(18+) RED (Complete)

Ch. 37: Extra

"Los Olivos."

"And where's that?"

"Santa Ynez."

I felt embarrassed because I was just as wise.

"Ever heard of Los Angeles?" he chuckled, and I mentally slapped my face with an iron. Then I registered what he just said.

"Los Angeles?! For how long were we driving?"

"A little over five hours."

"Hot damn..."

Michael let out that addictive, cute laughter of his, and it was so infectious that I giggled as well. Awkwardly, but still.

"That's like... Far."

"Yeah, we should have used the helicopter since we spent most of the day sorting things out."

I appreciated the way he wrapped the chaos that had been a Saturday.

"Unfortunately, it's in for service, and there weren't any available to hire on such short notice. But now we're here. Better late than never, right?"

I nodded, feeling like I just fell down from Pluto. This was more surreal than surreal could justify.

"How late is it, exactly?"

"Almost 3 am. Are you tired?"

My jaw fell and I inhaled a little too deep. And when I started coughing, one of the horses lifted its head from its slumber and took one step to the side, causing me to jump away from it with a scream. And when I looked at Michael, it seemed like he was about to burst into fits of laughter.

"Are you sure you've been horseback riding before?"

I grinned with pretend cockiness while my eyes nervously darted back and forth between him and the horse, making sure it didn't try to attack me again.

"Yeah. A few years back. I was really good, too."

Why do I keep on lying? Dammit!

"But it's a shame that I don't have my riding gear, though."

"So you're saying that you can't ride without chaps and a cowboy hat? We can arrange that."

"Chaps? Wh..."

...what the fuck is that? I almost blurted out. But I was quick to bite my tongue. Although, he saw through me anyway.

"It's a special pair of leather pants that you wear over your jeans, or in your case; leggings. It helps protect you from vegetation, rain..."

"Yeah, I don't need that!" I interrupted.

"...and from falling off. Okay, that's fine."

"From falling off...?"

"Yeah. But like you said; you don't need that since you've been horseback riding before. You can just go for the English style, minus the long boots. I mean, the riding pants look almost identical to your leggings."

Oh, he'd called my bluff, alright. And he had way too much fun.

"Okay!" I yelled, unfolding my cards. "I've never sat on a horse before and much less went out riding one. I've barely even touched one, because they're large and scary, and they eat people!"

Michael hid his eyes in his palm while he chuckled.

"What gave it away?" I muttered sourly, and he laughed even harder.

"Pretty much everything from the moment you saw them."

He grabbed my hand and made me stay next to him, but I quickly hid behind him when the horse moved again. Nevertheless, my fear gradually subsided the more he told me about them and how the equipment they had on worked. Heck, even I should be able to pull the reins to make it go left or right once I was up there. Far up there. Really... Really far. But making the animal move backward or forward was a different question, so Michael promised me to go slow. And before I knew it, I was actually patting the soft fur on the horse I was going to ride. She seemed pretty nice.