A Start

[huntersgotstyle]

Brad wanted to grab her and drag her right up the stairs and into his bedroom. Well actually he didn’t even want to move that far but he pushed her away softly. He could see she was fighting pain off- She had actually drank her coffee. “I’ll get you an Advil” said Brad and he got up and headed into the bathroom. He grabbed two and headed into the kitchen and grabbed her a bottle of water from the fridge. Brad set it on the table and picked up her beer bottle, putting it on the kitchen counter. He went to the TV and grabbed some chick flick. My Best Friends Girl was what it said on the disk. Brad wasn’t sure if he’d seen it or not but it was one of Bridget’s favourite movies. If he was thinking of the right movie it was funny and actually a chick flick that was worth watching. Brad popped it in and then settled on the couch softly. He really wanted to press her against the couch, feel her skin against his, but in a huge way he didn’t want to. He didn’t want another relationship that started out as sex, he wanted something real. Brad slipped an arm around her and pulled her close to his chest, letting her head rest on him. Brad grabbed a blanket and tossed it over her. It wasn’t really late nor time to sleep but he could tell that the coffee and beer were not mixing with her at all. Brad grabbed his beer and finished it off easily. He felt like grabbing another but decided against it. He didn’t need alcohol, not when his mind was already going crazy. Brad kissed the top of her head softly and then played with the ends softly. She was so gorgeous. Brad wasn’t sure what to do but he couldn’t sleep with her. It was not an option, not even close. No matter how much he wanted it when she kissed him, it was not an option. She was too good for that.

[/blockquote]

[Midnight]

Rachel moaned when he pulled her away to get her Advils. SHe crossed her arms over her chest dispointed. If she hadn't drank some beer, well he would still be holding her. She accpted the Advils without saying a word. She laid her head on him. She grabbed his hand into both of her hands. Her thumbs stroked his knuckles to keep her busy. She felt warm beneath the blankets. She kept her eyes on the TV screen which Brad had turned on. She laughed softly at some spots. Her head still pondered in the inside. The movie continied playing now fading before her. She tucked her legs under her. Brad kissed her head. She lips curled a bit. She loved him, her heart was stolen long ago and there was no going back. Midway to through the movie did she start feeling better. She glanced up at Brad who was watching the movie, or he seemed to be. She stared back at the movie. At least he took out a good movie. She rarely watched the TV at home since she always been alone to watch anything. It was nice for a change to have someone to watch with her then her parents. She frowned thinking of them. They never paid her much attention. They said having one kid made the kid perfect being on it's own. That wasn't true. Rachel remembered the long lonely years she spent by herself. At least her parents had the heart to buy her a horse. And Brad was here. Her heart lightened. Rachel mind cleared happy to have him in his life even if it wouldn't mean their relation would last long. She took the advantage for the pleasure while she had it. Rachel squeezed Brad's hand. People often told her to wait till the right moment to say this, but this felt right. Or she would regret it later on. This felt like the right time to say it. "I love you," she mumbled softly.

[huntersgotstyle]

Brad heard the words softly and he smiled but on the inside he was frowning. Girls always wanted you to say I love you right away, but he didn’t love her. He could, but he didn’t. He barely knew her and he wasn’t into handing out fake words, he’d done that far to often before. “Rach, I really like you, but I don’t think I love you, not right now anyways. I’m sorry” mumbled Brad back, he hated not saying it because he knew how much it hurt to know that you loved somebody and they didn’t love you back. But he really liked her, he just didn’t love her. “Just give me some time, ok?” asked Brad softly, squeezing her hand slightly. Brad pulled her onto his lap and pulled her into his chest. He rubbed her back for awhile before kissing her head softly. “What do you want to do? We can do whatever you want- well to a point.” Brad said, not really feeling like sitting on the couch all day. But he wasn’t sure exactly what he wanted to do. But being in the house all day just wasn’t that exciting, he hated staring at the walls. It all made him think too much and worry about things. The more he tried not to think about stuff, the more he did think about it. And all he could think of now was how many times he’d told his parents he’d loved them and they’d told him. It’d all been such a lie, they didn’t love him they just loved how he made them look. Like a free ad saying ‘our family is the greatest in all the land’. It was the total opposite, but not according to the outside world. Bridget still talked to them once in awhile for whatever reason, but Brad refused to. He didn’t need them, their ivy league colleges and their law degrees. The only person Brad needed was Bridget and he knew it wouldn’t be long before Rachel was in the list to. But it wouldn’t take long for Bridget to start flirting and finding herself busy with parties. Brad sighed softly, since keeping his mental thoughts and physical actions different was getting harder every second.

