Part 11

We stood there like that for quite some time. Mary's hand gently pressed against my neck.

Then, ever so slowly, she moved it.

The tension rose inside me as I felt her hand slide down my neck. It built to the point that I was on the verge of jetting away when, much to my relief, she stopped. Now just resting her hand on my skin as before. My body melted a bit as I took in a breath of air and released it into a small sigh. I was far from totally relaxed with Mary's hand touching my neck, but I was much more relaxed when it was still. The movement felt odd and I was not sure what to expect from it. After I had relaxed a bit once again Mary slowly lifted her hand off my neck and moved it a bit higher. I saw every move she made. Even though I was tense and afraid I stood my ground, ready to flee, but holding my own to see what would happen next.

Her hand ever so slowly landed on my neck once again, her fingertips first, then the rest of her hand melted onto my skin. In the first instant of contact I felt a quiver move through my body. But only moments later as I felt the warmth of her hand quietly resting on me I began to feel more at peace. I did like the rhythmical pulse I could feel from her as we stood connected. I gradually began to accept her presence so close beside me as I shifted my weight from hugging the rail, to a more comfortable stance bearing my weight equally on all fours.

We shared this space for a long time, standing only a foot apart, her hand resting on my neck. Every once in a while it would gently sliding down a bit only to lift, move up and touch me again. It took me a while to grow comfortable with her hand moving against my side. Once she pushed her hand slightly up my neck, letting her fingers trail against my haircoat instead of lifting them off as before. This I did not like. My hair coat lays flat against my skin and the lay of the hair grows down from my head all the way across my hips towards my tail. When I felt Mary's fingers run briefly against the lay of my hair it startled me. It felt prickly against my neck and I did not like it one bit. A horse's skin is highly sensitive, we can feel a house fly land on our back and we will rapidly twitch our skin to rid ourselves of the nuisance. Well in that moment Mary's fingers felt like that fly as they pushed my hair up in the opposite direction of it's growth. My skin quivered uncontrollably and I jumped back in surprise at her unexpected move. Mary stepped back quietly herself and I felt that familiar draw to fill the space and approach her again.

The next time she touched me she was careful to stroke with the lay of my haircoat. She worked her hands down my neck and even my shoulder. She lightly stroked my right jaw, just beneath my eye. When she tried to exceed those perimeters I would become tense and send my energy away from her, but she was respectful of that. She never pushed me so far as to the point of moving my feet, only my energy. She would move her hand to the very edge of the places I felt secure and just in the moment before I decided to flee she would bring her hand back into the center of my neck. I had grown comfortable with her hand there. It was a relief to me when she moved back to that area. I would settle my stance so that all four hooves shared the same weight and feel my body melt as I sighed.

It was odd to me how something like her hand resting on my neck had been so terrifying, yet now I was finding comfort in it. Something as simple as a quiet resting hand and a soft rhythmical pulse against my skin. Yes, I was beginning to find comfort in this two legged. Mary slowly took a step backwards letting her hand drop quietly of my side and she walked away.

I watched her as she left my pen. She had walked quietly out and shut the door behind her, looking back to me with a sparkle in her eye. She then turned and ran towards the barn, she was yelling, "Mike, Mike..I touched her! She let me touch her, it was amazing!" She seem very excited and full of energy as she bounced away. I thought to myself that I was thankful she had not bounced up and down like that beside me. She had been calm beside me and I liked her that way.