Chapter 9
Chapter Nine
MELINDA
Rolling onto my side, I was met with thin air falling to the floor letting out a groan as I hit the floor.
How did I fall out of bed?
I opened my eyes seeing I was in the living room. The memories of last night finally came rushing back to me. We had been binge-watching my favourite reality television show and fell asleep.
Looking behind me, Alex was still fast asleep.
He looked so peaceful. With him asleep, I had time to admire him without him knowing it.
It had taken a bit for Alex to get comfortable after the incident again.
I could tell he was fighting with himself.
There must’ve been a huge part of him that wanted to run and hide, whilst the other part of him wanted to stay.
What scared me the most is that I wanted to know both of those parts of him. The good, the bad, and the ugly. I wanted to know it all. I wanted to know him.
Then, there’s the secret.
Could I cope with not knowing what his secret was?
It was obvious he had one, no adult had a grown babysitter without a reason. The security that had suddenly appeared around the campus, it all coincides with when Alex started at university.
I couldn’t figure out what the reason was.
Did he have a famous and important family?
Was he secretly a political figure?
Would I end up hurt?
I wanted to google him so bad. I reached for my phone, opening up the browser and stared at it.
Could I break my promise?
I told him I wouldn’t.
I let out a groan, throwing my phone back on the sofa.
I stood up, made my way to the bathroom, and showered quickly. I wrap the towel around me heading to the bedroom changing into some clean clothes. My body ached so much. Sleeping on a small sofa with someone else was not the best way to sleep.
After finishing getting ready, I made my way downstairs, Alex was still asleep on the sofa, and into the kitchen. I grabbed a can out of the fridge, opening it and taking a small sip.
Maybe I should prepare some breakfast.
I know Alex brought breakfast things I couldn’t believe he went shopping for me. I don’t think anyone would top what he did for me. I walked into the living room and saw he was sitting up looking confused.
“Hey.”
“Hi,” he said. “I was really confused about where I was then.”
“Do you often wake up at random houses not knowing who you’re with?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Not happened in a few years,” he admitted. “Do you have plans today?”
I shook my head.
“Do you want to go on that date?”
“I’d love to.” Butterflies filled my stomach, this was my first real date.
“Great,” he smiled. “I’m going to go home and then I’ll come pick you up” he looked at his phone “around midday if that’s alright with you?”
“Yeah, that sounds good,” I said. He stood up, stretching his arms out.
I made my way over to the door and let him out. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Yes, you will. Just so you know, I had fun last night,” he said.
“Me, too.”
He got into his car and drove off.
I headed into the living room, grabbing my phone.
Megan answered straight away. “If this isn’t life or death, I’m going to fucking kill you, Melinda,” she mumbled.
“Does Alex asking me on a date count?”
She squealed, making me pull the phone away from my ear. “Ow. Remember, we’re on the phone.”
“Holy hell! That was worth waking up for,” she said. “When? Where? How? What?”
“Erm, when Midday, where I don’t know, and how, he used his voice and asked me,” I said answering her questions.
“Are you excited?”
“I am. We’ve spent the best part of the last day together. I really like him, Megan. Ah, I am terrified,” I admitted. “He saw we didn’t have a lot of food, so went shopping for me.”
“Damn girl, it’s like he’s getting ready to stake his claim on you,” she said. Do you need me to come over and help you get ready?”
“No, I’m just going to go dressed as I am,” I said. “I’m not going to bother getting fancy because it’s just going to be ruined.”
“What are you wearing?”
“Jeans and a T-shirt.”
“Melinda, this is your first real date with an actual really nice, amazing man and you’re going to wear jeans?!”
“Well, we’re horseback riding, so yes,” I said flatly.
“Oh, you said you didn’t know,” she said.
I could just imagine the look on her face.
“I better get the low down on this date. I don’t care what time it is you get back. I want all the details, so you better come over.”
“I will be there straight away.”
“Great. I’m going back to sleep.”
Ah, my best friend is not only a pain in the ass, but she’s my pain in the ass.
I pressed my mum’s number. I knew she had woken up but I had yet to actually hear from her.
She answered after a few rings.
“Hey, mum.”
“Hi, honey,” she said.
Relief flooded through me as I heard her voice. I let out a little sniffle.
“I’m okay. I promise.”
“You scared me, mum,” I admitted.
My eyes began to well up with tears, I didn’t want to think about a life without her. Although we argued and didn’t see eye to eye all the time, I never wanted to live in a world without her.
