Who: Roxy and Spence When: Mid-afternoon, Wednesday, 11/15 Where: out around town Status: complete
Spence was having a good day. A really good day. It was nice outside and he had managed to get an interview with a maintenance company located right outside of town. It felt like one of those days where nothing could go wrong. Like one of those days he should just enjoy himself without worrying so much about everyone else. He wasn’t entirely when he decided to drive over to Roxy’s in Seaview, but before he knew it, he was in his truck driving in that direction and singing along to Imagine Dragons. On some level he knew he shouldn’t. Her boyfriend was a creep and he didn’t want to cause any problems there, but… well, fuck it. He wanted to see her and some instinctive feeling in his chest told him she wanted to see him too. If Caden Lucas wanted to start shit, he could start shit. Spence might have a fucked up arm but he could punch just fine with the other one.
Still singing rather horribly as he slowed in front of a red light, Spence’s gaze drifted so some of the shoppers along Main Street. He paused mid-lyric when he spotted a familiar face and Spence watched as Roxy wandered out of one of the shops. He waited a second to see if Mila or Caden would follow but she looked to be alone. He hadn’t realized the light turned green until the car behind him honked. Startled, Spence began to drive, but took the first opportunity to turn around, rather recklessly probably, and follow her. Rolling down the passenger side window, he kept his eyes on the road ahead as well he could while leaning a bit toward the open window. Roxy hadn’t gotten very far, her eyes on the phone in her hand.
“Want a lift?” he called out jovially.
Roxy was off work that day, thankfully. Mila had officially quit the bar, but Gavin was back and Miles was there, and there was a new girl and everything, so it was easier to schedule days off. She’d woken up feeling great, in a really good mood, so she was glad that she got to spend it doing something else than slinging beers to ungrateful assholes who stared at her tits too much. Roxy had impulsively gone out shopping. She wanted something new, so she’d bought a few tops and a dress at the one boutique in town that carried stuff she liked, then stopped in at Belladonna for some good-smelling lotion and bath bombs.
She was forming a plan to go home and pamper herself, maybe be laid out on the bed for the taking when Caden got home, when a truck pulled up next to her while she was walking. Roxy looked over, her brows lifted at the voice a second before recognition kicked in. A bright smile took over her face. It was Spence! “Hey!” she said happily, walking up to the passenger side window as he came to a stop. “Where you off to, handsome?” The word just slipped out, but Roxy paid it no mind.
Spence was about to respond with 'to you' but wondered if that would sound too creepy, like was out searching for her or something. That was plenty different than driving to her house. The other one sounded a lot more stalkery. "Just drivin' around," he told her, his grin widening. "That sounds... weird. I wasn't just driving. I don't know." He was blathering on now and Spence took a breath and glanced behind him to make sure he wasn't holding anyone up. Then he returned his gaze to her face and motioned to the door. "Want to go get some c-coffee? Ice cream? Fudge? Something?" He was hoping she would agree and not think too much on it. He'd drive them twenty miles outside of town if that made her feel better about going somewhere with him.
Driving around didn’t sound too weird to Roxy, but whatever! She was feeling too good to question it much. Or to question whether it was a good idea to just climb right into Spence’s truck in the middle of Main Street, because that was exactly what she wanted to do. “Yeah, sure,” Roxy said with another bright smile. She pulled the door open and climbed inside, putting her bags on the floorboard. She realized that her heart had started beating faster, but instead of it being from pure anxiety, it felt warmer, better. Fluttery and nice. Roxy put her seatbelt on and looked over at Spence, unable to help but notice that he looked really good today. “Let’s do ice cream? I’m not much in a coffee mood.”
His smile widened when Roxy agreed and he straightened as she slid into the passenger seat. "Ice cream it is." Once she was settled, Spence let off the brake and started to drive toward the pier, where there was a small ice cream shop. It wasn't too close to the Porch so he didn't think Roxy would be too concerned about Caden. He wasn’t worried about Caden. Fuck that guy. "How've things been going for you?" he asked her, once they were on their way. "You look nice." It was probably weird to compliment her like that after such a question, but she did look nice and she deserved to know it.
“Aw, thank you!” Roxy exclaimed first, smiling as she automatically reached up to touch her hair a bit. She felt like she did look pretty damn good, so it was nice to hear. It wasn’t like Caden told her too often how good she looked, especially if she hadn’t put much effort into her appearance. Which she hadn’t really today, but she still looked good. Plus, any compliment from Spence, she was going to take. “Things are, uh ... they’re okay,” she answered his question, settling her purse between her feet. “I mean, there’s stuff, but there’s always stuff, right? How are you?” She looked over at him and didn’t manage to bite her tongue on the, “You look nice too,” that slipped out.
