Chapter 14

After a while, Uncle Bear sliced up this massive watermelon and handed me the juiciest piece. Before he did, he wiped his hands on his shirt, gave me this big grin, and said, "Washed it a bunch, it's clean."

"Thanks," I said, taking a bite. "It's sweet."

Everyone cracked up.

But for some reason, I started feeling kinda down. They were all good folks.

I glanced over at Jason, who was been under the car all morning, not saying a word to me.

I grabbed a piece of watermelon and headed over to him.

"My hands are filthy, you eat it," he grumbled, too busy to even look at me.

"I can feed you..."

"No"

Despite he refused me, I shove a bite of watermelon into his mouth.

His face, already smeared with grease, now had watermelon juice and seeds all over it. I asked, "Is it sweet, Uncle?"

He stared at me for a few seconds, then looked away, swallowing hard, clearly about to lose it.

"How about another bite?" I didn't wait for an answer and shoved another piece into his mouth.

This time, his face was a mess of watermelon seeds.

It seemed that I was not exactly a pro at this.

His face got darker and darker. "Rachel! Clean me up!" he growls, looking like he's about to blow a fuse.

"Oh, right, Uncle Bear wanted me to help with the windows. Gotta go!" I said, casually walking away with my watermelon.

Thinking I'm in the clear, I dashed back to Uncle Bear's side.
But less than five minutes later, I got yanked into the house from the crowd.

"Jason," I muttered, feeling a bit scared.

"You've got some nerve, huh? Think you can mess with me?" His shadow loomed over me. "Clean it up."

"I don't have any tissue," I whispered.

"I don't care," he snapped.

"You!" I gritted my teeth. "Fine, lower your head a bit."

I reached out and gently wiped the watermelon seeds off his face with my index finger.

He bent down, getting way too close, his breath all over my neck. My heart started racing.

"Don't... don't breathe," I stammered.

"Why? My breathing bothering you?" He paused, then backed off a bit. "Jumping from just this? Haven't you been this close to a guy before?"

"I... I don't know."

"Weren't you just cozy with that fat guy, calling him uncle and helping him out? Didn't see you panicking then."

He snorted, grabbed a towel, wet it under the faucet, and scrubbed his face and hair vigorously.

"He's way older than me. Shouldn't I call him uncle?"

"I'm also way older than you, but I don't hear you calling me uncle. It's always Jason," he said with a weird tone.

"Fine, I'll call you uncle from now on," I quickly corrected myself.

"No, stop it. I can't handle that," he said, roughly drying his hair and tossing the towel at me. "Take it and wash it, be good."

When he said "be good," it reminded me of that dream where he called me "good" and tricked me...

Thinking about it made my ears burn red. I grabbed the towel and bolted.