Maleena's truck rumbled into the Steak N Shake parking lot that night. The only open spot was on the far, back side of the restaurant. Backing her truck into the narrow space, Maleena flipped down her visor, checking her hair and makeup to make sure she looked at least a little bit presentable before she met several new people. She didn't have time to change her clothing, or anything after the rodeo, so she was covered in dirt and dust, and the random splotches of horse slobber on her shirt. 

       Taking a deep breath, Maleena hoped out of her truck, locking the door behind her. As she walked up the sidewalk of the restaurant, Maleena could see in through the glass windows, all the rodeo club folks crowding either side of the long table that stretched almost the whole way across the inside of the building. 

        Opening the door, Maleena was greeted by an employee, who she told that she was just meeting some friends. With her truck keys in her hand, Maleena scanned the sea of faces for one familiar one. Trying to hide her smile when her eyes met Cody's, Maleena felt a blush rising on her neck when Cody smiled a huge, almost relieved smiled when he saw her. Raising his hand, Cody waved Maleena over to the table. When Maleena got to the table, however, she saw there was no open spots next to Cody, so she offered to pull a chair up at the end of the table. Cody protested, however, insisting she takes his chair. 

       "Here, take my chair. There's room for you. I can grab another chair." Cody offered, standing from his seat to pull it out for Maleena. While he was grabbing another chair, the three people to Maleena's right scooted their chairs down, making more room for Cody and her to sit next to each other. 

        "Thanks." Maleena said to the girl to her right. She recognized her as the girl who was in the truck at the rodeo grounds, calling Cody back to the truck.  

         "You must be Maleena." The black haired teenager said quietly, leaning towards Maleena. Extending her hand, she said, "I'm Roseanne, but you can call me Rose, it's what all of my friends call me." Her red lipsticked lips smiled, revealing a mouth full of perfect white teeth.

          "Nice to meet you, Rose." Maleena was glad when Cody sat down next to her finally. Since she hadn't been able to attend many of the Bible study sessions, Maleena didn't know any of these people's faces, and she had always been horrible at remembering names. 

          Cody turned to say something to Maleena, but his buddy to his left asked him a question, giving Rose just enough time to tell Maleena, "Cody has been anxiously staring at the door all night, really wishing you could come tonight."  

          Maleena couldn't help but smile at Rose's comment. "Really? I honestly wasn't sure I was goin' to even come tonight. I had a pretty crummy ride, so the last thing I wanted to do was to be social, but here I am, so clearly I changed my mind." 

          "Girl, he has it bad for you." Rose sputtered, waving her hand in the air. 

         Maleena almost laughed out loud, but then remembered Cody was sitting only a foot away from her, and she didn't want to draw attention to herself. "No, he doesn't. He's just a friend." 

         Rose gave Maleena a look. "Honey, no offense, but I know when Cody likes a girl. The way he looks at you is how every girl dreams of being looked at." She rested her cheek on her hand, momentarily giving Cody a starry eyed look. "Nearly every girl that crosses his path ends up falling hard for him, but he's never really taken an interest in any of them." Looking back to Maleena, she added, "That is, until you came around." 

         Already, Maleena could tell that her and Rose would be really good friends. She just had that characteristic. Letting out a small chuckle, Maleena asked, "So, I'm assuming you're one of those girls who has fallen head over boots for him?" She had to keep her voice quiet, despite the loud crowd, knowing Cody could easily, accidentally hear their conversation if they weren't careful. 

         Rose groaned. "Ugh, what girl hasn't? I mean, just look at him! But, no, that time came and went for me. I used to have a thing for Cody, but I have my own cowboy now, and he is pretty great, so any feelings I have towards Cody now are strictly of a sibling in Christ." Rose smiled, giving Maleena a wink. "Don't worry, I would never try to steal your man from you." 

