♥ Starr Ranch ♥ 1x1 ♥ Remake/Continuation ♥

[SilentShadowDreamer]

Esmeralda flipped over in the water, pleased with herself. She had won that round, she decided. Moving through the water with the current lazily, she tensed when she felt a pair of arms slide around her and pull her up.

That bloody creep.

She had only a few seconds to decide how to play it - clawing, kicking, hysterical female or coldly furious woman? Choosing the second as less humiliating even as she came up out of the water, her face was expressionless when she came face-to-face with him. "Apparently you didn't hear me," she said a little too pleasantly, firmly untangling herself from him. "I want to--" Her head snapped up and she turned a little.

She heard hoofbeats.

Roman and Lily.

s**t.

Only a few seconds to decide.

"Come on," she snapped at Xavier. "Get your horse and let's go."

I won't have you ruining this for them. I won't have you cause him any more pain.

~

Roman blinked. "Swimming? We're going swimming?" No one had told him about this, he was nearly sure. In fact, he was completely sure.

s**t. He didn't have...

Oh well. He was a decent swimmer; he could probably manage fully clothed, because like hell he was stripping down in front of his sister and Kahlilia.

His hands remained at her waist to keep her steady, and a brief look of concern crossed his face. "Lily, are you all right? You feel...warm." Almost hot, almost feverish. But not quite.

Of course, there might be other reasons why...No. No, he was absolutely not going to think like that.

As much to distract himself as to give her the fun, Roman said lightly, "Hold on tight," and sent Phoenix forward into a smooth canter.  

[minus infinity]

Kahlilia realized that in her multiple levels of giddiness she had forgotten to tell Roman that she and Esmeralda had planned on going swimming. She smiled a little despite herself and said, It'll be so much fun, especially because I've got ...
Well, maybe that's why they called it 'The Hots'. Kahlilia knew how much her fair skin was heating up, and even though it wasn't visible except for on her face and a few other places, the touch was a dead giveaway. She was a little ashamed with herself because of the way she had been brought up to only show someone that much skin and affection if you were married, but what was wrong with having a little bit of fun? It wouldn't do them any harm ... right?
I think it's probably just the heat. I get burned so quickly during the summer. With what she was telling Roman in explanation for the sudden warmth of her skin, it was actually the truth. Well, partly. Her mother was of slightly distant French and other European descent of sort, and her father had emigrated from China when he was old enough to. The girl burned like a lobster and couldn't stand hot tubs when the bubbles turned on - she would act like there was a spider in the area and jump straight out. Well, anyway, that wasn't her point. Times like that were unbelievably embarrassing, and right now that wasn't something she wanted to show --
Kahlilia suddenly realized that Phoenix had sped up into a canter, breaking through her thoughts and scattering them around again. For now, she was grateful Roman wasn't able to see her facial expression - she was biting her bottom lip on and off as she thought and had started again when she realized they were picking up speed. Now in addition to the sexual charge she was feeling from his hands on her waist, she was glad for the help to keep her steady. She wasn't able to hear any other hoofbeats other than Phoenix's and Benvolio's as they drew ever closer to the river, so she actually still thought Esmeralda would be there at the river swimming already and they'd have to remember to keep an eye on Sahara and Phoenix. Benvolio, it seemed, was mildly indifferent but still friendly towards mares. So now as they passed the last of the fruit and vegetable fields, Kahlilia couldn't help but see a few misc garden tools Shannon had left out. A rake, a handheld shovel and a much larger shovel. What could she do with that if she so chose to? Let me think of the ways ...

_____________________________________




Xavier had been working on trying to find Esmeralda's paper knife when he realized she had released herself from his grip. How had she done that? The girl was being slippery, and she probably was very much aware of that. He only shook his head in dismay but suddenly froze for two reasons - one being that Esmeralda was suddenly prompting them to go right then and there for reasons he didn't currently understand, and that when she had released herself from him Xavier still had a firm grip on her waist. Well isn't that just perfect, he thought in what was either a very sarcastic or even slightly literal way. And so with tension and otherwise mixed feelings, Xavier just stood where he was looking very much dumbfounded. Dammit! At first, all he could hear was the sound of his heart beating and threatening to leap out of his chest and the river's current. And then a couple of seconds after Esmeralda had, Xavier could hear the hoofbeats and quickly unfroze as though he were just waking up after a trance. Cursing a little under his breath, he beckoned Lady over to him from where she was casually enjoying the sunshine. Wait, he thought, Why are we running away from them? So right as his mind finished the sentence and Lady sauntered over to him with a toss of her head, he voiced his thoughts: Why are we running away from them?
Generally, he had an idea that he might like to take advantage of one of these days. This girl's brother was in cahoots with Thumbelina, or something to that extent. Wait, were they sleeping with each other or something? If that didn't sound like ***** then what on earth did? Making a little hn sound as he discarded the thought and mounted Lady, he realized he probably shouldn't be expecting any straight answer from this girl. Odds were her response was just going to be something nasty. After all, she could probably tell that the two boys were this close to having a full-out physical fight. What had she called it again? A 'testosterone rally'. In his rage, he hadn't paid any attention to the witty remark. It had just popped up into his mind randomly as he, for some reason, followed Esmeralda's instructions and nudged Lady into a gallop away from the river. Where were they going? Why wasn't he staying and fighting, like some part of him was aching to? Why had he left his shirt at the river? Well, damn, it was too late to go get it now. Maybe it would serve as some sort of signal or a sign that it was not over. Kind of like defending territory or something like that, right? Certainly he wasn't low enough to start peeing on everything he knew was his as most other animals did, although the other boy certainly seemed to think of him as that. Xavier cursed lightly under his breath again as Lady continued to gallop somewhere he didn't really think he'd been before on this land. Once more, he thought with a slight annoyance; where are we going?

