Page 20 of SnapShot

But the smile that won’t leave my face and the way he is gently running his fingers through my hair makes me think that I could see him in my future. Being my person.

That’s the last of my thoughts as I drift off to sleep. Even when I woke up in the middle of the night, I was almost shocked to see Charlie still wrapped around me. I don’t know why I halfway expected him to sneak out after I fell asleep. Guess he’s not a one night kind of guy.

I have to end this spiral before it gets too far; I need to get up and get ready for the day. There are several errands that need to be taken care of today. Kate and I have plans to go on a trail ride this weekend, so a shopping trip for essentials is a must. Essentials meaning snacks that look like a teenager was given a hundred bucks and told to go nuts in the junk food aisle.

We roll out of bed and quickly shower together, still making time for him to use the shower head along with his glorious mouth to get me off twice before ten a.m. Talk about a way to wake up. I could get used to this, though saying goodbye to him was more difficult than it should have been, honestly. I couldn’t stop thinking about not talking to him for two days. There’s not much cell reception where we’re going to be camping.

I’ll have to top off my clients before we leave. Their contributions will help replenish my bank account from the splurging Kate and I tend to do when we go out. Plus, we haven’t been able to go out in forever, so I feel deserving of a good time, sans consequence.

Kate made a fresh pot of coffee this morning, same as a few days ago, which is plain strange coming from her. She’s the type who usually sleeps in until I wake her up around noon, letting me hog all the hot water without worry of affecting her. Maybe that’s partly why we make such great roommates. Our differences align perfectly enough to remain beneficial.

She’s sitting at the table scrolling on her phone, quietly humming to herself, and now I know something is going on. Kate is one of the worst morning people I’ve ever met. Her grumpy ass takes at least an hour and a few cups of coffee to be personable.

“Alright, spill it. Who are you fucking?”

The coffee almost reappears from her mouth to the table in her unguarded moment of shock. “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb, bitch. I know something is up. You’re awake before lunch. You’re making coffee, feeding the animals, and you’re fucking humming. Who is it?”

“I just found a good fuck buddy. Nothing to write home about. That’s all.” Like hell it’s nothing to write home about. We’re not people who keep details from each other. I usually have to hear about her wild sexcapades whether I want to or not. Now I know something is up.

“Sure,” I give her a look that says I know she’s full of shit. “It seems like more than a good lay that’s got you all upbeat.”

“That’s all he is right now. Maybe later it’ll become more, but he’s supposed to be off limits, so who the hell knows, really?”

“Well, I’m even more curious now, but fine. Keep your secrets. I’ll just be here. Keeping my own secrets as leverage. Sexy, juicy details about the bulldozer of a man who just left my bed. In the morning. After we slept all night…”

“You fox! I knew he stayed the night! When’s the wedding?” She laughs as she slaps the table.

“Nope. No details until you spill your guts. I need answers, too, though I do have my own suspicions.”

“Fine. I still can’t tell you though. It’s better if you can deny knowing about it anyway.”

“Oh, you dirty slut! It’s David, isn’t it?? Isn’t it?? Tell me!!”

Silence deafens the room around us as she just stares at me, blank faced, bringing her coffee to her lips and looking guilty as fuck.

David has always had a thing for Kate, but he’s quite a bit older than us. I’ve actually never seen him with a woman before. Rumors have circulated that he married young, but she ran off with his brother not even six months in. I wouldn’t put it past Kate to go for it with her string of bad luck with guys our own age. She has a tendency to go for the assholes who only care about getting their dicks wet for twenty seconds, moving on to the next unfortunate woman sure to be left unsatisfied. Good for her if it is David. He seems like a nice enough guy, but if he hurts her, I’ll kill him.

“Come on. We have lots to do today.” She jumps up from the table to take her mug to the sink.

“Way to deflect. That’s fine. I’ll get it out of you eventually.”

“Where do you want to go first?”

“The feed store would be the best place to start, I think. That way we can take our time without worrying about cold items in the car. What do you think?”

“Sounds like a plan. Let’s get it.”

Jamming out to our favorite hits and having a private dance party in the car are some of our favorite things to do together. There’s just something therapeutic about acting silly with your friend. No judgement.

Several hours and a couple hundred dollars of unnecessary shit later, we’re loading up the horses and their tack. Kate and I actually became friends in school because we both loved horses, so taking time out of our mundane lives to ride together is something that I hope we always get to do.

We’re only going for two nights, then we have to come back to real life, though it might not be so bad coming back to Charlie.

When we pull up to the campground, it’s not packed to the brim yet, so we find a nice spot to park and build our little home away from home for the weekend. The amount of serotonin already flowing through my veins at the promise of a peaceful time with my best girl and my best friend is exhilarating. I can’t wait to get this party started. I have missed my Sasha girl so much recently.

Sasha is a brown and white paint horse that Grams bought for me when I was about ten. She instantly became the best part of my life. We ran barrels together and escaped into the woods behind the house when life became too much.

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