Drew and I leaned forward, still holding on to our horses, and our lips touched. His were smooth and dry, but not chapped. Zings of electricity pinged through my body. My head felt as though it was going to spin off my neck. We separated, and my grin was as wide as his.
“That’s for good luck,” Drew said. He winked and turned Polo around, leading him toward the stable exit.
ICING ON THE CONFETTI CAKE
I STOOD, ROOTED TO THE floor, for a moment. My lips tingled like I’d applied one too many coats of Lip Venom. Finally I took a huge deep breath and walked Whisper outside. I checked her girth, mounted, and leaned down to either side to fix my stirrup leathers. I looked over as a rider in a black helmet and jacket stopped her chestnut horse beside me.
Oh, mon Dieu! Sasha Silver.
“Hey, Lauren,” Sasha said, her tone friendly. The older rider looked over, smiling. Her light-brown hair was in a ponytail under her helmet. She looked so pretty in the most minimal makeup—a thin line of black eyeliner on her upper eyelids, a dusting of gray eye shadow, cheeks that needed no blush, and a coat of mascara. I was glad I’d taken my time with my own appearance this morning.
My own hair was in a neat bun, I had dusted my T-zone with powder, and I’d applied EOS lemon lip balm.
“H-hi, Sasha,” I stammered. I wanted to smack my forehead. Keep your cool!
“I can’t believe this is the last show of the season,” Sasha said. She leaned down and rubbed Charm’s neck. The beautiful gelding gleamed. His coat shone from hours of care and love from Sasha. He stood calm and relaxed, an ear flicked back in Sasha’s direction.
Under me, I felt Whisper’s muscles let go, and she dropped her head to sniff muzzles with Charm. The two horses exchanged greetings—blowing into each other’s noses.
Whisper looked away, blinking. Then she glanced back shyly at Charm. Sasha and I started laughing.
“Looks like someone has a crush,” I said. I patted Whisper’s shoulder. “And no, I can’t believe show season’s over for this year either. It went by so fast.”
“You’re showing intermediate, right?” Sasha asked.
I nodded. “I wish Mr. Conner had offered advanced team testing before Christmas, but I can’t try out for the team until I get back from break.”
“You sound just like me when I was in your position,” Sasha said. She focused her green eyes on me. “I was always ready to go, go, go. Always ready for the next thing. And the next thing. And whatever after that. I was terrified, of course, all along the way, but I made myself work through my fear.”
“I try to model my riding after yours,” I said, hoping she wouldn’t think I was stalker-y.
Sasha grinned and put a hand over her heart. “I’m flattered, really. But don’t try to be like me. Or at the very least, don’t try to be like that version of me.”
“Why? Look where you ended up.”
“It’s not that I’m not grateful to be where I am or unhappy about any of the choices I made,” Sasha answered. “But there are some things I wish I’d done a little different. Like slow down. Enjoy the moment and savor where I am. Be happy about my current accomplishment and not push myself to be ready for the next hurdle.”
I nodded, taking in her every word.
“I was so eager to get to the advanced team and then the Youth Equestrian National Team that I was superstressed all of the time. I wanted everything to move faster, and I always felt like I had to catch up.”
“To who?” I asked.
Sasha shifted Charm’s reins into one hand and relaxed her posture. “To no one, actually. I thought that because I was from Union and had no training, I had to be at a certain level to even be noticed against my friends—riders like Callie Harper and Heather Fox.”
“I’ve heard of them,” I said. “I heard rumors that Heather’s your arch-nemesis or something.”
Sasha waved a hand in the air. “Ancient history. That’s part of what I’m talking about—stressing over the wrong things, like my ‘war’ against Heather. We wasted so much time pitting ourselves against each other. If we’d just applied that to riding, we would been so much better for it.”
I considered everything Sasha said. She was wise beyond her years, and I’d be an idiot not to take every morsel of advice from her that I could. Around us, horses and riders headed toward different arenas to wait for the start of their classes. I was glad to have Sasha distracting me from worrying about the show.
“Honestly, I can’t imagine ever getting to where you are in your head. I’m constantly trying to do just what you said—be ready for the next thing and train around the clock.” Whisper shifted her back legs. “I feel like I’ll always be the new girl from Union, with a background that I have to live up to.”
“Your background doesn’t define who you are now,” Sasha said. She smiled at me. “You, in this moment, define yourself. You’re not the new girl. You’re not the Union girl. Or the dressage champion girl. You’re the Canterwood girl. You’re Lauren Towers, intermediate rider.”
I grinned. “I like how that sounds.”
Sasha laughed. “I know exactly what you mean. Don’t let old memories from the past alter how you approach your classes today. It doesn’t mean you can forget everything, but you have to try and leave it where it belongs—in the past.”
I took a deep breath. “In the past.”
“Embrace who you are, Lauren,” Sasha said. “The Lauren you are now is pretty darn cool.”
I blushed. I couldn’t believe Sasha had just said that!
“Thank you so much,” I said.
