An Invitation Who: Chris and Tayne Where: Sunny's Diner When: Early afternoon
He had a few days until Saturday's barbecue, but Chris didn't want to leave it until the last minute to invite someone - and that someone was currently Tayne. The young man had been through a lot. Through his vision, Chris had actually seen part of it before it happened. He figured someone else doing the cooking for a change and a little socializing wouldn't hurt.
He arrived at the diner after the lunch rush and perched on one of the chairs near the counter, waiting for Tayne to finish with a customer.
Tayne was actually back in the kitchen again, in the wake of Jessalyn leaving and the real counter-worker coming back to her post. There wasn't a ton to do, and what there had been to do hadn't taken very long, so he was in the back with his notebook and his senses-protection charm in his pocket, writing down things and trying to sort them out via pencil and paper. He didn't see Chris immediately, and the actual server for the area came over with a smile.
"Hey!" she said. "What can I get for ya today?"
Chris gave her a charming smile in return. He couldn't help it. He'd been raised to be a gentleman. Sometimes, that got him into trouble. Sometimes, it got him out of trouble.
"Y'all could get me a cup of coffee, please? And is Tayne in today?"
"Coffee, comin' right up," the waitress dimpled at him. "And Tayne's back in the kitchen. Want me to get him for ya?"
"That's okay," Tayne said, coming out of the kitchen. "I saw him come in. Hey, Chris." That was a lie, of course; what he's done was hear Chris's voice, and question. There wasn't enough going on in the back to really drown it out.
"Thanks," he said to the waitress. When Tayne arrived, Chris stood. "Hey. How you been?" He knew the young man had a lot on his plate, including his recent status as a were, and he felt badly that he hadn't stopped by before.
"Been a'ight. Life's been interesting." Tayne grinned a bit, and came around to sit at the chair next to Chris's at the counter. He didn't feel any annoyance or upset that the guy hadn't visited before-- just mild surprise and pleasure that he had, now. "But I figure you can guess at some o'that. How 'bout you? How's life?"
He could guess 'some of that', alright. One of the reasons Chris hadn't offered to shake hands was he didn't want another vision. He had no control over them, and though he might not have one, there was always the chance.
And after last time...
"I bet," he replied, checking to see where the waitress was before adding, "Things are okay, I guess. Complicated. Maybe. Got some things to sort out."
"Complicated, maybe, and you have 'things to work out,'" Tayne repeated, amused. He waited while the waitress returned with his coffee, then continued once she drifted off again. "That sounds like something interesting, at least. You gonna spill, or am I stuck being curious?"
Chris sighed and dragged a hand through his hair. He nodded his thanks at the waitress and started to prep his coffee: two creams, one sugar, today.
"Yeah. Well. I've got a few things going on in a ... supernatural vein," he said, his voice low. "And... I met a woman and we've... really hit it off."
He smiled weakly at Tayne. "Nothin' like what you've been through, but... I'm just a little terrified..." He was joking - mostly.
The woman bit made Tayne roll his eyes, but he smiled, too, to show he didn't mean it offensively. "Well, congrats on that, finding a good woman--" Or a good man, in Tayne's case. "--is a lot of trouble, and if you've found one, I wish ya luck. Anyone I know?" He'd bug him about the supernatural stuff in a minute. Provided Chris didn't back off entirely, in which case Tayne backed off, too.
"Thanks. She's really nice and..." Has great legs and - "She's a florist. Know any florists?" Why he didn't just come out and say her name, Chris wasn't sure. He certainly wasn't embarrassed to be associated with her at all. On the contrary, but they hadn't made any official committments. They'd only had two dates.
Maybe she wouldn't want other people to know.
"Well, you know, there are a couple flower shops in the area," Tayne said, amused by the evasion and looking like it, too. "I figure she proooobably works at one of them. If you don't want me askin' questions, just say, I don't wanna pry or nothin'."
Chris sighed, bemused. "Yeah? Who'd have thought people would send so many flowers that you'd need more than one florist? Her name's Erika." A silly smile formed on his lips. "Legs up to there..."
