Twelve Red Roses (a Tom Hiddleston fanfic)

Chapter 11- Rainbow Bridge

So, here's a new chapter for you guys! I apologize for the crappyness and the short length.. I'm just totally out of it today. Please forgive me. Anyways, enjoy! I'll try to make the next part better<3

After arriving in Utah and staying in a hotel very close the Rainbow Bridge National Monument, we got a good night's sleep and had a big breakfast that morning. Then we drove the rest of the way to the bridge. It was 7:00 a.m. by then, and our boat was scheduled to leave at 7:30. Far too early, in my opinion.

"Let's see..." Tom says, reading through a short bulletin that was handed to us, describing the tour. "The tour will be about six hours in total... An hour and a half of that will be walking to the bridge and exploring it. The walk is only one and a fourth miles. It also says to bring our own lunch, which we have done."

"Yeah, thanks to me," I tease, smiling. We had arrived at our hotel last night (completely exhausted, may I add) before Tom checked their website, and found out we needed food. So, at eight thirty p.m, I drove Tom's rental car to a nearby grocery store (while he napped) and bought some supplies to make PB&J's. Because of all the junk food we had bought earlier that day, we bought nothing worthy for a good lunch.

"Thank you for that, Cass," he says, sending a smile in my direction. Then we start to head to our boat. By the time we pay our fee and get everything sorted out, it will probably be close to seven thirty.

The tour was 125$ per person. I'm not really thrilled about the price, but Tom seems really excited about this. So while I hand over my precious money, board a wobbly boat with fifteen other people, and listen to at least a twenty minute introduction before we actually start to move, I keep a friendly smile on my face for Tom's sake.

"I grew up in a city," Tom explains to me as soon as the boat actually starts to move. "That's why I enjoy things like this so much. Hiking, camping, biking... You name it."

"That does make sense," I say. "I grew up in the country. A farm, actually. So cities are very interesting to me. And scary."

He chuckles. "I can see how they would seem scary. But wow. A farm. Did you have many animals?"

"Oh, yeah. Cows, chickens, cats, and one dog," I reply, smiling lightly. "We even had a creek running through our property."

"That's incredible," Tom remarks. "I almost wish I had grown up on a farm." He's silent for a moment. Then he smiles. A faint smile, like the way you smile when you're thinking of old memories, and how much you miss them. Or an old dream you had. An ambition that never fully formed. "You know, this whole acting thing... I didn't think I'd ever be big. I even had a little back up plan. A plan I still consider every now and then."

"And what would that be?" I ask softly.

"I could totally just throw my career away and be a cowboy."

I raise an eyebrow in his direction. He's kidding right. A cowboy? Does he realize how cliche and out-of-date that sounds? A cowboy is the dream job of a five year old boy, not a man.

He lets out a small laugh. "I know how ridiculous that sounds. But I absolutely love horses. And why not? People do it."

"Well.. Yeah, there are ranchers. Farmers. But the term 'cowboy' isn't used very often, I'm afraid, unless you're watching an old western film," I say, smiling lightly.

He grins lightly. "Then maybe being in an old western film is my best bet, huh?"

"I'd say so."

Since we are now done talking, and ready to just fall into a nice, comfortable silence, I take this time to finally look around. The boat wasn't extremely large, but it was big enough for all seventeen of us. Twenty, if you include the boat crew. No one else was in our personal space, or even close enough to be forced to listen to our conversation, so I'll say I'm happy with the boat size. A bench-like thing went all of the way around the boat on the inside, so it make a nice seat for everyone here while we waited a very long time. So I decide that sitting would be nice since we'll be here two hours there and two hours back. Tom seems to have the same idea at the same time, because we start to sit simultaneously. Then we stare at each-other awkwardly, as if waiting for one or the other to sit first. But neither of us do, so we move at the same time again until we're both seated. We both let out small, nervous chuckles, and awkward glances around to see if anyone noticed. No one seemed to.