Page 39 of Make The Cut

And he’s your brother’s worst enemy. Ryder would tear his head off if he ever found out.

I swallow. It’s not enough. I feel my excuses crumbling, and I take a deep breath to keep myself from undergoing the same fate. Naoya leads us away from the massive throngs of cheering and hollering people, and toward what looks like the stables.

My mouth goes dry. “Naoya, I don’t think—“

“Red, don’t you trust me?” His brown eyes are wide, sincere. “I promise, you’ll be safe with me.”

“It’s not you that I’m worried about. I’m more concerned about the creatures whose teeth take up more room in their skulls than their brains do.”

“For someone who hates horses, you sure do know a lot about them.”

“I don’t hate them. I just… have a healthy level of respect for their capabilities. And size.”

“I never took you for a coward, Petal.”

My heart does gymnastics. I am going to have to tell it to settle down or get the heck out of my ribcage, death be damned. “You’re stuck on calling me that?”

He arches an eyebrow so high it disappears beneath the blue strands falling over his forehead. “Do you object?”

“I…” I am doing my best not to remember the way it felt when he pinned me to the ground during laser tag to protect me. I am doing everything I can to remember that Naoya Sugawa isjust a friend.“I object to you bringing me to a racing track. You never seemed like a fan of the outdoors, or animals, to me.”

He keeps my hand in his and I don’t try to pull away as he guides me further past the stables until we reach a small building next to them. “Hey, Ricky.”

A short, slim man who must be Ricky, pokes his head out of the small building. “Hey, Naoya. Good to see you. Are you here to place a bet? We just got—“

“No, I’m here with my friend. Poppy, this is Ricky. He’s a jockey and a bookmaker.”

“Isn’t that a conflict of interest?” I find my voice somehow, trying not to breathe too deeply and inhale the stench of hay and horse manure.

Ricky laughs. “Naoya, I like this girl. You better keep her around.”

“I’m trying,” Naoya says, and I do my best not to overanalyze what he means by that.

It’s fear that makes my heart pound against my ribs as Naoya and Ricky chat for a few moments. Not the feeling of his hand still around mine. I hear horses stomping their hooves, the thundering of their shoes against the tracks, and the whinnying and neighing of various animals that are far too large for my liking or comfort.

Ihatehorses.

“You wanna see the new one? Naoya, who knows, maybe you can even name her?” Ricky nudges Naoya with an elbow, his manner jovial. The two are at the very least casual acquaintances, or perhaps even friends.

“Poppy, are you okay with that?” His grip on my hand loosens and I try not to be disappointed.

Somehow, with him next to me, I feel like I can do anything. “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

“Cool.” His hand falls from mine and we walk toward the stables.

As we make our way to the horses, I can’t shake the feeling that someone is watching us. That there’s more to my anxiety than the mere presence of the too-large, too-skittish animals.

I swallow down my nerves, trying to dismiss the sensation.

It’s time to face my fears.

Chapter Twenty: Naoya Sugawa

The night of my birthday, I call my dad.

I would diagnose myself with clinical insanity, maybe induced by drugs if I wasn’t sober, but part of me knows the truth.

I called him because I was with Poppy all day, and being around her and watching her conquer her fear gave me the strength—or perhaps the reckless jubilation—to do what I had been putting off so long.

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