No one else made it to the jump-off. It was just Theo and Vince. Was the universe going to mess with him and make this a rematch that would turn against him?
Theo and Starbound went first, which Vince had no interest in watching. It was still encouraging when he heard the crowd groan and the announcer declare a four-fault score.
They’d taken down one rail. Vince and Xander just had to keep them all up.
He got an encouraging squeeze on the leg from Dustin before riding into the arena again. The first three fences went perfectly, but Vince felt his heart drop when a rail on the third jump clattered to the ground.
Now they had to have a faster time than Theo and Starbound. They literally had to cross the entire arena to get to the next jump, so as soon as they landed over the disastrous third jump. Vince leaned over Xander’s neck, thrusting his arms forward to let the reins go totally loose. Xander, ex-racer that he was, barely needed to feel the tap of Vince’s heel to know what was being asked of him.
They flew across the arena in a full-throttle racing sprint.
And the fourth jump came up a lot faster than Vince had expected. He sat back and tried to check Xander’s speed, but Xander decided not to slow as much as Vince would have liked. Images of crashing straight through the fence flashed across Vince’s mind as Xander took the jump at a speed Vince would not have chosen.
They landed safely on the other side without touching the jump and Vince made sure to ease back on the speed before Xander sprinted off again. There wasn’t enough space between jumps for that now.
“Don’t make me shit myself when I’m wearing white pants, jackass,” he growled as they cleared the next jump, hoping after the fact that the silent crowd hadn’t heard.
Too much to hope that the microphones on the cameras used for the livestream hadn’t picked it up. Oh well.
When they cleared the final jump Vince let Xander sprint over the finish mark again. The cheering of the crowd was encouraging, but Vince was still amazed when he brought Xander to a trot and looked at the screen. It changed right as he glanced at it to list the top three finishers, along with their total faults and times.
His name was at the top. By two-tenths of a second. Again.
Vince had to cover his mouth with one hand. Then he laughed and patted Xander’s neck. As they headed to the gate, it occurred to Vince that the crowd was still cheering for them. Grinning, he raised a fist above his head, then pointed down at Xander.
Xander was the real star, not him.
At the gate, Theo reached up to shake his hand.
“It seems like we’ve already done this,” Theo said, but he was smiling. “Well ridden. You’ve got a brilliant horse there.”
Vince couldn’t stop grinning. “I know. Thank you.”
Theo nodded, then left.
Vince leaned down to give Dustin the best kiss he could manage on horseback.
“I love you,” Dustin declared, gripping Vince’s thigh.
“I love you too.”
The show officials put a new lightweight blanket on Xander before the award ceremony, securing it over the saddle. It made riding awkward, but Vince was too happy to care this time.
He had just ridden back into the arena when he heard his name yelled from somewhere in the nearby stands. He was used to hearing his name coming from the crowd, but this time he knew the voice.
He turned Xander in the direction of the shout and was stunned to see his dad standing close to the fence with Jane, Scott, and Hunter. Even his grandparents, who had never been to one of his shows before, were there. Vince was pretty sure his jaw dropped before he trotted Xander over.
“What are you all doing here?” he asked.
“Couldn’t pass up the chance to see your last class here,” his grandma answered, smiling. “We’ve never seen you compete, after all.”
“And holy crap those jumps are huge,” Scott declared, a look of clear admiration on his face.
Vince smiled. “They are.”
It made him feel incredibly happy when he saw Hunter reach his little arms out to him, even happier than winning the class did. Vince dropped one hand down and let Hunter play with his glove, thinking it wouldn’t be wise to pull him up onto Xander with him.
Then he looked at his dad and realized that Wes had been crying.
“It was time I came,” he said, seeing Vince’s concerned look. “Your mom would have been so proud.”
Vince nodded. “I hope so.”
“I thought we could meet you after the awards?” Jane asked.
“The media people aren’t going to let me go for a while,” he answered. “How about tomorrow morning? Or are you flying out early?”
“Not until evening,” Scott answered. “We booked last-minute flights and didn’t get much choice.”
Vince could tell the presentation was about to start. “I’ll tell Dustin to wait for you while I do my interviews. You can all work something out and he’ll let me know.”
He reluctantly took his hand away from Hunter and turned Xander for the center of the arena. What an incredible night.
IT GOT even better when he eventually returned to the trailer.
Dustin was already in bed and Vince assumed he was sleeping—or had been until Tally started barking. All he had to do was whisper “Shhh, Tally, it’s just me,” and she got quiet again. Apparently she knew their voices.
Vince took a quick shower and slipped into bed as carefully as he could. As soon as he got settled, though, Dustin rolled over to kiss him.
“I love watching you kick ass,” Dustin breathed against Vince’s neck.
Vince wrapped his arms around Dustin and smiled. “I kind of guessed that.”
Dustin kissed Vince’s lips again. “How?”
“Well,” Vince teased, “there’s the fact that you get horny every time I win something big.”
Dustin pulled back slightly and raised his eyebrows in a teasing expression. “What makes you think I’m horny and don’t just want to make out?”
