“He did.”
Facing me again, he’s the flirty Diamond I met when I first got here. “Darn. No time for an appetizer then if he’s already cooking.”
An appetizer would be great, and I’m already reaching for him, but he’s walking to the doorway.
“Taste the tomatoes even if you don’t like them. It’ll make his day.”
Then he’s gone, and I’m left sitting on his bed, half hard and wondering what the fuck just happened.
“I appreciate the company this time. Thanks for inviting me.”
Hunter settles behind the wheel of his truck. “I needed someone to be a buffer when Levi gets too chatty. Completely selfish on my part.”
I stifle a laugh as Levi’s mouth drops open. “You said you liked that I talked a lot, so you didn’t fall asleep driving.”
“Well, yeah, but dude…you never stop talking some days, and that’s just as exhausting. Now you have someone else to talk to, and I can tune you out without feeling guilty.”
Hunter pulls out of the ranch yard with his horse trailer attached. The three of us are off to the first rodeo of the season and possibly Hunter’s last year on the circuit.
“Good thing we communicate better in the ring.” Levi huffs, and Hunter laughs before reaching over and punching his arm.
“You’re the best, Levi. We’ve got this.”
Levi grumbles again before angling himself to talk to me in the backseat.
“How do you live with this guy?”
“Temporarily,” I laugh as Hunter joins in.
It’s been a little stressful with the new foster kid at his place. After a new mortgage preapproval and accepting that I’ll need to pay more for a place than I wanted, the search for a house has been on again for the last week. Sadly, still nothing that fits my needs has popped up. Knowing I can keep Wilbur at Hunter’s helps create more options for me, but I still need a decent yard for Tater.
Levi starts talking about the upcoming rodeo. Since he and Hunter are roping partners, they talk a lot about other competitors and how it’s good or bad to follow a certain pair of ropers. All topics that don’t concern me, but when Levi switches to talking about a new saddle salve he found and how he swears it helps him sit straighter, I now understand why Hunter needs a buffer.
The dude is non-stop chatter.
Still, as much as he talks, it’s nice to have people who talk back. Tater is an amazing travel companion, but she can’t talk. She can only give me sassy barks when she’s feeling goofy, and sometimes it’s nice to have her to listen. But other times, a human voice is better.
Pulling out my phone, I open the text thread I have with Diamond. We’ve chatted a bit since the night I spent at hishouse. It’s been nice not being forced into checking in with him. It’s been casual, just like he said, since we’re both busy.
He has a staff member off on holiday and has been working more than usual while I had the second week of saddle bronc riders at the training facility. Even if I wanted to spend another night with him, it wasn’t happening. Both of us were exhausted by the end of our days, though we still took a few minutes to chat each day.
Rhett:I didn’t know Levi was so talkative. You should’ve warned me.
Diamond:Sorry? He’s a good listener, too. It evens out.
Diamond:Are you nervous about tomorrow?
Rhett:Not really. I’ve been doing this a long time.
Diamond:This ain’t your first rodeo?
He sends a string of laughing emojis, and I snort laugh.
Rhett:Funny and cute. Nice.
Diamond:Are you flirting with me, cowboy?
Am I? Shit. I don’t think so.
