TITLE: Racing The Rain
AUTHOR: Finey_McFine
RATING: PG-13
DISCLAIMER: Willow, Tara and any other BtVS characters, as well as some random dialog, belong to Mutant Enemy. ALL other original characters belong to me! This includes: Willow’s siblings and teammates, plus Tara’s friends and co-workers. Mention of any ‘real’ people in this fic is brief and pure fantasy.
SUMMARY: Totally AU! Set in LA with lots of W/T fluff and some angst, but no Hellmouthyness; just good old regular day-to-day drama. Willow is attending college on an athletic scholarship and Tara is Hollywood royalty. They meet and fall in love, of course, but will they be able to survive the pitfalls of a public romance? Well, you’ll just have to read and find out!
FEEDBACK: Yes! Any glaring issues…please send me a PM!
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Hi Everyone and Happy Sunday! I’d love to be able to tell you all that I am back on my weekly posting schedule, however, it all depends on my work schedule. So unfortunately, no guarantees, but I promise not to go more than 2 weeks. Enjoy!*************************************
Chapter 44: Cereal and Milk The next morning, Tara was the first to awaken when several fine strands of wispy red hair gently tickled her nose. Tara was snuggled tightly against Willow’s back in a spooning position, although she had no memory of how she got there. By now, snuggling during sleep had become something of a natural habit, as if she’d been doing it her whole life. Waking up snuggled with her lover was definitely her favorite part of the day.
Tara squeezed Willow tighter, enjoying the closeness and tried falling back to sleep, but to no avail. It had been somewhat of a rough night and she was tired; her nervousness anticipating the remaining days in Texas, and the impending morning phone call, had her mind whirring.
When they’d arrived home the night before, Tara had had quite the time of it getting a sleepy Willow out of the truck, up two flights of stairs, undressed and into bed. The struggle had woken her up and she lay awake for sometime before finally falling to sleep, only to be awakened a few hours later by her girlfriend. Willow’s sleep was restless and she’d had, what appeared to be, several nightmares. Willow thrashed about, mumbling and whining incoherently with a sharp ‘no’ and a ‘stop it’ every now and then, but never completely waking; mainly because Tara had been able to gently sooth her back to sleep, but each time had left Tara awake and thinking.
It was still early as the soft morning light began creeping through the silent room. The phone call with the famed director was weighing heavily on her mind. Tara was far from naïve and had been in the Hollywood scene long enough to know that even if she did not do the movie, he would probably do it anyway, even though Cyndi said he wouldn’t; but Tara knew…if the money was right, he would find another actress.
It was all a big game; those who were successful were the ones that played well, and so far, Tara had done just that. She and Cyndi had developed a strategy of playing coy and then waiting it out. So far, it had worked like a charm and Tara was reaping the monetary benefits hand over fist. Still she worried. She had plenty of money right now, but what if it all ended tomorrow? The money wouldn’t last forever and there would be no way she could continue in the lifestyle to which she’d become accustomed. The latter didn’t really bother her too much because she knew that as long as she was with Willow, she’d be happy no matter where they ended up; but what about her professional future? What would she do if she weren’t acting? Tara barely had a high school education, zero college and no other discernable skills. She couldn’t help but envy her beautiful redhead just a little; Willow was the complete package, she thought lovingly; intelligent, athletic…gorgeous. The world was wide open for her; doctor, lawyer, engineer, professional athlete…the possibilities were endless.
At this point Tara realized that there was no way she’d be able to sleep and gave up. She extracted herself from Willow’s back, leaning towards the bedside table grabbing her laptop and resting her back against the headboard. The first thing she did: Google herself.
Sometime later Tara was still busily clicking away on the computer keys while Willow rested comfortably. She was so immersed in what she was doing that she failed to notice the sleepy green eyes that were watching her every move. The redhead finally sighed deeply, getting her girlfriend’s attention. Tara stopped typing and glanced down at Willow who was lying on her side; her red hair tousled in all directions; sporting a playful smirk across her face.
Tara quirked her mouth on one side, “What are you grinning about?”
Willow rose up on one elbow, “That is the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.”
“What? Me typing away on my laptop?”
“No silly, you in those glasses. Why didn’t you tell me?”
Tara laughed lightly; closing her computer and setting it aside, “It’s actually on my list of
things to tell Willow, I just hadn’t gotten to it yet. Besides, I’m sure you’ve seen sexier things than me wearing glasses.”
