Under the Stars

Make it themselves? The photo...of Justin? At first it sounded...impossible but it would only take a photo
shoot really, and...she did have a good quality high end camera. Sure she had mostly just taken pictures
of the horses and landscape pictures like of the stud and the park, many actually used for the park. But
she had never really taken pictures of someone, and certainly not risky ones. Or at least, something that
was bordering to risky...like the images in the calender Jane had brought one example for them all to
see. It had gotten a little bit coffee stained and lumpy after the...stumble incident but...

The more she let the idea sink in...the more her smile came to light up her features. Then she hesitated.
Jane might tell William though. What then? Different scenarios played out in her head. Some much
worse than others. But then she thought...what could he say? She would just have taken pictures of a
human, maybe lacking a piece of clothing...maybe. She would be behind the camera, not in front of
it...and it would be for one of Jane’s causes. And in the end Justin would get something for it anyway...

She looked at his hand and without hesitation she then placed her own in his. Large, warm and rough vs
dainty, slightly chilled and soft. A gentle smile and a quick glance. “Siempre te apoyo, Justin mi amigo,
siempre...” (I always support you, Justin my friend, always...) She gave his hand a light squeeze before
she let go. Not that she wanted to but...she was still unsure on how much friends could touch each
other. Even if it was sort of just a handshake of sorts. Sure, Justin and Sydney ‘touched’ each other as
they roughhoused but...it wasn't the same. They were both guys and...it wasn't like they would be
holding hands. “If you agree though, Jane will expect you to be there for meeting the kids too...”


Justin waved it off, smiling as bright as ever. Unlike the Darcy family, he wasn't a skilled business man,
despite having to run a career to support himself. Perhaps, that's what made him so laissez faire about
it. "Baaah, I'll deal with that when the time comes. Kids ain't so hard. Let's wrangle up some photos first.
I'll go let Jane know we're goin' awol but surely we can come up with twelve pictures before an hour's
up, right?" He gave her a thumbs up, "I'll be right back! Be thinkin' up some ideas, maybe somethin' your
books know, eh?" He gave her a playful wink and jogged away to catch Jane and Charles.

Justin knew Jane was a fast-talker. If he was to escape with his skin still attached, he'd have to move
quick. He kept Georgie tucked away so Jane didn't try to use his weakness against him. He was mentally
taking a deep breath and cracking his knuckles, preparing for strike and run tactic. He jogged right up to
Jane, taking her hand gently, "Miss Jane, I've got some great news for yer ears. I was talkin' to my talent
agent and they'd love to help put together a lil' somethin' extra special just for yer foundation. Even
better news, we're going to be puttin' it together as soon as possible. We'll even have some of it for you
and your lady friends to view before that meetin' of yours is over." He took a knee before her, looking
up to her with a gracious charming smile, "I promise you won't be disappointed ma'am. Give us one
hour and you'll have your results. Cowboy's honor." He made the motion of a cross over his heart. With
Charles right there, he made the rather bold decision to gently kiss the back of her hand to seal the deal.
He did a half turn to him and made a little bow, clapping his hands together, mentally asking for

forgiveness should he need it. But he wasn't going to hang around and find out! "One hour!" he
reiterated, hopping to his feet and dashing off again.

He jogged back around to Georgie, a little winded but smiling from ear to ear. "I think she took it well!"
He honestly had no idea but he was going to have fun, regardless. While he caught his breath, he asked,
"Alright. Yer the brains here. What ideas have ya got? We've got an hour, told her we'd have somethin'
for her to see."


An hour? ...and twelve images? Georgie wasn't sure what to say but...it wasn't a Justin McBride
calendar...it was a ‘childhood heros’ one, meaning it wouldn't just be Justin in it... She was just to say
something about it when he darted off, leaving her behind. A part of her was thankful for not having to
face Jane and Charles again. Georgie wasn't sure if she would have been able to get away with it if she
had gone with him. She couldn't exactly pin the issue down but...sometimes it felt like people knew
exactly how to act to make her feel so small and unimportant. She saw herself as rather educated and
she loved to read, yet she couldn't move with that security and confidence it should have come with.
Many times she felt like she would have to excuse herself for being around. Justin probably didn't have
that type of problem. She looked in the direction the cowboy had run off to but the crowd had eaten
him up.

What had he said...come up with ideas...from her books. She had many books. Then there was
her...slightly steamy book - and their covers. O’boy... Justin would...not like to go that route she was
sure. But if he wanted to go ‘by the book’... Perhaps they could take a look on some of the covers of the
pocketbooks she had...and he could pick out a cover he felt comfortable with. None was really ‘naughty’
more of the type of ‘romantic’. Images that had made her sigh dreamingly as her imagination went away
with her. There was one especially she came to think about...a man in a cowboy hat that leaned up
against a huge desk, like he didn't have a worry in the world. The man had been dressed in a white shirt
that was buttoned up all the way...you could see the belly button as well as some hints of...some hair
below it. Of course Justin wouldn't have to have the shirt that much open, perhaps just a button or two
if he felt comfortable with that. When it came to a large desk... William had a huge desk in his
office...and he wasn't home. As far as she knew William had never said no to any of Jane’s ideas... That
idea could work. Then there was Mark...and the plastic guns...if not Tequila had taken them with her of
course... Perhaps it would work with Asthor as well. If there was time they could perhaps visit the stud
too... Justin hadn't seen that yet. Although it might be pushing it with time.

Then again...they wouldn't need twelve images...but it would probably be good to have more than
one...just in case. At that moment Justin returned. She felt a little shy with him saying she had the
brains... what use was a brain if it shut down the way hers did. “Well...do you dare to...go into William’s
office? He isn't home...won't be for two weeks... before then...we swing by my room, I need to get the
camera and I can show you some covers of the books I have... I figured I could let you pick out some you
feel like doing and we can try and replicate them in real life so to speak. However there is one I would
like you to take a special look at...to see what you think of it...”

Justin gave a little shrug, "Pff, sure, he ain't gotta know. We ain't gonna hurt nothin' with a lil'
photoshoot. Let's go take a peek at this wonder cover of yours," he winked.
On their way up to the manor, by cart because they didn't have time to be taking a stroll now, Justin
looked excited for their little adventure. He liked to keep busy and it wasn't always necessarily related to
his career choices. It kept life interesting and truth be told, something like this, he enjoyed the limelight
of it. He kind of always wanted to be the popular kid, the successful rider, the one people looked up to
but always fell just a bit short or it conflicted with his morals. But every now and again, he liked to
indulge when he could. A harmless photoshoot wasn't going to go to his head. And he could tell Georgie
was going to be a lot happier doing this than anything they would have had to sit through at Jane's
meeting. He had a feeling Georgie would have been shoved into a corner and told to sit there. Boring.
Yes, this felt a lot better to him.

He looked over at her with a smile, throwing an arm over the back of her seat as she drove them up to
the house. "We're gonna knock this outta the park, miss Georgie. You and me." He tipped his chin up, a
thought coming to mind. "And ya know...if you happen to have an idea that might just be diabolical...ya
know...there is one more cowboy stompin' 'round here that definitely owes you a favor after you helped
the poor boy put his pants back on. Not to mention insulted yer donk and proclaimed war on the long
ears. Ya ask me, that's definitely worth a ten minute photo. Ya know, if anything super special comes to
mind." Justin chuckled like he was thinking up some mischievous plots on a certain Golden Boy. Up to no
good, indeed.


Her eyes were focused on the road. It was something else to sit in the cart with someone than in a car.
Not that she drove around with people a lot. But you were definitely closer in the cart. Every now and
then she could swear their legs touched. That was ok but she still tried to angle her legs just a little, in
case he needed more room. She couldn't move too much however since she had to keep her foot on the
gas. When Justin lay his arm behind her back she for some reason held her breath. Stupid Georgie. Get
over it. Friends can do that too.

She turned her head and looked at him, a little bit puzzled. “A dia...bolical idea? Why would...” she
listened to the rest he had to say. The first part with the pants was enough clue for her to figure out that
Justin had to be thinking of Sydney. Jane had not met Sydney. But...she could only guess what she would
think if she did. Georgie doubted Sydney would have the same views however. The giant of a man was
hard for her to get a grip on and to understand. The only one who seemed to be able to speak ‘Sydney’
was Justin. If she were to be honest with herself...part of his actions scared her. He had been a little
‘gruff’ or at least a cheery canary at the clinic in Australia, but he had at least tolerated her...and put up
with her talking to him so that was something. The way he had acted this morning however...if she
hadn't felt so sick then she probably had felt more afraid. He had almost looked rabid, with just one
thought in his mind, like a fox entering a chicken coop. Her cheeks got a little warmer as she came to

think of the help she had given Sydney. How he had swayed and how she accidentally touched his leg
above the knee...just bordering to his thigh. All the hair.

Then it was what had happened after that. Wait...war on longears? Insulted...Asthor? A few blinks as she
tried to put it all together. When had Sydney done that? She tried to think. Had...it been yesterday?
Some parts of yesterday was a bit...hazy. There was just vague...odd feelings. She wasn't sure what was
real and what had been dreams. “Um...” she tried to smile “...I don't think I would dare to ask if I'm to be
honest... I'm not too sure he would for me either. I might be wrong of course... I did ride with him a little
in Australia... Don't know if he have even mentioned that. He had to school a horse belonging to
someone else, the horse was normally ridden english - but he did try to show jump a little - but he
refused to change saddles. I don't know why...but for what it was...it was pretty ok. The landing
might...need some work but...the jump wasn't that tall either.”

Georgie stopped to check for traffic before driving up to the manor. A part of her wanted to escape this
place. With all it's eyes and ears, the whispers. Another part felt that all of this was a part of her. Was it
possible to run from yourself? She took a deep breath. “I don't remember any declaration of war or
Sydney insulting Asthor. I'm not even sure if Sydney have seen Asthor since the clinic... I didn't think he
was that interested in him - or that he even remembered that I had a donkey...” She shifted her seat
again. She wanted to lean into him but...it made her feel so funny.

After stopping the cart and getting out she waited for him to get out as well. A subtle sideglance. The
thought of what he had done before when it came to calendars had popped up. How he had described
it. A sexy santa. It almost sounded like a title one of her books would have - one of the more naughty
ones that was. Only there wouldn't really be any...of ‘that’ in the book. Just...the snuggles and then it
would fade to black. “I do hope you realise that the genre of these books are...what they are...it's not
the ‘classy’ type of books even if I have some of that too, like Romeo and Juliet. I just had...have them to
get away...or something... The women in those books they... are lucky I guess, and-” She shrugged a
little and was just to open the front door when it was done for her. Winston bowed his head lightly. “Ms
Darcy, Mr McBride...welcome back...” That was really all he said. He remembered the gentlemans
request to keep his hat so he didn't ask this time.

Georgie didn't linger much aside for thanking the older man who had been a part of her life and the
household for as long as she could remember. She took the cut-off with gratitude actually. It had felt like
she almost painted herself into a corner. The pathetic corner. It was strange how different fiction was
from real life - or...it wasn't strange. The ‘misfit’ in the books always got their happy ending. Their errors
always led to the heroine meeting a special person. A soulmate. That wasn't real life. Then she wouldn't
make a fool of herself so many times that she did.

They came up the stairs and after getting her camera bag as well as a smaller white round bag decorated
with some splattered paint from her room she directed Justin towards Williams suit. As they walked
they passed by some older paintings on the walls, they were showing how the manor and the land
around it had looked before many of the many renovations into a more modern look had begun. Then

there was one with a horse on it. Some cattle were in the background and some itty bitty people as well.
She nodded towards it. “That one is one of my favorites...it is supposed to be of a horse that was bred
here at the stud. Can't remember what breed it was though. I used to make up stories about that horse,
I wrote them down in my journal...sometimes he was a racehorse, other times I pretended he was ‘Black
Beauty’...” She nibbled her lip “...it's a very famous book about a horse, like it's written from the horses
point of view and...it actually made some laws change on how to treat horses - and other animals -
when it was published...” She stopped talking and hesitated for just a few breaths after placing her hand
on the door handle. Then she placed her other hand on the other. Took a deep breath. William wasn't
home. It was ok.

She pushed the door open and then stepped aside so Justin could walk in. Just like many other things,
Williams office was made to impress, or to intimate. Even if it was obvious she pointed towards the big
desk. “Have you seen a bigger desk than that before?” As she waited for a reply she hurried herself to
close the doors, but not before checking the hallway. It was empty and silent aside from the distant
ticking of a clock. She cast a glance at the horse, then back over her shoulder. Then she looked back at
the horse in the painting. “Keep an eye out for me, Sir Asthor? Thank you...” She turned around and
pulled the doors towards her, and they clicked as they closed.


Justin had a recount from the lightweight young lady before him and smiled. He told her that she
couldn't live a full life until she heard the war tale of the ass ear battle. He continued to fill her in on the
whole story. How it got started and how Sydney threw the gauntlet down, barging into the stalls to drag
Jarin's poor mule into the fray. He had heard about the rest of the details from other onlookers that had
been closer. Jarin had his hands full that night, reining that man back before he destroyed everything in
sight. And even the part that apparently Tequila had been the one to take him down in a mighty family
feud battle. Could have attributed to his sour attitude in the morning too. No man liked waking up with
bruised nuts.

Justin gave a tip of his hat to Winston with a knowing look from last night's festivities. Dragging Georgie
back to her room and himself staggering back out into the rain. Hell, he almost felt a part of the house
crew now. That was a lie, as he was almost just as lost as ever in the big hallways. He looked at the
paintings she was referring to. A lot different than the ones hung in his house. "Back home, mama
wouldn't hang anything other than poor ol' Jesus bleedin' on a cross or Santa Maria looking just as
enthused to be there," he chuckled. Wasn't necessarily charming images of cozy cottages or mystical
waterfalls.

He stepped into the big office and gave a whistle. That was a big desk, alright. Justin shook his head,
"Sure does match his ego…" He hung his head a little, seeing the exact length between Tequila's fingers
and her naughty smile. He sighed, "Man has it all, doesn't he?" His attention drifted to the case with the
football helmets, not expecting to see any of that. He stepped over to see what team he actually played
for. But then seeing different teams and all signed and shined up...ah, a collector, not a player.

He turned back, taking his hat off, chucking it on the sofa and ruffling his hair. "Aight, miss Georgie,
whadya' have in store for me?" He leaned on the desk, looking back at her, "what kind of hero can ol' Jus
pull off?" He smiled, tilting his head to the side. "This the part where you make me look all pretty?" He
fluttered his lashes and made a kissy face, framing his face with his hands as if he were pretending to be
an Instagram model.


She thought she saw a darker line on his forehead, probably caused by his hat that he had flinged
towards the sofa. Then there was that little bruising under his eye. One could hardly see it but... “For me
you are already...pretty, but I know Jane... She would have had at least two makeup artists and a
hairdresser waiting in the fray like vultures for you...so I guess a little touch up is needed...just a little
one.” Glancing over her shoulder she tried to make up her mind. To try not to think about the words she
said, worrying if it was good words or not. That was a little scary, normally she thought all the words
through first... William didn't always like her talking.

It was a much better light in the bathroom. It would make the ‘prep’ easier. “Come with me... while
I...touch you up, you can take a look on some book covers on my phone...I do have some audiobooks on
it and they actually have sort of a book cover too. It's this way...” She had already taken the splattered
bag as she came up to him by the desk. It was only a little hesitation before she took his hand in hers to
bring him with her...even if she was sure he could just follow on his own. That he didn't need to be led
anywhere. Perhaps it was bad of her to...want to feel the strength in it. The way the skin of his palm felt.
The warmth. No. It was not bad. Just silly. She was being silly again... Just as they came into Williams
bedroom she let his hand go. The huge bed was of course already made. It was very much different than
her own. Not just because of the different colors of the sheets. Just like the desk had been huge - the
bed was as well. Georgie looked mostly at the floor in front of her until she came to the threshold of
Williams walk in closet.

Tequilas words had so ‘appropriately’ came back - and it wasn't really something she wanted to think
about. In Williams walk in closet there was a big box in one of the corners just like she remembered. It
had many white shirts still in their packages. There was some designer who had sent them and they
wanted William to wear their brand. She stopped in her tracks - the lighting was good here as well. After
putting her bag on the ‘island’ in the middle of the room, she pulled a stool next to it she patted it - a
sign that she wanted him to sit down. When he did, she gave him her phone. Then she opened up her
make up bag.

“You don't have to worry though, Justin...” She figured he was looking at the content of the bag “I'm not
doing a full club make-up on you...I don't really know how to make an everyday make-up good
anyway...just another thing I suck at I guess...but...I can do some small simple things. You just have to sit
still. I also figured you could wear one of the spare shirts...in that box.” She gave a nod towards the
corner “William got them for free and he won't notice if there is one less.” She moved so she stood
behind him and began by taking a cotton pad soaked with a deep cleanser and dabbed it on his face,
leaning just slightly over his shoulder. “If you like you can lean your head back a little, then I can get the

cream on a little easier...” To stop him from bending his head too far she ‘blocked’ it with her chest. She
wasn't sure if this was a good way to do it. Sometimes the make-up artist had their clients lie in a chair,
other times they sat in one. But she wasn't to do a fancy thing...it was just cream. There was some dust
that came off on the pad, especially just where his hat had been, perhaps it was some dirt as well. Next
she took an unscented moisturizing cream and placed a few ‘dots’ of it on his forehead, cheeks and nose
before she began to smear it out with her fingertips. She was careful not to get anything in his beard,
but she had let a clean cotton pad ‘wash’ it off. A few times she asked him to close his eyes as she
carefully worked around them so he wouldn't get the cream in his eyes.

