“HEY,” I SAID. I LOOKED INTO HIS BLUE eyes—bluer than almost anything I’d ever seen. I got goose bumps and was glad I’d thrown on a light gray jacket.
Whisper reached her muzzle toward Polo. The gelding stretched his muzzle back, and they huffed at each other. Whisper blinked, batting her long eyelashes and turning her head slightly to the side.
My horse was a better flirt than I was!
Drew mounted, swinging a leg over Polo’s back and settling into the saddle. He looked parfait. His ease with Polo made it hard to look away, not to mention the T-shirt that matched his eyes, black zip-up jacket, and tan breeches.
“I’m glad you were free today,” Drew said. “I needed to get out of the stable. Trail riding is like running—it’s a stress buster.”
“Same for me,” I said. “I’m glad you asked me and my friends. We kind of need a break too. Stressful week.”
Drew made a face. “Sorry. But this will make you forget about it.”
“Hellooo!” Lexa said, leading Honor. She was flanked by Clare with Fuego and Khloe with Ever.
All three of them shifted their eyes between Drew and me. I shot them a say-anything-and-die look, and when Drew’s eyes weren’t on me, I made a slashing motion across my throat.
Khloe started to laugh but covered it with a cough.
“Thanks for inviting us,” Clare said.
“Yeah,” Khloe added, mounting Ever. “I would have a mental breakdown if I had to do one more spiral in the arena right now.”
“Mental breakdown, huh?” Drew said, looking mock serious. “We better get on the trail fast.”
“Def,” Lexa said. “Khlo, you know I love you, but you’re already this close to crazy. I don’t want to see what happens if Khloe Kinsella is pushed over the edge.”
We all laughed.
“Let’s go!” I said.
The four of us turned our horses away from the stable yard and headed for the woods on the outer edge of the campus.
I somehow (ahem, thanks, Khloe) ended up next to Drew, with Lexa to my right and Clare beside her. Whisper’s body language changed the second she realized we weren’t going into the arena. I felt her muscles loosen, a swing fell into her stride, and she shook her head, sending her mane scattering.
I laughed. “Someone’s happy not to be practicing.”
“I’d shake my mane too,” Khloe said, grinning. “This feels so good!”
The four of us let our horses trot, and we posted as we left the stable behind and headed for the trees and the woodland area. The campus, beautiful from every angle, looked especially très belle from here. We were headed down a gentle slope, and all that was visible of the campus were tops of buildings and streetlamps.
“I’m so glad to leave everything behind,” I said.
“Me too,” Drew said.
“The campus is like its own city,” Clare said. “Know what I mean? Our entire lives are contained in this one spot where we do everything.”
Everyone nodded at that.
“We can’t escape the people we’re with. Ever. We may have separate dorm halls or rooms from people we see in class or whatever, but it’s like living in a small town. It feels like there’s always the possibility of running into someone.”
“I get that,” I said, easing Whisper to a walk as we approached the line of trees that flanked a dirt trail. “It’s like everyone knows everything that’s going on with each other. Like sometimes we’re all a bunch of gossipy older women I’ve seen at salons, sitting under dryers with their wet curls.”
“Um, I have never, nor will I ever, sit under a dryer and gossip,” Drew said. He raised both eyebrows, shooting me a glance. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. It made my palms a little sweaty against the reins.
Clare, Lex, and I giggled at his pretend offense.
“We’re not including you in our gossipy olds count,” Khloe said.
Drew put a hand over his heart, neck-reining Polo. “Whew. So relieved you don’t see me that way.”
Clare and Fuego and Khloe and Ever entered the trail first with Lexa close behind, followed by Drew and me.
“Up for a new trail, LT?” Khloe asked.
“Oui!” I said. “Always.”
“Guys, is the one following the creek to the meadow okay?” Khloe asked.
Drew added a yes, and we kept walking through the woods. We walked the horses under a canopy of trees, and I took a mental snapshot of the scenery. The light filtered through the trees, casting shadows of all shapes and sizes onto the dirt trail.
“It’s so gorgeous,” I said to Drew. “Look at the way the sunlight reflects on those leaves.”
I tilted my head toward some maple leaves, and Drew followed my gaze.
“I like how you notice those things,” he said. “You’ve got this attention to details that no one else sees.”
I blushed. “I’m definitely not the only one—”
Drew shook his head, stopping me. “Try to let me finish my compliment. You’re way too humble to say anything, but I want to.”
I looked at Whisper’s mane, then back up at him. “Okay, okay. Go.”
Drew smiled, satisfied. “I didn’t even look at the leaves, but once you pointed them out, I took a closer look. You notice the beautiful things, Lauren, that I think most people walk right by.”
His words silenced me. I forgot where I was, what we were doing, and who I was talking to for a second. Then I snapped back to reality, staring at him. “Wow. No one has ever said anything like that to me before. Thanks, Drew. That was so sweet.”
“Just calling it like I see it,” he said.
I grinned and looked ahead, seeing that Lexa had slowed Honor so she was closer to us. I was so calling her on that later. Eavesdropper! But I wasn’t mad.
“Right at the next fork,” Khloe called.
We made the turn, and the dirt trail widened so we could ride side by side.
The woods were peaceful, and I couldn’t imagine anything else I’d rather be doing.
“Want to play games while we ride?” Drew asked. He was still next to me, with Clare on his right, then Khloe. Lexa had ended up to my left.
“Totally!” Clare said.
“I miss games!” Lexa said. “Remember when those actually counted as a lesson?”
“If only we could convince Mr. Conner that passing the flag or an egg-and-spoon challenge was a good lesson,” I said, giggling.
Khloe frowned. “I always dropped the eggs. Once, when I was in Pony Club and competing against another chapter, I lost so many eggs that they ran out! How does that happen? One of my most embarrassing moments ever in the horse world!”
