Sophie's Choice
Chapter Three "First Date"
A/N: Thank you to Abbie for your review on the last chapter! :)
Disclaimer: I only own the characters I made up!
May 25th Sophie POV
I looked at myself in the mirror for the third time since I had gotten dressed. I was wearing a pair of light blue jeans, a dark blue t-shirt that had the stores logo on it and my boots. I had my hair up in a short ponytail and I didn't have any makeup on. I know it was a date but we were going riding. No need for makeup.
I looked at the door and thought about the letter that had been left there Monday night. It was just a letter from the landlord stating that he needed to talk to me. I wondered what that was about. I always paid rent and my bills on time, the house was in wonderful shape. I had tried calling him but no answer, I left a voice mail but he still hadn't called me back.
I smiled as I saw a dark Chevy truck pull up to the house. It was Kit's truck, I had saw it enough this week to recognize it. He had come to my work almost every night that I was working for at least a little bit to make sure Steve wasn't harassing me. Steve had only shown up two more times. One time I was there, the other I wasn't. When he came the time I was working, I went to the office and let Randy know I wasn't coming out unless it was necessary until Steve left, he understood. Kit knocked on the door and I deactivated the alarm to open the door.
"You look great." Kit said to me once I had opened the door. I smiled at him.
"Thank you but I really don't. I don't even have any make up on." I jokingly whispered the last part.
"You don't need the makeup." Kit shrugged. "You're beautiful with or without it."
"There's that cowboy charm." I laughed as I entered the alarm code to protect the house. I made sure both locks were locked and turned to Kit who was watching me intently.
"Do you have all that because of him?" Kit asked quietly. I knew he was talking about Steve.
I looked at him and sighed. "Yeah. I do. Many events happened about three years ago with him that you can't even begin to imagine."
"Well I hope one day you'll feel comfortable to share them with me." Kit said as he opened the truck door for me to get in. His truck was spotless and clean except for a mountain dew bottle in the cup holder and papers about the purchase of a horse on his dash.
"So where are we going riding?" I asked as he backed the truck up and got onto the highway. We were heading towards Darton but I knew there were many ranches and houses between where I lived and Darton.
"We're going to start at my parent's place, where I keep my few horses, and ride on a trail behind their ranch and the neighboring ranches." I was a bit nervous about all this because I hadn't be on anything besides a pony and that was when I was like ten. "Now I see the look on your face, all worried. I'm going to put you on a nice calm horse that I'd put a child on, I trust that horse that much. I won't let you get hurt on our first date."
I smiled. "I know you wouldn't put me on a crazy horse or anything. I'm just a little nervous."
"Well I think you're going to have the time of your life." Kit said, turning right into a ranch. I saw a sign that read "Three Ponies Ranch". I didn't realize we lived so close to each other. There was a beautiful stone house along with two stone barns, a few pastures, an arena and a round pen.
"Your family has a beautiful ranch." I was taking in everything. I had never been on a ranch before. Kit opened my door for me and I was greeted immediately by a German shepherd.
"This is Gal, she's the family dog." I crouched down to give Gal some attention. "You are such a beautiful girl, yes you are." I crooned to her as I rubbed her belly. She got up and gave me some doggy kisses, I couldn't help but smile. Dogs were one of the best animals in the world. It just made me miss Blue even more.
"You like dogs I assume?" Kit asked as I followed him to a pasture that held maybe fifteen horses.
"I love them. I had an Australian Shepherd named Blue, he died at the age of twenty last year." I replied quietly. Kit threw me a sympathetic look.
"I'm sorry to hear that." I just nodded. As we walked into the field, I noticed a beautiful horse right away.
"That horse right there, the golden one, she's beautiful." As if she heard me talking about her she walked our way. Kit grabbed her halter before she could get to me, stopping her.
"This is Butterscotch, well that's her barn name, I just bought her a few weeks ago and man is she making me work." I smiled at him as he rubbed her neck. "She doesn't seem to like me at all. If she lets me ride her, she's bucking or acting up, not listening or even paying attention to the cows. She's beautiful but I can't have her as a lawn ornament. A horse on a ranch has to have a job."
"Have you had anyone else ride her?" I asked him as he let her go so she could walk towards me. She put her head down to my level and I ran my hands over her silky coat.