“Well,” the redhead said as she traced a finger down Tara’s bare arm; looking up with hooded, sleepy eyes, “The only thing sexier would be if your boobs wore glasses.”
Tara smiled seductively; removing her glasses and placing them on one of her breasts; smiling goofily at Willow. Then in one quick move, Willow pounced on Tara and snuggled with her breasts.
“You’re right,” she exclaimed, “That was most DEFINITELY sexier …you’ve been holding out on me!” Willow buried her head in Tara’s cleavage, giving her a giant raspberry.
Tara squealed and was squirming uncontrollably under her girlfriend. Both girls were giggling when Willow finally pushed up, her arms resting on either side of Tara and grinning from ear to ear. “Good morning beautiful.”
“Good morning love,” Tara replied, threading her hands through Willow’s hair and pulling her forward for a kiss. It started out as a chaste kiss, but quickly deepened and turned passionate.
After several moments, they finally pulled apart, “Willow?”
“Mmhh?”
“Happy Anniversary,” Tara said shyly, tucking several errant strands of red hair behind an adorable little ear.
A huge grin soon spread across Willow’s face, “Hey, you beat me to it…no fair,” she said in a mock pout, “Happy Anniversary Tara.” Willow returned the endearment and leaned forward for another kiss.
“I got you something,” they both said in unison and then giggled.
Willow slid off of Tara; rolling to her left to retrieve her gift as Tara reached under her pillow and pulled out a small wrapped box. Willow returned, also with a small wrapped box. They both chuckled, noticing that the boxes were almost identical.
“I guess it would be pretty funny if we got each other the same thing,” Tara mused.
Willow smiled in agreement and handed her box to Tara, “You first,” she said.
Tara took the box and tore off the paper to reveal a small white box. She slowly opened the box and smiled widely at the contents. Inside she found a 2”x 2” silver heart, delicately engraved and attached to a key chain with a key on it. The engraving read,
You hold the key to my heart. I love you, Willow. Tara looked at Willow through teary eyelashes, “Oh baby, it’s beautiful. Thank you so much.” Leaning towards Willow, Tara rewarded her with a light kiss.
“Open it,” Willow said softly.
Tara tilted her head questionably, then realizing that it was actually a locket. She unsnapped it to reveal a small picture of she and Willow, taken a month ago at the party on their first date. Tara gasped and her heart melted. She didn’t even remember a picture being taken, but there it was. She and Willow huddled together, cheek-to-cheek and smiling sweetly.
“When…?”
Sensing Tara’s confusion, Willow explained, “Stacey took it right after we kissed on the balcony, you know before we left?”
Tara chuckled softly, “After we kissed, I don’t remember much of anything, well except wanting to do it again,” She said sweetly, “Thank you Willow,” Tara said; pressing her lips to Willows, “And the key?”
“To my place,” Willow whispered.
“My Willow…I love you so much.”
“I love you too,” Willow replied, kissing Tara softly, “Can I open mine now?”
“Of course you can,” Tara answered, handing Willow her gift.
Willow gently peeled back the paper as she trembled with anticipation. She paused momentarily as she rubbed her fingers across the purple velvety material of the small-hinged box. No one outside of her family had ever given her jewelry before; it was a moment she wanted to savor. She closed her hand over the top, flipped it open with her thumb and revealed a braided silver necklace with a single charm attached.
Willow’s breath caught in her throat, she couldn’t believe it, “It’s…it’s Artemis a-and
my Artemis. Wha…where did you find this?” a stunned Willow peered at Tara through wide green eyes; holding the chain with the charm depicting the goddess of the hunt with a raised bow and arrow riding a horse; her horse to be exact.
“I um, I had it made; I kind of um,
borrowed a picture of Artemis that I found in your apartment. Then I searched online and couldn’t find anything I liked, she was always on a deer or something, so I uh…I have a friend that makes jewelry. I told her what I wanted and well, d-do you like it?”
Willow’s eyes danced as she dangled the necklace in front of her; she just couldn’t believe how sweet and thoughtful Tara was.
She’s a total closet romantic, Willow thought. “Like? Tara, I love! Thank you baby. Can you…help me?” Willow asked handing the chain to her girlfriend and turning so that Tara could place the necklace around Willow’s neck.