"There's stuff," he said with a small smile. "But there's always stuff, yeah. I got an interview for a job outside of town, so that's something." Nothing bad, at least. Spence appreciated the compliment, even if he hadn't done much with his appearance today. But any compliment from Roxy was a welcome one, especially today. He kept both hands on the wheel, tempted now to reach over and take her hand. He really wanted to and it felt like he should be able to. But knuckles tightened and Spence refocused on her. "What kind of stuff are you dealing with? Nothing bad I hope."
Some of it was bad, or at least disturbingly weird. What had happened with Mila -- what was possibly still happening -- Amelia coming back from such a strange place, the turnover at the bar ... but Roxy didn’t want to talk about any of that. She was in too good of a mood today, and now she was going to get ice cream with Spence Wheeler, just like they were in high school again. Today, Roxy was happy to pretend none of that shit existed. “Just some family stuff,” she answered breezily, giving him a warm little smile. “It’ll work out. What kind of job? And how far out of town? You’re not leaving again, are you?” Her brow furrowed a bit as she asked.
“No, no not leaving.” He rushed to assure her. “It’s near Cherries, uh… you know that area?” His face flushed at the mention of the strip club. “Matthews Maintenance? It’s a property maintenance company, and they handle a lot of the buildings in Point Pleasant for the D’Onofrios, so I’ll essentially be on call working in town.” Spence ran a hand through his shaggy hair and turned to head towards the pier. He knew he ought to ask what family stuff was going on, but they both seemed to be happy with what was happening now and he was afraid asking would only bring Roxy down. He wanted to try and give her a nice day, or at least a nice hour or two, so he bit his tongue on asking more.
Roxy noticed the blush, and it made her really want to kiss his cheek. She knew that Caden went to Cherries sometimes, and it pissed her off every time he did it. He claimed that looking wasn’t cheating, and he definitely wouldn’t blush over the mention of the strip club. “Yeah, I’ve been out there before,” she answered, still smiling. “That sounds good though, congratulations.” If Spence was out and about around town fixing things, that meant that Roxy might see him now and then, which ... was probably not something she should already be looking forward to, but she was. “Do you think you’ll like it? So many people work for D’Onofrio in this town.” She tsked even though she didn’t really care, glancing out the window as they got closer to the pier.
"Yeah, I mean, it'll pay well and I need the money," Spence said. "I don't really know much about the D'Onofrios other than they live in Overlook too and own half the town. But I haven't heard anything negative about the family, so I don't think it'll be too bad." He hoped not anyway. "Better than hanging out in my sad apartment every day, right?" Spence grinned a bit and started looking for a place to park. "At least if I'm working I'm doing something with my time. I won't feel like such a l-loser." He was teasing, mostly. He had been feeling useless since moving back home, but hopefully this was the start of something good for him. He needed it.
There were a lot of negative things one could say about the D’Onofrio clan, but Roxy didn’t really care to say them at the moment. Spence had gotten a job, and that was a good thing! And they were going to get ice cream! Why ruin it? Besides, he wasn’t working directly under D’Onofrio anyway, so who gave a fuck, right? She let out a little ‘aww’ when he mentioned a sad apartment, though. Roxy thought she could definitely un-sad his apartment, but thankfully she had the good sense not to say it out loud. “Ugh, you’re so not a loser,” she protested, her own tone a bit teasing. Without thinking about it too much, Roxy reached over to give his arm a little squeeze. “I’m glad you landed something good though, hope it works out, Spence.”
Spence didn't give much thought to his employers. He just wanted to have an employer, and a paycheck. And he wanted to do everything he could not to have to move back into his mother's house because his lack of funds. He chuckled a bit when Roxy squeezed his arm. "Thanks. I try really hard not to be a loser, but you know..." He shrugged and finally found a place to park his truck. They would have to walk a bit down the marina to the ice cream shop but he didn't think she would mind. "So what were you out doing today?" he asked, turning off the engine and looking over at Roxy as he opened his door. "I mean... obviously shopping but.... anything special?" He wondered if she liked to shop at Veronica's. Which... was probably an inappropriate thought, given the kind of lingerie he remembered seeing in that store years ago. But the thought was there now and it turned his face a faint shade of pink.
Roxy didn’t see anything losery about Spence, but maybe her standards weren’t exactly in line with reality. She didn’t know. Didn’t care. She liked spending time with him, that was all that mattered to her. Which probably wasn’t going to end up being good for her, but today for some reason Roxy just didn’t give a fuck. If she wanted to get some ice cream with an old friend, that was what she was going to do. “I was off work, so I just wanted to get out of the house and shop,” she answered as she opened up her own door. “Just some clothes and good-smelly stuff from Belladonna.” She shot Spence a little smile, then climbed out of his truck, pulling her purse on as she went. “I don’t buy myself enough stuff,” Roxy added once they were both out. “Really, honestly, I don’t do enough for myself period.”
