there  to  indulge  in  a  little  liquour  and  reckless  decisions,  serra  couldn't  help  but  encourage  those  around  her  to  do  the  same.  particularly  where  the  alcohol  came  into  play.  multiple  shots  lined  up  firmly  upon  the  bar  before  her,  one  in  hand  with  a  couple  free  for  any  takers.  "free  shots."  the  brunette  called  out,  hoping  that  she  wouldn't  have  to  pick  up  the  slack  for  those  in  her  close  proximity.  "help  a  girl  out."

typically,  the  tattoo  artist  wasn't  one  to  encourage  small  talk,  so  this  was  one  way  to  avoid  such  tactics  that  other  patrons  usually  pulled  when  they  were  bored  or  after  a  specific  ending  to  their  evening.  instead,  she  took  it  upon  herself  to  numb  the  surface,  hindering  inhibitions,  it  made  for  far  more  interesting  conversations.  perhaps  even  a  secret  or  too.

"i  don't  bite..."  further  encouragement  as  eyes  glanced  at  her  onlookers.  "only  a  little  nibble  from  time  to  time."  of  course  messing,  but  couldn't  help  herself.

her gaze slid over, a flicker of dry amusement breaking through the fatigue as she lifted her glass slightly. “good to know,” she said, voice a little rough around the edges from disuse. “i’ve had a long shift, don’t think i’ve got the energy to fend off anything more than a nibble.” a small pause, then a faint, tired smirk. “depends though… you offering, or just making promises?”

it was funny— tessa had thought that as trevor grew up, he'd somehow need her less, and it may have been true if it weren't for the sneaking out and skipping school. the unending rebellious streak that had taken root in her son. everything was a fight. frankly, tess wanted to pull her hair out.

but instead, she'd settled for a drink.

"unless you speak teenage boy, i'm 'fraid not," tess replied on an exasperated sigh, sliding into the booth beside adelaide. her gaze swept over the women, picking up the subtle tension carried on her face, only detectable from knowing someone their entire life. "what about you? anything i can help with?"

her lips pressed together at tess’s words, a faint shake of her head following as she let out a quiet breath. “now that, i can’t help ya with,” she said softly, a hint of a drawl slipping through. “teenage boys? whole different language.”

her gaze lingered on her for a moment, something thoughtful passing behind her eyes before it faded. truth was, she couldn’t help but wonder sometimes, what it’d be like to have that kind of family. but that meant letting someone in close enough to build it, and that… wasn’t something she’d quite figured out.

she shifted slightly in her seat, brushing the thought aside. “i was thinkin’, though… maybe we oughta host somethin’,” she added, tone a touch lighter now. “don’t rightly know what yet, but feels like it might do some good.” her brow lifted faintly. “anythin’ come to mind for ya?”

location: decker's ranch

rodeo's  weren't  exactly  lorenzo's  thing,  alas,  he  briefly  attended  the  annual  shindig  that  lured  so  many  to  it's  confines.  depending  on  how  you  looked  at  it,  the  night  was,  eventful nonetheless.  an  onlooker  to  the  burning  chaos  that  ensued,  mind  pondering  immediately  as  to  who  had  sparked  such  situations.  both  figuratively,  and  literally,  that  is.  regardless,  enzo  was  quick  to  return  to  the  comfortability  of  his  night  club,  for  some  respite.

was  it  normal  to  spend  the  night  at  your  place  of  business?  probably  not,  but  this  man  took  great  pride  in  the  reputation  of  the  club,  and  the  moretti  name.  so,  if  that  meant  the  manager  took  refuge  on  the  sofa  in  his  office  from  time  to  time?  then  so  be  it.  this  morning  was  one  of  those  occasions,  of  course,  getting  caught  up  in  the  excitement  from  the  evening  prior.

"we're  not  open  for  another  hour."  the  man  called  out,  noticing  the  pitter  patter  of  some  footprints  approaching  the  bar  that  he  was  currently  stocking  ahead  of  the  evening  rush.  "so,  what  can  i  do  you  for?"  he  later  questioned,  wondering  if  this  was  business  or  pleasure.

she paused at his voice, glancing toward the bar before stepping closer.

