Run Wild Horses

Chapter 23

But
I came to life when I first kissed you
The best me has his arms around you
You make me better than I was before
Thank God I'm yours

I was livid. What the hell was he thinking?

I nearly called him, but I didn't. I fought the urge to call or even text him because I wanted to do this face to face. I wanted to see him squirm. Besides, he was working. I'm professional enough to not go off on a personal rant while he was doing his job, but I wished he would hurry the hell up and get back to the bus.

I looked again at the post he made. It already had hundreds of comments and thousands of views. I had to admit, the pictures were cute, and we looked happy. I scrolled through the comments absentmindedly, trying to kill time waiting for Ryan to get back. A lot of our friends had already commented. Heart eye emojis, Hearts, smiley faces. Comments in the form of  "congratulations", "about time", "I knew it." Many telling us we looked happy and made a stunning couple. One comment however, stood out.

Braindoctor: So this is what you left me for Samantha? A NASCAR driver? I gave you everything, but you are still the same little redneck piece of white trash you always were.

Now I was even more pissed. Obviously Steven had not gotten over it. I hurt his ego, so he had been stalking my social media. I had him blocked, but that mother fucker had gone and created a new profile. I wanted to reply so bad. My fingers were itching, my blood was boiling. I knew I should just take the high road, because he wasn't worth it, but I was pissed. I began typing a reply. Before I could hit send, the door to the bus opened.

"Hi babe." Ryan said, flashing me the smile that always made me go weak in the knees. 

Oh no. Not today.

I glared at him. "What the hell were you thinking making us Instagram official?" I snapped.

His smile dropped. "You're mad." He hung his head.

"Mad? Ryan, I'm furious. You went behind my back, against my wishes....You can't just do things like this without talking to me first. You went and announced to your two hundred thousand followers that I'm your girlfriend before even announcing it to me." I yelled.

"I know. I know. I'm sorry. It was a knee jerk reaction." He said softly, his eyes pleading with me.

"Knee jerk reaction to what?" I demanded.

He sighed, pulled off his hat and raked his fingers through his hair. "I got jealous. Other guys are after you, and I just wanted everyone to know that you're mine." He said sheepishly.

"You got jealous? I'm yours? I am not a possession Ryan. I don't belong to you or to  anyone else." I snapped, and a spark of realization flashed across his eyes, as if he understood what that word meant to me. He did look sorry, but I was not about to let him off the hook that easily.

"I know what you're thinking Sam. I admit it was a stupid thing to do, but I was going on my gut without thinking about it. All I could think about was there were other guys are asking about you. Wondering if you were available, and I wanted them to know you're not."  I looked me right in the eye as he spoke. I was not swayed.

"So really you were just staking your claim on me? Letting these other guys know I'm yours? I will not let you control me." I was having flashbacks to my relationship with Steven. I told myself that Ryan was not like Steven, but now I was beginning to wonder if I even know him at all.

"That's not what I meant Sam. I know I don't own you, but I do want you to be mine in the sense that this is something real between us. Meaning we are in a relationship. We are committed. This is not just a casual thing for me. I have genuine feelings for you, and the last thing I want to do is control you. You have this wild, uninhibited side that I can't get enough of. That I want to see more of."

"These other guys... what are you jealous about? I am not interested in anyone else. There is no one else. You want me to trust you Ryan, but I'm not so sure you trust me."

"I do. It's him I don't trust." His jaw clinched as he spoke the words.

"Who are you talking about?" I asked confused.

"Bowman. Are you honestly going to tell me he has no interest in you."

Now I was starting to understand. "We are just friends. Alex had his chance. There is nothing between him and me." I tried to assure him.

"Apparently, he's still interested. At least that's what he told Chase."

"Alex and I did have plans to go out after we got home from Talladega, but then he heard about you and me and called it off." I folded my arms across my chest and gave him a pointed look, and he lowered his head.

"Are you sorry that he did?" He raised his head, his voice had softened so low, it was almost a whisper.

"At the time, yes I was." I admitted, and sighed in frustration.

"And now?" He prompted.

"No. I'm not sorry, but I'm still mad at you." I tried to glare at him, but failed. My anger was diminishing.

"What do I have to do to make you not mad?" He asked, with a wicked gleam in his eye.

Ugh. Why did he have to give me that look.

"I want you to fuck me slow and make it mean something." I replied.

His flirtatious smile then turned serious. He took my hand as he spoke. "It's always meant something to me. Even that first drunken night that wasn't supposed to mean a damn thing meant something to me. It's not just about sex for me Sam."

Now I felt like I was being a brat. Not only was he telling me how he felt about me, but his making us official was his way of telling everyone as well. It wasn't just about being possessive or making his claim. He wanted everyone else to know how he felt about me. He didn't have to say the words, because everyone knew he wouldn't publicly announce a girlfriend unless he was serious.

"It meant something to me too Ryan. It's not just about sex for me either. I guess I just got blindsided by everything. I do want to be yours, and I want you to be mine. I understand now."

"I'm sorry Sam. You're right. I never should have outed us the way I did. I let my emotions get the best of me. I can take the post down."

"No. What's done is done. It's been seen and talked about. I'm over it now."

"Are you really?" He raised an eyebrow. I nodded.

He then pulled me onto his lap and placed a long, slow kiss on my lips. Mmmm. Fighting sucked, but making up would be a whole lot of fun. I just had one thing I had to do.

"Hand me my phone please." I pointed to the side table where my phone was sitting.

"What are you doing?" He asked with a grin, but he handed me my phone. I snapped the picture of me sitting in his lap. It almost looked like he was carrying me, as he had been doing the last few days. Satisfied with the picture, I began typing.

You swept me off my feet. Literally.

I tagged him and hit the button to post.
"Just making sure I get the last word in." I grinned.

Okay maybe I was a bit of a brat after all.