Cinderella...Ish

15

"How was practice today?" John asked

"Good. Kasey almost slipped but just knocked a barrel down, she decided to cool down after that. Kate and I ran a little more. We don't like to push hard the day before so we did a lot of cool down running" I said

"That's good. Uhm... I think Tommy said we are meeting them later on" John said

"Yeah. I think Kate said after they go on their date night and we do whatever we are going to. We're going to meet up and take pictures. Cause she bought her dress" I said

"And what about you. Are you going to take pictures" He laughed

"I have no choice, but I need something to post" I said

"Hey speaking of posting. Colin took pictures when we went to the dinner. Do you care if I post one?" He asked

"I don't mind. As long as your friends don't kill me." I smiled

"You can take it" John laughed

Rolling my eyes, I watch him go to i********: and scroll through some photos and he got to the ones from the dance.

"Oh, i've never seen these" I said

"Really? He sent them to me" John laughed

"Never showed me. So rude" I replied

He quickly showed me the pictures, then picked on of the two of us holding our awards. His caption was great though. Throw back to the end of the season Rodeo dinner, now i'm down in Texas helping this gem with barrels. Aww.

"That's cute. And your friends are so gonna be pissy" I laughed

He just smiled at me and posted it. He also tagged me in the photo, so I shared it on my story. Then decided to get dressed. Grabbing the bag from last night, I went into the bathroom and got dressed. It is a cute dress. I sent a picture to Kate and she sent on back in her dress.

"Wow, that's a nice dress" John said

"Thanks. Are you ready to go?" I asked

"Yeah, just gotta pull my boots on" He said

I did the same and we both walked down to his truck. He typed something into his phone and his GPS was on. We chatted on the way to wherever and soon came to a small restaurant.

"Aww it's so cute" I smiled

He nodded and apparently had made reservations. Look at him go. Getting seated, we glanced at our menus and this place has a decent selection. The amount of times i've come down to Texas i've never come here.

"So, did you see anything good?" John asked

"Yeah, this four cheese mac with chicken looks really good" I replied

"Oh yeah it does. I think I'm gonna get the steak" He said

"Steak is always a good choice" I smiled

Soon the waitress came over and we got our drinks and ordered our food as well. It's not too packed in here so our appetizers came over pretty fast. We got mozzarella sticks to share.

"Are you ready for the next couple days to fly by?" I said

"Do they really" He laughed

"Yup. Mostly cause Kate and I are exhausted and sleep a lot" I said

"Well that's fine." John said

"If you want to explore more, Tommy likes to go out, you could go with him. I think you guys are the same age actually" I said

"Yeah, we went to school together actually" John laughed

"Wait.. really?" I asked

"Yeah. We never talked but when they first got together we talked about it." He said

I nodded and we both devoured the mozzarella sticks. Then our food came out and man it looks so good.

"That pasta looks good" John said

"So does your steak." I laughed

He smiled and we continued on with dinner, John paid when the check came and we skipped dessert. I tried to help pay but he said no. Then I checked my phone and Kate had messaged me saying they were finishing up.

"You ready to meet up with the other two?" John said

"Yup" I replied

Leaving the small restaurant, we got in his truck and drove to the little park we like to go to every year. It's such a nice place to take pictures.

"How was your night?" Kate asked

"Good. Dinner was nice" I smiled

"Are you ready to take pictures. We look amazing" She replied

The two of us stood together and she gave Tommy her phone. He took a couple pictures of us and I took some of the two of them.

"Do you want to take a picture?" I asked

"Sure." He smiled

We stood together and Kate took pictures with my phone. Then we decided it was time for bed. We are going back a little early tonight since we start round 1 tomorrow. Granted we have all morning to bullshit but I want to sleep in.

"Do you care if I post one of these?" I asked

"Go for it. I already have Bobby messaging me." John laughed

"Okay" I laughed

Picking my favorite one, I came up with a nice caption and posted that. Kate was the first person to like it and leave a comment. She also posted a photo of her and Tommy. I left a comment on her post too. It's what friends do.

"So, why is Bobby messaging you" I laughed

"He's jealous" John replied

"Your friends are weird" I said

"I'm surprised Ryan hasn't messaged me" John said

"Why?" I asked

"Because he was jealous that I was coming down with you. Then he asked why you didn't ask him. I just said I don't know, but I think he's mad you don't like him" John chuckled

"Well I don't hate him. I don't know what he wants from me" I said

"He wants you. But that's not gonna happen" John said

"Ah. Well, he needs to get his s**t together and move on" I said

"Wow, so nice El" John smiled

"What, if he's not gonna get the point when i'm being nice, i'll be an asshole" I shrugged

John just shook his head and I went on snapchat. I took a picture with John and posted it on my story. I'm kinda tired.