[/blockquote]

[Midnight]

Her heart stung her at his words. She closed her eyes. He had the right, they barely new each other and here she was letting her heart out without thinking. She sighed to herself watching the movie end. He spoke again which she knew he didn't want to stay in here. "Don't worry. I am not ready if that's what you're thinking." She stayed muted for a while just laying there on him. She stared at nothing. Rachel might have been disappointed Brad just liked her. After all, she couldn't blame him. A total stranger was holding her. She hated how easily she fell for someone who didn't have high hopes on their relation liked she did. She pushed the thoughts away now trying to figure what they could do. She bit her lower lip thinking. "Maybe take a walk, or go at the beach. I don't mind going anywhere. If you want we can head back to the stables and kick my ass like before we left."

She got up and tossed Brad his hoodie back at him. She walked into the bathroom bringing her water bottle along. Rachel stared into the mirror. She flattened her shirt down removing the wrinkles when she was cuddling close to him. Finishing rinsing her face, she felt way better. She felt bad about herself. There she was kissing him like they were one happy couple. She should have known better. Brad was right, they needed time to get to know each other. She rinsed her face again. She stepped out now her face dry. She stared at Brad and smiled. "So does a walk sound good enough for you?"

[huntersgotstyle]

“Yeah a walk sounds ok. There’s a trail just off the soccer park- Want to play for a bit after? I need to do at least some ball handling today” said Brad taking his sweater and tossing it into the laundry room. Brad grabbed his gym bag out of the closet that was overflowing with soccer gear. He tossed out the clothes and slipped a clean pair of shorts, tee shirt and socks in. Brad slung the bag over his shoulder, he had to practice whether she wanted to or not. “Did you want to stop by your house and grab your soccer stuff or are you just going to do something else?” asked Brad not really sure how to ask if she wasn’t going to play without sounding overly rude. He wasn’t exactly batting a thousand today. Brad felt like every time he opened his mouth he was screwing up today, hell even when his mouth was closed he seemed to be screwing up. He didn’t want her to think he was only into her for physical reasons but she seemed slightly hurt from that. He hadn’t want to lie to her and tell her he loved her but she seemed hurt from that. He didn’t want to spend all day hauled up in the house making out but that seemed to hurt her. Brad just wasn’t winning today, definitely not his day. It wasn’t her fault though, he was sure she had plenty of reasons for why she seemed hurt. It sucked being a guy, they thought totally different then girls.

Brad slipped on his running shoes and grabbed the keys and headed out the door. He tossed his gear into the back seat of the truck before climbing in and turning the key to start the ignition. Brad wasn’t sure what to do, he could offer to take her to the party but then he’d also drink and there was no doubt in his mind he’d probably end up in bed with her. He could take her out for dinner, but he wasn’t really into that unless it was a small restaurant. He could take her to the movies to but they’d already watched movies. There wasn’t much to do in the small town but it beat being overcrowded. Brad looked out the windows when movement caught his eye. A owner was walking a dog on a leash, well more like the dog was walking it’s owner. Brad spoke softly, more to himself then Rachel, “I want a dog”

[/blockquote]

[Midnight]

