VIRAGO

lulu

[ Sorry for such a long wait! Between finals and the holidays I have had no time to write! ]

lulu (n.) - any remarkable or outstanding person or thing

Christmas and the New Year had come and gone, and she had not missed the cold weather of Michigan. She spent the last three weeks catching up with Dana and Rick, and making up for lost time with Nash, for she had not been home in a year due to the job she had maintained all summer. She had been given the opportunity to be a professor's aide over the summer for one of her favorite English professors, and now she had a teaching degree focused in English, and she hoped one day to be teaching high school students, however, she had the NWSL draft to look forward to as she packed to head to Florida for the next couple of days. She would not have to report to her team until March, so afterward she would head back to Michigan and interview with a few of the school districts around the thumb. Although she felt as if she was intruding on Dana again, she had told her to stay with her for the next couple months until she found out where she was headed, and she was grateful. They had always been somewhat close in age, Dana being about five years older than her, but now they had similar experiences and it did not seem as awkward being roommates once again.

She parked her car and smiled as she stepped out of the car. With her busy schedule, she had not had a chance to physically head over to Nash's. When they hung out, he usually met her somewhere so she could get back to job searching and interviewing all across the country. She was willing to travel, and since NWSL games were on the weekends, she was hoping she would be able to make a schedule around teaching, however, the NWSL was most of the summer, so it would not be too far out of reach. Even if for now she was just a substitute teacher, she did not mind - she would still be teaching.

She walked over to the barn and heaved open the doors, and the familiar mixture of smells of manure, hay, feed, and the horses hit her like a wave. She gave a grin as she greeted Scarlet, Hera, Buck, Silvie, and Bandit. When he realized it was her, he grew excited, bucking slightly in his stall and whinnying loudly. She pet his nose and ruffled her fingers through his mane.

"Hey boy." She said softly with a big smile on her face.

"He missed you." She heard Nash say from the barn doors, and she chuckled.

"I can tell." She responded, looking over at him as he walked over. "I don't think he's the only one who missed me though."

"You'd definitely be right." He answered as he wrapped his arms around her. "I can't believe you're already leaving again." He sighed.

"I'll be back in a couple days, and then I'll be able to spend the rest of the weekend with you down in Ann Arbor." She answered, lifting his chin to face her, and he smiled.

"I can't wait." He smiled. Bandit let out a neigh, interrupting their moment.

"Whatdaya say, wanna head out for a ride?" She asked with a small laugh.

"Yeah, I'd like that a lot." He answered, planting a kiss on top of her head before walking away to go saddle up Hera. She turned and opened his stall and stepping inside to bridle him up before leading him out to get a saddle on him. Once he was all saddled up, she led him outside the other doors and got out into the open. The snow was untouched except for the makeshift trails that were made to go out on rides. Nash came out a few minutes later with Hera all saddled up and they both hopped up. It felt amazing to be back in her own saddle and on her own horse once again, and she could tell that every party missed this feeling. They took off towards the trails, walking side by side and catching up with one another about everything that was going on in their lives. Nash had tons to talk about, and she sat and listened. She loved hearing his voice, even if it was him just rambling on about his video game club and the new games they were going to be introducing.