"It sounds like the right kind of day to do that then," Spence said, shoving his hands into his pockets as to keep from reaching for hers. "You deserve to do whatever makes you happy." There was probably a double meaning in that, but he left it as it was. "I can't remember the last thing I bought for myself. I mean, other than a few things for the apartment. I need to find a decent shirt for my interview. Maybe a tie. I sort of left most of those clothes back in Virginia when I moved. Don't know why I thought I wouldn't need them anymore." Spence shrugged. "But I think I can count ice cream as something for me, and for you. I haven't been over here since I came home. S-Swear to G-God, nothing has really changed in this town. It's like time stood still when I left."
Had Caden ever told her she deserved to be happy? Roxy wasn’t sure, but she didn’t think so. It didn’t make sense to make those kinds of comparisons, but they still happened all the time in her head. She looked over at him with raised eyebrows when he said he didn’t have a shirt or tie. “Do you want help picking something out?” she offered. In her experience, men were pretty terrible shoppers when it came to clothes, and she’d picked out many things for Caden over the years. “But yeah, you should know things around here don’t change.” Roxy offered Spence a little grin as she shook her head. Some businesses came and went, but Point Pleasant had mostly stayed the same ever since she’d lived there. “Though I hear good things about this new karaoke place? Caden wouldn’t be caught dead going with me, but I wanna go sing sometime.”
"Well, how about you help me pick out a shirt and tie for my interview, and I'll go sing some karaoke with you," he said, since he felt like that was a pretty fair trade off. He was much of a singer beyond in his truck with the radio, but he would do it for Roxy, if that was something that would make her happy. Spence realized he might be pushing too hard, or being too forward, but he also hoped Roxy would tell him to chill if it annoyed her. He didn't think that she would, or that it did, but still. "Can you imagine if Point Pleasant had a karaoke bar when we were in high school?" he asked with a grin. "Shit, we didn't have m-much to do at all back then but hang at the F-Fallows, or go to the movies."
Roxy laughed a bit and nodded. “Sounds like a deal,” she agreed, smiling. Caden finding out about it didn’t even cross her mind. Not yet anyway. It definitely didn’t feel like Spence pushing too hard, considering Roxy really wanted to spend more time with him. She could already picture them out, having a few drinks and singing some of the classics from their teenagehood and just dying laughing. Just the mental picture made her feel lighter. “Oh God,” she laughed again with an amused eyeroll. “I would’ve loved it, but it would’ve been a disaster area for people’s eardrums. Can you imagine somebody like, I dunno, Daryl Sparks singing Backstreet Boys or something?”
Spence laughed. "Yeah, I can actually. The thing about that kind of music is you can sing it terribly and it sounds about the same, right? What would you have sung?" He couldn't remember much about the music from school, but for the songs that would be playing in his truck while he and Roxy were parked and making out. Trauma had made some things in his past a bit blurry and faded, but he remembered plenty about Roxy. It felt like the important, significant things in his life had stuck, more so than the fleeting moments.
“Ohmygod, way too much Britney Spears,” Roxy admitted, cracking up again. She put a hand over her face briefly and groaned. “Though I dunno, I had some broad musical taste. I could like, sing some Selena songs in Spanish and totally impress everyone.” She too remembered lots of songs and making out in Spence’s car ... probably remembered it too well. They reached the ice cream parlor and Roxy let him open the door for her, giving him a pleased little glance as she walked inside. It smelled good in there, and she wondered idly if they would stay open once the weather really turned. “So what flavor are you getting?”
Spence followed Roxy into the ice cream parlor, his gaze shifting immediately to the menu board. He had forgotten how many flavors this place had and Spence wandered over to the glass cases to look down at the tubs of ice cream, hoping one would stick out to him. "I might get a banana split, to be honest with you," he said, flashing Roxy a grin. "Can't really walk around the pier and eat it though, if you don't mind sitting in here for awhile?" Then they could at least have some semi-privacy and talk for a bit.
Sitting in a sheltered place was probably smarter than walking around where people could see them anyway, so Roxy was more than fine with that. “Fine by me, I’ll get a sundae then,” she answered with a bright smile back. Something in the back of her mind murmured that this might not be the best idea, spending time with Spence when she felt so good, but she was going to do it anyway, dammit. She wanted to, and today had turned into a Treat Yourself day where she was going to do what she wanted. She moved up to the counter to order, getting a sundae with lots of toppings, and found herself kind of hoping that he at least glanced at her ass. Ugh, she was in trouble, but she couldn’t really give much of a shit.
