anything but fit in here tonight. There isn't going to be a man in the arena who isn't going to be imagining taking you for a ride. And the woman are going to absolutely hate you.”
"I do look pretty hot, right?" I laugh, wondering why I didn't try this look long ago.
"At least you're modest." He gives me a wink and wraps an arm around my shoulder, guiding me inside. He takes me to our seats on the upper level of one the bleachers. "Mason's first division is up next. You’ll be able to see better from up here." He reaches down, intertwining our hands, absentmindedly bringing them to his mouth to kiss my knuckles. He drops them into his lap, and I can't take my eyes off such a simple gesture as holding hands. I look over at Hunter to see him looking around the arena, and a warm feeling slides through my body. I'm struck by how normal and comfortable this feels to be here with him.
"Hey." I catch his attention. "I want a taste." I glace down at his lips just in time to see his tongue dart out to moisten them.
"I'm always available for sampling." He leans down, placing several gentle kisses to my mouth, barely swiping his damp tongue across my bottom lip. "Better?" he asks with a crooked smile.
"Much." I rest my head on his shoulder, and even though I should, I never release his hand.
A few seconds later, the show ring begins to fill with horses. I immediately find Mason on top of a beautiful dappled gray. Just as I thought, Mason is gorgeous on a horse. He effortlessly rides around the arena. The huge animal moves under him even though Mason’s hand never moves to give direction. Only the slight twitch of his leg has the horse changing direction. It’s fascinating to watch. Just before the class begins, Hunter stands, pulling me with him, and lets out a loud wolf whistle. Mason’s eyes briefly scan the crowd before landing on us. He gives a small nod in our direction and immediate turns away.
“Does he ever smile?” I ask Hunter.
“Ha! He is a serious bastard sometimes. But yeah, he’s actually funny as hell. It just takes him a while to warm up to new people. He likes you already though. He usually sits out completely the first time with a new girl.”
“He said y’all have known each other since you were kids.”
“Yeah. His dad was a real asshole so he basically lived at my house growing up.”
“Well, I guess that’s where he gets it from them. Chip off the old block, huh?”
Hunter’s head snaps around to me. “No,” he says firmly. “Mason is nothing like his father. Ray Wynn was an abusive, worthless prick. He was a drunk and blamed Mason for all of his failures. Don’t ever compare him to Ray.”
“Wait, what?” I whisper as my heart sinks.
“His mom left when he was around ten, and Ray blamed Mason for her leaving. He was a fucking kid, so I have no idea how he rationalized that, but I guess he needed someone to blame. Our dads had been friends since high school, so when Ray went off the deep end, Dad did the best he could to shield Mason. He made up reasons why Mase needed to stay with us for weeks at a time. On more than one occasion, he left in the middle of the night, only to return a few hours later with a battered Mason in tow.”
I turn back to the ring and watch Mason as he trots around. My heart breaks imaging what he experienced growing up.
“God, that sounds terrible.”
“It was. Look, I’m just telling you this so you understand him a little better. I’m hoping you’re going to be around a lot more, and he really can be a dick when he’s first getting to know someone. He doesn’t trust very easily.”
I nod, and Hunter changes the conversation. He begins explaining to me everything that’s happening in the ring. I pretend to be paying attention, but all I can think about is the storm in Mason’s eyes last night. Suddenly, it makes a lot more sense.
AFTER THE HORSE SHOW , our second night together went a lot like our first. We hung out, then had a lot of sex.
"I do look pretty hot, right?" I laugh, wondering why I didn't try this look long ago.
"At least you're modest." He gives me a wink and wraps an arm around my shoulder, guiding me inside. He takes me to our seats on the upper level of one the bleachers. "Mason's first division is up next. You’ll be able to see better from up here." He reaches down, intertwining our hands, absentmindedly bringing them to his mouth to kiss my knuckles. He drops them into his lap, and I can't take my eyes off such a simple gesture as holding hands. I look over at Hunter to see him looking around the arena, and a warm feeling slides through my body. I'm struck by how normal and comfortable this feels to be here with him.
"Hey." I catch his attention. "I want a taste." I glace down at his lips just in time to see his tongue dart out to moisten them.
"I'm always available for sampling." He leans down, placing several gentle kisses to my mouth, barely swiping his damp tongue across my bottom lip. "Better?" he asks with a crooked smile.
"Much." I rest my head on his shoulder, and even though I should, I never release his hand.
A few seconds later, the show ring begins to fill with horses. I immediately find Mason on top of a beautiful dappled gray. Just as I thought, Mason is gorgeous on a horse. He effortlessly rides around the arena. The huge animal moves under him even though Mason’s hand never moves to give direction. Only the slight twitch of his leg has the horse changing direction. It’s fascinating to watch. Just before the class begins, Hunter stands, pulling me with him, and lets out a loud wolf whistle. Mason’s eyes briefly scan the crowd before landing on us. He gives a small nod in our direction and immediate turns away.
“Does he ever smile?” I ask Hunter.
“Ha! He is a serious bastard sometimes. But yeah, he’s actually funny as hell. It just takes him a while to warm up to new people. He likes you already though. He usually sits out completely the first time with a new girl.”
“He said y’all have known each other since you were kids.”
“Yeah. His dad was a real asshole so he basically lived at my house growing up.”
“Well, I guess that’s where he gets it from them. Chip off the old block, huh?”
Hunter’s head snaps around to me. “No,” he says firmly. “Mason is nothing like his father. Ray Wynn was an abusive, worthless prick. He was a drunk and blamed Mason for all of his failures. Don’t ever compare him to Ray.”
“Wait, what?” I whisper as my heart sinks.
“His mom left when he was around ten, and Ray blamed Mason for her leaving. He was a fucking kid, so I have no idea how he rationalized that, but I guess he needed someone to blame. Our dads had been friends since high school, so when Ray went off the deep end, Dad did the best he could to shield Mason. He made up reasons why Mase needed to stay with us for weeks at a time. On more than one occasion, he left in the middle of the night, only to return a few hours later with a battered Mason in tow.”
I turn back to the ring and watch Mason as he trots around. My heart breaks imaging what he experienced growing up.
“God, that sounds terrible.”
“It was. Look, I’m just telling you this so you understand him a little better. I’m hoping you’re going to be around a lot more, and he really can be a dick when he’s first getting to know someone. He doesn’t trust very easily.”
I nod, and Hunter changes the conversation. He begins explaining to me everything that’s happening in the ring. I pretend to be paying attention, but all I can think about is the storm in Mason’s eyes last night. Suddenly, it makes a lot more sense.
AFTER THE HORSE SHOW , our second night together went a lot like our first. We hung out, then had a lot of sex.
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