“My dreams came true the day I got my acceptance letter to Canterwood,” Sasha said. “Everything else—every passed class, every ribbon, every good lesson—it’s all icing on a giant confetti cake.”
Her words made me smile. “You’re right. I am so lucky to be here and, in contrast to what you just said, every failed test, lost ribbon, bad lesson—those are all things that can be improved. What better place to do it than Canterwood?”
“I know that you and I both tried so hard to get here,” Sasha said. She looked over at me. “Sometimes I think we forget and don’t appreciate that we have something people dream of.”
“I never want to take Canterwood for granted,” I said. “If I ever do, I don’t deserve to be here.”
“Agreed. Every sacrifice we made to get here was worth it. It paid off and we, two girls from Union, Connecticut, are enrolled at one of the most prestigious boarding schools on the East Coast and training with one extremely talented instructor.”
“I don’t regret a second of the clichéd blood, sweat, and tears that it took me to get here.” I smiled, shaking my head slightly. “And there were a lot of tears.”
“There’s no telling if your future will be full of more tears or laughs,” Sasha said. “My future is just as uncertain. I could fall off Charm and break my arm tomorrow. But our lives would be just as unpredictable no matter where we were.”
“Absolutely. If we both still rode at Briar Creek, we wouldn’t have a crystal ball to tell us where we’d be today or tomorrow.” I leaned forward and stroked Whisper’s neck.
“I wouldn’t want my future to be determined anywhere but here,” Sasha declared.
“Me either,” I said.
We sat in silence for a moment. I looked out across the arenas, parking lot, stable, and pens. Dozens of horses walked, trotted, and cantered on the grounds. Riders put their horses through half-passes, jumped over tall oxers, and walked along the fence of the big arena. Shiny trailers filled the parking lot, and riders and their instructors loaded and unloaded bundled-up horses from the trailers. Mr. Conner, crutches and all, motioned for a group of younger riders to enter one of the warm-up rings.
Finally I looked at the stable. The black-and-white barn I’d stared at, wide-eyed, on my first day here. The white with black trim looked as if it had just been washed. A few horses were tied to the outdoor tie rings and being tacked up. Horses that weren
’t being showed today had their heads over stall windows, taking in the busyness outside. The stable didn’t look overwhelming and frightening like it did on day one. Now it looked like Whisper’s home. Just like Canterwood was mine.
After break, I was coming back with a new attitude. I wanted to take Sasha’s advice to heart. I’d follow my dreams, but I wouldn’t rush through one phase of my life here just to get to the next. I’d worked hard to get to Canterwood, and I owed it to myself to take in every second of my accomplishment. I was prepared to work through the bad spots, too. Even if I failed a test, it didn’t mean I should drop that class. Even if I had a bad riding lesson, it didn’t mean I deserved to berate myself for days. I couldn’t wait for January, when I could have a fresh start with a new semester.
The loudspeaker crackled. “And now,” a voice said, “may we please have intermediate riders competing in the dressage class to arena A and members of our YENT to arena D.”
Sasha and I looked at each other.
“That’s us,” Sasha said. She picked up the reins, and her movements woke up Charm. He looked ready to go.
Sasha reached into her jacket pocket, pulled out a watermelon Lip Smacker, and smoothed it over her lips.
I laughed. “Now that’s a rumor confirmed! You are a gloss addict!”
Giggling and giving a who me? shrug, Sasha offered it to me. I took it from her, putting on the smooth gloss.
I handed it back to her, and Sasha squeezed my hand. “It’s my lucky gloss,” she said. “I’d wish you luck, but you don’t need it. You have talent on your side.”
I smiled my thanks to the girl who, whether she wanted to believe it or not, had changed my life in more ways than she’d ever know.
“Team Canterwood!” Sasha cheered.
“For the win!” I chimed in.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Twenty-five-year-old Jessica Burkhart (a.k.a. Jess Ashley) writes from Brooklyn, New York. She’s obsessed with sparkly things, lip gloss, and TV. She loves hanging with her bestie, watching too much TV, and shopping for all things Hello Kitty. Learn more about Jess at www.JessicaBurkhart.com. Find everything Canterwood Crest at www.CanterwoodCrest.com.
Other books in the
CANTERWOOD CREST SERIES:
TAKE THE REINS
CHASING BLUE
BEHIND THE BIT
TRIPLE FAULT
BEST ENEMIES
LITTLE WHITE LIES
RIVAL REVENGE
HOME SWEET DRAMA
CITY SECRETS
ELITE AMBITION
SCANDALS, RUMORS, LIES
UNFRIENDLY COMPETITION
CHOSEN
INITIATION
POPULAR
COMEBACK
MASQUERADE
JEALOUSY
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
ALADDIN M!X
Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division
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First Aladdin M!X edition June 2013
Copyright © 2013 by Jessica Burkhart
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.
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ALADDIN M!X and related logo are registered trademarks of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
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Designed by Jessica Handelman
The text of this book was set in Venetian 301 BT.
Library of Congress Control Number 2013931643
ISBN 978-1-4424-3659-6
ISBN 978-1-4424-3660-2 (eBook)
Famous Page 14