“Are you hungry?”
Seriously? Has he heard a word I said? I put a lot into that speech. “No, I’m not––I mean yes, I’m hungry. But I’m on a date, so I can’t… go have food with you.”
He looks left and right. “You’re on a date?” He nods. “Where is he?”
I start walking because this is not going anywhere I want it to go. He doesn’t miss a step; he’s right behind me the entire way. I make a hard right turn when I smell funnel cakes. At the booth, I order and hold out the cash to pay for mine, but he beats me to the punch and pays the guy making them before I can.
“You can’t buy my food. I’m on a date.”
I stuff the funnel cake in my mouth while he watches. I’m too far gone to care what he thinks of me, and no, I’m not a dainty eater.
Once in a while he breaks eye contact to scan the crowd for this supposed threat Brandon spoke of, the motorcycle gang. Then he returns to looking down his nose at me.
“You need protein. All that sugar isn’t good for you.”
“Really?” I say, staring up at him with my cheeks stuffed with funnel cake. “How else can I rearrange my life to make it more acceptable to your impossibly high standards?”
“You could be less of a wise ass. You can start there.”
Oh, he did not just go there…
“Okay, this is…” I gesture with my hands. “We’re not doing this. I’m going to see Johnny now. At his booth. He’s my date. You cannot come with me.”
I walk away again and Shane follows. He hangs back a little, but I know he’s literally a step away. At one point, I stop, because I’m not sure which direction the Barrios booth is and he nearly runs me over.
“Can you step off?” I grind out between my molars.
It’s the smug expression peering down at me that raises my hackles. “I’m just making sure you’re safe.”
Damn you, Brandon. If he hadn’t said anything about the motorcycle gang, I wouldn’t have to lose the tail.
“Can you do that from somewhere else, preferably out of sight?”
Shane crosses his arms. “Just pretend I’m not here.”
“You’re six feet two. Somewhere around two hundred and thirty pounds. How do you suppose I do that? Poke my eyes out?” My blood pressure is about to hit three thousand.
Looking down at me with that freaking air of superiority, he has the audacity to sigh. As if this is all so boring to him. “Six foot three.”
I scoff. “Don’t flatter yourself. You’re six foot two and a half, at best.” Because I’m petty like that. I continue walking and swear I hear a burst of laughter coming from him. Or I could be imagining it.
Pushing through the crowd of people, I finally spot the Barrios booth and Johnny, smiling at customers lined up to buy his vegetable dishes.
Johnny sees me approach and smiles broadly. I manage to plaster a smile on my face for him; it’s the least I can do. This thing with Shane is spiraling out of control and turning into something I don’t know how to handle. I could ride it out for the next three weeks until he’s gone, but that would make me weak and pathetic.
“Hi, your parents aren’t here?” I ask him when he comes around the outside of the booth and plants a kiss on my cheek. His breath is warm, his cheek is smooth, and he smells all wrong. Of expensive cologne instead of pine and sandalwood. I don’t think Johnny and I are going to be a thing.
“No, they pulled the day shift. They’re getting too old for this stuff anyway. We do it to contribute to the community more than anything else.”
That makes sense. Their orchard has been family-owned and operated for fifty years. They don’t need the publicity.
“Here, try some of the sautéed heirloom baby vegetables with aioli sauce on the side.”
The food is wonderful and it doesn’t surprise me that Johnny is a great cook. He graduated from the N.Y. Culinary Institute and had just moved back to Ojai the same time I did.
“I’d like to try a little of everything.” I hear Shane’s voice and my back snaps straight. He’s standing at the booth, cash in hand. While Johnny prepares his food tray, Shane says, “We didn’t get a chance to meet the other day when you came by. I’m Aidan Hughes’ brother.”
“Hey man, nice to meet you,” Johnny cordially replies. “Enjoy the food.”
Shane pays for his food and remains standing next to me eating like he has a right to. Because that’s not awkward at all.
“I can’t do this anymore,” I say under my breath, more to myself than to anyone else. “Johnny, thank you, but I think I’m taking off.”
“Already?”
Sensing my discomfort, he glances at Shane and his ever-present smile slides off his face. I hate this. I hate that Shane had to ruin this evening, not so much for me, but for Johnny. He doesn’t deserve this bullshit.
“Are you sure? ’Cause I can get rid of this guy for you.”
Johnny is five feet ten inches and built like a tank. He could probably give Shane some serious trouble. It’s that I don’t want to give him any trouble.
Placing my hand on Johnny’s forearm, I say, “I’m sure you can, but it’s not necessary. Your family needs you and I don’t want to be the cause of any trouble.”
Begrudgingly, he nods.
“I’ll see you next week for our usual exchange?” I ask, meaning the manure and produce swap. I don’t want to give him false hope for anything more than that.
Johnny’s lips lift, but he doesn’t mean it. His attention is still on Shane who doesn’t seem to care.
I walk away, headed for the exit when all hell breaks loose. Two shots ring out and the crowd screams, everyone hitting the ground at once. It’s mayhem. Shane pushes me to the ground so fast he knocks the wind out of me. A beat later, while high pitched screams and squeals persist, I see Ojai PD running in the direction of the where the shots rang out.
“Keep your head down and don’t move.”
Suddenly, Shane is gone. I can’t feel his body draped over me anymore. With his body heat missing, I can’t stop shaking.
I lift my head to see people standing and quickly ushering their kids out the front gate of the fairgrounds. I think of Brandon and the kids and pray he got out safely. I stand and see Johnny still crouched behind his tables. He looks justifiably terrified.
Other than the shakes, I’m okay. A bit bruised, but better than most. Glancing around, I see lots of women and children crying.
I’m dusting off my now-wrecked dress, it’s stained possibly beyond repair, when Shane reappears. He looks shaken, like something got jarred loose inside of him. He takes a few steps in my direction. Then a few more. The final few we take together. When he reaches me, he wraps me in his arms and holds me so tightly that for a moment I doubt he’ll ever let me go.
Breathing out harshly, he turns his mouth to meet the skin of my neck and kisses me there. Then he inhales me and kisses me again. Being held like this by him is a fever dream I don’t want to wake from. I almost can’t believe it’s happening.
Feeling bold, I cradle his head in my hands and kiss him and he kisses me back. It’s exactly as I remember it. Hungry and hard and soft and sweet at the same time. It’s perfect in every way. Like we were made for each other. Now what?