Time Escapes Me

Chapter Six

McKenzie’s POV

We walked in comfortable silence together. Surprisingly, Louis was not bursting with energy or cracking jokes for once, it was nice to see him so relaxed. His arm was wrapped around my waist so perfectly it sent chills up my back, even in the warmth of the Summer afternoon. His left hand was casually shoved into the pocket of his trousers and I couldn’t resist biting my lip at how adorable he looked. I think he felt the same chills I did when we touched because he squeezed me in closer to his warm body as we continued walking back to the stable.

Citrine was obediently marching alongside me and I was glad he wasn’t acting crazy after such a frightful event. To be honest, I think Citrine enjoyed scaring the shit out of me and everyone else. Whatta punk.

The rhythmic sound of Citrine’s hooves hitting the brick walkway was suddenly interrupted when I heard our stable hand, Favio, shout over to me.

“Quiero aprovechar Citrino, Mickey.” Let me take Citrine, Mickey.

“Gracias, Flave.” Thanks, Flave.

“¿Cómo fue tu viaje?” How was your ride?

“Eh, no es mucho bueno.” Eh, not very good.

“Vamos a hablar más tarde.” We will talk later.

“Adios Flave, gracias.” Bye Flav, thanks.

“En cualquier momento.” Anytime.

Favio, whom I affectionately nicknamed “Flave” has been a stable hand at my family’s farm for six years now. In that time, we’ve had a lot of laughs and I’ve picked up a lot of Spanish. Flave and the other stable hands are the only ones that call me Mickey, because my full name is pronounced Mick-Ken-Zee. Flave and I are extremely close. He taught me how to drive the farm truck when I was fourteen and he taught me practically everything I know about veterinary care and horsemanship. We even have a secret handshake together. He has always been a great mentor and friend to me.

I returned my attention back to Louis as Favio walked Citrine in the opposite direction, probably to go hose off his sweaty saddle marks. Louis and I continued towards the stable. After walking only a few feet, Louis spoke up again.

“Please stop it,” he said. He immediately stopped walking and turned his head to look down at me. I looked up at him, overcome with confusion.

“Uh, stop what exactly..?” I asked, truly puzzled.

Louis threw his head back and chuckled, “God, you are so damn cute.” I stared at him intently waiting for him to further explain. What on Earth was he talking about? I am not even the slightest bit cute.

He gazed into my eyes again, “Stop teasing me.” He removed his hand from his pocket and intertwined his fingers with mine as he faced me, his other arm still wrapped around my waist.

“I was not aware I was doing such a thing! Please explain, I’d really love to know what’s gettin’ you,” I flashed him a little smile and almost instantly, he pulled me in so close you couldn’t even fit a piece of paper between us. Our chests pressed against each other and our hips were touching. I loved the feeling of contact between us. I draped my free arm over his shoulder as we continued to gaze at each other.

“The way you bite your lip and squint your eyes when you look at me,” I didn’t even realize I was doing that right now… I instinctively stopped at the mention of the habit and replaced it with a smirk.

“and the way you handled your horse today. So hot.” he rolled his eyes back in his head and I giggled at his hidden, dirty remark. Typical Lou.