Free Drifting into Darkness by J.M. La Rocca

far side of the wall, close to where the bags were waiting to be loaded. She walked back to me, with her back to Landon, and handed me a bottle. “If only that expression was true. I’d have a smaller ass,” she laughed. I cracked a smile, but it fell from my face when I noticed Landon standing just behind Lisa staring at us. What the hell was his deal? “Well, I have to head to get the eggs and bring them to the office. I’ll be back in a little bit, so just keep stackin’ the bags.” She backed away with a wink.
    “The four wheeler is on the side of the building,” Landon said to Lisa as she made her way outside. “And don’t take all day; we’ve got more loads coming.”
    “Shut your face, Landon,” she yelled over her shoulder as she turned the corner, causing the side of his mouth to curl up.
    I turned back to counting the corn so I wouldn’t be caught staring at him again. Hopefully, he’d just grab the bags of corn and go, but I wasn’t that lucky. I counted to twenty when I noticed him move out of the corner of my eye. He was walking to the little fridge. The heat had really spiked in the past hour and I was wishing I had one of those mini fans Lisa had. They should think about getting fans. It would be nice to have some air blowing on us even if it was hot air. All the dirt from the ground would probably blow everywhere though, so that would be a bad idea.
    I turned my head slightly, watched as he opened a water bottle, and tilted his head back, chugging half of it. Sweat was dripping from his neck down to his V-neck t-shirt, soaking the material. I half wished he’d pour the water down the front of his shirt so it would stick to his skin. Then I’d be able to see what he was hiding underneath. Yes, I said I didn’t want anything to do with men right now, but I wasn’t blind and this guy would probably make me drool. Although the vibes I was getting from him showed a cocky asshole.
    After watching him chug the whole bottle, I looked back and concentrated on my counting. I had twenty lined up and needed more. We’d used all the corn closest to the edge, so I’d have to climb onto the bed of the truck and move the corn so I could reach it.
    Hearing Landon behind me, I turned to see him carrying two bags of corn. I could see his biceps and forearm muscles straining with the weight. I was betting he didn’t even have to work out. Working on the farm probably caused all kinds of ripples to form on his body.
    Get it together, girl. Focus on the job and not his body .
    Looking back at the corn, I decided I’d hop up onto the truck as lady-like as possible. Turning so my lower back was against the tailgate, I rested my hands flat against the truck and hopped up into a sitting position. I could feel the dirt and pieces of cornhusk sticking to the sweat on the back of my legs, but I knew I’d get dirty and hell would freeze over before I started complaining. I’d never been one of those girls and I didn’t plan on turning into one either.
    Pushing myself up, I stood and looked at what I had to work with. About a quarter of the corn had been bagged, so the rest of the bed was filled high. I just needed to figure out a way to push it closer to the edge without all the ears rolling off into the dirt.
    Not knowing what else to do, I leaned down and gently started rolling the ears toward the edge so they wouldn’t roll off. I reached to the back of the pile, thinking I should start there. If I could make the pile not so high, it would be easier to move later on. Digging my hands under the corn, I pulled toward me causing corn to roll and topple all over my legs and feet. The one thing I noticed about bagging all this corn is that it’s wet and sticky. So now, I had it all over my legs and some of it really smelled bad.
    “What’re you doing?” There was that edge in his voice again.
    I turned to see Landon standing at the end of the truck.
    “Hello, Captain Obvious, what does it look like I’m