 

[SilentShadowDreamer]

Esmeralda shot a grin over her shoulder when Xavier asked his question. About to reply with something short and pithy, she hesitated. Then she decided to see what would happen if she went with candor. "To keep my brother from breaking that pretty face of yours, at the very least. At most, he'll probably follow through on what he promised you if he ever found you near me again." She shrugged airily, already facing forward again as she galloped Sahara on. "But being who he is, he'd feel guilty for hurting you later on, and quite frankly, you aren't worth his guilt."

The mare ran on as Esmeralda lifted her face to the wind, her still-soaked clothes molding themselves to her body and giving her a slight chill that she welcomed. It was at least relief from the heat.

"Faster, baby," she told the mare. "We need to be long gone."

Sahara tossed her head, but her speed still increased.

Glancing back at Xavier, she snarled, "Keep up."

~

Roman tilted his head and frowned a little. "You should wear sunscreen," he murmured. "Especially if you get this warm through your clothing." He knew it was impossible to burn through clothes, of course, but...

He quickly shut off that part of his mind. Lifting his head at sounds in the distance, he frowned. "Do you hear that?" It sounded like someone talking.

After a moment of careful listening, he shook his head. "Must have been imagining things. I think we're almost to the river - is Benvolio still behind us?" Since he had largely taken over guiding Phoenix (Kahlilia's reins were much too long to control the horse when he was in this mood), he couldn't afford to look behind them to check.  

[minus infinity]

Kahlilia actually was wearing sunscreen. Putting it on was part of her morning routine that she had mostly adapted from her mother and Kassandra. Of course, had she adapted a morning routine completely from Kassandra there would be very explicit parts. Sometimes she wondered if Kassandra had a pole for dancing with in her bedroom. Well, she could at least say she had gained a lot of knowledge from her flirty friend, although it was nothing that had to do with academics. So as she thought in her supercharged hormonal way, she knew Kassandra would be proud. Maybe tonight she'd call her and tell her.
Kahlilia was hearing Kassandra's purring sort of voice when she realized Roman had heard something. The girl tilted her head to the side briefly and looked around, but didn't see anything out of the usual. Maybe it was Esmeralda? She hadn't heard the sound and wasn't sure whether the tone was masculine or feminine. But she knew Benvolio was behind them, and so she said; Yes, he is. Ben was keeping a safe distance behind them, beginning to canter towards them when he seemed to realize his location was being missed. This one was probably one who did not like to be ignored. Just like a child when they had a cool new shirt, had something for show and tell or had just found a really gross bug to put on a stick and shove towards girls. Yes, Kahlilia certainly remembered that. As most of the other girls did at that time, she would let out a bloodcurdling shriek and run away. She knew Benvolio wouldn't do something like that, and was grateful. She remembered seeing Summer holding a snake once and petting it ... certainly she loved animals and nature but Lily was still very much afraid of certain animals such as spiders and snakes.
Finally the glimmer of the river was visible and Kahlilia smiled, happy to finally be here and be able to cool off - or, in the process of taking off all of her clothes, wouldn't she heat up? She knew she was going to have to be lifted at least a little again to dismount and hoped her previous emotions wouldn't show directly in her face.
______________________________________




