Reining Her In (Student/Teacher Romance)

Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

I bounced on my heels outside the stable door. The lack of riding meant my muscles were more bearable today, and I didn't even have the normal melancholia that came with the morning after.

What I did have was an uneasy feeling in my stomach.

Mr. Campbell might not even be here. Part of me hoped he wasn't.

But the other part was dying to see him again.

I hovered for just a couple of more seconds before steeling my nerves and striding into the stables. I hadn't even bothered to put my jodhpurs on with the pretence of coming to ride. I peered into the stalls, but he wasn't there. I frowned.

When I turned around, he was coming out of the tack room, his hair matted from being under the helmet. My lips quirked. "Hey," I called to him. It was pretty empty, except for us.

He nodded to me, running a hand through his helmet hair. "Hi."

"I wanted to talk to you." I was still keeping it vague, though.

He took a glance around to check for people, too. "Sure. Want to go for a walk? I need to take the horses out to the field, so you can help, if you don't mind."

"No problem."

We didn't speak much as I grabbed a horse. We'd have to make a couple of trips back and forth, but that was fine by me. I wondered if Mr. Campbell had volunteered for this, it was normally the stable staff's job rather than the teachers'.

When we were well out of earshot of anyone who might be loitering around the stables, we talked more freely. "How are you feeling this morning?" he asked.

"Good, actually. Better than normal. I hope you aren't too tired."

"No, I had an excuse for a lie-in, so that's good."

We lapsed into silence for a moment, and I stroked the neck of the horse I was leading. "Why didn't you snitch on me when you crashed our first party?"

"I wasn't sure you'd done it. Besides, it wouldn't have solved anything, would it?"

"Does something need solving?"

"Judging by last night, I'd have said so."

I sighed, staying quiet and taking in the scenery. "It's never happened before. I just wasn't ready for it."

"You were a state."

"I know. I just, it's fun. One bad experience doesn't change that. Now I'm more prepared."

"Why do you do it?"

"Why not?"

"That's an awful answer. Try again."

I chuckled, though I didn't want the words to leave my mouth. They sounded so stupid. "It's kind of the truth, though. It's just fun. What else do I have to do with my life? Might as well be partying with my friends and having a laugh."

"You're at one of the most prestigious schools in the country, how can you have nothing else to do with your life?"

My shrug was weak. "I don't want to be a professional rider."

"But you're good. You were one of the people my colleagues mentioned as being good riders."

"I don't have the drive for it. I don't want it enough. It almost feels unfair if I was to go for it when I'm a bit apathetic to the whole thing."