Jasmine Cross was the coyboy-ist cowgirl in all of Silverado, Texas. She rode the craziest horses and bulls, prepared the best line for fences, was the best square dancer, and so much more. She could tie the sturdiest knots, herd the cattle in under two minutes, and the chickens loved her the best. But what she couldn't do the best was use the lasso. 

She grunted as she swung the heavy rope above her head, focusing her eyes on the metal horns of the target. It seemed like the metal bull head glared at her, tempting her to miss once more. The muscles in her shoulders screamed in pain as she launched the rope toward the target, and she blew out a sigh when the rope totally missed. She dropped the end of the rope she held, shaking her head. It was useless. 

"Wow, Cross, I thought this time would be it," a voice with an intense southern drawl said. Jasmine closed her eyes and groaned. Of course, he would be here. He was always here when she messed up. "Then again, you've never been good at lassoing things."

Jasmine spun around and saw Sawyer Huggins standing at the edge of the barn, his arms crossed over his chest. He wore his Silverado Bulldogs jersey, and today, it was smudged with grass and mud, almost as if he slid through a pig pen. She brushed a dark lock out of her eyes, glaring at Sawyer. She struggled to come up with a retort because she was upset with herself. 

"Shut it, Huggins," Jasmine said, shaking her head. She turned around and gathered her rope, wondering why he had to stop by her barn almost daily. It was like he wanted to see her mess up and make fun of her for it. "Go home. You're trespassing on private property."

"No, no, I am not," Sawyer said, laughter in his voice. Jasmine saw his smile in her mind's eye and cringed when butterflies danced through her stomach. Why did she have to like him? They always had contests about who could be better at cowboy things, beginning when they were little, and somewhere along the way, she started liking him. She cursed in her mind. "Your parents love me and will always allow me on their property."

She cursed in her mind again. "Well," she called over her shoulder, "I want you to leave."

"Actually, I have an idea," Sawyer said. Jasmine spun around and crossed her arms over her chest. Sawyer grinned at her, looking cute in the waning sunlight. "How about we have a little contest?" She rolled her eyes. "If I lasso that there target quicker than you, I get to practice with whatever I want here at your barn with you. If you lasso the target quicker than me, I'll leave you alone."

Jasmine knew she should say no, to tell him that she would never, ever do another contest with him again. She knew that she wasn't skilled enough to take him on, but that didn't stop her from saying, "You're on."

---

Darkness had fallen on the third night Jasmine trained, and she collapsed onto the dusty ground as the lasso missed its mark. Again. She would have to go against Sawyer tomorrow, and she wasn't ready. She'd never be ready, and for once in her life, she didn't care. She was tired of all the contests she did with Sawyer, tired of always coming in second place compared to him. 

She'd just rather be his friend. Or more.

She laid back and stared up at the bright stars, glad to be far away from the city lights that drowned out the starlight. She clenched her hands at her sides, feeling the rope burn along the soft flesh of her palm. Her shoulders ached from swinging that silly rope around and around and around and --

"Jasmine?" 

Jasmine quickly sat up and squinted to see who was standing above her. For some reason, Sawyer had found her, and Troy and Newt flanked him. She blew out a breath and pulled herself to her feet. "What are you three doing here?" she asked, wrapping her thin arms around her body. "Are you here to make fun of me?"

"Of course not!" Newt said as Troy said, "Perhaps."

Sawyer didn't look at his friends. Instead, he kept his gaze locked on Jasmine, a weird look in his eyes. Her eyebrows furrowed when he wouldn't tear his eyes from her. "Hello?" she said, waving a hand in his face. He blinked quickly. "Sawyer? Are you alright?"

"Yes, yes, I am," he said hesitantly. He turned toward Troy and Newt. "Hey, can you guys leave us? I want to talk about the contest."

"Sure you do," Newt said, grinning widely. His teeth glinted in the moonlight. "Just like my stepmom, Brenda, wanted to talk to the pool boy about the chlorine in the pool."

Troy hit Newt's shoulder, giving Sawyer a look. "Meet us by the stop sign. We'll wait for you."

"Thanks."

Troy and Newt walked away, leaving the two of them alone. Jasmine watched the retreating figures of his best friends, her heart thudding against her chest. She wanted to know why he sent his friends away just to talk to her, but she didn't know how to say that to him. They weren't exactly friends since they had all these contests. 

"So," Jasmine said, drawing the word out awkwardly, "are you actually here to make fun of me? Because I don't want to hear it. I'm this close to backing out of the contest anyway."

Sawyer bent down and picked up the end of her rope. Then, he moved forward and swung it over his head, keeping the target in his sights. The darkness didn't help her focus on the target, but it didn't seem like Sawyer was struggling at all. He launched the rope through the air, and her heart dipped in her chest when the rope landed around the horns of the metal bullhead. 

"Oh, I see, you're only here to show me up. Congratulations, Huggins. You're better than me."

Jasmine hurried forward and pulled the rope from around the horns. She started stalking away, but Sawyer grabbed her wrist and pulled her to a stop. "I didn't come here to make fun of you or anything," Sawyer said, spinning her around. He wore a confused look on his face, making her frown. "I just . . . I want to stop these contests."

"Excuse me?" she asked, laughing in disbelief. "You want to stop the contests? But you're always the one to start them!"

"Yeah, well, I don't think they're fun anymore."

"Because I've won the last few?"

"No."

"Because I was going to lose this one?"

"No!"

"Then why?"

"Because I like you!" Sawyer said, throwing his hands up in the air. She blinked at him, a smile growing on her face. Sawyer sighed, running a hand over his curly hair. "Why are you grinning at me like that?"

Jasmine took a step forward, placing a hand on his arm. "I like you, too," she said softly. Sawyer stared down at her, a smile growing on his face. "I don't know how since you love to make all these contests and go against me in all these silly things."

"I was intimidated by you," he said, shaking his head. "I thought you were better than me, so I wanted to show everyone you weren't. It was selfish and rude, and I'm sorry about that."

"I felt the same way! I wanted to prove to everyone that I was better than you, too."

"We have that in common." Sawyer smiled. "So, what do we do now?"

"Well, your friends are waiting for you, but I was thinking about going on a date." Jasmine grinned at him, shrugging. "You know, to make it official."

"We can go to the Starcade! That's where Troy, Newt, and I were going to go anyway."

"I'd rather go without your friends if that's possible."

Sawyer's cheeks reddened, and Jasmine laughed. "Oh, right," he said, shaking his head. "I'll go tell them to go home or something, and then I'll be back to pick you up."

"Good idea."

Sawyer turned and started heading toward the stop sign at the end of the road just beyond the barn. Jasmine watched his retreating figure, a warm feeling spreading through her chest. She never thought that she would tell him about her feelings for him, and she never dreamed that he liked her back. She gathered the rope up and trudged toward the barn, smiling at the ground.