The Rebound Agreement ✔

sixteen

[unedited;
please vote and leave a comment or two as you read!]

I pride myself in not being the type of person to hate people I don't know. Or hate people in general.

But Nick? I can honestly say that I have strong feelings bordering on complete hatred for him right now.

And who is Nick, you may ask? Liam's roommate who generously offered to let Liam ride his horses whenever he wanted to when he was told that Liam missed riding the horses at his grandpa's ranch.

I also kind of hate Liam for deciding that taking me horseback riding was a good idea.

"It takes you out of your comfort zone," he had pointed out at the first sight of my complaints, and that shut me up. Because I guess I have to let him fulfill his part of the deal.

Dang.

It's not that I hate horses. They're quite beautiful animals, honestly; I could stare at them all day and not get bored. It's just that horses terrify me in the same sense that heights, love, and taking chances do: they have the ability to make me fall. Most things I avoid in my life seem to boil down to this one fear of falling.

And me, being who I am, decided that it would be a good idea to watch horse riding videos before Liam picked me up. Originally, I was only watching videos of horse races, one sleek brown horse slowly surging ahead of another seconds before crossing a finish line. These videos were good, non fear-fueling videos, but, of course, suggested video after suggested video, I ended up with all the horrifying horse riding videos in front of my eyes to watch, the kind that involve a lot of bucking, falling, misshapen limbs, and blood.

And I've never done good with blood. I passed out at my own birthday party when I turned six because my friend lost her tooth when she ran into a wall. That friend may be the only person I know to date with less coordination than me.

I solemnly stare out the window as Liam's truck bounces down the long gravel lane leading to Nick's house. Pine trees blanketed in white snow fill my line of sight, but in my head, all I can see is myself falling off a bucking black horse, blood gushing out of my forehead. And of course, this same scene plays in my mind on repeat. It's definitely not the best thing I could be thinking of to put me into the mood for riding a horse.

"You're quiet," Liam comments to break the silence.

I wrap my arms around my chest, willing myself to stop picking at my cuticles before they bleed. It's probably better if I start this whole horse riding thing free of blood. Who knows how much I'll have by the time it's done.

"I'm not very excited," I respond devoid of emotion.

Liam rubs a hand over his chin. Today his jaw sports more brown stubble than it usually does. It's not a bad look on him. "I promise it's not as bad as you think it is," he assures me, his right hand coming off of the worn wheel to switch the radio station.

Skeptical, I don't reply. He's been riding horses his entire life. Of course, he doesn't think it's bad.

Soon enough, we've stopped in front of the barn at the end of the dirt lane. Liam calls Nick to tell him we're outside, and within a couple of minutes, a short guy comes walking up to us. He and Liam shake hands and talk amiably for a few minutes, obviously comfortable in each other's presence. Based off of the fact the only thing he's wearing on his top half is a brown sweater a few shades darker than his skin, I assume that Nick has grown an immunity to the frigid, winter morning air. If I only I could say the same.