Rebekah MacKenzie (beckathesweet) wrote in rrinitiative, @ 2012-11-19 21:06:00 |
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Entry tags: | day eight, rebekah, rebekah and ryan, ryan |
Baby Steps
Characters: Becka and Ryan
Setting: The pool, afternoon
With Cal having appointments in the afternoon, Becka thought it might not hurt to give people a little more privacy for it and take the afternoon off. She felt a little guilty about it, but she really didn't think Cal minded. She did hope he would take some time off and away from the clinic at some point, but she understood the want and responsibility that seemed to keep him there. In any case, after meeting up with Grace for lunch, Becka went back to her room, played around on her computer for a little while, and then decided that she just didn't want to be in there right then.
There were probably quite a few things she could do, but with everything else going on she hadn't really had a chance to check out the pool yet. At least she'd grabbed one of the swimsuits the day they'd put the racks of them out. It was a little, yellow bikini, which made her feel just a bit self-conscious, but it really wasn't any more revealing that what she might have worn at the lake back home, so she pushed the feeling aside, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around her before heading down to the pool.
No one else was there, and so she tossed her towel on a lounge chair and kicked her sandals off before jumping right in. The water was cool, and even with the differences with it being a pool versus a lake, there was still a familiarity to it as she pushed through the water. She thought she might do a few laps, maybe try out the diving board. This would be a great way to pass some time and just relax and, as an added bonus, get some exercise.
Ryan had been laying low, in a manner of speaking. Sometimes he tired of being around people and having to keep up pretenses all the time, and after the other day with Hannah, he found he wanted the quiet of his room, and a book. He figured he would likely seek Susanna out later, spend some time with her, but other than that, he really didn't have many plans. After awhile, though, he did get a little restless, for he was used to roaming as he wanted, and being cooped up wasn't always the answer to his desire to relax and be himself.
So really, it was a useless endeavor by the time the afternoon rolled around. He tossed aside his book--he might have to fetch another at some point--and pulled on the pair of swim trunks he'd gotten the other day. Maybe some exercise would help out, he thought, and he hadn't hit the pool yet, though he'd peeked in at it. There might not be many people there, if he was lucky.
He wasn't, he thought as he came in. Someone was doing laps. He nearly left as soon as he realized it was Becka, wearing some little bitty swimsuit. Oh Lord. But by the time he could have turned around, he was pretty sure she had seen him, so he continued on in.
Becka had been perfectly content to just relax and do laps in the pool by herself. There was so much on her mind that it was something of a relief to just zone out and not think about it all for a little while. Swimming was good for that - at least, it was until someone came in, and it was just about the last person that she wanted to be around right now. She faltered mid-stroke, flushing immediately as the vague memories of the previous morning came rushing to the forefront of her mind.
She wondered if she could or even should ignore him. She hadn’t lied to Hannah earlier; she still didn’t trust Ryan, but he had been very nice to her yesterday, and so a part of her felt like that should outweigh him having poked through her room the other night. It was still creepy, and she was still suspicious of him, and so she just felt very conflicted. She couldn’t stop from offering him a small, hesitant smile though, and if her cheeks were still a little flushed, she was pretending it was from the exertion. “Hi,” she greeted him, though she kind of hoped he wouldn’t want to really talk or anything. It felt like that would be a whole world of awkward for her.
Ryan smiled in friendly greeting. "Hi, Becka," he said, tossing his towel down a bit of a way from hers. He hadn't known she was here, or he might have avoided it--or he might not have. He would never know. But he wasn't going to leave now. He took off his shirt and tossed it over with his towel. "Didn't mean to intrude, didn't know anyone was here," he said, moving just a bit down from her and easing himself quickly and easily down into the water. He'd wanted to 'check' on her anyway, so maybe she'd be up to talking with him later. He wanted to ease into it with her, after scaring her off before. He wished he'd never admitted to anything now. He wouldn't make that mistake again.
