The Summer Of My Life

Chapter 16

Just because he said we would let Katida rest, that apparently didn't apply for me.

The hack in the morning was refreshing and wonderful, the scenery I had gotten familiar with but not used to amazed me more and more each time, and the nature all around, wild rabbits running through corn fields and one or two deer with offspring crossing the gravelroad a couple of metres ahead of us. Levi had taken Kiki and Fran with us after finding us three lying asleep over and under each other in Kiki's and Fran's matrimony bed, making me focus more on the nature and on Katida than Levi, Kiki or Fran.

In the afternoon although, he sat me on a young horse that permanently felt the need to work. It got faster and faster just by sitting on it, was stressing all the time and had me so concentrated for the whole hour to get her to trust me and slow down that I was spent afterwards. When he gave me the approval to canter with her, finally allowing me to leave the circle I had been hogging on for at least half an hour, I reached canter within a second but had the biggest trouble to get her back to trot and walk without having to drag at her flews. By the end I wasn't just spent, but my throat was dry as sand from the hundreds of vocal aids I gave.

As we sat on our raised hide after eating dinner with the others, we held hands, looking into the setting sun. "I'm going to miss us here." Kiki said, making us nod, the silence calming and setting a feeling of freedom and calmness in our hearts. "Life's so carefree, wide, lifely here." Fran spoke with a frog in her throat. "And school's going to start again." I had to chuckle at that. "You know, over the weekends, you can always visit me. We can hang out in the city or go hiking or skiing or whatever, what you want. Fran, I guess we'll be seeing each other more often anyway, even if it's just family meetings. And Kiki, well, I guess you just have to join. You're my undercover girlfriend, but don't tell Levi." They chuckled.

We were silent again for a couple of moments. "I just love it here so much." "Hmm." Kiki and I conceded a point to her. "It went by so fast." "But still, look what it got you." Kiki grinned. "A horse, a boyfriend, remember the tournament - girl, you pretty much cleaned up anything there was to get here. Maybe the whole stables would have been a bigger score." We laughed, and I jumped as they both hit me on my upper arm. "So, are you still going to come next year, even though there is no available hotshot eyecandy there anymore?" I grinned, wiggling my eyebrows at them while they laughed heartily. "Don't worry, Levi's all yours." Kiki reassured me, making me chuckle.

"God, next year we'll be 17." They had big eyes, making me laugh. "Hey, I'll be eighteen in two months, that's something else!" "Oh, you've got to invite us to your birthday party. Maybe I'll also find some hot motorcycle racer for me." Kiki wiggled with her eyebrows and I grinned. "I'll make sure to invite some." And we chatted on until the sun went down, leaving the raised hide with the promise to come back tomorrow, on our last evening.

~*~

I spent yet another night in between them, waking up with a hurting back but it got better as I sat at the table, eating my breakfast rolls and reading the sports part of the newspaper. Like always. Kiki and Fran were, also like always, chatting away, nobody from the holiday kids awake at an hour like that. I only noticed Levi as I felt two lips on my cheek, almost dropping my roll but I managed to catch it beforehand. "Morning, clumsy. Fran, Kiki, when is your riding lesson in the evening?" "At four." He nodded, looking at me again. "Same time. Don't want to destroy your evening plans." I smiled at him, mouth full of rolls, drawing back as he leaned down for a kiss and pointing at my cheeks. I chewed while Levi complained to Kiki and Fran playfully before I dragged him down by his hand and gave him a kiss. "We could do the morning lesson as soon as you can go, suit yourself. I just need to go into town at some point, but there's no hurry." I nodded and looked at my watch. "What about eight?" I had half an hour to get changed out of my pyjama and get Katida ready. "Fine with me." I got another kiss on my cheek before he went off and I put my attention back on my rolls. Looking up surprised that it suddenly was silent, I looked at Kiki and Fran irritated. "You two are sooo cute together, I'm totally fangirling." I just laughed.