Annabelle's Adventure

Annabelle's Adventure (Closed for Scuttle Buttin')

It was a scorching hot day, one of the hottest Covedale had seen in a while. Annabelle wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand, and tucked a lose strand of her dark hair behind her ears. It was nearly noon and she was just finishing hauling the hay when her sister hollered from house.

"Annie, lunch is up!" she heard her say over the sounds of the animals. She heaved the last bale of hay into the yard and made her way to the house. Being a girl of a small frame and standing at only 5'8, Annabelle displayed strength that a normal 19 year old girl in this town wouldn't have had. She could thank her father for that, and her older sister Ellie. It'd been just the three of them growing up, their mother having died when they were still very young, so the girls had no choice but to help their father around the ranch with whatever needed to be done. Their mamma dying had used up all of their father's savings, what with him wanting to give her a proper funeral and all. The girls didn't blame him for it, but that's what enabled him from hiring any ranch hands to help out while they were growing up, hence where Annabelle got her strength.

Once they got into highschool however things began to look up for the McAllistar Ranch and father now had two able ranch hands that had become very close with the family. They stayed in the loft above the barn and often joined them for family dinners in which they'd all talk about the town gossip. The two of them weren't much older than Annabelle, more closer to Ellie's age, around 25, and Annabelle looked up to them as sort of brotherly figures.

But even with the two men living just down the road in their barn, Annabelle still did whatever she could around the ranch. She enjoyed helping out and learning about new things from the ranch hands her father hired. She hadn't however learned anything the opposite sex. Spending ever day with two of the male species, one would think Annabelle had some sort of idea how men worked; but she didn't. Growing up Annabelle wasn't allowed to date, and when she tried to go behind her father's back, her sister was there to scare the boys away. She'd never had a real boyfriend, and she'd never even been kissed.

She'd had dreams of going off to college and starting a new life, away from this dead beat town. Here, everyone knew everybody and everything; there was no secrets in this town. She wanted to go off to college, to travel and see the world. But those were just pipe dreams. Annabelle couldn't afford college if she'd sold everything she owned, and her grades were good, but no where near what she'd need for any sort of scholarships. And thinking about it, she would've had a hell of a hard time leaving her sister to take care of her dad, who was getting worse with his age. All in all, she loved being at home on the ranch, but she had dreams of seeing the world one day, and those dreams are what she held onto at night.

"Smells good Ell," she said kicking her boots off at the door and sitting next to her father at the table. The three of them ate in silence for a few, until Ellie broke the ice.

"So Pa, that hotshot man is coming into town today isn't he?" She asked. Her father replied only with a grunt and a nod.

"That's so exciting!" Annabelle burst, her eyes wide with amazement. Ever since she'd first heard of this man she'd been excited for the day he'd arrive. There were rumors around town that the old Turner house just down the way from the Ranch had been sold and the man coming to live there was a big shot businessman with enough money to buy an entire county. Nothing this exciting had ever happened in Covedale, and Annabelle couldn't wait for him to get here. Until today is was like some sort of mythical thing that the town could only talk about, but now it was real. This was the closest she could come to finding out about life in "the city" and she was determined to do what she could to find out as much information as possible.

"Annie please, it's just another man coming here probably to try and buy off our land. Pa will have to send him away with the shotgun again," her sister teased, causing a sly grin to spread on her fathers lips.

"Well I think it's wonderful. It'll be nice to have some cultured people here in Covedale. I'm going to make friends with the man," she protested. Her father made another grunt, showing his disapproval, and Ellie gave her the You better think again look she always gave her when she was being overprotective. Annabelle simply rolled her eyes and finished her lunch.

"I'm gonna go feed the horses, they were seemin' a bit hungry. Bye Pa," she said, kissing him on the cheek before heading out to the stables. She pulled on her tan working boots, which were almost as big as she was, and looked enormous compared to the rest of her barely there outfit. She was wearing her cut off shorts, and a tank top, which she generally wore to work out on the ranch. She skipped her way over to the stables, greeting the horses happily as she approached.

You weren't supposed to be this rich, this young. At 27, Zachariah Vakarian had amassed a fortune that would rival the GDP of a few small nations, and looks that you'd normally see advertising underwear on the side of a bus. He'd started quickly out of college, where he'd majored in computer science, and the technology he discovered created processors that worked nearly 10 times faster than the fastest personal computer chip on the market today. He was a near-instant celebrity, quickly surpassing the status of even people like Mark Zukerburg, because he took after Steve Jobs and was the public face of his company as well as the head of it behind the scenes. Unlike both Jobs and Zukerburg, he had a killer combination of looks, charm, and charisma, and nearly any crowd he was put in front of was instantly won over by one, if not all three, of them. He'd always been quick-witted and thought well on his feet, and when you stood 6'5" and swam on every varsity team you'd ever been eligible for, it made charming people far easier than normal. His dark, often somewhat messed-looking hair and ice blue eyes only added to it, and he even had perfect teeth to give him a disarming smile, and a deep voice that commanded respect without ever being required to demand it. If it was possible to more thoroughly win the genetic lottery, he didn't know how.

But instant fame wasn't as great as everyone always dreamed it would be. Sometimes he was lucky if he slept more than four hours a night between doing actual work and making public appearances to promote a new product, new association with a computer maker, or just his company in general. Everywhere he went, everyone woman he had dinner with, every time he went to the grocery store to buy apples, he was watched and followed and photographed. It could get exhausting.

As usually happens when you're on top, people started digging into his past, trying to find anything they possibly could to make into a story. An ex-girlfriend came forward, claiming he liked to tie her up, call her a whore and a slut, order her around, and hit her when she didn't do what he said. Of course, what she didn't say, and the media never reported, was that she was the one that introduced him to that lifestyle, that woke the dominant in him, and that they'd hooked up again as recently as a year before, and before he could even issue an order she was on her knees, asking his permission to suck his cock. He had no doubt she was being paid nicely for his story, but it still stung given the public view of such activities, despite how many people took part in them behind closed doors. And how many more wished they did.