Xavier blew off the sort of remark he was slowly learning to anticipate from this girl and nudged Lady again into a canter. Certainly the remarks still got to him, he wouldn't be immune to that for a long time. But as long as he didn't completely lose his temper as he had that night, he was pretty sure he would be okay with ignoring her comebacks. Because wasn't that exactly what she wanted, to hear a defensive retort and have the last word? Well, dammit, two could play at that game.
Briefly, he thought about the threat the other boy had given him. Mostly, whenever he thought of it he just brushed it off as posturing. However, the shove was definitely not posturing. How was it that when he tried to attack it was completely under planned and he tackled the girl, and when this one attacked it was right on? That hurt. It made him angry, no doubt. And it gave him another reason for revenge. Xavier wasn't really planning to go after the boy himself anymore, but rather use the two girls as ... what?
As Lady continued to canter, Xavier continued to think. Chris had said to him in his random fit of rage that he had done the prank, but some part of him still didn't believe that. Who was he trying to protect...
Oh s**t. What if Summer had been in on the prank too? For the most part timelines suggested that it wasn't true because while the prank was being pulled they were in the showers cleaning up and...
But what if she had brought up the idea to the other two girls? Maybe it was an all-girl sort of thing. Like how sometimes a friend of Blaire's would go through a horrible breakup and all of her friends, sometimes including herself, would go and prank him or something like that. For God's sake, Blaire was only 14! Did they know what love was yet? Xavier was starting to get annoyed at his confusion with all of the others and the fact that he hadn't stayed at the river to fight or at least have the last word. Well, maybe it was good enough that his shirt still lay on the grass close by the river. It still had some hay on it and there was no doubt that it was his. So what would happen now that they were supposedly at the river and the two of them were long gone? Well, only time would tell ...

 

[SilentShadowDreamer]

Esmeralda finally began to slow the mare, confident that they had gotten far enough away that Roman wouldn't hear, worry about, and follow her. It was only then that she remembered - and fully realized - that she had gone on a wild cross-country gallop, dragging a boy who had tried to strangle her once already in tow.

And they were out in the fields somewhere now. No one would hear her if she cried out for help.

Damn good thing she wouldn't need it, then, she thought, reminding herself of the weapon she still held. She didn't need anyone's help to handle a guy like Mr. Smooth.

Esmeralda knew she could bloody well take care of herself. And she would prove it, too.

Casually, she turned her head to glance back at Xavier, and caught his expression. "Something worrying you, boyo?" she inquired, all sardonic innocence.

Roman slowed Phoenix to a walk as they approached the river. Frowning, he scanned it. "I don't see Ez," he said, only a little worried. Esmeralda tended to change her mind about a place quickly, and not worry too much about whether or not her intended companions knew what she was up to.

Only somewhat soothed by that thought, he smoothly slid down his horse's side. Reaching up, he offered a hand to Kahlilia - and his attention was caught by her fiery blush. Sunburn, he thought, instantly concerned. Damn it, he should have taken her back to the house, found her a hat or something.

Well, being in the river might help to cool her off, and then he could take her back to the house and find some aloe. And then he could go find his freaking sister, who had gone running off again right after he had explicitly warned her to go nowhere alone...

That was all for later, though.

"Here, I'll help you down if you need it," he said gently, still offering his hand.  

[minus infinity]

( OOC / I'll post for Xavier tommorow, I have to go to bed in about 15 minutes and thats how long it takes me to post for Lily as it is. xD G'night! )




Kahlilia noticed slightly after Roman that she couldn't see Esmeralda and wondered what had happened. Although her mind instantly dove back into the fear of whatever had happened back in the barn, she also noticed that Roman was dealing with the matter with a subtle sort of concern. Maybe he knew that she just tended to act like this and it was perfectly normal for her to disappear like this. For a flitting second, she wondered what it would be like if she had siblings back at home. For the most part she was oblivious to what it was like, although sometimes she didn't want to be. At least her friends filled her heart with all the love she could take, siblings or no siblings.
Kahlilia realized her hands were still on Phoenix's reins when Roman extended his hand towards her. Phoenix probably hadn't paid attention to her very much during the ride after the initial shock of almost being thrown off, so she had kind of forgotten. The girl ran a hand through her hair - her ponytail was much looser now and the majority of her hair was no longer tied up but rather just hanging loose around her shoulders. Benvolio, who had just stopped a couple of yards to their left, tossed his head at the girl as though to tease her. She had seen it out of the corner of her eye and smiled sheepishly as, after a slight hesitation, she took Roman's hand. There was almost no doubt that he could see her blush from what she was thinking, because she saw the flash of concern in his eyes. Right now, anyway, she wasn't sunburned but maybe the signature red-ish hue would appear around lunchtime to make her whole face look like it was blushing rather than just giving her cheeks a fiery tint. She still fully intended to completely strip off her clothes to go into the river, was the way she was blushing now with a sexual anticipation rather than happiness or laughter different? She wasn't sure, but she decided maybe going into the river would cool her off enough to bring her skin color back to normal. So she hoped, at least. Even so, Esmeralda's distant words stayed with her - is that why she had left...?
Her gaze went briefly toward the river. With the way Esmeralda had reacted when she admitted she was falling for her brother, would she be okay with this? What about Roman himself? She was supposed to let him make the moves... how would he react when he saw her strip down? She hoped, quite irrationally, somehow that even the sight of her half-naked and then completely naked in a short period of time wouldn't ruin the friendship they created. Kahlilia probably did look sunburned with all of her blushing, didn't she?

