You had no idea what the correct attire for horse riding was, so Mr Ren had bought you exactly what you needed. It wasn't as uncomfortable as you thought it would be, but it was very tight.
At the moment, you were desperately trying to get on your horse, but you were struggling and most importantly, you didn't know how. You had to wear a safety cap while the others didn't as they were used to this sport. You felt out of place. They owned these horses and the stable whereas you could barely afford your own house. You tried placing your foot on the stirrup iron to lift yourself up onto the horse, but you didn't have the strength to do it on your own.
"Oh, dear," Leia said. "Kylo, help your girlfriend get on her horse."
You laughed. "I'm sorry. I've just never been horseback riding before."
You were startled as you felt Mr Ren place his hand on your lower back. His hand is inches away from my ass. You hadn't even heard him get close to you. You coughed to cover up your shock at the feel of his touch. You immediately thought of your dream. This is going to be a lot harder than I expected, you thought.
"Really?" Han said. "I thought you would have since it's one of your dad's hobbies."
The smile on your face dropped out of panic. "I did once, but I was really little. I remember I fell face first onto the ground and I decided to never do it again."
"Fair enough," Han said as he laughed.
"Perhaps it's better if you and Kylo rode on the same horse," Leia said. "You don't seem very experienced and Kylo has been doing this since he was a child."
"No, it's fine," you said and tried to get back on your horse again. You fell over when you tried this time. Luckily, Mr Ren was there to catch you. You gulped as you felt his hands on your back. You wanted to throw up. You even felt close to having an anxiety attack at the thought of riding a horse on your own.
"Are you sure?" Leia said as she smiled.
"I mean, are you okay with that?" You turned to look at your boss. It was probably clear to him from the look of panic in your eyes that you weren't really asking.
"Of course," he said.
He carried you by your waist almost effortlessly, lifting you onto the horse. You held onto the front of the saddle for support as you swung your leg over the other side. You felt a lot taller now, sitting on the horse and a little less anxious. That slight improvement in your confidence disappeared as soon as Mr Ren got behind you.
"Fuck," you muttered under your breath so quietly that nobody could hear you. Mr Ren slid his arms past your waist, holding the bridle. You held onto it as well, mostly because you were scared.
"Alright," Han said. "Are we ready?"
"I think so," you said and turned to look at Mr Ren only to immediately turn around as you realised how close your faces were to each other.
"Are you okay?" Mr Ren whispered sincerely as you began moving.
"Yeah, I just have a small fear of heights," you said. And I had a sex dream about you which is making it very hard to stay calm at the moment.
"If I'd known I would've scheduled a different kind of date."
You smiled. "No, it's fine. It's something I've never done before. So, it's fun to try."
"If you feel the need to leave at any point just tell me."
"It's really okay, sir. I enjoy the company of your parents. So, I'll probably be distracted by them."
It was a beautiful path on a flat, green terrain. If you were rich enough you would've come here every weekend just for the view. You were headed towards a hill with an abundance of trees at the top of it. It was quiet and serene. You could hear the sound of a gentle stream nearby.
"I hope work wasn't too stressful for you this week," Mr Ren said, breaking the silence.
"It was fine actually," you said. "I have everything memorised now. You don't have to give my assignments to my coworkers."
"Good to know," he said. "I've actually been meaning to ask you something."
You hummed. "What is it?"
"I was just wondering why I've never seen you at any of your team's presentations," he said. "Almost all of the projects seem to be submitted by you, but you never show up." You went quiet. You weren't sure if you wanted to expose the reason you'd never attended the company meetings. "You always conveniently have an excuse."
"I uhm–" You hesitated. "I'm not really the most confident when it comes to presenting. It was actually the thing I dreaded the most in school because I would start hyperventilating and having an anxiety attack. So, I try to avoid public speaking at all costs, which is why I've never won an award. I just give my projects to Coraline most of the time, or Emily."
He went quiet for a few seconds, thinking of what to say. "Confidence doesn't have anything to do with anxiety. Someone can be completely confident in public speaking yet still struggle with anxiety behind closed doors, or even the other way around. You shouldn't put yourself down just because your anxiety makes it difficult for you to speak in front of people."