"Not yet. The girl I bought her from rode her just fine the few times I went to see her, I thought I was getting a hell of a bargain...well I at least got her for a reduced price." Kit sighed, looking at me and the horse.
"Maybe she doesn't like men." I suggested. "You said it was a girl riding her and there were no problems so maybe she's meant to be a girl or woman's horse."
Kit looked like he was thinking. "You could be right. I didn't think about it too much, just thought maybe something was bothering her or she wasn't settling in good. I got Jake to look at her, he's really great with horses, and he says maybe she just needs more time to settle."
"Well one of my customers is a horse owner and he's always telling me about the bond between a horse and rider. Maybe she needs that bond between you two." Butterscotch walked off to join the other horses. "I think you should give her some more time."
"Oh I will. She's beautiful and I know she can be a good horse, I just have to figure out how to get her there." Kit led me to the barn where two horses were waiting in stalls. One was a dark brown color, the other was a white and gray horse. "This is my horse, Kobe." Kit pointed out the white and gray horse. "He's a paint horse, just over ten years old. I bought him a year or so ago and I've never regretted it."
Kit pointed at the other horse. "This is Chocolate Chip, also known as Chip, he's my brother Quinn's horse. Great horse, a Quarter horse, one of the best. Quinn was more than willing to let you ride Chip. Chip here takes all kinds of riders and is a sweet horse." I held my hand out to Chip and he sniffed it, after letting him inspect my hand, I ran my hand over his neck.
"They're both beautiful." I lived in horse country and I didn't even own one or know how to ride. What was wrong with me? These were beautiful animals. Kit helped me tack up Chip and I tried not to let him notice my reaction when his hand would brush mine or his body would skim the back of mine while we tried to get ready to ride.
Kit held Chip as I swung up in the saddle like he instructed me to. I looked down at the ground and it felt so high up. "He's pretty tall." I said as I watched Kit get up on Kobe.
"Yeah, him and Witch, Jake's horse, are twins. They're both about sixteen hands, which is what they measure horses in. Four inches is one hand so Chip is about five feet tall at right behind his shoulders, at the end of his mane." Wow, five feet tall at his back. I was about five eight.
"I'm glad we caught you before you left!" I heard Maxine's voice and we turned to her. A younger man who looked similar to Kit was with her. "I just wanted to say that maybe you would want to come in and say hello after your ride." Maxine looked stuck between happy and overly excited.
"We'll see how it goes Ma." He called his mother Ma? I was melting. "I'm going to take it slow with Sophie because she isn't a rider."
"Of course! You should both have fun and take it slow. Riding a horse is one of the greatest things in the world Honey." Maxine said to me. I smiled.
"It seems so. Chip seems like a good horse." The young man beamed at my words.
"That would be my horse." He extended his hand. "I'm Quinn."
"Hi Quinn, I'm Sophie." I shook his hand. "Chip is absolutely beautiful and he seems to be putting up with the beginner here."
Quinn smiled. "Chip will make sure you have a good ride." We said goodbye to them both and I followed behind Kit until we got onto the trail where we rode side by side.
"Your Mom is such a nice woman." I told Kit as we rode along. I tried to focus on doing what Kit told me to. Sit back relaxed, hold the reins with your right hand, rest your left hand, keep your legs quiet—which according to him meant don't move them so I don't give Chip any cues without knowing.
"She's pretty great." Kit agreed. "She has been ecstatic over our date, she was so worried I was coming on too strong to you."
"Well I did think you were a little bold the day you asked me out." I admitted. "But like you said, life is short. You just have to go for it sometimes, I admire that."
Kit grinned at me. "I'm glad you do. I guess it's just from me being on the rodeo circuit and having to deal with the public so much."
"Yes, I read all about your rodeo career." I had Googled him the other night and was met with many results. Brad had been less than thrilled when I told him about my date and had searched up Kit. Luckily he didn't have a bad background apart from a few fights.
"Oh did you now?"
"Well I kind of went onto Google and searched you." I laughed, half embarrassed. "I wanted to make sure you were an okay guy."
"And you trusted Google to do this task?" Kit chuckled. I shrugged.
"There was that and Brad, my brother, searched you down at the station. Even though I'm almost twenty three years old he still worries about me dating." I rolled my eyes, Kit just kept his smile up.
