I think, in the end, it is every girl's dream to be treated like a princess by the man she loves, to find her very own Prince Charming. But the fantasy of having a cowboy whisk a lonesome girl away on a wild adventure in the South has always been something of a close second for me.
"Stupid, fucking—"
Ino's tirade was briefly interrupted as she slammed the toe-point of her favorite Blahnik satin blue pumps (that really brought out her eyes, according to the saleswoman) into the front tire of her now useless Audi. Whipping her hair behind her back, the exhausted blonde turned away from her car and looked out into the expanse of complete nothingness before her.
What would Bear Grylls do?
Fanning herself lightly, she stepped back into her baby blue convertible and shut her eyes. Her phone had been out of battery for days already. Before she started this seemingly endless road trip, Ino convinced herself that she had left her charger in the glove compartment and never bothered to check before she pulled out of the driveway. Five hours later, she realized that she had left it in her boyfriend's—now ex-boyfriend's—SUV and had zero chance of getting it back.
Zero chance of charging her phone and calling for help, and helicopter-ing her ass out of No Man's Land.
Ino was currently on the way to move back in with her parents in Raleigh and take up a position as a project manager with a top aerospace corporation. A bad breakup with her boyfriend (a lazy pineapple-headed, cloud-watching, two-timing, good-for-nothing jerkwad), and graduation from a prestigious business school in southern California had solidified her decision to move back East and away from the carefree, partying lifestyle she had grown accustomed to in El Lay.
She'd met Shikamaru, the jerkwad, at a dinner event a couple of years back. They hadn't gotten along well initially, but one drunken night led to another, and Ino found herself in the awkward position of "rebound girl" without even knowing it. Her hair was too flaxen and her eyes too blue to let him forget about his first love. A week after their one-year anniversary, she caught him in bed with a different blonde and nearly exploded. The next week, she received her MBA and was ready to run back home and away from the persistent phone calls and constant deliveries of bouquets of roses at her doorstep. Roses! The man knew nothing about her.
Ino had packed all of her things and shipped it out beforehand, but insisted on driving her way to Raleigh—which, in retrospect, was probably not the brightest of ideas. Leaving her family's Pacific Palisades estate at the crack of dawn wasn't entirely easy, but she wanted to be alone for a while, away from all the frantic city-goers and hustle and bustle of life. She didn't want to be crammed into a sack of flying metal with two hundred other passengers; she just wanted to be alone with her thoughts and the wide-open world between California and North Carolina.
Unfortunately, after day four of her adventuring, her car began smoking at the front and eventually completely broke down. Thus, the blonde instinctively pulled to the side of the road and popped open the hood, not knowing what else to do. Glancing furtively at the sun, she figured it was early into the afternoon and knew she still had a few hours before nightfall. The last gas station she'd passed by had been at least fifty miles away.
Slamming her forehead against the steering wheel, and ignoring the resulting honk, Ino sighed quietly and resisted the urge to cry. She was tired, hungry, and just wanted to get home so she could see her parents and be assured that everything would be okay. With her sunglasses perched at the top of her head, she touched at the corners of her eyes to get rid of the tears and prevent her makeup from getting ruined.
"Snap out of it, girl," she murmured to herself. There was no use in crying. She had to find civilization.
The blonde got out of her car once more, slamming the door extra hard for good measure, and began an endless trek down a deserted road.
-;
The sound of frantic, galloping hooves had Ino pause mid-step, and she turned to see where it was coming from. Letting out a loud yelp, she jumped out of the way of a runaway stallion, and a rider struggling to tame the great beast.
"Whoa, there!" bellowed the cowboy. Ino watched, transfixed, as the mysterious man in a beige Stetson tightened his hold on the reigns and held on tightly as the horse kicked up its front legs. The black horse flared its nostrils and breathed noisily before stamping on its hooves impatiently. She shied away from the seemingly angry stallion and rubbed her arms nervously.
The cowboy tightened his hold on the reigns, but the animal refused to listen. It seemed to sense the fear radiating from the young woman and grew increasingly agitated. "Look, lady, you need to get outta here!" he yelled loudly, glancing at her briefly, before focusing his attention back on the horse. "You're makin' him nervous."
Ino grimaced and tossed her hair over her shoulders in defiance. "How about you get your damn horse under control? You nearly ran me over with that—that thing!"
"I was trying to get him under control, alright? If you weren't wearing your uppity shoes and all, you probably could've gotten away," he replied with a great sense of frustration, tightening his hold on the reigns. The stallion neighed loudly in response and shook its mane wildly before eyeing the blonde. Now more angry the cowboy than afraid of the horse, she simply narrowed her eyes at the beast and gazed unflinchingly into its large eyes. It exhaled loudly once more and settled down. The cowboy tightened his hold on the reigns and breathed a sigh of relief.
