` love happens without reason **

[jason andrew irving]

i can promise you that i will leave you never
I'M HAPPY RIGHT WHERE I'M AT ;; IT'S AS SIMPLE AS THAT

With a slightly annoyed sigh, the young man dug through his closet, wondering why again he had a pair of brown shorts and nothing to match them. Well, nothing that was clean except for a simple, white t-shirt. He knew there was one shirt he hadn’t worn in ages that would go perfectly well with the shorts but all he had to do was find it. Feeling something fuzzy brush across his leg, he glanced down and saw Dash looking up at him with her two off-colored eyes and he couldn’t help but smile. Pausing his search for the missing shirt, he crouched down and stroked her furry face, planting a little kiss on her nose. Petting her head again before straightening up, he turned back to his closet, resting his hands on his bare sides nearly ready to give up. He turned around and headed out into the bedroom, opening one of the drawers in his dresser. Of course. Sitting right on top was the shirt he had spent the last five, maybe ten minutes searching for. Tossing it on his bed, he ran a hand across his cheek and down along his chin, debating whether he should shave or not before he left. Deciding it was best to see what he looked like instead of making his decision based on feel, he headed towards his bathroom and looked in the large mirror over the double sinks, doing his best to avoid the two thin lines down the figure in the mirror’s left side. It had been five, nearly six months since the wreck that had nearly cost him his life and he still couldn’t get use to the scars on his side. Oh, the few smaller ones on his forehead and along his arms he was fine with; the most visible one there was a jagged line a little less than an inch long on the inside of his wrist where a piece of broken glass had really wedged itself into his skin and into his vein, but it had faded much more than the scars from his surgeries.

Glancing at his reflection’s face, he decided he might as well shave before he left his house to go pick up his girlfriend; he had time. Even after hunting for his t-shirt he still had about a half an hour before he told Ana he would be over at her house. As he picked up his razor, he couldn’t help but let a smile flicker across his face as he thought about her for what had to be the thousandth time that day. He still had no idea how she had forgiven him for cheating on her with his ex; he still had trouble dealing with it, but somehow she had and after her father had died, she had decided to see if he was willing to give them another try. That had only been a couple weeks earlier and for a little while, he had struggled with it, afraid of doing something stupid and hurting her again. Even though things weren’t where they had been before they broke up, they were going pretty good. He was happy and after those two months he had been without her, letting his guilt eat him up, that was definitely saying something and he was almost positive she was happy, too. Oh, he had his flickers of doubt from time to time, but he told himself he was just being paranoid, that he was worried because he didn’t want to be hurt again nor did he want her to hurt.

As he set the razor back down beside the sink, he cast one last look at his face, making sure he didn’t miss any spots. Though that usually only happened when he was half asleep, he always made sure to double check before he rinsed his face off. Hanging the little towel back up, he headed back to his bed and picked the shirt off of it, finally sliding it on over his head. Glancing over at the nightstand, he saw the black wrist brace and he flexed his wrist slowly, deciding he could go without it for today. He bounced down the stairs excitedly, making sure he watched the steps as he did so he didn’t take another fall down them. The last thing he needed to do was call Ana and tell her their date had to be delayed because he fell down the steps and hurt his wrist again or worse. Halfway out the garage door, he turned around and grabbed Dash’s lime green leash from the little basket that held his miscellaneous things he might possibly need when he was out, deciding against sunglasses since it was almost four. Calling his little dog, he grinned as she bounced over, wagging her tail excited. “Wanna have a play date today? It‘s better than sitting here all alone, isn‘t it?” he laughed, opening the passenger’s door to his Mercedes and tossing down the thick blanket that usually resided on the back seat next to the one Ana would use after the car had been sitting out in the sun. “Alright,” he said, and the little australian shepherd bounced right into the seat and he giggle, throwing her leash in beside her and closing the door.

He was glad it wasn’t too long of a ride to Ana’s little apartment as he rolled down the windows and put the top down. He had had Dash long enough to know the dog wasn’t going to jump out anytime he stopped. And with the top down, she never really stuck her head out of the side. Picking up his iPod, he pressed the play button, knowing it was still on shuffle and grinned at the song that started to play through the car’s speakers. Sweet Caroline was on his top fifty songs list. He couldn’t really pick a favorite since there were so many fantastic songs out there, so he just had a bunch of favorites that tended to change from day to day. The song was just so happy and, well, sweet, he couldn’t help but smile as he sung along, laughing as Dash’s ears flicked upwards slightly as he did.

He put the top up as he pulled into the parking lot where her apartment was, looking around with distaste as he usually did. This area was definitely not an area where he wanted his girlfriend to live, but she had told him this was just like where she grew up and he eventually let it go. He figured it was just his protective side that wanted her out of there. It tended to show a lot more when she was involved. With the windows up, it didn’t take long for the interior of the car to heat up in the afternoon desert sun and he quickly walked around the car so Dash wouldn’t jump over the middle and opened the door, tossing the thick blanket on the back seat. It was so funny to watch Dash and Dozer play sometimes. Ana’s puppy seemed to be twice the size of his full grown dog and yet the two got along wonderfully. It was good the two got along, for when Ana decided to move back in, if they ended up staying together. So far things were working out, but he knew they were far from being back to where they had been broken apart.

Knocking on her door, he heard Dozer and Dash began to wag her tail excitedly. She wasn’t really a vocal dog; in fact he only remembered her really barking a few times since he got her, usually when she was really getting into playing with Dozer or fighting over a toy. His eyes lit up as soon as Ana opened the door and he grinned, looking down at the dogs. “I brought Dozer‘s play buddy over so they weren‘t lonely while we were gone,” he said smiling and slipping in the door, unclipping the bright leash from Dash’s matching collar. As soon as the leash was off, he stepped into her kitchen, putting it up where neither dog could get to it and turn it into a tug-o-war match. Smiling quite happily, he turned back to his girlfriend and rested a hand on her waist, pulling her close to him. His face only a few inches from hers, his dark eyes looked into her bright ones for a long moment, taking them in before he gave her a short, sweet kiss.

TAGS ;; miss anabel bailey
WORD COUNT ;; 1,424
OUTFIT ;; click
DRIVING ;; 2009 Mercedes
LYRIC CREDIT ;; simple as that by lonestar

[ana isabel bailey]

Staring at herself in the full length mirror on her bathroom door Ana giggled, taking herself in. She'd told Jason when he'd called the other night to ask her if she'd like to go to the fair with him that she had a little surprise. Nothing to get excited over, but something she thought he might like. Well, this was her surprise: the bright yellow jean capris that hugged her hips and thighs. And honestly, for all her insults on how hideous yellow was for pants, she looked pretty dang hot in them. She'd joked ages ago before they'd gotten back together about buying some yellow jeans so they could match and the thought had completely slipped from her mind until last Saturday when she'd been shopping with some of her girlfriends, who she was finally comfortable being around again since she wasn't the lonely heartbroken damper on everything anymore. She'd been five steps from walking out of a store that seemed to have nothing too terribly exciting when she'd seen them and before she knew it they were added to her collection of bags.

Taking a final glance at herself she sighed, pulling the white towel off her head and setting her nearly dry blond locks free, frowning at the curls that seemed to be frizzing every which way. She hadn't really planned on straightening her hair, but she didn't really see how she could go out looking like that. Reaching for her strapless bra that was sitting on the counter she pushed her hair out of the way so she could fasten it before pulling a green and white striped tube top over her head. Staring at her pale shoulders she debated whether or not she should try to find some sun screen, before deciding it was sort of late in the day to be worrying about that. Taking her red straightener with her she left the bathroom, walking back to her bedroom where she found her dog sprawled out across her bed on his back, tummy up like always, enjoying the cool breeze from the ceiling fan. No, Dozer couldn't act like a normal dog and curl up with his nose on his back paws or even lie on his stomach, he had to sleep like he was human. Though he was only around six months old he was already just under eighty pounds, or at least that's what the vet had weighed him as two weeks ago. The way he was growing though he could already be up to eighty-five for all she knew.

Plugging the straightener in she set it on her nightstand to let it heat up, leaning over the messy sheets to scratch his belly, smiling as his leg kicked a bit in delight. He was adorable, she didn't see how anyone could deny that with his black and white patched coat, floppy ears, and ice blue eyes. Patting his belly she sighed, "You wouldn't be very happy with me if I moved in with Jason, would you?" He hadn't stopped with the snuggling at night even as he got to be bigger and being the spoiled animal he was sleeping on the floor was simply not an option in his mind. Reaching for the hot iron, she shrugged, clamping her pink strand of hair with the hot plates and slowly sliding it down as the moisture in her hair popped and sizzled, sounding sort of like the frier in the McDonalds she'd worked in as a teenager. It wasn't like she wanted to move in tomorrow, though the fact that the thought had come to her mind meant something. They'd been back together for nearly several weeks now and things were coming easier than she'd expected, though her expectations had been set rather low to keep herself from disappointment. The day they'd decided to get back together they'd got past all the tough to deal with stuff, his infidelity, her one night stand, talking for several hours, but after that things had begun to lighten up and go back to what they had been, maybe even a bit better than they had been in some ways. She sort of felt like she was falling in love with him all over again, the way she couldn't get him off her mind and wanted to be around him all the time. Occasionally, yes, an unbidden hard-to-swallow thought would hit her, but that was to be expected. She had been hurt and their relationship had changed, but she'd rather have things as they were than still be miserable without him.

