Gavin Lucas (viciouscircle) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2018-10-13 14:07:00 |
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Entry tags: | #november 2017, aaron, caden, charlie, charlie x gavin, gavin |
Who: Charlie and Gavin
When: Evening, Saturday, November 18th
Where: The Back Porch Pub
Status: Complete
Charlie had had quite an interesting night chaperoning the Sadie Hawkins Dance. What had originally been a mild, obligatory inconvenience turned into a strange exhilarating evening. She had felt unusually good, euphoric even and there had been very little drama to deal with amongst the high schoolers in attendance. Sure, she had to separate more than one overly affectionate dancing couple. After the dance ended, Charlie helped clean up what she could before she walked to her car to head out. She had only one destination in mind and when she pulled out of the parking lot, she headed for the Porch. There was an overwhelming need to see Gavin, to say what was on her mind and leave it at that, if need be. She felt good about it too. No nerves, no second guessing.
The bar was busy, being a chilly Saturday night, so she had to walk a bit after parking down the street. Inside the Porch there was a college football game playing on the television and the bar itself was noisy and loud from the people who packed in the booths and tables. She could see Gavin behind the bar in between the people seated in front of him. He was pouring drinks from the tap. She recognized Caden and Aaron at the other end, one wiping down the counter and the other chatting amiably with a couple of guys waiting on their drinks. If it had been any other night, Charlie would have probably turned and left, not wanting to bother him when he was so clearly busy. But tonight was different. She had things to say.
As she was walking towards the bar, one of the guys sitting at the bar got up and carried his beer towards the pool table, leaving an open space for Charlie to squeeze in. She didn’t sit, but set both hands on the bar top, waiting for Gavin to turn in her direction.
It was a really busy night and while Gavin had wanted to give his brothers more time off, tonight was not the night. It really felt like everyone was there, mulling around, talking and drinking. He finished serving a beer to some guys crowding Joseph and when he turned around, there was Charlie. He wasn't expecting her there so it was a pleasant surprise though he realized with a sinking feeling he wouldn't really have time to talk to her, not with how many people were there. Still, he could make a little time and he headed over to her with a little smile.
"Hey Charlie," he said in his standard greeting, wiping down the bartop real quick in case she was staying there. Things got sticky when it was busy, people got less and less careful with their drinks the more they drank. "Can I get you something?"
"No, I can't stay," she told him, barely mindful of the fact that they were surrounded by people, two of which were his brothers. "I just wanted to come by and tell you that I like you. And I think you like me, though you've always been hard to read. Even in high school I could never figure you out and not much has changed since then, except everything has changed, I think, for the both of us. I'm divorced, and you're getting divorced, and you've got kids, and I know how crazy things have been in your life recently." Charlie tried to refocus, aware that she was starting to ramble, even if everything coming out of her mouth felt like the right thing. "But, I also think that this could be something really good, and I want to be more than friends with you. If that's something you would want to, I mean." Charlie exhaled, feeling her heart race in her chest, but in the best possible way. "That's all I wanted to say, so... I'll let you get back to work, I know you're busy. I just... right. That was it."
Gavin stared at her, opening his mouth to say something and utterly failing. He was suddenly all too aware of all the people around them, including his brothers and his dad and a few other regulars. Joseph might not have heard them sitting at the end of the bar as he always did but anyone close enough definitely had. It was weird coming from Charlie because she never struck him as the type of person to declare something like this in public. The shitty thing was that he did need to get back to work any minute now and he didn't want to leave her standing there by herself after all that. "Oh," he finally muttered, clearing his throat. "Uhm." It was a lot to process, mainly the part where Charlie said she liked him, that they could be good together, when he didn't think he was good for anybody. He puffed out his cheeks a bit before exhaling. Someone was waving at him for attention and he ignored them for now, frozen to the spot. "Yeah-" he started. "That's uh... You're..." She looked beautiful and he wondered if she'd put on that red lipstick before coming here. It was all weird, all of it and he suddenly felt far too warm. If it hadn't been so busy he would have gone outside with her to get away from everyone and try to collect his thoughts. Or maybe he'd have fled to his office. He honestly wasn't sure at the moment which was better.
Charlie honestly hadn't expected much of a response from Gavin, certainly not at work and in front of so many people. It had just felt right to tell him, to make sure there was no lingering confusion at least as to how she felt. "I know," Charlie said as he stammered for a response. "It's okay, Gavin. You should get back to work. We'll talk later." She might have even leaned over the bar to kiss his cheek, but despite how good she was feeling, even Charlie knew that might have been too much. She had done what she came to do, and that was all that mattered in the moment. What he chose to do with it was up to him.
She didn't sound disappointed but Gavin still felt like she had to be - if she wasn't joking. It just seemed like such a random thing to tell him, such a random time. Maybe she was drunk, even if she looked sober and clear-headed enough. Maybe she'd been on a date, a really bad date... The thought of her seeing someone else would have normally made his stomach churn but right now he couldn't even imagine it and then he remembered there had been a dance at the school. Maybe that's where she was, even Jasper had gone there, much to Gavin's surprise.
"Go on, kiss her!" one of his regulars said playfully but shrank back when Gavin gave him a baffled look. It wasn't even angry but the man probably assumed that it was.
"I'm uh, yeah, let's talk," he mumbled. "You sure you don't want a drink?" There was too much of a bar between them, too many people crowding them and Gavin wanted to disappear with or without her. She looked happy but then she was so hard to read. She so often had that gentle smile going, the one he remembered so fondly even from when they were teenagers. Maybe she smiled like that even when she was sad.
