“Duh! I said yes.”
“That’s so exciting, so when are you going to see him?
“I don’t know. I keep hoping he will ask me to Homecoming,” she said, and I could hear the disappointment in her voice.
“Stay positive, there’s still time,” I replied, trying to cheer her up.
A little way down the trail, we came to a meadow clearing where we stopped to let the horses eat some grass. We stayed there for a while talking before heading back towards her house. On the way home, she flipped the script on me and asked about Chris.
“My turn!”
“Okay, what do you want to know?”.
“Is he a good kisser?” she asked, with a curious look on her face.
“Isabelle!”
“What!” She replied. “Oh, come on, who am I going to tell. Besides, I need some pointers if Watson and I ever make it that far.”
“Fine. Yes, yes. He’s a good kisser. I could kiss him all day. His lips are so soft and juicy. The way he knows exactly what to do with his tongue…” I started to trail off into details, and Isabelle interrupted.
“Ew! Okay, too much information, Allie,” she laughed. “Just kidding! Keep going, I want to hear it all,” she said with an eager look.
“Okay, well, if Watson opens his mouth, that means he wants you to put your tongue in his mouth,” I said.
“But what do I do with my tongue in his mouth?” she asked, confused.
“Well, you sort of slide it around with his tongue. Don’t worry, it will be obvious, I promise, and it will send fireworks throughout your body when it happens,” I assured her. She seemed satisfied with my answer as her house came into view.
“Have you and Chris done it?” she asked cautiously.
“Is!” I said, alarmed. “No,” and she nodded, but didn’t press the subject.
Once we got to the barn, she showed me how to dismount, then we led the horses back into the barn and she untacked them. Next, we cleaned them off and put them out in the pasture to graze. As we walked back to the house, I expressed to Isabelle just how wonderful an afternoon this was.
“Isabelle?”
“Yeah?”
“I can’t thank you enough for today. This was so fun, and your horses are amazing. Thanks for inviting me.”
She looked at me, smiled, and then threw an arm around me and squeezed my shoulder as we walked back to the house together. When we got to the kitchen door, she pulled off her boots, and we went inside. Her Mom was still at the counter cooking.
“Hey girls! How was it?” she asked, as she looked up from the stove.
“Amazing!” I blurted out.
“I’m so glad,” she said, with the warmest smile. “You’ll have to come back soon, Allie. You’re welcome here any time. Congratulations again on your scholarship to Wake Forest. Your family must be overjoyed at such an incredible accomplishment,” she said.
I didn’t know what to say, so I just smiled and shrugged. “Thanks again for lunch,” I said, as I started to make my way towards the front door.
“You’re welcome, dear,” she called behind me as I headed out the front door to my car.
On the drive home, I suddenly remembered my mom’s awkward conversation, which I had forgotten all about until now. Was I walking into some type of surprise party? I hated surprises, even if it would be nice to be celebrated for once.
20
When I returned home from the barn, I sat down on the bottom step in the garage and pulled at my cowboy boots, which were difficult to remove due to the combination of sweat and sticky socks. I had a moment of panic that my feet were stuck, until they finally pulled off in a sudden burst. I set them both down at the bottom of the garage steps and headed inside to change out of my clothes that smelled strongly of horses. Once in fresh clothes, I dropped the riding clothes on the laundry room floor and then went downstairs to the office to get on the new Gateway 2000 Computer.