 

[minus infinity]

Xavier was thinking back on his misdemeanors of the past in a brooding sort of manner as he dismounted Lady a safe distance away from Esmeralda and Sahara. Of course he knew he wasn't the kindest person around, and most of the time he would be more than happy to brush any such incident off. But he found himself completely hung up on Esmeralda and Summer. And then there had been Nanina, who he actually hadn't seen in weeks. Maybe she had gone back home?
Why was it that when a girl told him in an effort to make him go away that something was 'girl stuff' it was perfectly okay to use that term but when he used it he got a tongue lashing? And then there were times when a huge group of girls left to go discuss whatever on earth they talked about and laughed very loudly when they still knew they were in earshot of the boys. It was very annoying and, unfortunately, a weak area with Xavier. Yes, he knew the protective rage that came with being an older brother as he had told Chris and Roman's rage earlier had told him. But why was he at one point in time so annoyed and confused with women and the next day all he could think about was ... Esmeralda?
Dammit, she had caught him in a weak spot. Dammit, dammit, dammit! So he just decided to try and talk off his nerves. You told me you wanted to go swimming. Why did we leave? Of course, Xavier just could have suggested a reason why as he normally might have due to the roller-coaster up-down of his hormones. But now he was in a weak spot and it was probably visible, something that he probably wouldn't be able to live down - especially appearing weak in front of a girl like this. It wasn't a problem in front of Nanina or Summer or maybe even Thumbelina --
Why was he comparing these women? Esmeralda couldn't be more different in his point of view. Being so close to her, even though he knew she probably hated him right now, sent a sort of charge through him. Was it at all possible it did the same to her? Slowly Xavier approached the girl. Why had they left? Why were they here right now, so far away that their voices wouldn't be able to be heard... or any other noises? Only having halfway believed Esmeralda's response when he had asked a little earlier, he was still a little confused - and getting weaker. Damn stupid hormones, wouldn't they ever leave? Xavier finally approached Sahara and Esmeralda, giving the horse a surprisingly gentle pat on the neck, and then he looked up at the girl on the horse's back. A little windswept and bright, and so incredibly beautiful... what was wrong with him? Just moments ago he had strangled her in a rage, and now all he could think about was her beauty? What a strange world it was.

 

[SilentShadowDreamer]

Esmeralda cocked a brow at him, wondering what had left that look on his face. "I did want to go swimming," she said cheerfully. "And then I did. And then some inconsiderate p***k whose name I won't mention went ahead and hauled me out of the water." Smiling very sweetly at him, she swung down from Sahara's back. She hadn't missed his light pat on her horse's neck, and her opinion - grudgingly - rose. A little. A very little.

Maybe he was only an a** with humans. The pretty white mare seemed to like him well enough.

"So," she continued, "since said inconsiderate p***k decided for me that I was finished playing in the water, I decided for him that we were going to go somewhere else. And although he had no obligation to follow me and could have just hung around waiting for my brother to beat him into a bloody pulp, he chose the wise path - for once - and did what I said."

Still looking artificially cheerful, she finished, "Between that and my previous answer to the same question, I think that about covers it."

She could sense that there was a crack in him somewhere, a break that she could push open further until something spilled out.

If she chose to.

And wasn't it interesting that she sort of wanted to? Just to see what would happen, of course. Just to satisfy her own curiosity.

But unfortunately, out here she needed to think safely before satisfyingly. So she put it aside for now as something to toy with and think about later. She had already cracked him enough to cause that rage from earlier - what else would come out if she worked on widening it?

Roman helped her down gently. Once she was down, he turned to Phoenix and removed the stallion's bridle so that he could graze.

On turning back to her, he frowned at her bright red face for a second longer, and then he walked across to the river and promptly stripped his shirt off. He held the cloth in the river until it was well and thoroughly soaked, then wrung it out and came back across to her. "Here," he said. "Put this on your face, at least for a few minutes - it'll help the heat come down until we go back to get some aloe."

By nature, this boy seemed to be some odd mix of nurturer and predator, at least as far as his behaviour had shown.

"Don't worry about Ez too much," he said resignedly, noticing the way her eyes had flicked around as though looking for the other girl. "She tends to go her own way. I'll just tear a strip off her later for taking off without telling us."  

