Chapter 22

As she walked down the stairs, Jamie could hear people talking. She figured it was Erin and her parents, and sat down on the stairs to listen for a bit. She listened to Erin talk about how she ran a business, and about her parents, to which Jamie made a face to. Soon after, the talk ended, and Jamie heard a door open, then close. Resuming her decent down the stairs, Jamie soon found that only Erin was left in the dining room. “You just missed your parents.” Erin said, as she picked up a plate to put into the sink. “Yeah. I heard the door.” Jamie said, and Erin nodded. “They said something about being gone most of the day. So, we’ve got the run of the place.” Erin said, and walked over to where Jamie was.

“Okay. What do you feel like doing?” Jamie asked, but Erin shrugged her shoulders. “It’s your neck of the woods, what is there to do around here?” She asked, and Jamie thought about it a bit. “Ever rode a horse before?” Jamie asked, as she walked towards the back door. “Have I ever rode a horse before?” Erin said with a sarcastic tone. “You’re kidding right?” She asked, and followed Jamie outside. Inside the stables, Jamie was showing Erin how to saddle a horse. “Just like riding a bike huh?” Erin joked. “You’re scared aren’t you?” Jamie asked, and smirked when Erin turned a slight shade of pink. “No. Just nervous.” She said, but Jamie just laughed. Soon, they were off and riding, with Jamie taking the lead, slowly, so Erin could get used to riding a actual horse.

After a ride through the woods, and stopping off at a lake, the girls slowly rode back to the house, only to find that they didn’t take as long as they thought they were going to. “Okay. Now what?” Erin asked, as she and Jamie walked the horses back into the stable. “To be honest, I was thinking that was going to be a bit longer. Guess we took a shortcut or something.” Jamie said with a shrug. It was then that they noticed Lucas working in the stable. “So, you ever gonna try to do anything with him?” Erin asked, and Jamie looked over at the blonde boy. “Even if I did, I wouldn’t know where to start.” She told her. “Do I need to come up with all the plans?” Erin asked, as she started walking towards Lucas, before stopping. “You’re just making me do it because you’re lazy aren’t you?” She asked, and Jamie gave her a thumbs up. Erin just narrowed her eyes. “Clever girl.” She simply said.

As she walked over, Erin glanced back at Jamie, who was tending to the horses. She walked back, and stared at her for a bit. “I’m going over there and suggest that Lucas come fuck our brains out. You okay with that?” She asked, figuring that Jamie would probably be so against it. “If you think you can make that happen, sure.” Jamie told her. “Wait. Just like that?” Erin asked. “Isn’t that what you want me to do? Not be tied down to one partner?” Jamie asked, and Erin sighed, before thinking about it. “Okay. So I made it seem that way. But I didn’t mean in a way that you wouldn’t enjoy yourself. If you don’t really want to do anything with him, it’s not a big deal.” Erin said, and Jamie looked at her. “I don’t know what I want.” She told Erin.

“I might be contradicting myself, but I want the freedom you always describe, yet the actual adult in me reminds myself that I have a stable relationship, and a actual life that I’m happy with. I know I can’t have both, but at the same time, I want both. Does that make sense?” Jamie asked. Erin sighed a little. “Yeah. I understand. But, you have to ask yourself, what do you want right now?” She asked. Jamie stopped to think about it for a bit, before looking back up at Erin. “Freedom.” She said, and Erin smiled a little. “You sure?” She asked, and Jamie nodded. As she started walking back over towards Lucas, Erin glanced over at Jamie, who nodded once more. She offered her hand, and Jamie smiled, before coming over to take it.