Tara took the chain and noticed that her hands were shaking slightly; she was nervous. Placing jewelry on your girlfriend was a very personal and endearing act. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves.
With the necklace clasped in place, Willow turned towards Tara and pressed their lips together. As soon as their lips met, Tara felt her muscles relax and the nervousness dissipate. Their connection was intense and consuming; immediately shutting down and disposing of all coherent thought. There was only Willow; her lips, her hands, her sweet scent…
her Willow.
Pulling apart slightly, Willow mumbled into Tara’s mouth, “I love you Tara.”
“…love you Will.”
The kissing continued, but didn’t escalate into anything beyond, and after awhile, Tara slid down into the softness of the bed; pulling Willow with her and snuggling the redhead to her chest. Although they were still in the early stages of their relationship, where it was difficult to keep their hands off each other, this was just one of those moments where they just needed to be close, and nothing more.
“Will?” Tara said, finally breaking the silence.
“Yeah?” Willow whispered.
“I um…I need to take a call this morning. Is that ok?” Tara asked with some trepidation.
“Sure baby, why wouldn’t it be?”
“It’s just…well, we’re on vacation and I’m not supposed to be working. You know?”
Willow could sense Tara’s nervousness and squeezed her tighter, “I understand. Is everything ok?”
“Oh yeah, everything is fine. Cyndi wants me to speak to this director about that movie I was telling you about, Meridian?”
Willow nodded her head and pushed up on her elbow to face Tara, “Are you gonna take the part? I um, I read it and I think it would be perfect for you. It’s completely different from what you’re doing now, but that’s what’s so great about it; you’ll really be able to show your range as an actress. It’s intense though and sad too; the story is very moving and the writing is excellent.”
Not only was Tara shocked at Willow’s knowledge and observations, but she was also trying to figure out when the redhead actually had found the time to read the script, “I don’t know…I want to but, Cyndi thinks their offer’s not high enough yet.”
Willow grinned at her girlfriend, “She’s right, it’s really good, and if they put it in the right hands, it’ll be a huge success. You should hold out for as much as you can get.”
Tara smiled; rubbing Willow’s arm, “I think you missed your calling, maybe you should look into being an agent.” She joked.
Willow grinned, “I’d only want one client. A very sweet, beautiful, and sexy client.”
Tara furrowed her brow in mock consternation, “You want Angelina!?”
Willow snorted in laughter and Tara followed suit, “Tare, who is calling you?”
Tara blushed, “Ron Howard, sometime between ten and eleven.”
“Oh, Ron Howard. Well…that’s cool because, I’m taking a call from Madonna later anyway. She’s interested in me as a back up singer and dancer-”
Willow barely got the last part out before Tara pounced on her; tickling her into a heaping mass.
***********************************
Willow left her room to give Tara some privacy and was currently rummaging around the pantry, looking for her favorite cereal. She knew that her mom always bought a box for her whenever she came home from school; she just couldn’t find it with all the extra holiday foods.
“On the left, third shelf up behind the rice,” Sheila said when she noticed her daughter unceremoniously crawling on the floor desperately searching for her breakfast on the bottom shelf.
“Huh?’ Willow said, a bit startled, “Oh, thanks.” Willow stood and finally found her box of Froot Loops. She made her way out of the pantry to the table where her Mom already had a bowl and the milk waiting. Willow caught Sheila’s eye and smiled, nodding her head in a silent thank you.
Sheila chuckled as she watched Willow enthusiastically dig into her bowl of frooty goodness. She was a grown woman, but all Sheila could see was a tiny freckle-faced little redheaded girl; sitting on two phonebooks eating a giant bowl of cereal that was almost bigger than she was. Sheila sighed, taking a seat next to Willow.
“It’s my biggest regret,” She said.
Willow looked up, still chewing, “What?”
“Not buying stock in that cereal,” She lamented, “I’d be a rich woman with the hundreds of boxes you kids blew through over the years.”
Willow smiled, returning Sheila’s smile, “Well there’s still time; I’m sure all of your future grandchildren will love them too!”
Sheila’s face fell slightly and she let out another long sigh, “Do you remember the first time you met Eddie Kopelovitch?
Willow’s chewing slowed; furrowing her brow, she had no idea where her mother was going, “No, why?”
