Page 41 of Road to a Cowboy

“Not us,” Cal supplied, reaching out to run a finger over the back of Austin’s hand because he couldn’t not touch him. And for the first time ever, Cal felt like he could touch him in the ways he really wanted to.

“No.” Austin’s voice was barely a whisper as he watched Cal’s fingers close around his wrist again. “It wasn’t us.”

“Maybe we can try again?” Cal hadn’t known the words were going to come out of his mouth until they did, but he didn’t regret them.

Austin’s gaze flew to his, wide and dumbstruck and so, so hopeful. “You really want to?”

“Yeah. Just... no fancy restaurants this time, okay?”

“No,” Austin said with a laugh. “Definitely not. I’m thinking something much more low-key.”

He’d been thinking about it, had he? Cal didn’t know what to think about that except Holy shit. This is serious.

He squeezed Austin’s wrist, then let go. “Okay.”

“Okay.”

That hopeful glint to Austin’s gaze intensified, turning his eyes from aquamarine to teal. It was heady, being the center of Austin’s focus like this. It was terrifying too, not knowing where this change to their relationship would take them. But if Austin was willing to take the risk, Cal could at least meet him halfway.

Because wasn’t that what they’d done their whole lives? Meet each other halfway?

Austin’s gaze dropped to Cal’s mouth, and Cal inhaled sharply when Austin swayed forward and?—

The scent of burned eggs split the air between them, burning Cal’s nostrils. He sneezed.

Austin frowned and stared morosely at his eggs. “Damn it. It is not my day for meal prep.”

Cal laughed and got the egg carton out of the fridge.

Chapter Thirteen

Austin stood next to the corral, Windsor Ranch’s guest house looming in the distance, and tried to be as inconspicuous as possible. He was photographing the horseback riding today for Derek and Alice’s brochure, and although he had the guests’ permission to take their photos, he didn’t want to make them nervous by hovering too closely. Especially since most of them had never ridden a horse before.

Austin’s own horse was saddled nearby, patiently waiting for the show to start. She wasn’t actually his horse, but Shadowfoot was his favorite to ride when he had an excuse to. She was a gorgeous dark bay who loved bananas, and she greeted Austin—every time—by nudging his hat off.

One foot braced on the bottom rung of the corral, Austin brought his camera up and snapped a photo of a pre-teen boy carefully listening to instructions on how to mount a horse. His older sister, by contrast, was flirting with one of the teenage riding guides.

Austin sent them a secret smile. He used to flirt with the girls too back when he’d spent his high school summers working on the ranch, first as a stable boy, then as a horseback riding guide. He’d still been figuring out his sexuality back then, so he hadn’t started flirting with the boys until the summer before senior year, but even so, it had been sparingly. This was cowboy country, after all—historically not queer-friendly. Windsor Ranch—hell, Windsor itself—was and always had been more open-minded, and he was lucky to have grown up here, but he was still careful.

It’d been a long time since he’d flirted with anyone, but he remembered that fluttery sensation in his belly when the object of his attention had flirted back and the way it felt like the world was shiny and new. The way Cal had run his finger over the back of Austin’s hand the other night, then circled his wrist... it had elicited those same sensations. The touch had felt more intimate than a kiss, and Austin could still feel the ghost of Cal’s skin against his. Goosebumps chasing their way up his spine, he gripped his own wrist, a poor mimicry of Cal’s hand on him.

His phone vibrated in his back pocket, and he shook his head at himself. It was a good thing he didn’t need to interact with the guests—his head was so far in the clouds he probably wouldn’t hear someone yelling right in his ear.

He pulled his phone out and grinned at his mentor’s name. Since most of the guests still weren’t mounted, Austin stepped away from the crowd and answered.

“Hey, Hedda.”

She gasped dramatically. “He lives!”

Austin winced. He still hadn’t responded to her emails. “You’re hilarious. Also... sorry.”

“Don’t tell me you’re sorry,” she said in her Norwegian accent. “Tell me you’ll come mentor my students.”

Camera hanging around his neck, Austin planted his free hand on his hip and stared into the distance. “I... don’t know.”

He could hear the raised eyebrow in Hedda’s voice when she said, “You don’t know if you want to mentor up-and-coming photographers and guide them through submitting a portfolio and starting a business?”

Ugh. Damn it. When she put it like that... He wanted this opportunity like he wanted Cal.

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