we'll be a dream

[spencerxwesterly]

noahlwalker·:

Conversations about previous experiences with cheerleading had been something that Noah expected going into today, all things considered. What he hadn’t anticipated was that he would come to find any of the girls had the sort of background in that Spencer apparently did. He was impressed, to say the least. Having grown up in Texas and even gone to a couple Cowboys games with his dad, he knew that the DCC was a big deal. Whether she had actually ended up being a part of it or not, it spoke to her talent in the sport that she was even considered. Hearing Spencer mention that it was just her hard work that had gotten her as far as it did, Noah couldn’t deny that that was something he probably agreed with. The blonde didn’t strike him as the type to try to charm her way into anything like some girls did, and while he didn’t doubt that some of it was pure talent, the genuine quality he had perceived from Spencer from the first night really sold her sentiment for her. “While I don’t doubt that’s true, I ain’t about to let a talent be sold short either, so.” He noted with a smile and a tilt of his head.

It had been a little bit casual, his mention of PTSD, and Noah was aware of that. More than once already in this process, it had crossed his mind that his time in the military was a subject matter that deserved to be broached and spoken about, but was probably difficult to approach. He couldn’t blame the women for that, but he hoped that some of them would gather up to courage to be able to have those conversations all the same. Spencer had been someone he had already mentioned things pertaining to his time, specifically since returning home, to so he hoped that meant something of an open door for any future speaking on the matter. There was a soft smile that curled at his mouth as he listened to the girl speak. A number of people in his volunteer work, and even just friends at home, had commended him for the work that he did in helping other veterans, despite the effects it could have on himself. Still, there was something nice about hearing that sort of thing from present company. “Thank you.” He murmured with a subtle incline forward. His tone turned a little lighter, smile a little more playful when he tacked on, “I mean, I do try from time to time, so I’m glad it’s workin’ for me then. Thanks for lettin’ me know.”

Though she hadn’t ended up trying out for the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders after all, she always took a little bit of pride in the fact that they team had been interested in her in the first place. But still, it wasn’t something she name dropped often, but it was prevalent to their date, extremely so, and this whole thing was about getting to know each other, so it only made sense for Spencer to tell Noah about it. While she wanted to show off her cheering skills, she didn’t want to seem like she was trying to hard by mentioning her prior experience either. There was a balance she was trying to keep while also letting Noah learn things about her and her past. Smiling at his response to her subtly brushing his compliment off, she nodded her head. “Thank you.” The blonde answered simply, not wanting to dwell on it too much further, she’d have a chance later on to talk about it more if it came up, right? 

While the mention of PTSD was a bit casual, Spencer wasn’t going to let the subject pass by, especially when he’d mentioned being in the army before. Spencer had gone to school with plenty of people who’d ended up in the military, her grandfather had even been in World War II but he’d passed away when she was 19, even just being from Texas there was a deeper level of respect for people who’d served their country, and Spencer was no different. So she meant what she’d said about him being brave for doing what he did with other veterans, PTSD wasn’t anything to joke or mess around with, and him wanting to help people even though it could ultimately affect him really hit something in her heart. Smiling, she inclined into him the same way he had to her. “You’re welcome.” She answered softly, but then shoved playfully at his shoulder as he continued more lightly. “Nuh uh, I don’t think you have to try at all. I think all of this is totally natural for you." Spencer sighed out, smiling wide at him.

[spencerxwesterly]

noahlwalker·:

Making a bad joke was mildly characteristic for Noah; he didn’t make too many terribly often, but when he did they tended to be not that great. He couldn’t be bothered to be embarrassed about it, though, so a grin stayed on his features, and he appreciated the laugh it received all the same. At the blonde’s question about showing a demonstration, he tilted his head. For a brief moment, he thought about Chelsea and her own attempt to ‘show off.’ Her’s had been of a very different, not at all real technique nature, but it came to mind momentarily all the same. Mostly because he knew that other girls had seen it happen, and from being on the side of things that all of them were currently on, he knew how fast watching someone else show off could set off a storm in the group. If other girls actively wanted to go about that for themselves, that was their choice, but Spencer didn’t strike him as the type; he just hoped he was right about that. “How 'bout you show me the finished product all together so I can be really wowed? Sound good?” He offered instead.

Asking about the end to her cheerleading career, Noah had definitely not anticipated the answer that he was actually given. A pleasantly surprised look crossed his features as she mentioned the contact she’d hand, his hand instinctively lifting to gesture in Judy’s direction, knowing she was once part of the DCC. That same hand pushed back through his hair as he shook his head slowly a moment later. “That’s pretty incredible, actually.” He mused, clearly impressed. He thought back for a second to Wendy pointing out that she already seemed to know Spencer would be winning this competition. Suddenly that felt like it was a correct assumption. Continuing to listen to the blonde as she went into more of an explanation of her personal reasons for not pursuing the career, Noah took note of the mentions of her family and her home life. They had both agreed on the first night that family was something that was very important to each of them, so as much as it probably was a little disappointing, he couldn’t say he was completely surprised that family commitments had halted her in cheering professionally. “I don’t think it’s weird.” He shook his head, offering the girl a smile. “Can’t be any weirder than a guy who already dealt with his own PTSD tryin’ to go back and be there for other guys tryin’ to tackle theirs. You put yourself back into things that were a big part of who you are.” His smile turned softer as he shrugged with one shoulder. "Just ‘cause you’re not a part of something anymore don’t mean that something’s not still a part of you, y’know?”

While Spencer was pretty confident she could do most of her old tumbling from gymnastics, it’d been years since she’d done any of it and though she wanted to be able to impress Noah, she didn’t know how willing she was to get hurt by doing so. Offering to show him might have been a little bold for more than one reason, but his suggestion of showing him when her little routine was all finished was a welcome one, considering she hadn’t done any tumbling yet. It was probably for the better she not even try, as much as she wanted to. She’d think more on that later though. Nodding her head, the blonde smiled, running her hand back through her pony tail. “Alright.” She answered him simply. 

Getting into the explanation of why she’d stopped cheering, she knew it wasn’t a whole lot of background to be giving him, but it’d been something that was a big part of her life for years, so it was important and obviously prevalent to the date they were on. Her nose wrinkled up a little at his reaction, the compliment earing a smile with a shrug up of her shoulder. “I worked hard, is all.” She dragged her teeth over her bottom lip, listening to Noah when he spoke and taking a tiny step closer to him. Her expression changed a bit mentioning PTSD, the smile fading from her face to more of a more thoughtful look crossing it as she looked up at him. She remembered what he’d said about his family helping him through coming back from being deployed, she’d known that he’d been in the army but with this new information she found herself digging deeper into the kind of person Noah really was. Her lips rolled together as she nodded her head at him, the corners of her lips tugging up just slightly before she spoke. “I think that’s the furthest thing from weird. You helpin’ people who are goin’ through somethin' as difficult as that, somethin' that you went through, ‘specially when PTSD can be so unpredictable and helpin' them could make things harder on you, could hinder your healin' even in the tiniest of ways? I think it’s really brave, and selfless.” Spencer smiled softly at him, blinking slowly. “You’re a very good person, Noah.” She paused, still looking up at him, knowing their conversation changed a little from casual cheerleading talk but not really minding that it had. “It radiates off ya, it really does.”