So, he decided it was time to step out of the public eye a bit, let the rumblings about his sex life - Fox News Channel was calling it "Spankgate," something he found particularly grating on his nerves - die down a bit. An assistant of his was from the small town of Covedale and had suggested it to him. Even if they knew he was coming, and it was hard to imagine they wouldn't, word wouldn't spread much beyond the town. They were a a pretty tight community, it seemed, but of course the economy had effected them like it had (almost) everyone else. The fact that a billionaire was coming to town, and would be presumably spending some fraction of that money there, had been enough to make sure they wouldn't do anything to ruin his little retreat.

And so, that is how he found himself running down the small country road, a sheen of sweat on his body, his running shoes kicking up a cloud of dust behind him, and a pair of running shorts the only things he wore. Movement off to the side caught his eyes as he ran, and he noticed a woman.. a girl maybe, even.. skipping out to a building that looked like it housed horses or some other farm animal. He slowed to a jog, then a walk as he watched her, his eyes pouring over her little frame. She had to be nearly a foot shorter than him, but it seemed she was showing off 90% of that small body, and it was exquisite. He'd always heard about farmer's daughters, but... damn.

Walking still, he glanced behind him, then looked around him for a moment, curious if anyone else was around. Not seeing anyone, he turned off of the road and walked through the somewhat tall grass towards the long wooden fence that encircled the property. Putting a foot up on the lower beam, he leaned his forearms on it and watched as she disappeared into the stable, his gaze slipping over the curve of her shapely ass. Damn indeed.

He had, literally, nothing to do today, since he was still getting settled in and the computers he did his work on hadn't been delivered yet, and so he decided to wait and see if she'd come back out. He wouldn't wake too long, it's not like he couldn't find the place again if he wanted, and it had been quite a nice run up to now on top of it, but it would be easy enough to pass it off as this simply being a took place to rest for a minute and catch his breath if she did happen to come out and find him...

Annabelle had finished feeding the horses and headed back into stables to get things ready to give Old Blue, her childhood horse, a bath. She decided maybe she would let them go for a run first though and made her way back outside. The amount of land they owned was huge, though more rectangular than square, but perfect for the horses to graze and run. She grabbed the key from her back pocket and undid the lock on the stable gate before pushing the metal gate, which was about 5 times her size, aside. She made her way around the stable, giving each horse a firm smack on the behind, causing them to gallop out of the barn.

She walked behind them slowly, pulling her ponytail loose and letting her hair fall perfectly into place around her face and shoulders, and down her back, almost reaching her bum. She liked keeping her hair long because it reminded her of when her mother would play with it when she was a child. A smile crossed her lips as she thought about her mother who died when Annabelle was only 5, so she didn't remember much about her aside fr what Ellie would tell her at night to put her to sleep.

She watched the horses roam freely, enjoying every moment of it. The horses on the ranch had always been her favorite to care for. Her dad even let her train them to follow a trail trough the ranch for the kids around town to ride. As she watched them run, a male form caught her eye across the ways, leaning on the fence. She assumed it was one of te ranch hands, either Bo or Clay, and decided to go give them a chat.

"Hey Bo!" she shouted as she picked up her pace to cross the yard. "Whatd'ya doing just lounging away over here? Don't you got work to -"

She stopped herself mid sentence as she slowed to a hault and realized this wasn't Bo or Clay at all. She smiled friendly at the stranger and couldn't help her eyes from looking him over. She took in the wonderful shape of his arms, and his chest. She scanned him innocently, trying to figure out who he was. And then her big brown eyes met his, piercing blue, and Annabelle felt as though her entire body were on fire. Nope, she reckoned, she'd definitely have remembered those eyes.

"Uh hi," she said with a nervous giggle. "My apologies sir. I had you mistaken for someone else." She looked him over and then it hit her. Could this be the man from "the city" whom shed been anticipating? She took a deep breath trying to keep it cool, but she couldn't help the teeth baring grin that was forming on her face. "I um don't reckon I've seen you around these parts sir. Might I ask if you're the new owner of the old Turner place?" she asked, unable to hide the hopefulness in her voice.

He was just thinking about leaving, taking his chances on finding out who the girl was the next time he was out for a run, when he saw horses come trotting out of the stable and spread out into the field before him, some stopping and lowering their heads to nibble on some grass, others walking further along, as if they planned to explore the grounds. He turned his eyes back to the stable door as she came out, and he smiled slightly as she let her hair down, the long mane of dark hair catching the fading sunlight as he dropped down her back.

His brow furrowed as she called out to him, a bit confused because it sounded like she called him "Bo." Maybe "boy?" Did she think it was someone she knew, or was that just her bizarre greeting. He looked behind him as she started towards him faster, to see if she might be asking someone else why they were lounging away, but he was the only person on the small road. Frowning slightly, he turned back to her and saw her stop in her tracks as the realization that he was, in fact, someone else hit her.

He smiled then, one of his charming, winning smiles, and laughed a little at her giggle, shaking his head as he held a palm up, "No no, no need to apologize. I'm sorry myself if you were hoping I was someone else..." his words trailed off as he watched her first take a deep breath, then grin broadly at him. She was gorgeous as hell, there was no doubt about that, but she was definitely different than any of the girls he knew. At least, based on the first impression.

When she asked if he was the one moving into the "old Turner place," a large house just outside of town that he'd had to do about $1.5 million in renovations on before it was up to his standards, he laughed aloud and shook his head a little, the hopeful tone in her voice endearing in a strange way. Taking his foot of the bottom rail of the fence, he took a slight step back, the small bit of sweat left on his body glistening in the light cast by the low sun, and he bowed at the waist, sweeping one arm out to the side as he did.

