by Elle Thorpe
“Buck off, Dom. I’m not in the mood.”
I folded my arms across my chest and leaned on the stall door beside her. “You know what? No. Not until you talk.”
She only patted the horse harder and faster. His ears pricked up, and he tried to back away, but she held him by his halter. “What is there to talk about? I got dumped on my ass. It’s just the way it is.”
“Is that really what’s bothering you most?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Fine, don’t think. Just answer. First thing that comes to your head. What’s really got you in such a bad mood?”
“Austin.”
“Why?”
“Because I can’t yell at him.”
“Why not?”
She raised sad eyes to mine. “He hasn’t called me. Not once. He hasn’t tried to come around. I’m pretty sure he went to the city and hasn’t looked back.”
I wanted to groan internally. “And that makes you sad?”
“No, it makes me fucking angry.”
“That he left?”
“That I wasted years of my life with him. That I didn’t stop all this before I became that girl.” She said it like it tasted bad.
I pulled her hand away from the horse before she rubbed a bald spot on his neck. “You’re not any ‘girl,’ unless you want to be.”
“But I am! He made me into the stupid small-town hick I never wanted to be. I’m basically the plot of a Hallmark movie, Dom! How bucking embarrassing. Stupid naïve girl gets cheated on by her big city boyfriend. I’m a cliché.”
I rubbed my thumb over the back of her hand, trying to soothe her. “Bullshit, Summer. You know who you are. And so do I. You’re beautiful and smart and talented. You’re Summer Hunt. The woman who can ride rings around the guys when she’s on the back of a bull. The woman who can take a kid from the middle of nowhere and turn him into a champion.” I couldn’t help but grin. “Also, apparently, the woman who can make a group of new riders cry.”
The corner of her mouth lifted a tiny bit. “Stop. I didn’t make them cry.”
“You sure about that? Pretty sure I saw moisture in a few of their eyes. You’re a scary lady when you want to be, you know? I’d be scared. If I wasn’t already an awesome bull rider and all.”
We both knew I wasn’t half as good as she was. She snorted on a laugh.
Her smile got me right in the feels. It lit me up from inside, just like it always had. I’d missed it, these last few weeks. I’d missed her. I’d been trying so hard to give her space, but now I saw that it had been the wrong thing to do. We’d let her retreat in on herself and wallow in her misery. No more.
“You know what also happens in those Hallmark movies?” I said quietly, looking down at her hand in mine.
“What?”
“The woman finds herself a kick-ass new life, and when the ex-boyfriend comes crawling back, she gets to tell him to go to hell.”
Her smile widened. “You make a good point.”
My gaze locked with hers, the laughter dying on my lips. I was dead serious when I said, “And in the process of building that new life, she meets a new guy. The right guy. The one who won’t make her cry.”
She froze. “Dom, I—”
I shook my head. “I’m done waiting, Summer. I’m pulling you out of your mood, whether you like it or not. Friday night, we’re going out. Your new life awaits.”
Before she could say no, I spun on my heel and went back outside to help Frost with the trainees. He glanced over at me questioningly, and I just shrugged in response. I really had no idea whether what I’d just said to Summer had helped or made things worse.
When she eventually came back and took her place beside me, she stood a little closer than she ever had before. Our arms brushed, and sparks zipped along my skin.
She cleared her throat. “There’s a honky-tonk in Harlow County I’ve been thinking about trying.”
I glanced down at her, but she was steadfastly watching her father herd the group toward the bucking chutes.
I suddenly wanted to fist pump the air, but I kept myself in check and settled for grinning like a loon. “It’s a date.”
She didn’t argue.
14
SUMMER
I was so tired of being angry during the day and sad at night when I thought I could finally let my guard down. It wasn’t even the fact Austin and I weren’t together. I didn’t even miss him. Not for a minute, which really showed me that this breakup was so very overdue.
