"License to Date"
Junior Davis
It had been a week since Junior's faithful attempts to ask Kris out. It had been one long and painful week. He was not used to getting rejections, let alone from the girl of his dreams. She was so ambitious and didn't let anything get in the way of what she wanted. Even if that something was her own boss (of which she argued with every day, risking her job for something she really wanted). Everything about her appealed to him more and more with each time that he saw her.
And getting a complete rejection from her was horrific. You know as well as I do that you enjoy using women for your own pleasure. The words that echoed through his mind as she unknowingly smashed his heart. Was it really that obvious what he enjoyed to do the most? But he hadn't realized until recently that what he did was wrong. What he did was completely immoral and unfair to any of the women that he may have hurt in the past. He never realized the severity of what he had been doing until a week ago when Kris said the words out loud.
Now he figured he would have been turned down at some point in his life. But did she really have to be that cruel? She seems like such a sweet and kind person and hearing those words flow from her mouth were absolutely mind boggling for Junior.
But he knew she felt it too. Was he really imaging the vibe that was so blatantly thrown out there that night at Kris' bunkhouse? He couldn't have imagined a feeling that strongly. It was impossible. He knew she felt the same feeling. There was no other explanation for the awkward silence that fell over them before Junior so graciously left her house.
You know as well as I do that you enjoy using women for your own pleasure. Yet the words still lingered in his mind. The only thing he could think of for the past week. The longest and most horrifying week of his life. There had to have been some reason that she said those things. A feeling that strongly couldn't be passed over like that. Maybe she was just afraid of getting hurt by him. It would fit his typical pattern with a woman. He would go out with them once and never call them or see them again. Maybe she was trying to avoid that heartache?
Whatever the reason for her rejection was, he was determined to figure it out. He was determined to change her mind. He was determined to get her to go out with him. He was determined to ease his own broken heart. He was just plain determined.
Kris Furillo
Kris slid off Chestnut and led the horse off the track. She had to cool him off and then get back to her other chores. On top of her jockey training she still had her ranch hand job to tend to. She was being stretched thin, yet she loved what she was doing more than anything. And she certainly wouldn't trade it for the world.
She even passed over the chance to date an amazing guy. Even though she thought he was a playboy – and she even told that to his face too – she talked to Matt quite often about Junior. Matt said that Junior was a nice guy who would never intentionally hurt someone. "He may have a dark side when it comes to women, but I can tell that he really likes you, Kris. And that doesn't happen very often," Matt had told her a few days ago.
Hearing those words made her feel even worse. She never wanted to hurt him intentionally. The words just came out without even thinking about them. She never wanted to tell him all those things, but she just said the first thing that came to mind, and those things were not very nice things.
She walked Chestnut to the stable in a fog. She hadn't even realized that Matt was chasing her and trying to get her attention. Finally Matt caught up to her and touched her shoulder. "Kris, didn't you hear me?" he questioned her in a concerned voice.
"Huh? Oh, sorry Matt. I just have a lot on my mind," she told him. Truthfully she just had one thing on her mind, but she didn't feel like boring Matt with it once again.
"Junior again?" he finally concluded. He already knew the answer to his question, but he asked it anyway. He had spent so much time with Kris lately – working and then hanging out together – that he already knew almost everything about her. He even knew what she was thinking most of the time. They were like brother and sister already. Kris looked off to her right and avoided his question. Instead, Matt changed the subject by saying, "Anyway, I've been thinking lately."
"That can't be good," she joked with him. She was trying to find something to distract her constant thoughts.
"You should get your jockey license. We could use you in our upcoming races since you're the best jockey we've had in a long time. And I know you are dying to ride in a real race." He knew this subject would cheer her up since racing always lightened her mood. Like he said, he knew Kris pretty well.
Immediately her face lit up with joy and she said, "I can do that? Really?"
"Well of course you can. I can even come with you to get it," Matt answered her.
"That would be great! Oh, I can't wait now," she bellowed. She was bursting with joy now.
"Now get that horse into his stall and finish with your other chores quickly. If you hurry, you could probably get it today," Matt suggested. As his last words spilled from his mouth Kris was running with Chestnut, getting him into his stall so she could finish her chores quickly. She was glad that she would be doing something that would ease her mind and not think about Junior.
