climb in, the truck is so high off the ground. Ben closes the door behind me and then rounds the front of the truck and jumps into his seat without using either. When he starts it up, the big diesel engine rumbles to life.
We pull out of the grounds and back onto the road. Thank God it’s less than three miles to my house, because I think I might pass out and I’d hate for him to see me drooling all over myself.
“You looked awesome today,” I say, when I can’t stand staying silent any longer. “You know, before the equine intervention.”
“Thanks,” he says. “Did you see me almost bite it off the big one? I got a little cocky and almost didn’t get my feet back on the pegs.”
He grins and looks over at me, and I find myself grinning right back and looking him in the eyes.
Oh boy. Must not look him in the eyes. I turn toward the window. “They say overinflated ego is now the number-one killer of teenage boys.”
I can feel Ben’s eyes on me. “Oh yeah? And what’s the treatment?”
“I hear electroshock therapy works nicely.”
Ben snorts. “What, no water boarding?”
I shake my head. It’s getting harder to stare out the window when I want to turn and look at Ben. Instead I pretend some black-and-white cows grazing in a nearby field are the most fascinating thing I’ve seen all day. “No, too messy.”
“I tend to think an hour with Mrs. Vickers and about two-dozen trigonometry problems will wound anyone’s ego.”
I forget to stick with the window and turn to look at him. “I know, and it’s still the first month of school. We’re all doomed.”
He smiles, flicking on his turn signal before glancing over at me. His lips look perfect, curled upward like they are. I turn back to the window.
“We should get together sometime and work on review,” he says. The truck lurches for a second as he misses second gear.
I forget to breathe for a second, until my lungs burn and I take in the biggest breath I can without Ben noticing it. “Yeah, maybe. At Nicole’s house. She has the same math class during sixth period.”
“Right,” he says, nodding. “At Nicole’s house.”
By the time we’ve pulled up in front of my house, my death grip on the door handle is making my fingers ache. He pulls the truck up to the curb, and just as he’s reaching for the keys to turn the truck off, I shove the door open.
“Thanks, Ben, see ya tomorrow!”
And then I dash across the lawn. I’m only halfway there when I hear his truck switch off. He rolls down the window and shouts to me. “Uh, Kayla?”
I stop, clenching my teeth for a second, my back still to him, and then I turn around.
“The pony?” He gestures with his thumb to the latest bane of my existence. I seem to have a lot of those lately. Is it possible to have multiple banes of your existence?
“Oh. Right.”
“How do you think we can get it out?”
“Um, there’s a retaining wall on the other side of that fence. Back your truck over there and I’ll go open the gate.”
I resist the urge to smack a hand against my forehead as I hustle into the backyard. Since we have a corner lot, there’s another gate in the back. The yard used to slope a bit, so my mom had the landscapers build this big retaining wall and level it out. It’ll be perfect for unloading the pony.
Ben backs his truck up and then jumps out, walking around the back and dropping the tailgate. It’s nearly perfect—just an inch or two above the top block of the wall. The pony backs up a little bit and then spins around and jumps out. She jogs over to the middle of the yard, then drops to her knees, then her side, and starts rolling around.
Ben laughs, and I realize, abruptly, how close he is. I take a less than subtle step away from him.
He tips his head to the side and regards me with his brows scrunched. “Do I make you uncomfortable?”
“What? No. What?” The saliva in my throat is choking me, I’m sure of it.
Ben sighs and shrugs. “Nothing.
We pull out of the grounds and back onto the road. Thank God it’s less than three miles to my house, because I think I might pass out and I’d hate for him to see me drooling all over myself.
“You looked awesome today,” I say, when I can’t stand staying silent any longer. “You know, before the equine intervention.”
“Thanks,” he says. “Did you see me almost bite it off the big one? I got a little cocky and almost didn’t get my feet back on the pegs.”
He grins and looks over at me, and I find myself grinning right back and looking him in the eyes.
Oh boy. Must not look him in the eyes. I turn toward the window. “They say overinflated ego is now the number-one killer of teenage boys.”
I can feel Ben’s eyes on me. “Oh yeah? And what’s the treatment?”
“I hear electroshock therapy works nicely.”
Ben snorts. “What, no water boarding?”
I shake my head. It’s getting harder to stare out the window when I want to turn and look at Ben. Instead I pretend some black-and-white cows grazing in a nearby field are the most fascinating thing I’ve seen all day. “No, too messy.”
“I tend to think an hour with Mrs. Vickers and about two-dozen trigonometry problems will wound anyone’s ego.”
I forget to stick with the window and turn to look at him. “I know, and it’s still the first month of school. We’re all doomed.”
He smiles, flicking on his turn signal before glancing over at me. His lips look perfect, curled upward like they are. I turn back to the window.
“We should get together sometime and work on review,” he says. The truck lurches for a second as he misses second gear.
I forget to breathe for a second, until my lungs burn and I take in the biggest breath I can without Ben noticing it. “Yeah, maybe. At Nicole’s house. She has the same math class during sixth period.”
“Right,” he says, nodding. “At Nicole’s house.”
By the time we’ve pulled up in front of my house, my death grip on the door handle is making my fingers ache. He pulls the truck up to the curb, and just as he’s reaching for the keys to turn the truck off, I shove the door open.
“Thanks, Ben, see ya tomorrow!”
And then I dash across the lawn. I’m only halfway there when I hear his truck switch off. He rolls down the window and shouts to me. “Uh, Kayla?”
I stop, clenching my teeth for a second, my back still to him, and then I turn around.
“The pony?” He gestures with his thumb to the latest bane of my existence. I seem to have a lot of those lately. Is it possible to have multiple banes of your existence?
“Oh. Right.”
“How do you think we can get it out?”
“Um, there’s a retaining wall on the other side of that fence. Back your truck over there and I’ll go open the gate.”
I resist the urge to smack a hand against my forehead as I hustle into the backyard. Since we have a corner lot, there’s another gate in the back. The yard used to slope a bit, so my mom had the landscapers build this big retaining wall and level it out. It’ll be perfect for unloading the pony.
Ben backs his truck up and then jumps out, walking around the back and dropping the tailgate. It’s nearly perfect—just an inch or two above the top block of the wall. The pony backs up a little bit and then spins around and jumps out. She jogs over to the middle of the yard, then drops to her knees, then her side, and starts rolling around.
Ben laughs, and I realize, abruptly, how close he is. I take a less than subtle step away from him.
He tips his head to the side and regards me with his brows scrunched. “Do I make you uncomfortable?”
“What? No. What?” The saliva in my throat is choking me, I’m sure of it.
Ben sighs and shrugs. “Nothing.
Similar Books