"At your service," he said, grinning. Standing upright again, he leaned back against the fence, and he offered his hand to her over the top railing, "Zachariah Vakarian, but please, for the love of all things holy, call me Zach. It's a pleasure to meet you...?" he finished, his voice trailing off as he waited for her name.

Annabelle had never seen a man of such beauty in real life. He looked like the movie stars she saw on tv, and when he smiled at her she felt her heart skip a beat, something she hadn't felt before. His teeth were perfectly straight and white, and she couldn't help but return his smile, causing her to giggle more. She didn't know why she was behaving this way, Get yourself together, she scolded herself before nervously brushing her hair from her face.

Before he even answered her question she knew that the answer was yes. There was no way someone that gorgeous could have come from Covedale. It had to be him, it was the only explanation. She suddenly felt self-conscious and her smile fell as she realized how ridiculous she must look in her cut off shorts, half covered in dirt and hay, and sweat dripping from her whole body. But her smile quickly returned when he bowed and confirmed her suspicions.

Her eyes widened a bit as he spoke his name, and she mouthed it back to hip, testing the way it felt on her lips. She brushed her hand on her shorts before taking it and introducing herself. "I'm Annabelle McAllistar," she spoke, trying regain her poise and confidence, "but you can call be Anna if you'd like. Or Annie, that's what my sister calls me, or sometimes Belle, whatever you'd like." She cut herself off and looked at her feet, trying to hide the pink that was rising in her cheeks, embarrassed. "Sorry, I tend to ramble a bit when I'm nervous," she laughed. Shoot, why would I be nervous? "I mean, I've all just been anxious for your arrival," she blurted again. Crap! Now he's gonna think I'm a weirdo! "I mean .. the whole town. We've ... nothing exciting's happened in a while here and .. and it's not often we get new people in town." She slumped her shoulders, determined to stop herself from looking like an idiot. He was still eyeing her, no doubt amused at her ramblings.

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm her nerves. What is wrong with you! She'd never acted this way around anyone before, let alone a boy, well man. She'd always been so comfortable meeting new people. But Anna felt as though she was meeting some celebrity. He'd been the talk of the town for weeks, and here he was right in front of her, on her ranch. She was intimidated because he was from 'the city' and he probably knew things about the world that she could never imagine. That's what made her nervous about Zachariah Vakarian.

When she opened her eyes she met his gaze, and she couldn't look away. She wanted to, but she couldn't. They were fiercely blue with an intensity she'd never seen before and she felt like she could sit there and stare at him forever. She opened her mouth to speak, but twice nothing came out. She cleared her throat, and succeeded the third time with mumbling a "Um, welcome to Covedale," which came out more as a question than a statement.

He smiled as he shook her hand, which was softer than he'd expected given the work she likely did. "Well, Anna, it's a pleasure to meet you." He laughed quietly as she stumbled around her words some, apparently a bit flustered by it. It wasn't the first time someone had been nervous around him, he doubted it would be the last, and while it had been a hard thing to adjust to, he was able to take it in stride now, giving her time to get herself calmed down a little. Once people had a chance to let their brains catch up to what was going on, they seemed to do a little better, he thought.

"Either way," he said with a grin, "I appreciate the welcome. You're actually the first person in town I've actually met. I've been busy getting moved in and set up and haven't had much time to go out into the town."

He watched her close her eyes and take a deep breath, and he hoped that was the beginning of her nervousness wearing off. He had a feeling he was wrong when she started to speak a couple times, then seemed as if she couldn't get her words out. He held her gaze as she was finally able to speak again, he he smiled, bowing his head slightly.

"Well, thank you. It's nice to be officially welcomed by someone."

He glanced in the direction of the setting sun, noting how quickly it was getting dark around them, then looked back to her, his brow arching just slightly.

"Tell me, Annabelle... would you like to join me for dinner tomorrow night? I don't know a soul around here yet, and it'd be nice to actually have a meal with someone there to talk to. I'd love to stay and talk more now, but," he grinned, nodding in the direction of the sun disappearing below the horizon, "If I don't get going I'm never going to find my way back in the dark, and I'll probably end up sleeping with your horses or something. So.. what do you say? Dinner? Six tomorrow evening?"

She immediately was taken aback, my multiple things. One - nobody had called her Annabelle since she was a child (unless her sister was scolding her), but she loved the way it sounded come from his mouth. And two - did he really just invite her to dinner? Her inner diva was doing a victory dance at his invitation, but Anna was still standing there staring at him like a complete moron.

"I um," she paused. Hell, who am I kidding? "I'd love to!" she burst, giving him a teeth baring smile. One should think Anna would have wanted to be a bit more cautious, just meeting the man and all, but her young spirit couldn't fight her excitement. She was always first to agree to something, always ready to try something new no matter the risks. Growing up in a small town, especially being as sheltered as Annabelle, would do that to someone. She'd hadn't experienced life really; she was still a kid at heart and eager to explore everything and anything she could. Life hadn't hurt her yet; it hadn't tainted her with it's cruelty. That's why she was quick to accept any invitation given to her.

She laughed at his reference to getting lost and for the first time noticed it was in fact getting a dark. "Well we wouldn't want that now would we?" she said playfully. "Tomorrow evenin' sounds lovely," Lovely? Really? What are you 40? "I mean, tomorrow sounds great. But, the only decent place we really have to out 'round here is Dina's. She's got anythin' and everythin' you could think about eatin' down here. Well, then there's Louie's, but I ain't yet old enough to get in there since it's a bar and all. Well, he let's me in sometimes with Ellie, but I wouldn't wanna risk it," You're rambling again idiot! "I reckon we can just go to Dina's." She said quickly, clamping her mouth before she weirded him out enough to take back his offer.

