Horse Play (Horse Play Series Book 1)

by A. D. Ryan

  Sure enough, as Jensen finished speaking, a male server came over with our drinks. “Hi there. I’m Alex. First, I’d like to apologize for Tiff. She’s not really the easiest person to deal with, and I can only imagine what really happened.”

  “Oh, it was nothing,” I assured him.

  Alex was great. He took our order and checked on us whenever he noticed our drinks had gotten low, and also in a way that didn’t feel intrusive when we were eating or talking. As we stood from the table after eating, Jensen tipped him generously before wrapping his arm around me and leading me from the diner and to the car. I thought it was sweet, and maybe even read a little too much into the gesture until I looked over my shoulder and saw Tiff. He’d done it to keep up the façade I’d established. Nothing more.

  So why did it kind of bum me out?

  We roamed the aisles of the grocery store slowly, grabbing both things that were on the list and others that weren’t. As I pushed the cart, I paid close attention to a lot of Jensen’s impulse buys. As it turned out, the man had quite the sweet tooth. With a couple bags of chocolate chip cookies—the good, chunky chocolate chip cookies—and the ingredients to make homemade brownies in our cart, I watched as he stood and debated which ice cream he wanted.

  “You are going to wind up in a sugar-induced coma, Jensen Davis,” I teased.

  He laughed, keeping his eyes ahead on the freezer. “Not if you help me eat it.”

  “Mmmm …” I said contemplatively. “I’ll be honest, if you want me to eat ice cream, it has to be vanilla.”

  Jensen grimaced. “Vanilla? Isn’t that kind of boring?”

  “Hardly!” I countered as I left the cart and moved in front of him to grab a carton of vanilla ice cream. “I mean, on its own? Sure, it can be.” I dropped the ice cream in the cart next to all the other junk. “But, with the right toppings it can be anything but dull. Trust me.”

  Jensen seemed skeptical, but he walked away from the freezer. “What kind of toppings?” There was something in his tone that led me to believe we weren’t just talking about ice cream.

  Deciding to play along, I shrugged. “Well, your chocolate chip cookies would be amazing crumbled up on top of a chocolate sundae. There’s also the brownies you’ll bake. Add a few bits of that and I guarantee you’d be in heaven.” We resumed walking so we could go and pick up a few of these toppings. “Then, we’ve got the classics: strawberries, caramel, chocolate sauce … whipped cream …”

  Through the corner of my eye I caught Jensen smirking, and I could only assume he was coming up with some deliciously kinky idea of eating an ice cream sundae off my body. While I imagined it would be quite sticky, the idea of hopping in my over-sized bathtub with him afterward seemed even more appealing and worth the mess.

  Feeling the need to know if he was thinking what I was now thinking, I nudged him with my elbow. “You know, we wouldn’t even need bowls.”

  “Are you trying to kill me?”

  “Asks the man who bought enough junk food to force an elephant into diabetic shock,” I challenged. “You said vanilla was boring. I’m just showing you that just because something seems plain doesn’t mean it has to be.”

  Jensen grabbed my arm gently to stop me and turned me to face him. “Finally able to see that, huh?” Placing his thumb and forefinger under my chin, he tilted my face up to his, kissing me softly.

  If he wasn’t careful, he was going to make me think he had feelings for me. Or worse, treat me so well that mine developed for him.

  With a breathless sigh, I thought about what he said in regards to my statement. “I wasn’t talking about me,” I confessed, grabbing the front of his shirt to keep him close. “But, I suppose with the right things on top, even I could be a little more exciting.”

  “You’re terrible,” he told me with a laugh. “Come on, there are only a few more things on the list.”

  After paying, Jensen and I loaded everything into the box of the truck and headed for home. We had just left Savannah when Jensen’s phone rang between us. His eyes lit up as he recognized the number on the navigation screen in his dashboard and he connected the call on the touch screen, activating his Bluetooth system. “Lilah-Bean! How’s it going?”

