Warm hands landed on my shoulders and my body temperature spiked, snapping me out of my trance.
I blinked then blinked again.That was when I realised that Jake was standing in front of me.His thick, dark brows were furrowed.Concern was etched all over his face.
His large hands had slid down to my upper arms and I noticed again how warm they felt.It was like the sensation of a hot drink heating up your body from the inside out on a cold winter’s night: comforting and soothing.
‘I… it’s…’ I was trying but it was hard to get the words out.
‘Hold on,’ he said, before removing his arms.I instantly missed the sensation.I saw him go over to Sammie and I could see their mouths moving but I couldn’t make out what they were saying.
Sammie nodded and seconds later the group mounted their horses and set off on the trail, leaving me alone with Jake.
Huh?
‘Come on.’ Jake gestured for me to follow him.‘Let’s sit.’
He sat down on a backless wooden bench and patted the space beside him.
I attempted again to put one foot in front of the other and thankfully this time I was able to actually move.
‘Where did everyone go?’ I asked as I sat down, leaving as much distance between us as possible.Sitting beside him on the coach had been challenging enough.
I’d had to make sure that his muscular legs hadn’t brushed against mine, which wasn’t easy.And his scent wasn’t easy to avoid either.At least now we were out in the air, it wouldn’t be so potent.
Well, that was what I thought until he turned to face me and a cloud of his fragrance assaulted my senses.I swallowed hard, trying to not let it affect me.
‘They’ve gone off to start the trail.’
‘But why didn’t you go with them?’ My head bolted up.‘You were looking forward to it!’ Jake might not be my favourite person, but I hated the idea that he’d missed out because of me.
‘Because, despite what you think, I’m a gentleman.You seemed like you were freaking out and I wasn’t gonna just leave you by yourself.I’m guessing you’re not a fan of horses?’
I shook my head.
‘Wanna tell me what happened?’
I dropped my gaze to the ground.I couldn’t tell him.He’d laugh at me.
‘Fair enough.We can just sit and wait for the others to come back.The views are pretty great.We have water so we’ll stay hydrated.And if we get hungry, we can always break into the bus and raid your purse.You said you had snacks, right?And judging by how much it weighed, we’ll have enough food to survive for a year, so we’re all set.’
A soft smile formed on my lips.I lifted my head and when I looked at Jake there was kindness in his eyes.He genuinely wanted to make sure I was okay.
He was excited to go horse riding but he was prepared to miss out on it just to sit here with me.That actually meant a lot.
‘It was at a summer camp.’ I started talking.‘One of my aunts arranged it.I thought it would be relaxed, but when I got there, turned out it was full of rich kids.I was grateful, but I stuck out like a sore thumb.They were always talking about stuff that I didn’t know anything about like going skiing in the Alps and how they’d be joining their family for holidays in the South of France once the camp was over.And they all had horses.Because I wanted to fit in, I pretended to have one too.I didn’t think there was any harm in telling a little white lie.But then I found out that there was a horse-riding activity scheduled.’
‘Shit,’ Jake winced.
‘Yeah.They all got on the horses like it was the most natural thing in the world, but of course I had no idea what I was doing.When I tried to mount the horse, it was obvious and they all started laughing loudly at me.The horse got freaked out with all the noise and threw me to the ground.At one point I thought it was gonna crush me.It was terrifying.I damaged my shoulder and hurt my leg and since then I just…’
‘You’ve been afraid to go anywhere near them.’
‘Yep.’ I dipped my head, not wanting to see his expression.He hadn’t laughed yet but there was still time.
‘I get it and your reaction is totally normal.Once bitten, twice shy, right?If they hadn’t laughed, you would’ve been fine.Some horses can get startled if they feel scared or threatened.But the ones here will be gentle.And no one will be laughing at you.Nothing beats sitting on a beautiful horse.There’s something about the sound of their hooves connecting to the ground, feeling the breeze when it moves forward and just being surrounded by nature.It’s so damn calming.It’s like therapy.I fucking love it.So if you wanted to try again, I’m pretty sure you’d like it too.’
‘You seem to know a lot about horses,’ I said, avoiding responding to his suggestion.
‘I spent a lot of time on my uncle’s ranch during the summers growing up.Pretty sure he had me riding a horse as soon as I could walk!’ Jake laughed and the warm rumble sent a strange sensation running through me.
