#stable verse

Maisie was excited to attend her friend Sophie’s party and had been telling Carter all week how much she knew the blonde was going to love the present she had bought and the dress she was planning to wear.  However it was Maisie who got the bigger surprise when it turned out that Sophie had really gathered the ten friends together to ask them all to be bridesmaids.  Maisie was thrilled because she had never been a bridesmaid before and happily agreed.  She eagerly phoned Carter the next day to tell him about it and was clearly so excited.

It was two days later before she actually saw Carter and by then her joy at being involved in the wedding was beginning to wane.  She flopped down on Carter’s couch and cuddled into him with a sad face and her phone clutched to her hand.  “What’s a cabana?” she asked after a few moments.

Maisie had rarely felt so happy and content as she did in this moment.  She was so happy with Carter, her friendship with Brenna had been less dramatic for a while and thanks to her 2 minutes of fame over saving Mr Thompson’s life, even though she still felt that was a bit of a dramatic way to put it, she felt far more confident in herself. 

She made her way over to Carter’s after her shift only to find that he wasn’t there.  Letting herself in she took a quick shower and changed into her pyjamas and made some pasta for dinner.  He still wasn’t back so she ate hers and lay down on the couch to watch some TV until he came home.  She could clean up everything together once he had eaten and she was tired.

Maisie pulled up at the ranch with a sigh.  It wasn’t that she didn’t want to be with Carter and his family for Thanksgiving.  It wasn’t even that she was missing being with her own family.  She felt like she had had weeks of that horrible churning stomach feeling each time Carter mentioned his family and Brenna in particular.  So far Maisie had managed to keep quiet about Brenna and Adam but she wasn’t sure how much longer she could do it for.  The secret was really playing on her mind and she was struggling to relax around Carter which was really unfair given everything they had just been through.

She set the car into park and climbed out, lifting the apple pie from the passenger seat and headed towards the house.  Ringing the doorbell she suddenly looked round to check that Carter’s truck was indeed there and she wouldn’t end up alone with Brenna and her dad.

Maisie climbed out of the Uber and as the car took off she suddenly felt her stomach flip.  She really wished that Brenna had been with her but instead it was Lily and Megan who had decided to attend the party with her.  It was strange to be at a bar without Carter but she knew he was already going to be there but his idea of them playing at not knowing each other and flirting seemed funny to her.  She had known Carter for so long that she wasn’t sure she was going to be able to pretend for very long.

Lily grabbed her hand and pulled her into the bar before she backed out.  “Your costume looks amazing Maisie, stop worrying,” Lily promised her as they entered the busy bar.  Lily was all organised and had managed to sweet talk the owner into keeping them a table so they were headed straight over and sat down for a moment.  It didn’t take Maisie very long to notice Carter but she quickly turned away and pretended that she hadn’t noticed him but it calmed her nerves to know that he was there.

She shrugged off her coat and walked over to the bar with Megan.  Her Daisy Duke outfit was especially for Carter but she felt as if everyone was staring at her ass in these very tight, short shorts.  Her red checked shirt was tied just below her breasts which showed off her toned stomach but was far more revealing than she was used to wearing out in public like this.   Maisie let Megan place the order as she turned and looked around leaning on the bar as she took in all the other costumes and just possibly to give Carter a good view of her outfit.

Maisie went home from work and tried to read everything she could find on this  DHEA and the effect too much of it was having on people.  Everything she read fitted what she had experienced with Carter but the whole thing still scared her.  What if that wasn’t the only thing that had caused the change in him?  He was always so angry at her and while he clearly had got aggressive and verging on violent on occasion he didn’t seem as bad as many of the cases described which made her worry there was more to it with him.

It wasn’t long before she got a message from Brenna asking her if she would meet with Carter and she agreed on the condition it was in public and Brenna was there.  Her stomach flipped uncontrollably every time she thought about seeing him, a mixture of excitement and hope that she would get her Carter back and nerves that nothing really had changed.  

As she pulled into the restaurant car park and saw Carter’s truck already there she felt her legs begin to tremble.  It felt like so much rested on this meeting and she hated the pressure of it all.  She spotted them easily sitting at the table and walked over.  “Hi, I hope you haven’t been waiting too long.”

Maisie felt like she would never stop crying as she lay on her old bed.  Her heart was in pieces but she was also upset and a bit angry that Carter seemed to be putting the blame on her rather than accepting that he was part of the issue and that rubbed her the wrong way, which in turn got her angry and then sad and then she was crying again.  Her parents knew the best thing in these times was to give her some space so it took one more day and then she decided it was time for her to go home again.  Carter hadn’t attempted to contact her and so she felt like he wasn’t going to any more although it did suck that she had just lost her best friend as well as her boyfriend.

She went home, stocked up on tissues, ice cream and wine on the way and after confirming with her work that she would be back for her next shift in two days she set about setting a world record in how much ice cream you can consume in 24 hours or possibly how many tissues a person can surround themselves with before they are totally buried.

Maisie stood at Brenna’s door and took a deep breath.  She really appreciated her friend having the party at her apartment since there was no way Maisie would be able to cope with a bar or even a busy restaurant.  She felt sad arriving at her own party on her own but she knew that Carter would be coming and they would at least get to spend plenty of time together.  Lifting her hand she knocked twice, glancing down at her green and silver dress and pushing her hair back behind her ears as she waited.

Maisie stared hard at the bag sitting on the floor by Carter’s front door as if she was trying to x-ray the contents.  “Are three sweaters really going to be enough?” she asked, her gaze never wandering from the dark blue holdall.  “I packed four pairs of socks in case three get wet but what if it rains?  I know the forecast says it is going to be dry and sunny but can you really be sure about that?”

This was the issue with camping in fall.  The weather could change so suddenly that you really had to cover all your bases and she kept changing her mind on what she needed.  “Maybe you should just drop me at home, I can repack while you go and collect Brenna and Adam and then you can come back for me again,” she finally announced as if that was the most logical thing in the world.  “Then I can double check everything for the third time.”

Adam knew designed suits and legislation but he was feeling surprisingly out of his depth for this weekend adventure.  Ever since Brenna had discovered that he had never been camping she had been pushing and pushing for them to go and when Carter announced he wanted to try this new area then that was it, he felt like he hadn’t got a minutes peace from her until he agreed to go camping with them all.

He had some items in his wardrobe which could be considered more casual and things like his jeans for riding but he knew Brenna was going to make fun of him regardless of what he packed.  If anything he was tempted to pack badly just to let her get it over with and then he could avoid any further suffering.  

Deciding he was finally done he took his bag downstairs and walked into the kitchen to get a drink of water.  “What time did Carter say he would be and you are sure he is bringing all the camping equipment with him?”