just pretend

.10

"Posture," I call out.

"Son of a bitch I'm not looking to join competitions or nothing," Leo groans. "Why does posture matter?"

"It's just how you ride a horse properly." I shrug. I sit on the mounting block with my elbow propped on my knee and head rested on my hand.

I kick in the dirt out of boredom. I don't know what to teach today, right now he's just doing routine but earlier we were focusing on cantering.

"We've been doing this a while and we both seem done with it," Leo calls out before turning the horse in my direction. "Can we be done with this now?"

"Sure." I shrug. "You're doing tack this time. None of that 'I don't know how to do it' bullshit."

He groans before dismounting the horse and leading Poppy into the barn.

Eventually I hop off the block and walk into the stables where Poppy is hooked up to the cross ties and Leo is untacking. He doesn't notice me standing there but I just watch him to make sure he's doing it properly.

He's taken off his helmet and his hair is curly in every direction. When he thinks I'm not around he doesn't have the scowl on his face and I watch him smile to the horse as he says something to it. I smile to myself thinking it's a little cute.

I leave the stables as soon as I notice my phone vibrating.

"Hey," I say to Keanu.

"Hey. Want to hangout?"

"Leo is over but feel free to come pick him up."

"Er, how about you drive him home and come hangout here for a bit."

"I don't want to drive him back."

"I can come over later."

"Why not now? Why am I always stuck with Leo."

"You'll be fine." Then she hangs up and I roll my eyes.

"I'll be fine my ass," I mutter to myself before entering the stables again where Leo is taking Poppy to his stable.

"You've picked this all up pretty fast," I say.

When he returns he just shrugs and walks past me to the tack locker. He would hate to admit he's actually learning something.

He returns to where I am, finally all cleaned up. A scowl on his face just to show how much he hates me. His hair is still a mess and he's clearly sweating from the heat. It's chilly from the breeze but the sun is still hot.

"What now?" He mutters.

"Dunno. Let's go to the house," I say kicking off the beam I was leaning on. We leave the horse stables and begin walking back.

"What's the plan for this weekend?" Leo asks.

"Parents said I could go to the cottage. How you going to convince your mom?"

He laughs. "What do you mean? Why would I ask? If I ask they'll say no, it's easier just to never tell them."

"Aren't they concerned when you don't come home?"

I know the answer to that question, I don't know why I asked.

"They don't even realize when I am home." Leo looks to me. Like Keanu he has dark brown eyes. Much lighter in the sun though.

"Is it the same way with Kea?" I've got to stop asking questions I already know.

He looks go the ground. "No they could never let such a perfect child get hurt." We reach the door but he stops. "Mind if we sit outside?" He reaches into his pocket to pull out a lighter.