[minus infinity]

Kahlilia held onto Roman to steady herself when she was lifted again. It was like all of her senses became hyper-aware at his touch and she knew what she was going to have to do with the last bit of her mind's clarity before she completely chickened out. Briefly, she thought about the gardening tools she had seen a little earlier ...
However lost in her thoughts and overwhelming lust she may have been, she had to look away to keep from pouncing, or at the very least dropping her jaw, when Roman took off his shirt. She wasn't sure what he was doing until he had gotten it wet and given it to her. Trying as hard as she could not to listen to a lusty voice in her head, she took the shirt with a quiet 'thank you' and pressed the relieving cold to her forehead. Certainly, it was relieving ... but nowhere near what she was getting ready to do. After a few seconds she had gotten her face wet and only slightly unknowingly (this time) brought back her club makeup look from the night of the storm. Brownish-black smeared, smoky eyes, a fiery blush, her lips berry red from biting ... now all that she needed was completely bare skin. It was like she was being possessed, but somehow she enjoyed it.
All my life I've been good ... it's been too long, oh it feels so wrong ... danger, danger ...
The first thing to go was her floral printed scrunchy, which had by now been hanging for dear life at the ends of her hair. She fluffed her hair a little, and then the next things to go were her pink high tops and itty bitty floral print socks, close to the same print as her scrunchy. Don't get me wrong, I just need to play ...
Slowly her clothes collected in a little pile underneath a tree to her left with Roman's shirt sitting on top of her head like a hat of some sort. Off came her skinny black belt with the heart cutouts, her white shirt with the dark green three-quarter sleeves, her itty bitty tan bra ...
Now she was completely topless and barefoot, all that remained of her clothes were her dark skinny jeans and her underpants underneath. They would go too in time. Wiggling her chartreuse-painted toes in the grass a little bit before she stood, Lily smiled with an ever increasing sexual anticipation. She wondered, would Roman come get her? Would he be her first?
Lily was standing now and walked closer to the river, Roman's shirt still on her head and her jeans still on. So off went her jeans and panties, off went Roman's shirt to lay on top of her clothes. And without forgetting Kassandra's advice, Kahlilia twirled the tiniest bit and jumped into the river.

________________________________________




Xavier smirked at Esmeralda as she recounted what had happened and even chuckled a little. What a personality she had, taking it upon herself to tell the previous events in a sort of narrative form as though he had forgotten. Well, now she had at least come up with a new name for him to add to his personal nickname vocabulary. So when she swung down from Sahara's back he had gotten close enough to swoop down on her and pick her up again with a smirk and slowly said, What, like this? He was trying not to look weak and try to regain his masculinity from this girl, yet she always seemed to find a way. And damned if he didn't kind of enjoy it.
So just like the way he had held her when he had picked her up from the river, his grip focused on her upper body and her loose, wet shirt. But this time, judging from the way she had been able to untangle herself so quickly last time, his other hand gripped her close to her legs - just behind her knees. Although he had been aware for a little while now that she was wearing loose clothes, he was just now beginning to wonder why. Of course there were already a few reasons in his mind, some of them logical and some of them not so much. Women could have sex right until their due date, couldn't they? Xavier knew he really did have a lot to lose if he were to take a chance with Esmeralda here, but somehow common sense just wasn't with him right now. He assumed it had flown off with Summer when she had left. And there he went again ... three strikes and you're out, buddy.
Hoping the girl in his arms wouldn't try to escape for at least another few seconds, Xavier walked over to a tree a safe distance away from both of their horses - Lady was grazing casually in a slightly shady spot - and then released the girl just long enough to pin her again, this time to the tree trunk, and took hold of her shirt in an angry and almost lusty way.

 

[SilentShadowDreamer]

Esmeralda didn't jump when he swept in and picked her up off the ground. She felt mild annoyance - at least, she told herself she did, and it masked the quick, hot flash of something.

Damn it, she'd always had a weakness for displays of strength.

She merely lifted a brow. "Yes, something like that. Though I was perhaps a little more damp at the time." The gallop through the wind had dried her off somewhat, but had left her clothing uncomfortably...squishy was the best word she could come up with.

Wondering what he was up to, she only put up a token struggle against being carried around. It was a little intriguing to find that he actually did catch on. Eventually.

When he pinned her to the tree, taking a grip on her shirt, she just smiled. Maybe it was time for him to learn one of the many advantages of dance training and loose clothing. "Careful," she purred. "I like this shirt, and I wouldn't want to--"

A quick wriggle, a slide down and a light sidestep, and she was standing off to the side of the tree while Xavier held her now-empty shirt.

"...lose it," she finished with a smirk, pleased with herself for having taken the time to put on a camisole underneath the looser top. Of course, it was white, so now that it was wet it basically hid nothing, but the fact remained that she still had something on.

Roman just...stared as Kahlilia started taking her clothes off.

Where. The Hell. Did that come from.

More importantly,

(oh dear God she's not really going to take THAT off is she?)

what was he going to do about it?

(if there is a loving God he will make her stop that RIGHT NOW)

Clearly, there was no God. Or if there was, He delighted in causing Roman complete - and very male - humiliation.

If I get in the water...

If he got in the water, the chain he kept himself on would snap. His fear of it, of her - and for her - kept him rooted to the spot for several minutes.

I won't hurt her.

