The Boy in the Woods (2014 Wattys Winner, Wattpad Version)

Chapter 8 - Hearts Made of Stone

Excited about having a picnic, Jess half ran, half walked to the cabin, anxious to get her and Marty's lunches. As soon as she burst into the clearing, she ran to the cabin and into the kitchen where she snatched her basket and his battered brown paper bag off the counter, then turned and sprinted back to the path. 

On the way back to the pond, she tried to figure out how she could give Marty the extra sandwich she'd brought for him, without him realizing the reason why.  But by time she reached the pond, she still didn't have any idea.

Marty was sitting on the fallen tree trunk wearing his jeans but no shirt.  He stood as she approached him and she turned her head to avoid looking at his bare chest.  Unfortunately, she noticed his underpants lying across a bush some distance away. 

Oh, no, she thought.  He was naked under his jeans.  Not wanting to think about it, she turned her head the other way only to have her eyes rest on her own underwear lying in a wet heap on the ground near the tree trunk.  She was mortified.  How could she have just left them there?  She knew he had to have seen them. 

"Here," she said, thrusting his paper bag at him without meeting his eyes. 

As soon as he took it, she quickly scooped up her underwear, hoping he didn't notice her flaming face.  Hiding behind a bush, she squeezed the excess water out of her undershirt and panties, then laid them out on the top of the bush to dry in the sun, making sure Marty wouldn't be able to see them from where he was.

When she stepped out from behind the bush, Marty was seated on the grass under one of the willow trees next to the pond.  He was slowly untwisting the top of his paper bag with his head down and his half-dry hair falling over his eyes.  She stepped through the veil of willow branches and sat near him, carefully tucking her skirt around her bare legs.

She waited for him to acknowledge her presence, but he seemed intent on the task of opening the top of his bag, so she bent over the basket on her lap and opened the dish towel Annie had used to line it.  Marty pulled out a thin sandwich crudely wrapped in wax paper and started unwrapping it. 

Wishing more than ever she knew how to go about giving him a sandwich, Jess took out one of her wrapped sandwiches.  She couldn't help noticing how thick it was compared to his.  Then she saw his unwrapped sandwich as he began to bring it up to his mouth.

"Is that peanut butter and jelly?" she asked loudly, and his hand froze halfway to his mouth.

"Yeah," he said warily, his eyes suddenly guarded.  "What of it?" Immediately alerted she was on shaky ground, she began carefully.

"Oh, I just – haven't had one in forever," she said, smiling in an attempt to reassure him.  "My uncle doesn't like peanut butter – so we don't have any in the house," she added.

"Oh," he said, then shrugged his slim shoulders as he began to raise the sandwich to his mouth.

"Marty?" she said, stopping him again. 

"What?" he said, clearly annoyed.

"Would you mind – I mean, would you like to trade sandwiches with me?" she said, holding hers out.  He looked between her and the sandwich with suspicion, weighing her intentions.  She tried to keep her face neutral.  "It's ham and cheese, but – maybe you don't like Swiss cheese," she added, suddenly remembering how she used to hate it when she was little.

"I – like it okay," he said hesitantly, but he still seemed reluctant.

"Please?  I really miss peanut butter and jelly."  He looked in her eyes for a long moment, and then his face lost some of the tension.