He smiled and nodded as she accepted her invitation, correcting herself on the use of the word "lovely" for some reason, and was about to reply when she continued talking, listing off restaurants in town named for people he'd never heard of, but who he had to guess owned no less than four pick up trucks between them. He grinned as she continued on, but his brows rose as she mentioned she wouldn't be able to get into a bar. Just how old was she, he wondered. Maybe it was just getting older, maybe there really was something going on, but it didn't seem like girls developed as fast when he was growing up. The figure before him was plenty developed, and there was something appealing about the innocence she seemed to display as well. But, neither was worth going to jail over...

He chuckled when her mouth all but slammed closed, and he knew she apparently hadn't gotten over her nerves yet. Maybe by tomorrow night she'd be calmed down enough to relax some. But first...

"You can't get into a bar? I would've guessed you were easily past 21!" he said with a grin. "I'm not going to be going to jail over my invitation, am? Which, by the way," he shook his head, the grin still curving the corner's of his lips, "I meant more dinner at my place, than out somewhere. I have a feeling just about anywhere I go I'm going to have people watching and whispering behind my back, and I don't think I'm quite ready for that. I'd like to be a little more laid back and relaxed first. If that's okay with you, of course. Well," his grin broadened some, "And as long as that whole jail thing isn't in my future, of course."

Anna smiled at his look of surprise on Zach's face, but her brow creased at the mention of jail. Why would he go to jail for inviting her to dinner? Wow, the city must have some weird rules, she thought to herself, not making the realization that he was worried about keeping company with an underage girl.

"I get that a lot," she laughed, which was true. People always told her how mature she looked for her age, which was a ironic due to her young, naive spirit. "I'm 19, and I can't imagine whily you'd ever go to jail for simply having dinner Mr. Vakarian," she said with a look of curiosity on her face. But the mention of having dinner at his place caused her excited state to heighten. She'd been in the old Turner place tons of times, but since renovations had started she'd been forced to watch from the sidelines, imaging what extraordinary things were happening inside the place.

"Oh I'd love to!" she exclaimed fighting hard not to jump up and down. "I've been dyin' to see what it looks like on the inside! I bet you've done wonderful things to haven't ya? Boy I bet it's amazing," she trailed off, her mind imagining all the possibilities. She wondered of itd be like those houses she saw on tv, but she knew no doubt itd be like nothing she'd ever seen before.

She couldn't believe all of this was happening already. She'd hoped she'd be able to befriend the man from 'the city' but she'd never could have imagined he would show up on her ranch and invite her to dinner. And how could she resist his invitation when he'd confessed he hasn't yet met anyone else in town. Oh how lonely he must be. A new place without any friends, she thought to herself. But she was going to change that. She'd be more than happy to keep him company and show him the town.

He laughed to himself, and swiped the back of his hand across his brow, faking like he'd been sweating her answer. Truth be told, he'd been sweating it a bit. He just assumed upon seeing her firm, well-developed body that she was at least 21. But 19... he could work with 19. What a crazy place when you could go to jail for giving someone alcohol, but for having sex with them. Not that he was necessarily planning on sleeping with this girl, who he'd literally just met, but he also knew, upon seeing her in her cutoffs and tank top, that he wouldn't pass up the opportunity if it presented itself, either. More often then not for him, it seemed it did.

He chuckled at her comment on the renovations and nodded slightly, "I'm pretty happy with the way it turned out. It's a great house on the outside, it just needed some modernization on the inside. I even managed to get a shower with water jets all down the wall in one of those old bathrooms, if you can believe it. It may be old, but that thing is well built..." his voice trailed off as he realized talking about the things he did with an old house wasn't exactly the most exciting talk ever, then cleared his throat, smiling brightly at her in the fading light.

"Well, I should probably get going before they have to send a search party out to find me," he said, stepping back from the fence and lifting his arms above his head, stretching his muscles in preparation for the run back, "So, my place, six tomorrow night. Dress casual, jeans or whatever, I'm going to be at home so don't expect me in a suit or anything," he said with a grin, then bowed his head in her direction, "It was a pleasure meeting you, Annabelle. Until tomorrow night..." he finished with a nod, then turned and headed back to the road, taking one last glance back at her before he started off down the road in the direction he'd come from.

Dress casual? Won't be in a suit? Did he usually wear suits to dinner? Annabelle's mind was racing, imagining how fancy he'd look in a suit; he'd be the perfect picture of what she pictured when she thought of life outside of Covedale.

He again used her full name, giving her a funny feeling in her tummy. She smiled an returned his nod as he turned to walk away and threw her head back with a silent shout of victory, stamping her feet up and down in excitement, only to raise her head and see Zach had turned to catch another look at her. She instantly flushed and glanced away before meeting his gaze again and bit her bottom lip playfully. She stifled a giggle before turning and skipping off to the house to tell Ellie about Zachariah Vakarian.

She burst through the front door, kicked off her boots hollering a hello to her father and races up the stairs to find Ellie. Not surprisingly she was in the office working on some of the bills. She'd taken over a lot of the ranch Pa had gotten sick and Annabelle admired her for it.

"Ellie!! You'll never guess what just happened!" she beamed before going into hyper speed and telling Ellie every detail of what happened. She saw a hint of excitement in her eyes, but it was quickly dulled as her expression turned cold.

"Annabelle McAllistar! What on earth are you thinking? You know nothing about this man and you're just gonna show up at his house for dinner??" her voice was raising and Anna gave her a look to please quiet down.

"Oh Ellie, what's the harm in it? You'll know exactly where I am! You know how excited I've been-"

"You're not going Annabelle. I won't allow it."

"You won't allow it?? You're not mom Elizabeth! I'm going and you can't stop me," and with that she stormed out of the room with tears in her eyes as she ran to her room. She stayed there the rest of the night, furious with her sister. She couldn't believe that her sister was acting this way. She wished she would just let her be, she was an adult anyways. She'd always been so protective but now that she was older she wished Ellie would just back off a little. And she felt bad about the mom comment, she didn't know what had come over her.

