Since The Day I Saw You

Chapter 13

He grabbed a backpack from the counter, "Okay, let's go." He walked to the front door and I watched him slip on a pair of cowboy boots and tucked his jeans into them. After my keds were on, we headed out the back door and towards a barn I was unaware he had. As we approached I heard the sounds of swishing tails smacking stall doors and the quiet sound of chomping. It was the loud sound of a neigh that ticked me off we were going horseback riding.

"You have horses?" It sounded more like a statement than a question when it came out. When he had suggested horseback riding before I assumed we were going to go out of town, not that he actually owned horses. Nate smiled and nodded as he entered the barn. He came back with one horse and handed me the reins. I stood completely still and a little nervous. I had never really been around a horse unless you counted watching them in movies like Flicka and passing by them as I drove to Brayden's house.

I looked up at the horse who was taller than me and was currently chewing on a piece of hay. He or she, because I had no clue what gender it was, was beautiful with white and brown spots and a white mane. Nate came back with another horse in tow, "That's Maximus, he's my sister's horse. He's named after the horse from Tangled." I nodded, and began to pet Maximus, my earlier anxiety washing away.

"This is my horse, Arthur," He said as he walked over to help me onto Maximus. I laughed, "And who is he named after?" "Arthur, from the knight's of the round table," He said it with so much pride that I tried to stifle the urge to laugh, but I ended up failing. He seemed unfazed by my laughter and shrugged his shoulders, "I'm a history buff. The medieval time period is my favorite, so I've always been drawn to that story." I nodded as he popped me onto the horse like it was nothing.

"So have you ever ridden a horse before?" I shook my head and he went on to explain how to navigate the horse. "You will do fine. Maximus is one of the easier horses we have. Probably because he has to deal with Lauren," Nate said. "How many horses do you have?" I asked, how could he possibly have anymore. "Each of us all has our own horse. We had more but we had to sell them when we moved." He shrugged and got onto his horse with ease, probably due to his height and experience.

"So where are we going?" I asked. "You'll see," Was all he said. There wasn't a secret place in this town that I didn't know about, so I was a little more than curious as to where he was taking me. We began talking as we rode and stopped here and there when the horses stopped to eat something. My stomach began to grumble and I looked sheepishly over at Nate to see if he heard, which he did. I watched him gaze ahead, "Were almost there, we'll pick up the speed."

Within minutes we arrived at a clearing that had rolling hills just as the sun was beginning to set. Nate came over and helped me down and tied up Maximus and Arthur to a tree. I was so busy watching him that I barely even noticed the picnic blanket that had been laid out with the electronic tea lights surrounding it. I walked over in awe. "I hope it's not too cheesy. Our dates just keep getting interrupted and so I wanted to do something special," He said with a blush creeping on his face. "It's perfect, thank-you," I said as I sat down and faced the sunset.

"What time did you come out here and do all this?" I asked as I watched Nate begin to empty out the food from his backpack. He smiled, "An hour before you came." I looked over all the food he had brought in awe. You could feed an army, there was salad, potato salad, chicken, sandwiches, vegetables, and fruit, plus dessert foods. He gave a nervous laugh, "I wasn't sure what to make." "Good choices," I gave him a reassuring smile.

As we ate we fell into conversation, in between me telling him how amazing the food was. The sun had now set and the stars were out. I laid out on the blanket and looked up trying to find different constellations. "I am so full." He stated as he laid down beside me. "Me too. I now have a fear Maximus is going to collapse under my weight," I said and listened to the amazing sound of Nate's laugh.

"The one thing I made my parents promised when we moved was that it would be somewhere I could see the stars," Nate said in a whisper as if, if he spoke too loudly the stars would disappear and hide. "Back in Montana, I used to sit on the roof outside my bedroom window at night and find the constellations," I smiled and looked over at him to find him looking at me instead of the stars. My breath hitched and I whispered out a breathy response that instantly cause redness to form on my cheeks, "I love looking at the stars."

"This is probably the moment I should say a cheesy line, something like 'I love looking at you' or 'your more beautiful than the stars'." I began laughing and shook my head. "Please don't do that. I instantly cringe whenever that happens in a movie." I said between fits of laughter. Nate nodded, "My ex-girlfriend used to make me watch these sappy romances all the time. Then when those scenes would happen she would look at me to hint that she wanted me to say something like that." I shook my head and tried to shove down the thought of him with an ex-girlfriend.

I felt his hand intertwine with mine and instantly heat shot up through my hand and along my arm. I looked over at him to smile and found him just inches away from my face. Soon we were kissing and I was lost. That was the best way to describe it, I was lost in the kiss. It was perfect and right, and Nate was an amazing kisser. When he pulled away I felt my cheeks radiating heat. "We should probably get back," Nate suggested, all I could give was a nod, because I was still in a daze from the kiss.

Before I never understood movies like Endless Love or Dear John, as much as I loved them. I never understood how I girl could fall madly in love with someone in a short period of time. From what I understood, it happened over time. Though now I was beginning to think that wasn't the case for everyone.

Once we arrived back at Nate's house and the horses were put away he walked me to my car. "So are you going to kiss me and run back inside again?" I said jokingly because I was nervous, and I had no clue why. He laughed and shook his head, "I figured I would try something different." He leaned in and kissed me leaving my speechless and red-cheeked again. I wonder when my cheeks would stop turning red at every kiss he gives me.

He smiled and opened my door for me, "I'll text you tomorrow." I nodded, "Thank you for tonight, it was, for a lack of a better phrase, amazing," I smiled and closed the door. As I pulled out of the driveway, I watched him wave.