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anabdaniels · 3 months

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Piece by piece- Chapter 3

Chapter summary: Jack and Ana finally go to his ranch to spend the weekend.

Word counting: 5.6k

Warnings: Alcohol, slight self-fat-shaming, Jack speaks Spanish (sensible topic I KNOW), the author regrets nothing.

A/N: 11:30 p.m., it's my birthday and I'm posting this while eating japonese food. Just another normal day.

Series Masterlist | Main Masterlist | Previous chapter | Playlist

Jack Daniels smiling openly on a Monday morning was undoubtedly not a common event at Statesman Distillery; he was not the kind of boss who treated his staff as if he was better than them, far from it, but the most probable mood one could find him was being solemn. From everyone surprised by the sight of the smiling cowboy, Ginger for sure was the more shocked one when Jack entered her lab, friendlier than ever.

“Good morning, Elizabeth.” He greeted her with an almost concerning wide smile.

“Did you hit your head on your way here?” She asked raising an eyebrow.

“Why is so strange that I’m happy in this beautiful morning?” Jack questioned laying his hands on his hips.

“Because you’re usually insufferable on Monday mornings, and on Tuesday mornings, and the rest of the mornings on the week.” Ginger had a straight expression on her face while answering; she was telling the truth after all.

“You might be right, but I suppose it’s never too late to change.” Disturbingly to her, he still sympathetically smiling.

“If you say.” She shrugged “Anyway, what do you want?”

“Just came to know if the samples of bourbon from our new fermentation process are ready for the presentation tomorrow.”

“They are.” Ginger confirmed while grabbing two small bottles, and handing them to him “These were left over, in case you want to take ’em to Champ to have a look.”

“You’re the best, Ginger Ale.” Jack answered excitedly, grabbing the bottles “What would we do without you?” He said and started to walk towards the automatic door that was opened while Tequila entered the lab “Good morning, Michael. Ain’t it an amazing morning?” Jack patted Tequila on the back while passing by his friend and walked through the hallway.

“Did you drug him?” Tequila asked with a frown, looking at Ginger.

“Trust me, nothing that I could ever develop for the agency or the distillery would make such an effect.” Ginger said with a slightly confused expression.

“Doesn’t make me any more relieved.” Tequila said shaking his head.

Ana sat again at her desk, letting the mug of coffee, the second in that morning, on the wooden surface while turning her attention back to her computer. She loved her job, but some parts of it could drain her energy, and registering test grades was one of those parts. Despite these little inconveniences, she hadn’t much to complain about; she worked just three days a week and it was for the pure joy of teaching, Ana could have dedicated herself only to her hobbies a few years ago, but she was too passionate by her profession to retire so early.

She couldn’t say how much time had passed when the sound of the doorbell interrupted her. Ana stood up and walked to the front door, positively surprised to see Lisa on the other side.

“I’m sorry for not warning you that I was coming.” Was the first thing Lisa said, knowing that her friend wasn’t a huge fan of surprise visits.

“Don’t worry; you’re among the persons I can forgive for showing up in surprise.” Ana smiled and gave way for her to enter “I’m just surprised you’re not at the zoo.” Ana said while closing the door.

“I’m on my lunch break and probably will get late, but is a life-or-death question and I’d not survive ‘till the end of my shift to come talk to you.” When Lisa mentioned the lunch, Ana looked at her watch, just now realizing that was later than she imagined.

“Well, I’m curious. What can be so urgent?”

“Is there any chance I left that ring that my father gave me here when I came to pick you up on Friday?” When she finished the question, Lisa saw Ana lay a hand on her forehead and it gave her a little hope.

“You did. I found it at the bathroom sink.” Ana said while opening the drawer of the sideboard, grabbing the jewelry, and handing it to Lisa “I was planning to text you yesterday, but I got a little distracted.”

“Thank you for saving my life.” Lisa said putting the ring on her finger “But you’re gonna tell me that now you work on Sundays too?”

“I never said I got distracted with work.” Ana raised her eyebrows with a suggestive expression. Lisa thought for a moment, realizing what Ana meant.

“You were with Jack?” Took Lisa a bit of effort to not freak out when Ana nodded “The good Lady above heard my prayers. I thought I’d die before seeing you saving a couple of horses.”

“I hate you sometimes and I hope you’re aware of that.” Ana rolled her eyes despite her discreet smile “Before you proceed, it wasn’t this kind of date. We just went out for dinner, that’s all.”

“Doesn’t change my euphoria about it.” The excited expression on her face confirmed what she said “So, how was it?”

