Read Online Kate Sherwood - Dark Horse 02 - Out of the Darkness by Kate Sherwood - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Kate Sherwood
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gotten any better by the end of it, at least he hasn’t gotten any worse. Some days that’s all a trainer can ask for.
Dan’s just walking him around the ring, cooling him off, when Evan’s car pulls to a stop on the driveway next to the fence. Evan’s the only one in it, Dan notes with relief, and he walks the horse over to say hi.
“Hey, man….” Evan is already talking as he climbs out of the car. “Blaine was being a bit cryptic about something this morning. There were other people around, so I didn’t drag it out of him, but… was he okay with you on the deck?”
Dan laughs a little. “He’s a pretty protective guy, huh?” Evan groans and covers his eyes with one hand. “Jesus, what did he do?”
“Nah, you can’t really blame him. He saw me and Jeff kissing last night, and he wasn’t impressed. Apparently I’m the slutty stable boy who’s here to steal your man.” Dan grins a little. With a bit of distance, he can see the humor. “At least I wasn’t the gold-digging whore trying to get my claws into your money.”
Evan looks mortified. “Shit, man, I’m sorry. Jeff said he ran into you, but he didn’t mention that Blaine was there. Wait… why the hell were you making out in front of Blaine?”
“Dude, he was lurking. Obviously we didn’t know he was there.” “Yeah, shit, okay. Jesus… was he a total ass about it?”
“Uh, from his perspective, I’m sure he’s a fucking hero. From mine… a bit obnoxious, maybe.”
“Yeah, that’s a pretty good description of Blaine in general, really. I’ll talk to him, get him to back off.”
Dan smirks a little. “Don’t worry about it, Evan. Seriously, I don’t give a good goddamn what he thinks, and it was kinda fun watching him get all worked up. So, if you wouldn’t have told him anyways, don’t bother doing it on my account.” Then something occurs to him. “Might want to warn Jeff, though. Blaine seemed pretty disappointed about his taste in pretty-boys.”
Evan winces and shakes his head. “I just left them at the house together. Jeff has about a two-hour tolerance for Blaine at the best of times.” He pulls his phone out. “I’d better call. You’re sure you’re cool?”
“Evan, I’ve been called a slut by better men than him.” Dan knows that’s not exactly what Evan needs to hear, but it’s fun to say. “Better women too.”
“Damn, you’re in a good mood. Maybe I’ll get Blaine to stick around, be an insulting asshole on a regular basis.”
Dan grins, and then gestures to Monty. “I’ve got to keep him moving. I’ll see you tonight though, yeah?”
Evan nods, and is dialing his phone as he climbs into the car.
Dan finishes the day with no further interruptions except for an excited phone call from Tat, thanking him for the books. He heads home at a reasonable hour and cleans up, then spends a long time staring at the meager contents of his closet. He talks to Justin’s photo a bit, too, but it’s a lot lighter than usual. Dan tells him about Blaine, and both Justin and Puppet-Chris agree that the guy’s a bit of a douche, and then Dan tells them about the art show, and how he’s going to be totally uncomfortable but really kind of wants to go anyways. Most of the conversation is just in his head, but occasional interjections are spoken out loud. Dan thinks it’s somewhere between quirky and weird, but probably not all the way to crazy. He hopes. At least talking to Justin’s photo makes sense in that it’s as close to talking to the real Justin as Dan can get. Having a conversation with an imaginary friend who just happens to be a puppet who looks like Dan’s actual best friend—that’s a bit harder to justify. It’s just Dan’s bad luck that the puppet is such a good listener and gives such good advice. If he wasn’t so useful, he’d be easier to give up.
Dan pulls out the green shirt that Justin had given him and looks at it consideringly. He’s got dark gray dress pants;
Dan’s just walking him around the ring, cooling him off, when Evan’s car pulls to a stop on the driveway next to the fence. Evan’s the only one in it, Dan notes with relief, and he walks the horse over to say hi.
“Hey, man….” Evan is already talking as he climbs out of the car. “Blaine was being a bit cryptic about something this morning. There were other people around, so I didn’t drag it out of him, but… was he okay with you on the deck?”
Dan laughs a little. “He’s a pretty protective guy, huh?” Evan groans and covers his eyes with one hand. “Jesus, what did he do?”
“Nah, you can’t really blame him. He saw me and Jeff kissing last night, and he wasn’t impressed. Apparently I’m the slutty stable boy who’s here to steal your man.” Dan grins a little. With a bit of distance, he can see the humor. “At least I wasn’t the gold-digging whore trying to get my claws into your money.”
Evan looks mortified. “Shit, man, I’m sorry. Jeff said he ran into you, but he didn’t mention that Blaine was there. Wait… why the hell were you making out in front of Blaine?”
“Dude, he was lurking. Obviously we didn’t know he was there.” “Yeah, shit, okay. Jesus… was he a total ass about it?”
“Uh, from his perspective, I’m sure he’s a fucking hero. From mine… a bit obnoxious, maybe.”
“Yeah, that’s a pretty good description of Blaine in general, really. I’ll talk to him, get him to back off.”
Dan smirks a little. “Don’t worry about it, Evan. Seriously, I don’t give a good goddamn what he thinks, and it was kinda fun watching him get all worked up. So, if you wouldn’t have told him anyways, don’t bother doing it on my account.” Then something occurs to him. “Might want to warn Jeff, though. Blaine seemed pretty disappointed about his taste in pretty-boys.”
Evan winces and shakes his head. “I just left them at the house together. Jeff has about a two-hour tolerance for Blaine at the best of times.” He pulls his phone out. “I’d better call. You’re sure you’re cool?”
“Evan, I’ve been called a slut by better men than him.” Dan knows that’s not exactly what Evan needs to hear, but it’s fun to say. “Better women too.”
“Damn, you’re in a good mood. Maybe I’ll get Blaine to stick around, be an insulting asshole on a regular basis.”
Dan grins, and then gestures to Monty. “I’ve got to keep him moving. I’ll see you tonight though, yeah?”
Evan nods, and is dialing his phone as he climbs into the car.
Dan finishes the day with no further interruptions except for an excited phone call from Tat, thanking him for the books. He heads home at a reasonable hour and cleans up, then spends a long time staring at the meager contents of his closet. He talks to Justin’s photo a bit, too, but it’s a lot lighter than usual. Dan tells him about Blaine, and both Justin and Puppet-Chris agree that the guy’s a bit of a douche, and then Dan tells them about the art show, and how he’s going to be totally uncomfortable but really kind of wants to go anyways. Most of the conversation is just in his head, but occasional interjections are spoken out loud. Dan thinks it’s somewhere between quirky and weird, but probably not all the way to crazy. He hopes. At least talking to Justin’s photo makes sense in that it’s as close to talking to the real Justin as Dan can get. Having a conversation with an imaginary friend who just happens to be a puppet who looks like Dan’s actual best friend—that’s a bit harder to justify. It’s just Dan’s bad luck that the puppet is such a good listener and gives such good advice. If he wasn’t so useful, he’d be easier to give up.
Dan pulls out the green shirt that Justin had given him and looks at it consideringly. He’s got dark gray dress pants;
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