Finding Love

Chapter 16: A Not So Fun Horse Ride

I woke up with a warm feeling in my chest as I vaguely remembered the events from the night before. My cheeks flushed slightly and I hope Michel wouldn't mention what happened again. I dressed up in a checkered shirt tucked into a pair of brown pants. I decided to change into my gown right before the ball. After braiding my hair, I made my way downstairs. Michel was curled up on the couch with his head pressed into his hands

"What's wrong?"

"Michel has a hangover so he's decided to stay home," said his mother in a slightly mocking tone. I giggled softly and Michel looked up with an annoyed expression on his face.

"It isn't funny."

I laughed even harder and made my way to the kitchen to whip up my own hangover cure I'd perfected over the past years.

"What's this," he asked as I handed it to him.

"Drink," I ordered and he gulped it down with his eyes tightly closed. He set down the empty glass beside him and looked up at me in a surprise.

"I feel so much better. Where did you learn to make that?"

I swallowed as a I realized the last time I'd made it was for my father when after he came home drunk whenever he remembered my mother. I felt a twinge of guilt when as I thought about what he was probably doing now. Michel must have noticed my uneasiness as he quickly changed the topic.

"Would you like to go horse riding with me today?"

"I would love to," I said with a smile on my face. He grinned and grabbed my hand before marching of to the barn.

"Come on, don't you trust me," he asked as he extended his hand towards me. It wasn't that I didn't trust him; I'd never been horse riding with someone else before. I gently smoothed down the horse's coat before looking back up at Michel who gave me a forlorn look.

"Okay," I grumbled before swinging myself onto the horse behind him. My chest was pressed up against his back and my chin came to rest on his shoulders. The muscles on his back tensed as I shifted closer to him before wounding my arms around his waist. I could feel the hard muscle flex under my palms and felt a slight thrill at it.

"You said you weren't afraid of me yesterday right," he stated in a slightly husky voice as he turned to look at me, his lips lightly grazing my cheek. I noticed that his eyes seemed to darken as he took in our proximity.

"Yes," I whispered

"We'll see about that," he said with a glint of mischief in his eyes before forcing the horse into a run.