Sage Monroe (turnitup) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2023-09-22 21:11:00 |
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Entry tags: | #group scene, #july 2018, jocelyn, marsh, nate, sage |
Who: Marsh, Sage, Nate, and Jocelyn
Where: The Boathouse
When: Evening, Wednesday, July 11
Status: Complete
Sage was nervous and he couldn’t seem to shake it. He knew he had no reason to be. He saw all three of them on a regular basis and had zero issues with it. It was bringing them together that felt weird, like a major step in his relationship with Marsh, even though it was just dinner. Granted, it was at a nicer restaurant than he’d normally eat at, but Marsh assured him it wasn’t anything over the top. Of course, everything felt nicer than Moxie’s and Dino’s, but The Boathouse required jeans without holes. They even had a reservation, assuring them an inside table, one not next to the windows. It was light now, but it would eventually get dark and Sage was trying to avoid stressing about anything else. Maybe he’d relax after a drink or two, but he also felt the need to pace himself. The last thing he needed was to end up drunk.
As they walked into The Boathouse, Sage’s hand began to rapidly tap his thigh. He was one step away from bouncing on the balls of his feet, his energy beginning to physically manifest. He felt so out of place there that he was sure the hostess was going to ask him to leave. Instead, she turned her attention to Marsh and asked how many they needed to seat. He provided the reservation details and then they were being shown to their table. All was normal. All was fine. He just needed to get out of his head. He stared at the hostess as she spoke one last time, only finding his voice when she left him alone with Marsh. “I am, like, crawling out of my skin,” he sighed. “Do I taste weird? I feel weird.”
Marsh did get nervous about random things, but socializing was not one of them. He knew Nate from school and he knew of Jocelyn so neither of them was some big mystery waiting to throw him off his game. It was more than easy to pick up on Sage's nerves though, literally a flavor he couldn't get rid of from his mouth so Sage's question almost made him laugh. "Nothing obvious," he lied because Sage didn't need to feel more pressure than he already did. "Why do you feel weird though? You know both of them, right? I promise wholeheartedly that I won't embarrass you tonight." That last bit was playful, he knew that probably wasn't what Sage was worried about.
“I’m not worried about you embarrassing me,” Sage said, a smile breaking past his nerves. No, if anyone was going to be embarrassing him, it would be Sage himself. He knew that going in. “I know them, but I don’t know them together. And it’s—It’s like, this is a normal thing. We’re doing a normal thing that people do. We’re having dinner with friends. You’re meeting my friends. And that feels—” Sage pressed his lips together, worried if he put it out there, it would give Marsh the opportunity to dispute it. It felt official, and he had no real idea how that had happened, especially when he was still such a train wreck. He hadn’t had a boyfriend or girlfriend worth introducing to friends in years, let alone someone of Marsh’s caliber. And despite everyone’s assurances that he deserved good things, he felt that any second the bubble would pop. “I forgot what it feels like to do something normal.”
"Too normal," Marsh said with a knowing nod and a hum. "Do you want this to be weirder? We can totally make this weirder." He tugged at Sage to get him to lean in so he could kiss his cheek, rubbing his nose against his hair before pulling back again. "It'll be super chill and fun as soon as they get here, I promise. It's just your friend and her boyfriend. Unless I missed something. We're not actually meeting your parents, are we?" He shot Sage a cheeky smile and hell he had to admit that that would rattle him a little. He still needed to have a conversation with his own parents about bisexuality and the fact his 'silly little tryst' was actually turning into something more serious.
“No, no, normal’s fine,” Sage snickered, kissing Marsh back. Normal was good; he just wasn’t used to it. Even months after returning from the other world, the days weren’t exactly normal for Sage. He was still getting back into a routine, but his routine included avoiding the dark and sometimes sleeping in closets, not dinners with friends at nice restaurants. He could do it though. He could. “Just my friend and her boyfriend, who is also my boss,” he confirmed. “I would never spring my parents on you. I’m sure they’d love you, but that would just be mean.” He actually thought his parents were easy going and not at all intimidating, but he knew that was a big step in a relationship, a lot bigger than meeting his friends.
