The Stars in the Sky

Chapter 28: Tequila

Will and I walked away from the compound to his favorite bluff, which had quickly become my favorite bluff. There were no clouds in the sky and it was clear. It was an absolutely beautiful summer evening that would surely turn into a gorgeous night for stargazing.

I carried a blanket to sit on and he carried a small picnic basket with sandwiches made by Cookie, ham for Will, peanut butter for me, potato chips, watermelon, vegan chocolate cookies, water, and a huge bottle of tequila with a couple of plastic cups.

So it was going to be a party. Woo-hoo!

But I had an agenda. I wanted to know his history, his politics, and why he was so crazy about sex. I probably didn't really want to know the answers to any of it, but what could I say? I couldn't help myself.  I wanted to know.

Still, as we walked, I was suddenly shy. This was weird. I was never shy. But I guess I didn't want to spend the evening fighting with him about politics, or getting jealous of past girlfriends. And I guess I also really liked him and I didn't want to find out anything I wouldn't like.

I still felt an overwhelming urge to ask him.

I couldn't bring myself to say a word until we got to the picnic site and spread out the blanket over the low vegetation.  Since it was one of the longest days of the year, the sun was still up high in the sky. The ocean crashed below us and there was no one else around.  It was really romantic. We settled on the blanket, sitting cross-legged, facing each other.

"So I guess I shouldn't be worried about you taking me out here and taking advantage of me, given our agreement," Will joked.

"Nope. I do want to talk, Will," I said sincerely.

"'Kay."

"See, that's it. You always have one word answers. Maybe for every one word answer you have to take a shot of tequila-"

"No," interrupted Will. "But we can each take a shot now to get started. Why don't we just decide if the other has said something that deserves a shot, and that'll be it."

This could get interesting, rather quickly. I nodded. At least he was playing along.

He got out the bottle and the plastic cups, poured me a healthy shot, and himself a healthier shot, saying, "I'm bigger than you," and downed it.

I drank my shot. It warmed me up immediately. With the kids around this summer, I had not been drinking as much as I usually did. But normally, I partied quite a bit. We would see if my tolerance had changed any over the past few weeks.

Will handed me my sandwich, unwrapped his own, took a bite, and said, "Shoot, darlin'."

Now that it was my chance to grill him, I couldn't do it.

That is, I chickened out about asking him about politics. That was the deepest issue and I couldn't start with it. Better to start with some basic stuff I didn't know.

"Where did you go to school?" I asked, taking a bite of my sandwich.

"For college? Cal Poly, just up the road. I've gotta degree in Agriculture. I went to high school in Santa Ynez with all the farm kids." Local boy stays local.

"Where have you worked?"

"I've only ever worked here. My whole life. Even in college, I came back here on weekends."

"How come?"

"I don't want to be anything other than a rancher. I don't want to be anything other than what I am."

I looked at him as I chewed my sandwich. "Take a shot."

He burst out laughing. "I just took one. That's like, two questions."