Spence tended to always look at Roxy when she wasn't looking at him looking at her. He felt like less of a skeeze that way, considering she had a boyfriend. An asshole boyfriend, but a boyfriend. After Roxy ordered Spence stepped up to put in his own order for a banana split, pulling out his wallet as he did so. "Don't protest," he told her, before she could do just that. "This is on me, since you're doing me a favor by even being here." He paid for the ice cream and smiled before slipping his wallet back into his back pocket. "So what'd you plan to do before I hijacked your afternoon? I'm not keeping you from anything, am I?"
Roxy lifted her eyebrows, but she didn’t bother to try and protest, just smiled at him. Her presence was a favor? That was a new one on her. Most of the time she felt like her presence was a nuisance more than anything to the men in her life. Maybe that was why hanging out with Spence felt like such an indulgent thing to do. “I didn’t really have plans,” she told him, leaning her hip against the counter while they waited on their treats. “Maybe just go home, have a bath, enjoy the quiet, read a little.” Roxy shrugged a shoulder, then gave Spence more of a sly smile. “This is better though, so don’t beat yourself up or anything.” She didn’t get why he always seemed to think that spending time with him was a hardship, when she really liked to do it. Too much.
"I don't know, that s-sounds pretty relaxing," he said, while doing his best not to imagine her in a bath. The image was there though, and it made the back of his neck feel rather hot for a moment. Spence didn't really think his presence was a nuisance or anything, but he remembered the last time they spoke, how shaken Roxy was while she told him about her relationship. He knew she probably worried when they were spending time together, and he wished he could change that for her. "But yeah, I would think ice cream took p-precedence over rest and relaxation for sure. Always." Spence was teasing, of course. "I can't even tell you what I was out doing, other than looking for you."
“Oh it is. Will be, later.” Roxy had a quick mental flash of being in the bath too, only in her vision, she had company. Spence, specifically. Which was just ... not a good sign in the slightest, but did she care? No. All of those nerves she’d felt about Caden finding out what was going on had evaporated for the day, and all Roxy gave a shit about was pleasing herself. And why shouldn’t she? He did it all the damn time. “You were out looking for me?” she asked, a smirk crossing her face as her eyebrow lifted. She didn’t look put off by that at all, and in fact it kind of made her stomach flutter. Spence seemed to be good at doing that, didn’t he?
"Yes. Sort of. I mean... I don't know. I want to see you." Spence shrugged, feeling embarrassed in a mild sort of way. It felt okay to be telling her this. No one was around but for the ice cream clerk behind the counter and an older couple sitting in the corner, deep in conversation. "Then you walked out of that shop on Main Street, and it felt... perfect t-timing, I guess. I didn't have much else in mind for how to spend my Wednesday. But this is perfect." Their ice creams were handed over to them and Spence nodded towards a booth away from the window, in case she didn't want anyone to see them.
Roxy’s smile brightened at the idea that Spence wanted to see her. That he’d been out looking for her on purpose. It didn’t seem weird or stalkery or dangerous -- today was just that kind of day. It made her very glad that she’d decided to leave the house and go out so she could be found. Perfect timing indeed. She took her sundae and headed for the booth that Spence indicated, noticing that it was away from the window. That was for the best. Not that she thought anybody Caden knew would happen by, but one never knew. “It is pretty perfect, yeah,” Roxy agreed, smiling at him as they settled in. “I’ve been wanting to see you again. So ... I’m glad you were out looking for me.” She picked up her plastic spoon and hummed as she took the first bite of sundae.
"If you ever want to see me... you know where I live?" Spence grinned, not fully aware that the invitation might not be welcome, or perhaps could be construed as being too forward. It might have been too much to say she could come over if she was having issues with her boyfriend. Besides, Spence didn't want to bring up that guy at the moment. Things felt too good to risk spoiling it. "I'm a homebody with no social life, so... anytime." He took a bite of his ice cream and tried to focus on that rather than just staring at Roxy.
Roxy wasn’t so out of her head that she thought just waltzing over to Spence’s place whenever she wanted to see him would be a good idea -- she found herself wanting to see him too often for that. Point Pleasant was a small, nosy-ass town, so she knew she wouldn’t get away with that for long before somebody told Caden. Not that she was overly worried about that at the moment, it was just a fact. Meeting up ‘by accident’ was probably better ... though Roxy did want to get him alone, if she was being honest. “Anytime, huh?” she echoed, and couldn’t help the suggestive way it came out. It was incredibly tempting to suggest they go back to his place now, so Roxy tried to quell the urge by eating some more ice cream. “You’ll have to let me know what your work schedule ends up looking like.”
