Eric Rodriguez

=== Description ===
Eric Rodriguez is the same age as Sasha SilverPage 27 of Chasing Blue. He has thick,Page 17 of Behind the Bit dark, tousled jet-black hair,Page 28 of Chasing Blue deep brown skin and kindPage 257 of Chasing Blue, warm,Page 82 of Triple Fault amber-flecked, dark brownPage 2 of Behind the Bit eyes with a soft sparkle.Page 168 of Triple FaultPage 252 of Triple Fault He has long legsPage 185 of Triple Fault and always looks cool, calm and confident.Page 223 of Triple Fault Eric smells like mint and clean laundry.Page 16 of Behind the Bit 
=== Character ===
Eric likes foodPage 93 of Triple Fault and usually makes his own sandwiches for lunch, with different kinds like pepper beef or chicken provolone.Page 225 of Chasing Blue He truly cares about horses and was furious when he found out that Jasmine had been dangerously jumping Phoenix alone.Page 124 of Triple Fault He has never forgiven Jacob for treating Sasha poorly and betraying her.Page 133 of Triple Fault Eric is not the type of guy to lose on purpose, even to his girlfriend,Page 186 of Triple Fault nor is he one to rub things in people's faces.Page 198 of Triple Fault His best subject is biology. He is a skilled rider, listening to his mount and not overpowering her with hard hands or forceful legs.Page 40 of Behind the Bit
=== Eric's Wardrobe ===
Eric owns a black coat, paddock boots, a graphic tee, worn, vintage jeans, a green polo shirt, slouchy cargo pants, a blue hood,Page 77 of Chasing Blue a pair of matching tall boots and helmet, black breeches,Page 37 of Behind the Bit a tan coat, a dark red winter hat, a charcoal grey jacket, black pants, a white dress shirt, a well-worn hunter green pullover,
=== Brief Summary ===
Eric Rodriguez is a Canterwood Crest transfer student. He starts off in the intermediate equestrian team there but moves up along with Jasmine King. He currently rides Luna, one of Mr. Connor's school horses, but would like his own horse. He starts off with a crush on Sasha, not knowing that Callie had had a crush on him ever since he first started at Canterwood in January.Page 14 of Behind the Bit When there is a huge misunderstanding between Jacob and Sasha at the Sweetheart Soiree, it was Eric who walked a heartbroken Sasha back to her dormitory, even lending her his jacket. Later, after a demonstration at the winter clinic, and an enormous discovery about Callie and Jacob's relationship, he confesses his love to Sasha and almost kisses her but is interrupted. This starts off Eric and Sasha's romantic relationship. At first, they keep it a secret, fearing that if everyone else knew, it may be messed up, like Sasha and Jacob's was. However, when they eventually did disclose it, no one interfered and everything was well. Eric and Sasha rode together often, especially once he moved up to the advanced team, and they went on a couple of dates. Eric was described as a very cute and hot guy, and was the heartthrob of one of the younger riding teams, which included Rachel. Once they found out that Eric was dating someone, however, they backed off. Eric and Sasha thrived, but their relationship came to an abrupt halt when Jacob confessed that he wanted Sasha back at the end of Best Enemies.
=== Eric in Books ===
==== Chasing Blue ====
Eric first appears in Chasing Blue at the stable in January as a new student wearing a graphic tee, worn, vintage jeans and paddock boots. He sees Sasha grooming Charm and introduces himself as a a seventh-grade transfer student. Sasha introduces herself and Charm. Eric lets Charm smell his hand, running his eyes over Charm and praising his conformation. He tells Sasha that he is currently riding one of the school horses, but wanted his own horse soon. Eric soon leaves but comes back only a couple of chapters later. He's in the cafeteria eating lunch with a couple of guys from Blackwell HallPage 42 of Chasing Bluewhen Sasha walks past. He jumps up and approaches her with his tray. They chat a bit about their day so far and Sasha teases him about his next appointment with Ms. Utz as they walk. She leaves him at Ms. Utz's office. Later, he searches for Sasha's email in the student directory and sends her an email, thanking Sasha for her help and claiming that he will never be the same after his "Utz encounter."Page 55 of Chasing Blue On a Wednesday afternoon, on his way to PE class with Ms. Yee, Erin spots Sasha trying to study while she walks across the cafeteriaPage 58 of Chasing Blue. He greets her and ends up quizzing her to help prepare her for her upcoming biology test. They separate in front of Sasha's classroom. 