“i just got off shift.” a small breath out. “was hoping for a drink before heading home.”

sebastian looked at her then, really looked. the rapidly disappearing donuts, the way her gaze was a moving target. it was all a diversion, a way to distract from the sincerity of her words. 

their lapse of communication had been mutual, his choice to step aside and respect her decision no less of a choice than hers. “you didn’t leave me with anything to fight for.” he knew it was a lie as the words left his mouth. 

then her expression shifted and it was as if a door closed. “careful, someone might get the idea you care.”

it wasn’t surprising, the way they’d fallen apart, neither of them ever quite saying what needed to be said. she’d tried, in her own way. met him somewhere in the middle… or at least where she thought it was. his words hit harder than she expected. “good to know that’s all you thought we were.” part of her wished she’d had it in her to fight for it, to not let it slip that easy.

“maybe i’m just warnin’ the next one.” another donut disappeared between her lips.

"geeze," he replied, as his eyes moved down towards the oversized bag, "you plannin’ on feedin’ the whole damn rodeo or just yourself?" he asked as he stepped besides her, close enough to steal one without asking, because he never does when it comes to his siblings and food. "you ever pair this with whiskey?" he asked as he wiped off the powder on his fingers on his jeans, "tastes better than that fried chicken." he admitted, as he nodded towards another food stand.

she shot him a look that said she’d seen it coming. “there’s a few things i don’t share, cash, and this right here’s one of ‘em.” a beat, a hint of a smile pulling at her lips. “you’re lucky you’re family, or i’d have you laid out flat.”

that smile turned sweeter, just to sell it. “really?"

her name explained the vague recognition, a trip to the emergency room with one of the rookies coming to mind. “you treated one of my rookies for smoke inhalation.”

enjoying was relative. “what’s not to love about bulls and lassos?” for all intents and purposes, he was having a great time. he’d seen his ex, suffered through a brisket sandwich that had lost its taste, and now was watching grown men be flung around by cattle. “my mother used to bring me to these for the barrel racing,” he redirected, looking over at her. “how about you?”

“i do remember that.” a lot of people from town passed through the er, and she did what she could for each of them. “how is he doing?”

ciara let out a quiet laugh. “what exactly brought you out here? i’m starting to think this isn’t your scene.” she’d grown up around it, knew it well enough. “the barrel racing’s my favorite.” a brief pause. “it’s nice, though… seeing the town be civil for once.” the tension was hard to ignore otherwise.

munching on some loaded fries, she hears a familar face and shakes her head. "oh no, i was just sittin' here by my lonesome self," she told ciara. "the hospital gave you enough grace to be able to spend the day here?"

“it’s been three weeks since i’ve had any time off. i was told to enjoy myself.” three days in a row felt unfamiliar. “looks like you managed to get the night off too.”

with  a  little  smile  cropping  up  on  her  lips  the  blonde  shook  her  head  just  so  slightly.  "there's  enough  sugar  in  this  sweet  tea  to  send  me  into  a  days  long  sugar  high...  adding  that,"  head  dipping  to  indicate  the  bag  of  mini  donuts  covered  in  powdered  sugar,  "could  put  me  in  a  coma."

there  was  no  judgement,  rylee  understood  indulgence  maybe  more  than  most.  she'd  gotten  herself  into  enough  hot  water  because  of  it.  "do  they  sell  'em  as  a  single  because  i  could  do  that...  or  at  least  a  bite."

she gave a small shrug. her gaze dropped to the oversized bag of donuts in her hands. sharing had never exactly been her strong suit, but she also knew she wasn’t fixin’ to eat all thirty on her own. her brothers were bound to show up sooner or later anyway.

she held the bag out slightly. “you want one, or you just gonna keep talkin’ about ‘em?”

“you can’t put that on me.” she was many things, but indecisive wasn’t one of them. she’d been very clear about what she wanted when she ended things, and for once, he’d listened. he understood it. her father had died, she needed to put her family first, and that meant cutting him out. he didn’t belong in her life; plain and simple. “not when i stayed away because you told me to.”

he took a step towards her. “you ended things, addie.” the slip steadied him, and his voice dropped on instinct. if their relationship had existed in shadow, there was no need to draw attention to it now. “don’t blame me for not being a mind reader.”

“since when have you ever listened to me in the first place?” her voice dropped, low enough not to draw attention. she popped another mini donut into her mouth, like this was just another easy, passing conversation.

“you didn’t even fight for it.” it didn’t matter that he’d done exactly what she asked, that he’d given her space. there was still a part of her that hated the quiet that followed, hated not having him there, not having the way he grounded her.

a moment passed before she looked off, letting whatever flickered in her eyes settle before finding him again. “maybe you’ll find some… pretty little thing to take home tonight.” a small pause. “seems more your speed.”