[spencerxwesterly]

noahlwalker·:

Going into a date that involved cheerleading, Noah was well aware that there was slim chance that none of the girls on said date hadn’t cheered in their life. He knew there were bound to be at least a few of them there that were familiar enough with it, it made things a little bit different than the first group date where obstacle courses weren’t exactly a common thing for people to be prepared for. Still, as he’d had Spencer pointed out to him, and as he approached the girl in the position he stood in, he expected to find that the blonde was more familiar with the sport than a lot of the other girls there. She just looked like she knew what she was doing. Hearing her reply, he couldn’t help but let out a gentle breath of a chuckle, head shaking slowly. His eyebrows pushed upward at the length of time she had cheered for, though, a playful ‘hoo boy’ leaving him before he grinned faintly. “Seems like you got a leg up then, huh? No pun intended.” He grinned further.

Face scrunching up subtly, Noah chuckled once again with another shake of his head. “One hundred percent honesty, I don’t even know what the heck all that you just said is, let alone anything about doin’ it.” Shifting on his feet, he folded his arms loosely over his chest. “So you cheered for that long and then just ended up stoppin’?” He asked, curious and conversational. What small bits of conversation he had had with other girls thus far -mostly Natalia and Chelsea- had both gone very specific ways for each of those females. Getting the opportunity to ask a question about details of Spencer’s life felt a little refreshing in comparison. “Did college ruin it for ya? I’ve heard that college cheer is hit or miss with how much the girls actually enjoy it. Got a couple friends back home who tried it after high school and it wasn’t the same for 'em.”

Spencer definitely felt a little more at ease finding out the date today was solely based around cheerleading. She definitely had an advantage and it would be silly of her not to use it, right? Noah coming over to her so soon surprised her, she’d been expecting him to make rounds and get to her eventually, but she wasn’t at all complaining about his presence. Letting out a laugh at his remark, the blonde shook her head. “That was bad, Noah, that was real bad.” Her face lit up a little bit when he continued though, mentioning he had no idea what she was talking about. “Wanna see?” Her head tilted to the side, teeth sinking into her bottom lip as she tried to fight the smile from coming to her lips but failing miserably. 

Pausing on her stretches while Noah was there, she’d get back to figuring out what she was going to do when he’d moved on. She wasn’t going to waste any of her time with him when she knew how precious it really was. Nodding her head at his question, she rolled her lips together before her face scrunched up a bit. “In my senior year of college the assistant coach for the DCC reached out and wanted me to try out cause they’d seen me at a few games and thought I’d be a good fit for the team, I didn’t end up tryin’ out though.” She smiled, shrugging her shoulders up a little with her arms lifting from her sides. Spencer shook her head thought, answering his question but then continuing. “I loved cheerin’ in college, it didn’t have anythin' to do with the team or the girls or anythin’ like that I think I was just ready to go home and start my life, ya know?  When I got back to Austin I did some coachin’ for one of middle schools which was nice, helped me feel connected to it still; when I got my job at the shop and my sister started needin’ more help watching Ellie I ended up havin’ to resign there cause my schedule wasn’t going to work out with everythin’ but..” She smiled softly, head tipping to the side. “Sometimes I’ll find a tournament that’s close enough to take a little weekend trip to go watch and feel the nerves and the excitement all over again, which is probably a little weird, huh?” The blonde laughed, nose scrunching up as she looked up at Noah. 

[spencerxwesterly]

noahlwalker·:

Admittedly, Noah was a little out of his element when it came to judging the technique of cheerleading. He had played football, and therefore associated with some of the girls that cheered, even his sister had done cheer when she was in high school, but that didn’t mean that he knew much about it. Still, he gave himself the brownie points for saving these girls from having to tackle each other all day - and realistically the sad secondhand embarrassment he probably would have felt watching. He noticed right away when he separated from the girls to allow for them to get to their routines just who actually seemed to take it seriously. Danielle and Harmony were quick to start talking to the coach, probably getting some pointers for how to go about what they were trying to achieve. Renee was doing some idle stretching, but she looked the slightest bit nervous, given she kept glancing around at the other girls around her. Destiney was already snapping fingers along to a beat in her head, looking concentrated - he imagined she had probably done this sort of thing before.

Before he could fully notice any of the other girls busying themselves, Natalia was coming up to him, talking to him once again. There was something about the way that she seemed so consistently persistent in her attempts to have his attention; he couldn’t quite figure if it was something he admired about her or not yet. He gave her what she was looking for for a few minutes, chatting with her, answering her questions about how he hadn’t dated any of the cheerleaders in high school while he played football, and other such questions that after thinking about them, felt a little superficial. When he was pulled away by Chelsea calling out to him and waving him over instead, he was slightly thankful. Coming up to the blonde, he greeted her with a grin only to let out a vaguely surprised laugh when the blonde lifted her leg up toward his shoulder. “Help me stretch?” She hummed, batting her eyelashes at him as she leaned forward. Noah was becoming increasingly familiar with Chelsea and her boldness, but still, for the moment he fed into it, so to speak, helping the girl as she deemed necessary.

It was Wendy, the coach, that pulled his attention next, blowing a whistle and all. Chuckling, Noah excused himself from Chelsea to go over and speak with the woman. “Two things,” She began. “First, why is that one sitting on the sidelines?” His brow furrowed as he glanced in the direction she pointed; at where Amanda in fact did sit cross-legged on the grass. A frown appeared, though he tried not to be terribly obvious about it. “Second, I can pretty much promise you that girl there is already your winner here.” Following the motion the coach made once again, Noah’s gaze landed on Spencer this time. At first there was a smile reappearing on his features, then after a moment his eyebrows pushed upward as he watched the way the blonde moved her body. “Let’s keep an open mind here. If I gotta do it, you gotta do it.” Noah chuckled. He gave the woman a request to go speak with Amanda herself first, see if she could coax some confidence into her before he would give it a shot, see what was up. First, though, he was going over to talk to Spencer. Grinning as he approached, Noah shook his head slowly. “You know, I think if I tried to bend every which way like that, I’d throw out my poor back. What’s your secret?”

Even before she knew today was going to be all about cheerleading, Spencer’s plan was to go into this first date and crush it, whatever it was, it just so happened that it turned out to be something that was very near and dear to her heart. While she hadn’t cheered on a team in two years, she knew it was going to be like riding a bike getting a routine together, doing some tumbles and whatever else she wanted to. Maybe she was planning on showing off a little, but that was the point, right? 

Standing off to the side, she focused on herself more than the other girls. But that didn’t mean she missed everything. She saw Amanda go and plop herself down on the grassy sidelines and saw Chelsea swing her leg up casually onto Noah’s shoulder; both earning creases in her brow for different reasons but after that she decided to stop watching what the other girls were doing to focus on what she wanted to do instead. 