“We’re so doing that one day,” Clare said. “We’ll get a bunch of riders together and play. Khlo, maybe we’ll glue your egg to your spoon or something.”
Khloe nodded, patting Ever’s neck. “Done. I’m so not above that.”
We approached the fork in the trail and veered to the right. The path was free of debris, minus a few branches, and it was wider than the path we’d been on.
“Okay,” Drew said. “Everybody stand in your stirrups. No holding onto manes or anything. You sit, you’re out.”
I felt my competitive juices kick in. We all stood and I glanced at Drew, a cool, this-is-so-easy look on my face.
“Guys! Look at the deer!” Khloe said.
I swiveled my head and immediately lost my balance. Not wanting to pull on Whisper’s mouth, I sat down.
Everyone else was standing.
Shoot. Going out the first round wasn’t fun.
“Aw, Khloe! No fair!” Lexa said. “LT’s never played with us. That was a dirty trick!”
I looked over at her, confused. “Where are the deer?” I looked at both sides of the trail, not seeing any wildlife.
“There are no deer,” Clare said. “Khloe just said it to try and make some of us fall.”
I mock-gasped. “Khloe!”
Khloe gave me a guilty grin. “I’m sorry! I didn’t even think about it.”
“None of us looked, because we’ve played games with Khloe before and she does it all the time,” Lexa said. “Clare, Drew, and I totally spaced—we should have warned you about her diabolical tricks.”
I laughed. “It’s okay, you guys. I fell for it. Now I get to watch.”
“You should get a redo,” Khloe said. “You guys want to call that a practice round?”
Everyone nodded, but I shook my head. “No way. Fair is fair. It’ll be just as fun to relax”—I kicked my feet out of the stirrups—“and watch you guys play.”
“You call the commands,” Clare said.
“Love that,” I said. “Okay. Everyone sit, then let go of your reins, drop your stirrups, and keep your horse moving with nothing other than vocal commands. If your horse stops, starts to run into another horse, or generally stops moving forward—you’re out.”
As much as I wanted to play, this was fun too. Everyone followed my commands.
“Not listening,” Lexa sang. “Can’t hear you.”
“Okay, but Honor might,” Clare said, her voice syrupy sweet. “Honor!” She clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “C’mere, girl!”
“Ooh, you guys really play!” I said.
“Honor,” Lexa said, her voice firm. “Walk. Don’t listen to Clare.”
The strawberry roan mare’s ears flicked back at Lexa and then swiveled toward Clare’s voice.
“Honor,” Lexa said again.
Drew and Khloe were oblivious to Clare’s tricks. Both had their horses walking, and neither showed signs of wobbling.
Lexa kept talking to Honor, trying to keep the mare from listening to Clare’s I-have-a-treat-for-you voice. But Honor took a step sideways, veering in front of Whisper and starting in Clare’s direction.
“Sorry, Lex,” I said.
Lexa shot Clare an evil eye, then winked. “We’ll get you next time.”
Lexa dropped back beside me.
“You make the next call,” I said. “Everyone else, relax.”
Lex thought for a minute. Then she called a new task.
I sat back, enjoying the battle. Whisper seemed to be watching too. This was one of the best things we’d done together in a long time.
Khloe was the next to drop out.
Clare and Drew were the only two left.
“We’re about to reach the field,” Khloe said, since it was her turn to decide on a command. “Last task. If no one fails in a few strides, you both win.”
“You’re going down, Bryant,” Drew said to Clare.
“Whatever,” she scoffed. “You’re done and you know it.”
“Swing around in the saddle to look at us,” Khloe said. “And keep your horses in a straight line.”
“Good one,” I said.
Drew and Clare immediately dropped their reins, moved their feet out of the stirrups, and swung around to face Khloe, Lexa, and me. Both of them had the same determined look on their faces. Drew’s gelding, Polo, moved forward, seeming unaffected by his rider’s backward posture.
Fuego, however, sensed something wasn’t right almost immediately. He twisted his head from side to side. He had no one to guide him. He didn’t have Clare’s eyes or reins. Before Clare could react, he started to circle back. Quickly she turned back around in the saddle and halted him.
“Great job, Drew,” Clare said.
Drew smiled, settling himself back in the right direction. “You too, Clare. I think Polo’s having a sleepy day, so I got lucky.”
“You were both awesome,” I said.
Khloe and Lexa chimed in with their congratulations. Drew modestly accepted them and caught my eye. I smiled, and he returned my gesture.
We went back to a side-by-side position and reached a grassy field. A shallow creek wound down from a hillside next to us, and water rushed over the pebbles and stones that covered the creek bed.
“This is the best trail!” I said. “It’s gorgeous out here.”
“We can keep walking and looking at the scenery,” Lexa said, “or we could go for a gallop. . . .”
I glanced at her. “Do you even have to ask?”
“On three!” Khloe said. I could feel the excitement in her voice.
I squeezed my knees a little tighter against Whisper’s sides, made sure my feet were secure in the stirrups, and leaned forward a bit. My heart pounded—adrenaline pumping.
“One . . . two . . . three!” Khloe said.
Four horses leaped forward at the same time. Dirt changed to grass, and the hoofbeats sounded musical. Whisper matched Honor and Polo stride for stride. Each horse engaged in an immediate battle with the others. Ever and Fuego caught us. All the horses fought stride for stride—not one horse wanting to be a stride behind the other.
Whisper’s gray mane blew back and she snorted, digging deeper. She found an extra burst of speed and jumped a half stride ahead. I rocked with her body, hearing only her. The horses around us disappeared. My only focus was Whisper and the feeling of her long, elegant strides covering the ground. It felt like magic.