Crossing the Line

Chapter 2: Three's a Crowd

On a trail ride one day, we found a lake secluded on the West trail. As far as we knew, no one else knew about it. It was great; a personal little hideout. Everything was going great… until Crystal asked Tristan out. And being the polite guy he was, he agreed to it. It bothered and irritated me. I was so used to Tristan rejecting every girl; I didn't expect him to say yes to her. They went on five dates together. I was used to having him to myself. I went through my day quietly. My irritation seeped through to my work.

“Holly,” Tristan called. I looked back once before I went to the tack room. I started pulling down my tack when I heard the door close. “Holly.” I heard again. I exhaled slowly before I turned. I avoided his eyes and fidgeted with my thumbs.

“Dusty hasn’t been exercised today if you want to ride him,” I said moving around him to get the blankets. He caught my wrist.

“Holly? What’s this about?” he asked. I sighed and closed my eyes.

“Nothing, now can you let me go?” I said quietly. That was a lie. Crystal and I were really close, and she told me everything; including every single exaggerated detail of her dates with Tristan.

“Holly, something’s wrong. Tell me… please?” he asked. I sighed and pulled my hand out of his. I grabbed the bridle and slung it across the saddle. I turned and ran into Tristan. I tripped over something on the floor, but he caught me before I could fall. His arm was securely around my waist. 

I made the mistake of looking into his eyes. I was locked. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from his electric blue eyes. He seemed locked too. He didn’t move, and neither did I. My breath caught. He was close… very close. Before I knew what I was doing, my lips were pressed against his. My hands went up to his neck and pulled him closer to me. His free hand came up and held my cheek while his other one tightened around my waist. My heart thumped wildly as we kissed. His lips were so soft and tender pressed against mine. I couldn't breathe, and I didn't want to. My knees felt weak, but Tristan's grip around me was solid. He pulled me closer to him before I pulled away. I shouldn't have done that. I stepped out of his arms and covered my mouth with my hands. I shook my head.

“I-I… that shouldn’t have… I shouldn’t have… we can’t… I shouldn’t have done that… I’m just going to… I have to go,” I stuttered trying to find words to say. I walked clumsily to my tack and picked it up. I tacked up Mystic and rode out quickly.

What did I just do? I automatically took the West trail to the lake. I tied Mystic up to a tree and curled up in the tall grass. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. That shouldn’t have happened. It couldn’t happen. We couldn’t happen. He was Crystal’s. They were dating, for crying out loud. Crystal and I were so different. But I wanted to do it again. He definitely knew what he was doing. He was my best friend, and I might've just ruined that. 

*A visual representation of Tristan can be seen to the side in media*