Disguised In Lavender

Part 33

After far too much convincing, Lauren managed to avoid her roommate and leave the dorm five minutes later. Tanner was blowing up her phone complaining about Dalla as he always did after their training but now wasn't the time to be a therapist. "Hey." Lauren smiled as she jogged to catch up with Ann who stopped to face her with a mirrored grin. "Hi." Ann bounced onto her tiptoes to kiss Lauren who turned a bright shade of red and glanced around. "Oh chill out, am I not allowed to kiss you now?" The younger girl teased as she took Lauren's hand and stuffed it into her pocket, still facing her with a roll of her eyes. "Like that was even a kiss." She taunted back, instantly biting her bottom lip to stop from blushing even harder at Ann's face. "Stuff your mouth with lettuce." Ann grumbled, throwing Lauren's hand from her pocket and striding off to the library without a backwards glance. The rider called for Ann to wait through her laughter and caught her hand just as the doors opened for them.

For a weekend, the library was more full than any other day, Ann had to pick a table tucked behind shelves for any privacy. Lauren ducked off and fell into a long line of students paying for lunch from a flustered looking librarian. "Who ran off now?" Ann sighed, laying her head on Lauren's shoulder and crossing her arms comfortably over her chest. "Don't get me started." The rider retorted lightly, running her fingers through Ann's hair as her eyes fluttered closed in pleasure. "Feels good." Ann mumbled groggily, stumbling over her feet to keep up with Lauren as she moved up in the line. "You're much cuter when you're tired." The older girl commented with a laugh, putting her arm around Ann and pressing her lips to her forehead.

Not answering, the trainer lifted her middle finger and poked Lauren's cheek which only got another laugh. The librarian eyes Ann in confusion but didn't say a word as Lauren pointed for two chicken salads. "Get up or you'll end up with a mouth full of dusty books instead of lunch." She ruffled Ann's hair, waiting to move to their table until her eyes were fully open. "Madge really made me rehearse Shakespear at eight AM." Ann huffed, reaching for her box which Laurne held onto without saying a word, nodding to their table.

The library wasn't romantic and it wasn't like Ann was shoving Lauren against bookshelves but it was nice. "Did Ducky get that transition yet?" Ann asked, swallowing a bite of food and looking up at Lauren who paused to stab at the lettuce. Silence fell between them as the trainer patiently waited for an answer that she probably didn't want to hear. "No, this horse is driving me nuts." Lauren mumbled, dropping her fork into the empty box and glaring down at it as if it would burst into flame. Ann moved it aside and put her pointer finger under Lauren's chin, forcing her to look at her with a pout.

"It's just going to take some work, let's go through the courses again and when Ducky's schedule opens again at 5 we can visit. I'm not saying you have to ride, we can lunge him but there's only so much time." Ann set her hand palm down on the table, trying to hide her own misgivings in setting her box aside. Lauren nodded slowly, leaning back and spreading out the trainer's fingers like a fan with hers between. "I really want to graduate with this." She confessed in a whisper, looking up at Ann who examined her somber face coolly and nodded. "So let's make it happen. Dressage is the first set." Ann pulled a thin packet from her bag and opened to the second page, examining the course.

Libraries closed around 4:30 on campus which left just enough time for the entire senior grade to file in. Lauren tried to ignore the people calling her name and concentrate on what Ann was explaining about the show jumping course. Seeing how agitated the trainer was getting by being interrupted, Lauren finally turned with a serious expression. She set her hand over Ann's and pushed as much distaste out of her expression as she could to face the girls. "Liam is at the basketball tournament, come on." The first girl to jump on Lauren and tug on her hand was a tall blonde with no idea of personal boundaries. Ann pulled her hand back and leaned down in her chair, watching the interaction with a straight face. "I'm in the middle of something, Steph, try calling Emma or Tracy." Lauren tried to wriggle out from under her but found the excited giggle from her friend only tightening her grip.

Glancing at Ann pleadingly she noticed the dissatisfied crease over her eyes, pursing her lips to keep from blushing. Ann getting in a mood where she was angry was much hotter than it should have been. "Fine, he isn't even that hot." Lauren grumbled, glancing at Ann to be sure she heard the second part as Steph leaped out of her lap. "Don't be so prude." Another girl chuckled, slapping Lauren on the arm and covering her mouth to giggle, tucking a dark lock of hair behind her eyes. The rider looked back at Ann who met her eyes with a laugh, Lauren looked away quickly and let out a breath.

If only Tracy knew, but of course she couldn't because then Dalla would have all the power in the world. "Coming?" Lauren tapped Steph to stop her and turned back to Ann, ignoring the glare of unease that Tracy shot her. The trainer read the room quickly and nodded without a word, collecting their books in a rush. "Meet us there then." Steph stepped protectively in front of Lauren and grabbed her hand, pulling her away before Ann could reply. Pretending not to care, the rider shook her hand free and fell between the two girls to ignore the curious looks.