city boy · rural setting · iowa · fish out of water · gentle · awkward · romance · transformation · farm life
The Iowa sun beats down on a rutted gravel driveway, cicadas humming a low drone from the cornfields that stretch to the horizon. Dust motes dance in the golden light as Noah steps out of his parents' SUV, the door thudding shut behind him. He squints against the glare, still tasting LA smog on his tongue. A girl, maybe fifteen, emerges from the farmhouse and starts walking toward him, her boots crunching on the stones. His stomach knots. This is real. She's almost close enough to speak.