Vince pulled him close for another kiss. “Just wanting to make out is more my thing. I’m okay with that, though. I also won’t object to anything else.”
“Good,” was all Dustin said before starting up a new, passionate kiss.
THEY WOKE just hours later to the sound of Tally whining in her crate.
“I’ll take her out. Just let me get dressed,” Dustin said groggily. He pushed back the covers and paused to tickle Tally’s face through the bars before slipping out of bed.
Vince rubbed his face and sat up. He saw Dustin pull on a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie below the bed, and as soon as he picked up the leash, Vince gently pulled Tally from her crate. He passed her carefully down to Dustin, who clipped on the leash but kept her in his arms until he got his sneakers jammed on and walked out the door. With a yawn Vince lay back down.
He didn’t expect to fall asleep again, but when Dustin returned with Tally, he found himself awake once more. Dustin had stripped to his underwear, which made Vince smile for some reason. He ran a hand down Dustin’s back while Dustin put Tally in her crate and was happy when Dustin snuggled in close to Vince after Tally was settled.
Vince could only think briefly of how peaceful and utterly domestic this was before sleep took him yet again.
When he woke later it was to Dustin’s alarm. Dustin reached over to turn it off, then moved back to spoon against Vince. Vince ran a hand down Dustin’s arm to intertwine their fingers.
Dustin sighed as he curled his fingers around Vince’s. “Do you think Xander will mind a slightly later breakfast?”
Vince smiled as he kissed Dustin’s shoulder. “Half an hour won’t kill him.”
“Good. It’s our last day here and this is way too comfortable.”
“I agree.”
Vince rested his forehead against Dustin’s shoulder, loving the closeness and the faint scent of sweat still clinging to their skin from their lovemaking hours ago. This was so peaceful, so
perfect, to wake up with Dustin right there beside him. Even sharing the bed with a dog was nice; it added another bit of comfort to the picture that Vince hadn’t expected from a dog.
“Hey, Dust?”
“Hmmm?” was the sleepy response.
Vince lifted his head as Dustin turned slightly to glance back at him. The nerves hit him like a whole herd of galloping horses and he had to look away from those curious green eyes. His gaze dropped to Dustin’s shoulder and he forced himself to speak, though not quite the words he wanted to.
“Would you ever want to get married?”
Dustin was quiet for a moment, which terrified Vince. Finally, he asked, “Is this a hypothetical question or do you actually want to know?”
Vince shrugged, feeling a sense of impending doom. “Whichever is better for you.”
“Are you afraid to just straight-up ask me because of Jane?”
Dustin’s tone was gentle, but Vince felt a touch of frustration. Of course that was why he was terrified. Even if things with Dustin were worlds better and much more real than they ever were with Jane, the memory of that heartbreak was still there. It would be a thousand times worse if Dustin turned him down. He had no reason to think Dustin would say no, but he was still terrified.
“Yes,” he finally answered, then made himself look Dustin in the eye. Dustin’s face was unreadable. “But yeah, that’s what I’m really asking. Will you marry me?”
Dustin rolled over to face him, a smile lighting up his face. “Of course I will. I love you.”
Vince was so relieved that he laughed. “I love you too,” he said as he pulled Dustin closer. Screw morning breath, he decided, and kissed Dustin with all the wildness of his raging emotions.
Moments later they were disrupted by Vince’s phone ringing. Reluctantly, he pulled away to check it and grudgingly answered when he saw that it was Jane.
“Good morning, Mr. Champion,” she greeted him. “We’ll be there in about an hour.”
“Sounds good. Where do you want to meet?”
Dustin apparently wasn’t happy about the distraction, because he started playing with the waistband of Vince’s underwear. Vince shot him a glare but Dustin just grinned.
“We can find the trailer if you want. Are we allowed in the stables?”
Vince clamped a hand on Dustin’s as he slowly started sliding it under Vince’s waistband. “I can check with security. I mean, technically the competition is over so we might be able to get you in.”
“Okay. Well, we’ll look for the trailer either way.”
“Sounds good,” Vince agreed, putting all his mental strength into keeping his voice and breathing normal as Dustin continued moving his fingers against his skin. “See you guys in an hour.”
He had barely hung up when Dustin started kissing him again.
“We only have an hour,” Vince argued through the kisses.
“We only need half that,” Dustin replied. He kissed Vince’s neck before putting his mouth to even better use.
Chapter Twenty
THEY ENDED up with just enough time to get dressed and ready for the day before everyone else found the trailer. Vince didn’t have the chance to offer Dustin the ring or even mention it, so he chose to put it off until later. The knock came on the door just as Vince was spraying himself with cologne and hoping he didn’t smell like sex. Tally was playing on the floor with Dustin and stopped to look at the door, head tilted to one side.
“Coming!” Vince called, waiting for Dustin to wrangle up Tally before she escaped to run all over the showgrounds.
“TMI!” Jane yelled back from outside.
Dustin laughed as he finally got Tally’s leash on and took her to the door.
After the expected round of hugs and hellos, Vince led them toward the stables.
“I really appreciate that you guys came last night,” he said, smiling. “Even though no one told me ahead of time.”
