“Yes and no,” she said, and she faintly heard Micah calling her name down at the other end of the table but she pretended not to hear it. “Some things, like tomatoes, I do every year. Micah always needs those. And raspberries because I like them. Other stuff, kind of depends on the year. Kale was really big for a few years but last year less so, so I guess hipsters are over that now. I planted more spinach this time instead, and that’s been doing okay.”

  “Sorry, but John, when was that Bon Iver concert again?” Alison interrupted. Matt and John started bickering about the exact day and rather than tell them to google it, Katie stole a glance at Micah and found him laughing at something Linnea had said, Gina practically tucked into his side. She picked up her glass and drained it despite it being three-quarters full.

  She put it down to see Alison, John, and Matt watching her with wide eyes. “What?” she asked.

  “None of us said a damn thing,” John said slowly. “We’re just…watching.”

  “Watching what?”

  “The evolution of a frat boy in front of our very eyes,” Matt chimed in. “I’m half expecting you to crush a beer can on your forehead.”

  “It was in a glass,” she protested, uncomfortable. Her chest felt tight, like the one time Linnea badgered her into going for a run. She pushed her way to the bar and ordered a shot in hopes that would make it go away.

  “Everything okay there?” Alison asked when she returned.

  “Everything’s fine,” she said flatly. The announcer called the contestants back up and Katie joined them, careful to put herself next to Linnea and at the other end of the line from Micah. He caught her eye and frowned, but she just waved him off.

  This round the words got slightly harder and Linnea and Jack quickly went down to millennium and ambidextrous, respectively. Katie sailed through with idiosyncrasy but Erik swapped the e and the a in medieval. Gina managed reminiscence to great applause from the audience. She smiled and did a little curtsey that made Micah laugh, and Katie started to regret chugging her beer. Micah managed tourniquet easily, and she automatically made a quick survey of their competition for the third round. There were two women— college students or recent grads, she surmised— and a small pack of three business school bros with identical swooping blond hair, plus a nondescript man in his thirties.

  “Nice job!” Gina said as they walked back. She held up her hand for a high five and Katie granted it, feeling a little guilty for her abruptly shitty mood.

  Micah grabbed her arm and let Gina get ahead of them. “What’s wrong?” he asked, and he didn’t sound annoyed, he sounded worried, which was honestly worse.

  “Nothing.”

  “Katie, come on.”

  “It’s nothing, okay?” she said, and that was the truth. Or at least she couldn’t figure out what was wrong. She was just in a crappy mood and taking it out on him, and that wasn’t fair. “Just having a day, that’s all.”

  Micah nodded warily and she snaked back to her seat where Erik had already procured her next drink. “You’re good at this,” Erik said genially. His quiet and shy nature really was at odds with the amount of tattoos decorating his arms, but since Alison started dating the Peterson family Black Sheep, Katie had really enjoyed getting to know him.

  “Pretty damn good, yeah,” she said and the pressure in her chest eased slightly. She was making a big fuss out of nothing. Being cranky was allowed, but it was also shitty to force that on your friends, so she tried to focus on the banter at the table while she downed her next beer. But the drinks were starting to get to her and she was a little fuzzy, missing jokes and struggling to come up with a witty reply. It felt like she was underwater while everyone else was on the shore, laughing while she fought for air.

  Linnea elbowed her way down the table and dropped into the seat next to her. “What is it?” she demanded.

  “Why does everyone keep asking me that?” she groused.

  “Because you keep glaring around the bar like you’re trying to set it on fire with your mind. Which, by the way, I should see if I can do some time.”

  Katie cracked a weak smile. “I’m just…I dunno, having a bad day.”

  “Because Micah brought a date?”

  “What? God, no. I was grumpy before I came,” she said, even though that wasn’t quite true. Her bad mood had definitely coincided with Gina’s arrival but that implied a whole host of things she didn’t want to think about. “Probably just tired from being out in the sun all day.”

  Linnea, in a stroke of understanding, let it go. “So how long have you guys been doing this?”

  “The Drunken Spelling Bee? Since college.”