Leg up in a needle position, she was off in another world thinking about the sixty second routine she was already working through in her head when Noah’s voice was closer than she expected. Snapping out of her thoughts with a few blinks, she lowered her leg and turned to look at him with a smile, nose wrinkling. “It’s not that hard, you just have to work to be flexible.” Spencer laughed lightly, continuing. “I was a cheerleader for three fourths of my life, I don’t think it’s much of a secret but-” The blonde shrugged, then grinned at him. “What Noah, you can’t do a round off back handspring back tuck?” Spencer teased, shaking her head more at herself than anything. 

[spencerxwesterly]

noahlwalker·:

Between growing up in Texas and therefore being an avid Cowboys fan, and the fact that he himself played football in high school, Noah couldn’t say he was terribly surprised when the producers thought of a football related date being a good idea. Of course, there idea had been more of the making the girls try to play football persuasion. True, the first group of girls on the bootcamp group date had gone through the obstacle course, even been pretty good sports about the whole thing, but Noah recognized that there was a distinct difference between running through an obstacle course and playing a game where they could be tackled to the ground. With Dallas Cowboys Football, though, came the infamous Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, so a happy medium had been found on that front. Cheerleading was definitely safer than playing football. While he wouldn’t have been surprised to find that a number of the girls had cheered in high school, it still also left some availability for there to be difficulty - which put it on a little more of an even playing field with the difficulty of the obstacle course, as well.

They were meeting at the stadium that the Los Angeles Rams practiced at, and Noah, despite not being a fan of that specific team, was still pretty excited to check the place out. He was given a small tour himself before he was lead out onto the field to await the incoming arrival of the girls for his group date. Before long, the girls were arriving, and a bright smile was easily appearing on his face. Catching Natalia easily as she launched into a hug at him, he laughed and swung her a little more up off the ground before setting her down and giving more greeting to the other girls present as well. Grinning, he clapped both of his hands together in front of him. “So, I’m from Texas, and we love our football out there, Cowboys or otherwise.” He began. “I’ll be honest with y'all, the first thought was to see how good you were at football.” He admitted, only to let out a loud laugh when Chelsea squeaked out a sharp ‘what’ and Danielle threw in an 'oh no, sweetie, nope.’ “It’s okay, it’s alright, we’re not here to play football.” Noah assured, though the amusement in his grin remained. “I’m sure y'all have at least heard of the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, right?” Brows lifted, he glanced specifically in Spencer’s direction, knowing she was also from Texas and had to know what he was referring to probably more than some of the other girls. “We’re actually here for cheer tryouts.”

That seemed to merit something more along the lines of excitement from the girls, though Noah did happen to notice the way that Amanda didn’t look particularly thrilled with the idea. Of course, this wasn’t going to be for everyone, and he knew that. “Basically, what we’re going to do, is we’ve got a coach here to help y'all out as needed, but you’re gonna put together a nice little sixty second routine. I don’t know how many of you did any kinda cheerin’ in school or anything, maybe some of you are familiar enough with this process, maybe you’re not. You’ll get your routine all together, get a little practice in, then we’ll have the official tryout, so to speak. Me and the lovely miss Wendy Branson, your coach, and, the legendary miss Judy Trammell, a once-Cowboy’s cheerleader herself and now assistant choreographer, will be judgin’ your routines. Good news is y'all will be makin’ the squad just fine, but the best judged score outta the tryouts gets a special prize, so put your best foot forward.” Clapping his hands together once again, Noah grinned widely before getting ready to dismiss them. “Alright, ladies, let’s see what we got.”

Getting to the field, Spencer had a good feeling they were either about to be playing football or cheering, and while she hoped for the later she would realistically do fine with football too having watched enough games over the years. Hearing Noah mention the Cowboys didn’t feel out of place, considering he was a Texas boy, and even though there was another team from Houston, most people born and raised in Texas were Cowboys fans, it was just in their blood. Spencer didn’t miss the way he glanced at her at the mention of the Cowboy Cheerleaders, that was another thing that was big in their home state, while they were world famous basically, those cheerleaders had a completely different rep in Texas. Her head nodded, smiling while she did so. As Noah continued to explain the challenge, she couldn’t help but feel giddy about it. This was her kind of thing, and while she hadn’t been doing many round-off-back-handsprings in her spare time, she very much knew she was still capable of it.

Hearing that the old coach of the Cowboys cheerleaders was going to be a judge, she felt even more ready; in the middle of her senior year of college, the recruitment team for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders had actually contacted her, she’d thought about it and ultimately decided against it. If she had auditioned and gotten the gig she definitely wouldn’t be here right now, and she was very happy with where she was. Excited as Noah sent them off to start practicing, she sort of separated herself to get her head together, a few of the other girls clustered together while she noticed more going right over to Noah. She wanted time with him, of course she did, but she’d get it eventually, she had a good feeling he was going to be making his rounds. Spencer wasn’t naive enough to think that she was the only former cheerleader here, but she was going to put her all in anyway, it was the kind of girl she was.

Deciding to stretch a bit before getting started, she kept her gaze on where Noah was standing with Natalia still but then looked around at the other girls who were either already working with the coach or talking to each other. She didn’t mind she’d sort of stepped out of the way, she wanted a little space to try to figure out what she wanted to do. The standing dance would be easy enough to figure out, she could realistically even do it on the fly, it was the tumbling and the jumps and the leg lifts she wanted to get into. Lifting her leg to grab a hold of her heal, she grinned to herself. Yep, still got it. From the heal hold she went into a bow and arrow pose then a needle. She might be sore tomorrow, but at least she was going to have fun today.

[spencerxwesterly]

Hearing her name on the second group date card, Spencer couldn’t help but be excited. Would she have loved alone time with Noah? Absolutely. Was she going to be upset she didn’t get a one on one and let it ruin her time she did have with him? Absolutely not. She’d already started making friends with the girls in the house, most of them were very friendly, others she wasn’t getting the best vibes from but she tried to stay away from them, and definitely avoid any catty drama in the process. She finished putting Harmony’s hair into a braided ponytail for their date before getting ready herself, Spencer loved playing with hair, it was one of her favorite things to do, so she wasn’t at all opposed to helping any of the girls out if wanted. She didn’t know exactly what they were doing, but her and a few other girls on the date had tried to work out the clue, Spencer had an idea of what she hoped it was, but she wasn’t going to get her hopes up. 

Finally she was loading into a van with the eight other women and heading towards their date. They were pulling up at a football stadium, and she felt her heart start beating the tiniest bit faster. Maybe her idea had been right after all? As they were ushered into the building and through the tunnel, Spencer jogged onto the field with the other women, watching as Natalie glomped herself onto Noah quickly, which didn’t surprise Spencer considering what she’d seen and heard of the girl so far. Waving at him with a bright smile, she looked around, really hoping her hunch had been right, just so she might be able to show off the tiniest bit. 

