Chapter Seven - Oasis

“So do you play any sports?” Nick asks me as we start driving to the cinema.

“I do horse riding. I’ve been riding since I was five or six and I started competing when I was twelve. I’ve won a lot of competitions and I have a competition this weekend,” I tell him, glad to put the incident with Taylor behind me.

“Do you own any horses?” Nick asks me curiously.

“Yeah, I own a black thoroughbred mare named Marina. I’ve had her since she was five and the previous owner started training her when she turned four, she’s now eight.” I tell Nick with a smile on my face. “The woman who bred Marina, Juliet, was the woman who taught me to ride. When I saw her in the paddocks with her mother, I fell in love with her. She took me into the paddock to meet her and Juliet knew straight away that we had a connection. She talked to my parents, when they picked me up from my lesson and told them that she had the perfect mare for me to ride for competitions.”

“So it was love at first sight,” he says with a smile and a laugh.

“Yeah, she told my parents after a couple of lessons that I was a natural and would be a great competitor. She convinced them that the best chance I had of competing successively was on Marina and after a fifteen minute discussion they agreed to buy her for me. They had been considering getting me a horse since I was seven,” I tell him with a grin on my face.

“How did she get the name Marina?” Nick asks smiling to see me happy again after the incident.

“When we walked into the paddock she was nervous and kind of scared cause it was the first time she had been near people. To me she looked like a Marina and so I called out Marina down the paddocks to her and she came. That’s how she got the name,” I tell Nick.

“How did Juliet convince your parents to buy her for you?” Nick asks me with a smile.

“I didn’t know this until later, but my parents had been talking to Juliet about getting me a horse to train and compete with. When Juliet told them, she had the perfect horse for me, they agreed. She did have to tell them that she would train her for me and that she would have me helping her do that and that she was more than willing to let us board her at her farm. So they agreed and Juliet helped my parents register her in my mums name. I help them by paying a portion of my winnings on Marina’s board and the rest goes towards my College fund,” I tell Nick. “I also go out and exercise and groom her three times a week, but on a week where I have a competition I go out four times a week. Today was the only day that I get off this week.”

“Well, I’m glad you agreed to go out with me tonight then,” Nick says, as he pulls into the cinema parking lot.

“What kind of sports do you play?” I ask Nick as we walk into the cinema.

“I play soccer but I have a bye this weekend so if you like I would love to see you compete this weekend,” Nick says as we step in line for our tickets.

“I would love for you to come and watch, but just so you know we have to leave Friday afternoon because I compete on Saturday and then we leave Sunday morning after the awards,” I tell Nick.

“Two tickets to Cinderella please and two lemonades please,” Nick tells the cashier. “Thank you.”

We collect our drinks and tickets and head over to the line for the movie. Nick pulls out his phone and starts messaging someone for a couple of minutes before sliding his phone into his pocket with a grin.

“I asked my Dad if I could go with you to watch you compete and he said he would be okay with that,” Nick tells me with a smile.

“Well I better ask my Dad then,” I tell him pulling my phone out of my purse.

Dad would it be okay if Nick came with us to watch me compete this weekend please? I message my dad and ask.

If it is okay with his parents then that is fine with me. He replies back almost instantly.

Thank you Daddy. I send back before putting my phone back in my purse and giving Nick a hug.

“I’m guessing he said it was okay for me to go?” Nick says with a grin as he hugs me back.

“Yeah,” I say as the doors for the movie open and the man starts taking the tickets and directing us in to showing room that is showing our movie. We slowly make our way to the seats at the back and take them.

“Oasis,” Nick says after a couple of seconds of silence.

I look over at him and he slowly leans in and kisses me softly on the lips in a sweet and gentle kind of way.