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She'd heard a few coworkers talking about the carnival being set up on the outskirts of town and had initially debated the pros and cons of going to check it out. While Jules absolutely loved the holiday season, going to these sorts of things alone was... well, lonely.

With his impeccable timing, Dallas had shown up for one reason or another and Jules had found herself proposing the carnival to her companion, feeling him out on whether or not it would be something he might enjoy going to as well. Or, y'know, at least a reason for her to feel like attending wouldn't leave her miserable and nose-deep in a romance novel hours afterwards.

Surprisingly enough, he'd been up for the idea and that's how she'd found herself sidled beside him a few evenings later, working to keep her arms warm as she stepped in time with the cowboy. Blue eyes were investigating each little shop and booth as they passed, finally falling on the one he was gesturing towards -- no, guiding her towards, at that point.

"You know there's not enough in one of those to get you even buzzed, right?"

Still, her hand was at her side in a few moments, glove-covered fingers working to fish her wallet out from the depths of her medium-sized purse that had somehow become a black hole for random things when she wasn't looking, apparently.

Dallas wasted no time in collecting the freshly poured drink without a second thought and Jules couldn't help but shake her head, amused at his forwardness. He was a surprising change of pace for what she was normally used to - while he had manners (sometimes), he was far more blunt and roguish than any man she'd met to date.

And, well. Date. If they could even call it that.

"Too?" Her eyebrow quirked up as she slipped the vendor a five dollar bill, gesturing for them to put the change into the tip jar that sat, half full, next to the open window. Her next hand motion was to politely decline one for herself - butter rum wasn't her winter drink of choice, the blonde woman preferring a hot mug of cocoa before anything else. "I guess I can play sugar momma today, you've behaved well enough I suppose."

Offering a grin of her own, she nudged the tall man out of the way to allow the next people in line to approach the booth. "And I think you enjoy your alcohol more than the average man but if you're insinuating that I think you're a drunk --- no, I don't."

She managed to rehome her wallet back into her purse just in time for the large man's hand to begin jerking hers forward, swinging them both haphazardly as blue eyes grew wide at the sudden change of motion. Blonde hair swished to the side as her head tilted, Jules staring up at the cowboy with an incredulous expression.

Did he just...

Did Dallas just giggle?

"I....I don't have any preference, myself."

It was hard coming up with an answer when she was too busy trying to figure out the change in character that had come over the typically laid back scoundrel. If he hadn't just received the drink, she might have thought the sugar had already gone to his head --- what in the world had gotten into him?

Hesitantly, she decided to bring up the mood swing, squeezing his hand gently as she asked, "Are you feeling alright, Dallas?"

Reluctantly, she took the cup from him as he offered it, Jules bringing it up to her nose to take a small sniff, suspicious of its contents. It didn't smell alcoholic - if anything, it smelled like an overdose of sugar. Was there something in the drink that was making him behave so oddly? Could a nefarious person have drugged the drink -- or the vendor himself?

Before she had time to do anything else about it though, Dallas was suddenly yanking on her and the startling motion had the remainder of the drink spilling out onto the snow, cup falling to the wayside. There was no time to pick it up before he was dragging her into the waiting line for one of the wilder rides, already apparently making a mental list of all the ones he wanted to ride next.

"Jimmy Wayne, you yank any harder and you're going to pull my arm out of its socket!"

Her chiding lacked the actual fuss behind her fussing, but Jules was getting concerned with his sporadic behavior. "Two rides, mister. I'll agree to two, so you'd better choose them wisely. I'm not spending all day waiting in lines."

His ma'am sounded like a disappointed child's voice coming out of the vocal chords of the dark, handsome cowboy. It was hard for her to keep a stern face with him, especially when he was acting so gosh darn excited about things. He'd eaten plenty of sugar and consumed more than enough alcohol in her presence before without acting like an impish child --- Jules wasn't sure what had gotten into the large man but it didn't seem like it was doing him any harm.

Fingers moved up to first search for his radial pulse, warm fingers keeping steady on his wrist as she felt for his heart rate. A little elevated but she'd accredit a good bit of that to the enthusiasm. The back of her hand moved up to his forehead, which felt... well, as normal as one's forehead would feel in the middle of winter after standing outside.

"Alright. Three. Then you're going to treat me to lunch, mister."

The frown was gone, replaced with a small smile. Jules wasn't much for rides but... every now and then it wasn't so bad to return to a childish moment or two, right?