by Ashlee Price
“Where is she?” Clint’s eyes darted around until he heard his friend laughing.
“She has flown the coop and is headed back home. I see that you were sleeping in bed with me when I woke up and not with her.”
Clint shook his head and got up, his hands rubbing his face until it was red. “You were right, as you usually are.”
Trevor felt bad for him, but at least it was just a little crush that she had broken. Trevor had been head over heels in love with her and truth was if she ever changed her mind, he would be right there waiting again. “Sorry Clint, I tried to tell you.”
Clint wasn’t ready to give up. “There is always next time. It’s not like I will never see her again.”
Trevor had the same hope that his friend carried, but he was trying to move on. Clint was just getting started. There was just something about Mia.
***
Mia went back to school soon after the rodeo. She was trying to decide what she was going to do with herself, but her decision was made for her when her mother had an accident. She moved back home to Texas the day after she graduated and helped her with her physical therapy. She had fallen off of her horse while she was riding, the horse spooked from a snake. The result had been several broken bones and a lot of pain.
It was good to be back and she went to a few rodeos that Trevor was in. She seen Clint every time and even thought it was clear he wanted more than a kiss, there was never a moment like they had shared before. It was a fluke she assured herself, but then again, he crossed her mind every now and then. Mia even found herself comparing first kisses to his and never once did she get the same level of heat that they had shared. In a way, Clint had ruined her dating life. It was hard to settle for mediocre, when she knew there was better out there and no one else was giving her the same spark as Clint.
Trevor was in a rodeo twenty miles from where she lived and since her mom was doing better, Mia decided to go see him. His girlfriend Ana was supposed to be there and she told Trevor that she wanted to meet her. In reality, she was curious to see Clint again. The last time they had seen each other, he had tried to pull her to the side, but they had been interrupted before he could say or do anything. She was still wondering what it was that he was going to say.
She dressed up a bit more than she usually did in tight jeans and ever wore a cowboy hat. Her shirt was tied in the front and she left her hair down for once. It was the kind of girl that Clint would look at when they passed in the arena and she wanted to make him see her that day. Mia liked flirting with him and his smooth words, but what she really wanted was another kiss like before. She had convinced herself that it hadn’t been that great, just built-up in her mind. When she saw him coming towards her in the stands, she started to question her own theory.
“I thought I saw you up here underneath that hat. You are looking beautiful as always Mia. Are you here to see me?”
She saw the hope in his eyes. “No, I was supposed to meet Ana tonight. Have you seen Trevor?”
“Not yet. He will be here though. I see him less and less since the two got engaged.”
“They are engaged?”
“I was supposed to keep that a secret, so don’t tell him I told you.”
She zipped her lips. “Mum’s the word. But that is great right? Do you like her?”
“She is alright, treats him good, but what can I say, she is no you though.”
“I hope not. Me and Trevor drive each other crazy.”
“Do you mind if I sit down for a while? If I stay up here, I won’t get recognized as much.”
“Sure, the adoring fans are bothering you?”
He sat down next to her, the wooden bench bowing slightly under his weight. His hard bicep brushed against her upper arm and she felt warmth spread from the touch. “I just want one.”
Mia looked away and scanned the crowd looking for her brother with a hot face. “Why do you play so much Clint?”
“Why do you think I am playing?”
She glanced back at him. “Because you look at me like I am the only woman here.”
“You are the only woman here to me.”
Mia saw Trevor and was thankful for the distraction. She waved the couple over and she had to admit that Ana looked more like her than she had expected. Standing up, she shook her hand and then hugged her when he introduced her as his fiancée. There were congratulations in order and they promised to meet at a local bar when they were done competing. Ana sat up in the stands with Mia and by the time they were headed out for a drink, they were becoming fast friends. Ana was nothing like Mia once she got to know her and though she had been worried about meeting her, Mia could see why he was going to marry her. Ana had a great personality and it made Mia more relaxed to know that like Clint had said Trevor was in good hands.
They all rode to the bar together, Clint driving and her in the passenger seat. The two lovebirds didn’t pay them much mind, but it got Mia thinking about the kiss with Clint and what it would feel like to have Clint pressed up against her again. She looked over at his profile in the darkened car and tried to ignore the way she felt so breathless around him.
She looked behind her and the two were making out. The car stopped and parked and Clint looked over at her finally, their eyes meeting. He wanted it as much as she did. “Why don’t we go in and give them some time to be alone?”
Mia agreed, trying not to laugh at the fact that they didn’t even seem to notice that he had said anything. She followed Clint in and set next to him at the bar. He had that look on his face again, the one that made her heart flutter. “So Ana seems nice.”
He nodded. Ordering a drink for both of the, Clint looked back at her and moved closer. “When are we going to admit it?”
“Admit what?”
“That you are meant for me.”
Mia laughed, but it wasn’t taken well from Clint. “I’m serious Mia. You are all I can think about. You can’t tell me that you haven’t spent time in bed thinking of me.”