Rolling her eyes, Ino heaved a great sigh of her own. "Some cowboy you are."
"Hey, take that back!" he retorted, literally hopping off the stallion like it was nobody's business, and strode towards her, reigns in hand. "I'm the best 'round these parts!"
She flinched slightly as he came closer to her with the black stallion. He looked more intimidating as he marched towards her, especially with the tribal-looking triangle marks on his cheeks. "Whatever. Look, I need your help. Is there any gas station or payphone I can use nearby?"
Great brown eyes stared back at her in disbelief, and he raised an eyebrow. He was easily a head taller than her, which was pretty impressive, seeing as she was about 5'9". Then again, it could've just been his massive hat. "It's a bit of a walk to get to town. I'd let you ride the horse, but well… You saw."
She pursed her lips, knowing she didn't really have any other options. "That's fine," she said softly.
"Alright then. I'll lead the way," he announced, tugging the horse along with him and beckoning her to follow. His cowboy boots clunked against the dry ground, and he tipped his hat back slightly.
Ino hurried her steps, ignoring the blistering pain she felt in her feet and tried to keep up with his strides. "So um, is he a new horse or something?" she asked, pointing to the black stallion behind them.
The cowboy glanced at her and nodded shortly. "Been training him for the past few weeks. Ain't easy. He doesn't get along with any of the other horses in the stable." He swiped at his forehead tiredly and watched her out of the corner of his eye. She sure was the prettiest thing he'd seen in his lifetime. "So what are ya doin' all alone? You don't look like you're from 'round here."
Dressed in a sharp grey blazer with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows, a pair of dark blue jeans, and killer heels, she looked every bit the city girl that she really was. "I'm not," she replied, casting her gaze to the side. "I'm on a road trip to Raleigh. My car broke down a few miles back. I've been walking ever since." After a short pause of silence, she felt the need to express her gratitude. "Thanks, by the way. For walking with me. My name is Ino."
He shrugged and said, "It's not a problem. Least I could do. I'm Kiba." He rubbed at the back of his neck and continued, "I didn't mean to scare you with Darcy or anything. I really didn't think anyone would be out here."
Ino allowed a small grin and turned her head to face him. "His name is Darcy?"
Kiba chuckled slightly and nodded. "It's really 'Mr. Darcy.' You know, from Pride and Prejudice. Damn well acts like him."
"Yeah, I know that one. One of the few books I actually read in high school," she admitted. "Mr. Darcy's a cute name."
The stallion snorted loudly, as if offended, but continued to follow Kiba obediently anyways.
-;
"The earliest you can get here is tomorrow morning?" she asked, an incredulous look on her face. "No, um, that's fine. Alright. Yes, thanks. See you then. Bye."
"So, looks like yer stuck here for the rest of the night."
Ino glanced at her brown-haired companion and rolled her eyes. "Don't remind me."
Kiba laughed heartily and leaned back in his barstool. "Aw, c'mon. It's not that bad here. There's plenty to do for fun!"
She raised her eyebrow skeptically and stepped away from the payphone she had been using. Plopping down in the seat next to him, Ino sighed and dropped her head on the counter. "I think your definition of 'fun' is a little bit different than mine."
"You just haven't given country life a chance!" he insisted, taking a slow swing of his beer. "Just wait till the sun goes down. That's when all the animals come out to play," he finished with a wink.
She stared at him blankly and blushed slightly. She really couldn't handle it when guys winked at her, especially this particular cowboy—it was just too sexy. Looking away, she changed the subject and said, "Well, in any case, I need to find a place to crash for tonight. Are there any motels around here?"
"Yeah, there are a few decent spots around here. Don't worry about that, though. Aren't you hungry yet? I'm starvin'!" he announced, setting down the empty bottle. Ino smiled guiltily and nodded.
"Me too. I haven't eaten since early this morning," she admitted, resting her arms on the counter.
Kiba jumped up from his seat and left a few bills on the counter for his beer. "Well, let's get going then. Let me take you out to dinner," he said boyishly, with a waggle of his eyebrows. The blonde laughed incredulously and allowed him to lead her out of the bar, grasping his hand gently.
"How do you like your chicken?" he asked, walking with her into the town square.
"Chicken?" she asked confusedly. "Um, fried?"
Kiba chuckled and squeezed her hand. "My kinda girl."
-;
Note: this will be a two-part story. I'll have the second part up soon. I apologize in advance for any contextual errors or incorrect lingo or what have you.