It took a while to straighten her thick head of hair and by the time she was clicking the off button and setting the straightener aside to cool Dozer was awkwardly rolling his large body over, standing and hopping off the bed, a whine that turned into a bark escaping him before a knock even sounded on the door. She laughed to herself at his impeccable hearing, slipping off the bed and crossing the small apartment to the front door, undoing all the locks, already knowing who it was by Dozer's excited dance beside her. He did have a very personable temperment, but he also had that typical sixth sense that most dogs had. Touching the dog's back she opened the door, having learned not to try to grab his collar and hold him back when he was excited. His back was fast gone from beneath her hand, flying forward with a bark, but he didn't lunge at Jason, instead going for the little Aussie at his feet. "Dash," Ana exclaimed with a bit of surprise, "I didn't know you were coming over," she told her, crouching to stroke her for a moment as her dog sniffed at her merle coat before looking up at her boyfriend with a grin, "And you even brought Jason with you!" Standing, she nodded at his words, stepping back to let him and the two dogs inside. "Awesome," she said as she shut the door and he wandered into the kitchen to put her leash away, "They can chew on my shoes together," she said with a little laugh, really just kidding. After ruining around six pairs of shoes it had finally clicked for him that shoes were not suitable chew toys if he wanted to keep living with her.

She watched the two dogs sniff each other for a moment, finding their very different personalities quite amusing. Dozer was very much outgoing and playful while Dash seemed a lot more ladylike and gentle. It really was quite adorable; she supposed things would work out quite well when Jason left for New York and Ana had to manage both of them. She was certainly going to miss him that week, but it was just that, only a week. Feeling his hand on her waist she turned to face him, stepping closer as he gently pulled her to him, a pretty little smile on her lips as she gazed up at his boyishly handsome face. Her eyes were on his as he bent a bit, pausing for a long moment before pressing his warm lips to hers, her eyes flickering shut. She didn't know how she'd given that feel up for as long as she had, excluding that moment on the sofa when he'd started drunkenly kissing her and she'd lost all backbone and not stopped him for reasons she still wasn't certain of. She rested a hand on his neck, her lips still curved in a smile when he pulled back. Her thumb moved a bit, brushing the smooth skin of his neck, just gazing at him for a moment, taking him in. He was much more attractive in person than he was in memory. Letting out a little sigh she seemed to realize something as a bright look filled her eye and her smile widened to flash her white teeth, "Hey," she said sounding a bit excited, "You didn't notice your surprise," she told him with a little laugh, her hand sliding away from his neck to his chest before dropping from him completely as she took a step back and gazed at him expectantly, knowing he would notice as soon as he gave her the once over.

WORD COUNT , 1380
OUTFIT , here
LYRICS , never gonna be alone - nickelback

[jason andrew irving]

i can promise you that i will leave you never
I'M HAPPY RIGHT WHERE I'M AT ;; IT'S AS SIMPLE AS THAT

Laughing as Ana pretended to just realize he was here, he looked at her as she stroked his dog, the look on his face clearly happy to see her. He grinned at her comment about her shoes and shook his head. “Dash prefers tennis balls, for some reason. Apparently they‘re tastier than my shoes.” That was one reason he was glad he had come across a full grown, trained dog. None of his shoes got destroyed and there was no house breaking involved. Of course, she had just been a lucky find, both for him and her. It wasn’t often dogs like that were at the pound; usually the full grown dogs were strays from the street with minimal training. Unfortunately for Dash and her previous family, they had needed to move to keep their dad’s job and their mom had been sick or injured, something that kept her from working and the apartment they found in their price range wouldn’t let the family have any pets. And if Jason hadn’t shown up when he had, looking for the responsibility he needed to keep him from doing anything stupid, Dash would have been put down because she had been at the shelter too long. Even though he had just gone to look, with that story told he had taken her out to look at her, realized how well trained she was and how absolutely willing to please she was and immediately paid for her and brought her home. He never regretted it, either. She was such a fun little dog to have.

A thrilled smile crossed his face as he pulled his lips from her, sighing happily as he felt her thumb brushing against his neck. Even though he had felt her fingers all over his body quite some time ago, it still sent a shiver up his spine when she did that. Tilting his head slightly as he tended to do when he was curious or confused, he glanced down her body, a huge grin crossing his face as he saw her pants and he couldn’t help but burst out laughing. “I told you yellow pants were sexyyyy,” he teased, wrapping both arms around her waist this time and kissing her again. Even though their kisses hadn’t been long or intense or anything, they still made him smile. “And I didn‘t wear mine because you said you didn‘t like them. Just wait until our next date,” he grinned and took a few steps towards the couch before glancing over at her again, a slightly surprised look on his face. “Are you ready?” Usually he’d have to sit on her couch or play with Dozer for a few minutes before she was completely ready. Well, she looked ready to him.

Looking over at Ana, he walked over to his dog and crouched down, cradling her face against him for a moment. “You behave yourself,” he murmured, petting her head before standing up and heading over towards the door. As the two stepped out, he slid his arm around her waist yet again and pulled her against him. Having her that close to him just made him feel secure and he loved that. He was the kind of guy who needed to know he was needed, even if it was just by the little things she did. Unlocking his car, he held open her door, not letting her go right away and giving her another little kiss. It had taken him a little while after they had decided to try their relationship again to kiss her, no matter how badly he had wanted to. He had been a little bit afraid to be completely honest. Afraid that when he did, it would make him feel far too hopeful and he’d forget to remind himself that things might not work out no matter how hard they tried. Of course, his reluctance to be optimistic had quickly vanished when he realized how well things were going. There was still that little thought that crept up from the back of his mind every now and then, but it was quickly pushed away anytime he saw her.

As he drove the simple route to the fairgrounds, he couldn’t help but smile as he remembered the couple times he had taken his horse to fair when he had been younger and in 4H. Looking over at his girlfriend, he knew he had a question to ask her, but he wasn’t quite sure if now would be a good time. He was leaving for New York in a few days and since they had been together for several weeks, he couldn’t help but wonder if she might want to go with him. A last minute plane ticket shouldn’t be too hard to get a hold of, even if he had to change the time or the date of the flight so they could sit together. His parents didn’t know he was coming back, it was meant to be a surprise since he hadn’t got to see them when the plans with Dylan coming out to Salt Lake had fallen through. Neither he nor his parents were going to send the eight year old on a plane all by himself, so the plan had been for Jason to show up and surprise Dylan and then take him back to Salt Lake with him. Of course, if his parents work schedules and flight times had worked out, Jason would have spend a day or two in New York instead of flying out the same night, but that hadn’t worked and because of his own stupidity, the whole thing had fallen through. He didn’t want his little brother around him when he was into alcohol; what kind of example was that for a big brother to set? This was his way of making up for it, surprising both his baby brother and his parents.

He thought about it some more, wondering if it would be better to bring it up later in the night. Then again, why not now? Shrugging to himself, he looked over at her again as the large ferris wheel came into sight. “Sooo I‘m leaving for New York in a couple days,” he started slowly, following the traffic into the fairgrounds parking lot. Watching which way the volunteer told him to go, he drove his silver Mercedes slightly slower than the other cars across the grass. “I didn‘t know if maybe you‘d want to go with me?” he asked, smiling slightly at the idea. “Last minute plane tickets aren‘t too expensive and I can sell mine back so we can get two together.” Pulling into the grassy “parking spot” another volunteer pointed him to, he parked the car and slid the top up on his car, looking over at her and grinning. “Besides, my parents still want to meet you.” As he stepped out of the car and walked over to her side, he leaned over the door as she got out, hopeful she’d say yes. “There‘s a really nice kennel right outside of town. Plenty of places for the dogs to run, nice people. I already visited and talked to the owners.” Okay, he’d been a little too hopeful. Shutting the door gently and locking the car, his fingers wrapped around hers and he shrugged. “Or we could talk to my neighbors if you‘d rather do that. I don‘t think Carter and Leah would mind feeding them and letting them out a couple times a day.”

WORD COUNT ;; 1,251
OUTFIT ;; click
DRIVING ;; 2009 Mercedes

[ana isabel bailey]

Her eyes trained to his face, her lips pressed together though she was still clearly smiling as she seemed to subtly bounce in place, waiting for him to notice, knowing he wasn't the type to stand there for an hour asking if she'd cut her hair. When his lips pulled into a big grin and his warm laugh filled the kitchen, her head tipped back as she let out the laughter that had been building in her chest since she'd remembered what she was wearing. She shook her head when he said yellow pants were sexy, a teasing gleam in her eyes, "Only on me, babe," she said with a laugh as he wrapped her up in his arms and kissed her warmly on the lips, her arms looping around his neck. She stared up at him with an adoring gaze as he explained why he hadn't worn his own yellow pants. "Well then," she said with a smile, dropping her hands to his shoulders, "That gives me something to look forward to." Letting him go she watched him walk a couple of steps away, wondering where he was going before he turned a bit, staring back at her with a shocked look on his face when he asked if she was ready, nodding with a laugh. "Yeah, I am," she told him with a smile, "Don't have a heart attack." It was definitely a first for her. He had known her for close to a year and she'd never been ready when he got there, but today, somehow, she'd managed to break the mold.

With his playmate was pulled away from him, the Great Dane trotted over to where Ana was sliding her bag up on her shoulder, pressing his muzzle to her thigh. "I'll be back," she told him as she scratched behind his ear, knowing he was going to really hate it when school started in a few more weeks and he had nothing to do with himself all day. The dog had a very close attachment to her and for the last four months she'd been able to give him her almost undivided attention. Pushing him gently she stepped away, "Go find your girlfriend one of your nice tennis balls," she told him teasingly, joining Jason by the door and leading the way out. As she locked the door she felt his hand loop around her waist, pulling her close, their hips bumping. She smiled up at him, dropping the keys in her purse before slipping her own arm around his trim figure with a little sigh. It was so nice to have someone to hold and kiss again, nicer yet that that person was him. It would be nice to eventually have the whole of their physical relationship back, but honestly she was happy with the way things were now, simple and innocent. They'd sort of stopped enjoying the little kisses and just holding hands as much as they probably should have, and she didn't want to lose that again. That was one of the better things about starting over she supposed; they had more foresight into what to expect and what they could do better this time to keep from losing it all all over again.

