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Chapter 4- Learning To Ride

About a week had passed since Lucas had started working for my Dad. And everytime he came to work, it was the same routine. First, he would just invite himself in. Then, he would talk about how attracted I was to him. After that, he would go to work and occasionally come and sit with me. Everyday I told him that he had an unnaturally high self-esteem. We flirted a lot, but a part of me felt guilty because I wasn't sure what was going on with him and Brooke. I didn't know if they were dating or what was happening with them. Whenever Brooke talked about it, she made it seem like they were this perfect couple. But Lucas would never even mention Brooke when he was around me.

It was 11:30 a.m. on a beautiful Saturday. Today was the kind of day that wasn't too hot, it was just right. Normally, it never went below 85 degrees in the summer, but today was about 75 degrees. It felt really good to finally get rid of a little bit of the humidity and scorching heat. I was in the barn brushing Faith and the other horses. I hadn't had much time to spend with her lately because of all the chaos going on here at the farm. So I figured that I owed it to her to spend quality time with her. I fed her some carrots and apples anytime I didn't get to see her in a while. My Dad hated that I spoiled her like that, but it didn't bother me. She was mainly my horse anyway. I took care of her with out anyone's help.

I turned to my right as I hear someone knock on the door to the barn, even though the door is already open. It's Lucas.

"Hey. What are you doing here on your day off?" I ask him with confusion.

He twists a piece of hay around between his index finger and thumb. "I just came by to see if you wanted to hang out considering you and I never actually properly hang out."

I stare at him and can't help but laugh because I see that he is the one who is finally nervous.

"What about Brooke?" I ask. What a stupid thing to say. Why would I have said that? It kind of just slipped out.

"What about her?" he asks walking toward me.

"Fine. Ok." I reply.

Lucas smiles and I flash a smile back at him.

"You still want to learn how to ride a horse?" I ask him.

"Only if you're willing to teach."

"Ok, then follow me." I take him to the horse saddles."Which one do you want to ride?"

"Is there a certain one I should stay away from?" Lucas asks me.

I laugh. "No. They're all pretty good. You can take Victory." I say pointing to the brown horse.

"The horse's name is Victory?" he asks almost astonished.

"Yeah, why?"

"It's just a really random name."

"Well, when my mom was alive, she said she wanted to have the all the horses names have meaning. So therefore we have Faith, Victory, Hope, Joy, Love, and Wonder," I say as I point out the horse when I say their name.

"Those are really great names. Your mom was smart to want to have their names mean something," Lucas says still holding the saddle in his hands.

"Thanks Lucas."

"So are you going to teach me how to put this thing on or what?"

"Ok, set the saddle down on the floor. The first thing you have to do is groom the horse as you prepare for your ride."

"Can I ask why?"

"Because you have to get rid of any dirt that can cause chaffing under the saddle and you have to look for any wounds."

"Gotcha." Lucas begins to brush Victory.

"You always saddle your horse from the near side, which is the left side. Place the saddle so that the front of the pad is just infront of the horses shoulders, ok?"

"Like that?" He asks. I look at his saddle to check if it is right so far. It is so I move on.

"Yeah. After that you place the saddle on top of the pad so the front of the saddle is just in front of the withers, which are his shoulders. Make sure the saddle is centered. Got it?"

"Mmmhmm."

"Then, hold the saddle underneath the horn and gently lift up while you lift up the pad so it doesn't rub on the horse's withers. Buckle the cinch or girth so it is snug around the horse's belly, just behind the front legs. Make sure the cinch doesn't rub or cut into the horse's front legs. Tighten the cinch so you can just slip a finger between the cinch and the horse's stomach. Do you have that all so far?"

"I'm pretty sure."

"Ok good. Now, Make sure stirrups are adjusted properly. When you stand in the stirrups you should have two finger widths between you and the saddle. And that's all there is to it."

I look over at Lucas who is struggling with the last step. I giggle when I see him trying to do it.

"What do you find so funny?" he says putting his hands on his hips which causes me to laugh even more.

"Let me help you," I say walking over to his horse. "There." I smile at him.

Lucas looks at me for a few seconds. "You have a beautiful smile."

I can feel my face become red as I turn away and mumble a thanks.

Lucas and I take the horses out of the barn and I show him how to get on. I laugh as he almost falls off.

"You really are from the city aren't you?" I say when he finally gets on the horse.

"Yeah, yeah. Laugh all you want."

"Ok. Ok. I'm sorry I laughed at you."

"It's fine. Just teach me how to get this thing going."

"Alright kick his sides with both of your heels gently to get him moving. To turn to the left, pull the reigns to the right and to turn to the right pull the reigns to left. To stop just say easy. Got it?"

"Yeah."

After a while of teaching him, Lucas finally gets the hang of it. We ride the horses slowly down the dirt rode. We started to talk now seeing that Lucas was doing ok with the horse.

"Tell me about your family, Lucas."

He looks over at me and nods his head. "Ok. Well, my mom's name is Karen and she owns a cafe in Chicago. My Dad's name is Dan, and he is a huge businessman for some multi million dollar company. To be honest, I don't even know exactly what he does. I rarely ever see him. He's gone for work in the morning by 5:30 and doesn't get home until around 8. If he's not at work, then he's on a business trip somewhere."

"I'm sorry, Lucas." I say.

"Nah, don't be. My mom's all I really need. She's the best thing I have in my life."

"That's great that you talk so highly of your mom."

"Thanks, Peyton. So what about you? What's your story?" Lucas asks me as we are still riding horses.