Even if it was just her putting cream on his face, it actually didn't feel that bad to be this close to him.
Not bad at all. Not even this close. Perhaps she was getting better at this? After the ‘base’ was done she
moved so she was in front of him again and she held up the other type of cream. “I don't know how
much you know of make-up, but this is called a foundation...” she held up three little bottles that
seemed mostly similar at first “...it come in different shades just so one will, well...so it will fit your
natural skin tone the best..some people need to blend theirs with another tone. I don't know why I have
all of these but, I guess it was a good thing, since I think you are a bit more...tan than I am... You use it to
even out the color of your skin...so like you don't have...flushed skin or something...it's quite important
with photos...sure some of it can be fixed in post production but the more you prepare, the better the
image will be.”

After she was done she figured she could just do something with his hair too...just a little water to
freshen it up and some hairspray perhaps. Luckily William had a lot of different types of sprays and even
gels. As she had stood behind him she had noted the size of his shirt and when she went to get the spray
she got one shirt from the box too, pinching it under her arm. She didn't pick it out from the package,
just nudged it towards him. Justin was nice to even agreeing to do this so...why would she force him to
take the shirt. “You do what you want with the shirt, of course, but just so you know... Jane is...picky
with the details...and again - William will never even notice. Jane have given away an entire box of
similar shirts and William didn't even bat an eye.” She looked down at the small cup of water that she
had picked up again and then the hairspray in her other hand and shorty explained her idea with it...
That it would look like he had come out of the shower so the hair still had that wet look...

Placing the items in her hands on the island again, and taking the phone from him, she found an image
of the cover she had been thinking of. “Sort of like this...” The man in the photo just had a barely modest
towel around his waist. It also hung quite low on the man's hips. Suddenly Georgie became aware of the
fact of how much naked skin the man actually showed and started to fumble with the phone. “Um...not
that you have to have the towel, I mean that you need to take off...um...it's...just the hair...the hair on
the head that I was referring to!” She hurried herself to just zoom in on the man's head. “See...? It looks
wet...”


Justin had plopped down on the stool and made himself right at home. He wasn't abashed to be doted
on. Not that he would ever do any of the cleansing and makeup on a regular day, but it was for fun and

for a foundation with a good cause. He wasn't bothered a bit. He had some much more risque things in
the past for less. He leaned his head back, flipping through the line of book covers on her phone, a smirk
coming to his lips as he immediately saw a trend. Replace all the burly, ripped man torsos with a woman
in the same amount of clothes and it would probably look pretty similar to Justin's search history on his
own phone.

He chuckled, looking up at her, "I know this is gonna come as a surprise to you, but I don't know nothin'
on any makeup. Lip gloss? Lipstick? Ain't they the same?" He laughed again, looking back at the phone.
He wasn't really asking to find out either. He stepped in a makeup store once and was shell shocked to
see just how much stuff a girl could put on her face and how many different shades of whatever it was
she wanted. How many shades of "red" could there possibly be? Well, ask one of the workers there and
be prepared for synopsis of every brand and their own 50 shades of every color. And all the smells!
Seems like they invented every smell for every occasion. It was...an overwhelming world to a guy like
Justin.

But he was definitely enjoying the face rub. He closed his eyes and looked like a cat curled in a sunbeam
getting its pats. Such soft hands, compared to his own. A soft pillow for his head - two pillows. Justin…
aaahh, she didn't need to know his boyish thoughts. It was perfectly normal and harmless. It did make
smirk a little more just to himself. He nearly fell back when she left briefly, snapping out of his daze and
sitting up straight again.

Though, he was all chuckles again, looking at Mr. Suave and the typical model stare he had. Maybe girls
found it sexy. But to his groups of buddies, they had a plethora of jibes and jeers, especially when they
had to do their own posing and photoshoots for PBR resources online. They always picked apart each
other's pictures. "Omigaaaawwwd, what a beautiful boy," he mocked on a flamboyant voice, slapping a
hand on his cheek. "His mama must be so proud. Bro needs a bigger towel," he chuckled as Georgie
panicked. "Oh, so you want me without the towel then?" He raised a brow and gave her a wry grin. "Ay
dios mio, senorita. You said Jane wanted an adult themed calendar, you didn't tell me she wanted Boys
Gone Wild." He chuckled, leaning back on his hands, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
He snickered and couldn't help himself. He shook his head and sat back up, taking a break from his
heckling. He stood up after getting his hair styled a bit more. "So, Miss Georgie," he spoke as he peeled
off his regular t-shirt, and tossed it on the island. "Those books of yours…" he smirked, pulling the crisp,
clean shirt out of the package. He pulled it over his shoulders, leaving it unbuttoned for now. He glanced
at his sleeves, not used to wearing anything so white. Black was his signature look. This was a curious
change to behold. He popped his belt loose pulling it out of its loops, "That's what yer always referrin' to
'bout guys in yer books? Damn, no wonder we can't live up to expectations," Justin laughed, dropping
the heavy belt buckle on the island. She should recognize the buckle as the "J" buckle he had switched
from the rodeo as his souvenir. He had grown rather fond of it. Brought a smile to him every time.

He paused and pointed at his pants, "You...do want me outta my pants, right? I ain't all that hard to coax
outta them, if I'm honest, ma'am," he winked at her.

The flustered part of her wanted to run and hide somewhere but aside from looking away a few times,
and of course being on her way of being as red as a lobster, she remained where she was. If she was
honest the only naked men she had seen was those in the biology books. She didnt know how to act
around boys...or men, other when it came to other than social gatherings. Wasn't that clear? That was
only level she really knew, where women was more of a thing to have on one's arm. When some men
saw themselves as having more worth, and could make crude jokes about women without any real
precautions. The other men would just could laugh at it like it was nothing, that it was normal and ‘ok’,
just because they didn’t dare to stand up to the 'alpha'. William wasn't like that, or she hoped he wasn't.
He was at least not one to make crude jokes. Never so she had heard it anyway.

For a moment she had a brain freeze. Justin...with a towel and then without... He HAD to be joking, a
quick glance. Saw his wiggling eyebrows and the chuckle he made. The look of a boy almost that said
something naughty, and knowing he would get away with it just because of that ‘almost’. Yes. Definitely
a joke. The thoughts of the male show jumping riders she used to have had begun to fade more and
more. It was different now. For some reason. She tried to give Justin 'privacy' as he removed his shirt by
looking away, but when he called her name she sort of had to look at him since it would be rude not to.
Still she tried not to gawk at him. She did get a look of the tattoo. Somehow her fingers still
remembered how it had felt like to trace that tattoo of his. Even if it had been just once. A small sigh.
Stop it Georgie! She tried to shake it out of her mind. He looked different in white, but even if he looked
very nice in it, she wondered how long it would stay white if Sydney got into the picture...and the two
men decided it would be time to goof around.

Her eyes came to meet his at his question. "...no...its...because....how sad it may sound, its really the
only references I can go by...sort of...” She shuffled her foot a little. He already knew she was a
wacko...so what harm did the rest do? “I've...never been on a date ever...and the young men I've met at
these social gatherings I've been allowed to go to - with William - they have been as exciting as a phone
catalog from the 80ies.” She stood in front of him and stretched her arm forward, then gently folded
some strands of his hair behind his ear, trying not to have her hand tremble. Even wet his hair was soft.
One lock, she twisted carefully around her finger before letting it curl up on his forehead. “But what
good is it to have good looks like that if...you are a selfish, cruel person with a heart of stone, lacking
compassion and empathy?" Turning she was to correct a spot she must have missed. Only instead her
eyes went to the belt buckle he had put on the island counter. She was about to look away again when
she did a double take. Wait, was..that... It was! While it hadn't technically been a gift at first, she had in
a way traded it for the one he had won, the belt buckle she had donated to give him as a prize. He had
kept it? And...he wore it too? Had he been wearing it this whole time? And she hadn't noticed that?

Not even her family had worn something she had given them, perhaps because it was often a thing they
could get on their own and therefore it soon blended in with the rest, and quickly forgotten. Georgie
knew most of the clothing items she had gotten, especially from William, since they followed a quite
strict conservative style. They were nice and fit her well but...sometimes they made her feel like a

spinster. She couldn't help how happy the sight of the belt buckle made her. Her next move was not
something she had really planned, but it was like the joy of someone actually wearing a gift she had
given them became too much. It had to go somewhere and expressed. ‘Unfortunately’ her move came
just as the man spoke. Georgie became aware of the words he had spoken just as her arms wrapped
around him and she hugged him. Even if her cheek only had pressed against his partly exposed chest for
just a split second she almost instantly dropped her arms and stepped back.

Heat rose on her cheeks instantly “Oh...I...” stop mumbling! “Sorry...I shouldn’t have...but...” Her eyes
hopped around. Just say something! He told you to be honest - so be honest! She took a deep breath,
her eyes closed for another and then she looked up, her hands fiddling with the cotton pad in her hands.
“I just got...happy because I saw the belt buckle...nobody has ever worn something I've given them...”
She thought of his words he had spoken just before she - again - had made a fool of herself. Jane would
probably have something to say. If it had done by her hand, in a ‘proper’ studio she might have liked the
idea of Justin in just his underwear...but if she knew the pictures were by Georgie - and that she had
been alone.

“You should...do what you feel comfortable with...that is not my choice, only yours.” She still wasn't sure
where to look. The tip of his boot seemed to be a safe spot. “With the way Jane have talked about it i'm
sure there will be many women with you on the wall...just so you know...” Many wealthy women, like
BeeBee Gunn... Would they see the calendar as something else? One time Georgie was sure she had
seen the large woman have a young man by her side and at first she thought it was her grandson or
something... One of Jane's more gossipy friends had been kind to inform her that the young man had
been a toyboy and Mrs Gunn had found him in a catalog. At the time she hadn't known what that had
been but...she had looked it up later. Of course she had pretended in front of Jane’s friend, like she
knew exactly what it was about. Georgie had gotten a weird look followed by a lopsided smirk when she
had asked the redhaired friend of Janes if it was the model of the year, along with a ‘yes, perhaps it is’.
Now that felt more awkward than it had done at the time.


Justin gave her a pat on the back while he still had a hug. Not that he immediately knew why, but he
didn't really need an explanation. He was more than happy to receive the affection. Immediately
followed with how it was a perfectly fine and acceptable reaction, coming from someone who had very
little personal space to begin with. With so many depressing wrongs in the world going on, a hug was
hardly anything to get upset over,especially not one from a happy occasion even over just a buckle. It
"makes all the other guys jealous" as Justin said with a cocky smile.

"Whatever I'm comfortable with?" He asked to clarify what she said. He gave a half shrug with a smirk,
"If you say so…" He put one boot in front of the other, peeled a shoe off and did the same with the other
foot, kicking them off to the side. A little shimmy, and his pants hit the floor. His dark grey boxer briefs
weren't designer brand by any means but well fitting to his sturdy stature. His demeanor didn’t change
one bit clad in his underwear and socks.

He glanced down at his abs, “Guess if I’m s’posed to be on good behavior, the ladies won’t wanna read
up on how babies are made, eh?” He was looking at his crude tattoo. It made him grin, looking up at
Georgie, “Or hell, maybe they do. You tell me, Georgie. What dy’all proper ladies like?” He pulled the
shirt together over his abs and then opened it again like an eye doctor asking which the patient thought
was better for their eyes: Option 1 or Option 2? He knew this was killing poor Georgie to even look his
way but this was a safe place for her to live a little. A guy in his underwear wasn’t something all that
taboo. Unless that someone to see it was like little J-bae who would flee the scene upon catching a
glimpse of an ankle… There was sheltered...and then there was that...



Did friends do...this? Female friends she had no problem with assuming they took off both this and that
in front of each other. But friends that were...of opposite genders? Did they do that too? She had no
clue. There was the tiniest of holes on the left sock or it could be just a speck of dirt. Georgie bit her
bottom lip as the sock then got covered with a mountain of denim fabric. Breathe. Just pretend this is
one of your...dreams. You are braver then. Besides...you can trust Justin. You know you can.

Slowly she let her eyes travel upwards. A hairy leg, the knee came into view, a thigh, big jump, his belly
with the tattoo then Justin’s chest... The hand that slowly reached out to put the cotton pad on the
island countertop trembled a little bit. His grin was confident. Of course. He was relaxed with standing in
front of her in his underwear and a opened up shirt. Had he done that before? Halfnaked in front of
someone? Another deep inhale. Silly Georgie. Given all that she knew so far the answer was yes. What
would her brave dreamself do? Even if her heart was racing wildly she made herself come up close to
him and she carefully put her hands on his warm skin. Just for a moment, however, before she got hold
of the fabric of the shirt with her fingers.

She had to concentrate hard not to have her hands tremble too much. Now her eyes went up to meet
his blue pools. Her dreamself would dare to do that! She licked her lips “I...I think you should...go with
with the in between...” A soft shivering exhale. She slowly buttoned up three buttons in the middle
before she let her hands go up again, opening the shirt up just enough so the tattoo on his chest could
be hinted better. The fabric of the shirt felt almost as soft as his skin. The warmth from his body under
the shirt she could still feel. She had to remove her hands now. Just...remove them. Now!

“Like...you see it's right there...and yet...it's like hidden from you at the same time. You want to get to it
but it’s...like just out of reach. In most stories...what is forbidden is often what you desire the most...
Jane always get more pushy when there are things she can't get...not that it's often.” Slowly she lifted
her right hand and she followed the motion of her own hand as she first corrected that wet lock of hair
on his forehead and then some strands of wayward hair on the side of his head, tucking them back
slightly. He must have shaven recently she noted. Was it hard to shave ones face? A finger came to trace
the edge of his jaw down to where his beard grow fuller and then she let her hand drop. Her eyes went
up and met his.

The natural surge that always seemed to be in them was still there just like before. It was like being
sucked in with the tides and she drifted almost helplessly for only the heavens knew for how long. She
swallowed. Doing her best not to feel what she was feeling. To get out of his personal bubble. She
became unsure over her actions again. Why had she become so touchy feely all of a sudden? What sort
of magical powers did Justin have to make her feel like this...or was it simply so that she was as dumb
they all said she were? Or said, like any Darcy it was like they spoke in riddles sometimes. Saying one
thing but using so many words you in the end became unsure what had really been said. If they had
praised you or made fun of you. Even if she was in the family there were times she wasn't sure what
they spoke of. But family was to be listened to. More than likely she was a bad friend now. She had
promised Justin to always be honest. As his friend she had to keep that promise. She would be as honest
as she dared, even if her cheeks burned scarlet red. No matter what he still made her feel...all weird on
the inside. If he wanted to be her friend she owed him at least that...

“Uh...I guess you are good to go now...” Her hand started to feel to the side after her make-up bag that
she knew was supposed to be there. Her fingers got hold of something and grasped around it. As she
pulled it towards herself and over the edge she felt one side of it starting to fall. It was a quick save but
she succeeded in not having the contents fall out by catching it with her other hand, blocking the items
inside from falling out. “...you can...go and look of course, so it is ok for you too, um...the b-bathroom is
in the back...there...” She had to pause, trying to point with a finger as she half turned in the right
direction, still fumbling to keep the items where they should be “...I’ll just...go...out, to the office
again...set the camera up...and stuff...” and try to sort out herself again she added to herself, as she
pulled the bag to a more upright position. Stupid, stupid glitchy Georgie!

As soon as she left the walk in closet and came back into the office the tension left her and it felt like she
deflated a little. With a small huff she sat down on the sofa, carefully nudging his hat to the side so she
wouldn't sit on it by accident. She chided herself over and over. Thank goodness she wasn't a mess like
this on horseback. Up there everything came so...natural. Every cue, every turn was smooth, like
clockwork. Then there was no worries. There she knew what to do, she had control of herself. She
wasn't as nervous. Or well, nervous in a different way. Georgie shifted. Something gleamed just by her
left foot. What was that? A piece of glass? It wasn't like William to break a glass. Georgie could tell it was
from a glass because of the slight rounded shape. She returned to the sofa after throwing the sharp little
object in the trash and began to pack up her camera. If Justin just had his socks on, he could have
stepped on it. That wouldn't have been good.


Justin liked the sound of the forbidden fruit explanation regarding the books. Sounded sexy. Of course,
that's what those kinds of books were written for. He nodded and went with her decision of half-open.
He also stepped away to give Georgie some breathing room before he dropped her dead on the floor.
More than one reason, really. First of all, stepping into the bathroom, Justin had to snap a couple
pictures of himself in the mirror...for personal use. Although he preached not to be vain and
conceited...he did like a good picture of himself. If the guys ever saw this on his phone, he'd be hung in
the rafters by his underwear for eternity. Even if they secretly did the same things. Because "his kind" of

guys weren't supposed to be the kind to take selfies. They were required to have the quintessential porn
star model, their truck, and their dog if they had one. Well, Justin didn't have a dog, but he checked the
rest of the boxes.

He grinned, flipping through a couple messages he felt he could ignore for now, although he saw the
picture of Jarin's ass again. He hesitated just a moment. He swore...there were red marks...that kind of
looked like...a hand? And then Justin got the bad kind of goosebumps, closing out of his messages and
locking his screen before he got any more thoughts on that matter. Dear god, please no. How did- Who
would- NOPE! JUST STOP THERE!