No matter what, he wouldn't hurt her. And that was enough of standing here like an idiot.

Walking like every step hurt him a little bit, he made his way to the river. Not caring if he got his remaining clothes wet, he slipped into the water and looked around to see where Kahlilia had gone.  

[minus infinity]

During her little strip tease, Kahlilia's gaze stayed mostly on what she was taking off. So she only had to imagine how Roman was reacting to her sudden move, especially the little twirl she had decided to do before jumping into the river like some sort of grand finale. There were definitely some fireworks.
I just need to act a little crazy ...
When Roman was debating whether or not there was an amiable God, Kahlilia had decided to swim around a little to a slightly deeper part of the river where she had a little bit more room to move around. She halfway surfaced, like a frog just raising its eyes out of the water from under a lilypad, when she noticed that Roman was coming into the water too. With a playful smirk underwater, she dove in a way that a mermaid does - head first, with the feet(fins) rising from the water briefly then splashing back under the water. The girl had never learned to do the swimming stroke and so when she swam she either doggy-paddled or tried her best to show off by doing the mermaid dive. Trying to slink underwater unseen, Lily found Roman, and surfacing as quickly as she possibly could - which alone sent water flying everywhere - she splashed him and quickly dove underwater again to swim away. It was like how children played 'catch me if you can', and when Kahlilia surfaced again about ten feet away she couldn't help but start giggling like crazy. When she had surfaced the first time just beside Roman, Lily had probably actually failed to be quick and quiet as she rose from the water to expose all of the skin above her navel. Now when she surfaced a little ways away, she kept her breasts under the water and let parts of her hair float around her and tickle her skin like weeds. Before she knew she had said anything, Lily was able to hold her giggles long enough to say in a surprisingly seductive voice, Come get me.

_________________________________



Xavier didn't realize what Esmeralda had done until suddenly he was holding an empty shirt and the girl was standing nearby in what was pretty much now a see-through camisole. If he hadn't known better, he could have sworn his eyes completely bugged out like the old cartoons, fixed on an unbelievable sight. This unbelievable girl ...
For just a second, he could probably have even said his jaw dropped as he dropped the shirt and swooped on Esmeralda again, not picking her up this time but kind of holding her in a bear hug sort of thing. It was all he could do right now not to take all their clothes off and take her right here on the grass ... he was barefoot as well as shirtless because he had left those articles at the river; so unfortunately if anyone was to see them right now it would look like they were being intimate. And maybe, just maybe, isn't that what he wanted? Not only to claim revenge for the prank in such a vile and using way but because he kind of was attracted to this girl ... Xavier closed his eyes and held her tightly against him as his body kicked in again with the hormones and he was hard again. Why was it that he too didn't really want to be around her when she decided to make fun of him in the ways she did, but right now all he wanted was to be with her here in this patch of land far away from anything else? So in almost an excruciatingly slow movement, he slid his hands down from the middle of her back down to her thighs in a way that, because he was doing it so slowly, it was also gentle. Of course since the clothes she was wearing were so wet right now too, did the touch tickle her? Thoughts and more thoughts, mostly dirty, scattered around like loose mice around his brain as Xavier closed his eyes and touched or possibly tickled the beautiful girl in front of him.

 

[SilentShadowDreamer]

Esmeralda growled softly for a moment when he grabbed her again. She was really going to have to teach him better than that. Preparing to pull another sneaky move out of her bag of tricks, she hesitated when his hands shifted to her back.

The growl changed to a soft purr when they slid down. Gently.

She hadn't thought he could be gentle. Still figured it was some kind of trick.

But damn it, it actually felt really good. She hadn't known that she was so sensitive to the touch. And he...

She smiled suddenly. Yes. Why, yes. That would teach him, wouldn't it? A blow where it would hurt him the most.

So she kept her back to him, didn't react too openly, but her head tilted slightly to the side and her body relaxed gently back against him. Offering instead of fighting.

A world of difference.

Roman had barely waded in when he jumped back as Kahlilia suddenly surfaced, and turned his face away as much to avoid seeing her right now as to avoid getting river water in his eyes. He was as white as milk at the moment, torn between terror and...

Something else. He was old enough to know the word desire, but he didn't want it to apply. He liked Kahlilia. He wanted to remain friends with Kahlilia.

And all the cursing fate in the world wouldn't help--

"Come get me."

What?

He must not have heard her right, he thought desperately, but he knew he had.

The chain stretched and strained, creaked, groaned. Cracked.

But didn't break, not quite yet.

Knowing it would, knowing it would be soon, Roman turned towards her and slid fluidly under the water, arrowing towards her much faster than he'd pretended.  

