Suze's POV
The next morning I woke to the sound of a rooster crowing. Ugh. I cursed the O'Neils for actually keeping a rooster at home. I mean, come on! It's a freakin' boardinghouse for goodness sake!
I tossed and turned in bed for some time. It was really very different from my comfortable duvet back home. I mean home in the 21st century. I lay there and thought about last night's events. Jesse had requested Mrs. O'Neil for two extra rooms for two of his "visitors". I had asked him to give me my own room. Jesse had taken the room across the hall (now Dopey's room) and Paul had taken the one next to Jesse's (now Doc's room). I idly sat there, thinking, for some time.
When I thought the sun had risen high enough, I got out and instinctively reached for the bathroom doorknob. My hand was met by plain wood. Oh. My. God. I had completely forgotten about the chamber pot business. Ewww! And how about taking a bath? Oh yeah. People in this time did not take a bath everyday. They had a special bath day in which they went to the barber or something to take a bath. How stupid of me to forget. Silly Suze. DAMN!!
Half an hour later I padded down the stairs and cautiously put my head into the kitchen. I was met by complete chaos. Two men had each other in headlock and were rolling about on the floor. Chairs had been overturned and dishes were splayed all over the room. I stared at them in horror. Other people were just flicking a glance at them and walking away casually like this was something that happened all the time. So, this is what one of those infamous bandit fights of the Wild West looks like, I thought.
Just then, Jesse entered the room. "Nombre de Dios…" He quickly pried both men off each other. He spoke some words to them in low tones. One man left with a disgusted look on his face. After a few moments the other man left too.
Jesse turned to me with a smile. "I see you are out of bed at last, Susannah. Have you had breakfast yet?" "Umm…no" I answered. "Well, Mrs. O'Neil is out so I will prepare you something" Jesse said. He invited me over and pulled out a chair for me to sit on. Forever the gentleman is Jesse.
As I was looking around and taking in the plain décor, Paul came in. He was dressed in the same T-shirt and jeans from yesterday and his hair was dry. Ha. So he hadn't found a way to take a bath either. "Morning, Suze. Morning, Rico" he said as he pulled out a chair and sat on it. Without waiting for an answer he continued, "What time do we leave?" I looked at Jesse expectantly. He looked particularly delectable today morning. I don't know why. He was wearing the same tight pants and billowy shirt from the day before. Even though he had been sweating like a pig yesterday, he didn't stink. Jesse set two plates of bread and cheese in front of Paul and I. "Finish your breakfast. I will go and see if I can get Mr. O'Neil to lend us two horses" he said and left the room.
After we had finished eating, Paul and I walked out into the sunshine. It was a warm August day. (A/N I don't know if it was really August or not) Two little boys were playing around in the place where my driveway once stood. Or, should I say, will stand. They gave me very weird looks and ran away when we approached them. Paul chuckled. "What?" I asked him rudely. "Your outfit sure doesn't look like what a… civil young lady in 1850 would wear" he replied, trying not to laugh out loud. I narrowed my eyes at him. "Are you implying that I am not civil? Any way, what I am wearing is much more comfortable and fashionable then their hoopskirts which make them look like they just ate a ton of super-sized cheeseburgers" I said and stalked off huffily.
I found Jesse near a tree where many of the horses had been tied up. He looked up and smiled when I approached him. That warm smile melted my heart into a pool of mush and brought tears to my eyes. That's because I suddenly realized that after a short while, I would have to leave him. That I couldn't go through life with my love by my side. Hastily I blinked away my tears as he said "I managed to persuade Mr. O'Neil to provide us with two horses. Are you ready to go now, Susannah?" "Umm…yeah. I mean, no. It's just that I've never umm… riddenahorsebefore" I squeaked. Jesse's brow furrowed in confusion. I repeated what I said slowly. Jesse laughed. His eyes lit up and his wide sensuous mouth split apart merrily. He was a joy to watch. At least for me. "That's not a problem, Susannah. I will be by your side to make sure your horse doesn't run off with you" he said, his eyes twinkling. I grinned. "Alright then. Let's do this thing" I said.
Jesse brought over a chestnut horse whose fur was the exact same shade as my hair over to me. "Her name is Swift" he said handing the reins over to me. I tried to mount her but I couldn't. I mean my body is really very fit and agile from the amount of ghost-busting I have done but mounting this animal was…scary. There I said it. Suze Simon finds a horse scary. No wonder everyone back in Brooklyn called me a freak.
After a couple of tries, I took a deep breath and looked up at the saddle determinedly. I was still insistent that Jesse did not help me up. He found that very amusing. I put my left foot on the foot thingy they have there and swung myself up and…tumbled down the other side. But I didn't hit the ground. Know why? That would be because a certain Jesse de Silva caught me. As he caught hold of my waist, our faces came dangerously close and our lips brushed together. A spark of pleasure ran down my spine. My lips burned from where his lips had brushed them. For a beat, we sat like that, looking at each other, wide-eyed. Then I was sitting on the ground and Jesse was standing up and brushing himself off. Then he held out a hand for me to take. I took it and he hauled me up. "Er…" he began awkwardly. "I am sorry, Susannah. I didn't mean to dishonor you in such a vulgar way." "Hey, Jesse. It's alright. Umm… shall we go now?" I said.
Paul came into view right after Jesse disappeared to fetch Paul's and his horse. "You know how to ride a horse?" I asked him. "Yeah, I believe I do. How 'bout you? Want me to teach you?" he said with a smirk. "No thanks. Jesse's there for me. How'd you learn how to ride horses?" "Several vacations spent at my great-aunt's stable" he replied nonchalantly.
Jesse appeared, leading two horses. He gave Paul a flaxen-haired palomino and then mounted his own black horse. And we started on our journey to the De Silva ranch.
A/N There is the second chapter! Sorry, I know its just continuing chapter with not much happening in it but I have been kinda busy. I promise stuff will begin to happen during the next chapter! Please review! And thanks to those who did review!