Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
ATLAS
“It’s our first date out in town, and you’re not going to hold my hand?”
I jutted my bottom lip out in a pout, trying to act playful and not make this a big deal. I knew Hector was already nervous about this date. It was the first time we’d be seen in town as a couple.
Officially.
Tons of people had speculated about my relationship with Hector.
It was no secret I’d harbored a huge crush on the man since probably the day I met him.
What the gossips had always wondered was if Hector had returned my sentiments, and we were now going to give them a very loud and irrefutable answer to that at Kither Springs’ fall fair.
Hector had chosen to close the diner for the day since fair days were usually slow anyway. I had no doubt he was doing it for me, since I’d been looking forward to this outing with our friends.
He’d yielded to me in so many ways, which was why I needed to be understanding of his reservations. The rumor mill was strong in this town, so being seen holding hands was basically an official announcement of our relationship. One that would spread through the entire town by noon.
I told myself to push down the disappointment when Hector didn’t take my hand and glanced around warily instead. I must have been able to keep the disappointment off my face, or Hector didn’t notice. When he faced me again, his brow was furrowed, but he nodded toward the entrance of the fair.
“Are you sure you want to go?” he asked.
I forced a smile onto my face despite feeling let down. It wasn’t Hector’s fault that he wasn’t ready to be seen out with me. I was taking things too fast, or at least that was what I was going to keep telling myself when we ultimately returned home.
“We don’t have to if you’re not feeling up for it. I can text Sam and let him know something came up,” I said, proud of how level my voice sounded. My smile was strained, but I kept it wide. It probably looked natural.
“Is everything okay?” Hector looked even more worried now.
Or maybe not.
“Yeah, of course,” I lied. I wasn’t going to be a brat just because I’d been looking forward to the date and now it was going to end before it could really start. There would be others in the future.
“I knew this was a bad idea,” Hector muttered. He stepped up and rubbed both my arms. I didn’t miss the way his body crowded mine, his arms practically wrapped around me as if to shield me. “There are too many people here. Of course you’re uncomfortable.”
“Wait, what? Why would I be uncomfortable? Isn’t that you?”
His brow knitted further together. “Why would I be uncomfortable?”
“You don’t want to be seen in public with me.”
“Why in the world would you think that?” He was visibly shocked, which made me wonder if I’d misread things.
“You refused to hold my hand,” I pointed out.
“I did?” he asked, looking genuinely confused. “I’m sorry, love. I must not have been paying attention. I’m not, um, used to holding anyone’s hand out in public.”
He appeared quite shy as he slid his hand into mine, but I could tell the shyness was coming from the unfamiliarity of the action and not worries of judgmental eyes.
“I’ll forgive you because you called me love,” I said and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. I was pleased when he didn’t pull back to try avoiding the public display of affection.
“So what about the fair did you think was making me uncomfortable?” I asked.
His eyes shifted through our surroundings before landing back on me, and I had a faint idea what he’d been worried about.
“I was just overthinking. I’ll make sure nothing happens,” he answered and threaded our fingers together. “We should head inside.”
I didn’t budge when he tried to head for the entrance. He looked back at me curiously.
“I’m okay,” I told him. “I’m not going to let some asshole stop me from enjoying my life. I will be cautious, yes, but I’m not going to spend every day until we catch him looking over my shoulder. Besides, I know you have my back.”
“I do. Always,” Hector replied with a smile on his lips.
“Good.” I smiled back. “Now, let’s go. I’m sure they’re already inside waiting for us.”
Hector nodded and followed me hand in hand to our meeting spot. I could tell Hector was stiff with all the eyes on us—the townsfolk weren’t subtle with their gazes—but he didn’t drop my hand once. I was grinning the entire walk to the hugging booth.
“There you two are!” Sam waved when he saw us. His gaze landed on our hands, and he smiled widely. “We’re glad you made it! It’s nice to spend time with you both outside of the diner.”
Ryker nodded toward us with a smile. He wasn’t much of a talker outside of with Sam, but he was a nice guy. And he had an adorable cat named Gray that he and Sam took for walks around town. They would occasionally bring the cutie to the diner too.
“We’re excited to be here,” I said, unable to keep the grin off my face. Hector nodded a greeting to them both.
“Where are the others?” I asked, looking around. Ryan and Jones had said they’d be coming to the fair today too.
