Page 37 of Choosing Her
I sighed as I remembered the exact day she was talking about. When I pulled her aside and told her that I thought we should forget what had happened between us because I loved Naomi now. At the time, I thought I was doing the right thing—giving us both a clean break, since we’d have to spend the summer looking at each other. If I knew Naomi was going to break up with me less than a month later, I probably wouldn’t have bothered. And if I’d known that Saylor would be upset enough to shove me in the pool, I would have realized it was the wrong decision altogether. But hindsight was 20/20.
“I was wrong,” I said bluntly. “I shouldn’t have told you like that. I’m sorry.”
She chewed on her lip and looked at me for a moment longer, then nodded.
“Well, um…” She cleared her throat. “We can get to studying now if you want.”
“You’re done grooming her?” I asked. I looked Bourbon over, as if I knew anything about horses or how to know when they’ve been properly groomed.
Saylor hesitated for a second before saying, “Yeah.”
“We can wait,” I said. “I know we have a lot to catch up on, what with me missing my class and everything yesterday...” She glared at her and I smiled back, trusting that she wasn’tthatmad about it. “But if there’s anything you want to do now, go ahead. I know I kind of surprised you here.”
She shrugged with one shoulder, avoiding my gaze. “Not like you came out of nowhere. It’s our normal day. And you have a test soon, right?”
“Midterm test is next week,” I said. My fingers automatically began nervous tapping as I thought about the test. Doing well on that would decide a lot for me—mostly, whether I should just drop this class and give up on the idea of getting these math credits this year. When I first told my guidance counsellor I wanted to retake it to raise my grade and be able to take the next level math course next semester, she’d asked me why I thought I could do better this time if I did so terribly last time. Yeah, that had been a nice and uplifting conversation.
“How are you feeling about it?” Saylor asked.
I shrugged. “Fine. Even better when I’m not thinking about it.”
She grinned to herself. “Yeah, that method might not be the best way ofpassing. Come on.”
We each said a quick goodbye to Bourbon then she stepped out of the stall, letting a staff member know as she walked by that Bourbon could go back out into the pasture now.
“What else did you want to do?” I asked Saylor as she led the way upstairs. “You obviously had something else in mind when I asked if you were done grooming her.”
Saylor laughed softly and tucked her chin. “Nothing important.”
She pushed open the door to the upstairs room and walked inside, immediately claiming her usual chair in the corner. I sat in my own spot next to it and put the iced coffee on the table so Icould pull out my books. The next time I looked up, it was gone. I smiled—clearly maple pecan syrup was a hit.
“Tell me,” I said, going back to our previous conversation. “What was it?”
That might have bee the first time ever I saw Saylor blush. “I told you: nothing important.”
I leaned back in my seat and crossed my arms. “We’re not studying until you tell me.”
She rolled her eyes. “You do realize which one of us will be negatively impacted by that, right? I’ll give you a hint: it’s not me.”
“Come on!” I said, nudging her foot with me. “Tell me, tell me, tell?—”
“Fine!” She exclaimed and I laughed. “I wanted to braid her mane.”
“You…” I raised an eyebrow and leaned in. “I’m sorry, I must have misheard you—I thought you said you wanted to braid your horse’s hair.”
“Her mane!” she corrected. Then under her breath, she added, “And her tail.”
I laughed and she kicked me hard in the leg. I kept laughing, while rubbing the bruise.
“You’re kidding,” I said.
She scowled at me. “It’s very common.”
“Sure,” I said. I had no idea how common it was or wasn’t but I wouldn’t argue with the horse expert over that. “But still—of all people in the world, I don’t think I would ever expect you to do that.”
“And why not?” She demanded. She pulled her braid over her shoulder, showing it off to me. “I braid my own hair. Why not Bourbon’s?”
“So you and Bourbon like to match?” I asked slowly, the smile on my face growing again. She kicked me a second time, even harder this time, and I continued laughing.
