Ten Days >> Douwe Bob | Wattys2016

Day 6

I looked into Douwe's eyes as he placed the hard, black helmet onto my head, proceeding to tie the buckle under my chin.

He smiled down at me, his blue eyes shining with excitement.

"This is what I love. This is my passion." He breathed, walking over to the large horse, and stroking the bridge of his nose.

I walked over to him and looked at the horse. It's glossy, dark eyes peered at me and then looked away, almost as if he was embarrassed.

"I think he likes you." Douwe laughed, grabbing hold of my hand and walking me over to my smaller, white horse.

I smiled in response, trying to ignore the uncomfortable feeling in my stomach. I had never ridden a horse before so I couldn't help being slightly nervous.

"Hey." Douwe said, making me stop to look up at him. "Don't be afraid. I'm going to be riding right next to you, ok?"

I scoffed.

"I'm not afraid, Douwe." I lied, my mouth cracking into a large smile.

He smiled back, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh aren't you? Then I guess you're going to be going so fast that you're going to beat me back here, huh?" He answered, placing a hand on his hip.

I looked at him closely, admiring the humor in his voice and in his eyes. Today, Douwe was wearing a large cowboy hat, and black skinny jeans, together with the white vest that he loved so much.

I nodded with a small smile, knowing that Douwe wasn't going to be fooled by my fake confidence.

"Your turn for a helmet, mister." I said, reaching over to remove his cowboy hat and placing the helmet onto his head.

"Let me tell you something." Douwe whispered, turning away from the horses and acting as if they could understand what we were saying. "Horses can sense what you're feeling super easily. So if you're feeling anxious or scared, they'll be able to feel it. And that can backfire on your ass, quick." He winked at me. "Just letting you know."

"Thanks for the advice, cowboy." I laughed, putting one foot into the stirrup and pulling myself up. I smiled at Douwe's impressed face as he watched me get onto the horse without his help.

"Ok, ok, slow down." He said, quickly pulling himself up onto his large horse.

"Why do you like riding so much?" I asked him, as our horses began to trot slowly out into the forest. I was extremely careful to never lose sight of our professional leader who was on her horse several meters ahead of us.

"Well." He said, pausing to think. "I know it sounds dumb, but I think that horses are reflections of our souls, even though they're pretty stupid creatures." He laughed, looking back at me since my horse was a few steps behind his. "I guess I like reflecting on myself. It helps me write my songs."

"You're quite the outdoorsman, then?" I asked, eyeing his tanned arms. His bold tattoos glistened under the beating sun, and I had to catch my breath when I noticed how muscly his arms were.

"I am." He answered, slowing down his horse just so that mine could catch up with his. "Here's a secret for you. I'm planning to cross the Gobi desert just on horseback sometime this year. Maybe I can borrow your red quipao from my story yesterday." He laughed, throwing his head back. "I'd blend right in with the local Chinese."

I giggled, trying to imagine Douwe in a tight, red, traditional Chinese dress.

"Sure."

Just then, we diverted our attention to the instructor who had turned onto a different path, so we directed our horses to follow her.