“Well…” Ana thought for a moment before just letting it all go “It was incredible. He’s an amazing listener, has good taste in music, we agree on a lot of important stuff and he’s an old-school gentleman.”

“So, everything you love in a man.” Lisa wasn’t surprised by their compatibility but was happy with Ana’s excitement.

“And the cherry at the top of the cake was his invitation to spend this next weekend at his ranch with a suite all to myself and a lot of animals to pet.” Ana sounded satisfied while said it.

“I’ll expect a detailed email about this on Monday.” Lisa warned while walking towards the door.

“You’ll be lucky if I send you a text.” Ana raised her eyebrows, opening the door for Lisa.

“As long as I had any clue of how it went, you can send the information in a mail pigeon.”

Throughout the week, Ana and Jack exchanged a considerable number of messages, combining things like what hour they would leave for the ranch. When Friday finally came, Ana made sure one last time that everything was in place and that she wasn’t forgetting to pack anything.

She combined with Jack that they’d leave at 2 pm, aware of his punctuality, she was already waiting in the living room. When, through the window, she saw the Bronco parking in front of her house, Ana got up and opened the door. The realization that it would be an intense weekend hit her like a truck when she saw him getting out of the car and walking towards her in that all-jeans look; the combo of the black Stetson with aviator sunglasses itself should be considered criminal for making him look that good, but Jack for sure knew what he was doing when he chose to wear a denim jacket with those goddamn tight jeans pants that he seemed to love to use.

Jack was considerably close to her when he took off his sunglasses and left them hanging on his shirt. The politest he was, he couldn’t help but take a look at her; the well-thought-out choice of boots, jeans, and a leather jacket confirmed that Ana was truly familiar with the rural environment. He took off his hat when stood in front of her, smiling openly.

“Good afternoon, darlin’.” He sounded gallant as always.

“Good afternoon, handsome” Ana allowed herself to look better at Jack now that he was close “Seems that I finally got you in the full cowboy mode.”

“I could say the same ‘bout you.” He answered with a smirk, holding one of her hands and planting a kiss on the back of her fingers “So, ready to go?” He asked while slowly letting go of her hand.

“Yes, just give me a second.” She said with an excited smile and went back into the house, grabbing her travel bag and looking around one last time to make sure she didn’t forget anything. Ana walked back to the door and left the bag on the wooden floor of the porch to grab something in the sideboard that Jack couldn’t see what it was while he promptly grabbed her bag. He was for sure confused when she got out and closed the door with one hand, while in the other she was carrying a thermos with a pump and something that looked like a wooden cup that wasn’t familiar to him. They walked to the Bronco, as usual, he opened the door for her and closed it after she got in, he carefully placed her bag on the back of the car and walked around, getting in too. After putting his hat and sunglasses back, Jack started to drive, alternating his attention between the street and Ana, deadly curious about that wooden object that had a kind of metal straw on it and was filled with something that looked like matcha powder.

“What is this?” The curiosity won and he had to ask.

“It’s called mate or chimarrão.” Ana answered after taking a sip of the drink “Traditional drink from southern Brazil.”

“What is it made of?”

“Just hot water and erva-mate or Ilex Paraguaiensis, if you’re into botanic. And just this was enough to make me addicted to it.”

“So, is a kind of infusion; how in god’s green earth did you get addicted to it?” Jack questioned with a confused smile.

“Well, there is a considerable concentration of caffeine on this, so I think you already have your answer.” She raised her eyebrows slightly, smiling when he chuckled.

“Now you made me curious about this. Can I try it?”

“Course, just don’t blame me if you end up enjoying it and then find out how expensive is one kilogram of erva-mate in this country.” She joked while putting water on the drink, then carefully handed it to him.

“I’ll take the risk.” Jack answered while grabbing the “cup”, taking a first sip and pondering for a moment “It reminds me a little bit of green tea, but tastes better actually.” He said before taking another taste of the mate “By the way, I’d like some explanations ‘bout this cup.”

“It’s a cuia, basically a dried calabash gourd.”

“I’ll already apologize if end up asking too many questions because I’m really curious about the mate and is pleasing to hear you mixing English and Portuguese while you speak.” He admitted raising his eyebrows and took another sip of the drink.

“Considering that you didn’t give up after the first taste of it, I’ll probably keep talking ‘til you get too caught by the subject to be brought to the mate side.” Despite the joking tone, Ana was a bit serious.

“To be honest, I enjoyed this more than I was expecting.” Jack drank the last sip of the mate then handed the cuia back to her “May the erva-mate be with you.” He smiled when she busted into laughter, laying her head on her hand.

“For a second I thought you wouldn’t get my shitty joke.” Ana admitted when she stopped laughing.