[spencerxwesterly]

🌹 Spencer’s Look ;; Bachelor Episode 2, Group Date (day portion)

[spencerxwesterly]

Noah, 

Letter number 2 I’m writing for you and my head is still spinning. Tonight was amazing, better than I could have expected. Hearing you say my name to offer me a rose felt absolutely insane, I don’t think I’ve had butterflies like that once in my life. 

Getting to sit and talk with you, finding out even the little things that I did felt special. It meant a lot more than you probably know for you to have listened to me, that you liked that I didn’t watch your season, that you told me what’s important to you. I know that we’ve got a lot to learn, and I can only hope we have the time to do it. 

But my favorite part of the night was when you told me I sounded like home. The feeling that gave me was only bested by you giving me a rose, truly. 

Talking with you felt easy, easier than I thought it was going to be for sure and I can’t wait to see you again, to talk to you again. 

Thank you for all your kind words and beautiful smiles you sent my way, I have a feeling it won’t be hard to fall for you. 

Always,  ♡ Spencer 

[spencerxwesterly]

noahlwalker·:

Given that he had been on the other side of this experience, been in Spencer’s shoes, so to speak, he knew the feeling of having so much to say but knowing that there might not be enough time to say it, or even that it might not be the right time to say it yet. So getting into mentions of her family, obviously telling that there was plenty more to be said there even without her having to elaborate; Noah understood. He’d decided in the back of his mind already that Spencer wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon, and while he couldn’t quite inform her of that decision already, it was reassuring to him for the time being. They would still have time to hopefully get there eventually. There were plenty of questions he could ask the girl about her implications, what she was talking about when she said things were ‘better now,’ because that definitely had a story to it. But it was one of those subjects that Noah didn’t fully feel comfortable opening the door on while not knowing how much time they actually had - he didn’t want it to be something cut off and unfinished, not even just because of his own curiosity, but for the sake of Spencer sharing that information.

“I’m glad to hear things are good, definitely. Can’t wait to hear all about 'em.” Noah smiled with a single nod of his head. It wasn’t a precise promise to talk about it later, but he figured that it was implied well enough that Spencer would know he caught on, that he had the interest, it just wasn’t quite the time. Smiling a bit wider as she continued on about what he assumed had to be her favorite color, considering, he gave a tilted nod of his head. “I'ma a fan of a good navy blue or forest green, myself, but I’m sure you’d look just as pretty in those as you do pink, too, so.” It was an easy compliment to give, and an honest one. Smiling gently still, he paid attention as Spencer got into answering his question about her work. He could tell just taking in her expression, let alone the way that she spoke about it, that it was something that she loved to do. He couldn’t quite put his finger on why, but it seemed fitting for her, it made sense. He let out a light chuckle of his own at her short story of when she was little, smile bright on his face. “Well, thank god for Mrs. Everly then.” He joked subtly. Shifting his hand in hers to lay over top of it against the stone edge of the fireplace, he continued to smile at her, though his head tilted faintly. “Guess you’re in the right place, what with you lovin’ flowers and me handin’ out roses, huh?”

One of the things Spencer knew about this show was that conversations were going to be interupted, moments you shared with the bachelor weren’t just yours, sharing was something you had to do, and while she prepared herself for that, while she knew she wasn’t going to be the girl interrupting anyone elses time, she wondered how much longer she had with Noah before it was taken away from her. And not only that, when she’d get to really talk to him about herself and her life. There was so much to talk about, having never met this man before, him having not met her, and if she could she’d sit here in front of the fireplace all night talking and playing with his hands and learning everything she could, but that just wasn’t the way this show went, so for now she was going to enjoy Noah while she could. 

A small smile appeared on his face at his words, a whoosh of butterflies filled with hope and excitement flipping through her stomach. “I can’t wait to tell ya.” She blinked at him, lifting her hand that wasn’t toying with his up to push a few flyaways behind her ear. Hearing the colors Noah liked, she tilted her head to the side thoughtfully, but then her nose wrinkled up at his compliment. “Stop it.” She nudged playfully at his shoulder with hers once more, a quiet ‘thank you’ leaving her after the fact. Talking about work was one of Spencer’s favorite things to do, she geeked out over it, she truly did. “That’s what I’ve always said, wouldn’t be doin’ what I do without her.” Spencer sighed, eyebrows lifting when the man beside her spoke again. Her gaze lowered to their hands at the stone of the fireplace, a small smile on her as she looked back at Noah beside her, stomach flipping once again. “It’s a little more than the flowers that make me want to be here, though.” Spencer answered him, blinking slowly while she looked at him, an easy fond smile on her face. 

[spencerxwesterly]

noahlwalker·:

It was easier than Noah had given credit for, to sort of immerse himself in individual moments. Of course he was aware of the fact that there was a large number of women present, and decent portion of them having not gotten a moment of his time yet, but he was doing pretty well at giving each individual woman he sat down with his undivided attention. While he might have liked to be able to speak with each of them, given them the time and attention they deserved, he knew that he couldn’t stress about it, he had to take things one moment at a time. Stress wouldn’t have particularly been on his mind as he sat there with Spencer anyway, as it turned out. She was pretty easy to talk to, and he figured that had to come with that previously mentioned familiarity of home. Despite the fact that there was plenty to learn about one another -it only being their first night and all- he still felt like she could be someone he knew once upon a time.

His answer to her rather broad question had been an honest one; there wasn’t much that trumped his family on the list of things that were most important to him. There was the smallest of baits in his answer, though, in his mention of coming home from Iraq. It was one subject matter about himself that he figured wouldn’t get the traction he felt it merited. Girls here knew about his relationship with Lindsay, that was the big ticket informational item, as it were. They also knew he was a proud born and raised Texan, and that he was a family man. They undoubtedly knew about his time in the Army, but whether or not the subject ended up broached in any deeper conversations with these women was to be seen. Still, even with that thought in mind, and that tiny hint of a bait, he wasn’t expecting much. It was a passing mention, and this was the first time he and Spencer were really having any at-length conversation. He couldn’t expect to get into everything all at once. That much was also made clear by her answer to his returned question.

“Four girls, well, I’m always a big supporter of close-knit ladies, trust. My sister and a few’ve my cousins got their own little mom’s club goin’. I’m sure you and your family have somethin’ just as good.” Noah smiled as he nodded his head slowly. He was well aware of the fact that there was information in there about her family dynamic, there was a curiosity sprung to the surface about how her family came to be just these four girls sticking together. He definitely could have asked a number of questions about her family life, but Noah in the back of his mind already had a pretty solid decision made that Spencer wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. She had made a good enough impression thus far that he knew she’d be getting a rose in some capacity tonight and they’d have more opportunity to talk about those bigger and more involved things later. Letting out a chuckle as Spencer added the color pink being important to her, his grin eased a little bit wider, gaze flicking down to the dress that she wore. “Pink? Oh no, I wouldn’t’ve guessed that at all.” He teased subtly as his eyes shifted back up to meet hers once again. “What d'you do for work, though?”

