Crossing the Line

Chapter 12: Innocent Date

Crystal woke me up the next morning. I looked at her confused. She looked at me confused as well.

“Where did you go last night?” she asked softly. I sat up and yawned. I thought about last night. The sound, the feel of Tristan’s hands running down my body. The smell of his skin against mine. I smiled past Crystal. Remembering she was still there, I fixed my face into a blank expression and shrugged.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I lied. She rolled her eyes and sneered at me.

“Yeah right; you were gone all night when I fell asleep, and all of the sudden you show up,” she said.

“Can you let my business be my business just this once? Believe it or not, I have a life. You are a part of it, but you don’t own it,” I said. I sighed. “I have to get ready for work.” I stood up and got dressed. I quickly left the house and started work. Tristan smiled at me.

“Holly,” he nodded an acknowledgment. I smiled and bit my lip.

“Tristan,” I replied huskily. My eyes ran over his body and I thought about last night. He cleared his throat. I blushed and went on with the feeding rounds. I prepared myself when I saw Eric walking up to me.

“Hey Holly,” Eric smiled at me.

“Hey,” I smiled back. He put his hands in his front pockets and looked down at his feet.

“Do you want to go for a ride?” he asked. I tilted my head and smiled.

“I’m sorry. I have to break two yearlings and get Dynasty ready for the competition right now, but afterwards, we can go before my shift ends,” I explained. I turned and finished my rounds. I went through my chores and finished up quickly. I was riding Dynasty in no time. We were flying over the jumps flawlessly.  I was going to be riding her in the three-day eventing. I went through a few dressage moves before I cooled Dynasty off. I ran the water hose over her legs and brushed her down before I put her back in her stall with a fresh flake of hay and cool water. Eric tapped me.

“Ready?” he asked. I turned and nodded. He already had two horses tacked up for us. I mounted and waited for Eric. I led us down the South Trail. The lake was off limits… to everyone. We talked and laughed most of the way. Before I knew it, we were back at the stables. I could see Tristan by his car talking to someone. That someone was Crystal. I rolled my eyes and dismounted as we walked our horses into the stables. Crystal looked over and smiled. Her attention was on me now. She shot a smile over to Eric and winked at me. Eric leaned over to me.

“Who’s that with Tristan?” he asked. I sighed and rolled my eyes.

“My sister,” I muttered. I turned my horse into the barn quickly. Eric went off to put up the horses. Against my wishes, Crystal came bounding down the aisle to me. I crossed my arms and waited.

“Ooh, he’s cute,” Crystal commented. I shrugged and ran my fingers through my hair.

“Can you go away please?” I asked flatly. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. Eric walked back up and smiled politely at Crystal.

“I’m Eric,” he said holding out his hand. She shook it and smiled at me.

“Crystal, I’m Holly’s older sister,” she introduced herself. I sighed and walked away. She couldn’t have annoyed me more by this point. I finished the evening feeding rounds and went to my car. I automatically drove to Tristan’s house. I parked in the back before I walked around and knocked on the front door. When he answered, I walked in. He kissed me happily.

“I thought you’d be getting ready for your date?” he smiled. I wrapped my arms around him and smiled as well.

“I have a while,” I shrugged. He laughed and kissed me. 

“Did I mention I love you?” he smiled, lowering his forehead to mine.

“You might’ve mentioned it a few times,” I joked. I kissed him for a moment before I pulled away. “I have to go get ready.” I whispered. His smile fell and his jaw locked. I placed a hand on his cheek and brought his eyes to mine.

“I don’t like sharing you,” he mumbled. His grip tightened around my waist. I smiled sadly and stroked his cheek with my thumb.

“I know,” I whispered. “And I hate sharing you, but it’s what we have to do.” I explained. He sighed and nodded. With a quick kiss, I was on my way to my house. Crystal looked at me confused when I walked in the door.

“How’d you leave before and still get here thirty minutes after me?” she asked. I shrugged and started for the stairs.

“I stopped by a friend’s house,” I explained vaguely. I sprinted up the stairs and up to my room. I dressed in a simple blue fitted tee and jeans. I straightened my hair and applied a light layer of makeup. I was ready to go. The doorbell rang five minutes later. I dashed downstairs and grabbed my jacket on the way. I opened the door to see Eric. I smiled warmly.

“Ready?” he smiled. I nodded and quickly closed the door behind me.

“What movie are we watching?” I asked once we were driving to the theatre. He only smiled.

“It’s a surprise,” he answered. I smiled as well and rolled my eyes. He opened the passenger door for me and we drove off. I had to admit, I was kind of excited. It was a real date out in public. I didn't have to watch over my shoulder or keep it a secret. Once we reached the movie theatre, he parked the car and we walked inside. We ended up going to see Columbiana. It was a great movie. I liked the fact that Eric didn’t push me to do anything. I did kiss him a few times, but I would never tell Tristan that. Afterwards, he drove us to the Friday’s across the street. We had a nice peaceful dinner and it was nice to be out with someone and not have to worry about getting caught. I was home in no time. Of course, Crystal asked me how my date was. I gave her a quick response before I went up to my room and closed the door. I showered and went to bed. I was exhausted. 

The next morning at Ridgeway, Tristan met me in the tack room. He looked a bit more on edge than normal. I leaned against a saddle calmly and waited for him to speak.

“How’d it go?” he asked quietly. I shrugged.

“Okay, I guess,” I answered. I moved towards the tack and got my riding stuff together. “We need to talk about this at the lake though. Too many things can go wrong here.” I took the tack to Gamelan’s stall and tacked him up. I rode off, not looking behind me to see if Tristan was coming. I knew he was, so I just kept riding until I reached the lake. I paced when I got there and waited. Tristan came up a few minutes later. He dismounted and tied up his horse next to mine.

“I guess it went better than you thought it would,” Tristan said. I stopped and faced him.

“I’m in this just like you are. You cannot get jealous of Eric. Yes, it does bother me when I have to hear about you from my sister 24/7, but I live with her. That’s just something you’re going to have to get used to,” I explained. He sighed.

“I hate sharing you,” he whispered. I nodded.

“Me too,” I sighed.

“This isn’t going to be easy, is it?” he asked. I ran my fingers through my hair and shook my head.

“Not even close,” I sighed.  “It’s stressful, and you can’t always be antsy like this. It’s making me antsy too.” I added. He sighed and put his hands in his pockets.

“I’m sorry Holly,” he apologized softly. I shook my head.

“Whenever we’re together, I don’t want to think about them. Let’s just think about us, please?” I replied. He nodded and smiled softly. I stepped forward into his arms and placed my hands on his shoulders.

“I love you Holly,” he whispered.

“I love you too,” I smiled.

Another two months went on like this. Tristan would see Crystal, I would see Eric, and Tristan and I would continue. The morning trips to the lake became a tradition. I would tell Crystal as little as possible and date Eric often.