“If you hold on too tightly, you will lose him.” I said smashing what was left my cigarette to the ground.

 “What?” Vivienne asked, looking over at me from the back of her horse.

 “The reigns. If you hold the reigns too tightly, that horse will not follow you. Slack it up. Leave enough slack in the reigns that he can move freely, but let him know that you’re there.” I explained to her and watched her loosen her grip. I shook my head. “More.” I shook my head again.  Do you trust him?” I asked of her. Vivienne shook her head. “Then loosen them more.” I waited as she dropped even more slack. “There ya’ go. If there is trust, you won’t have to hold so tightly. It’s true for that horse and it’s true for a man. Never forget that.” I winked at her.

 Chrissie, Mary and Veronica laughed at me. I was inside the riding ring with Vivienne and the other girls were standing on the outside of the fence watching us. The recording session the previous day had gone well. Four tracks had been successfully recorded and the previous evenin’ Freddie, Brian, John and Roger couldn’t stop talking about the thrill of hearin’ the playback. Today, they were rehearsing to get ready for about four or five tracks to be recorded. They had been in the barn for three hours. Vivienne and I had been in the ring for about the same time. Mary, Chrissie and Veronica had been in the house and had only recently come down to the riding ring with us.

 “Now, see how he responds to you.” I stepped away from Vivienne to watch. One thing about her was that even though Vivienne was a bit of a pain in the arse; she sure took direction well. I watched as instantly that horse’s demeanor changed.  “There ya’ go. Now, take him around the ring. Make him trot.”

 “Okay.” Vivienne answered me.

 “Hey, where ya’ been?” I asked of Mary, Veronica and Chrissie as I walked over toward the fence.

 “Just doin’ some laundry. Well…a lot of laundry actually. My god, Lydia! How much shit did Roger bring? Half of that load that’s in now is his crap and we haven’t even been here a week!” Chrissie said.

 “ ‘Ey…’Ey don’t even get me started on all the stuff Roger packed. It’s ridiculous.” Mary rolled her eyes.

 “Oh, Lydia. Sweetie…come in to my room. It looks like a department store exploded and then threw up on itself.” Mary shook her head. Chrissie laughed.

 “I somehow believe that.” She said smiling.

 “Vivienne, take him faster now. Loosen up! Ya’ body is too stiff!” I yelled at her.

 “Hey! Poker tonight. What do ya’ think?” Chrissie asked. I presumed she was directly the question to all of us.

 “What goes with the poker?” I asked still watching Vivienne carefully. “No! No, Vivienne. Come in. It’s all wrong!” I yelled at her again and she trotted my way again.

 “Anything you want.” Mary said excitedly. I laughed at her.

 “In that case, it’s poker night ladies!” I assured them. Vivienne had approached me. “Get off. Come on.” Vivienne hopped off the saddle. I faced her and sized her up. “You don’t move your hips with your horse. That’s another problem you have. Vivienne looked puzzled.

 “What do you mean?” she asked me.

 “You sit perfectly straight in that saddle. Who taught you to do that? This isn’t English showmanship. This is about communicatin’ with your horse. You gotta’ let him know when it’s right. He goes forward, you move with him. Match the rhythm of his trot and loosen up. Let’s see…how can I put this…” I thought a moment.

 “Oh! You know that feelin’….when you’re in bed with your boyfriend and you’re so, so fuckin’ close and you know that if you hold ya’ breath it’s just not gonna’ happen; so you just let it alllll come out in a huge rush!?” Chrissie’s eyes were on fire as she said it. We all looked at her with a rather disbelieved look on our faces…except Vivienne.

 “Um…I…I wouldn’t know anythin’ about that. No.” Vivienne admitted after a long silence.

 “Oh…oh my…did I say too much?” Chrissie asked, feeling only slightly embarrassed. Myself, Veronica and Mary looked at her for a moment. Veronica shook her head.

 “Nah! That's mild!”

 “Oh, god no!”

 “Not at all!” we all said after one another. “But I want to know something…who are you an what did you do with Chrissie?” I asked.

 “Oooh you don’t know. She’s been all…out of her shell because she told Brian she loved him yesterday.” Veronica told me, looking over at Chrissie. Chrissie turned bright red. I shook my head.

 “We there ya’ go. It’s about time you come out of that shell, Chrissie. You’re everything to Brian. Alright, Vivienne…get back on. I’m gonna’ get on Helix and you and I are gonna’ ride. You push that horse as hard as it can go. Believe me, I’m gonna’ push Helix. That’s a thoroughbred…he’s built to run. Give me one of your whips. You ride outside of me.” I explained to her.

 “Wait, what? What if…what he throws you or something?” Vivienne asked. I smiled.

