Round 7 - Home Towns
I was waiting for Rueben to arrive on a bench near the place that I had wanted to take him today. I saw him approach me from the footpath in the distance. He smiled at me, I returned it and practically started running toward him, I was excited to show him my home town. When we collided, we shared a long and passionate kiss.
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"Hello Brielle, it's so wonderful to see you. And wow, your dress is beautiful!" Rueben said.
"Thank you Rueben, and it's really nice to see you too. I must say that you are looking extremely handsome as well." I flirted.
"Oh, I wanted to look presentable to meet your family today. And thank you." He replied
"Trust me, with my family, you could show up in a garbage bag and they probably wouldn't care." I giggled. He laughed too.
"So Brielle, where are we going today?" He asked.
"Well, I decided to take you somewhere peaceful and beautiful that's nearby. I'm hoping you will really enjoy it." I said
"You could take me anywhere. All I want is your company, and that itself is enough." He smiled. I returned the smile.
"Shall we go?" I asked him.
"Yes we shall." He replied.
After walking a short distance, we arrived at the botanic gardens. Although it is a beautiful place, there is something specific inside that I wanted to show to him. We still enjoyed the sights on the way there anyway. We came to a glass room filled with plantation, trees and flowers. We entered the room, it was a little humid. But Rueben still stopped and put his arms around me and admired the beauty around him.
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"Wow, I had never been in a butterfly room before. It's amazing Brielle." He whispered in my ear.
We continued on slowly along the path, until we stopped to admire some of the butterflies. I noticed that some butterflies had made themselves comfortable on Rueben's shirt.
"It seems you have made some friends, they must like you." I laughed.
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"I think they like you as well, they must be attracted to all things beautiful." He said charmingly.
"Aww." I said blushing.
"Hold still for a moment, I think you have one stuck in your hair." He chuckled.
He removed the butterfly that was tangled by gently threading his fingers through my hair.
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"Thank you." I smiled.
"You're welcome." He replied.
We had stood and talked for a while, and I slowly started to notice that the butterflies where started to stick to him all over his body. He had tried to gently brush them off, but they kept coming back in large groups.
"Uhh, I think they like me a little too much today, they must really like the smell of my cologne." He said.
"Wow Rueben, how much cologne are you wearing right now!?" I joked.
"Just a nice amount, I wanted to make a good first impression to your family, I didn't expect to receive this much attention from the butterflies. I can't even move, I'm scared I might squish someone." He said a little frantically.
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"I'm beginning to feel itchy all over though, do we keep going in hopes that they might fly away?" He asked.
"I think that will only attract more..." I said, unsure of what to do.
His face lit up a little, and in that moment he started to shake vigorously. It startled me at first but after I saw him flailing his arms about, I just couldn't contain my laughter
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After the butterflies had been shaken off, we picked up our pace and almost rushed out of the butterfly garden. We exited feeling a little overwhelmed.
"Well... That was the most un-peaceful experience I've ever had with a supposedly peaceful species." He laughed.
He noticed a fluttering from his shirt pocket and released a purple butterfly he had picked up from the butterfly room.
https://i.imgur.com/TSNYwAX.png
"Oh, uhh, I sure hope that wasn't a rare butterfly." He said sheepishly.
"Um, not too sure about that one. We can only hope that it wasn't. So, that didn't really go how I thought it would... But I'd like to make it up to you. Perhaps this place will be a little more relaxed than the last. We will rent some bikes to ride there, if that's alright with you." I said.
"That's fine, lets go." Rueben said.
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We arrived at a small venue where there was a high tea being held. I figured we might be able to calm ourselves, drink some tea and eat some cake. We sat down at a dainty little table and somebody came and placed a tiered tray of small cakes for us to share.
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"So about tonight. Who will I be meeting and who should I expect 'the talk' from?" He asked.
"Tonight, you'll be meeting mum and dad, my two sisters, Jasmine and Charlotte, and my twin brother, Matt. He is most likely the one you will be chatting with tonight." I answered.