“Don’t underestimate my ability to recognize questionable humor. I saw this one coming with no effort, darlin’.” Jack stated with that smug manner that would be insufferable coming from most people, but that man for sure knew the limit to being like that in a fun way, without becoming gross.

The next hour passed like nothing while they talked about some random topics and cracked a few more dubious jokes. When the car entered the propriety and the ranch became more visible, Jack could see Ana’s face shining with excitement while she looked around, not wanting to miss anything. Once he parked in front of the house and they got out of the car, both of them could hear the crazy barking of the dogs and it didn’t take long till the animals appeared.

“Here come the kids.” Jack said while observing the two dogs running towards them like there was no tomorrow.

“Will be harder than I was expecting not to kidnap them.” Ana admitted already melted by the dogs. As expected, they started to insanely smell Jack while shaking their tails furiously and whimpering. Jack stooped, doing the best he could to give both dogs the attention and rubs they wanted. After a while, they calmed down a little bit, but it was just for a few seconds before they turned their attention to Ana, sniffing her and giving those excited little jumps to catch her attention. She didn’t think twice before squatting to caress them; not surprisingly she ended up falling sitting on the ground when both dogs tried to get closer to her at the same time. At that point, she believed she could collapse with the cuteness of the Australian Cattle and the Bernese Mountain dog that, at this point, were too comfortable asking for belly rubs or head scratches.

“I hope you know that they’ll pursue you.” Jack said observing the scene with a smile.

“And I’ll be delighted with it.” Ana mentioned with a smile while hugging the Bernese seated next to her and felt the dog’s nose bump her neck when she stopped caressing his head “Calm down, baby. I didn’t forget you.” She said caressing one of the dog’s ears and grabbing the small silver plate on his collar “Your name is Gus, little one.” Gus seemed more than happy to hear her calling him by his name, shaking his tail vigorously. The other dog, who was comfortable sat on her lap, laid one paw on Ana’s shoulder, wanting attention too “Okay, okay, I’ll give you some love too.” Ana smiled while rubbing the dog’s neck, paying attention to the plate on her collar “And this beautiful girl is Lola.” A lick on her chin and a happy shaking tail were the answers she got from Lola.

The few times someone visited the ranch, Jack may have gotten a little bit jealous when his dogs turned their attention to them, but this time, he couldn’t be happier. Watch Ana sit on the grass playing with Lola and Gus melted parts of his heart that he didn’t even know were still alive; he was fully aware that he was possibly starting to have a huge crush on her and the fact that she was so pleased and excited just for being there and give the dogs a couple of belly rubs didn’t make things easier for Jack to stop the growing feeling.

A few minutes later, the two dogs finally calmed down and lay on the ground next to Ana.

“Am I finally allowed to leave you guys and go to see the rest of the ranch?” She asked looking at them, smiling at how calm they were after a lot of little jumps “I’ll take this as a yes.”

“Trust me, they’ll be freaking out again very soon.” Jack said holding out a hand to her.

“Can’t say I don’t like to know this.” Ana admitted, holding his hand and getting up, patting her jeans with her free hand to take off the dust.

“Nothing that I haven’t noticed already.” He smiled, intertwining their fingers as they started to walk. As they got closer to the wood fence, they saw a horse running excitedly, stopping when he went to the fence, walking back and forth while shaking his head.

“Seems that our boy Horace is excited.” Ana said at the moment she recognized the Clydesdale horse, he was all black, except for the white stockings in the four paws and the white blaze on his face.

“I owe him a couple of rides, to be honest, and his energy seems to be always at the highest level possible. I’m surprised he didn’t jump the fence.” Jack mentioned as they got closer to where the horse was. When they got close, Horace already had passed his head over the fence “Put yourself together, boy.” Jack said while caressing Horace’s head making the horse finally calm down.

“I wonder if he’ll forgive me for being the reason why you were in the city last weekend.” Ana joked while observing the scene.

“Give him a carrot and a little bit of attention and he becomes your best friend.”

“Will be easier than I was expecting then.” She said while slowly approaching her hand to the horse; Horace turned his head to her when noticed the approaching and stood still as she touched him and rubbed his neck, making Horace lean slightly towards her hand “I’m starting to doubt about how much what I’ve heard about your behavior was true, Horace.”

“He’s just a good actor.” Jack said with a wide smile, observing their interaction.

“We’ll see about it.” Ana raised her eyebrows slightly, turning her head when she heard another horse approaching them “If I’m not mistaken, you’re Crystal.” She said while approaching the white quarter horse mare, rubbing behind her ear.

