Avalanche

Tal sighs deeply, his thumb caressing Ryan's hand. Closing his eyes for a moment, he musters up the energy to talk some more. He was fighting the meds that were making him drowsy and he knew it. 

"Ryan..." He'd shake his head if he could. Opening his eyes again, he looks at her softly. "If anybody's to blame, it's me... for going to you in...in the first place." 

Pausing again, he breathes through a wave of pain. "You're not the cause... and you never will be." He fights to bring strength into his weak voice. "I refuse to...to let Alec win. He can hurt my body... but he can't hurt my heart... that belongs to you." 

He squeezes her hand. "Don't be scared... that just gives him control. You're too tough for that." 

He manages a wry grin. "Now come here and give me a kiss... gently."

Ariel was busy with trying not to slop sauce on the table when Trey's question brings her gaze snapping back up again. A... a date? They'd hung out a lot at parties and such, sure, but... a date date? His little backtracking about making sure she was comfortable brings a grin to her lips. She had to give him an "A" for effort. 

Taking another bite of pizza, she purposely lets the silence linger until Trey looks up again so she can see his eyes. There really was no good reason for her to say no. She still felt a bit awkward around him, but she wasn't afraid of him, and she had no boyfriend. 

"I bet we could convince Pete and his girlfriend to come along," she muses thoughtfully. 

Her eyes twinkle with humor. She didn't mean to torture him, but she couldn't help but tease just a little. Shaking her head, she wipes her mouth with a napkin. "If I insisted someone else go along, it would seem rather hypocritical after our lunch today, wouldn't it?" 

Her grin returns. "Tell you what. I'll go to a movie matinee and dinner." That way she wouldn't be out late with him. "You have to pick the movie and place to eat though."

"No, I don't mind." Jason quirks an eyebrow, wondering why Katie would think he would mind her being around. He never minded. 

Shrugging it off, he returns his concentration to finishing his food. "Okay, well, tonight I'm gonna spend some time with Mom. Then we can do the park thing tomorrow. I'll let Sandy know it'll be us and Kaylee. Maybe we'll do lunch too, depending on how Kaylee does."

As Jason's cell phone beeps again, he rolls his eyes. Looking at the message, he smirks. "And... apparently I forgot to give Reese the paperwork I was doing this morning. Fantastic." 

Grinning a little, he shakes his head. "And Rick wanted me to stay off work a while longer?" Finishing up his rice quickly, he wipes his mouth with a napkin. "Okay. Guess we better head back." 

The rest of the day kept Jason busy at work and by the time he heads home, he's exhausted. After meeting up with Cindy at the hotel for supper, when he gets home, he goes straight to bed, sending Katie a text that he'd see her tomorrow.

Hunter sighs with boredom as he leans on the shopping cart, ambling down the grocery store aisle. Pitiful. Just pitiful. On a night when everybody else had something else going on, what did he find to do? Shop. That was something really fun. He inwardly rolls his eyes at himself. At least he almost had the store to himself since it was later in the day. It was pretty quiet so at least he wasn't having to dodge kids or wait in long lines.

Ever since the night at the concert, he'd been keeping himself constantly busy. He'd only realized it today when he'd finally been forced to slow down by lack of things to do. Why he'd taken off on a binge of "fun," he wasn't sure. Maybe it was to keep his mind off Kyle. Maybe it was to keep his mind off how he'd made an idiot of himself in front of whats-her-name...Katie. She'd been rather cold. Maybe he was losing his touch. Although there towards the end, he'd thought he'd seen a little bit of warmth. Oh well. The odds weren't in his favor for getting arrested by her again.

Stopping by a large display of corn chips and salsa, Hunter quirks an eyebrow. If he had to spend an evening alone, he might as well enjoy it. Reaching out for a bag of chips, picking that particular one was his unfortunate luck. Before he could do anything about it, an avalanche of corn chip bags came tumbling down into the aisle, scattering everywhere. Staring at the floor and blinking, Hunter smirks at the mess. Yessirree, he'd lost his touch somewhere alright. Groaning, he leans down to start picking up the bags.