Comfort

Sitting down and helping Eric just like the times before Ashlee enjoyed it in the tack room. Some might think it was stuff, hot, and smelled funny but for some odd reason she really did like it. It felt almost comforting to her.

Oiling one of the leather peaces Ashlee glances to the side for a moment. Letting out a sigh she shakes her head. There were many things she was thinking about over the last week, but putting it all into words was the hard part.

"Just trying to stay out of trouble I guess. Kinda missing having Dylan around too. Worried if he's ok or not, and just...trying to deal with my mom saying she was disappointed in me too. First time she ever said that so I guess its just hard to swallow."

Looking back at the leather and continuing to oil it Ashlee finally puts the peaces down and the rag too. The latter reason could be the one that bothered her the most. Her and her mom never had a falling out before even if it was something small. So the fact that it happened just hit a little hard.

Beth can't help the laugh that slips out as the sugar goes every where. Zach had a good sence of humor and Beth liked that. It seemed to make this awkward after hour coffee better, and laid back.

"Well I work at a bar. Never went to college because I really didn't fit into the group setting. I have an older sister, and both my parents are gone now."

Stopping for a moment Beth wondered how much she should tell Zach right off the bat. Maybe she should just leave it at that so he wasn't scared away right away. Maybe if he got to know her a little more first it would be better

Changing the subject Beth takes a sip of her coffee and lets the warm liquid slide down her throat. It had been a little chilly outside today so the warmth was nice. Giving another smile she continues.

"You volunteer at an animal shelter I that thats really neat. I'm a pretty big animal person myself. Never got a chance to volunteer though. What one do you work at?"

Angelica can't help the big smile that spread across her face. She enjoyed working for Reese and even more she enjoyed spending time with him. He's been the light she had been missing in life, and now she couldn't even imagine life without it now.

"Your company is just as nice. You seemed to keep me grounded and for that I thank you."

Ryan laughs again as she leans into her brother and give him a half hug. All the attachen from the crowd was nice but the best would be tonight with Eli and Tal.

"Oh ice cream, man that boy know the way to my heart."

Sugar

Eli smirks. "You think that boy would miss a victory party with you? Are you out of your mind?" He grins and shakes his head. "He went on an ice cream run and will meet us back at our place."


Glancing down, Reese turns his palm up so he can hold Angelica's hand. "Thank you... your support means a lot to me."

Pushing aside his plate, he leans his other elbow on the table and looks across at her, studying her eyes. "You mean a lot to me in general," he admits. "I'm not sure I'd know what to do if you weren't around." He smiles a little awkward smile. "I'd probably be in the loony bin by now," he teases.

Shaking his head, he gives her hand a squeeze. "I appreciate your input. But most of all I appreciate your company."


Zach grabs a little packet of sugar to fiddle with as he grins. "I have a very romantic job of selling hotrod cars to wealthy customers." He glances from side to side, then lowers his voice. "Actually, I just work in the showroom and try to head people to the big guys for the sales. But saying it the other way sounds better."

Still grinning, he rolls his eyes. "I went to school to learn how to run my own business and I wind up being an errand boy for car salesmen. There's something wrong with that picture. But!" He holds up a finger. "It pays enough, I get plenty of hours and I get enough days off to volunteer at the animal shelter in my spare time. How could I complain?"

He leans back in his seat, studying Beth for a moment. "So I know that you..." His voice trails off as his fingers accidentally rip through the sugar pack, sending the white contents all over the table. His eyes widen and without missing a beat, he snaps his fingers as if there was someone close by to hear. "Oh, waiter? Cleanup on table seven. We seem to have a problem with exploding sugar packets."

Ducking sheepishly, he starts brushing away the sugar with his hand. "Okay, so that was smooth." He clears on his throat before choking down a laugh. "Where was I? Oh yes - I think we need to change the subject to you before I make any more a fool out of myself."


Eric helps Ashlee to the barn, not minding the slower pace a bit. Getting into the tackroom, he gestures to a bench where she could sit. "Well, see this trunk here?" He pulls a large trunk away from the wall and opens it up, revealing a mess of leather. "This is how the tackroom stays clean... because everything that doesn't have a place gets thrown in here."

He grins and sits down next to her. Pulling out a bridle, it's obvious that everything is quite tangled up. "You can start by straightening this out, then we'll give it a little bit of oil before finding it a home on a wall peg."