Justin shook his arms, stepping closer to the mirror to wipe the bad thoughts from his mind. He sighed
heavily, looking down at his underwear. He wasn't some super package model but hell, with technology
these days, they could do whatever they wanted to his body in the editing process. And besides, he was
brave enough and with a certain lack of shame, to stand there in his briefs and pose for ladies looking to
get their special calendar. So long as Georgie didn't implode before then. He looked towards the door
and back down at his underwear. "You cool, man?" he muttered to himself, seeming to talk to his crotch
like it had an opinion of its own. Honestly, as much self control as he had, he still made sure to check
himself. It was like natural instinct sometimes. Just like laying in bed made someone tired. Or thinking
about having to pee and undoing their belt almost made them wet their pants. There was a lady in the
room and the pants came off. Naturally...

But there would be none of that. His mind understood the boundaries he had placed strong and firm.
First and foremost. Friends weren't for fucking. Even the very rare lady friend. Well, not these kinds of
friends. With his mind sorted, he headed back to the main office. He grinned, "I dunno who that man in
the mirror is but I need his number. He's a hunk," he chuckled. He rounded to the front of the desk, "So,
how am I s'posed to look all forbidden and mysterious? No full spread?" He hiked a leg up, sitting on the
desk for a moment, posing with his legs kicked wide open in an exaggerated goofy manner. He laughed,
putting his legs down again, "Come pose me, I'm your model, make me like one of your mystery boys,
partner."



Do not look! Do not look! Georgie tried to think of that odd looking bird she had seen the other day
instead. Thankfully the ‘manspread’ wasn't displayed for too long. She lowered the camera down, one
hand on her hip. This was perhaps going to be harder than she thought. Not for Justin perhaps - but for
her. A deep breath. Just be as professional as you can. But you are no real photographer... She pushed
the thought away as she stepped up to him. Just don't...touch him. Then she stopped. Oh, his
smile...perhaps that was the thing that always made it so hard? Intoxicating, mesmerizing, trollbinding...
She did her best to snap out of it.

“Your smile...it's a very nice smile and while very...inviting...it is the opposite of forbidden and
mysterious. We can do some smile-photos too if you like but...not for this one. Also, many times it's not

really about the pose you do, it's...more the aura of you, or rather your body. What you say with your
eyes.” It felt like she was on the verge of losing him...maybe. It was hard to tell. Perhaps she didn't use
the right words. She had to find a good way to explain herself better. “What I mean about your aura...is
what you say even if you don't speak with words. Think...of it...as how a horse acts... You can tell by a
horse's posture weather it's a dominant or submissive horse when it's together with others, right? We
can't do it the same way though, with our ears and we don't have any tail to swish with, nor can we do
other horsethings. So...” She took up her phone again, only to fumble and almost dropping it instead,
but luckily she caught it just in time. A few clicks later she had the image up again.

“Like this image... It is supposed to look like ‘we’, the viewer of this image, just entered the room, just as
this man have finished his shower. Clearly he isn't fully dressed. But look at his face. It's not really
inviting, is it? No smile. But he looks like that, not just because we walked in on him. He can't be
bothered with us at all. He has other things on his mind. However some women take guys like this as a
challenge. No matter how closed off they feel or appear...they see it as their mission to do something
about it. Well, the women in these books do anyway.”

She made a small roll of her eyes. “...That is perhaps one of the things I don't get...why they are so
hellbent on changing them...or ‘improving’ them... If...you find someone interesting, that like you back,
why try to change them? If you change them - then they wouldn't be the person you saw and became
interested in, right? And what kind of person are you if you want the person you like so much to change
into something they deep down isn’t? If you love someone...shouldn’t they get to be who they truly
are...and do what makes them happy?” A small sigh escaped her. She then pushed the thought away. It
wasn't about her and how her family sometimes treated her.

“Anyway, despite that I don't want to change who you are...I guess you do have to pretend to be an
actor for the photo at least... I'm sure you have seen many different types of people on rodeos, some
that hardly laugh at all. People that look like, um, like they have eaten a ton of sour lemons. Someone
who is standing there with the mindset that you are just waiting for the viewer of the image to state
their business and leave so you can get back to whatever you were doing. They are beneath you. Hardly
worthy of your time. Like they are little bugs.” Then she hesitated.

Georgie had tried her best to ‘paint’ an image, a scenario with words...but she wasn't sure if it
worked...if it was the right thing. She had never been in charge of taking the picture before. She was the
one who had run errands. Getting coffee and the like. And the feeling she was getting now... no, this
wasn't 100% Justin. He looked very good in the shirt, and he might be able to pull that charade
off...but...he wasn't a grump by nature. There was a small frown on her forehead. Then she shook her
head. “Hm, you know what, I think we will do a normal Justin with all that makes him special instead...”
she gave him a shy smile “That Justin is my friend and I like him much better than that guy on the book
cover...” Somehow it didn't seem to fit Justin to look broody, trying to mimic a thundercloud. “Just...go
wild...whatever comes to mind...” That was what the photographer that Jane usually hired used to say
to those on set. As a response the models always began to pose those normal model poses, either
pushing out their chest or flexing their muscles. She doubted Justin would do something overly crazy.

Justin snorted a little, proving he was a poor candidate for anything smoldering and mysterious. "You
just described Syd's entire personality. The ultimate Mr. Moody, broody, constipated face." Justin tried
to scowl and look super serious but ended up laughing, picturing ‘Mr. Moody's’ permanent scowl. He
was sure his skull just grew into that shape over time. How he got popular with the ladies early on,
Justin didn't figure out until he started seeing these kinds of books on the shelves everywhere, even in
grocery stores. If the tables were turned, Justin didn't think he'd find a grumpy woman very attractive.
But apparently grumpy gills, Syd, did well enough for himself.
But Georgie was right. That wasn't very Justin-like. He tried playing the "cool" role when he could but he
always landed as "comedic relief" instead. Every court needed a jester, right? Why bottle it and let it
fester when he could crack a joke and move on from discomfort. Everyone had their coping mechanisms
and humor was Justin's go-to.

"Whatever comes to mind?" Justin scratched his beard. He wasn't really the creative type. This kind of
thing wasn't something he was really even good at. He didn't mind being in photos but he certainly
wasn't going to start any modeling careers in his lifetime either. In the past, he was just told where to
stand and kind of a suggestion. Well…'go wild' was a suggestion. A smirk rose on his lips, looking over at
Georgie. He had a feeling if he did go wild, he'd lose his photographer. Probably something close to Jarin
nearly jumping out of the window, raising all hell to get out of dodge. He could only tease so much
before it became cruel. So, he’d rein it back a touch. But it did give him an idea.

“Well,” Justin walked around the front of the desk, leaning back against it, “If I were the owner of a big
ol’ fancy place like this…” He leaned on hand back on the surface, cocking a leg. “And I knew I had
company comin’, cuz’ I got all cleaned up jus’ for ‘em. Maybe they came a lil’ early? Maybe I didn’t mind
one bit?” He tucked his thumb in the elastic of his underwear, letting the weight of his hand sag the
fabris down a touch. He was no Sydney when it came to body hair, but had the trail to direct attention
from his belly button to what really mattered.

“Maybe I got nothin’ to hide?” Justin smirked, tipping his chin down slightly, resting his eyes just enough
to darken them. It was the kind of look that said ‘come right on in and help yourself’ and said in a way
that was more than a suggestion. Not quite demanding, but the warm smile made it hard to refuse.
Combined with an air of confidence that couldn’t be ignored. Maybe he didn’t look like a broody man of
mystery but with all that power sat in one giant, impressive room and a beckoning look? That was sure
to make a lady (or man) feel special. Wanted.



Georgie wasn't sure what to say about Justin’s statement regarding Sydney. She had spent some time
with the hulk of a man but she still didn't know him that well, but she could agree on moody and
broody. If she had to be honest though, the look in Sydney’s eyes had scared her at times. That had
never seemed to bother Justin much however. Not even when Sydney punched on his arm, and Georgie

was sure Sydney wasn't really holding back his punches either. She wondered how their friendship had
started, and what sort of level it was at now. It was clear to her that Sydney meant a lot to Justin, but
how things were in the opposite direction she wasn't sure. Then again who was she to evaluate
friendship? She just had Justin and Asthor in her ‘friend collection’...and she was still learning what
friendship meant - especially what it meant by being friends with a man. In all the books she read and
movies she had watched it...all seemed so simple.

While the man in front of her didn't really seem to do anything special, not more than ‘just’ tucking his
thumb under the hem of his boxers making them sag slightly from the position they had been in earlier,
it felt like something drastic had changed in the room. Justin spoke, spinning his own story. She just
looked at him, almost dumbfounded. His eyes seemed to change, even if she wasn't sure what he did or
how they changed. She only knew that she felt the surge rise in her, feeling the pull of the tide tugging
at her.

Why she did it, she didn't know, she couldn't help that her eyes had dropped down just for a quick
glance at his comment of having nothing to hide. Then took a second or two for her to snap out of that
trance - and close her mouth that had opened just a little. Then she raised the camera and began to take
pictures instead. That was why they were here after all. Perhaps she was simply hiding. She had felt the
heat rise on her cheeks. Again she had felt what she probably shouldn’t feel. She couldn't let that feeling
spread further. Just...focus on taking the pictures! The light coming in from the big windows was just
right and she felt there was no need for anything extra light but after a little bit she waved him over to
stand by the windows instead. Her brooding thoughts returned as she with some hand motions tried to
direct Justin into the good light. Men with any sort of power always had things to hide. She thought of
Charles, he was just an example. They still pretended that things would be ok in a way. And Charles
‘power’ wasn't even ‘real’. She was sure William also hid things, and her father too. There was always
secrets, the ones that were yours that you tried to hide and secrets of others you tried to dig up to get
advantages. The trick was to keep the middle ground.

Pausing she looked down at the little display window, flipping back and forth between those she had
already taken. She wasn't sure what pictures she thought was better. He was clearly a man who the
camera loved. After snapping a few more she walked up to him and gave him the camera so he could
see the images she had taken on him for himself. There were two or three close ups photos in the bunch
too, making them more into portrait photos, showing his face down to his shoulders. It was at least
enough to see that this man was no weedy beanstalk. Georgie felt the need to say something after he
had scrolled past one of the portraits. “...figured that...maybe the...Caballero Travieso would need some
images for his webpage? Or if you have any other social media thing? I wasn't sure, otherwise I would
have put that info on the trailer. There is still room to add that sort of information, if you would like that
of course.”

A subtle glance from his face. At the partly opened up shirt. At him. She couldn't help it. She ‘had’ to.
Aside from that time in the hotel room this was as close as she had ever been a ‘naked’ man even if
Justin wasn't really ‘naked’. His skin where she had traced the tattoo had felt smooth. Was his chest as

soft? Then, true to her pondering nature, her thoughts began to wander even more. Justin had kissed
her there in the hotel room, and she had kissed him back even if she had no clue on what she was doing.
Then, he had kissed her at the pond, it might have been the best one. There was a very vague memory
of a kiss by the car too but...she wasn't sure. Could have just been her imagination or a dream too. The
most vivid memory was that she was sure that he had been as good as soaked at one point...and she
had not been as much...but she had felt that sour taste in her mouth. The color rose on her cheeks
again. Was that why he...had been perfectly fine with being ‘just’ friends. Had she thrown up on him and
he was being a gentleman about it, not mentioning that? Tequila had probably never done such a thing.
That was why Justin liked her. Then of course he liked her due to how she looked. Georgie wasn't stupid,
or she hoped she wasn't, but...it was clear anywhere you looked...men simply wanted women
with...how did some describe it, ‘curves as a mountain road’? She had observed it as well, men always
looked at curvy women that had assets. The factor that they were blonde sometimes seemed to help.
She had seen it at breakfast... Justin had looked at Tequila, and Santos had as well. Then there was that
third man, what had Santos called him... Mr Jackson. He hadn't, even if she had sat down in his lap. That
had been a bit odd. A subtle glance at herself. No, she did not have the same curves as Tequila. Small
ones maybe but...not like that. Would it change if...if she made changes?

Why did she start to think about that? And why did it matter? For one, Justin was her friend. She was
more than happy over that fact. But other than that... Why would someone...sort of like him be
interested in someone like her? Would anyone? Justin was the only one who had given her the slightest
of real interest. Georgie shrugged. She caught herself, mentally slapping her fingers. Dreaming was no
point, and neither was her thoughts about it as well. It only caused you to stumble, she was a real proof
of that. She smiled to herself. Perhaps she should be thankful for that in a way - since that was the
reason she had walked into Justin.

“So...” she tried to get back to the task at hand “Do you want to take some pictures with Mark next...or-
” She gave him a smile, then even braving herself to give him a little hip bump “...perhaps you dare to
ride my ass this time?”



Justin didn't really know what he was looking for in the pictures. To him, he just saw the same old face
smiling back at him. He scanned over them briefly to make sure he didn't look like he had any crotch
problems. He figured, if he had a massive hunk of meat, it'd be a lot harder to cover anything up. Then
again… why would a guy want to hide that fact? He really wasn't obsessed or upset over being average.
But it was a guy thing just to make sure everything looked okay down there just like girls checked to
make sure their bras weren't showing and they didn't look like they had a double chin going on, or so he
had heard.

He glanced up from the camera, "Webpage? Oh, you mean like that Facebook thing or whatever it is?
Shoot, naw, I ain't never had any desire to have one of those. Never did figure out what the point of one

was. Girls like that what is it...Insta...somethin'? For sharin' their pictures and stuff, right? Figured I don't
take a lotta pictures or stuff like that."

He handed her the camera back with a happy grin, "Not in the way you're implyin', miss." He gave her a
wink and let her think that one over while he scooped his pants up again. He pulled them on, slipping his
belt back on too, "Let's go see what my cute lil' guy is up to. He's almost as purdy as me so our good
looks combined shouldn't break yer camera." He chuckled, sliding the white shirt off his shoulders. Back
into his darker tshirt where he felt he belonged. He was pulling his boots on, heading back to Georgie,
"Where ya thinkin' we should do this one? What are we goin' for? Sweaty ol' cowboy and his horse? I'd
say ridin' into the sunset set but uh…" a glance to the window and back, there wasn't a sunset
happening within their hour, for sure.


As soon as she had said it she knew it had been the wrong choice of words but too late - the word had
already slipped out of her mouth, it was too late to catch it or even hide it behind something else. Her
cheeks flushed. She fumbled for any glimmer of bravery. Fumbled for what a friend would say or do in
this case, to mask the slip up. She flipped through her memories, if she had been Sydney she would
probably have punched his arm. Hm, maybe? No. That would just be weird. Besides, perhaps it was just
a thing Sydney did when others saw them together. Perhaps he was very nice to Justin when it was just
the two of them. And...what would Justin himself do? The man with all smiles. Witty come-backs. With
eyes as blue as the sky and ocean combined. A gaze that could... She mustered a raised eyebrow similar
to the one she had done in the barn, back when they first met, and she then gave him a sort of coy
smile. “Sounds to me like you don't dare to? Hm? My, oh my, I didn't know you feared my lil ass, Justin...
He is wellbehaved you know - most of the time.”

It felt easier to look at him after he changed back to his own clothes, that he had his jeans back on. That
made it easier for her to function. She even braved herself to rub his chest with her hand in small circles
a few times before giving his peck a light scratch with her nails, just like she would have done on Asthor
chest when he had done something good. “Oh, I promise Justin...he is just as much of a ‘good boy’ as
you are - just not as good with the ropes as you are...but one of these days, McBride...he will be I'm
sure...”

Before they left Williams office she made sure to look it over so nothing looked disturbed or out of
order. William would notice for sure. “I really do hope you will like Mark...” she said as she walked
beside him on the way out of the house. Winston stood by the door, bowing lightly at both of them as
they walked out the door. “I did get to see the dam and she seemed very nice...I don't know that much
of the sire but...I think he is good too.” She tried to walk so she matched his pace. She offered him the
driving spot on the cart since she had the camera. “If you would like something with light and shadows
there is the is a patch of trees just by the barn.”

For a bit of the way she sat silently, simply watching the side of the road, and perhaps sneaking glances
at the man on her side. Pretending to do something with her camera also helped making it

more...casual. The cart wasn't overly big, and every now and then her leg touched his. “I've actually
hoped to be able to go on something with Trixie...at some point... I can't just have a stockhorse without
actually do something with her right...and perhaps Asthor can learn from her or rather...I will know a
little more so I can train with him...” She gave him a glance. How had he begun? Hardly taking lessons
like she had to do. Hadn't he said that he helped at the ranch Sydney's family owned? But did they ride
bulls there? Surely not. So how had he even started to do that? “Are...are you ever afraid when you go
on one of them bulls? How come you started doing that? How do you train for it?”


Justin got one of those stupid-boy grins, getting his pat down. It stayed there as he started driving them
back to the barns. When no one was on the road, he'd list side to side, just having a fun time, nothing
dangerous just out for a good stroll. Any worries just pushed to the side for today. He was out to play;
well, that's how most days were with Justin anyway.

He looked over, listening to her questions before looking back ahead. He shrugged a little, "I made
peace with bull ridin' a long time ago. Way I see it, it don't matter how hard I hang on or for how long.
Eventually, I gotta come off it one way or another. First couple times comin' face to face with a set of
horns scared me shitless, I'll admit that," he chuckled. "But ya get used to it and it's kinda like gamblin'.
Addictin'. Despite the risks. And I know I ain't alone in the ring. I got buddies lookin' after me. You saw
'em. Guys jumpin' in front of the bulls to get it off me. Catch riders to rope the bull and catch me if they
can. So it ain't so bad knowin' I'm bein' looked after," he smiled warmly. He was very good friends with
quite a number of rodeo clowns and catch riders, especially after saving his ass on numerous occasions.
Sometimes, he felt they were crazier than the riders, diving in to cover a rider or being inches away from
a bronc to pull the bucking strap loose.

