“Come on. Donnie’s got an hour before he can go home with you.” Billy reasoned, groaning your name. “Just come on a walk with me.”
You bit your lip, shaking your head amusedly.
Billy was your brother’s best friend and he’d been infatuated with you since school.
Recently, your horse Donnie had gotten hurt and so you took him to Billy’s family’s ranch to fix him up. Today you were collecting him and Billy was all over you. As expected.
“You can hold the lead if you want.” He offered, gesturing to his dog.
You hesitated for a second before gently taking the lead out of his calloused hands, your fingers brushing against his. He immediately began rocking back and forth on the balls of his feet impatiently as you knelt down to greet the dog.
“Hey there.” You cooed a little as the dog sniffed your hand, eventually licking it. You giggled softly, scratching it behind the ears. “This one’s new. What’s its name?”
Billy’s family had always adopted dogs and trained them. They were useful to have on the ranch plus it just gave them a better life.
“That’s Hank.” He told you, watching as the dog continued to lick playfully at your face. “He’s still a puppy so he’s hyperactive as hell.”
“He’s adorable.” You commented, giving his belly some rubs. He responded instantly by collapsing to the ground, sticking his tongue out, and rolling all around under your touch. You frowned when you asked why a puppy who was clearly healthy was up for adoption.
“The shelter said he was given to them by his original owner because he was too hyper, so the space we have works for him.”
“His old owner must be really stupid then.” You commented, standing back up and dusting off your clothes. “To abandon such a sweet little guy.”
“I don’t think he meant to be bad. He was probably an older fella that just didn’t have the time to wear him out.” Billy said, watching as Hank continued to roll all around the ground, his long, slobbery tongue sticking out his mouth. Billy whistled as he began walking. “Hank, come.”
Hank immediately came bounding towards him, tongue still hanging out of his mouth and tail wagging. He stayed still as the lead was clipped back on his collar, sniffing Billy’s leg.
The lead was handed to you, making you grin.
The Bonney’s didn’t always walk their dogs — they got enough exercise by just working and running around on the property. But when they did get a real walk, they took them into the woods surrounding the area.
“So, been up to much recently?” He asked you, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jacket. It was a little cold outside due to an early autumn chill but the temperature still wasn’t quite cold enough to wear more that a hoodie or a light jacket over a simple shirt.
“Not really, no.” You replied, matching his pace as you walked. It was pretty hard due to the fact that he was so much taller than you. You had to take two steps for every one of his. “What about you? Been up to much more than taking in poor puppies?” You teased lightly, nudging him with your shoulder.
He forced himself to look back around rather than at you.
“Been dealing with a few of the horses recently. That one stallion we got a few weeks back is being a stubborn bastard. He doesn’t want to get along with the mares here.”
You nodded a little, listening intently. You loved to hear him talk about his horses. Hell, you loved to hear him talk, period.
His voice was gruff and deep, but not the ‘oh I’m so badass and scary’ kind of deep. More like the ‘I could read you bedtime stories with this voice’ kind of deep.
“He’s a beautiful thing though.” Billy continued, a small, prideful look growing on his face. He absolutely adored his horses. “Real sweet too. He let me get right up in his face without trying to bite my head off. But, man, does he hate the girls.”
“Well then, he’s either gay or misogynistic.”
Billy barked out a laugh at what you said, shoving his hands deeper into his pockets to keep warm.
There really was something about Billy.
You’d never been able to tell if it was his appearance: the sharp jawline, the tall, broad frame, the eyes. Maybe it was just the way he walked: confident and purposeful, all long, powerful strides. His accent was gorgeous too. Even when he was just speaking normally or telling a joke, his voice was deep and slightly gravelly.
Maybe it was the way he spoke to you. Although he could be cocky and arrogant depending on his company, he knew how to treat you. He spoke to you gently, was sweet to you, always paid attention to everything you said, and never once pressured you to do something you didn’t want to do. He was sweet, considerate and protective.
It could have also been the way he looked at you — with this look in his eyes that you couldn’t quite pin. He stared at you a lot and sometimes, if you caught him in the act, you could swear he almost seemed sad. Like you were something he could never have.
Your expression contorted at that last thought.
Why couldn’t he have you?
Why had you never gone out with him?
Billy was the perfect guy. Not only was he absolutely gorgeous in terms of physical appearance, he was also sweet, attentive, hard working and kind.
Yet, you always turned him down every time he asked you out. And he had asked a lot.
You never turned him down harshly, though. You were never cruel. You knew he was a sweetheart and you didn’t want to be mean. However, you could always see the flash of pain in his eyes every time you said no.
He always covered it up quickly though.
