"Sounds like you guys have one hell of a well-oiled machine all figured out," she remarked. The more he spoke about his family and their dynamic, it made her wonder if she would've turned out differently if she'd been brought up in an environment like that. It was probably hard to get privacy but it sure sounded like it came with its perks too. Especially when he spoke of it all so highly. It was no wonder he seemed to want to have a family like that of his own someday if he'd grown up with one so tightly-knit. "Never heard anyone consider 'control-freak' to be attractive, but hey, everyone's into something," her lips twisted upwards, humored by his response.
Nina's eyes watched him closely, listening to the way he spoke about how he enjoyed living outside of his comfort zone and the way laughter had fallen so effortlessly from his lips. She couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed that freely. Maybe she'd never laughed like that in her life. "Maybe a bit of the latter but I thought you'd give my incredible intuition a little more credit," she joked, feeling the intensity of his gaze on her. None of the men she'd flirted with, let alone dated, ever seemed to have looked and listened to her with that much care. Maybe it was the gin clouding her perception but she felt very seen and vulnerable under Jesse's gaze. Perhaps vulnerable in a way that was more than she was comfortable with. "I guess with your track record and the dangerous riding, she was just glad to have one less thing to worry about you messing with," she considered. It was sweet that even with such a big family, nobody went unnoticed. "Yeah I won't lie... it is a bit of a crazy concept to me," she confessed with a nod. "But coming back here has been a culture shock in many ways. I forgot that some people don't live their life in fast forward all the time. People out here actually take the time to enjoy it," Nina sighed a little. "Meanwhile people like me live to work— and I'm always thinking about work, even if it's just in the back of my mind."
"You want to show me the town?" her brows rising in a mix of astonishment and curiosity. She knew people from around here were friendlier than New Yorkers, but she certainly hadn't expected this kind of friendliness from a stranger at a bar. Especially considering she'd fully expected he was making passes at her just to get under her skirt, his offer came as a surprise. "In such a short amount of time you have really thought all of this through, haven't you?" she smirked as Jesse seemed to further plead his case about all of this. "I've got to say, this might be the most elaborate way anyone's ever hit on me at a bar— and I once had a magician flirt with me. It was a whole spectacle," Nina snorted lightly at the memory. "Unless you moonlight as a tour guide and this has been a ploy to get me to hire you," she added playfully. "Luckily for you I will happily take the time away from my family these next few days... and you're easy on the eyes so, to answer your question... yes. I am considering your offer," she finally decided. What did she have to lose? It would certainly make this reluctant return a little more exciting. "So when do we start?"
"we do. tried and true through many generations of abernathys who have lived here," he told her with a warm smile. jesse was proud of that fact, to be a just a small part of a legacy that big. "well, it's attractive to me. i like it when a woman knows what she wants, and control freaks usually know what they want, right?" he asked with a sly smirk on his lips. the blonde couldn't help but smile along with her laughter, surprised that his charm was working on such a woman. he liked it, though. that she seemed to genuinely be enjoying their conversation. "fine, i'll give your intuition more credit. i'm such a hard read," he teased, swirling the rest of his drink down and flagging the bartender for another. "another of these mate, and then another of whatever my lovely friend nina ordered. add them to my tab, please." he turned to nina, "i feel like we'll be here long enough for another round, right?"
jesse snorted, "dangerous riding, hm? i've not been called a dangerous ride before." he knew it was a bit of a cheap flirting tactic, being crude like that, but quite frankly he didn't care. "we do. it's a nice life, actually. doing things at my own speed and pace. not worrying about money and worth. maybe you need to take some of this mindset back with you. you're not working while you're here, right?" he asked, though he feared he knew the answer to that question already. "living to work is not the way of our town. working to live... now that's what i live by." jesse furrowed his brows at her, "you don't need to say it like that. yes, i want to show you around the town that you grew up in. show you the things you're missing out on in that big city job." the blonde scoffed, "no ploy. ever since i saw you sitting at that bar and decided i had to talk to you, even if it pissed off my sister because i abandoned her tonight. but she'll forgive me, would have probably thumped me if i didn't talk to the most beautiful stranger i'd ever seen," he admitted, completely truthful in his words. "you can't say that and then not tell me how he hit on you, nina. come on," he pshawed. jesse's eyes lit up at her confirmation, "you will? holy shit, i was not expecting that to work, honestly. but we can start whenever you want. i'm not doing anything the rest of the evening. a lil moonlit stroll might be nice for me to walk you home?"
