Losing You

"Romance"

Clare finished a nice round of jumping, showing me up. In my last round, I'd knocked a pole, while Clare completely cleared the course.  

"Nice Clare!! You and Johnson have been practicing!" Clare grinned, an honest, happy grin.

"Thanks, we've been in Florida for the past year training." Clare pulled Johnson up next to Cavallo, now in English tack. Once Clare started jumping, I figured it wouldn't hurt to join in.

Bailey stood up from her spot on Taylor's barrels. "Mia, go on ahead and put Cav in his stall. He's done good." I nodded, and slid of Cavallo. Sliding the reins off of his neck, I led my quarter horse out of the arena. Clare and Johnson followed suit, and soon, our horses were put into stalls.

"Ready?" Clare had turned from Johnson's stall and was watching me as I texted Jason.

"Yeah, let me tell Taylor I'm leaving." I walked out of the barn and down to the arena.
Taylor was lined up at the far end, with Bailey standing at the makeshift shute. Jason whistled, and Taylor busted out of the "gate". She and Max sped around each barrel, performing master turns. On the homestretch, Taylor gave Maxine her head and smacked her hind quarters. Max put it in gear, running flat out down the arena. Taylor pulled Max to a stop and leaned down to pat her neck. "Good job Tay! That was quite the run!"

Taylor turned and flashed a smile. "Thanks!! She's a lot like Carson!"

"Yeah, she is!! I've got to go, see you tomorrow?" I saw Taylor nod as I walked back into the barn.

"Mia! Wait up!!" I heard Jason coming up behind me, so I stopped and turned around.

"Yeah?" Jason came up the hill, stopping inches from me.

"I was wondering," He paused, looking very sheepish and nervous. "If maybe you and I could meet up some place to talk about the project?" His shoulders slumped with relief, but I could still see doubt lingering in his eyes.

"Sure! I would've been able to help you today, but something came up." I shifted my weight to the other foot. Jason's eyes lit up, and he smiled.

"Cool!" He looked like a little kid in a candy store.

"Where do you want to meet?" Clare came up silently, resting her elbow on my shoulder. Even with my recent growth spurt, Clare still towered over me.

"Umm, I'm still new to the area. Any suggestions?" Jason ran his hand through his already messy brown hair.

"How about...." My brain ran around trying to think of a good place to discuss a Bio project. "How about my house? I have a younger brother, but he has baseball tomorrow."

"Sounds good Mia. What time?" Jason glanced at Clare and gave a small wave. Clare waved back and smiled.

"Does 4:30 work? I'm not coming here tomorrow, so I should be home. And I don't think I have work, with the end of school being just around the corner."

"Yeah, sounds good." Jason turned and waved, walking back to an SUV I hadn't noticed before. 

Clare lifted her elbow and began pulling me towards her old Ford pickup. "I'm coming Clare! Let go!" Clare started laughing, but refused to release my arm. I started running, now dragging Clare. This time, Clare surrendered to my demands, and we ended up falling over ourselves trying to get in the car. Still laughing, Clare pulled out of the gravel drive, careful to avoid Bailey's garden gnome.

"So." I had a feeling I knew where this was going. "Who's the guy?" Clare quirked her eyebrows, glancing back and forth between me and the road.

"No one!" I slapped Clare's arm, playfully of course. "He's my end of the year Biology partner."

"I wouldn't say that. He seemed to be nervous around you." Clare made goofy eyes at me, and I slapped her again.

"Lots of guys are nervous around me! I scare them, thank you very much!!"

"And why is that?"

"Because, the last time a guy asked me out, he got hit in the face with a dodgeball!"

"Wow. You REALLY don't want to date, do you?" Clare was way more serious now.

"No, I really don't. Now, can we play some music?" Clare and I had the same taste in music, unlike Taylor's, so we often would rock out to some country songs (ironic, right ;))

"Yes!!" Clare turned on the radio and we started singing along.

Hey peeps! I know, weird chapter, but oh well!! Please, comment! Do you agree with Clare? Or are you with Mia??