Chapter 7 #2
He leans back, keeping his hand pinned to my thigh, and looks up. He points to the sky and says, "It'll be a full moon in about a week."
Still in a trance of disbelief, a bit of frustration, but way more awe, I focus on the moon. "It's pretty."
"If it were the fall, the bulls would be battling it out," he says.
"What for?" I ask.
He pins a seductive grin on me. "To get their girl and breed."
"Oh." I nervously laugh.
A few minutes pass in silence.
I eventually break it, asking, "Why do you love riding bulls so much?"
He stares into the distance, then reveals in a tone mixed with romance and excitement, "It's the only place where there's eight seconds of chaos yet a peaceful quiet.
There's no past or voices I don't want to hear or remember.
There's only the bull and me, both determined to win.
And when I hit the dirt, win or lose, I remember I'm alive, and he didn't kill me. "
"That's…"
He turns toward me and arches his eyebrows. "Messed-up, right?"
I nod, wincing. "Maybe a little."
He chuckles, the sound quickly subsiding into silence. A moment passes, and he adds, "If it doesn't kill you, it makes you stronger. And this fight for survival is my choice, not forced upon me."
My stomach flips. I put my hand on his thigh, blurting out, "So it's like some sort of therapy from your dad?"
His face hardens. The air turns cold.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that."
His jaw twitches, and he shrugs. "It's fine. But don't call him my dad. He's just a sperm donor." He turns toward me and winks.
I softly laugh. "Sorry. I forgot."
"No worries."
"Wyatt!" Jagger calls out.
We both jump and look behind us. The silhouettes of Jagger, Mason, and Ava come barreling toward us.
Wyatt tears his hand off my thigh and rises. "Stop yelling. We're hiding."
Ava laughs and says way too loudly, "Are you trying to dodge Hazel too?"
The hairs on my arms rise. I roar, "Jagger! Mason! Neither of you two better have slept with her!"
"Eww!" Ava slaps Jagger's arm. "Don't tell me you touched her."
"Well, I could have," he boasts.
"Not a prize to brag about," Wyatt points out.
"Agreed. That girl is going to be a petri dish someday soon, if she isn't already," Mason states.
I put my hand over my mouth and giggle.
"Seriously. Can you stop inviting her over?" Ava asks as she plops down on the log, her drink sloshing over the rim of her plastic cup. "Whoops." She giggles.
Jagger unstacks the bottom cup from his drink, holds it out, and Mason pours something from a flask into it.
"Drink for the birthday boy," Jagger claims, handing it to Wyatt.
He takes a sip and grimaces.
"Pussy," Mason says, then chuckles.
"What is it?" I question.
"Nothing you can drink," Ava says, pointing at me like she's my mother.
"Why not?" I argue.
"Because you're too young," she declares, embarrassing me in front of Wyatt.
I glare at her.
Wyatt finally saw me, and now he's going to be reminded of our age difference again.
"Drink your water." Ava motions to my bottle.
Wyatt steps closer and holds out his cup. "You can try mine, but I don't think you'll like it."
"What is it?"
"Moonshine," he answers.
"She's too young. Don't give that to her," Ava orders.
"Agreed," Mason says.
"You two are hypocrites. We all had drinks younger than Willow, so keep your opinions to yourself. She can taste it. Here, Willow," Wyatt offers, shaking his cup, then adds, "Just don't become a drunk. It's not very attractive."
I grab the cup, ignoring Ava's additional remarks, and take a large swig. I swallow it and immediately erupt into a coughing fit.
Wyatt chuckles and rubs my back. He hands me my water. "Told you it was nasty. Here, drink this."
I down half the bottle, then admit, "That's disgusting."
"Good. Don't drink," Mason says, sitting on the trunk next to Ava.
"So, what are you two doing down here?" Jagger asks.
Panic hits me. I nervously glance at Wyatt.
He slides his arm around my shoulder and teases, "Willow saved me from Chelsea. Didn't you?" He pins me with a look that's filled with our secrets that no one can see but me.
I nod. "Yep."
"Dude, I thought she was going to sleep with you tonight," Jagger says.
My gut dives. I freeze.
Wyatt steps away from me. "Decided not to."
"Why?" Jagger questions.
"Something about her isn't doing it for me," he claims.
Mason whines, "You could have told me that. I stayed away from her out of respect. If I'd known you weren't into her—"
"Eww. You're all so gross," Ava interjects.
"Agreed," I mutter, feeling a tad jealous and angry, thinking about Chelsea all over him all night.
Wyatt picks up a few stones and hands one to me. "Don't forget our bet."
I arch my eyebrows.
He turns to the others. "Willow thinks she can skip the rock more times than me."
Jagger groans. "You could've had Chelsea Waverly, but instead, you've been down here with Willow talking about skipping rocks?"
Wyatt puffs out his chest. "Yep."
"What does the winner get?" Ava asks, then gets up and grabs a stone. "I bet I can beat all of you."
"You wish," Mason retorts, taking a shot of moonshine right out of the flask, then wincing.
I look at Wyatt for help, and he rescues me again.
"Barn chores for a month," he states.
Great. I hate barn chores, and I can't skip rocks well.
"I'll join that bet," Ava announces.
Wyatt arches his eyebrows. "You sure?"
"Yep. You two first," she instructs.
Maybe Ava will lose, and I'll be off the hook.
Wyatt nods at me. "Go ahead, Willow."
I toss the rock, and it skips twice, then sinks. I moan. "Crap!"
"Well, this is predictable," Mason mutters.
"Shut up," I tell him.
Wyatt chuckles.
"It's not funny," I hurl at him.
He shrugs, then tosses his rock. It skips four times.
"Willow's out," Jagger states.
"Aren't you the genius," I grumble.
Ava tosses hers and matches Wyatt's skip.
"Tie-breaker," Mason declares.
Wyatt steps back. "Ladies first."
"No, you go first," she says.
He shakes his head. "No. I insist."
She rolls her eyes, takes a second to focus, then tosses it. The stone skips twice before sinking.
"Looks like Wyatt is the winner," Mason says.
"He hasn't gone yet," Ava declares, glaring at our brother.
Wyatt winks at me, steps up to the water, and tosses his rock. It sinks directly into the pond.
"What!" he cries out.
"Dude! That was pathetic!" Jagger taunts.
"Yes! No barn duty for me! Ha! Have fun, you two!" Ava cheers.
Wyatt tosses me a cocky grin, winks, then turns to the others. "Well, that sucks."