[minus infinity]

( OOC / Going to bed after this post xP stupid cramps and fatigue. nighty night! )




Kahlilia was close enough to the land so that she could fold her arms out in front of her on the grass and the mud, which she actually didn't mind at that current moment as she wanted to escape now from both the day's heat and her hormonal heat. So she rested her head in the crook of her folded arms, closing her eyes and daydreaming. Daydreaming that maybe Roman would be her first... as the current lapped against her body to try and get her to come back into the water, she daydreamed of becoming intimate for the first time. Maybe they weren't off to a good start the way Lily was embarrassing this poor guy so much, but maybe one of these days...
Lily opened her eyes as she heard a very close snort and looked up to see Benvolio. The paint had his head down right beside her, and began to nudge her. Lily giggled and playfully splashed her friend a little, unaware that in fact he was just trying to warn her that Roman was coming towards her to seek playful revenge. Benvolio even took some of her hair in his mouth in a gentle sort of teasing or whatever it was he was trying to do. Floating in the water with her arms staying on the land to balance herself, Lily couldn't help but erupt into giggles as Benvolio tickled her and the full realization of her strip tease began to mock her. Was it worth it? She wasn't sure. She still did not know that Roman was coming towards her, but because her eyes were closed again now as she giggled and splashed Benvolio lightly she wouldn't have been able to.

______________________________________



Xavier smiled a little as with a slow but very much welcomed realization he saw that a gentle touch was this girl's weak spot. Not flat out anger, not violence, not even ignoring her little remarks, just... touching. Gently touching. Maybe he could live with that for at least a little while longer. Just for a little while...
She had called him a boy on purpose, to hurt him - and it worked. But now he could show her that he was just the opposite, by being... his own opposite? Usually at this point in time Xavier would make a joke, become rough or something similar, but now it was like everything was on hold. Did that include his need for revenge and lust for at least a taste of power? He wasn't sure. What was it with this girl in front of him, who for some reason he still did not know the name of?
For a split second, he wanted to speak and to ask her what her name was. But an inexplicable something kept him back from that and he finally released his grip enough on her so that now he kind of hugged her from behind. She had very soft skin, and her still damp clothes seemed to cling to her body. It was then that his hormones kicked him out of his almost trance-like state to at least remember what he was doing and who on earth he was. Would she or was she accepting his touch? Xavier was standing behind the girl, so if she was making distinct facial expressions he couldn't see them. Would she accept him? As slowly and as gently as he could, just like before, he lifted up her camisole a little. He didn't take it off, it actually looked like he had folded it a little or something so that it just exposed her abdomen and her navel. Just that little spot, but seeing it put Xavier right back in his little trance like state. What would she do if... ? What would he do if... ?
He'd be damned if she hadn't just relaxed her body a little against him. So what would he do? The little paper knife glinted at him menacingly in a pocket of sunlight that had escaped through the leaves of the trees above them. So with a little sigh and with one hand on her arm in the gentlest touch he could manage with his big hands, he reached for her paper knife in a second attempt to confiscate it. Would she try to protect herself with it again? He was sure no one would be able to hear them right now even if they screamed at the top of their voices, so what would they do? What was going to happen? As Xavier's fingers closed around the shape of the knife so that it wouldn't cut him, he could only hope for the best.

 

[SilentShadowDreamer]

((OOC: Poor girl. I will write a nice fluffy post for you to wake up to. razz Night!))

Esmeralda felt it when he realized that she had relaxed, and she kept herself from smiling only through the sheerest force of will. If she wasn't careful, she thought, she was going to end up thinking that no one could resist her for long - and she didn't want to be that conceited.

He was probably trying to use her. Trying to win. Well, he was in for a surprise.

When he played with the bottom of her shirt, Esmeralda closed her eyes. Maybe while she waited for the optimal moment, she could pretend that he was
(Dev)
someone else. Someone that she loved, that loved her. Then she could excuse the heat that she could feel rising between them, could ignore the way she wasn't afraid to respond to his touch.

If he was someone else.

So she tried, and tried, but it didn't work. Xavier felt like Xavier, felt like Mr. Smooth (though he didn't seem so smooth now - in fact, he was almost fumbling a little), and she couldn't convince her mind to take her somewhere else, couldn't convince her heart to pretend he was the man she was missing.

Her head tilted back slightly so that the back of it rested against his collarbone. The touch was soothing and warming at the same time, but she wanted to push him further. Wanted it to hurt as much as possible when she found the right time.

She felt his hand close around her knife.

"Ah ah," she crooned, eyes still closed as she slipped her slender hand under his to grip the knife tightly, so that it was a bizarre parody of the first cut of a wedding cake - the knife held in both their hands. "Mine."

~

There was nothing playful about the vengeance Roman was coming to seek. The chain of control that he held onto was strained to its limit, and he'd never been a gambler. He had to make this a game somehow, had to get away from this somehow...

And then he saw her leaning against the river bed, head resting on her arms. She looked like a mermaid come out of the stories, who had fallen into this river and wanted nothing more than to go home.