"Thank the Brannons for gettin' me into it. They all taught me how to rope and ride. Ol' Buck, daddy
Brannon, he wouldn't keep me on the ranch if I didn't pull my weight. Man of few words, fewer than
Syd." Justin shook his head. "So I had to learn quick. Finally got to the point where ol' Buck let me stay a
couple weeks at a time to help round up cows. I remember one night, we were all drinkin' in the cellar -
see the missus don't let no one drink in the house and the Brannon boys got to talkin' 'bout raisin'
buckin' bulls. And I ain't never heard of no buckin' bulls at the time. I only knew the kind ya ate," he
chuckled. "And then the real pissin' contest started up. Syd's oldest bros, Brody and Gutherie, they used
to always smash heads against each other. You know how it is; family inheritance and all that. Well they
got to braggin' which bull of the ranch would be better. So naturally, we had to go try 'em out. We had
jus' brought them in that afternoon. Nasty sons a bitches. Gouged a heifer, spooked a colt we had
dallied with us and trampled it. Poor fella never did get over his fear of cattle after that. Don't blame
him…"

Justin parked the cart outside of the barn Mark was in. He looked over at Georgie with a smile, "And
that was the night I got on my first bull. I didn't even make it out of the gate," he started laughing,
remembering the sensation of almost pissing himself. He had only been thirteen at the time. He had no
business getting on a one ton testosterone fueled beast possessed by the devil himself. But if he was

going to blend in with the cowboys, he had to try! "Got me lookin' into it when they started talkin' prize
money. Started ridin' some of the smaller ones with the guys to practice. After 'bout three or four rides,
thought I was good 'nough to try the real deal."

He hopped out of the cart, just as excited as could be, "And you wanna know how I did at my first
rodeo!?" He offered her a hand to step out of the cart with a big smile on his face. "Seventeenth! There
were twenty in my age bracket," he laughed hard, almost doubling over he thought it was so funny now.
"I earned myself a whoppin' twenty bucks for that ride! My mama whipped my ass to the bone when
she found out I paid triple that in entry fees. She wasn't so mad when I nailed a second place the next
time and brought home four digits," he winked. "It's addictin'." And he looked satisfied, proud even, to
be a part of it, recounting his misfortune to find fortune.


Georgie pondered for a moment, as she slowly stepped out of the cart. It seemed to be a lot of just ‘leap
in and see what happens’ kind of lifestyle. Never really a worry beforehand. Worrying was something
she did a lot, and overthinking things. Perhaps because she had been raised with the words she had to
think about what she did because ‘others’ was always watching her. “Charles and William butt heads
sometimes...” she began “Not over some bulls though. It's more things on paper...like deals of different
kinds, fusions, or making profits after ‘slaughtering’ a failing business and parting it up afterwards like it
had been prey.” She corrected the camera strap that hung around her neck. “Sometimes they even brag
over how much better they are at getting their opponent to overbid on something really useless but
they have managed to hype up the prize by pretending to be interested too or getting insider deals and
tips. Many times it's like a big game of chess. William is good at it though. I would say he is much better
than Charles who is not as cold. William doesn't really care sometimes what needs to be done...even if it
would mean to kick someone from...what they love...” She hesitated.

She had never discussed her family with anyone, never said what she really thought about what they
did. There had been a few times when she had thought of them as cruel for doing what they did. That
they did was wrong. There had been a farm bordering the Pemberley estate and not that long ago things
had failed for the farmer, one thing after the other...and in the end he had been forced to sell. A place
that had belonged to the family for generations. And without much of consideration or empathy William
would have bulldozed everything down if he hadn't suddenly gotten the idea of actually keeping it. If he
hadn't, both the old farmhouse as well as the barn that housed all the cows - it would have been all
gone. Now it had another purpose and he had even let the previous owner remain - but now as a
tenant. It was that farm the bulls that had been used in the bull riding came from, and so did the other
cattle too.

It had been around that time with the farm, he had started to upgrade Pemberley Park again, hiring
more staff, building the new arenas. And perhaps due to the fact that one of the board members had
started to talk about good investments in the horse industry. “Speaking of addictions, William was a bit
into horse racing before...” then she paused again, Justin probably knew how much a really good horse
went for no matter the industry “He bought like five or six of them as two year olds as well as getting

some broodmares... but...he isn't really that interested, as he let others do all the work and he just pop
in from time to time to see how they do...perhaps stand in the owners section... One of the recent
horses, a proven colt, he bought from a sheik...luckily for the horse he have continued to race
well...otherwise William would have sold him lickety split...” She gave a small shrug “...but you already
know part of that story...he would have sold Asthor too...if you are to stay at Pemberley, you must be of
some sort of use - if you are an animal anyway...”

What she said she didn't mean to sound like bragging...it was not something she did. “Only thing I like a
lot are books...and my circus collection...but, I don't know if I would call that an addiction...” Mark had
stuck his head out to see who came, and she smiled at his eager face. In a way there was a resemblance
between the paint horse and the man at her side. Perhaps a bigger one than she had realized. She
stepped up to the horse, letting the colt sniff her and he did so almost in the manner Asthor did it. She
couldn't help but giggle as his whiskers tickled her neck and then as his lips moved over her cheek. “You
are a silly goose, huh? Aren't you? Silly, silly goose...” she chided softly. She scratched him under his
cheek, then on his chin and then followed by a scratch behind his ears. As the horse still kept his muzzle
by her face, she gave him a small kiss between his nostrils. “Promise you are a good boy with your new
daddy ...he is my friend...so take care of him...you promise?” The horse snorted, and while it was
probably more due to a fly the horse tried to get rid of as he nodded, it still looked like it was more of a
reply to what she had said.


"Shoo, big money in racin' I hear," Justin nodded to that. "Bigger the money, tougher the crowd, I tell ya.
Don't hear 'bout no trail riders kickin' up a fuss if they gotta ride some half breed. Then again, no trail
rider is out there makin' the millions for it neither. Think I'll stick to my cow turds and rope burns. Got
'nough bad blood goin' on there, don't need to get myself crossin' streams with guys like your brother."
The nasty side of people tended to come out when there was big money involved. The more money, the
worse the attitude. Justin knew that firsthand at some of the higher performance shows. He tried to
only go to those if he absolutely had to. He met guys that were perfectly pleasant face to face but get
behind their back and they made even Sydney look pleasant.

Justin greeted Mark with a pat on the forehead, the colt curious to see the people from before at his
stall again. Justin looked him over for any stains if he had laid in his stall. Just some shavings from his
mane and tail was all. A tidy horse - that was a bonus especially having as much white as he did. He
patted the colt on the shoulder, sliding his hand over him to his hind end, not to spook the young horse.
He didn't know him well enough to just assume how broke he as just yet. He swept his tail to the side to
start picking the shavings out to clean him up, "Well, you've got yer jumpin' too, right? Said you liked
doin' that stuff. Ain't the safest thing on the back of an animal neither. Maybe not like bull ridin' but
there's still a gamble if yer horse-er ol' longears is gonna jump it, make it, or throw you on over instead,"
he said with a chuckle. "I've seen some of those videos," he started laughing. Of course he had seen the
"fail compilations" with people getting thrown over a jump when the horse hit the brakes just before
the jump, people trying to ride ornery ponies that taught them a lesson, or girls trying to pose for a cute
picture and their horses spooking and throwing them in the mud. Classics.

He let Mark's tail swish back in place, patting him on the hip, getting an ear pointed in his direction. He
walked back to the front of the stall and hanging his arms over like he was a horse poking his head out
for attention too, "Welp, as I predicted, he's a pretty boy. Ain't a speck a dirt anywhere on this horse. So,
what are ya thinkin', Boss Lady? Full nude spread? Unsheath my pistol?" His childish giggles were giving
away his immature innuendos. "But I'll have to warn ya, I ain't done no landscapin' down yonder. It's au
naturale. Wild as a scrub bush."



Justin and William? She felt a bit ashamed even if she had nothing to do with it, and it was certainly not
over being friends with Justin. It was rather the fact that she was related to William. He was family and
she loved him for that, obviously, but she did not like the way he looked at some people, as well how he
treated them. William wasn't below using his ‘powers’ and his wealth to get what he wanted - or to
prove a point. He loved making money but he also loved to show people who he saw as below him their
place. If he was in that mood Georgie was sure he would create trouble just because he had the power
to do so. That said he did have a giving side...but there were not many that got to see that. It didn't take
much to lose his respect, and it took a lot to get it.

“I do,” she observed him as he moved, getting into the stall, smiling to herself as he socialized with his
new horse. It looked like Justin liked him...and the horse didn't mind the way the man moved around
him. However that could just be that he had been schooled well. “...I guess there is some sort of danger
to show jumping too...like there is some risk for each jump you make if you don't do it right, and the
courses do get trickier the higher the obstacles get...I doubt that I will ever enter the puissance class and
jump over six feet though. When it comes to what mount you have, Asthor would never throw me
off...he would let me know in other ways if he wouldn't be able to make it...besides I know what heights
he can or can not jump. And no matter how much I want to...he will never be allowed in the higher
levels of show jumping - at least in the more fancy and official contests. On fun classes or like medium
level classes I will be able to enter him but, that’s it. So maybe I will focus on the western side with him.
At some point I hope you will get to meet ‘Allan’...it's the show jumper that William let me ride. But...I'm
still learning how to ride him properly. He is actually quite strong and not as easy to handle as
Asthor...and he isn't even a stud anymore...he was snipped late however.”

When Justin laughed she had to smile. It was infectious but she had been brought up with that you
couldn't just burst out laughing. But eventually, as he continued to chuckle, she had to hide her mouth
slightly and giggle a little behind her hand. She wasn't sure what was so funny exactly, but it felt nice to
laugh together with a friend. Justin seemed to be close to laughing most of the time. It was refreshing.
To be with him felt like being with Asthor. Healing. Soothing to the soul. She did blush a little when he
started talking about his unmentionables but by now she was sort of getting used to his raunchy jokes. A
little bit anyway. The fact that her cheeks reacted on things, flushing red like a traffic light, was not
something she could do much about. She giggled again and shook her head like he was teasing her or

trying to trick her into some silly prank. “Oh Justin, like you would dare to show off the truth behind the
‘rough and rugged wild west’ to Jane and her lady friends, or anyone whoever buys that calender!”

The fact he would also would show ‘things’ off to her as well in the process in the photo if he did
something like that, she didn't even think of. Why would she, because Justin would never do such a
thing. The thought was a bit silly. Why on earth would he show himself...naked...in a photo? Stepping
out in just his underwear was one thing, but nothing at all? No, the thought was ridiculous. While she
had never seen any of them herself, she just knew that it was a special type of girls that got ‘that’ type of
pictures taken and published in ‘that’ type of magazines. Special magazines just for men. But the men
themselves? No, they didn't do things like that as far as she knew.

Even if it was Justin that started the joke, Georgie tried hard to learn the way he made them, just so she
could do that too at some point. And maybe, just maybe she would hopefully fit in better with the other
people he knew and maybe meet someday if she knew the way they made jokes, how they made
eachother laugh. What they did for fun. Then maybe she wouldn't be so...weird - even if she blushed a
lot. “Perhaps you should have Sydney with you in that picture as your...hm, vice sheriff?” That thought
made the whole thing laughable. If there was no risk of Justin doing it, the thought that the big hulk was
even more silly. Even if she didn't fully knew him, she was quite sure that Sydney would never do
anything like that. She giggled again as she then came to think about that ‘save a horse, ride a cowboy’
t-shirt she had seen at the rodeo in one of the stands. She leaned towards Justin and tickled him under
his chin in a similar way she had done to Mark. “Or would you be a wild bronc, just waiting to be ridden
out of the gates? I wonder...what type of a horsie would you be for me, if I was to ride you Justin?” She
then braved herself and bopped his nose.


Justin's poker face smile never waned even when she got close. She didn't see the switch she had
flipped. Probably didn't even mean to. He laughed just once, taking her hand and giving it a gentle pat,
"Miss Georgie..." The first warning flag went up in Justin's mind. He was thoroughly up to no good. No
good at all. Not a way to behave around a lady in the slightest. But if she was supposed to be his friend
and treated like the rest, then there was no backing down from a blatant challenge to his manhood, one
he knew he could best the bet and had no shame in doing so.

"Ya done picked the wrong bull to mess with, lil' lady." And he said it in such a calm way. He laughed
once more, chuckling quietly to himself. He could see right through her facade. From bumping her hips
into him, touching him, cracking perverted jokes; this wasn't the Georgie he knew. Whereas, he wasn't
going to say a damn thing against if she wanted to be brave and more outgoing by mimicking perhaps
say, Tequila, but he was going to make it apparent that she was going to get the attention she thought
she was wanting by doing these things. Monkey see, monkey do, monkey might need to rethink what
other monkey got in the first place.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket, holding it to his ear with his shoulder while it dialed. He grabbed
Mark's halter off the wall, "Ey, Syd. Feelin' a bit of the ol' MS actin' up. Ah- before you get too bent outta

shape. I'm cashin' in on Tulsa." Justin slid the halter over Mark's nose, buckling it while listening to the
other end. Clearly, there was some code going on between the two. "Yep, paid in full....sure is... testin'
horns....collateral." He laughed loudly, clipping the leadrope under Mark's jaw and opened the stall up
to lead him out. "You ain't one to tell me that. Now,-" Justin railed off the area Georgie had been talking
about in the trees and hung up the phone. He still wasn't letting on just what was going on but she
might be putting it together by now. He clapped a hand on her shoulder and walked Mark out of the
barn, chest puffed out and chin held high like a soldier going into a battle they knew they may not return
home from.

He led Mark under the shade of the tree, parking the colt beside him. Mark looked about curiously,
really not sure what all was going on. He stood in place long enough, bumping his nose on Justin's arm
to check what was going on. Justin looked pretty relaxed, a grin on his face that still hadn't changed one
bit. He took his hat off and set it on Mark's butt, looking just off in the distance. "Now miss, I come from
a crowd horribly plagued by the weight of our pride. It ain't somethin' I think we'll ever learn to tame."
He saw a hulking man and horse headed their way. He looked over at Georgie, eyes shaded by a devilish
look. Need he say more?

Sydney came stomping up to Justin, a hulking chestnut gelding in tow beside him. He wasn't a tall horse
by any means, but he was stout, thick, and muscled up. He hardly gave Mark a look but he looked quite
pleasant, despite the giant's heavy stare next to him. Sydney glanced at Georgie once and then back to
Justin. He peeled his hat off and set it on Hank's rump much in the same fashion as Justin had.
"Deputy," Justin greeted over Mark's back.

Sydney took a moment to formulate his response before lowering his chin a little, "Sheriff..."
Both of the boys stared at each other for a moment like there was supposed to be dialogue between
them but it didn't need to be said out loud. Then, with a nod each, they both reached down and peeled
their shirts off. Sydney had the additions of his pistols, still. He took those out of his belt and set them on
Hank's butt, next to his hat. Mark stirred a little, wondering what was going on and who the strange
horse was, but a bump on the rope and he stood back in his place again. "Yer a fuc- an idiot," Sydney
caught himself. Not exactly with as much fire as he wanted to go in with but swearing and girls didn't
mix.
Justin laughed, "It's for charity, Syd."

Sydney grinned, pretty aware of the circumstances based on the code talk over the phone. He had been
challenged in a way he wasn't going to just back away from. Something Sydney understood on a very
primitive level and if it got him out of a debt to Justin, he didn't give a shit either.
Both of them grabbed their buckles, pulled them loose and down came their pants in one motion. It was
like synchronized undressing. Like this wasn't the first time they had performed this little act. They both
turned their backs to Georgie, just in the boots now. Not a care in the world, stripping down in the
middle of a fancy stable yard. They took the risk of being kicked out and went one higher. They both
grabbed their hats and put them back on, looking down at the ground. Sydney handed Justin a pistol and
took his own. Justin gave Mark a pat to reassure him it was all okay, he was doing just fine while they

were doing all these charades. Hank, the gelding, hadn't budged once. He was parked, hind leg cocked,
head lowered, and half asleep.

"Now, Miss Georgie, if yer gonna go messin' with bulls, the rough and rugged, you need only look down
and remind yerself," Justin glanced over his shoulder. Both boys hooked their thumbs in the hemlines of
the underwear. "We got horns, baby." Justin winked and in one swift motion, they both pulled off their
underwear.

Justin turned, cocking a leg forward, leaning an elbow on Mark's back, tipping his hat with the barrel of
his gun, giving a cocky grin her way. Sydney also turned, fully facing her, one arm over Hank, the other
holding the pistol at an angle to the sky, chin lifted and looking rather unafraid of any threat. Men with
their pride being a driving force of their life were willing to sacrifice a lot in order to maintain that pride
even if it was only to one person. It was the principle of defending it. Could they possibly be about to get
into a serious amount of trouble? Oh yes. Did they have any dignity left to care? Nope.



That day Georgiana Darcy learned that Justin McBride was a man who more than likely would never
back down from any bet against him - no matter who dared him, no matter what the dare was. Even if it
had been a bet she hadn't really realised she had made. She would not forget that. Ever. She followed
after Justin just about as clueless of the situation as Mark, even though she understood that he had
called up Sydney for something. Something had been exchanged between the men and she had only
gotten the words on Justin’s end. She had gotten some hints out of it, Sydney owed Justin something
and now Justin wanted it paid in full...or rather he would consider whatever the thing in Tulsa had been
paid in full by Sydney if he did something for Justin now. What on earth had happened in Tulsa?

