Pole Position (14 page)

I had to wonder if Danny was on drugs. After his anger and bleakness, now came one of his bouncing-off-the-ceiling brilliant moods. He came home from the stables singing lustily to the radio, and greeted me with a big hug and kiss.

“We’re going out,” he announced. “Where do you fancy?”

“We are?” I quickly latched onto his good humor. “Pub? Or somewhere more exotic?”

He thought about it, while inching his hand down the back of my jeans. “Let’s go clubbing.”

“It’s Sunday, there’s nowhere open.”

“How about a pub with live music? There’s the Red Lion in Cumberley.”

Danny was irresistible when he was happy. After a lengthy shower together we spent the evening in the Red Lion, dancing on the tiny area they laughingly called a dance floor, and sharing a giant bowl of fries with mayonnaise. He even asked me to go to his show the next day. I wasn’t a fan of horses, but I was thrilled to be invited, and to see another part of his life.

I assumed that since Anita planned on spending the entire weekend at Jon’s, Danny felt happy because we had the house to ourselves. I spent a while daydreaming about Anita moving out permanently, leaving Danny and me to be a proper couple.

He was strangely tender that night, not in such a hurry to bang my brains out. Leading me into his bedroom, he undressed me slowly, kissing every new piece of skin he uncovered. When I tried to grab at his jeans to free his hard-on, he tutted at me.

“Nu-huh. Not tonight.”

He guided me to lie on the bed and then lifted my hands, to curl my fingers around the headboard. His eyes gleamed in the dim glow from the bedside light. “You hang on to that, until I say you can let go.”

I giggled, but complied. If it meant he continued to pleasure me with his mouth, I’d stay there all night. He burned a trail with his lips, tormenting me when he played with my nipples and scraped his teeth across the hard buds. His mouth was everywhere, kisses followed little nips and sucks, as he lit a slow-burning fire deep inside me.

Dropping his jeans, he stepped out of his boxers and stood before me, a hungry look on his face. My gaze was drawn to his cock, to his hand stroking the length, the drops of pre-cum glistening at the tip. I licked my lips. I wanted that in my mouth and he knew it. He fisted his dick, a devilish grin appearing.

“Something you want?”

I squirmed on the bed. “You’re playing with me.”

He climbed up beside me and trailed a sticky finger over my chin, smearing it across my lips. “You want this?”

“You know I do.” I tried to catch his finger in my teeth and missed.

“Later. I want to fuck you first.” He ripped open the foil packet with agonizing slowness, took his time fitting the condom and finally eased inside me, an inch at a time. I usually liked it hard and fast. This gentle, intense shagging felt alien to me.

Hours later, with Danny sleeping curled around my back I realized something significant.

We had been making love, instead of just fucking. He was finally starting to see me as something more than a fuck buddy. I went to sleep with a smile on my face.

I loved show days, the anticipation and excitement, the detailed preparation, the smells and noises from hundreds of horses together. I didn’t think I’d ever tire of them. Although the Blackheath event was small and provincial by many standards, it was the last opportunity for us to test our horses before Charrington and I hoped for a good result.

The sun rose in an already blue sky, the ground was nicely firm, and a light breeze would be just enough to keep it from getting hot. Perfect show conditions.

True to his word, Jon brought me to the yard early in the morning. He walked to Sam’s stall with me, and watched in amusement as I hugged my horse, and dropped a kiss on his velvety nose.

“There’s no need for you to be jealous.” I slipped my arms around Jon’s waist. “What are you going to do with yourself today?”

“I’m going for a run, and off to the gym this morning.” He scratched his stubbled chin. “Then I’m going to watch some bird riding a horse this afternoon.”

I poked him playfully. “You know where you’re going? Once you get to Blackheath it’ll be easy to find. Just look out for a field full of horseboxes.”

“Yep, I think I can manage that.”

“You’ve seen our box? Bright blue with a yellow and white stripe, and ‘Webster’s Horses’ painted on the side. Find that, and wait for me there. You’ll be arriving at two?”