"Anytime," Spence confirmed with a small nod. He didn't care if it was suggestive or not. He honestly didn't care if it was noon or three o'clock in the morning, Spence would always be glad to see her. "But I'll definitely let you know what my schedule ends up looking like. Hopefully it's a bit more a-aligned with yours, otherwise I'll be in h-here eating ice cream by myself, and that's pretty sad." It was easy enough to tell himself that he wanted to spend time with her to rekindle their friendship, and on some level that was true. But being around Roxy lately made him feel like he hadn't left Point Pleasant at all, and that was both good and bad. "You ever think about what you want to do?" he asked after another bite of ice cream. "I mean, do you plan on staying at the bar for the f-foreseeable future?"
“That’s a terrible attitude to have about ice cream, it’s never sad,” Roxy corrected, amused. She knew he wouldn’t seriously let her schedule affect his, of course, but it was nice to hear that he hoped they wouldn’t be too conflicting. It was a dangerous thing to feel nice about, but this whole thing was risky, wasn’t it? Roxy didn’t seem to give a single shit today, she was just happy to be somewhere relatively safe, spending time with Spence. She couldn’t seem to stop glancing at his lips as he ate, and God, she knew he probably tasted amazing, especially with ice cream mixed in. His question made her blink, and she thought for a second before shrugging a shoulder. “I don’t know. Maybe. I mean ... I don’t want to be a bar waitress all my life, but I’m not sure what else I can or want to do around here.” It depended a lot on Caden too, and their relationship. She couldn’t leave him and stay at the bar, obviously. But Roxy didn’t know if that was what she was doing, either. So many things felt so up in the air.
"You could do anything you wanted," Spence said without thought. "Which I know sounds... uh, cheesy? Or like I'm some kind of high school guidance counselor, but you're smart and capable. Anyone would be lucky to employ you." And he meant that too. Spence had always been a bit surprised that Roxy never left Point Pleasant. He had no idea where she'd go or what she'd end up doing, but Spence had always considered her to be full of so much more potential than hanging around this place. Then again, here he was again, back in Point Pleasant with little to show for it but a stutter and bum arm.
Roxy didn’t really think that was quite accurate -- she had plenty of limitations -- but it was still really sweet of him to say. She gave Spence a warm smile across the table, one foot shifting under it to bump into his shoe a little bit before she pulled it back again. “You’d be the sweetest guidance counselor. Maybe you should do that instead of maintenance work,” she suggested in a lightly teasing tone. “Thank you though. I just ... I dunno, don’t have a lot of education or experience besides service work, you know? And it’s not like Point Pleasant’s teeming with good jobs. I don’t wanna be some asshole’s secretary or something.” She was probably too fat for that anyway, didn’t people want their secretaries to be hot? The dickheads probably did. She’d wanted to be a mom by now, but that didn’t seem to be happening, so Roxy wasn’t sure what to do.
Spence laughed and shook his head. "I'd be a terrible counselor. I'd turn into some kind of a-army recruiter. That'd be no good. I'm much better at f-fixing things than talking. You shouldn't be a secretary though. I don't know. I'm not trying to convince you to quit or anything. I just..." He shrugged and took another bite of ice cream. He was being selfish in a way, because it would be easier to see her if she worked anywhere but the bar where her boyfriend worked. Spence had to bite his tongue to keep from pointing out that she was an asshole's girlfriend, but this wasn't the time or place for that. "I b-bet tons of places are hiring for the holidays, at least. Just, something to think about. You never know what could happen, right?"
Roxy chuckled faintly at the recruiter comment -- would he really, though? What had the army truly done for Spence? That seemed super disrespectful to ask though, so Roxy bit her own tongue on it. He should be proud of his service, even if it had ended up in injury. “You’re better at talking than you think,” she told him gently. She had a feeling his stutter made him self-conscious, but it didn’t seem as bad to her as it probably did to him. She found herself wanting to touch his face -- God, what was wrong with her lately? “But yeah, you never know. I’ll keep it in mind.” She was pretty sure that if she tried to get a different job, Caden would be suspicious, thinking she was trying to cheat on him or something, if she was somewhere he couldn’t keep an eye on her. “I’d love to take care of babies, honestly,” she said without thinking about it, taking another small bite of her sundae. “Little kids. Maybe the daycare on Elm needs some help.” It wouldn’t pay well, but Roxy thought it might be worth it.
Spence shrugged one shoulder softly. He didn't usually talk so much, but it was easier around people he knew well and liked. And Roxy had known him before he joined the Marines, so he didn't feel as self conscious about it with her than he might have with a stranger. Spence's brows rose in surprise and he kept the spoon in his mouth for a second too long before pulling it out and dipping it back into the banana. "Babies. Oh boy, you've got to have a lot of patience for that. Which you do," he added with a grin. "I bet you'd be great with little kids though. It'd be good practice for when you have your own, yeah?" Even back in high school when pregnancy was a terrifying thought for a boy his age, Spence had always assumed Roxy would go on to have a big family. He was kind of surprised she hadn't by now, though not necessarily disappointed by it.
