Horsin' Around (ONC 2024)

ONE

The sun was beating down, and there wasn't a cloud for miles. Squinting was his only choice as he moved closer towards the hoards of people.

Moments later, he was lost in the sea of chaos. He didn't know where to turn to next; the taco stall, the band's stage, or the man selling authentic leather hats.

Taking a leap of faith, he dived towards the churro stall, accidentally knocking into Auburn, and spilling her half drunk coffee over her white blouse, into her chest area.

Leo paused for a moment. He looked up at her and shook his head. "Watch were you're going."

She glared back at him. "You were the one who banged into me."

Leo scoffed before examining her. "You're the gringa with hippophobia, aight?"

She raised her eyebrow. "What the hell is that?"

"You're afraid of horses, aren't ya?" He said, as he unbuttoned his shirt. "And you gotta do that stupid journalist thing."

She nodded back. "How'd you know?"

"Penelope told me." Leo added as he handed her his shirt. "Look, take this, go to the bathroom and put it on. And hurry up about it. The shows gonna start soon."

Auburn rolled her eyes. "Don't you need something to wear too?"

Leo nodded. "I'll worry about myself here. Brought a spare change of clothes."

"Okay."

"Come to the stable. Meet me there in fifteen minutes."

"Okay, fine." She said, her voice trailing off into the distance as she approached the 'bathroom' porta potty.

Leo started whistling to himself as he waited and rummaged through the bag in the back of his truck for a new black t-shirt.

He slipped it on and slowly strolled back to the ranch, where Auburn was already waiting:

"You're late," she shook her head and checked her watch, "three minutes, what kept you?"

He shrugged. "Nothing. I had to go to my truck to get a new t-shirt. You ready?"

She nodded. "Let's go."

They made their way over to the ring. Auburn held her bag tight, making sure that her camera and notepad were well away from the horses.

"Do you need a pic of me posing with Misty?" Leo said.

She scoffed. "What makes you think you're gonna be the headline act?"

"Well, Penelope send me to help you around."

"Yeah, but the main event is the contest after all. Not just you. And if it was you, you'd be here with your winners medals." She looked around. "Where are they? All I see is a stinking horse."

He glared. "Misty's the best girl. She doesn't smell at all. I washed her and braided her hair this morning."

"Then the smells you. Did you forget to wash?"

He sniffed under his arms. "It ain't me."

She laughed. "You're dumb. You actually fell for that."

He glared back. "A hombre of my calibre always tries his best to be presentable."

"You should try harder. You look like a redneck."

"Shut up, gabacha. At least I ain't red all over."

She rolled her eyes, and felt the heat permeate throughout her face. Sweat dripped from her forehead. She reached into her pocket and took out a spare tissue to rub herself with.