Wild Ride Cowboy

“I see.” Alex rubbed his hand across his chin, the sound of his palm moving over his whiskers like sandpaper on wood. “So, you know a lot about him. But he apparently didn’t know you had a brother that died. And he thinks you like coffee. Does he also think you like kale salads?”

She picked a candy piece off her cocoa. “Kale has never come up in conversation.”

Alex looked over to where Asher was standing, now ordering his coffee. It looked like a long, involved ordering process. There were hand gestures.

“Really?” Alex looked incredulous. “He seems like the kind of guy who brings up kale on the second or third conversation.”

She tapped the side of her mug. “We did talk about quinoa once.”

“That’s hilarious.”

“He says it’s problematic because of the way that it’s sourced.” She had been relieved because quinoa was on her “never try” food list.

“And you want to date him?” Alex asked, his eyebrows raised. “You want to go out with this guy, invite him in after, make out with him on your couch?”

Clara felt her face getting warm. “I don’t... I like him. Yes, he’s into some different things than I am. But that’s actually good. It’s interesting. I haven’t... I’ve never done anything, Alex. I live here. I’ve always lived here. I’ve always had the ranch. And knowing Asher has taught me new things.”

“Let me guess...he’s part of your honey initiative.”

She let out an exasperated growl. “We might have had a conversation about the issues with the bee population and why producing your own local honey is an asset.”

Alex shook his head. “Well, isn’t that something. The girl who can’t swallow an onion got bees because some hipster coffee shop guy told her to. And she also does her best to choke down black coffee in his presence. I mean, I guess you can’t fight that kind of attraction. If you’re willing to do those things for him...”

She didn’t like that he was making fun of her. That he was taking this incredibly private thing that she had never experienced before and making light of it. She also didn’t like the fact that she couldn’t quite connect his words with the reality of the situation. Attraction. Making out on her couch.

Of course she was attracted to Asher. She had just checked out his butt the other day.

But for some reason, reminding herself of that just reminded her of seeing Alex’s bare chest.

“Yeah, so what?” She did her best to keep her face steady, to keep her expression smooth, even though she had a feeling her cheeks were rosy. “I want to get into his pants.”

“I don’t know, honey, those pants are pretty tight. I think getting into them would be a challenge.”

She made a scoffing sound. “You’re horrible.”

He stood up. “Maybe.” He swallowed down the rest of the coffee. “I’m going to go work now. I’ll see you at the ranch. Give you some time to talk to your boyfriend.”

“Are you in high school, or what?”

“Are you? Because if not, why are you waiting for him to make a move? If you really want him, you should ask him out. Life is short, right?”

And then Alex walked out, leaving her at the table by herself.

Asher chose that moment to turn around, and he noticed that Alex was gone. His expression shifted slightly, and he walked back over to the table. “So, he’s just your brother’s friend?”

“Yeah,” she said quickly.

“Okay,” Asher said. “Well, I’ll see you around.”

He started to walk toward the door and Clara bit her lip, warring with indecision. Then she figured, screw it. “Wait,” she said. “Are you...do you...do you want to hang out sometime? I mean, you said you did. But can we pick a tangible time to do that?”

Asher assessed her slowly. “Sure,” he said. “What did you have in mind?”

“Well...there’s a farm-to-table dinner event happening at Grassroots Winery. I thought maybe you would want to go.”

They were serving absolutely nothing at that dinner that Clara could force down her throat, and she had no idea what she was doing.

“Yeah, that sounds good. When is it?”

“Next Sunday night. If you’re free. It’s at seven.”

“Sure,” he said. “Sounds good. Want to meet in the parking lot at Stim?”

That was a little disappointing. She wanted him to pick her up. So that later, he could drive her home. And then maybe there would be couch making out.

But if meeting in a parking lot worked for him, she wasn’t going to complain about the details.

“Perfect,” she said.

“Great. See you.”

Part of her wanted to demand that he write it down in front of her so she knew he wouldn’t forget, but she had already made the first move, so she wasn’t going to be a crazy person.

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