Roxy knew that her desire to work at a daycare probably stemmed from not having any kids of her own yet. She loved babies and little kids and always had, and she’d often felt kind of bitter that she was the youngest child in her family. She’d gotten to help with cousins here and there, but not enough to satisfy that itch. She’d planned to have a big family, but apparently Caden had different plans. Her expression faded into something slightly wistful but guarded, and Roxy shrugged again. “If I ever get my own,” she murmured, eyes on her ice cream. “It’s a big If, right now.” She felt kind of guilty now about the envious feelings she’d had when Mila had gotten pregnant; not that she thought she’d had anything to do with the miscarriage, but still, she hadn’t been able to be completely happy for her friend. But Roxy didn’t want to dump any of that onto Spence, so she tried to shake it off, giving him another smile. “Until then, I can help with other people’s kids, right?”
It was instinctual to want to ask Roxy why it was a big If, but that was bordering on Too Personal, and he didn't want to upset her. All he knew was that if she did have kids, she'd be a great mom. "There's that," he told her with a small smile. "I never know what to do with kids. I was so much older than Greg when he was born, you know? I feel like little kids these days know more than I do about stuff. I'd probably just bore them." Spence motioned to his banana split. "You want a bite?" It was probably time to change the subject, as not to go down a depressing road. He didn't want Roxy second guessing spending time with him.
Roxy was glad that Spence didn’t pursue all the ‘why’ questions. She really didn’t feel up to hashing all that out when she was supposed to be having a nice day. Besides, it wasn’t really Spence’s business. As much as she wanted to be close to him again, she preferred to do it in a way that let her pretend Caden didn’t exist as much as possible. That was probably super fucked up, but that was just where she was in her life at the moment. She smiled a little at what he said. “You just listen to them and play games with them ... and when they’re old enough, let them teach you how to use your smartphone and stuff,” she teased. Roxy nodded that yes, she wanted some of his banana split, and leaned forward a bit, watching his spoon expectantly.
He didn't give it much thought, scooping up a bit of the ice cream and offering it to Roxy. It was probably inappropriate and a bit much to feed her the way he was, but they used to do it when they were dating and apparently Spence didn't care much about boundaries today. To anyone who didn't know them, they probably just looked like a couple being flirtatious over ice cream. It happened. Plus, Spence was just self aware enough to realize he wanted to see her lips close around the spoon, reminding him of how her lips looked when they used to... nah, no, he couldn't let his mind wander that way, or he would be sitting at their table with a hard on in his jeans. Dammit.
It was definitely inappropriate to be fed ice cream off of another man’s spoon, but Roxy didn’t care today. Having been told plenty of times that she had great dick-sucking lips, she was fully aware of how they looked when she ate certain things ... and if Spence wanted to think about her mouth wrapped around his cock, that was fine by her. It wasn’t really her business, was it? Roxy pulled the bite off of the spoon and sat back again, humming her approval as she let the different flavor melt against her tongue. “S’good,” she said, giving him a smirk. Roxy finished swallowing, then nodded to her own sundae. “Wanna try mine?”
Spence grinned, shifting a bit in his seat. At least he wasn't fully hard. Thank god for small favors. "I don't make eating ice cream look as good as you do. I'd just get it stuck in my facial hair," he teased, motioning to his face. "Looks good though." And no, he wasn't entirely talking about her ice cream. But it had been awhile since Spence flirted with anyone, and it came naturally to him with Roxy. Again, there was the teeny, tiny voice in his head that reminded him that she had a boyfriend, one who was a jerk even, but it was hard to care in the moment. She seemed to be enjoying herself and wasn't that more important than worrying about stepping on Caden Lucas's toes?
“Oh, I get it, ulterior motives for sharing, huh?” Roxy laughed, and there was definitely a light, flirty lilt to it. So she’d been right and he’d been noticing her lips. That wasn’t such a bad thing, right? Spence had first-hand experience with them, so it was even less creepy that he was looking than some stranger dude. It made sense in Roxy’s head, anyway. “I dunno, you’re doing a pretty good job over there,” she answered, leaning on the table with her elbows and tilting her head at Spence a bit. There was still a little smile lingering on her face, and she didn’t think she would get rid of that anytime soon. She liked the flutters he gave her; it had been a long time since she’d felt that way about a man, but Spence seemed to just do that to her.
"No ulterior motives, I swear." Spence's grin widened and he held up his hand in mock surrender. "It was just a bonus, that's all." If it was creepy she would have definitely told him. Or left. But it wasn't like he was trying to feel her up or anything. It was ice cream with a side of flirting. He chuckled and sat back, his hand still holding the spoon. "I need a haircut," he said, reaching up with his free hand to run his fingers through it a bit. "And probably a shave. My apartment is pretty spotless but I think I've sort of lost the c-capability of taking care of myself properly. Probably doesn't help that I live near family again. I'm spoiled."