Her face burned hotly when one of the men teased Gavin about kissing her. Her feet seemed to be more in tune with things now than her mind was because she was already walking backwards towards the door. "No, I'm driving," she told him, well aware that even if she hadn't driven she wouldn't be staying for a drink. There was too much to say and too many people and even with her good mood, Charlie knew things would start to get awkward and tense and she wanted to go home in a good mood instead of a sad one. "But thanks, Gavin." Charlie lifted a hand in a small wave and smiled again. She was definitely more eager to leave now than she had been when she first stepped foot inside. "Have a good night though, okay?"
Gavin imagined rushing out from behind the bar and following her out of there. If he was well adjusted he probably would, but he just watched her walk backwards away from the bar with a helplessly baffled expression on his face. "You too," he muttered dumbly, his brows furrowed to the point where the muscles in his forehead felt strained. He knew he was going to get shit for this as soon as she was gone but it was like watching a car accident in slow motion and there was nothing he could do about it.
It had taken Caden a second or two to realize the brunette at the bar was speaking directly to Gavin about non-beverage related things. He had been wiping down parts of the bar, but had paused once he overheard what was happening. At some point he nudged Aaron with his elbow and nodded wordlessly toward Gavin and the woman. He had no clue who she was, but Gavin looked a little dumbfounded and shell shocked, which was nothing new. His brother's face was a perpetual mask of indifference or confusion, and right now it was the latter. Most of the bar was oblivious, the football game, beer and pool table having grabbed their attentions, but the few of them sitting, or standing close to where this was going down was more or less enraptured by the slow motion train wreck. At least until the woman left the bar, the door swinging shut behind her. Caden's gaze shifted to his brother and he waited a beat before asking, "... the fuck what that?"
Aaron hadn’t been paying attention to Gavin, busy with collecting empty glasses and wiping down parts of the bar, playing his barback role and mindlessly lost in work. Until Caden nudged him, that was. He looked over, eyebrows raised, and saw that Charlie was there. It made him smile at first, then his ears caught up to what was being said, and then his smile turned into a grin. Naturally, Gavin just gaped at her like a fish out of water, but Aaron honestly wanted to fist-pump in victory. He moved past Caden once the pretty brunette disappeared back out the door, saying “It was Charlie!” on the way. Aaron clapped Gavin on the shoulder and laughed a bit. “You’re gonna have to make up for that, but congrats, dude!” he said jovially. A woman honestly and really liked Gavin, Aaron thought that was plenty of reason to celebrate.
Gavin was still dumbfounded and Aaron patting him on the shoulder didn't do much to snap him out of it. He was too busy trying to think of how to move forward with this because he liked Charlie (and that was an understatement) but he was also a fuckup and she was too good for him and he wasn't sure if he had anything to offer her other than home repairs. "Well, fuck," he muttered to himself, rubbing his face, still staring at the door, half expecting Charlie to walk back in there.
It took Caden a few moments to catch up on who Charlie even was. The name was familiar, but only vaguely so, until he recalled Roxy's texts from church a couple months ago about Gavin inviting Charlie Harris to join them for service. Charlie Harris. Dead sister. "Are you dating Charlie Harris?" Caden asked incredulously. "When the fuck did that happen?" Aaron seemed pretty oblivious to the fact that Charlie did what women did and said too much about their feelings. What was worse was that she said all that shit to Gavin. Letting a woman go after something like that was hard to come back from.
Gavin shook his head and waved his hand dismissively. "Get back to work," he grumbled because the bar was still full and even if the people closest to him seemed to be enjoying the trainwreck view, there were some others who were just impatiently waiting for service. It was going to be hard enough to wrap his head around all of this without Caden getting on his case and he sure as hell didn't owe his brothers any explanation or details on his relationships with other people.
Aaron thought he knew enough to know that they weren’t really dating, but he had definitely picked up on the vibes from Charlie that she was interested, and that was way more than Gavin had had in forever. Ignoring Caden, he laughed a bit at the grunted order, and shoved his knuckles into the meat of Gavin’s arm again in a good-natured gesture. Still grinning, happy for his brother, Aaron turned to head back to where he was going. He shot Caden a look on his way. “Don’t ruin it for him,” he muttered. Caden was good at that, and if a girl actually liked Gavin? They ought to just let him enjoy it.
"He clearly doesn't need me to do that," Caden shot back before clasping Gavin's shoulder and giving it a squeeze before letting go to move past him toward the other end of the bar. "Because that was a royal fuck up, from where I was standing. Self induced, as usual. Still, I forgot how pretty that one was. Bet it was nice while it lasted." He left Gavin to clean up the bar top where two more seats had vacated. At least their old man hadn't overheard anything, otherwise Gavin would have had to retreat to the back to get away from the bullshit.
Frustration bubbled up but Gavin couldn't say Caden was wrong. He'd frozen up like a fucking prey animal and where he wasn't afraid of actual violence and physical harm, he was apparently terrified of warmth and closeness. What the fuck was wrong with him? He furiously wiped down the bartop as the seats got taken pretty fast and then mindlessly served them their orders. His mind was elsewhere, that was for sure, trying to think of something to say to Charlie. She had to know she was far too good for him, that she not only deserved something better but something that was good to begin with. How could she not see that? He groaned softly to himself as he filled up a pitcher of beer, worrying at his lip as he tried to string together words that didn't suck, failing at every turn.