"Just means he can't fire you without pissing off his girlfriend," Marsh said and while that probably wasn't a positive thing, he didn't think Sage was going to give Nate a reason to fire him so it shouldn't be an issue. He ordered them some drinks when the waiter came by and told him they were waiting on more people so they'd order later. He had started telling Sage a funny story from work to try to distract him from his nerves when he spotted Jocelyn and Nate walking to their table. A good thing, the longer they had to wait for them, the more nervous Sage was going to get and Marsh was eager for him to find out this wasn't going to be stressful at all.
“I don’t think he’d have hired me back if he was going to fire me,” Sage said, and it was one of the few things he was confident about. He felt stable within the walls of Dragonfly, the magic of the place bringing his anxieties down to a manageable level, and he knew that, despite all his issues, he was a decent bartender. If Nate had an issue with his past he wouldn’t have hired him the first time around, let alone the second. Sage sipped at his drink while they waited, allowing himself to become engrossed in Marsh’s story until he saw Marsh’s eyes flick over to something behind him. Glancing over his shoulder, Sage smiled and stamped down the nerves that threatened the flare up. There was nothing to be nervous about. Every one of these people were awesome, so tonight would be fine.
It was rare for Nate to have a Wednesday night off, and even rarer for him to be spending it with both Jocelyn and Sage. Normally, if he wasn’t at the bar, then Sage was there in his stead. And Jocelyn kept a similar schedule. He wasn’t worried about the three of them together, but rather how things were going without him. But he’d been promised Dragonfly was in good hands for the night, and until he got a call stating otherwise, he was determined to believe it. He rarely got a chance to be social outside work, so this was a treat. He was also curious about the man who Sage had so quickly become attached to. One hand held Jocelyn’s as they made their way over to the table, and the other lifted in a brief wave as Sage turned their way. “You haven’t been waiting long, have you?”
Jocelyn was excited to be going out to dinner with Sage and Marsh. She had been working so many hours at the bar lately that it had been hard to find much of a social life. But this random Wednesday brought her exactly what she had needed, which was a night out with Nate and her friends. Plus, it was nice to drag Nate away from Dragonfly, since he tended to work even more than she did. "Hey there," she said with a grin, leaning down to press a kiss to Sage's cheek before she took a seat with Nate. "It took a while to find a parking spot. I forgot how crowded Point Pleasant gets in the summer." Random people deciding to take brief vacations in a tiny, seaside town known for its bloody history. Typical.
"It's a whole different town," Marsh agreed with a knowing smile and while it had felt normal his whole life, he'd started feeling the vast differences between visiting in the summer or visiting for Christmas after he went away for school. "We had to walk a bit too," he added and it was a good thing they had a reservation and didn't need to worry about getting a table. "Lucked out on Raymund Avenue, at least it's not raining." As expected the waiter was back within a heartbeat to offer up drinks for the newcomers and once he left again, Marsh opened up the menu to browse for the specials, hoping nobody was going to have strong feelings around him to spoil his appetite. So far everything was fairly mellow and the people around them were clearly more focused on their food than their personal affairs.
Sage’s anxiety began to dissipate as everyone began to settle in and he took a moment to look over the menu before he realized that he hadn’t formally introduced anyone. Was that weird? Should he do it now or would that be weird? He was sure that everyone knew everyone’s name, so that part felt uncalled for, however he felt like he should say something. He’d been the one to get everyone together after all. “I keep forgetting that you spent years away from this place,” he told Jocelyn. “I mean, logically, I know you did, but I have trouble knowing the impact that would have, like the things you forget.”
Jocelyn skimmed the menu and flashed a smile at Sage. "I keep forgetting I spent years away from home too. Sometimes it feels like I never left." There were both pros and cons to that. She was trying not to beam at Sage, now that they were there with Sage's new boyfriend. The urge was there to tease, but she didn't want to make Sage feel awkward or embarrass him. Instead she focused on Marsh. Jocelyn knew him in a way that everyone knew everyone else in a small town, but she wanted to know who he was. "You've only recently returned home too, is that right?"