         "He's not my man. Like I said, he's...just my friend." Maleena cautiously looked over her shoulder at Cody. Her stomach did a flop, making butterflies swarm when she glanced at him. She couldn't already be having feelings for him, could she? After all, she did just break up with Dillion a week ago. "Plus, he seemed almost repulsed when I asked him if tonight was a date. No, he definitely doesn't like me." Maleena tried to deny the signs. 

         Rose put up her hands in defense. "Just take it from someone who has known him for a really long time." Grabbing her glass of ice water, Rose took a sip, adding with a smile, "All I am sayin' girl, is you should prepare to get some awful jealous comments from other girls once you and Cody do start dating."

       Maleena was about to give her rebuttal, but it was then that the waitress interrupted her, asking her what she would be ordering tonight. "Oh, I am not getting anything to eat. I forgot my wallet." She said, remembering her wallet was in her truck.

       That was when Cody interjected. "Nonsense. Get whatever you want. It's on me." He handed her his menu. "Get yourself a burger, too. I am sure you're starving." He grinned at her for the second time that night, making Maleena's heart melt. 

        "Okay. Umm...I will just take a steak burger and a small chocolate milkshake, please." Maleena ordered, handing Cody back his menu so he could order. 

         Once the waitress walked away, taking other people's orders, Maleena turned to Cody. "Thank you for payin'. I left my wallet in my truck, so I will pay you back as soon as I get out there." 

         "Really, Maleena, don't worry about it. It's my pleasure. Thank you for coming tonight. I'm really glad you changed your mind." His eyes looked into Maleena's, the skin on the corners of them wrinkling as he cast her a grin. 

        "Thanks. Me too." She shot back the smile, momentarily forgetting anyone else was in the room until Cody tore his eyes reluctantly from hers, calling for attention at the table by standing up and tapping his fork against his drinking glass.

         "Hey, y'all, I just wanted to take the time to say thank you all for comin' tonight, and there is someone here I want y'all to meet. Y'all, this is Maleena. Maleena, this is y'all. Maleena is the newest member of our Bible Study, and she is also a fantastic barrel racer as well. Everyone, give her a warm cowboy welcome." Cody lead the group in the loud claps and hoots and hollers. 

        A bright red blush broke out on Maleena's neck and face at the sudden draw of attention. Smiling, she thanked everyone, looking up at Cody to ask him silently to sit down and to pull the attention off of her. Sure enough, seconds later, Cody was sitting again, his eyes still on Maleena.

        "What?" She asked Cody with a grin on her face. 

       "Nothin'. I'm just really really glad that you came tonight." Cody told her, his eyes locked on hers until the waitress came by, placing a plate of food in front of him. 

          Once everyone's food had arrived, Cody asked for everyone to hold hands so they could thank God for their food. Holding out his hand, Cody offered it to Maleena. 

       When Cody interlaced their fingers during the prayer, Maleena tried to hide a smile, but found it hard. To hide it, she kept her head bowed for the whole prayer, bummed out when Cody said "Amen," letting go of Maleena's hand, but not after hesitating first. 

                                                                 ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

          Not long after the food and milkshakes were served, were they eaten up, and the tables cleared. Several members of the group were now standing outside in the bitter Wyoming air, saying their final goodbyes. 

       Maleena, Cody and Rose all stood off to the side, talking to each other. "It was really great to meet you tonight, Maleena. Here, let me give you my cell phone number." Rose pulled out her phone, holding it out to Maleena. After swapping numbers, Rose gave Maleena a hug before walking to her truck, leaving Maleena and Cody by themselves. 

      "Man, it is chilly out here tonight, huh?" Cody chuckled, shoving his hands down further in his jeans pockets. 

       "Yeah, it is." Maleena chuckled, wrapping her arms around herself. 

      "If I was wearing a jacket, I would offer it to you because I am sure you're more cold than I am. At least I have a t-shirt on under my shirt." 

       "That's sweet of you, but I'm alright." She found herself staring at Cody for a couple silent seconds, forgetting how nippy the surrounding air was. 