She ate dinner in silence, returning immediately to her room to try and sleep so tomorrow would come as soon as possible. Imagining her day tomorrow and dinner with Zachariah allowed her to drift to sleep easily, waking in the morning easy as ever.

She'd rushed through her chores for the day and spent some time with the horses, finishing up around four o'clock. She hadn't spoken to her sister all day and didn't plan on it. She was po excited for tonight and didn't want her sister to ruin her mood.

After showering, she tried her best to find a pair of jeans that werent torn or ripped, but had to settle for a pair with a whole in one of the knees and a few rips in the thighs but it was the best she could do. She allowed her hair to air dry, which gave it a little friz, but it still fell beautifully around her face. Not having really decent tops, she found a black tank top that thankfully wasn't ripped and pulled it on. It was, however, rather revealing of her full chest, although her breasts weren't 'large'. Not thinking anything of her chest being shown, she slipped on her favorite boots and made her way down the road to the old Turner place, eager to see Zachariah again.

The next day, he'd gone into town for only the second or third time. One of the wonderful things about being in a place surrounded by farm land was the quality of produce, that was both local and fresh, that you could find all over the place. He took his time looking through the selections, deciding finally on some delicious-looking seasonal vegetables, broccoli, carrots, green beans, as well as a few other supplies he'd need.

He enjoyed cooking, though he knew he couldn't hold a candle to some of the world-class chef's he'd had the pleasure of dining with. He decided not to be too fancy with the evening's meal, since he had no concept of what she like, and opted to go with a simple pan-seared salmon and steamed vegetables.

The kitchen he worked in was a large one, the stove set in an island in the middle of the kitchen along with a counter and small sink next to it. The counter tops were all marble, and a collection of stainless steel pots and pans hung above the island. The house was decorated simply, a few abstract and landscape paintings on the walls, a small table with a vase of fresh flowers in it here, a mid-sized Buddha or Ganesh statue there.

Just off the kitchen was a fairly large dining room, dominated in the center by a long, cherry-wood table that could comfortably seat 18. Place settings were spread out before the chair at the head of the table and in the spot next to it on the right, along with a bottle of expensive white wine, two wine glasses, and two water glasses. He'd decided if she wanted to drink, he'd happily let her, and if not then she was welcome to have water or whatever else she might like. No pressure, either way, was his intention.

The plates were still in the kitchen, waiting for the food that was nearly done, and he smiled when he heard the knock on the door. Glancing up at the clock on the wall, he noted that she was almost right on time, and he left the fish and vegetables to finish as he padded down the hardwood floor in the long hallway to the heavy oak front door. He was dressed simply in jeans and a black t-shirt, his feet bare as he liked the feel of the cool hardwood against his soles.

Opening the door with a smile, he was surprised by the what revealing tank top and didn't catch himself in time, his eyes going almost straight to her breasts when he saw her. Snapping them back up to his face, he pulled the door wide for her and stepped to the side with it, sweeping a hand back towards the hall he'd come down with a broad smile.

"Annabell, I'm so happy you could make it. Please, come in, come in."

Annabelle blushed when he opened the door, immediately taking notice of how good he looked in plain old jeans and a tshirt. She returned his smile and greeted him, "Hello Mr. Vakarian," and took a step inside unknowingly brushing just slightly against him as she slid through the open door.

Without asking permission or first being offered, she immediately made her way through the hallway, ooing and ahhing at everything she saw. She peeked her head into three different rooms, not really to sure what they were for, but boy were they extravagant. Realizing that she was being completely rude, she stopped herself and turned to face Zachariah. She cleared her throat before speaking.

"Um, sorry," she giggled. "Pay me no mind, I've never been in a house this nice before. Hell I've never even seen a house this nice before. Well, except on tv of course." She smiled her small shy grin before biting her lip again, a poor habit she had unconsciously developed. "This is a beautiful home Mr. Vakarian. Thanks for havin' me over for dinner and all."

Her mind was racing. She was extremely eager to ask him everything he knew about 'the city' but she fought the urge, not wanting to make him regret inviting her here. But she was just so excited. Zachariah was from a world completely opposite of Annabelle's. He embodied everything she'd dreamed of and has probably experienced more in 'the city' than she could have ever dreamed. 'The city' was like some sort of mythical land that was unknown to Annabelle, one that she could only hope to see one day; but having Zachariah here was somehow like having her dreams confirmed. It was a confirmation that 'the city' did in fact exist.

"It sure does smell great in here. Whattya have cookin'?" She asked as she took a small step towards him to further examine some piece of art hanging on the wall.

He felt her brush against his bare arm as she moved past him, slight goosebumps popping out on his skin, and he closed the door behind her, turning and watching her make her way down the hallway with a smile.

"I told you Annabelle, please call me Zach," he said, watching her make her way through the house, poking her head into various rooms, clearly memorized by the size of the place. He suspected he'd spent more time on private jets than she'd spent off her farm, judging by the awe she seemed to display at everything. Still, it did give him a nice opportunity to watch her, his eyes taking time to roam her shape freely in her distracted moments. 19 and a naive-seeming country girl, perhaps, but she had a body that would turn heads on the street where he was from. He knew, looking at her there as she explored his house in her cleavage-bearing tank top and torn jeans, that he had to have her. That he would have her. He would be shocked if she'd ever been with a man, though, so he would have to tread carefully.

He grinned, still standing back by the doorway, as she realized what she was doing and turned to face him. Shaking his head, he moved down the hallway, approaching closer. "No no, feel free. And seriously, call me Zach." He smiled at her compliment, stepping closer to her as she looked at the painting.

"Thank you, but I honestly didn't have that big of a hand in decorating it. Some, I guess, but..." his voice trailed off and he shrugged, his eyes slipping from the paining to her, watching for a moment before answering her question. "Salmon, some steamed vegetables I found in town. Nothing terribly fancy, but I hope you'll like it. Here, let me show you the kitchen and dining room," he said, his hand slipping to the small of her back and leading her towards the kitchen.

