“The last time you were out here with me, you were cursing his name.”
“That was a long, long time ago.”
“It was five days ago, Scott, but I’m glad you sorted it out.” Tim sighed as he took in Thomas. “It’s nice to see him out here enjoying the gardens again.”
Something had changed between Scott and Thomas, but neither of them brought it up. Neither of them wanted to start the conversation where they tried to work out what exactly they were and where they were going.
After Scott had used his mouth to make Thomas cum, they kissed some more on the sofa, Scott more than happy to spend the rest of the day sat in Thomas’s lap, but Thomas had brought it to an end, suggesting they both have showers before dinner.
They didn’t act like it hadn’t happened when they ate that evening, but they didn’t talk about it either. Scott itched to know whether Thomas describing him as perfect for him was said in the heat of the moment or to please their audience.
His heart hoped it had been neither; his heart wanted that statement to have been true.
Maybe the wrong person was, in fact, the right one in the end.
“Next one,” Tim said, and Scott shuffled along on his knees to the biggest tomato plant.
Scott gripped the stem, easing it over to the cane Tim had staked deep in the ground. One of the tomatoes hit his cheek like a fist, and he grunted.
“Damn it,” Tim huffed.
“What is it?”
“I’m out of cable ties.”
Scott frowned. He pointed at the half a dozen black ones pointing out of Tim’s pocket.
“They’re not biodegradable.”
“Why do you have them then?”
Tim sighed. “In case I desperately need them.”
Scott looked pointedly at the stem in his hand.
“Slowly let it go,” Tim said. He checked his watch. “If I leave now, I can get to the garden centre before it shuts.”
“Or we could finish the job now with the black cable tie…”
Tim yanked his balled-up hat from one of his pockets and shoved it on his head. “Shouldn’t be long. A few hours maybe.”
“A few hours!”
“I like to take my time.” Tim shrugged. He looked out the window. “He’s gone.”
Scott got to his feet, scanning the vicinity for Thomas.
He’d moved on from the herb garden.
“I’ll go find him,” Scott said, dusting his hands together.
“Take your net with you, it’s a windy day.”
The wind through his hair and down his loose shirt came as a relief when he left the green house. He took a deep breath, picking up mint and basil from the herb garden.
He preferred it to the warm, tomato-scented air of the greenhouse.
Scott waited for Tim to leave in his van before grabbing his net and going off in search of Thomas. He got as many leaves, petals, and twigs from the ponds as he could while admiring the huge koi carp with the scar down his side. Thomas couldn’t be seen anywhere, and Scott got as far as the wildlife pond before deciding he must’ve gone back inside the mansion. It was that, or he’d been eaten by the swans, but there were no tattered scraps of clothing in the reeds, or body parts floating in the water.