“I’ll be there.”

He could have made reference to my non-appearance at Oulton Park, but bless him, he didn’t. I waved him off, and got down to the business of getting Sam ready.

Danny was in a cheerful mood too, much to Clare’s relief. Between us, we groomed and polished, organized the juniors to watch the yard in our absence—there were no classes that day—and finally loaded up the van. We were taking all the horses that would be going to Charrington next week. Sam of course, Nizzi and Brutus for Clare, and the mighty Boomerang for Danny. Boom stood a magnificent eighteen hands high, with a coat of polished, chocolate brown you could see your face reflected in. He had huge potential, and Danny had invested a great deal of energy in him.

Not long before we set off, Colette came strolling across the yard, lugging a picnic hamper.

“Hiya.” I gave her a quick hug. “What are you doing here? Are you coming to the show too?”

“Yeah, Danny asked if I’d like to come and cheer you all on.” She placed the hamper on the ground. “I figured you might like some food, since you’re out all day, so I made a picnic lunch for us all.”

“You angel. That will make a lovely change from the burger vans.” I scanned the yard, looking for Danny. “I think he’s in the box at the moment, supervising the haynets.”

“I’ll go and say hello.” She wandered across to the van while I resumed my job of packing up the grooming kits.

There was a brush missing, one of Danny’s, so I went to ask where he’d left it. As I reached the open back of the van, I stopped and stared. Danny leaned back against the interior partition, Colette held tight in his arms, her legs wrapped round his waist, while they snogged the faces off each other. Well, that explained a lot. I slipped away and left them to it, a huge smile on my face. I sang as I worked. It was going to be a good day; I could feel it.

Jon arrived on time, strolling up to the parked van while I sat on the tailgate eating one of Colette’s fabulous mushroom tartlets. I scrambled down and ran to him, giving him a huge hug. He kissed me, and I took his hand to show him the jumping course. My class was due to start at two thirty. Clare was competing in the same class, while Danny’s event was the last one of the day.

I told Jon about finding Danny and Colette together in the van. He made all the right polite noises, but I could tell he wasn’t particularly interested. Instead, he asked me about the jumps and the layout, and if I fancied my chances. He was being so sweet. He really didn’t seem to mind that he was probably like a fish out of water here.

We practically tripped over Colette and Danny sitting in the shade under a large oak tree. Danny sprawled on the ground, eating a sandwich, while Colette lay with her head on his shoulder.

He grinned at us and nudged Colette playfully. “It’s the lovebirds,” he joked.

Jon’s hand tensed in mine, and I squeezed it reassuringly. He was still behaving oddly with Danny, but it was just a matter of time before they accepted each other.

Mark was happy to explain the competition to Jon. How the aim was to get a clear round—not hitting any of the fences—and then there’d be a jump off against the clock. There were different types of obstacles, but all were designed to fall when hit, and the entire round was scored on how many faults you amassed.

I left them talking about the course, and went to do my warm up.

Clare would be riding second on Nizzi, then I was in sixth, and Clare back again in eighth position on Brutus. The competition was in two rounds, the same as it would be at Charrington. The big difference was in course height and layout. This was a much simpler course to complete, but we still had to pay attention. I had to guard against being over confident.

Clare went clear on Nizzi, although he balked at the double and almost knocked the top pole down. Sam popped over the jumps easily, shaking his head as if to ask if we were still only practicing, and then Clare had a much easier clear on Brutus. There was a short break while they adjusted the course, and I went to find Jon. To my delight, he was chatting nicely with Colette. I desperately wanted my friends to like him. They were so important to me.

“Well done,” he grinned, giving me his panty-melting, sexy smile. “Colette and I are just trying to figure out who knows the least about this sport. It’s her first time at a show too.”

Clare came bouncing along at her usual speed and hugged me. “The second round is almost ready. You coming?”