"He's your brother. He's just looking out for you, trust me if I had a sister—especially if she was as pretty as you are—well I'd be worrying and doing background checks too." I shook my head, feeling shy. I was feeling shy! I never felt shy around guys, not since I started dating years ago.
"Yeah well sometimes he can be overprotective." Of course I couldn't really blame him too much after Steve but still...
"That's how we are when we care about someone." Kit said to me as we went around a bend. He pulled up Kobe and I did the same with Chip. "Look Sophie, I know something crazy happened between you and Steve and I don't think he's all there in the mind..but I just want you to know I'm not some crazy guy. If we break up or don't work out I'm not gonna harass you or bother you, be upset? Sure. You seem like someone I could get along good with and you're not one of those terribly girly girls. I like that. But if we don't work out, then that's that. Some things just happen that way."
"Thanks Kit." I gave him a half smile. "I think you seem like someone I could get along good with too. I only have one request."
"What's that?" Kit was serious.
"I've been wondering how it would be like if you kissed me." Kit's eyebrows rose up but his mouth turned into a smile.
"Well I think I can help with that request." Kit moved Kobe closer to Chip and leaned over to press his lips to mine. Our lips moved together and I felt his hand grip my ponytail. Kit knew what he was doing for sure, I just wasn't sure if that bugged me or was a good thing.
I guess Chip decided that was enough because the next thing I knew, he sidestepped and I fell out of the saddle to meet the ground. I groaned as I felt my butt hit the ground.
"Aw hell!" Kit dismounted from Kobe. "Are you okay? I cannot believe Chip." I laughed at him.
"I'm fine." I looked up at him. "I guess Chip was saying it's bad to kiss on the first date."
Kit chuckled as he helped me up and boosted me into Chip's saddle. "Maybe but I don't think I'm going to take dating advice from a horse." We decided to head on back to Three Ponies.
…...
"I still cannot believe he dumped you!" Kit said with a groan as we un-tacked the horses. I giggled at him.
"Kit, it's fine. Really. Stop worrying about it. I took a fall but I got right back up. No injuries, I'm fine." I told him. Just then, Quinn walked in followed by who I assumed were more of Kit's brothers.
"What's this I hear about someone getting dumped?" Quinn asked with a smile as I brushed down Chip like Kit had shown me.
"It really wasn't anyone getting dumped." I said to Quinn. "Chip sidestepped and I was expecting it so I fell off."
"I'm sorry about that, are you okay?" Quinn looked me up and down. Probably looking for an injury.
"I'm perfectly fine as I keep telling Kit. I take worse hits at the gym when I'm working out." I rolled my eyes.
"You fight?" Quinn's eyes lit up.
"I do a little boxing, a little MMA at the gym. It helps me keep in shape." I answered. "Do you?"
"Every once in awhile but it's hard to find a partner to spar with." Quinn frowned.
"Well I'm trying to find someone to spar with too. Why don't we go to the gym together sometime? It could be fun." I suggested.
"That'd be great!" Quinn smiled at me. "I've been waiting to have a partner at the gym."
"Kit has my number," I nodded towards Kit. "Just have him text me or give you my number whenever you want to spar."
So the conversation shifted from horses to fighting as I walked up to the house with Kit and his brothers. He had introduced Bryan and Nate.
"When did you start fighting?" Nate asked as he held open the door for me.
"A couple of years ago, maybe three. I had some problems that needed working out and a friend of mine suggested going to the gym to work out. It turned out to be great for me. My brother hates that I do it but I find it good for me." Kit's eyes met mine and I knew he had made the connection between when I started fighting and when I had said that things had happened with Steve.
I ended up meeting Kit's father, Luke, who was a quiet but nice man. Of course I already knew his mother and I had met his brother's. He told me he had another named Adam that was working up in Reno right now and another one named Seth that lived up in Elko, working as a Paralegal.
We stayed to have some of his mother's pie while she asked me questions about myself. Like where did I attend college(Uni. Of Nevada-Reno), did I have any siblings(Yes, Brad), did I live on my own(yes), did I like my job(love it). She kept talking to me until Kit told her that he had more plans for me.
That's how we ended up at his house. "I live in the house while my friend is overseas. He's working over there temporarily and I'm staying here til he gets back." It was a beautiful one story gray house with a small covered porch. He opened the door and we walked into a living room that was obviously a bachelor's. The furniture was all leather and had a glass coffee table, big screen TV and a lazy boy recliner.