“They’re around here somewhere. Karla and Imani are leading them around by the nose,” Ryker answered with a grin. I laughed too.
Karla was Ryan’s daughter, and Imani was Jones’ cousin’s daughter, as well as Karla’s best friend. And when those two were together, they were a force to be reckoned with.
A timer beeping behind us had me turning toward the hugging booth.
Carol was ecstatic as someone donated big bucks for their fundraiser.
I heard they made half of what they needed for a new playground at the local elementary school at the summer fair.
From how crowded the booth looked now, I was sure they’d get the new playground soon.
I looked inside, half expecting to see Dan and Clay again. They were the stars of the hugging booth at the summer fair and had gathered a huge crowd of donations to contribute to the time they had to spend hugging each other.
“They refused to come to the fair ’cause they were afraid Carol would get her claws into them. She was determined to recruit them again,” Sam caught my gaze and explained with a laugh. He covered his mouth with his hand as if to tell me a huge secret. “They’re hiding at home.”
I laughed with a shake of my head. But honestly, I couldn’t blame them. Carol was terrifying when she put her mind to something.
“Anyway, I hope you guys are hungry, ’cause the hot dog–eating contest is about to start,” Sam said excitedly.
Ryker nodded, though I doubted he’d refuse any of Sam’s suggestions. The man was so visibly smitten.
Hector rubbed his belly and said, “I could eat.”
Sam hooked his arm through Ryker’s. “How many hot dogs do you think I can shove down my throat?”
“Well, depends on how big the sausages are. I’ve seen you eat…so maybe five to six average-sized ones. Less if they’re larger, unless you’re up for the challenge,” Hector said very seriously.
Ryker’s face was turning red, and I was still grinning hard.
Sam laughed. “Oh, I’m definitely up for the challenge. Just ask my fiancé,” he replied with a wink. Ryker pulled him away before Sam could say anything else.
Hector turned to me, all confused. “Did I say something?”
I tried my best not to laugh, but a smile still slipped through.
“Never change,” I told him and pressed another kiss on his cheek. I was getting addicted to doing that, to showing the world that Hector was mine.
He was less shy this time and flashed me a genuine smile, white teeth and all, then excused himself for a moment to head into the hugging booth.
He quickly gave Carol a donation that had her eyes practically shining with dollar signs.
She was so enthusiastic that Hector had to struggle to extract himself from the situation.
I was smiling so hard as I watched the entire exchange. “And you say you’re not the absolute best,” I teased when Hector returned to my side.
His cheeks flushed as he cleared his throat. Hector might refuse to admit it, but he really was the biggest, kindest, teddy bear in this town.
He reconnected our hands, and we went to find our friends again.
We met them in line for the hot dog–eating contest signup. Jordan, Jones’ brother, and his boyfriend, Wren, just so happened to be in line right in front of them. Wren was the famous vlogger who put Kither Springs on the map.
He’d been on a road trip to California for his vlog, and his van, Marge, broke down right outside Jordan’s property. Naturally, Jordan couldn’t leave him stranded and took him in. He was the knight in shining armor, or at least that was what Wren liked to say.
Wren ended up doing his vlog in Kither Springs, with Jordan by his side. They wound up falling in love while making countless others fall in love with our town.
We chatted with them about their newest adventures. I hadn’t seen either of them at the diner in a while and learned they’d gone to Spain for one of Wren’s projects.
The line moved quickly, and the five of us soon paid and were seated. Jordan hadn’t planned on participating and was happy to film more content for Wren’s vlog. Jordan had a tiny camera that looked pretty inconspicuous. I wouldn’t have known he was filming if they hadn’t told me.
Hector sat beside me on one side, while Wren was on my other. Ryker and Sam were seated at a different table, and Sam waved wildly when he found us. I waved back with a grin, then settled into my seat.
“You know, I was thinking about what we were talking about earlier,” Hector leaned into my side and whispered. “About sausages.”
“What about them?”
“When Sam said he was up for the challenge, he was talking about dick, wasn’t he?”
“Perhaps.” My cheeks stretched wide.
Hector’s eyes shifted around, as if to make sure nobody was paying attention to us. “Would you want me to, um, be up for the challenge? Take you in my mouth?”
I had to fist my mouth to cover my goofy smile. How could someone so stoic be so adorable?