Once there, he slid his hand from her, his fingertips brushing against her hips ever so lightly as he did, and he went back to the island stove. As he moved the salmon from the pan to their plates, he glanced up at her, nodding towards the dining room. "I have a bottle of white wine chilled, it goes perfectly with this salmon. Please don't feel pressured to have any if you don't want to, but if you do," he smiled, "Feel free. I won't tell."

"Okay yes, Zach," she said smiling. Before she could say anymore she was overcome by a tingling sensation shooting through her body, realizing it had come from Zach's hand on her lower back. It was a strange feeling, something she hadn't ever felt before. Her heart rate quickened as he released her and she felt his fingertips graze her hips, giving her another, though slightly different tingly sensation.

Though inexperienced, Annabelle wasn't an idiot. She'd been attracted to men before, but she hadn't felt this way before. Hell she' barely known him five minutes and already her heart was racing just being in his presence; she couldn't explain it. She tried not to think about it too much and just enjoy dinner with the man from the city she'd been dying to meet.

"Oh Mr .. Zach," she corrected herself, "this looks delicious!" She exclaimed, seeing the colorful plates on the table. "Not many folks around here catch a salmon too often," she joked. "We tend to stick to the less fancy fish." She grinned, pleased with herself for not being a blubbering idiot and for keeping her nerves under control. But then she noticed the different glasses and forks set on the table and began to panic. She had no idea what anything was for and Zach must've read her mind because just then he mentioned the white wine. Though she no doubtedly had never had anything near the fine wine Zachariah was providing tonight, Anna had spent her fair share of nights in the barn drinking beers with her sister who "wanted her to learn how she functioned with alcohol in a safe place." She smiled to herself at the thought before meeting Zach's gaze.

"Can't say I've ever had a fancy white wine before," he chuckled, embarrassed she has used the word fancy twice in the last 2 minutes. "But it sounds great, I'd love to try some. And don't worry, I won't tell your giving alcohol to an underaged girl," she laughed again, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Her eyes met his once more, and like in the field yesterday she couldn't look away. It was like she was trapped, unable to think or speak, all because of those blue eyes.

She finally broke the silence, but not their eye contact. She wasn't going to lose again. "Did you cool this Zach? If so I'm thoroughly impressed."

He chuckled at her exclamation, placing steamed vegetables onto the plates as he smiled at her, "Well, thanks. It's no Chilean sea bass or anything, but it's pretty good, I think. I hope you think it tastes as good as it looks," he said with a chuckle. He lifted the plates as she said she told him she wouldn't tell about him giving her alcohol, and he couldn't help but laugh, grinning at her as he carried the plates to the long cherry wood table.

"Well, that's good at least! It'd be a terrible shame if this was our first and last meal cause I spent the rest of my time here in jail!" He set a plate down at each place setting, then pulled her chair out and gestured for her to sit, "Ladies first, of course," he said with a slight bow of the head, a humorous smile curving the corners of his lips.

Once she was seated, he moved around to the side of her chair and leaned over, pulling the bottle of wine out from the ice bucket, pressing a bit against her arm as he did. "Oh, pardon me," he said, realizing he was up against her, and he lifted the corkscrew from the table, pulling out the cork with a loud and satisfying pop! He poured the wine then, giving them both a generous glass of it, then leaned back over, and consequently against her again, sliding the bottle back into the ice bucket.

Taking his seat finally, he lifted his wine towards her, his gaze seeking out her own, his voice a bit lower now, "A toast. To... new people, and new experiences," he said, a grin passing across his lips, and a bit of a mischievous glint in his eyes. After their glasses clinked, he took a small drink from the glass, then set it down next to his plate, his eyes remaining on hers.

"So, tell me about yourself, Annabelle. 19, I gathered you worked on the farm there... family farm, I assume? Any siblings?" He paused, and a very faint grin touched on his lips, the movement so slight it could be missed if she wasn't looking at him in the short second it occurred, "Boyfriend?"

Chilean sea bass... she repeated his words in his head. "Cam't say I've ever even heard of that," she laughed. She watched him plate the food and suddenly she felt hungrier than she'd been in a while and realized she'd skipped lunch in all of her excitement today. She giggled again at his jail reference and took note that he was very good at making her laugh.

"You seem to be quite nervous about jail Mr. Vakarian," she said playfully, pronouncing each syllable of his name with a sly grin. He had mentioned it a few times, and she hoped he really was just kidding. Her smiled widened and she couldn't help blushing when he pulled the chair out for her, nodding to him as she took her seat. "Thank you sir." Annabelle was thoroughly enjoying this night so far. She was so caught up with the idea of being in an amazing home and having a fancy dinner with a guy as handsome as Zachariah.

She felt him brush against her as he reached to get the bottle of wine, and again she froze, despite the heat coursing through her. She thought it was over when he poured the wine, but once again he touched her and she thought she was going crazy. She couldn't figure out why he was having this effect on her, but she certainly wasnt complaining.

She followed suit and took a sip of wine as Zach did and was surprised at how wonderful it tasted. She looked up at him as he asked her about herself and thought she may have seen the faintest glimpse of a smile on his face but it'd vanished quicker than it came as he asked about a boyfriend.

"You're correct," she began. "It is a family farm, worked it all my life. And my sister Ellie, she's 25." She didn't mention her parents because that would cause questions, and she wasn't ready to answer them. A shy smile crossed her face and her cheeks flushed a bit, "no boyfriend for me." She broke their eye contact and looked down at her hands, fiddling with them in her lap. "Not much experience there." There was a pause, but she spoke before he could respond.

She glanced up quickly, smiling, "What brings you to Covedale? It's not the most popular place for a vacation."