       Cody blinked, hesitantly tearing his eyes from Maleena's. "Uh, where did you park? I will walk you to your truck."

         "I had to park on the other side of the building. The lot was full when I got here." Maleena began walking around the front of the restaurant with Cody slowly walking beside her. 

         Once Maleena and Cody got to her truck they just sort of stood there for a few seconds, unsure really what to say or do. "So, I really had a great time with you tonight. I can't tell you how happy I am that you came." 

       "Thank you for the invite. I am glad I showed up. Oh, and thank you for payin' for me." 

      "Of course. So..." Cody shifted awkwardly, looking at the foot of his square toed boots, then back up to Maleena. "I really hope that we can do this again sometime soon, but maybe next time...i-if you're up for it...maybe it could just be the two of us?" 

       Even in the poorly lit parking lot, Maleena could tell that Cody was blushing with nerves. A smile rose to her lips, lighting up her face. "I reckon that would be alright with me." 

       "Great!" Cody said, a little too over exaggerated. "I, uh, am really looking forward to it." 

       "Yeah, me too." Maleena chuckled out. 

        Cody held out his arms, asking Maleena into a hug. It was awkward at first, but it was the best hug Maleena had ever had in her life. Pulling back, Cody said, "Please text me when you get home." 

         "Will do." Maleena replied, hopping into her truck, immediately turning on the heater once she started the ignition. 

           The whole drive home, Maleena's smile never once faltered from her lips, especially not when she told her family about her night, and when she told them about Cody asking her to hang out sometime, just the two of them. 

          Making her way upstairs, Maleena got all of her things ready to take a shower after her long day. Plugging in her phone because it was dead, Maleena took her clothes to the bathroom.

        Humming to herself as she wiped off her makeup, Maleena thanked God for everything she had been through these past few months. A side of her was glad that she had dated Dillion because it gave her a look of how poorly guys can treat women. It made her realize she needed to raise her standards, and never settle for someone who treats her as crummy as Dillion had. 

         Once her shower was over, and she was in her pajamas, a now exhausted Maleena slipped under her crisp sheets for the night. Hearing her phone vibrate numerous times beside her on her bedside table, Maleena grabbed it, seeing five unread text messages from Cody.

         "Hey, just wanted to see if you made it home safe. I had a lot of fun with you tonight." The first message from 10 minutes ago read. "If you're driving still, please don't respond." It was sent only five minutes after the first message. "I don't mean don't ever respond, I just meant please don't text and drive." He sent that text less than a minute after the previous one. Then a minute ago, Cody texted, "I'm going to stop texting you now because if you are still driving, then getting a bunch of texts would distract you."  At the moment that Maleena read that, a final text came in. "Please just let me know when you get home safe." 

           Maleena found herself smiling like crazy, giggling at Cody's texts. "I'm home now. Thank you for reminding me to text." 

            Almost immediately after she had pressed "send," a notification popped up, telling Maleena that Cody had already replied. "Thank you for letting me know. Wait, you aren't drivin', right?" 

           "No, I am not driving. I'm home, about to go to bed. Sorry I didn't reply earlier: my phone died and I had to take a shower." Maleena responded, just wanting to stay up all night so she could keep texting Cody. 

           "That's alright. Oh, you're headin' to bed? I will let you go then." The text had read, making Maleena frown slightly. She didn't want Cody to go; she wanted to keep talking to him. Just as she was about to put her phone down, another text came in. "So, I was wondering...can I see you tomorrow?" 

         The smile on Maleena's face returned as she texted her response. "Absolutely :)  I'll text ya in the morning. Goodnight. Thanks again for today." Maleena rested her phone on the table top next to her, burying her head in her pillow. As she attempted to fall asleep, a realization came across her, making her eyes shoot open at the thought. A grin toyed on her lips as she spoke what was in her head. "I have feelings for Cody..."