Welcome to Hickstead, home to both Seven Oak Stables, and Blue Acre - two rival stables. Both offer opportunities for their clients to reach the highest level of excellence. Each stable differs from the other, so choose wisely and never forget, loyalty is everything... Meanwhile as the stables battle it out, there's trouble brewing at the university. Be careful, if you don't pick a side you may get caught in the cross-fire...
This is an chilled out rpg with a super friendly and relaxed atmosphere! Remember to sign up with your characters full name in all caps and don't forget to do your claims! Thank you and Welcome, we've been established since 10th March 2009 but unfortunately have had to close guest view of our boards due to multiple sites ripping off our hard work, such a shame! Come chat to us in Discord before joining if you like!.
The holiday rush was over and Gideon was ready for it. The shop was closed for a week after New Year's Eve. Of course, they had the holidays and certain days off, but it was now a solid week off. No clients, no working his hands too hard. Gideon didn't know when the last time he had a massage was. When he did finally get one, it was welcomed. He was sure his masseuse had a field day with all the knots in his shoulders and back.
While his body was in relaxation mode, Gideon's brain was far from it. He had this nagging feeling that Mina was a ticking time bomb. Same with her current boyfriend. Mina's energy was always over the place, but it was worse now—a thunderstorm of great proportion.
His fingers tapped as he sat in the cafe of the Book Nook. While he wasn't an avid reader, the calmness of the place was easier to handle than Parker's. A lavender latte perched on its saucer. He was about to take a sip when his peripheral picked up a family face. A very handsome one. It was Danny.
Gideon didn't quite remember how he and Mina met. He just knew they had been together for a few years. Gideon, while he hated to admit it, was a bit envious. How could Mina be so questionable about a man like Danny? Good looking, caring…was he too overbearing? Gideon only knew bits and bobs. But he wasn't going to deny that he had fantasized.
He lifted his hand and gave a friendly salute with a smile. Gideon didn't know if Danny would approach or not, but they were friendly enough to acknowledge each other's existence.
He had just gotten off his shift at Pirate's Bounty when he had gotten the text - could he pick up the latest Crescent City installment by Sara J. Mass at the Book Nook? Danny replied yes without a second thought given the author of the text was his girlfriend, Mina Cohen. As always, her thank you text were littered with animated and adorable emoji's, enough to bring a smile to his face before swiping close on his phone, saying his goodbye to the Constantine siblings, and headed on his way. The problem with being out of work though, as typical for the likes of Danny Sumner, was the fact that it freed up his brain to thinking and that wasn't always the best thing, especially when the topic of his brain was Mina. At leas the Book Nook was a short walk from Pirate's Bounty.
Danny wasn't bothered by the state of his relationship with his girlfriend - to him, it was strong as ever. They had been going steady for a while now, and a few months ago, he pretty much all but moved in with her and was getting his condo ready for market. Truth be told, Danny knew he was deeply in love with Mina: her hyperactivity, her desire to build forts in her apartment, the fact that she was always doodling, and even, yes, even her tendency to complain and sound self absorbed when worried had pulled him in. Danny, quite honestly, felt like he wanted marry her. And perhaps, that was why, he found himself growing increasingly protective of the young woman: "Oh! Danny. I'm glad you're here. I assume you're here for Mina's book? I told Ivan-"
"Ivan was here?" He interjected now, a bitter venom seeping into his voice that Danny was unable to hide. His brow already furrowing at the mere mention of Ivan, green eyes boring into the sale's associates' mere soul. They went quiet, and then managed to recover, but Danny didn't hear any of their excuses paid for the book - his mind already elsewhere. Ivan fucking Park. He had arrived a little over a year ago, and his presence in Mina's life had slowly began to get to Danny in an unhealthy way. He knew it was silly, that it was perfectly okay for his girl friend to have guy friends. She had two that he was perfectly fine with, but Ivan Park was different. Ivan Park was a childhood friend whom fell out of contact until this past year. Ivan Park got a different reaction than Casper Talbot or Gideon Alcott when Mina saw him. Ivan Park got a reaction closer to what Danny often received from his girlfriend, and he didn't like it. He felt threaten.
It was stupid really. The man knew he shouldn't feel threatened by a pretty boy who was missing both of his legs. And yet, he did. There was something there, something there that Danny couldn't describe but he knew, he just knew, that he couldn't trust Ivan. Boyfriend's initiation. Or perhaps it was just Danny Sumner intuition. Either way, it was there. A book was being pushed towards him now along with his credit card, and he just wordlessly grabbed them , getting ready to head out of the door when movement caught his green eyes. Glancing over, towards the connected cafe, he saw none other than Gideon Alcott himself. Danny stalled for a moment, thinking, uncertain if he could be trusted to hold a conversation. But soon, he relented, and headed over.
"Gideon, hey," he offered now, short and simple as his green eyes looked to the cup of coffee on the saucer, "Enjoying your time off with the new year?"
The right thing and the easy thing are never the same.
“Hey Danny, I hope you’re doing well.” Gideon probably was a bit more surprised at the fact Danny had made himself come over. While the two knew of each other – it didn’t mean that knew, knew each other. Gideon was friendly, of course. But he didn’t think Danny would ever want to talk to him without the presence of his girlfriend.
“I am, yes. Well deserved. Everyone needs a good break. Mina and I made sure we forced each other to sit down without being bent over a super magnifying glass. Did you have a good holiday season?” Gideon offered, not knowing how much Danny would give. If Danny didn’t want to talk, Gideon figured he would’ve just nodded and walked away. But with the way he approached – Gideon had a feeling the man had something he wanted to talk about.
"Yeah, I'm good," he replied, cue the small talk now. Perhaps this had been a terrible idea. Danny wasn't even sure what drew him over to Gideon, but truth be told, the sales associate had left him rattled. The man probably couldn't be trusted to know left from right, his brain elsewhere now. In the back of his mind, Danny knew what he wanted from Gideon. They weren't friends per say, but knew that Gideon was friends with Mina. In fact, the other man was probably right behind Yuli Sali in people who his girlfriend shared her thoughts with.
He offered a smile when Gideon spoke, saying he himself was doing well and enjoying the holiday break, "Ah yeah, she might have mentioned that." More small talk, "Holiday was good. Split between our families..." Danny wasn't sure if he could keep this up, he knew he should abort and not pry. He should walk away before he started asking stuff that he couldn't take back. But...his gaze faltered, looking to the book in his hands once more, a reminder that Ivan may have attempted to purchase the very same book for Mina Cohen. That thought alone caused something ugly and primal to bloom in Danny's heart. His green eyes snapped to Gideon once more now, and Danny actually lowered himself into a seat across from him, "Hey, I don't mean to be blunt. Does Ivan come by the shop a lot to hang out with you and Mina?"
The right thing and the easy thing are never the same.
