"I've been happy recently." Ray says to Hunter in a firm tone while fighting the blush that threatens his cheeks. He hates to admit that he's right, it has been a while since he's been relaxed and happy with anyone, especially girl.
"Not like this and not with a girl. You normally..." Hunter stops when he feels Ray kick him under the table. They glare at each other for a moment before the waitress shows up to take their orders.
"He normally what?" Rose asks, intrigued by why he suddenly stopped talking.
Ray glares at Hunter for a moment before sighing heavily. "I'm normally very flirty and kinda pushy." He admits nervously, he doesn't know why he's nervous about it and it's bugging him.
"I know, you were like that when we first met remember? Really flirty, pushy and in my face. You're lucky I didn't slap you for being so close honestly, I was tempted to but I didn't."
"Why didn't you?" Ray asks curiously as he turns to face her.
"I don't know." Rose sighs and looks at Violet who is giving her an amused yet concerned look since she knows about Rose's past.
"I think you do know, you just don't want to say anything." Ray says softly just as their food arrives.
They decide to hurry up and eat so they can get to the fair early with enough time to enjoy everything still. Once they finish they pay and head back out to the car, Hunter and Violet take their seats in the back while Ray and Rose take the front.
Ray drives them to the Fair which is only a couple of blocks away. When they get their Hunter and Violet head in walking hand in hand like they've been dating for months. This makes Ray and Rose look at each other nervously, neither is used to showing someone affection like that and they really don't want to start now.
"Let's meet back here when the fair closes!" Ray shouts to Hunter as him and Violet continue to rush ahead of them. Hunter just waves in reply and keeps walking. "I guess it's just us." Ray says and looks over at Rose who has a paranoid look on her face. "What's wrong?" He asks with concern and gently touches her hand which she instantly jerks away.
"Nothings wrong. What makes you think somethings wrong?" She replies with fear in her voice and moves away from him. She looks in his eyes and sees a level of concern she hasn't seen in a guy in years.
"Rose you're obviously terrified at something. What's wrong?" He asks as he looks in her eyes that hold fear and panic, unlike anything he's ever seen.
"I...I can't tell you." She replies in a shaky voice as she keeps backing away from him.
"Rose listen to me." Ray says in the softest voice he can muster and gently grabs her hand. "I promise I won't hurt you. We are in public and surrounded by people Rose and I'm not that type of guy to take advantage of a woman. You're safe with me, I promise." He says sincerely while holding her hand and bringing her closer to him. He watches as she slowly starts to relax and her eyes start to water, to his surprise she hugs him and starts crying quietly.
"Thank you." Rose whispers against his chest as she hugs him tightly. She doesn't know why he relaxed her so much but he did, she's thankful but also still extremely nervous about all this but his words helped her relax.
"You're ok now?" He asks quietly as he hugs her and gently rubs her hair.
"Better than I was but I'm still nervous." She admits as she pulls away and wipes her eyes.
"I promise you're safe with me Rose, you have my word." He smiles reassuringly while trying to figure out how in the world she's bringing out this side of him, it's a side he didn't know he had and that fact alone makes him wonder what else he has locked away.
"Don't betray my trust Rainn." She says nervously as she examines his face and eyes for any signs he's lying.
"I won't betray you. Trust me, Rose, I'll keep you safe." He says firmly with his arms around her still.
"I trust you Rainn." She smiles once she hears him say those words. She pulls away from the hug but grabs his right hand which is the hand he has the tattoo on, this surprises him and makes him look at her with shock. "I trust you." She repeats and laces her fingers with his, a sensation she hasn't felt in a long time and a feeling she's missed.
"Let's go explore and have fun then." He smiles and leads her further into the fair. He hasn't held a girls hand in a long time so the sensation is foreign to him but he won't deny he likes the feeling of holding her hand. There's no doubt this girl is driving him crazy but he's not complaining about it, he just wants to know why she has such an effect on him.
Rainn suddenly stops and looks at Rose with surprise as something clicks in his head. "Rose, can I ask you something? I'll understand if you don't want to answer."
"Depends on the question." Rose replies nervously.
"Last night you said guys normally force themselves on you after a date and then when Violet left is when you started to freak out. Are you afraid to be alone with a guy because you've been assaulted by guys before?" Ray asks nervously, he's afraid of the answer but he wants to know.
"Yes." She replies weakly, to her surprise he pulls her into a hug and hugs her tightly.
"It all makes sense now. I'm sorry you've been through something so traumatic." He says sympathetically. He may see women as toys but he'd never dream of forcing himself on a woman in any way.