Becka just shook her head at his words. “You’re not intruding,” she assured him, and technically he wasn't. He had as much right to swim as she did, and she really didn’t need to project her own awkwardness on him. She pushed off the bottom of the pool to go back to doing laps, thinking she might just try to pretend that he wasn’t there.
He made sure not to look over her obviously, though that swimsuit, he suspected, was quite attractive on her. He mustn't seem too interested, after all. He smiled at her and gave her a nod before moving to settle himself in a 'lane' of his own, pushing off the wall and starting his way down freestyle. It was monotonous but taxing, for he hadn't swum in years. He switched styles a few times, just to break it up, until he absolutely needed a break. He pulled up to the side, hooking his arm on it and breathing a little harder than normal, taking a break.
Although she would never classify herself as extremely athletic, she’d always enjoyed being active, and this was a pretty perfect exercise in Becka’s opinion. She was relieved that Ryan didn’t seem particularly chatty as they swam as she found herself actually able to slip back into that relaxing, zoning out that she’d been doing before Ryan had shown up. By the time Ryan took a break, resting by the side of the pool, Becka was feeling exhausted in a very good way. She turned over onto her back to float in the water, eyes slipping closed as her hands reached out to push her along the water. “I love swimming,” she sighed contentedly.
Ryan had always worked to keep himself fit, though not in the bulky way of so many men. Sure, he did have broad shoulders and abs he wasn't ashamed of, but it wasn't like some guys who were utterly obsessive about. His strength hid a bit under his appearance, though shirtless it was a little more obvious. He was generally non-threatening in appearance, when he was being a person, not that intimidating compared to many men. Perhaps it was in part because of his height, which was a little less than some men.
"It has always been soothing," he agreed. "Especially in summer in Texas," he added with a faint chuckle.
Becka had almost forgotten that she wasn’t alone. Not completely, of course, but she’d gotten so relaxed that she just hadn’t been as aware of Ryan’s continued presence as she might have otherwise. When he spoke, she started slightly, shifting to stand in the water and look at him properly. And in doing so, she couldn’t help but notice how fit he actually was. He didn’t look out of shape while clothed by any means, but it would seem that his clothes had hid some of it. “Oh yeah? We would go to the lake a lot back home. In Minnesota,” she added, almost like an afterthought.
He stroked out to move a little closer to her, though he kept a good distance so she wouldn't feel he was intruding on her space. Mustn't startle her. He was making headway, but he couldn't risk pushing it. If he could get her to trust him, well, it could go a long way with a lot of people, he figured. Among other things. "Land of a Thousand Lakes, right?" he said, half floating, half treading water. "My parents had a pool when I was growing up, and my sister and I spent a lot of time in it when it was hot. I think my mother considered it a must for entertainment purposes for us."
The question teased a little laugh from her, and she nodded. “Right,” she agreed. And God, did she miss it. She grinned a bit when he told about having a pool as a kid, thinking that it sounded nice, really. “Wait, I thought Texas was always hot,” she teased, wrinkling her nose a bit for added effect.
He snorted and laughed quietly. "You got me there, yes. But it's all in varying degrees," he said, punning purposefully and pulling a playful face at her, "so in the winter it was, relatively speaking, too cold for it. Though you'd be surprised--it snowed I think twice when I was growing up," he told her.
Becka laughed lightly at the pun and then wrinkled her nose at the mention of snow. “Ahh, snow, I have a love/hate relationship with snow. Can’t help but wonder if we’re in a place that will get snow, but that’s still a ways away.” She was really curious about where they were, but she had to figure that they weren’t actually going to find out. She was starting to think that they weren’t going to get many answers at all.
"Living where you did, I would have had a love-hate relationship with it too," he said. "It's rougher in Texas, though, because none of us really knows how to drive in it, we get it so rarely." It was his turn to wrinkle his nose as he gently tread water. He nodded. "I admit, I'm curious too. I'm hoping it won't get too cold. I won't like it very much. Because of Texas I suppose I have rather a bit of thin skin."