“I’m sorry, honey.”
“You’re okay though?”
“A little bump won’t keep me down. You seriously don’t need to check up on me. Your dad—”
“Okay, sorry for caring,” I cut her off not needing to hear whatever she was going to say about the sperm donor.
I ended the call, throwing the phone on the bed.
Almost immediately, it started ringing again, but I ignored it.
I walked over to my wardrobe, picking up my best looking but not amazing clothes.
If we were going horseback riding, I didn’t want to wear my best jeans.
I pulled out a different pair of jeans with a vest top and got dressed.
I let my hair out the bun and ran a brush through it.
I winced as it came into contact with a knot.
I had really got to start brushing my hair instead of just shoving it up out the way.
I’d like to say I wasn’t sitting at the bottom of the stairs waiting for the knock on the door, but the truth is I was sitting at the bottom of the stairs waiting for him.
There was only so much watching television that could distract you and I was past that limit.
I opened the door and came face to face with Alex.
“Hi,” I said.
“Hey, you look beautiful,” he said. “Are you ready to go?”
Nodding, I shut the door behind us.
He led us over to an SUV and saw Jones waiting beside the open door.
“Hi.”
“Miss Brown.” He nodded.
I got into the car putting my belt on as Alex climbed in next to me, I looked at him raising an eyebrow, “is it normal for you to be driven around?”
“Yes,” he said instantly. “All a part of my world and my family.”
I nodded, not pressing for more information.
He would tell me when he was ready. Well, whenever that may be. Hopefully soon because curiosity would kill this cat that was for sure.
Alex held onto my hand as we began to move. The butterflies in my stomach hadn’t slowed down or stopped. It was hard to try and keep my leg from bouncing.
I looked at Alex from the corner of my eye. He was staring out the window biting his lip. It made me want to kiss him so much more.
“How long is it going to take to get to where we are going?” I asked, curiously.
“Jones?”
“Depending on traffic between fifty minutes to an hour Miss Brown,” Jones said.
An hour later, we arrived at our destination. It was a little ranch, well when I say little, it was actually big. Dogs were barking, horses were neighing, and cows were mooing.
I imagined waking up to this everyday would be absolutely stunning, although slightly annoying I guess if someone had chickens and other animals that would wake you up.
The smell of manure hit my nose as we walked around the large blue house, “I’ll take you for a tour into the ranch soon. It’s beautiful there. I didn’t decorate though, that is all Marie.”
“Marie?” I asked.
“Yeah, she lives here along with Jack. They take care of the ranch and the horses that we rescue,” Alex explained.
“Are you here often?” I asked curiously.
“I try to get here as much as possible,” he said. “Which sadly isn’t often enough, but I love it here.”
“I can see why.”
The open land, the enclosed horse paddocks, and the different animals seemed like their own slice of heaven.
He reached for my hand as he led me to the stables. “Don’t show your fear, stay calm, and they’ll be okay.”
“Okay.”
He pushed open the stable door. There were two horses inside, a white one and a black one. The black horse stood back a little, assessing the both of us. The white one trotted over to us happily.
Alex reached for my hand, lying it out for the horse to sniff. The horse let out a neigh, and Alex nodded. I reached forward, stroking its nose.
“They’re gentle creatures,” he said softly in my ear.
I bit my lip.
Alex had gotten closer, and I was very aware of it. My arms got goosebumps and I shivered slightly.
“Are you cold?” Alex asked gently.
“No, I’m fine. The horses are beautiful,” I said softly. “I don’t know how to ride them though.”
“It’s easy,” he said. “I’ll help you. You won’t be riding him since he’s mine. He’s more difficult to ride, and he has preferences. You’ll be riding Poppy. She’s the little Princess’ horse—” Alex said, still behind me.
I turned looking at him concerned. “Are you okay?”
He cleared his throat. “Yeah, sorry. Poppy is Elizabeth’s horse, but this will be her last ride for a little while.”
“Why?”
“She’s pregnant. It’s why Rocky looks like he’s ready to take you down,” he chuckled.
I watched in fascination as Alex began to get the horse ready.
The only thing I knew about horse riding is that you sat next to a saddle that was as far as my knowledge went.
Poppy seemed comfortable as Alex put what he needed to on her. He then did the same with Rocky and both horses waited side by side. “So, these are reigns. You use them to guide her and to obviously ensure that you stay up.”
I nodded. “How do you get up?”