problem is Robbie misses his appointment. He doesn’t come into the gym that night, and he doesn’t text me either. So I’m left to just wait to run into him again.

To tell him the things I learned in his language.

I feel a vague bit of anxiety that maybe he’s panicking about what we did and now it’s over, which is the last thing I want.

It’s torture. My thoughts are entirely consumed by him. I want to kiss him again, want to hear those sweet whimpers as I lick my way around his mouth.