30

Graham Birch

I ended my phone call with Spencer and of course picked up some groceries for him from the store.

"Hello, Graham!" Mrs. Poplar said to me as she rang up my items.

"Good day." I replied with a smile.

Mr. Poplar leaned against the bagging area. "So, you don't want to go on that date? She's a nice girl."

I rolled my eyes. "No, thank you. I already have someone." I said. I finished bagging my items and said goodbye before leaving for my truck.

I drove the long way back home. I turned the corner and drove down the street, reaching our homes. Before I even finished parking, Juniper ran out and waited for me to park and open my door.

"Juni!" I said. He began to wag his tail and run around. Spencer joined me, jumping into my arms and giving me a kiss.

"Did you get my stuff?" He asked.

"Yes, I did." I replied. He helped me carry the bags inside. Holly perched himself on his chair. I gave him a rub on his head, which he seemed to enjoy.

"I finally got a response from Mr. Zelkova. He's agreed to loan us some of their bigger trucks as long as we make the down payment." Spencer told me.

"That's great. That means we can expand our destinations and reach farther areas." I replied.

"Yup! Already made a list of 15 new places we can try to get. We can for now pick three and see how it goes from there."

"You're so smart." I played with his hair. He smiled while looking away.

"Listen, business has been going well ever since I joined the company. I was thinking if you wanted to take the day off tomorrow and have some alone time?" He asked while leaning in to me.

His eyes, full of lust, I knew exactly what he wanted.

"Sorry." I said. His face dropped. "But we can't slack off. We've got work to do and we can't get any breaks."

He let out a huff. "Fine. But next weekend, we're gonna relax as much as we can."

"If that's what you want, then of course." I said.

'Holly & Juniper Growers' has certainly begun to grow more in the past few weeks. I don't know the exact numbers, since that's Spencer's job. But the charts he's shown me, and future projections look promising.

I sometimes wonder if it was really a good idea to essentially make Spencer my partner in business. Life is unexpected. You never know what will be thrown your way.

But I have confidence between us. So, while the future remains uncertain, this is something I know will last. Whenever I feel hesitant, I just look back at how much Spencer has helped me and how I've helped him.

"Whatchu thinking about?" Spencer asked me. I snapped out of my thoughts and saw he was handing me a carrot to grate.

"Nothing." I said.

"I went ahead with the applications. I really liked Mery Jucara and Garry Ash."

"I trust your judgment." I replied.

He kissed me before forcing me to take the carrot. We finished cooking and then watched a movie on the TV with our pets by our side.

"My parents texted me this morning." Spencer said.

"I thought you blocked them." I replied.

"I did." He sighed. "It was through Facebook, which, who even uses anymore? But they just wanted to let me know that I would always be welcomed back."

"Are you going to take them up on their offer?" I asked.

"Don't know. I think I'm gonna ghost them for a while longer, just to teach them something. And you? Your phone has been ringing from a number in Oregon."

"Same here. My parents were worse a few weeks back after everything with Clancy went down. Rebecca has told me that our parents pretty much cut ties with Clancy when they found out about his surprise visit to my house."

He hugged me tighter. His palm landed on my chest, and I felt my heart rate pick up.

"Isn't it funny?" He asked.

"What is?" I asked back.

"We both came here to get away from our families, to get away from our pain. And yet, we managed to find a way to find happiness once again." He said.

"I really thought I wasn't gonna be ready to date someone again." I replied.

"Nothing ever comes to us when we expect it the most." He told me.

I turned to the TV, feeling only happy. How is it possible that a few months back, I was alone without any intention to have someone else in my life? And now, I have someone. A special someone.

Spencer began to fall asleep in my arms. I looked at his face, seeing he was starting to grow a bit of a tan.

"Spencer." I whispered to him.

His face scrunched. "Mm, what?" He asked.

"I love you." I said to him.

He let out a smile. "I love you too, you big dummy."

I placed a kiss on his face.

The two of us slept on the couch that night. I was shaken awake the next morning by Spencer.

"Wake up!" He said.

"No." I grunted.

"Come on. We've got work to do! You said no breaks." He threw those words back at me.

I got up and breakfast was already made. I cleaned myself up and ate something quick. Spencer was at the front door, putting on sunscreen and putting a straw hat on.

"Where we going, Tom Sawyer?" I asked.

"Ha, ha. Funny." He told me. "I'm gonna join you today. I need to stretch, or I'll get carpal tunnel." He said.

"Fine by me." I replied.

"Juniper! Holly! Come on!" Spencer yelled. Both the animals came running to the front door. As soon as Spencer opened the door, they both ran out and began to run into the grass.

Spencer took the lead, carrying a clipboard and telling me information I knew I should be listening to.

"Maybe we should also fix up the website. I noticed that even your old domain was hacked. Did you use Wix or something?" He asked.

"Whatever you think is good." I said.

"Give me something, Graham. We're in this together. I need your ideas too." He told me.

"Well, we can make a new logo. That would be nice."

"Good idea." He wrote something on his clipboard. "Logo and website. We need to make it look simple but noticeable. Anyways, let's check the almonds."

He grabbed my hand and led me to the fields. He watched me work while he answered phone calls and texted away.

There were lots to do. It felt like I had little time to do everything.

"Your sister called." Spencer told me.

"Something wrong?" I quickly asked.

"Nope, not at all. We just checked up. She's really invested in our company."

I handed him a cold water bottle from my cooler.

"Things are gonna be great! I just know it!" He said.

"By the way, what are you gonna do with your house? You're basically living in mine." I mentioned.

"Meh. I was thinking of moving in with you and using my old house as a mini office building." He replied.

"Moving in? With me?" I asked as happiness filled me.

"Yes. If that's okay with you." He said.

I nodded. He kissed me on the forehead.

"Now, get back to work." He told me.

"But I want another kiss." I protested. His face was flushed red.

"We've got all the time. A sunny today, a sunny tomorrow, a sunny forever. All in between for us." He said to me.

"Okay. Sounds good to me." I said.

We both stood up, dusted our pants, and got back to work.

I looked at the distance, seeing the sun slowly beginning to set on this sunny day. But, as Spencer told me, we have tomorrow and forever to be together.

And I then turned to Juniper and Holly. The two were lying next to one another and looking at the sky. I wondered if they could understand each other the way Spencer and I understand each other.

While Spencer and I held each other, it felt like I was holding my future in my hands. I knew this was for certain in this crazy, hectic life.

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thanks for reading! i hope you enjoyed this story.

i'm gonna miss these two characters. and juniper. and holly. fun fact: this was the first story where both characters have a pet.

if you liked this, check out some of my other works. i've got something for (hopefully) everyone.

August 9, 2024- November 5, 2024

goodbye! until the next adventure!

♥