"Um, you know my Dad Larry. He's obviously an agricultural farmer. And my mom, Anna, she was a teacher. She died about 3 years ago in a car accident. It was the worst day of my life when we heard about it. I remember exactly what I was doing and what I was thinking at the exact moment we found out she didn't make it."

"Peyton, I'm really sorry."

"It's ok I guess. She didn't suffer. That's the only thing that calms me when I think about it. You know, the fact that she died from the impact of the other car. I'm happy she wasn't in pain. I don't think I could bear it, if she experienced pain."

"What happened to the person that hit her?"

"Jail." is all I say.

I knew Lucas didn't know what to say after that because he didn't want to turn and look at me.

"So, what do you do for fun?" I ask breaking the silence.

"I write and play basketball."

"Wait you write?" I ask shocked.

"Yeah. Why is that so hard to believe?"

"Hmm I don't know. Maybe because I never would have expected someone as confident and cocky like you to have a way with words."

"Ah, that's where you're wrong. I do have a way with words, especially with you."

"What? No you don't," I say blushing.

"Oh really? Then how come everytime I say something to you, you laugh or smile or turn completely red in the face."

"I do not!" I yell. He laughs at my defensiveness. On an automatic reaction, I laugh too without realizing.

"See! You did it again and I didn't even say anything."

"Fine, I forfeit. You win."

"Thank you." He seems very pleased with himself. "What do you do for fun?"

"This," I say pointing to the horses,"Drawing, listening to music, you know stuff like that."

There's a short silence between us for a little while. "What's the deal with you and Brooke?" I ask.

"What do you mean?"

"Like are you guys dating or was it just one date," I stop realizing I sound super jealous, "I mean you don't have to tell me. It's not any of my business."

"No, there's nothing really going on between me and her. It was just a one time thing."

"Oh," I say somewhat relieved.

"What about you? Do you have a boyfriend?"

"Nope. I'm not really into the whole dating experience thing. What's the point?"

"Finding someone you care about and could potentially end up falling in love with."

His words hit me hard. I wasn't really expecting him to answer my question, but he did. Lucas hit the nail right on the head. Underneath all of his cockiness, I could tell that he had a big heart there.

"Have you ever been in love?" I ask curiously.

"Not yet, but when I do I know it'll be with the right person."

We leave the conversation at that. Lucas and I then turn around now to go back to the barn. I was happy that I shared a personal conversation with Lucas. He was a good listener and someone I enjoyed talking to. I never would've expected that from him. I guess he's full of surprises.

We arrive at the barn and put Faith and Victory back into their sections of the barn.

"Peyton, I had a really good type horseback riding with you. Even though you laughed at me majority of the time." He smiled down at me when I started to laugh.

"I'm glad you had fun Luke because surprisingly I had fun to."

I stared into Lucas' piercing blue eyes and suddenly became very nervous. He stared back at me with just as much intensity. The way he looked at me made me go weak in the knees and my palms sweaty. I wanted to look away from Lucas, but I couldn't. My gaze was glued to him. He started to walk a little closer to me so he was standing directly in front of me. I didn't move. My legs wouldn't let me because of their rubbery feeling. Lucas lifted up hisleft arm and put his hand to my face. He brushed my cheek with his thumb softly and gently. I stood still just gazing into his eyes. He licked his lips lightly and inched his face closer to mine. Lucas was now less than an inch away from my face but he had stopped. He stopped to look at my lips and then back into my eyes. The moment was so perfect until...

"Peyton!" My Dad yelled from the house. "I need your help peeling corn."

The moment was ruined. Lucas let go of my face and stepped away before he even got a chance to kiss me. I watched as he sighed and closed his eyes in frustration.

"I gotta go Lucas. I'll, um, see ya later," I say nervously and somewhat embarrassed.

"Oh ok. I'll just get going. Thanks for letting me horseback ride with you."

"Um, yeah. Anytime."

I stood in the barn as I watched Lucas walk out the doors. We were so close, but of course there just had to be an interruption. After hearing Lucas' car pull away, I step out of the barn and to the house where I help my Dad with the corn.

I stand by the sink and throw the excess corn down the garbage disposal. My Dad puts the corn onto a plate and carries it out to the back by the grill. I follow behind him.

"Where did you and Lucas go about 45 minutes ago?" he asks me while putting corn onto the grill.

"I taught him how to ride a horse, and we just talked."

"Just talked?" he asked suspiciously.

"Yes, Dad. Just talked." I say.

After dinner, I went out to the barn realizing that I didn't lock the door after Lucas left. When I got to the barn, I locked the latch and turned around. There stood Lucas. I look at him confused wondering what he's doing here at 8:30.

"Did you forget something?" I ask him with a questioning look.

"Yeah."

Just then he pulls my face in his hands and puts his lips onto mine. Half of me is shocked and the other half was kind of expecting it. His lips are so soft and very gentle. There is nothing agressive about the kiss. It is perfect. Our lips move in sync and fit perfectly together. The kiss is a gentle, lingering touch of both our lips. There was a hesitation on both parts as his lips touched mine, as if he was taking his time to memorize the feeling before he pulled away. When our lips parted, my eyes remained shut. My lips still had a tingly sensation on them and I didn't want it to ever go away. I finally opened my eyes and Lucas was gone. I was somewhat thankful that he had left because I had no idea what I was going to say. At the same time, I wished he would have stayed.

I walk back to my house like I am riding on a cloud. I feel lighter than air. When I walk inside, my Dad looks at me like I belong in a mental institution, but I completely ignore it as I walk up to my bedroom. I close the door behind me and start to jump up and down and scream quietly. I feel like a little girl who just got told she was going to Disney World. I sigh with happiness and go straight to bed.

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