Page 30 of The Story We Wrote

The trees open up to a flat section of land overlooking the valley where Faircloud is nestled. The overlook was another one of my favorite places to go, after the swimming hole. However, I can say with certainty, I’d never brought another girl here. This was my space where my head felt the clearest. After what Aspen and I both shared, I know I brought the right person up here.

We arrived at the perfect time; the sun was setting, and the sky was painted in beautiful hues of orange and pink. My favorite kind of sunset. I dismounted from Marty, tying him off to a tree. When I got to Aspen and Louise, I took the reins and rope, tying her to the same tree.

“Sliding down will be the easiest way. Lay on your belly and glide down towards me. I’ll catch you,” I assured her, ready with my hands out to grab her by the hips to soften the landing. Aspen did exactly that; her feet hit the ground gracefully. She spun her back up against Louise, and my hands were still on her hips. I didn’t want to take my hands away; I liked how she felt beneath them. We were both stuck, staring into each other’s eyes. I felt like I could see right through her. The beautiful blueish green captured me, putting me in a trance. My mouth parted as I took a deep breath, my gaze falling to her lips.

Aspen moved away suddenly, quickly shimmying her way out of my grip. She made her way to the cliff’s edge, leaving me standing there alone. I wanted to kiss her; I was seconds away from crossing the boundary we set. It was date one, and I almost fucked it all up. Squatting down to sit on a big rock, she scooted over to make room. We were close enough that the outsides of our thighs were touching.

“This is amazing,” Aspen sighed in awe. She was right; the people in town looked like little specks, and the lights twinkled lining the main street. The way the sky looked tonight was indescribable, but the woman next to me had most of my attention. Her beauty was that of a Texas sunset, breathtaking in every way imaginable.

“This is my second favorite place to come,” I said.

Aspen turned her head towards me, tilting it to the side like an owl.

“The first being the swimming hole,” I clarified.

I swear I saw Aspen’s cheeks redden. I loved it when she blushed; the apples of her cheeks started first, and it cascaded to other parts of her body. I had the urge to kiss those parts, starting at her neck, down to her chest– “I can totally see why. This is a great first date,” she joked, breaking me from mythoughts. I couldn’t help but laugh, because she didn’t know I had another trick up my sleeve.

“Oh, just you wait,” I said, standing and jogging over to the saddle bag. I took out the brown paper bag I shoved in there earlier. When I sat back down next to Aspen, she gasped.

“Are you seriously going to eat that right in front of me?” She demanded, bumping her shoulder into mine.

I pulled the muffin out and broke it perfectly in half, handing her a chunk. “Nope. We’re going to share it while watching the sunset.”

“Wow!” she exclaimed, grabbing her half.

“That’s boyfriend material, isn’t it? If this isn’t fuel for you to write your book I don’t know what is,” I replied, winking at her.

Aspen giggled and bit into her muffin, so I did the same. I fucking loved these muffins. Before her, I hated blueberries. Now, I don’t think I could live without them.

We sit in comfortable silence for a bit, taking in the quiet. Just being around her was enough for me. With Aspen, there were no expectations to keep the conversation going. She was kind, listened, and seemed genuinely interested in getting to know me, which was a lot compared to other women. Most of them expected one thing, sex. Aspen seemed content just existing with me, and thinking about that made my chest feel heavy.

“I’ve been thinking,” I started, brushing off the crumbs on my fingers. “I want to have a bonfire again Friday night. The other ranch hands are taking care of the work Saturday, so I have off. You wanna come? I promise I’ll keep my hands to myself this time.”

Aspen nodded, crossing her legs on the rock as she drew figures in the dirt with her finger. “Of course. I’ll be there. I have a request, though.” She wiped her hands together to remove any leftover debris.

“Go on.” I hesitated, scared to hear what she wanted.

“Can Penny and Theo come?”

“Sure, why would I say no?” I replied.

She shrugged, “I didn’t think you would. I just wanted to be considerate and ask before.” Another thing I admired about her. “I also have a secret I need your help with.”

“You need my help? Again? Am I going to have to start charging you?” I quipped, smiling to myself.

Aspen scoffed, placing her head on my shoulder. “You were the one who offered to help me with my story. I didn’t ask,” she said, trying to defend her honor.

I laughed, I knew she was right. “Please, spill your secret.”

“Penny has a crush on Mac. Well, she wants to ‘fuck’ Mac. When we were at the bar the other night, she was looking for him, but he never showed up. I thought that the bonfire may be a good chance for them to interact and maybe get Penny some action,” she said, removing her head from my shoulder to look at my reaction. When my attention came back to her, she was biting her bottom lip.

I let out a loud “ha” and tilted my head back. My hat nearly fell off my head. “Oh hell yeah, I can help with that. I’m always down to play wingman.” I lifted my hand up for her to high five, and she slapped her hand against mine.

“Apparently, he’s been coming into the library a lot, and Penny can’t keep her eyes off him,” she replied.

“Mac isn’t the kind of guy who just frequents the library,” I said, smiling to myself. That cheeky bastard.

“Why would he be… oh shit!” Aspen said, everything finally clicking. “He feels the same way. Project get Penny and Mac laid is in full effect.”