She wasn’t going to agree or disagree, but Mia was getting uncomfortable with the way he was looking at her. “I don’t think I need to tell you what is going on in my bed.”
He leaned in. “It’s all I can think about Mia.”
The bartender came back with the drinks and she thanked him, trying to forget what Clint had just said. Mia didn’t like cowboys, but like everything else, she seemed to make an exception for Clint. There was something about him that she just couldn’t shake.
“Do you like thinking about me lying in bed, naked and touching myself thinking of you Clint? Is that what you want to hear?”
He groaned while she giggled and took another sip. “Hey guys, I was wondering when you were going to stop sucking face enough to come in.”
Ana was embarrassed, but Trevor’s chest seemed to inflate with the talk of it. He smiled back at his girlfriend and Mia had a moment of jealousy for their love. She wondered if a man would ever look at her like that. Not just lust, but actual love.
Clint didn’t say much else, but once he saw that the couple was not going to stop, he asked Mia if she wanted to dance. She too was finding it hard to be around them, especially when it had been so long since she had felt the touch of a man. The soft gasp from Ana made her agree and she took his hand as he helped her up.
As soon as he pulled her body to his and started to move her around, Mia decided that it was far worse than watching her friend make out with the his fiancée. Clint held her too close, his knee sliding in between her legs to dip her and then pull her back up to splay against his chest as she moved to put her arms around his neck. “You dance like you ride a bull.”
Clint bent down and nipped her earlobe. “I like intensity in everything that I do.”
She shivered and he pulled away, moving her out and then back in. He was quite the dancer and she was having trouble keeping up. It seemed that Clint was full of all kinds of surprises and Mia was delighted with them all. When he pulled her back in onc
e last time, his lips came crashing down on hers with the same intensity as everything else. She moaned from the touch, pressing herself against him and hearing his own growl deep in his throat as she tried her best to pull him down to her more.
It was Clint that pulled away, not wanting to lose his cool in the middle of all of those people. “Let’s get out of here Mia.”
“We just got here Clint. I thought you wanted to dance?”
She turned around and pressed her back to him, one arm going around his neck. Mia wanted to drive him as crazy as she had been feeling. He had been right about sleepless nights with him on her mind. As she danced against him slowly, the hardness that grew behind her made her squirm. “Please tell me this is not just a tease.”
Mia turned back towards him, her own body screaming for more. They kissed again and then she finally agreed to be pulled along out of the bar. Forgetting the two that they had ridden with, Clint was trying to make it to a hotel, but instead drove towards his house. He wanted her in his own bed, not a strange one. It seemed too impersonal. Clint wanted it to be perfect.
Chapter 4
Mia woke up the next morning, sore and exhausted. She felt like she hadn’t even slept and when she moved, Clint pulled her up against his hard body. Mia gasped with the hardness sliding between her legs. It was only then that she realized that she wasn’t wearing any clothes.
Her eyes closed at the feel of him penetrating her. It was unexpected but not unwelcomed. His arm was tight around her waist, the other one underneath her neck, pulling her closer for a kiss. He was too big, touching all of her at once, stretching her beyond what she thought was possible. She had never been so full and satisfied in her life, but then it was over and Mia knew she had to leave. It had been few moments of bad judgment and when she left, she didn’t say anything, waiting until he got in the shower after another morning session.
Every step away from him reminded her of what he could do. Calling a cab, she rode home with a smile and a grimace alternating as she squeezed her thighs together from the memories. He was not what she had expected, rougher one minute than she could handle, the next moment gentle, touching her as if she was made from glass. Her cheeks burned with the memories as she got out and paid.
Mia went to the shower first, sighing into the hot water as she rinsed off the man’s essence. Her whole body had felt sticky the whole way home, compounding the guilt she felt for being so wanton the night before. She wondered if the two men would talk. If they did, Mia was sure that Trevor would never let her hear the end of it.
She got out and laid down, sleeping the rest of the morning before she was awaken by her phone. She didn’t recognize the number so she didn’t answer it. Pushing it off, she went back to bed, her whole body still tender from the night before. Mia slipped back off to sleep and then finally woke up when it was time for her shift at the local hospital.
Mia was dragging, but she found her way there. When she turned her phone back on, there were several more calls, some from the same unknown number and then several from Trevor. She knew that she was going to have to talk to him eventually, but Mia couldn’t talk to him right then. If he knew somehow, she didn’t know how she was going to talk to him about it. Clint wouldn’t have said anything so quickly, would he?
Ignoring the calls from both of them, Mia made her way back to school. She had some things to work out in her head and she still wasn’t sure how she felt about what had happened. It was as close to a sexual awakening as she was probably ever going to get, but it was too much, Clint was too much. Mia needed some time away from the rodeo scene and the hard-muscled riders.
She went to work the next day, still not talking to Trevor. When she finally did talk to him it was the next evening and he was acting strange. There was something in his voice and Mia wasn’t sure what was going on. “What’s up Trevor?”
“You sound so calm.”
“Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Because my dear friend Clint is over here with stars in his eyes. What did you do to him?”
“Trevor?” Her face was hot and pink-cheeked. She couldn’t believe that they were talking about it. It was never strange before to talk about other guys, but Clint was different in some way. “I don’t think we should be talking about this.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s weird.”
“It never was before. I just want to know what you did to him.”
Mia wasn’t going to answer. “We just hung out. Don’t you two have a competition tonight?”
“I do and Clint is all goo-goo eyed and isn’t going to make it three seconds on.”
She laughed a little. “He’ll be fine. So Ana is nice. I think you really picked a good one with her. When is the wedding?”
“Good change of subject, but I want to know what your intentions are with Clint.”
Mia shook her head. “I have no intentions Trevor. You know that. It was a one-off thing. You know I don’t like the brutish types.”
She heard him sigh on the other end. “I was afraid of that, though I did warn him.”
“What are you talking about? What did you warn him?”
“That you would break his heart.”
It wasn’t the first time she had heard that. “Ouch, am I really that bad?”
“Yes, but I don’t think you mean to be. Just give it a little distance, let him forget.”
Mia didn’t know what to say. She had not expected that, and when she hung up she blamed herself for being so callous with his friend. It was easier to not be there when he woke up, but she didn’t expect Trevor to get involved. He must mean a lot to him and that somehow made her feel even worse.
***
She was asked to stay away and give him time. Mia did exactly that, not seeing either one of them. It was hard to not see Trevor after all of her time away, but she didn’t want to make things worse. A month went by and she talked to him a couple of times, but he never invited her anywhere, so Mia figured her friend was still mad at her too. It was hard to deal with, the two of them only having a falling out when Trevor had hit on her and Mia had turned him down. Now it was like history replaying itself.
The longer she stayed away, the harder it was to see it changing. Then when she found out there was something else from her time with Clint, Mia needed her friend more than ever. But it was too complicated, too strange.
Mia was starting to show when Trevor called her out of the blue and told her that he was going to be in town. She wanted to see him, but she had been showing for over a month by then and Mia knew that he was going to see it. Her need to see him trumped the rest and she gave him her new address. When she saw him they hugged and then his visitor moved into the doorway and Mia stopped. “What is he doing here?”
She whispered the question in his ear as she took in Clint from over Trevor’s shoulder. Trevor pulled back and shrugged and then looked down at her middle. His eyes flicked to hers, asking her what he already knew was true. Mia pulled away from his grip and moved behind the countertop in the kitchen. “Would you guys like something to drink?”
Clint nodded. Trevor was still speechless and staring at her like she had grown a second head. “Trevor?”
“Yeah. Whatever you got Mia. So what’s new with you?”
Mia looked down and then went to the refrigerator. She had put on a sweatshirt to cover up her growing stomach, but Trevor had felt it and now he knew. “Not much, just been working at the hospital a lot more lately. How are the two of you doing? Haven’t seen you in a while.”
“It’s been busy. Trevor here is leading in points for the season. I think he might win it all.”
“Really? That’s great news Trevor.” She placed a couple of glasses in front of them. “What about you Clint?”
She met his eyes for only a second before looking down. “He’s dating Ana’s sister Tess.”
Her face fell and she didn’t see the look passed between the two men as she put the tea pitcher away. “Well t
hat’s good. Is she as lovely as Ana?”
Clint nodded. “Good. Where are they? I was hoping to see Ana while you were here.”
“She is with her family. We finally set the date.”
“Oh? When?”
“Next month.”
“That’s fast.”
He nodded and she guessed why it was happening so fast. “Well congrats on both fronts. That’s awesome Trevor. I knew you always wanted to start a family.”
She was happy for him, truly, but the conversation made her nervous. He was giving her that look, like she needed to say something, but Mia didn’t want to. She knew she had to eventually, but not right then.
The three talked for a while and Trevor got a couple of beers. He made a point to ask why she wasn’t drinking. “I just don’t anymore. Too many things happen when I do. I have a tendency to lose my head.”
Trevor glanced at her then. She was standing behind the counter while the men were in the stools. She wanted to sit down, her nerves racked with present company and her friend’s need to make it worse. Mia figured he was still mad at her for hurting his friend Clint, but he was going far beyond what she would have expected. Why did he want her to tell him so much?
“Ana hates that she can’t drink right now. As soon as she found out she was pregnant, that was the first thing that she had to give up.”
Mia cut him a glare and then excused herself to go to the bathroom. She went passed the one in the hallway and went through the master bedroom to the other one. Looking at herself through the mirror, she splashed water on her face and took a deep breath. She had prepared herself to talk to Trevor, not Clint. When she looked back up, the man that made her feel so crazy was standing at the doorway.
“Hey, I will just be a minute. There is another bathroom off the kitchen hallway.”
“Do you really have nothing to say to me? We have that night together and then radio silence for months.”
Clint was walking towards her and she forgot how big he was. “What do you want me to say? You are with someone now, it seems like you haven’t had that much trouble moving on.”