"This is nice." I said as he motioned for me to follow him. We walked into a kitchen that was a muddy brown and had stainless steel appliances, the table was glass and there was a wine rack. "Your friend has nice furniture. You can definitely tell he's a single male."
Kit chuckled. "I guess it's kind of obvious. Couldn't have that furniture or glass tables with kids."
"Yeah glass and kids don't mix." I was thinking of Harlan and the curious child he was. Kit pulled out a seat for me and I sat down.
"I made some food earlier, I hope you like lasagna." Kit turned on the oven.
"Lasagna is good."
"Good. In about ten minutes we should be having some. It just has to heat up." Kit pointed out the wine rack. "Would you like a glass?"
"Sure." I didn't think Kit was a wine guy. My suspicions were correct as he pulled a bottle of beer out of the fridge after pouring my wine.
"My friend says this is his best wine and he wanted you to try it." I tasted it and it was good.
"Well you'll have to tell him I said it was great. It's very sweet."
"I will. I try to tell him if I have people over out of respect for him although I try not to bring too many people besides family over." Ah...was this a hint of his wilder ways?
"By other people, do you mean girls?" I asked as Kit took a swig of his beer.
"Well kind of." Kit shrugged. "I haven't been too much on the dating scene though lately."
"I imagine you have a lot of—what is it they call it?-oh yes, buckle bunnies." Kit laughed loudly as I spoke.
"I've had my fair share of girls who just liked me for the belt buckles, the excitement of being with a rodeo cowboy, I'll admit it. But I'm twenty five now, I'm trying to steer away from those girls and steer towards girls who want to settle down, have a family. Someone who is wife material." Our eyes met. Was that his way of telling me he wasn't interested in casual, only serious relationships?
"Having any luck?" I took another drink of my wine. Kit's eyes stayed on mine.
"Maybe. There's this girl and she seems really nice..I just don't want to scare her away because it seems she's had an eventful past...but she might be the girl I'm looking for." I broke our locked stare and looked around the kitchen.
"Well that's good." I tried to sound nonchalant. "I don't think you're scaring her away by telling her you're interested in more than just a casual hookup." Not that she wouldn't mind taking a roll in the hay with you...I thought to myself. You could feel the tension in the air.
Ding! The oven timer went off, cutting off any more of our conversation. Kit laid the lasagna on the table and brought out a bowl of salad. Not bad for a man prepared meal. As we ate we switched to lighter, get to know you topics. I asked him why he stopped competing.
"Well I rode a bronc who crushed my wrist and it just makes it impossible to go back." Kit said and I could tell it disappointed him a little. "So as you know, I work here with Dad helping him out and I'm one of his ranch hands. It's not too bad. I think it'll be better when I have my own place. There's a piece of land that neighbors his that I'm thinking about buying. We would merge together all the land."
"What's holding you back?" I was truly curious. Surely he had some money saved from his time in the rodeo?
"For one, I have a terrible credit score. Bills and rodeo don't mix. I have medical bills I'm still paying off and that hurts my credit. Plus I'm still saving a bit." Kit took another bite of his food. "What about you? Is that your house that you live in?"
"No I'm currently renting." I sighed. "I've thought about buying, I have the credit and a few thousand dollars saved up for a down payment, I just haven't found anything that I like. I don't want to live in town where there's a bunch of neighbors surrounding me but I don't have the need for a three hundred acre plot of land either."
"There's some nice pieces of land around here, out near my parent's place. Smaller lots, but I mean you're still getting twenty five to fifty acres out here." Kit said. "There's also some already built houses out towards where you live and in between Three Ponies and your house."
I took another drink of wine. I was on my second glass now. "Yeah but I think it'd be exciting to build my own house. I get everything I want in there, all the colors, the rooms the way I want them.." I trailed off. "I have this dream house in my mind and since I haven't saw one like it yet, I guess I want to build it."
Kit smiled at me and took my hand. "Why don't you tell me about it?"
So I told him about my dream house which included a big covered porch that you could sit on that had a porch swing and rocking chairs, a big family room where everyone could gather with a fireplace and a lot of windows, a good sized kitchen that had counter space that wrapped around the kitchen with a breakfast bar where the kids could eat in the mornings with a table behind that—one or two windows that had a view of the land to look at, then you had an office where you could work in. The upstairs would hold four bedrooms all decently sized, with the master bedroom having it's own bathroom with a big tub and french doors that led out to a small balcony so I could see the morning sun. There would also be a playroom for the kids downstairs.
