The Country Boy Next Door

Chapter 2

SO TELL ME WHAT YA THINK!! HOPE YOU LIKE IT!! AND PLEASE EXCUSE THE ERRORS... I WAS SPEED TYPING... AS ALWAYS VOTE VOTE VOTE!! XOXO ~DIRECTIONEER12~

"Okay I will see you tomorrow" my Calculus teacher said. Finally the day was over and I could go home and relax. 'I think I might go for a ride when I get home' I thought to myself.

I met Joel in the parking lot and we headed to his truck when this girl with black, curly hair walked up and said "Bye Joel! I will see you tomorrow" and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Well who is that?" I teased.

"Just a girl I met today."

"Just a girl? She didn't seem to be just a girl you met."

"Well she's really nice and pretty and I like her a lot!" He said once the doors to his truck were closed. "Did you make any new friends today?"

"I met a girl named Sophia who seemed really nice and a guy named Ryler but I don't really like him. He was a jerk."

"Well you say I'm a jerk but you still love me!" He teased.

"No, he is a real jerk, like a 'I'm better than you and we both know it' kind of jerk."

When we got home, I noticed a strange car in the driveway. I just figured it was someone from my mom's work or one of Jake's friends that brought him home. When I walked in the door, I about passed out. It was Ryler! He was with an older man and woman who I took to be his parents. They were all silent and looking at me.

"This is my daughter, Jenna." My mom introduced me. "Hi." I said and saw Ryler wink at me before I turned and almost sprinted upstairs to my room.

'Oh my god' I thought to myself. 'Why is this jerk in my house!' I wondered. I just had to know why and tiptoed down the stairs to eavesdrop on them.

"Well if you ever need something, then just give us a holler! We live right down the road and pretty much next door but its a little ways on down there." I heard the woman say.

"Alright well I guess I will see y'all 'round" my mother said.

"Okay! Bye."

I ran back up to my room. 'No freakin' way! The only person I didn't like just had to be the next door neighbor!' I think I said it out loud on accident and Jake heard when he walked by.

"What? Who are you talking about?" He asked.

"Today I met this big jerk. His name is Ryler and he was the guy downstairs mom was talking to."

"Oh I'm sorry." He said. "Wanna go for a ride?"

"Nothing sounds better!" I said and jumped up and put on my boots and waited for Jake to get ready.

We walked out to the barn and grabbed all of our gear and headed over to the horses. My favorite was a dark brown female named Jixie. "Hey girl!" I cooed. "How is my favorite horsie doin' today?" Jake started laughing at me.

"Don't tell me you have never talked to a horse like they were a person." I said.

"Psht whatever" he said.

"So do you want to take the trail or just go wherever?" He asked.

"I don't feel like taking the trail." I said.

"Okay then I say we go down by the river."  

"Sounds good" I said and jumped up on Jixie. It was always bumpy until you got to the riverbank. Out of the blue, Jake's horse skidded to a stop and was freaking out about something. Jake almost fell off. Jake was yelling trying to calm her down bit she wouldn't.

"Take her back the way we came" I screamed over the yelling. He has only been riding for a year or so, so he is not as good as I am with calming the horses. I went on to see what set her off.

Then, I heard a branch snap. "Who's there?" I said. Then it happened again and I repeated myself.

"Look I wasn't trespassing. I just heard a horse and came to see what was going on. I swear" I heard a familiar voice say very panicked.

" Ryler?" I asked.

"Oh its you Jenna! Thank god! I though you were the police!" Ryler said as he peeked out from behind some trees. "Why did you act so weird when me and my parents came to your house?"

"Oh no reason. Random people I didn't know and a kid I met at school are in my house. Ya know, just normal stuff like that." I answered sarcastically.

"Yeah, whatever. So do you mind if we run to my house and I can ride with you for a while?"

"Uh, sure." I said hesitantly. I really didn't want to be spending the afternoon with the person who put me in a bad mood, but I though he deserved a second chance.

We went to his house and it was exactly like mine. He had the same barn and everything. The only difference was that his house felt like a home. There were family photos on the fireplace mantle and the smell of home-cooked food. It felt the same was as our old house in North Carolina.

"Hey mom!" Ryler yelled when we walked in the door. His mom came around the corner. "Who's your friend? Oh, wait. Your Jada right? From next door?"

"Its Jenna, but yes ma'am."

"Well its nice to meet you. And please, call me Darleen."

"OK well me and Jenna are going to go riding for a while, so I will see you after a while." Ryler said.

"Okay, bye sweetie. Be careful" Darleen shouted to her son.

We went to his barn and he got his horse. Its name was LolaBelle after his two grandma's. They both died the day he got the horse. I think I saw a tear in his eye when he was talking about them. It was so sweet.

"So, tell me about you." He said.

"Well what do you wanna know?" I asked.

"I don't know, where are you from?"

"Just south of Greensboro, North Carolina. Our town was called Pleasant Garden. It was great."

"Do you miss it any?" He asked as we galloped along.

"Yes. A lot." I think he sensed a soft spot and picked a new subject.

"So, are you actually going to the party Friday?"

"I don't know, I might." I said.

"You should. If you need a ride, I will take you."

"Oh nice try! You just want to go with me 'cause I'm that awesome." I teased. He laughed at me trying to be all girly and fancy. The Ryler at school was way different than the Ryler riding horses with me and I think I liked it.

SO TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!! AS ALWAYS VOTE VOTE VOTE!! XOXO ~DIRECTIONEER12~