“Yes.” I turned back to Jon and gave him a quick kiss. “Wish me luck.”

“Good luck!” chorused Jon and Colette together, and I dashed back to where Bev stood with the horses.

The jump off was tougher, as we expected. Nizzi showed his inexperience and kicked two fences down, and Clare rode out with a rueful grin. “Apart from the triple, it’s fine,” she said. “I think they’ve messed up the distance from the brushwood to the triple. Watch your stride.”

I went next. There’d been two clears already, and both with good times, but today I wasn’t out to win. I just wanted the last minute practice. I’d be happy to simply get Sam another clear round, slow and steady. Clare’s advice about the approach to the triple was sound. The distance looked awkward, but we sailed through it. “Well
done
.” I slapped his neck, delighted he’d done it so easily. He sailed way above most of the jumps and our time was great. We were in third place.

Clare went in straight after me, the energetic Brutus keen to start. Like Sam, he flew over the jumps, but also put in a scorching time, hurtling Clare into first place and pushing me back to fourth.

Bev took charge of Sam while I went to find Jon, and waited for Clare to join us. There were another three riders after Brutus, but although they all went clear, they were slower. Clare and I swung together, cheering and laughing. She had first place and I had fourth. Not bad for an afternoon’s work.

Jon and Colette congratulated us, Jon scooping me up and kissing me until I was breathless. I slithered to the ground to find Danny watching us with an odd, distant expression on his face, while Colette hugged Clare.

We collected our prizes, rosettes and certificates, with Clare also winning a sash and a bag of feed from the competition sponsors. We took our haul back to the van, chattering happily, and found Danny there with Colette.

“This is one for the tack room wall.” He produced his camera, made Clare and I pose together, and took several photos. Then, when Jon joined us, with Colette, Danny passed the camera to him. “Go on, mate, take a group picture would you? It’s Danny’s Angels.”

How could he refuse? Danny posed us by the horsebox, Clare on one side, me on the other, with Colette standing in front of us. Grinning broadly, he hugged Clare and me to his sides and we all chanted “Danny’s Angels” to the camera, then collapsed in a fit of giggles. Jon did as asked, thrust the camera back at Danny, and pulled me into his arms.

Giving me a big hug, he whispered in my ear. “I’m getting incredibly turned on by the sight of you in those tight breeches. Should we go and get some ice creams to help me cool off?”

I laughed, I was glad he seemed to be enjoying himself this afternoon. “Yes please.” I took his hand, and we wandered off, looking for the ice cream van.

Danny’s class started soon after, and I insisted we watch it with Clare and the others. It was a much tougher class than ours had been, with bigger fences and more of them, but I needn’t have worried. Boomerang aced them all, putting in a brilliant second round, giving Danny first place and a huge red rosette. We hollered and cheered, all except Jon who’d disappeared to get drinks. It was a shame he missed Danny’s triumph.

As the vans lumbered out of the parking field, I went back to the yard with Jon. He’d come with me and wait while I settled Sam for the night. We’d then have a final night with the house to ourselves, before his parents came back on Tuesday.

I chattered happily all the way back to the yard. When we arrived, it was to find Danny making plans for the evening. They were all going out for supper and wanted us to join them.

“Oh, come on,” urged Clare, “it’s going to be great fun. We’re going to the new Chinese in Cumberley. We can celebrate our wins. We haven’t had such a good show for ages.”

I looked at Jon, and tried to gauge how he felt about it. He didn’t look thrilled. And it would be our last night together. “Sorry, not tonight.” I was firm, and wouldn’t be swayed, and Jon looked heaps happier. I caught him staring at Danny, a smug look fleeting over his face, and I caught his arm. “Are you okay to wait? I’ll be about an hour.”

“No problem.” He smiled fully at me. “Anything I can do to help? The sooner you’re done, the sooner we can go home.”

It was a fantastic end to a lovely day, not least because Jon and Danny finally seemed to be getting on together.