Chapter 37
Spring approached and Sam for one was happy the weather was breaking. As soon as the river was deemed warm enough by Jake, she would be on Blackie's back. On her own horse! For real!
Jake knew she was excited and continued to drill her with information and what to expect. She must listen to him without question or he would call it all off. Sam had tried to get stubborn on him and told him to quit bossing her around, but Jake stood firm.
Their relationship had changed a bit. Both were aware that the other was of the opposite sex and sometimes it made them uncomfortable in each others' company. Both knew why they were uneasy with the other sometimes.
Most of the time though they just fell back on what they knew. They liked each other as friends and had for about eight years. The other stuff wasn't important right now.
Jake thought that Sam still looking and acting as a young girl helped matters. She hadn't developed yet so there weren't breasts getting in the way to distract him.
While nobody would ever call Jake girl crazy, he couldn't help notice them. The girls he went to school with were developing quickly and definitely they were boy crazy. Jake might be only interested in horses right now, but he wasn't blind. He, Darrell and their small circle of friends noticed the girls in their class.
He wasn't sure they noticed him very much, but Darrell seemed popular with the girls. It more than likely had to do with his outgoing personality whereas Jake was more introverted. Jake never liked to call attention to himself though some girls took that as a challenge.
With his exotic good looks, his dark skin, dark eyes, dark hair and chiseled cheekbones he definitely was noticed by the girls. They couldn't figure out how to approach him since he seemed so shy. Boldness didn't do it. Taking a quieter approach didn't seem to work either. He was an enigma to the girls in his school.
When the school year finally ended, Sam was excited. She said goodbye to her friend Ann. Linda had moved on to another group of friends since she had developed and became one of the more popular girls. Sam was sad about losing a friend, but she was also too excited about finally getting to ride her own colt to worry about it too much. She hoped to make more friends next year when she and Ann started middle school.
Until then, she still had Jake who had been her best friend since she was four. She planned on going over to Three Ponies today and bugging Jake into letting her get started on Blackie tomorrow. She knew there was no way she could bully Jake into changing his mind, but she hoped to pester him until he did.
She laughed to herself. He was the one who had claimed to have had the dream where she was a mosquito and he was the horse. If he was going to call her a pest, she might as well be one.
Jake was waiting for her when she ran across the River Bend bridge. She skidded to a stop in surprise. She saw his white smile in his dark face and knew he was enjoying her surprise.
"What are you doing here?" Sam asked as she came closer.
"Guess I'll leave," Jake shrugged, but Sam saw the humor in his eyes.
"How'd you get here so fast?"
"Guess I'm speedy," Jake shrugged again. Sam slugged him.
"Not very nice to hit the person you need something from," Jake warned her, his dark eyes dancing with mischief.
"What would I need from you?" Sam put her hands on her hips.
"You're going to lose that pink backpack when you start middle school, right?" Jake grimaced.
"Did Quinn tell you to say that?" Sam retorted.
"Nah, I can see how bright it is all on my own," Jake grinned.
"I like my pink backpack," Sam told him.
"No kidding?" Jake asked with a laugh.
"Why are you here, anyway?" Sam snapped.
"Gee Brat, I thought maybe you'd want to take your horse down to the river," Jake tried to sound nonchalant.
"What?" Sam yelped. "Are you serious?"
Jake gave her a look.
Sam gave a whoop and started dancing around her friend. She grabbed his arm as she jumped up and down. Jake shook her off. Sam grabbed him again not caring that Jake was starting to look annoyed.
"Buzz, buzz," Jake muttered under his breath.
"Oh go neigh yourself," Sam snapped right back at him. Jake's jaw dropped and the two of them started laughing.