“Ahh, take it from me. People don’t know how to drive in snow everywhere,” Becka said dryly, grinning a bit. Though she could imagine that it was worse in places that rarely got snow. Or maybe not. Maybe those people tended to be overly cautious in it because of the unfamiliarity. “Ah, hmm, well it kinda feels like we’re more in the north, just from the weather so far, so we probably will get some snow, but who knows? Maybe we’re in a more rainy place than snowy. I guess we’ll have to wait and see.”
"Too true. Every city is the city of worst drivers ever, yes?" he said. He sighed quietly. "I fear you're right," he admitted. "It has been cooler than it is this time of year back home, so that excludes a lot of places." He made a soft, pondering sound. "Hmm. Well, I'm not sure if I'd rather have rain or snow. Snow is at least... still. Getting drenched all the time doesn't exactly sound pleasant either."
“Right!” Becka agreed with a little laugh, shifting off her feet to tread water a bit, moving her hands through the water to help keep herself afloat. Talking about the weather was simple, and it made it easy not to focus on the fact that she was talking to Ryan even though she really didn’t think she should trust him. “I think I’d prefer snow. Especially here. I mean, it’s not like we get to drive anywhere or anything.” Though rain was pretty in its own right.
"At least we could throw snowballs and make snowmen if it snowed," he mused aloud, thinking they might be things she'd enjoy. Though to be honest, he would enjoy a snow ball fight so long as he could really get a few people with one. "Snow angels too, yes? I haven't made one of those before. You probably have, though, yes?" he said, figuring it couldn't hurt to learn a few small things about her, make her comfortable.
This conversation was starting to venture into strange territory even with as amusing as it was. It was strange, Becka thought, because of who she was having it with, not because of the topic. “Yes, of course I have,” she confirmed, grinning a bit. She didn’t really know where to go from there though; how long could they talk about weather-related things? She floated back until she reached the side of the pool, bringing herself further away from him. Lifting herself up a bit, she rested her elbows on the edge. “And made snowmen and had snowball fights, and I’ve even gone skiing once, too,” she told him, though it gave her a small pang of longing and sadness as she remembered all the different winter experiences with her family, which caused her smile to dim.
"I've never done snow skiing, but I have done water skiing," he said, idly back stroking slowly toward the edge as well, though he kept a bit away from her, feeling like she might be keeping distance purposefully, if he were reading things right. "I'd love to go to the beach again. I always enjoyed that, though it was usually a once or twice a year thing," he said.
“Oooh, I tried water skiing once, and it is not easy.” And she had no intention of trying it again. She’d rather go inner tubing, really. Becka’s eyes followed him as he swam in a casual way, just making sure she knew where he was. As much as it went against her instincts to be suspicious of him, she just couldn’t help it. “I’ve never actually been to the ocean,” she admitted, realizing after saying it that it was something from her poll. “But who knows, maybe someday you’ll get out of here and be able to go again,” she offered optimistically.
"It's a lot of fun, once you get the hang of it," he said. "But I did get trashed a few times while learning." He was persistent in things if nothing else, though, and he'd been determined to not be defeated in something--just as he was determined to get things as he wanted with her, though this would take more time, he thought. "Oh, that's too bad. Once you get out, you should definitely take time to go. The Gulf is nice, as is any of the Florida beaches, either Gulf or the other side," he told her. He said it as if there were no question of her getting out, and there really wasn't.
Becka wrinkled her nose and grinned a bit at the thought of ‘try, try again’ to get it right. It was something she was accustomed to doing, but with that? She just hadn’t been driven enough for it knowing that it wasn’t something her family would do often. “I did other things on the water, though,” she told him. “Like inner tubing and stuff.” Though all things considered, Becka just didn’t usually have to try very hard to have a fun. “I probably will! I’ve always wanted to go down to Florida, even just for a vacation. But yeah, if I do get out of here, I think I’d want to travel at least a little bit, see places I probably wouldn’t have taken the time to see before.” Prison had a way of changes priorities, she figured, and now she really did think that her priorities had changed.