Roxy kind of liked Spence’s hair, but she agreed on the beard. She wasn’t against them, she just found clean-shaven or only-stubbly men much more enjoyable to kiss. Not that she thought she would be kissing Spence anytime soon. The hair though ... it just begged to have fingers run through it. Caden kept his so short it might as well not even be there, and Roxy kind of liked having something to hold onto and tug at. Her cheeks flushed a tiny bit and she dropped her gaze for a moment. “A shave for sure. With the hair ... get a trim, take the dead ends off, but leave some length on it. Winter’s coming, after all.” Her eyes ticked back up to him and she smiled a bit, then took another bite of her sundae, deliberately letting the spoon linger around her mouth for a few extra seconds as she cleaned it off. “I heard there’s gonna be a new barber shop opening up on Main. Some guy rented a place,” Roxy added casually.
Spence scratched his fingertips through the facial hair at his jaw, finding that to be an acceptable distraction than staring at her lips. His face felt warm too, so hopefully his beard was hiding some of it. "Winter's coming and you want me to shave," he said, amused. "Keep my ears warm but let my face freeze?" He was teasing, of course. He had been clean shaven for so many years in Marines that once he had grown facial hair after being discharged it had been hard to shave it all off again. Like it somehow made him a different person. "That's good to know about the barber shop though. If I hand my mom a pair of shears I'd probably end up bald." He was feeling a bit full now and he set down his spoon on a napkin beside his banana split.
“Hey, women do it all the time,” Roxy countered with a little grin. “Learn to love scarves.” She had no sympathy for freezing faces, not in this state. And Spence happened to have a very cute face, so it was only natural to want to see more of it, right? She arched a brow at the rest of what he said, scooping up another spoonful of ice cream. Roxy was not a girl who didn’t finish dessert, that much was probably obvious. “I dunno when it’s opening up, so ... in the meantime, if you need someone to give you a trim, I could do it,” she offered, shrugged a shoulder. “I’m pretty good at it, I used to cut my brothers’ hair sometimes.”
"I don't think I own a scarf," he admitted with a thoughtful look. "I should probably buy one." He hadn't forgotten how cold Point Pleasant winters could be, he was just semi-unprepared for it, apparently. Spence smiled at her offer of a haircut and he lifted his hand up to his hair, tousling it back and forth. "That would be great, actually, if you'd be willing." She would have to come to his place for it, and Spence wanted to make sure she was comfortable with that. If she wasn't, he had no problem waiting for the barber shop to open, or driving elsewhere for a haircut. They both probably knew that her boyfriend wouldn't like it and Spence didn't want to be the cause of any problems that stemmed from that.
God, he was so cute when he did that to his hair. It was all Roxy could do not to put her chin on her hand and sigh dreamily at him. “Uh yeah, you need a scarf, dude,” she agreed with a laugh. He was a guy though, so he probably wouldn’t do it until the dead of winter when he was absolutely freezing. That just meant Roxy probably needed to buy him one and sneak it to him. “Wouldn’t have offered if I wasn’t,” she added, nodding to Spence’s mop of hair. She was more than willing, her fingers were already itching to get between those strands. “Oh! When’s your interview? We can get you looking good before then, tie and all.”
"Not until Monday afternoon," Spence said, sort of wishing it was earlier so he and Roxy could meet up again sooner than later. "So I've got some time, if you do." He had no idea what her work, and social, schedule was like, but his was pretty much a blank slate so he could make it work whenever she could. Was he sounding too eager? Probably. But Spence had the feeling that Roxy wouldn't mind. "Don't make me too clean cut, though. I have to maintain some aura of mystery," he said with a grin.
Roxy huffed a little laugh and smiled at him. “I’ve got time,” she said. She really meant that she would make time, but that was pretty much the same thing. Roxy thought for a second, scraping her teeth over her full bottom lip. Weekends at the bar were always busy, until Sunday, but Caden always worked Sundays. Roxy had often suspected that was partly to weasel out of going to church with her. Though Caden never had a problem telling her no. About everything. “How ‘bout Sunday after church?” she offered, arching a brow at Spence. “Middayish? I usually run errands, I can come over and get you all prettied up.” She smiled.
Spence didn't attend church himself, so he didn't mind it being Sunday at all. Other than visiting his mom, he didn't really have any plans. "Midday Sunday works for me," he told her. "D-Do you just want to text me when you're ready? You're okay to come to my apartment, right?" Spence was more than happy to meet her somewhere else if it made her more comfortable, though if she was cutting his hair their options were pretty limited. He doubted his mom would mind it if they used her place, but she would start asking questions later, which would prove to be annoying, but tolerable.