Still not quite forseeing the future scene before her, Georgie just smiled and did a small wave at Sydney
as he came up to them. As always the giants stare made her want to shrink back a little mentally even if
he hadn't really looked at her in a way that alerted her to be careful in anyway. It was not how he had
looked at her when she had ‘accidentally’ touched his shoulder. Sydney had brought a rather stocky
chestnut colored horse with him. It looked even more compact than what Mark or Trixie did. Then again,
most of the stockhorses she had seen looked ‘stocky’ or at least stockier than the horses she was more
used to.

Sydney had put his horse close to Justin and then mimicked what he had done by putting his hat on the
chestnuts rump. Georgie’s breath stopped for a moment as the two men in front of her, as good as in
sync, removed their shirts. What on earth? Perhaps it was then, at that precise moment, that she
realised she was in trouble. What Justin had said and worse - what she had said. Oh...no... They turned
their backs on her. There was a moment of nothing and then, a muted clink and two pairs of pants was
dropped to the ground. Perhaps it was good that Justin had already ‘displayed’ his underwear to her but
it was still a bit of a shock. Her eyes darted between the two, her eyes displaying something of surprise
and just a slight hint of panic. The mass that was Sydney she was aware of from before but it became

even more obvious as he took off his shirt. He was a wall of meat. The first image that popped into her
mind was that of a big bull of one of the beef cattle breeds that was out there. Then there was that huge
tattoo that spread out over that large back, it alone looked almost intimidating...

This wasn't enough however, this wasn't all, she knew that the moment Justin glanced over his shoulder
and looked at her. That look and that smile told her this, oh this was just the beginning. Somehow it felt
like everything got silent even if she knew everything carried on as normal around her. Luckily there was
enough greenery here to give at least some shelter from random views and aside from people that had
horses in the closest barn, there weren't that many people that were moving about in this area anyway.
Or luckily...if there had been perhaps the two men wouldn't have... Perhaps they didn't even care if
anyone saw them. She wasn't sure of either of the looks she got from the two men. Georgie swallowed
hard. Blinked. But she didn't blush, instead it felt like she was getting drained from all the blood in her
body. Sucked out through her feet and it vanished deep down underground. She just stood there.
Blinking. Motionless. Like a fool or a deer in headlights. Either was just as good as likeness as the other.
Oh. Dear. Sweet. God. Almighty. A muted whooshing in her ears. It sounded almost like the ocean. She
didn't stare at their lower regions, in fact she tried to avoid to see that part...of both of them - without
looking away. Instead she tried to look at a spot just between and beyond them. It felt like an eternity
went past. Her heart pounded like it would beat itself out of her chest like a sledgehammer but with the
same speed of a terrified rabbit. Her hands trembled slightly as she raised the camera after turning it on.

Her legs were probably trembling just as much, like she was in part experiencing an earthquake and part
experiencing a tornado, at least it felt like they were even if it didn't show on the outside. Sometimes
panic made her freeze in place, instead of running, and that was the case now. It may have been
something else in play here too. The fact she had been brought up with stopped her. The fact that a
Darcy did not step down from a challenge. Ever. They did not step down, backed off or shied from
anything. It was perhaps the same type of pride the two men had, the pride Justin spoke of. She
swallowed again, doing her best to raise her chin. It was a lie to say she wasn't scared. She was scared
shitless. She had tried to make a joke and now it had turned around to bite her in her behind. Now she
had to try and...survive that. Fake it, and act like it didn't become her. Somehow. She was a bad liar.
Another breath and she opened her mouth to speak. At first there was just like a gasp, followed by a tiny
squeak like a broken toy. Then her voice seemed to come back with just a bit of studder to it. “Uh-m, y-
you s-should probably k-kick the -uh- p-pants to th-e side...o-otherwise it will just look like you a-are two
b-big toddlers that just made a number two...in your b-britches...and then stepped out of them.” She
licked her lips “...T-that is not...hot or s-s-sexy-” God. Oh, dear..how stupid didn't that sound? Couldn't
the ground just open up and swallow her whole? Breathe! Speak normally! Instead of saying something
more she brought the camera higher, grasping it hard in front of her face. So hard it almost turned her
knuckles white and smooshed her nose. There was still no blush on her cheeks, at least she couldn't feel
any heat. Had this broken her blush?

A deep inhale. She was going to do her best. She HAD to! This would not get to her. She was almost
twenty, she should be to handle unexpected things. She could act like an adult...and she could face the
consequences of the things she had said. Right? This would be nice, tasteful pictures even if this part of

the photoshoot had been a big surprise - huge even to say the least. As she zoomed in she saw Justin’s
smarmy grin through the lense. Swallowed hard. Sydney looked somewhat unamused but at the same
time it was like standing buttnaked in a place where just anyone could see them...was not something
that bothered the big man that much. That it was a normal as standing there fully clothed. Oh god! It felt
like her heart would stop right then and there, the grip of her camera got even harder. She had
accidentally glanced at both of them and now another thought hit her. What on earth would she
do...what should she say if any of the instructors came...what would she do if Mr Durant came? No...no,
no don't think it! If you do...then it will for sure happen. You...you got this, Georgie! It's...ok, all will be
just fine. Just don't forget to breathe. She kept her face pressed against the camera even if she didn't
have to, given it had a display on the backside. It was like she tried to hide behind the small object.
However that also made it hard to look at anything else that wasn't in the little frame. So she saw it all.
Everything. Absolutely...everything...in high definition and detail even if she did her best not to see.

If she would have had a friend who told her about what she was looking at right now, she would have
thought of them as a liar. Before she had almost been little curious on how men fitted all that they had
in their pants, but then again more often than not female pants was much tighter than the male version.
There was more likely more fabric in the male pants for that specific reason. What she had seen now
made her wonder...even more. In one case especially. Georgie did her best to direct the two men where
she wanted them to stand and even managed doing so using full sentences without a stutter. Or mostly
without a stutter. AND remembering to breathe in between. She was doing her best to act like this
didn't really become her but it did drain her though. She was still able to speak directly to each of them,
even Sydney, and that with just a slight tremble in her voice. It was hard to be polite and look at them
but at the same time avoid making her eyes dip down, not make it look like she that saw, that she was
looking...at a specific part of them. The chestnut horse seemed to just stand there, possibly sleeping or
at least dozing, but Mark every now and then turned his head to check on the person next to him.
Perhaps that was the reason why some of Justin's grins was wider every now and then. Horse whisker
tickles.

After what felt like forever she lowered the camera. She wasn't sure how many pictures she had taken
but for sure it had been enough for sure from enough number of angles. As tasteful pictures as she
could. An exhale and she tried to find that safe spot again to look at. A mumble escaped her “Um, I
think...I'm done now...” She wondered what Jane would say. She had not asked for nude images. At least
she knew what she wouldn't say in the future. Or at least be much more careful when doing so. Perhaps
there was a reason why Justin ended up in all those things he had told her about. She was pretty sure
she would never be able to just...let go in the same way. Not...fully. Would Justin think of her less now
because of this? Finally she let herself lower her gaze to the ground and for some reason she half turned
like she now of all times had to give them some privacy to get dressed again. Two men that had stripped
down naked for the world to see. Oh goodness. Would she even dare to look either of them in the eye
again? What could she have done differently? Perhaps she should have just asked them to...put their
pants back on? Should she have walked away? Admitting defeat? Her mistake? Why hadn't she just
turned around in the first place? She should probably have done that! Still no heat in her cheeks. Just

flashes of imagery like her brain had transformed into a camera that now showed all the images in a
slideshow. Her brain had picked up more than she wanted to acknowledge.

That suddenly made all the daydreams she had made out from her books to look more like they were
children stories and it also made her realise that none of those stories was like how it probably was in
reality. She remembered what Tequila had said, the way she had displayed size with her hands. No! Ew!
Ew ew ew! Why did she remember THAT of all things - and now!? EW! It was William Tequila had talked
about! She swallowed, her eyes shut closed hard like it would help to shut those images out of her head.
Holding her camera tight to her own body, like the camera was the one thing in this world that held her
up at this point. How in the world would she be able to unsee this?! Was it even possible?! At least she
hadn't fainted. Yet. She hadn't panicked. Yet. She had tried to handle it...as professionally as she was
able to do. As adult as she could. Breathe. Just...breathe. You will pass out if you don't breathe! She
repeated the words a few times to herself. And for heaven's sake, Georgie, don't say or do anything
stupid from here on out. Please. A deep inhale, exhale, inhale, a last pause to gather herself and then
she lifted her head. This...even this would be ok hopefully. If just he could...forgive her.


Justin cackled like a little boy that had outsmarted the grown ups. Even if it dropped his maturity rating
by the dozens. He was the proud evil genius behind it all! Teaching Georgie to chose her dares wisely
around him, still being the star of the show, and getting Sydney buck naked in an embarassing
photoshoot again. Worth it! He slapped Sydney on his butt as his friend bent down to pick up his
underwear, "Thanks for the photoshoot, sweet cheeks."

Sydney grinned, straightening back up with a dark look in his eyes. Both of them locked eyes, the tension
in the air picking up a little, hair raised on both of them, daring the other to make the first move. Justin
flinched as Sydney make a psycheout. It left Justin open for a titty twister from Sydney, making Justin
yelp and jump back.

"Oh no you don't, big guy!" Justin laughed, diving after Sydney who used the space to try and snag
Justin's clothes. There was no way he was going to just pick them up and hand them over nicely. Hell no,
not now that they were on even terms again! Justin jumped on his back, grabbing his shoulders and
hung on, trying to tug his arms back from reaching his clothes.

And the wrestling match was on, going back to the roots where men still fought naked. Sydney reared
up, spun around and stumbled into Hank. Hank's head popped up like he just woke up, giving the boys a
curious glance, taking just a step sideways to catch his balance. Justin stretched and tried to reach for
Sydney's hand that had his underwear in them, "Be chill, bro!"
Sydney cackled away, fully at the advantage here! His end of the deal was over! He had to behave for no
one anymore!

The flapping clothes and twirling men made Mark sidestep and back away, snorting at the both of them,
not sure if he was in danger. His previous training didn't have this kind of romping and jumping about!

"Get yer nuts off me!" Sydney barked, peeling at Justin's hands but having to quit when Justin tried to
snatch his underwear back. He grunted, leaned and jabbed Hank in the back of his knee, giving a sharp,
quick whistle.
Hank dropped his head and snorted at the ground. He crooked his tail to the side and ever so gently,
bent his knees and lowered himself to the grass in a bow. He grabbed a mouthful of grass while he was
down there.

Sydney swung a leg over him, trying to scrape Justin off him and make his getaway! He ribbed Hank in
the sides, cuing him to jump up and take off. The jolt finally shook Justin's grip enough that he lost his
hold on Sydney's shoulders and rolled back in the grass. He scrambled to his feet, seeing a big chestnut
but starting to squat to jump into a canter. Justin swore loudly and bounded after him. He heaved
himself into the air, snatching a fistful of Hank's tail. Any other horse on the planet and he would never
have dared to but Hank was a one of a kind horse. One more good jump and Justin managed to get
enough air to clear Hank's butt and land behind Sydney. "I'll be right back, Georgie! Would ya watch
after- oof- Syd, be nice," he scolded him for the elbow in the face.

Mark thought maybe he ought to stay with the other horse since he left in such a hurry, maybe there
was a predator nearby the older gelding knew about that Mark didn't. But then he caught sight of the
remaining human and his training got the better of his brain just before he resorted to using that
"horse" side of the brain. So, instead, he cautiously nickered at Hank disappearing into the park. If there
was danger, surely he'd respond. After all, Mark was still a young horse and it was herd mentality to
protect the young… when he didn't hear a sound back from Hank, he looked to the other human, not
quite settled after the fiasco that happened in front of him. Very unsure, indeed.

By a miracle, the boys didn't get too far or thrown out (yet) because not but a few minutes passed and
Justin came jogging back to the barn, clad in underwear and pants again. He had a playful, happy smile
on his face, a victorious stride to his gait. He scooped up his shirt, bumping his chest into Gerogie's
shoulder to get her attention, "That rough and rowdy 'nough for your wild west, ma'am?" Justin giggled,
pulling his shirt on and patting Mark's poll. He'd have to get used to a lot of shenanigans like that if he'd
last by Justin's side. No telling what happened at some of the events he went to.

As he put his hat back on, he asked excitedly, "We still got time for more? We got a lot more to do, don't
we? What's next!?" He was about as fired up as he had been during the scavenger hunt, especially after
pulling that adrenaline-pumping stunt.



It had been a mistake and now it couldn't be unseen. She had turned and looked towards the men at the
sound of commotion and because of that she got the first hand experience that certain things...flopped
about when men moved in a rough tussle and tumble. In a way she mimicked the young horse, stepping
back slightly as she watched the scene in a mix of shocked surprise and worry. Not that she worried over
the same thing as the horse however. But it said itself - noise, like hollering - drew attention. Sometimes

unwanted attention. She expected that the park security staff would come at any minute - but none
came - thankfully. Then in a snap - or rather a sharp whistle - and a grunt from the chestnut horse - the
men were gone, looking like they rounded the corner of the barn and she stood there alone with Mark.
Just in case she picked up the young horses lead, but still she just stood there, unsure of what to do
next. Millions of thoughts passed through her mind. None of them didn't really stick around long enough
however for her to get a grasp of any of it.

When she saw the familiar sight of Justin coming towards her again - without both Sydney and the horse
- she shrunk back just a little, eyes on the ground, just like the first time when they first met. She had
seen him - AND Sydney - naked! She had seen his...his...thing. Their things! Still no heat on her cheeks
however. But it just felt like all the blush was on her inside now. She bit her lip. What should she say to
him now? Could she say something about what just happened? Could she even look him in the eye?
What if he was embarrassed? What would he say to her about this? How should she reply to that?

She took a wobbled step to the side as Justin bumped into her and she just dared to give him a quick
glance. It was enough however to see his grin, she heard the giggle in his voice, and she even caught the
look of a proud stance. He didn't seem angry with her at least. He didn't...seem that bothered at all
actually. But her mouth still turned dry. She licked her lips nervously, her eyes still on the ground.
“...yes...” she finally managed to peep out in a thin voice, since it would be rude not to reply to his
question.

As subtle as she was able, thanks to years of training perhaps, she glanced at him again. He looked
happy, excited, proud like...a little terrier almost, one that just chased the neighbours fat ginger cat up
the tree and was now looking for something else to chase all the while wagging its tail. Of course she
had no clue of the neighbour of Pemberley had a ginger cat - or if it was fat. Nor that Justin would be a
terrier if he had been born a dog. Besides... It wasn't like the Darcy’s would ever be caught chatting in a
friendly over the fence with a neighbour to know if they had a cat or not. At least not her parents, nor
her brothers or Jane...or well maybe Jane and Charles.

“Um..I-don't-know-I-mean-it's-your...photos-your-choice...” she knew she mumbled the words out badly
and it was probably hard for him to even hear her remotely well - or make any sense of any of it. A small
shrug and a small scrape with her toe in the ground probably didn't help much either. What if she made
a suggestion and it became all weird...again? It had begun so innocently. Just the slightest hint of...her
books. Then she tried to do the jokes they did and then it all had just gone...south...uh. It had gone in a
direction she had not quite expected it to go. Who willingly just dropped their clothes like that? Another
gulp and she stared at her feet. It was her fault. Somehow. She had messed things up again and now she
had dragged Justin with her by actually taking the photo of him...and Sydney. Wrapping her arms around
her she shifted slightly where she stood. She wasn't used to people asking her...

Even if she had tried her hardest to make it good, a part of her wanted to cry over the whole thing
turning out so bad, but she had never ever cried in public, not since she was little and been told it was a
bad thing. It was frustrating not knowing how to act... She knew quite well all the etiquette rules on how

to eat at a fancy dinner, ballroom dancing, how to keep a decently interesting dialogue with many
people regarding the things many of those in the society the Darcy family socialized with were
interested in... But how to act, talk, behave around ‘normal’ people...hardly anything. By mimicking
Justin she had hoped...she wasn't sure what she had hoped...but people seemed to like him...and
thus...if she acted like him, maybe they would like her too...but...she swallowed again. She couldn't
get...she couldn't just... Perhaps she should study Tequila instead…



Justin's smile shrank to a lopsided line when his enthusiasm wasn't met with the same amount of vigor.
That rational voice in his head he had ignored was giving him the 'I told you so' feeling. Perhaps- no
definitely, he had gone a bit too far. She wasn't that kind of girl. She wasn't that kind of friend. It was a
weird concept for him to grasp, having a friend so out of the ordinary compared to the rest of them.
When she tried to act like the rest of them, she didn't wholeheartedly mean it like they did. He let the
usual pride take over instead of thinking reasonably. Worse, he knew he could have thought reasonably
and chose not to. Dumbass.

Now his victory photoshoot didn't feel so great. He gently nudged her hand with his knuckle to get her
attention or at least show he was being docile again and meant no harm. "Hey, you alright? If I got
carried away, all ya gotta do is say so. See, I gotta pretty thick skull and sometimes I forget there's a
brain in there somewhere. And even then, sometimes it doesn't work so great anymore. We're s'pposed
to be havin' a good time, remember?" He smiled softly. "Ain’t no fun if only one of us is laughin’, right?
Tell me what you want to do, Georgie. What you honestly want to do. Not what you think someone else
wants you to do,” he added in with a guilty chuckle.