Approaching the car, he hit the unlock on his key fob, pulling open her door. About to slip away, he stopped her with his arm, turning her back to him and stifling her schoolgirl giggle with his gentle lips. She watched him walk away and around to his side before leaning in to pick a blanket with a couple of grayish hairs stuck to it up, tossing it in the backseat, assuming it must be the blanket he used with Dash to keep her from ruining the seats. She couldn't help but laugh a bit to herself when she pictured the pair driving down the road together. Buckling her seat belt she reached for her bag that she'd slung to the floor, pulling the top open and rummaging through it as they left the parking lot, turning up a hair clip and wrapping her hair up before securing it to the back of her head, her neck left bare for a change. Even straightened her hair wasn't really manageable with the top down, though the feel of the wind hitting her face like that was worth putting her hair up for, no matter how much she disliked it that way.

They drove in silence for a while, Ana wondering what exactly there was to do at a state fair, trusting Jason would know. Though she'd lived five minutes from where the fair occurred every year she'd never had a lot of interest or reason to go. When she was a kid her dad had gotten a kick out of the shrimp festival they'd held in her hometown and he'd always managed to get Annie to go with him so he had someone to cheer him on in the shrimp eating contest. It was actually one of her fonder memories of her now deceased father that she'd sort of forgotten until now and a sigh escaped her. It was at least partially her own fault that they hadn't made amends, she had after all known good and well that he was dying for a few years, but that didn't make her feel that much better. A small part of her had really sort of hoped there'd be one of those nice moments like in the movies where they hugged and everything was happy and perfect again, but that clearly hadn't happened. Just getting through the funeral had been a bit tough in all honesty because Jason was right, she really wouldn't have been that upset if she really did hate him. But oh well, he was gone now and unless there had been some sort of spiritual revival with her dad she had doubts he'd managed to slip into heaven, or even purgatory. Turning her blue eyes on to Jason she decided that he was the one good thing that had come out of it and she should be thankful for that.

Gazing at the ferris wheel, a bit of excitement began to well in her chest, her eyes watching it rotate. Her boyfriend's voice brought her out of her trance and she smiled, looking over at him, her face losing every ounce of excitement and she frowned, looking a bit pouty, "Yeah, I know. I'm going to miss you." She knew that was sort of stupid since they didn't even see each other every day anyway and he could call her from New York just as easily as he could from the other side of town. She supposed it was really more the thought of him being that far away from her that hurt more than him actually being that far away. Seeing a little smile on his lips she grew a bit suspicious, the sad look slipping off her face as she waited for him to explain it, a similar smile appearing on her own lips when he did, suddenly feeling way more excited than she had been over the ferris wheel. She nodded slightly when he mentioned selling his ticket and buying two together. Honestly, she'd never flown before and she was a bit scared at the thought. Just look at all the movies, or even just recent events. They didn't plant very nice thoughts in one's mind, that was for sure. But she'd manage. Jason had flown before and having someone that knew the process would be helpful. Besides, it couldn't really be that bad, right? No, of course not. It was like him leaving, worse in her mind than it was in reality. And it wasn't like there were any major bodies of water to fly over... unless the plane missed its landing... No, that wasn't likely to happen, even with Jason on the plane.

A smiled played at her lips once again when he said his parents wanted to meet her. Well, of course they would, their son had been in love with her for quite some time now, but even so it was sort of flattering. No one's parents had ever really expressed an interest in meeting her before. She did want to actually meet them in person though, had for a while now. She'd talked to both of them once or twice when Jason had been gone or in the shower or whatever and she'd answered the phone and they just plain seemed like great people to get to know. She only hoped they felt the same way about her and didn't see her as some sort of mistake their son would hopefully fix. She knew there was no hope for the two of them if his parents didn't approve, same way he wouldn't want to be with her if Ana's mother was still unconditionally loathing him. Though she supposed she could see why he didn't want to defy any of their parents. Being the black sheep just wasn't all that pleasant.

As he opened her door she stepped out and smiled, nodding at his hopeful face, "Yes, I'd love to go with you," she told him, leaning up to give him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Dropping back off her tip toes she looked a bit apprehensive, "But what about the dogs? I mean, I was going to watch them..." His quick answer showed that he'd obviously been thinking about this for a little while now and she nodded, shrugging a bit as he offered a second option. "Whichever," she said softly as he took her hand, finding both to be perfectly good options. His neighbors were nice people, always quite friendly, and they had their own dog anyway, but boarding the dogs could be just as good of a situation. Starting to walk from the parking lot, she glanced at him with a smile, "So," she started, dragging the little word out, "Do we get to do anything touristy so long as we're in the Big Apple?" She walked a couple steps, not really giving him time to answer before opening her mouth again, "Or meet your friends? I'm sort of curious to meet the famous threesome," she said with a grin. He had seen her home, at least the one in Salt Lake, met her friends, knew her mom, but she'd never gotten to do any of that with him. She had just heard the stories and really she was quite excited, clear by the way she was bombarding him with questions and practically about to come out of her skin with anticipation.

WORD COUNT , 1770
OUTFIT , here

[jason andrew irving]

i can promise you that i will leave you never
I'M HAPPY RIGHT WHERE I'M AT ;; IT'S AS SIMPLE AS THAT

Just the way the smile played across her lips gave away her answer even though she hadn’t voiced it yet, and he already felt a thousand times more excited. Visiting his family and his old friends was going to be wonderful, but it’d be even better with his girlfriend at his side. And there was more to his parents wanting to meet her besides the fact he had told them how completely in love with her he was. They loved knowing who his friends were, girlfriend or just friend friend. Not only that, but after the accident he knew he had to call his parents and tell them what had happened and what he was facing and Ana had been one of the few people to come see him and the only one who had showed up everyday. And during the two, almost three weeks after he had finally got out of the hospital, even the little things would hurt. For nearly a week he had to sleep in the recliner because laying down flat hurt, even with the strong painkillers he had been given and he couldn’t walk up the stairs on his own. Heck, even with her help he hadn’t been able to go up them for a few days. She had done so much for him, from helping him change his clothes to cleaning up around the house. He knew his parents would want to thank her for that, probably with more than just a ‘thanks,’ too. A small smile crossed his face as he thought about what his mom would say; he could almost hear her now. She’d give Ana a huge hug and probably say something along the lines of “Thank you so much for looking after our Jason, it means so much to us,” though it would probably be much more drawn out than that. He was a lot like his mom in more ways than one; anytime either one of them said something meaningful like that, the sincerity in their voice was clear.

His grin seemed to grow even more as she placed a kiss on his cheek and he wrapped his arms around her waist as hers went around his neck, hugging her back. “Good,” he said simply, pushing away her worries about the dogs. Looking slightly pensive, he spoke thoughtfully, kind of to himself and kind of to her. “It would be nice to have them at the house and it would save a little bit of money, of course we‘d have to give Leah and Carter something for looking after them, but I think they might like being at a kennel. They‘d get outside more.” Shrugging, he looked over at his girlfriend, wanting her opinion. A car next to his girlfriend caught his eye as they walked past it and a quiet, slightly sad sigh slipping from him as he took in the BMW logo on it. No matter how much he liked his new car, he still missed his old one even though the last time he had seen it, it had sent a shiver up his spine. From the driver’s door up had been completely destroyed, the metal pushed far into his seat and his door had been in pieces from where they had taken it apart to get to him quicker and looking at the battered vehicle, he could see why. The door wasn’t going to just open being as crushed as it was. Between seeing that and the large, dark stains along the seat, the floor and the one where he had cracked his head open, he knew the doctors were right; he had been lucky to make it to the hospital alive.

Turning his thoughts away from his old car, he looked down at Ana and gave her a smile, telling her he hadn’t been panicking, just thinking, reminiscing. He laughed as she didn’t give him time to answer one question before jumping to another. “Slow down,” he said, still laughing as they approached the entrance gate to the fairgrounds and he pulled his wallet from his pocket, only taking his hand from hers long enough to pay and put the change back in his wallet. As they headed into the grounds, the smell of greasy, fried foods hit him and he inhaled deeply, laughing. Bringing his minds away from the sweet smelling funnel cakes, he looked over at her and smiled, heading towards one of the nearby barns. He figured they could start by browsing through the barns and then hit the rides and games later. “Of course we‘ll have time for touristy things. We have time to spend about a week and a half out there, so we can spend a few nights right in the Big Apple, since my house is about forty five minutes away. What do you want to do? Statue of Liberty, Broadway shows? Just walk down through the main streets and go shopping?” Shrugging, he glanced over at her and grinned. “I‘m game for whatever you want to do.”

Smiling as he thought about her question about his friends he nodded his head as they stepped into the barn, giggling as he saw the sheep. “Are you sure you don‘t mean the infamous trio?” Giggling, he smiled at her reaction before he nodded his head. “Of course. I still talk to them and they still babysit Dylan. Of course, they don‘t know we‘re showing up, either. It‘s a big surprise for all of them.” He found it kind of funny she wanted to meet his ex-girlfriend, the first and only girl before her that he had fallen in love with. Then again, there was so much more than just the fact that they had been together for two years. She had been his best friend for nearly four years before they actually became a couple and that was something even their breakup couldn’t change. Even though he had left New York because of their failed relationship, she had texted him a little more than a month later and the two had kept in contact ever since. There were times he couldn’t help but wonder if he hadn’t fled when she broke his heart if he would be married to her instead of dating Ana. Of course, he wouldn’t want to go back in time and change that, even if it did save him the pain of the wreck and kept him from cheating on Ana. Being with her was worth everything he had been through, heartbreak to heartbreak.

