A/N: I'm a sucker for Casey unknowingly flirting back. Sappy little chapter. I got side tracked. Actually, I just needed the sappy. Hope you enjoy the chapter and all its little, um, innuendos.
(11)
"Put your foot in the stirrup and just hoist yourself up over the horse. Try not to kick him going over. If you do, it's okay, just try not to," Alex coached, taking the reins and holding the horse steady with one hand, the stirrup in the other so it didn't move on Casey. They had spent the first ten minutes just walking the horse around the outdoor arena, him getting accustomed to Casey's scent, Casey calming down once she realized how big horses were when they were up close and not on television.
Casey's hand snaked up over the horn of the saddle just like Alex had shown her. "You sure? I mean, he's not going to be mad at me, is he?"
Alex smiled. "Come off it, Casey. Take a deep breath, put your foot in the stirrup and trust him like you trust me." Nodding, Casey did as she was told, her foot sliding along the horse's back as she tried to adjust herself in the saddle. "You got it," Alex encouraged, ducking under the horse's neck and grabbing Casey's wrist on the other side of the saddle.
"I can't do this, Alex," Casey said, her voice soft.
"You're doing it, Casey. You'll be fine. No one's perfect their first mount. Now, let me adjust the stirrups." Alex set about fixing the leather straps so they were the appropriate length for Casey's legs before tucking Casey's boot into the stirrups. "You did really well. Tsunami barely moved. He trusts you. All you have to do is show him a little faith back. Why don't you pet his neck and talk to him."
Tentatively, Casey stroked the horse's mane and neck. "What do I say to him?"
"Whatever you want."
Casey squared her shoulders a little and leaned forward, still stroking his neck. "Hey handsome boy. Thanks for letting me ride you. It's my first time, so I'm sorry if I mess up. Alex is an old hat at this, though. She'll make sure I don't do anything too stupid. Sorry I had such a difficult time getting in the saddle. I'll work on getting better so you don't have to put up with this for too long. Would you be okay if I came out and rode with Alex?"
The horse snorted, and Casey laughed. "Well, fine, then."
Alex smiled, watching Casey on Tsunami, his tail flicking and swatting at flies, catching Casey's jean clad leg every once in a while. "Wanna take a walk? Just hold on to the horn, and we'll take it slow." Alex took the reins again, clicking her tongue against her teeth, and the horse moved forward at a slow and easy pace. "Is it as scary as you thought?"
"No. It's strange being up so high, though. Definitely not like a car or a bike."
"You're such a kid sometimes, Casey."
"I'm killer when I argue, though."
"I'll give you that. You know what your talking about. How are you feeling otherwise?"
Casey sighed. "You mean Charlie?"
"Yea."
"I talked to him this morning. He apologized and said he would stop drinking if that would make me feel better. I said it would. So, he's going to take me out Wednesday night to make up for this weekend."
Alex pressed her hand to Casey's leg, squeezing her calf briefly. "Are you okay with that?"
"Yes. I think so. I mean, he sounded so upset that he had upset me. That's gotta count for something, right?"
"I'm sure it does," Alex said, rubbing Casey's leg. "I just want to make sure you're safe and happy."
"I am." Casey sighed, one hand sliding from the saddle horn to cover Alex's hand. "And, I'm grateful to you for being there for me."
"Hey, it's what I do. Grab the reins." Alex passed the leather strips up to Casey who took them, bunched in one hand, Alex manipulating her fingers around the leather. "Now, he'll go wherever you tell him to with how you pull on the reins, but also how you move your weight in the saddle. Click and lean forward if you want him to go faster, pull backwards on the reins and lean back a little to stop him. He's trained so that you shouldn't need to kick him to go faster, but I don't suggest going faster until you're more comfortable in the seat."
Casey nodded. Alex continued to walk along side Tsunami who went at her pace. "This isn't so horrible," Casey murmured. "I mean, I'm sure I'll never have the grace you do, but it's not so scary."
"Do you trust me?" Alex asked.
Casey nodded once more. "Of course I do."