Perhaps she was just overly sensitive to the tone of his voice, but she had learned it from her family.
While not showing it in loud emotions or big actions, the Darcys used their voice and even just the
pronunciation of certain words, sometimes adding a certain look in their eyes that would help add the
seriousness in a situation, without drawing too much attention. Many times she had known she had
been in trouble just by the way her family had said her name. She noted his smile changed. She must
have hurt him somehow. Then his question came. He asked her a direct question and she had to remind
herself that she promised him honesty. A mental nudge to get herself speaking. A part of her felt like a
small child because she was sure...this would not be the case if she had been more normal...more like
them.

“I...I hadn't expected...I thought it was just something you said, that it was just something that you joked
about...not that...” now she felt the heat rising on her neck “...you actually would do it. To take all your
clothes off...” She made herself look up at him, hoping he would understand. The heat had reached her
ears now. He didn't need her to spell everything out. Justin knew what he had done, that she didn't have
to tell him. “You see I...uhm, I have never seen a...real...naked...man before...unless it was in a piece of

art or in the biology book...” She might just as well to honest with all of it. Just out with it! Show him just
how pathetic she were, not knowing anything about what was ‘real life’. “So I guess I...panicked a little
bit, and I just went on with taking the photos because I got the impression that you wanted photos like
that but...but I should have stopped, I should have admitted that...I...got a little startled on what to do.
What the right thing to do was. I tried to not look at you or Sydney...too much...at your...uhm...” Her
eyes darted away for a second before she corralled them back to his, her cheeks feeling hot. She had to
look at him. Meet his eyes. Speak. Be honest! Stand up to what she had done wrong. It did not matter
how embarrassing it was, or how awkward she felt. She owed him that.

“I'm trying to learn all these new things, Justin, things that to you might...be just as natural as breathing.
I know that sound dumb and ridicoulus, perhaps you don't even believe me when I say this or just think
that I'm...that I'm one of those dumb ignorant people that are born with money and still having no
manners but...I want, I wish I could be more like you...or like Sydney and Tequila. If I could wish for
something, anything...it would be that. To just...get to be me... being able to joke like you can. You seem
to have so much fun with eachother. I envy what you have experienced together even if I don't
understand all of what that really is. You seem so free and happy. No worry if...if doing something will
mean that someone who shouldn’t have seen it, will tell on you. Or if they will take what you said and
twist your words into something else, something untrue and pass it on. Never having to watch your
step. Whenever I have wanted to learn something new, I've done so by mimicking and learning by
repetition since that have in many cases been the key to master and understand what I want to learn.
Languages especially. So I did what I always did...”

She shifted again, allowed her gaze a quick break before looking back into his eyes again. It felt like her
shoulders sloped further and further down as she admitted her fault. Her mistake. “Until I met you
Justin...and, it sound stupid I know...” Another pause, it did sound stupid, she had ears to listen with, she
was no fool - or perhaps she was “...I don't really...met that many who that treated me like just I was
somebody...like I was one of them. The people here, they don't call me Georgie as you may have
noticed, even if they have known me for years...even if I asked them to. They say ‘Ms Darcy’
or...’Georgiana’...like they are scared of me. People have been watching over my every step ever since I
can remember. And it hasn't been until now I have been able to go on things by myself, but still under
supervision at times I'm sure. It's like they expect me to do something bad if they don't, like a huge
mistake, or get myself in trouble. Just waiting for me to make a mess that they have to clean or cover
up. That might be why I...always do what others tell me, because then I can't...mess things up...but
apparently I do that anyway...” Her fingers poked at the camera that rested on her belly, feeling the
button and nubs as she felt the strap of it around her neck “...only time I know what to do is on the back
of a horse or with Asthor...then it's like I can't make a mistake at all.”

Would he understand? Did he understand despite her jumble of words? He had shown understanding
for the fear Asthor had of the ropes, and he had taken his time showing the donkey the ropes was
nothing to fear. Question was if...he could understand that she was simply trying to..be ‘normal’ the
best way she could. Or at least in the way that she guessed was normal. That she was really trying not to
be weird. Perhaps it wasn't good enough? “I didn't mean to be disrespectful by mimicking the way you

expressed yourself. I wasn't aware it...would backfire on me the way it did and I really didn't mean to
hurt your feelings...exposing you - and Sydney the way it did. I'm very sorry, Justin...” she blinked a few
times “Truly, I'm sorry...I was...I did something wrong...I just didn't think you...would actually do...that...”

She took a deep breath and now she didn't dare to look at him as she felt the heat spread yet again. “I'm
trying to learn more about where you come from, so...I won't be so weird if I...if I was to meet...” she
hesitated over the next word to use. The phrase ‘your real friends’ had almost slipped out. By just
comparing herself to the three men Justin had introduced her to at the Rodeo she knew she was the
odd one out. It didn't take a normal person long to see that. “...any of your other friends.... You do and
say things...things I've only been able to do in my imagination...not that...I would dare to actually shed
my clothes like that but....maybe I could dare to dress a little differently...maybe like Tequila does...” She
hesitated, nibbled her bottom lip, her voice now low. That was a silly thought. She wasn't pretty enough
anyway. “...But, I would probably make a big mistake there too.”

She waited in silence for a few seconds. The thought gnawed inside her. That she had upset him
somehow. Maybe he would be happy again if he got to see some of Williams cars? “If you put Mark
back...I will take you to a place you might like...William have a garage, but I think we have enough
pictures...they just want you for one month...” A few seconds more passed...the thought for some
reason came again...and before she could stop herself. Georgie glanced at him. “...what,
uhm...happened in...Tulsa?”


Justin had that look on his face: that disappointed but concerned mother look. Seemed to come out
when he heard things that collided with his own morals. His brows furrowed more than he intended
them to but he heard a lot of things that didn't jibe with him. "Georgie, if I didn't know ya or didn't like
ya, I'd leave what you just said to me and think nothin' more of it. But-" he held up a finger to interject.
He looked about to make sure he wasn't having a conversation with anyone but her in the area.

He hung an arm over Mark's neck, probably to keep himself from pacing. "First thing," he grinned at
least a little, "I got no dignity to not jump into my birthday suit at any given point. Remember that for
the future if yer not wantin' to catch an eye full of biology, aight?"

He shifted his feet around, looking serious again, "Second...and what I meant about if I didn't know
you...girl, don't you hear yourself contradicting exactly what yer sayin' and what yer tryin' to do?" He
didn't want to use the word hypocrite. That would come off a bit too harsh. He reserved that word for
himself. "Hear me out," he held up his hands defensively.

"Who did I become friends with? Georgie, right? I already have those other friends. If I didn't want to be
around someone like yerself, why would I agree to come hang with you this weekend? It don't make a
lick ‘a sense why you think you gotta be someone completely different when I enjoy who you are right
here, right now. We're grown ass adults. If we don't like somethin', you have every right to walk away.
You don't see me runnin' off anywhere, do ya?"

He tried not to get too aggressive on his speech. He wasn't out to chew her out. He just wanted to
express what he was seeing from the outside looking in. He gave her a moment to let it settle, before
moving on. He patted Mark's shoulder, letting the stud colt drop his head and graze now that things
were calmer. "You said you want to be yerself, be free, have fun. But you say you just do what others
tell you instead. That ain't very free. Tryin' to act like Tequila or Sydney? That ain't bein' yerself neither.
Georgie, yer so much smarter than that. In yer books, don't you get to read the other side? What do you
think happens to those other characters? You wanna be like Tequila? You wanna lead me on, love me,
then cast me away when you see some other feller that catches yer eye? Then play with me like I'm
some toy. That the feelings I had were a joke anyway?
You wanna be like Syd? So emotionally cut off, he has to drink himself into a coma just to let himself
have a sense of relief? Syd ain't a nice guy, Georgie. He's my friend, but he ain't a role model and he'd
tell you the same thing."

Justin had to avert his eyes anywhere else before he got too worked up. He already dove into more
personal matters than he had intended to. Just something about the things Georgie said just got the fire
roaring underneath him. He didn't think it was anger, more like a passion.
"Everyone's got their own ghosts that haunt them, Georgie. You told me some of yours. Why would you
want to take on someone else's without knowin' the consequences?" He kicked at a little tuft of grass
that Mark found and decided it would be just perfect to munch on. Once he had himself a little less
ranty and more under control, he softened up to be a little more...somber.

"Sorry, Miss Georgie. I didn't mean to criticize yer way of livin'. It's just...see…" he looked at her just
under the brim of his hat. He didn't look like the brave cowboy, unafraid to take the bull by its horns. He
looked like a little boy, lost in the woods, "I've been there before. Tryin' everything I could to blend in.
To be one of the cool kids. I made a fool outta myself every time. I pretended it didn't matter and that I
wanted them to laugh at me. I became the class clown, the idiot that got sent to detention because I
mooned the teacher to impress the older kids. And I just kept it up into adulthood. I'd be whatever kind
of man a girl wanted me to be. Obviously, things don't last when yer lyin' to begin with. The friends I got
now are the ones that stuck around after I did a lot of growin' up. They all still laugh at me but at least
it’s 'cuz I did somethin' genuinely funny," he finally smiled again. Here, he thought he wasn't going to
keep being so personal. But he had realized why he felt this was so important to address. Let her know
that he had felt the same way once. And that the outcome hadn't been worthwhile.

He stepped forward, a little closer to her, smiling softly, "Just 'cuz the first person you meet doesn't get
along with you, don't mean there's somethin' wrong with you. I'd rather be friends with a girl who ain't
never seen a pecker 'til her blockhead of a friend went and made her take nude photos with his hairy
friend in her own backyard. Than ever find out you were pretendin' to be someone to appease to me."

Of course he was right. She just hadn't thought of it that way. When Justin had started to talk with that
look on his face she had worried he was angry with her. Like really angry. A hand had come up to the
spot where William had grabbed her the other day, it was still a little bit tender. William had acted so
weirdly, like he had been the one doing something wrong and had taken it out on her instead. The
youngest of the Darcy brothers had patience with many things, but tended to lack it greatly when it
came to people. A pale smile came to her lips when he mentioned that he stuck around because of
her...with her being her. That he...liked...her for who she was, not by name but by person. He called her
an adult, he didn't make those ‘subtle’ remarks that she was just a little girl that didn't know any better.
Her eyes were a little blank when she looked up at him, and she blinked a few times to keep it under
control but the soft smile was still on her lips. Justin gave her more value in his speech than her own
family had ever done. Actual value. A few times she had heard was that she should marry wisely and
honor her family.

When it then came to Tequila and Sydney...she hadn’t actually thought that far. Was that what had
happened between Tequila and Justin? Had the blonde led him on, let him think she loved him and then
gone with another man, not caring the slightest of Justin's feelings? Georgies smile faltered. How could
Tequila do such a thing towards someone as kind as Justin? Then have the nerve to continue to play
with him, like a cat did with a mouse? She bit her lip, and blinked a few times more. How could she?!
Her fists tightening. When Justin continued on, telling her about Sydney, now her heart couldn’t help to
bleed a little for the broody giant as well. What had made him that way? Surely, Sydney hadn’t been
born so...angry looking? Seemingly so bitter. Her gaze had fallen to the ground but now she lifted it and
looked into Justin's blue ones again. Sydney was lucky to have Justin. That was something that was
certain. Hopefully deep down the big man knew that. Even if he might not ever admit it to anyone,
perhaps not even himself.

There was a harsh sting in her own heart as Justin looked at her from under the brim of his hat and gave
his own story. More blinking to keep the burn in her eyes under control. Men didn’t like tears. She
couldn’t cry. Never cry unless you were alone in your room or somewhere else nobody could see or hear
you. One of the rules. Why would anyone want Justin to be someone else? That she couldn’t
understand. At all. Even if she hadn't known him for that long he had to be the sweetest most honest
man she knew. Then Justin stepped up to her, a smile on his lips. She had to smile back at the words he
said. Thinking of the scene now almost made it sound like one of his fun stories - only this time she was
in it. It was a story she could tell. Almost like the one when Asthor had gone all donkey bronco on her.
She too took another step closer to him and before she could stop herself, or at least think wise whether
it was a good idea or not, she lifted her hand and gently stroked his cheek. Her fingertips just about
reaching the edge of his jaw and with her thumb doing the actual stroking of his cheek. His skin was
warm under her hand.

It didn't last for that long before she slowly let her hand drop. For a moment she just stood there,
actually allowing herself to just get lost in his eyes. For some reason she pictured the open prairie and
the vast lands stretching out before her, grasslands filled with darkcoated cattle, and the sky as blue as
his eyes in a giant dome above. The sound of many hooves in motions, only cut off by mooing. She had

wanted to hug him but she was worried it would have been taken the wrong way, one of those cheek
kisses would probably been even more wrong, and given the recent events she didn't dare to try. Just in
case he would think either was...not genuine. The gentle stroke on his cheek...was hopefully ok.

“For someone who claims he don't like books or liked school that much, you are very wise Justin. I still
consider myself lucky for stumbling into you at that rodeo. I didn't then...because...well, I'm supposed
to have better control over my feet. Perhaps a reason why I don't do many dressage events.” She looked
at his hand but then she dismissed the thought of taking it in hers, since that might be in the same fuzzy
grey zone as the hug or even the cheek kiss. Instead she just put her hand on his arm. “It's hard for me
to...express what exactly you mean to me...just...know that you do mean...very much...to me.” Her
other hand came to stroke Mark between his nostrils, and she smiled as the horse came closer, leaning
his head on her just ever so slightly. He was a friendly horse at least. She got some green slobber on her
arm but she didn't care about that. The hand that had given Justin's arm a pat now also went to the
horse, stroking his forehead. Just under his forelock seemed to be one of the paints favorite spots and
he closed his eyes just slightly as she rubbed it. She felt the horse relax as the leaning got a little bit
heavier on her.

It made her smile still. The whole thing with Justin and Sydney's tussle must have confused the horse
just as much it had for her, and just like a baby he was relaxing now when he was getting some comfort.
“You are a good boy, Mark...” she cooed before turning her head, facing Justin again. “Did you really
moon your teacher?” There was just a little twitch at the corner of her mouth. “Was that what you and
Sydney did in Tulsa too....or was it...something worse?” She wasn't sure if she saw a change in his
expression or not so she hurried her next words “...or perhaps I shouldn’t ask that?”


Justin had no such qualms about a big ol' smile and wrapping her in an arm, pulling her in for a hug. He
hoped that what he had said at least gave her something to think about. He wasn't going to control her
life, the decision was hers and always would be, but hopefully he just provided a different look. He
didn't know if he'd call himself wise, but he had certainly been around enough people, heard enough
stories, lived through some of them to see a bit more of the tragic side of life. And he'd rather not be a
part of that.

He chuckled, looking his usual childish self, "Poor Mrs. Bailey. She was the readin' teacher, actually.
Course, none of us knuckleheads wanted to read none of the books she sent home with us. We were
such rotten kids, I tell ya. I don't think I gotta say how much trouble I got into for that lil' stunt once
word got home." He cringed a little. At the time, he had thought it was totally worth it. The "cool kids"
talked about it for weeks! Looking back, damn he felt bad for the poor teacher just trying to do her job
with a bunch of obnoxious boys in her class.

“There weren’t no moonin’ goin’ on at Tulsa,” Justin explained, walking Mark back into the barn. “Let’s
jus’ say I beat Syd at his own game for once after triplin’ the prize pool. Best damn show I ever had, yes

ma’am!” He gave a triumphant laugh, still proud of those results! And the paycheck to boot! But he
didn’t elaborate further, putting Mark back in the stall, giving the colt a pat on the rump.

He almost jumped out of the stall, smiling beaming bright, “You said somethin’ ‘bout some fast cars? I
ain’t never sat in one of those sports hot rods ‘fore. Do all their doors open up silly?” He motioned the
upwards motion that the expensive show-boat cars’ doors opened like. He never did understand how it
was practical unless they got into a really tight parking space.



She didn't have much time to react before she for a moment found herself getting a hug. A whiff of the
mixture of the scents that made Justin's own personal smell. It was just like she remembered, or
perhaps rather that it made her feel safe. The hug didn't last for that long, but she still had to gather her
thoughts after, mostly since she had not expected to get a hug. One minute she had cuddled his horse,
and the other she got a hug. Then again, with Justin perhaps she had to learn that it was a constant
change. Sort of like the twists and turns of a rollercoaster. A fun one. She had just been once at an
amusement park. Just before she left her school for the summer holiday. One of the teachers had
actually arranged the whole thing. The rollercoaster had been both a funny and scary experience at the
same time.

With reading being one of her most favorite things it was hard for her to grasp anyone disliking it, then
again there was more than likely things that Justin liked that she wouldn't like as much. How would she
have reacted if a man mooned her? She had seen it movies. Blushed probably. Most likely. Men were
more hairy, that she had seen. At the thought, she felt herself getting hot and she did her best to push
that memory away. The more she would think of it, the more details she would more than likely
remember...and she wasn't sure that would be a good thing. To what he said about Tulsa she just gave a
nod. Justin didn't give any more details on what that game had been, but if her friend saw it as
something not worth mentioning more than that, she was not one to push on about it either. It was not
mentioned for a reason and if anyone knew about things not being mentioned due to the risk of the
wrong thing coming out - she was just the person to know a thing or two about that. She could only
guess that the nature of it was...perhaps not so ‘clean’ - or perhaps even legal. It was hard to tell. With
the good morals Justin seemed to have, Georgie highly doubted the illegal route however.

