A Bad Case of Loving You | Dakota

[Ashley Bates]

Ash stood by the entrance to the infirmary patiently waiting for Dakota to get off work. He was looking decidedly more western today having pulled out a few things from his life in Texas that he hadn’t used in quite a while. Dressed in his button down shirt, faded blue jeans, cowboy boots and hat he looked more like an authentic cowboy fresh from a day of riding the range than he would have cared to admit. Normally he wouldn’t have even bothered with the look at all. Having left his old life behind he rarely thought of himself as a rancher or cowboy anymore but tonight was a special occasion and he found that his roots were a little easier to go back to than he had thought.

The special occasion was his first official date with Dakota. It hadn’t been long since that night watching the sunset in the forest and they had seen each other a few times in the days between but this was the first time they had both really been able to get an opportunity that they could spend together. That was understandable. Both of them had their own responsibilities and lives to live but he would be lying if he had said that he wasn’t looking forward to this night with anticipation. That being the case he wanted to surprise her with something and since she had seemed interested in it last time they were together he had chosen to go country to see what she thought.

In the meantime Ash reflected on how hard it was seeing her every day and not getting to spend as much time with her as he wanted. Those kisses they had shared on that hill top in the forest were hard to forget and every time he passed her on the way to training or saw her heading to her cabin he couldn’t help but think about when he would get to talk to her again, hang out with her again and hold her again. Dakota brought out something in him that he hadn’t known was there and he liked it. He just hoped that she liked it too and that she would still be free tonight. Only time would tell but luckily it probably wouldn't be too much longer. Fortunately Dakota was a girl that he didn’t mind waiting on.

Dakota King

[Dakota King]

It was another shift in the infirmary that seemed to drag on forever. It was the anticipation. Dakota was going to see Ash in a few short hours after not really seeing him after that night on the hill. She couldn't seem to get him out of her head and the fact that she saw him around camp... It was driving her crazy and no other boy managed to do this to her. But they had a date. Not an outing or a ride. A date. Dakota had gone on plenty of dates before, but she had a feeling this one would be completely different since it was with Ash.

But it was finally time to get off and she couldn't help but be relieved as she left the infirmary. She was planning on a quick outfit change before she met Ash, but those plans were put on hold as soon as she stepped out of the infirmary. Ash was there waiting for her. And not only that, he was in full cowboy attire. She laughed as she shook her head before approaching him and adjusting the brim of his hat a bit. "I guess I was wrong," she said as a playful smirk appeared on her lips. "I can picture a cowboy hat on you. It looks good."

[Ashley Bates]

Ash glanced up when he heard the laugh and saw Dakota standing looking at him and shaking her head. She walked over and adjusted the brim of his hat and when she did he met her little smirk with one of his own, something that was becoming more common when Dakota was around. "Evenin' little lady." He said in his best imitation of a cowboy drawl which actually sounded pretty accurate. Apparently he wasn't kidding when he said he could pull off the cowboy look.

Ash reached out to take both of her hands in his and brought her a little closer. "I'm glad you like it." He said letting the imitation fall away. "I hope you don't mind me stopping by and waiting for you but I didn't want to waste any time." Now that they were here it was hard to really believe he was getting to see her again. It felt like it had been an eternity but now they were together again and that made everything alright...at least mostly alright. He still had to make sure that she was real and to do that he leaned in close and gave her a kiss on the lips that felt like it had been a long in coming.

The kiss, which was quick and chaste compared to those longer, more heated ones up on the hill top, was more by way of greeting than anything else. He had missed her but he wasn't the type to make out right on the porch of the big house for everyone to see. That could wait until, hopefully, later. Looking at her after the kiss Ash let himself finally believe that she was here and they had the whole night ahead of them. "Gods how I've missed you."

[Dakota King]

Dakota laughed even more as she heard do the best spot-on impersonation of a cowboy drawl she ever heard. She shook her head again as she looked up at him. "You're really going all out, aren't you?" she asked just before Ash brought her in a little closer. Her heart was beating a little harder in her chest, but the butterflies for once decided to stay away. "I don't mind," she said with a slight smile. "And you're in luck, my work clothes aren't as nasty as they can get." But he leaned in closer for a kiss and Dakota enjoyed the feel of his lips for a moment. It was torture running across Ash and not being able to kiss him properly, but now... they had an entire evening together.

Ash pulled away too quickly for Dakota's liking, but they did have more time for it. A soft smile appeared on her lips as she blushed slightly before she slightly squeezed his hands. "I missed you too. You ready to get going?" she asked him as she raised an eyebrow.

