Cody followed Samantha into the parking lot and came to a stop next to a large red pickup truck. "That's my ride," she said, pulling the passenger door open for him.

"What about my car?" he asked.

She stared at him as if he had just said the stupidest thing ever. "I can drop you off here after we're done," she said, a hint of irritation in her voice.

He nodded and got into his seat, not wanting to stall any further. As they sped down the highway, he kept stealing glances at her. He could see that her legs were barely contained in front of her, even though her seat was pushed back to the limit. Her hands on the wheel made it look like it was a wheel on one of those toy cars.

"So, Cody, tell me about your family. Do you have siblings?"

"No siblings, nope. Just me. My parents live in Florida, they're retired. I've been living out here for a few years now so I don't really see any family except on holidays."

They were on a country road now, and had taken enough turns that Cody had no idea where they were going. The thought crossed his mind that if he was left by himself here, he might not be able to get back to civilization without some significant hitch-hiking. He looked back at Samantha. Her towering presence made him feel safe somehow, in a maternal sort of way. He was overcome with the feeling that she would protect him. Strange, he thought. The man should be protecting the woman. He sipped on his coffee.

"Anyhoo, what do you do on weekends? Go fishing with friends?"

"Yeah, like in the picture. That was last month. Me and my buddies went out there. One of them brought a grill and another had a guitar. So we set up camp on the bank. Grilled some fish, sang some songs."

"Sounds like a lovely evening. And sounds like some talented friends you have. Do you have any special talents I should know of?"

"Well... I'm good with handy work around the house." He paused, thinking. "I know how to make a woman happy." This last declaration was made in a soft, low voice that he liked to call his "seductive voice".

Samantha smiled. "I think I'll reserve judgement on that until I have more data." She reached out and squeezed his thigh. He squeezed her hand in return.

"The data can be made available whenever. All you have to do is, er... download it." He almost cringed at how corny that sounded. Thankfully she didn't seem put out by it. In fact her hand moved a little along his thigh, gently brushing his crotch.

"What about you? You been into horses for long?"

"Ever since I was a little girl! My dad got me into it. I rode for the first time when I was six and I've never really looked back. Right now, I have Jupiter, my first, who's been with me twelve years; Mercury, who's been eight years; Saturn -"

"That's a lot of horses!"

"I wasn't done! Anyhoo, as you can see, I love horses. My dad, while he was around, spoiled me with them. And after, I just kept going."

"Wow, so, I guess that's your special talent? Horses?"

"One of my special talents, yes... Ah, we're here!"