Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
Forrest
I looked at her profile for the thousandth time, and the bio drew me more than the picture. ApplesNotSweet was the username, and her profile said she lived in Apple Falls. How had I not seen her around this small town before?
Probably because I barely left the orchard I ran with my best friend and business partner, Jack, but still. Apple Falls was a small town for a reason. Though it seemed to be growing more and more lately.
Tossing my phone down in exasperation, I finished my coffee and started cleaning up from my breakfast. I had a long day ahead of me in the orchard as we headed into our busy apple-harvesting season. The last thing I needed was a damn distraction.
“You’re a distraction enough, aren’t you, girl?” I patted my golden retriever, Bailey, and rubbed behind her ears, one of her favorite spots. She licked my hand, her slobbery, wet tongue drenching me with saliva. “Good thing you’re adorable,” I said as I walked my dishes over to the sink. I lived in a big cabin, just Bailey and me, on the other side of the orchard from where Jack lived. He took over his parents’ place after they left to travel the world; their big farmhouse was situated at the opening of the orchard. Adalynn stayed in the farmhouse too, as it was easier to manage the orchard when we were all close.
I loaded the dishwasher and wiped down the sink and counter before giving Bailey a treat. It had been two days since I went on the stupid match-making website Jack had told me about. Apparently, he overheard some older women gossiping at the post office about it.
Curiosity got the best of me after a couple of days, and I found myself making a profile. Maybe it was for shits and giggles, and maybe it wasn’t. All I knew was that it was about damn time I got over my crush on my best friend’s little sister, Adalynn. Jack would wring my neck if he ever found out how I really felt for his sister.
Her beautiful image popped into my head, her wavy blond hair spilling down her back and her brown eyes so easy to get lost in. Her small nose ring added to her beauty along with a few scattered tattoos. I loved how she wasn’t afraid to express herself in both her style and personality. And her shoe collection was hard to even fathom—one of her closets was dedicated to shoes and only shoes. I’d often find her curled up in a chair, her nose buried in a book, or bingeing the latest true crime documentary on Netflix. Most of her time was spent writing her latest marketing piece on the orchard, though I knew she longed to write more.
I’d gravitated toward her since we were young, and growing up together only strengthened my feelings. Keeping it from Jack was even harder.
The fantasies I kept having of Adalynn, the moments I replayed in my head of any sort of interaction between us, were on a constant loop. Such as the one time our skin happened to touch and my whole body lit up from within, or when I got so close to kissing her, our lips were mere inches apart. It was like a merry-go-round I couldn’t get off.
All of it needed to be purged from my mind.
Adalynn would never be mine, no matter how much I wanted her to be. And there was no changing it.
So I took a gamble, went on the website, and made a profile. Maybe it’d get my mind off Adalynn. Maybe finding another girl was the distraction I needed. At least these thoughts made me feel better about making a profile.
Right away, I matched with ApplesNotSweet, yet here we were two days later without a single reply. Why make a profile if you’re not going to be active on it?
Like I said, stupid website.
I stumbled into my cabin later that night, exhausted and weary from the day. Jack and I busted our asses, tending to every tree like it was our child. You had to nurture well if you wanted to get the goods.
Yet it came with a cost of pure exhaustion. Every part of me ached, and all I wanted was to soak in the hot tub and have a few cold beers.
First, I needed to walk Bailey and feed her. As I took care of my doggie duties, my phone buzzed in my pocket. I ignored it until it buzzed two more times.
I fished it out of my pocket and saw a notification for the Mountain Mates website— 2 new messages- click to read them now!
A ping of excitement zipped through me, and I quickly swiped open the notification.
ApplesNotSweet has sent you two messages. Click to open.
I double-tapped the screen, and a chat box opened.
ApplesNotSweet: Hi AppleMtnMan43, how are you today? I’m glad it’s over lol
ApplesNotSweet: Sorry it took me a bit to respond. My phone was a bit wonky the past couple of days, hope to hear from you soon!
I quickly tapped out a response.
AppleMtnMan43: Hey you! I’m doing okay, tired, sore, yuck, but it’s a lot of hard work keeping this figure, ha
ApplesNotSweet: And a nice figure it is
AppleMtnMan43: You were checking me out, weren’t you?
ApplesNotSweet: A lady never tells
AppleMtnMan43: You’re looking pretty good yourself I kind of wish there were more pics of you
ApplesNotSweet: I’m not very photogenic
AppleMtnMan43: I beg to differ. Based on this profile pic, you look fabulous. I bet you’re even more beautiful in person
ApplesNotSweet: Maybe you’ll be lucky enough one day to find out
AppleMtnMan43: How about this weekend? I can take you out on a date
Bubbles popped up on the screen, showing she was typing, but then they stopped, and no response came through.
Ugh, I was probably a bit too forward.
But at this point, I was desperate to get a certain off-limits curvy woman out of my mind.