"You've got quite the dream house I must say." Kit finished his first beer. I had downed my second glass of wine.
"I know." I sighed. "I'd never be able to afford a home like that whether I built it or just bought it."
"You never know what will come down the road." Kit was trying to be positive.
"Well I know what my paycheck is like and it's not enough for a house like that."
"I'm assuming when you build this house that you'll be with someone, am I correct?"
"I sure hope to be." I told him.
"Then it wouldn't be just your income. It could be possible one day."
"Okay Mr. Optimistic, I'll try to believe." My head was feeling a bit woozy now, I should probably stop drinking. "Tell me about your dreams."
"Sadly, I don't have any thoughts of a house like that. My house would just be generic, I'd assume my wife would love to decorate it and I would love anything she did." I smiled at his words. "I just know that I want at least three kids if not more. I don't know that I want as many as Mom and Dad but I love kids, they're one of the best blessings you could have. I want to run a ranch like Dad but I think I'd like to look more into breeding competition horses. Everything from Western Pleasure horses to Roping horses. My wife would probably stay at home with the kids unless she didn't want to but I would think she could be my business partner like my parents."
"My mom used to stay home when we were younger but then she went back to teaching after awhile. But she helps Dad with the day to day stuff too when she gets home. I'd like to have a partnership like that."
We sat and talked, Kit drinking some more beers, I drank a little bit of wine. We kept talking until we realized it was ten. "Oh I didn't realize it was so late." I stood up quickly and dizziness hit me like a train. I sat back down and Kit chuckled.
"I think we've both had a little too much to drink." I think he was right. He couldn't drive me home in the condition he was in and I couldn't drive even if I had my car, I was buzzed right now. "There's two other bedrooms here if you feel comfortable staying, otherwise you could call someone." Brad was on duty tonight he couldn't come pick me up and it was too late to ask Elise, Harlan would have been asleep for a long time now.
"There's no one to really call." I laughed lightly. "Brad is working and my best friend Elise, she has her son who has probably been sleeping for hours now."
"Guest bedroom it is then." Kit smiled at me. I briefly wondered if this was all part of some plan... "I see that look, I know what you're thinking. I did not plan this. I'm not trying to sleep with you."
I grinned at him. "That's good because I sure as hell am not sleeping with you on the first date." Kit walked me to the guest bedroom and watched me for a moment as I got settled in.
"So what about the second date, will you sleep with me then?" My head jerked up as he said the words. I saw the grin on his face, knew he was joking.
"I cannot believe you just said that!" I said loudly. Kit laughed and didn't stop for a few minutes, I giggled a bit. "The answer is no, I'm not sleeping with you on the second date either." Kit wished me a good night and then shut the door.
It had been a great night.
…...
A/N: Hey readers! It's been a little over a month since I updated last so I hope the new chapter makes you happy! I've been on a roll with my Phantom Stallion stories and I'm going to try to keep updating but I really need to update a few other stories too. Like Stronger Than I'll Ever Be and Rescuing Me. I have been updating every few days or every day(Usually my PS stories)and I'm going to try to keep it up. Anyways, thank you for reading and I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter, the date, Sophie and Kit, etc. So you know what to do, review! :)
I just want to add that as this story moves along, there will be more mature scenes, Kit and Sophie are both older consenting adults and at some point, there will be lemons. But I decided I'm going to create another "story" like I did for Belle and Quinn in Ripped Pictures(called Belle and Quinn: The Cabin)except all my Phantom Stallion lemons(if I have them) will be in one "story" and Twilight ones will be in another so all of them are in the same place and I don't have to keep creating new "stories" just for lemons. I totally understand some people on here are younger and/or don't want to read those kind of chapters so I will separate them from the stories so those who wouldn't mind reading them, can. Thank you for reading this note!
Thanks, QuinnandSeth'sgirl15.
ADDED: Would anyone be interested in a Phantom Stallion: Wild Horse Island Fanfic? I have a poll on my profile so go vote if you've read the series! Darby would not be main character but it would be OC/WHI character like my other stories. Everyone at 'Iolani Ranch would be very much involved!