"Hold on to the reins tight and take your feet out of the stirrups." Casey did as instructed, looking at Alex strangely. Alex took hold of the saddle's horn and clicked her tongue, moving to a jog with the horse. He followed her lead, and mid-step in her jog, Alex pulled herself up onto the saddle, her leg swinging easily over Tsunami's back. Settled behind Casey, Alex took control of the reins, pulling the horse to a slow walk, the red head cringing against her.
"We're gonna die, we're gonna die," Casey mewled, her knuckles white on Alex's wrists.
Laughing, Alex adjusted her grip on the reins and her position with Casey until the other woman felt comfortable in front of her. She still kept her free hand around Casey's waist as the pale woman calmed herself down and opened her eyes again. "We'll be just fine, hot shot. Hold on to the horn if you need something to hang on to."
With one hand, Casey clung to the horn, the other still clinging to Alex's wrist, reluctant to let go. Alex twisted and shimmied her arm until Casey's had was in hers. "It'll be easier on my circulation if you death grip my fingers as opposed to my whole hand."
"Oh my God, I'm so sorry," Casey murmured, her tone sheepish and embarrassed.
"I don't mind. Take a few deep breaths."
Inhaling and exhaling slowly, Casey cleared her head. "How did you learn to do that?"
"Breathing comes naturally." Casey gave Alex an exasperated look from the corner of her eye. "Oh, that. Practice," Alex answered. "Wanna go down the trail?"
"Are you sure that's alright?"
"Yep." Alex guided the horse over to the gate, stopping him along side it and leaning over to undo the dummy lock. The chain slid away with ease and Alex kicked the gate open, guiding Tsunami out into the open. Casey sat up straighter as they walked past the barn at an easy pace. "Relax, hot shot. I won't let you get hurt on this little outing."
"That's not what I'm worried about," Casey murmured.
"Then what?" Alex asked, guiding the horse past a large bunch of brush and down the head of the trail. Hoof prints were embedded in the earth around them from riders before who had gone out while the ground was still soggy from rain or snow.
Casey shook her head. "Nothing. Never mind."
"No, seriously, Casey, what is it? You get tense at the weirdest moments."
Shrugging, the red head leaned back into Alex, playing with the blond's fingers. "I guess I'm just not used to someone just taking care of me."
Alex smiled. "Well, get used to it. You only have a few more months to enjoy the attentions from two people before I go back to the city and you're stuck out here with your man." Alex emphasized the last two words with a playful accent as tiny head bob that was reminiscent of a Maury episode.
Casey laughed, twisting her fingers with Alex's. "I'm going to miss you, Alex. I know it'll be nine months before you leave, but I'm really going to miss you."
"Then, we'll just have to take advantage of those nine months, Casey. I'll still be a phone call away. I'll never be more than a phone call away from you." Alex released Casey's stomach and hand to stroke her face with the backs of her fingers. "I promise, I'll even answer the phone at two in the morning if that's when you need to talk or want someone to discuss classes and studying with."
"You know, since I moved out here, I've only called my parents once a week to say hi, and our conversations haven't lasted more than fifteen minutes?"
Alex rested her hand on Casey's collar bone, curled lightly against her skin. "Oh? Did you expect something different."
"If it weren't for you, Ali, I think I would have called a lot more. Or just not survived. I had no idea how much I was missing from just the basics. I don't think I would have survived without you."
"You would have survived just fine, hot shot. You're just the kind of person who will make it through no matter what. I have utter faith in you." Tugging at the reins, Alex turned Tsunami off the trail and through the tall grass towards some trees.
Casey half twisted and looked at the woman behind her. "Where are you going?"
"Someplace I think you'll enjoy. Watch for low hanging branches." Casey nodded and looked forward once again. "Can you swim?"
"Yea, but, Alex, I don't have a swim suit."
"Swim suit, bra and underwear – there isn't much difference. You wore a sports bra today anyway, and I know you don't buy thongs." Alex smirked.
Casey flushed so red even the back of her neck turned bright red, and Alex laughed. "They are not."
"They cover the same things," Alex protested. "Besides, we're both women, and it's a secluded area. Just don't strip naked, and you won't be breaking any laws."
"How do you survive with such an utter disregard for manners?"
