Till all the stars go blue [Chaennie]

Chapter 8

Jennie reached her hand down and patted the horse's neck. Rosie could hear her talking to it softly.

"Do you like horses?" Rosie asked curiously.

" Yes, I mean, I guess so," Jennie answered, her hand sifting through the horse's mane absently. "I don't really know much about them."

" I can teach you," Rosie offered. "I mean, if you want. Nothing fancy, just simple stuff."

" Please, I'd like that," Jennie smiled at her, then she frowned. "They don't spit do they?"

Rosie scrunched her face up. Where did she get this stuff?

"No, that would be a camel." Rosie remarked. "But they can be mouthy."

"Um, is that a good thing?" Jennie asked cautiously.

"Kinda depends on what, where and how, " Rosie answered.

"That's what she said," Jennie remarked under her breath with a giggle.

Apparently Jennie's word of the day was now stuck on ribald. She was pushing buttons to see what would shock, stick and get a rise out of Rosie. Rosie was quite proud of herself for ignoring most of it.

"When horses learns something new, they lick their lips and blink a lot." Rosie explained patiently.

"Why?" Jennie asked.

"If I ever knew that, I've forgotten it." Rosie said. "Just the way their mind works, I suppose."

"What else?"

"When horses won't go forward and you try and make 'em, that's when they buck," Rosie told her, pointing at Jennie's horse. "If that guy stops and won't go on, then starts walking again. Hang on tight."

Jennie glared down at her horse suspiciously and wrapped the reins around her hands again.

"So what are you, some kind of horse whisperer?" Jennie asked with a laugh. Rosie smiled.

"Nah, I worked at a stable for awhile and just learn to read them." she answered. "It's just the same way you can read people.

"So I suppose you can do that, too?" Jennie smirked.

"Sure, sometimes." Rosie deflected. "You pay attention, look for tells, read body language, that kind of thing. It's the same with animals and people. People are harder though, they have motives. They lie, they deliberately seek to be deceptive."

"Why would you do that? Read people?"

"Well, I don't know. I suppose it helps me do my job sometimes" Rosie said nonchalantly. "Come on, you're an actress. Don't you learn things about people to do your job?"

"Sure, I suppose." Jennie was being deliberately coy. Rosie found it amusing that she was so manipulative.

"What about me?" Jennie inquired lightly. Rosie cast her gaze over at her.

"What about you?" Rosie asked with feigned innocence.

"Can you read me?" Jennie asked shrewdly. Now it was Rosie's turn to be coy.

She had pretty much walked right into this and was going to have to play her cards close to the vest. She couldn't very well tip her hand and say: Well, yes, you're wildly smart, determined, kind, talented but you're also stubborn, ego-driven, have authority issues, can be annoyingly needy and insecure but you blossom with patience and reassurance. Oh yeah, and you're crushing on me, big time.

"Yeah, I suppose. A bit," Rosie confessed. There was no way that answer would go unchallenged.

As predicted, Jennie side-eyed Rosie.