  “Ugh! I wish you’d stop calling me that.” Her voice as it rang through the car was beautiful. Instantly I pictured someone tall—but not as tall as Jensen or his father—with lighter hair than Jensen’s … not quite the same brown, maybe a little warmer and on the chocolaty side … and the same blue eyes as him.

  I watched Jensen as he reacted to what his sister said with a smile so big it caused the outer corners of his eyes to crinkle. “Come on, I’ve been calling you that since you were three. It can’t bother you that much?”

  She let out a loud, exasperated sigh. “No, what bothers me is that Kyle has taken to calling me that now, too.”

  Jensen laughed loudly. “Well, I can’t help that. I’m not his keeper.”

  “You encourage it!” she argued.

  Scoffing, Jensen looked at me as I silently giggled at their exchange. “Please! I do not encourage his behavior. Besides, it’s not my fault you used to hide your beans up your nose.”

  Lilah groaned, and I stifled a laugh. As an only child, I was completely fascinated by their banter. Willow and I were close, and had been since we were both in elementary school, but this was something unlike what the two of us shared.

  “So, what’s up?” Jensen asked. “With the wedding coming up, I know you can’t be calling just to chat. You have to have a ton of shit to get done.”

  “Shit? My wedding plans are not ‘shit’!” she screamed into the phone, sounding genuinely offended.

  Turning to me with fear in his eyes, I giggled. “I’m sorry, you’re right. You must have a ton of important things to do. Not shit. Definitely not shit.” He shook his head and mouthed “wow.”

  Silence filled the car on our end for a moment as I assumed Lilah was calming herself down. “Um, I just wanted to make sure that things weren’t going to be weird … at the wedding, I mean.”

  “Weird? Why would things be weird?” he inquired, furrowing his brow with confusion.

  “Well,” she whispered. “Because Kaylie will be there … remember? And Mom says you’re bringing a date.”

  Jensen’s face instantly hardened into an angry scowl. “What?” he demanded. “You can’t be fucking serious, Lilah. No. Absolutely not—!” I reached over and placed my hand over Jensen’s as it remained stationary on the gear shift.

  “Please, Jensen. This is my wedding day. I know things didn’t work out between you two, and I’m happy that you’re finally getting settled into your new life after what happened. But whatever it was that happened between the two of you, I need you to forget about it for one day, okay? She’s my friend.”

  My head snapped to Jensen, and I could see his jaw clenching tightly as he tried to keep himself calmish. Squeezing his hand seemed to relax him a little, and he looked at me appreciatively. “They don’t know?” I mouthed, only to have Jensen shrug sadly and move his hand to twine our fingers together. He needed support, and I was only too happy to lend him some.

  “Jensen?” Lilah asked, panic in her voice.

  “Yeah,” he responded. “I’ll, uh … forget about it. For you. Can I ask one favor, though?” There was no answer, so Jensen took that as his cue to continue. “If you’re planning a seating chart for the reception, don’t put me anywhere near her. I may be able to play nice, but I can’t imagine—”

  “Oh! Yeah. Done. However …”

  Jensen groaned. “I don’t like where this is going, Lilah,” he warned.

  From the other end of the call, she laughed nervously. “Yes, well there’s usually never any pleasing you, now is there?”

  “Spit it out.”

  “You do realize you’ll probably see her at some point. Talk to her, even.”

  Jensen groaned. “Not if I can help it,” he muttered. Sighing with defeat when he rea
lized she was right, he conceded. “I’ll be on my best behavior. Cross my heart. But you might want to tell your friend to keep her distance from me as well.”

  “Thank you!” she exclaimed. “Oh … What?” she whispered to someone on her end of the phone. “Right, right. Jensen? Kyle wants me to ask if you’re going to be at the hotel to get ready with him and Gavin?”

  Jensen looked to me for my reaction; I simply nodded. “Um, yeah. Madison and I will get into Memphis the night before the wedding and check in. Just have Kyle text me with the hotel suite number.”

  After Jensen and Lilah ended their call, Jensen looked over at me briefly. “I know you don’t know anyone who’s going to be at the wedding, so you are probably welcome to hang out with me and the guys. It’s just, as Kyle’s best man, I should probably be there.”