"Okay. What is he like? Will it be a brutal questionnaire? Or just a general talk?" He asked.
"My family are all pretty laid back and chilled, I think you will be okay. I mean, if you want to win my mum over, bring her a cake and she'll love you forever" I giggled. He giggled back.
"One more question, if you will. May I ask, why are we at a high tea?" He asked.
"I figured we could come here and calm our nerves about tonight and about what just happened too. And I thought that it might be something you like to do too." I smiled.
"Oh darling, I've never even been to a high tea before. Just because I live in the city, it doesn't mean I go to a weekly high tea event. It's more something my mother would do." He laughed loudly.
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"Oh so my high tea event is too posh for you, Mr. Church?" I said in a posh voice as I imitated a posh person and stuck my little finger up as I sipped my tea.
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He laughed even louder than before.
"You're just cheeky, you are. But I really like your sense of humour. You make me laugh, and I really appreciate that. Especially when I live a very serious life, I'm serious about 90% of the day and the other 10% is where I can have my fun and giggles." He said. "But, on that note. Shall we pinch some cakes and go? I don't want to be late to meet your family." He said cheekily.
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"It's probably best we leave, the producers put some time aside so we had this place to ourselves. The bakery is about to open so bunch of ladies might flow in that might be more the age of my grandmother. I've come unprepared, I haven't got my best pearls on for that!" I laughed. He laughed too.
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We grabbed a napkin each and wrapped up some cakes each and left the building.
"Could we stop somewhere to get your mother a gift?" Rueben asked.
"Sure, where do you went to stop?" I questioned.
"Well, you mentioned that your mother likes cake. Perhaps we could stop there?" He suggested.
"Oh, sure. I know of a really fancy patisserie not far from here." I said.
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We arrived at the patisserie and began to look at cakes. The smell has sweet and my mouth began to water a little.
"Does your mother have a flavour preference?" He asked, still looking for a cake.
"Not really, as long as it's a cake. She likes all cake." I replied.
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After looking for awhile, he chose and paid for the cake and we left to go to my parent's house.
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We arrived at my parent's house in the early evening.
"What's your father like?" He asked suddenly.
"He is the very opposite of serious, always cracking a joke or having a laugh... Are you ready?" I asked.
He nodded and I knocked on the door.
I heard my mum's voice ring out "Oh, they're here!"
Not too long after, my mum and dad appeared at the door and opened them to let us in.
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"Hello darling, oh I've missed you so much sweetheart! And who is this strapping young man?" She questioned.
"Mum, this is Rueben. Rueben this is my mum, Megan." I introduced them.
"Such a pleasure to meet you madam." Rueben said.
"The pleasure is all mine Rueben. Won't you come in darlings, it's starting to get a little chilly." She ushered us inside.
"Hello Mr. Quinn, it's a pleasure to meet you." Rueben took my fathers hand and shook it firmly.
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"Likewise, and you can call me David, no need for the formalities here, mate." He laughed.
"Sure thing, David." Rueben said.
"Mrs. Quinn? This is for you. I wanted to give you a gift."
"Oh, darling, you didn't have to do that. Oh! A cake?! Oh, I think we are going to get along well, you and I." Mum said.
The rest of my siblings had heard of our arrival and headed into the hallway to greet me and meet Rueben.
"Hey man, my name's Matt. I'm Brielle's brother." Matt stated.
"Hi Matt, my name is Rueben. It's nice to meet you at last, how are you?" Rueben asked.
"I'm good mate." Matt replied.
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We all gathered in the lounge room so we could sit down and talk together. Even my dad's cat had come out to see what was happening.
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Both Rueben and I were showered with questioned about what we have been doing. My sister, Jasmine pulled me away briefly.
"OH! EM! GEE! Where do get myself one of them? He is SOOO hot" She whispered and directed her gaze to Rueben.
"I find him very attractive too. But you can get your own, he's mine." I laughed.