"Not been much for tubing, myself, but my sister liked it well enough," he told her, moving to the wall a few feet down from her, resting crossed arms for a moment, considering getting out, not sure if he wanted to cut off the conversation just yet or not. Good will, and some degree of comfort, that's what he wanted. "Traveling would be nice. I didn't do a lot of it either, and I think I'd like to see more places as well," he agreed. "Instead of working so much, finding more things to enjoy." Find a variety of... people, he thought idly.
As Ryan got closer, Becka’s stomach flipped with a little anxiety, which just made her feel guilty. He’d been nothing but nice to her, and she hated the suspicion she felt toward him; it felt unnatural and sort of wrong to her. “Yeah, exactly. I always kept really busy with school then work, and I think I missed out on doing a lot of things.” Sure, Lucy had made sure to get her out once in awhile, but she’d never seemed to truly giving in to letting go. She wanted to now, in a way.
Ryan gave her a warm grin, pretending he didn't notice any of her unease, but also not crowding her. "We all miss out at times, unfortunately, but prison shows us what we find really important, I think," he said, levering himself up out of the pool and onto his arms for a moment before turning to sit, his legs still dangling into the pool. The air wasn't too cool, making it rather pleasant, though out of doors in the warm would have been more pleasant, in his mind. Come winter, though, they'd probably be all happy it was indoors.
Becka smiled softly, nodding a bit. “Yeah, I was just thinking that,” she admitted. She really wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of them had thought something similar. When Ryan started to get out of the pool, she felt a little guilty for feeling relieved. Sure, she’d already been in the pool a while, but she was torn between wanting to relax a little longer and wanting to get out but being a little too modest to get out of the water in front of him in the little bikini she was wearing. She didn’t think of herself as a prude, but she just didn’t usually wear swimsuits that were quite this tiny. He wasn’t leaving, though, and so she just stayed put for the moment, looking away from Ryan and trying not to feel too awkward.
"Great minds think alike," he said lightly, grinning at her. Unfortunately he didn't seem to be making the progress he wanted; he had thought that the other day would have made more improvements than it apparently had. Probably too much lost to the alcohol haze, he thought with bitterness that didn't show through. Seeing her look away, he pursed his lips very faintly and pulled his feet from the water. "Well, I should probably let you get back to your swimming," he said nicely, though he had hoped for a look at her in that little bikini. It was aggravating, not getting what he wanted.
“Oh, okay,” Becka replied glancing back at Ryan. She bit her lip briefly, not liking the feeling that maybe she’d been somehow rude. She really was trying hard to shake the suspicion of him, what with how nice he’d been, but she just couldn’t completely. “Umm, Ryan?” she said a few moments later, after he’d moved away from the pool. “Thanks again for yesterday,” she said genuinely, ignoring the way her cheeks tinged a bit in embarrassment at the memories, vague as they were.
He picked up his towel and dried off cursorily, wooling it over his hair for a moment as well. He'd rinse off back at his room. He looked out from under it at her with a faint grin as she said his name, making a prompting, curious noise. "It was no problem," he told her in a genuine sounding tone. "I'm glad to have been able to help you." He tied the towel around his waist over his swim trunks. "You're feeling better, I trust?"
Becka turned around to cross her arms over the side of the pool, resting her chin on them as she looked at Ryan without studying him too closely. “Oh, umm...” She paused, biting her lip. “Yeah, I am. I mean, the aspirin helped a lot.” And she purposefully focused on that rather than the reasons she’d been drinking in the first place. She just hoped he wouldn’t call her out on that.
Ryan tilted his head, wondering if he should call her on more than that. "Good, I'm glad," he said instead. "If you ever need anything, feel free to ask," he told her. "And I still have most of the rest of what you were drinking, if you want it, though I'd say let's take it easier on it next time," he said, teasing her gently, not wanting to push her away yet. Progress was what he wanted.