"You going to sleep?" John asked

"Yeah. At least we can sleep in tomorrow" I said

"Yeah. But I wanna get breakfast" John laughed

"We will" I replied

Going into the bathroom, I got changed and John used the bathroom after me. Then he climbed into bed and I went to sleep.

~*~

"Hey El. Your phone keeps going off"

I opened my eyes a bit and I was facing the wall. Then I blindly grabbed my phone and it's bright.

"Oh, too bright. Hold on" I said

"Who's that?" John asked

"I don't know it's a random number" I said

Rolling over, I half laid on John and he put his arm around my shoulder. Well how you do when you're both laying down. So, under my neck? I don't know.

"Why does that number look familiar? What did they say" John said

"Hold on.. so it says... Hey, it's my turn to get to know you, I got your number from Ryan.....Is this bobby?" I asked

"Hold on, let me look at my phone" John said

He grabbed his off the stand and had a message from Bobby. It was sent at 12am and said whats sup. What what this kid doing at 12am. John replied back that he just got up and tapped Bobby's name. Yup it's him.

"Why would Ryan give Bobby my number. And out of no where" I said

"I don't know. What are you going to say?" John asked

"I just wasn't going to reply" I said

"You replied to me" John laughed

"Yeah but you're not creepy. I mean the message you sent was a little weird but then I was like ohh, it was you" I said

"Do you have either of them on snapchat?" John asked

"I have both of them" I said

"Why didn't he just message you on there" He laughed

"Good question... Oh someone took a screen shot of the picture I put of me and you" I said

"Who?" John asked

"Ryan" I said scrolling through

"He's really been acting so weird lately." He said shaking his head

"You know. I shoulda just told Bobby I was a lesbian. Then I could have avoided both of them" I said

"Would you have still asked me to go to the dinner with you?" John asked

"I don't know. I was planning on going by myself. I mean, Kate might have still told me to ask you. I don't know" I said

"You think we would of became friends if we didn't?" He asked

"Maybe. I mean all the times I see just you at the barn it has nothing to do with them. And we would text each other." I said

"Okay." He said

"Do you think we would of become friends?" I asked

"Yeah." John nodded

"Well, it's 8am and I don't want to get up until 10. So good night" I said

"I'm gonna go get breakfast. Do you want me to bring you anything?" John asked

"If you want to. Maybe like a banana?" I said

"Are you going to go out and get something?" He asked

"My stomach feels all weird so I don't really want to eat" I replied

"You're probably just nervous" John said

"Probably. I am tired though" I laughed

"Well, I'll be quiet, I also texted Tommy and he said Kate isn't going either. She's sleeping" He said

"You two go enjoy breakfast" I said

He nodded and pulled on clothes then walked out into the hall. I heard him say hey as the door shut and I shut my eyes and went back to sleep.

"Hey...Chilling in a hotel room... Well yeah... Why... Just one... Nah bro, i'm not trying to do that.... Watching tv she's sleeping.... K... Yeah, bye"

Opening my eyes, John was sitting on the bed and was on his phone.

"Who was that?" I asked

"Ryan. Asking what I was up to and yada yada yada" He said

"Oh.. How was breakfast?" I said

"Good. I brought you a banana. It's up on the tv stand." He laughed

"Thanks" I chuckled

Looking at my phone it was 9:30. I got out of bed and used the bathroom. I'm staying in pajamas until we have to leave. Grabbing the banana, I sat back on the bed and leaned on John while we watched tv.

"You comfy there hun" John said

"You just called me hun" I laughed

"Sorry... you comfy there pain" He replied

"Hey, I liked hun better" I pouted "And yes, I am comfy"

He just laughed and we sat like that for a little bit. I was snapchatting Kate and John licked my head in one of them. So.. now it's a war.

"Come here" I said

"No. You are not licking me" He laughed

"You wanna bet" I said

"Yeah. You're gonna lose" He replied

We're wrestling. He grabbed both my wrists and pinned me on the bed. Now he's just hovering above me. He leaned back a bit and looked at me...so I licked his nose.

"Hey" He said

"I win" I replied smiling.

He smirked and kissed me before sitting up.

