Date Shark by Delsheree Gladden

Author:Delsheree Gladden [Gladden, Delsheree]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Romance, Contemporary, New Adult & College, Sports, Literature & Fiction, Contemporary Fiction
Amazon: B00K8APK8E
Publisher: Limitless Publishing LLC
Published: 2014-05-07T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

Wanted

After the botched rock climbing trip, Luke made a concerted effort to always check with Leila before choosing anything he thought might make her nervous. When he first mentioned horseback riding, visions of quiet rides through a park had entered her mind. She was thrilled, especially since she had grown up riding horses at her aunt’s home in the country. It turned out that hadn’t quite been what Luke had in mind.

The jump was not even a foot high, but when Leila rode she preferred to keep the animal’s hooves firmly on the ground. She stared at the bar hovering above the dirt. Her hand patted the dappled grey she was perched atop. It was a mild mannered mare, which made Leila feel better. She had spent the past hour riding the mare around the practice ring and felt very comfortable. The horse wasn’t the problem.

“Are you ready?” Becca, the girl holding the lead, asked. She couldn’t have been more than fourteen years old. Leila felt like a child being nervous about something so trivial. She refused to admit she was scared, so she smiled as she nodded to the teenager.

“Great. Use your heels to signal Starburst for the jump.”

“Okay,” Leila agreed.

The girl clucked to the horse and they started moving. Surprisingly, the steady gait of the horse settled Leila’s nerves. The breeze rolling through the park brought the scent of horse and leather to her nose, and with it the memories of summers spent in the sun with friends. Horses and grass were the scents of happiness for Leila.

“We’re coming up to the jump,” Becca warned her.

It seemed natural to Leila for her knees to tighten against the mare’s body, lifting and shifting her weight. She leaned into the minimal jump along with the horse and settled back into her seat when they landed. It was so short, and took barely any effort. The calm inspired by riding the horse increased. Leila rolled along with Starburst’s steps. They continued on to the next jump, which was slightly higher than the first. Leila squeezed the horse, leaned forward and grinned as they cleared the next jump. When she thought each higher jump would only make her more anxious, she was pleasantly surprise to realize the opposite was true. She had cleared a two foot high jump before Becca called for Starburst to halt.

“You did great, Leila!” Becca gushed. “See, there wasn’t anything for you to be afraid of. You’re a natural jumper.”

“Thanks. It was easier than I expected it to be.” Leila certainly wasn’t saying she intended to take up show jumping any time soon, but she had enjoyed herself.

“Now,” Becca said, “let’s see how your boyfriend does.

Usually, Luke’s adventures stemmed from his own interests, activities he had been participating in for years. This was the first time they were trying something they were both familiar with, but neither one had actually tried this aspect of horse riding before. Leila was interested to see how Luke would react if he didn’t manage to conquer show jumping on the first try.

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