Junior Davis
Junior was sitting at his kitchen table stirring his cereal absentmindedly. He hadn't even noticed that the bits of cereal had been sitting in the milk for such a long time that they were huge distorted puffballs now. He sunk his head farther down and kept his fist plastered to his temple as he stared into the bowl.
Dani walked into the kitchen and noticed her brother's slouched position. She walked over to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. She gazed into his bowl and was disgusted. "Do you plan on eating that mush?" she sarcastically asked him.
Junior lifted his head to look up at his sister. His face was full of pain and confusion. He then pushed his face back where it was and remained silent. Dani pulled out the chair next to Junior and sat down. She then demanded, "Tell me what's wrong? You've been walking around her like a zombie for the past week."
Junior decided he didn't want to fight his thoughts anymore and figured that Dani might be able to help him. "You know as well as I do that you enjoy using women for your own pleasure," he quoted Kris.
Dani stared blankly at Junior waiting for an explanation to what he said, but there wasn't one coming. Then she finally said, "What the hell are you talking about?"
"That's what Kris said when I asked her out. Well, one of the things she told me. She said I was a playboy and that we should just be friends. She turned me down, Dani!" he explained.
Finally she was caught up to speed and would be able to give him some advice. "Well, rejection was inevitable, don't you think?"
"Of course, but I never expected it to be that harsh!" he shouted. He was so frustrated with himself and with Kris.
"Yeah, but it was the truth," she pointed out. Junior glared at her with cold eyes and she decided to redirect her comment. "Maybe she just didn't like you?"
"No, I know she likes me, too. There was a moment and it was certainly there. The moment, it was so…it was so powerful," Junior began to say. He ran his fingers through his greasy hair and sighed heavily.
"Well, maybe she's scared of getting hurt by you then. Or maybe she is too busy at work to be involved with someone. I've talked to Matt and he says Kris is working nonstop lately. That could be it. But I would go with her being scared of you," Dani suggested.
Junior stared at her. "What can I do then? I can't just forget about her. I want to be with her so badly, it's crazy."
"Maybe you should talk to her," Dani said, stressing each word. Then she rose from her chair and walked off.
That was the only thing he could do. He couldn't just sit around his house day in and day out and think about her. He had to act, and he had to act fast. He needed to find some way to convince Kris that he was genuine and that he wasn't going to hurt her. He would do anything in his power to keep Kris safe and far away from any kind of pain. He cared about her that much. He knew he had to go over to Raintree. Only he had no idea what he was going to say to her. Maybe I'll wait a little bit and stop by after dinner. She can't be working that late, he thought to himself, finding an excuse to postpone more heartache.
Kris Furillo
Kris came running through the front door of the Ritter's house, jumping up and down and screaming for joy. "I can't believe this! I got it! I got it!"
Jean, Pablo, and Todd ran into the living room where Kris was jumping up and down and Matt was standing off to the side with a large smile plastered on his face. "What is going on, Kris?" Jean asked, concern laced throughout her words.
Kris ran over to Jean and hugged her tightly while still bouncing up and down. "I got it! I got it!" were her only words of explanation.
Suddenly Todd figured out what Kris was so excited about and said, "Wait, you really got it? Are you kidding me?"
"No, Matt and I just went. And I got it! Can you believe this?" she squealed as she ran to Todd and began dancing around the room with him. Then Todd and Kris eyed each other and were thinking the same thing. They ran to Matt and dragged him to the middle of the living room and made him dance with them. Soon enough, all three friends were dancing around the living room, leaving Jean and Pablo completely clueless.
"HEY!" Pablo screamed so he could get their attention. The three stopped in mid hop and stared at Pablo's sudden tone of voice. "What did you get? We are so worried over here."
"She got her jockey's license," Matt explained in a masculine voice.
"Really? That is great, Kris," Jean said excitedly as she walked over to Kris and hugged her tightly.
Kris beamed back and was overwhelmed. She couldn't even speak, she was so excited. She stayed at the Ritter's house to celebrate until she said she was tired and called it a night. She walked back to her house only to find Junior sitting on the swing at the edge of the porch. This time she wasn't as startled as the first time.
She opened her front door and Junior walked inside without any communicated words. They stood in the living room until Kris could no longer hide her joy and squealed, "I got my jockey's license today!"