“It was after Temple, your Dad and I were standing outside talking with his parents while you kids were off playing. You suddenly ran up behind me, grabbed my leg and held on for dear life. I could only imagine what your brothers had done to you this time.”
Willow had stopped eating and listened intently to Sheila’s long forgotten memory. She remembered playing on the Temple playground a lot and remembered Eddie, but this particular memory escaped her.
Sheila continued, “You were all red faced and crying, so I picked you up; you were such a tiny little thing. It took forever, but I finally got you to calm down enough to tell me what happened. You told me that you had given Eddie a flower because you thought he was sweet,” Sheila paused and looked up at Willow over her coffee mug, “Then he pushed you down. You were devastated; you had the biggest crush on him…” Her voice trailed off as she let the fond memory wash over her.
Willow’s heart was full of emotion, they were sharing a moment and the redhead was truly touched, “I was a little girl,” Willow said, knowing exactly what her mother was getting at, “and I’m not that little girl any more Mom. I know it’s hard, but-”
“Yes, so you keep reminding me,” Sheila interrupted; and the moment was gone.
“Mom…” Willow said and reached for her mother, but Sheila stood and walked away, abruptly changing the subject.
“Will you and Tara be eating here tonight?”
“Yeah, I think so,” Willow replied, crestfallen.
“Ok, dinner is at 7. Oh, Eli asked me if you could pick up some hay from Mr. Fred today. He got called out to the Elkin farm to help with a new horse and won’t have time before Milo’s game.”
“Sure, how many bales?”
“Two dozen, so you’ll have to take the trailer.”
Willow simply nodded; resuming her breakfast as Sheila went about her business.
***************************************
Tara came downstairs after her phone call and Willow made her a bowl of cereal. Sheila had long since disappeared and the two sat quietly discussing Tara’s call. It went well and Tara had been assured that her coming out would not affect her being cast in the lead; basically he didn’t care, he just wanted her for the role…period. Now it all just depended on Cyndi and Tara’s agency. Willow was happy for her girlfriend, but it also meant that Tara would be on location in Canada for several months; something Willow didn’t want to think about.
“So, are you up for running an errand with me?” Willow asked Tara.
“Of course, my love. Where to?”
“I need to go out and pick up some hay from Mr. Fred, Elijah got called away on another job. Is that ok?”
“Absolutely!” Tara happily replied.
****************************
A little while later Tara found herself sitting with Willow, waiting in a long line of trucks. She gazed out the window towards the clearing on the side of the road that was occupied with a tractor-trailer full of hay. Sitting out to one side, on the tailgate of an old pick up truck, was a plump older man in a worn pair of overalls waving at every car that passed.
Willow reached over and patted Tara’s leg; snapping her back to reality, “You seem a million miles away.”
Tara entwined her fingers with Willow’s; bringing her hand up and kissing it several times, “I was just thinking that you’d never see something like this in LA…well, maybe if it was roadside Botox.”
Both girls laughed, “You haven’t ever…?”
“Botox? No way, this face is 100% all natural me!” Tara said with a grin.
“Mmmm and it’s beautiful…” Willow grinned, “Tare?”
“Yeah baby?”
“Is there anything special that you want to do while we’re here…in Texas that is, not in this line because well, what else can you do, except sit here and wait…anyway, I mean so far, it’s been all about me and what I wanna do and I kinda feel like I’m hogging all of our time with horses, family, errands, kids a-and I just feel kinda…I don’t know, guilty?”
Willow’s babble actually ran her out of breath, and when she paused for air Tara spoke up, “Shhh, sweetie…I was serious when I said that I don’t care what we do, as long as we do it together. Besides, I have no idea what there is to do here aside from what we’ve already been doing. See? Now you have me babbling!” Tara giggled.
Willow moved the truck forward a bit and then turned back towards her girlfriend, “Do you like amusement parks?”
“Sure, I mean I’ve been to Disney and a few other parks. Why?”
Willow bit her bottom lip, “Well, because like I said, we haven’t really gotten out of good old DP and I thought maybe on Friday we could head down to the Kemah Boardwalk? Just you and me?”
“Sounds interesting. Is it an amusement park?”
“Kinda, it’s more like an east coast type of boardwalk with rides, restaurants and unique little shops.”
“Sounds like fun…I’m in!”
