Traditions Ch. 02

"That just makes it worse." He shook his head in disbelief. "If I knew my wife was flirting with other men, I'd get pissed and would go looking to beat those guys before I came home and kicked her out."

"Oh come on. It's not that big of a deal." When he didn't reply, she sat there and looked at him. "You're serious? You'd actually kick your wife out if she was flirting with someone else?"

Declan simple nodded his head. "Gypsy men want women who will be faithful to them, someone they can trust. They want a woman who will do what they are told and will clean and cook for them without having to be asked." He said simply.

She made a face. "That's a little medieval, don't you think?"

"No, it's just how things are."

Cheyanne took a big sip of her water and let the cold drink flow down her throat. She was a little overwhelmed by what Declan had just told her. For a while, she had forgotten the he was an Irish Traveler and knew next to nothing about their culture and customs. Hearing this small bit of information from Declan kind of surprised her.

Declan looked at Cheyanne for a moment. Her forehead was scrunched up a bit, almost as if she was deep in thought. She was probably still confused about his earlier comment.

"Was dat too difficult for yar American brain to rap around?" Declan asked sarcastically.

"No, not difficult," she paused, "just different." She took another quick sip of her water.

"Not too weird for ya?"

"No not really." She said simply.

Declan was surprised at this. When most people learned about how strict they were, many of them would jump in with speeches about how radical their views were. He was a little curious as to why she was acting so calmly when Ginger showed up with their food.

"Alright, here's one cheese burger with no onions and fires," she place Declan's hot plate in front of him. "And here's one chicken salad with extra croutons and Italian dressing on the side." Ginger carefully placed the salad in front of Cheyanne. "Will that be all for you?" Cheyanne and Declan both nodded and Ginger left them to their food.

Cheyanne took the small bowl of Italian dressing and began to lightly drizzle it over her chicken salad. Grabbing her fork, she picked up some of her salad and popped it in her mouth. Closing her eyes, Cheyanne savored all the flavors in her mouth. The slight moan that escaped her mouth when she took her first bite almost made him miss the plate as he squeezed the ketch up from the bottle.

Swallowing her first bite, she took her fork and lightly stabbed one of the pieces of chicken on her plate. She almost didn't her the soft chuckle that was coming from the person across from her. Cheyanne looked up to see Declan smiling.

"What?" she asked genuinely confused.

"Nothing," Declan took the top bun off his burger and poured ketch on it. "Ya just seem to be enjoying yar food."

"I am," she said matter-a-factly. "If there's one thing you need to know about me, is that I don't eat to look cute. I eat to stay full."

Declan laughed at this. Most of the girls he knew would have been embarrassed to admit something like that. They were usually too busy trying to impress the nearest guy and make them believe that they were proper young girls. So far, Cheyanne wasn't like that. She wasn't trying to impress anybody. For some reason, Declan found that very attractive. Or maybe it was that he found her very attractive.

"You country girls are one strange breed."

Cheyanne paused with her fork near her mouth. "What do you mean?"

He shrugged and popped a fry in his mouth. "You're just...a lot different from most girls I know."

Cheyanne placed her fork down. "You know, you say that a lot, that I don't act like most people. What makes me so different?"

"Well, for one t'ing," Declan quickly sipped his coke before continuing. "Most girls don't eat like you do. Yar more relaxed when you eat. Many of the gypsy girls try to act proper when there out eating with others. They don't want others to think that there pigs or something. Another thing is you dress differently."

Cheyanne straitened. "What's wrong with the way I dress?"

"Nothing really. It's just that Traveler girls like to be a bit flashier in order to attract the guys. You saw how most of them were dressed at the disco the other night."

Thinking back to that night, Cheyanne consented and nodded her head. "Those girls were definitely something to look at." "And most of them do this just to find a husband."

"Husband?" Now that was a surprise. "Most of those girls weren't any older than me."

"Most of us tend to marry young. It's just easier to travel and start a family that way."

"Are you married?" Cheyanne didn't know why she was suddenly curious.

Declan laughed. "I wouldn't have kissed you if I was."

True, she thought to herself. "We'll why you aren't? From what you've told me, a handsome guy like you would have been tied down by now." Cheyanne inwardly berated herself. She hadn't meant to let on that she found him attractive.

Declan noticed the small slip and smiled. He could see the beginnings of a small blush form around the edges of her cheeks. The little hint of pink complemented her tan skin nicely. He found her reaction quite cute.

"Um...so what about school?" She asked, quickly trying to change the subject.

"We don't go." He took a bite out of his burger. "Most of us leave early to go find jobs."

Cheyanne was a little shocked. "Really? You don't even try to finish?" She took another bite of her salad.

"Why bother," he shrugged. "The whole point of going to school is to try and get a better job. Why wait several years to get a job, when you can train early for one?"

Cheyanne could understand that logic. "I guess I can see where you're coming from. You all are just starting your lives earlier. That's a whole lot better than just sitting around like some of the coach potatoes I know."

