skinwalkersproject | [Log

"Y'all have about five more minutes before I reckon this is all a ruse to get me alone, Elmore." Mollie-Sue braced her hands on the bridge rail, leaning over to try and spot some fish.

No, he wasn't usually late. His daddy taught him all about the importance of being punctual, but he'd figured E.L. wouldn't mind him being a little tardy if it meant his face wasn't as red as a tomato.

Finally, though, he trotted up behind them, slowing down at the sight of Mollie-Sue's familiar blond pigtails until he had to duck behind the fat swell of a willow tree trunk so they wouldn't see him pitching a small fit. Aw, hell. What was she doing here?

E.L gave Mollie-Sue an easy smile, squinting against the sun. He thought he saw Ainsley for a second there approaching behind her, but he wasn't there now so it must have been someone else.

"I need a ruse to get you alone now? Thought I just had to go ahead and ask."

"Askin' is a lot more gentlemanly than havin' a ruse," she agreed. She absently poked her tongue out from between her lips, to see if she could smell any fish since their vibrations were lost under the water - catching a different smell on the air that made her blink.

She put her tongue firmly back in her mouth, turning around and spotting no one. She knew she had smelt that cologne though. "Ainsley Wheeler, where is y'all hidin' at?"

... dammit. How did she do that? Mollie-Sue Winters was as creepy as she was easy on the eyes. He couldn't blame E.L. for trying to go with her, but why had he thought it'd be a good idea to bring her along to a man's gathering?

Standing up straight, Ainsley rolled his shoulders, shook out his hands and got himself right. He cleared his throat and slapped his cheeks once, twice, drumming up some fool excuse for why he might be looking as pink as a rosebud.

"Hold your horses, Miss Mollie-Sue," he said, sweeping forward with his head ducked, hands jammed in his pockets. "You sure do know how to ruin a li'l bit of fun."

E.L's face lit up proper when he saw Ainsley emerge from behind that tree. He moved off past Mollie-Sue to meet him, closing the distance with a boyish ruffle of his friends hair and a teasing poke in the ribs.

"Afternoon, Ains. Ya'll wern't plannin' on scarin' us now were you?"

"Aint no boys gonna scare me never," Mollie-Sue muttered mostly to herself. She lingered back, wrapping her arms around her middle. She only needed to be a girl to sense the slight tension in the air. She hadn't been invited to this get together.

... Well, she was here. So that was that. She wasn't about to offer to sit in the car and leave them be. No sir.

"Y'all ran over here, Ainsley? Lookin' red there."

He couldn't help the smile that burst onto his lips at the hair ruffling, that little poke. It made him feel better startlingly fast, just to be in E.L.'s light again. He punched him lightly in the gut as payback.

But the smile faded a little and he found himself tossing a side glance Mollie-Sue's way. It weren't nothin' personal but... looking at her now made him blush even harder, and now there was just no escaping that. "Like a prize horse straight outta the gate," he boasted, his eyes roaming over her, then quickly darting away.

She wasn't too far off in build from Sheena, and he knew it was the least gentlemanly thing to do, wondering if she looked the same as Sheena had under her skirt. He cleared his throat. "Where are my manners," he muttered. "It's real nice to see you, Mollie-Sue."

"Always real nice." E.L grinned, giving her a flirtatious look before turning back to Ainsley. He hadn't noticed the redness of his friends face until Mollie-Sue pointed it out, but now that he saw it, golly was it there.

"Why'd ya'll run so fast, man? You got some big news or sumin?" He looked up at his slightly taller friend, wide eyed and ready to listen.

He scratched at his bare elbow, his polo shirt a little sticky with perspiration. These hot New Orleans summers, he was used to them but it didn't make sweating from the memory of last night any easier. Ainsley cleared his throat, shrugged, turned his mouth down in sheepish disregard, as if he didn't have any news.

Nope, nothing to see here. No big, earth-shattering developments in his maturation, or anything like that. "I uh... nothin' special. Hey, how 'bout we get some ice cream? Saw one of them carts down on the main path."

Mollie-Sue narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Ainsley's actions. "Why don't y'all want to talk to me? Is it about me?"

She curled her fingers into her palms, squaring her shoulders. "I can take y'all Ainsley Wheeler. Don't think I'm scared to fight no boy. If'in y'all want to talk smack about me, do it to my face."

Edited 2014-09-12 19:22 (UTC)

"Hey, hold on now. Ain't no call for that." E.L held up both hands in a surrendering motion, giving both Ains and Mollie-Sue the look of the peacemaker.