 “He won’t. He trusts me.” I took her whip and she mounted her horse again. I walked over to Helix and immediately gave him a handful of carrots, rubbing down his muzzle. “Let’s see what you’ve got boy.” I mounted him and looked over at Vivienne. “Let’s ride toward the tree line. Remember, move with that horse, push him. When we’re done you should feel it in your thighs if you are riding correctly.” I warned her. And so, we trotted out of the ring slowly. Just like a car, you had to warm the engine first.

 Veronica, Chrissie and Mary walked over to the edge of the ring where the gate was open. “When Freddie told me about you three and how wonderful you all were…he said that Roger hadn’t been the same since meeting her. Is that true? And how?” Mary asked. Veronica laughed.

 “Oooh my, Mary. You have no idea. Lydia has complete and total control over Roger. Both of them are oblivious to that fact. She is in control of their relationship, not him, and that's a first for Roger. He doesn’t even know he’s not in control. See, Lydia is the mirror that Roger must look into.  Lydia’s attitude when she met him was 'you're gorgeous, I fucked you, so what?' It reminded him too much of himself and that's when the chase to get her began because he didn’t like seein’ that attitude in someone else. He realized he would have to work...work his arse off to make her his girlfriend. It took him three months for it to just be him an’ her. He realized how hard it was to actually hold on to someone not only so grossly so out of his league; but so very much like himself.  Getting in her pants was easy but getting in here..." Veronica paused and tapped Mary's heart. "Getting in here was much, much harder. It drove him insane. And that's why it works. Every relationship needs a mirror and Lydia is Roger’s. You will never hear Lydia tell Roger she loves him in front of people; that’s reserved for when it’s just them. But if you watch them in their subtleties, you can feel it. I hope that answers your question.” Veronica explained. The three of them looked up into the fields.

 Mary smiled. “Wow.” Was all she said seemingly in a brief daydream.

 “John and I are simple. We are easy to figure out. We get along very, very well and he’s truly my best friend. As for this one and Brian, well, they are very deep. Nothing’s on the surface with those two. They take each other very seriously. And if you want to see what electricity looks like…well, that’s Roger and Lydia. Now, as for you and Freddie…I don’t know ya’ well enough yet.” Veronica laughed as Mary did.

 “God, look at that incredible speed.” Chrissie commented, looking into the vast pasture. Those horses that seemed to run without any inhibition or fear mesmerized her and it was very much how she felt with herself and her life.

 “So, poker night. What the hell are we gonna’ throw together?” Veronica asked.

 “Oh! Poker night by the pool!” Mary insisted excitedly.

 “Yes! Yes! Mary! Good thinking!” Veronica said just as excitedly.

 “We need to have a rule…if you’re Brian you’re shirtless! If you’re not Brian you can do whatever you want!” Chrissie added. Veronica and Mary looked at her.

 “Oooh….kay…you work on that one. Mary…you know what goes great with pools?” Veronica grabbed her arm. “Tequila…”

 “MARGARITAS!” the three of them yelled. They were officially excited about poker night.

 “We’re on a roll! What else? What else?” Mary asked, her eyes glowing. Chrissie squealed a little.

 “Tacos! We’ll have a taco and Tequila bar!” she said.

 “YOU are a genius, Chrissie!’ Veronica said.

 “Wait! Should Brian eat tacos shirtless?” Mary asked.

 “He should do everything shirtless.” Chrissie shook her head.

 “My god, amazing what a little bit of I love you does to you.” Veronica said. “Okay, we gotta’ ask Lydia what to add when she gets back in here. We need somethin’ else…somethin’ is missing and she’ll know what to add.

 In an exhilarating finish, as this ride came to an end. I was breathless and Vivienne was exhausted. We praised these horses, feeding them sugar cubes and loving them to pieces. “Oh my…” Vivienne huffed. “I can’t keep up with you.” She smiled. “You…you’re unbelievable on Helix. I never knew he could run that fast.” She huffed and puffed some more. “You…oh, Lydia. You ride…so well…”

 “Lydia! Lydia! Poker night by the pool! Here’s what we’ve got so far: margaritas, tacos and a shirtless Brian. What are we leavin’ out?” Veronica asked excitedly. I breathed heavily and thought for a moment as Helix nuzzled me repeatedly. I snapped my finger.

 “Chips, salsa, and guacamole.” I answered. Veronica, Mary and Chrissie gasped.

 “Chips, salsa and guacamole.” They repeated.

 “Wait…what are you doin’?” Vivienne asked still catching her breath.

 “Poker night by the pool, Vivienne!” Mary said.

 “Oh…will Roger be there?” she leaned over against the fence.

 “He’ll be there…but he’ll be up well past your bedtime.” Chrissie said. Myself and Veronica looked at her with big eyes. I couldn’t believe she said such a thing.

 “It’s okay, I haven’t had a curfew since I was sixteen.” Vivienne told Chrissie seriously. Oh thank goodness she was a little slow and she didn’t catch just how dreadfully condescending that comment was. I couldn’t help but laughed. I was liking this new, improved and very much in love Chrissie.

Sorry everyone, I needed a transitional chapter and this is it