You're Not My Friend
689 Words
The next morning, Ethan didn't wake Damien up.
No banging on the door.
No yelling.
Nothing.
Damien woke up on his own.
The ranch house was unusually quiet.
For a brief moment, he thought Ethan had finally decided to leave him alone.
Then he stepped outside.
And discovered everyone was already working.
Including Ethan.
Who completely ignored him.
Damien frowned.
That shouldn't have bothered him.
Yet somehow it did.
---
The entire morning passed without a single argument.
Not because they were getting along.
Quite the opposite.
Ethan acted as if Damien didn't exist.
Whenever Damien asked a question, Ethan answered with one word.
Whenever Damien approached, Ethan walked away.
Whenever Damien spoke, Ethan found something else to do.
It was infuriating.
Absolutely infuriating.
By lunchtime Damien finally snapped.
"Do you always act like a child when you're angry?"
Ethan looked up from repairing a saddle.
His expression instantly darkened.
"Do you always act like you know everything?"
"Usually."
Ethan rolled his eyes.
"There's the city boy I know."
Damien folded his arms.
"And there's the cowboy who can't handle criticism."
The saddle hit the table with a loud thud.
Several ranch hands immediately pretended not to listen.
Ethan stood.
Slowly.
Dangerously.
"I don't care what you think."
"Then stop acting like you do."
The tension between them was so thick it could have been cut with a knife.
For a second Damien genuinely thought Ethan might throw him off the ranch.
Unfortunately—or fortunately—Claire appeared.
"Enough."
Both men looked at her.
"You two are exhausting."
Neither argued.
Mostly because she looked ready to throw something.
---
The afternoon wasn't much better.
Ethan assigned Damien the worst jobs he could find.
Cleaning equipment.
Moving feed.
Repairing old fencing.
At one point Damien was convinced Ethan was inventing chores just to annoy him.
"Why am I carrying these?"
"Because I said so."
"That's not a reason."
"It is on my ranch."
Damien muttered something under his breath.
Ethan's eyes narrowed.
"What was that?"
"Nothing."
"That's what I thought."
Damien imagined strangling him.
Just a little.
---
Later that evening, a group of local ranchers arrived for a small gathering.
Nothing formal.
Just neighbors stopping by.
Damien intended to stay out of it.
Unfortunately, one of the visitors recognized him.
"You're Damien Black."
Damien nodded.
The man laughed.
"The billionaire."
Several heads turned.
Immediately.
Ethan's expression became unreadable.
The ranchers started asking questions.
About the city.
About business.
About money.
For the first time since arriving, Damien felt comfortable.
This was his world.
His expertise.
His territory.
He answered easily.
Confidently.
People listened.
People laughed.
People respected him.
From across the porch, Ethan watched silently.
And for some reason, that irritated Damien.
Because Ethan wasn't impressed.
At all.
Not even a little.
---
As the gathering ended, Damien found Ethan near the barn.
Alone.
Again.
The man spent an impressive amount of time being alone.
"What's your problem?"
Ethan didn't look up.
"I have lots of problems."
"You know what I mean."
Silence.
Then Ethan finally turned toward him.
"You really want to know?"
"Yes."
Ethan crossed his arms.
"Fine."
His blue eyes locked onto Damien's.
"I don't trust you."
The words hit harder than Damien expected.
"Because I'm a businessman?"
"Because you're here for my land."
Damien opened his mouth.
Then closed it.
Because Ethan wasn't wrong.
The cowboy took a step closer.
"You didn't come here for me."
Another step.
"You didn't come here for this ranch."
Another.
"You came because you want something."
The accusation hung in the air.
Painfully true.
Ethan's jaw tightened.
"And the second you get it, you'll leave."
For a moment neither spoke.
The setting sun painted the ranch gold.
A dog barked somewhere in the distance.
Finally Damien answered.
"You don't know me."
Ethan's expression hardened.
"No."
His voice was quiet.
Cold.
"And I don't want to."
Then he walked away.
Leaving Damien standing alone beside the barn.
More frustrated than ever.
Because the worst part wasn't the argument.
The worst part was realizing that, despite everything...
He wanted Ethan to trust him.
And he had absolutely no idea why.
- Writer
