"Baby? Kristin? Wake up, sweet cheeks. You have to get dressed for work."

I groaned and rolled over, snuggling deeper into a warm abyss of sheets and blankets. Somehow, I supposed, I had ended up in bed. I heard Pietro chuckle. "C'mon, now. You don't need to be late, or you'll end up staying later than you would like."

I knew he was right so I forced my eyes to open. "Ah, there are those pretty purple eyes of yours. I'll fix you some cereal while you get dressed. You really don't have that much time."

I grumbled and rose when Pietro left. I trudged into the bathroom, brushed my teeth, washed my face, and continued on with my morning routine. When I was done, I pulled my hair into a tight French braid and walked to the closet where I always kept some of my clothes. After the first few times I stayed at Pietro's, I began feeling guilty when I asked him to run and get my clothes from the school. I decided to simply bring over some of my clothes and leave them at his apartment. I changed them out every now and again, usually whenever I brought new clothes, which wasn't that often.

I slipped on some torn Levi skinny jeans, an old Nirvana tank top, and my boots. I slipped my college class ring on and put some studs in my ears. I learned long ago that it was unreasonable to try and look pretty when working with horses. It almost never worked, if you did it correctly that was. Some girls would gripe and complain about the dust and dirt that accumulated on them and their clothes. I, on the other hand, ignored the sheen of grime that covered my skin every time I worked at the stables and instead enjoyed my time with the horses. If a girl wanted to be superstar pretty, she should have become a pageant queen instead of a rider.

When I was finished getting dressed, I grabbed my duffle bag that I took with me on my lesson days. The bag contained showering materials, such as towels and shampoo, an extra set of clothes, and other hygiene items. The stable had a locker room of sorts that appeared as your regular high school locker room would, equipped with showers and cubbies for each employee and extras for any riders that may need them.

"Kristin! Hurry up! You need to leave in ten minutes if you want to get there on time!" I hurriedly darted into the kitchen. I spotted a bowl on the table and went to sit down. "I'll take your bag to my car," he said before disappearing.

When he returned, I was just digging into my Cheerios. "Are you sure you don't mind me taking your car? It's going to get dirty."

He shrugged and sat across from me, chewing on an apple. "You know I don't care much if the Camry gets dirty. Now, the Veyron is a different story."

I laughed. "Oh, but of course." We were quiet for the rest of our meals. When I was finished, I quickly placed my bowl and spoon in the dishwasher and planted a kiss on Pietro's cheek. "Thank you for breakfast, honey. Love you!"

I didn't wait to hear his response as I ran to the garage. I hopped into the Camry and, finding the keys in the ignition, started the car. I quickly backed out of the driveway and headed toward the stable.

I was about ten minutes out when I remembered I had promised to call Avi before my lessons. I glanced at the clock to see it was just reaching 8:35 AM. Would he be up? If not, would what I say in the message? Should I even leave a message?

I sighed. Why was I asking myself all of these questions instead of just calling him? I picked up my phone, scrolled through my contacts, and clicked on Avriel. I hit the call button and waited while it rang.

"Hello?" a husky, rough voice asked.

I breathed out in relief. My anxiety had climbed higher than I anticipated. "Good morning, Avriel."

"Kristin," he whispered, and a lump formed in my throat whilst butterflies bloomed in my stomach. "Good morning to you, too."

I smiled. "I'm sorry to have woken you."

"No, it's okay. I needed to be getting up anyway. Esther likes us to be up early on show days so we can have plenty of time to go over anything if we need to. What are you up to?"

"I'm heading to my lesson. Actually, it's just a training session for the first hour and a half or so, but I have a lesson coming in at 10:45."

Avi hummed. "That's right. I momentarily forgot you had to work today. What time do you think you'll be finished?"

"I should be finished around 1:00. I might not leave the barn until around 2:00, depending on what I need to get done as far as paperwork wise, but if all goes well, I'll be changed and out by 1:00. Usually, someone joins me for lunch." I paused. "I know you have a show day, but would you be interested in joining me for lunch?"

"The crew usually eats supper together, but I'd be more than happy to meet you somewhere."

I backtracked. "Wait, don't let me interfere with whatever schedule you guys have. I don't want to start changing traditions are anything."

"No, it wouldn't be like that. Everyone would be fine with it. I don't have to eat anything big. It's just, Esther usually get caterers to come out, and we all eat before shows as a big family. But I would much rather spend time with you."

I thought for a moment. "How about I call you whenever my lesson leaves? That way, we can both have time to get ready before meeting somewhere? And it can be somewhere small, like a salad and sandwich place so you can still be hungry when you eat with the gang."

"That sounds like a perfect idea. Except for one thing: I don't really have my own vehicle at the moment."

I cut him off before he could say more. "If you tell me the hotel you're staying at, I'll pick you up. I'm currently driving an electric blue Toyota Camry."

Avi gave me the address, and I told him it would not take me too long to reach it from the stables. "Wait, just so I'm hearing you right, it's going to be you and I only, correct?"

My breath hitched. "Um, that's what I was going for, but if you would be more comfortable inviting the others...I don't want this to seem like a date or anything."

Avi was quiet for a long time. "What if I want it to be a date?"

I was stunned. "What?"

He spoke more confidently this time. "I want to take you on a date, Kristin Windsor. Would you go out with me?"

All breath left my lungs in a great whoosh. Avriel Kaplan was asking me out? The same Avriel Kaplan I met only yesterday?

Apparently, I had been stunned longer than I was aware for he began to ramble. "That is, if you want to. I know we met for the first time yesterday, and we've only talked twice since then. I really like you. I don't completely understand it. It's all happened so fast. I just know that I feel a connection to you, and I would like to get to know you better. You are beautiful on the outside, and I am curious to see if the inside reflects that. Um...but if you don't want to, I'll completely understand. We can act like this never happened and continue on as friends."

I cleared my throat in an attempt to stop him. When he was quiet, I spoke clearly and resolutely. "I would very much like to go on a date with you, Avriel Benjamin Kaplan. I like you a lot, too, and while I do not completely understand it as well, I am very interested to see where it goes." I decided to open up a bit, for he was my One and either way he would soon discover every part of me if he but wished to. "I have never been on a date before, so I'm not exactly sure how they are supposed to work."

Avi chuckled. "Well, I'll be sure to make it as perfect as I can. Just call me when you finish working."

"I will." I turned down the long, winding path to the stables. "I just turned into work. I better be going now. Bye, Avriel."

"Bye, Kristin. I'll see you later."

I hung up and pulled into a parking place for employees. It was relatively close to the entrance of the large U-shaped barn. I grabbed my bag from the back and made my way into the large and organized stable.