Page 11 of All of Us

“I’ll look forward to that.” There was no way I would discourage him. I slipped a halter on Amber and led her out of her stall.

Chapter four

JOE

As soon as I met Gentry, I liked him. There was an ease about him that made me relax, and his horse was as sweet as he was. When he had me tight against him while I fed Dusty apples, I thought my heart was going to pound out of my chest. I was pleased by his reaction to my offer to make it up to him.

Did he feel this thing between us, too?

“Do you eat dinner?” That was a stupid question, but it was out there now. He, of course, ate dinner, and did I really invite him over for dinner after knowing him for half an hour? His being a good person wasn’t in question. Martin Wilson had asked him to come over. The patriarch of the Wilson family didn’t mess around when it came to family, and he had told me more than once that I was one of his sons. I was drawn to Gentry—I’d only once before felt this instant chemistry. Why not pursue it? Is he even interested in me? Was he gay?

“I do eat dinner, Joe. Do you?” He put the saddle on Amber’s back. When he teased me, it wasn’t mean, and I liked it.

“Actually, I do. What a coincidence that we both like to eat dinner. Would you like to join me for one of those dinners?” I smiled and blinked at him, and I hoped he was flirting or at least he understood I was flirting.

He grinned at me. “Are you asking me on a date, Joe?”

I blushed. Was I asking him on a date? I hadn’t really thought of it that way, but I had liked the idea of getting to know him better. So maybe I was asking him on a date. At least he wasn’t explaining to me how he wasn’t single or that he wasn’t interested in men.

“Would you like me to ask you on a date, Gentry?” I figured we could play this word game a little longer.

“Would you like me to want you to be asking me on a date, Joe?”

I couldn’t help but laugh.“Yes.”

He stopped what he was doing, which I hadn’t been paying attention to. I hoped it wasn’t something I would need to know, or something I wouldn’t need to know, before he showed me again. He cocked his head at me.

“Yes? Like you are asking me out, or yes, you want me to want you to ask me out.” We both laughed for a few seconds.

“How about you come to my house for dinner tonight when we are done here. And yes, it can be a date if you are interested.” I really liked his smile and was rewarded with a bigger one when he looked at me.

“I would love to. Now, let’s get you up in the saddle. We will cover the groundwork next time.”

At the arena gate, I caught up to him, and I watched his eyes as they traveled up and down my body. It felt like a caress, and it was another thing I liked about Gentry. Then, he waved me through in front of him. Something told me that he watched my ass the whole time.

The four of us went to the middle of the arena. He turned to Dusty, “Hang out here.” The horse really was like a big dog. He stood calmly in the middle of the arena while Gentry walked Amber over to some steps.

“I’m nervous.” I wiped my palms on my jeans.

It was hard to say how much of the sweat was from the riding, and how much of it was from being around Gentry.

“Don’t be nervous. I’ve been told that Amber is the best girl and will take good care of you. I’ll be right here with you.”

My heart was beating hard, and this time I knew it wasn’t only because of the riding. Gentry made my insides do all kinds of fluttery things.

“Once you are on the top step, put your foot in the stirrup, pull yourself up, and throw your leg over her back. Then set that fine ass on the saddle.”

I let out a long breath. “I can do that.” I followed his directions and found myself on top of a horse. Amber shifted a little bit, and I grabbed onto the saddle horn.

He put his hand on my leg, which immediately relaxed and excited me at the same time. The fact that I felt the jolts of electricity from his hand into my thigh while I was sitting fifty feet in the air says a lot about my attraction to Gentry. I knew it wasn’t really fifty feet, but it felt really high.

He gave my knee a little squeeze. “Relax, Joe. I promise I won’t let you fall.”

That squeeze went directly to my groin. I looked down at him, and he smiled up at me.

“I am going to lead Amber around so you can get a feeling for the movement."

He placed his hand over mine on the horn, then pried my fingers off and set my hands gently on top of it.