Disclaimer- Two words: N. O.
A/N- Ages- Tai/Matt/Sora-18
A/N2 [last 1…I think]- ''=thoughts
Things in between stars-** ** means a time jump
Sora Takenouchi looked out at the open field. She was wearing jeans, a flannel shirt, and had pulled her auburn hair back into ponytail and had used a clip to keep it off her neck. The sun was low in the sky, as it was early morning. She always went riding in the early morning or late evening. That way she was almost never interrupted. She saddled Midnight, the horse she always rode, led her out of the stables, mounted, and took off. [A/N-She has a friend who owns the ranch and the friend lets her ride that horse all the time, ok?] She went at a hard gallop for a few minutes, and then slowed to a trot. She stopped completely a few minutes later to let Midnight rest and was about to start again when a voice attracted her attention.
"Sora, hey Sora!" She turned in the saddle to see Matt Ishida riding towards her on a beautiful chestnut stallion named Sham [A/N-The horse is named after Sham in Margurite Henry's story "King of The Wind"].
"What's up, Matt?" she trotted over to meet him in the middle of the field.
"Tai and I are going surfing tomorrow, want to come along?" he asked.
"Sure, why not." Sora smiled. "What are you doing up this early anyway, it's like 5:30 in the morning."
Matt shrugged. "I couldn't sleep." They rode around the field, no destination or purpose in either of their minds.
"That's cool. So, how's TK?"
"He's good. Actually, I caught him and Kari making out in the closet yesterday."
Sora laughed out of surprise. "Are you serious? Did you tell Tai?"
Matt put on an all-righteous look, "Do I ever lie?" Sora gave him a lopsided smile. "Yeah, I told Tai and he spazzed."
"I'm not surprised. I just can't get over the idea of little TK making out with Kari in the closet. How old is he now?"
"15…I think…yeah." Matt took a moment to think about this.
"I remember when we were 15." Sora chuckled. "Davis…"
Matt shuddered. "And Jun."
Sora chuckled again. "Hey don't worry I'll protect you."
"How do you intend to do that, she's insane!" he half exclaimed half questioned.
"Well, there are three ways. We could a) act like a couple whenever she's around, b) I could threaten to beat her up if she tried anything or c) both!"
"Hmm…I like C." Matt responded.
"Well, we have a chance to try it out. Here she comes." Jun was riding towards them on a dappled gray named Patches [A/N-I was at a loss for names, alright?!].
"Quick, come closer to me." Sora whispered. Matt obeyed.
"Now what? Should we kiss?" he asked finally.
Sora raised an eyebrow.
"It's easy, I'll show you." With that Matt brought his arm around her waist and pulled her into a gentle kiss, tasting her butterscotch lip-gloss. [A/N- Where'd I get the idea for Butterscotch lip gloss? Right here! *Pulls out a tube of butterscotch lip-gloss and puts it on* Yummy! He he! ^_^ On with the fic!] He could feel Sora's arms snaking around his neck. She began to kiss him back. The sound of retreating hoof beats ended their kiss. They broke apart, gazing into each other's eyes.
"Wow." Sora finally breathed. "That was…nice."
Matt smiled a smile that made Sora feel like she would melt into a puddle. "Yeah, was that your first time?"
She blushed slightly. "Well, Tai did kiss me when we were 15, but other than that, yeah."
'I wouldn't have guessed.' He thought dreamily, almost longing for another kiss. Then he realized they were still in each other's arms. Sora must have realized that as well because she blushed crimson and pulled away quickly. 'She's cute when she blushes' Matt thought, then mentally slapped himself for thinking that way about one of his best friends.
"Want to race back?"
"Fine, but don't expect me to go easy on you."
Sora raised her eyebrows. "You? Go easy on me? I'd never dream of it. On three, ok? One, two, THREE!"
They took off, neck and neck. It was a good mile back to the ranch and since Midnight was already somewhat tired from being out a bit longer, Matt won. They arrived at the ranch, dusty and breathless.
Sora checked her watch. "Crap! I gotta go!" she dismounted quickly and gracefully.
'Damn she's graceful, and what a body…hold on, Ishida! This is Sora you're talking about!' he spoke up. "Really, that's too bad."
"Yeah, Mom wants me to put in extra hours at the shop, I've got a few errands to run as well."
"Well, I'll see you tomorrow then. Meet us at Tai's house at around 1 or so."