"Thanks, Ray." She whispers while hugging him back. "Let's go have fun now, help me take my mind off of things." She smiles when she pulls away then grabs his hand again. Her actions surprise him but also fascinate him greatly, he's never met anyone else like her before and she holds his interest more than he'd like to admit.
The pair roam around the fair for a bit hand in hand exploring everything until they come across the games section, that's when Rose looks up to Ray with a sparkle in her eye which made him smile amusingly at her.
"You want to play the games don't you?" Ray asks while trying not to laugh.
"Yes! Come on!" She shouts happily and pulls him by the hand over to the booths. Playing games like this make her remember the happier part of her childhood so in a way she's reliving the happier moments in her life.
"Ok, ok." He laughs as he lets her pull him to the booth where you have to toss rings onto milk bottles. He won't say it out loud but this is the most fun he's had in a long time and he's never had this much fun on a date unless it's erotic fun which is normally his favorite type of fun.
"One game please." Rose smiles as she hands the man some money. "I want to win a prize, that would make my day." She says happily as she takes the rings from the guy and starts to aim to toss the rings.
"Rose." Ray smirks as he watches her.
"Hush. I need to concentrate." She says then tosses a ring and misses. "Damn it." She grumbles and grabs another ring.
"Rose you're doing it wrong." He smirks still and folds his arms across his chest. She ignores him and tosses another ring only to miss. "I'm telling you."
"Oh shut up." She snaps before taking a deep breath and tossing the last ring only to miss again. "Fuck." She curses under her breath causing Ray to laugh. "You do it then!" She shouts and looks at him only to see him smirking at her still.
"Watch and learn." He chuckles as he walks up and pays the guy for a game. "First do a practice toss to see if the bottles are rigged because it can and does happen." He tosses a ring and sees the bottles don't move. "Now we see the bottles are firm, now it's all about skill." He smiles and tosses a ring that barely misses the target.
"You missed." Rose teases and grins at him.
"You won't be saying those words again." He grins back and tosses another ring that lands around the milk bottle.
"Winner! Go ahead and pick your prize!" The man shouts and motions to the prizes.
"Hmmm." Ray hums as he looks at the prizes. "Give me that one." He points to a green and blue dragon that's holding a rose. The guy gives it to him and he gives it to Rose which made her look at him in shock. "It's a nature dragon, water, and earth together to make something beautiful." He smiles at her and watches her blush as she accepts the dragon.
"You know a lot about dragons." She says shyly as she hugs the dragon close to her chest.
"Dragons are awesome and I did research before getting my tattoo." He smiles and wraps an arm around her shoulders as they keep walking.
"So you're not really a spur of the moment kind of guy?"
"I can be and it's fun to be at times but there is comfort in routine. You can have life a certain way but it's also good to be random and fun." Ray replies which caused Rose to smile since she's the same way. "You're the same huh?" He asks with a grin upon seeing her smile.
"Yeah. I like having a routine but it's fun to let your hair down sometimes and take chances." She replies with a smile while holding her dragon a bit tighter.
"Just like you took a chance with me." He says softly and gives her shoulders a squeeze. "I'm thankful you did give me a chance and I'm thankful I didn't back off like you told me too."
"Me too." She sighs and rests her head on his shoulder as they walk. This made him smile and lean his head on hers for a moment before he lifted it to listen to an announcement.
"The last performance of the day is about to start! Come see our beginning of summer concert and cheer on our local bands!"
"That sounds like fun, let's go." She smiles as she lifts her head up and follows the crowd to the big stage that was only a few hundred feet in front of them. "Do you see Hunter and Violet anywhere?"
"Knowing him he's too wrapped up in her to notice anything." Ray chuckles as he keeps her close. "We agreed to meet at the car after the fair closed and I assure you she's safe with him. He's my best friend and he's a trustworthy person...despite being a pain in the ass to me."
"It is a bromance." Rose giggles. Ray looks at her with annoyance at first then smiles and shakes his head.
"He wishes." He laughs which made her laugh as well. "I'm happy you've relaxed and opened up with me Rose."
"Me too, just don't make me regret the decision."
"I won't." He smiles reassuringly as the music starts to play.
The crowd starts to get bigger which means people are getting closer and closer together. Ray notices Rose is looking around nervously and is starting to tremble so he moves behind her and wraps his arms around her waist making her jump slightly.
"It's ok, it's just me. I won't let anything bad happen to you and I won't do anything bad to you. Relax." He whispers softly in her ear as he hugs her closely. She takes a deep breath and leans her head back on his shoulder while hugging the dragon still. She hasn't been this relaxed in a long time and she wants to savor the moment while she can.