Apple Orchards and Admittance

It was a cold autumn day, perfect for apple picking in Kristine’s opinion. She shivered slightly as a crisp breeze blew in and shifted closer to the person next to her. It was her best friend, Cole. They were at Maple Farms, their favorite orchard in the state. It was also owned by Kristie’s aunt, which meant free entry.

   For seventeen years, Kristie had been coming to Maple Farms. She had barely been six her first time, not even up to her father’s shoulder. For the last thirteen, Cole had come along too. He was practically part of the family; why shouldn’t he? No matter what Scarlet Blake said.

   “Hey, Kristie, something on your mind?” Cole asked, gently nudging her. Kristie realized she’d been scowling and quickly tried to cover it with a smile.

   “Nah, I’m just thinking about how many more apples I’m gonna pick than you,” she teased. Cole looked unconvinced but said nothing. 

   “Come on!” Kristie persisted, grabbing his hand. “It’s going to get dark eventually!”

   It was only two pm, but he wasn’t going to argue with her. When Kristie had her mind set on something, there was no stopping her.

They sprinted into the orchard, quickly picking up two abandoned baskets, and got to work. Before Kristie could even count to ten, Cole was up a tree. He had always been a good climber. 

   “Kristie, think quick!” Cole shouted, simultaneously throwing three apples to Kristie, who yelped quickly before catching them in her basket.

   They went on like this for a while before Cole, at last, grabbed two more apples and slowly slid down the tree, tossing one to Kristie and taking a large bite out of the other. Taking a large bow, he thumped down. Kristie snatched it, laughing at his theatrics.

   They ate in silence for a minute, listening to the sound of the leaves rustling in the wind. Kristie’s hair was blowing in her face when she finally got up the nerve to say, “I- I’m surprised you came today.”

   “Whaddya mean, Kristie, of course, I came! I’ve been coming here with you for twelve years now,” he said.

   “Well, yeah, but… I mean, what about your girlfriend, Scarlet?” Kristie asked bitterly. With her hair covering her face and her disheveled clothes, she looked a mess.

   “Girlfriend? Kristie, I don’t know what you’re talking about! Scarlet’s just a friend, nothing more.” Cole was surprised by what was bothering her; he’d halfway thought drama like that would be over with college.

   “That’s not her story,” Kristie said under her breath, and all pretense of a nice conversation was gone. She scowled at him, awaiting a reply.

   “...well, what is her story, then?” he asked. She blinked a few times, expecting something different. She didn’t know why, exactly; he was always the silent one. She’d gotten him to come out of his shell somewhat, but he was still analytical and quiet. A perfect contract to her bold loudness. She tried not to smile as she thought about it. He, meanwhile, thought she was judgmentally glaring at him.

   Boy were they having a great time.

   “Welllll, ever since the fall of our last year of school, Scarlet’s had her hands on you 24/7. Everyone goes around saying you’re a couple. I know she told you not to come today, Cole.” She paused, and was hurt when he said nothing. “You can’t lie to me.”

   “K- Kristie, I- I’m not…” he tried to think of some way to tell her that she was wrong. That she wasn’t being fair. She’d had boyfriends in the past. But he knew Kristie. Actions spoke louder than words for her. So he did what he thought was the obvious.

   He kissed her.

   It was gentle, soft, a whisper in the shade. All the things a first kiss should be. Because never in their fourteen years had they kissed. They’d always stayed just friends, an unspoken agreement that nothing should change because what if it doesn’t work out?

   But underneath the apple tree at Maple Farms, neither of them cared. Scarlet could go find another guy to make her happy, or to flaunt to everyone else. This moment was them. Perfect and untouched, exactly what their trips were supposed to be.

   “W- wow,” Kristie said, pulling away. She quickly put a hand over her mouth, and said, though muffled, “I can’t believe we just did that. I can’t believe you just did that! I can’t believe I just did that.”

   “...did you mind?” Cole asked, his eyebrow slightly arched.

   “Well, no, but-“

   “Is there really a ‘but’ there? Kristie, I- I’ve loved you. For years. We’ve been friends for fourteen years. You’ve never once abandoned me. Never. When- when you broke up with Jake, I- I was going to say something, but it was never the right moment.”

   “Cole, that was ten months ago!” Kristie protested.

   “I know.”

   “Cole, I-“

   “Kristie, if you could please make this less embarrassing, I think I should go,” he said, standing up and quickly brushing the leaves off his shirt.

   Kristie beat him to the next tree, cornering him with a well-placed arm. And this time she was the one who kissed him, a bit less tender than before. (Not that he could say he minded; he didn’t.)

   After what felt like a second but was closer to two minutes, they both pulled away, breathing quickly.

   “Well, Cole…” Kristie mumbled, a little breathless, looking at the ground, “if you maybe wanted to see a movie sometime, that’d be nice. You’d have to pay, though.”

   “Kristine Palmer, are you asking me on a date?” Cole asked, a smile quirking onto his lips.

   “No, that was implied. What I asked was for you to pay. Deal?”

   “It’s a date,” he replied, smiling. He turned to her and did a mock-now. “Now, Miss Kristine, would you like to go get some apple cider inside? It’s a lovely afternoon.”

   “Yes, I would, Mr. Cole.” Kristie laughed and offered him her hand. He took it, and, together, they ran into her aunt’s shop.

   It was going to be a great fall.