Page 106 of The Only Seconds that Matter
“Hey.”She smiled at him.“You put your boyfriend to work?”
Boyfriend, said so simply and casually in a way that Victor hadn’t enjoyed since he left LA.It made his heart feel too big for his chest.He hoped he wasn’t grinning like an idiot, because he really wanted to.“It’s what he gets for dating a horse person.”
Jade chuckled.“To date a horse girl is to know that you’ll always come second.”
Victor shifted from one foot to the other, wondering if this was the best time.But if Johnny was going to be brave, he had to be as well.Victor took a deep breath and girded his loins.“So, uh, our relationship isn’t the only thing I haven’t told you about.”
“Oh?”
“I’m trans.”
This did give Jade pause, and she finally turned to fully face him even as her hands slid the horse’s bridle free from its face.“Like… which way?Trans man or trans woman?”
“Do Ilooklike a trans woman?”
“Pre-transition, sure.”
“I transitioned ten years ago, Jade.”
“Oooh.”Jade stared at him for a good three seconds.Then she threw the bridle over her arm and approached Victor.Before he knew what she had planned, she was wrapping him up in her arms and squeezing him.
“I’m glad you told me,” she said into his shirt.
Victor’s throat suddenly thickened as he embraced her back.He could see why Johnny came out to Jade so quickly after he came out to Sarah.You didn’t know you were squeezed under a weight until it lifted, and the freedom was addictive.
CHAPTER 30
Once April began, Victor’s schedule quickly filled up.Now that he was starting to show Cyclone, most of his weekends involved traveling for shows.Victor was at a local show with Taylor, Jade, and three other students when someone uninvited and, frankly, unwanted showed up at his trailer after he just finished up a class with Cyclone.
“Well hi there,” Daisy greeted, holding the reins of a well-muscled palomino in matching hot pink tack and boots that coordinated well with her magenta rhinestone-encrusted shirt.“I heard them say your name over the loudspeakers and came lookin’ for ya.Turns out we’re only a few trailers down.”
“Hello, Daisy,” Victor greeted with his best shot at amicability.“I didn’t realize they were running games today.”
“In the other arena,” she replied.“I’ve still got an hour or so, so right now I’m just hangin’ out and makin’ rounds.”She took a long sip from the water bottle in her hands.The palomino finally noticed Cyclone and twisted around to look at him, ears perked.“Nice lil guy you got.What’s his name?”
“This is Cyclone.This is his first year showing.”
“Well, he sure is well-behaved for a baby.”Daisy walked her horse over and extended a hand to Cyclone, who gave it a half-hearted sniff before turning his attention back to the palomino.“You score well?”
“Fourth place.”
“Ain’t bad for your first year.”
“He’s doing great.”Victor gave him a hearty pat on the neck.“How about you?”
“Oh, Smokey’s been doin’ it for a few years.He’s pretty good, but I don’t think he’s gonna take me to nationals.I might sell him.You know anyone who might be interested?”
“Maybe.Not a lot of gamers at my barn.”
Before Daisy could respond, Taylor emerged from the trailer’s living quarters in her western shirt and chaps, fiddling with her helmet strap.Victor watched her fumble with it for a few seconds before waving her over and bending down to help her buckle it.
“Well, if it ain’t little Miss Stearns,” Daisy said with a toothy smile.“You look more like your uncle every day.”When Taylor had no immediate reply, Daisy continued.“You recognize me, right?”
“Yeah.”
Victor pinched his lips together to keep from smiling.Normally he’d chide her for being rude, but he had no fond feelings toward Daisy, so he’d allow it.
“You get taller every time I see you.How old are you now, eight?”
