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Fuck.
Seeing that little slit first thing in the morning got my engine revving in a way my coffee didn’t. I suspected my come was still sitting inside her, thick and warm. I wanted to hook a finger inside her just to check.
She sipped her coffee and looked out the window.
I turned back to the newspaper and reveled in the comfortable silence between us. I enjoyed times like these, when talking wasn’t necessary. I’d never been much of a conversationalist. There were much better ways of communicating than through speech.
She grabbed her plate of scrambled eggs and bacon and ate quietly, her fork tapping lightly against the china.
I kept reading.
“Sleep well?”
I slept better than I ever had. “Yes. You?”
“Yes.”
I didn’t take my eyes off my paper.
“Are you going to work in Milan today?”
“No.” I closed my paper and tossed it on the table. “I have other plans.”
“Oh?”
“When you’ve finished your breakfast, get dressed. I’ll meet you at the stables.”
Surprise came over her face. “Why?”
“I’m going to show you a few things.”
“You?” she asked. “Don’t you have work to do?”
I knew I hadn’t been the greatest man when it came to Muse. I treated her well, but not that well. I was cold to her when she didn’t deserve it, and I didn’t worship her in the way she did deserve. I guess I wanted to make that right. “Yes. But I’d rather spend time with you.”
* * *
We arrived at the stables, both dressed for the dust and the heat.
“I can’t picture you working out here.” She looked adorable in her Stetson and denim jeans. They went high up her waist but hugged her body perfectly. She wore a white camisole with a plaid shirt over top. It was tied in the front, making the fabric hug the deep curve in her lower back.
I hadn’t realized the word adorable was in my vocabulary until then.
“Just because I make clothes indoors doesn’t mean I don’t know how to work outdoors.” I grabbed the saddle and reins for my horse and then carried it to Carbine’s pen.
Muse watched me. “Are we going riding?”
“Yes.”
The look she gave me was priceless. She looked happier than I’d ever seen her, as if her dream really had come true. “Really?”
“Yep.”
She covered her mouth with both hands momentarily, her excitement uncontainable. “I’ve wanted to ride for months now.”
“I think you’re ready.”
“Which horse am I going to ride on?”
“Carbine.” I walked into his pen and set up his bridle.
“Really?” She stood on the outside of the gate and rested her hands on the wooden fence. “He’s so volatile.”
“Not with me.” I rubbed his nose and tightened the leather. “He’s a good horse. He’ll take care of you.” I held him by the reins and pulled him out of the pen and into the center of the stables. I tied him in place then got to work on the saddle.
Muse moved to the other side and started to help me.
Carbine snarled then stepped away from her.
I whistled. “Boy, no.”
Muse stepped back and didn’t approach him again. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”
“Yes.” I secured the saddle then met Carbine face-to-face. I clicked my tongue then scratched him behind the ears. He was hostile because he was misunderstood. He only responded to people he recognized. While we were different species, we had the same personality. “Come here, Muse.”
She slowly walked toward me.
“He likes to be rubbed right here.” I placed her hand at the top of his head, right where his mane began to grow.
She scratched the area.
Carbine didn’t move.
“He prefers to eat apples. He’ll eat carrots once in a while, but he has a sweet tooth.” I pulled a red apple out of the bag and handed it to her.
She fed it to him, and Carbine devoured it.
“I need you to treat this lady right, alright?” I spoke to my horse even though he didn’t understand me, but he understood my moods. If I was particularly angry, he knew to stay away from me. If I was somber, he chased after me. He recognized my attitude, and I recognized his. We were both intuitive.
I pulled him into the riding pen with Muse behind me. “Always approach him on the right side, not the left.”
“Why?”
I shrugged. “He doesn’t like it. That’s all I know.”
She followed my directions.
I came up behind her and grabbed her by the hips. “Right foot in the stirrup first.”
She secured her boot inside.
“Then pull your weight up onto the saddle by the horn. Don’t move slowly. The quicker you launch yourself, the easier it’ll be.”
She pulled herself over quickly, getting herself in the saddle without issue. She grabbed the reins and scooted closer to the horn. She ran her fingers through Carbine’s mane and stared down at him. “I never thought this was possible. He wouldn’t even let me feed him.”
