Dates and Crutches (Nolan tag Sloane)

[Nolan Ahlstrom]

Nolan had been having a wonderful meal. Conversation between the pair had flowed well, he thought. At least as good as it ever had between himself and a girl. He was learning more and more about Sloane, and finding the more he learned the closer he felt to her. They had a decent amount of things in common, family and athletics being two that were very important to Nolan.

“From what I'm told, Gould and Silver were built around the same time,” he started, feeling proud that he was getting a chance to show off some knowledge. Nolan knew he wasn't the smartest guy in the world, but he liked the opportunities to prove he also wasn't the dumbest. “A good number of their teams were fairly evenly matched, especially football and basketball. The first couple decades neither school could consistently win against the other, and so every year the want to win grew.” Nolan's brothers had passed that info down to him, as it was passed down to them by senior team members. “Add in location, and it's a pretty common way to make a rival.”

The butter that was slowly dripping down Sloane's chin hadn't escaped Nolan's notice, but he had chosen not to say anything. He assumed she would catch it sooner rather than later. The fact that the waitress pointed it out made Nolan frown, however. It was a pretty bitchy thing to do. He'd have to keep that in mind when he paid the bill.

He didn't know if Sloane was easy to embarrass. He hoped not, but an idea came to him that hopefully would make her feel better. He grabbed his own napkin and reached across the table. His eyes met hers, his intentions becoming obvious. Gently, he wiped the butter off Sloane's chin with his napkin, right in front of the waitress. He didn't care if it was rude, since she had just been so mean. He smiled at Sloane and caressed her cheek with his thumb.

“There you go, all taken care of.”

[Sloane Taylor]

Sloane was just about to wipe the incriminating condiment off her chin when Nolan did it for her. She was, of course, never one to be embarrassed about anything but the condescending tone the waitress had put on pissed her off pretty badly and that was what had brought on the blush on her creamy white cheeks.

But Nolan's sudden chivalrous act caught Sloane completely by surprise. And the waitress too. She stammered before walking off with the dishes. The caress added more heat to Sloane's cheeks, making the crimson deepen considerably. Had any of her other 'dates' ever done anything like this? It was completely new territory. A dangerous one at that. But Sloane wouldn't be Sloane if she acted on it. So she moved backwards and chuckled, hiding any evidence that the act had taken her breath away and made her heart beat quicker. "Well that certainly drove her away. Good call." She grabbed her napkin and wiped her mouth, just so she could occupy her hands.

"So, are we ready to head out? I'd do the bill dance with you but I know you're going to end up paying so let's just fast forward, shall we?" She grinned and gestured for any waiter to get the bill for them.

[Nolan Ahlstrom]

The red on Sloane's cheeks caught Nolan's attention. He hadn't meant to embarrass her, but she played it cool. However, Nolan was starting to like those moments when Sloane's defenses dropped and he got to see a little bit of her true self even if it was only for a brief moment. She was right, though. His act did serve to chase away the waitress. The football player much preferred to have Sloane's company to himself anyway.

“You're starting to know me too well,” he smiled back at Sloane and reached for his wallet. He had his dad's card out and ready by the time the check arrived so that it could be taken care of immediately. It was a short wait to get the receipt during which Nolan did little more than steal glances at Sloane.

The pair exited the restaurant, with Nolan calling the driver to tell him to pull around and pick them up. He was getting the hang of moving around on his crutches, and his butt was starting to ache less and less. They waited outside for a few moments. It was a beautiful day, the sun was out, the weather was warm, and Nolan was with a very beautiful girl. He turned to her, leaned down, and kissed her briefly as the car pulled up. Smiling, he opened the door for her. After she had entered, he quickly pulled the pill bottle from his pocket and took a Vike, preparing himself for the car ride. He climbed in carefully after her, crutch first, and sat down as close to her as he could.

[Sloane Taylor]

The intimacy Nolan displayed was getting to Sloane and if Nolan was observant enough, he would notice. When he kissed her briefly, she was left wanting more but the limo came by and she climbed into it. Sloane was trying hard not to get so worked up by the little touches and kisses Nolan was giving her. Her body was responding too well and too automatically too it. She felt as though Nolan was deliberately teasing her. It was driving her mental.

As the car moved, Sloane sat a little further in front of the seat and knocked on the divider glass for the driver. "Take us to Santa Monica Pier." She said before sliding back beside Nolan. She placed her hand on Nolan's thigh, running it up and down. "So tell me something I do not know about you. And it cannot be generic things like favourite colour and favourite book or...basically nothing pertaining to the word favourite or like or dislike. We can cover that any other time." Sloane said. "Dig down deep and tell me a secret about you that you haven't told anyone."