“By the way, she’ll be your horse for the weekend.” Jack smiled a little more when Ana turned her look to him with an excited expression “And judging by your amusement, I imagine that you’ll not be offended if we go to a ride now and leave the rest of the tour for tomorrow.”

“You didn’t mention that mindreading was one of your skills.” She said with narrowed eyes and a sideways smile.

“I’m a man of many talents, sweetheart.” He winked at her with a smirk.

They took the horses to the stable; it was safe to say that Horace was already bonded with Ana since he didn’t miss a chance to lay his head on her shoulder while they were waiting for Jack to saddle Crystal. Jack couldn’t be more pleased with all that: his beloved horse becoming friends with the woman who had a high chance of becoming the lady of the house. Fine, now he was starting to think too far, but, at the same time, Jack allowed himself to be a little bit self-indulgent, it had been a while since the last time he enjoyed feminine company in these circumstances; and the fact that she enjoyed those things as much as him just made Jack more pleased. Once both of the horses were saddled, they went outside the stable; despite being too excited, Horace behaved like a gentleman while Jack talked with Ana.

“So, how much do you remember about horse riding?” Jack asked already imagining the answer.

“Well, I remember the very basic, like tapping the horse’s side gently with the heel to make him move, moving the reins across his neck to make him turn to the sides and pull back the rein to make him stop.” She said after thinking for a moment, feeling a little relief when he smiled.

“You know the essential then.” He couldn’t hide his excitement “And tomorrow I’ll teach you how to saddle a horse.”

“I don’t know if it’s safe for Crystal to let me saddle her.” Ana joked with a smile.

“Is easier than it seems.” He assured “So, couple of additional reminders: never approach ‘em from behind. Crystal and Horace are the most peaceful animals in this world, but it may scare them and they can try to kick you. Giving them a snack, always keep your palm flat ‘cause they can confuse your fingers with food and bite you.” Jack explained with a calm voice and the certainty of one who knows what he was talking about; it for sure demanded Ana a bit more attention to register the information, once he looked more gorgeous than ever while spoked with such propriety of the subject. “Another thing. Do you want to try to mount by yourself or want a hand?”

“Well…” Ana knew that she didn’t have practice enough to mount without help. She looked around for a moment and found her solution “I’ll try my luck.” Intrigued, Jack observed while she calmly made Crystal take a few steps to stop next to a tree stump and then used it as her mounting block, getting mounted without any problem.

“You really have been raised in the country.” Jack said with a smirk and mounted on Horace.

They started the ride at a slow pace and it was more than enough to make Ana look like a child with a new toy; Jack couldn’t take his eyes off her and occasionally gave her one or other advice, especially about the right posture and hand placement. When he noticed that Ana had gained confidence, Jack encouraged her to make Crystal go from walking to canter and, as he expected, she didn’t flinch before did it, smiling openly when Crystal started the canter.

“I don’t wanna be too abused, but we’ll have to negotiate another visit.” Ana said while looking at Jack with a wide smile.

“Darlin’, you’re welcome to come back anytime you want.” Jack answered in a warm tone, smiling at her.

“If I end up stealing your dogs, don’t blame me.” She joked and looked around “Tell me that you didn’t forget to tell me that you have sheep.” Ana said while looking at the little group of animals a little further away.

“Will you forgive me if I tell you that I also forgot to mention that there are a couple of babies?” He asked raising an eyebrow.

“If I can pet them, I forgive you.”

“Problem solved, then.” When the horses got closer to the field section where the sheep were, they got off the horses and approached the fence. As he was accustomed to do, Jack jumped the fence and when he was about to turn to offer help to Ana, she was already by his side. “I never doubted your country skills, but I can’t deny that I’m having a couple of positive surprises.”

“Don’t expect me to know the difference between an Île-de-France and a Merino sheep, but I have a bit of expertise when it comes to surviving in the country.” Ana looked down when something nudged her leg.

“Have the pleasure to become familiar with an Île-de-France then.” Jack said referring to the sheep standing in front of Ana smelling her.

“Don’t give me so much incentive if you don’t want to stay here for the next three hours.” She said while starting to scratch the sheep’s head. A couple of minutes later, a little lamb appeared and was happy to be rubbed on his face, shaking his little tail very much like a dog would do. Ana couldn’t be more pleased with the whole thing; as if all the adorable and friendly animals weren’t enough to amaze her, the fact that Jack had so much way with animals and seemed so satisfied to be among them just made everything more pleasing. After she had met the rest of the sheep and petted all of them, they finally went back to the horses and only then Ana realized that she had a problem to solve. “I should’ve brought a tree stump with me.” She let out a chuckle despite the little despair growing in the pit of her stomach.