[Ashley Bates]

“I told you I was going to surprise you one of these days.” He said as she commented about his cowboy get up. “Judging by your reaction I would say that I was successful.” Looking her over when she made her comment about her clothes he shook his head to show that he didn't care. He was happy to see her and that was all that mattered at the moment. She was still the most beautiful girl in camp to him whether she thought so or not.

As far as being ready to go though Dakota didn’t have to ask him twice. He had been waiting for this night and he wasn’t going to waste it. "I was thinking we could go for a walk tonight and get away from everything." He said hoping that she would approve of the idea. "It's been busy the last couple of days and it would do us both some good to relax and catch up. Unless you have a better idea.” He paused for a moment to see if she had anything to add. He knew that his imagination was a poor thing and his idea or romance, spending a night alone with Dakota, wasn’t particularly exciting but he was always open to suggestions. “I'm sure you could probably find some way to convince me.”

[Dakota King]

"Well, you did surprise me," Dakota said with a slight smile on her face before she shook her head again. "So I think you're quite successful with your surprise." She blushed a bit when he looked her over, but she figured if he was okay with her being her work clothes, then she was okay as well. She only wished she could match him with his cowboy attire.

But when Ash started describing their date, Dakota's smile got a little bit wider. "That sounds like an excellent plan to me and I hear the weather is supposed to be nice tonight. She dropped one of his hands, but was still holding the other as she tugged on it a bit as she raised her eyebrows at him. "Let's get going then. I don't want to waste this evening just standing by the infirmary."

[Ashley Bates]

Ash chuckled as she tugged him along apparently just as eager as he was to get moving. He allowed himself to be pulled away from the infirmary willingly. She was holding his hand now and Ash thought that it felt good there with her fingers finding a place easily between his own. He gave that hand a gentle squeeze as he caught up to her which wasn't that difficult thanks in part to his long stride.

"So how have you been?" He asked after he had caught up to her along the path they were taking. It had been so long that he felt disconnected from her. Bring apart from her hadn't been easy but not knowing what was going on with her was even worse. He knew that he had his own news for her but he still wondered what she had been up to since they had last gotten the chance to talk. "Hopefully everything is going well with your cabin and the infirmary."

[Dakota King]

Dakota was excited to get going on this date with Ash. Their first legitimate date. Dakota could feel the butterflies fluttering in her stomach, but they were baby butterflies compared to the ones she had a few days ago. She looked over her shoulder and smiled at Ash as he managed to catch up with her even if she was trying to drag him by the hand. She slowed down her pace just a bit as they walked side by side next to each other.

Dakota looked over at him and smiled as she used her free hand to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. "I've been okay," she said as she shook her head slightly. "Cabin stuff and infirmary stuff has been... well I can't say they're the greatest but they're okay too." She smiled at him as she lightly squeezed his hand. "But I'm glad to have this. It breaks up the monotony of everything. Has everything been going well for you too?"

[Ashley Bates]

Ash listened with interest to what Dakota told him wondering for a moment what kind of things were happening to make things not so great for her. Granted he figured she would tell him if it was important but he couldn’t help but be a little concerned. “I’m sorry to hear that things aren’t going well.” He said consolingly. “If you need to get something off your chest I can listen. I know that’s probably not what you want to talk about on a date but I’m here for you if you need me.”

Beyond that Ash decided not to push the issue. She knew that he was willing to help if she needed it but Dakota didn't need him invading her life. As for his own activities Ash had been keeping himself fairly busy. He wasn't sure if Dakota needed to know everything that he had been doing but he was sure she would want to know at least one thing. "It's been fairly busy for me as well." He said noncommittally. "Though I have had some time to take out a pegasus of my own recently. Blue Sky might have a new friends the next time we ride out."

[Dakota King]

Dakota laughed as she shook her head at Ash's offer. "Maybe later," she said as she looked over at him and smirked. "But I really don't want to put a damper on our date. Everything will be fine." She didn't want to burden him with the idiocy of her siblings, especially since she found out recently that Mickey knocked up a girl. But she didn't want to focus on it now. She wanted to focus on Ash and being in his company.

But Ash broke news that completely surprised Dakota. She stopped in her tracks as she looked over at Ash. "You have a pegasus too?" she asked before a playful smirk crept onto her face as she moved to nudge his shoulder. "You know Blue Sky is going to get jealous of your new friend. You might have to give her extra sugar cubes to regain her favor again."

