Horse race

　　Irena’s POV

　　I mounted on Silver and waited for Alexey to ride next to me. “Alright, I’m guessing we're good to go,” he said when he got close to me.

　　I caught sight of a pine tree from afar, “race you to that tree,” I challenged him, smirking.

　　He laughed, “oh yeah, you’re on!”

　　And with that I jolted Silver, making her increase speed and run towards the direction I was steering her to. It was relieving and sensational as we raced through the large green field of his country house, the smell of the grass was nostalgic and the wind hit my face nicely, blowing my red hair backward. I could feel the wind all over my body, caressing my body through my clothes and making me feel refreshed.

　　Even though I was enjoying the ride, I concentrated on winning the race, but it didn’t seem like it was going to happen as Zeus sped past us, and just as Alexey had said, only the white color of his mane seemed to be visible. He reminded me of the fastest horse I owned, her name was Freya, and damn she was fast, definitely faster than Zeus, or maybe they run at similar speeds. Freya was brown, tall, and majestic. Her black mane was long, wild, and untamed, just the way I like it. She was a beautiful horse and her death was painful for me. She died of old age, in my arms and I buried her as I would bury a friend.

　　I giddied silver up, trying to match Zeus’s speed but they had gained a good distance ahead of us and it was futile in the end.

　　“beat you,” Alexey said in a teasing tone as soon as I reached him. He was smiling widely and breathing heavily and the smile on my face matched his.

　　"You only won because your horse is faster," I complained, pouting and stopping Silver under the tree.

　　He laughed, "want to race again?"

　　I shook my head, "Nope, not really. You won, congratulations." I effortlessly mounted off Silver's back.

　　" Thank you," he got off Zeus. "You're a very good rider," he commented tieing Zeus to the tree trunk and I followed suit.

　　"Yeah, I wrote a lot of horses in the past," I replied, careful about my choice of words so as not to increase his curiosity.

　　"That's nice, I've learned something new about you. You weren't even out of breath throughout the entirety of the race,"

　　I shrugged, " I'm a very strong woman,"

　　"Indeed, there is much evidence supporting that," he gave me a knowing smile and I raised an eyebrow, pretending to not understand what he was talking about.

　　"So what now?" I stretched and sat on the foot of the tree.

　　It was already dark, and the moon was slowly coming out. I could hear the sound of crickets and I could smell and hear the sound of running water.

　　"Is there a large body of water here?" I asked quietly, looking around.

　　Alexey sat next to me, " Yes, there's a river, how did you figure that out?" He sounded surprised.

　　I shrugged, quickly thinking of an answer that wouldn't seem suspicious. "I heard the sound of running water," fuck, I hope that works.

　　Alexey looked even more surprised, "that's some really good hearing you have there, very impressive because the river is still a few distances away from here,"

　　Oops, I didn't think well about my choice of answer.

　　" Yeah, I have good hearing and a good sense of smell too,"

　　" So what now?" I asked again, turning to look at him. He was sitting close to me and I couldn't help but notice his features. His blue eyes were staring back at me and I tore my eyes away from his eyes, running them down his perfect nose, his prominent cheekbones, and then settling in his lips, his soft, full pink lips beckoning me for a taste.

　　I could tell that he was watching me, and it made my cheeks flush involuntarily, I hate it when that happens! Thankfully, it was dark and he wouldn't notice.

　　"You're blushing," he noted.

　　It's dark, how the fuck did he see that?

　　"It's dark Alexey, how the hell are you seeing my blush?"

　　He chuckled, "it's not that dark, I can still see you, and besides that, I can tell when you're blushing,"

　　I hummed in reply, looking up at the sky and noticing the moon, it was bright and full.

　　"The moon is beautiful," I whispered. There was always a nostalgic feeling that came upon me anytime I stared at the moon. It reminded me of the past when things weren't always like this. I never bother to dwell on the thoughts though, I never let the nostalgic feeling let my thoughts go astray as those memories are ones that I've buried and plan to keep six feet under for the rest of my life.

　　But it seems like anytime I'm around Alexey, these memories come up, there's always this nostalgic feeling I get around him that always makes me think about things I've hidden. Not necessarily the bad aspect of these memories, but the good ones. But then these are thoughts I don't want to have. Good or bad, they're in the past now.

　　He looked at the moon, "yes, the moon is beautiful but not as beautiful as you," his voice was a whisper, if I didn't have heightened hearing, I wouldn't have caught the words as they floated off his lips.

　　He was staring at me now, looking dreamy and lost in his thoughts. I am a beautiful woman, but his words had left me feeling even more beautiful and my breathing got intense. I felt warm, inside out and it was comfortable and at the same time uneasy.

　　"Why do you say these things and act this way?" I asked him, my voice was low, exposing how his words have affected me.

　　It's not fair to be flustered by words from a man who against better judgment, just wants to fuck me as much I was willing to use him. He's acting like he has feelings for me when it should be all sex and vibes. I could search his mind to know what his intentions are but that'll just be unnecessary.

　　"What do you mean by the way I act and the things I say?" He asked, looking confused.

　　" You know what I'm talking about Alexey, I've been with you before, you-" I paused, thinking of the right words to use.

　　"I what?" He sounded curious and looked curious.

　　" You were rude Alexey, you are well-known to disrespect women," he frowned a little, " look, I am a woman, and defend women, I wouldn't want to be involved with someone that disrespects and has no regard for them. Honestly, I'm sexually attracted to you, but your attitude towards women is something that I can't stand. That is why it's only going to be sex between us because those are intentions. And I hope it's the same for you," I'm glad I got that out of my system. I can't go ahead building something with someone who might have zero regards for me but sees me as a sex object only. Let's both see ourselves as sex objects and enjoy it.