Lets Me & You Talk

"It's cool..." He responded after he stopped feeling his shoulders being shook. "I believe that. You're built plenty tough!" Clyde remarked as he rubbed the spot on his jaw where Juniper decked him and while he did appreciate her help, the last thing he wanted to do was put her in danger.

And then Juniper asked for a name and Clyde furrowed his brow as he mulled over revealing her name... But what was the harm of it?

"Her name is Mercy Wrenn. She's... My ex-girlfriend and the former assistant to the AFW Chief Manager of Talent Relations." Clyde said solemnly as he thought of how unfairly Mercy got fired, he hoped she was still doing well, or in Japan for that matter.

Juniper notices that she kinda hit a hard spot on Clyde. He was reluctant to give a name, but did so after a moment of mulling over it. Juniper listens with her eyes and ears to show Clyde her interest. "I underatand that she must have meant a lot to you...And still does."

Juniper suddenly becomes a bit shy, twiddling her thumbs. "Im sure she was a lucky woman. But...it sucks that she's your ex."

"Yeah... She does..." Clyde admitted as he looked at the ground and thought of that troublesome pinkette that he absolutely adored.

It took him a moment to gather his words, knowing it sounded bad that he was still hounding after his Ex. "More like I was the lucky guy..." He said solemnly.

"We got a complicated story, I ain't even know if we will get back together, but until I figure things out, I can't dedicate myself ta' anybody else." Said the cowboy as he clinched his fists.

"You'd be wastin' yer time waitin' on a guy like me, I know you'll meet someone way better and nicer than a guy who's hung up on his Ex."

Juniper would have normally stood up and slapped the cowboy and tell him something smart. But...Love and relationships were not her area of expertise. She had never had a first anything, really. Unless you counted Juniper stealing a kiss from Ryan Knight. That was her first kiss, technically. And then there was the one she stole from Clyde...

But she didnt count that. Not at all. Neither of them.

"You cant just wait on her, Clyde. Women dont like that. You need to find Mercy, tell her whats on your mind, apologize even if you did nothing wrong, and ask for her back. And if she says no...Then its over. " Juniper then looks at him. "Ive waited a long time to find a guy I like. I ain't waiting for you, but I'll always hope."

"I know..." Clyde said as he lowered his head, feeling like he was in an old familiar place again.

"But it ain't that simple! She knows how I feel about her! She knows how much I care 'bout her! But I... Rh... She didn't even say it was over... At least not this time! 'Cause we're supposed to meet up and... " Clyde tried his best to explain the situation but the more he thought about it, the more it frustrated him and made him wonder if he was just being played for a fool.

"I might be a fool for bein' hung up on her... But things are so complicated that I can't move on until I get the facts straight. We were finally allowed to be together in peace and we went out and had an amazin' time and then the next day it was just over... I dunno why... She bottles things in and never tells me why... So I gotta figure things out... She might be waitin' for me too..." Clyde said solemnly as he looked at Juniper, in the ring he felt like a king but right now in regards to his love life, he felt pathetic. And yet Juniper's words made him smile. He really liked her for her strong independence.

"You're a wonderful woman, Juniper. You're beautiful and strong. Any man that doesn't want you instantly ain't worth yer time. I'll always be around for you though." Said the hatless Cowboy as he offered Juniper a hug.

Juniper understood what she needed to about the situation Clyde had seemed to fallen into. "Mercy knows? Then either you need to ask her whats up, or she needs to make a decision. You cant let her be the kind of woman that's gonna hold ya by the balls."

He would see her hands ball up into fists. "Well...She doesn't sound like she'd do that, but she might be!" Turning to Clyde, she would share something personal with him. "Okay, there was one guy I really liked way back when. But he was just an ass. To everyone and me. And then he got together with this mean girl I knew..."

Not meaning to blow off his hug offer, she would quickly hug Clyde and take a few breaths to calm down.

"I do..I deserve someone nice. And what am I doing here? In a whole nother country?" Her voice was starting to crack and break.

"Ain't nobody got me by the balls!" Clyde shot back defensively and quickly with a finger raised. He would then blink as he saw Juniper's fists clinched tight. "I trust Mercy." Clyde added before hearing Juniper speak about this other guy she liked who turned out to apparently be a total jerk.

Clyde gave Juniper a hug and kept his hands on her shoulder, trying to reassure her. "Hey hey! It's alright. Sometimes we meet people who we adore and think are perfect for us... And then it turns out they ain't good people at all. Hell I almost married someone like that! I was pretty blind and stupid." Clyde said as he patted Juniper's shoulders.

"Why don't I walk ya home? Ya live in Kyoto right?" He asked as he rubbed her back. "C'mon."

Juniper was close to crying. Something sharp rarely did or was brought to. Today was more emotional than she would have liked. Being gently turned down by one of the select men she liked, and then his conversation...

She was okay. No tears. She clears her throat and promptly stands up, finishing what there was left of her water. She nodded her head. "That sounds nice..."

Clyde felt pretty bad right now. It wasn't totally his fault but he knew he had a hand in how Juniper felt.

He smiled softly at her and slung an arm around her waist. "C'mon girl, I'll take ya home." He said while trying to guide her out of the lounge.

"And uh... Maybe we get some ice cream!"

She was expecting him to just walk with her or something. She made a small but audible gasp as he wrapped an arm around her waist. Her face lit up red. But she didnt try to show it to him. Juniper smiles. "We can go if you wanna. I can drive us somewhere."