Georgie shrugged, but she couldn't help not to smile. It was hard not to smile in response when Justin
gave her that big smile. “I don't know...I just know he have ‘some’ cars...and I might even...” she gave
him a soft smile, on purpose holding in the last part of the sentence ”I think I will let that be a surprise til
we get there...” At one point William had fancied monster trucks and even gotten one just because. He
hardly used it now but it still stood in a shed on it's own, next to the garage with more fancy and
expensive cars. She wouldn't dare to let Justin take one of those out, but the monster truck...There was
even a field that was nearby they could go to, the field that William had used. There might even be
something left of that ‘track’ he had made. The thought made her smile. Perhaps it would fit Justin too...
She glanced at her watch, perhaps they should leave the cameras memory card to Jane first. She then

thought of what Justin had said. This calendar was for a future thing, even if it was tied to the meet and
greet with the kids, but it wasn't close to it's deadline. Jane had not counted on meeting Justin today so
getting the photos wasn't a priority. What would it matter if they showed up a little late? She nibbled
her lip. Before meeting Justin, Georgie wouldn't even had considered the risk of being late somewhere.
Should she risk it? Yes. She didn't want to waste the precious time she had left with Justin on doing
Jane’s bidding. Perhaps she was selfish but...she looked at Justin again, the smile on his face still, and at
that Jane as well as her lady friends was all forgotten. She smiled even bigger. “I have a hunch you will
have a good story to tell Sydney later when you see it...and he might even regret that he left in such a
hurry...”



"Ooooh?" He raised a brow, looking quite fascinated with whatever the surprise could be. "Keepin'
secrets, eh? Yer gettin' pretty good about surprisin' ol' Jus, miss Georgie." He tipped his hat with a grin.
He imagined a garage full of Lamborghinis and Corvettes, maybe some kind of Rolls Royce. Something
obnoxious to match her brother’s personality - or at least what Justin had gathered from what he had
heard and seen of him. Pretty but not practical.

He followed eagerly, back to the cart to get a ride to this elusive wonderland of cars. He let Georgie take
the driver's side since she would know where to go and get all the clearances. He made himself
comfortable, though leaned on the edge of his seat in anticipation. After a few minutes of thought, he
burst in exclamation, "Oh, I know what it is! It's a hovercraft, ain't it." He laughed, completely delighted
by the thought. "One of them flyin' cars, right? Man don't have it all 'less he can fly outta five o' clock
traffic, right?" Leave it to Justin to come up with such a childish thought. He didn’t honestly expect
something that obnoxious. No one but those wacky retired pilots had those, right?



It was weird how much lighter she felt like, in more than one way. Like a giant weight had been pulled
off her shoulders. With Justin she didn't have to work so hard to be someone...she was allowed to be
who she was, she didn't have to fit a mold. He wanted her personality to show, not some sort of
stereotype of a person. It should be easy, but it had been a big part of her life trying to fit into what
others wanted from her. Now she grinned at the man by her side as she stepped on the gas pedal of the
cart and went as fast as it could, and she even dared to do a few ‘serpentine’ sways across the road after
checking the coast was clear.

“Nope - no hovercraft...but don't tell William about those...I'm sure he would get one just to have the
pleasure of saying that he has one. He does have a small plane though...but he can't fly it himself as far
as I know.” She made a small smirk at the thought. Driving his own cars now and then was one thing, but
she doubted William sitting in the cockpit of a plane.

She turned into a smaller pavement road before they came up towards the manor. The garage was a bit
separated from the house and William usually called down there and told what car he wanted and they
drove it up to the house for him. Sometimes it was the limousine if there was some highshot he wanted
to impress, or one of the sport cars - all depending on who it was. Georgie waved at Martin, that was
roughly the same age as the cowboy, who sat in the small office that was nestled inbetween the garage
and the workshop. Martin gave Justin an extra glance as they drove past to park outside the garage, but
given that the strange man was with Ms Darcy he didn't make more than a notice of that.

The garage in itself was spacious, with large windows at one end with shutters if that would be needed.
This gave plenty of natural light in the big hall, there was enough space around each of the twelve cars
so none would be accidentally scraped when parking one of them. Georgie had tried to open the door
for her friend so he could get in first, but Justin had beaten her to it. A moment of silent ‘no, you go first’
before she ‘gave up’ and went in before him, giving him a warm smile as she passed him, mouthing a
silent ‘thank you’ at the same time. However she stepped to the side to give him a proper view as he
came in after her. She had followed William here a few times when he was showing off his ‘toy cars’ to
new associates. Given all of them were men, and many times a keen interest in cars - otherwise William
would never have brought them - most have for a moment gotten that childlike look back in their eyes.
Georgie knew Justin loved his black truck, but she guessed that there was...no, she was certain there
was a little boy inside Justin that probably liked these type of cars too.

“The doors are open so if you want to, you can sit in the driverseat if you like... I don't have the access to
these cars when it comes to the keys but...there is one that I know you can try out if you want, one I can
get the key too...hopefully you will like that too...”



Justin wasn't necessarily surprised at what he stepped into. It kind of fit the image he imagines, only
with less show girls on the floor. He helped himself, walking right up to the nearest one, bending over
and giving it a look. It was kind of scary not because it was some expensive piece of metal and plastic.
More so because someone actually agreed to pay a ridiculous amount of money for a hunk of metal and
plastic. Granted, it did look cool. Not really Justin's style by any means, but what guy didn't, for at least a
moment, think of playing with it like a HotWheels toy car from his youth. Zooming around, making car
noises, screeching brakes, heavy acceleration, squawling tires. Seeing his grin in the reflection of the
window made him chuckle a little.

"They are kinda cool," he had to admit. It took him a moment to even figure out how to open the doors
without obvious door handles to be seen. But when it finally opened up and lifted, he was fascinated
again, "Well, hot damn. Ain't far off from bein' a spaceship, is it?" He poked his head in to take a look
around, nodding his head. Completely spotless. Of course it was. No mud on the floorboards, straw
littered everywhere, dust settled on the top of the dashboard. None of that. No scuff and scrapes or
patches of duct tape holding a door together.

Even so, Justin still flopped down in the seat. Luckily, Darcy was a tall guy so he fit right in, perhaps a
touch too long but it wasn't like he was going to actually drive it anyway. He giggled a little, grabbing the
steering wheel. "Sat so low, I'd be afraid the first bump I hit would knock a buttcheek right off. Hey! Do I
look like a sexy racecar driver?" He struck a pose, acting like he was driving down a winding road at
dangerous speeds in the middle of a hail storm. He jerked the wheel a little too hard and the tires
turned, making a little squeak that echoed in the giant garage. Justin quickly straightened them back up
again, "Oops."

He stepped back out of the car, done playing that game, examining the tires. Looked fine enough. No
telling what Mr. Control Freak would have to say if they weren't perfectly aligned. "We gon' get into any
trouble if we take any of these ass draggers out?" he asked her with a smile.



Even if Justin looked more controlled over his actions than she had expected, she still had to smile at
him as he finally got seated in the car and the pose he took. She hid it behind her hand just in case. “I
would say you look more like a secret undercover agent amongst the cowboy bandits...and your cover
just got blown so you had to make a dashing escape...” The tire squeak made her jump a little but it was
only because she was caught unaware. William never parked the cars himself so she doubted that he
would have noticed that Justin had changed the direction of the tire, and thus straightening it up again
was probably not needed, but she did nod at Justin’s statement. “More than likely...” she just said, her
face a little more serious. Looking at the cars and sitting in them was one thing, driving them was a
whole other matter and a big no-no. She wasn't even sure if she would be allowed to drive any of these
cars. Further down the row there was some really old classic vintage cars.

“Wait here just a moment...” she then said before moving off, going through a door not far from them.
Not long after she came back out with a big smile on her face - and something hiding in the right hand
behind her back. The key had been just where she remembered it. Just in case she had asked Martin if it
would be ok to take the truck out and he had given the ok. Being what it was, it already had some dings
to it making it more ok to take out and drive. If there would be an accident, it wouldn't matter that
much. It had been years since William had actually driven it - that said the staff still kept it polished and
the tank filled up because you never knew when the big boss wanted to do that again.

As innocently as she could she started to walk away from him, making sure one of the cars was
inbetween them. “William always said you have to work hard to get what you want...and I know that
concept is not unfamiliar to you either....so...since you already done the treasure hunt so well...how
about...a real chase this time?” She held up the keys, making them jingle. “Soo, Justin... Turn your back
towards me, close your eyes and count to twenty...these keys...” she jingled them again “...goes to a car
you get to drive...if you catch me that is...and of course - you obviously need to find the car too..” She
remembered how excited he had looked when he came to the trailer...maybe he would like this game
too?

Perhaps it was too childish of her, but as she had looked at his face as he sat in the car, the image of
them by the pond had come back to her. They had played then. It had been fun, the type of fun she
wasn't sure she had experienced before. In a way it was perhaps odd not to have any real memories of
child’s play from her own childhood but...already back then it had been important to behave. She could
have no tantrums, no outbursts, nothing that drew attention from others, not causing a scene. Certainly
no chase - at least not publically. There had been one nanny that had been fun and that had played with
her sort of...but that, as she had told Justin, had been short lived. Now she could think of the play by the
pond and just smile.

She didn't look to see if he actually did what she asked him to do, instead she ducked down behind the
car she had just passed, then she tried to as silently as possible make a run for it over to the other row of
cars. It was both scary and fun at the same time. She stopped and pulled off her shoes, that way he
wouldn't be able to hear her...and perhaps mistake her boots for her trying to hide behind this car. She
noted a large square thing that almost looked like a giant dresser, and made her way over to it. The
‘dresser looking thing’ had very thin ‘drawers’ in it, but it was tall and big enough for her to hide behind.
It was low to the ground and had tiny wheels so it would be hard to see under it without going down on
your hands and knees to see if there was anyone behind it. She could peek from behind it, hopefully
undetected, to see where Justin was or if she would have to make a dash so he wouldn't catch her. It
was almost like a game of hide-and-seek fused with the game of chase. She had to cover her mouth to
stifle a giggle. Add some scary music and Justin in perhaps a zombie or a clown mask and this could be a
classic horror movie.



The hunt was on! "Oh, a chase now? Next yer gonna tell me we're havin' a drinkin' contest." He smiled
confidently, covering his eyes and turning around. Silly Georgie. Hadn't she learned how good he was at
these kind of games yet? "Not to boast my talents too much, but ya know bull ridin' taught me how to
run pretty darn fast. I move like a cheetah!" He chuckled, "Okay, maybe more like a lion." He wasn't built
for speed over any amount of distance. He rocked on his feet, whistling the tune of the movie Jaws
while he counted in his head.

"And the mighty lion has been set loose!" Justin opened his eyes and whipped around, scanning the area
for any movement or anything out of place. Just him and the eerie silence with the cars. His grin
remained, lowering himself and hunching over like a predator on the prowl.
"He's a clever lion, no fool to the world. His age gives him wisdom," he narrated as he lowered himself
to his knees. This wasn't his first round of hide and seek. Everyone knew the first thing to look for was
feet hiding behind something. Aha! Shoes!

He cackled to himself and hastened his pace to where he had seen the boots. "With his dinner spotted,
the lion makes no hesitation!" He jumped over the hood of the car, clearing it and landing on the other
side, ready to catch her! But he fell right for the trap! There was no Georgie, just a pair of shoes as bait!

He laughed and rubbed his face in defeat, "Clever girl. Miss Georgie, if you had no friends, how'd you get
so good at this game, huh?" Yes, ask her questions. He knew how much she liked to talk and explain
things in depth. How could she resist answering? Yes, he'd let her reveal herself. He could lay some bait
out too. Perhaps more. What could she never resist answering… what would be so hard for her to keep
quiet about?

Justin scanned the floor again and didn't see anything obvious. He walked between the cars, row after
row, pondering. "Did you play these games with ol' longears, perhaps? I bet he could sniff you right out,
huh? What was it he liked again? Vanilla….was it cake? No, no, it was chocolate chip cookies, wasn't it?
That's what his favorite snack was right? That's what you told me, I remember." He was chuckling on the
inside. She had a soft spot for the donkey. He remembered the vanilla fudge fact. But could she keep
quiet when he was so terribly wrong?



Behind the ‘tool chest’ on wheels Georgie bit her finger to distract herself from replying to his questions,
or correcting him. Asthor didn't like cookies! He would eat them she guessed but not with the same
pleasure he seemed to have as when it came to the fudge. Justin was coming closer, she could hear it by
the help of the sound his boots made. She was currently hidden but she couldn't make a dash for it to
another place, he was too close, so she had to stay put where she was. She guessed with the way Justin
was talking and as loudly as he did it, that he wanted her to do something. All these questions. Almost
like a predator making scary sounds and false attacks towards the herd of prey just to sort out who
would be the weak one. She carefully peeked out from where she was hiding. Luckily it seemed like
Justin had just turned his head away or was simply looking ‘over’ her, because it seemed like he didn't
see her even if he was somewhat close. At least he hadn't made an attack trying to catch her - yet.

Another quick peek. No Justin. Where had he gone off to? Then she thought she heard breathing, very
close by. Like really close. She froze. Was he on the other side of this tool chest thing? She tried to give it
a little nudge, but either it was too heavy for her to budge without putting too much energy to it and
have it make a sound - or Justin was in fact on the other side, ‘blocking’ the movement she tried to do.
Georgie hesitated. While the whole point of the game was for him to catch her, it was no fun if it
happened right away. Deep down, perhaps she had the same winning drive as William - just not as
dominant and willing to step over bodies to win. Certainly not in a ‘game’ like this one.

IF he was on the other side, would a hard push make him lose his balance? IF he wasn't, would the
sound of the chest rolling distract him enough for her to get a bit of a headstart? Georgie took a deep
breath and then she pushed the tool chest to the side and made her dash for it. She thought she heard
something behind her, perhaps there was even a movement, but she didn't turn her head to check, she
just ran. However with just her socks on the floor was a bit slippery being as polished as it were, and as
she tried to round the last car in the row she slipped and landed on her hip.

Justin only staggered forward a little from the bump behind him. He turned his head and watched her fly
out like a turkey from a brush pile. He grinned like a wolf, chalking his tactic as a success! Or at least it
got her on the move, flushed from her hiding spot! He laughed, sprinting after her, his longer legs
clearing her strides almost by double. He was gaining ground! Definitely a run he had learned when
sprinting to the nearest arena wall to claw his way up, narrowly escaping a horn or hoof on his backside.

He saw her go down and hit the brakes, sputtering out so he didn't trample her or eat the floor too. He
jumbled himself over her, careful to pick his feet up high to not step on her, just narrowly avoided
stumbling himself. With his momentum under control, he circled back at a jog and dropped to a walk to
inspect the damage.

Justin hunched over her with his hands on his knees, "Hey, uh...if yer gonna start a game of hide n'
chase, ya might fair a bit better if ya stay on yer feet." He chuckled, stating the obvious. He hadn't
thought it would be too hard of a challenge especially when it came to physical prowess. Throw in math
equations or any kind of science questions and he'd feel the sweat roll down his neck. But he was pretty
sure, this challenge was sealed. So he smiled and offered her a hand up if she would like. “How ‘bout I
promise not to eat ya fer dinner if ya show me which car it is?” He winked.



Out of sheer instinct she had covered her head with her hands as she saw the dark form come over her
head. But like a seasoned show jumper Justin cleared her like nothing before he turned back, facing her.
As he chuckled at her, she responded with sticking her tongue out at him, but smiling at the same time.
“Oh, ha-ha-ha, Justin - you are soo funny!” She still accepted his hand, trying not to think too much on
how warm it was, and with a little bit of ouf got to her feet, rubbing her hip while making a small face. It
did feel a bit tender. Just her luck if she got a big bruise.

She gave him a look with a raised eyebrow, still rubbing her hip and the top part of her thigh “Wouldn't
be much to eat on me though as you can see, so the joke would be on you...” She then crossed her arms
over her chest and simply gave him a sweet smile. “I figured that the caballero travieso can find a-any
treasure that’s out there, isn't that true...hm? However, you can't get me to spill the beans mister on
any more clues...nuh-uh..” She stuck her tongue out at him again. “You might have caught me alright,
but that is the only thing you have so far...”

The key was securely inside one of the small ‘secret’ inside pockets of her jacket. It had been pretty snug
to get it in there after she had jingled it in front of the cowboy in question before. He would have to pat
her down like one of those cops that searched people for drugs on the airport. She had seen that on TV.
Some ‘bad guys’ really hide things like that in weird places. Even if he would find the key by luck, there
was still simply just a keyring attached, marked with ‘Mon-C storage’. That didn't really give away what
type of car it was - or where it was. Question was if he would even think to look outside of this garage.
She looked down at her feet as she was smiling to herself, discreetly giving a short glance at a rather
neutral looking door. It looked more like a door to a janitor's closet than anything important. From the

outside it was more like a big party tent, a place where you stored like perhaps wood or outdoor
furniture, perhaps even poles and standards used in jumping. Not for a car. Looking up again she gave
him a rather confident grin. “So, it's your move... Señor Comerte-para-cenar (eat you for dinner)...”



"You forget I already told ya I ain't so smart..." Justin looked from one end of the garage to the other. He
rubbed the back of his neck, not sure if he had enough info to solve anything. Keys and a car. Well...just
about any car needed a key to start. So that wasn't helpful. "I don't think you gave me any clues to start
with, miss," he chuckled pitifully. This was some kind of 'find the needle in the haystack' with as many
cars as there was in there.

He shook his head and shrugged, spinning through the weapons he had at disposal. He could think of
some really cruel things to do to get the upper hand but he was far too behaved in regards to Georgie to
do any of them. That didn't mean she was off the hook either. On the contrary, he sighed a little, "Welp,
guess I gotta try every single one in here 'til I get the right one. And that means yer comin' with me." He
stepped up to her, bent down, and hoisted her up, folded over his shoulder again, holding the crook of
her knees and the side of her hip so she didn't fall.