As they finished walking through the sheep barn, he slipped his hand from hers, resting it instead on her waist and pulling her close to him. Looking over at the huge ferris wheel, he grinned. “Wanna go get tickets and get in line? We can go ride some rides before we finish browsing through the barns,” he suggested, his quirky tone in his voice. One thing he had never really got to do was actually enjoy the fair. From the time he was fourteen until his last year in 4H when he had been eighteen, he had been caught up with the horses, feeding her in the morning, cleaning her up for the shows that day, or if there were no shows, tacking her up when the arenas weren’t being used for another event and exercising her, cooling her down and brushing her again and then putting her away. By the time he did that, he was always tired and it usually took him the whole week to see the entire fair, even with his friends. Either he’d get them a wristband and get them in for free or he’d pay for their tickets and they’d walk around with him until he had to go feed Casey again and then they’d meet up again. Of course, he and his girlfriend had been together his last year of fair, but even that didn’t really change anything, other than she was there a few days all day with him, too. Shrugging his old memories away, he looked over at her, nodding his head in response and squeezing her closer to him for a moment. Anytime she was next to him, he seemed to have a smile on his face and even more so now after he had lost her for those two months that felt more like two centuries. It was obvious for anyone to see that he was happy to have her back by his side.

WORD COUNT ;; 1,415
OUTFIT ;; click
DRIVING ;; 2009 Mercedes

[ana isabel bailey]

With a little nod, Ana looked up at him as he sought her honest opinion and she looked down, glancing around as she thought about it. Dozer was quite high maintenance. He had to be fed a certain way and even then he couldn't just be left on the off chance he bloated, which could kill him. And though he didn't need as much exercise as Dash, he did still need a walk or to have someone play fetch with him for a little while. She didn't really suppose the Harts would be all that psyched by 'Can you take care of my Great Dane?' anyway. Great Dane didn't have the greatest connotation for most people. Even Jason had seemed a bit alarmed when she'd told him she had a Great Dane. Besides, the Harts were probably busy, or tired, preparing for the baby they were soon to have by now. She'd been around three months pregnant when Ana had last talked to her before moving out. They needed to be spending time together, not watching after their neighbor and his girlfriend's dogs. Shrugging she glanced back up, "I think it would just be better for everyone if we boarded them," she said, noticing his eyes looking just past her and seeming sort of glazed over. Even as he seemed to snap out of it when she spoke, she glanced to where he'd been looking, wincing to see a silver BMW, much like the one he'd had when they first met, the one he'd been hit in. Sighing, she looked back up, giving him an all-knowing look, though trying not to let it scare her again, like she so fatally had before. She nodded when he assured her he was fine and she smiled just slightly, giving his hand a squeeze. Even if he had been, she wasn't running this time. That was probably the biggest mistake she'd ever made, and there had been plenty. He deserved better than someone that couldn't stick with him through thick or thin, and she knew that now. Sometimes it was just sort of hard to be in love for the first time. She made mistakes, though she supposed that was always going to be the case. Jason was really much more experienced in the love department and he still screwed up from time to time.

Taking her mind off that by bringing their conversation back to New York, she laughed when he told her to slow down, looking sort of like the kid in the backseat that wouldn't stop asking how much further until they got to Disneyland. "Sorry," she said with a grin, "I'm just excited, I guess. I mean, over the past year you've told me so much. It's about time I get to meet everyone and see everything." She meant that. His world outside of Utah was sort of a mystery she'd only heard about, never experienced. He meant so much to her, she was anxious to see the half of him she never had. As he paid for their tickets, she nibbled her lip, already letting the fear that his parents would hate her and his friends think she was not worthy of him or whatever else get to her. Her seven year old future brother-in-law was the only one that didn't really concern her, and for all she knew maybe he'd find her annoying or whatever other complaints a kid might have over his big brother's girlfriend. She knew those fears were only going to get worse until it was over with and everything was ok. Besides, it wasn't like she could stay hidden from the people he loved forever. He'd always said they'd go after he got a ring on her finger. Well, there was no ring, but it was still an overdue visit as that conversation had been at least four months ago.

Breathing in the delicious and slightly stomach flipping smell of fair food, she kept in step with Jason as she gazed around at the variety of people that were there. Families, couples like them, even a group of purple hat ladies had all deemed this a nice form of amusement. Odd she'd never given the fair a second thought until he'd asked her. Though really, sappy as it was, she'd go pretty much anywhere with him, aside from the Yukon or some equally heinously cold place. She took her mind off the image of herself in an eskimo outfit when he went back to talking about New York, feeling her excitement bubble again when he mentioned the statue of liberty and broadway. "I don't know," she said when he said they'd do whatever she wanted, "You show me New York. I don't really know what's exciting and what's not." She shrugged, looking up at him with a look much like a child who'd been promised a present.

Her nose wrinkled as they entered the barn, not half as used to smelly barn animal smells as he was. As an ewe baaed at them, she took her eyes off him, looking in at the black-headed creature with a fluffy white coat covering the rest of her body. "Awww," she said quietly, gazing at her brown eyes, "We need a pet sheep," she said with a little laugh, just kidding. She wasn't sure she could do the whole living on a farm thing, at least not one where they killed the animals, no matter how delicious rack of lamb was. She couldn't eat something she'd named or petted. It would be like roasting Dozer, though she doubted Great Dane was much of a delicacy. Eventually, she sort of suspected Jason was going to want a horse of his own again and if he wanted to live further out in the country she supposed that would be fine. She wasn't really much of a horse person, or at least she didn't guess so, though horses weren't something she could ever have afforded so she'd never given them a try, just always thought they were pretty.

Forgetting the concept of going rural as the conversation turned back to their trip, she widened her eyes dramatically when he called his friends infamous, "Uh oh," she said with a smile as he chuckled, answering her question. Nodding, she thought for a moment, thinking about each of his friends, what he'd told her about each of them. She honestly didn't feel too awkward about meeting his ex-girlfriend, the one he had loved. She was still his friend and she wouldn't want to take that from her. She had to learn to trust Jason again, no matter how hard that was for her. And besides, this was a very different situation. He had her in his life and they were happy. It wasn't like he was going to see her and suddenly realize that he'd made a huge mistake and dump her. At least she certainly hoped not... Besides, the girl he'd described didn't strike her as the type to be sitting around, pining over him, and though he hadn't said so, surely she'd moved on. It had been two years and for one of those he had been with Ana. Friends were supposed to want to see each other happy, not sit around wishing they were back with them, which was one of the things that had always bothered her about Dahlia. Sighing, she glanced up from her silence when he said something about the ferris wheel, nodding, "Yeah, let's." As they walked she kept her eyes down, still thinking before she could keep it in no longer, never one to keep her thoughts in, no matter how well she could hide her emotions. "Jason," she mumbled, "Are they gonna like me? You're friends and your family, I mean." All she could think was how they might compare her to the one before her, and she wasn't going to measure up or something. And it wasn't just his two close guy friends she had to win over, it was his ex as well, and even his parents. Letting out a deep breath, Ana felt a smile cross her lips as he tugged her to him, that seemingly never ending smile on his face. She knew he loved her, it was the others he loved she was afraid wouldn't share the same opinion.

WORD COUNT , 1393
OUTFIT , here

[jason andrew irving]

i can promise you that i will leave you never
I'M HAPPY RIGHT WHERE I'M AT ;; IT'S AS SIMPLE AS THAT

He nodded his head, understanding exactly what she meant about being excited. It had been two years since he had been home in New York, of course he was ready to go visit. His family, his friends, everything he had foolishly left behind was there, waiting for him in a way. No, nobody knew he was coming back, but the last time he had been on the phone with his dad, he had asked him about both his and his mom’s work schedule and then scheduled the flight so that the time he and Ana would arrive at their house, his parents would be home from work and Dylan would be back from daycare or being watched by one of Jason’s old friends.

Laughing slightly, he grinned when she said she wanted him to show her New York. “Well bring something nice to wear then. If something good‘s playing on Broadway we‘ll go see a show, that‘s usually a semi-formal affair. Nothing too dressy, but something nicer than yellow jeans,” he teased, looking down her body so his eyes rested on her yellow pants for a moment. “And shopping‘s always fun, so we‘ll have to do that. And you can get your ‘I love NY’ t-shirt, then.” He paused, thinking for a moment about what else there was to do. Growing up, his family had never run out of things to do. Central Park was a must-do for her first visit to the city. And as long as the horses looked like they were well kept, they could go on a carriage ride through the park. Being the softie he was, if the horses looked dehydrated, he wouldn’t ever pay for a ride. They could go over to the Statue of Liberty, too. That was one of the things that had gotten a little old after a while, but she’d probably enjoy that. It was definitely a touristy thing to do.

He couldn’t help but burst out laughing when she suggested a pet sheep. “Well we‘ve got more than enough land,” he chuckled, looking down at the little ewe she was looking at. His house was on an acre of property; a single sheep wouldn’t need too much room. And there were some sheep that were incredibly cute, he couldn’t deny it. “We could get a couple and Dash would never get bored,” he mused, though still joking. She was a shepherd, of course she’d enjoy herding the sheep together. Though the dogs might like it, he wasn’t sure if he could enjoy living on a farm. Sure, the animals he would absolutely love and he wouldn’t be able to kill them for food, but it would take quite a lot of work and coming from the family he had, the young man had never had a typical teenager’s job of working at a fast food restaurant. In fact, the only ‘job’ he ever really had was grooming horses when he and Casey weren’t showing and that probably couldn’t even be considered a job because he had only done it a few times, once when Casey had thrown a shoe and they hadn’t been able to make it to the show and twice when for some reason or another they just decided against competing that weekend.

