“Oh, crap, am I really about to do this?” Blowing out hard, I concentrate on my breathing and attempt to calm my racing heartbeat. It’s currently pounding in a rhythm to match the stampede happening in the center arena.
“Girl, you were born to do this,” Faith replies, bumping my hip. “And you look freaking amazing.”
Knowing this is the ultimate compliment my friend can bestow, I check my laugh and say, “Thanks. If the crowd awards style points, I’ll be sure to mention you in my thank you speech.”
The brunette catches my eye again as she nears the gate and I release another breath.
“Time to get my ride on.”
It helps that Faith and Mama will be in the stands cheering for me. It’d be nice if Dad was here, too, but today’s the championship, and I told him there was no way he was missing it—he couldn’t miss it anyway, but I didn’t want guilt eating him up.
Only one face is absent that I really wished were here, but he’s with Dad, and I haven’t heard from him in days. I have no clue where things stand with Justin. We cleared the air, we apologized, we scored an A as a married couple, and survived a weekend of pseudo-parenting. But the future remains one big blur.
I go to close the gate behind me, and Mama appears, running up with a strange smile twitching her lips. She yanks my phone out of her bag and says, “I felt it vibrate and thought you might like to see the message.”
I take it from her hand, curious what could make her look so weird. When I glance down, I get it.
It’s a text from Justin.
Ride it fast and ride it well. Go on pretty girl and give ‘em hell.
My chest swells with emotion and I close my eyes, suddenly in love with technology. No, he didn’t say the words, but I feel his love anyway. He thought of me, in the middle of the big game, and that means everything.
But… what does it mean to him?
Gah. Why couldn’t we do this years ago? Hash things out, discover the truth. Maybe then a future together wouldn’t seem so impossible.
When I open my eyes, I find Mama watching me with a knowing expression. “Go,” she says, lifting her chin in the direction the brunette disappeared. “They’re waiting for you.”
I hand over the phone and close the gate, hiding my blush behind the slats. Justin’s text didn’t exactly reveal anything. Lately, I get misty-eyed over cereal commercials. Graduation, reclaiming a lost passion, and breaking up with your boyfriend tend to do that to a girl. Mama’s probably chalking my reaction up to that.
It’s not until my back is turned and I’m halfway down the tunnel that she calls out, “Don’t think you’re not spilling everything when the ride’s over, missy!”
I laugh and twist around, busted but happy, and blow her a kiss. Then, I head off to get my horse.
SATURDAY, JUNE 7TH
New Beginnings
?Senior Year
PEYTON
ROUND ROCK EXHIBITION 4:32 P.M.
My pride over my impending exhibition ride sours when I spot the girls hanging around out back. Girls I used to compete against, like Lexi Greene, waiting to go out and ride for real. They’re here for the main events of the day: barrel-racing, breakaway roping, pole bending, and girls cutting, just to name a few. All events I used to compete (and kick ass) in. Seeing them again, smiling as they catch me up on all their successes, is a bitter pill to swallow… but I do it.
I do it because I’m here, I’m back in the arena, and they haven’t seen the last of me.
The same brunette from before, a woman I’ve since realized is Ty Reynolds, an amazing rider on the circuit, comes up and tells me it’s my turn. “Have fun out there,” she says, and I smile at the simplicity of that. Have fun.
“Thanks,” I reply. “I think I will.”
Ty walks with me as the announcer talks about Sweet Serenity Ranch, our new rodeo school, and goes over my prior stats in the circuit. As he does, I lock eyes with Lexi, who’s standing near the entrance.
The two of us used to be rivals. Every event, we seemed to trade who was the best. Secretly, I enjoyed the extra push she gave me, used it to fuel me in training, but I liked it even better when I beat her on a run.
Lexi narrows her eyes, her lips pursed, and as she curls a long strand of blonde hair around her finger, I wonder what she’s thinking. Is she glad I’m back? Does she wish I’d stayed away? It’s not until she lifts her chin and her lips twitch the slightest bit that I know.
That almost smile gives me the extra shot of confidence I need, and it acts like a boost of adrenaline.
This exhibition ride isn’t about impressing anyone with my speed. I don’t have to go fast. The other riders haven’t, adding flare in the way of showmanship and personality, rather than hard riding.
But that’s not me.
Ty nods me on, and I take a deep breath. Then… I take off.