Unforgettable

[3] the needle in the haystack

At 7.30 am the next morning, my trusty alarm blared, pushing me out of the comfort of my warm bed. As per normal, I brushed my teeth, washed my face and got put on a t-shirt and shorts. But not as per normal, I found myself staring at my reflection in the mirror wondering if I should do something to cover that stupid pimple up. Or if I should do something to make my lips look slightly less dull. Or if I should do something to my boring locks of hair. Maybe I could pull it up in a ponytail? I search the sink counter for a hair tie and find a simple black one. This should do.

By the time I'm satisfied with the way I look, I step out of the bathroom and grab my phone off my bedside table, only to see that it's already 7 minutes past 8 am. Shit. I rush out of the chalet, my feet barely in my sneakers, and head over to the stables as quickly as I could. As expected, Dylan was already there, a smug look on his handsome face and his toned arms crossed over his chest.

"Right on time, Vivo." He said, to which I stuck out my tongue at him.

"What?" I ignored the weird look he was giving me then, and unlocked the doors to the stables. Once inside, I showed him around the place we would be spending most of his summer. Dylan met the horses, and I had just finished teaching him how to groom them when I realised I didn't even know if he could ride a horse, let alone instruct kids on how to do so.

"I think we should take them out for a ride." I suggested casually as I brush the hair on one of the horses.

"Sure." Dylan walked down the aisle in the stable and decides to saddle up a completely black horse.

"Hey Midnight, I'm gonna take you on a little run, alright buddy?" Dylan petted the Midnight on his muzzle and I couldn't help but smile at the fact that he actually bothered to remember the horses' names. Sure I didn't know why he was here, but I could take a wild guess and say it wasn't a voluntary choice on his part.

I put down the brush I was using and did the same to Delilah, a spotted brown horse. She was my favourite and we practically grew up together here on the ranch. Giving her a quick pat, I led her out of the stable and Dylan followed suit.

We climbed onto our horses' backs and I'm struck with the thought that Dylan might not actually know what he's doing and was just trying to show off.

"Um, Dylan, you sure you know how to ride?"

"I'm pretty certain I ride better than you do." At the sight of my raised eyebrow, he smirked.

"Want to put that to the test? Last one to the creek owes a milkshake." With that, he lifted the reins and flew off with Midnight. I was caught off guard, but I quickly catch up. I know the place better than he does.

Soon enough, we're neck to neck, and I spied the creek in the distance. The wind ruffled my hair and his. I look over and can't help but think he looks nice with his messy brown locks. The whole scene reminded me of the first time we met, when we were side by side on the road. A loud whoop disrupted my reverie.

I blinked and saw that while I was blissfully distracted, Dylan had reached the creek, just a few seconds before me.

"Whatever," I said.

"What was that? Couldn't hear you over the sound of my victory." He smiled smugly and proceeded to imitate me earlier in a squeaky voice. "Dylan, are you sure you can ride?"

"I do not sound like that!" I turned Delilah around and started to head back to the stables. The horses should be hungry for lunch by now, because I sure was.

"How would you know?" Dylan pulled Midnight over to trot closely beside Delilah. "When you hear your own voice it's through bone conduction, but other people hear it through air conduction. It's different. So I like to think that yes, you do sound like that."