Page 16 of Can I?

“Aww, yay! We gon’ celebrate tonight then! This is the best time I’ve ever gotten. Although this is a smaller field, the best time was thirteen point six two.”

“I know. You the champ, sis! I got an old-school song for you to hear that you may like.”

“Okay. I can’t wait to hear it.”

I grabbed Terminator’s reins to stall him as we made our way to the stands to await the competition to be done. There were six or so racers that had to go after me. When I got there and saw my girls, I started screaming, garnering laughs from everyone in the vicinity. They excitedly hopped from their seats and hugged me tightly as everyone else stood and applauded while they waited for the next racer.

When Maui and Ashanni released me, I nearly lost my breath. Ferris was here. He was standing and applauding. I should have known it was a possibility he would be here. Red Squared was competing. Since we were so far away from home, I didn’t even consider it. He smiled at me, and I smiled back, then continued hugging my family one by one.

When I got to Karima and Rhodes, she hugged me tightly. I could feel the tremble go through her. I knew she was happy for me, but I also knew she should have been competing today. I said in her ear, “Next year is yours. I love you so much, Karima.”

When I pulled away from her, I saw a tear fall down her cheek. “I love you too, Lana. Congratulations. I’m so proud of you.”

I smiled at her then sat by my girls as the next rider got ready to run. I was pretty confident that no one would come close to my time. I wouldn’t see anything close to that time until I got to the NFR. Making it to the National Finals Rodeo was my dream. It was Karima’s dream too. Hell, anyone who competed professionally wanted to be there. It was like going to the Super Bowl.

We continued watching the ladies barrel race, and no one came close to my time. None of us were really paying attention, because we knew that shit. As we celebrated, I caught Ferris’s eyes on me. His gaze was heating me up, and I didn’t know how I felt about that. It made me question if my attraction to him was genuine or if it was just the hot girl in me wanting to be set free. I hadn’t had sex with anyone since Malik. That was almost a year ago.

He was sexy as hell though. That wasn’t fabricated at all. From his light brown complexion to his curly hair had to all be perfected by God. He was tall, too, and somewhat slender like me. Well, not quite like me. He was definitely heavier than me. It didn’t take much. I tried gaining weight, but to no avail. I lookedlike fucking Olive Oyl fromPopeye The Sailor.I rolled my eyes at the thought.

However, he definitely liked what he saw, with his cute ass. His smile was everything. Straight white teeth framed by his thick, pink lips had my body heating up like someone had put a blow torch to me. I wanted to slide my fingers through his short beard and his curly hair and put all this shit on the low beard he sported, but I knew I needed to take my time. I just hoped his personality was as attractive as his looks.

When I looked back over at him, his eyes were still on me. He bit his bottom lip, and my body temperature had to have increased by ten degrees. I had to get away from his gaze, so I turned my back and continued celebrating with my family.

“So where are we going tonight, champion?” my daddy asked.

“I don’t know. Let’s wait until Red Squared and Carter Legend get done. I already know they’re going to sweep their competition. It’s a given.”

“Yeah, Ryder. Don’t be fucking alienating us like we ain’t family,” Cousin Legend said.

I giggled as he playfully cut his eyes at my dad. Those two were always going back and forth. They were first cousins, and from what I understood, it was the same way when they were little. Going back to my seat, I saw Ferris stand. I figured he was going to the bathroom or something, but when he stood right in front of me and extended his hand, I nearly stopped breathing.

Ashanni shoulder bumped me, and I could see my mama watching us. I swallowed hard and put my hand in his. He escorted me away from my seat toward the concession area without saying a word to me. I was so damn nervous I didn’t say a word either.

I caught the slight smile my mama gave me as we disappeared down the tunnel. When we got to the open area, he turned to me and asked, “Can I hug you?”

I nodded, and he wrapped his arms around me. “Congratulations on an amazing run, Milana.”

My body trembled, and I believed he felt it. As he pulled away from me, I said, “Thank you.”

He smiled at me and grabbed my hand and began walking. His thumb was gently caressing the top of my hand, and that act alone was making me feel so soft. He turned to me and smiled. “You always this quiet?”

“Yes, but only around people I don’t really know. What about you?”

“Not really, but I didn’t want to make you uncomfortable by diving in too quickly.”

I smiled and nodded. “How old are you?”

“Twenty-eight. That too old for you? Asad told me you were twenty-two.”

“That’s not too old. Honestly, I would prefer an older man. Niggas . . . umm, sorry. Guys my age tend to be players.”

“Milana, for real? Talk how you talked to me at that rodeo when you were shooting me down.”

I chuckled, feeling more comfortable with his words. I reworded my sentence. “Niggas my age tend to be fuckboys.”

“They need to grow up. You are my cut-off. I wouldn’t date a woman under twenty-two. I need to make sure she grown, grown.”

“Well, I wouldn’t say I’m grown, grown since I still live at my parents’ home.”

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