Page 20 of Kiss-Fist (Deaf Hearts #1)

And Dex’s eyes are bright when I make the offer, smacking his hand down on the rickety old table. “Oh fuck yeah! Let’s do it.”

We make plans, discussing where and possibly when. But it’s only when we finally part ways that doubt begins to creep in again. This is probably the worst idea I’ve had yet. I can barely sign, Dex can’t sign at all, and I have no idea what this woman he’s into knows.

Robbie isn’t going to like this at all.

“You did what?” Leaf asks me as he angrily pulls a weed out of the ground.

His cheeks are red, and his hair is askew.

He looks worse for wear, like he hasn’t been getting enough sleep or enough to eat.

“You asked Robbie on a double date with all hearing people who don’t know how to communicate with him?

And you think this is a good idea. Good fuck, Thom. Honestly.”

I shift on my feet and watch as he waggles the weed in his hand. Dirt hits my shoes, and I arch an eyebrow. I was expecting him to chastise me, but the vitriol in his voice is a little…intense.

“Uh, you okay?”

He huffs and tosses the weed to the side, casting me a slightly apologetic glance. “I’m exhausted and grumpy and taking it out on you. I’m sorry. This isn’t like me.”

“It’s alright, man. No worries. Is it Michael again?”

He yanks another weed from the ground. “How did you know? Did you see the raised bed when you came in? It’s freaking demolished.

He scaled it, the little fucker. I didn’t even know they could do that.

I set up cameras to catch him in the act, but instead of running away, he just eats my stuff right in front of them. I swear to god, Thom. He’s mocking me.”

“Leaf. He’s a rodent. I don’t think he’s actually mocking you.”

My new friend glowers at me, violently yanking another weed from the ground. “He is. I know it. I’m going to blow his sneaky little hidey-holes up. I’m going on the dark web for TNT. I have a seller already.”

A laugh escapes me, but I choke it back when he stares at me intensely. Oh hell, he’s not joking. “Listen, bro. I’m pretty sure guys like us need to stay far, far away from the dark web.”

“Don’t. I’m ready to do hard time over this, Thom. I mean it. I happen to look fabulous in orange.”

I gently touch his arm and pull him away from the weed patch he’s destroying. “I think you need to get out of here for a bit. Let’s go for a walk, yeah?”

“I don’t want to walk! I want revenge!” His voice echoes through the fields, and I arch an eyebrow at him.

“No, seriously, dude. You need a minute. I think you’re losing your mind.” He huffs as I pull him forward toward his house. “We’re gonna go on a walk, and you’re gonna touch grass, alright?”

“I hate grass. I have terrible allergies.”

“You’re gonna take a Claritin and then touch it and stop talking about going on the dark web and blowing up groundhog holes.”

“I mean it. I’m very serious about all of it.” Now he just sounds tired.

I give his arm a soft pat. “I know, bud. Come on.”

I have to physically pull him through the house and out the front door, stopping only to grab him a granola bar and shove some of it in his mouth.

He chews it reluctantly. “I’m still very angry.”

“I know, but let’s walk it off and talk about it rationally,” I say as we move down the rural gravel path that leads to the next house, which sits about a half a mile away.

“We’ve moved past rational and are now in insane territory. This groundhog means business, and so do I. I will not rest until I have his head mounted above my fireplace.”

I grimace. That is not an image I wanted to have. “Come on, let’s walk faster. You need to burn off some of this intensity. It’s not good for your heart.”

Our legs move at a quicker pace, and I hear Leaf’s breaths puff out of him with each forward step. I’m glad I showed up when I did. Who knows what he’d have done if I hadn’t.

God, he probably would have blown up his entire house and set the land on fire.

I would have arrived and seen him, fists in the air, laughing maniacally.

“So tell me about this terrible double date idea,” Leaf finally says, and I’m thankful he’s thinking about that instead of the groundhog. “It’ll take my mind off Michael and his nefarious ways.”

“Yeah, alright. So like I said. Dex suggested a double date with a girl he likes and, you know, Robbie and I. Well, I suggested it, and he agreed. For the record, I knew it was a terrible idea the moment I said it, but I didn’t have the heart to take it back. Dex looked so happy.”

“And you haven’t told Robbie yet?”

I run a hand across the back of my neck. “Not yet. It was kind of an impulse decision, and now I’m panicking.”

“Well, you need to talk to him and see what he thinks. To be honest, he’ll probably be more pissed off that you didn’t ask him first.”

“Yeah, I figured. I mean, it’s not set in stone or anything. I can tell Dex that I think it’s a bad idea.”

“Look, just talk to Robbie. I mean, I personally think it would be weird for him, even if he says yes. Can you imagine sitting in a booth with people who you can’t understand?”

I feel even worse now because I know what that’s like. It was the same feeling I got when Robbie and his friends came into the gym. “Yeah. It was a shitty idea, but hey,” I say, perking up. “I’m taking an ASL class at the community college. I’m gonna be signing like an expert before you know it.”

Leaf eyes me. “You do know it’s like any other language, right? It’s not as easy as it seems.”

My high spirits sink slightly. “Yeah, I know that. But…language kind of clicks for me, you know? I’m an audio and visual learner, and what I’ve learned so far just makes sense. I’ m hoping I pick it up as fast as the other languages I’ve learned.”

Leaf eyes me and then smiles. “Yeah, I think you will. You already know more than I thought you would just from the app. And honestly, Robbie is a good motivator. I think you’ll be chatting fluidly before you know it.”

“Yeah. Poly-lingual, here I come.”

He laughs and elbows me, then picks up the pace as he heads deeper into his dying vegetable fields.

We walk in silence for a few minutes, just looking at the scenery, Leaf huffing and puffing away next to me, when I realize I feel safe with him.

I’m not usually vulnerable with people, but I can’t help myself when I say, “You know, I’ve never really been good at school.

Like writing and reading is hard. I have severe ADHD and dyslexia, and I never got good grades.

Do you think Robbie will care that I’m not as smart as he is? ”

Leaf frowns. “First of all, having a disability doesn’t make you not smart.

You’re really intelligent, Thom, even if you learn differently than other people.

And I don’t know Robbie, but he would be a pretty shitty person if he held that against you.

” He stops abruptly and holds up a finger.

“Can you hang on for a second. I just need to—” He takes a breath, then tips his head back, his hands on his hips.

There’s a moment of total silence, and then he lets out a loud scream to the heavens, and I stand there, shocked.

When it finally ends, he looks at me sheepishly. “Sorry. God. I needed to do that.”

I eye him carefully. “Feel better now.”

He laughs. “Actually, I do. ”

“Right, well, I guess you should do that more often, then. You know, just maybe tell your neighbors so they don’t think you’re being murdered or anything.”

“Good idea,” he says, and then his shoulders sag. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to make that all about me. I think I’ve made a huge mistake with this farm. I should have never quit my job to take up the mess my aunt left me.”

“Hey, look, I don’t think you made a mistake. It seems kind of obvious you needed a change of pace, and this seems like it could be something good if you give it a little more time.” Leaf still hasn’t told me exactly what prompted him to quit his job, but it’s clear it’s still weighing on him.

He huffs out a breath. “Fuck. I hope so.”

“I’m just glad you’re not thinking about buying TNT anymore.”

His eyes meet mine, and his lips quirk up in an evil smile. “Who said I wasn’t?”