Total pages in book: 115
Estimated words: 107254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 107254 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 536(@200wpm)___ 429(@250wpm)___ 358(@300wpm)
He pulls up at the clearing, parking right next to another car before we get out. He walks around the truck and slides his hand in mine. At this point, I don’t even think he wants to hold my hand. It’s probably all for show. “I have to be home at midnight,” I tell him, and he grunts.
“Jesus, that’s in like three hours.” He lets go of my hand angrily. “It’s ridiculous.”
“I also have to work tomorrow at ten,” I remind him, “and you have to work at eight.”
“I don’t need you to tell me what I need to do, Lilah,” he mumbles as we get closer to the group. “Whatever, I’m going to see the boys.”
“Have fun,” I reply, relieved he’s not going to be beside me, as he walks toward the six guys he hangs around with. They all call out his name when he gets closer to the circle, bringing him in for a side hug and some stupid handshake they made up a while ago.
“Hey,” I hear softly from beside me and see my best friend, Courtney, coming toward me. “You guys got here late.” She puts her arm around my shoulders. Courtney and I have been best friends since second grade when she moved into town, and we sat next to each other on the first day of school.
“Yeah, he had football practice until eight.” I point over at Derek.
“The guys are going to the barn to get some of the horses out.” She motions with her chin toward the guys who look like they are walking toward the barn. There are lights lit up all around the fenced area.
“Oh, fun,” I say as we walk toward the area, seeing a couple of the guys come out holding two horses in each hand.
“Are we going to race or what?” one of them says, and I shake my head.
“You know what we should do? Boys against the girls,” Becca suggests from beside me.
“We all know who is going to win that one.” Derek snickers, and I look over at him.
“Is that so?” I fold my arms over my chest. I’ve been riding horses since I was five, and my mother put me on a pony at the local fair. From then, I begged and pleaded with them to find me a horse. So they took me to horseback riding lessons and then it just snowballed. If I wasn’t in school, I was riding a horse. Only lately it’s been at the bottom of the list with all that I’ve had to do before leaving.
“I’ll even give you a head start,” he chides, and the boys egg him on.
“Thanks, but I don’t need it,” I retort, walking into the fenced area and grabbing the reins of one of the horses. Before placing my foot in the stirrup and pulling myself up, I listen to the guys make the rules.
I look over to see Derek also getting on his horse. He’s a country boy, for sure, but he’s not that good of a rider. Just because he was born in the South doesn’t mean he’s a cowboy.
We line up side by side, as I lean down and rub the horse’s neck. “Let’s show them who’s boss,” I whisper as everyone lines up, standing on the bottom rail of the fence, both sides shouting for either me or Derek.
“Get ready.” I scoot down closer to the horse. “Get set.” I look over to see Derek smirking as if he has this. “Go!” The second I hear the word go, I kick the side of the horse. I don’t even look over at Derek as I make my way around the fenced area and back to the start line. I cross it and look back to see Derek right behind me, which means I won.
The guys tease him that I won, and all I do is get off the horse and dust my hands off. “It’s a good thing you didn’t give me a head start,” I joke with him, and all he does is glare at me as the guys tease him for losing to me.
“Whatever,” he barks, handing the horse off to the next guy, “the fucking horse should be put down.”
I gasp. “Fucking ancient,” he mutters of the horse.
I walk over to the fence. “Ignore him,” Courtney advises. “He’s always been a sore loser. You beat him fair and square, Louise.” She mentions the nickname we gave ourselves when we saw the movie Thelma and Louise in sixth grade.
It ends up being a tie, but the guys all bug Derek about him losing to his girlfriend, something I don’t pay attention to as I make my way toward the girls. We sit on the grass, the sound of music coming softly from one of the ten cars that are parked side by side, all the way down. I look at my watch and see it’s eleven fifteen when Derek comes over and hands me a red Solo cup. “Here,” he says to me, “I got you a glass of sweet tea.”