“Yeah, of course. Just send me which apartment it is. You’re in Haven Park, right?” she asked, quirking an eyebrow at him. Roxy had thought he’d told her that, but it slipped her mind at the moment. She knew that going over to Spence’s was risky, but it was a low risk on a Sunday. Caden would be safely at the bar, she would still be seen at church, all that. Besides, she was just doing a favor for a friend, right? Caden wouldn’t see it that way, of course, but there was no real reason Caden had to know about it.
"Castle View, 2E," he told her with a grin. "Just text when you're on your way and I'll make sure I've got everything." At least for the haircut. They would have to go out to get the shirt and tie. At least he was looking forward to something now. Other than the interview on Monday. "Can I take you anywhere else?" he asked, glancing out the window to where his truck was parked. "Anywhere else you need to go? It's cold. I'd hate to make you walk all over the damn town. You don't even have a scarf," he teased.
“Right, Castle View, sorry,” she corrected herself with a little laugh. Roxy pulled her phone out and found Spence’s contact info, adding the address in there just so she wouldn’t forget the apartment number. She glanced up at the questions, then chuckled again. “Or a beard,” Roxy added, flashing Spence a grin. “Um ... I mean, if you can just give me a ride back to Main? My car’s parked down that way. I did drive into town. And I should probably be getting back, I guess.” She gave a little sigh and resisted the urge to roll her eyes. She scooped up one more bite of her sundae, then nudged it away.
"Sure." He certainly wasn't going to make her walk back to her car and he had a feeling he'd probably drive slower than usual just to eek this whole thing out a bit. That was probably weird, but at least he knew it, right? "Thanks for spending some of your free time with me. I'm sorry it wasn't more exciting than ice cream." Spence had enjoyed himself at least, and he stood to gather up his trash, along with hers since it seemed as though she was finished.
Roxy pulled her purse strap back onto her shoulder and started to get up from her seat, feeling a bit of warmth in her stomach that Spence was taking care of the trash. It was just a nice, gentlemanly thing to do. That was how she remembered him being, and it was good to see that hadn’t changed. “Believe me, in my world, having ice cream out instead of just sitting on the couch is pretty exciting,” Roxy told him with a laugh. “Sad, huh?” She didn’t care much, it was just part of being an adult, but if Spence could be self-deprecating so could she. After a stop by the trash can, Roxy walked with him toward the door.
"Not sad at all," Spence reassured her. He dumped the trash and fell into step with her towards the door, moving forward to push it open for her. "Actually, the sad thing is I kind of like sitting on the couch. Spent so many years on a schedule, you know? Not a lot of downtime. So sometimes, yeah, I like being a lazy asshole." He chuckled and slipped his hands into his jean pockets again once they were outside. "But this is definitely better. I'm glad I ran into you." More like found her, but whatever.
She had to bite her tongue on saying she would be a lazy asshole with him anytime. Roxy enjoyed lazing around on the couch some days, when she could manage it. “Nah, that’s not sad. You more than earned some lazy asshole downtime, damn,” she said with a chuckle of her own. Really, Spence had probably earned a retirement, but she knew how stir crazy people could go when they didn’t have a job or anything. As they stepped back out into the air, she had to resist the urge to slip her arm through his. “I’m glad you did too,” she said, glancing over at him with a smile. Roxy felt her heart give a weird squeeze, and to cover it, she added, “Somebody’s gotta get you looking good for your interview, right?
Maybe he had, Spence wasn't sure. He did like the downtime but he also felt like he was being useless when he enjoyed it. He grinned at her as he opened the passenger side door of the truck for her climb up. "Yeah, I suppose that's true. I guess they wouldn't want a guy working for them who l-looks like a y-yeti." His beard wasn't that bad, but it could certainly get unruly if he stopped caring about it. Some days it was easy to stop caring about a lot of things. He shut the door once Roxy was settled and then rounded the truck to climb into the driver's side. "Main Street," he said, starting up the engine. "Definitely go home and take a bath and do all that downtime stuff you planned. I mean, if you want to," he added with a chuckle. "Sounds damn nice, if you ask me."
“Oh it will be,” Roxy agreed with a wistful little sigh. She let her head fall back against the headrest and glanced over at Spence, smiling as she thought again about having a bubble bath with him. As much as she loved to get Caden naked, it was hard to imagine doing the same with him. He would have zero interest in taking a bath with her, with music and candles and bubbles and the whole bit, but Roxy could easily picture Spence indulging her. Maybe even enjoying it himself. “I’ll pour a glass of wine and toss a bath bomb in there and stretch out with a book. It’ll be great.” Maybe she would masturbate too, and think about that scruffy face with the sweetest smile and a cute stutter. ... ugh, God, she had to stop. But it felt so nice to have a crush on someone again, someone who liked to hang out with her. It all felt so much more pure than her usual daily life, and it was all hers.