Forever Love

Making It Official

Zoe's POV

Today is a new day, and I am walking to Holloway, I am meeting up with Jade and Becky. We are going to ride the horses up to Bright Fields so we can see how the construction is going. When I get to Holloway I see Gabby taking her horse out, so I walk up to her. Gabby has been a lot nicer ever since she found out James's true intentions and helped me and Raven out at Nationals.
"Hey Gabby!"
" Hi Zoe, what are you doing here so early? "
"I'm meeting up with Jade and Becky so we can go on a morning hack to Bright Fields, want to come?"
" Sure! "
I go over to Raven's stall and give him some mints, then I tack him up so we will be ready when Jade and Becky arrive. I am just leading him out of his stall when I hear someone saying,
"Bob, what are you doing? That's my shirt, not candy floss!"
I laugh as I see Becky trying to tug her neon green shirt out of Bob's mouth. Bob had obviously thought that her shirt was a delicious snack! As I reach them, Becky finally gets her shirt away from Bob and Jade is busy tacking up Major.
"Hey Zoe!" Jade greets me with a smile.
" Hey! Is it okay that I invited Gabby to come on the hack with us? "
"Of course!" Becky is quick to reply. We all get the horses ready and then set off towards Bright Fields. While we are riding, all they can talk about is how Pin is the duke. I mean, I get why they are all so excited about it, it is crazy. Pin went from a stable boy to a duke in only a few minutes, but I can't help but feel sad as they talk about it. Pin is leaving to go travel the world soon, and I won't see him for who knows how long. Gabby notices my silence and asks me what is wrong.
"Nothing," I quickly reply, " I'm fine. "
"No you're not" says Jade, "you've been awfully sad and silent this whole time." I avoid her eyes and Gabby says,
" This is about Pin, isn't it? You're sad about him leaving soon. " I nod, my eyes on the ground.
"Zoe, just tell him how you feel, I'm sure he'll understand." Jade tells me.
" Okay, I'll tell him next time I see him. "
"Don't worry Zoe, it'll be fine, you guys are together so he will understand." Becky says to me.
" Well, we have not exactly defined our relationship yet, so I wouldn't exactly say we are 'together' just yet." They all just nod and smile. As we near Bright Fields I see Pin talking to a construction worker, it looks like he came to the stables to oversee the start of the Bright Fields rebuild just as we had. We tie our horses in the paddock, the one place that didn't burn down, and then walk into the stables. Becky gives me a little push towards Pin and whispers,
"Go!"
" What, no! " I don't want to talk to Pin right now, I know that it will just make the fact that he is leaving more real, and I still don't want to ask when he is leaving because I know that it will just make me sad all over again.
"You said that you were going to tell him how you felt the next time you saw him, and that is now!" Becky says.
"Okay, okay! You win!" I throw up my hands in mock surrender and walk over to Pin.
" Hey! What are you doing her so early? " I ask, not wanting to bring up the real question on my mind just yet.
"Oh, hey Zoe!" Pin says, turning around to look at me " Nothing much, just making sure the construction starts smoothly. "
"Cool, hey can I talk to you for a minute in here?" I say, pointing into Raven's old stall.
" Sure. " Pin responds looking confused but allows me to drag him into the stall anyways.
"I'm going to miss you when you leave." I tell him, getting straight to the point.
"Yeah, me too, I don't want to leave you, but I want to explore and see new things." I nod,
" I understand. So when do you leave? " I ask him, dreading the answer, but knowing that there is no use in pretending I was here for anything else.
"Next month, once I make sure that everything is running smoothly." He looks sad at the thought of leaving so soon, but I don't read into it too much. I feel like crying, so I look down at the ground so that he doesn't see if the tears start to fall.
" Okay" I say, my voice cracking.
"Zoe, are you okay?" Pin asks me, looking truly worried.
" Yeah, I just can't imagine you leaving! I love you, Pin. " My heart races at those four small words I have wanted to tell him for so long but never have had the courage to say.
"I love you too, Zoe." Pin says, his voice almost a whisper. I raise my head and look into his beautiful ocean eyes. Then his lips meet mine in a sweet and passionate kiss that says everything we need to say. I never want it to stop, I want to stay in this warm, safe place forever, but all too soon it ends. We break apart and Pin asks me,
"Zoe, will you be my girlfriend?"
" Yes! " I reply, my heart beating a thousand beats per minute. We share another sweet, passionate kiss, and in this moment, life is perfect.

Pin's POV

Today is a new day, and I am getting ready to ride over to Bright Fields early so that I can oversee the construction of the stables. I go into the crate where I keep the injured horses, and give the current resident, a dapple grey stallion with a broken leg, some mints before proceeding over to Elvis. I tack him up and set off for the stables. As I ride, I think of Zoe, I really want to talk to her more about how she feels about me traveling. I could tell yesterday that she was hiding her true feelings, I could sense her sadness. But I was also afraid that if I did talk to her that it would go badly and everything would be ruined. When I get to Bright Fields I am the only one, so it is quiet and peaceful. Soon the construction crew arrives and I go over to help make sure everything goes as planned. About half an hour later I see Zoe, Becky, Jade, and Gabby arrive at Bright Fields. I can see Becky saying something to Zoe and then she walks over to me. I know that I need to say something to her about me leaving, but Zoe is the first to talk,
"Hey! What are you doing here so early?" She asks me, I turn around to face her and say,
" Oh, hey Zoe! Nothing much, just making sure the construction starts smoothly. "
"Cool, hey can I talk to you for a minute in here?" She asks me, and points over to Raven's old stall.
"Sure." I am confused, what could this be about? But I allow her to drag me there anyway.
"I'm going to miss you when you leave." Zoe says to me, she looks sad
"Yeah, me too, I don't want to leave you but I want to explore and see new things." I reply honestly, I will miss Zoe so much when I am gone, but I really need to do this.
" I understand. So when do you leave? " she asks me. I hesitate, I don't know how she will react when I give her the answer I know she is dreading.
"Next month, once I make sure that everything is running smoothly." I can tell she is saddened by this news, and that makes me sad too. I realize that all I have is one more month with Zoe until I leave, I need to make every second count. I look at Zoe and see that she is looking at the ground, she could be crying, but I can't tell.
" Okay" She says, her voice cracking.
"Zoe, are you okay?" I ask her, I am worried, I don't want me leaving to be making her this sad. Zoe is the bravest girl I know.
" Yeah, I just can't imagine you leaving! I love you, Pin. " My heart is beating hard in my chest, and I respond with five little words that I have wanted to say ever since I met her. Five little words that could change our whole lives.
"I love you too, Zoe." I say, my voice almost a whisper. She looks up from the ground and stares into my eyes, I have never really appreciated their beauty, and then our lips connect. It feels like time has stopped, we are the only two who exist, the warm feeling of her lips on mine make me feel so safe and happy, I never want to stop kissing her, but all to soon it ends. And suddenly time restarts, and I ask her something I have wanted to ask her for a very long time, but until now have never had the courage to say,
"Zoe, will you be my girlfriend?" My heart is beating a mile a minute as I watch her face break into a wide smile as she responds,
"Yes!" We share another sweet kiss, and in this moment, life is perfect.

Author's Note

I hope you are all enjoying this so far! Zoe and Pin are now an official couple, yay! But what will happen once Pin leaves to travel the world? what do you think will happen next? Please vote and comment down below what you think about this book so far, and some ideas of what should happen next! #Zin

- Olivia