I wanna be the one who walks in the sun Who: Abby & Nesryn What: Breakfast and a chat When: July 20 (backdated) Where: Terrible’s Roadhouse Rating: Low Status: Complete
”When the working day is done girls just wanna have fun.”
For once Abby had only one job to work that day, and that had been teaching two classes up in Henderson first thing in the morning. She didn’t care for the commute, honestly, but she enjoyed those classes because it was mostly moms and retirees with no ‘bros’ there staring at her chest the entire hour (there was a reason she didn’t teach at studios near UNLV). At that hour you didn’t typically see newbies trying for the first time so they were easy classes, all she had to do was lead them through the flow by calling out the individual poses and offering the occasional reminder on technique.
So after she finished her last class and did a bit of shopping in Boulder City it was almost lunchtime by the time she pulled back into Searchlight. About the time she spotted the sign for Terrible’s her stomach started growling and she weighed the pros and cons of fixing something herself versus spending the money on a burger and fries. It didn’t take long. Fixing herself a peanut butter and jelly and having a salad and apple along with it would be cheaper and more nutritious, but not anywhere near as tasty. She was a predator after all, not just a leaf eater, some meat in her diet was a necessity.
So with that decided she pulled her trusty pickup into the lot and moments later was walking through the door heading into the dining room section, wearing the sneakers, yoga pants and a geeky t-shirt that were her typical ‘work clothes’ when she taught. A short pause at the front of the room to judge how busy they were and what tables were free and she was sliding into a booth.
Wiping at one of the tables recently cleared of dishes, Nesryn hummed to herself. Lately she found herself a bit distracted - what happened to Brian? - and caught up in her own head. Those moments usually have way to clarity but she didn’t know why the other wolf continued to float into her mind. Maybe she worried too much, it was none of her business anyway what happened after he left her apartment but she couldn’t help but hope he was okay.
A familiar scent caught her nose and drew her out of the motions. Nesryn lifted her head and turned, twisting to behold the young blonde woman who slid into the booth. It was Abby, the woman who taught yoga at the Cove. She did her best to get to classes in her free time though she found herself more often caught up at work and losing track of the day which lead to early morning or late night runs.
The moist rag would be taken to the counter and swapped out for napkin rolled utensils and a glass of ice water after a brief wash of hands. And then she was dancing over to where Abby was sitting.
“Hey!” Nesryn greeted, setting down the offering brought. “How are you?”
Abby had been a bit dubious at the idea of a wolf in Searchlight when she’d first heard the news from her grandfather, much less the exiled princess of the Rowan pack, but Nesryn turned out to be a good fit for Searchlight. Both her own observations and town gossip agreed: the older woman had a friendly personality, didn’t take herself too seriously, and was a hard worker.
“Hi Nes.” She smiled at the brunette and took up the menu for a quick perusal, just to make sure something else didn’t get her attention more than the burger. “I’m good, just back from teaching some classes up in Henderson this morning and felt the need for something tasty and bad for me for lunch. How’re you?”
The end of her nose would crinkle with delight. “Oh, tasty and bad, I like this.” They certainly had that on the menu. And she had a good feeling that Abby could work off whatever delights she consumed fairly easily.
A soft laugh and Nesryn would smile. “I’m doing okay, thanks. Just trying not to work myself to death. I’m coming back for classes, I swear.” She didn’t know why she had been putting it off but yoga was great exercise. Lately she had been running instead.
At first she had been a bit apprehensive with the younger woman - a feline scent wasn’t exactly common where she was from - but Abby had grown on her in spades and she was glad to have the other woman in her corner.
“You’d better. I need all the clients I can get.” If she wanted to start her own studio one day she needed word of mouth and clients. Her brother could run the family business and she’d start her own, she was only helping out because she wanted the extra money. “Besides, you need to keep up your practice if you want to remember your stances and improve.”
“I was thinking a cheeseburger, fries, and a strawberry milkshake. If I’m going to cheat I might as well go all out, right?”
“Scouts honor,” she swore, holding up the three fingers for the Girl Scouts. “I’m coming back.” Things were complicated with Brian, but she would make it out there soon.
“Go big or go home!” She chimed, whipping out the order. “Because I have to ask, even though I know the answer, how do you want your burger cooked?”
“If you have them cook it more than medium rare I’m going to have to hurt someone.” Abby grinned. “And even if you aren’t coming to a class I hope you’re still doing some solo practice. It’s good for you.”
Laughing, she nodded. “Hey, don’t blame the middleman. Middlewoman.” Ronnie made a hell of a burger and no matter how it was cooked, it was always perfect. Nesryn nodded. “I try to get my yoga in before work or before bed.” It was the honest truth.
“Let me go put this order in for you and I’ll come back.”
As promised, Nesryn twirled off to put the ticket in for her meal and then came back with a pitcher of water to refill her glass.
“So. What’s Nesyrn up to these days?” Abby took a sip from the newly filled glass and watched the wolf’s reaction. “You’re either up to your ears in shifts here or you’ve got a man hidden in your trailer. There isn’t anything else to do in this town anyway.” She figured she might as well tease the older woman since it was that or scroll through her twitter feed.
“Oh, mostly just working,” she confessed. That was what took up most of her day though she didn’t mind. It kept her focused on what was ahead, not what was left in the rear view mirror. “No man in my trailer,” she laughed. “It’s busy. But I like it.” It was that it be home alone by herself.
“What about you? Besides yoga classes.” She was surprised to never see Abby without anyone - the woman had friends, but she was also extremely lovely.
"Ugh." Abby shook her head, understanding where Nes was going with her question. "Bad break-up when I left LA and the dating pool in Searchlight isn't exactly deep unless I'm wanting someone twice my age." A shrug. "Besides, it's peak season down at the cove, my grandparents can always use extra experienced help and I need the money."
Maybe she'd start trying to date again soon, when things calmed down at the cove.
"Tell you what: the next night we both have off we can go up to Vegas and go out on the town, see what we can rustle up." Abby figured if she was going to encourage Nesrym to get out and do things she ought to take her own advice.
Nesryn nodded. She winced at the answer to the inquiry, “Sorry about that.” Breakups could be hard, discouraging. “But you have to do what’s right for you at the time.” She knew that from her own experience. And at the prospect of a drive to Vegas to test the waters, Nesryn lit up and nodded.