Page 33 of Ginjuh

The piece of paper that contained Austin’s perfectly penned poem got folded and put in the front hip pocket of my jeans. In the days and weeks that followed, it got stuffed into the hip pocket of whatever pair of pants I was wearing. It was never far from my body unless I was sleeping or showering. It was like carrying a piece of Austin with me wherever I went. I stopped asking Austin why he wrote in his notebook, but I never stopped wanting to read any poem that he wrote. While we didn’t talk about things like “what are we?” or “does this mean we’re boyfriends” or anything like that, we fell into a comfortable routine of seeing each other in school, spending time doing things after school, texting, talking on the phone, and working together on the weekends.

Grandpa watched us both with an eagle’s eye at first, which unnerved me at first, but then I realized he was making sure that I wasn’t lying about Austin’s work ethic just to keep him around. After he realized that Austin worked as hard as I did, he stopped watching us, unless it was to give us a glance and smile when he saw us happily talking, or bumping into each other, or holding hands. After a while, the three of us became our own little tribe, working together and sharing the weekends with each other. I never thought that my time with Grandpa could be better. I certainly never thought that adding another person to the mix would be the thing that did it, if it did in fact occur, but Austin fit in with Grandpa and me like he’d always been there.

I couldn’t say that I was necessarily in love with Austin—but I missed him when he wasn’t with me.

“Do you think these pumpkins will last the whole month? Austin asked as he heaved another pumpkin into place from the bed of the truck. “I mean, won’t they rot?”

“Nah.” I shrugged. “They’ll last as long as they don’t get damaged.”

I looked over to watch Austin heave another pumpkin out of the truck, noticing the biceps that had developed in his arms over the last month and a half. My stomach flip-flopped a little when I noticed that his shoulders looked broader, his hair a little lighter, his skin a little darker. Dirt was smudged on his nose and he was grinning as he lifted pumpkins. I wanted to go to him and wipe the smudge away. Kiss him deeply. Feel the length of his body against mine. I had to adjust myself as I reached into the truck bed to grab another pumpkin myself.

“It’s still so hot,” Austin said simply as we worked.

“Yeah.”

“I hope it’s cooler for when the corn maze opens. I mean, who wants to have Swamp Ass when they’re trying to enjoy a hayride or corn maze, ya’ know?”

I laughed loudly as I placed a pumpkin along the pathway in the corn maze, then stripped my sweat-soaked shirt off and slung it over the side of the truck. Austin was standing on the other side of the bed and was staring at me when I looked up.

“What?”

“Nothing.” He swallowed.

“Okay, weirdo.” I winked and started to reach into the truck bed for another pumpkin to lift out.

“Your, um, body…” Austin began.

I leaned up to look at him quizzically.

“Yeah?” I looked down at my front, expecting to find a smear of dirt or something strange. “What’s wrong?”

“I like it,” Austin said softly, then blushed.

Looking over at him, the red appearing on the face that was tanner than when he had started working at Grandpa’s farm, I found myself embarrassed. But not in a bad way. Instead of letting myself blush—which would be all too evident with my complexion, I lifted my arms and flexed comically as I made grimacing faces like a person in a body-building competition. Austin laughed, but the blush in his cheeks didn’t go away.

“Like what you see here?” I teased, still flexing.

“Are you a virgin?” He asked suddenly.

I did stop flexing them, my arms slowly lowering to my sides.

“I mean…uh…have you ever…uh…ya’ know…done…things…with other guys?” The blush in his cheeks deepened, but to his credit, Austin kept his eyes on mine.

“No.” I did blush then. “I mean, I’ve never even seen another guy naked, except like in gym. Well, and Jay—but not like in that way. And the internet. I’ve, uh, seen guys on the…yeah.”

Austin actually giggled.

“God bless the internet, right?” He smiled.

I looked down, grinning widely.

“Have you?” I asked, looking up. “I mean, ya’ know? Done things?”

“No.” He shook his head slowly.

I nodded back.

“Would…would you like to see me naked?” He asked sheepishly.