A couple of days later, Eric approaches Sasha while she's heading back to her dormitory, Winchester. They talk for a moment, and Eric mentions that he is riding Luna.Page 78 of Chasing Blue He asks for Sasha's phone number but she is too busy wondering why Heather had Jacob's IM name to hear him. He repeats his request and they exchange numbers. At a fork in the sidewalk, they split up and enter their own dormitories. In chapter 12, Eric is riding Luna in figure eights in the small outdoor arena while Sasha watches.Page 100 of Chasing Blue He is wearing tall boots, a matching helmet, black breeches and a tan coat. She observes that his body position was perfect. Eric is so focused on his riding that it takes him a while to notice her, but when he does, he waves and trots over, beaming. He asks how he went, and Sasha truthfully tells him that he had been amazing. It takes two tries to convince him that she was serious. They agree that to go trail riding sometime and Eric returns to his ride, touching his crop to his helmet before riding away. He guides Luna through a sitting trot and several laps of a smooth canter before halting her in the center and backing her straight to the fence. Jacob arrives and Sasha invites him to watch Eric with her. After a few more circles in the arena, Eric slows Luna and trots her up to them.Page 102 of Chasing Blue Luna is sweating. Eric and Jacob introduce themselves awkwardly. Sasha tells Eric how she thinks that Luna's colouring (flea-bitten grey) is great, and he agrees, mentioning that Luna's coat doesn't show dirt either. Sasha and Eric glance at each other, trying to hold back laughs, when Jacob expresses his concern of fleas spreading to other horses, clearly misunderstanding the term "flea-bitten grey." Sasha explains what it means to him, trying not to make him feel stupid.Page 103 of Chasing Blue Eric shifts Luna closer to Sasha, causing Jacob to tighten his jaw and stand straighter. Eric copies him. They both reply "no" when Sasha asks whether they had classes together. Eric asks Sasha about how her biology quiz went, and when she replied that it didn't go great, Jacob offers his help with the next quiz if she needed it. Eric and Jacob stare at one another coldly.Page 104 of Chasing Blue Eric eventually rides away when Sasha explains that she and Jacob need to go do a film project.
After a dressage lesson with Callie, Heather and Mr. Connor, Sasha receives a text message from Eric wishing her luck for her biology test.Page 122 of Chasing Blue Some time passes before Eric is mentioned again. He texts Sasha, hoping to see her at the stable tomorrow.Page 138 of Chasing Blue When Sasha tells Callie about that Eric had texted her, Callie replies by saying that Eric like-likes Sasha. Rolling her eyes, Sasha denies it, but Callie insists, claiming that Eric texts Sasha, always smiles at her and runs over to talk to her whenever she's around him. Sasha almost laughed but denied it all, later confessing to the reader that she knew Callie had been wrong about Eric liking her. Callie later proves her point, though, when, on a Monday morning after a riding lesson, Eric smile and waves to Sasha from across the campus while Callie and Sasha were walking.Page 144 of Chasing Blue He is noted to be wearing a dark red winter hat and a black coat. Callie and Sasha wave back. After Charm was visited by Dr. Staton, the Canterwood vet, and Mr. O'Brady, the farrier, was shoeing Charm, Eric steps out of the aisle and waved upon seeing Sasha and Charm. He walks over and they have a very brief chat in which he wishes Sasha luck for the regional show tomorrow before walking off.Page 166 of Chasing Blue Once he had left, Callie appears and admits that she wished Eric liked her. When Sasha expresses her shock, Callie explains that Eric was a rider, cute and doesn't call her 'dude' like half of the guys in class.Page 167 of Chasing Blue Sasha urges her to talk to him, but they both agree that the upcoming regional show had to come first. 