The work is easy and the atmosphere peaceful. Eric chats a little but mostly concentrates on the task at hand, directing Ashlee on what to do but letting her figure some things out by herself too, like which way a bridle was put together and matching up reins. After a long span of silence though, Eric finally speaks again. "So... I couldn't help but notice you've been kinda quiet lately." He glances to the side, watching her as he continued to work. "Something on your mind?"

Private Victory Party

Ashlee gives a smile and a laugh as she takes Eric's hand to stand up. The reassurance was nice from him. She didn't need her crunches anymore, but she was limping still. Leaning into Eric a little though Ashlee trusted him to help her.

"So what needs to be done?"

She always though the tack room was kept neat, if it needed to be cleaned up that was a bit of a shocker. She wouldn't complain though she loved the smell of the tack room. The leather, the oils, and the horses. It was a smell she quickly got use to and fallen in love with.

Seeing Zach Beth gives a smile and a little wave drawing closer. She was unsure about this whole though but what could it hurt. At least she was breaking out of her box. If anything at least is was something new.

"Sure, sorry I was a little late."

Sitting down next to Zach and placing her order Beth sat quiet for a second. Now what...what did she say?

"Sooo...I know you came out here for work...what do you do?"

Beth couldn't help but feel a little lame!

Angelica gives a nod to Reese. She understood everything he was saying and where he was coming from. There was so much that ended to be though over and planned her own mind was spinning already thinking everything over.

"Well no matter what we deiced to do, I'll help all I can. Just let me know what you need from me and I'll do all I can."

Giving a smile Angelica reaches across the table and rests her hand on top of his. Not only did she believe in the Elite but she also believed that Reese would do what was right and good for everyone.

Looking down at her brother Ryan slips sliding from the hood of her car. Tonight had been a pretty good night between winning the race and the great feeling of Tal standing up for her early in the day it just seemed good all around.

"Did Tal leave already? He's still coming over for a private victory party right?"

Poor Girl

Reese mulls over everything as Angelica speaks, appreciating her input and perspective. "We couldn't take them to court unless something happened - we have no grounds for that," he reasons. "We really don't have one legitimate complaint. It's just a lot of little things and a judge won't take the time for something like that."

Considering Phinox, his eyes squint a little as he thinks. "I don't know... about having agents there, that is. He and I discussed it once upon a time when he was just barely getting started with his idea of a ranch. I know he needs help and I like some of his ideas, but I'll admit I'm selfish and want to keep the best agents here. We're shorthanded the way it is." He shrugs. "I do agree that his place would be the ideal setup for the rehabilitation program for Agency members we bring in - some good hard work and people to counsel them. I guess maybe I haven't seen a good solid plan yet so I'm hesitant to invest in it, you know? I like the concept and I think Phinox has a good head on his shoulders, I just haven't seen enough to want to give away any of my men or set up a branch of the Elite there."

Shaking his head, he gets back on track. "As far as the board goes, someone would have to be elected - we can't just let someone in favor of the Elite waltz in there and plop themselves in a seat. Granted, they probably would allow another member, but even then, it really wouldn't matter all that much. Brown has been our spokesman for the most part and I doubt anyone else could do more than he has."

Fiddling with his fork again, he continues to think. "Maybe just having some different levels of security would solve it. Maybe we wouldn't have to run in 'secrecy.' But the board wouldn't be able to have top level clearance and I don't know if they'd accept that or not. Someone other than me would need top clearance. Maybe they'd be happy with Brown - I'm not sure."


The crowd was still fairly thick as the race had just gotten over. A brief celebration and exchanging of bets circled around the reigning champ - Ryan had won as usual. Hunter had given her a run for her money, but had missed his one chance to pull ahead. Slowly, the racers and onlookers begin to disperse, making plans for that night, or the next time they'd all gather here again.

Tal pulls himself away from the group to amble towards his car, planning to meet up with Eli and Ryan later for a late movie. He didn't have to work tomorrow, so it was a perfect night to be up.

Sidling through the mess of parked cars, he approaches his from behind and gets in without paying much attention to his surroundings. Only when he starts the engine and tugs at his seatbelt does he realize that he's boxed in. But what was in front of him wasn't another car. He lets his seatbelt snap back into place before gripping the steering wheel tightly. He grits his teeth, knowing that this was no coincidence.

Alec sits lazily on his parked motorcycle, lengthwise in front of Tal's car. Squinting a little in the headlights, he looks to the windshield, just able to make out Tal's face. He gives a slight wave before folding his arms and planting his feet on the ground.

