More to You ✔

Chapter 28 Waterfall (Maria)

Photo credit: Ash Edmonds from Unsplash

***

Maria and Tom walked in silence down the boardwalk, leading to a lone gazebo overlooking the mountaintop strawberry fields. A gentle breeze eased the tropical sun's heat. They passed several laughing and smiling tourists, but that energy didn't transfer to Tom whose jaw was still tense.

After how quickly his mood had turned, Maria wondered if she was the problem. First, she'd made her friendship with Mitch awkward, and she'd ruined a decent day with Tom. She should have left the past buried where it belonged. Once under the grass roof's cool shade, she leaned over the gazebo's railing and gazed at the farmers tending their fields. Would her life ever look that peaceful, or did they have insecurities tormenting them too?

Footsteps drew closer and stopped at her side. Tom's piney scent intensified, and he sighed beside her. "Sorry about earlier. Your question brought up some feelings I thought I'd already dealt with."

"It's fine, Tom. We should focus on the future, not the past."

"I want to be honest with you. I have nothing to hide." He rested his elbows on the railing and picked at his thumbnail. "My ex loved horses. After we'd been dating for a month, I took her to a ranch my friend's family owned, and we rode through the foothills. I brought a picnic lunch with the foods I'd noticed she liked. I should have seen she was more excited about the experience than us becoming a couple." He ran a hand over his freckled arm. "How did things start with your ex?"

It had been a cliff dive of unrestrained first love, racing faster than she'd expected, but it had felt perfectly right. Tom wouldn't see it that way, and to be honest, if someone tried the same thing with her now—which Mitch implied ages ago—she'd turn them down, at least until recently. She took a breath. Mitch was elsewhere, living his life how he wanted. No sense dwelling on the pain he'd caused. Tom waited with a patient smile.

"We met after one of his shows. He invited my best friend and me back to a bonfire at his friend's place. She had been friends with the band since high school, so it wasn't as sketchy as it sounds. He and I chatted for hours," and made out. "We both fell hard for each other after that."

Tom stared at his hands. "Simple, but I guess classics work."

"Or I was young and naïve," Maria said.

"That's why dating gets trickier. We're stuck making up for other people's transgressions, which destroy our ability to trust or give ourselves freely."

Could that be the case for Mitch? He'd told her he cared about her, that he didn't want to hurt her, but maybe he was protecting himself or he just wanted to have carefree sex without drama. He was honest to the point of bluntness, and he knew her well enough to avoid anything serious.

Stop thinking about that man! Tom's the one here and sharing his painful past.

"It also teaches you what you don't want," Maria said.

"Good point, like image-absorbed energy goblins."

Maria laughed, picturing her ex with some more pointed and ugly features. "I like that, energy goblin, or in my case: a time, energy, money, and happiness goblin in need of constant reassurance he wasn't."

"There's your stunning smile."

Maria bit her lip to keep it from growing, and warmth filled her chest. As much as her heart was still raw with Mitch's rejection, Tom's lighter, playful side drew her in more each time it appeared. She didn't know if the mountain air or Mitch's absence caused it, but this trip brought out a more attractive side of Tom.