“Ryan doesn’t particularly like being told what to do,” Blake elucidated.“I know you were excited to get to hang out with him, but he probably interpreted that as you using your more ‘astringent’ persona on him.”
“But if our personalities are incompatible, then why did he agree to date me again?”Celeste asked.
Marin spoke up: “I think that’s something you’ll have to ask him.Instead of inviting him out for something, maybe send him a text asking to talk one-on-one?”
“But what if he thinks I’m clingy?”Celeste moaned, slumping into their seat.They picked up their thermos and sipped it mournfully.
“Then express that fear,” Blake told them.“It’s hard to be honest about those sorts of things in a relationship, but if you’re being open with your partner about your feelings, they’re much more likely to be vulnerable with you in turn.”
“…what if he thinks it’s stupid?”
“Not to be mean, but if he’s not willing to be vulnerable with you, then it isn’t meant to be,” Marin said with a nonchalant shrug.“If your partner won’t take your feelings seriously, then he’s not worth your time.”
Celeste was quiet, looking down at their lap in contemplation.
Marin continued: “I don’t know Ryan very well, but he really doesn’t strike me as that kind of person.”
“He reallyisn’tthat kind of guy,” Blake confirmed.“If you approach him openly with sincerity, I think he’ll at least hear you out.Heisyour boyfriend, after all.”
Celeste smiled—a sad, pitiful thing that barely turned up the side of their mouth.“Look at you two, being the perfect match for each other.”
Blake ducked his head and laughed while Marin smiled out of the side window.
Celeste sighed.“If it doesn’t work out with Ryan, I’ll have to try to get Water Zone to generate me the ideal boyfriend.Worked out pretty well for you.”
23
Blake found himself staring down a private driveway hidden behind a gate.It curved sharply off of a public road, dipping into a small grove of apple trees.Beyond it, Blake could catch a glimpse of a sizable craftsman-style log home.
Celeste popped open the back door of the car, stepping out onto the grit-and-gravel road to ring the call box.A low voice answered: “Hello?”
“Hi, Mr.Aberley?”Celeste responded, raising their voice over the rush of traffic.“It’s Celeste: we’ve been talking over e-mail?”
“Right, hey,” Mr.Aberley responded, sounding like he had recalled something important.“Here, lemme buzz you in.”
“Thanks.”
The gate began to roll open a moment later, revealing the depths of the shady apple grove.The trees towered higher and higher the closer Blake drove towards the house, their limbs overgrown and unkempt, creating a dark canopy pregnant with little red fruits.
As Blake pulled the Camry up to the front deck, something pale flickering through the tree trunks caught his eye.Frowning, Blake put the car in park and scanned the treeline to follow the slight movement.
There was nothing but the almost-imperceptible sway of boughs in the still August air.
“You okay?”Marin asked, following Blake’s line of sight.
“Yeah, I thought I saw someone out there.”Blake shrugged off the encounter, still frowning.“Must have been a deer or something.”
“Hm,” Celeste vocalized.They quirked an eyebrow at Blake, but didn’t add anything to the conversation.
As the three climbed out of the car, the front door swung open and a man in his mid-fifties stepped outside.He was far from the farmer stereotype that Blake was expecting.Dressed in a smart pair of grey jeans and a sports jacket over a light button-down, he would have looked more at home in a Silicon Valley coffee shop than an apple orchard.
“Hi,” Celeste greeted him with a brief wave.
“Hey,” Mr.Aberley returned the greeting.His eyes looked a bit too large behind his glasses, and for several solid seconds they were fixated upon Marin.Looking awkward, the merman waved and murmured a greeting before sidling up to Blake.Only then did Mr.Aberley tear his gaze away from him.“I’m Paul.You can come on in.”
“Ooooh-kay?”Celeste uttered, scaling the steps up to the porch.Blake and Marin followed, exchanging uneasy glances as they went.Paul remained hovering in the doorway, looking over the three of them, glasses flashing from the bright summer light that crept in through the door.His mouth pulled into a frown lined with stress.
“You kids don’t happen to have any matches or lighters on you, do you?”he asked.