Rachel climbed into the truck after Brad. "That sounds good. I'll go get my own stuff at my place first. And by the way, I don't own a house, I rather have a apartment," she said, amused for no reason. Better brighten up before things could got worse. She watched as someone with a dog passed by. She turned her head to Brad when mumbled to himself. She buckled her seat belt and stared back at the dog. "Yeah, dogs are sure great animals to have around. Not that I ever owned one." She told him where her apartment's location. She quickly ran out of the truck to her building. She dug her pockets. Her heart skipped a beat. Where were her keys? Not at the stables, please. She dug deeper into her pockets and finally felt the metal. She dragged them out. She unlocked the door bursting in. She hadn't unpacked everything yet. Her clothes were still in bags and furniture were laying around, some not assembled together yet. She ran into her would to be room. She looked through her bags. Luckily, she wasn't a shoe freak who bought all kinds of shoes. She found the rest and dumped it all in an empty bag. She found her black and white ball and went back out locking the door behind her. She dropped her stuff in the back seat with the rest of Brad's stuff. "Sorry if it did take long." She smiled at Brad. "Come on, cheer up. I didn't mean to make you feel bad. I shouldn't have said..." Well he knew what she wanted to say, she thought. She stared out the window watching the sun still shining over their heads. It would be good to run a little. Rachel hadn't played for a long while, with all this change. She knew she might be rusty at first, which was common before each season. Brad would probably kick her ass like in riding. Rachel pushed the thought away since it didn't really matter. She punched softly his shoulder. "All that counts now is just having a bit of fun."

[huntersgotstyle]

Brad watched as she went into her apartment, it was fairly nice. Considering there was only her and she was a bit younger. Bridget only did as much as she did because of how good she was with horses. Though she was applying to warm up horses for lessons kids which was the lowest paid job at the barn but she wasn’t somebody who could happily clean up somebody’s mess. “I might call a few people- Want to go look at dogs with me tomorrow? I might be able to get Bridget to come but it’d be more fun if you came instead” said Brad with a smile as he turned out of the driveway. He wasn’t even sure what kind of dog he wanted, he really didn’t care. In the end he’d probably let Rachel decide, if she went. If not, Bridget would. Brad chuckled softly at her comment though it was slightly needed, he relaxed shortly after. Brad grabbed her hand softly, holding it gently but firm. He looked at her and his smile grew a bit bigger before focusing back on the road.

Brad stepped out of the truck and hit the lock button on the remote. Brad walked up to Rachel and slipped his arm around her waist, steering her softly towards the trail. Brad kissed her cheek softly. “Can you start wearing ugly clothes or something because it is getting way to hard to keep my lips off yours” said Brad teasingly. The trail was fairly short, well there was a long way but it took too long to walk. He looked at the trees, flowers and everything. It all seemed so naturally placed, not one thing looked out of place. Even a flower the was coming up randomly looked in place. It was nice, so calm here. He liked running here almost as much as he liked running down the beach. Though he didn’t do that often due to the heat and well it got annoying. Either girls hit on him or he spent too much time making sure his jaw didn’t drop.

[/blockquote]

[Midnight]

Rachel slipped her hand around him from behind. She stopped walking when he spoke. She let her kaw drop and pulled away slightly. "I'm not into those fancy clothes like most girls fight for. I only buy what looks good on me. I shouldn't be that pretty in this blouse and jeans. I barely wear make up, but maybe I should just to get it all over your face." She smiled at him to reassure it was all just a tease. She pulled herslef back to him and urged him to continue walking with her. This place was lovely. It always been nice to see something pretty and different. Brad did sure find the right places to go too, well if she didn't include the girls they met so far. Her heart skipped a beat thinking it over. She shuddered a little thinking how Brad could have so easily fallen for them then her. Rachel held Brad closer. He chose her after all. That was good, in her opinion. She glanced at Brad now happy he walked along her side. She shouldn't worry about the girls anymore, not now anyway.