“Don’t worry, assistance to mount is between one of my skills.” Jack said with that convinced smile, standing next to her.

“I don’t doubt.” She was still smiling discreetly despite feeling her heart starting to beat a little faster, hoping he didn’t notice how nervous she was starting to get “But is not a good idea.”

“Why not?” He asked raising one eyebrow with a curious smile.

“C’mon, don’t pretend I’m the only one aware that I’m too heavy for this kinda thing.” Ana laughed quietly, expecting him to join her “joke”, but instead he seemed to be just pondering everything while running his tongue across his lips.

“I’ll vehemently disagree and, after all my nursing services the night we meet, I have the propriety to talk ‘bout it.” Jack said calmly with a soft smile.

“I know but-” Her consideration was interrupted when Jack passed one arm around her waist and the other behind her knees, taking her off the ground with no effort. “Jack!” she couldn’t hold back a laugh and passed her arms around his neck.

“I can go as far as necessary to prove my points.” He said with that cocky smile that suited him so well.

“Fine, I don’t think I can argue with that.” Ana couldn’t help but look at his mouth for a second, just now realizing how close they were, a fact that Jack had already noticed and was doing his best to deal with; if it was true that existed a god above, he knew how much Jack wanted to kiss her, the feeling of having her in his arms and her perfume invading his sense of smell didn’t make things any easier, but he wouldn’t risk screwing it all.

“Very good, ‘cause I don’t lose an argumentation.” Jack finished the sentence with a wink and carefully put her back on the ground “Now, we’re gonna put you on Crystal’s back.”

“I hope you know that I don’t have much practice on this part of the mounting.” Ana admitted frowning slightly.

“Don’t worry, there’s no mystery.” He assured calmly, standing next to her “Just bend your leg.” He said patting her left knee, she did as he said and held the saddle with more strength as she felt his hands on her knee and ankle. “Now you just bounce up and I’ll lift you.”

“If both of us end up in the ground, I will blame you.” She said while holding the reins properly.

“I can deal with that.” Jack answered with a smile before helping her mount, smiling a little more when she got easily mounted.

“Well, I think I’ll owe you this one.” Ana said, observing Jack mount on Horace.

“Don’t worry, I’ll think carefully ‘bout how I’ll charge you.” He joked before they started to ride again.

When they went back to the ranch the sun was already going down, after taking the horses to the stable, they went to the house. Jack guided Ana upstairs to her bedroom and, after being sure she would be comfortable, he went to take a shower. Finally, alone, Ana took a better look at the ambiance and hadn’t any doubt that she had been accommodated in the master bedroom of the house. At this point was clear to her that, although the rural man spirit, Jack appreciated the fancy side of life; that ranch was for sure more sophisticated than a lot of city houses without losing the country aesthetic; the varnished and well-maintained wooden floor carefully combined with the wooden furniture was on perfect balance with the whole rustic chic décor of the room such as in the rest of the house.

She for sure would look to the details with more attention, but not now, despite being interested in it, Ana was more excited to spend more time with him. She couldn’t help but think that wanting to be around Jack that much could be a treacherous feeling, however, it wasn’t like both of them didn’t know why they were seeing each other; he left no doubts about being interested in her and she didn’t try to disguise that the interest was mutual. Before getting too carried away with her thoughts, Ana walked to the bathroom to take a shower.

With the sleeves of his plaid shirt rolled up, Jack organized everything he’d need to cook the dinner. Hearing the sound of her coming downstairs, he smiled without even noticing and looked up when Ana entered the kitchen, feeling the genuine happiness that had accompanied him all day went back with full force at the sight of her looking so beautiful in that long floral dress.

“So, my amazing host will also make the dinner? I’m getting too spoiled.” She joked, approaching the kitchen island.

“I want to be sure that you’ll want to come back.” He answered with a smirk while opening a bottle of wine.

“I’m already convinced to come back, but go ahead.” Ana admitted and sat on one of the stools.

“This being the case, we’re at the point where I try to impress you with my domestic abilities.” Jack finished the sentence handing a glass of wine to her.

“The kind of skill I appreciate in a man, especially cooking ‘cause I’ll run away from the kitchen every chance I get.” She admitted before taking the first sip of wine.

“You’re in lucky then, ‘cause my only problem with cooking is the whole pantry-organizing thing.” He said while putting a large skillet on the stove and placing two steaks on it.

“No problem then, because I love to do this kind of organization.” Ana didn’t notice the excitement in her words with the fact that they would work well together on that, even if it was a simple thing, could turn into a problem in daily living.