"Yup," Marsh replied. "Just been home about a month, give or take. I definitely feel it though. Everything kinda feels the same but really not. Like they fixed up the ghost house on Ludlow. Kinda not wrapping my head around someone actually living there." He had some memories of that house, not very pleasant ones, but so did probably everyone and anyone who'd spent their teenage years in Point Pleasant. "Were you away for school or work?" he asked, closing his menu since he already had a pretty good idea of what he wanted so it wasn't hard to find. "Seems like everyone who leaves finds their way right back."
Sage listened for the moment, relieved that people were actually talking and that he didn’t have to do much more to generate conversation. Of all of them, he felt like he knew the most about everyone, so he didn’t have any actual questions, but the last thing he wanted to do was information dump in an effort for them to get to know each other. This was much more natural, and he could chime in when appropriate. For now, he just listened and took the opportunity to figure out something that looked good on the menu.
Jocelyn knew exactly what house Marsh was talking about. It blew her mind that someone had actually bought the Zinneman house and basically flipped it. At the same time, she was a little sad that the "haunted house" in town was gone. She and her friends had always had fun trying to spook each other by going inside. But she supposed one less terrifying thing about Point Pleasant was beneficial to everyone. "I originally left for school, but college and I did not get along very well... so I ended up working in California. That got boring so I just decided to come home. It's amazing how desperately I wanted to get out of this town and then I found myself missing it." Jocelyn chuckled and set her menu down. "But, like you said, everyone seems to find their way back."
"God, I know, right?" Marsh sighed with a little grin. "Only time I didn't really miss it was when I was overseas. Did you ever leave, Nate?" he asked, turning his attention to Nate. Dragonfly had been around for a few years now but he honestly couldn't remember how many and it had been a hot minute since they'd graduated high school. Marsh obviously hadn't been keeping tabs on people he barely knew when he'd hardly even kept tabs on the people he did know.
“Oh yeah,” Nate grinned. “Clocked in four years at UPenn, then came back here to open Dragonfly. My parents were less than thrilled, but I’ve always known this is where I’m meant to be.” He could have setup shop anywhere and probably been successful, considering the spells he used on the bar, but the draw to Point Pleasant was undeniable. He used to think it was because he was a witch and the magic there felt so much stronger, but it seemed to impact everyone, not just witches. The four of them were a perfect example. “Did you ever leave, Sage?”
Sage shook his head. “Naw, not really. A few road trips here and there, but I don’t think I’ve ever been gone more than a week.” He’d thought about it, but the nightmares got worse the longer he stayed away. He wondered if it would matter now, when the nightmares were frequent no matter where he was. The town was in his blood, in the atoms that made up who he was. It would be with him regardless. “Everyone I care about is here, though. Especially now that Joss and Jacob are back. No reason to leave.” Except for his mental health, but that was already in tatters, so why bother?
There were so many reasons to leave, in Jocelyn's mind. But this town sort of quelled the need for rational thought, which is probably why so many people still lived here, including herself. They had a moment when the waiter appeared to take their orders and Jocelyn was eager for a glass of wine. It wasn't that she was uncomfortable, but talking about the town itself always made her feel a bit restless. Marsh and Nate didn't care about Sage and Jocelyn's past, which was great, but Jocelyn was still keenly aware of how most of the town treated them after Grayson disappeared. Those memories always surfaced when discussing Point Pleasant as a whole. "You're right. This town is infinitely more exciting with me and Jacob home," Jocelyn teased. "Though shockingly, I'd be okay with everything being quiet and boring for a while."
"Or, you know, exciting in fun ways," Marsh offered with a smile. "The carnival was fun," he added. "I kinda miss it already." He'd been lucky, of course, and he didn't even know it. He and Sage had had a good time and Marsh was completely oblivious to the fact he'd almost gotten murdered because of some supernatural shenanigans. "But we can make our own fun, so yeah, nice and quiet would be just fine. More time for dinner with friends and karaoke."
Nate had heard some strange shit when it came to the carnival. His sister claimed to have body swapped with Zania due to some bizarre mirror curse, and a number of people claimed to have seen visions or ghosts. While he believed them all, he’d experienced none of it himself and was oddly disappointed. None of it seemed permanently threatening, so he would’ve liked to go up against a carnival trick or two, just to see if he could handle it. “I’m all about making our own kinda fun,” Nate grinned, since he knew outright asking the town to provide it would be a horrible idea. “Are we doing karaoke tonight? Or was that just an example?”