Tal cuts the motor but leaves the headlights on, sighing deeply. There was a car to his right, a car to his left, and one in the back. He knew that Alec knew good and well he couldn't get out. But what was his point?

Finally, he opens his door and steps out. "You're in my way," he states flatly.

Alec cocks his head, his expression showing very little. "And you're in mine."

"And how's that?"

Alec swings his gaze over to the crowd, able to just see Ryan by her car. Then he looks back at Tal. "I think you know."

"Aw, no..." Tal shakes his head. "You are not going to start this up."

"Hey, I didn't start it."

"Oh, I think you did."

"Wanna make something out of it?"

Tal hesitates. He didn't want to fight. First, it was wrong, and second, he didn't think he could take Alec. "No. I don't. So please get out of my way before I run your bike over."

Alec laughs. "You don't have the guts."

"Don't I?"

"Hey." Eli had broken away from the other group as soon as he'd seen Alec and Tal together. Just seeing Alec at all made his blood boil. "Problem, gentlemen?"

Alec gives him a look of disgust. "What? You this little boy's babysitter now?"

Eli crosses his arms. There were few people he would defend to the death - Ryan was one, and so was Tal. "You're the only one I see that needs a babysitter. What's with the macho act?"

Alec's eyes narrow. "I don't think this is any of your business."

"Oh, I know it isn't. But I like sticking my nose where it doesn't belong." Eli keeps his temper in check and glances over to Tal, then back to Alec. "How about you just get your bike on out of here before something... unfortunate happens?"

Whether Alec wanted a fight or not, he knew he probably wouldn't be able to take down Eli and Tal together, and whoever else would decide to join in. "Fine. But this isn't over."

"I hope it is. For your sake."

Alec gives him one last glare before firing up his motorcycle. His eyes swing back to where Ryan was, then he dons his helmet and takes off after revving his engine more than need be.

Eli's gaze travels after him until he's gone. His folded arms hid his clenched fists. He glances back to Tal. "You alright?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. Maybe I should just go home though."

"What? And let him win?"

Tal sighs deeply. He wasn't used to this type of thing and really didn't know how to fight it. But maybe Eli was right. "Yeah, okay. Thanks for stepping in - I really didn't want to run him over."

Eli can't help his grin. "See you back at the apartment." He points at him. "Be there. Or I'll have to deal with a grouchy sister and you know I won't be happy about that."

Tal finally smiles. "Alright. Tell her I'm bringing the ice cream."

"You got it." Eli throws him a salute before ambling back into the crowd, heading for Ryan. Had she seen the little encounter? Regardless, he wasn't willing to let it spoil his evening. He gives his sister's shoulder a teasing light punch. "Way to go there, Sis. Looked good out there tonight."


Zach swivels back and forth on the stool up at the coffee bar. The music was pleasant, the lighting was soft and there were more people here than he thought, but it wasn't too crowded. Lots of coffee options too - that was always a plus.

Unfortunately, he really wasn't sure just what he was doing here. He'd asked a complete stranger out tonight - how smart was that? He'd asked bartender out... a girl he didn't even know. What if she wasn't as sweet as she seemed? What if she really did have an irate boyfriend waiting at home? What if she was looser than he'd thought and she just wanted to have a "good time" later tonight... er... morning? What would his mother say?

That last thought makes him grin. His mother would have a fit, and the mental image was pretty amusing. He was bored... lonely... he just wanted some pleasant company. Was that all bad? He really wasn't in the habit of asking anybody out, let alone a stranger. Come to think of it, this wasn't like him at all. He was scared of asking out girls. Maybe settling in a new town was getting him out of his box for once. And who knew? Maybe he really would make a new friend.

Spinning around one more time, his eyes catch someone coming in through the door. Seeing it was Beth, a smile emerges. She'd actually come. He'd had his doubts. Sliding off the stool, he wanders over to her, hooking his hands in his jeans pockets. "You made it!" Overexcited? He takes it down a notch. He didn't want to scare the poor girl. If she really was a poor girl. Or maybe she -

He cuts of his own thoughts and gestures to a nearby table. "Care to sit with me?"


"Slow?" Eric smirks at Ashlee. "You ever seen me move in the morning? A caterpillar has more chance of getting to the barn than I do."

Grinning, he stands up again and offers Ashlee a hand. "Come on. The tack room never has and never will require speed. It just requires an extra set of hands that I don't got."