"I think I won" He said

"I mean... I accomplished what I wanted too. That was just a bonus" I said

"Oh really now" John laughed

"Yes." I said, He smiled and shook his head and I sat up as well. " You know. Your friends would've had a fit if they saw that"

"Oh yeah. They both want to get with you. So do a few of the other rodeo guys. I may have had a couple of them message me this week" John laughed

"Why?" I laughed "I'm nothing special"

"Right I don't know what they're thinking...kidding" He said

"So mean" I chuckled

"Hey, I decided to extend past the free trial, so I can be mean" John laughed

Shaking my head we continued to watch tv for a little bit, then it was time to go. I got dressed in my riding clothes and met Kate and Tommy in the hallway.

"You ready" Kate said

"Oh yeah" I replied

John's going to drive all of us today. They've been going back and forth driving, because why take two trucks going to the same place.

"Oh, I got a story for you" I whispered to Kate

She nodded and smiled as we arrived to the barn.

"Okay we have a meeting to go too.. if you boys wouldn't mind getting the horses out and stretched" Kate smiled

They both nodded and we headed to our lovely daily meeting. They went over everything for the next three days and handed us the order we go in. It was also a bunch of other stuff that they say every meeting and every year and it gets boring. But now we can go get ready.

"Okay so whats the story" Kate said as we were walking back

"So you know how he licked me in the one snapchat I sent you" I said

"Yeah" She laughed

"Well it started a war because I was trying to lick him back. And he pinned me on the bed. But I licked his nose" I said

"Good job" Kate said still laughing

"Then he kissed me" I smiled

"Aww. So you guys finally actually kissed" Kate smiled and got a giddy.

"Well... we kissed another time. That wasn't the bar that day since that wasn't real" I said

"Wait.. when?" She asked

"After the dinner. He kissed me right before I got out and was like... there since everyone thinks we kissed. Or something like that" I said

"Aww that's adorable" She smiled

"I think i'm starting to get feelings for the kid. I don't know" I pouted

"Well. Do you think he likes you? I mean s**t, would he of come down here if he didn't" Kate said

"He said he really wants to be friends with me.. I don't know. I'm just gonna push this off until we get back home. Also Ryan gave Bobby my number and Ryan also took a screenshot of the picture I posted and John and I on my story" I said

"That kid when from being really cool to really weird" She replied

"I know. Well good luck babes. Love you" I said

"Good luck and love you too" Kate said back

We hugged and went our separate was to our stalls. I mean, John is a good looking guy, he's been amazing to be around. The last guy I actually dated was the one who cheated on me and blamed me for it. I didn't believe him and he tried to get me back like a week later. This kid begged. But he made me more aware of how guys are acting. That's why i've been on hundreds of dates but they haven't lead to anything. I just want to be friends with John right now, but hey if he wants to kiss me more he can, I have no problem with that. Wow, that makes me sound like w***e, but it's with one person. Hmm maybe it makes me a player.

"Hey, you ready?" John said

"Yup. How's my boy" I smiled

"I'm doing fine" He replied

"I meant Gypsy you dork" I laughed

"Oh, yeah I knew that" He replied

"Uh huh. Sure you did" I replied

He just shook his head and I rubbed Gyps nose. I did my little stretches and I think I should go to the gym. I'm getting a belly. It's probably not noticeable but I can tell. Ugh. Well round one here we go.

"Good luck out there" John said

"Thank you" I smiled

Heading through the barn, I met up with the other barrel racers and Kate came up next to me.

"You ready" She said

"Yup" I smiled

They checked all of our horses then lined us up in the order we run. Kate and I aren't near each other, she's more towards the front and i'm in the middle end of the group.

"Alright Gyp. Let's show 'em how it's done" I said patting my boys neck.

That's now I get him hyped up. Even though I always pat his neck, I think he feels the energy and knows it's time to run. The person in front of me came in and she hit a barrel so they have to go pick it up and fix it. Once they were done they let us in the chute and said I can go when i'm ready.

"Alright boy. Let's go" I said

He huffed and we took off into the arena. Going around all three barrels we flew back into the chute and slowed down. Now to do that two more times. We got this.

~*~

"Well, how do you think you did?" John asked

"I think I did pretty good. Going first yesterday was not fun though" I laughed

"I hate going first" Kate laughed

"And last. I like being in the middle" I said

"Well, you think you girls placed?" Tommy asked

"Who knows when you come here" Kate said

"Why?" John asked

"Everyone is so good." I replied

"You girls are too" Tommy laughed

Kate and I just shrugged and we played on our phones. I'm sitting on our bed with John, while Kate is sitting in a chair and Tommy is on the floor. We offered the bed but he said no.