Sage had had fun at the carnival, but he’d heard about things happening there and was glad he hadn’t ended up going more than once. He and Jacob had talked about it, had really wanted to go, but work had eventually gotten in the way. Looking back, that seemed like a good thing, despite how much fun he’d had with Marsh. “I don’t think we decided for sure, but I’m usually down for it,” Sage smiled. He hadn’t sung in front of an audience in months, other than that little solo he’d done for Ty, but he thought he could handle it. It was the sort of adrenaline rush that he enjoyed, the kind that didn’t come with the risk of dying.
"The thing I like about karaoke is more people have fun when you sing terribly," Jocelyn said, smiling up at the waiter who had returned with their drinks. She didn't mind doing karaoke, especially if she had a few drinks in her first. "It's definitely more appealing than hearing someone sounding like a drowned cat while they're singing in the shower. Nate's had to suffer through that more than a few times." She nudged Nate gently with her elbow before picking up her drink to take a sip.
"I love that place so I'm down," Marsh replied and laughed at Jocelyn's vivid metaphor. "Kinda curious to hear what a drowned cat singing sounds like now." She was right too, it was fun to get a good concert when someone really had pipes on them and it was a pleasure to hear Sage sing, but there was something endearing about off-key emotional wailing or bad rapping. Being around people when they were laughing and having a good time was double the pleasure for him because of his weird new condition so that factored in too and now he wanted to know if Jocelyn was just downplaying some talent she had or if she really sounded awful when singing.
“Oh, it’s lovely,” Nate snickered, nudging Jocelyn as he teased her. “I get a free show on a regular basis. Wouldn’t miss it.” She wasn’t all that bad in Nate’s opinion, but she’d been the one to call herself a drowned cat, so he might as well go with it. Honestly, she looked good enough in the shower that he didn’t care what she sounded like, so long as he got to join her on occasion. “Kinda looking forward to hearing Sage sing, other than under your breath when you’re working the bar. I know you’ve got a band, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen you guys perform.”
“Yeah, there aren’t a lot of opportunities here in Point Pleasant,” Sage said with a little shrug. “We don’t really play the kind of music they’d want for any of the Main Street festivals or shit like that, but we’ve done a few shows in the surrounding area. I did get looped into playing the piano at one of the country club things once. Me personally, not the whole band. The tips were horrible, but I booked three new students after that gig.” That had more than made up for the lack of tips. Sage enjoyed bartending, but it wasn’t his passion. Any opportunity to play music was a good one, but it was best when he had the creative freedom to play what he wanted.
Jocelyn snorted. "Leave it to the country clubbers to be shitty tippers." She knew Nate's parents were a part of that crowd but she doubted he would disagree. "Have you ever thought about moving to New York City or something?" she asked Sage. "Somewhere you would have better chances to play your music? Like you said, Point Pleasant isn't exactly a stepping stone to a sustainable career." Not that she wanted Sage to leave, but he had to think he was wasting his talent by staying in town, right?
“I’ve thought about it, but it’s a big risk,” Sage said. “And it wouldn’t just be me making the move; it’d be the whole band. None of us have the money to focus on our music full time, and it’d be even more expensive to live in a place like New York City. There’s a lot of talented people out there and the chance of being discovered, getting a label and all, is pretty damn slim. Maybe we’ll book some time at a recording studio some day and new music posted online, but… I dunno. It’d be awesome to make it big, but as long as I’m making music, I’m happy.” While that was all true, there was even more to it than that. The nightmares had been a huge part of why he’d stayed. Now that they seemed to plague him no matter where he was, he could probably leave and deal with them, but he’d matured enough to know it wasn’t going to be simple. It was a dream—one he would never let go of completely, but also never really expected to come true. “And hey, we’ve got groupies in the area. Some even make shirts. Know all the words to our songs. We’re not making it big or anything, but it’s fun.”
