"All right, Baby Sister.We can't stay long today either.We're meeting Paul and Steve at The Stallion.I'll show Siri the creek, then we'll head back."
"Sounds good.I'll leave Flash in the paddock.Turn Blue and Flicka in with him when you leave.I'll be back tomorrow morning to check on them."
"Siri, it's been a pleasure!I've never met anyone Aurei has dated before.I guess he was holding out for you.Bro, she appears to have been worth waiting for."She turns Flash back to the barn, and they walk off.A few seconds later, she shouts."Beautiful tits, by the way."
Aurei rolls his eyes at that and turns Blue toward the gate where the mishap occurred.Flicka and I follow, trotting up to walk alongside."So, you've never brought anyone around Ann?Why not?She's awesome!Please don't say it's because she is gay.That would break my heart on so many levels."
"No."He laughs."Not because she is gay.She is awesome."
"Then why not?"I ask, curious.
"I don't play games."
"What game is that?"I ask, confused.
"The drama queen game.You know, you see a hot chick.You talk to her.She responds.You ask for her digits.She gives them to you.You call her.There is drama.You go out on a date.There is more drama.You take her home.More drama.You don't go in because of the drama, so there's more drama.You don't call her back.Even more drama."
I start to laugh, then I laugh harder and harder.Before I know it, I'm laughing so hard that I'm leaning over the saddle horn with tears streaming down my face.Aurei laughs, too, but only because it's contagious."What?What's so funny?"
I try to tell him, but I keep busting out with new laughter every time I open my mouth to speak.He pulls Blue up and sits there laughing and waiting for me to gain control.Finally, I catch my breath."Drama?Really?You picked me up on the side of the road last night in the wee hours walking home from a party of Swingers in my stripper dress.We make out in the elevator.I go home alone!I text you.We are hooking up when you discover I'm a virgin, and you stop cold.I beg you to fuck me.We argue about it!You finally bust my cherry.We make crazy, beautiful sex then and again in the shower this morning, but only after I ball, sobbing!I confess my secrets, tell you who I am and what I do, then tell you the wildest tale about what happened last night at said Swingers cock and tail party."I start giggling again."Aurei, what on earth constitutes drama to you?"
He laughs out loud with me now."I see your point."Blue starts to walk, and Flicka follows automatically.They continue down the trail then up a hill."But that's real drama, not some made-up shit like whose fingernail polish doesn't match their clothes, or who's gained weight, or what hair color they should be."
I wipe my eyes."So, you said you gave up dating … but I know you didn't give up fucking."
He smirks."No, I didn't give up fucking."
"Well?"
"I preferred to do my fucking in Rome."
"That's a long way to go to fuck.How often do you go?"
"Did go.I haven't been back since November."
"Oh.Ok.When you did fuck in Rome, did you fuck anyone in particular?"
"No.I used a modeling agency for my hookups."
"Oh," I say, surprised again."Any preferred regular models?"
He laughs."No preferred.No regulars.No preferred regulars.A different one every trip."He points to the creek."We're here."
As the horses crest the hill, then continue down to it, I look onto a scene right out of a picture book.The crystal clear creek water flows slowly along a sandy bank.There is one big oak tree next to it on our side, but Oak trees line the bank of the other."Wow!It's beautiful."He dismounts as I stare and walks around to me, then holds his arms up.I lean over and slip out of the saddle.He gently sets me down and slides his fingers between mine as we walk down to the edge of the water."Is this spring-fed?"
"Yes, it is."
"It's so clear.It's hard to tell how deep it is."I pick up a small rock and throw it in.We watch the ripples spread out as it sinks to the bottom."It's deep."
He chuckles."Yes, it is."
I lay my head on his arm and look out across to the trees on the other side."Hey!"I point."Is that a tree swing?"
"Yes, it is.Ann and I spent a lot of summers here, swimming in the creek, swinging off that rope, and dropping into the ice-cold water."
"I can't wait to do that!I've never done it before."I grin at him and put my head back on his arm, watching the creek flow.Then a sobering thought sneaks in, and I stiffen.Neither of us has had a relationship before.I squeeze his hand for reassurance and hug his arm tight.
"Why the frown, Baby Thang?"
