I groan and shove my face back into his chest. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Nope. Small-town gossip pipeline. Comes free with every pint.” He threads his fingers through my hair. “So you saw him?”
“Yeah. He was with a guy, and they were all touchy together.” The memory makes my stomach twist. “I handled it so badly, Troy. I basically cornered him at my stall and asked if the rumor was true.”
Troy winces. “Oof.”
“I didn’t mean it like that,” I rush to explain. “I just—I panicked. I’ve been thinking about it ever since Luke told me last week. And when I saw him, I just blurted it out. Like an asshole.”
He hums thoughtfully, rubbing slow circles into my back. “Did you say anything awful?”
“I asked if he was gay. In public. At my table. Like I was interrogating him.” Shame burns hot in my chest. “He looked at me like I’d just punched him in the face.”
Troy’s teasing expression fades. “Okay. Yeah. That’s not great.”
“I know.” My voice cracks a little. “I wasn’t trying to out him or judge him. I just… I don’t know. I think I wanted to know if it was possible.”
He tilts my chin up gently. “Possible?”
“That someone like him could just… say it. Out loud.” I swallow. “That maybe I’m not the only one in this town feeling like this.”
Something soft settles over Troy’s features. “Oh,” he says quietly.
I scrub a hand over my face. “He ended up storming off. I probably confirmed every fear he had, thinking I’m ignorant like Luke.”
Troy squeezes me once more. “I’m sorry, baby.”
I sag further into his arms, nuzzling my face into the warm crook of his neck. “It’s fine. I just want to wallow in self-pity for a while.”
His lips curve against my hair, brushing a kiss over the crown of my head. “For what it’s worth,” he says gently, “you’re definitely not alone. I’m sure you were surrounded by tons of queer folks growing up. Even if we don’t always show it, we always exist.”
My throat tightens as I trace my fingers across his chest, grounding myself in the steady rise and fall of his breathing. “I love this town so damn much, Troy. It’s myhome.” My voice wavers despite my best effort. “I just wish it loved me back.”
He pulls back just enough to look at me, his hands sliding up to cup my face. “Hey,” he says quietly. “This town doesn’t get to decide whether you belong here. You already do.”
I close my eyes and nod. “Yeah. I know.”
He drops another quick kiss to my cheek and drags his hand down my body in soothing circles, his palm slipping beneath the hem of my T-shirt.
I grimace as his hand slides over my tacky skin. “Ugh. I’m gross,” I complain, squirming away. “I was sweating all day at the farmers market.”
Troy leans in anyway, crowding closer, his lips brushing the shell of my ear. “I could make you even dirtier,” he murmurs.
I gape at him and shove his shoulder. “You’re disgusting.”
A laugh betrays me before I can stop it.
He grins down at me, teeth catching on his lip ring as his brown eyes go soft and pleased with himself. “Maybe,” he says, reaching up to tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. “But I finally got you to smile.”
Heat floods my cheeks. God, he’s ridiculous. And adorable. Andmine.
Before he can say anything else, I grab the front of his shirt and crash my mouth against his, grinning into the kiss just to shut him up.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Troy
Itshouldbeimpossiblefor someone to be sexy while wearing overalls. I never thought anyone could pull them off without looking like they were headed to plow a field with a piece of hay stuck between their teeth, but Ashton Tremblay keeps proving me wrong. The denim hugs his ass in all the right places.
