ALEX'S POV

The path we took down to the river was surrounded by a massive green forest that seemed ready to swallow us anytime.
     The girl seated before me yelled something over the wind slapping past us. I lost her words, but acted like I was following up on her story or whatever she was saying.

She felt so right in my arms. Her height, her silly cute face, her weird reactions, all were meant for me. But she kept denying what we were feeling for each other. What she, was feeling for me... I needed a plan to have her open up.

      "I see it!" Daisy yelled excitedly.

I smiled at myself gripping tighter the reigns to regain full control of the horse from her.
     The flickering lights burned my eyes as we got closer to the clear blue water flowing in total silence.

Someone shouted my name from behind, Phil.
    She halted her horse beside mine and grinned widely at me.
"Mom said you loved swimming. Wanna give it a try?"

      My eyes fell on Daisy as she struggled to slid off the horse.
    I leaned forward to whisper in her ear, "Don't give me reasons to rape you right here with that ass wriggling at me."
Immediately, her entire system went numb. Not a single movement came from her, and I was about to succumb to a deep laugh but Windy showed up.

     "Phew! Looks like I'm not lost after all."
  I looked around, no sign of lazy Stew. "Where is Stew?"

     It's then that Daisy finally moved.
Before she could start with nagging questions, I slid off and helped her down.

       "Oh there he is!" Windy's voice struck as we turned around to the path we'd come from... But the little man wasn't alone, he carried a girl behind him. All I saw was the flowing black hair scattered in the air from the side.

    "What y'all looking at? Haven't you ever seen my old self, or is it the girl?"
    I laughed as he slowed down the horse to stop it right in front of me.

      "The girl. We don't care about you... Right Daisy?"
I shot the female a glance which was returned with a fierce scowl.
   She came closer, yet kept a little distance between our bodies.
       "Who is she?" I asked crossing arms on my chest.

     The girl jumped to the ground without any help. And her gray eyes landed flatly on me. There was a stunned expression on her pretty pale face that took me by surprise. Like she knew me from somewhere.
     "Oh! Her name is-"
  "Tina," she finished with a lot of delight.

     Windy came to stand beside Daisy, and whispered something in her ear that I was sure was pure gossip.

   "Welcome to the group Tina. You're a pretty chic." I teased letting a stupid smirk surface.

             Only two guys and four girls, so out of balance. But that was taken care when Phil texted her friends over by that glorious natural phenomenon.
   
       A jeep boomed by and we darted our heads towards that direction.
The first being to jump out of the thing irritated me to the guts naturally. I had never met him, but heck! He was damn good-looking, long dark hair falling at the shoulders, a burly frame that could carry any weight from the torn muscles peeping through the T-shirt.
        And it didn't shock me to find Daisy studying him.

     Damn! I wanted to get to her and strangle the life out of her with a brutal kiss.
Windy giggled elbowing Daisy, which irritated me to the core like some loser that couldn't get a girl to fall for him.
       When everyone was in their shorts, or bikinis for the girls, we lined up facing each other.

My eyes remained strictly on Daisy as she let everyone see her sexy body in those skimpy things. But shit! She looked so hot like never before.
      "Pick your partners guys!" Windy shouted and the males shot out to grab any girl they wished.

I was too late when I got to Daisy, he already had her... The Kevin guy with the endless abs that had me wanting to punch them off.
    A silky hand slid around my arm. "Looks like it's you and me Mr Hottie."
      I faced Phil. "I don't think so."
Without a thought, I rushed over to the two, heard Daisy laughing softly to whatever the bastard had told her.

           "Hey! She's mine!"
They both turned. And the shock on Daisy's face was enough to have me sent to hell.
      "Alex!"
"Oh! Is this your boyfriend?"
    "Um...n...no. He's just a...a friend." Daisy stammered. That showed too well the fact that she was lying.
        "Look man, I had her first," Kevin said, trying to hide her at his back.
     "And I've had her for months now."
    He chuckled clenching his jaw. If he wanted a fight, I'd give him one. "Now hand her over!"
   "Let's just say that that is not happening Mister whoever you are."

I plunged forward with a balled up fist, and the female shot from the safe harbor to come to me. "Alex! Calm down dammit! Hey?" She patted my cheek to have me look down at her.

     "Look at me Alex." It sounded like a soft coo that got me obeying... Her eyes were glistening, tears.
         "Please don't make a scene I beg you. Let me be happy for once away from you."
  Something broke inside me. Couldn't she see that I was protecting her? That Kevin guy did not feel right to me at all.

    I looked around at the other blank faces staring at me. Stew said nothing, only watched me feel insulted by his little sister.
     "Alex? Are you okay?" Daisy called again.
"Yah, sure. If you want me to go away from you, I'll do just that. Go, have fun Daisy."
      
      My feet turned to the horses grazing at the green grass along the river banks.
After mounting on one, I rode it away, ignoring Daisy's cry for my name.

After minutes, if not hours, of sitting under a cave somewhere in the forest, I heard a horse neighing from a distance.
      Phil showed up, dressed up in her jeans and a white top.

    She dismounted and walked quietly to where I sat.
"Mind some company?"
   "No, not at all."
Her feminine perfume filled my nostrils, one that I had t noticed before.
      "You love her a lot, don't you?"

    I shifted my gaze to the furthest tree tops visible to us.
     "More than anyone I've ever met."
            Phil sighed.
"Well, she has feelings for you too Alex. I can see the admiration in those eyes of hers. But she's afraid of something."
     
    "What do you mean?"
"I'm not some psychic weirdo that can read thoughts Alex. Go talk to her, or have her bestie do that."
     Phil was right. There was something stopping Daisy from giving in. Or was it that my reputation frightened her?