Thankful was a good word to describe how Spencer was feeling while she sat with Noah. She felt present enough in the moment to have a conversation with him, but still be able to realize that she was already happy she was there with him, thankful to have the opportunity to meet this guy. He was special, she’d gathered that much in the tiny bit of looking intp him she’d done but talking to him made that even more obvious. Just like she’d said, there were so many thing she wanted to know about him, so many things she wanted him to know about her but right now there just wasn’t the time for the big info dump she could give him, even if she wanted to. Sitting with him though, she was happy she got to ask him at least one question, hearing his answer and how it related to hers even a little bit made her feel even better about being there. The shared a lot of values, they shared a love of family and Spencer’s family was the most important thing in the world to her. 

Nodding her head when he spoke, the blonde kept a smile on her face. “We do, wasn’t always so good but it’s better now, the best, I think.” She hoped she’d have more time to explain about her family to him, more time to talk to him in general but right now didn’t feel like the time to be getting into heavy stuff, and a lot of her life was heavy. She knew so little about Noah, but she knew he had stuff he wanted to unpack too, didn’t everyone? So she really hoped they’d get the chance. Jokingly adding in the color pink being important to her, the blonde kept a smile on her face as he teased back at her, nodding her head once solidly. “Best color in my opinion.” Her face softened a bit though when he asked about her job, eyes lighting up as she looked at him. Her work was something she loved, something she took pride in, it was her dream job so of course she was excited about it. “I’m a florist, I work at this tiny little shop in Austin, I’ve always loved flowers and gardenin’.” Spencer paused, shaking her head then letting out a quiet laugh. “I used to get in trouble as a little girl cause I’d run into my neighbor Mrs. Everly’s yard and pick all her daisies and buttercups and lilacs, she didn’t like that very much but eventually she decided to show me how to grow my own flowers insteada pickin’ hers all the time.” 

[spencerxwesterly]

noahlwalker‌:

Going into this sit-down with Spencer, Noah was actively trying not to worry about whether or not they would get interrupted. If he spent all his time tonight worrying about each individual woman’s time being interrupted, he knew he wouldn’t be giving them the attention they deserved, or getting what he was looking for out of the interactions. So instead he chose to focus closely on what the blonde beside him was saying. The more that he listened to Spencer talk, the more he felt he stood by what he had said out front about her sounding like home. It was like talking to neighbors or some of the ladies around the developments he worked on, or even family. It was familiar to him, and he enjoyed that a lot, even if it was a minor detail of the girl as a whole. “I wouldn’t’ve guessed that. You were so collected, knew just what you wanted to say.” He noted observationally, small smile still lingering on his face. Getting to the fact that she hadn’t watched his journey with Lindsay, Noah meant what he said about finding that to be a nice thing for them. He appreciated her honesty in sharing that, and even more her sentiment about wanting to learn things right from him, keeping things more real.

Listening to her elaborate a little, he gave a small nod of his head. “Well thank you for thinkin’ like that, I really do appreciate it.” He affirmed. A gentle chuckled escaped him at her following words, another nod shifting his head, because he fully understood that. It was something he felt with a lot of the women he had met already, but Spencer definitely was one of them. “Trust me, I get that, I do. There’s always so much to talk about, startin’ out. But I am excited that what you and I get to talk about is new to you, y'know?” He smiled a little wider and brushed his thumb back and forth over the side of her hand as she toyed with his fingers still. While the opening question that she asked was a rather general one, something that could’ve been pretty hard to answer, it didn’t actually feel that difficult for Noah. “My family.” He answered, easily. “I come from a real big family, got a ton of cousins and all that, but we’ve all been real close all my life. My parents were also real good to me and my sister, and me and JoJo are practically best friends. We’ve always had real supportive values with each other, even after my parents split and got remarried. I don’t know what I’d do without ‘em. Lord knows they’ve done more for me than I can ever thank 'em for, 'specially after I came back from Iraq.” He nodded his head, his expression having softened now as he paused and slid his tongue over his lower lip before a subtle smile appeared once again. “What about you? What’s most important to Spencer?”

Spencer was doing her best to focus on the moment she was having with Noah, there was only so much time she could get with him and if she worried about the time she couldn’t have she’d send herself into a whole tizzy, worrying about it. So instead, she stayed in the moment with him, keeping eye contact and not stopping the slow drag of her fingers against his, and not missing the way his thumb was gliding along her hand either. It all felt good, sitting here with this man. Letting out a laugh, she shook her head. “Well I’m glad I came off that way, I was sure you were gonna be able to hear my heart beatin’ it was so loud.” She smiled, lifting her other hand up to her cheek as she shook her head once more. “It was the best kind of nervous I’ve been in a while though, I’ll tell ya that.” Something about Noah made her feel comfortable right away, there were twenty nine other women there with them and right this second she couldn’t care less. The way he looked at her and really listened to her probably had something to do with it, but every time he spoke there was this little tug in her chest, hearing the familiar way he sounded; just like home. 

Her head nodded her as he thanked her, she meant what she’d said about wanting everything between them to be real, it felt right to do it like that. She answered him with a quiet ‘you’re welcome’ before he was continuing, the smile lingering on the blondes face. “I’m excited too.” Spencer smiled, really and truly hoping for another chance like this on another night, hoping he’d give her a rose so she could stay and have more moments like this with him. Her question, while a little general was something she wouldn’t have cared whatever way he took it, if he talked about his life or what was most important to him while he was being the Bachelor. His answer though, made sense. A smile lingered on her face while he spoke, nodding her head cause she understood, but in a slightly different way. The blondes teeth dragged over her bottom lip when he’d turned around and asked her the same question, brow creasing down thoughtfully. “My family, too.” She offered him a tight lipped smile, teeth once again catching over her bottom lip. “It’s a little different though, than yours, I think. It’s just my mama, my sister, my niece and me, us four girls.” There was a lot more to unpack there, but it probably wasn’t the time for it considering how heavy it felt on her shoulders. “My family and the color pink and my job, probably top three.” She smiled now, nudging her shoulder against his playfully. 

[spencerxwesterly]

noahlwalker·:

Knowing that there were thirty women there who were all there for the same purpose of getting to know him and forming a relationship with him, Noah was trying to be fair about it. Was it a little bit of a stretch to think that every woman there was going to get all the time she truly deserved to get? Yes, it just wasn’t likely with how many of them there were and how different they each were, too. That didn’t mean he wasn’t going to at least do his best to open the opportunity. Of course, he knew that now that he had shot down someone trying to interrupt him once, he wasn’t likely to get away with doing it twice, so he had to be aware of that. A small part of him kind of hoped that Natalia might mention to some of the other girls that she had tried to cut in again but he had told her to give him some time with other girls first, because maybe that might deter others from interrupting, too. He wasn’t holding his breath, though.