She thought about the dog again. It would have been nice to have a dog walking with them. "For the dog, I'll like to join you. I always been crazy over animals." She remembered teh day when she brought home this little brown kitten. To her eyes, it was the cutest thing in the whole wide world. She cried when her parents refused to even keep the little animal in the barn with her horse, Hunter's Pride. Though now she didn't like cats much anymore since one bite her each time the grown ups turned their backs inside a friend's stable for about a week. She could have sweared the cat came looking for her to sink its teeth in her flesh. She shivered remembering those horrible thoughts. "Well, maybe not all animals." She stared up at Brad. Her lips curled up. Why did he have to be so cute?

[huntersgotstyle]

Brad just laughed at her comment. “Does it look like I care if you paid a hundred dollars or ten dollars for you jeans? You’d have a nice ass in either one” said Brad with a smirk, but had to smile not being able to hold it. He wasn’t a pig, though she was a very pretty girl. Brad pulled her closer slightly, he was about to look down when he heard footsteps. He looked up to see a large group of guys jogging towards them. Brad just kept walking but held her close. He watched them all run there eyes up and down her and many of them slowed their pace to get a better look. Brad quickened his pace slightly, he hated to admit it but it bugged him that they were checking her out. Brad was happy when they turn a corner and he felt himself relax slightly. It was weird though, guys checked Bridget out all the time and Brad never batted an eye. He was used to guys checking girls out he was with, even his old girlfriends he hadn’t cared. Why was he doing it all of a sudden?

“What breed of dogs do you like? Even if you’ve only met them through pictures” asked Brad now a tad excited for tomorrow, though there was a long time before then. Brad though about animals and mumbled softly “It’s okay I hate cows, bulls especially”. Brad stared at the ground softly, recalling the years of his life he’d spent every day with them. And then they’d nearly taken his life, but out of some miracle he recovered. He had to thank Bridget for that, otherwise he’d be so terrified of every animal. Though to somebody who didn’t know the story it would seem weird, he had belt buckles from the rodeo circuit all over the place. He even had two from bull riding, but they were from smaller rodeos and not the big time like the barrel racing ones. Brad wore them once in awhile, but not usually. It was just kind of something he preferred not to remember. But he was okay with it, he lived with a girl he kind of had to talk about his feelings. Not that he volunteered them on a regular bases.

[/blockquote]

[Midnight]

Rachel blushed as the a couple of boys ran, or rather nearly walked by them. What bothered her the most that the guys were looking all over her as if they were trying to remember her figure by heart. Guys were staring at her like she was one hot chick. Boys never looked her over in her past life. She thought herself not that pretty, or was she? She walked faster along with Brad who pulled them away from the bunch. They both came out of sight and slowed their pace back to a normal walk. Rachel sighed out happy they were alone, together. She thought over Brad's question earlier before they were interrupted. "I really I like Border Collies. I find them really cute and they aren't so tiny." She grimaced. "I don't like small dogs. They always bark in their little tiny voices and gives me a headaches especially Chihuahuas. I prefer big dogs, they are more enjoying to have around. And I guess I like German Shepherds as well. How about you?"

Rachel heard Brad mumble to himself. She looked up at him seeing some kind of disappointment in his face. She stopped walking. Brad was staring down at the ground, maybe trying not to have eye contact with her. Rachel pulled his chin up softly with her hand wanting an eye contact. She stared deep int his eyes trying to understand what was going on in his head. Something was bothering, or seemed to be. Rachel tugged herself closer and grabbed both of his hands in each of hers. "You don't seem right, what happened with the cows... bulls?" she asked him. Rachel was a kind of person that didn't like seeing others feel sad or angry.She always tried making others happy, even if she didn't make things better. She had to try, at least. She knew Brad was remembering something that bothered him. She pulled him closer to her closing the space between them. Rachel didn't like seeing him in this state. She never did, it was in her nature. Her eyes filled with pity just seeing him look down."They hurt you, didn't they?"