But I’d been struggling with what to do next. In the space of twelve months, everything I’d planned for my future—bull riding, Austin—it was all gone. That had taken me more than a hot minute to get over. I ran the full gauntlet of emotions on a daily basis, until all I had left was exhaustion, a short fuse, and a bad temper I took out on our students.
I’d been spiraling and I knew it. I’d needed Dom to kick me in the ass and tell me to pull my head out. I didn’t want my family and friends and the young men we taught to have to walk on eggshells with me, or whisper behind my back about what a cold, hard bitch I was.
I wanted to get back to me.
The me I was without Austin.
It was about fucking time.
Going out with Dom tonight was the first step. Nerves churned through my stomach, turning it over and sending jitters into my extremities.
Hallie flopped on my bed behind me, watching me put makeup on. “You look so amazing, hottest woman at the bar for sure.”
My fingers trembled as I put on my eyeliner. “You’re a great liar, but thank you.”
“Have you not seen how Dom stares at you? He’d think you were hot in a paper sack. Actually, if that’s all you were wearing, he’d probably like it more.” She wriggled her eyebrows suggestively.
I tossed a tube of mascara at her. “Stop. It’s not like that.” But it sounded like a weak protest, even to me. And I couldn’t help the little smile that pulled at my face.
She let out a holler. “Totally is like that and you know it. You like him!”
“Of course I do. He’s my friend.”
She waggled a finger. “Nuh-uh. Cut it out with that bullshit. It was understandable that you had to keep him in that box while you were dating Austin. But Austin is nothing but a stinking memory now, one I hope we all get amnesia and forget completely. But Dom is different. You gotta get that man out of the friend zone and into the boyfriend zone.”
I wrinkled my nose. “I just came out of a very long relationship.”
“Into the friends with benefits zone then?”
I shrugged. “I honestly don’t know if that’s what he wants. I already sort of tried that—”
“You what?”
“That night in the city, after Austin broke up with me. He turned me down.” I still cringed at the thought of that night. “Totally rejected me.”
Hallie sat up on my bed and glared at me in the mirror. “Oh my God, you’ve been with that douchebag Austin for so long you’ve forgotten what it looks like when a guy treats you with respect. That wasn’t a rejection. I’ll bet you anything he was dying to do anything you asked him to do that night. But he didn’t because the man cares about you, and that would have been taking advantage. Imagine how much worse you’d feel right now if you had slept with someone the night you broke up with Austin.”
She had a point. “He’s been avoiding me, though.”
“He’s been giving you space to work through your shit. Just like I have. Just like your parents and sisters have. We thought that was what you wanted.”
“It was.”
A knock came from downstairs, and Hallie bounced a little on the bed in her excitement. “Go! Have an amazing time. Have some hot sex in the back of his truck!”
I spun around, eyes wide. “What? I’m not having sex with him in the back of his truck. Oh my God, is that what he thinks is going to happen?” I’d literally slept with one guy in my entire life. I had no idea what to d
o with someone who wasn’t that guy, and the thought of it was suddenly terrifying. It was a completely different prospect to hitting him up for sex when I’d been so lost to my own misery.
Hallie rolled her eyes. “Stop psyching yourself out. He doesn’t expect anything. I bet he won’t even try to kiss you. It’ll probably be you who has to make that move.”
I widened my eyes. “Are you serious?” I wasn’t sure if that was better or worse.
She shoved me toward the door. “Just go. Turn your brain off for one night, okay? You’re overthinking.”
She towed me down the stairs, and it was a good thing she did because I was suddenly contemplating running out the back door. This all seemed like a lot. I hadn’t even considered that we might have sex tonight. Buck!
A warmth rolled through me at the thought of Dominic and I getting naked together. That heat only intensified when I got downstairs and found Dominic standing in my living room, talking to my mom.
I swallowed thickly.
“Girl, you got your work cut out for you tonight if you’re really going to try to stay in that friend zone. Damn,” Hallie mumbled.