"I'm honestly terrified he'll get discovered by some sleazy big city manager and stolen away from here," Marsh sighed. "Not much to keep you here if you get rich and famous." The odds of that happening were slim, talent had very little to do with stardom, sadly. It was all about connections, manipulation, money and luck. "Now I know what to get you for your birthday though," he added speculatively since renting a studio would be expensive and getting that for free would really boost Sage's band. "I'd totally wear your shirt if you got around to making one, you know. I don't wanna be out-groupied." He'd known plenty of great musicians who never did more with their lives than some local gigs while working other jobs and that was the most realistic future to hope for, but it would be amazing if Sage made any money from his music, let alone if he got to go on some bigger tours than just the local area.
Jocelyn's smile widened. "Sage is smart enough to recognize the sleazy managers." But she understood what Marsh meant. As much as she wanted happiness and success for her friends, it would still suck big time if they left town for any reason. Having them there certainly made her feel less alone. "And hey, I'm a groupie! Why don't I get a shirt?" She fake pouted before reaching for her wine. "Seriously though, next time you guys have a gig somewhere, tell us. I've talked to Nate about your music before, I'd love it if we could both come and hear you."
“Don’t worry, we’re out in BFE. No one’s going to discover me here,” Sage smiled, leaning into Marsh before his eyes grew big and round. Getting studio time was a dream, the kind of thing they could never afford, and was an experience all on its own. He’d normally take such an offer as a joke, but Marsh had the kind of money to make it happen if he wanted to. “Oh my God, I could never top that,” he said. “That’d be, like, the most epic gift of all time.” A part of him hoping Marsh was joking because he’d spend the rest of his life trying to find something just as good in return. “It’s easy to get shirts made. Next gig we play, we’ll get some printed. Then all three of you can be groupies. But you’ve got to learn the music first. It’s more fun if you sing along.”
"If we're gonna learn the music, you need to play us the music," Marsh tittered and he absolutely would wear band merch for his boy. Sage's friends probably had far more experience with the music itself, Sage was shy and still a little skittish about it all with Marsh. "I never did do the whole groupie thing, I think there's like some unwritten law you can't do it after thirty so, I should probably try it while I still can. Or was it twenty? Oh hell, I'll probably be lame either way, I don't care." He gave Sage a warm grin. His reaction hadn't escaped his notice, but he was serious about the stupid thing, though maybe Christmas would be more appropriate. Their relationship was still young and Sage's birthday was right around the corner. "I'm not gonna get stalked by angry groupies for being your boyfriend, am I?" He asked with wide eyes of his own. "Have you gotten harrassed for being a pretty girl in his life?" he added, turning his question to Jocelyn.
Marsh had a point and Jocelyn chuckled as she took another drink. She had fun at concerts, but she couldn't say she was ever a groupie. In high school she had been more into the jocks than the musicians. Jocelyn's type had changed over time and she found she just liked the person beyond whatever label they fit into. "Oh, yeah, for sure," she said playfully, setting her glass back down. "You wouldn't believe how many groups of girls chase me down the street just for knowing Sage. Someday it'll be like the Beatles. He'll have panties thrown at him and I'll get tomatoes."
Sage’s face burned as he laughed, shaking his head at the ridiculousness of it all. He couldn’t imagine a world in which his fans were so rabid that they chased down a potential threat for his attention. Even if it was possible, he wouldn’t want it. “If someone actually threw underwear on stage, I think we might have a heart attack. The whole band. Foster’d fall off his drum kit and the whole set would be lost,” he said, continuing to snicker. It was hard to stop now that he’d gotten started. He took a sip of water to help calm himself down and it was only then that Marsh’s earlier comment came back to him. “I’ll play for you whenever you want. You’ve just gotta ask.” He’d held back at first because his mood had been so dark, his voice hard to come by, but lately it was more that he was nervous about diving into it with Marsh. Once he got started on the subject, it was hard to rein himself back in.
"Man, you guys need to get more suave if you're looking to get famous," Marsh said, highly amused at the mental image of Sage's band falling apart at getting panties thrown on stage. He didn't believe for a second that they were all that easily tripped up but it made for a funny story. "I've never had underwear thrown at me but I've been hit on in some weird ways on the job. I bet you can all relate, working in customer care and all." Maybe he was partially changing the subject because he knew Sage felt shy about the music around him and he totally got why. Sharing really important things with someone was terrifying if that someone mattered and Marsh liked to think they had something real going for them. He was pretty chill about music in general, not snobby in one way or another, so he couldn't imagine not liking Sage's music.