[huntersgotstyle]

“I’m not a big fun a border collies, especially purebred, they have way too much energy. I like labs and I’m not going to lie I like small dogs. But only ones that aren’t really yappy. I am a big fan of mutts, get the best of both worlds” said Brad. He was almost as bad as Bridget if it was cute it was sold. Brad was a bit of a sucker, all something had to do was look at him the right way. Bridget loved small dogs so if he got a lab he had to get a small dog to, it was a unspoken deal. Luckily they had a fairly decent sized house. Brad heard her question and kept his gaze on the ground for a long moment. Finally he spoke, but not loudly and his eyes stayed glued to his feet. “When I was younger I showed barrels and won a lot. When I turned fifteen I started riding bulls, I guess I just wanted more of an adrenaline rush. I fell off, got thrown around, everything but I wanted nothing more to win at the devils game. Shortly after I turned sixteen I got on a bull. He was a tough ride, but he got high points. I’d rode him before so I thought I knew what to expect. We barely made it out of the shoot before he slammed me into the wall. I couldn’t speak or move for two weeks after words. But Bridget forced me to keep riding and that’s how I got into hunters and now cross into jumpers. I don’t hate the bull for doing what he did, I hate myself for putting myself in the situation. But bulls trigger the memory and I get mad at myself and fear myself. So technically I’m not scared of bulls, I just hate the memory.” said Brad looking up slightly at the end to get a glimpse of her face. She was so gorgeous, he wondered why she seemed so unsure of herself. “What happened to you, why do you act surprised when I or any other guy checks you out? You are gorgeous”[/b[ asked Brad hopeing he wasn’t stepping into territory he shouldn’t.

[/blockquote]

[Midnight]

OOC: hehe I have a real mutt dog


She opened her mouth to say something about his bad memory when Brad changed the subject out of no where. She closed her mouth and felt it was better if she didn't say anything about it now. At his comment, she turned her head away so he couldn't see her expression, or in other words, her cheeks were red. Not that she was offended by his comment, not at all, just she wasn't use to people saying she was pretty and looking her over. She pulled one hand out of his and pulled him with the other to continue their walk. She relaxed watching the colorful flowers and the rest pass by as the walked on. The idea with the dog came back in mind. "As long as the dog is big, I always seem happy since they can keep up with you when riding and run play along while playing soccer. And small dogs... I'll fall in love with your tiny dog when you buy it." She started imagining Brad walking a little white dog. If a dog made him happy, she would be glad for him.

They continued walking in silence. She tried saying something about his bad memory, but decided it would be a bad idea. She had no intentions making him feel bad. Something else popped inside her head though. "And why did you start walking faster when we crossed those guys? I liked that tall with brown hair, he seemed cute, but you walked away too fast before I got a good glance at him," she said with a tease in her voice. She giggled softly trying to remember that guy. She glanced at Brad to compare him and the other guy in her head. Brad was cuter, of course. She smiled and returned her gaze on the flowers letting him time to say something.

[huntersgotstyle]

ickk a whole 301 words- and not even good words! sorry.
“I walked faster? Hmm I didn’t notice” said Brad with a soft smirk. Brad still felt kind of bad, she was so into him and he well wasn’t sure. He knew he really liked her but loving her just seemed so far off. It was like she deserved so much better, somebody who would love her. She did deserve somebody better, somebody who would take care of her, do anything for her. Brad had never been good at that- he’d happily hang out with the person, talk to them and all those things but he wasn’t good at loving somebody. But the only things he loved were his horses and Bridget. He hadn’t really truly loved anyone. Brad stared at the view as his mind went into a hectic stream of thoughts, pretending he was extremely happy to be here. Well that part wasn’t pretending, it was more not feeling bad for everything. Brad needed to learn how to not feel sorry for everybody and everything he did. Brad breathed in and put a smile on his face which became real as soon as he looked at Rachel. Brad smiled and joked “I’m going to get a Chihuahua that way I know I’ll never ever half to see you again”. Brad let his hand drop from her waist and slipped his fingers into hers. Brad looked ahead to see the soccer fields. “What position do you play in soccer? “ Brad asked, his mind wondering. Brad mainly played forward but also played a bit of defence and goalie- midfield if he had to. Brad loved the rush the game gave him, almost as much as he loved jumping. He enjoyed the workout and ball handling- it was hard to master but it was incredible once you knew it.