He’d gone casual. Boots, jeans, and a V-neck black T-shirt. It wasn’t tight, but it did cling a little tighter around his biceps. Lucky T-shirt.
He peered out at me from beneath a black cowboy hat, his gaze sweeping my body slowly, before returning to my face. There was a distinctly unfriend-like glimmer there, and I was glad I’d gone for a dress instead of my usual jeans and top combo.
The heat in his brown eyes warmed my blood, and suddenly, I was very aware of what had been under my nose for such a long time. Hallie was right. The man was gorgeous.
“You ready to go?” he asked.
“Yep.” I couldn’t take my eyes off him. His dark hair poked out from beneath his hat, his tattoos curling up the side of his neck and into his hairline.
“Wait!” Hallie cried. “Photo or it didn’t happen.” She grabbed Dom’s phone from his hand.
He raised an eyebrow.
She shrugged. “What? Mine is upstairs, and Summer’s is probably buried at the bottom of her purse. You can send it to us. Ooh, no passcode? Trusting sorta guy, huh?” She gave me a look that somehow made me feel like I should be writing it down on some sort of ‘Dom’s best characteristics’ list.
“Stand together,” she instructed.
Dom moved in but kept a tiny gap between us. I appreciated that he wasn’t trying to get all up in my space. Austin had been the complete opposite the first time we’d taken a photo together. It had been after prom. I’d gone with Tyler, but he had been a complete dud, and I’d found myself talking to his friend instead. When someone had called for a photo, Austin had immediately put his arm around me, his hand dipping low and squeezing my ass. It had happened so quick and I’d already been a little bit drunk, so I’d laughed it off, flattered by his attention.
Now, older and wiser, I appreciated that Dom was more of a gentleman. I wasn’t the same stupid kid I’d once been, who’d been a little in awe of Austin and willing to be steamrolled because he had a pretty face.
Dom was no slouch in the attractiveness department either, but it was going to take more than that to win me over now. I was old and jaded in comparison to the girl I’d been on prom night. But the fact Dom had manners, and he wasn’t Austin, was two big checkmarks in his favor.
“You two are going to make gorgeous babies one day,” Hallie declared, turning the phone back over to Dom.
“Hallie!” I hissed. “Stop.”
When I glanced up at Dom, the apples of his cheeks had tinted pink. I couldn’t help but grin and tease him. “That embarrass you?”
His gaze met mine, and his voice lowered so only I’d hear it. “Only in that I like the sound of it.”
My gaze widened, and I choked on a cough.
He grinned, obviously enjoying that he’d caught me off-kilter. He stared down at the photo then held it out to me.
Hallie was right. We did look good together.
“Can I post this on Instagram?” he asked politely.
I nodded. “And send it to me so I can post it on mine.”
His smile widened. “Austin will probably see it if you do that.”
“I know. I don’t care if you don’t.”
He chuckled. “Post away.”
We both fiddled with our phones on the way to the truck he was using. I immediately went for the driver’s side door and only stopped when he jingled the keys. “You want to drive?”
“Sorry, work truck. Force of habit.”
He cocked his head to one side. “I don’t mind.”
Austin had always preferred to drive me around. We always took his car, because he didn’t like my truck, and though he’d never come right out and said it, he’d have never let me drive his ride.
I mulled on that as Dom threw me the keys. I stared at them for a second and then got in behind the steering wheel.
I started the engine and let the noise thrum through me. It was comforting and familiar. As was Dom himself. A constant figure throughout my entire life that I’d never associated with anything but friendship.
Until now.
We got on the road, driving in the sort of comfortable silence you only had with people who’d known you a long time.
Eventually, my thoughts spilled over into words. “I never noticed all the ways Austin was bad for me, you know? They didn’t happen all at once.”
Dom glanced over at me. “Some guys are good at that. Making little moves, inch by inch, so small you don’t notice until they all rain down on your head.”
