Chapter 10: Joel
Shannon was late the next morning. I had been up for hours waiting, but then she still made me wait some more. I was growing restless, wanting to see her, but knowing I couldn’t get too close. I had told myself that it was better to be friends, than nothing. But I was kidding myself if I thought it was enough. Only being with her, having her in my arms would be enough.
When she finally showed up, she smiled at me unbidden like before. She was acting different and the way she looked at me, made me nervous for the reason why. “Good morning Joel. How did the delivery go?”
Her hair was still down, wind-blown back and away from her face. She had a light in her eyes that I had begun to miss. “It was good.”
I didn’t say anything else and after a minute, she dismounted and started in towards the stables. “Oh he is a beaut.”
“Just be careful, he likes to kick and bite from what I have been told.”
She looked back for a moment and then started to rub his head. He didn’t seem at all anxious as he had been with me the night before. As for Shannon, she was approaching it like everything else, void of fear. I was starting to think that she could tame any beast. An hour later when she had him saddled and riding him, I knew it must be true. But could she tame the beast inside of me?
I just wasn’t so sure.
It was getting dark quickly and looking up in the sky, I knew there was a storm coming in. I didn’t want her to get caught in it, so I invited her to stay for dinner. “Why do I get the feeling you are asking me to stay so I will cook for you?”
“I’m not going to turn down any food, but I just don’t want you stuck out in the rain. It looks like it will blow over fast. If you want, I can make something for you if you like.”
She shook her head. “If you cook like your mother, no thank you. It’s fine. Do you have anything here to make?”
I shrugged and followed her in. I was thankful for the storm clouds overhead. It gave me no choice but to do exactly what I wanted to do anyways.
Soon she was cooking while I took a shower. When I got out, I set the table while she did the same. I heard her calling to me from the bathroom. “Hey, Joel. I forgot I don’t have any clothes. Can I borrow some of yours until mine dry?”
“Sure, just a second.”
I remembered the last time I had covered her and the way it was too big for her curved frame. She was tiny in comparison and I finally found the smallest that I had with me. Opening the door a crack, she was standing there with her hair curling in around her face. She looked beautiful and I stood there staring for a few moments before she reminded me of what I was doing. “Here. This is all I got. I hope they aren’t too big.”
She thanked me and shut the door. It was all I could do not to go in there. “Can you take the lasagna out of the oven before it burns please?”
“Sure.” Anything to get my mind off of the other side of the door. The small bunkhouse smelled like her shampoo and I could already feel a tightening in my loins. It was like I had been trained to get turned on by the smell, just from association. Shannon had only been away a couple of days and I already missed her.
I set the table and waited for her to come out. I didn’t think about the fact that I had given her a white shirt to wear. When she came out, my eyes were drawn to the dark spots that pronounced themselves with a hard bump. More tightening in my own pants. I hadn’t thought about her not wearing a bra, but the result wreaked havoc on me nonetheless.
“Thanks for getting it out for me Joel.”
She was nonchalant, like she wasn’t standing in front of me with my boxers and her breasts swinging underneath my shirt. It pulled where her breasts heaved and her long, black hair was a mess of curls around her shoulders. “No problem.”
“Are you okay?”
I shook my head. I wasn’t, but I was going to have to be. “Yeah, just starving.”
I avoided her eyes as she sat down next to me at the little table. Trying to have a conversation with her was close to impossible and I found myself saying less and less. Each time she moved, her top rubbed against the table. Biting my lower lip, the storm outside matched the same one inside of me. I was going insane and she was the only one that could save me.
“Hopefully the storm passes soon, or you may have a bunk mate whether you like it or not Joel.”
One could only hope.
“Well you are always welcome to stay here. I am sorry about the other night.”
“Are you going to tell me what it was about?”
I didn’t want to, but I had a feeling she knew something already. I shook my head that I didn’t want to talk about it and she seemed to take the answer for what it was. Shannon made me think she could read my mind sometimes, if not my mind, than maybe my heart. How she knew so much without me having to say anything I would never understand.
“You don’t have to say anything Joel. I am glad you are back. You have taught me a lot.”
She reminded me that I was still her boss. “You have been a very good trainee. I will hate to see you go back to the ranch. Your help out here has been amazing. Soon, it will be perfect and I wish you would stay here. The other bunkhouse will be ready in a week or so. Will you at least think about it?”
I didn’t want to sound desperate, but I was desperate for her to stay. Even if I couldn’t be with her, I wanted her close.
“If I stay, I want to stay here.”
Her words threw me off and I looked down at the empty plate in front of me. I would have liked nothing better that for her to do just that. Having her there with me, reminded me how comfortable it had been. If the tension wasn’t there, it would have been perfect and even then, it almost was. I would have been happy with what we had, if not for my tendency to lose it.
“You can’t stay here Shannon.”
“So you are going to kick me out in the storm?”
I couldn’t of course. It was too dangerous. The horse could get spooked with all the lightning. “Just for tonight and then tomorrow you have to go back to the ranch.”
“Fine, whatever you say boss.”