  “No, of course. It’s fine. I can even stay in our room and get ready while you guys are doing your thing. It’s fine.” A thought suddenly occurred to me. “Actually, since it’s in the city, I can maybe sneak over to Willow’s spa and get my hair done.”

  Jensen nodded a few times, keeping his focus on the road ahead before something flashed in his eyes. “Our room?”

  “Oh … uh …” I stammered nervously, my face burning bright. “Sorry, I just assumed. Of course we’ll be getting separate rooms.”

  Chuckling, Jensen squeezed my hand. “Relax. I would love it if we shared a room. I just wasn’t sure how to bring it up.”

  “Speaking of being unsure how to broach a subject,” I interjected, biting my bottom lip as I thought about keeping my next thoughts to myself.

  Jensen sighed, releasing my hand so he could place his back on the wheel with the other. “You’re wondering why I never told my family what Kaylie did?” I nodded. “Kaylie is one of the only friends Lilah had left after the attack.”

  “Do you …” I took a deep breath, afraid of the answer to the question that burned the tip of my tongue like acid “… still, um, love her?”

  Jensen shook his head emphatically. “There was a time I loved her. But her betrayal destroyed any feelings I had for her. Even though I hate Kaylie for what she did, I can’t take Lilah’s friendship away from her. She’s already lost so much.”

  Uncomfortable silence filled the empty spaces where Jensen’s pain had left room. Having not been through what he had, I wasn’t sure what I could say or do to offer him any solace. I could think of plenty of things to do to take his mind off of it for the moment, but nothing that would help him move forward to get past Kaylie’s betrayal.

  “I want two,” I blurted out without even thinking, causing Jensen’s head to turn suddenly. I really hadn’t been meaning to say anything, not knowing what it was I should say as a follow-up. But, now that the cat was out of the bag, I just decided to go with it.

  “You want to what?” he asked, clearly misunderstanding what I was saying.

  “Kids. I’ve always pictured having two.” Dropping my eyes to my lap, I fidgeted with my short nails. “I’m an only child, and I always wondered what having a sibling would be like. My mom died when I was young, so they never got around to having another one—obviously. Willow is as close to a sister as I’ll get, and I’m grateful for her, but I still always wondered.” I sucked in a deep breath and waited for his reaction to my confession. God, we had only known each other a few weeks. He moved in the first day we met. We weren’t even dating, yet we’d done unspeakably dirty things to each other in our kitchen, and now I was talking kids with him.

  Jensen chuckled, and through the corner of my eye I watched him return his complete attention to the road instead of multi-tasking between me and his driving. “Five.”

  “Five?” I squeaked. “You do know how children are born, right?” My breaths grew shallow, my chest tightening as an anxiety attack started to rear its ugly head. There was no way I could birth five children. “I’d be willing to compromise.”

  “Why, Madison Landry, are you telling me you want to bear my five children?” Oh fuck. Were we just sharing numbers? We weren’t even together, and here I am acting like we’ve got this huge elaborate future together. My foot should just relocate to my mouth permanently.

  Swallowing thickly, I tried to find a way to backpedal my way out of this situation. “Um, well. You said that you and Kaylie never had this conversation until … well, until it was too late. And I figured that … um … well …”

  “You are so adorable when you’re freaking out.” He laughed. “What’s your compromise? It could make-or-break whether or not we could ever have a real relationship beyond this,” he joked, winking at me.

  While I knew what we had was just a fling, hearing him say that there was a possibility for a relationship made me want to jump out of the car and do back flips and cartwheels … well, if I was coordinated enough to do them, I suppose. However, I held my composure and answered his question. “Three. Three and a dog would be my compromise.”

  Seeming happy with my answer, he nodded. “All right. I think I can agree to three. And a dog, of course.”

  “Should we shake on it?” I asked with a laugh, relaxing a little as we pulled into our driveway and parked in front of the house.

  “That seems so impersonal. Especially when negotiating how many children you’re promising to give me,” Jensen said slyly as he unbuckled his seat belt and leaned across the console. Our lips were mere inches apart as he clicked the release on my seat belt, eyeing me intensely. “I think a kiss would be much more appropriate.”