[Ashley Bates]

Ash nodded. He certainly didn’t want to put a damper on things either though he hardly knew how that could be possible. Still, he trusted Dakota’s judgment and didn’t want her to have to bring up anything that would upset her. Instead he stroked her hand reassuringly. “I’m sure it will be fine like you said. Besides, I think we should be able to find something to distract you for a little while.” The distracting part definitely wouldn’t be problem and Dakota was in luck because Ash planned to make sure she forgot about those worries.

That would come in time but Ash made a mental note to keep his eyes open for a nice secluded spot they could sit down and let the distractions begin. “I’ll make sure Blue Sky knows I haven’t forgotten about her. I’m more worried about getting used to not having your arms around me. That was pretty nice.” Granted he had something a little better now in that he didn’t have to wait for those rides to be close to her but Dakota had definitely been the best part of those rides. “Maybe now we’ll both get a chance to showcase our riding skills.”

[Dakota King]

Dakota looked over at Ash and raised her eyebrows as that playful smirk stayed on her lips. "A distraction, huh?" she laughed as she winked at him. "I think we would both need a distraction." If the distraction he was thinking of was like the one they had on the hill during the sunset, Dakota was completely ready to be distracted to her heart's desire.

Dakota blushed a bit as she shook her head. "I'll miss our rides too... maybe we'll have to take turns. I know Blue Sky will miss you." She looked up at Ash as she smirked a bit. "So tell me about this pegasus of yours. What did you name it? What does it look like? I need to go say hello the next time I go visit Blue Sky."

[Ashley Bates]

Dakota caught the undertones of his statement and seemed to approve. In fact, he thought she was being pretty playful right now which only made him want to find a nice quite spot where they could be alone even quicker. One thing was for sure, if she kept this up much longer he might have to pull her into the first available cover and damn the consequences if they got caught. “For me having you here with me is my relief from the distractions. It’s when you’re away from me that I can’t concentrate.”

Ash thought about her offer for them to take turns. It was a good one and a solution that he thought they both could agree with. "Turns...I like that idea. I would hate to disappoint Blue Sky or my beautiful lady." He wasn’t sure how Dakota would respond to be calling his lady but what else were they if not a couple? It seemed pretty plain in Ash's mind at least. "As for my pegasus I named him Rusher and I'll think you'll like him. He has a brown coat with a white streak on his face and he seems to be fond of meeting new people."

[Dakota King]

“It sounds like you’re addicted,” Dakota teased as her smirk got a little bit wider as they walked. “You know, there are treatments for it. I might have to stage an intervention on you and enroll you in a five step program. The only problem is, I don’t know if I can come visit you if you’re in rehab.” She giggled slightly as she shook her head. She did hope that their little distraction would come sooner rather than later, but she knew the wait would only make it worthwhile.

But when Ash started talking about Blue Sky again, Dakota raised her eyebrows as she saw the chance to give him a little bit of grief. “You’re being redundant there,” she teased him a bit. “We both know that Blue Sky is a beautiful lady.” She finished her statement off with a wink to let him know she was teasing if he didn’t catch on. “But his name is Rusher? I’ll might have to spoil him with sugar cubes like I do with Blue Sky.”

[Ashley Bates]

Addicted? That was probably a good comparison for how he was feeling. Love was addicting, kisses were addicting and like any addicting drug those kisses and caresses seemed to make every sound and color of the world deepen and brighten around those who are sharing them. That’s what made the kisses and caress so desirable to begin with. In many ways Ash was an addict but luckily he had the nurse’s cure provided she wouldn’t withhold it from him just to tease him. “Getting treated by you doesn’t sound so bad but there is one flaw in your plan. They wouldn’t be able to keep me in rehab if I couldn’t see you there.”

It was hard to tell if Ash was playing along or taking things too seriously sometimes. There were moments when he smiled that one could almost see a glimmer of hope for him but then most of the time he seemed so serious that he could almost be an adult. Still, he got sarcasm well enough and caught her teases even if teasing her back wasn’t one of his strong suits. “Fine, both of my beautiful ladies. As for Rusher I’ll doubt you’ll need to spoil him to get on his good side but I’m sure you’ll have no trouble if you try.”

Glancing around Ash suddenly noticed that they had gotten to an area of camp that wasn’t that populated. He couldn’t be sure of course but the coast looked clear and there was a nice secluded spot up ahead. He didn’t know if Dakota saw it yet or not but he thought it might work for a nice place for them to hide away from the world. If he was lucky he might even be able to surprise Dakota if he could get her close enough to it without her noticing. As such he filed that little idea away and began leading her over in that direction as they walked.