“I don’t wanna sound hurried, but I’m already imagining how amazing it must be living with you.” Jack admitted with a goofy smile while grabbing a pan with cooked pasta to drain it.

“We’re tied then because the idea of not having to ever touch a pan again sounds like heaven to me.” She said raising her eyebrows slightly and both of them laughed.

They kept talking while he prepared the food and she got herself too amazed by how effortlessly he managed to speak so eloquently while slicing the cooked steaks or how he kept his full attention on her, even while making the alfredo sauce. When the sliced steaks, the sauce, and the fettuccine were put together, she was surer than ever that Jack was putting effort into impressing her and it was working.

As the gentleman he was, Jack grabbed her by the hand while leading her to the table and pulling out the chair for her to sit. After serving the food for her and refilling her glass of wine, he sat next to her, unable not to smile when Ana didn’t flinch before grabbing the fork and trying the food; took him a second to notice that he felt relieved when she let out a satisfied sigh after close her eyes to savor the food.

“I’m ready to negotiate a deep pantry organization since you just dropped one of the best meals I've eaten in my entire life.” Ana said softly with a tender smile.

“I’ll accept the offer.” He answered after taking a sip of his wine “But in the present circumstances, I’m more in need of information.”

“Fair enough.” She agreed before eating another bite “What do you wanna know?” Ana questioned once she swallowed the food.

“You piqued my curiosity ‘bout your country origins after seeming so at home here.” Jack kept his attention turned to her while he started to eat, more curious than ever for her answer.

“My hometown is the kind of place where you’ll occasionally see horses walking around the streets and tractors are as common as cars, not to mention that most of my relatives worked in the livestock business or rice cultivation, I had no way to escape the rural environment.”

“Now it’s making a lot more sense.” He admitted with a fascinated expression “But I’d like a bit more of geographic clarification.”

“Is a rural town called Quaraí, located at the frontier with Uruguay, in fact, the only thing that separates the two countries there is a bridge that you cross in a ten-minute walk.” She explained calmly and took a sip of wine.

“No me digas que hablas español también.” Ana had to inhale slowly so as not to choke on the wine at the very moment he said the first word in Spanish. Somehow his voice sounded even more deep and pleasant.

“No es el idioma que más domino, sin duda, pero sí.” She answered calmly as if she wasn’t in a mental debate to figure out if the heat running over her body was caused by the wine or by the satisfied smile of the man in front of her.

“Just when I thought you couldn’t surprise me anymore.” Jack smiled a little more, holding her hand that was lying on the table.

“I think I have the right to come up with some surprises, considering that I didn’t expect you to be like this.” Ana admitted while intertwining their fingers.

“Like this?” he raised one eyebrow, squinting his eyes slightly.

“You know, even if it may have been rash of me, I wasn’t with the highest hopes about a southern cowboy.” She couldn’t help but laugh quietly “I hate to be the half-full-glass person, but my expectations are really good about this.”

“If it makes you feel better ‘bout it, my expectations are in the sky at this point.” Jack admitted with a smirk “You see, I really hope that this can turn into something serious.”

“Both of us.” She smiled widely “I’m enjoying your company a lot.”

They spent the next couple of hours talking and laughing, getting more enthusiastic as the wine in the bottle dwindled. When they decided to go to bed, they walked upstairs side to side, while talking a little more.

“I didn’t forget that you still owe me a visit to the calves.” Ana said while opening the bedroom door.

“Don’t worry, I’ll take you to see them tomorrow.” He affirmed with his arms crossed.

“You better do it if you don’t want me to steal the good boy Gus.” She raised her eyebrows.

“As if you’d need to make an effort to steal him.” He said with a charming smile and grabbed one of her hands “Have a good night, Ana.” Jack kept his look locked on her eyes while kissing the back of her hand.

“Good night, Jack.” She said with a sideways smile “And thank you for the hospitality.”

“The least I can do having the most amazing guest on my propriety.” He winked at her and kissed her hand once again before letting it go.

Tagging: @missladym1981 (In case you want to be tagged, lemme know)

#agent whiskey #agent whiskey fic #agent whiskey x reader #agent whiskey x you #agent whiskey fanfiction #pedro pascal #pedro pascal characters #jack daniels #jack whiskey daniels #Kingsman: the golden circle #pedrostories

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headlinerportugal · 11 months

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Festa D'Anos do Oub'Lá: alegria no coração e danos nos pés | Reportagem

O Oub'Lá é um simpático e acolhedor bar em pleno centro histórico de Guimarães no qual têm acontecido concertos e DJ Sets desde 2018. Foi nesse ano que iniciei uma relação de proximidade com o Oub'Lá e a ser visita frequente do bar, não somente em alturas de eventos.

