Page 104 of Opposites (Never) Attract
Tag: Baby, you can always come with me.
Me: Sorry. Looking for this emoji (eye rolling emoji)
Tag: Yes, you can come over. But, bring food with you. Otherwise, it’s Pop’s cooking.
Me: I might like your dad’s cooking.
Tag: Pop makes hot dogs and beans when it’s bad weather. Burgers on the grill when it’s good weather. Tonight’s looking like a bad weather night.
Me: I’ll bring food. But, are you really sure this is okay? I don’t want toseem pushy.
Tag: I’m pretty sturdy and don’t push so easy. I’ll come over and get you.
Me: No, I can take one of the ATVs on my own. Ethan gave me a lesson this afternoon in case there was an emergency. I’m good at it.
Tag: I’ll come over and get you.
Me: I can do it! I swear. And I need more practice.
Tag: I don’t like this.
Me: Tough. (wink emoji)
“I want another horseback riding lesson,”I said.
“She wants another lesson,” Pop said, looking at me.
“Why?” Tag asked. “You said it yourself, all this investment stuff is going to come to a conclusion in the next few days.”
“Yes, but it’s fun!”
Dinner was a lasagna that Mrs. Walker gave me from one of the three storage freezers in the garage.
Tag had been waiting for me at the door as soon as I pulled up to the cabin. But, I didn’t let his scowl impact my mood. He had to accept that I was a grown woman and I was going to do what I set my mind to. I’d pushed the bottle of wine and a covered lasagna dish into his chest and he’d accepted both with a grunt.
Bold, and high on the markets shifting and my ATV ride – I’d kissed him on the lips. Hard and fast.
While the lasagna was in the oven, I set up my laptop, checked the markets, and found them climbing. With one eye on my laptop, I’d played a few matches of chess with Pop. But, because I was distracted this time, he’d taken me two out of three.
Now the lasagna was gone, we were all full, and I was a little buzzed from the wine and I boldly asked for more lessons on Shirley.
“And,” I said. “I’ll be back more, now.”
I looked away so I didn’t see Tag’s reaction to my plan to return. I didn’t want to see him look startled or nervous that I’d be coming back, expecting something more from him. Because I wouldn’t.
Would I like to keep this… affair going with Tag? Very much. But I wasn’t in the business of asking for more than what I got. And I got plenty from Tag. I didn’t want to ruin what we had by changing the rules now.
“What kind of lesson did you have in mind?” Tag asked me. My eyes flew to his, expecting to see some heat there. A smirk. The shared memory of what we had done to each other. But he was just eating the last bit of cheese and pasta off his plate.
I tried not to be disappointed.
“I want to be able to get up and get off Shirley on my own.”
“I can show you how to do that,” Pop offered.
Tag glared at his father.
“What? You’ve got to run the ranch. I’m the retired guy here.”