  I nodded lightly as Jensen’s left hand cradled my face and pulled it toward his, our lips moving together tenderly. Chuckling, Jensen pulled back, his blue eyes sparkling. “Now remember, an oral contract is binding in the state of Tennessee.”

  Unable to contain my laughter, I shoved him back and opened my car door to start taking the groceries inside. “You’re twisted. I don’t know what I ever saw in you.”

  Jensen closed his own door after getting out. “I’m not going to lie, your love of all things sci-fi seems to be your only positive attribute right now.”

  “Oh, really?” I demanded, raising my eyebrows and grabbing three bags from the box of the truck.

  Shrugging, he grabbed the final four bags and followed me to the house. “Okay, and your ass. You have a great ass.”

  “Ha!” I cried as I walked into the kitchen and set my bags on the counter next to the fridge. “And I’m terrible. You, Jensen Davis are—”

  Before I could finish, Jensen dropped his bags to the floor and spun me around until he had me pinned between him and the island. My body started trembling as the memories from this morning came back strong, and I wanted nothing more than for him to give an encore of this morning’s performance.

  “What? What am I, Madison?” His lips ghosted mine, never touching down fully before brushing over my jaw and down my neck, where he lightly kissed the darkening mark he had left earlier.

  “Huh? I … um …” All conscious thought had left my brain as his mouth continued to kiss my throat. “What was the question?”

  With a satisfied snicker, Jensen pushed away from me, causing me to shake my head clear of his spell. “Yeah, that’s what I thought,” he told me cockily as he bent down to retrieve his bags of groceries and put them away.

  Staring at him for a few minutes, I tried to slow my racing heart before I went into cardiac arrest. I thought back to what I was trying to say—amending it to fit with recent events. “A tease. You, Jensen Davis, are a tease.” He didn’t try to deny my accusation at all; instead, he winked and continued to put food in the fridge and pantry.

  “Come on,” Jensen said, grabbing my hand and pulling me toward the groceries that still needed to be put away. “If you want to go for a ride this afternoon, we need to get all of this put away.”

  “Sorry, Dad.”

  Jensen cringed. “Please, don’t ever call me that. Don’t get me wrong, your dad’s a great guy, but I’ve done things to you that takes that to a whole new l
evel of disturbing.”

  With a disturbed laugh, I concurred. “Okay, I see your point. I’m sorry.”

  When the groceries were put away, Jensen and I headed outside to check on everything before we grabbed Ransom and Halley and went for our afternoon ride. I was excited to go back out to the field with Jensen.

  Of course, I should have known it was too good to be true. As soon as we got Ransom and Halley inside, the skies opened up with a torrential downpour. It was rare to get this much rain this time of year, but not unheard of.

  “It’s okay,” Jensen assured me. “We’ll go again before winter. I promise.”

  Heartbroken, I looked at him. “I know, I was just excited. To ride. To be with you.”

  “Well, one out of two of those things isn’t so bad, is it?” With wide, innocent eyes, he awaited my answer, and I saw this as the perfect opportunity to get him back for when we were in the kitchen. Sure, I wasn’t going to tease him sexually, but teasing was teasing. It didn’t always have to be about sex. Plus, when I teased him about sex, it only teased me too. Why would I do that to myself?

  I placed my hand on his cheek, rubbing the scruff he had left there this morning and smiled. “You’re right. I think I’ll go ride in the indoor arena.” I turned and headed for the locker room because I was serious about riding inside.

  His heavy footsteps were heard behind me, and I smiled. “Oh, funny,” he said as he helped me grab my saddle and brushes from my top locker before grabbing Ransom’s tack.

  “Thanks,” I said cheerfully. “I have my moments.”

  Jensen and I rode for an hour, and as we did, we talked and worked on training Ransom while I allowed Halley to get used to being ridden again. Cantering was still a little too much on my ribs, but I knew well enough not to push myself if I wanted to stay out of the ER. Thankfully, it wasn’t as bad as it used to be.