  “Just you and Micah?” Oh, well, maybe she isn’t letting it go after all.

  “We usually bring a big group of people. Like this. His restaurant friends, mostly.”

  Katie was rescued by the third round starting. Two of the business school bros went down immediately, and one of the college girls fell right after.

  “Okay, next up, your word is fluorescent,” the judge said to Gina.

  Gina accepted the microphone with that winning smile. She was tall and willowy, just like Linnea. Except Katie didn’t feel short and dumpy next to Linnea the way she did right now. Gina’s eyes were glassy and she swayed a little, leaning against Micah. “Um…okay. Fluorescent,” she repeated and giggled. The crowd giggled with her. “F-l-o no, wait. Let me try again,” she stumbled. “Okay. F-l-u-o-r-e-s-c-e-n-t. Fluorescent.”

  The crowd burst into applause and Micah gave her a peck on the cheek, and then Katie decided she found the scuffed wooden floor more interesting than the bland guy in his thirties who gave hemorrhage two m’s and the second college girl who spelled receipt very quickly despite her slur.

  Then it was Micah’s turn. “Your word is onomatopoeia,” the judge-slash bartender announced. Micah cleared his throat and straightened his shoulders in a move so potently familiar Katie had to look away. “Onomatopoeia,” he said. Someone— Jack, if she had to guess— wolf whistled. Micah gave a crooked grin and Gina bit back a smile. “O-n-o-m…a? Yeah, a, t-o-peia,” he finished proudly. People started clapping, impressed, but the judge shook her head. “It’s p-o-e-i-a,” she told the crowd. Half of them booed and half cheered, but Micah just walked back to his seat with a friendly wave.

  “Okay, next contestant. Your word is soliloquy.” Katie took the microphone and let her eyes glaze over so she wouldn’t be distracted by the crowd. “S-o-l,” she started. A flash of movement to her right caught her eye— Gina, waving at Micah. “-i-l-o,” she faltered. Micah waved back. His eyes were on Gina, not her. She felt rotten, like she’d eaten something bad and was having an asthma attack at the same time. Q-u-y, her brain prompted. She looked at Micah again. He was smiling so broadly it made her ache. “Q-u-i-y,” she finished, and the judge shook her head sadly.

  She’d never thrown a spelling bee before. Which was a stupid thing to say because how many adults actually competed in spelling bees, but still. Usually it was down to the two of them, and she just didn’t have it in her tonight. It was stupid to feel stupid about this, but she did. Everyone at the table clapped her back sympathetically, and Micah shot her a quizzical look that she brushed off. Gina came back for her final round and everyone cheered. Katie joined in but quickly sat back against the wall, blatantly ignoring the other conversations. She felt let down and betrayed, which was ludicrous, and sad, which was worse. She couldn’t figure out why, except for the intrusive thoughts in her head she was deliberately ignoring.

  Gina won the bee with ecstasy, which seemed fitting. Those who were still up for another drink got another round, but when Alison grabbed her purse Katie seized on her chance. “I wasn’t planning on drinking this much,” she said, which was technically the truth. “Is there any chance I can crash at your place? I’ll be out super early; you’ll barely know I’m there.”

  “Al was planning on staying at my place, but we could always drop you at hers?” Erik offered. “If that’s—“

  “That’s totally fine with me,” Alison finished. “I can let you in and you can just lock the door behind you when you leave. You’re gonna be okay to get your car tomorrow?”

  “I can call a Lyft, it’s fine,” said Katie. “Thanks, guys.” She waved goodbye to the rest of the table and set off for the door.

  She only made it about ten feet before Micah stopped her. “Hey, I’m sorry if—“

  I’m sorry if you were planning on staying with me. She knew that was what he was going to say and she didn’t want to hear it. It was humiliating. “It’s fine, I was planning on staying with Alison anyway,” she blurted before he could finish. She shook off his arm and followed them out to the parking lot, Micah’s eyes heavy on her back the whole time.

