"What the hell are you three doing?!"
Mae, Beth and Liam turned around to see Ryan, Rip and Jake staring at them from the doorway.
"What the fu-," Liam lost his footing and fell off of the bar the three were dancing on. Jake walked over to help the younger man up and led him outside to puke up the tequila shots.
"What's it to you?" Beth glared at Rip as she continued to sway her hips to the music.
"Beth, get your ass down from that bar right now," Rip walked up to her but she danced out of his reach.
"Come and get me then, Cowboy."
Ryan ignored the two and kept his eyes on the youngest Dutton with her arms in the air and her head thrown back as she let herself go to Def Leppard's Pour Some Sugar On Me. He walked up to her and she smiled as she grinned down at him.
"Howdy Cowboy."
"What'cha doin' up there?"
"Liam wanted to play Coyote Ugly. How am I doing?"
"It looks like you're winning Darlin'."
"Really?" Mae turned to see Rip walk out of the bar with Beth over his shoulder and Jake situating Liam in the Yellowstone truck. Mae cheered and turned back to Ryan, she jumped down from the bar and he caught her just in time.
"Oof! Maybe a warning next time, darlin'."
Mae giggled as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She smiled as she looked into his eyes, they were so blue. She was so lucky to have him in her life. He's really cute and nice and pretty.
"What are you thinking about?"
Mae smiled as she reached up and pressed her lips against his. Ryan couldn't help but kiss back, even with the strong tequila taste on her lips, he still felt his heart race and a blush spread across his cheeks. They pulled away from each other and Mae reached up to rest her forehead against his, her eyes were starting to feel heavy.
"Let's get you home, Darlin'."
Ryan got her comfortable in her Jeep before walking back into the bar. He saw Rip thanking the bartender for calling him and trying to pay. He heard the bartender tell Rip that Mae already took care of the tab and gave him a tip. Ryan shook his head, even shitfaced drunk, Mae Dutton still took responsibility for everyone. Ryan picked up the girls boots, purses and Liam's belt and walked out with Rip.
Rip drove Beth home in her SUV, Jake drove Liam in the truck and Ryan drove Mae in her Jeep. Mae fell asleep before they even hit the road and rested her head against his shoulder. Ryan smiled as he lifted his arm and hugged her to him. He couldn't wait until this becomes the norm for them.
When they all arrived back at the ranch John Dutton let the three wranglers in.
"Fuck sake."
"Sir," Rip nodded as he moved towards the steps, carrying Beth up to her room. Ryan followed to do the same and Jake went to the guest bedroom.
Ryan walked down the stairs and saw that Jake and Rip had already left the house. He walked into the kitchen to see the package he left there and John standing by it.
"I hope you don't mind but I added some stuff."
Ryan walked over and laughed as he saw the Gatorade and Advil next to the gifts he had gotten her.
"I'll put it on her bedside table before I go to bed, don't fuck this up boy."
Ryan thanked John before leaving for the bunkhouse.
xxx
Mae Dutton woke up with a pounding headache, cursing Beth and Liam. The tequila shots were their idea and there were around six rounds of them along with the beers she had before hand, it was a toxic mix. She made a mental note to thank Ryan for bringing her home and apologise for getting in the situation in the first place.
She rolled over to get her phone but her eyes locked onto the multi coloured gift boxes on her bedside table. Mae was incredibly confused as she sat up to get a closer look. The first thing she grabbed was the Gatorade and Advil. She opened a note and saw her father's handwriting.
You got a good one here, Sweetheart. Enjoy this, you deserve it - J.D.
Mae smiled as she took a sip of the Gatorade and drank an Advil. She felt that bubbly feeling of excitement as she reached for the rest. The first box was full of pink roses, chocolate covered strawberries and one of her favourite sparkling wines. She loved roses, especially pink and red ones, and she didn't care how basic it made her. Mae always thought the flowers were beautiful but after finding one of her mother's scrapbooks filled with pictures of her parent's favourite moments and every rose John had ever gotten her mom, they became her favourites. She couldn't believe he remembered, she told him once, months ago.
The second box made her laugh as she saw all of her favourite products for self-care days, the few times she does have them. Mae knew that there was no way he could have known about any of these. In fact there was only one person that actually knew about all of these, the person that helped her perfect the routine, Charlie. The top of the box had a handwritten note attached:
I'm glad you had fun last night, Darling.
It was good to see you so happy.
I hope that you're not too drunk to join me for a surprise tonight.
Enjoy your gifts, spoil yourself and see you tonight at 6.
Love Ryan
P.S. Comfort is key.
xxx
"Mm, Pretty boy sure has good taste."