“We didn’t want to give you anything more to think about,” Jane explained.
“Thank you,” Vince replied, and he meant it. It probably would have stressed him out even more knowing they were all watching.
Despite the fact that competition was over, stable security still made Vince and Dustin lead Xander to a less secure area in order to let his family see him. So they took him and his breakfast to a field nearby, where Xander munched down his grain, then set to grazing on the green grass.
“I can’t wait to get him home and let him loose in the pastures for a few days,” Vince admitted. “I hate that he’s gotten no turnout time. Just hand grazing like this and whatever exercise I give him.”
“He deserves some time off,” Wes commented, rubbing Xander’s neck affectionately.
“So do I,” Vince added. “From showing. Just for a month maybe. I got Hunter a pony,” he added, glancing at Jane. “Anna said she’s saving a stall for him. That’ll be a good use of my time.”
“Did you find a saddle for him?” Jane asked. She was letting Hunter pet Xander from the safety of her arms.
Vince nodded. “Ordered one online.” For being so tiny the thing had been ridiculously expensive. “We pick up Cody, the pony, on our way out tomorrow.”
After an hour of letting Xander eat, they took a walk to see if any of the food vendors were open. It was still a competition day for some of the lower levels, and many international competitors hadn’t left for home yet, so they managed to find some vendors ready for business near the other arenas.
They also ran into Tom. Vince was embarrassed to realize he had totally forgotten about his promise to talk to him again. Thankfully, their meeting wasn’t more than a few minutes off schedule.
And so much for keeping his family out of the articles about him. He ended up introducing everyone, including Hunter, whom Tom seemed to completely adore.
“I totally forgot I had to finish up an interview with him,” Vince apologized afterward. “I didn’t mean to drag you guys into it.”
“It’s good that they know you as more than a rider with a boyfriend,” Jane replied with a shrug. “It’s nice to be a part of things.”
Neither Vince nor Dustin mentioned their conversation from that morning to anyone. It felt like their own private secret for the moment, something they could share when they got home. Vince was more than fine with that.
VINCE AND Dustin headed back to the trailer after the others left. In order to leave early the next morning they had to make the trailer ready for the drive. That meant putting away all the loose items and getting the ties ready for the cabinets. The living quarters had become just that over the last few months with little items scattered everywhere—an extra bit for Xander’s bridle lay on the table beside a horseshoe Dustin had found; they each had a pair of sneakers and a pair of boots by the door, plus Vince’s competition boots; a show program had been tossed onto the countertop; multiple sweatshirts lay on the couch. Then there were all of Vince’s ribbons hanging on the string that circled half of the space, all crammed together and all needing to come down. Good thing Vince still had an extra tack box.
They probably could have gone to the laundromat again but they were both sick of the place by then. And they probably should have taken the trailer back to the nearby RV campground to deal with the water and sewage tank again, but they could do that on the way out of town.
“Where do we even start?” Dustin asked, looking around.
“Well, first there’s something else I want to tell you,” Vince began, once more feeling awkward.
Dustin turned to him with a curious look. “What?”
Vince took a deep breath. “You’re going to think this is really stupid. I, uh, actually bought you a ring. You don’t have to wear it if you don’t want to,” he quickly added when he saw the amusement on Dustin’s face.
Dustin stepped close and pulled Vince into a soft kiss. “It’s funny because I was actually thinking of asking you when we got home, and I bought you a ring too.”
Vince l
aughed as relief washed over him. “Really?”
Dustin nodded, grinning. “I’ve been wondering all day about what to do about it. I would have felt weird giving you a ring when you beat me to the question. And I didn’t want you to feel bad about not getting me one.”
“I love you,” Vince laughed. He kissed Dustin one more time. “You want yours first?”
“I want to give you yours.”
Dustin vanished through the bathroom and into the stall area, and returned with a bag from the pharmacy back home. It was one of the plain brown ones that they put prescriptions in and it had a label about the medication stapled to the outside. Vince had to smile to himself about the brilliant hiding spot. He just would have assumed the bag held Dustin’s prescription medication the doctor had given him to help manage his herpes, of which he’d needed to get a few months’ worth before leaving home. Even if Vince had had a need to get into Dustin’s storage chest, he never would have looked inside the bag.
Dustin blushed as he handed over the small box. “I don’t know if you’ll like it….”
Vince smiled. “Of course I will.”
The box had the logo from the same jewelry shop where Vince had gotten Dustin’s ring. He briefly hoped Dustin hadn’t outdone him—he didn’t want to let Dustin down by not doing as much for him as he did for Vince. He was relieved when he opened the box and saw a ring in a fairly similar style to what he’d gotten Dustin. It was shiny silver and had an artistic swirl engraved around the center of the band, dotted with three white diamonds.
“Is it okay?” Dustin asked awkwardly.
Vince laughed. “It’s perfect.”
“I know it’s probably silly to have something with stones when you’re around horses and doing barn stuff all the time, but they included cleaner and I got insurance on it. But I won’t be offended if you don’t want to wear it around the barn.”
Vince pulled him closer and kissed him. “Of course I’ll wear it.”
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