Chapter Oakley
Oakley
“So, did you call him yet?” I prod, not dropping the subject like I’m sure Travis wants me to.
I mean, I had no idea the guy was gay. But now that I do, it doesn’t matter to me. I still stand by my opinion that the dude needs to get laid.
It’d make for a much better work environment. “No. Drop it.”
See? I knew he wanted me to let it go, but I can’t. I don’t understand why he doesn’t want to ask the cute twink out, but I’m firmly on Team Get Travis Laid, and I’m invested now.
“Why? Is he not your type?” I grab the sheers to start trimming the hedges at the house where we’re working, and Travis drags bags of soil from the back of the truck.
“He’s exactly my type.”
“So . . .” I watch as he grabs the flowers and a small rose bush. I could help him, but he’s being a pain in the ass, so I’m not going to. “Go out on a date.”
“He lives two hours away,” he says as he starts working on the new flower bed, tilling the earth to get it ready.
“So? That’s not that far.”
He stops and wipes his arm across his forehead, dragging dirt across his skin—which again, I don’t tell him about. It’ll just get dirty again anyway. Our job is wonderfully messy. “It is. And he’s in college. Just fucking drop it, Oakley.”
Not likely.
“So? You’re smart. You don’t want to date a guy in college?”
He groans, tipping his head back and looking at the sun before huffing and starting to work again. “Yes. I want to date a guy in college. I want to go out on a date with Ryan, but I’m not in college.”
Huh. I stare at him as he pours soil in the bed, then grabs the flowers to plant. He’s being a little rough. Poor flowers.
“Yeah, why aren’t you in college?” He was always the smart one in our class. Mr. Know-It-All. Answering the teachers’ questions while the rest of us hid and prayed they didn’t call on us.
“Enough talking today, Oakley. Let’s just get this done.”
“You should call your cute little college boy. Get your dick wet. You’ll feel much better.”
He glares at me. “I don’t want to just get my dick wet, asshole. I want a future, and to do that, I have to save up enough money from this meaningless job to go to college.”
I take offense to that and am sure my face shows it. “Okay, but you don’t have to be a fucking snob. This job is not meaningless.”
He stands up, knocking dirt off his jeans and meeting my stare. “How is it not meaningless? We plant flowers and pull weeds.”
“Flowers and trees are important for the environment, genius,” I shoot back and drop the hand holding the sheers to my side, squaring off with Travis. “And we make the world prettier. That’s an important job.”
He looks annoyed but at a loss for words as he glares at me and then huffs, “Fine.” His shoulders drop.
“Maybe it’s an important job, but it’s not the one I dreamed of during all those years in high school.
I was planning to go to college on the West Coast and never have to deal with another blizzard again.
Get away from small towns and small minds. ”
“Fuck you too,” I say, showing off my small mind, I suppose, but he’s being a fucking snob.
He snorts, though, and it’s almost a laugh. “I just mean I wanted to go somewhere more accepting.”
“You mean of the gay stuff?” I ask, and I swear to God, he actually grins at that.
“Yes. The gay stuff.” He shakes his head and plops back down on his knees, getting back to work.
“Well, Kensley’s getting better. You have to admit that. I mean, Kingston and Camden even come back to town sometimes.”
He just keeps working, his shoulders tight. “Oh yeah, it’s awesome they allow Kingston and Camden back in town, despite them being a couple.” I sense sarcasm.
“Okay, but I mean it’s not a big deal. And Dixon and Bates. I mean, everyone’s totally fine with that.”
“Fine with that?” He turns his head to me, his annoyance clear.
“You know what I mean.”
He shakes his head, focusing back on the flowers, “Yeah, I do. In Kensley, it’s a big deal. It’s something to talk about and accept. They can’t just be. They can’t just be a couple there. They’re that gay couple.”
I frown, not sure what the hell the difference is, but I feel a pinch in my chest all the same. I don’t want anyone to feel like they can’t just be themselves.
“Was it hard in high school?” I ask quietly. “Did anyone know?”
“Of course, they didn’t.” He sounds almost defeated. “I didn’t let anyone know. It wouldn’t have gone over well.”
“It did for Dixon.” I smile to myself, thinking about the day Dixon came out in the middle of the crowded locker room, not giving a fuck.
I was pissed at first because I didn’t know, and therefore, I was a little stunned.
I was quiet, and I let him down, which really, really pissed me off.
I wanted to be there for him, and I was after that. It just took me a minute.
Travis is right though. It shouldn’t have ever been a big deal in the first place.
The guy is wound tight, and I guess I can’t really blame him. Keeping a secret like that must have really sucked.
So now, I’m more determined than ever to try and make it better.
I can do it. I have no doubt.