"Whatever you got to say, ya'll can say it in front of Mollie-Sue. Right?" He quirked an eyebrow at Ainsley that very specifically said 'don't upset my girl now.'

Ainsley's eyes darted from Mollie-Sue to E.L., then back to Mollie-Sue in a sort of panic - control your girl, E.L. - as he took a step back and held his hands up.

Things were escalating real quickly, and it was mostly his fault. He shook his head quickly, a firm protest against talking bad on her, then squinted ruefully at E.L. because he knew that quirked eyebrow said a whole lot more than he was letting on. "I know you, Townsend, and I know what you mean by that," he grumbled.

"Look, it ain't... it ain't nothing like that, Mollie-Sue. Don't go workin' yourself up into one of them famous Winters Tizzies.

"Don't give me no reason to," Mollie-Sue informed Ainsley, with a huff in her tone, finding it was her turn to feel a little ashamed. Real southern ladies didn't fly into tempers.

She pushed her knuckles past her nose in a tough-guy act, before giving him a smile to show she wasn't in a real rage. Yet. "I'm jus' foolin', Ainsley. Y'all got no reason to act like a little bunny with a snake."

"What's on your mind?" E.L let a sympathetic tone enter his voice. He didn't want to make his friend more uncomfortable but...

"My daddy always says ya'll should get things what are workin' you up off your chest. Mollie-Sue ain't gonna tell, are you, darlin?"

"Course not. Girls are right discreet."

In that moment, Mollie-Sue was about as far away from Sheena Edwards as any girl could be. But that didn't keep Ainsley's mind from wondering. Now he couldn't stop thinking about what any girl'd be like in the sack, Mollie-Sue included, which added a whole other layer of guilt to the unfolding mess considering Mollie-Sue was as good at E.L.'s girl.

Ainsley stared long and hard at them both, his lips pursed into a tight line of consideration, the strain in his posture obvious enough to behold as he folded his arms tightly across his chest. He squinted in the ensuing silence, then blew out a great thrust of air that flapped his lips like an engine roaring to life. But really, it was the sound of defeat.

He turned away and cleared his throat, looking around, then down at the pond. "So I mighta uh... made it with a... girl last night."

Edited 2014-09-12 20:01 (UTC)

Mollie-Sue's first reaction was to inform them both that this was not a conversation for her, turn her heel and head back to the car. But she'd made such a fuss, she couldn't do that now.

She batted her eyes at Ainsley - taking a mental role-call of all the girls she knew who were sweet on him and placing him with them in various positions. She could feel his nerves vibrating out of him and up her feet - poor little lamb.

No, she couldn't just skip out now. That would have been worse for Ainsley's sense of manhood. She had to be one of the boys instead.

She cracked a smile, poking out her tongue. "Did y'all hit a home run, Wheeler?"

"Oh now..." E.L shook his head and smiled all at once. He was amused and swelling with a sense of pride for his friend.

"Ainsley, pal, go on."

Ainsley whipped back around, fixing E.L. with a bewildered look before he slid his gaze ever-so-casually slid on over to Mollie-Sue and he mustered up one of the silliest smiles he could manage.

Hoped it would cut right through the embarrassment of it all. And, after a moment, it did the job well enough. At least for him. Enough to be able to think carefully enough to choose the right words. He came up with, "Hit it long and far, that's me," and laughed hard before shaking his head and running both hands through his hair.

"Y'all can't really be expectin' no details, right? We got a lady in our company. But I'll say it... well, it ain't even been twenty-four hours since, so who knows if she got complaints or not."

"Normally when they got complaints they don't wait to file 'em," Mollie-Sue announced. "So, y'all must have dodged a bullet."

E.L gave Mollie-Sue a sharp but playful nudge in the side, grinning.

"Of course she ain't got no complaints. You're a catch and then some."He clapped his friend on the back and rubbed encouragingly.

"Details would be nice but... I reckon we'd be breakin' some sorta gentleman's code or sumthin."

Ainsley bit his bottom lip, tugging it thoughtfully between his teeth, and his eyes grew wide with a frenzy of thoughts. Was she right? Would Sheena have said something by now? He was saying something. He shouldn't be saying something. He shouldn't kiss and tell. That ain't right... right?

He barely felt E.L.'s encouraging backrub, he was so far off in his own head. Space Cadet Ainsley, at your service.

E.L stopped and thought to himself for minute while Mollie-Sue waved her hand in front of Ainsley's vacant face.