The relief was small but still visible when he accepted her answer, and Becka really was glad that he left it at that. “Oh, thanks,” she said with a small smile at the offer. She didn’t really think she would take him up on it, but who knew? She wasn’t going to turn him down outright. The teasing brought a flush to her cheeks, and she bit her lip as she considered it for a moment. “Uhh, yeah, I’ll take it back, I guess.” And with that thought, she pushed herself up and climbed out of the pool, forgetting her earlier hesitance as she walked over to where she’d left her towel.
Ryan watched her from the corners of his eyes, admiring her slim form in that 'itty bitty teeny weeny yellow' bikini. He couldn't help the bit of song that went through his mind. She looked very good in it, but he was careful to not be caught staring at her. He had a feeling she would freak on him if she did catch him. "It's up to you. It's not bad, but since it started out yours, I thought I'd offer," he said.
Oblivious to his eyes on her, Becka picked up her towel and started drying off, glancing over at him again only once he replied to her answer. Realizing that he was looking at her, she wrapped the towel around her, tucking the end neatly over her breasts. “Oh!” He’d been drinking it? That was... weird. “I... Well, if you want to keep it, that’s fine too. I mean, there’s more in the cafeteria, right?” she said with a little shrug, lifting her hand to run through her hair, only it was a little tangled from the water, and she pulled a face as her fingers got stuck.
"I just had a taste that day," he explained. She'd handed it to him then, after all, and it had been very... stressful situation for him. "It's not my usual thing, which was why I offered." A little too sweet for him, really. But girls liked that stuff, from what he knew from experience. He smiled at her. "I'm not usually big on drinking anyway, usually just a few beers every now and then. Did a little too much partying a time or two in college," he explained with a grimace.
Becka dropped her hand, moving to slip on her sandals. She wanted to get back to her room so she could wash and comb her hair. “Oh,” she said, nodding slightly at the explanation. That made more sense then, though why he hadn’t just left it in her room yesterday she didn’t know. Wouldn’t that have made more sense? Though maybe he just hadn’t thought about it. “Well then yeah, I can take it back I guess,” she said with a small smile. “Did you want to go get it now or...?” she trailed off, not really sure what ‘or’ she was suggesting as she really didn’t want to invite him over or anything.
"You can come pick it up later if you want, or whenever you have a moment, or I can drop it by later," he said easily. He grabbed his shirt and headed for the doors as well, opening the door for her as they exited. "I'm sure you want to wash your hair before it dries," he added with understanding. He'd had a sister, after all, and enough girlfriends to know that was the common route to go.
Becka bit her lip as she considered it, deciding a moment later to just get it done sooner rather than later. “Yeah, I do want to wash my hair,” she agreed with a little laugh and shake of her head as she went through the door he’d opened for her with a ‘thanks’. “But I can just grab it right now. Shouldn’t take more than a minute, right?” she pointed out. Because she really didn’t intend to linger at his room, especially in nothing but a bikini and towel.
"Yeah, won't take but a minute," he agreed easily. Too bad she wouldn't be interested in staying longer, he thought with some disappointment, but there was the thrill of the challenge. At least she was talking to him--Wren barely returned his PM. He wished he could turn back time on both of these. He led the way to his room, unlocking the door and then glancing around once inside to make sure no one--like Hannah--was lurking for him. He grabbed the bottle of alcohol and went back to the door to hand it to her. "Enjoy it, but let's take it more slowly this time, yeah?" he said lightly, grinning at her.
Becka followed Ryan upstairs and to his room, waiting outside while he went in to get the liquor. She was glad that he didn’t invite her in, because she would have felt way too awkward having to turn him down. When he came back to the door, she took the bottle he held out. “Yeah, I will,” she assured him. She really had no intention of drinking like she had yesterday again, though the thought of drinking wasn’t quite as scary anymore. “Thanks,” she said again, giving him one last small smile before turning to head back to her own room.