Em 2019 aconteceu a primeira festa de aniversário com as bandas Cosmic Mass, Indignu e os britânicos Italia 90. A reportagem dessa noite pode ser lida aqui. No mesmo ano realizaram outro evento no qual receberam os Solar Corona e os japoneses Minami Deutsch. A reportagem deste evento pode ser lida aqui. Estes eventos aconteceram no São Mamede CAE e CAAA, respetivamente. Locais na cidade com capacidade para receber um número bem maior do que aquele que o bar permite. Esses são dois bons exemplos de eventos de sucesso na diferenciação da oferta cultural da cidade de Guimarães.

Vi também no próprio bar concertos de bandas bem interessantes com foram os casos dos dinamarqueses Mythic Sunship (reportagem aqui), dos espanhóis FAVX (reportagem aqui) ou dos portugueses Jesus The Snake (reportagem aqui).

O Oub'Lá na noite do aniversário // © Mariana Silva - @marianasilvax Tudo isto para chegar à conclusão de que que as propostas do Oub'Lá são aliciantes e bem animadas. Especialmente quando são as suas festas do seu aniversário. A pandemia não deixou celebrar em 2020 e 2021 e quebrou um pouco a onda em crescendo, é certo. Este quinto aniversário, neste último passado sábado dia 13 de maio, veio demonstrar um pequeno milagre. Efetivamente foi o regresso aos bons momentos e a uma felicidade reencontrada por entre amigos e gente que é frequentadora assídua do bar. Nota-se perfeitamente que é mais do apenas um estabelecimento, é também um local de (re) encontro de amigos e onde se vive um espírito familiar.

Vou agora focar-me na vivência das celebrações do 5º aniversário do Oub'Lá. Antes da noite/madrugada no São Mamede CAE houve abertura da programação no final da tarde com um concerto dos lisboetas Grand Sun no Ramada 1930. Este espaço é do tipo Friends, Food & Drinks e recebe eventos musicais com alguma frequência. Dado que possui uma ampla esplanada, parte dela coberta permite a realização de eventos diversos.

Grand Sun no Ramada durante a tarde // © Mariana Silva - @marianasilvax António Reis (voz e teclas), João Simões (voz e guitarra), João Ribeiro (baixo) e Miguel Gomes (bateria) formam os Grand Sun e chegaram a Guimarães ainda com memórias bem frescas de uma recente passagem que o quarteto fez por Nova Iorque. Naquela cidade norte-americana tocaram no The New Colossus Festival, por duas vezes em dias distintos.

O início da sua atuação foi bastante retardada. Inicialmente prevista para as 19:30h só aconteceu uns minutos depois das 20h. Tal fez com que algumas pessoas abandonassem o Ramada 1930 ainda antes do começo. Outras foram saindo durante a atuação. O “prato forte” era a programação da noite pelo que essas pessoas optaram por sair para ter um repasto com tranquilidade num local mais da sua preferência.

António e João dos Grand Sun em destaque // © Mariana Silva - @marianasilvax Efetivamente, perante essa situação menos simpática, a adesão acabou por ficar aquém da minha expetativa. Para quem tinha bilhete do evento tinha acesso livre, quem queria só assistir aos Grand Sun havia a opção de ingresso a 2€.

O palco estava encostado num canto junto à parede, numa zona coberta da esplanada. Pela primeira vez vi um concerto naquele espaço com aquela configuração, inicialmente pareceu-me uma situação algo esquisita.

A banda pediu para o pessoal presente se juntar a eles, existia um espaço em frente ao palco para quem quisesse assistir em pé. As pessoas optaram por ficar nos seus lugares, a beberem o seu drink de final de tarde ou a jantarem, devidamente sentados. Mesas bem compostas diga-se.

Já mais acostumado às condições, foi tempo para escutar o som dos Grand Sun. Eles começaram com “Ground Floor” e na setlist constaram também, por exemplo “Flowers” e Once Again”. Aproveitaram sobretudo para tocar algumas das “malhas” mais porreiras de ‘Sal Y Amore’, o álbum de estreia, falo de "Veera", "Feeling Tired", "Palo Santo" e "Circles" (a última interpretada).

Grand Sun no Ramada durante a tarde // © Mariana Silva - @marianasilvax “Conceptualize” é o single mais recente, lançado em março deste ano, foi tocado e na sua apresentação foi dedicado às mães. O tema antecipa a edição do novo trabalho discográfico, previsto para que aconteça ainda em 2023. Foi um concerto agradável com cerca de 50 minutos. O estilo descontraído da banda e o som com melodias contagiantes merecia um ambiente mais vibrante, com mais gente a assistir.