Pulling Spencer away from where she sat with Peyton was sort of more of a move by chance than anything; she was who was there as he was walking by and he realized he hadn’t had that one on one time with her yet. However, as they sat down on the edge of the fireplace and he looked her over once again, remembering that little comment he had made to himself about how she looked, he had to admit that he was a little glad it had been her sitting there. Giving the blonde his attention as she got into answering his question about how she was doing, he let out a light laugh at the confession about not drinking too much for her mom. It added another small detail to the things that they would be able to talk about in each other’s lives as time went on here. “I’m doin’ pretty good actually, yeah. I think I got the anxiety down for the moment. I’m just glad to get to talk to y'all at this point, s'why I’m here, after all.” He nodded with a smile. The fingers gently dragging over and toying with his own was a very subtle contact, but a welcome one. It mirrored the kind of personality he was gathering from Spencer already - soft, gentle, but still present.

His brows lifted as she first offered him something he evidently didn’t know, Noah nodding his head once to encourage her to go on. Hearing that she hadn’t watched his season of the Bachelorette was a little bit of a surprise, but certainly not a bad one. Most of the women he had already spoken to for the night, and even some he hadn’t just in their limo exit introductions with him, had made it fairly clear that they knew a lot of his story already, having seen what happened between him and Lindsay. It was one thing he had to be aware of coming into this experience, the fact that some of these women might already have pre-conceived ideas about him because of what they’d already seen of him on television. Spencer, though, hadn’t witnessed that, as she was explaining to him. It felt very nice to hear, particularly when she mentioned that her not watching it had to do with her wanting her time there with him now to be more real. “I really love that, though.” Noah murmured to start, nodding his head with a gentle smile. “I appreciate that a lot, ‘cause lord knows a lot of these girls already know things about me, or think they know the whole story and all that.” Pausing, he shifted his fingers a tiny bit to graze back over hers where he had mostly just let her absently move. “I think it’s really cool, 'cause that means anything we get to talkin’ about that’s all fresh and new, and it’s just between us.”

While Spencer wasn’t one of the first few women to get her chance with Noah, she was surprised to find him pulling her away. As far as she knew those moments where the bachelor sought out women were less common, and while she wasn’t going to read into it, it still felt good to have him ask if she wanted to come talk to him. Sitting with him in front of the fireplace, she knew how short lived these moments could be, she’d watched seasons of this show before where women wouldn’t take advantage of their time, the superficial conversations seeming to be more important than trying to connect with the man on a deeper level. Spencer was hoping to do the exact opposite while being herself all the while. “Well I’m hopin’ it stays down, for you and myself. I was fixin’ to lose my mind before I got out of that limo, swear it.” She smiled, fingers grazing over his slowly while they spoke. 

She didn’t miss the laugh about not being drunk on TV for her mother, it was the truth and she wondered if he pictured a tiny southern woman waggling her finger at Spencer, because if he had he would have been spot on. Her mother now was a much different woman than she was six years ago, and Spencer had grown to appreciate her even more now, but that was a conversation to be had later on, hopefully. Spencer didn’t know exactly what would come of her saying she didn’t watch his season of the Bachelorette, but his response put a smile on her face all the same. Her head nodded through Noah’s words, agreeing with what he was saying but the way his hand shifted to graze his fingers back with hers earned a flip in her stomach and for a moment she lost her train of thought. Blinking a few times, she smiled fondly at him. “I’ll admit to doing a teensy bit of homework, but watching the whole show felt like I’d’ve been doin’ you a disservice, doin’ whatever this could maybe be for you and me a disservice.” Her nose wrinkled the tiniest bit, but a smile still lingered on her face. “There’s just so much I’m wantin’ to know ‘bout you, and so much I’m wantin’ you to know ‘bout me too.” The blonde paused, her fingers dancing with his now as she smiled at him. “It’s just figurin’ out where to start’s the hard part, right?” Spencer let out a soft laugh, eyes flickering down to the way their hands were still fiddling with each others. There were far more forward approaches she could have taken to touch him, but that just wasn’t Spencer, this was gentle and soft just like she so often was. “What’s most important to you?” The blonde finally asked, it was a broad question, but his answer would tell her a lot about him right away. Peeling her eyes away from Noah for just a moment to look around to see if any other women were making their way over to them, she was thankful to find no one approaching before she looked back at him, meeting his gaze with a small smile on her face. 

[spencerxwesterly]

noahlwalker·:

Grinning still, Noah nodded at her answer about where she was from, how she’d ended up back there. There were details to even that simple answer that meant there was more to talk about, more to whatever story was there. These were the things that excited him about meeting these women, what he could learn about them, the sort of things they could share with one another. He and Spencer already had a home state in common, let alone anything else they might potentially be able to find out along the way. There was a lot of promise in all of that, even in just this few minutes with the girl. He appreciated her explaining what it felt like for her to be there, whether or not there was any level of corny quality to it or not. It was cute, and he was thankful that she put herself out there in any kind of way; that also was promising. His smile inched wider at her repeating she was glad he was there.

Their brief interaction after that was finished, but that didn’t stop Noah from turning to watch her still even as she walked away from him to go inside. Noting the flowers carefully done up in her hair, the corner of his mouth ticked up further still. The words ‘she looks like a princess’ left him in a low murmur to himself before a sigh was let out through his nose. From there, it was onto the remaining women in that second limo. Following Spencer was Sofia, who after greeting him in a full introduction in Spanish translated for him to let him know how happy she was to be there and how she was very ready to get to know everything about him.

The women just kept on coming from then on, every one beautiful, and nearly every one doing something to garner his attention. A couple of gimmicks here and there, another overly flirtatious remark, and a lot of little details tucked into the back of Noah’s mind, it was all a lot to take in and process. After the last of the women had finally spoken to him, he gave them the few minutes to themselves inside to wait on his entrance. Chris Harrison reappeared to check in with him, Noah ensuring that he was doing just fine and that he was anxious to get to talking to a lot of the girls he had just met. He gave himself a minute to collect his thoughts, give a short and sweet little shoutout of a prayer to whoever was listening to keep an eye on him going in, and then he headed inside the mansion. Smiling wide as his group of ladies greeted him upon his entrance, he gave a one-armed hug to Chelsea, who snuck in right beside him right away before he reached for a glass of champagne for himself to make his toast.

“I know a lot of you already have an idea of who I am, in some ways, at least. Maybe some of you don’t, that’s great, too. Either way, I just really want to tell y'all that I am so thankful for each and every one of you bein’ here. Love is something that’s a big part of my life, a big part of who I am, and I’m definitely ready to share that with someone as my lifelong partner. And I have so much faith going into this journey with y'all, I really do. I’m very blessed, and I cannot wait to start to get to know all of you. 'Cause my wife is here, I know she is, and I’m so excited to meet her. Here’s to all of you, and to havin’ faith in findin’ love, alright?” Noah lifted his champagne glass for the toast, tapping his glass carefully with a few of the girls in his immediate area. Before he could say anything else, Chelsea was right there, asking to steal him away for some alone time.

