Rural

Chapter 38: Doing the Right Thing Even if I REALLY Don't Want to

Chapter 38: Doing the Right Thing Even if I REALLY Don't Want to

       Today was the day. The day I was extremely nervous for.

       The cross-country competition.

       Sawyer helped me as much as he could, and he tried his best to help me feel confident about the competition. It helped, to some degree. I did feel a bit more confidant as I was practicing, but the day the competition arrived was a completely new story.

       I never felt so many butterflies in my stomach before, even whenever I see Sawyer shirtless. Then again, I see him shirtless a lot so I definitely got used to it. 

       Sawyer came with me early to the competition grounds, mainly to help me bring Paint there. As much as I loved Paint, I didn't have that much experience transporting horses anywhere. I wanted to ride Paint to the competition grounds but no, it was too far from the farm.

       I told Sawyer it would have been good practice but he still wouldn't let me.

       "Can you promise me something?" I asked Sawyer as I was brushing Paint's coat to calm him down after being transported here. He really didn't like closed spaces.

       "Are you talking to me or the horse?" Sawyer asked. "Because with you, I could never be too sure."

       I looked at Sawyer since I was currently looking at Paint, despite my question being directed to my boyfriend instead. Yeah, I could see why he asked that question since I talked to Paint all the time. No shame.

       "I was talking to you," I said. "So... Can you promise me something?"

       "That sounds serious," Sawyer said. "But yeah, of course. Anything. So what is it?"

       "Promise..." I sighed. "Promise you won't get mad if I send you nudes while you're on tour?"

       Sawyer gave me a flat look, not being amused by my not-so serious yet serious question. "Seriously? I thought it was something serious. Wait a second... You said while I'm on tour. You... You think you're not going to get the spot?"

       I shrugged as I turned my focus back to Paint. "I know my confidence has been shifting but... Now that I'm actually at the competition... I don't know. I just... have a feeling I'm not going to make the team..."

       "Hey..." Sawyer said softly, resting his hand on my cheek. "You are going to make the team. You did amazing during practice. I mean, you rarely hit any of the jumps and you finished quite fast."

       "No, I didn't finish fast," I said.

       "What?" Sawyer asked. "Yeah, you did. I timed all of your runs and you were also back at the start of the path in now time."

       "Oh, you were talking about the practices," I said. "Never mind then."

       "Of course I was," Sawyer said. "What did you think I was--" He sighed when he realized what I was talking about. "Never mind. Of course that was what you thought about. But in all seriousness, you are going to do amazing today."

       "Thanks," I said, giving him a small smile even though I was still feeling nervous. Not as much as I was before because Sawyer had a way with words, but still enough to feel worried about this competition.

       I was one of the last competitors to compete, so at least that gave me the opportunity to watch everyone to see if I could beat them and what I would have to do to make sure I place well.