Page 19 of Don't Trust the Cowboy

“We don’t have to bring my things in now, Billy. I can just sleep on the couch. It can be brought in in the morning.”

“’Lan sakes, Piper! Not with you walking around in that shirt, without a bra! Goddammit! Let’s go!”

My eyes widen. He wants to respond, but he loses his nerve, adjusts his Stetson, and stomps out of the barn. With my arms crossed over my chest, I hesitantly follow him. It takes three loads each to bring my things in, and he shows me to the guest room, which is ions better than my childhood room, as much as he tells me it’s a dump, and he leaves me to it, while he goes to check on Mazy and Sprout. A few minutes later, he comes in, as I’m organizing my things, so it doesn’t look like I’m a vagrant, like he said.

“Do you need anything?” He asks, his voice trite, like he’s sorry for shouting earlier.

“No, thank you, I’m fine. You go on to bed.”

“You don’t need to tidy up, Piper, my God. It’s the middle of the night.”

“I just don’t want to create a death trap is all. I’ll head off in a minute.”

He looks around, like he’s searching for words. “My room is just next door. The place is small, so just holler if you need anything. Tomorrow you can take a look at the new house if you like.”

“This house is just fine, thanks. I don’t know why you’d want to build a bigger house. With a little loving care this house would be just perfect.”

The muscles in his jaw are working. “Okay. I’ll...see you in the morning.”

“Mazy and Scout okay?”

He nods once. “Just fine. Sleeping. I’ll call the vet in the morning and have him take a look just to be sure.”

“Good. I’ll have your books up to par in no time.”

“Good.” He nods again. “Sleep tight.” He’s about to walk away, when he glances at me twice, doing a double-take.

“What’s wrong?” I ask him, wondering if the sweater I pulled over my inappropriate shirt, still isn’t enough to cover.

He looks at me. “You’ve....uh...got a piece of hay in your hair.”

“Oh.” I search for it futilely, and he walks to me, standing quite close, while I freeze. My heart is beating so fast I feel faint. But it’s not a terror kind of beating, it’s something else. Something...warm. He smells like wood and sort of sweet, and as he touches my hair, it’s like a bolt of lightning courses through my veins. I’ve never felt anything like that before. I’m not even sure what it is, except that it feels like I feel when the two main characters in a romance movie kiss for the first time.

In case you haven’t guessed it yet...yes, I’m a virgin. I’ve never even had much more than a tiny Hollywood crush before. It’s partly because my folks threatened me with my life if I ever got involved with anyone, and God forbid do anything physical until marriage. The one boy I did like briefly in high school wanted no part of me unless I’d give it up to him first. I was crushed. Literally. Hell, even Jade, my dormmate’s little sister, has done more than me. But thankfully neither of them chide me for it. Nor do they make fun of me. The truth is, no boy or man has ever shown much interest in me. Probably because I dressed like I was raised by nuns in high school, and I was so painfully shy, I barely spoke to anyone of the opposite sex.

So when Billy, a tall, beautifully handsome man, is inside my personal space, touching my hair ever so delicately, it sets my heart fluttering. When he pulls it out, my eyes close instinctively, but then as I realize that he’s standing there, glancing down at me, I open them immediately. “Are you okay?” He asks me. “Did I pull your hair?”

“No.” I whisper. “Not at all.” The truth is, just that slight touch felt so good. It wasn’t sexual or creepy, and yes, I know the difference. “Thank you.” I tell him as he backs away, not like he’s weirded out, but naturally, like we’re finished here for the night.

He clears his throat. “Alright. If that’s all, I’ll head off.”

“Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, darlin’.” He says in a voice so low but so sexy, it’s like that tone and volume he made up just for me.

I watch him walk to his room, mere steps from mine, and I wonder if he’s feeling at all what I felt just now. As I’ve said, I have zero expertise when it comes to men, and for all I know, he’s going to go wash his hands, on account of touching me. Also, he’s my boss, and as of five minutes ago, also my landlord. Any unchristian thoughts I have of him are just that...unchristian. No, I’m not a little church girl or anything like that. My parents imposed that ideology on me simply to keep me repressed is all. If they had it their way, I would have lived in my bedroom, alone, served nothing but cold leftovers from under the door for the rest of my life. And the way that I dressed was part of that. If I wore as much as a skirt, I’d be sent back into my room to change, if I was going to school or anywhere else public.

I guess you could say that when I went away to school, that I basically ran away. My folks had no say in it once I was offered a scholarship. It was a double blessing for me. I got to escape the hold of my family and at the same time I got to pursue an education; which was something that would give me freedom. Sure, I got what I wished for, but it wasn’t easy. Then again, in life, there is no easy way out. And as all these thoughts cross my mind while I change into my nightshirt, the one that I was wearing when Billy found me sleeping in the barn, I realize that my body is tingling.

The thought of sleeping in a room next to Billy keeps me up for a while. I’m part nervous, part confused, and ultimately what I decide is to write these feelings off. Billy is my boss, my landlord, and he’s at least five years older than me. It would be highly inappropriate to even think about pursuing anything with him. It’ll just be another crush, which I’ll daydream about, but set the feelings aside when I’m in his presence. I’ve had lots of experience with that, so it’ll be no problem for me. But as I lay there, tossing and turning, it’s like my ears are straining to pick up any little sound from his room. I’ve never slept this close to a male before.

I don’t remember hearing his door close, so I’m guessing it’s not. I imagine how he’s sleeping, maybe in boxer shorts, or even naked, as I’ve seen in a lot of cowboy movies. Where they sleep, muscled back exposed, until they turn over, sheets covering just enough to leave you guessing, and then they get out of bed, completely nude, and pull on a pair of jeans, without bothering to put underwear on. My imagination starts to take over, until I hear him wince, and I hear footsteps around his room. I freeze, as I listen to him walk past my bedroom, to the washroom next to me. Part of me wishes that he’d look in, since my door is open, too, but he doesn’t.

He fumbles around in the bathroom, and I can clearly hear him wincing, like he’s in terrible pain. The thought of him being in agony suddenly terrifies me, so I climb out of bed, and walk to the bathroom. The door is slightly ajar, so I secretly watch what he’s doing from the small gap between the doorjamb and the door. It’s his leg. He’s got a cloth on it. It’s the area just above his knee, towards his inner thigh. As he leans the cold cloth on the spot, he’s reaching for something inside the drawer. It’s a small pot of salve or something. I can’t see his leg, where he’s nursing it, but what’s really distracting...is his body.

He. Is. So. Beautiful.

Long, lean back muscles, a very tight rear, corded muscles on his biceps and triceps, and when he turns so I can see his side profile...wow...my gaze goes right between his legs. I’m instantly wet. I can see the outline of his very large penis from under his very sexy briefs. He is, hands down, the most gorgeous man I’ve ever met. His clothing does not do him justice. He hides that luscious frame very well under his jeans and shirts. But I chide myself, as I drool over a man in pain, wondering if I should offer to help. Then I look down and see my nightshirt, and think how awkward that would be, to have his vagrant, as he put it, employee, standing, gawking at him from behind the bathroom door, wearing nothing but a thin, short t-shirt, that covers only to the base of my rear end.

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