“Yup. To get to know each other.”
“What’s your end goal there?” she asked.
“Umm, for him to realize that I’m not a terrible person and maybe for him to actually like me,” I admitted. Were those outrageous goals? No.
“My advice is to wear some tight riding pants and make sure he gets an eyeful of dat ass.”
“Yeahhhh,” I drawled playfully. “I’m not sure that advice aligns with my end goals.”
“Okay, yeah, you’re right. Instead you should douse yourself in water while you’re riding, but make sure you’re wearing a killer bra and a white shirt.”
“Still not correct.”
“Oh, right. Okay, I think you should pretend like you can’t get up onto the horse on your own so that he has to give you a boost… and maybe his hand slips… and maybe… you don’t have underwear on…”
“Cameron!” I yelled into the phone, forcing her to pause.
She cracked up in response to my reaction, but I’d had enough of my little sister for one day.
“Oddly enough, I don’t miss you anymore,” I joked.
“Lies. I’m your best friend. Mom and Dad would be proud,” she said lightheartedly. I smiled at her confidence. We used to not talk about our parents very often. After the car accident eight years ago, we’d both ventured through dark periods in our lives, dealing with grief in our own ways. Cammie had gone through a wild phase, and I’d focused on my music. For a while, I wasn’t sure Cammie would surface from her depression. For two years, I hadn’t said my parents’ names for fear that it would awaken those sad feelings again.
“You’re right. They would be. Good luck in the studio and please don’t sleep there again.”
“I won’t. Good luck with Jason and definitely do sleep there. Haha, did you see what I just did?”
She laughed all the way up until I hung up on her.
Chapter Eleven
I decided to take part of Cammie’s advice while getting dressed the next morning. Obviously, I didn’t wear riding crops because I didn’t just have those lying around, but I opted for a tight pair of yoga pants. I noticed Derek checking out my ass on my way to the kitchen for breakfast so I knew they’d do the trick.
I sat down at the kitchen table and LuAnne placed a cup of granola and yogurt in front of me. I smiled up at her.
“Eat up. I heard you’re going on a ride this morning,” she said, patting my shoulders before heading back to flip over the pound of bacon sitting in the frying pan. I hadn’t quite figured out how Derek could survive on his all-bacon-all-the-time diet.
“You goin’ on a ride?” Derek asked as he poured himself a cup of coffee.
“Yeah, Jason is taking me out after breakfast.”
Derek nodded. I opened my mouth to continue, but I didn’t get the chance to expand on the subject because I saw Jason walking down the stairs out of the corner of my eye. He was freshly showered, his damp hair a shade darker than usual. He was wearing worn jeans that I hadn’t seen him in before, a white button-up, and an army green Patagonia down-vest that looked like it’d keep him warm during our ride.
When LuAnne cleared her throat, I realized I’d been watching him with my spoon hovering half-way to my mouth while drips of yogurt were spilled over onto the table in front of me.
“You okay there, Brook?” LuAnne asked me with a teasing grin.
I didn’t bother answering her, I threw her an indifferent shrug and for the next ten minutes I focused on my yogurt like it was the most interesting thing in the world. Which wasn’t easy considering Jason sat directly across from me after he’d grabbed his breakfast. I could feel his leg against mine under the table and I had to fight the urge to move mine away. I didn’t want him to think I cared that he was touching me. But I really, really cared.
“That must be some good yogurt,” Jason joked, forcing me to look up at him. I should have staved off because when I met his gaze there was no denying my interest. Hello, heartbeat, yes, I know you’re pounding extra fast because Jason is freshly showered and I can smell his body wash and his hair is drying in this perfect way that makes me want to reach over the table and lick him.
Oh, right, he’d spoken to me.
“Huh?” I asked like a weirdo.
He smiled and shook his head. “You were just concentrating pretty hard on that bite.”
Recover. Don’t let him know that you’re basically in love with him.
“Ah, yeah. I was probably just thinking about how I’d rather have some of your pancakes instead of this.” Nice, Brooklyn. That sounded at least half-true.