"What…are you kidding me?" Kris simply smiled and shook her head. "That's amazing, Kris! It looks like Davis finally has some stiff competition," Junior said.
"Oh, I'm not that good. But I'll get there. Mark my word," she promised. She was fully intending to be the best jockey that she could, and she would stop at nothing to achieve that goal. After a moment of silence, she finally said, "So, why'd you stop by? Are you in the mood for some serious spring cleaning?"
Junior laughed along with Kris' joke before he said, "No, I actually wanted to talk to you."
Kris walked to the kitchen to get two bottles of water. She handed one to Junior without asking if he wanted one and said, "So shoot."
"Well, I wanted to talk to you about that night at Bobby's," Junior began. He saw the discomfort wash over her face and he instantly knew that the excitement over getting her license was pushed far off in the distance. But he couldn't stop himself anyway. "I know that you said you just wanted to be friends. But I don't know if I can do that. I mean, I know I'm not the only one who noticed that moment here in this house," he pointed out.
Kris' eyes wandered around the room as she said, "Junior, please…"
"No. I know that I may seem intimidating and seem like someone who would only break your heart, but I haven't felt this strongly about someone. Ever. And it kinda scares me too. But I really like you. And I'm not about to let this opportunity slip by us," Junior concluded. He waited patiently for her response.
Kris kept her eyes on the floor before she said, "You're right. I am scared. You don't seem like someone who is interested in a long-term relationship. And those are the only relationships I go into. But I'm not even ready for anything besides friendship. I just started this whole new life out here and I have a new career to focus on and there just isn't time for myself. I'm sorry, but it is what it is."
"I can assure you that I am in this for the long hall. You strike me as someone different, like someone I've never met before. And it thrills me to get to know you. I get chills just being near you. See…" he pointed out as he showed her his arm full of goosebumps. "I'm not going to let you push this away."
Kris finally allowed herself to meet his gaze and she saw nothing but honestly in his eyes. And wait, was their passion there too? "You really mean all that stuff, don't you?" she asked him, thinking she already knew the answer.
"I truly do," he said softly. He thought about moving in to kiss her, but avoided that act.
"I don't know what to say, Junior," she told him.
"Just say yes. That you will go out with me and we can give this a try. Just say yes," he repeated himself. He was being optimistic but he didn't care.
"I…I uh…I guess we could try things out," she hesitated, the words falling from her mouth like rocks. She stared at Junior and assumed he was going to kiss her, but she was wrong.
Instead, Junior simply smiled at her and said, "I'll call you then?"
Kris was shocked. She thought she knew his type so well, the kind of guy who would kiss a girl just because he knew he could. But she was quickly realizing that everything that she thought about Junior was wrong. She simply smiled back at him and remained silent.
Junior then turned and walked toward the door with Kris following at his heels. As he reached for the doorknob, he realized there was already a hand on the door. He followed the arm up to the body and realized it belonged to Kris. He stared at her with a confused expression. Kris then said, "I have to ask, I was fully expecting you to kiss me. Why didn't you?"
"What? Do you want one?" he asked with a smirk on his face.
"That's not it. I just, I thought I knew your type. And most guys kiss a girl right off the bat," she explained.
"Well, I guess you don't know me very well then," he replied.
Kris raised her eyebrows in anticipation and said, "You never answered my question."
"I guess I'm just waiting for the right moment. You only get one chance to kiss a girl like you for the first time, and I want it to be perfect," he admitted sweetly.
Kris found her face forming a smile and she quickly wiped it away. "What do you mean 'a girl like me'?"
Junior simply raised his eyebrows in return and lifted her hand off the doorknob. He brought her soft hand up to his lips and pecked at the back of her hand quickly before he let it fall limp by her side. He then smiled once more and left the house, leaving Kris mesmerized.
A/N: So there you have it. They're finally getting together. But what's gonna happen next? I wonder what it could be. I know I said that volleyball was ending on Oct. 22nd, but we made sates championship games so the season is now longer. I'll try to update quicker since I know I promised and all, but I can't guarantee anything. Go volleyball! Well, if you guys review quickly, I'm sure it'll be inspiration enough to put off my homework (since I am so easily distracted) and post another chapter. So review!!