Sloane did not know where she was heading with this question. The turnabout would be disastrous. She had a lot of skeletons in her closet, ones that could crumble once touched. She could lose a lot if word got out about her secrets. Of course she knew Nolan would never reveal anything about her to anyone else but the fact that she would have to tell him anything at all was a little scary. She just hoped Nolan was gracious enough not to ask the same question to her.

[Nolan Ahlstrom]

Nolan felt Sloane's hand on his leg. He ventured a quick glance at it before turning his head to look at her. She wanted secrets, deep, intimate feelings. Dare he risk telling her that he felt like she was the greatest thing on the face of the earth? That he was absolutely terrified of her because of how she made him feel?

No, he couldn't do that. Not yet, at any rate. He thought about his life, what was important to him. There was one pretty major thing that he hadn't told her. It wasn't so much a secret, but he figured she should know.

He took a deep breath. "I don't talk to a lot of people about this, but it also isn't really a secret." A pause. Nolan started to get very nervous, though he wasn't exactly sure why. "When I was nine, my mother passed away."

Sloane wasn't sure what the hell she was expecting but she sure as hell didn't expect that. What was she supposed to reply to that? She scrambled her brains and looked for something to say but all she could think about was...

"I can't snap my fingers." She blurted out before trying it out. Her fingers didn't seem to obey her command to snap as it just rubbed off painfully against each other. "I mean I can do just about anything except snap my fingers. I just hope it's not hereditary. I'd like my kids to know how to snap their fingers."

Laughter welled up within Nolan. He knew Sloane wasn't insensitive, and as soon as he had said it he knew telling Sloane about his mom would make things awkward. Maybe it was just his natural reaction, or maybe it was the Vicodin, but Nolan could not hold back the laughter. "I'm s-sorry..." he forced through the guffaws, "I'm n-not laughing at you!" He was bent over and could barely catch his breath. It hurt, and his hand instantly flew to his hip near the wound, but he still could not stop.

Biting her lower lip, she smiled a little and slowly joined in the laughter. Soon, she was patting Nolan's back to help him recover from his laughing fit. She was red in the face from laughing too much and she was afraid Nolan was going to pull something at the rate he was going. "Okay...fine fine."

"Now that we know each others uh...intimate details, tell me what was the worse thing a bully had ever done to you."

Nolan sat back and wiped a tear from his eye. He hadn't laughed that hard in a long time. A few deep breaths later he turned back to Sloane, his red face nearly matching hers. He was feeling more and more relaxed as time passed. He put his arm around Sloane's shoulders, pulling her about as close to him as he could. It hurt a little, but he liked the feeling of her on his side.

"A bully..." he opined, trying to recall any moments of bullying he could, but to be completely honest he couldn't. "I don't know, I can't really think of anything. I was always lucky cause Freddy and Marty always looked out for me. Adam did too, but he was a lot older and not in the same school as me. But they had a legacy, and I lucked out as part of that." He tried to think of something, anything. He felt like he had to give her some sort of answer, like it was cheating not to. "I guess there were kids who didn't like me because everyone knew me, but they didn't do anything to my face. But I heard a rumor once about me that was pretty embarrassing, and untrue, but luckily I don't think people bought it."

Nolan didn't like to brag about being popular, and he hoped it didn't sound like he was. But it was true. Teachers, coaches, and a lot of older students usually knew him solely because of his siblings. A lot of times it was awkward for him, but it also usually benefited him.

He wondered if Sloane was popular at Gould. She seemed like she was, judging by her attitude and how she dressed. Not to mention how pretty she was, there was no doubt she was popular with a lot of boys. "What kind of crowd do you run around with? Most of my friends are from football or basketball, or the cheerleaders and stuff. How about you?"

She did not, by any means, hold him accountable for being popular due to his siblings. She was popular for all the wrong reasons. Being the girl who sleeps around with practically anyone who had a body had its perks but Sloane was personally tired. She still loved what happened in...relationships but what came after THAT...it was not something she was used to or will ever get used to. "Me? I don't run around with crowds." She said, stretching her legs in the car. She lifted one leg up before stretching them as far as possible. "I don't run with crowds. I run on the tracks. And besides...crowds run with me. Not the other way around." Sloane grinned before turning to Nolan. "And apparently now I run with you."

Hearing that made Nolan feel incredible. Sloane ran with him! He pulled her tight for a moment, giving her a half hug. “You do.” He let the silence fall over them as the limo continued on its way down Santa Monica Boulevard. The morning had started off so well. Nolan looked down at Sloane and smiled. He was looking forward to the rest of the day.