A noite no São Mamede começou a animar por volta da meia-noite, a 15 minutos do início previsto para a programação principal. Com portas abertas a sala foi, lentamente, ganhando vida. Tal fez atrasar o começo da parte noturna. Marante só entrou às 0:36h e o público imediatamente juntou-se em frente ao palco.

Aos 74 anos, o artista reapareceu nos últimos meses no contexto nacional com um enorme hype junto das gerações mais novas. Gerações que não renegam a música ligeira portuguesa e que até procuram descobrir discografias menos recentes. É algo até bastante surpreendente e igualmente curioso. Marante tem deliciado, em diversos eventos, audiências bem jovens e a noite da Festa D'Anos do Oub'Lá não foi exceção conforme presenciei. Quase do tipo “fenómeno do Entroncamento”…

A atuação de Marante foi bem animada // © Mariana Silva - @marianasilvax A carreira de Marante está, invariavelmente, ligada aos Diapasão. Esta banda foi um enorme sucesso nas décadas de 80 e 90. A sua atuação dividiu-se entre temas da sua discografia a solo e com a banda.

Atuou a solo, sem banda, fez o uso do seu inconfundível timbre e a plateia do São Mamede virou salão de baile e assim foi durante a hora de duração da performance. O ambiente de festa ficou garantido depois da interpretação de "Final de Semana" na parte inicial. Pouco depois com “A Bela Portuguesa", o super êxito que ganhou vida ao serviço dos Diapasão, contagiou toda a gente presente. Foi o momento áureo da noite e que foi repetido antes de abandonar o palco de vez.

Marante a fazer a delicias do público // © Mariana Silva - @marianasilvax Entre canções que lançou a solo ou que fazem parte dos Diapasão como por exemplo: “Será Que Pensa Em Mim”, “Madalena, Meu Amor” ou “Garçon” a noite estava ganha e as hostes animadas. Com alegria no coração e danos nos pés (cansados de tanto dançar e rodopiar) as pessoas sentiam-se felizes e soltas.

A noite prosseguiu com os Fogo Fogo já depois das 2h da madrugada. Francisco Rebelo (baixo), João Gomes (teclas), Edu Mundo (bateria), Danilo Lopes (voz/guitarra)e David Pessoa (voz/guitarra) regressaram a Guimarães depois da participação no festival L’Agosto em 2018. O sabor e o ritmo do afro e do funaná desta vez passou em sala fechada e pelo São Mamede.

Palco bem colorido durante a atuação dos Fogo Fogo // © Mariana Silva - @marianasilvax A plateia esteve, tal como em Marante, bem preenchida. A espaços ia estando um pouco menos de gente devido a pausas para fumar ou para relaxar um pouco em locais mais recatados.

A animação foi contínua com o funaná dos Fogo Fogo em ritmo bem acelerado. Desta vez na bagagem veio repertório mais recheado nomeadamente devido ao álbum mais recente ‘Fladu Fla’ editado em 2021. Deste álbum foram interpretados temas como “Ronca Baxon”, “Ca Ta Da”, Ka Bu Frontan” ou “Fladu Fla”. A performance seguia forte e em crescendo, teve um pico de emoção na interpretação de “É Si Propi” no qual o público foi convidado a subir ao palco. O público correspondeu em pleno e foi mesmo um dos momentos mais incríveis da noite.

Público em palco durante a atuação dos Fogo Fogo // © Mariana Silva - @marianasilvax No regresso para final de festa no encore tocaram “Sentimento”. David Pessoa não se fez rogado e veio para a plateia puxar pelo pessoal. Foi um fecho de atuação bonito após uma performance bem conseguida.

A noite terminou com DJ set por Bruna Campos conhecida artisticamente por Bruma.

A noite foi um sucesso na qual o Oub’Lá teve as merecidas reverências. Para finalizar resta dar os parabéns ao Oub’Lá e ao seu staff pela audácia e pela insistente persistência em querer e fazer programação cultural diferenciada. Parabéns pelo vosso 5º aniversário! Agradecimentos finais ao Oub'Lá, em particular ao Diogo Coelho, e à Mariana Silva pela cedência das fotos. Mais detalhes sobre esta noite podem ser visualizados nas redes sociais do Oub'Lá em @oubla_bar.

Público durante a atuação de Marante // © Mariana Silva - @marianasilvax Texto: Edgar Silva Fotografia: © Mariana Silva - @marianasilvax // Fotos oficiais Oub'Lá

#coberturadefestivais #oubla #sãomamedecae #ramada1930 #marante #hauseplants #fogofogo

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