A day or two after winning show-jumping at the regional show, Eric sees Sasha giving Charm a massage and congratulates the two of them.Page 221 of Chasing Blue He thanks Sasha for making him comfortable at the new school and gives Sasha the suspicion that Callie may have been right when she said that Eric wanted to be more than friends. They chat a bit about the Sweetheart Soiree and separate, agreeing to see each other at the party. On Wednesday, Eric joins Sasha, Callie and Paige in the cafeteria for lunch.Page 224 of Chasing Blue Callie immediately becomes nervous and self-conscious, straightening her necklace and running her hand through her hair. When Eric strikes up a conversation with Paige about his recipe for a pepper beef sandwich, Jacob enters and Callie leaves, angrily whispering that she's not up to watch two guys fight over Sasha. Jacob sits next to Sasha and he and Eric have a curt, tense conversation about their next classes and how often they see Sasha. Sasha and Paige quickly leave before it becomes a full-blown argument.
At the Sweetheart Soiree, Eric is seen sitting on a red couch with Alison, Julia and Ben. Troy and Andy are also there. Eric is wearing blank pants and a white dress shirt, with his dark hair pushed back off his forehead.Page 239 of Chasing Blue He greets Sasha, making Callie frown. He had arrived at the Sweetheart Soiree ten minutes before Sasha did and had been pulled into the back room by Heather. The eleven of them (Eric, Sasha, Callie, Paige, Alison, Julia, Ben, Andy, Troy, Heather and Jacob) sit in a lopsided circle and play a game of Truth or Lie (in which all the players write a truth and lie on a slip of paper. Each player takes a turn in drawing a slip of paper out of a bowl and guessing who wrote it and which is the truth and lie.) Eric writes down "I've got a secret crush" for a truth and "Once, I ate a cricket on a dare" for a lie. He is guessed out by Ben. Page 242 of Chasing Blue 
When Heather picks out a piece of paper to read, she targets Sasha and claims false things about her, agitating Sasha and making her believe that Jacob had been kissing her all semester.Page 245 of Chasing Blue Eric shouts at Heather to cut it out and tries to call Sasha back when she leaves the room.Page 246 of Chasing Blue The Sweetheart Soiree dance begins, and Eric's dance partner is an unnamed, petite eighth grader wearing a pink dress with a heart-shaped diamond pin.Page 247 of Chasing Blue He looks at Sasha and mouths "Are you okay?" to which Sasha nods. However, Sasha loses it when she sees Heather dancing with JacobPage 250 of Chasing Blue. She makes a scene, screaming at the couple and accusing them of kissing and going behind her back, both of which are false.Page 251 of Chasing Blue After that, Eric finds her outside in the rain with Callie and offers to walk Sasha back to Winchester.Page 255 of Chasing Blue This shakes Callie and Sasha's friendship, as Eric's chivalrous act just supports Callie's theory of him liking Sasha. Callie leaves Sasha and Eric together. Eric lends Sasha his coat and puts an arm over her shoulders as they walk away. Jacob does come out, but at the sight of Eric and Sasha together, he just shakes his head and storms back in.Page 256 of Chasing Blue Eric urges Sasha to just "forget it for tonight", telling her that she'd been through enough. Sasha then chooses to walk back to Winchester with him instead of going after Jacob to apologise. 
==== Behind the Bit ====
Eric stands near Sasha, concerned, with his jacket around her shoulders.Page 2 of Behind the Bit He encourages her to walk back to Winchester with him, and puts an arm around her shoulder as they walk. As they cut across the slick grass, they spot two figures ahead under a streetlamp, holding hands. It turns out to be Heather and Ben.Page 3 of Behind the Bit Eric tightens his grip on Sasha and they ignore the couple as they walk pass.Page 4 of Behind the Bit At Winchester, Livvie is at first mortified at seeing a boy in the dormitory, but, upon noticing Sasha's teary face, allows Eric to stay until Paige returns. While Sasha cleans herself up, Eric stays in the common room and makes two cups of hot chocolate.Page 5 of Behind the Bit They sit on opposite sides of different couches, conscious of the strict no-boy rule, while they drink the cocoa.Page 6 of Behind the Bit Sasha blurts out her worries and despair to Eric, who comforts her and does his best to advise her on what to do next.Page 7 of Behind the Bit He pulls out a bag of marshmallows from the cabinet, saying that he had forgotten them, but this just reminds Sasha of a Jacob memory, making her cry even more.Page 8 of Behind the Bit 
He sits next to her, worried, and when she explains, he returns the marshmallows and finds a bag of baked chips instead. After pouring them into a bowl, he tells Sasha that he has a problem with Luna. He puts the bowl on the coffee table and explains that Luna always wants to canter back to the stable after every lesson and that he almost can't hold her back.Page 9 of Behind the Bit Sasha replies that Luna was getting barn sour and that Eric has to make her walk back, circling her if she gets headstrong. Eric promises to try it, wanting to know where she had learnt that. Sasha tells about how her parents had given her a giant guide book to horses when she was ten and then stops, accusing Eric of distracting her with horse talk. He asks if it was working and she laughs, saying that it totally was. He leans back on the couch as Sasha continues telling him more about what was in the book. 