Jocelyn also found it amusing, picturing Sage panic at the sight of women's underwear being flung onstage. The band was definitely more put together than that, but the talk was all in good fun anyway. She nodded at Marsh as she took a sip of her drink, then she glanced briefly at Nate. "I would say working in the service industry when there is mostly alcohol involved definitely makes for some... interesting stories. I've had some pretty terrible interactions with drunk assholes at the bar, but I think most of the people who come into the Porch are scared of the Lucas brothers, so they mostly leave me alone in that way. Occasionally I do get asked out, so you have to learn how to let people down without pissing them off."
Sage knew that, realistically, they’d probably just roll with it if someone threw underwear on stage, but it seemed so outlandish that he had to joke about it. Hitting that level of groupie felt like an achievement of some sort, meant for rock bands in the 80s, not today. Marsh was right in that far more outlandish things happened bartending than playing a concert, in large part because he was a bartender in Point Pleasant. “I don’t think I’ve ever been hit on at work, but that’s fine with me,” Sage shrugged, though there was a possibility that he’d been flirted with and not even noticed. Sometimes, when he wasn’t into a person, he could be oblivious. “When the town’s behaving itself, the customers at Dragonfly are pretty chill. I used to think it was because everyone was happily buzzed, but now I know better,” he said, shooting a look towards Nate.
“What?” Nate grinned. “They are happily buzzed. I can’t control someone’s mood. If someone wants to be an asshole, they’ll be an asshole. Just, maybe, an asshole with a serotonin high. And a decreased inclination for violence.” It made him laugh just to say it because it sounded so dramatic, when in reality the runes had been very carefully tweaked to ensure that people just felt good while they were there. And most of the time, when people felt good, they were nice. He’d never outright told Sage and Marsh he was a witch, but at this point he knew they knew. As he understood it, Sage could disappear at will, so being a witch seemed like a minor thing.
Marsh nudged Sage again. "You've definitely been hit on more than you realize, I think you've just been a bartender too long so you've become immune to it." The way they met had definitely been different than a flirt at a bar and he wondered if Sage would have realized he was flirting with him if he'd actually done so at Dragonfly. "Most of my customers are sober," he then said as if that was a revelation he had to share with them and he nodded with his eyes wide for a couple of seconds just to hammer home the point before laughing. "And yet... I've had some really weird come-ons. Or innuendo? About my hands? Which is slightly disturbing when your hands are currently pulling a calf out of a cow, you know? People can be crazy, with or without booze."
"You can tell a lot by a man's hands," Jocelyn confirmed with a nod. "Just saying." She was also sure that Sage had been hit on in the past but she knew him well enough to know he probably hadn't picked up on it. Boys could be so oblivious sometimes. Boys? Men. It was weird to think of Sage and Jacob as men now, but they were. Sometimes she still thought of the three of them as teenagers trying to get through the trauma that was growing up in Point Pleasant. Now they were adults trying to get through the trauma that was growing up in Point Pleasant. Some shit never changed. "But Marsh is absolutely right. People are crazy. Thankfully we haven't had any violence at the Porch lately. Some arguments but no punches thrown. With such limited places to drink, I don't think anyone wants to get banned for life from either place."
“Never dreamed you’d get hit on that much at work,” Sage teased Marsh. “I mean, I should’ve, ‘cause you’re you, but it never occurred to me to pick up guys at the vet’s office.” There was a beat where Sage paused, heard what he said, then laughed at himself. “And yet, I did it anyways.” Parts of that night were still a blur to him, but he knew he’d come on to Marsh, probably stronger than he ever would have sober. It wouldn’t have shocked him if he’d commented on Marsh’s hands that night, specifically what he’d wanted them to do to him. “Maybe I should come ‘round again and mark my territory,” he said before trying to focus on the rest of the conversation. “You know, there is one other bar, if you can call it that. Or is it a bookstore with a bar? I doubt anyone throws punches in there.”