  Erik had either not inherited the Peterson nosiness or he’d just learned to keep his damn mouth shut, because the short drive to Alison’s place was blessedly silent. Alison let her in and told her it was fine to sleep in her bed, and apologized for not having a spare toothbrush. “It’s fine,” Katie said for what felt like the millionth time.

  But it felt weird sleeping in Alison’s bed, because she had a plan for tonight and it didn’t involve staying by herself in her friend’s apartment while Micah was— she stopped herself before her brain went too far down that path. And Alison’s bed was too bed-like, which made her remember Micah and the heavy weight of his arm over her side. So she grabbed a blanket and a pillow from the closet and set herself up on the couch. It was less comfortable but also somehow easier, and she set her alarm for 4:30 to make it home in time to get the chores started.

  Still, it took her a long, long time to fall asleep.

  It took her several days to get over feeling weird about what had happened at the spelling bee, and she’d been avoiding Micah’s texts ever since. But then delivery day rolled around and she couldn’t avoid it anymore. Katie shouldered open the back door to Witch Lake Burgers. “Got your veggies,” she called and Micah stuck his head around the corner. Maybe if she pretended nothing was wrong, nothing would be.

  “I was wondering if you were dead or just avoiding me,” Micah replied flatly.

  Or maybe not. “It’s August. Shit’s coming in fast now,” she said with a shrug. “And I was going to bring up a new batch of stuff so I figured we could talk now.”

  “You could have responded to a text,” he said and leaned back against the walk-in, crossing his arms. “In fact, I honestly can’t remember you ever doing something like this before. So what is it?”

  “It’s nothing,” she said and set down the tomatoes. “I was in a shitty mood and I was embarrassed, that’s all.”

  “Embarrassed to be in a bad mood?”

  “Yeah.” She focused on carrying in the boxes from the stack she’d made by the door keep from having to look at him.

  Micah plucked a bright red tomato from the box next to her and considered it. They were a little smaller than usual, which generally indicated her powers weren’t at full strength. “Since when do you hide that from me?”

  “I’m a private person,” she protested.

  “Yeah, with everyone else.” He stepped in front of her as she tried make it to the counter, planting his feet and staring her down. “What’s wrong? Is it— is it Gina?” He asked the question delicately, like he was setting down a bomb. “Of course it’s not Gina.” She sidestepped Micah and set down the load. “I just—“

  “Just what? I know you. Something’s up.”

  His tone was soothing, endearing, full of love. And that made her feel worse. “I don’t know, okay? Everything was fine until it wasn’t.”

  “And you had to ignore me because of that why?”

  “You were busy.”

  “You think so?” he replied with an edge in his voice.

  “You had other plans, okay? You had other plans and you didn’t tell me.”

  “So this is about Gina,” he said, the edge gone already. Micah never stayed mad at her, which was honestly frustrating. Didn’t he get it? She was difficult. He deserved to be mad.

  “I mean, kind of, but not really. I just felt dumb, you know? I assumed I’d stay at your place and you assumed I wouldn’t, and it’s not a big deal but I felt dumb.”

  “I should have thought of that,” Micah said gently. “I’m sorry. I should have let you know I was bringing Gina.” He held his arms open and Katie let him draw her into a hug. She fit neatly below his chin—and had since his growth spurt sophomore year of high school— and she wrapped her arms around his back. It was just stupid irrationality on her part, to have been so hurt by something so small. But she also should have just told him. It was Micah, after all. They could work through it. She breathed him in, his scent reminding her of home and love and safety. And she should be the one apologizing to him, not the other way around.

  “I should have responded to your texts,” she mumbled into his chest.

  “Yeah, that would have saved a lot of time,” he laughed. “But while you’re up here, want to eat lunch?”

  Katie stepped back and nodded, following him deeper into the kitchen.

  Witch Lake Burgers did a slow but steady business for lunch, leaving plenty of space at the bar for her. Micah sent the bartender on his break and took over, leaning his thick, muscular forearms on the glossy wood while Katie took her time deliberating. “What I want is the spinach and goat cheese flatbread,” she said, frowning. “But I really should be getting back to the farm, so I should probably just get a sandwich.”

