“That was only eight seconds?” My breath came in and out in excited puffs. “It felt like a lifetime.”
He grinned down at me. “It’s the only scientifically proven way to slow time. How’d you like it?”
So many emotions came bubbling out of me at once. I bounced on my toes and threw my arms around his neck, pulling him into a hug as my stomach dipped. “That was so amazing! I understand now why you like it so much.”
He chuckled low and wrapped his arms firmly around my back, pulling me tighter. “I’m glad, Char. I really am.”
“It’s your turn.” I pulled back and pinned him with a smile. “I did my eight seconds. Now, your turn to impress me, cowboy.”
A slow grin worked its way onto his face and then he winked. “Yes, ma’am. Better watch out. It’s gonna get a little wild here.”
I hurried back to the other side of the railing and joined Beth and Lexi, who must’ve come to watch me ride. They both smiled at me as I joined them.
“Did you see that? Did you see that?” I was still so out of breath I could hardly talk.
“Yep, sure did.” Beth eyed me over the soda she was sipping. “We just saw you all over Hunter. Should we talk about that?”
I burst out in a laugh and wiped the back of my hand across my forehead. “Wait—what? What are you talking about?”
“You and Hunter, girl,” Lexi said, elbowing me and then nodding toward Hunter as he climbed on the bull. “Why didn’t you say anything? If I’d known, I wouldn’t have been trying to set you up with someone else. I thought you were just friends.”
“We are just friends.” I emphasized the words and leaned against the railing.
The way Lexi pouted; you would’ve thought I’d just spat on her MAC eyeshadow pallet. “But you’d be so cute together...”
“Doesn’t matter. It’s totally against the rules.”
Beth leaned past Lexi to shoot me a green-eyed stare of disbelief. “You have rules? Seriously?”
I lifted my chin, giving her a proud smile, and held out three fingers. “We have three. The first: protect the secret location of our hangout. The second: always make up after a fight. And last: never fall for each other. So, it’s not going to happen.”
Even as I stated the rules aloud, I got a weird feeling inside my gut. The rules had always made so much sense before. They would protect us. But lately, the way my body was behaving around Hunter had begun to make those rules seem a little too strict...
No. That was just the stress of this week talking.
Hunter and I were friends. Always would be.
“You’re officially no fun.” Lexi tucked her hair behind her ears and then turned to watch the bull begin to move.
Hunter looked like a seasoned pro on that mechanical bull. The smooth way he leaned back and forth and rode the bull through its kicks was strangely hypnotic. A warm tingly sensation began in my stomach, sending heat toward my limbs. I gripped the railing tight with my fingers, too caught up in this magnificent sight to fight it. Ugh—Hunter was quite yummy when he showed off all those muscles in his arms. I could almost feel them around me again, just like the way we’d hugged moments ago.
“Did they speed it up?” I asked, my eyes widening as the bull spun at a neck-breaking speed. It could’ve been my imagination, but that thing was pitching and spinning even harder than it had for me.
Beth nodded. “They slow it down for the girls.”
Despite the extra difficulty, Hunter was rocking this bull. It spun, kicked, nose-dived, and still, he didn’t fall off. His left hand was high in the air, his concentration solidly on the bull, his legs gripping tight. All around us, the 4H kids whooped and hollered their approval. And when the shrill alarm went off, signaling the end of an eight-second eternity, I could finally take a breath again. Hunter really was an amazing bull rider.
“Okay, okay, I give up,” I said, as Hunter dismounted and walked toward the railing that I was leaning over. He didn’t even have that dizzy, fazed look in his eyes. He was solid. Steady as a rock. And looking totally hot with that windswept hair and wearing a cocky smile. My pulse throbbed just watching him strut towards me. “You win. I’m waving my white flag.”
He stepped on the bottom rung of the railing and leaned in toward me, his eyes twinkling. “Charlotte’s surrendering without a fight? I can’t remember the last time that happened. Can I get that in writing?”
“Nope. Not a chance.” My lips curled into a stubborn smile.
“Well, I think the boy deserves a reward for winning,” Lexi said, glancing down casually at her drink, not quite covering up the slight shift of her elbow against Beth’s side.
“Right, a reward,” Beth added in a little bit too eager of a tone. “You did lose the competition, Charlotte.”
The lights around us dimmed slightly. I looked over my shoulder to see the dance floor had been darkened. The deejay had just put on a slow song. Couples were pairing off, heading toward the center of the dance floor. A crazy thought was out of my mouth before I could stop it.
“How about a dance with me? That can be your reward.”
Hunter pulled his chin away slightly, surprise rolling over his face. My cheeks began to burn and I had the sudden desire to melt into the floor like a pat of butter. He probably thought I was stepping over a line, because slow-dancing with your best friend was not something we’d ever done before—even in all the years we’d known each other. But he recovered from his surprise quickly with a smile.
“You bet. Let’s go, Char.”
Lexi and Beth could hardly suppress the excitement in their faces as Hunter hopped off the railing and left us to exit through the gate. They both flapped their hands