Jason‘s dark eyebrows furrowed slightly at her question and a curious look crossed his face, wondering where her question had come from. “Ana, honey, they‘re going to love you,” he said simply, looking down at her and smiling, giving her waist a gentle squeeze as they stood in line for the ferris wheel. “You‘ve got absolutely nothing to worry about with my friends; you‘ll fit right in.” He laughed, knowing how true that was. “And my parents, well, they‘re not strict about who I date. All that really matters to them is that you love me and you‘re not some convict fresh from prison,” grinning, he sighed before he continued. “Besides, you don‘t know how much what you did means to them.” Clearly speaking about the wreck, he shrugged. “They couldn‘t be there to take care of me and they‘ll be forever grateful that you did what they couldn‘t.” He could only imagine what it would be like to find out that his kid was nearly killed in a hit-and-run car wreck and he was two thousand miles away from them. It would be a relief to know that there was someone like Ana at their side, doing everything they could to help. “Dylan…” a short laugh slipped from him and he grinned. “…Dylan‘s easy to please.” The boy had only recently turned eight years old and he was already a great judge of character. Of course he would love Ana, just as Jason did.

He knew his parents well enough to know that they would want to take him into the hospital and make sure everything had healed right after the wreck since he was the stubborn boy he was and didn’t go back to get his ribs checked as often as he should of. Actually, after he got his stitches removed, the first time he had gone back was when he realized something was still wrong about six, seven weeks after his surgery because he still hurt. It’s not like going back any sooner would have changed the outcome, though. Ribs that weren’t healing weren’t healing whether or not he went back to the hospital once a week or once a month. Well, moving his relationship with Ana on to a more physical sort of relationship couldn’t have helped, either, but he couldn’t blame that. He had a feeling whether or not they had taken their relationship to that level he still would have had to go back into the operating room.

Smiling as they finally made it up to the front of the line, he slid into the seat beside her, resting his arm across her shoulders and pulling her into him gently. The feeling of her next to him was something he wasn’t planning on ever taking for granted. No, he hadn’t before, but after those long two months without her, it seemed even more important to enjoy the time he had with her in case things went sour again. Oh, he knew neither one of them were planning on anything going wrong, but he knew things could happen and something could possibly change her mind. It was a breathtaking sight to see the entire fairgrounds from the highest point there and he smiled, resting his head on top of hers. “We should come back on later, when it‘s dark out so we can see all the lights,” he suggested. Even after he had spent a good amount of time in the Big Apple, seeing lights from a view on top of a ferris wheel was still a fantastic sight to him. He kissed the top of her head and left his lips in her hair, taking a long, slow breath, just enjoying the smell of her shampoo. To some people it might seem silly, but it was something he loved because the smell reminded him of her, obviously. And anything that brought her to his mind would instantly put a smile on his face.

WORD COUNT ;; 1,205
OUTFIT ;; click
DRIVING ;; 2009 Mercedes

[ana isabel bailey]

Ana glanced up at him with a still slightly unsure smile, a slight glint of hope in her eyes, letting out a little sigh. How she did love the way he called her honey and squeezed her waist. Nodding slightly, she didn't seem completely convinced as they joined the line of people waiting to get on the ride. Looking back down she gazed around, still clearly listening to him when he said she'd fit right in with his friends, nodding again, her lips still pressed together. She felt a laugh bubble in her throat when he said all that mattered to his parents was that she loved him and wasn't fresh out of jail, "Well then," she began to kid, gazing back up at him, "As long as they don't ask to see my criminal record, we're good." She grinned with the worried look gone from her eyes. Of course, she'd never really done anything illegal... well, nothing she'd been caught for anyway, and what she had done hadn't really hurt anyone except herself, as it was just under aged drinking. A shrug swept her thin shoulders when he told her what she'd done for him had made them extremely grateful. Honestly, she didn't consider it that big of a deal. She'd only done what she felt was the right thing, and she didn't regret it in the slightest, no matter how hard it had been to watch him suffer. Besides, they'd had some good times even though he'd been pretty much strung out like a hippie at Woodstock the first week and groaning in pain for the next couple at every laugh and seemingly every movement. Squeezing next to him on that little hospital bed and stealing his jello and snuggling on his couch with a blanket thrown over them watching movies for lack of anything better to do were things she looked back on almost fondly, and even the less enjoyable moments when she'd had to do things for him he normally could have done on his own weren't really so bad either. She brought herself back to the present when he mentioned Dylan, moving a bit further up in the line as more people got on. A giggling snort escaped her, "He'd better be. He was the one I was pretty sure I could win over regardless."

Letting out a sigh, she moved her arm, slipping it back around him, her hand flat against the side of his back, feeling his warm skin through the white t-shirt. She watched the huge wheel stop and slowly begin to go back the other way, her eyes widening as one of the little seats began to rock back and forth. Teenage boys were in it though, so she wasn't overly surprised. With a teasing smile on her Cupid's bow lips she looked up at him, "You aren't going to somehow manage to fall off this thing, are you," she asked with a laugh, gazing at him adoringly. She found his klutziness most adorable, perhaps one of the things she'd missed most about not having him around. Oh sure, there were moments when it worried her or was even sort of a pain, like the couple of times they'd been getting rather hot on the couch and next thing she knew he was on the floor instead of on her. But it did always bring a smile to her face when he'd stumble over his own feet or bump into something he hadn't meant to. The way he'd often laugh or make a joke out of it, taking it all in stride when she tended to get rather embarrassed was just sort of cute. She laughed lightly at his reply, watching as the ferris wheel began to let people off. She wasn't sure, but she was pretty sure they'd be able to fit on this go around, though they had the whole night anyway so she wasn't in much of a rush.

She was right though, and the last little hanging seat went to them. A smile lit her face as they were motioned from behind the gate keeping the waiting passengers back, slipping in first when Jason stepped back to let her. Once he was settled beside her the wheel began its slow rotation, up over the city. Gazing out at the pretty gray mountains in the background and the tall buildings that were a bit closer, she sighed. Salt Lake really was sort of home for her at this point. She was careful not to look too close to where they were, knowing heights could bother her if she let them, keeping her eyes on the more distant things. Slowly she moved herself even a bit closer to him, dropping her blond head against his shoulder, breathing in the spicy scent of his aftershave. It was definitely hot when he did neglect to shave and started to get a bit of a goatee deal going on, but good lord he smelled amazing when he didn't forget. She found those women in the Axe commercials that basically attacked men who used their products quite funny, but when he smelt that good, similar thoughts sometimes occurred to her. Other times though, it just seemed to sort of relax her, the way it mingled with the scent of his soap, creating a smell that was uniquely him and seemed to follow him everywhere. As of right now she felt more relaxed than ready to jump his bones though as he rested his dark head on top of hers. She moved her head just a bit in agreement, "It'll probably be really pretty with the temple all lit up in the middle." Ana didn't really get the Mormons, but they certainly built beautiful churches, almost as pretty as the cathedral she went to most Sundays. Older churches, Mormon, Catholic, or Protestant, always had a way of taking her breath away with their beauty. One day she really wanted to go to Europe, just to see all the gorgeous cathedrals, from Notre Dame to St. Peter's for herself. Maybe someday she'd get the chance.

A sigh escaped her as he took his head away for a moment, kissing the top of her head gently and just sort of leaving his lips there. If one could describe a perfect moment, this would be an excellent one to paint a picture of. Setting a hand on his knee, she squeezed it gently. "Mmm," she breathed contentedly, "I love you so much," she told him quietly, realizing she hadn't told him that straight up in the longest time. It had come up in conversation since they'd gotten back together and of course it was known to both of them, but just saying it because she felt incredibly happy with him and couldn't picture herself any other way, well, that hadn't happened in quite awhile.

WORD COUNT , 1246
OUTFIT , here

[jason andrew irving]

i can promise you that i will leave you never
I'M HAPPY RIGHT WHERE I'M AT ;; IT'S AS SIMPLE AS THAT

A small, slightly annoyed smile crossed his face when she said Dylan was the one person she wasn’t concerned about and he sighed. “Trust me, you‘ve got nothing to worry about.” Even if it didn’t seem like a big deal to her, his parents were incredibly thankful that she had looked after him. He was pretty sure Ana was more fun to be around when he was in pain than his parents, too. With them, he probably would have had to spend a few more days in the hospital. He was fairly sure the only reason he got out when he did was because he had complained towards the end about how he just wanted to leave and even though it hurt terribly, he would drag himself out of the bed and force himself to walk down the hallway. They’d tell him not to do anything too hard, but he figured if he could do that, it would be more likely that he’d be able to leave. His parents would have been able to see through it, though, and would have kept him there longer. With a little smile, he shrugged. “I guess if you put yourself in their shoes, you could see why it means so much to them.”

Even though it was something so incredibly simple, feeling her arm around his back felt so good. It was something comforting to him, just knowing she was there. Of course he loved just holding hands, but his arm around her waist and her arm against his back was one of his favorite feelings ever. Her teasing look made him laugh and he returned her adoring look with a grin. “Well I can‘t guarantee anything…” he teased back, his own adoring look on his face. A little smirk crossed his face as he looked up at the large, rotating wheel. “As long as we don‘t move too much I‘ll be fine.” He was only joking, of course, he couldn’t help it, it was just the way he was. His sense of humor wasn’t funny to everyone, but most people seemed to get a kick out of it. His parents had even joked about him being a comedian from time to time, of course being famous was definitely out of the question for him. He didn’t want the whole world, or if he was a comedian, the whole United States, knowing when he changed his socks.

