You’re getting your old life back.Your life without me.
He wouldn’t need Patrick’s help to commute on the train anymore. He wouldn’t need to go grocery shopping with him. Spencer had a life waiting for him. Friends, sports, bars. Patrick was not part of that. Patrick was a crutch. He was there to help his neighbor, and once Spencer settled back into his old life, he’d probably find that it didn’t need to include his strange, fall-obsessed neighbor.
Patrick thought back to his life with GFA in Los Angeles. Once GFA got a job at a high-powered talent agency, he realized Patrick didn’t fit with his life of networking drinks and industry talk. Patrick thought he had learned that it was no use being with someone because you’d eventually get squeezed out.
He and Spencer weren’t in a relationship, he reminded himself. They were neighbors who commuted together and had really amazing sex. The impression that Spencer left on his heart, the way Patrick craved him like caffeine during work...well, that was on Patrick.
“Hey, everything okay?” Spencer asked when they got to the car.
“Yeah. It’s exciting about your cast coming off.”
“I can finally enjoy every bit of fall magic in Chicago with you. There are a ton of great fall festivals and good foliage by the lake.” Spencer’s eyes lit up. “PumpkinFest is next weekend!”
“Oh my God.” Patrick laughed. “You sound like me.”
They drove to the exit and paid the lady for their apples. She wore a sweater with a bushel of apples knitted on the front. It screamed old lady. Patrick wanted one.
He plugged in directions to the corn maze. Google Maps told them to take back country roads. Patrick couldn’t wait for the foliage. He was trying to soak in the fall vibes as much as he could. Anything to help him forget about the worry steadily accumulating in his heart.
* * *
There werea surprising amount of people at the corn maze when they arrived. Apparently, they weren’t the only ones playing hooky from their regular lives. One of the farm workers gave them a map. The maze was in the shape of the Death Star fromStar Wars, with all the grooves and lines of the weapon etched into the earth. Patrick nodded, very impressed at the technical skill this must’ve taken and wondering how people discovered elaborate corn mazes could be a thing. On the map were sixteen points people had to find in the maze and mark off in order to win a free box of a dozen donuts.
This was Patrick’s first corn maze and more intense than he realized. He should’ve hydrated properly. The wall of sky-high corn stalks made him gulp back a lump of intimidation. “Maybe we can just walk around a little bit.”
“No way. We are hitting all sixteen points. Can’t you smell those donuts?” Spencer turned his head to the red barn where people were lined up. “These donuts are a gift from the man above. They melt in your mouth. They are worth trudging through a corn maze.”
“Or we could just buy them?”
Patrick could tell Spencer’s competitive spirit was coming out in full force. He wanted to win, cast on his foot or not.
“Let’s do this.” Spencer clapped his hands together hard. The intensity that he tried to hide behind a good-natured smile made him incredibly sexy and caused blood to rush down to Patrick’s cock. Patrick imagined he must’ve looked this hot on the volleyball court, too.
Were they going to have to put their hands in the middle and yelldonutson the count of three?
The corn maze proved more challenging than a sport. There was strategy, but there was also a need for map-reading and logic. They quickly realized that the farm had no interest in giving away free donuts. This wasn’t a leisurely activity for the family; it was a complex puzzle that demanded endurance.
Patrick became the de-facto map reader, figuring out which avenue to take. There were so many nooks and crannies to this thing. The rain had made the pathways muddy, but Spencer didn’t seem to care about his cast getting dirty. He was on the hunt, letting out a “yes!” each time they found one of the sixteen clues.
They had found fifteen clues in just under two hours. By that point, their coats were off, their sleeves rolled up, and Patrick’s on-brand sweater was an aesthetically pleasing sweatbox. Spencer remained alert and motivated, his drive to win carrying them through.
They struggled to find the last clue, which was supposedly at the exact spot in the Death Star with the fatal flaw that Luke was able to hit. Patrick wondered if there would ever come a time when the world wasn’t obsessed withStar Wars. He saw the movie once in fifth grade, and that was enough for him.
Spencer let out the loudestYESPatrick had ever heard and ran as best he could to a skinny post tucked between corn stalks. (In the boot, his run was more like a waddle, and it was adorable.) He hi-fived Patrick so hard he left his hand red.
As proof that participants found each clue, at each station was a unique stamp hanging off the post with which to mark their map.
“Fuck. Yes.” Spencer said with a growl as he stamped their map, his face smoldering with victory.
Patrick felt the same tingling in his pants as when he’d gone to a gay sports bar once during the NBA playoffs. He grabbed Spencer by the sweater like he did in the orchard. It was turning into his signature move. He kissed him hard and quick and pulled him deep into the thick of corn stalks.
Ears of corn surrounded them as Patrick plunged his tongue into Spencer’s mouth, and Spencer met him with equal ferocity. He let his crutches drop and wrapped his arms around Patrick’s waist. He tried pushing Patrick up against the stalks but quickly realized they weren’t like trees. Patrick almost fell to the ground.
“Sorry about that,” Spencer muttered, trying to keep his voice low.
“How do we always find ourselves in compromising positions in the middle of fall landscapes?”
“You’re not in a compromising position yet.” A playful smile slashed itself across Spencer’s lips. He palmed Patrick’s aching dick over his jeans and stroked his length. Patrick turned to jelly as heat rushed into every corner of his body. Spencer’s large hands maneuvered over the outline of his dick, his eyes locked Patrick into place.