Over that question, Alex tossed her head back and truly laughed. She laughed like she had not laughed in ages. She was laughing so hard that she had to stop Tsunami in order for them to not gall off or for her to not mislead him. "Manners are for ladies, Casey, and I'm definitely not one of those."
Casey frowned, clearly missing something. As to what it was, she could not even hazard to guess, though it made an interesting mental game to play in her head. In reality, though, she had no idea what Alex was talking about. As far as Casey was concerned, Alex was as much a lady as she could be a gentleman most days. When she had called Alex a gentleman the night before, she had not been merely playing around. Alexandra's chivalry rivaled that of her father and brothers some days. It had really amused her mother when Casey had voiced that thought aloud to her parents one week. Casey's father had merely cautioned Casey not to put too much trust in anyone, but then, he was like that. She could explain him even less than she could Alex. Which might be why she got on so well with Alex. Or, at least, part of the reason. She and her father were close, and in so many ways, Alex was like him. In so many ways, she was not, but she was in the ways that counted.
They rode through the trees, their world lit by a green light, the sun shimmering through the leaves not quite thick enough to darken the area, but still too think to not hinder the light somewhat. Casey noticed that the light around them seemed to grow more yellow until the color faded from the light all together leaving them in a smallish clearing cut by a stream, a small pond bulging from the waters, still in the middle and alive with movement around the grassy border.
"Oh, wow," Casey breathed. "How the heck did you find this place? You're full of wonder and surprise, aren't you?"
Alex laughed, halting Tsunami and dismounting with ease. "Give me your hand and dismount the opposite way you got up." Casey slid off the horse and into Alex's arms, the blond hugging her lightly before relinquishing her. "Good job. You think we'll be okay to stay a little while?"
"Um, yea. This place is gorgeous. And so peaceful."
Nodding, Alex removed the bridle from the horse. She looked around her for a low hanging branch as their noble steed began to munch on the green, well watered grasses. Alex took off his saddle with a practiced ease that seemed to come naturally to her as Casey stood and watched in silence, the same way she had watched her prepare Tsunami for their ride. The blanket was left slung across the horse's back, and Alex dug a lead rope from the saddle bag that had fallen to the ground. "He'll stick around while we swim, but just in case," Alex murmured, looping the lead rope around the horse's neck and clipping it loosely to one of the dangling stirrups.
"He could still take off, just drag the saddle behind him," Casey pointed out with a frown.
Alex smiled. "Sometimes that which binds us is merely our perception. He won't go farther than the rope will allow without resistance. You could even let the lead rope drag on the ground and he wouldn't wander that far."
Casey shook her head. "That seems silly."
"Yet, we're guilty of the same." Alex bent to untie her boots, kicking them off in the grass by the tree. Her shirt was quick to follow, and, sheepish, Casey turned and looked the opposite way. "Casey, we're girls. You don't have anything I don't."
Alex had a point, but Casey was still reluctant to turn around or to remove her own clothes. "Can't I just swim in what I"m wearing?" she murmured, biting her lip.
"If you want. It's just going to take longer for you to dry out. It's whatever makes you comfortable, hot shot." Alex pushed her jeans over her hips and stepped out of them leaving her in little more than a dark blue sports bra and dark blue boy shorts.
"No fair, you knew we would be swimming."
Alex laughed. "No. My undergarments just always match."
Casey sighed and pulled her own shirt off, wrapping her arms around her body. "I don't know. I feel awkward."
"You're not awkward. You're among friends." Alex tossed her socks on top of her shoes and grabbed for Casey's hand, tugging her to the water. "Summer's going to be over all too soon, Casey. Let's enjoy it while we can. Next summer, we'll both be too busy for this."
"Okay, okay. Fine. You win." Casey pushed her own pair off blue jeans off and stepped out of them, kicking her shoes and socks on top of them. Unlike Alex, she did not match with a pair of dark pink undies and a neon blue sports bra. She flushed once more so hard that her stomach and chest turned bright pink as Alex's eyes traveled up her body with appreciation. "There, I'm naked. This so does not feel the same as a swim suit."