He wasn’t quite sure if they’d make it on this time, but if they didn’t, they’d make it on the next time around for sure. It wasn’t like he was in any hurry, the fair closed around midnight and the more time he spent with his girlfriend, the better. They did make it on the last hanging seat, though, and he let her climb into the bright green car first before he slid in beside her and rested his arm around her. The way that they sat like that reminded him of all the times they had curled up on his leather couch, watching a movie or TV or something. It was comforting, relaxing. Well, other than the couple times things ended up being rather sensual and they forgot what they were watching. Then it was always fun until he managed to fall off the couch. It didn’t always happen, but he always managed to laugh it off when it did, even just pulling her on top of him while he was on the floor once. Laughing off his klutziness just came with his personality. That and he spent twenty two years tripping over his own feet; making a joke over it was just easier than getting embarrassed.

A smile crossed his face as she slid closer and rested her head against him, his arm tightening slightly around her shoulders as the large wheel rotated. The sight of Salt Lake from that height was absolutely breathtaking. The mountains in the distance, the tall buildings from the city and even the people walking around the fair was all so wonderful; it wasn’t often someone saw all of that at once from this point of view. Sure, an airplane was one thing, but looking down at the city and looking out at it were two different things. Besides, the ferris wheel had one advantage that an airplane didn’t; the warm, summer air blowing against his skin. Dropping his head gently on hers, he smiled as he felt her nod slightly, agreeing with him. It was his turn to nod his head when she said it would be beautiful with the temple lit up. Even though he wasn’t a loyal churchgoer, he always thought the buildings were stunning, especially the older ones when people didn’t have machines to do the work.

Feeling her hand rest on his knee, he sighed, completely content to just spend the rest of the night like this. A slightly surprised look crossed his face when she said she loved him. Yes, he knew that; they had a long conversation before they got back together and it was clear that they both felt that way, but he hadn’t actually heard it just out of the blue like that in a while. It brought a smile to his face and he removed his lips from her hair, tipping her chin towards him with the hand that had just been resting at his side and placed a small kiss on her lips before he rested his head back on hers. “I love you, too,” he murmured, now wanting to spend the rest of the day just curled up with her, no sex, just there with her by his side. Unfortunately, there were other people in line for the ferris wheel and it began to slow down, stopping with them clear up at the top while another group replaced the one that was opposite of them. Being stopped up there was wonderful, and he couldn’t help but think how wonderful it would be to propose to her right there and then. Oh, he wanted to, but he didn’t have her ring with him. Not only that, but they had only been back together for a few weeks. Even though he knew that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, he didn’t want to push it.

It didn’t take long for it to be their turn to get out of the hanging seat and he sighed, pulling his arm from around her and sliding out of the seat, waiting patiently for her. Watching her from a few steps away, a happy, adoring look crossed his face as she stepped back to him, his arm finding its way back to her shoulders. “So where to next?” he asked, leaving the decision up to her. There were other rides set up, some of which looked rather fun, plenty of barns left to see, a demolition derby starting a little while later and of course, plenty of fair food. Even though it was so greasy, it tasted so good. He loved the stromboli they had, at least he had at the New York fairs he had gone to, even though it was hard to eat and walk at the same time with the sauce. The sweet lemonade was wonderful, too, and he would always get either a milkshake or an elephant ear. It all sounded delicious even though he wasn’t hungry quite yet. He knew it was only a matter of time until the mingling smells of all of the different fair foods drove him to one of the little stands, money in hand.

WORD COUNT ;; 1,266
OUTFIT ;; click
DRIVING ;; 2009 Mercedes

[ana isabel bailey]

Shrugging off the annoyed look he gave her, she brushed a long strand of hair back over her shoulder, looking back up at him from the tops of her sparkly converse, "I just don't want to screw anything up for you," she told him, her bright blue eyes gazing at him piercingly. "I wouldn't want to come between you and your family," she said a bit sullenly. A little smile slipped across her lips, "And let's face it," she smirked a bit playfully, "Our meet the parent attempts haven't gone over the best thus far." Jason had gone from Mariana's favorite person to her least favorite, to finding him distasteful for wanting to bind her daughter in the evil institution of marriage, to her absolute favorite when he showed up at church with Anabel and got baptized into Mariana's one true religion and then back to someone she wanted to kill before finally seeming to settle the score back in his favor at the funeral. Ana didn't exactly figure their relationship would ever be a happy all the time one, but her mother wasn't even like that with her. Jason would get used to it in time, and honestly, Anabel knew that her mom truly did like him, love him even, much more than she let on and that was only going to be more and more true over the years. Well, if they were able to prove their love was more than just too many hormones and lies to themselves, though really they'd already shown it was most definitely not. If they could survive his infidelity, they could survive most anything. With a gentle sigh she squeezed his hand, saying amen to that in her mind.

She glanced up with a thoughtful look when he suggested she put herself in their shoes, turning her eyes back down for a moment, before nodding a bit. Yes, she supposed she could get it when she looked at it that way. She'd want the same for her own kid, especially if they lived across the country like Jason did. She guessed she'd just never really thought of what it did and would mean to them in the long run. "Yeah," Ana muttered a bit, "I guess when you look at it that way, it makes sense." If he really was right about everything going over fine, she supposed her only worry now was the dreadful thought of getting on a huge flying metal deathtrap of an airplane. She was sure Jason would laugh at her when she finally let that cat out of the bag, but she'd seen one too many movies to find the idea of flying completely safe. She'd probably just take something or another to make her drowsy or relaxed, but she was worried they'd have an adverse affect and she'd end up walking in to meet his parents with a dumb grin and no coordination. Yes, that would go over real well.

Ana grinned and shook her head when he said he couldn't guarantee anything, knowing sadly it was rather true, though she couldn't help but crack up when his loving eyes left her and examined the giant wheel before joking that he'd be fine if they didn't move too much. She loved his wit. True, some people found it way too dry, but Anabel could listen to him joke for hours. Really, if it weren't for the fact he was so smart, she thought he could be the next Jerry Seinfeld, but she couldn't blame him when he said he wouldn't want to be a celebrity, even a minor one. The idea of fame had never appealed to her either for that same reason. She'd had plenty enough taste of being talked about just in Salt Lake, without making it on E! news. And anyway, she did too many stupid things like accidentally dropping french fries down her shirt or forgetting to re-tie her bikini top at the beach to have a camera on her all the time.

His silence when she told him she loved him almost scared her and her eyes opened, staring at the slightly reddish skin of his jaw from where he'd shaved, not really breathing. Had she said that too soon. Known or not it wasn't like they'd ever been the kind of couple that tossed those words around. They both only said it when they really felt it needed to be said, and in that moment she had felt that way, so she wasn't sure why he was so quiet. Feeling his lips pull away from the top of her head only unnerved her even more so, until she felt his fingers guiding her face up to look at him, gently touching her lips with his, a whisper of a kiss before releasing her and resuming their snuggling, his cheek resting against the top of her head. She felt his jaw move a bit as he quietly said it back and she let out a little sigh, her eyes shutting again, enjoying his warm closeness. Nothing in the world could make her feel that safe, just to know he was there and he loved her was magnificent enough all on its own. She sort of did muse for just a moment as the ferris wheel stopped moving, leaving them at the very top in the middle of a warm desert evening how wonderful it would be if he pulled out her ring right then and asked her to marry him. Oh, she'd say yes in a heartbeat, she had no doubt about it, but their relationship still seemed to sort of be on trial run. Maybe it would work, maybe it wouldn't. She figured give it a couple more weeks, see if she could even survive meeting his family and friends, and then they'd know whether she'd always greet them as nothing more than her friend's parents or if they'd ultimately become hers too in a way. Though she really was trying to keep it in perspective and remember Jason had just gotten a bit unlucky when it came to a potential mother-in-law and that wasn't the way things had to be. Had she not been dreaming of a nice relationship between herself and his family up until actually meeting them had come up? Yes, she had, and that was because even though they'd only spoken very briefly they'd both been so kind and everything Jason said about them seemed to back up that point. Ana could honestly say her mother was a bit crazy at times and aside from the occasional joke Jason couldn't seem to say much of anything bad about them. As long as they really did get along well in person she sort of hoped forever could be put on the table again and if it works packed away, though she knew there were still things they had to work through.

As a carnie waved them off the little car when it stopped she stayed sitting until he was out, carefully standing and hopping away from it as a younger couple came to take their place. Walking over to him she smiled brightly, "You survived," she congratulated him, giving him a moment to somehow manage to trip over something as though to prove her wrong before risking putting her arm back around him and feeling his loop over her shoulders in return. She shrugged a bit when he asked her what to do next, "We should probably do any of the rides that would make us puke if we did them after we ate," she pointed out with a little giggle. Gazing around before a big grin lit her face, "Bumper cars," she asked him, not even thinking about the wreck for a moment and not really sure if it would bother him when the thought did occur to her. She didn't guess it would, but then again she wasn't sure. "Or whatever you want," she said casually, "It doesn't matter to me." She gave him a little squeeze around the waist, waiting for his decision.

