Who: Brad and Rylee When: Thursday, 19th October, early afternoon Where: Moxie’s Warnings: None Status: Complete
The weather in Point Pleasant really was all over the place of late, yesterday was nice and people were out and about but overnight the clouds had built up and now it was ‘rain with occasional thunder’, the kind of day that would keep any sane person inside. Then again Brad wasn’t as sane as he made out to be, he had gone for a run in the rain earlier and although he had arrived home soaking wet he felt a bit better in himself, like the rain had washed some of the fuzziness in his head away.
After a hot shower and a fresh set of clothes Brad grabbed his wallet, keys and phone and wrapped his rain jacket around his shoulders for the short trip to the car. He made the short trip into town and parked approximately equal distance between the two places he planned on going to today - Books and Beer and Moxie’s. Fin would have started his shift by now and had said he wanted to talk, so Brad decided that a couple of slices of pie and old fashioned ice cream shakes would make any discussion easier, plus it wasn’t like he was watching his figure much anymore. Sunday night he had walked into Peaches and told the boss he quit, that this wasn’t the place for him and good luck finding someone else willing to let themselves get groped on a nightly basis. With his rain jacket shielding him from a bit of a drizzle that remained between showers, Brad walked down the street and stopped just outside Moxie’s. He was well aware of whom might be behind the counter and wanting to grill him about the money he had given Carson, so he took a deep breath and walked inside, the lunch rush should’ve well and truly finished by now.
It had been a long week, but Rylee had put in enough hours that KC had given her Friday off as a thank you. It was something Rylee was really looking forward to, even though she wasn't entirely sure what she was going to do with her time. Talk to Carson? Take a solo road trip out of town? Hide in her room all day? She had options at least. Rylee was working behind the counter now, counting down the minutes until her shift ended at three. The lunch rush was over, and she was wrapping up forks and knives into napkins before placing them in the bin to her left. When the door opened, Rylee glanced up, tensing for only a moment when she spotted Brad. The guy who liked to pass out obscene amounts of cash to people he barely knew. Among other things.
Rylee eyed him warily for a moment before going back to her work. "Dining in or take out?" she asked simply, placing another fork and dinner knife together on the surface of a flat napkin to start wrapping it up. She might have been working more tersely than before, but whatever.
“Take out.” Brad didn't remove his rain jacket as he walked towards the counter but it wasn't like it was wet enough that he was dripping water everywhere. “Two slices of today's pie, one vanilla and one chocolate ice cream shake. Please.” He offered a small smile, from their last meeting at the charity auction it was pretty obvious to Brad that he wasn't high on Rylee’s list of likeable people and if Carson had told her about the money that'd be another black mark against his name no doubt. He didn't get too close to where Rylee was working, not when she had an array of pointy things that could cause damage.
Rylee didn't need to write his order down since it was easy enough to remember and she turned away from what she was doing to start making the milkshakes. She knew she was probably being low key rude, but she didn't think she could muster phony politeness. Making the milkshakes kept her busy for a few minutes, and after she poured them into to-go cups, Rylee turned to put them on the counter in front of Brad as she placed the lids on tight. When she went to get the slices of pie, she found only one slice remaining, so she hollered into the back that she needed another. There were a couple in the back, so hopefully it wouldn't take Frank too long to grab it for her. Sighing that she couldn't get rid of Brad as quickly as she would have liked, she got the one piece of pie in a to-go container and placed it into a small bag. "It's going to be just a minute on the other pie," she explained coolly, finally looking at him. "Is that going to be all?"
The lack of any conversation, even a basic ‘how are things?’ didn't go unnoticed by Brad but he wasn't about to push a conversation onto Rylee. He watched as she made the milkshakes with practiced ease, remembering the shakes of his youth that were so thick they were almost impossible to suck up through the straw. When Rylee announced that the other slice of pie would be a minute or so Brad already had the money out of his wallet, despite the coolness of the whole exchange he wasn't one to skimp on tips, knowing they got paid far less than they deserved and sometimes tips meant the difference between eating that week or not. “Yeah, that'll be all. Thanks.” He replied, offering a small but genuine smile. Maybe it wasn't him at all, maybe she was just having a bad day.
Rylee punched in the order into the cash register and reached out for the cash, though she handed back the extra he'd included as a tip before slipping the rest into the register. "I don't need that," she said dismissively. "Carson and I are rolling in all kinds of extra money now, thanks to you." Rylee didn't sound grateful, because she wasn't. Maybe it was harder to keep quiet about it than she thought. Honestly, she knew it was none of her business, because it was Carson's money, not hers, but she was still feeling resentful, and not just because of the money. Not that Brad knew that, nor could he, but Rylee couldn't flip off her feelings a switch.
Taking back the change and rejected tip Brad put it in his wallet, feeling a little crestfallen as he was just trying to be nice and would’ve given it if anyone else had served him. “Suit yourself.” He said when Rylee mentioned the money, though her tone remained cool and quite frank as before. “I was just trying to help someone out. Prosthetic limbs aren’t exactly cheap and both of you living on one wage isn’t easy either.” Brad took a breath in, might as well get it out there. “If that kind of money was given by a charity instead of by me, would you still be ungrateful?”
"It's not your responsibility to take care of Carson's bills," Rylee said, unable to rein herself in now that she was talking. "He's not a charity case. And I can't help but find the generosity a bit suspect, given the timing. You barely know him. The last thing Carson needs is to be indebted to someone, and no matter what you say, that's exactly how he's going to feel." A bit of heat slipped into her voice, and she slipped her hands into the front pocket of her apron just to keep them still. Carson volunteered for the kind of charities that helped vets out, but those were different, in Rylee's mind. They were there for a specific purpose, not to shower lovers with cash.
“No, I’m not responsible for anyone’s bills other than my own, but I’m a big believer in paying it forward. People helped me when I needed it and now I’m helping others because I am able to.” The comment about the timing and finding it suspect actually made a small chuckle well up from inside Brad. And as for barely knowing him, other than Fin and Madison, Carson was the closest thing to a friend he had in this town. “I’m not a sugar daddy Rylee, and if I had given money to every single guy I’ve slept with, I’d be well and truly broke by now. I would’ve given it to him regardless, he’s the best PT I’ve ever had and one of a few people in this place that treats me like I’m equal and not just some airheaded gym bunny to be eyed off and treated like an idiot. I didn’t force that money into his pocket, I just told him why I thought he should have it and in the end it was his decision to take it, not mine.”
Rylee arched a brow and resisted the urge to point out that the only people who were called airheads were usually people who acted like airheads, whether on purpose or not. But getting personal wasn't her thing, so she turned when Frank hollered at her with the pie, and she took it, setting it on the back counter to quickly cut out another slice for Brad to take. She enjoyed the mental image of picking up the pie and shoving it into his face, and it helped relax her a bit. Deep down she knew this had nothing to do with Brad, and everything to do with her own insecurities and feelings. Brad probably was a decent guy, and Carson had slept with him to feel normal. Brad was the kind of guy who would probably be good for Carson, really. Rylee was the one making him feel abnormal. Biting hard into her tongue, she boxed up the pie and slipped it into the bag with the other before sliding the bag across the counter to Brad. "Have a great evening," she told him simply, tearing off the small receipt to slip inside the bag.