Riding Lessons?

As usual, Ren was in his regular stable garb. Jeans, flannel shirt with checks on it, black stetson, and goggles. He was starting to think that he needed to change his wardrobe choices though. This girl was coming on to him. Something that he rarely noticed, which meant that either she was coming on very strong, or his newfound relationship with Fia was making him more aware.

"No, Scarlet, you gotta sit up straight, tell the horse your in charge." he drawled, but the stupid girl didn't even respond, she just beamed at the attention. He sighed, removing his hat from his head and jerking a hand through his hair. "You look like a sack of potatoes." he added, his Texan drawl adding an extra amused flair to his words. As he'd figured, it worked, and Scarlet suddenly pulled herself into a sitting position.

"You're a good teacher, Ren." she giggled, batting her overly made up eyes at him. Perhaps it was that she was only a year younger than him, that he noticed how desperatelyl she was flirting with him.

He didn't return the compliment, and instead just dipped his head in acceptance. He checked his watch. Private lessons dragged on the longest, and this girl was getting annoying. He pondered, for a moment, how long Scarlet had been flirting with him before he noticed it. That ponderance didn't last very long, however, because his mind drifted to Fia.

"...I'll be back with the cheque, Ren!" he glanced at her just in time to see her disappearing through the door, and he winced.

"Fia.. You're bad for my job.." he mumbled in a low drawl, chuckling slightly as he adjusted his hat on his head.

Scarlet came back a little too fast, and he mused if she had even bothered to untack her horse. Stupid rich kids. But then she came a litttle bit too close. Her face was only inches from his, and he could only assume what that look on her face meant, so he stumbled back, out of her reach. "Umm.. The.." he coughed, "The Check Scarlet, I've got chores I need to get to."

She moved forward, and every step she advanced, he matched with a step back. Until he ran into the fence. He mouthed a curse. He was definately not so good at dealing with girls. She kept moving forward, and he placed a hand on either of the girl's shoulder. "I've got a girlfriend, Scarlet. I'm not interested." he said as gently as possible, letting go, and brushing past her.

She caught his hand. And he promptly jerked his hand out of hers, "You can pay at the main office." he said, his words sharp, his accent almost all but disappeared.

He walked quickly away from her, and she ran to keep up with him. "What is it Ren, don't you like me? Am I ugly?" she asked, her voice pitiful.

He winced, and turned to look at her, sharp gold eyes piercing her blue ones. She backed away from his sharp gaze. But was surprised when all he did was look at her, pity in his eyes.

Ren sighed. This wasn't his day. And then Fia came, and he brightened immensly, though he frowned when she dragged a startled Scarlet away. He dashed after the two, and caught Fia by the waist, pulling her into him, and breaking Fia's hold on Scarlet.

He looked deeply into Fia's eyes, and smiled the smile that seemed to only be for her. He held her firmly with one hand around her waist, and used the other to brush a strand of hair out of her face fondly. "Fia.." he said, his voice low and soft, his drawl intense, even in a single word. But there was a slight hint of warning in his voice too.

He didn't give her a chance to answer though, and instead slipped a hand behind her neck into her hair, and kissed her soundly. When he pulled away, he breathed a soft, contented sigh, still holding Fia firmly by the waist, before looking at Scarlet with sharp eyes. "Todd's going to be taking over teaching you, as of next week." he said to the girl, who looked as though she'd just watched a bird die.

That seemed to be all the prompting she needed, because she took off at nearly a run, in the direction of the main office. He looked back down at Fia, and his gaze softened. "You look beautiful today." he murmured, not untangling his hand from her hair.

Ren smiled. He loved how she reacted to him. So different than how she acted towards other people. He realized that his hat had fallen off when he kissed her, but he just grinned, and the hat disappeared from the ground, reappearing on his head. He gently untangled his hand from her hair, stroking it for a moment, before adjusting the hat back on his head.

She touched his face, and he leaned into the caress for a moment, before taking her hand in his, and kissing it. "Private lesson day. It's either idiots or.. something else." he murmured, his drawl intense, and adding a slow, laid back, honeyed texture to them.

He kissed her forehead gently, tucking her head under his chin with ease. "You make it all better though." he said, his word rumbling against her, since her head was on his shoulder/chest.

Ren grinned at her. "Well..... I'm all for going out, but call me old fashioned, I insist on takin' you out." he murmured, snaking one arm tighter around her waist.

"First, We'll head on back to the academy, and get dressed up real nice," he petted her hair tenderly, "And go out on the town." he grinned wolfishly down at her, dimples appearing in the corners of his mouth.

He'd become far more relaxed than he ever had been with her around. She made him happy, and he loved how beautiful she was, even when she wasn't trying.