"That's for damn sure."
Mae glared at the two. She wanted a quiet bath alone, where she could eat her strawberries, drink her sparkling wine and read her book but Beth and Liam had other ideas.
"I'm pretty sure those are all mine."
"What's yours is mine, what's mine is yours. Isn't that how this friendship thing works?"
"Liam from what I can remember, I never married you."
Liam just shrugged and popped another strawberry in his mouth. Beth reached over and splashed Mae with some of the bath water: "You love us, and besides we're the ones that's going to help you look amazing for this date."
"Not if you're too drunk to function."
"We won't be if you just join us," Liam shoved a glass in her hand and Beth put a strawberry to Mae's lips indicating for her to bite it. Mae glanced between Liam, who was sitting on the closed lid of the toilet, and Beth sitting on the edge of the bath with her feet in Mae's bath water. As she took a bite from the strawberry, she couldn't help but think that her sister and friends were way too comfortable sometimes.
"Now what are you thinking of wearing?"
xxx
"So are you telling me where we're going?"
"You'll just have to wait and see, Darlin'."
Mae shook her head as she leaned back against the door and placed her legs in his lap. Ryan smiled as he placed his hand on her leg and stroked it with his thumb. Mae expected them to drive off of the ranch but instead he just drove up until they got to one of the highest points on the ranch.
"What are we doing here?"
"You'll see in a sec, just put your boots on and wait for me to open the door for you."
Mae pouted and Ryan reached over to place a kiss to her lips: "I'll be quick, I promise."
Mae reached over to tug her boots back on and sat waiting for Ryan. She could see him fixing somethings on the back of the trunk. She smiled as she thought of everything he's done for her, she's never been treated like this before. It was the usual dinner and a movie, be mine, sharing a kiss at the end of the night. Nothing like this. He used his time to get to know her, he planned everything specifically with her in mind. She's been trying not to cry since the morning but at the same time she's been trying to get the smile off of her lips.
"You ready, Darlin?"
Mae smiled as she hopped out of the truck with Ryan's help. She gasped as she saw the back of the truck. It was covered with blankets, pillows and fairy lights. Her heart clenched as he showed her the takeaways he got them from her favourite diner and the smore kit. There was a bonfire burning in front of them and the truck was adjusted so they could look out over the ranch. She could see the lights of the main house and bunkhouse, father in the distance, she could see the town. It was perfect. She never thought someone would do something like this for her.
"Well do you like it?" Mae turned to see Ryan standing there, rubbing the back of his neck nervously as he watched her.
"Ryan, I love it. Thank you, thank you so much!"
Mae reached out and wrapped her arms around his neck before smashing her lips to his, he responded and lifted her up in his arms and she wrapped her legs around his waist. The two were interrupted by Mae's stomach grumbling. Mae blushed and laughed nervously, Ryan laughed as he placed her back down on the ground.
"I'm glad I'm not the only one starving and that I got us food, your favourites."
Mae laughed as she hugged him again: "Lets eat!"
The two spent the next couple of hours cooking food, making smores and telling stories. They were happy and couldn't keep the smiles off of their faces. The two were laying in each other's arms as they stared up at the sky. Ryan was telling her stories of the stars and constellation, explaining how he used to sit with his grandpa every night on their porch just watching the sky. Ryan never knew his dad and has a complicated relationship with his mother. He still goes to visit her on holidays but he's not entirely sure he's forgiven her for the past. He was mostly raised by his grandparents but they're long gone, they taught him to cowboy and raised him to be the man he was today.
"I wish I could of met them, thanked them for raising their grandson to be such an amazing human being."
Ryan blushed and reached over to tuck a strand of hair behind her face: "You flatter me, Darlin'."
"Why did you ask me here, Ryan?"
"You know how we've been talking about finally making it official, taking that next step?" Mae nodded at his question.
"I planned this night for us because I wanted to finally do exactly that. Mae I made it my mission to ask every single one of your family members' approval for this relationship. I have Jamie, Beth, Kayce, Travis, Rip, your dad and even Lee's approval. I'm sorry it took me so long but you, yourself saw how much was going on. I know that you value your family more than anything else in your life and knew that, it would mean the most to you if we had your family's approval. Every decision I made in life led me to you, I'm not letting you go. Will you take a chance on me, make me forever grateful, and be my girl?"
"Ryan, you have no idea how much this means to me. I never had someone do so much effort for me and even if you didn't ask them it would have been a yes. I spent my life trying to make everyone else proud. The first selfish decision I'm making in my life, is you. I want to be with you, everyone else be damned."