Winners

One, two, squeeze, I counted in my head, guiding my blue-roan mare up and over the painted fence. We landed perfectly, clearing the jump. I turned Lucky to face the next jump, this one a water jump. Again, Lucky easily hopped over the shallow pool.

“Good girl,” I whispered in her ear. “One more.”

The last obstacle of our practice course was 3’foot oxer, two jumps right beside each other that the horse had to jump over at the same time. Lucky and I had lost our last competition last season due to a jump similar to this one.

Straightening Lucky out, we met the oxer face on. I gave her blue-grey sides a kick to encourage her over, not that she needed much reinforcement. She loved to jump. Gathering herself, Lucky leaped, taking us soaring over the double-jump with room to spare.

Grinning at my horse’s performance, I pulled her back down to a walk. “Atta be!” Laura yelled from the side of the ring. “You two looked great.”

“Thanks,” I said back, trotting over so we could converse easier. “Lucky’s really feeling good this year. I think we might be able to bring home even more ribbons than even last year.”

Laura nodded, “For sure, if you keep up the training. I have a proposition for you, by the way.”

“What’s that?” I asked, interest piqued.

“A couple clients have questioned me about you training their horse… y’interested?”

“Hell yes!” I cried. Training other people’s horses? That was practically a life-long dream of mine and not one that I ever thought I would actually get to do. The trust the owners put in a trainer to teach their horse right, well, that was an easy thing to break and a very powerful feeling for the trainer.

The older woman smiled at my exuberance. “Great, I’ll let them know. How often d’you think you’d be able to work with them? I know you’re already busy with Dante’s and you know I think you do too much around here, so we could cut back on that if need be.”

I paused to consider. Since I only worked nights at the bar that left a lot of wide-open days. “It depends on how many there are,” I finally said. “I’d be able to do about one a day, because I need to continue with Lucky’s workout. So if there were three clients, I could rotate them through twice or three times a week, but if there’s more, that would mean less time for the individual.”

Laura thought about this. “Okay, how about I find out how much interest there is and get back to you? Some people might only want a couple sessions. We’ll work something out.”

“Perfect.”

----

Taylor thought there was something wrong with me when I got home because I couldn’t stop beaming.

“Are you high?” he enquired. “Because you look a little dopey.”

“No, you tool,” I snarled. “I’m happy. Maybe if you did something other than sit around all day, you’d know what that feels like.”

My housemate came from a very well off European family and since he didn’t need to work, he didn’t – well, I doubted he’d be able to keep a job even if he did have one anyway. Instead he lazed about our house and partied like crazy.

“I know what happiness feels like,” Taylor snorted. “Just because I don’t enjoy wearing a goofy-ass grin on my face all the time doesn’t mean I’m not happy.”

Rolling my eyes, I ignored him. Taylor only had two facial expressions – his charming smirk and what he looked like when he wasn’t smirking. He frequently liked to pick on me for being normal and smiling.

We were silent for a few minutes while I struggled with taking off of my tight chaps. My calves must have gotten larger, because it hadn’t been this difficult to get the soft leather grips off a month ago.

“Why are you so happy anyway?” Taylor finally asked. For all his snarky, smart ass façade, he really did care and he was one of my closest friends.

“I’m gonna get to train some of Laura’s clients’ horses, Tay!” I gloated, finally managed to unzip my left chap and peel it off.

“Congrats! Does this mean we get to go out and get drinks?” Of course he’s interested in the celebratory drinks. Stupid alcoholic.

“No,” I sighed. “I have to work tonight. But I’m off tomorrow. We could go then and bring Lil-lay,” I teased. While Taylor had never said anything, I was convinced that the two of them had hooked up at one point and Taylor, at least, wanted more.

Taylor scowled at me, but didn’t bother to argue.

“Ha! It’s true, and you know it!” I childishly taunted.

And, as Taylor was so prone to do, he ignored me.

----

It felt so nice to actually dress up again. The past month had been too much of a whirlwind of getting home from university, settling in again, starting back up at Dante’s and helping out at Sablewood for me to do any partying. I was itching to have a cold beer in each hand and just get smashed.

Conveniently, one of Taylor’s friend’s, Tyler, was having a party on my night off. Living in a small town, pretty much either had to throw your own party, crash somebody else’s or go to Dante’s. And it’s not very fun to get drunk at your place of employment.

I dug through my closet until I found one of my favorite dresses – a short, strapless blue dress with a solid navy v adorning the neck line and navy patterned flowers all over it. Throwing it on over matching royal blue bra and panties, I brushed on light make-up before grabbing my purse and calling a taxi for Taylor and me. I wasn’t planning on being able to drive by the time I wanted to come home.

Music was blaring from Tyler’s house when we arrived. This is definitely gonna be a good night, I predicted to myself, even if I don’t get any action. Kyle wouldn’t be here, would he?