About an hour later, Paige returns.Page 10 of Behind the Bit She expresses her surprise at seeing Eric in the common room but thanks him for staying with Sasha. He replies, saying that it wasn't a problem, and that Sasha had been giving him good horse pointers. Then he jokes that he'd better go before Livvie tosses him into a snow drift. Sasha thanks him sincerely, thinking that he had been a good friend and how overwhelmingly grateful she was for him to distract her. Eric smiles at her before leaving. Sasha and Eric later see each other again at the stable on a Saturday morning.Page 13 of Behind the Bit Sasha had been looking for him to return his coat and found him trying to thin Luna's mane. He hadn't been doing a very good job -Luna's mane was now thick near her poll and thinner near her withers. Sasha offers to help and Eric hands her the silver pulling comb. Sasha demonstrates how to properly thin Luna's mane, explaining each step as she went.Page 17 of Behind the Bit When Eric tries again, however, he ends up with a snarl of mane around the comb. Sasha, laughing and gently pushing Eric out of the way, eventually untangles it.Page 18 of Behind the Bit 
But when she finishes it and turns around to grin at Eric, the bucket she had been standing on wobbles and tilts, throwing her off balance. Eric jumps forwards to catch her and she smacks against his chest, both of them staggering backwards a couple of steps. He asks if Sasha was okay, and she apologises, blushing. They laugh and joke about Sasha's weight for a bit before Callie suddenly appears behind Sasha.Page 19 of Behind the Bit Eric lets go of Sasha. Callie glares at Sasha before spinning on her boot heel and leaving. Sasha jogs after her, leaving Eric and Luna. Several minutes later, Sasha returns.Page 20 of Behind the Bit Eric asks if she is okay and she assures him that she is fine, but needs to be alone for a while. 
At the start of the winter holidays, on a Sunday, Eric calls Sasha to tell her that Mr. Connor had asked him to stay behind to assist him and help out at the winter holiday clinic Sasha was going to be riding in.Page 36 of Behind the Bit He persuades Sasha to go on a trail ride with him and they meet at the stable in twenty minutes. Eric had Luna at the crossties and had carried Charm's tack onto the counter for Sasha by the time she arrives. They mount and Eric suggests they ride towards the woods behind Blackwell Hall, one of the guys' dorms.Page 38 of Behind the Bit Luna and Charm sniff each other's muzzles, causing Eric to think that Charm likes Luna. Sasha and Eric laugh together and walk their horses side by side on the trail. They talk about riding and how Eric became Mr. Connor's assistant for a bitPage 39 of Behind the Bit before breaking into a trot and racing through the woods. After the ride, Eric convinces Sasha to go with him to the Sweet Shoppe for a hot drink.Page 41 of Behind the Bit He walks Sasha back to Winchester, planning to go back to his own dorm to change clothes before swinging back to Winchester to pick Sasha up so they can go to the Sweet Shoppe together. However, as they reach Winchester, they see Callie pacing around outside the entrance. She smiles at Sasha, but the smile disappears and she bolts down the steps as soon as she sees Eric with Sasha. Sasha calls after her, and, leaving Eric standing alone, tries to reason with her. Callie suggests she and Sasha go trail riding and talk as they ride when Eric comes up and unsuccessfully attempts to help.Page 43 of Behind the Bit 
However, this just makes matters worse, and Callie leaves immediately, ignoring Sasha's pleas for her to come back. Eric looks at Sasha, concerned and puzzled about what he had said to make things worse, making Sasha feel bad for him.Page 44 of Behind the Bit He suggests talking about how to fix things up at the Sweet Shoppe, but Sasha tells him that she couldn't go with him right now. He doesn't argue, and smiles at her before walking away.
Category: Humans
Category: Males
Category:Characters
Category:Riders
Category:Sasha's Love Interests