“You are too, and I would love to. I've always liked it.”
“I was just thinking the same thing, so we'll go soon, but this isn't half bad right here.”
“Nope, not half bad at all. I do feel kind of bad for Cruz though. His date can't keep his eyes off of you,” he said, pulling back enough to make eye contact. “Too bad for him you've already got your hands full.” Then he pulled my head down into a kiss that set my whole body on fire, right there in front of everyone. While we were kissing, the music changed to a faster song and we pulled apart.
“You’re lucky I don't drag you back to your bed so you can make good on the things that kiss was promising.”
“I'm not sure how that makes me lucky at all. I feel pretty damned unlucky right now with all these people around. But trust me, I'll make good on those promises later.”
“You better believe you will. I'm going to grab another drink. You want one?”
“No, I'm good. Besides, one of us needs to be sober enough to drive. If you're going to hold me to my word, we should probably be at your place where we have plenty of privacy. You go get your drink. I offered to do the final barn check of the night tonight, so I'll go ahead and knock that out. It won't take but a few minutes, and then maybe we can dance some more.”
“Or maybe we can leave,” I said hopefully.
“Or maybe we can leave,” he agreed.
I watched him walk off and checked my watch. It was only a little after ten, and I hated to bail on Ripley's party, but if he was game, I was taking him home when he got back. I was getting a drink and something else to eat when Cruz walked up.
“Hey, man, I'm sorry about Jessy,” he said.
“You're sorry about Jessy? What are you sorry about? You didn't do anything wrong. I'm the one who's sorry.”
“Eh.” He shrugged. “Don't worry about it. Ain't nothing important between me and Jessy. We're both just killing time. I don't want to cause trouble for you and Landon, though.”
“Nah, you didn't. Landon and I are solid,” I insisted.
“Wow,” Ripley said from behind me. “I never thought I'd see the day, but you're serious, aren't you?”
I moved over so he could get to the drinks and said, “Serious about what?”
“About Landon?”
“We've been over this before Rip, yeah I am.”
“No, we haven't. All you told me is that you liked him and didn’t plan to hurt him, not that you were serious. And not like you're serious for now, but like serious for real.”
“Yeah, serious for real. Like never letting him go, he's mine, and I'm keeping him serious.”
I hadn't realized it, but while I was talking to Ripley, Cody and Eli had walked up. Cody was looking at me like he wanted to say something, and I knew he’d become Landon's closest friend since he had moved here.
“What, Cody?” I asked. “You look like you have something on your mind.”
He hesitated. I figured he was trying to decide what he could say that would get the point across but not betray Landon's confidence. Finally, he said. “You mean that? About wanting him to be yours?”
“I do. I love him. How could I not? He's amazing.”
“Does he know that?”
“Of course he does,” I said, glancing around at the guys circled around me. Cody just raised one eyebrow in question. “I mean, I think he does. Doesn't he?”
Cody bit his lower lip and gave a slight shake of his head.
“How could he not know that?” I asked more to myself than anyone else.
“Have you told him? I mean with words?” Ripley asked.
“Well, shit,” I said, annoyed at myself. “I should have.”
“Miller, you’re an idiot, but I love you anyway. And for some reason, so does Landon, so why don't you tell him?”
“Now?” I asked.
“No time like the present,” Cody said.
“You’re right. He was headed out to the barn to do the night check. I thought he knew, but I should have told him anyway.” I really should have. With the way this whole thing started, I should have realized that he wouldn't be sure what was real and what wasn't. “I'll go find him now.”
I was getting ready to head that way when Ripley turned to Cruz. “Hey, Cruz, speaking of finding guys, where did your date get off to?”
I glanced around searching for Jessy, but he was nowhere to be seen. Fuck.
I rushed to the barn with the other guys close behind. The door to the barn was wide open, and I stopped outside, listening, wanting to have some idea of the situation before I rushed in. Cruz and Ripley stopped behind me. I heard Jessy say, “So you're a real cowboy,” in a really insulting way like that job was beneath him or something. I started to go in, but Ripley pulled me back.
“Landon can take care of himself. Just give him a second and see what happens.”
I glared at him, but then I grudgingly nodded my head.
28
Landon
Every second I was with Miller, the more I wanted to throw caution to the wind and tell him how I felt. He’d been so wonderful all evening, and I wasn't going to pretend I wasn't loving every minute of it. Especially the look on Jessy Riley's face when he saw Miller bring me a piece of cake. I knew who Jessy was. I'd seen him and Miller together a few times at the club, but more than that, I'd seen him watching Miller when he was with someone else, and I knew he had a thing for Miller that went beyond occasional hook-ups. But the other thing I knew was that Cody had been right the other day. I needed to listen to what Miller showed me, not what other people said, and what he showed me tonight was that he cared about me. I mean, he offered to leave his best friend’s party because he didn't want me to be uncomfortable, and that said a lot to me.
I made my rounds checking to make sure the bottom latches on all the stall gates were locked and that all the horses were good. Once I was satisfied that everyone was okay, I went back through to top off the water. I was almost finished when the barn door opened. I turned expecting to see Miller there, but it was Jessy. I took a deep breath and forced a smile. “Hey, Jessy.”
“So, you're a real cowboy, huh? How adorable.”
“Umm, hello, I work on a ranch. What did you expect?”
“Well, you know, there are so many guys around here who walk around in hats and boots acting like they're cowboys just because they live in Texas, when in reality, they don't know any more about horses than I do.”
I ignored him and kept working, moving to the next stall to add water to the buckets. I thought maybe if I didn't engage him any further that he would leave. Instead, he followed me. We stood there silent for a minute watching the horse when finally, he said, “He doesn't love you. You know that, right?”
“Excuse me?” I asked, turning to stare at him.
“He doesn't love you,” he repeated like my excuse me meant I didn't hear him.
“And I guess you think he loves you instead?”
“Sadly, no.” He shrugged. “But he doesn't love you either. That isn't who Miller is.”