Page 23 of All of Us

Even though I agreed with him, I had to kiss him a little more.

Finally, I responded, “Yes. Let’s head back.”

As we looked toward the sunset, I could see two small dragons heading toward the main farmhouse.

“Looks like my brother and brother-in-law are home, the dragons are heading over to their grandmothers.” I laughed.

I had seen these two fly to Mrs. Wilson many times. She treated the two small dragons like her grandchildren. Even though they were both emotional support animals for their companions, when they were home, they often got to go out and play, which meant snacks from Grandma.

“It’s pretty cool they have dragons.”

“Yeah. Those dragons have helped them so very much.” I watched as he rubbed the back of his neck. He was getting more comfortable as he rode. I wouldn’t mention it, though, because I was sure he would get nervous again.

“So. Uh. Were you still interested in dinner tonight?” He said quietly.

His being bashful was adorable. “I would very much like that, but I have to get Dusty home first.”

He pulled out his phone—another sign he was comfortable in the saddle. A few minutes later, he turned and grinned at me. “How does Dusty feel about sleepovers?”

“Dusty?” I patted the side of his neck. “How do you feel about sleepovers?” He snorted and continued walking. “I feel like he is okay with them.”

He smiled, then blushed. “How do you feel about them?”

“I’ve been known to enjoy spending the night away from home.” I was pretty sure he was about to ask me to stay with him overnight, but I wasn’t positive.

“Well, my brother said Dusty can sleep in the barn tonight, and you can leave the trailer, too. Then I thought you could come over to my place and shower. I have a guest room where you could stay. It would be like a slumber party.”

“What if I don’t want to slumber?”

“All the better.”

“Then I think that will be a great way to spend the evening.”

“Yeah?”

“I would love to, Joe.” We walked back into the barn to cool the horses and continue with our date.

Chapter nine

JOE

It took me a lot of effort not to follow Gentry to the shower. The fact that I considered it surprised me. My lack of experience was one of the things I needed to tell Gentry, but so far, I’d managed not to feel completely out of my depth. What I knew for sure was that I liked Gentry a lot and wanted to know him more, both as a person and physically. I wasn’t a fantastic cook and smelled like a horse—I should have joined him.

I put a frozen lasagna in the oven, giving me more time to get to know Gentry. With dinner in the oven, I headed toward my bedroom, which had its own bathroom. I knew that Gentry was a genuine cowboy, but I doubted the smell of a horse was an aphrodisiac.

After a shower, I made myself as tempting as possible. I pulled on some sweat pants that hung low on my hips and a tank top. Instead of putting on boxer briefs, I decided on the much less restraining boxers, which had flamingos vacationing on them and didn’t hold anything in place.

In the living room, I found Gentry as he scrolled on his phone. It was difficult to swallow because he wore sweatpants and a slightly too-tight t-shirt.

“Wait. Where did you get clean clothes?” He gave me a sly smile.

“I had a bag in my truck. Good thing you don’t have many neighbors, or they would have gotten a good look at me in only a towel.”

“Lucky for them.” I wished it were me who got to see that. I sat on the couch close to him, but not so close that it was awkward.

“Dinner has at least thirty more minutes. I hope you like lasagna.”

“Sounds great to me. How are you feeling after our ride today?”