He was almost to the firepit when I realized he was carrying two steaming mugs.
I arched an eyebrow. “Double-fisting coffee this late?”
He chuckled and rolled his eyes as he held out one of the mugs. “Hey, if you don’t want it, I can dump it in the lake.”
“Fuck no. That coffee is way too good for the fish.”
“Fair point. Would probably make them taste weird anyway.”
I wrinkled my nose as I took the mug from him. “Coffee is not an appropriate seasoning for fish.”
Eric made a face, then chuckled as he took a seat on the other bench. I sipped the coffee, which was perfect. I’d dated people who could never hit the perfect ratio of sugar and cream, but after living and traveling with me for a short time, he’d nailed it.
Of course he had. He was too perceptive not to notice those things.
He sipped his own coffee. “I’m not interrupting anything, am I? I should’ve asked if I could join you.”
“You brought coffee.” I raised my mug. “That gets you an automatic invite to join me.”
He laughed, and I almost couldn’t fight the urge to tell him he didn’t need an invite or coffee. I always wanted him around.
As he cradled his cup in both hands, he nodded toward my phone, which was sitting beside me. “You weren’t doomscrolling, were you?”
“No, no.” I paused, then added, “I was actually looking at horse ads.”
His eyebrows rose. “Oh yeah? Thinking of buying?”
“Thinking about it, yeah.” I took another sip. “I’ve thought about it off and on for years, but ever since we went riding the other day…” I waved a hand. “I’ve really got the itch now.”
Eric smiled. “I know what you mean. I haven’t ridden in ages, but now that I have…”
“You might get one?”
“Maybe?” He shrugged. “The bug has definitely bitten me again, but I’m not sure if I want to commit, you know?”
“You could try a lease.”
He inclined his head. “Wait, you canleaseahorse?”
“Oh, yeah. My sister leased her horse to another girl while she was in grad school. She didn’t want to sell him, but she also wasn’t going to have time for him, so it worked out.”
“Huh.” Eric shifted his gaze out to the lake, his expression contemplative. “I never even knew that was an option. Maybe…”
“It’s worth looking into.” I gestured with my phone. “Just skimming the ads, I saw several people looking to lease their horses out.”
He nodded slowly as he faced me again. “I’ll have to check into it.” He gestured at my phone. “So what’re you looking for? Like what kind of horse, I guess?”
“Probably some kind of sporthorse.” I glanced at my now dormant phone. “I enjoy trail riding and all, but I know me. As soon as I’m back in the saddle, I’m going to want to compete.”
“That tracks,” he said with a smile. “Seemed like you really enjoyed competing.”
“I did,” I said, sounding about as wistful as I felt. “Some of my best memories, that’s for sure.”
“Yeah?” He watched me as if he wanted me to elaborate. I almost didn’t know what to say; most people weren’t all that interested, and their eyes tended to glaze over if I talked about it. Eric seemed genuinely curious.
I sipped my coffee, then draped my arm across the back of the bench. “So, I told you how my trainer made me show dressage, right?”
Chuckling, he nodded. “Your favorite thing in the world.”