"Haha. Does he have a brother, by any chance?" She said with her fingers crossed.
"No, sorry you're out of luck there." I replied.
"Dam, it was worth a shot." She laughed.
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After we had all gotten caught up, mum and dad had called us to eat. We all sat at the dinner table and engaged in conversations.
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Shortly after we had finished, my brother had asked Rueben if he would join him outside. Of course, Rueben agreed and followed him out.
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RUEBEN POV
I followed Matt outside into the cool night air.
"Hey Rueben, how are you mate?" He asked.
"I'm very well, thank you." I replied.
"So, I just wanted to ask you a couple questions. I'm a little confused about how this whole thing works..." He mentions.
"Oh, I'm happy to clear up any questions you have." I said in a kind manner.
"Yeah. Well um, you might know that Brielle's last relationship really took an impact on her. And I know that in the Bachelor, you date other girls too. How does that work? Having more than one girl going at once?" He asked.
"It can be difficult at times, especially when I have so many hearts on the line. All of these girls are falling for me and at the end I have to choose the one that I feel the strongest connection with." I replied.
"Well, you got all these other girls, what makes Brielle different to them? Why did you choose her in your final four? He quizzed.
"They are all different. Brielle, she's a beautiful girl and she makes me feel happy, whenever I'm with her. She has a good sense of humour, and I find that important in a relationship, along with loyalty, honesty, respect, and affection, and I feel that Brielle fits all of those descriptions." I answered with confidence.
He nodded, but seemed unsure about me.
"Brielle mentioned that you are a busy man. How are you going to fit her into your day?" he asked.
"I wouldn't have joined the bachelor if I wasn't willing to make time for a future partner. I have plenty of time after work and on my days off too" I answered.
"Yeah, okay. Can I ask, do you love her?" he asked. I knew that this question would pop up eventually.
"Unfortunately, I am unable to answer that due to specific rules with producers, but my affections for Brielle are strong and care very much for her, and I know the connection we share is growing more and more with every moment we spend together." I answered.
He nodded, smiling a little this time. I had hoped I had reassured him in a way that he knows my intentions with him sister are good.
"Well, thanks for clearing that up with me, do you wanna go back inside?" He asked.
"Its no problem, Matt, and sure." I replied.
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BRIELLE POV
Rueben and Matt had made their way back inside and sat at the table where we all were sitting. Rueben gave me a smile and it kind of let me know that things were all good with Matt outside. My mum had brought through the cake that Rueben had picked and cut us all a slice. We indulged into the cake and stated how nice it was. Rueben was talking to my mum and I'm sure she was probably saying something embarrassing about me, that's just how she is when she has guests over.
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It reached the end of the night, and it was time to say goodbye. Rueben had shook hands with my dad and brother again and thanked my mother for the meal, he also said goodbye to my sisters as well and said it was nice to meet them all.
I walked him to the footpath.
"I had such a lovely time meeting your family, Brielle." He said.
"I'm glad you did. I believe they all really liked you."
"You think?" He said.
"Yeah." I replied.
"Well, it's getting late and I should probably head off. Goodnight Brielle." He said.
"Goodnight Rueben." I said.
We shared another kiss and he grabbed my hand and held it in his. He smiled at me then walked backwards and took off down the street.
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I headed back towards the house and spotted my two sisters sitting on the outdoor bench.
"Well, that was a bit cute." Charlotte says.
"Were you watching us?" I questioned.
"No, of course not, we came out when you guys said goodbye." She answered.
"Okay. What do you think about him?" I asked.
"Well, I think he's a really nice guy and he seems like he's really in it, he speaks highly of you. And he's attractive, so that's a bonus. Ha! But, at the end of the day, it's really what you think of him. It doesn't matter what we think Bri. How do you feel about him?" Charlotte asked.
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"I feel very strongly for him and to be honest, I love him... But I'm scared. I'm scared about the end of all this. There's always that chance that I won't get chosen..."
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Sorry for the novel, kinda got carried away with it <3