I’m not sure if I’m dressed appropriately. I feel ridiculous. I’m wearing yoga pants because they kind of look like riding pants, and I want to be comfortable. My cowboy boots, because I assume this is one of those things Aaron was talking about where they would come in handy. And just a plain white tank top. It’s supposed to be hot today, and even though we’re starting early, you never know how the day will turn out. So yeah, not exactly making a fashion statement.
On the way to Aaron’s, I call Jamie. It’s been weeks since we talked more than just a quick text here and there.
“Hello,” she mumbles.
“Hey stranger,” I say cheerily. She was still sleeping; must have had a late night.
“Whitney! How are you?”
“Good. How are things with you?”
“Same old. I’ve met someone,” she confesses.
Me too. “Really? That’s awesome. I’m headed somewhere, but I have about ten minutes. Tell me everything.” She does just that. I listen to my best friend sounding happier than she has in ages. “I’m so happy for you, Jamie.”
“Thank you. So what’s going on with you?”
“Not much. I love my job, and today I’m going horseback riding.”
“That’s great. I miss you like crazy, but you sound happy.”
“So do you.” I pull into the lot in front of the stables. “Listen, I’m here, so I need to go, but we need to make this a regular thing, yeah? I miss talking to you.”
“Yes! Have fun, I can’t wait to hear all about it.”
We say a quick good-bye. I grab my phone and climb out of the car. I’m just getting ready to text Aaron when the door opens and he comes strutting out. Well, maybe not strutting, but he’s so damn sexy that’s how it looks to me.
“I didn’t think you would ever get here,” he says, walking toward me, his eyes raking up and down my body.
Glancing at my phone, I see that I’m fifteen minutes early. “I’m early,” I say, showing him the screen as he gets closer.
“Maybe, but I couldn’t wait to do this.” His hands fall to my waist and he kisses me sweetly. “You ready for another first, city girl?” he taunts.
“Yes! I’m scared and excited all at the same time.”
“I got you,” he assures me. “Come on, I’ve already got Bud saddled up and ready to go.”
“Bud, is that the horse I’ll be riding?”
“Yeah. Well, we both will be.”
“What?”
“Yeah, I told you, I got you. We’re riding double today.”
“Can we do that? I mean, is it safe?”
“Hey.” He squeezes my hand. “Never worry about me putting you in danger. Not going to happen. They have special saddles for riding double, but we’re not going to use one. You’re riding with me in mine. Bud is calm and even-tempered. He never gets scared, and he doesn’t like to go faster than a walk. I’ve thought this through, Whit. I know you’re scared, but you don’t have to be. Not with me.”
“Let’s do this,” I say with more enthusiasm than I feel. Aaron wraps his arm around my waist and leads me into the stables. We walk past stalls and stalls of beautiful horses, but we don’t stop.
“I know you want to meet them, and we will. I want to start our ride before the heat of the day. I also don’t want to give you time to change your mind on me. I’ve been looking forward to this.”
“Okay.”
We stop in front of a horse who is dark brown with some black around his hoofs. Two strings are keeping him in place, attached to the wall on either side of him. “He’s huge,” I say, taking in the animal before me.
“He is, but he’s tame. Come here.” He tugs on my hand and we are now standing beside the horse. “Give me your hand.” He raises my hand and softly strokes the horse’s neck. The horse is as calm as can be. He doesn’t even flinch.
“Hey, buddy,” I say hesitantly.
“All right, so I’m going to lift you up. Then I’m going to climb on behind you.”
“Okay.” I don’t know what else to say. I’m so freaking nervous right now.
“Ready?”
“As I’ll ever be.”
Aaron guides me to the side of the horse. His hands grip my hips. “On three.” His hot breath against my ear causes me to shiver. “One.” He kisses my neck. “Two.” He kisses my cheek. “Three.” He lifts me up in the saddle. “Perfect. Now hold on here, and toss your leg over. I’ve got you. I’m not going to let you fall.”
I nod. I trust him. I do as he says and grin down at him once I’m sitting in the saddle.
He grips the spot he told me to hold on to, places his foot in the stirrup, and heaves himself up on the horse, sitting firmly behind me. I wiggle a little bit and settle back against him, not that I have much choice with our current seating arrangement. “Perfect,” he whispers in my ear.
Steve unhooks us and Aaron gives a little nudge with his leg, and we’re off. “Yikes!” I say, holding on to the saddle in front of me.
Aaron chuckles. “You’ll get used to it,” he says.
It’s a weird feeling. The horse’s body moves back and forth with his powerful strides. Left then right, left then right. We dip just a little back and forth with each step. “Wait, are we too much weight for him?”
Aaron chuckles again. He has one hand on the reins; the other is resting on my thigh. “No, we’re not too heavy. This is what he was made to do. Horses are powerhouse animals.” The hand on my thigh lifts to wrap around my waist and rest on my belly. “Whit, babe, you need to relax. If you don’t, you will be stiff as a board by the time we get back to the stables. I promise, I won’t let anything happen to you.” He pushes a little. “Lean against me. I got you.”
Taking a deep breath, I do as he says and lean against him. His arms stay wrapped around me, which helps me feel safer. At least if I start to fall, maybe he can catch me.
I didn’t think this through. At first I thought it would be great for us to ride double; it would give me an excuse to hold her close while we rode around and I showed her the farm. I had it all planned out. What I didn’t plan on was those tight-as-fuck pants that are paper thin, or her fine ass bouncing against my dick with every step Bud takes. My cock is as hard as a fucking fence post.