Chapter 15
Avery
October 9th
My classes started three weeks ago and the amount of studying and projects I had been assigned were seriously cramping my romance with Bryce. I missed him like crazy. It was the second week of October, and we’d only seen each other a handful of times since Labor Day weekend.
That’s not to say we hadn’t made love again, because of course I snuck out to his cottage whenever I got the opportunity. Now that Grandma and Grandpa were back, they kept insisting I move back up to the house. I hated giving my cottage up, but there was no good reason for me to be that close to the stables since Tula and her colt, Baron, were doing just fine.
So, I’d relented and moved back into my old room at the manor. My parents were coming for a long weekend, and I was at the point I wanted Mom and Daddy to meet Bryce. Uncle Tristan sang his praises every time he came by to see his folks. Even Hannah thought I looked “well taken care of,” as she so eloquently put it. I didn’t tell her anything about Bryce and me, but she just knew. I was private about that kind of stuff, and she respected it. I think she also had a new respect for Bryce. Uncle Tristan likely started that with how he’d bragged how Bryce had stepped up to the plate with helping to deliver Baron that night.
“The boy has great instincts. I know he’s a city boy, but damn if he didn’t step up to the plate and literally get elbow deep into bringing that colt into the world.”
“Ewww, Dad, please,” Hannah had replied, making a gagging motion. “Too much information!”
“We could have lost them both,” Uncle Tristan continued, “I couldn’t have handled it by myself. Trying to keep Tula down took all the strength I had, trust me. Bryce is a good hard worker. He’s A-okay in my book.”
That had made me beam internally. I wasn’t one to openly show emotions…well, except when I was angry or scared. Those emotions were hard to hide.
I walked over to the Belle, the chilly October wind whipped around me and the smell of autumn was pungent in the air. Fall was actually my favorite season. I loved the crispness of the weather; I adored the changing color of the foliage. Halloween was my absolute favorite holiday of the year. Yeah, I know Halloween isn’t a real holiday, but to me it is.
Most everybody loves Christmas, but to me, Halloween is full of fun without the stress. You don’t have to plan for months ahead of it, you simply go with the flow. Allow your inner ghosts and goblins rule for the duration. It was all good.
As I stepped inside the horse barn, I was grabbed from behind. A blood curdling scream escaped me that wasn’t pretty. Then I heard his chuckle, and smelled his scent. I whirled around, still half-pissed that he’d taken at least five years off of my life with that stunt. Dawn had only just broken, and the lights inside the barn hadn’t been turned on yet.
“Damn you, Bryce,” I hissed, half mad, half amused, “That wasn’t funny. I nearly died. Why would you do that?”
“Aww, babe, I’m sorry. Just trying to get you prepped for your favorite holiday.”
“Then please, don a Jason or a Scream mask and hit me up without sneaking up from behind in a dark empty barn.”
“Oh, you’re no fun, Avery,” he teased, his right hand tugging on my ponytail. “I thought you enjoyed spontaneity?”
“I do. But only when I know it’s coming,” I replied with a smile. “What are you doing over here so early?”
“Whoa, girl, wait a minute. You just totally annihilated the whole spontaneity concept, along with the spirit of Halloween with your last statement. Is somebody PMS’ing?”
I totally was…BUT, I wasn’t about to let him think he was right on that. “Sorry. I’m not a morning person I guess.”
“Since when?” he asked, cocking a lovely brow and looking totally delectable. “You are about to rag, aren’t you A-Girl?” he teased, pulling me in for a hug. I totally loved when he referred to me as ‘A-Girl,’ I couldn’t deny it.
“Whatever,” I replied, turning from him. “You didn’t answer my question, B-Dude,” I sparred back. I’d just invented that nickname for him, spur of the moment, but I could tell he appreciated it.
“Touché,” he replied with a smirk, planting a big kiss on my lips. “The answer to your question is that I got up early, shaved, bathed, and came down here to surprise my girl with a morning…session,” he finished with a chuckle.
“You mean a morning fuck,” I corrected.
“Damn, I love it when you talk dirty to me, babe. But I get it. You’re not in the mood. I understand. It’s all good.”
“Who said I wasn’t in the mood?” I asked, crossing my arms in front of me. “It’s PMS…fuck it out of me Bryce. Let’s see just how good you are.”
And there in the horse barn, with only the horses there to witness our coupling on a soft pile of straw, Bryce Slater did just that: he fucked me out of my mood, and at the same time, he made love to me which was so extraordinarily unique that I knew in that moment I loved him.
Yes, I loved him.
More than I ever loved Trent. No comparison. I loved Bryce like nobody’s business. But I sure as hell wasn’t about to let him know that…just yet. Girls aren’t supposed to say it first, right?
Afterwards, as we collected our discarded clothing and shoes to re-dress, I told him that my family would be coming for a visit the following weekend. “I want you to meet my family,” I explained. “They’ll be here for the whole weekend, and I want you to come to dinner. Will you?”
“Hmm,” he said, pulling his boots on, “Should I be worried about your dad gelding me?”
“Oh my God,” I squealed, falling into his lap on the floor of the barn. “I’m so proud of you, Slater! You actually used a horse term. You are my biggest achievement here, I swear!”
He laughed and it was genuine and hearty. “And you, A-Girl, are my biggest achievement here. I look forward to meeting your folks.”
Now all I needed to worry about was my dad not going all CSI on him. I swear he only faked sympathy when I told him I’d broken things off with Trent. It had been painful for me for several reasons.
First, we had a history together. First love, losing my cherry (uh…I didn’t tell Dad that part, but I think he might’ve figured it out) and as someone who always strived for success, at the age of eighteen I’d already chalked up my first relationship failure.
Sorry, but that didn’t sit well with me, and yeah, I got it. I needed to tone down that whole “striving for perfection thing,” but really, I was the middle child, so there was that whole Middle Child Syndrome thing going on with me.
My older sister, Preston, was perfection without even breaking a nail. She was tall, gorgeous, and brilliant.
And then came me. Being Girl #2, well those were definitely some difficult Jimmy Choos to fill–not that I was into all of the wardrobe, hair, and make-up thing like my older sister, I was figuratively speaking. I loved my older sister, and though we didn’t see each other that often now being that we both attended different colleges, we were still close in many ways. We just had different aspirations.
Trey Jr. followed a couple of years after me. Only son and baby of the family so of course he had his own special place. And maybe all of this was truly just feeling like I was caught in the middle because of my birth order, because I have to say, Mom and Dad had always appeared to cherish me as much as my sister and brother, but still I had this inherent need to please them.
But I was digressing here. Bryce was cool with meeting the folks, and I was more than chill with having them meet my guy. This felt real.
I kissed him one last time, stood up, and waited for him to do the same. Once he was on his feet, I playfully smacked his ass, and told him he was on the clock so it was time for him to start breaking a sweat. He was quick to reply with, “Damn girl, I broke a sweat pleasuring you just now in case you hadn’t noticed.”
He tried his best to give me a hurt look. He couldn’t pull it off, trust me.
“Cowboy up, Bryce,” I teased. “I’ll see you later tonight.”