8 Seconds Going On Forever

Chapter 9 Roman's Dilemma

Roman kept his back to Virgil as he walked away, fighting the smile on his face. When he was sure that he was far enough to be out of sight he pressed his back up against the surface of a random trailer.

"Holy shit," he moaned. After getting to spend the whole night with Virgil and his friends, he had gotten him to dance. Not only that he had kissed his hand. He wasn't sure why he had done it. Something about that cowboy changed him, in a good way. Virgil made him want to dance all night and sing cheesy country love songs to him. He made him want to kiss him all over instead of just his hand. Roman covered his warm face with his hands. And those eyes, don't even get him started. For whatever reason Virgil would never meet his eyes and if he did it was only for a few seconds tops. It was like spotting a wild horse, one second you were looking at a beautiful creature and the next it was running away. A ghost in the wind.

"Get a hold of yourself, Roman," he murmured. He stood there for a couple of seconds to compose himself before finishing the walk back to his trailer. Once he had given Aphrodite a scoop of feed, he tossed his hat on the dresser and slipped his sash over his head. He hung it on the mirror and headed for his bed. He sat there staring up at the ceiling and smiling. Virgil had danced with him, he had actually danced. He gave a wistful sigh before remembering he still had his makeup on from the rodeo.

Regretfully he got up out of bed and ceased the thoughts of the shy cowboy. He opened his toolbox that doubled as his makeup kit. In the bottom compartment he found a make-up wipe and went to work on wiping his face clean. As lazy as he was sometimes he didn't want to risk a breakout due to day-old make-up. As he went to place the pack of wipes back he caught site of a purple shade of eye shadow. It was a deep, rich color and it made him think of Virgil's hair.

Roman couldn't imagine him dying his hair completely purple but then again he couldn't see him resisting a bet either. He seemed to like the rush of adrenaline from uncertainties. Roman wished he could have seen him during his full purple hair phase. Instead he was stuck imagining it and smiling. Maybe Virgil would take him up on that offer to have a hair and movie night. Roman would even dye his hair, anything to hang out with him for just a minute more. Maybe a few streaks of red to fit his aesthetic, or just maybe he too would try purple. After all it was a royal color and he was royalty.

He changed into a worn pair of sweats and a t-shirt from his high school days before laying down once again. He yawned and stretched. He really needed to sleep because much like Virgil he had a place to be tomorrow by noon. Patton and Logan, being the kind souls that they were had invited him to lunch with them on the way to the next rodeo. It was at some whole in the wall joint that Patton had promised served the best tenderloins in the state. Roman had told him that that was yet to be determined because once you had a taste of his Grandma's cooking everything else was quite ruined.

Roman reached over to the bedside lamp and clicked it off. Darkness fell over the room as he rolled over, the sounds of the band a distant clatter. It made him smile as he thought about tonight's events and soon he had fallen into a deep sleep.

A small streak of light hit Roman right in his eyes making him groan as he shoved the pillow into his face. Mornings were never his favorite time of day. Slowly he made his way out of bed and accomplished his first task, making coffee.

While he waited he got dressed. Simple jeans with the King brand embroidered on the back pockets, a red button up, and of course his red boots. He took a sip of his coffee and stepped outside to get Aphrodite ready to travel.

It took only about thirty minutes to pack everything up and load Aphrodite into the trailer. He then secured all of his stuff in the living portion and locked the door behind him. He took one look around and decided to take a quick walk before having to spend his time in the vehicle while listening to his playlist.

Without meaning to he made his way over to Virgil's camping spot. Instead of the silver trailer and black truck, there was an empty patch of dirt. The only evidence that something had been sitting there were the tire tracks and a scattered bit of hay that Bucephalus must have dropped on the ground. Roman frowned. Virgil really hadn't been kidding when he said he liked to leave early. Too late Roman realized that he should have asked Virgil if he would be at the next rodeo, or maybe for his phone number. He started to panic, what if Virgil wasn't at the arena when he arrived later tonight? There were many rodeos that he could have moved on to.

Roman ran his hands through his hair. He wanted to kick himself for not at least getting a way to contact him. Virgil could be long gone by now and he had no way to ever find him again. He stood there for a few seconds longer before letting out a sigh and returning to his own white pickup. He closed the door and turned the key. He had better get going if he was going to make it to lunch on time. He would have to worry about his Virgil problem later.