Marsh laughed because yes, Sage had very literally picked him up at the clinic - but they had met at a fancy gala so there was that. "Books and beer," he said with a nod. "I don't think people go there to get drunk enough to fight, it's a nice place to sit down with a drink and a book when you want to get out of the house and be by yourself but around people. That's such a specific mood." He couldn't help but laugh again but he'd definitely been there a few times - though he rarely had a beer when he did. "Could have named it laptops and wine and it would have fit too, if you ask me."
Jocelyn nodded. "Very different atmospheres, for sure. Very different clientele too." She was so ready to eat and looked around eagerly for any sign of their food. "And if you do decide to mark your territory," she said to Sage in amusement, "don't do the whole peeing a circle around Marsh like animals do. That's just weird. Actually marking your territory in any fashion might be better when it's empty... though I guess that defeats the purpose?" Jocelyn turned to Nate. "Do I need to come into Dragonfly and write my name on your forehead so the ladies know to back off?"
“I mean, I’d probably let you, but there are a lot more fun ways to mark your territory than writing on my forehead,” Nate grinned. They were old enough now that having a love bite on full display was probably distasteful, but he couldn’t give a shit. If Jocelyn wanted other women to know he was taken, he’d let her. It was completely unnecessary, Nate never picked up girls in his own bar, but that didn’t exactly stop girls from hitting on him. And, honestly, if it kept them in the bar, buying drinks, he didn’t mind, but he could see how she might. He wasn’t exactly fond of random men hitting on her, especially if they got handsy.
“I promise not to pee anywhere in your clinic,” Sage murmured to Marsh, unable to stop himself from snickering. “Or at home. I can find better ways to mark my territory.” Marsh was usually the one marking him, not the other way around, but sometimes Sage felt the inclination, the desire to let people know that Marsh was his, at least for now. Sage knew Marsh could lose interest any day now, but the fact that he was there, having dinner with his friends, seemed to indicate the opposite. Maybe this would last longer than he expected. “Later, of course,” he told Marsh as he spotted their waiter, heading towards their table with a tray. “Maybe after dinner.”
Marsh smirked, reaching up to ruffle Sage's hair. "If you do end up peeing to mark your territory, please do it at the clinic. We're used to that there and I can pay people to clean it up." That probably wasn't what Roxy and Ty had signed up for but it was part of the job more often than not though they could of course draw the line at human waste. Not that they needed to know what it was. He was just thankful that he knew for sure Sage was joking, he'd met the kind of people who would actually do that for real just to mess with him. It really took all sorts. It was easier to joke about that than it was to start talking sex in front of Sage's friends and he leaned in against his boy, lowering his voice a little. "Your territory is already marked, don't worry about it."
Jocelyn smirked a bit and pushed her foot gently against Nate's beneath the table. She could see how women visiting Dragonfly would find him attractive and hit on him, but she was pretty secure in their relationship, so it didn't really bother her too much. As long as they kept their hands to themselves, of course. Jocelyn didn't really shy away from confrontation if it came down to that. "If you two start making out at the table, I'm going to take my food and eat in the car," Jocelyn teased.
Maybe it was his age, or the sort of friends he usually hung out with, but Sage’s sense of what was appropriate dinner conversation wasn’t the best. He would have continued openly flirting with Marsh if it wasn’t for Jocelyn’s comment and the arrival of their food. “I’ll refrain, but only because the whole point was eating together,” Sage smirked, his mouth watering as their food was set on the table before them. It looked delicious, though it should for the money they were spending to eat there. They didn’t do this often though, so Sage supposed it was okay to splurge once in a while.
Marsh was okay with doing the flirting and kissing on Sage after dinner and he sat up straighter in his seat when his food got put in front of him. "Thank you, that looks amazing," he told the waiter with a smile that then brightened when he turned to his companions at the table again. "Nobody's eating in the car, we're paying good money for this table." He tittered, glancing at Sage again and soaking in the faint taste of joy from him. His rabbity boyfriend was so often a nervous wreck - and while that tasted good, Marsh wanted him to be happy and enjoy himself. So he proposed a toast to get them all on the same wavelength again before they enjoyed their meals.