I’m The Worst #3
“It’s complicated,” I sighed, thinking of the other night when she’d been crying and blaming herself and begging to give us another chance. Guilt welled up in me at the thought of going through that again with her tonight.
Whatever playfulness Ollie possessed a moment ago died just then. “Right. Well, as fun as this has been, I should get back to riding.” She clucked at the horse, urging it forward with a tap of her heels to the mare’s sides.
Disappointment welled in me, but I didn’t try to stop her.
I was already treading a fine line. I’m sure some people—a lot of people—saw what I was doing and thought me a real piece of shit, and they weren’t wrong.
I shouldn’t be flirting with Ollie when I still had a girlfriend, but…
well, I’d be lying if I said I wouldn’t do it again if given the chance.
There was something about her that drew me in.
“See you around, sugar,” I called to her retreating form.
I made my way back to the fence and pulled myself up and over it, but not before looking back at the raven-haired she-devil.
She looked good, real fucking good, as she picked up a lope.
All of her nerves were gone. A hint of pride flickered in my chest. I’d helped her.
This woman who obviously didn’t take handouts from anyone, let me help her.
But as I trudged back toward my dad, Hux, and the rest of the group, a wave of…something washed over me. I couldn’t tell what exactly it was. Disappointment, maybe? I don’t know. But I did know that walking away from her left me feeling cold. Hollow.
“Hey, dumbass.” My back straightened at her smokey voice, my heart hitching in my chest as I turned to take her in.
“Yes, sugar?”
She drew to a stop, running her tongue over her teeth, annoyance bristling off every inch of her, though I got the feeling it wasn’t aimed directly at me. “Would you—would help me?”
“With what?”
Her chest rose and fell as she exhaled a loud, frustrated sigh. “Would you help me? With riding.”
I leaned my arms against the top rung of the arena. “Why do you want my help? Why not one of the hands?” I cursed myself for even suggesting it. It might be more convenient to have lessons with the guys, but damn, I wanted to give her lessons.
“They already are,” she grumbled out, coming to a halt in line with me on the other side of the fence. “And, surprisingly, you’re the only one who can stare at my tits all day and still manage to teach me something.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. God, she was so blunt and vulgar; she didn’t hold anything back.
Her mouth drew into a frown that rivaled Maverick’s. “Nevermind. Forget I said anything, asshole.”
“No,” I said quickly, meeting her sunglasses stare. “No, I’ll do it.”
“You will?” Did I sense some vulnerability there in her words?
Just the thought of giving her lessons had my heart thumping a merry little rhythm. I’d never done something like this before, and the prospect of helping her—while getting to flirt and tease her relentlessly—filled me with excitement.
“Yeah.” I nodded. “But I got stipulations.”
“Like…” she asked, her head tilting to the side.
Fuck, it would help if I actually had stipulations in mind, right? They didn’t have to be much, but I was in a position to get to know her more. Might as well take advantage, right?
Chewing my lip, I thought for a moment. “There’s this ropin’ event at the end of December, I want you to compete in it.” That would give me plenty of time to get to know her, break down some of those walls.
She scoffed. “Why?”
I shrugged. “Cuz I think you could do it.”
“What’s the prize? A gold buckle?” The way she said it, like it was no big deal. Like golden belt buckles were a dime a dozen. Honestly, if she trained hard enough, she could bring them in no problem. She had that fire, that competitive edge to her. I could feel it.
I grinned. “That…and $10,000.”
Her head cocked to the side, and she ran her tongue over her bottom lip before biting down. “What do you get out of this?”
She was too smart for her own good. My grin tugged wider and I shrugged. “I don’t gotta tell you my reasons.”
Her lip curled up into a snarl for a moment before smoothing out into a wry smirk. “Fine. But I have stipulations of my own.”
“Oh yeah? And what are they?” I asked, leaning against the railing. It’s like I was drawn to her. Couldn’t stay away even if I wanted to.
She pulled her sunglasses off, pegging me with her scalding mismatched stare. “You can’t fall in love with me.” Her tone was serious. Deadly serious.
A shiver skittered down my spine at the coldness in her words, but I forced a grin to my lips. “That ain’t somethin’ Big Daddy’s gotta worry about. If there’s one thing I don’t catch, it’s feelings—and herpes.”
She chuckled as she plopped her sunglasses back on. “Then it looks like we have a deal.”
Fuck, yes. “If I’m gonna train you, I’m gonna need your number.”
“Nice try,” she laughed. “Lose the girlfriend, then you can have my number.”
Well, I knew what I needed to do. Now I just had to do it.