Chapter Seven
INTO THE WOODS
or
Not a Very Smooth Seduction
I GAZED ATthe crowd on the front lawn of the main house before descending from the porch and stepping onto the grass of the lawn.Adam waved me over to where he stood beside Kamal at the large grill, conversing in the evening light.
I walked over, scanning the group of gathered people but not seeing the one man I was actually looking for.
“Oliver!Glad you made it down for supper today,” Adam said.He held aMad Tom IPAfrom the Muskoka Brewing Company in his hand and took a swig while Kamal flipped a burger on the grill.
“You are multitalented, Kamal,” I said, grinning.
Kamal winked.“I don’t just jerk off ponyboys, you know.”
God, I felt like I’d known these people for weeks already, and I’d only been on the ranch a couple of days.Someone bumped my elbow and I gazed down into Liv’s smiling face.
“Howdy, Oliver.Want a beer?”She held an IPA out to me.
“Sure.Thanks,” I said, taking it and tipping it to my lips.The cold amber liquid quenched the edges of my thirst.
“How’s the photography going?Think you’ve got enough subject matter to keep you busy for a while?”
I laughed, waggling my eyebrows.“Oh yeah.I’ve only tapped the surface of this place.”
“But what a surface!”
Adam spoke up.“I can attest that the money we’re paying Mr.Lambert is well worth what we’re getting.”
I’d forwarded Adam a few of the initial shots, and he’d seemed very happy with them.Beforehand, I had gone over all the captures, and I was excited to select the very best, make minor adjustments, and pretty them up with filters.But I’d kept the images as raw as possible to maintain the authenticity of the ranch and give viewers the feeling they were seeing something real.
“Thank you,” I said, tipping my beer in his direction like a salute.
“My ponyboy seemed to enjoy your visit to the paddock,” Kamal said, turning hot dogs with a pair of tongs.
I frowned.“Really?He looked like he wanted to drive a stake through my heart.”
Except for at the end, when Kamal had left us alone and Puck had pressed his cheek against my lips when I’d kissed him.Or had I only imagined it?
Kamal rolled his eyes.“Some of these ponyboys speak a different ‘love language,’ that’s all.”
I blushed.“Oh,” I said, while Adam chuckled.
“‘Love language’ or ‘sex slang’?Maybe ‘sex slang’ is a better term, Kamal,” Adam said.
“Yeah.Anyway, I think he likes you, Oliver.”He waved his tongs at me and smirked.
“Well, I…don’t know what to say about that.”
Adam put a hand on my back.“Just remember what I said.”
He exchanged a glance with Kamal, who rolled his eyes.
I nodded.“Sure.”
I cleared my throat and redirected the conversation away from me.