He grinned at her, shaking his head as she called him by his last name again, and he shrugged a little at her mention of his nervousness over jail. "Let's just say," he said with a chuckle, "That it's pretty big news when someone like me goes to jail. I'd rather not have my face on TV for that."

He lifted his glass, taking another small drink of the wine and watching her over the rim of the glass as she told him about the farm, and about her surprising lack of experience when it came to boyfriends. His brows rose at this, and he set the glass back down, tilting his head slightly in curiosity as he said, "Really, not much experience? A town like this, and a look like yours, I don't know why there aren't guys lined up all the way down the road to your farm trying to be your boyfriend."

He laughed quietly, mostly to himself, when he asked what brought him to Covedale, and lifting his fork, took a bite of the salmon while he considered his answer. He thought, for a moment, about lying to her, saying he just wanted a vacation and this seemed like a good place to relax. But, while she may be a bit naive about things, she clearly wasn't dumb, and a simple Google search of his name, even if done at the local library if she didn't have a computer at home, would reveal all the sordid details of his kinky sexual past. It might blow her mind to find out about it, and it might cast this entire evening in a different light when she looked back on it. But, of course, he couldn't also just come out and say, Oh, I like to tie up and spank women and make them call me Sir, and the general public tends to frown on that kind of behavior...

In the end, unsure of how she'd take any of it, he shrugged slightly, drew in a breath, and said, "Well... basically, once I got some money and became a little famous, people from my past started cropping up, talking about past relationships and personal matters. So, I thought I'd find somewhere kind of quiet to lay low and sort of... let things blow over, I guess you could say..." his words trailed off, and he lifted his glass, taking a longer drink of the wine and bracing slightly for the inevitable questions to come.

A town like this, and a look like yours, I don't know why there aren't guys lined up all the way down the road to your farm trying to be your boyfriend."

She couldn't hide the fact that now she was as red as can be and her heart was thumping wildly. She wouldn't be surprised if he'd heard it pounding from across the table. A look like yours .. she repeated in her head. So he thinks I'm attractive? Awesome! her inner diva began another victory dance. She tried to figure out how to put the fact that her sister and father were overbearing control freaks, but she was having trouble finding the right words.

"Let's just say .. um, my family's a bit protective of me. I'm the youngest, they're terrified I might do something stupid. Like toni-" she started to explain the huge blowup she'd had with her sister about coming here tonight, but decided that might things a bit awkward, so before he had time to ask her to continue she took a huge bite of salmon as he told her of his reasons for coming to Covedale. She couldn't help but laugh.

"Try living in a small town long enough. Everyone's a part of your past, and everyone knows everything about everybody.I understand about wantin' to lay low. I wish sometimes I could escape the gossipin' of this old town on most days..." she paused, considering her next words carefully. She was referring to all the gossip around town about her father. He'd been the town drunk for some time ever since their mamma died, and every week there was some new crazy story circulating about him. That's what she wished she could escape. She didn't want to talk about it though, and she assumed Zachariah probably didn't want to talk about what he needed to let blow over, which is why she didn't ask questions; she didn't want to pry.

"You certainly picked a good town, I don't even think we're on the map," she joked, trying to take her mind off of her father. "This is delicious Zach," she said raising a bite of salmon to her lips.

He grinned slightly, seeing her cheeks flush red. The girl wasn't even used to being complimented! What a strange little place he'd found himself in. Someone so attractive, and also so sheltered, was just not something you encountered every day where he was from. In fact, someone sheltered or naive about the world was usually swallowed up, chewed up, and spit back out in a completely different state a couple months later. In a strange way, it was kind of refreshing knowing she was mostly safe from that here.

He took another bite as she spoke, his brow arching slightly as she stopped herself mid-sentence, certain that she was about to say being here with him tonight was stupid. And, objectively, it probably was, given that she had no idea who he was outside of the famous Zachariah Vakarian, from "the city," and he was sure he had a good hundred pounds at least on her. She was strong from working on the farm, he had no doubt about that, but he knew he could overpower her if he truly wanted to. It was understanding that her family might want to be protective of her, but he had no plans to do anything to her that she didn't want done to her. He wasn't above testing to see what she might be interested in, though...

He chuckled as she spoke of small town life, nodding along with her story, and wiping his mouth with the cloth napkin he kept on his lap before saying, "It is surprising how friendly people are here. At home, I can walk down the street without saying a word to anyone except the guy behind the counter at Starbucks, and making eye contact with anyone, including the guy behind the counter at Starbucks, is pretty fucking rare." He paused then, chuckling to himself and shaking his head, "My apologies for the language. I'm used to cursing up a storm at work, and sometimes it slips out without me realizing it."

He smiled at the compliment however, lifting his glass in her direction, "It's my pleasure. And thank you for joining me. It's so nice to have someone else around, you know? This place is really quiet when it's just me here." He paused, grinning slightly as he remembered how red she got last time, then said, "The fact that you're so attractive is just a nice bonus, too."

She watched him eat, trying to pace herself with him. She was starving and if she was alone she would have had this scarfed down already, but she didn't want to him to think she ate like an animal so she was careful to chew very slowly and make sure she wasn't eating much faster than he was.

Her eyes widened and she nearly choked on a bite of vegetables as she heard the F word come from his mouth. Of course, she'd heard the word plenty, but people around here rarely used it in everyday conversation. As he apologized she realized how dumb she must look and flushed, swallowing her bite in a loud gulp.

"Oh, don't apologize to me. You don't have to act any different than you would normally," she said with a warm smile. "I can't imagine walking by so many people without sayin' a hello or anything. We're a pretty friendly town." She then followed suit and raised her glass with him and felt her heart jump to her throat as he complimented her again. Wow, he's very upfront, she thought to herself, taking a huge drink of wine to regain her composure. She could feel the heat burning her face and knew she must be ten times more red than she'd already been the entire evening. The wine she was drinking didn't help with the flushing of her cheeks, but she was getting more comfortable. Zachariah was easy to talk to, and she was enjoying herself.