He and the blonde headed out onto the pool deck and settled on one of the couches in a cabana. Chelsea wasn’t shy at all about being in his personal space, he noticed right off the bat. They had a pretty good conversation about physicality in relationships, how sex was a part of relationships, and how Chelsea wasn’t shy about that sort of thing. He had to give her points for her confidence and for her ownership of something that there generally was such a large stigma around. After Chelsea, he was pulled away by Jordan. Aubrey, Nina, Peyton, Nora, Danielle, Natalia, Sofia, Amanda, Emily. It felt like it was all kind of coming in a blur, talking to women. Obviously things stood out, but there were so many of them and only one of him and only so much time he could dedicate to each one. He was trying to be fair, though, which was why when Natalia came back to cut into his time with Emily for a second round, he agreed at first only to let the girl know that he really wanted to head inside and give a shot to someone else first.

Perhaps a little unheard of for the show considering it’s desire for drama, but production seemed to be okay with it thus far. He had gone into the contract and setup letting them know out of the gate that he was serious and wasn’t going to dance around things. Heading back toward the inside of the house, Noah cut through the fire pit area on the outer deck, seeing a couple of girls sitting there. One was Peyton who he had already spoken to, and the other was Spencer, who he gave a smile to. “Ma'am, would you like to join me for a minute? Have a sit with me?” He asked with a gentle chuckle. He nodded another hello at Peyton and held his hand out for Spencer so that he could lead her over to sit beside the fireplace where no one seemed to be occupying currently. “How’re ya feelin’ a little ways into the night now? You doin’ alright so far?” He asked as he sat down, small smile on his face.

Getting inside the mansion, Spencer felt good about the talk she’d just had with Noah, but the tiniest bit nervous to meet any of the women already there. She’d watched the Bachelor before, and she definitely knew how cruel some females could be to others; she was hoping to avoid any and all of that during her time here. It didn’t take long for the room to be even more full than it was when she’d walked in, fifteen more women piling into the space, already drinking and chatting with each other. Spencer sat with her single glass of wine she’d barely tucked into, next to Serena chatting about work and what they had to do to leave their jobs when Noah was finally walking in. He really was gorgeous, there was no denying that. 

Standing up with the rest of the women for the toast, Spencer couldn’t wipe the smile off her face again. Just like he said about her, hearing him talk sounded like home. It was comforting, add that too the speech he made and she definitely felt hopeful and happy to be there. But just like that, the night started, Chelsea sweeping Noah away before half the girls realized what was happening. For a while Spencer sat in the same place, contemplating exactly how she was going to get to talk to Noah again until she decided she wasn’t going to sit there anymore. Finding herself outside, she carefully sat down next to a brunette, introducing herself quietly. While it seemed a few other girls were getting anxious about getting time with Noah, Spencer wasn’t that worried just yet. The night had only just started and she liked to think that even if they didn’t get more time that their simple chat outside was enough for her to stay a little bit longer. 

Still nursing her one glass of wine (a vow to her mother that she wouldn’t have to see her daughter drunk on television) and talking to Peyton casually, Spencer was pleased to see Noah heading towards where she and girl were sitting. Her eyebrows lifted in the tiniest bit of surprise when he asked her to join him, head nodding with a smile. “A’course.” Spencer smiled, taking his hand and letting him lead her over to the fire place. Sitting down beside him she let go of his hand but didn’t move her own far, playing with his fingers gently while she answered his question. “I’m doin’ alright, yeah, enjoyin’ my one glass’a wine cause my mama said she didn’t want to see me getting drunk on TV.” Spencer giggled, her fingers still dancing over his while she looked at him. “What about you, you doin’ alright?” She looked at him, and the question was a little more genuine. She was curious about how he was feeling through all of this, if he was overwhelmed or anxious like she was or if it was a completely different feeling for him. “Wanna know somethin’?” Spencer asked after a second, dragging the tips of her fingers up the lengths of his. “I didn’t watch your season of the Bachelorette.” Her face scrunched up the tiniest bit, making a face like she felt bad she was saying so. “I did it consciously, though, cause I was wantin’ to make my own opinion of you, have it not be biased or somethin’ I got from an edited version, I wanted it to me real.” 

[spencerxwesterly]

noahlwalker·:

Despite the outlandish ways that he knew people - guys just as much as girls, in reality - would try to get noticed on night one, Noah appreciated that he had yet to have anything too crazy happen. Some girls were clearly more confident than others even in the minimal interaction, but that was to be expected - this was a nerve-wracking environment and they were only just meeting each other. That in mind, he appreciated the almost softer quality that this particular girl seemed to have about her. It wasn’t quite shy in the general sense, but it felt like there was more to her, that she just needed to come out of her shell a little bit. Noah could appreciate that. His smile remained as she spoke, head nodding slowly along with her words, though it was her answer to his question that had the nod stopping and a laugh leaving him. “I knew I recognized it. I was like, this girl sounds like home she’s gotta be from somewhere south. That’s awesome, I love Austin.” He affirmed, enjoying the way that the blonde categorized the two of them together.

His face softened just a little as Spencer seemed to have something else to say, but there was still a small smile curled at his lips as he listened to her. He gave a subtle nod of his head to indicate his understanding of what she was saying, encouraging her to go on. It was a metaphor he definitely did understand, had felt sensations like it a number of times now in his life. Though, he had to give her credit for how true it felt in this setting alone. Letting out a soft chuckle, his smile eased wider once again as he shook his head at her follow up question. “Nah, I understand, I understand. It’s not corny, it’s a very nice sentiment, I love that. Makes me very happy to hear that, I’m so glad you’re here, can’t wait to dive right on in.” He beamed, giving her hands a gentle squeeze this time.

Spencer had to admit this was going a little better than she expected, she was able to get her words out without fumbling, she wasn’t making a complete fool of herself, it was all going well. She just hoped Noah thought it was too, that he liked her enough to keep her around for a little while. She had a lot of love to give and a lot of happiness to make with someone, she just needed a chance. Her grin inched wider as he spoke to her, the words ‘this girl sounds like home’ being something that she knew would stick with her for a while. Smiling wide, she tilted her head back and forth gently. “Born’n’raised, I left for college and ended up right back.” She laughed softly. 

Getting into what she wanted to say, she took not of the way he was really listening to her and what she wanted to get out. It was refreshing to say the least. Her past with guys had been limited and full of ones who didn’t give a crap about her or what she wanted to talk about, so she was thankful to know Noah was far from that type. “Okay, good.” The blonde murmured, but a smile stayed on her face. She was just happy he got what she was trying to say, happy it came across the way she’d been hearing it in her head. “I’m glad you’re here.” She laughed, then lifted her shoulder a little. “I’ll see you in there?” She lifted her eyebrows at him, letting their hands fall from the clasp they’d had on each other as she inched back, grinning wide at him before turning and walking into the mansion, feeling really good about the moment they’d just had. 