WORD COUNT , 1349
OUTFIT , here

[jason andrew irving]

i can promise you that i will leave you never
I'M HAPPY RIGHT WHERE I'M AT ;; IT'S AS SIMPLE AS THAT

He shrugged when she voiced the same thing he had when it came to her mom. “You won‘t,” he said simply, smiling at her and squeezing her shoulders gently. If he was sure of anything, he was sure that his “extended family” would love her. He knew his friends well enough, she had absolutely nothing to worry about with them. They were a lot like him, willing to meet new people and they weren’t going to compare her to his ex, they weren’t like that. He knew what it was like to be nervous about meeting parents for the first time; her mom had been the first one of his girlfriends’ parents he ever had to meet, but he also knew how his parents were and there was no doubt in his mind that they were going to love her. He couldn’t help but laugh a little bit as she subtly brought up his introduction to her mother. Of course, there were quite a few differences between Mariana and his parents, the biggest one being that his parents were still married and still quite in love. They didn’t go through the fall out that Ana’s mother had had with her husband. Unlike Mariana, they didn’t associate heartbreak with marriage, instead they’d be…well, probably ecstatic if the conversation came up when Jason and Anabel were visiting. Sophie and Jake, even in their mid-forties, weren’t unlike the way he was with his girlfriend now.

A small smile crossed his face at her thoughtful look, watching her nod and knowing that she understood what he was getting at. Even if she wasn’t what his parents were expecting, she still had that strongly in her favor. But like he had told her, in the grand scheme of things, his happiness and his future wife’s happiness were the most important thing to his parents. Yes, there were other things that mattered to them, but - for the most part - if their son was happy, they were happy. The more he thought about it, the more excited he got and suddenly, the week couldn’t be over fast enough. Well, after their date at the fair was over. He was having too much fun with her to wish the night away. Besides, it would come sooner or later and he knew the more excited he was, the longer it would take for their vacation to start.

Holding her close to him and watching the skyline come and go as the large wheel rotated was fantastic, relaxing. Unfortunately, their ride on the ferris wheel didn’t last much longer and a grin stretched across his face at her witty remark. “Well that‘s probably because you were there.” He couldn’t help but laugh and he squeezed her shoulders gently, smiling as they stood there, deciding what to do next. There were all of the typical fair rides; bumper cars, “dizzy dragons,” the scrambler, the large, rocking boat and the tilt-a-whirl to name a few. Laughing again, he nodded his head in agreement, looking around at all the different rides, buzzing and roaring, wondering which ones would be okay to do after they ate or if they should just do all of them before hand; he wasn’t hungry yet.

He shrugged in agreement when she suggested bumper cars, smiling and starting towards them with her at his side. Looking down at her, his eyebrows raised slightly at her casual tone, he smiled. “Bumper cars are fine,” he replied, his tone just as casual, smiling as she squeezed his waist. He knew what she was thinking and wondered just for a moment if it would be a bad idea. Then again, bumper cars were just a ride, they were far from the real thing; it’s not like they would put him in the hospital. Well, with his luck, maybe, but not in the same sense. Pushing the thoughts away, he smiled as they made their way through the crowd of people, finally getting a spot in line for the bumper cars.

The line was about the length of the one for the ferris wheel, but it was moving slowly since not as many people fit inside of the little cars. Turning to face his girlfriend, Jason looked down at her and grinned. “So have you flown before?” He couldn’t remember if they had had this conversation when the trip had come up in the past or not. He had flown multiple times before, usually to Florida and back for family vacations, but he had gone a few other places, too. He had never flown in coach, though, only in first class. The tickets weren’t that much more than coach and it was so much more comfortable, at least it looked that way. That was a surprise for Ana, though. She wouldn’t know they were in first class until they boarded the plane.

They slowly began to inch up as the cars stopped and their passengers got out, all looking like they had a blast. He was fairly sure they wouldn’t make it on this time since the cars only held two people max and he smiled as they continued to move up, slipping his arm around her shoulders again. “So what else do you wanna do?” he asked, looking around at the different rides again. He wasn’t exactly the thrill seeking kind of person who would go on Millennium Force or find the largest, fastest, craziest roller coaster in the park, but fair rides were fine. Not that he didn’t like roller coasters, just not the crazy death-defying ones. He did that enough on his own. Laughing slightly at the thought, he looked down at her and smiled, waiting for her decision on what was next.

WORD COUNT ;; 955
OUTFIT ;; click
DRIVING ;; 2009 Mercedes
NOTES ;; meh, not my best. supermuse sheep did help, though! (:

[ana isabel bailey]

A sweet little smile crossed her pink lips and she nodded as he gently squeezed her waist, replying in a relaxed tone. "Alrighty then," she said, walking with him as they weaved through the masses, a little kid with a stick of cotton candy nearly running right into Annie. Her nose wrinkled a bit, not because of the child but because she was picturing a bunch of sticky sugar plastered to her nice new yellow pants, and there was no way she wanted to end their date early. She started to step sideways and out of his way, only ending up bumping into Jason's hip with a laugh as the kid changed his course last minute. She shook her head a bit, walking the last few steps to where the end of the line for the bumper cars was. Gazing over the plain little picket fence they'd erected around the floor she watched the cars slam into each other, the collision shaking each of them before they pulled away to do it all over again. She glanced sideways, not lifting her eyes and therefore ending up staring just at his shoulders, her lips pursed a bit thoughtfully before deciding to not worry about it. Jason knew his own limits, he would've taken the outlet if he'd wanted it. And anyway, it was just a ride, nothing more. Her blue eyes turning back out to watch the cars with a little sigh, pushing her worries away. She was always going to worry, that's just how she was with him, it was nothing unusual.

Feeling his eyes looking down at her, she tilted her head up her cheeks flushing a bit at his question, not wanting to admit the answer. Her dad had always insisted driving was half the fun so any time they had gone somewhere they'd piled together in the car with all their stuff and drove, usually to New Orleans or the beach. It had always been sort of miserable as Ana had a tendency to get car sick if she was in a car for too long, at least until they got to where they were going. Their family vacations had always gone sort of nice, somehow or another. Of course all that had stopped when the family had been snapped in two, aside from the summer after her senior year when her mother had decided to take Anabel to LA for her senior trip. Even then though, despite the distance they'd drove, taking turns. Though her mother had wanted to go back to her home in Spain she hadn't done so since she'd married Isaac Bailey, twenty something years ago. That was the only vacation that would really require getting on a plane that was of any interest to her parents. Of course trying to drive to New York would be stupid though, and spending a few hours on a plane was much preferable to four or more days in a car with him. In theory it would be fine, but she knew in reality they'd be at each other's necks before too long. For a guy that had broken up with his previous girlfriend because they couldn't fight, he could certainly get in quite the argument with her. Silent treatment, door slamming, the works and their relentless natures made them capable of keeping something like that going for hours at a time. Yes, undoubtedly trying to drive two thousand miles was a bad idea; she'd have to conquer her fear.

With a shrug she answered him, "No, never had a reason to," she told him nonchalantly, before smiling a bit, "Well, until now." Glancing up at the light blue sky above them as though expecting to see a plane, she sighed a bit, supposing she might as well get it out there that she was pretty much terrified of flying. It was one of those things he somehow didn't know about her, or at least if he did the information probably hadn't stuck with him. It was unlikely she'd ever said anything though. Fears weren't something she was especially open about, not even with him. Not looking at him she muttered quietly, "I'm actually sort of scared of flying," slowly glancing back his way and waiting for what she was sure would be laughter and telling her that it was dumb. Maybe, probably, but that didn't really make things any less scary. She doubted she'd feel that much better about it until she saw the plane could get off the ground without slamming into anything, and she didn't figure her fear would be completely cured until they landed safely on the ground again.

She tilted her head to the side a bit when he asked her what else she wanted to do, thinking for a moment before glancing around as what all was set up. She shrugged a bit, "You pick the next ride," she told him, deciding they should just go back and forth, "Though that thing over there is next on my list," she said, pointing at a big spider-looking ride that lifted the people sitting in its seats up and down in a rather bouncy sort of way. The only sort of rides she didn't really like were the ones that went in quick little circles. When she was little she'd thought they were fun, but for whatever reason when she'd gone to Disneyland with her mom a few years ago she'd ended up hurling on the tea cups. Even though her stomach was empty, she still didn't want to get sick like that again.

WORD COUNT , 932 « fading muse. sorry.
OUTFIT , here

[jason andrew irving]

i can promise you that i will leave you never
I'M HAPPY RIGHT WHERE I'M AT ;; IT'S AS SIMPLE AS THAT

He nodded his head, understanding what she meant about not really having a reason to fly. For a while his family had always drove to Florida until they decided flying would take much less time and only a little more money. Raising his eyebrows slightly, he smiled slightly when she said she was afraid to fly. “Well once you‘re up there you don‘t even realize you‘re in a plane, it just feels like you‘re sitting there.” Unless you hit turbulence. Then you knew you were in a plane, but it wasn’t much worse than hitting bumps in a car. “The worst that happens is it feels like you hit a rough spot on the road when you‘re driving.” Jason set his hands on her hips and he pulled her close to him with a smirk on his face, resting his forehead against hers. He brushed his lips across hers in a teasing way before he pulled them away, pulling his lips up to her ear, grinning. “And if you‘re still nervous, I‘ll be there,” he murmured so only she could hear. Laughing quietly, he let his hands fall away from her hips and he shot her one of his teasing looks. “You won‘t even realize we‘re in the air then.”

