(18+) RED (Complete)

Ch. 37: Extra

"Mia? Wake up. We're here."

My eyes fluttered open and I automatically yawned. And not even a fraction of a second later, I was wide awake and wondering where the hell I was. Then I remembered and felt embarrassed that my legs were still on Michael's lap with his arms resting on top of them. Luckily he didn't seem to mind.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Uhh... I guess," I mumbled and tried to stretch a bit. My neck was sore and my back was stiff, but I felt better after I'd moved into a more comfortable position. And while I put my shoes back on, Michael ran around the car to open the door for me.

"You know, you don't have to do that," I said with a little smile. "If anything, I should be the one to open the doors for you. You're the famous person here."

Michael pursed his lips while the car drove off, leaving us in the middle of nowhere.

"Do you see any famous people around here? Because I don't. It's just us and your slightly upgraded vehicle."

"Huh?"

I looked around in the darkness and found that we stood next to a barn, and there were just enough lights illuminating the area to see...

"Horses?!"

"I told you we would upgrade from donkeys," Michael snickered. He walked over to the chestnut monster that looked like it was asleep. But I knew better. I knew those things both kick and bite, and I wasn't going anywhere near them.

"This is Poppy, and she's your limo for tonight."

Then he pointed at the black one next to it.

"And this is Lars, a high tech Lamborghini. He's mine."

"Lars?!" I exclaimed and laughed. "What kind of name is that?"

"Shh! Don't make fun of his name! He can hear you! And now you've hurt his feelings."

"Yeah, right. Lars the Lamborghini," I scoffed. But I had to admit that I felt a bit bad. Although I had my doubts that horses actually speak English, he might understand that I was making fun of him. So I apologized silently and stepped a little closer. Not that I had any choice, because Michael kept making a come hither movement with his finger, hinting strongly for me to stand next to him.

"But you're right. Lars is kinda lame. So he's a lucky horse."

"What do you mean?"

"His name isn't Lars. It's Tex," Michael chuckled, and I playfully slapped his arm.

"Then why did you say it was Lars?"

"To make you smile. You looked like you'd seen a ghost. You're not scared of them, are you?"

My cheeks flushed, and I thanked heavens that he couldn't see it.

"Uh... N-no."

I'm not sure if he believed me, though. I needed to fake harder.

"Have you ever gone horseback riding before?"

"Of course," I scoffed. "Several times."

...on my dad's leg when I was a kid, I added in my mind. But that shouldn't really matter. Except for the size, it was exactly like jumping up and down while dad held my hands. Right? This was going to be easy. Yeah... No. This was going to end in tragedy.

"So... Uhh... Where are we?" I stuttered and tried my best to divert the conversation. Maybe if I managed to make him think about other things, he'd forget the two dinosaurs next to him? Why wasn't he even scared, dammit?