Bloom - Greta Van Fleet

Chapter Four

"Go and sit down, Sammy," The youngest brother turned when he heard Jake's voice call out. "You've been at work all day. Must be tired by now." It was true, Sam could feel his bones aching after a full day on his feet. He was tempted by his brother's offer, but there was just a little something stopping him. "Go get a drink."

"I think I'm okay." He mumbles, eyes intently watching the fire.

It wasn't like he didn't like Esme. In truth, he didn't really know what his opinions on her were. The two had barely talked at the bar, Sam choosing to watch her talk to her two brothers instead. He liked seeing how well they got on with each other, so why did he feel so strange around her? Why did he so desperately want to avoid even the possibility of her talking to him? It had gotten to the point of him picking random people in the bar to talk to when he felt the conversation heading in his direction. There was just something about her that made him uneasy, and that wasn't a feeling he enjoyed.

"You know," Josh cleared his throat, catching Sam's attention. "I think the two of you would really get on. Just speak to her a little." So, they'd noticed his behaviour. Sam silently cursed himself out for making it so obvious.

"I'm not avoiding her, you know." He muttered, taking a sip from his drink to combat the dry feeling in his mouth. His brothers both let out a chuckle at their little brother.

He was definitely avoiding her, and they could both see that. The short glances in her direction, and the pink that rose to his cheeks whenever accidental eye contact was made confirmed that it wasn't a dislike for her that he had, but it was certainly different to how he usually acted with women he took a fancy to. What they were witnessing was similar to a schoolboy crush, which matched perfectly with whatever Esme seemed to have going for him.

"Well, she's alone now," He pointed back to the girl he'd left sitting on the deck. Sam glanced back at her, noticing her watching the group. He had to smirk a little when her eyes quickly moved onto something else, a blush rising up to her face. "I'm sure she wants some company." The youngest was oblivious to the teasing tone in his brother's voice, still watching Esme. "Go to her, little brother."

Sam wasn't sure why he'd listened to Jake, but before he knew it, his legs were carrying him towards the back porch of the tiny red cabin. She still had her eyes locked on the trees, too deep in thought to notice Sam, now just a few feet away.

She was incredibly pretty, he had to admit, with dyed ginger hair that shimmered in the sun. It ran down her back in neat plaits, stopping just above her waist. Her skin was smooth, a light glow sitting just below. She must've taken pretty good care of it to make it look like that, Sam thought to himself. His eyes flickered across to her hands that sat tapping slow rhythms onto her lap. Her nails were uneven, some left to grow, some bitten down to the nub. Obviously, she was trying to get out of the habit, but it seemed as though she was having some trouble.

"Uh, hey." She visibly jumped, eyes tearing away from the forest to look at the man who'd disrupted her thoughts. As her eyes were on him, he felt it again; that uneasiness that had made him avoid her until now. He gave a tight smile, trying to seem polite. He didn't see whether she returned it, too busy trying to find something else other than her to focus on. "Jake said you had something to drink. Could I get a glass?"

Esme nodded, telling him where to find the glasses and the lemonade. He followed her instructions, moving through the cabin towards the 'kitchen', if you could even call it that. The fridge and oven took up a lot of space, only leaving two or three kitchen cabinets for her things, and barely any counter space. A lot of it was taken up by a toaster and kettle that looked suspiciously like the set that had gone missing from their shop's staff room. On the end of the bench was a little notebook that looked on the verge of falling apart; clearly, it was very well-loved. Sam wasn't the type to rifle through other people's things, but the temptation to look in the mysterious book was eating him up.