Now she couldn't try to run off again, carrying her around like the game he had just hunted. He laughed,
toting her over to a car, twirling her around a couple times before setting her on her feet, "Car number
one, let's see. Looks too fancy, probably his favorite, no way. Next!" He stooped down again, barely
letting her get her grounds before she was hoisted up again! This time he bobbed up and down, really
making the journey unpleasant, not painful, but certainly a thrill ride of up and down, a twirl here and
there, and his laughter to boot.

He plopped her down next to another car, "How 'bout this one, Georgie? How ya feelin' 'bout this one,
huh?" He grinned like a cat, draping an arm over her shoulder, giving it a pat. He'd only get worse and
worse with each one they had to visit.



She tried to object of being picked up after she had found her voice, telling him that she was too heavy
for him to lift and carry but Justin did it so easily, like she would have been just a sack of horse feed. It
felt a little bit weird, not in a very bad way but...that was before she was spun around like Justin had
been some ride at an amusement park. She couldn't help the slightly high pitched squeak she had let
out, and the hard grip she took of his shirt. He didn't carry her long before putting her down and she
shifted slightly trying to find her balance again. But it wasn't more than perhaps two seconds before he
picked her up again and he was rewarded with another squeak.

Her fingers dug into his shirt, holding on to him hard. The first time he had lifted her she had been
dumped into the pond but she doubted that he would drop her on purpose this time, but that didn't

mean she did her best to hold on - and not flail her legs too much. Not that she could move them a
whole lot, partly because Justin held her at the back of her knees, and partly because she didn't dare to
move just in case that would make him lose his grip and she would fall face down to the floor.

A part of her was just slightly feeling a little of what could be described as motion sickness, but as Justin
laughed, she could only smile in response. It was like it was a bright light and like a moth she could not
resist it. With the cowboy enjoying the game she felt a burning desire to give just that to him, more and
more of it, just to hear and see it more. Perhaps what she did, what she had done was too much, and
like a child in a candy shop it was hard to stop. To see him smile the way he did, to hear is laughter, it
was so...different compared to what she was used to. To feel the touch, even if it was ‘just’ a pat. It was
human contact. She wasn't sure if she had ever seen anyone in her family have skin contact. There was
her father’s hand on Charles shoulder in a portrait, like a ‘symbol’ that he was the main heir...or had
been at that time anyway. Georgie wasn't even sure if she had seen Charles and Jane being close. They
had always had separate bedrooms, even before the accident. Charles, William and herself was of
course evidence that...there had been some contact but...

Shaking her head, she giggled and then braving herself by poking Justin at the waist. For a moment she
was silent in thought before she gave him a smug look “In what do monsters hide, shelter of tarp and
steel, to get that ride, you need your eyes from this place peel...” Even if it was fun to tease him, the
longer she did that, the less time he would have to actually...play...


For a moment, Justin's brows dropped and sat on his eyes, while his brain tried to decipher the language
she used. It had been English, but that didn't mean he had understood it. He almost resembled Sydney
being asked something he found stupid or didn't understand. Justin glanced side to side, looking for
anything close to a monster or something resembling one. Maybe some monster motors in some of the
high powered ones but nothing more than that. These were fancy boy cars. Nothing fierce about them.

He kept looking around for anything under a tarp but that didn't seem to match anything in the room
either. In his deep thought, his mouth started to hang loose. He wasn't having the same luck as before
with the scavenger hunt but that didn't mean he was giving up just yet either.
He patted her shoulder again, his smile coming back. He looked awfully friendly but it was a guise to
make her relax. “Back up ya go, lil’ lady.” This time, he put her even further back over his shoulder so
she was dangling more and more behind him, a tight grip on her knees so she didn’t go flying off.
Because now he was spinning round and round, giggling away. “Cough ‘em up, lil’ lady! Either one of us
hurls or you cough up yer secrets!” He was really getting a good spin on now, using her as a
counterbalance and stepping up the centripetal forces. He was having a great time with a “Weee!” and a
“Wooo!” as the world of colorful cars spun around them.

He heard a metallic chink and skitter across the floor that sounded a lot like keys. “AHA!” But he didn’t
stop spinning just yet, “Y’ain’t off the hook jus’ yet! Where’s this monster of yers, eh?” Even he was
dizzy now. If he stopped, he’d probably fall face first into one of the cars!

It was just not fair! But there wasn't much she could do when it came to be picked up, not this time
anyway. She had fallen for Justin’s friendly gesture, that was all her fault. Another squeak - why did she
always sound like a failed distressed actress in some low budget movie? She wasn't ‘that’ easily scared!
Or so she hoped anyway. This time Justin must have hoisted her further back than he had done before,
but he began to turn before she had time to say something - faster, and faster and faster! At first it was
a bit of fun, and she did giggle especially when he laughed and made the sounds but then he began to
spin...too fast. She couldn't really focus on anything. Only on holding on to him with her hands...and not
wrapping her arms around his waist. She didn't want to risk...bumping into something she shouldn’t. It
didn't matter that she had seen his private parts already. Touching them by accident would...awkward!

The cars and the colors blurred together as one, the lights. Justin made more sounds. For a moment it
sounded like the sirens of an emergency vehicle. A flash from when the car rolled down the slope before
it stopped laying on it's roof came before her eyes. The eerie silence that followed after the final groan
and sigh of metal. Her own laboured breathing after she woke up again. Everything upside down.
Feeling trapped and unable to get the seatbelt off. The taste of blood in her mouth. The tree had been
the thing that had stopped the car from going further, but it was still making sounds like it would break
at any moment. Making her almost too scared to move. Not even when she heard the voices calling.

NO! Don't think of that! Don't! Her grip that she had on his shirt grew harder. A muffled gasped sound
into the small of his back. She closed her eyes, as she tried to hold herself together, her forehead
pressed to his back and she tried to just...not to think of what had happened. To not think of the smells,
the sounds...what she had seen... She was passed that. All the doctors had said she was fine now. She
was fine. She was safe. It was just memories. Memories her family had told her to get over. It was in the
past. Besides, Justin was her friend and would never hurt her!

A chink clink skidding sound of something metallic landing on the floor in between Justin's excited
giggles told her that the key must have fallen out from her pocket. So much for being secure in there.
Hanging practically upside down wasn't something she liked that much, at least not for a longer
moment. A short second she fought with what might have been pride. To give in...to show some sort of
weakness. Or, was it because she heard Justin was having fun...and she didn't want to be the party
pooper? But hadn't he told her that...she could be honest...that he wanted her to be that over...to trying
to please others...him? To be herself?

“P...lease...stop...Justin-” she peeped finally. It felt weird - or she was just really dizzy. Maybe it was the
fact the blood that had rushed down to her head due to the way Justin held her, or the memories of the
accident. Or it was just some lingering symptoms from the weird punch bowl from yesterday that
decided to pop up again. Perhaps it was some combination of all of them. Georgie made a feeble
attempt to move from her upside down position but failed. There it was, the familiar acid-y taste at the

back of her throat. She swallowed hard in a try to keep it at bay. “...please... s-stop, I d-on't...feel...so
good...” Another small gasp, a tug at his shirt. “Please...just stop and I tell you where it is, I p-promise....”


Bingo! He heard the words of surrender! Maybe not a victory how it was intended to be gained but he
just wasn't smart enough for the riddle. He was clever enough to find another way, however.
Justin gave the poor girl her mercy, slowly spinning down. He was not so sure on his feet now, the cars
still spinning while his eyes darted back and forth, trying to make sense of the world again. Before he
lost his balance, he hefted Georgie back up on his shoulder so she wasn't dangling so precariously.

"Glad ya came to yer senses, miss." Ideally, he would have set her down gently on her feet. But tipping
forward to set her down, threw off his sense of balance too! He got her feet in the ground and she was
left to her own devices as he teetered off to the side. He staggered and tripped over his own feet that
was wildly unsure of where it was supposed to go when the ground kept moving underneath it! His
laughter piqued as he tipped over and ungracefully tumbled to the ground. He looked like one of the
lesser fortunate attendees of last night's party. He couldn't stop laughing at himself, flipping over onto
his back. He winced and grabbed whatever had poked him in the shoulder blade. It was the keys! Justin
shouted in victorious response, holding the keys up like a trophy!

He sat up, only to tip to the side again, but caught himself with an arm like a kickstand on a bike. His
smile looked way too proud for the havoc he had wreaked. He shook his head like that would cure him,
“What a ride! Think I found the best ride in this whole place!” He chuckled, “Think you can top that with
whatever you’ve been hidin’?”



She had flopped to the floor soon after he had put her down. When her food problems had been at it's
worst she had often become dizzy, so she knew what to do to make it go away or at least fade. This
wasn't one of times when it was overly bad, so perhaps she had given in just at the right time. With her
eyes closed shut, it didn't take long before things started to feel ok again. At the sound of Justin’s
laughter and then his voice as he spoke, she looked up and found him on the ground too. Smiling of
course. Infectious as ever and she smiled back, just a little more weakly.

“I might... I thought that you would be able to figure out the riddle at least partly...but perhaps if...I help
you...it will be easier for you to figure it out?” She took a deep breath. Brushed away the last of the
memories of the accident from her mind. “If you listen to the first part, ‘In what do monsters hide’, what
do you think that can be?” Georgie gave him a moment to think before she continued “You might need
to think like you did when you were a little boy though...even if you perhaps wasn't afraid of imaginary
monsters... Monsters, they hide in different places, right...but always or often in the ‘dark’. And a
‘shelter of tarp and steel’, that is nothing else but a tent. And finally ‘to get that ride, you need your eyes
from this place peel’ simply means it's not inside of here, you need to look elsewhere or in other words...

We need to get outside...through that door actually...but that is all I will say...the rest is up to you...since
you have the key...” She pointed towards the rather plain door.

She made an attempt to get up again, first to her knees then finally to her feet, just a little wobbly at
first. This time it was she who offered Justin her hand to help him up. “You know, most riddles aren't
that hard if you don't overthink them too much. They are usually very simple even if they sound tricky...”
She had to almost brace herself backwards slightly to not fall into and over him instead after he took her
hand and heaved himself up. After all he was a little bit bigger and heavier than her. She gave him a
smile...even if he had spun her to the verge of feeling sick. She poked his gut with two of her fingers as
she saw an opening to do so, then she backed off just in case he would retaliate against her. For a
moment she hesitated about the words on her tongue, then decided to say it anyway. “I bet that grin on
your lips are for the most part just because you are happy to have a friend now that are in a handy
dandy size to fling over your shoulder and one that you can spin like this, huh?” She could only guess
that Sydney might have done or could do something like this to Justin. “Or do you do this to all your
friends?”


"Look, Georgie," Justin smiled, headed to the door, "If ya jiggle the handle enough, the toilet flushes." In
this case, jiggling the handle was spinning Georgie around in circles until she gave in. He might not have
aced the ‘simple’ riddle but that wasn't the first failing grade on his report card. It didn't bother him all
that much. He got all those ones before right so it made up for one little one he couldn't figure out.

He did chuckle about her being the sack of feed twirled about. He patted her head just to rub it in,
"Maybe one day you'll grow big and strong like Syd, then you can spin me about like a lil' lady too, ey?"
He chuckled again. He had to admit, it wasn't near as easy with some of his other buddies. And they
tended to put up more of a fight, flailing and elbowing him in the head. He tried it on Sydney only once
in their younger years just to wipe the smug look off Sydney's face. Threw out his back and walked with
a stiff back for weeks.

Into the area Georgie had pointed out and Justin had to stop in his tracks immediately. Any residual
cockiness vanished from his features as he came face to face with an enormous set of wheels. He was
speechless. His wide eyes snapped to Georgie, an eyebrow popped up, and then he looked back at the
thing. He held up the key and then pointed to the truck. He looked at her again, the same brow still
raised high. He may not have been able to form the questions vocally, but it was evident through his
actions. Was this really the thing that he was going to get to drive around!? He felt about as dumbstruck
as he had when he had uncovered his new trailer. Where were the cameras putting him on a prank
show? No way. No way there was just a monster truck lying around!

“...how in the…” that was about all he could squeeze out of his lungs before his brain stopped again.

That was a ‘saying’ she had never heard before. Georgie thought real hard, no...it didn't sound familiar
at all, and she knew some. She ducked just a little as Justin patted her head. Then she snorted at his
comment, shaking her head. “No, I don't think you would be able to take on two Sydney's...or rather one
Sydney and one...uh...’Sydnina’, just imagining both of us sitting on you... You would be a Justin rug or
something...” She tapped her head “I just use this some in a way that your hands and muscles
can't...brains vs brawns... Is it 1-1 now?”

She covered her mouth with her hand to hide her grin after the cowboy had opened up the door to the
‘tent’ that had been put up like a ‘add on’ to the actual garage. Even if it was just a ‘tent’ it was far from
the flimsy cheap kind. The look on Justin’s face was too amusing not to smile at. There was even a
muffled giggle that escaped her before she got herself under control. She nodded a ‘yes’. By the way he
looked at her she knew she had made the right choice. He did like it...or well, he looked like he did
anyway. Almost the same way he had looked at the trailer. That bit made her happy. Then it faded a
little as she remembered Tequila inside it...and where the ribbon had gone.

Even if Justin had told her that morning in the hotel room that she didn't have to ‘pay’ him back...she
still wanted to show him her gratitude, how much he meant to her. The only problem seemed to be to
find a middle ground for it, so it didn't went overboard. Some things worked, others...was a little bit too
much. Georgie nibbled her lip as she suddenly thought about it some more. Justin didn't seem too
bothered on what Tequila had thought about the horse and trailer, but what about her brother...what
about Sydney's thoughts about the whole thing? Would he have objections? Enough of them to make
Justin...turn her gift back? Would Sydney even care? He had his usual look when she took the photos. In
a way he had the look like he hadn't even seen it was her. She took a deep breath. It was a later
‘problem’ if there was one...

“It's one of William’s discarded...’toys’ if you can call it that, I think he had it custom made because why
have something everyone has you know...if it was something with the motor or something, maybe... I
think it was something of the sort, I can't really remember what he said to that business man from
Europe when he gave him the tour here... While William doesn't really drive that car that much anymore
it is still apparently too cool to throw away... But William actually let the head of the garage drive it in
the meadow behind here whenever he wants too...like a perk to the pay I guess... So I figured that it
would make it ok for you to drive it too...if you want to of course?”

Stepping closer to the car she patted the giant tire like it would have been a horse. She looked at Justin,
giving him a smile before making an upwards nod. “If you get up there, I will go and open the door...I
mean...if you want to take it for a spin...that is.” She took a deep breath. “William made an entire course
out there...with lots of different...obstacles...should be something that you might like...I hope...”


Justin nodded along like he was listening. And he kind of was. But still in somewhat shock. He only
snapped out of it when she pat the tire. His smile returned, "Oh, there's no way we aren't gonna get our
asses busted for takin' this thing out for a spin...but I kinda don't care?" He chuckled and stepped up to

the big hunk of metal and tires. He circled it just to get a good look at it. Wasn't often one just came
across a monster truck! As much noise as these things could make and the attention they drew, no way
they could just sneak out of there. But at the same time, how could he refuse!? Yes, he mentally
contemplated that if she was already in deep shit with her family being so strict, maybe they ought to
avoid drawing attention. But...monster truck.
And monster truck won.

Justin couldn't resist climbing into the driver's seat where there were helmets in the cab already
because they tended to get a bit bumpy. He kept giggling even before he got it revved up. A kid in a
candy store. Or a toy store in this instance. The engine rumbled to life and Justin cheered, giving the
steering wheel a pat. How could he not be excited? Out the door, he sort of opened up the passenger
door for Georgie to literally climb into. As if he'd leave her behind and have all the fun to himself? Why,
that wouldn't be very friendly. He handed her the helmet, deciding he didn't need one. But she might
like one since it seemed the English side of riding sure did use them a lot. Some of the bullriders used
them too but Justin was part of the old school riders that still just had their cowboy hat.

Justin was practically jumping for joy in the seat as he drove to the course, nice and slow until he got
used to steering the massive thing. It was like nothing he had ever driven before! Talk about sitting high
and mighty! As he paid attention to where he was going and what he was doing he asked loudly to talk
over the engine, "So, did your brother ever take you out for a spin in this thing or was it banned because
it was too much fun?"


She had the permission from Martin, who in turn had the permission from William for her to do this.
That was what counted. Besides, like she would have dared to do anything here without an okay from
either of her brothers. However, it was something with having the ‘power’ to be able to make him smile
that would have made it worth it - even if Williams anger always made her want to take cover. Even if
she sometimes had become scared over the fire in his eyes. He never truly showed his temper or anger
in public, so for most people he always came off as cool and controlled.

After she had opened the tent door and let Justin and the car out as well as done the high climb up into
the truck, she got herself seated beside him. He handed her a helmet and she put it on without really
knowing why she should have it, but if he handed it to her there was probably a reason for that. A part
of her did worry a little bit over being in a car like this, but she trusted Justin.

Georgie shook her head at his question. “No, he hasn’t...” then she shrugged “...we don't really spend
that much time together unless anymore they...he needs me to represent the family or the business in
some way. But we used to hang out a little bit when I was young...well, before I was sent away for
school anyway...” They went over a very uneven patch causing her to be bounced around some. She did
glance at Justin but his grin hadn't changed any from what she could see so perhaps it hadn't been
intentional. Therefore she continued “Usually he just take clients here to either show ‘the collection’ or