Total pages in book: 22
Estimated words: 20619 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 103(@200wpm)___ 82(@250wpm)___ 69(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 20619 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 103(@200wpm)___ 82(@250wpm)___ 69(@300wpm)
“Thought you worked at a diner, not Hooters.”
“Creepy guys are going to be creepy guys even in places they aren’t meant to be creepy in. The amount of weird comments and inappropriate touching I’ve put up with in hopes of getting paid sometimes makes being an actual prostitute appealing. At least in that line of work you get to be honest about how everything’s going to go down.”
Hunter’s brows furrow. “I’m sorry you had to put up with all that.”
The way he says it in past tense makes me think I’m finally done with all of this. Like, maybe my manager fires me, but I can’t shake the feeling that I’d just be off to get another job in the same field. The tips are too good despite how slimy it feels at times.
But Hunter? He wants to rescue me from all of this. A quiet life, where I don’t have to deal with creeps, people feeling me up. A quiet life where I don’t have to put up with my father flipping out over every little thing despite the fact I’m the only thing keeping him housed and fed.
A life closer to nature, far away from the concrete jungle that I was raised in. Worry free, where I can be at peace.
“Whoa, watch your hand,” Hunter says, pulling my arm away from a tree I was passing by. “That’s poison oak. Touch that and you’re going to be in for a very bad time for a while.”
All right, I shouldn’t romanticize it that much. There are problems living this far out and away from civilization. “Thanks, I guess I’ll learn. Never did any time in the Girl Scouts as a child.”
“Shame. I love their cookies. Although I guess they don’t give their secret recipes to just any Scout.”
“Probably need massive seniority or something to know their secrets.”
“Damn. Just going to have to buy them normally when I can.”
I take a few steps over some particularly nasty bulging roots. “Hunter, if I trip over something and break my neck, how long would it take for an ambulance to get out here?”
“Couple hours. No ambulance. Maybe a helicopter. Out here we have our methods of taking care of emergencies, but none of them are foolproof. As such, I suggest that you try very hard to avoid breaking your neck.”
“Uh huh, I’ll work on it.”
Different problems. But they seem more real than the ones I deal with in the city. Like they’re problems for a reason, like that’s just how the world has to be. My city problems? They’re mostly because of people. People who should know better than to act the way they do, and to make my life miserable just because their own life is wretched.
“Ah, here we are,” Hunter says as we make it to somewhat of a clearing.
I use the term “somewhat,” in that there’s a lot less roots and branches, making for rough walking, but instead, in the center of this area, there is a truly massive evergreen.
“The Old Man of the Forest is what we call him,” Hunter explains. “He towers over the rest, making up a big part of the canopy.”
“Stealing all the light and rain from around him so nothing can grow nearby,” I note as I look up at the titan of a tree. “Kind of selfish of him, if you ask me.”
“Yeah, but that’s just how nature is sometimes. But it’s been here forever, and it’s just part of Evergreen Valley for as long as I’ve lived, and as long as my folks have lived, and their folks too.”
I gaze upon the bit of history. The closest thing the city had was some old buildings, but even those were, at most, a hundred years old. This tree looks ancient. It’s humbling for little nineteen-year-old me to think about.
“My father proposed to my mother at this tree,” he says, throwing his arm over my shoulder. “What do you think about that?”
“Hunter, we’ve gotten along great, but we’ve only known each other for a day,” I laugh playfully not sure how serious he is planning on getting right about now. “I think you proposing to me now is going a little fast.”
“Yeah, it is. I didn’t mean to imply I was about to ask you,” he says, before pausing and raising an eyebrow. “Unless...”
We both share a laugh. If he did pop the question right here and now, I can’t say that I would have said no. Like, I definitely should have said no, but damnit, Hunter’s life is making me hate all my problems back home even more.
Not long after the potential proposal, though, he’s gazing deeply into my eyes, and I’m gazing right back. I can’t get enough of looking at this guy. The want, the need, they burn so hard. My teenage hormones had been suppressed by the drudgery of my life so far, only the occasional boyfriend to try to give me some stress relief.