It’d been a busy morning of sightseeing.As well as checking out the Hollywood Walk of Fame and seeing views of the Hollywood sign, we’d also visited the famous Dolby Theatre where they hosted the Oscars and drove to Beverly Hills where the other guests took photos of the sign before we cruised down Rodeo Drive.
Although I could tell Jake hated being here, probably because he’d visited these places a million times before, I got a real thrill from seeing everything in person.
When we drove down Rodeo Drive, I immediately pictured the scenes fromPretty Womanwhere Julia Roberts’s character Vivian goes into that fancy shop and they were rude to her because they thought she didn’t have any money.I could relate.All of the luxury boutiques were filled with clothes, shoes and handbags I couldn’t afford.
Seeing the Beverly Hills sign made me think about the times I’d spent watching theBeverly Hills Copfilms with my dad.
Although the Walk of Fame wasn’t as glamorous as I’d imagined, it was still great to visit the place where I’d seen so many celebs famously posing with the brass stars embedded on the pavements.
Those weren’t the only revelations of the morning.Jake offering to carry my bag was a surprise.I was glad that he did because I may have gone a teeny, tiny bit overboard on what I’d stuffed inside.
It was kind of him.Especially given how heavy it was.But although he’d commented on it weighing a tonne of bricks, he carried it around like it was filled with feathers.I guessed that was what happened when you had big broad muscular shoulders like his.
Not that I’d been staring at his shoulders or anything because of course I had no interest in admiring any part of his body.
After stopping for a group lunch, our driver had given us a tour of some other popular areas like Sunset Strip and Mulholland Drive and now Sammie had just stood up to let us know about our second activity for today.
I hoped that it was something relaxing like going to Santa Monica beach which was another place I’d heard about and always wanted to visit.
‘Hey!’ Sammie moved the mic closer to her mouth.‘Did you enjoy seeing the sights and lunch?’
‘Yes!’ the whole coach, well, except for Jake, chorused.
‘Great!Now that our food’s settled, it’s time to reveal our second activity.’ The coach pulled into a dusty-looking road track and started climbing some hills.‘Earlier I told you we’d have more opportunities to see the sights and take photos of the Hollywood sign, and I’m a woman who likes to keep her promises.’ She smiled.‘Which is why I’m excited to tell you that this afternoon we’ll be doing a horseback riding tour in the Hollywood Hills!’
As whoops and cheers erupted around me, the blood drained from my face.
The words ‘horseback’ and ‘hills’ were two of my least favourite words in the dictionary.
I had nothing against horses per se.They were pretty and I knew they brought a lot of people joy.But the idea of riding on one made me break out in a cold sweat.I’d had a bad experience when I was in my teens that was enough to put me off going on one for life.
I wasn’t keen on the word ‘hills’ either.A gentle hill in a park, for example, was generally fine.But they were talking about high hills.With a big drop.When you put the two words – horseback and what would no doubt be very steep hills – together, the combination spelt the word: nightmare.
As a flurry of other words likedangerandfearflooded my mind, I gripped the armrest, hoping that it would somehow help to steady my nerves.
‘Cool,’ Jake replied and from the corner of my eye I saw a wide grin spread across his face.‘I love me some horse riding!’
‘Glad you’re excited!’ Sammie added as we pulled into a ranch.
There was a man and a woman both in cowboy hats waving at us as the driver parked up.
‘The coach will be locked so you can leave your bags and heavy items on it.Just bring your phones or a small camera and a bottle of water to keep you hydrated.Let’s get ready to giddy up and ride those horses!’ Sammie said in a very bad American accent.
As everyone filed excitedly off the coach, I wondered if I could sit this activity out.
‘You coming?’ Jake said as he stood in the aisle.
‘Um… I… I’m not sure.’
‘Come on, Smiley.’ He gestured towards the door.‘It’ll be fun!’
I stood up and trudged reluctantly behind him, racking my brains for an excuse not to take part that wouldn’t make me look like a scaredy cat.I came up with nothing.
The staff welcomed us to the ranch and explained the history and although they said the horses were trained and gentle, it didn’t stop my heart from racing.
Once we’d been briefed, they started handing out the helmets and inviting us to be allocated to our horse.I tried to move, but I was rooted to the spot.My legs felt like concrete and I could feel sweat trickling down my forehead.
‘Halle?’ A deep voice sounded from beside me, but everything seemed to be spinning.‘Halle?Are you okay?You’re shaking.’
