Chapter 14: His Friends are Back and I Like Them for Boosting My Ego
Sawyer and I had been going on the trail quite a bit ever since the first time we went back there and surprisingly, Paint was okay every single time we went on the trail. He had no problem being around Raven or Sawyer.
Even back at the farm, Paint was starting to be a lot better being around Sawyer. I didn't know why. It just happened all of a sudden and out of the blue. One day, he wasn't okay around Sawyer and the next, he was.
I didn't get it but I wasn't complaining.
Right as Sawyer and I put Raven and Paint back in the fields, I noticed a car pull into the driveway. "Who's that?" I asked Sawyer.
Sawyer looked over at the car, immediately smiling once he noticed exactly who was in the car. "No way."
"No way what?" I asked, curious as to see who was making Sawyer smiled brightly.
However, Sawyer completely ignored me and went to the car to greet whoever was there. I scowled, turning my attention to Paint since he clearly wouldn't ignore me like Sawyer just did.
I did look back at the car to see exactly who was in the car. Three people got out; one guy and two girls. And of course, I didn't recognize any of them.
Sawyer greeted each of them with a hug and while I was watching, Paint nudged my arm with his snout. "What?" I asked. "I'm not jealous."
Paint whinnied and for some reason, it sounded like a laugh to me.
"Are you... Are you mocking me?" I asked.
He just whinnied even more and it still sounded like a laugh. I couldn't believe it. My horse was actually mocking me.
What has my life come to?
Sawyer ended up walking over with the three people and once Paint saw them, he quickly ran off to the other side of the field. I was tempted to go to where Paint was to ignore Sawyer for ignoring me but in the end, I walked over to Sawyer and the others.
"Jamie, these are my friends, Zach, Felicity, and Lynda," Sawyer said. "Guys, this is Jamie."
"Oh, so you're Jamie," Felicity said, a smile on her face. "Well, it is very nice to meet you, Jamie."
"Why was 'you're' emphasized?" I asked.
"Uh, usually when someone says it like that, it's because said person is being talked about a lot," Zach said. "And Sawyer talks about you a lot. I don't think he ever talks about anything else as much as he talks about you."
"Awe, Sawyer," I said. "If you like me so much, you should just ask me out already. You and I both know I'd say yes."
Sawyer sighed. "I already regret telling my friends about you."
"You regret a lot of things about me," I said. "So how come I've never met your friends until today? Am I not good enough?"
"Jamie, don't be ridiculous," Lynda said. "Obviously you are good enough if he's always talking about you. And trust me, he just goes on and on."
I looked at Sawyer. "Seriously, why haven't I met them sooner? I like them."
"Oh, we were on a cross country tour for a couple of months," Zach said. "Lynda was show jumping while Felicity and I were bronc riding. And as much as we loved it, we're happy to be back." Zach threw an arm around Sawyer's shoulder. "Because it means we get to see this guy again and bug him all day. He gets so irritable easily. It's funny."
"I know, right?" I asked. "My favourite thing to do is say an endless amount of--"
"Please don't give them any ideas," Sawyer said. "The last thing I need is for more people to do that."
Oh, how I really wanted to make a suggestive comment right then and there. Sawyer just made it so easy for me. I didn't know if he was doing it on purpose or if he just had a lot of bad luck with walking into the references I mad.
Sawyer knew me well enough to know that was exactly what I wanted to do right now. "You want to say one, don't you?"
"Yes, and I'm struggling not to say it," I said. "At least this shows how considerate I am. I'm not saying it just for you."
"Oh, yeah, how considerate," Sawyer said sarcastically.
"Thanks, I try," I said.
Sawyer rolled his eyes but still gave me a smile and of course, I couldn't help but smile back at him.
"Don't mind us just standing here," Felicity said. "No, seriously. Just keep having that moment of yours while the three of us stand here awkwardly, not knowing what to do."
"I was... I was just smiling at him because of an inside joke," Sawyer said. "And Jamie, I already know what you're thinking. Don't say it."
"You know me so well," I said, feeling honoured that Sawyer was able to think of the innuendo I was planning on making with the sentence he just said.
"I think they're having another moment," Lynda said. "Should we leave? I think we should leave."
"No, I want to watch this blooming relationship," Zach said.
"You know we could hear you, right?" Sawyer said.
"Wait, really?" Zach said. "We had no idea."
"You should go spend time with them," I said to Sawyer. "I'm spending time with Paint anyway. Though I swear he was mocking me earlier..." I looked at Paint who had come a bit closer but still kept his distance so he wasn't too close to everyone else.
Paint was looking at me so I glared at him and he immediately made the whinnying that sounded like laughter.
"Did you hear that?" I asked. "He's laughing at me."
Sawyer furrowed his eyebrows. "One, he's a horse. Horses don't laugh. And two, why would he be laughing at you?"
"Because he thinks I'm... Wait, no, I can't say that out loud," I said. "Either way, he was laughing at me."
"Wait, that's Paint?" Felicity asked. "How are you able to be in his field with him?"
"Because he loves me more than Sawyer," I said.
"I would normally take offence to that but it's true," Sawyer said. "Jamie was the one who found Paint with me in the trail and they did have a special bond before Jamie had to move away. Paint acting up all the time slightly had to do with him not seeing Jamie."
"And because I'm better than Sawyer," I said.
"Seriously, do you have an off switch for that ego of yours?" Sawyer asked and as soon as I smiled, he realized his mistake. "No. No. Don't say it, Jamie. I know I walked into it but don't say it."
"Say what?" I asked. "That you're going to have to search me for an off switch?" To top it off, I gave him a wink.
"I really dislike you at times," Sawyer said.
"You and I both know that's not true," I said.
Lynda leaned closer to Zach. "You can feel the sexual tension, right?"
"Definitely," Zach said. "It's thick."
"I will kick you three of the land," Sawyer said.
"Awe, come on, I didn't say anything," Felicity said. "This time. But I agree. The tension is there and thick."
Sawyer sighed and looked at me. "I apologize for them. They do this all the time."
"Don't apologize," I said. "It's only feeding my ego a lot more. I appreciate the comments they're making."
"See, Sawyer?" Lynda said. "He gets it."
"Yeah, whatever," Sawyer said.
He and his friends then had to leave so they could spend some time together since Sawyer hadn't seen them for months. As soon as they walked off, Paint walked over and stood beside me, watching me watch Sawyer.
I could already feel Paint pitying me.
"Am I in over my head?" I asked. "And were his friends being serious about them seeing sexual tension? I like to think there is some but then again, that's only because I like Sawyer so I really want something to be there between us."
Wait a second.
"What am I saying?" I asked. "Of course I'm in over my head. I'm talking to a horse about my love life problems. I lost it. I have officially lost it. Liking Sawyer has officially messed with my brain. I need to do something about it."
Even though I probably wouldn't do anything about it. I was too afraid to make the first move because I didn't know if Sawyer liked me back or not. And I was still a tiny bit afraid to get into another relationship after what happened with my ex-boyfriend.
I was going to have to let things go with the flow. If they were meant to happen, they will.
I just didn't know if I was patient enough.
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sawyer's friends and paint are all moods
and it looks like the chapter i really want to write will be held off for a chapter later than i thought it would be because i really wanted to introduce sawyer's friends. but it's okay that the chapter will come a bit later. i will write it eventually lol. just later than i hoped for.