Slow sounded good. Kind of like the slow and easy way he’d kissed me last night.
Shoot. That was not where my mind was supposed to go.
Despite the inability to concentrate with Hunter so close, I somehow managed to stay up on the horse for those couple rounds. And when he finally hopped off, I even stayed on as I pressed Carolina into an easy trot. We quickly progressed to the Western saddle, which seemed like a breeze after riding bareback for an hour. And by the end of the session, I was riding like a pro around the ring with my hair flowing behind me in the breeze.
“You’re a natural,” Hunter said, coming over to grab Carolina’s reins as I pulled her to a stop. He smiled up at me, his eyes lighting up. “You’re gonna do great on Friday. You can ride Carolina for the show. She knows how to follow a lead. Two figure eights on the arena and then you’re done.”
I nodded, feeling a bit more confident. Tomorrow, the contestants had to judge an event. Then, on Friday was the rodeo and crowning. I could do this. After nailing the catwalk this morning, I felt hopeful for the first time in a long time.
“Come on,” Hunter said, pulling Carolina into a walk in the direction of the barn. “Let’s go brush her down. She deserves it, after that workout.”
I sat on the saddle, holding onto the horn, as Hunter walked ahead. He’d been unusually quiet this whole time, even though he was still an awesome teacher. Without his instruction, there was no way I would’ve stayed in that saddle. But his quietness bothered me. If we were going to pretend that last night had never happened, he couldn’t act like that. He had to be the old Hunter. The one who joked, and smiled, and tugged on my hair when I wasn’t paying enough attention to him.
Not this reserved, brooding cowboy who stared at his feet in silence the whole way back to the barn.
The Oakie boys must’ve finished cleaning out the barn, because it was silent when we got there, except for a few whinnies from the horses down the aisle. Hunter stopped Carolina in the same place as before and hooked the ropes to her reins to keep her in place. He turned to me, his frown deepening as he patted the horn.
“Always dismount on the left side,” he said, paying more attention to the saddle than to me. “Hold on to the horn. Swing your right leg back, and slide off.”
I nodded, following his directions. That sounded easy enough. As I slid down, I felt his hands on my waist, guiding me gently to the ground. That sweet way he touched me was enough to make me melt into a pool at his feet. The moment his hands left my waist, I turned slowly toward him. Hunter still stood awfully close. Too close. He was studying me with his hazel eyes, sparks of indecision returning to the pupils as he worked his jaw.
“Charlotte...about yesterday.”
Oh, no. I thought the plan had just been to avoid. I wasn’t ready for a confrontation. I’d already gotten used to the idea of pretending nothing had happened.
“Yeah?” I flashed him a tight-lipped smile.
“I just...” He turned his head to stare hard at the stall, his brow lowering over his solemn eyes. “I think we should talk about what happened, don’t you?”
I nodded, even as my mouth went dry. “Okay, sure.”
His eyebrows rose when he glanced up at me. “Charlotte, you know you’re my best friend. I would hate to ruin that.” He took a deep breath, indecision shining in his eyes until he licked his lips and blew it out. “And...that’s why we can’t let whatever happened between us last night happen again.”
My knees wobbled slightly. It felt like I’d been stabbed with a thin blade between my ribs. But why? This was what I’d wanted, right? For him to say it was wrong. That it never should’ve happened. That we needed to preserve our friendship. So, why did it hurt so much?
I felt so pathetic for jumping him like I did last night. What he must’ve thought of me...
“Y-y-yeah, you’re totally right.” I gestured with my hands, and gave him a helpless smile. Panic had taken over my brain. I couldn’t be sure what was going to come out of my mouth next. “You know, that kiss was just for practice, anyway.”
It seemed that the only thing I could do was save my own pride. After all, I didn’t have much of it left these days. I had to save every last drop of it that I could.
His brow arched. “Practice?”
I shrugged and patted Carolina on the neck. Lying to Hunter felt as good as swallowing a prickly pear cactus, but I couldn’t stop now. “Yeah, totally. Lexi keeps going on and on about finding me a cowboy and I just realized the other day that I’m so out of practice. And well, you know, I figured my best friend would be a good person to help me. You know...practice makes perfect.”
Disbelief shown in his eyes. It only lasted for a second, but it was definitely there. He blinked and then it was gone, replaced by frustration.
“You wanted practice kissing?” He leaned his arm against Carolina and huffed.
“Yeah.” My voice was getting weaker. “I mean, we have those rules and everything...”
His eyes narrowed slightly. “Never fall for each other.”
I exhaled in relief. He got it. Maybe now, I wouldn’t look so pathetic in his eyes.
“Exactly. So I figured, safe space.” These were the rules that would keep us friends forever. We couldn’t cross them again. Not even for a moment of weakness in a darkened storage closet. “It was...nice. And now, I feel better prepared.”
“Right.” He adjusted the bill of his baseball cap and patted Carolina on the back. She whinnied back to him, tossing her gray mane. “Well, next time,
