Wrapped around your finger - Post Malone

17

Hazel has a problem, a big one and it's sitting behind her. She is no stranger to the likes of men...or women. She knows her way around a penis or two and a good old romp in the sack after a night of flirting and heavy petting is always a good time. She has always felt pretty much in control in every one of those situations. Confident, sexy, and relaxed - men are easy to deal with when the blood rushes south but Austin is different. He seems to be one step ahead of her at all times and then when shit goes down she loses the ability to breathe while he remains cool and calm. She can feel herself losing control and the weird thing about that is she hopes with every morsel of her being that Austin will grab her with those big hands of his and take full control. But she knows his mind is on his ranch and on the life he is carving out for Evelyn. Hazel should be focused on that too, she had come here for Evelyn but Austin is proving to be a bit of a distraction.

Suddenly Austin's horse rears up, bringing Hazel back to the present. He had been leading his horse lazily down a footpath on a hill made by the cattle and so Hazel had let her thoughts wander. But now she grips Austin's forearm that is wrapped tightly around her waist as his house bucks and rears. "Whoa, whoa, boy," he says soothingly as he pulls gently on the reins. Hazel wants to scream but although Austin's relaxed tone is directed at his horse - it calms Hazel down too. She finds she trusts him just as much as his horse does. It does not take long or much effort on Austin's part to calm the situation and get his horse to start walking lazily again. Hazel notices that he loosens his grip on her but does not remove his arm entirely. Hazel is not upset by that. "What was wrong with your horse?" she asks when she manages to relax her heart rate a little. "He was spooked," he says, flexing his fingers on her waist - her heart rate is fucked again.

"By what?"

"Snake."

"What! There are snakes out here?!"

"Yup."

"We have been in the field all afternoon and you didn't think to tell me that there could have been snakes!"

"You are in the country, Darlin', what were you expecting? Little mice wandering the fields with bottles of champagne and Caviar?"

"You think so lowly of me. I was not expecting much, Austin. But I was expecting a little bit of commend courtesy and hospitality."

"Then you should have gone to a fancy resort. This is a ranch and I am a rancher. Unless you are a heffer I shall not be giving you any coddling."

"Stop this horse!"

"Nope."

"Stop this fucking horse or I swear I will kick it."

Austin pulls on his reins and his horse comes to a stop. Hazel wriggles out of his grasp and jumps down, batting his fingers away for good measure. She hides the fact that she is now constantly searching the long grass for snakes, once her feet are on the ground she stalks forward. Austin clicks his tongue and his horse starts walking lazily forward behind Hazel.

"We are twenty miles from home. Darlin'."

"I don't care! I will walk the whole twenty fucking miles!"

"That's fine, but you are walking in the wrong direction."

Hazel stops abruptly and turns to glare at Austin. He is sitting on his horse with a smug smirk on his face, he lifts his hand and points in the opposite direction. Hazel sighs and then heads in the direction he pointed. Austin stays quiet and turns his horse to walk quietly behind her. Hazel knows what she is doing, it works every time with every man that has been a little too cocky. She insists they let her out of their car and then after a few meters they start begging her to get back in. This will be no different. Soon Austin will start begging her to get back on the horse and she will have one up on him. She will outdo him, she chuckles to herself - proud of her scheming masterful mind.

After what feels like at least ten thousand miles Hazel's entire body is drenched in sweat, her hair is wet, her legs ache and her feet are burning. She has rolled up her sleeves and dumped her bra in the long grass ages ago, and right now she is thankful for the tiny shade her Stetson offers her face. She is desperate to stop and get back on the horse, maybe sip some of that cool water in Austin's flask. But she can't do that because he has said fucking nothing. Not a mumble or a throat clearing - nothing. He has just continued to walk quietly behind her while seated like a fucking king on his fucking horse. The fucking bastard. She needs him to cave first or she will never have any leverage over him. She hears a clicking sound behind her so she turns her head just enough to look at Austin while she continues to trudge forward. Her heart stops.

He has a rifle slung over his arm, cocked open, as he loads it. Is he going to shoot her? Would he do that? No one would ever find her on this fucking enormous ranch. She does not stop walking, but she does face forward again - if he is going to shoot her she does not want to watch. "A-are you going to shoot me?" she eventually manages to ask. Austin lets out a laugh and then she hears another clicking sound. Oh fuck, please lord of the cowboys do not let this man pull that fucking trigger. "People have been shot for a lot less around these parts. But, no I am not going to shoot you...today," he says. "Then why the gun?" Hazel asks, still walking forward and still not turning around. "Well, darlin', there is a mountain lion that has been tracking you to your left," he says like this is not the biggest fucking news Hazel has heard. She is being hunted. Fuck off. She stops and scans the long grass on her left carefully then she sees two little triangles poking out the top of the grass.

"You are good. Well, just as long as those two little ears don't flatten," Austin says. Hazel watches the ears and then suddenly they flatten. "Oh, dear. You're fucked," Austin laughs. Hazel is so scared she opens her mouth to scream but nothing comes out. She spins on her heel and launches herself at Austin and his horse. Austin manages to grab her arm and hoist her up even though he is laughing so hard his eyes are screwed shut. Hazel balls herself up between his legs on the saddle - she is not taking any chances with anything dangling. Eventually, Austin manages to calm his laughing then he lifts his rifle and aims it at the mountain lion with Hazel still balled up in his front. Wait, is he actually going to shoot it? "No, stop. Wait, wait. Don't kill it," she says. Austin chuckles again and lowers his rifle, looking at her. "This is country. I have to kill it or it will kill my cattle or worse a farm hand or a kid. We have to shoot it," he says.

Hazel is no animal rights activist and she loves a good burger or steak, but shooting a mountain lion just seems uncalled for. "But you have fences, can't we just chase it back to the other side of the fence?" she begs. Austin sighs and gives her a pointed look. "Turn around," he says. Relieved at saving the mountain lion Hazel does as he instructs but then her heart drops when he pulls her back into his chest and raises the rifle again. He places her hand on the forestock, holding it in place with his, and then he moves her other hand up to the trigger and makes her curl her pointer finger under his. "I don't want to do this...please," Hazel whispers as she swallows the lump in her throat. "Just breathe, darlin'. This is the way of our world. We don't go looking for them and we never roam up into their territory, but on the occasion that they come into ours we need to dispose of them. Smoothly and cleanly. I need to know that if we are working the land and you spot one, you will not think twice about protecting this land or Evelyn...or me," he says softly.

Hazel lets out a shaky breath and nods her head. "Ok," she whispers. "Aim carefully at the space right between the ears, lower the rifle slightly. That's it. Now squeeze the trigger slowly, smoothly, don't jerk it, and don't close your eyes when you hear the rifle go off," Austin says calmly into her ear. Hazel takes a deep breath and squeezes the trigger, Austin's finger guiding her, then the rifle releases a loud bang. Her ears ring and the rifle tries to jump back but Austin holds it firmly in place. Hazel keeps her eyes trained on the two ears, milliseconds after the rifle releases she sees the ears suddenly drop. Austin lifts the rifle, flicks the reins, clicks his tough, and his horse bolts to where the mountain lion should be lying.