She was so beautiful she stopped his heart for a moment.

And the chain snapped, quick and clean.

He surfaced just behind her. His hands rested on either side of her waist, the touch a hundred times more intimate than it had been while they'd been on Phoenix.

And then he pulled her under with him.

While they were under the water he turned her around so that they were facing one another. For a brief second he stared into her eyes, and then he risked it all and touched his lips gently to hers.

The kiss was brief, since they were underwater and all, and he pulled her back up to the surface immediately afterward. Roman let go of her and drew back. Without saying anything, he got out of the water and went to check on Phoenix, his jeans still soaking wet and looking almost as black as his horse from the water.  

[minus infinity]

( OOC / Cramps are over. Fangirlism has began again. <3 Thank you very much for making me squeal again. xD )


Benvolio had decided he was done tasting Kahlilia's hair and stepped back just as Roman surfaced out of the water behind the girl with what was almost a 'told you' glance towards her bright face, her still closed and daydreaming eyes. Completely oblivious until she felt Roman's hands on her waist, Kahlilia let out a little gasp when she was pulled underwater. What on earth was he doing? Although for a split second she panicked and scratched Roman's arms when she went underwater, she soon inexplicably relaxed and wrapped her slender arms around his shoulders as she slowly opened her eyes to look into his. Like a mermaid's seduction, her lashes parted like a curtain of lace, her hair flowed about her with a life of its own and the faintest smile lit up her lips just nanoseconds before she closed her eyes again to accept her first 'real' kiss.
She had been kissed only once before, in the eighth grade at a school dance with a boy who sputtered with every word he spoke to her and kissed her with an obvious feeling of awkwardness. While it was true that this kiss was also awkward in its own way, Lily couldn't deny that some part of her wished it would last forever. But it seemed, it was over before it began.
Upon surfacing, Lily realized she couldn't see beyond her hair. Apparently her hair had decided it was through floating around in a Disney princess sort of way and now had entirely collected about her face. So now she pulled another mermaid-esque move as she submerged herself again briefly and popped back up with a flip of her head to bring her hair back where it belonged. In the process water flew all over the place and she exposed every inch of bare skin above her hips for the second time. Benvolio reacted to this almost showy move with another snort in her direction as the girl finger-combed her hair, and the girl couldn't help but smile. Although she swam around a bit more mermaid diving and then giving in and doggy paddling, Lily eventually decided she was done with being naked and stepped out of the water to stand behind Benvolio in a classic sort of censorship; Benvolio standing next to her facing the river and Lily reaching up to the left to pet him. Before she put on her clothes, she had to at least re-establish a feeling of being dry so with a faint smirk she quickly shook her head as a wet dog would. Maybe it was a form of revenge, like how Benvolio delighted in splashing Lily in that exact same way. Caught in another giggle fit by the time she had stopped, Lily wrung out her hair and put back on her panties and her jeans. Now at least she was kind of dressed, but she was still barefoot and completely topless.
_______________________________________


Xavier wasn't sure why most girls only thought they were irresistible and then thought they were conceited for it, when in truth the majority of said girls were some of the most self-conscious -and beautiful- he knew. It was just another one of those things he would probably never understand about girls. For now, he was getting so lost in lust he didn't really care about anything else.
Although pretty much unaware he was faltering with the heat rapidly rising in him, Xavier actually did see himself fumble when Esmeralda leaned against him, into him. His hands fumbled where they were at her hips, where at that time he had been trying to locate the knife. And then he found it, but then --
Her hand went on his. Although he stayed quiet, Xavier swore about a million times in his mind, where on any other counts he could have sworn his brain completely turned off for that second in time. Her hand on his ...
Giving up his quest for the paper knife then and there, Xavier kept one hand on her hip -wait, was his hand starting to shake?- as he unzipped his jeans just enough to ...
Now he could have sworn his hands were shaking as he moved now to take off this girl's camisole, see-through as it had already become. He wanted to feel her skin, just for this moment ...
But he was shaking. Fumbling. Faltering. Why? Why had he lost his power, masculinity so easily to her? It felt almost like he had given it completely to her, for her to use against him later --
He couldn't think like that, not right now. Every regret in the world, and yet at the same time no regrets. Everything and nothing at the same time, but there was no blank this time. Then why was this scarier to him than the blank was? Certainly he hadn't been scared with Summer-
Stop.
Xavier had to stop that. He knew that, and yet it seemed to be in his subconscious now. Her touch, it was like -
Why couldn't he stop? When would it end? Her touch, that was the only thing he couldn't bear to have end right now.
Trying to stop his thoughts but mostly being unsuccessful, he let out a low sigh of something and traced his fingers down her hips, trying to get her to undress. He could do it, he didn't mind, but would she accept him? Would she use this against him one of these days? What was she going to do? And why was he so inexplicably attracted to her and yet so angry towards her?