He never pressed you, either. He never got pushy or whiny anytime you turned him down. He just accepted it with a nod or a simple “next time” before moving on to the next thing.
He was never rude, just patient.
He was just so goddamn perfect.
So, why could he never have you?
You were pulled out of your thoughts by Hank suddenly pulling on the leash, trying to run towards the little upcoming river. Billy tugged the leash, getting him back under control.
“Hank, be polite!” He snapped just enough to get the dog to listen and stop. Billy knelt and unleashed him so that he could go splash in the water.
When he stood, he noticed the rope burn on your hand from where the lead had been yanked.
“Here, let me see.” He said, taking your wrist and turning your hand over, palm upwards, to get a look. His fingers were calloused from years of working on the ranch, working around the horses and everything else, but his touch was incredibly tender.
“I’m okay, Billy. ‘S just rope burn.” You smiled up at him.
He continued to hold your hand tenderly as he looked over the burn, running his fingers gently across where the rope had rubbed raw. He clicked his tongue in disapproval as he looked it over. “Sorry, he’s still only a baby — doesn’t know that pulling is bad.”
“It’s not his fault. He was probably just excited.” You said quietly, watching as he continued to gently examine your hand.
“Yeah.” Billy shrugged. “Well, you can dunk it in the water if it hurts.”
Billy bolted your horse box shut once Donnie was safely inside and chewing his way through his hay net.
“You sure he’s okay? You checked him over properly?” You asked, gently stroking Donnie’s nose as he poked his head out the window to nuzzle you.
Billy laughed softly at the sight of your face squished against Donnie’s nose. He leant against the wall beside the box.
“I checked him over four times just to make sure he’s fully healed. He’s all good to go, I promise.”
You breathed a small sigh of relief, giving Donnie a kiss on his soft little nose before turning towards Billy.
He was leaning against the wall in such a way that it emphasised the broadness of his shoulders. His arms were crossed across his broad chest and one leg was casually bent.
“What do I owe you?” You asked despite knowing the answer was set in stone already.
He straightened his back and shrugged dismissively. “Nothin’.”
“I’m serious. It’s fine.”
“Billy, it costs money and resources to treat—“
You rolled your eyes at that point as you approached the door and climbed into the truck.
“I’ll get my dad to sort it out with your parents.” You informed him once you’d unrolled the window.
Billy opened his mouth to argue, then closed it again. He knew there was no point arguing with you.
He gave you a half-hearted nod. “Yeah. Sure, whatever.”
You bit your lip as you started the engine, contemplating your options.
“Billy!” You called through the window.
Billy had already begun walking back inside, hands stuffed in the pockets of his jacket. He turned when you called him. “What?”
You motioned for him to come closer.
He hesitated for a moment before sighing and walking over to your side of the truck. He leant over your open window.
He leant in, forearms folding across your open window. He had to crouch a little because of how tall he was.
He raised a brow. “What’s up?”
After a few seconds of hesitation, you found the confidence to speak.
“… I’m free Saturday night.”
That got his attention quickly and his eyes widened a little in surprise. He blinked a few times before he forced any excitement he had out of his expression.
He shrugged a little, as casually as he could.
You tried to give him a small grin. He sounded somewhat casual, but you could see it in his eyes. He really was trying not to get his hopes up. He was trying not to let you see how excited he was.
The thought made you feel guilty.
Guilty that all this time, he’d been so patient even though the majority of the time you just shot him down. He still never tried to force you to say yes, he never got mad at you for refusing, he never tried to manipulate you. He just… kept waiting.
“And I thought that maybe we could go out.”
Billy’s breaths froze for a second, staring at you in disbelief.
He was absolutely convinced that his mind had tricked him.
He had to have misheard you. There was no way that a day where you asked him out for once was happening.
He had to be dreaming. This had to be a cruel, cruel dream that would shatter as soon as he pinched himself.
Yet, he pinched himself anyway and the pain he felt was very much real. Unless this was a very vivid dream.
He had to ask, just to be sure that he wasn’t hallucinating from lack of sleep or something.
You had to resist the sudden and strong urge to reach out and smooth the crease that had appeared between his brow with your thumb.
“Like a date… If you’ll still have me.” You murmured.
And you realised just then that in all the years you’d known him, you hadn’t seen his proper smile. Not once.
The closest you’d gotten was a cocky smirk or a cheeky little grin. But never this.
His smile was beautiful. His whole face lit up, the skin around his eyes crinkling cutely, the dimples on his cheeks appearing… His entire demeanour changed. He looked like an excited puppy or a little kid at Christmas.
“Mhm. Yeah, I’ll have you.”