"My point exactly." Declan smiled and took a big bite out of his burger, effectively spraying cheese and ketchup from the sides. When he put his sandwich down, Cheyanne noticed a small ketchup stain sitting on the side of his mouth.

"Oh you got a little something there." She pointed to his mouth. He tried to wipe it with his hand, but missed completely. "No you just missed it." When failed to get it again, Cheyanne grabbed her napkin and leaned forward. "Here, let me." Taking her napkin, she lightly dabbed at the corner of his mouth.

When he saw her reach out toward him, Declan's first reaction was to flinch back. But a after a brief moment, he leaned into her touch. Declan wasn't quite sure how to react in this situation. Here he was, sitting in a café, having this very beautiful woman practically touch his mouth. Never had he had someone be so tender to him before, and in such a public setting. It wasn't something Irish Travelers did outside their own home. But Cheyanne didn't seem to mind, so he tried not to be too concerned about it.

"Got it." Sitting back to down, she placed the napkin next to her plate and picked up her fork. She was about to eat another mouth full of salad when she noticed that Declan was staring at her. The questioning look that he was giving her started to make her feel uncomfortable. "What?"

He didn't say anything for the first few seconds. "Nothing."

Not really believing him, Cheyanne just shrugged and let the question drop. For the rest of their meal the two of them continued to talk about everything and nothing. They both seemed to be enjoying themselves, much to their surprise, although neither of them would ever let other one know. Soon, both of them were finished with their meals and were ready for the check.

Ginger appeared beside them. "We're both of your meals enjoyable?"

Declan stole a quick glance at Cheyanne. "I'd like to t'ink so."

"Alright, and how will you be paying?"

Cheyanne turned to retrieve her debit card from her purse when Declan grab her hand on the table.

"You don't have to do that."

Cheyanne looked at him questioningly. "I thought I had to pay for lunch? You said this was your reward for being so generous?"

Declan smiled. "A man never lets a lady pay." Reaching into his pocket, he quickly pulls out a card and hands it to their waiter.

Cheyanne seemed to shiver just a bit at his words. They were laced with a thick Irish accent, and the sound of his voice simply mesmerized her.

"Alright, well I'll be back in a minute."

Once Ginger had disappeared, Cheyanne quickly remembered that Declan's hand was still touching hers and quickly removed it. Her hand felt colder after pulling it away.

Declan felt the loss of her hand quickly, and didn't take to kindly to her pulling from him. Catching his reaction, he almost wanted to smack himself. What the hell was wrong with him? This wasn't just some girl from his neighborhood. This was a country girl for crying out loud. Why was he acting so different around her? It wasn't like anything good would come out of it. They shouldn't have even been sitting there together.

As soon they were given the card back, the two of them swiftly got out of their chairs and headed out side. One they were outside, Cheyanne and Declan faced each other. There was silence for a few moments, as neither of them could really think of what to say to the other.

"Thanks for giving me my phone back." She spoke finally.

Declan shrugged. "No big deal, really. I had no'ting else better to do."

Cheyanne only nodded. "Well then I guess I'll be leaving then."

"Okay."

"Goodbye..." No sooner had the words left her mouth had Declan turned and began walking away. As she watched his broad back travel further and further away, Cheyanne sighed and turned to head back home.

She felt stupid. How else did she expect for their meeting to end. It's not as if they owed each other anything anymore. Her sole purpose for even being there in the first place was to get back her belongings. Now that she had gotten them back, there was nothing else further between them. Still, she couldn't help shake the feeling that this shouldn't have been there last goodbye.

Groaning, Cheyanne turned around and made possibly one of the craziest decisions of her life.

"Hey!" At first he didn't turn around so she cupped her hands and screamed louder. "HEY!"

Declan had heard a faint call but had merely dismissed it as traffic noise. When he heard it a second time, the sound caused him to pause mid step and turn around. Behind him, Declan could see Cheyanne walking to catch up to him. What was she doing?

"Hey um," She stuttered as she approached him. "You, uh...you walk pretty far with those legs of yours."

He shrugged. "I guess that's one of the perks I get for being tall." He said simply.

"Right, right, that would make sense." Come on, just spit it out. "Look, believe it or not, having lunch with you was actually pretty fun for me, and for the past three months I've been here, I don't think I've ever enjoyed having lunch as much as I did today. And it made me think. Maybe we could do this again some time."

Declan stared at her for a moment. "I don't date Country Girls."

"It wouldn't have to be a date. Why put a label on it?" She said simply. "It could just be two people trying to enjoy their mutual company. That doesn't sound too bad."

"No it doesn't." He replied. Actually, it was very bad. Being seen in public with a Country Girl could severely damage him. If he was even suspected of having feelings for her, his entire family could be scandalized. He couldn't afford to put them in jeopardy.

"So," she said. "What do you say?"

His mouth slowly began to form the word no. Every instinct told him not to get involved with this girl. He kept telling himself that there was nothing special about her, so he should just move on. But that idea seemed wrong. There was something about her. He just couldn't deny that. He knew that there was something special about her the first night he saw her on the dance floor. He wanted to find out what it was about this girl that had him so entranced.

"Okay."