“It’s not what it’s looks like,” I start. “There was this huge—”
“Oh my god, dude! I don’t want to know the details!” she yells as she turns and hurries back downstairs.
Teller is laughing so hard that he’s shaking the whole bed and even though I can tell that my whole body is blushing from embarrassment, I can’t help but join him.
“So, good morning,” I say once we’ve caught our breath.
“‘Morning,” he says, giving me a bright grin. “Ready for me to get off of you?”
No.
I’m shocked by that thought but I push it aside, clearing my throat as I nod.
Teller covers his eyes, giving me plenty of time to get the towel situated before he opens them and I realize that I could have just asked him to close his eyes in the bathroom. I’m going to blame that oversight on my hangover and try not to think about it too much.
“Thanks.”
“Anytime, Sutton. I’ll go get the mouse so you can shower.”
I nod, watching as he strides out of the bedroom. A few minutes later he passes by again, holding up the paper box that he caught the mouse in and letting me know that the bathroom is safe.
I smile as I head back to the shower.
9
I’m with Teller again this morning and I follow him over to the miniature golf course to help him fix the windmill hole and some kind of filter. I had flinched when I first walked back outside, the sun piercing my eyes and causing my headache to hurt even more. I guess that Tylenol that I took when I got out of the shower hasn’t kicked in yet. Teller had given me his hat again and I had smiled, trudging after him across the grass.
I’m still eating the banana and granola bar that I swiped from the kitchen as we cross the yard. Tourists are starting to arrive and I smile as I watch one family with twins climb out. The little kids are so excited to be here, their little eyes wide in wonder as they look around the property.
“You can see the lighthouse and the bridge from here!” the little boy shouts and I laugh, enjoying his excitement.
The windmill is one of the last holes, so Teller and I have to wind our way through the course.
“What’s wrong with this one?” I ask as we set our stuff down next to the hole.
“We need to check on one of the boards on the windmill and clean out the water,” Teller says and I notice that he’s wearing a pair of rubber boots.
He wades into the shallow river that runs through the course and grabs a shovel. I sit on a rock nearby, watching as he scrapes along the bottom of the water.
“So, how was the tour last night?” he asks after a moment and I can tell that he’s trying to keep his tone upbeat, but he’s not quite pulling it off.
He wasn’t exactly subtle in his dislike of Chet and that he didn’t want me to see him.
“Awful,” I admit. “Chet is really boring and he spent the whole time talking about himself instead of the town. So the tour really sucked too.”
He grins, turning away and pretending to work and I roll my eyes.
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“I’m sure that you are. You look really broken up about it.”
He laughs at that, tossing the shovel aside. “Hand me the flathead screwdriver?”
I dig through the toolbox, finding it and passing it over to him. Our fingers brush together and I try to ignore the tingles that spread throughout my body at the simple touch.
I’ve never had this kind of reaction to a guy before. I don’t like it, or at least I’m trying hard to convince myself that I don’t like it.
“He asked me out to dinner tonight,” I blurt and I watch as Teller’s easy smile falters.
“Of course he did,” he mutters under his breath but I still hear him. “Did you say yes?”
“Kind of?”
“Kind of?” he asks, his brow furrowed.
“I told him that I would go to dinner but that it wasn’t a date.”
“I thought you didn’t like him.”
“I don’t. Not like that.”
“Then why did you say yes?” he asks, unscrewing some plastic filter piece on the edge of the river.
“He… I don’t know. He made it sound like it was no big deal. It’s just one meal. He said that everyone has to eat, right, and I just felt like maybe I was making too big of a deal out of it. I told him I wasn’t interested in dating him and he knows it’s just this once and that it definitely isn’t a date.”
“So, you told him that you didn’t want to go out with him on a date, that you didn’t see him like that and weren’t interested in him, and he twisted it and made you feel like you were the one making a big deal by saying no to him?”
“Uh, I guess.”
“You can’t let him, or anyone else, push you around like that, Sutton. What he did? That’s some toxic masculinity shit right there. Instead of being a man and accepting that you said no, he turned it on you and kept pushing until you said yes.”
“I know. You’re right, but it’s just one date. It just feels easier this way.”
Teller shakes his head and I know that he’s disappointed in me, in my answer.
“You can cancel, Sutton. It’s not on you. He’s the asshole for not taking no for an answer. A real man doesn’t need to pull tricks or use mind games to get a girl to go out with him, and he never makes her feel uncomfortable or like she doesn’t have a choice.”
I know that Teller is right, but I also know that I don’t want to start anything with anyone here. I can’t afford to. I’m leaving at the end of the summer and besides, guys aren’t in my five-year plan. I need to get a job and an apartment and work my way up the corporate ladder before I think about dating and guys.
But dating was on the bucket list and between the two of them, Teller is the more dangerous one. He’s the one that I want, that I’m attracted to. Chet, I can barely stand. I’m not going to lose my head or my heart to Chet.
Maybe that’s why I said that I don’t want to cancel the pseudo-date. I’m hoping that it will distract me from my growing attraction to Teller while at the same time allowing me to cross off an item on the bucket list.
“I’ll be fine. It’s just dinner and he knows that it’s not a date. We’re just going as friends.”
“If you need anything, Sutton, you can always call me. I’ll come get you.”
My heart melts at the concern then and I force a smile.
“Thanks, Teller.”
We finish cleaning out the filter and I watch as he inspects the windmill arm for damage before I help him pack up the supplies and carry them back to the storage room in the cabin.
“See you later,” he says with a wave as I head into the gift shop to relieve Lyla for her lunch break.
The last of the tourists are just checking out and I smile when I see the twins grinning down at the Mystery Cabin snow globes in their hands.
“I was going to see if you wanted to take your lunch break first,” I tell Lyla as I lean against the front counter.
“Nah, I can wait. I think Stan just went to eat too if you want to join him.”