He considered whether he could really ask his next question or not in front of one of the girls he was courting. He figures Mollie-Sue is the type to appreciate honesty, so he decides to go ahead. After all, he is a might guilty for bringing her along unannounced now that this news popped up.

"Did you bring her off, Ains?"

"Course I did!" It comes out fast and hot, and still sort of dopey-eyed as he slowly comes back to himself. Apparently, the mere suggestion that he wouldn't be a gentleman in bed proved enough to bring him out of his mild stupor, and soon enough he was blinking and focusing back on the two of them, then smiling shyly, and a little eagerly.

Glancing back and forth between them, he looked to be just about bursting with the details. It was hard, keeping his mouth shut. Lord have mercy on this poor child of yours. "Woowee, this girl... She's, she was wild," he marveled. "I ain't never heard anything like her before, I'll say that much."

Wild? Mollie-Sue didn't know of any girl's who were sweet on Ainsley Wheeler who she'd describe as 'wild'. She pursed her lips in a moment of silent thought, fighting not to ask just who this girl was.

"Who was this wild thang?" E.L grinned, still rubbing at Ainsley's back and stealing some of his excitement.

"Elmore, you can't ask that!" Mollie-Sue scolded, giving him a less than gentle tap on the shoulder. She half hoped Ainsley would ignore her though.

He'd been in the midst of opening his mouth to say exactly who she was, too caught up in the memory to remember himself, so he was mighty grateful when Mollie-Sue put a shame in his gut so heavy that he bit his tongue.

Ainsley nodded once, twice, then shook his head at himself, the entirety of the gesture making him look a little frenzied. "It ain't right but... I used to go with her, few months back. We uh, rekindled the flame, as they like to say. She rekindled it real enthusiastically, if'n you get me."

"I git you." E.L nodded with a slow grin. "Well boy, I'm happy for you. This is real excitin'"

A pause. Again, considering whether he should even ask but...

"So... You gonna see her again?"

"Are you gonna--?" Mollie-Sue huffed out a short breath. Lord. Girls were discreet, but boys? Boys were boring as paint drying. They didn't know what to ask at all.

She lifted her head and leaned in. "When y'all say wild, how wild? How long was y'all runnin' bases before ya got to get your hit in? Was the grass high on the field, or freshly mown? Y'all said you hit a home run, so was it in the front field or the back house?

"And y'all used protection didn't y'all, Ainsley Wheeler?"

Jesus, Mary and Joseph, Ainsley just about nearly had a heart attack what with all those questions flying out of her mouth. He drew back a ways from her, scandalized, the look on his face all but crying out, but you're supposed to be the lady!.

But, you know. He was eager. He was proud. There was just no stopping him, apparently. Nevermind how she knew what all those things meant and why a girl like Mollie-Sue could even ask such dirty things of him. "Grass was... nice, real nice. Definitely green, healthy-like. Smelled so good... uh."

He stopped, licking his lips and squinting suspiciously at her. Was it really okay to talk about this stuff? Was this some kind of trick? "Miss Mollie-Sue, you ain't some kinda sleeper for the other team, are ya?"

Mollie-Sue gave Ainsley a smile, proud with the information she had gotten already. "Discreet means no names, don't mean no information."

E.L took a moment to appreciate that when he finally plays baseball with Mollie-Sue, it's going to be real interesting.

"I got the fishing gear in the trans-am. Ya'll wanna move off and talk some more? We can spend some time on the Fishin' Peir down on Marconi Avenue and hear about Casanovas baseball game some more."

Ainsley peered at her, still with the suspicions, and yet... it was really fun. Talking like this. It was starting to feel almost casual, like he could tell her a whole lot of things and curse up a storm and she wouldn't think any less of him.

He had to wonder if this meant Mollie-Sue was going to be his first real, close lady friend. He wasn't opposed to the idea. "As long as we can get some o' that ice cream first. I want some of that lemon flavor."

Edited 2014-09-12 21:44 (UTC)

"Shoot, I left my wallet in the car." E.L's brow furrowed. "Wheels, you got any green on you?"

Ainsley patted down his pockets and frowned, looking like a very sad puppy. "Shucks, me too. Ain't that just a shame. Oh well, another time."

"You boys are so useless," Mollie-Sue rolled her eyes. "How'in y'all gonna treat a lady right if y'all can't even keep your wallets in your pants?"

She reached into her purse, digging around and finally pulling out two crisp notes. "There. Momma's got five bucks allowance for y'all today. Don't spend it all at once."

"You sure Mollie-Sue?" E.L looked to Ainsley, then back to her with a puppy dog unease. "I can pay you right back, so..."

[Log - Young ones]

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