“Great! But um, we have to be careful not to mention it around anyone, because they’ll just take it as an open invitation and invite themselves along.”
“Will, it’s ok if they come along. I had fun last night with Hunter and Molly; I-I don’t want to monopolize y-your time with your family. I know you guys are close and I don’t want to get in the w-way.” Tara frowned at the pesky stutter that decided to make an appearance at the most inopportune moments.
Willow grimaced, Tara was feeling awkward.
Just another reason we need some us time. “Baby, just like you told me…you’ll never, ever get in the way. We’re an ‘us’ now, Willow and Tara…ok?”
Tara smiled and nodded. She loved how Willow explained things; putting everything in context with one simple sentence; eight little words that meant everything. They were an
us now, in a relationship; making decisions together based on their needs. Something that was going to take some getting use to.
“Besides, after the next few days of ‘togetherness’ and ‘quality’ family time, you’ll be
begging to get the hell out of that house.” Willow chuckled. “Oh, look! We’re up!” She said excitedly as she pulled forward.
Willow rolled down her window and told a young man how much hay she needed. They sat for a few more minutes as the bales were loaded onto the trailer and tied down; then she pulled forward to make the payment. Willow made a wide circle and then came to a stop near the old man in the overalls.
She left the truck running and undid her seatbelt, “Come on, I want you to meet Mr. Fred,” She said to Tara, grinning widely.
Willow leapt from the truck and waited for Tara to join her. She took Tara’s hand and pulled her close as they walked the short distance to visit with Mr. Fred.
The old man was still waving at the passing cars and smiling when Willow shouted and waved, “Hey Mr. Fred!!”
The man turned and a warm smile spread across his face, “Well I’ll be a Monkey’s Uncle!” He replied, hopping down from the tailgate and embracing Willow. He pulled away and held Willow at arms length, “Well look at you Darlin’, little Willow Rosenberg all grown up, and what a beauty!”
Willow smiled shyly; blushing furiously, “Thanks, oh um…this is my girlfriend, Tara Maclay.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Tara,” He said, shaking Tara’s hand.
“You too,” Tara replied, returning the gesture.
Willow and Mr. Fred chatted for several minutes, about horses, softball and just life in general. Tara could see that Willow had a real affection for the grandfatherly man, and he genuinely liked her as well. If Tara had to pick one thing about Willow that was most endearing, she thought, it would definitely be her down-home way with people. Willow was absolutely charming and sweet; she was the real deal.
*****************************************
On the drive back to the ranch, Tara was a nervous wreck. Willow was rambling on and telling her all about Mr. Fred’s colorful life as the former town sheriff; frequently taking her hands off the steering wheel. Tara kept glancing in the side mirror at the completely loaded down trailer with the towering stacks of hay. At times the trailer teetered back and forth; causing Tara to squirm uncomfortably and clench her teeth, but it didn’t seemed to phase Willow. It appeared that driving the truck and pulling loaded trailers were second nature to the redhead, and as nervous as Tara was, she was still quite impressed. Willow pulled into the yard, whipping the truck in a semi circle and then expertly backing the trailer up to the barn.
“Wow,” Tara said somewhat relieved to finally be stopped.
Willow looked at her quizzically, “Wow what?”
“The way you handle this truck and trailer ‘wow,’ with a I’m impressed ‘wow’ on top.”
Willow smiled, now realizing that Tara had been a little nervous, “Not to worry baby! My Dad taught me to how to drive and maneuver the trailer when I was like…11, I could do it blindfolded.” She said nonchalantly as she hopped out of the truck and proceeded to disconnect the trailer.
Tara joined her, leaning casually against the truck, “It’s a beautiful day…how about you take me riding?”
“Really!? You want to go again?” Willow was stunned.
“Absolutely and um, maybe I could practice a little by myself? I’d really like to learn to ride.”
Willow’s heart pounded with joy; she couldn’t believe her ears.
Tara’s interested in riding! Willow leapt over the trailer hitch and threw her arms around Tara. She buried her face in the gentle curve of Tara’s neck; pressing several kisses along her pulse point and squeezing her tight.
Mmhh, best anniversary gift ever.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
End Chapter 44 TBC…
it was so cute! 
Sometimes I'm not sure why I even bother to have Mrs. McFine proof my chapters. FIXED...Damn it! lol 
Who says that she’ll actually win her over?? Lol 