"Trust me, it is." Alex pulled Casey down to the water at a run. At the last moment, she stopped short and grabbed Casey, scooping her up in her arms and tossing her out into the pond. Casey screamed, though the scream was cut short as her head disappeared under the water. Laughing, Alex ran and jumped in, diving through the water to Casey.
Casey surfaced before Alex did, and a pair of cold arms wrapped around her waist from beneath the water. She had just enough time to suck in a deep breath of air before she was dragged under again Using her hands, she felt her way along Alex's body and down her arms to her fingers so she could pry the woman from her and swim to the surface. "Alex," Casey whined as she inhaled once more.
Alex's eyes peeked up at Casey just over the surface of the water, her blond hair sticking to her face and head, that which was in the water floating serenely around her. It was just her eyes above the water, and Casey regarded her friend with suspicion for a few moments before Alex fully surface, treading water, grin across her features. "Yes?"
Casey tried to pout, but it did not work for very long. She eventually broke into a grin and just shook her head. "You surprise me."
"Good. I'm glad. I hope to never be so well known to those around me that I cannot surprise them." Alex smirked, splashing Casey lightly.
Yelping, Casey splashed Alex back, paddling at the surface of the water rapidly, her eyes squeezed shut, face turned away from the splashing such that she did not see that Alex had ducked back under the water. In fact, she did not notice until Alex's hands wrapped around her ankles, pulling her under. Beneath the cool water, she felt hands move up her legs and her arms, keeping her just beneath the surface, though not forcefully. If Casey wanted to move, she could have, and she knew as much. She knew Alex would not take play too far. She trusted her. And, so, with closed eyes, she let fingers, already cool from the touch of the water, explore her face delicately, trace her ears and her jaw line; touch her lips, nose, and closed lids; and brush over her forehead as though the woman behind the hands were blind and this were how she would 'see' Casey.
In turn, though, Casey reached out until she found Alex's hips, her hands running over her flat, firm expanse of her stomach, her middle finger tracing the blond's navel. Casey's hands found Alex's arms, and she traced her way up to Alex's neck and chin. Bubbles tickled at her fingers as Alex exhaled slowly when Casey touched her lips. The red head danced her fingers over Alex's cheeks, past her ears, and through her hair, feeling the soft touch against her fingertips. Her heart pounded in her chest not only from the lack of oxygen making it work harder, faster, but from the sensation that this moment between them was a private one, one that would not be discussed. The secrecy of being allowed to touch someone else without the benefit of sight, to learn Alex's features in so intimate a manner was somewhat thrilling. And, she felt so very safe there. It brought her back to her childhood in a way: the most similar memory Casey held was being held by her mother as she was drifting off to sleep, tracing her mother's lips with her fingers. In that way, it was safe. In so many more ways, it was something else entirely.
Finally, too out of air to stay under, Casey kicked to the surface, Alex close behind her. Casey gasped in a gulp of fresh air, her lungs almost burning in appreciation, and when she had settled enough to talk, she looked to Alex. The woman before her was treading water just as she was, though her blond hair was stuck around her face. Casey couldn't help but smile. "Friends don't do that," Casey whispered, realizing that talking would simply be too loud. In a way, it seemed to be a question, but it was, more than anything, a statement.
Alex smiled like she had just swallowed a secret, pressing her index finger to her lips in a hush motion. Sucking her lower lip into her mouth, Casey nodded. "Do you trust me?" Alex asked. Again, Casey nodded. "Okay. I won't hurt you, Casey."
"I know," Casey murmured. "That just felt a lot more intimate than something normally done between friends, but I have to take your lead on that."
Alex shook her head. "You're right, Casey, but don't be offended."
"I'm not." Casey ducked under the water again, pushing her hair back so that when she came up again, it did not stick to her face. When she came up, Alex was on her back, kicking the water lightly, drifting towards the nearby stream. Curious, Casey followed, standing when she could touch the ground beneath the water, her feet sliding on the rock and sand. Alex stood as well, walking straight through the delta and into the stream itself, reaching behind her to take Casey's hand.
Half naked and dripping wet, both women wandered up stream, holding each other's hands so as not to slip and fall, which Casey seemed in greater danger of doing than Alex. "Where are we going?" Casey asked.