[spencerxwesterly]

noahlwalker·:

Going into all of these introductions, Noah was trying to be pretty objective. Obviously he very easily recognized how physically attractive each girl was, because they were all beautiful. He was trying, though, to sort of pinpoint an individual thing about each of them as he went, something to keep to memory, even if it maybe didn’t stick out so much. Nina, she was first out, that was easy enough. Chelsea, her lack of shyness, Serena, the pinky promise, and even a couple of the other girls had details he had tucked into the back of his mind - one bounced on her feet when she talked too fast, one immediately started toying with her hair when they stopped holding hands. Little things, just something, that he could attest to each girl, knowing that he was going into meeting so many of them tonight.

Aside from how pretty the blonde approaching him looked in her soft pink dress and with her hair done up as it was, Noah happened to notice the familiar drawl to her tone, even in the one drawn out syllable that she first spoke. Having an accent from growing up in Texas with very Texan parents, it was pretty easy for him to recognize when someone else had it in their voice, too. The smile on his face remained as she reached him finally and introduced herself. “Spencer? I like that, don’t know too many Spencer’s.” He mused, nodding his head and allowing her to take hold of his hands. It was something else he tucked in his mind, going for his hands first; most of the other girls so far had gone right in for a hug or even a kiss on the cheek. It was subtler, gentler. “It’s very nice to meet you, miss Spencer.” He grinned, and before he could stop himself, his chin lifted, tone bordering on playful challenge as he asked, “Where you from?”

For weeks now Spencer had worked over exactly what she was going to say to Noah when she met him for the first time, really wanting to leave a good impression, giving him a good feeling of who she really was. There were so many things she wanted to say to him in the short amount of time she was getting to spend with him in that moment. When it came to her though, she stuck to it. Repeating it in her mind every once and a while so she wouldn’t lose it, and thankfully, even as she found herself a little taken aback by his handsome face, it was still floating there in the forefronts of her mind. Smiling as she held his hands, she gave them another quick squeeze before he spoke. “Ya’know you’re not the first one who’s said that to me.” The blonde laughed lightly. The smile hadn’t faded from her face yet, and as he asked her where she was from she only grinned wider. “Austin, Texas. Can you tell?” The blonde laughed, head tossing back in her giggles. “Couple’a southern kids, you and me.” Spencer nodded, still smiling. 

Lacing their fingers together now, she looked up at Noah with a softer smile on her face. “So, you know when you’re ridin’ a rollercoaster and you’re going up real high? You’re excited but nervous and you keep feeling like you’ve made it all the way to the top and you’re finally gonna fall?” She asked, tilting her head to the side for a second, seeing if he would respond before continuing. “I think this, being here with you is the top for me, and I’m so ready to fall into whatever comes next and wherever this takes us.” It may have been a little corny, her sister sure seemed to think so when she ran it by her before she’d left Texas, but it was the truth. Spencer’s life constantly felt like a climb, but now standing here with Noah and getting the opportunity to find love with him felt exactly like the anticipation of a roller-coaster, the excitement of not knowing what was going to come next but the nervousness of the ride to the top and then the feeling of falling so fast you don’t even know what hit you. If she had to guess what this was going to be like, that was it. Smiling up at him, she wrinkled her nose a little. “Did that make sense? Was it too corny?” 

[spencerxwesterly]

noahlwalker·:

Going into the first night, Noah had a number of things going through his mind. He had meant what he said in all of his beginning segments leading up to this point; that he had high hopes, still had faith in love and that his was out there for him, that he would find it on this journey here, even. Still, he couldn’t help but be a little bit nervous. That was to be expected, he figured, though. He remembered how nervous he was about getting out of the limo and trying to make a lasting impression when he was meeting Lindsay on the other side of this experience. Taking in a deep breath to calm a little bit of the jitters, he glanced up as Chris Harrison approached him, greeting him. “Ready to find your wife?” Chris asked. Noah smiled and gave a nod of his head, though he sucked in air through his teeth. “I’m anxious, I am. In a good way, mostly, but y'know. There’s a lot going into this, a lot to think about.” Noah explained. Chris agreed with him but otherwise wished him the best of luck, and left him to it. Then the first limo was rolling up. Once again, Noah took in a deep breath as he stood and waited for the night to really begin for him.

Nina was the first of the women he met, and he had to give her brownie points, because there was nothing easy about getting out of the limo for this interaction, period, let alone being the very first one to do it. She was sweet, and introduced herself in French; explaining afterward that she had studied abroad in Paris for a year. They made a vow to catch up more later on inside, and then it was onward from there. If Noah had thought that he was any sort of overwhelmed prior to the limos arriving, as the women kept on coming, he became more and more so. The women were beautiful, every one of them. Some of them stood out more than others in their interactions -Chelsea, in particular, with her very plain attempt at innuendo and a promise to ‘make it worth his while’ for him to find her inside later stood out for that confidence alone. Serena was the first girl out of the second limo to arrive, and she was another that caught him easily, not just because she was so pretty, but because of the way that she had them making each other a pinky promise to 'stay real and true through the journey, no matter what.’

Turning to watch as Serena walked inside, he turned forward once again with a wide smile. Taylor, Harmony, and Emily each followed, and it dawned on Noah fully that he was probably in big trouble. He was just about to reach the halfway point of how many women were there to meet him, and there were so many already that he was attracted to, so many he was anxious to be able to talk to more inside. As he gave a parting hug to Emily, Noah heaved out a big sigh. Shifting on his feet, he shook his arms out as there was a brief pause between women, fidgeting his jitters out before he settled with a breathy chuckle to himself once again. Brows lifting as the next girl eased her way out of the limo, a smile came to his face as he took the blonde in, calling out a greeting before she was all the way over to him. “Well, hello there.”

Spencer was beyond nervous, she could barely sit still in the limo as they made their way to the Bachelor mansion to meet Noah. She’d been telling herself all day to not expect anything, that she knew enough about the show and the environment that things changed quickly, and she knew enough about people to know that people could do the same. Still, even through all the nerves and the anxiety, she was excited. Noah, from the tiny bit of homework she’d done on him, seemed like a genuine person, a man who was ready to start the next chapter of his life just like she was. She was 25 and relationships had been on the back burner for a while, and before that she’d just had bad luck, but now she was ready to turn it all around with this chance she’d been given. 

She was in the second limo, beautiful women all around her all fussing over their hair or what they were going to say to Noah, how they were going to get him to see them, what they planned to talk about with him during the cocktail party. It was all a little overwhelming. Pulling up to the mansion, her heart started racing in her chest as she saw the beautiful blond man come into view and the giggling and squealing started from within the car. Spencer’s heart kept it’s steady hammering in her chest up until it was finally her turn to step out of the limo, and then it felt like her heart stopped. With a big smile on her face, she somehow managed out a drawn out ‘heeyy’ in his direction as she walked over to him, taking in a deep breath in her nose as she did so. Stepping up in front of him, she knew she wouldn’t be able to wipe the smile off her face if she tried. “I’m Spencer, it’s so good to meet you.” Her hands lifting to find his between them and give them a squeeze. 

[spencerxwesterly]

🌹 Spencer’s Look ;; Bachelor Night 1, Episode 1