Taunting Him (Book 2 In The Player Series)

Better Off Without Him

Instead of going home, I went to Boaz's stall. I kissed his nose as I rubbed the side of his face. I immediately slipped in and hugged his neck. He pushed his face into my back as if he were hugging me back before I smiled sadly. I sat in the corner as he stood in front of me swishing his tail as he nudged my arm with his face. "Hey Boaz. I know. I know. I'm sorry bud. I really am. I can't ride you while Sam is around anymore. He's a jerk. He made me angry." I muttered as I leaned my head back. "But he's right. I will just destroy you. Just like I destroyed Roman. I don't want that to happen again. I won't let that happen again. I can't get you killed because of my stupidity. It wouldn't be right. I would hate myself even more. My stupidity killed Roman, my baby, and Dante, my best friend's world, and my best friend. It destroyed my relationship with Sammy. It all killed me inside, Boaz. But I can't let it happen again because if I do then I will definitely ruin myself. I wouldn't be Dylin any longer. I would be a shell of nothing." The tears fell as Boaz leaned is head down and rubbed my shoulder as I leaned my head into his. The tears just kept streaming down my face.

My eyes fluttered open to a voice. He stood leaning against the empty stall's door. "Boaz." I looked around seeing no horse. "Austin has him. You spent the night?" He asked as I shrugged angrily. "See told you, you have a bond with that horse. You can't just walk away." He said as I pushed my shoulder into his chest to get past him. "I can and i am." I yelled over my shoulder as he sighed loudly and ran up, stopping in front of me. He planted to hands on my shoulders keeping me in place. "Look im sorry. I was way out of line last night. Please forgive me." He said as I looked past him. I looked past his dark hair and bluish green eyes. I looked past his bare chest and jeans that hung low on his waist. I looked past his brown worn down cowboy boots. I looked past Sam, my Sammy. "It is too late. I have things to do." I said pushing his hands off of my shoulders and walking away to go grab Jeta. Since it was only me, I would have to do one at a time. It would take longer but I no longer had distractions. Not that Samuel was a distraction, he was just always there. "Dylin. Listen to me please." He pleaded as the lack of sleep started hitting me. "I have things to do Samuel. Please leave me alone. I'm sick of this attitude change of yours and maybe I'm better off without you." I spat as he looked at me with sad eyes. I just led Jeta to the pen with the barrels as he stared at the back of my head.

After training Jeta and Hurricane i went to Boaz's stall. "Ready?" Andrew asked as I turned and nodded. He ran a hand over his blonde hair and smiled as we walked to his truck. He drove us out to a clearing that had a picnic set up and I looked at him smiling. "Thank you. This is so nice." I said thinking how cliché the whole picnic idea was. He and I sat and ate while talking and laughing. It was nice to finally have a good time. "So what do you want to do now that you've finished highschool?" Andrew asked as we laid in the bed of his truck looking up at the stars. "Well I used to want to go pro in barrels. I used to want to have my own ranch and be happy and have a family. Now I'm not so sure. Riding isn't much of an option and barrels is-well was-the love of my life. I think I want to train but I'm not sure about having a family anymore." "Why's that?" I sighed and looked down at my hands. "Corbin, my old best friend, he died. Samuel and I used to date and when Corbin died, I went downhill. Instead of Samuel coming down with me, he tried helping me out of the hole I had dug myself, but I was too far gone. He saved himself so I wouldn't destroy him. I don't blame him, but losing him and Corbin made me open my eyes to how love rarely exists. The only real love is God's love." I said as he nodded. "So you and Samuel were going to get married and everything?" I nodded. "We had it all planned out. When we graduated we would get married. We were both easily promised jobs. I would go pro on the barrel racing circuit. He would be a trainer. I would train on my spare time. And somewhere along then we would have kids and eventually I would become a stay at home mom and we would live back in the back field somewhere after we built our own house. But that didn't happen. And it won't." I added as he nodded. "So Andrew what do you wanna do since you are an adult now?" "Leave. I wanna get as far away from this nowhere town as I can. I just gotta raise enough money. I almost have enough." I chuckled as I stole a glance of him. "Why?" He sighed. "Don't you ever just think about how there is so much more out in this world than this empty town?" I shook my head. "No not really. I have lived here my whole life and have known everyone in this town since I was born. I can't go to the gas station without someone knowing my name, age, who've I dated, what school i go to, and anything else generally about me. But ironically I love it. I love how everyone knows I'm Todd Jones and Jacer Tucker Jones's daughter. I love how everyone knows Mr. Slade Quinn and my mom dated before she moved away to California where she met my dad. I love how everyone knows I am the little sister of Anderson, Bradley, and Cameron. I love how everyone knows I am a barrel racer. I love how everyone knows me personally and I don't have to act anything less than myself around everyone in this small town." I smiled as he nodded. "Well what if we kept this going and after I saved enough I asked you to run away with me?" He joked as I looked up, pressing my lips together, and humming. "I would let you go. This is my home and I can't leave no matter what. I want my kids to grow up in this small town, if I have any, which is highly unlikely." He sighed and whistled as I chuckled. "Gosh the prettiest girl in the whole wide world just basically blew me off. All because I asked her to run away with me." I laughed as he put his arm around me. "No it was because im not leaving this small town I call my home. No matter how much I can hate or get angry at the people in this town, they are like my family." "So you going to invite every single person in this small town to our wedding." I shook my head. "Oh no Andrew. Slow your roll. We are not getting married anytime soon. We aren't even dating." I laughed as he shrugged. "I will change that one day soon." I laughed again as he smirked at me. "Oh okay." I mumbled leaning into the hug as we looked at the stars. The sky looked so pretty tonight and the sound of the night was like music to my ears. I was content on just being here with him tonight, looking at the stars. The only problem was my mind kept drifting to Samuel. Stupid, stupid jerk, Samuel. But my Samuel nonetheless. Oh how stupid he is.

Was I really better off without him? Or was I just telling myself that? Could I survive without him. The guy who made me smile and laugh. Scowl and growl. The guy who got me to ride again. The guy who broke my heart but picked up every single piece and tried taping it back together. The guy who I had put every single last piece of my being into. The guy who left a hole so big that no matter how hard I tried to fill it myself, or with other guys, it could never be filled. And I hated them for that. I hate Samuel for that. I hate myself for that. I hate myself for letting him destroy me. I hate myself for letting him break me. But most of all I despise myself for breaking for him. So many nights I cried for him. Waiting for him to text. Or call. Or talk to me. Or even acknowledge my existence. So many nights I wished when I woke up there would be a text begging to take me back or a voicemail. So many eyelashes and stars i wished on for him. So many nights I lay in bed crying while he was out partying. So many days I heard about his latest conquest and newest girl. So many days I watched him ride our trails while I wiped tears off of my face. It was my fault we broke up. It is my fault. And while I would give anything to have him back, I know he doesn't want me. I know he never will. I know it would destroy me if I held onto him any longer. So I have to let go. I will be better off without him.