To be perfectly honest, Tayne had never understood that particular saying. Legs up to where? And what was so good about legs? You couldn't hug legs. And wasn't what came between legs the thing most guys wanted most, anyway? He shook his head with a chuckle. "Don't know the name, though I'd prob'ly recognize her face when I saw her. I know most everybody in town's face, if they've lived here a while." After all, he'd grown up here.
"Oh, she has lovely eyes," he said, then caught himself and cleared his throat, slightly embarrassed. "See? I'm in trouble. Anyway. She's hostin' a barbecue on Saturday and we're supposed to bring two things: somethin' for the grill and a guest."
Chris raised one eyebrow. "I'm invitin' you as the guest, not as somethin' for the grill..."
Chris was in trouble, Tayne agreed, there, though from his end it was more funny than really bad. He hadn't caught on to there being any bringing of his own person along until Chris actually said 'inviting', so his was a look of surprise rather than further amused by the joke. "Me? Huh! Was that the actual inviting? Should I be saying yes now?" Now he laughed.
He rolled his eyes and smacked Tayne playfully on the shoulder.
"Yeah, that was the invite, you goof. And yeah, say 'yes' and then I've done my bit. It'll be fun." Chris sipped his coffee - still a little too hot to drink - and added, "I've got you covered for food. You like steak?"
"Love it," Tayne said. "Though I get bitchy at people when it ain't cooked right," he added with a grin that was teasing, though the joke did have an element of truth to it. He tended to be very hard on other people's cooking jobs, as if certain he could've done it better. "I'll keep a leash on my tongue, though, if it's not up to scratch. Where's it at?" He wanted to ask if he was getting picked up, but that always sounded weird coming from a guy, he knew. Unless said guy was hitting on you, and Tayne didn't do that kind of thing.
"I'm sure if you stand there and tell 'em how you want it, they'll deliver. I have no clue who's goin' to run the barbecue itself. Erika is a good cook, so it might be her. I don't like my meat raw, but a burnt offerin' is just as bad." He pulled out one of Erika's business card and passed it to Tayne. "She lives above her shop. It's a bit outside of town, but nor rural, you know? I can give you a lift,if you like."
Tayne took the card, and whistled a bit at the location. "Yeah, I know the Flower Petaller. That's way down Main. I'm on the complete other end of town from that-- down off West Pennington. Maybe I'd better drive myself, just so you don't hafta go too far out of your way or anything."
Chris shrugged. "It's no trouble at all, but you can get there yourself if you like." The Texan tended to bend over backwards to help friends, and giving someone a lift was minor compared to some of the other things he'd done in the past.
There was, of course, an ulterior motive behind the suggestion to just meet there. It was a hell of a long way from Tayne's house, indeed, and if Tayne needed to leave for whatever reason-- Krist, his senses getting the better of him, his temper getting the better of him-- he couldn't just walk home. "I think it's probably a good idea, yeah. Thanks, anyway, man. What time you want me to show up?"
Chris just stared for a moment. "Time?" He laughed."I haven't got a clue. I've probably been told, but I can't think of it to save my sorry life. I'll text you, okay?"
Perhaps he was trying to keep too much in his head right now and it was crowded.
Chuckling, Tayne nodded. "Yeah, that's fine. Gimme a text. Or, hell, a phone call. We can chat again some time when I'm not stuck at work." He glanced up at the wheel of orders and sighed. "Cuz I should probably get back to said work. You want anything in particular, while I'm back there? You can get a special dish right from the lead chef of the shift...."
"Text. Phone. I'll let you know, somewhow. Hell, maybe I'll come in for a coffee. Got to get my fix, you know?" He shook his head. "Oh, that's temptin', but I don't need food right now... as much as I now want to ask what 'special dish' might be handy..."
Chris laughed at himself. He'd had lunch and wasn't hungry. Why did he want to eat again? It was a good thing he had such a high metabolism.
"Well, I won't tempt you more, then," Tayne grinned, standing up. "I'll have your waitress bring over a refill for that coffee, at least. Talk to you soon, a'ight?"
Chris laughed. "You've saved me from myself, Tayne. Thanks. I owe you one. A refill would be great." He nodded. One less thing on my 'To Do' list.
"Talk to you soon." He'd have to give Erika a call and confirm the time for the barbecue. That certainly wouldn't be a hardship...
Smiling, he sipped at his coffee and mentally sorted through the rest of his day.