A Couple is Three: The Beginning (book 1 & 2 Completed)

Chapter 7 - The Invitation

Samantha: We are here.

Josh: Awesome! Jake will soon be finished with his practice. Meet us at the corral like yesterday?

Samantha: Be right there.

Josh: Can't wait.

Samantha and her parents started the walk from the car to the corral through the fairgrounds. It was only 10:30 in the morning yet the grass was already starting to give off a baked grain smell. It wasn't quite hot enough to seen the heat shimmers coming off the ground, but looking up to the sky without a cloud in sight, you knew that it wasn't going to be long before you saw them. Southern Manitoba could get quite warm during the summer, but this was unusual for this time of year. Today was going to be a scorcher.

Samantha looked over to her father and noticed the sweat already running down his face. She knew that in this weather, he was going to cook his bald spot. He had forgotten to bring his ball cap, much to the pleasure of Samantha and her mother, Barb. Samantha knew that her mother had always wanted to see her father in a cowboy hat, but he had always refused. Now was their chance. Samantha led her father over to one of the shopping stalls that was filled with cowboy hats. She gave her mother a huge smile as she slyly suggested to her dad that he pick one up to protect him from heat stroke.

Samantha and Bard took great pleasure in making her father try on different cowboy hats. Some of them were so funny that even Samantha's father, who had valiantly been trying to make it look like he wasn't having any fun, was having a difficult time keeping a straight face. After trying on about 20 different hats, her father finally gave in and purchased a cowboy hat. As they started back on their way to the corral, her father shot Samantha a smug look over Barb's head. Samantha realized then that her dad actually didn't mind wearing a cowboy hat and may have even left  his baseball hat at home on purpose,  knowing that buying a cowboy hat would make Barb very happy.

They arrived in time to watch the last few minutes of Jake practicing. As soon as Jake had dismounted, Jake, Josh, and their father's met up with Samantha and her family at the fence. Samantha introduced everyone to her father Drew. It was soon decided that John and Jason would stable the horse allowing Josh, Jake, and Samantha to wander around before meeting back up with them for lunch. The three families would then meet for supper after the rodeo.

The three of them walked away under the watchful gaze of their parents. They didn't hold hands, but they walked so closely together with Samantha in the middle that she was constantly brushing up against their arms. The light passing touches sent continuous shivers coursing throughout her body until her arms were covered in goose bumps. Each of the boys looked down at her arms and wore a smirk on their face. It was an ego boost to see the effect they had on her body, but they were also delighted to know that she was still reacting to them. Yesterday had not been a fluke.

As they walked further towards the crowds of people, Samantha started to notice the number of women checking out Jake and Josh. She didn't blame them for looking since she, herself, would have been checking them out if she wasn't walking with them. Actually, even though she was walking with them she was still checking them out. She found herself watching them in turn out of the corner of her eye. She loved the way that their t-shirts stretched tight across their chests and abdomens highlighting each defined muscle group. It wasn't as good as seeing them without their shirts on, but she didn't even want to think along those lines. She still felt bad enough that she was attracted to and starting to have feelings for both of them. Lusting over their bodies would just bring her even deeper pain when they went their separate ways after the weekend.

Soon they were walking amongst the stalls and the crowds of people. Jake and Josh moved even closer to Samantha as the space became tighter. It wasn't long before Samantha noticed that some of the women had changed from just watching and admiring the boys to purposely brushing against them as they walked past. She looked up at Jake and Josh and realized that their attention was not on the looks that they were receiving, or that the majority of people brushing against them were women. Instead she found that they seemed to be solely devoted to watching her and pointing out interesting things to her. This confused her, but she thought that it might be just their way of dealing with the come-ons from the more aggressive women.