Broken Horse

Chapter 12 - Jacey

It was another test and then finishing the lab. Glancing around, I finally looked at the front where Sergei had his hands cupped in front of his mouth and those blues were on me. The heat burned my cheeks and I quickly went back to my test. I had a whole page yet to do and I was one of the few who weren't done yet.

The vibration in my pocket made me jump a little. Again. Then again. And once more. There was no way I could answer it, not with still going through the test. Hurrying through the rest of the of the paper, I finished giving some lame answers, but I had gotten it done. Taking it up to Sergei, my heart leaped as I handed it over. His fingers brushed against mine sending tingles straight through my spine and leaving a trail of heat behind.

Going out to the hall, I opened the first message. It was my dad with some photos of the horses he was looking at. With winter coming up, we wouldn't do as much training, but we would be able to get them ready for the spring. If we had an easy winter without much snow, then I could do more, but I didn't want to take on too much until I graduated. This studying and working was wearing me down already, but I could take on one horse until graduation. I picked out a few of them that I thought looked good and sent the message back. Another text came through displaying Sergei's name on the screen.

Sergei: I cannot wait until we go for the ride.

Biting my lip, I tried to pull back the smile he put on my face, but it was near impossible. When that man looked at me, and he has been all class, I pooled into a melted mess which took my mind with it.

Me: I will take you around and show you the land. There are a lot of beautiful places on our place.

Sergei: I would like that seeing as my horse is now living there.

Me: John and Tobey shouldn't be around too much anyway. With the low count there, chores get done fast.

Sergei: I will have to start looking for a friend for my horse so he does not get lonely.

Me: I will keep my eye open for a good friend for Cobalt.

Slipping my phone into my pocket, I went back in and slithered into my chair careful not to disrupt the other students. Feeling the burning from his sapphires, I forced my heart back down into my chest and the heat sank into my cheeks. Just knowing he was looking my direction increased the heat in the room and the pulsation in my core was growing to the point where I had to squeeze my thighs together to hopefully get it to cool down.

Sergei: Are you serious on this test? You know nothing.

Me: I was distracted. I am sorry.

Oh no. I just sent that? How embarrassing. The chuckle from the front of the room turned my stomach. His eyes wouldn't even come up as he sat his phone on the table and reached for the papers, his head shaking while those dark blue eyes scanned over the test.

Sergei: Your office is a mess. I understand the distraction. You do not study. You do not listen in class. You do not read the text.

Me: I can't fail this class! I need this!

Failing was not an option, and I tried reading the textbook, but I fell asleep. I had other things to do beside read a book for a class that was just taken to get one more science credit. That was it. But to fail it, it would bring down my GPA and I couldn't have that happen. And if I didn't have that credit, I wouldn't be able to graduate in May.