"Thank you Zach. That's very nice of you to say.." her voice trailed off as she took another sip of wine, finishing her glass. She was starting to feel a bit light headed and she knew the wine was starting to have an effect on her, but she didn't mind it. It was making her feel more comfortable. They sat in a comfortable silence for a moment, before Annabelle got the nerve to ask him a question she normally wouldn't have asked. But hey, he'd asked about her personal life right?

"Say it gets lonely here alone? I'm sure you have a dozen girls back home who woulda loved to come away with you Zach," she said, diverting his gaze, "or a girlfriend..." she added in a hushed tone, moving the food around on her plate with her fork, her face turning red once again.

He couldn't help but grin as he saw her eyes get wide, and it made him wonder not for the first time just now naive this girl was. Where he was from, fuck was basically a comma, and you could tell the really important business meetings because it was only tossed around a few times. He'd called the person on the other side of the board room table a "cock sucker" on more than one occasion, and almost always managed to close whatever deal they were working on despite it. She said he didn't have to act differently than he normally would, but something told him if that were true, she wouldn't be turning red and nearly choking on her salmon every fourteen seconds. But, perhaps it would be good for her to be exposed to the way things were outside her sleepy small town here. He'd have to play it by ear. Though judging by the amount of wine she'd downed - his glass was nearly half full still while he was watching her finish hers off - she was still trying to drown some of the awkwardness she felt.

As the silence hung over them, surprisingly comfortable given how little they knew each other, he bit into another piece of salmon, his gaze returning to her and brows raising as she spoke up again. He chuckled at her question, certain that he couldn't possible reveal the details of what he'd done to her now or she'd probably freak out, break her plate accidentally, and then run home and avoid him for the rest of the time he was here. So, instead, he wiped his mouth with his napkin and shook his head, chuckling quietly again as he said, "Not quite, I'm afraid. Sometimes it's good to get away from everything, and everyone, and just get some space for yourself, you know? Besides," he said, a slow, teasing grin creeping across his lips, "I wouldn't invite you here if I'd had a girlfriend. That'd just be asking for trouble as soon as she got one look at you."

He doesn't have a girlfriend. Anna said the words in her head, and surprisingly to her she was happy that he didn't. Did this mean that dinner was a date? And what did he mean by "it would cause trouble as soon as she looked at you." Her face flushed again as he gave her that sexy little grin he had. She'd never been complimented so often at one time. Well, she'd never really had the chance since she'd never really been on a date. That's what made this more complicated for Anna. She didn't have anything to compare this too, so she had no idea whether or not this would constitute as a date. She really wanted to ask him because she'd like to know if her first date was happening at the moment.

As all this went through her head she thanked Zach again for the compliment and wiped her mouth with a napkin. "I'm afraid Mr. Vakarian, that you're inflating my ego quite a bit," she teased. "It's not so often a girl around here gets so many compliments from a man as handsome as yourself." She couldn't help but blush as she said this though she did her best to remain poised. "That could be though because there aren't any men as handsome as yourself around here," she added in a hushed tone, her eyes meeting his and feeling that weird tingling sensation in her belly again. She quickly looked away and took the last drink of her wine before setting her glass aside.

"That was soo delicious Zach. Thank you so much for cooking for me tonight," she said quickly to divert her attention to something other than the foreign feelings she was having when she looked into his eyes. "Next time I'll have to make you some good ole fashioned southern cookin'," she let out a small laugh before realizing what she said, and then quickly added, "I mean... If - if you want ... if there is a next time." Despite her deepest efforts she couldn't keep the hopeful tone out of her voice and it ended up sounding more like a question than statement.

Now that they were finished eating, Anna got a little more nervous. Eating was easy, you had something to do to fill the silence. But now she was anxious to see what was next, if anything. Maybe he was ready for her to leave. She didn't want to overstay her welcome. Maybe he thought she was too childish and immature with all her blushing and giggling. Her mind was racing with thoughts that were interrupted again by Zachariah's smooth, husky voice that she had already grown to love.

Zachariah shook his head at her, a slight grin curving his lips as she called him by his last name again. "For the last time, Annabelle, call me Zach. Mr Vakarian is my father. Unless you're trying to make me feel old?" he asked with a snicker. He watched as she finished her wine, hoping the alcohol would help her relax a little.

As she complimented the meal he bowed his head towards her with a smile, "It was my pleasure, Annabelle. And I would be delighted to get some genuine Southern food. Maybe some sweet tea to go with it," he asked, grinning. Rising from his seat, he grabbed the bottle of wine from the ice bucket and poured the rest of it into their individual glasses, almost completely re-filling hers before the bottle ran out. Sliding the empty bottle back into the bucket, he gathered up the plates. "Would you mind grabbing the glasses? Let me set these in the sink, and then I'll give you the grand tour." He grinned still, a bit of a twinkle in his eye, as he lifted both plates and carried them into the kitchen, expecting her to follow.

Trying to make him feel old? Of course she wasn't doing that .. just teasing him. But the small grin on his face tole Anna that he knew that. She returned his smile and watched him pour her yet another glass of wine. Annabelle'd never even had a drop of alcohol in her life, and already from one glass she was feeling a bit light headed. Not wanting to be rude, she accepted the second glass and drank eagerly, liking the way it tasted, and the way it was giving her some courage to say what was on her mind.

She fought herself to resist from her happy dance when Zach mentioned a grand tour, and jumped from her chair to grab the glasses of wine. She calmed herself down, careful not to spill the wine, and followed Zach into the kitchen. "Thank you Zach, I'd love to see the place. I just know it has to be beautiful." She smiled eagerly and handed him his glass of wine back. Their fingers briefly touched and Anna felt the blood rush to her head, and she knew her cheeks were pink again.