"That's what you said in your TED talk," you said as you smiled.
He chuckled. It surprised you every time. "God, that was so long ago. I hardly remember it."
"Oh, I've admired you for a very long time, Mr Ren," you said confidently. "In fact, I've watched almost all of your interviews."
"Is that so?" He said.
"Yes," you said. "I really liked hearing your story of how you created Ren Industries with barely enough funds. Your determination inspired me."
"To become a design specialist?" Mr Ren said in a critical tone.
"No," you said sarcastically. "To help my family financially and make sure that they're taken care of for the rest of their life."
"That's very admirable," he said. "But it's not your own dream."
"Huh?" You said as you looked over your shoulder.
"What do you want to do?" He said.
You took a second to think about it. You knew what the answer was deep inside, but you were scared of being judged by him. You'd always wanted to venture into art, but you couldn't afford it with having to take care of your parents. Fortunately, Mr Ren's parents changed the subject before you could even get it out.
"So, what have you been doing since we last met?" Leia asked.
You were beginning to make your way up the hill.
"I've been working on a new collection of modern art for my next venue," you said cheerily.
"Really? Wow," Leia said. "I'd love to see it someday."
"It's a very small showcase. I doubt there'd be much to see," you said and laughed.
"Nonsense," Leia said. "Kylo, you'll have to send us the invitations immediately."
Kylo sighed. "Mom, I'm not sure if you want to go. It's in the lower east side."
"Of course I want to."
Mr Ren helped you off the horse as soon as you reached the top of the hill. You held his hand which was massive compared to yours and jumped to the ground where he caught you by the waist just before you fell, making sure you wouldn't injure yourself.
"Thank you, sir," you whispered.
He paused. "No problem."
You looked around you to see a wide collection of fig trees all over the small hill. They all had fruit growing on them and were in season. You smiled as you ran towards one of the trees, ruffling through the leaves as you picked out one of the fruits.
"You know, we used to come here all the time when Kylo was a little boy," Han said.
"Really?" You said as you picked a fig off of the tree.
"Oh, yeah." He laughed. "He threw up once from the amount of figs he ate."
You giggled. "I mean, you can't blame him. They're really tasty." You didn't realise Mr Ren was right next to you now.
"Yes, because that's a wonderful story to tell, dad," Mr Ren said in his deep voice which almost startled you as you took a bite out of the fruit.
"Come on, Kylo," you said. "You know I love hearing about all the adorable stories from your childhood." You could tell he was annoyed. So, you tried to change the subject. "Did you know that figs are actually an aphrodisiac."
Leia grinned, watching you and Mr Ren. "Han, let's go walk to the stream below." Han nodded at her as he smiled.
"They are?" Your boss said as you watched his parents walk away.
You nodded. "Along with chocolate, strawberries, watermelon and—well, you get the point."
"I didn't know that actually," Mr Ren said.
"Do I know something that the infamous Kylo Ren doesn't?" You said playfully.
"You've bested me," he said with a smile.
From where you were standing, you could see Han and Leia watching you, their eyes widening as they giggled from behind a bush. It was clear they had left the two of you alone for the both of you to flirt. You were scared of what they would think if you did nothing. Perhaps they already thought it was a fake relationship from the lack of public displays of affection. You turned your gaze back to Mr Ren who was distracted by a nearby tree then back to Leia and Han.
"Mr Ren, they're watching us," you said awkwardly.
"Of course they are," he said, not bothering to turn around. "I know what they want too."
"And what's that?" You asked.
"They want us to kiss in front of them, which is rather weird when you think about it."
"Oh," you said. "Are we going to give them what they want or...?"
"It depends on if you're comfortable with that." He crossed his arms.
Your mouth was agape. You were sure you had misheard him. There was no way your own boss was asking you if you wanted to kiss him. As much as you hated to admit it, a part of you couldn't resist. "I guess if they had suspicions of us not being a real couple it would probably help."
"That's a fair point," Mr Ren said blankly.
"Okay," you said.