[/blockquote]

[Midnight]

Rachel brought her gaze up when she saw the soccer field in view. She had long played soccer. "I usually play defense since there's more action there since my team wasn't all that get at forward." As a kid she would play any position since it was easy at young age. She never minded playing any position. Then she went defense since no one wanted to play that position. Sometimes she played as a midfield. other then that she wasn't as good at the other position. "I see you as a forward scoring goals each time you run up the field. I hope you don't impress too many girls up there with your hot looks," she teased. Rachel grinned and started pulling him to his black truck. She waited to hear the click of the doors unlocking. She opened the door and dragged her bag out. Rachel sat down on he truck's floor not wanting to bend over. She felt uncomfortable bending over when others were around, especially guys. She took off her her shoes and socks and all replaced with her soccer equipment and all. She pulled hard against the laces. If a shoe was loose around her foot, she didn't play way. She didn't know why her playing conditions changed when it came to tying up her shoes, but it just was.

Rachel got on her feet. She strapped her elastic band around her hair into a ponytail. She stared at Brad. "Well I guess I'll be trying out a couple of shots then." Rachel was off stroking her soccer ball to the goal. Ready, she kicked the ball. Obviously, she missed it. She grumbled to herself and ran to get her ball. She felt a little tense inside. Maybe the fact she wanted to be a good player in front of Brad. She had to relax. She took a deep breath and headed back to the goal. Back when she was in school, she didn't force herself to play good and played like... well not that great. Rachel would be playing good today, a couple of mistakes wouldn't hurt her.

[huntersgotstyle]

Brad pulled on his shin pads slowly, watching Rachel. She did pretty good, a little bit of work with aim and ball control and she’d be a great soccer player. It was a defence thing, they all needed slightly more ball control and slightly better aim. But it was never really noticed because well they play defence not forward- Defence players just had a harder time stepping out of their element because of how different it was from the other positions on the field. Brad slipped his white soccer socks and grabbed a pair of shorts from the bag and slipped them on. He wasn’t really concerned he had boxers on anyways. Brad the pulled on his cleats and did the laces up fairly tight- the last thing he needed was to kick a ball and a shoe go flying into Rachel’s face. Yeah, that would definitely get him some brownie points. Brad grabbed the other ball out of the gym bag and kicked it towards the field- It was obviously Bridget’s as it was hot pink with a black Nike symbol on it. Brad didn’t know why she bought it, probably for the entertainment that he always ended up dribbling around a hot pink soccer ball. It got attention- that was for sure. Brad jogged over and started dribbling with the ball alternating where he toughed it with his feet as he jogged along. Inside left, outside left, inside right, outside right he chanted to himself softly. He turned and dribbled to the goal, He took a shot from where Rachel was standing and it hit the top right corner. It looked good, but as him to hit the bottom right corner and he would start to scramble slightly. At least from a distance. “Not too bad, your lucky you don’t run life a defence player! When Bridget runs she does it with her elbows out because she spends that much time elbowing people- be thankful, you’ll be half as likely to get carded” said Brad with a smile, it was true. Bridget was well known for yellow carding within the first fifteen minutes of the game. She’d only ever got red carded three times, which is amazing considering she plays like it’s tackle football. Though she’d helped Brad a lot, having the best defence player in the league work with you every day on how to beat her helped your game a lot. Sadly despite the arguing many of the guys did, Bridget had not been allowed on the guys team. The team would have greatly had her on the team, but over half of them could of cared less that she was a good soccer player. Brad smiled at the thought, he missed playing soccer with them. But he needed to focus on himself and riding for awhile.

[/blockquote]