The Perfect Ride

Chapter 8

1st show down and on the road again. Our next stop was Little Rock, Arkansas. It was only a four hour drive, so we were getting a hotel room tonight, because both our Saturday and Sunday shows would be here.

It was currently 2AM. We were still three hours out of Little Rock. Roz crashed on the lounge in our bus, so I was in my bunk. I had the curtain pulled back on the bus, looking at all the scenery as we drove down the interstate.

I was getting really drowsy, so I knew I'd be falling asleep soon. Well, I thought I was, until my phone started to ring. I looked to see who it was and saw Jess's name.

S- Hello?

J- hey. you doing okay?

S- yeah, im good. just lying down. are you okay?

J- oh, yeah. i just called...well, to say hi.

S- well, hi.

J- you know, you did really good tonight. you and your horse are good together.

S- buck.

J- huh?

S- my horse. his name is buck. i got him when i was little. it's been me and him since.

J- he's almost as good as you were.

S- you were pretty good too. a ten second ride is pretty awesome.

J- well, i talked to the bull beforehand. told him i had a girl to impress tonight, so he must've tried to make me look good.

S- oh, is that so?

J- oh yeah. boys got my back.

S- you're so dumb

J- well, if im so dumb, why do you talk to me?

S- that's a question ill never answer.

J- oh, man. you suck.

S- sure do.

J- well, well, for whatever reason, i like to talk to you.

S- what's the reason?

J- ooh, that's a question ill never answer.

S- oh, shut up.

J- you love it.

S- i hate you.

J- well, in that case ill just go.

S- no! you're keeping me company now. you're stuck with me.

J- that's fine by me.

S- good.

J- good.

***

"Sadie. Hey, Sadie, wake up". I felt a pressure in my leg, and opened my eyes. Roz was standing next to me. "We're in Little Rock. We're at the hotel".

"What time is it?" I ask. I clicked the home button on my phone. The call screen came up and I saw Jess's name. "Oh, my god. We fell asleep".

"Well, hang up" She says. I did just that. "Ya'll stayed on the phone the whole night?".

"I guess so" I say. "He called me...I guess because he was bored, so we just got talking and now we're here".

"Well, okay then" She says. I knew she wasn't judging, she just didn't want to make a comment about Jess and I. "Are you ready to go to our room?".

"Yes. Let's go. It's 5AM, and we have a 9AM wake up call" I say. She nods and we pile off the bus and inside. We both immediately crashed again as soon as we got in bed.

***
By 9AM, we were up at the arena. We had to be at the arena early, because we were actually doing some interviews today. I thought that was pretty exciting, because I'd never done anything like that before. Roz and I had hair and makeup at 10AM, and an interview at 11AM.

"You done?" Roz asks walking over to where I was sitting. I had just finished up with my hair. It was up in a braid. Hers was down.

"Let's go" I say getting out of the chair. We tool off to the arena, where we were going to be interviewed. We didn't know who was doing our interview, so we just waited. While we were waiting, Jess walked over. He was wearing a green,  plaid shirt, with wrangler jeans, boots, and his black hat.

"Sadie" He says tipping his hat me me. I smiled.

"Jess" I say. "Do you have an interview too?".

"Uh, not yet. Mine is later on today. I just...thought I'd stop by" He says. I felt Roz nudge me in the side. I gave her a look and she got the hint before walking away.

"Sorry for her" I say. He chuckles.

"No. No, she's fine" He says.

"She thinks that there's some type of...thing...with us, I guess" I stammer. He looked down at the ground. Whenever he was flustered, his ears always turned red. I thought it was pretty adorable.

"Well, if that's the case, then maybe I shouldn't tell you what I was going to" He says, finally looking back up at me.

"What were you going to say?" I ask. He looked back at the ground and kicked around the dirt with his boot. He finally looked back up at me.

"I... was going to tell you how beautiful you look " He says. I immediately smiled.

"You're sweet. Thank you" I say. He finally looked me in the eye.

"I mean it, Sadie. You're beautiful" He says.

"You...are pretty awesome too" I say. He looked back at the ground again. He and I just stared into each other's eyes for what felt like forever. I could've sat there all day if I could, but I heard Roz calling my name.

"I-I should get going. My...interview" I say. He nods.

"Bye, Sadie" He says.

"Goodbye, Jess".