Re: [Lakeside Manor: Hugh & Atticus]
"Can live with chocolate, for better or for worse. Like food. Good food. Don't think good food means it needs to be hard to pronounce or served on a silver platter. Should cook for you sometime. Am good at it. Might have already told you that." Probably had. But for a lazy asshole, Atticus was surprisingly into cooking. Was soothing somehow. Blamed his foster dad for that, not his biological mom. The man had mostly cooked what he caught, and in this old seafood boil way, but those simple meals had turned Atticus onto good meals cooked without a lot of embellishment.
Stopped thinking about seafood boils eaten while the angry ocean crashed against craggy rocks, and looked at the lake. "What thing? Gossip. See? Holding out on me," he said. Wasn't that Atticus hadn't been around, but he'd been in and out of the Capital, not to mention his stint in the hospital, and he wasn't the most observant man, even when he was around. Could get lost in a book for hours, not noticing the passing of time. Did that often. "Don't have a dog to walk yet, but still considering it. Assume it's better when your balls don't crawl up into your gut."
But talking about the bookstore, that brought a slow and lazy smile to Atticus' face, as did the glass of milk Hugh poured out. Gave Hugh a nod about the couch, and headed that way; wasn't the type of guy to turn down a nice couch, especially when milk and brownies were being carried in that direction. Sat, spread thighs, comfortable. Entitled. "Not open yet. Am aiming for end of the month. Need to come check it out. The building was an old theater. Closed down years ago. Refurbishing it and filling it with what I love. Vain endeavor." Didn't mind acknowledging his own vanity. "Speaking of, I'm getting a lot of books from Second City. Been out there? Wild place," he said, leaning forward and grabbing a glass of milk and taking a long swallow. He grabbed a brownie next.
"Can't tell if you sound better about being single. Sounds like you might be. Far cry from your first anon post on the forum. First time we interacted, anyway." Took a bite of the brownie. "Good stuff," he said, just avoiding talking with his mouth full. Chased the bite with some milk. "You know, there's nothing wrong with not wanting to be alone. Sometimes think you sound like it's a bad thing, wanting a companion in life. Not a bad thing. Has motivated people since people existed."