Summer Work

That summer was different than any other. He was staying at his uncle's ranch for two months, working and learning about horses. He hadn't wanted to at first, already tired from all the effort he'd put into his final grades in high school. His father had used the proverbial carrot and stick; financal support for his upcoming gap year and avoiding another speach about lazy youth was at stake. Head full of images of endless toil and horse muck, he had arrived in low spirits. It had only taken a day before the image of her eclipsed it all.

She noticed the change. He was a talkative yet mopy young man when he arrived, the teen in him still very visible. After just a day of following them around the ranch, watching to learn, he was a different guy all together. No longer interested in small talking, his mood now seemed more dark than sullen. Angry, perhaps? His brown eyes seemed black as coal as he silently observed her movements. She hoped it was simply concentration, that he was eager to learn how to tend the horses himself. But her instinct told her there was something more heavy weighing on his mind.

He couldn’t take his eyes off of her. And when he retired to sleep for the night, the sight and smell of her rested steadfastly in his mind. He kept his window shut despite the heat, and silently thanked his uncle for the private room. Never had a woman taken over his senses so completely and suddenly. Was it really just the reality of adulthood setting in, or was there something special about her? In the darkness he let his mind wander and explore his image of her. Feeling only slightly guilty to think of his uncle's employee this way, he surrendered to his urges in the still of night. It's not like she would ever have to know the intimate ways he had explored her in his own mind.

The next day she noticed yet another change in him. Now he wouldn’t even look at her, and his silence was becoming deafening. She was supposed to train him on her own today, the two of them alone in the stables. This wouldn’t do. Patience worn thin, she demanded to know why he wasn’t even looking at her. "I'm not such a fright to behold, am I", she asked in jest.

He felt frozen in place. Did she mean to suggest that he thought her ugly? The thought was laughable. In fact, a burst of laughter forced its way through his lips. He tried to smile to ease the tension, but her face had fallen and she looked somewhere between angry and confused. Feeling guilty, he decided to fess up. "I think you're beautiful", he explained, putting a hand on her arm and letting her see the honesty in his eyes.

Her eyes widened in shock. Suddenly the young man in front of her seemed to be looking at her with mature intent. Doubt of youth gone from his features, his eyes were big and dark with lust. Not anger then, she realized, but intensity and passion nonetheless. His hand on her arm felt warm, sure and strong. She felt a wave of warmth rush through her. Part relief, but the way it pooled in her body was unmistakeable. With a crooked smile, she made her decision.

They would have the whole summer to explore eachother. In the hazy midday heat, there in the stable alone, they mutually agreed to start right away.






Notes ▼

Written for "The Weekly Quickie Contest" 
Words: 596


Prompt:That Summer by Garth Brooks - This is similar to the first but has a specific setting. Gender is whatever you want to use but make sure there is a ranch/country setting for the story.