“He never said sorry. Not just that night I walked in on him. But over all the years we were together, he never said it. Even if he didn’t spin it so it was my fault, he’d just change the subject and talk about other things until I gave up being angry. I never noticed it at the time, but now…”
“Hindsight is twenty-twenty.”
“I guess so.” I sighed. “This is a shit way to begin an evening, isn’t it? Let’s not ruin this night before it’s even begun by talking about Austin.”
“You can talk to me about whatever you need to talk about, Sum. I’m not threatened by Austin.”
Something inside me clenched. Why was that so hot? Austin was the complete opposite. He hated it whenever I’d even mentioned another guy’s name, and Dom had been a source of conflict every time he’d been around. Dom’s confidence was a breath of fresh air. “Good. But still, I’d rather talk about slugs than my ex.”
“Slugs are nice. Good for your garden.”
I stifled a laugh. “Okay, maybe something slightly more interesting than slugs. Have you called your brother yet?”
“From one frying pan straight into another, huh? If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were deflecting.”
“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about,” I said in an overly innocent tone. “But seriously, did you?”
“Not yet.”
“Yet? Meaning you still plan to?”
“Yeah, I think so.”
I grinned at him. “That’s awesome.”
“What’s awesome is seeing you smiling again.”
I realized he was right. I was sick of moping, and I was sick of being angry. Smiling felt good. “I needed this. I hope you’re ready for bad karaoke and my awful dance moves.”
“Have you seen me dance?”
I thought about it for a second. “Actually, no.”
He cringed. “Well, get prepared to turn that smile into a laugh, because it ain’t pretty.”
The inside of the bar was dimly lit by small spotlights in the ceiling and wall sconces in the shape of bull horns. It was wood as far as the eye could see, wood floors, chairs, bar top, wall paneling. The place was jumping by the time we got there, and for half a second, we just stood in the doorway, taking the whole thing in.
Dom glanced over at me. “Drink or dance?”
“Definitely drink.” But I eyed the dance flo
or and the couples spinning around it. The thought of getting close to Dom and having his arms around me was also a compelling idea. “Then dance. I want to see your two left feet.” Because I had a feeling he was just being modest. I’d seen him on the back of a bull. He wasn’t lacking for coordination.
“Lucky for you, my dancing gets better the drunker I am. After you.” He motioned toward the bar and walked close behind me, his hand at the small of my back. His fingertips brushed my skin through a cutout in my dress, and it sent an unexpected tremble through my body.
“You cold?” he asked, leaning in closer.
I caught a whiff of his aftershave and hauled the delicious scent of clean man deep into my lungs.
I didn’t want to be blatantly obvious about how his touch affected me. “Uh, yeah, just a little. But I’ll warm up once we get drinks.”
I found a tiny table to the far side of the bar, and Dom ordered us a couple of beers, putting one down in front of me. I picked it up and took a long swallow, grateful for the cold liquid sliding down my throat. I was such a liar. I was the complete opposite of cold. If anything, being in Dom’s presence, just the two of us, alone like this, was heating me up.
Dom moved his chair so he was sitting beside me, rather than across from me, and sank into it. “Cheers.”
We clinked our bottles together, smiling at each other as we took another drink.
“So, why this bar?” Dom asked. “Not exactly the local. I mean, do you even know anyone in this room?”
I gazed around before I landed back on him. I lifted a shoulder. “Not a soul. And that’s exactly why I chose it.” It had taken us over an hour to drive here, but it had been worth it to get outside our gossipy town. “I just hate how everyone is all up in my business at home. Do you know how many little old ladies have stopped me in the streets to tell me how sorry they are that Austin dumped me? I have no proof, but I’d bet anything he’s spreading rumors to anyone who’ll listen.” Irritation rolled through me at the memory. There’d been three just yesterday, and all of them had patted me on the arm, and told me what a shame it was, and how he was such a nice boy. “I would have loved to have told them all what really happened.”