"Ok, I'll see you then!" Sora handed Midnight to one of the stable workers and headed to her Pontiac Aztec [A/N-That's my dream car^_^]. On her way to the shop her mind stayed on one subject.
'That kiss…why does it feel like he actually meant something and wasn't just putting on an act? He couldn't possibly like me more than a friend…could he? Woah there, Sora. This is Matt Ishida you're thinking about. The lead singer of The Teenage Wolves! Why would he be interested in someone like you?' Sora turned her focus back to the road, still remembering the kiss.
**Next Day, Tai's house**
"Hey Tai, hey Matt!" Sora came through the back door, smiling. She walked into the kitchen where the two boys were and leaned against the counter.
"Hey Sora, what's up?" said Tai grinning.
"Hi Sora." Matt blushed slightly. [A/N- Look, it was my brother's idea to have him blush, all right?]
"So, what's the deal? Are we all going separately or what?' She looked at Tai, figuring he had a plan.
"Well, I think we should all go separately. All our gear wouldn't fit in one car, probably."
"I guess you're right Tai. Hey Sora, can I ride up with you? My car ran out of gas when I got here." Matt spoke up for the first time since Sora had arrived.
'Maybe he's still embarrassed about what happened yesterday. I better not bring it up.' Sora thought. "Yeah, sure." She smiled.
"Wait, Sora, you drive a Pontiac Aztec. Do you think everything will fit?" Tai asked.
"We'll just have to get a little close, then, won't we?" Sora smiled slightly at Matt, remembering what had happened yesterday. Matt smiled back with his eyes.
'Not that I would mind that.' They both thought at the same time.
"Ok then, it's settled. Let's go." Tai yelled the last bit and the trio headed out the door. Matt got his surfboard out of his car [A/N-ok for the record, let's just say Matt drives a blue Jeep Cherokee, Sora drives a silver Pontiac Aztec and Tai drives a Red Jeep. Oh yeah, Joe drives a white minivan. No, Mewberries, not the ones that take you to the nice padded rooms.] and Sora opened the back door for him.
"Just chuck it in there. Mine's in the trunk and I don't think there's anything breakable in here."
Matt did as he was told, shut the door, and climbed in the front passenger side. Sora got in on the driver's side and started the car. They had been driving for about 10 minutes when Matt spoke up.
"So, have you been surfing before?"
"A couple times, you?"
"My dad took me when I was 6 and then I took TK a few weeks ago."
"That's cool." Sora kept her eyes on the road, thinking. 'Why are we so strained for conversation? Is it because of yesterday? This makes no sense!'
"Sora, listen, about yesterday…"
"What about it?"
"Well…for some reason I can't stop thinking about it."
"Me either. Let's just say that we didn't mean anything by it and try other ways of getting rid of Jun."
"Alright. Agreed." They would have shaken hands except Sora had to keep both hands on the steering wheel. A few minutes later, they arrived.
The two got out of the car and retrieved their gear from the trunk. [A/N- You probably are beginning to wonder why I keep saying 'gear'. By gear I mean surfboard, suntan lotion, towel, sunglasses, you know, that kind of thing] They found that Tai was already halfway down to the water and spotted where he had dumped his stuff. Sora and Matt couldn't help laughing at Tai's repeated wipeouts as they set up their towels by Tai's junk.
"Well, shall we join him?" Sora took off her shorts and picked up her surfboard. She was wearing a dark blue one piece.
'DAMN! I never thought Sora could look THIS good! Woah, there Ishida! Get your mind out of the gutter!' "Yeah, we might as well." Matt pulled off his shirt. [Author stops to picture Matt shirtless, drools, smacks herself, and continues writing.]
'Oh my god! I've always thought of Matt as hot but this is WAY more than I expected.' Sora thought, looking him over as he bent to pick up his surfboard. She did her best not to look at his butt. [Author again stops, thinks of Matt, smacks herself again and continues]
"Sora, So-ra? Earth to Sora! Are you coming or not?" Sora shook her head briefly and followed Matt down to the water. Little did she know, she was heading for a life changing experience.
TBC!
A/N- Ok, DON'T KILL ME! The next part should be out soon. So, to quote Izzy, "hold onto your knickers!"
A/N2- The next part may be short. It will feature the 'life-changing experience' and everyone's reaction.