"I don't know. Did I need a plan?" Alex asked, turning to face Casey only briefly before going on ahead to where the stream disappeared into the woods, plowing a path between two sturdy looking, well fed trees.
Casey smiled and shook her head. "No. Not you."
"Okay, then. Let's just keep going for a few minutes and see if this goes anywhere interesting."
"You mean you've never done this."
Alex shook her head. "I've followed the stream downstream, but never up. It might be worthwhile, though, to try something new."
Shrugging, Casey tightened her grip on Alex's hand. "Not too far, I'm starting to get cold."
"I can tell," Alex mused, glancing back at Casey again with a canary eating grin, her eyes flicking only briefly to Casey's sports bra clad chest.
Casey moaned and covered her chest with her free arm. "Al-Lex," she whined, flushing the deepest crimson possible.
Alex shook her head. "You can't be that modest, Casey. You went completely without a bra on New Years."
"That was different," Casey argued. "The halter top sort of had a built in bra." The look on Alex's face was priceless. "What? Oh, God, you could see them through that, too?" It should not have been possible, but Casey went even darker red, the blush creeping down her neck and across her chest.
Alex snickered. "Only from the right angle." At the horrified look on Casey's face, Alex walked back over to her friend and wrapped her in a hug. "Oh, Casey. It's okay. No one was complaining. You looked fine."
Wiggling out of Alex's arms, Casey turned back around. "I'm going back to where there's sun and warmth and I'm not cold," she mumbled. Alex just laughed, following along, splashing the water with her feet each time she moved. "It's embarrassing, Alex. I don't how you don't care."
"It's not embarrassing, Casey. It's your body reacting to a change in temperature. I don't see what the big deal is."
Casey shook her head. "Try being raised in the Novak house hold. My older sister and I are such disappointments to ladies everywhere according to my mother. She's praying Kennedy doesn't catch whatever fever Steph and I have."
Alex twirled in the water, dancing around Casey. "Your mom is very traditional, isn't she?"
"Dear Lord, yes. She can't figure out why I want a career first and only consider it an option to get married and have tons of children. It's like I'm dishonoring the population or something by not having had at least two children already."
"Why so many children?"
Casey shrugged. "I imagine children, plural, are the consequence of not ever using protection during-" Casey cut herself short, flushing deep. "Alex."
"Say it," Alex goaded. "Say the 's' word."
For a moment, Casey looked like she wanted to cry. Instead, she just hung her head and very quietly whispered, "Sex."
"How are you going to prosecute, Casey? I mean, what if you get a sexual assault case? What are you going to ask the defendant? Did you put your thingy in her hoo-ha and forcibly make love to her?"
"No," Casey flushed, wrapping her arms around herself. "I'm just going to pray to God I never have to prosecute a rapist."
Alex shook her head, laughing. "Repeat after me, hot shot. Penis, vagina, dildo, oral, sex, fuck."
"No," Casey mumbled. "You make me feel like I'm ten years old."
"That's my job as best friend. I'm supposed to burst your little bubble, Casey. You cannot possibly go on living with such depravity in your life."
"I'm depraved because I don't go around asking people to fuck me?" Casey asked. Then, surprised, she covered her mouth with her hands.
"I didn't say you have to ask them to fuck you," Alex said, snickering as she spoke. "Just start getting accustomed to the words. They are a part of every day language."
"For whom?"
"Okay, most people don't go around talking about penises, but fuck is a commonly used word."
Casey curled into a ball, hugging herself around the legs. "I don't think I can do that," she mumbled. "It's not how I think, Alex."
"How do you want to think?" the blond countered.
From under semi-dried hair, with cheeks burned so bright red it was almost funny, Casey looked up at Alex, what was left of her innocence shining brightly through, the light in the trees catching her eyes just right. For a moment, she looked so childlike, but so very far from it all at the same time. It was a look that said everything and nothing, that was clean and clear and easy to read, but in a language Alex could not decipher. "I'd like to know what I'm thinking."
"If you don't know what it is," Alex observed, "It's probably not a thought."
"Well, then, what is it?"
"A feeling."
