Page 2 of Sexy Cowboy
Levi
When I had seen Mabel on stage I had switched the line up to make sure I’d be paired with her. I had to give Mitch Samuels twenty dollars and promise a week's chorus to my brother, but it was worth it. Mabel is hot. Sexy in a she doesn’t know it, hair up in a bun, buttoned up shirt, good girl slash sexy librarian sort of way.
I don’t remember her in school. I don’t know if she was friends with my sister. I guess she was always there in the background. But then one day we turned around and Mabel had bloomed. She’d shed her glasses, done something different with her hair, had curves in all the right places and she was beautiful. Not just beautiful. Sexy. And smart. And way out of my league.
When I’d made the swap it was just for a chance to say hey. But I never guessed it would be such an arousing experience. As soon as she put her hands on me I had to fight to just stand there and take it. The way she bit her lip in concentration. The little frown lines on her forehead. It was sweet torture watching her. Feeling her touch.
It was a real shame she ran off after the show, I would have liked to talk to her. I wished she had stayed for the sexiest cowboy competition, which I won. I looked for her in the crowdwhen I was on stage but she was gone. It might have been nice for us to celebrate our wins together. And that feeling stayed with me all afternoon which is how I ended up here at her door.
“What are you doing here?” Her tone is not welcoming. But if I’ve got one skill in life it’s sweet talking people into doing what I want.
“Aren’t you going to invite me in?” She opens the door wider and I step inside. That’s the thing about small town hospitality. Even if you hate the person, it’s just good manners to invite them in.
It’s a small cottage and filled with books. Books stacked on top of books. All with papers or tabs marked. Well, Mabel was the smartest kid in school. And proud of it. I’m hoping to use that pride to my advantage.
“Look I’m sorry about today, I… I wasn’t feeling well.” She’s in the corner, wringing her hands and looking down right uncomfortable.
I can’t help but smile. There was no hiding what Mabel was feeling when she put oil on me earlier today. But if she wants to pretend she wasn’t attracted to me, so be it.
“I’m sorry you didn’t win, whatever that was. It wasn’t fair that they sprung it on us like that. I had no time to prepare. I could have practised. I should have been faster at it.”
I raise an eyebrow and grin, “You would have had me over here to practice putting oil on my body?”
“What? No! I would have… practiced on a raw chicken or something.”
I imagined that’s exactly what she would have done. Mabel doesn’t like to lose.
“Well, there is a chance to redeem yourself.” I ignore her scoffing noise and continue. “You know it’s the Big Treasure Hunt tomorrow and I was going to do it with Sussie Parks but she got sick.”
No need to tell Mabel that Susie had a fit at the sight of Mabel oiling me up, well more of how we looked at each other apparently, and she bailed on being my partner tomorrow.
I take a deep breath. “So I think we should do it together. Your smarts and my muscle, we will have it in the bag.”
“You want me to partner with you in the treasure hunt?” Mabel seems surprised, but she is already shaking her head. “Itsn’t it all Cowboy stuff and obstacle races?”
She does a little self conscious shrug and looks around at her books. “I’m not very outdoorsy.”
“No, no, not any more. Over the past few years they have introduced all this other stuff. There are math problems and questions about the town's history, that’s why we’d be perfect together.”
“Really?”
I nod. She’s thinking about it, that’s a good sign. “There is a prize of $500, think of how many books you could buy with that.”
And now for my big guns. “And they award a really big trophy to the winner.”
I love how her eyes light up. Mabel has always loved a reward. If there is a trophy to be won then she is there. I feel excited just thinking about spending the day with her. She’s so different from other girls. There is something intriguing aboutMabel. Something driving me to know her better. And the Treasure Hunt is the perfect excuse to spend time with her.
Chapter 3
Mabel
This was a mistake. The games start in a big field. The sun is hot, there are people everywhere. Everybody talking. Competitioners jumping up and down or on the ground stretching. It’s all a big crowded blur to me.
For a long time I felt like I didn’t fit in, especially in a country cowboy town. I don’t like town events and big crowds. I don’t really like being outdoors. Give me a comfy chair and a good book any day. But it’s hard feeling different from everybody else around me. It took me a long time to come to terms with who I am. I’m a book nerd. And that’s okay.
So what in heck made me say yes to Levi? Maybe a little bit of that old longing to fit in. Maybe Levi’s sexy, charming smile. Flashbacks of touching him have my face going red again. A little bit of me wishes I could be normal. Like Levi’s sister, Stevie. She’s a girlie girl who can wear a short skirt, flirt with the boys and she can ride a horse better than anyone in town, can crack a whip, wrangle livestock and keep her brothers in line. Stevie is beloved and she’s really nice. For most of my life I have wished I could be more like Stevie Jones. A cowgirl who gets the sexy cowboy. But I just don’t think that is ever going to happen. Not to a girl like me.
Panic is setting in when the crowd seems to part in front of me and there is Levi. Cowboy hat, broad shoulders that look made for wearing the soft cotton t-shirt and he has on old, worn jeans and cowboy boots. Oh my. He looks like he could be in the pages of a magazine. Tall, muscular, tanned. But it’s those blue eyes and that smile that wins hearts and leaves girls in a swooning puddle.