The line began to slowly inch forward again and this time the carnie nodded his head to them. Stepping into the ring, he flashed a smile at his girlfriend and sat down in one of the small cars, waiting for the noise to start, letting him know the game began. Turning the car towards where his girlfriend’s was, his dark eyes widened as he felt his car jerk sideways where a younger boy had smacked into the side of his car. His heart was pounding but he quickly reminded himself it was just a ride and he needed to get over it. Throughout their allotted time, it was basically mass chaos in the little arena, the sounds of the cars thumping together and the giggles from the kids in the cars all around him. Of course bumper cars were fun, but it took a few bumps into his car for him to relax. He only hoped Ana was too distracted by the couple kids who were ramming into her to notice his nervousness. Finally, he relaxed enough and made his way over to his girlfriend, bumping the little blue car into hers, a flirty grin on his face.

He wondered how short the amount of time per round was allowed for the bumper cars as the miniature vehicles slowed and finally stopped. Stepping over to his girlfriend, he slid his arm around her waist and headed over towards the spider-like ride she had pointed out before they got on the bumper cars, a rather content smile on his face. This was a ride he had never seen before. Perhaps it was one that was only at the bigger fairgrounds. It definitely looked like fun, though. As they got closer and stepped in line, he realized that there had been one similar to it at the fair he had always gone to, but this one was slightly different. It was like a modified, better version of the one he had seen. The cars rotated, not exactly spun, but rotated as the arms bounced up and down. He couldn’t help but grin at her as they waited, pulling her against him. “You get to pick the next one!”

Holding her against him like that, he couldn’t help but remember the times after the wreck when he had finally been able to sleep in his bed comfortably and how she had been right there beside him. It had been more than two years before the wreck that he had had a woman in his bed just to cuddle with and even then it didn’t feel as right as it did when it was Ana beside him. A quiet sigh slipped from him as he thought about how things had changed once he started feeling better, his ribs no longer aching with every movement how he had fallen asleep with her wrapped up in his arms. He definitely missed that. He could only hope that he would have that back before long, though he wasn’t sure how long it was going to take both of them to be ready to live together again. He wanted her back in his house again but he wasn’t sure if they could do it yet. They had been together far too long and experienced quiet a lot in their time together and he knew that living together obviously meant sleeping together and the with the way she made him, that meant sex and he wasn’t sure if he was ready to bring the physical sense of their relationship back. No, he was fairly sure he wasn’t. He didn’t want to be making love to his girlfriend and then have a sour image of his infidelity pop into his mind. Talk about a mood killer. He also knew if they planned on getting married, that was going to be important, though, and he was going to have to get over it sooner or later.

His jumbled thoughts were pushed from his mind as the line moved up, his dark eyes looking down at his much shorter girlfriend; when she wasn’t wearing heels, like today, he was about eight inches taller than she was. It didn’t really matter all that much to him, it just meant he spent a lot of times looking at her looking down. Of course, it was quite nice when they were sitting down, like they had been on the ferris wheel or while he was hugging her. She was the right height for him to rest his head on hers. As his eyes rested on her face this time, they dropped to her lips for a moment before flickering up to her eyes again, his smile growing just a little bit. He had learned quite a lot when they decided to try their relationship over again, one of which was to not take the little things, like holding hands and short, sweet kisses for granted. Even with that lesson in his mind, he missed their longer, deeper kisses. Pushing his thoughts to the back of his mind, he just smiled at her as the line shifted forward again, bringing them closer to the front.

WORD COUNT ;; 1,069
OUTFIT ;; click
DRIVING ;; 2009 Mercedes

[ana isabel bailey]

Ana shrugged a bit as he told her she wouldn't even know she was in the air once they got up there, unless they hit turbulence. She figured she'd probably freak when they hit a rough patch, at least the first one, but that was to be expected. That was after all what freaked her out about flying; the possibility of the plane crashing. It was sort of silly though that flying scared her the way it did, but she didn't bat an eye at getting in a car and driving somewhere. Well, that was not entirely true. She'd always have the images of Jason, lucky to be alive, and the mess of warped metal that had been his car. She sighed a bit at the thought her nose only slightly crinkling before his hands came to rest on her hips and her face changed a bit, looking at him curiously as he pulled her close to him. It was a bit unexpected, but she certainly wasn't complaining as she gazed up at his smirking lips. She smiled as his warm forehead rested against hers, her eyes looking right at his as he gave her a teasing look, running his lips over hers in a most tempting way. Ana smiled as he moved his lips to her ear, murmuring that he'd be there, finding herself smirking as he had been before. Maybe it was just her dirty mind, but that sounded hot. As his hands dropped off her hips she listened to him, catching that look before sending one back his way, and replying with a sort of intrigued sound to her voice, "Oh, really?" Well, it was a rather long flight and they would need to move around a bit to keep from getting stiff anyway. It wasn't a completely awful idea, she thought to herself with a snicker.

She glanced up and stepped with the crowd until they got to the third group in line, but as the other groups were large they were picked. Grinning, Annie reached for his hand, picking it up and slipping past the other people before entering the ring. Spotting an orange car, she let him go, playfully sticking her tongue out just a bit as him, smiling when he did. Settling into her own little car, she set her foot on the gas, not having to wait all too long before a blaring noise filled the arena and the bit of pressure she'd had on the pedal made the car lurch forward. Laughing she felt her car skid a bit as someone hit the back end of the car, sending her to the wall. Laughing she forgot about heading after her boyfriend for a moment, chasing after the teenage girl that had bumped her so unexpectedly. Once she'd caught her she went after the others that had bumped her, about to go get Jason before time was over when he found her. She laughed as she gazed over her shoulder, spotting his flirtatious grin before maneuvering her own car around to catch him on the side before he could get away. She laughed at his expression, glancing up with a sigh as the current stopped flowing and all the cars puttered to a stop. Climbing out of the car she waited for him to join her, smiling as he did.

She let him guide her, expecting him to head to some sort of terrifying ride, pleasantly surprised when he selected the one she had pointed out. "But it's your turn," she told him with a little laugh, smiling as he pulled her to him, resting her chin on his chest with a little laugh. She really did sort of hate how short she was, and it just figured he was over half a foot taller. Though she didn't suppose he'd look quite as good if he were shorter, and her own figure would be much too gangly if she were taller. Oh well, it could be worse she supposed. He could be over six feet. The way things were now he didn't have to lower himself too much to kiss her and could easily rest his head on hers and they didn't really look awkward together.

Turning her head so her cheek was flush with his chest she sighed to herself, thinking for a moment of all the times she'd moved her head to rest like this. She used to love to at night, when they were falling asleep. Even if they'd hardly been able to speak five words to each other all day they usually had had night time to snuggle and chat, even if their talking was a bit silly at times, like when Jason had decided they should name their daughter Jaybel. Then at other times it had been more serious, laying out their plans for the future. As much as they'd talked the last few months they were together, Ana had their whole wedding so well laid and all their compromises made she could plan it in a matter of weeks if she wanted to. Not that she wanted to rush things when he finally did decide it was time to propose. She didn't want their engagement to last for more than a year and a half, she didn't see the point in being engaged if they were just going to put it off forever, but there was no way she was going to show off that ring for less than six months. They had a while though she supposed. The topic hadn't even come back up since they'd been back together. But that was fine by her. She knew they still had a way to go.

When the line finally moved, she pulled away from him so they could walk forward, not moving back to their former position as the line continued to shift. Gazing up at him she couldn't help but wonder how long it would be until they were ready to start thinking about it all again. Slipping her hands in her pockets she sighed, her stomach beginning to get that empty feeling. She didn't feel like saying anything yet though. Jason was bound to, eventually. Again taking his hand she wondered for a moment how much longer they would stay like this. She was fine with their innocence, she quite liked it actually, but she couldn't help but question whether anything would change while they were in New York. She knew Jason's parents weren't prudes who refused to acknowledge that their son had had sex before, but she wasn't really sure if that meant she'd end up sharing a bed with him or not. She wouldn't mind. Sex wasn't much of a temptation with his parents only a few planks of wood and drywall away, not with the two of them being as loud as they were. If they went to the city for a few nights though it would look stupid if they slept in two separate beds and with thicker walls and the couple that had bore him far far away, while she was hardly planning on anything happening, she couldn't say that it wouldn't. What often started as simple cuddling could fast turn into something very different when they weren't all that sleepy and his hand started lazily slipping under her gown. But he would only go there if he was comfortable with the idea, and she knew he'd respect her if she wasn't. Even if it didn't happen then, it would eventually. They couldn't fear the thoughts of what had happened months ago popping into their minds forever, not if they wanted to get married and have a family, or at any rate stay sane. Annie couldn't do the whole celibacy thing with him forever. Someone else, maybe, but not Jason.

They didn't stand their too terribly long before the ride stopped and people got off, all giggling and smiling as they stepped off the platform, well, aside from the one guy that looked like he might lose whatever it was he'd just eaten. Him aside though, she had high hopes as they were waved into the little fenced off area for the 'jumpin' frog.' For once the first in line they had their choice of the little seats, Annie picking the one numbered seven. Even though the seats were lowered so they were at an angle she still had to jump a bit ridiculously to be able to get on the lower end, grinning at Jason, "You might as well just date a midget," she joked with a laugh, her cheeks pink with embarrassment at having to jump like a ten year old, especially when he could just effortlessly slip up onto the padded seat. The way it was slanted it was impossible for him not to end up right against her and she giggled a bit, glancing at the way that if he were any closer he'd have to be in her lap. As the man running the ride came to lock the little metal bar in front of them she watched him, glad they were the last car before he went to hit the start button, the brightly lit ride beginning to spin in a circle before their car hopped up, making Ana half squeal in surprise before laughing as it just as quickly dropped them back down. Slipping her hand through under his arm and wrapping her wrist around it, she held onto him as the machine did it all over again, going all the way up this time.

WORD COUNT , 1593
NOTES , i was killing people throughout most of this, so excuse its crappiness. xD
OUTFIT , here