"I'm exhausted" I said

"Somebody is nodding off in the chair over here" Tommy said

"I'm playing on my phone shush" Kate said

I leaned on Johns shoulder and scrolled through i********:.

"Your friends snapchatted me" I muttered

"Are you going to answer" John laughed

"Yeah. I'm gonna piss them off too" I smirked

"How?" Tommy asked

"They get mad when I send pictures of me with him" I chucked

"They like her. And may be fighting each other a little bit" John said

"Do you like either of them?" Tommy asked

"Nope" Kate replied

"What she said" I nodded

I took a video and John kissed my forehead while he was chatting with Tommy. It put the cheesiest smile on my face.

"Can I put that on my story" I asked

"I like how you ask" Kate laughed

"Hey, he asked if he could post that picture of us from the dinner cause his friends like to get mad. And we have the same people on social media" I said

"Go for it" John said

"It's going to your friends too. Maybe they'll stop messaging me" I said

"I like how you use him to stop his friends from talking to you" Tommy laughed

"He's the only one who's fun to talk to. And doesn't creep me out or piss me off" I said

"Meant to be" Kate laughed

I chuckled and sent the video. Time for people to get butt hurt. Hehe. Bobby opened the video and I shook my head. This kid is just sitting on his phone isn't he. Oh wait. He's calling me.

"John. Why is Bobby calling me" I said

"You saved his number?" He laughed

"Well I need to know I shouldn't answer duh" I said

"I'll answer" Kate said

"No. He's sent me a dozen text messages since we've been down here and I haven't answered one. I turned off the read receipts too. So he doesn't know I'm not responding." I said

"Why you always have them on?" Kate said

"Yeah, they're on for Ryan, so if he tells Bobby I have them on, he'll think i've never actually read it" I said

"That's kinda smart" Tommy said

"Then they call me" John said

"Is he calling you" I asked

"Yup. I can't with these two" He said

"Hey, it's not my fault" I said

"Actually..." John said

"You told me I could send it" I replied

He just shook his head and eventually I started nodding off. Kate was passed out in the chair.

"Well, I think it's time to carry her back to the room. I'll see you guys tomorrow" Tommy said

"See ya. I think she's sleeping too" John replied

"Well you don't have to go far" Tommy laughed

I heard him huff then walk by the bed. Once the door shut, I felt John shake me a bit.

"Hey, you awake?" John said

"mmm" I groaned

"Do you want to get changed? Or you sleeping in that?" John said

I sighed and got off the bed then pulled pajamas from my bag. Going to the bathroom, I had to pee, and I pulled on my pajamas. It's shorts and a cropped shirt. Oh look at that belly. Walking back out John was just in his boxers. I also sleep bra-less because it's so much comfier.

"Oh look, crop top" John said

"You can see my belly" I replied "I think I need to find a gym to go to back home"

"For what" John laughed

"I'm getting chubby" I pouted

"Where" He laughed "You look good"

"Eh. I still don't want a belly" I said getting over the covers

"I like your belly and you don't need a gym. Plus you have a horse you can't afford a gym membership" He said

I smacked his shoulder and the boy laughed then I went to sleep.

~*~

"Well, everything is all packed up and Gypsy is ready to go" I said

"So is Romeo. Are we going to leave right after?" Kate said

"I'd like to. Get home and get some sleep" Tommy said

"We all get to go back to work tomorrow" John laughed

"Ah yes, and we get to see your friends" I said

"I'm actually not looking forward to that" John said

"Don't you love when girls come around and mess up your friend group" Tommy said

"Hey. He deserved to get punched. He's lucky I didn't kill him" Kate said

"Oooh. I remember that" I said

"So do I" John chuckled

"I always forget you two went to school together" Kate said

The boys nodded and we headed inside. We just have to stand in the arena as they announce who won. They do prizes for first, second, and third place. I'm kinda nervous. I've placed here before and Kate's won before but, still nervous.

"Alright babes. Let's go" Kate smiled

We waved to the boys who got to go sit in the stands and they did winners for other stuff then announced barrel racers. So we all walked out and got to line up how ever we wanted. Kate and I stood next to each other, we do every year.

"And now it's time to announce the winners of the Female Barrel Competition" They announced...