  “Is anything going to go bad if it gets picked later tonight or tomorrow morning?” Micah asked.

  “I mostly just don’t want to get too far behind.”

  “Spinach flatbread it is,” Micah said with a wink. “Come on, stick around for a bit.” Katie relented and Micah went back into the kitchen to get it started.

  A man came in and took a seat to her left. He was young, more or less her age, with dirty blond hair and a lanky frame. Katie handed over her menu and tipped her head towards the kitchen door. “He’ll be back out in a second.”

  The guy nodded. “What do you recommend?”

  “Goat cheese and spinach flatbread is my current favorite.”

  “Current? So you come here a lot?”

  Katie took another look at him. He wasn’t quite her type— a little too skinny, a little too city—but he wasn’t bad looking. “I’m a little biased. Part owner,” she confessed. “And those are my veggies, so maybe extra biased.”

  “Your veggies? You grow them in a garden or something?”

  “I’m a farmer,” she said, and watched Micah come out of the kitchen out of the corner of her eye. “I’m Katie.”

  “Nick,” he replied, and shook her proffered hand.

  “What can I get you?” Micah asked. His voice was unusually deep, even for him.

  “This one here recommends the spinach flatbread.”

  “Course she does. It’s her favorite.” Normally Micah was charming as all-get-out with customers, but something had him bristling.

  Nick lifted his eyebrows. “Then…I’ll have that.”

  “Got it.”

  “So if you’re part owner, does that make you his boss?”

  Katie threw her head back and laughed. Nine times out of ten, she tended to shut small talk like this down, especially when she sensed someone was edging towards flirting, but for some reason she decided to encourage him. Micah had yet to give Nick’s order to the kitchen, fiddling with freshly washed glasses behind the bar instead. “We’re partners,” he said flatly.

  Nick cast a wary glance between them. “Oh, so like—“

  “No, not like that,” Katie interjected. Micah didn’t look up, just walked back to the swinging door between the bar and kitchen and barked an order to the staff.

  “You’re sure?” Nick said with a tilt of his head.

  “Positive,” Katie said. She watched Nick’s eyes trail over her shoulder, which was nicely muscled from working outside for long hours. Her sleeveless top showed off her arms quite well, if she did say so herself, and her boobs were looking spectacular today. Finding someone to date when you generally hated people was hard. Finding someone in a small town in Minnesota was even harder, assuming you were ruling out bigots, grandfathers, and men who hung confederate flags off their pickup trucks. Granted, the Venn Diagram of the first and last two groups was a circle, but still— it was harder than you’d think. Suddenly, Nick seemed like a real possibility, and it had been a long time since she last broke her dry spell.

  And if Micah got to date, so did she. It’s not like they had an understanding or anything. “What do you do, Nick?”

  “It’s boring,” he said, a little sheepish. “I’m an accountant, which usually ends the conversation right there.”

  “Hey, if I wasn’t a farmer, that’s exactly what I’d be,” she said, flashing him her best smile. Micah gave a grumpy snort, but she ignored him. “So where do you work?”

  Nick answered her question, but kept throwing wary glances at Micah, who now seemed to just be lurking. He wasn’t joining in the conversation, but every so often Katie would say something and Micah would scoff or shake his head. It bugged her, which made her try and flirt harder. But the more she tried batting her eyelashes and laughing at Nick’s observations, the more Nick cooled off. By the time their flatbreads came out, she’d given up, and her annoyance with Micah was steadily rising. “You know what? I should take this to go. Gotta get back to work,” Nick said, still flickering his eyes between them.

  “Could have told me that earlier,” Micah grumbled, but he took the plate back and slid the pizza into a box with ill-humor. Nick paid his bill and left with an awkward wave.

  Katie waited until he was safely out of earshot before she rounded on Micah. “Thanks for the cockblock,” she hissed.

  “Please. Like you’d be interested in someone like him,” Micah snorted.

  “How do you know?”

  “For one thing, you generally don’t like guys that boring. For another thing, since when do you flirt with strangers?”

 

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