Riley picked up the spare shovel and started working on his half of the stalls. They looked considerably better than his first day, and we worked in a more comfortable silence. By the time we were done, he asked me if it was music time. We had finished about fifteen minutes early, but why not?
I hooked my phone up to the Bluetooth.
“Can I pick a playlist?” he asked.
“I don’t see why not. Just keep the noise at half,” I told him. We didn’t want to agitate the horses too much. Some of the horses were being used for lessons today, and I wanted them to be in a decent mood for their elementary riders.
“Sway” by Luis Fonsi came through the speakers. A small smile spread over my lips at the beat. I grabbed the lead ropes, tossing one to Riley as the music filled my head. My hips followed the beat as I walked toward the pasture.
Music was the only thing that had ever brought me out of my shell. It felt good to peek my head out every once in a while.
Lola was already there tossing her head up and down to the beat. I passed by Riley and handed him a few sugar cubes. It would take more than yesterday to get the horses to trust him. Multiple days of positive reinforcement would be needed.
“Sway, sway, sway,” I sang the chorus as Lola and I swayed in the front lawn.
“You have got to move your hips more,” Riley called back.
“Who are you criticizing, me or the horse?” I asked.
After a moment of thought and a sly smile, he answered, “The horse.”
I continued dancing with Lola to the stable. I left her in her stall and met Riley outside. He had Star eating out of his palm. The lead rope was hooked to the halter.
“Does this horse dance?” he asked me.
“They all do,” I answered.
Was I about to get a show?
The chorus came back around as they passed through the gate.
Sway, sway, sway.
Riley’s hips began to sway back and forth, and after a moment, Star figured out what was going on. He threw his head up and down and then took a step forward and then one to the left. He came back to the right and then took a step back. Riley took three steps forward, and Star followed. Riley moved his hips again, and Star repeated the last few steps. They made their way to the barn as the song finished and the next song kicked on.
“React” by the Pussycat Dolls came through the speakers. It was ironic because all Riley and I did was react to each other, like a giant chemical reaction. The problem with that was it’s difficult to control our reactions. One of us would end up getting burned in this agreement, likely me.
I called Skully, who came trotting over. I hooked his lead and quickly pulled him across the lawn. I could feel Riley’s eyes on us, on me, again.
Before we entered the barn, I rocked my hips again to the beat, and Skully took a few steps to the left and right. I danced a circle around him, and he followed me in the circle. I gave him the distance he needed to comfortably make the turn. When we finished, I walked him to his stall.
Riley already had his last horse Iris. He was walking her across the lawn while moving to the beat. She followed his every move with her eyes. When he moved left, so did she. When he backed up, she followed. He dropped to the ground in some choreographed move, and her head went down with him. She seemed to be infatuated, and she was also very pregnant.
“How many sugar cubes did she get?” I asked, knowing what this was about.
“Three,” he sing-songed as he walked through the stable doors.
That’s why she was loving on him, I had to tell myself. I smiled at the thought. I would have followed him without the sugar cubes if I was her.
I led my last horse into the stall as there was a song change.
“Cake by the Ocean” came on,and I started dancing in the hall, pretending that the lead rope was a mic. The music had taken over, and my heart felt lighter. I hoped Riley wouldn’t laugh at me. I didn’t think he was dumb enough to do that, not when music was his language, too.
I moved my legs and my hips, rocking to the beat. Riley grabbed my hand and spun me around so that I was facing him as I danced. He had joined me, and we were both dancing independently, but together. I could feel something here in the air, bouncing between us and the walls of the stable, but couldn’t find a name for it, and it stopped too soon. When the song was over, I stopped, breathing hard, and felt the loss of whatever that feeling had been. Riley had a look in his eyes that told me he could have done that all day. I had no doubts about that given his lifestyle.
Did he feel what I felt, though?
“The tack,” I said breathlessly.