“Watch yourself, Harper,” Taylor warned gently. “You know how you are when you’re drunk.”

“You’re a sweetheart, babe,” I giggled, kissing Taylor’s cheek. He was cute when he was trying to take care of me. I cracked open a Smirnoff cooler, dropping the rest of my alcohol on the floor. “Let’s party!”

An hour later, I was feeling my multiple coolers and beers. Lily and I were swaying to the fast paced music together, laughing at nothing in particular.

“Oh, look Lils! Taylor’s totaallly checkin’ you out,” I commented sloppily.

Lily chuckled. “You won’t let that go, will you?”

“C’mon, it happened! Didn’t it?”

For a moment, I thought Lily was about to admit it – once and for all – but a loud crash interrupted us.

A lot of girls shrieked and I could hear drunken voices yelling out, “What was that? What’s happening?”

That’s when he walked in, with a pleased smirk on his face. Kyle Clifford, we meet again.

“Nothin’ to worry about guys,” he called out, those pale blue-almost grey eyes sweeping over the crowd. “Something just fell.”

This time Lily nudged me, “Go talk to him Harper! I saw you eyein’ him at work the other night. Go on! Do it!”

Liquid courage and liquid daring allowed me to listen to Lily’s advice. I pushed my way through the mass of sweaty bodies, heart thumping hard, I’m going to talk to him, I’m going to talk to him, oh my God, I’m going to talk to him.

Suddenly, there he was, towering above me, a solid, unyielding wall of physical presence.

“Heeyyy, remember me?” I slurred, smiling at him.

Kyle’s face registered a slightly surprise look before it smoothed out and he gave me his trademark smirk. “Yeah I do. Harper, right?”

I was pleasantly surprised that he remembered my name. “Right,” I grinned, biting my bottom lip. Kyle stared, eyes darkening, at my captured lip until I slowly released it. Kiss me, please, my thoughts whispered unbidden.

Taking a deep breath, he returned to looking me in the eye. “So how do you know Tyler?” he inquired, clearing his throat.

“My friend Taylor knows him. We came here to celebrate,” I answered Kyle. “I getta train horses. My friend’s setting it up and everything.” God. This was the problem with getting drunk. I just can’t stop talking.

Kyle grinned. An actual, real, heart stopping, I’m happy grin. Not his I’m so fucking sexy smirk or the I’m superior one. Holy hell it was hot.

“Congratulations,” he said. “Where do you –”

Suddenly the song changed and She Can Ride came on.

“OhmyGod! I looove this song!” I cried, with the short attention span of someone very inebriated. “Come dance with me!” I grabbed Kyle’s unoccupied hand, dragging him with me to the living room, where the “dance floor” had been claimed. Drunken courage is an amazing thing sometimes.

Turning back to face the attractive NHL player, I removed the Keith’s from his large paw. “You’ll be needing that for other things right now,” I purred. Daringly I took a gulp from his beer, watching him, before setting it down along with my own drink.

Giggling at his enraptured face, I started to dance, swinging my hips back and forth. “Well aren’t you going to join me?” I pouted, hopefully sexily. The large man seemed to be at a loss for words, until I snaked one hand forward, capturing his belt loop and tugging him towards me. “Sorry. I got impatient.”

Suddenly those heavy, hot hands of his were pressed against my hips, turning me around and pulling my ass snugly into his crotch. Finally, I sighed inwardly, loving the tingles of electricity running up and down my body.

Maintaining my beat, I push into him, enjoying the feel of his solid, flat chest against my back. Kyle unexpected removes one hand from my waist, only to trail it up my body and move my hair off my neck. There he laid a hot, rough kiss before nipping at my skin.

“Mmmmm,” I moaned, the pleasure adding to the growing wetness in between my legs. Again I push back into him, starting up a rhythm in time to the heady music. We had a good vibe going, both of us straining for each other. Without warning, I was abruptly ripped away by none other than my good – I mean awful – friend, Taylor.

“What are you doing Harper?” he hissed, apparently not recognizing my dance partner as the one I’ve been lusting after for the past year. “You’re acting like a slut.” This wasn’t so cute anymore.

“I’m fucking twenty-two Taylor. You’re not my mother!” I snarled back, the content buzz from the alcohol and Kyle’s attention faded and a headache began to grow in its place. This was another problem with drinking. Everyone always assumes you’re too incoherent to make good decisions – I wasn’t that drunk!

“No I’m not, but I am a concerned friend!”

“Need any help?” Kyle’s deep baritone cut in, interrupting our tuff.

“Thanks, but no. I gotta go anyway,” I spit, glaring at Taylor one last time, before storming away.

Problem number three with alcohol: it makes you pissy. “Fucking prick,” I cursed as I dialed a taxi company’s number. “It was goin’ so well.”