If you wanted to [TordTom]

XXII

Tom is trying his best not to look at his phone, especially when Tord is so enthusiastic about showing him around the place. They walked in silence for the most part, occasionally broken up by Tord pointing to anything that caught his eye or reminded him of something during his 20s. Tom clutched the phone tightly, he set it to vibrate without a ring for every notification just so he wouldn't miss it; he felt rude to be holding Tord's hand and the phone on the other, surely Tord would appreciate undivided attention from him, but maybe it wouldn't hurt to look for a second.

"UPDATE ON YOUR SUBMISSION?"

The message was sent last 3 days ago, the notification still in bold since Tom didn't press on it. He really needed to work on it; but for the past few days, Tord had been occupying his mind a lot more. Tom bit his lip and breathed out slowly–the day wasn't over yet, he could write later in the evening.

The two stop in front of a beach front. Tord places down the suitcase and lets go of Tom's hand as he starts tapping the fence frantically. Before Tom could ask, Tord quickly turned around–

"Tom, can I tell you something?"

"Sure...do you need help with...that..." Tom stops himself as he watches Tord try to push against the fence. Tord's face is becoming red as he beaded with sweat, accompanied by Tord's quiet grunts (Tom pursed his lips to stop a smile from forming).

The sound of a gate creaking snaps Tom off his daydream. Tord takes off his coat, revealing his broad shoulders and muscles, now more visible due to sweat making his shirt stick. Tord turns around with a satisfied smile before his eyes land on Tom.

"Like what you see?" Tord says with a teasing smile, the moment he realizes where Tom was looking.

Tom is rendered speechless as a flush crawls across his face before bursting out laughing–he was not going to lose anything for allowing Tord to poke fun at him.

"What were you going to tell me again?"

Tord rolls his eyes at the topic change, but his lips are still curled into an awkward smile, "nothing...I just really appreciate you being here, and before you go in, I really haven't cleaned this place up since 2018 or 16..."

Tom raises his eyebrows, "Why? What is this place?"

"This probably isn't as romantic as the last location, but it is personal and it would make sense to give my second gift here," Tord drones off as he gently pulls Tom towards the gate.

Behind the gated fence is a small path of gravel on the coastal dune with yellow wildflowers. Tom continues walking until his feet touch against an old tarp

'No trespassing: Private Property'

Tom stops walking, "Tord, should we be here? I think this is someone's private--"

Tord turns around and raises a brow, "I know, I own this."

Out of curiosity, Tom runs up to Tord, "You own a private beach?"

Tord laughs off Tom's question, nodding playfully; though, there is some doubt that it could be partially owned by Tord's family. Nonetheless, Tom experiences the same pang of jealousy and insecurity as before, heightened by the realization that he's jeopardizing his job for every hour spent during this date. He looks around in silence, seeing the vast expanse of the land. Tom's suspicion falters when he spots random bits of wood and metal with bullet holes, tools, paint, cans, rusted exercise gear, and old bottles–it was without a doubt, Tord's place.

"You're officially the first person to step foot here." Tord smiles proudly, he wraps an arm around Tom and drags him along the path, "not even my family has visited."