shakinthedust

[shakinthedust]

[message: Jules] i don't think anyone has ever been this upfront with a message. gutsy as fuck. i respect that.

[message: Jules] coffee sounds great though. i work twelves tuesday through thursday but free the other days?

@shakinthedust

[message: Tanner] i think you’re cute, i’m hoping you matched with me because you think i’m cute, and i’m really bad at texting. sooo at risk of coming on too strong, what do you say we go get coffee sometime this week?

[shakinthedust]

he has to chuckle at that. "Is that why she's been looking so frustrated the last few times we've all gotten together? Just waiting for you to finally spill the beans?" he teases. je shakes his head a little, feeling bashful. no one has ever made him feel as special as layla lambert. "you really are something else, you know that? any birthday with you is better than all the rest." and if he was lucky, he'd get to spend all the rest of his birthdays with layla at his side.

“oh, it’s been terrible. sparrow’s probably sick’a me talkin’ about these damn tickets,” she answers when she’s finally on her own two feet. layla reaches up to cup his face gently in her hands when he leans down to give her another kiss, always happy to have one more kiss from jer. “you’re so welcome, baby. and it was no trouble at all. i just wanted to make sure you’d have the best birthday ever. because you deserve it. and more.”

[shakinthedust]

jer laughs again and turns his head in time to steal her second kiss. "i can't believe you kept these a secret for so long! it must have been killing you," he teases with a smile before gently setting her back down on her feet. "how did i ever get so lucky?" he asks, leaning down to kiss her again. "thank you layla. thank you so much. i just can't believe you went through all this trouble."

layla grins the second she sees his reaction. it’s all worth it just to see jer happy like that. everything’s worth it to see him happy like that. she giggles when he scoops her up and wraps her arms around him tightly. she presses a kiss to his cheek and then another to the corner of the lips. “i’ve had them for a while, i wanted to surprise you! honestly, i don’t know how i kept my mouth shut about this ‘cause i’ve been dyin’ to tell you.”

[shakinthedust]

jer's lips lift into an amused questioning smile as he takes the envelope and opens it. his eyes widen as he scans the contents. "holy shit," he says. "how did you even," he trails off, "this show has been sold out for weeks. when did you get these? oh my god, layla. I don't even know what to say." jer laughs and scoops layla into his arms to hug her to him tightly."

@shakinthedust

“okay, so i have a little somethin’ for ya in my purse and i’m realizin’ right now i probably should’ve made sure you didn’t have plans, but i’m trustin’ it’ll all work out. here you go, baby.” she hands over an envelope, inside of which are two vip tickets to a concert his favorite artist is playing in a few weeks.

[shakinthedust]

"Does that mean I get a percentage of the profit for my idea? And my name?" he asks, smirking. "I mean, it was my idea and all, and it seems only fair that I get maybe one or two percent. That's not asking too much, is it?" Thatcher could hear his heart beating in his chest and a blush quickly spread across his face. "Oh yeah? That is... that is definitely good to know." He wasn't sure what to say next, but he was sure he wasn't going to stop smiling any time soon.

Charlie chuckled, shaking his head fondly. It was nice, the way he and Thatcher could joke around. "Ooh. The alliteration is fun, maybe I'll brainstorm something around that," he played along. Charlie watched Thatcher tilt his head and couldn't help but smile even wider. This seemed to be going even better than he hoped it would. Being bold could pay off from time to time. "Definitely on the downright irresistible side of the scale."

[shakinthedust]

"i'm trying very hard not to have my mind made up but you being a prick is a pretty compelling argument against that restraint. if you stopped being a dick for two and a half seconds you might realize that i'm trying to help you, asshole."

"oh, no, not my tone. and are you sure your mind's not made up? it really does seem like it is."

[shakinthedust]

billie laughs, lifting her arms up to wrap around his neck and meet him halfway. she returns his kiss happily, longing for them moments with tucker. "doesn't seem very cloak and dagger," she teases when they eventually break apart. "felt a little obvious actually." because she can't let him get away with anything. "of course you can stay over," she says, pausing after to realize how much it doesn't bother her how easily he fits into her life; to their lives. billie rolls her eyes. "please. like he needs a gift card to the coffee shop. all he needs is to bat his eyes and charlie falls for it every time."

"well i was envisioning something like this," he answers, leaning down so he can kiss billie. he was still getting used to their height difference, but a crick in his neck was more than worth it to kiss her. tucker smiles at billie, happy that she's agreed to tag along. it'll be nice for them to meet, especially when he knows they'll get along so well. "oh, does this mean i might get to stay over? i can make breakfast. and i'll pick up a gift card or something for thatcher. maybe for the coffee shop?"

[shakinthedust]

He gasps a little when Adam recounts the trials he went through for this meal and the hoops his mother made him jump through. "She made you promise not to tell me?" he repeats, horrified. "How dare she! When is she going to let the cookie thing go?" he asks. Pete crosses his arms loosely. "What a traitor." He grumbles about wanting to call her second just to spite her, but he would never do that to Adam. "Baby, I can't get over how much effort you put into all this. I'll never be over it. Oh my god." he steps forward, cups Adam's face between his hands, and kisses him fiercely. He keeps kissing him until breathing becomes a necessity. "You are so getting lucky tonight," he jokes.

Adam laughs, proud of the reaction that Pete has to seeing the spread all laid out. It had been a lot of work, but the look on Pete's face is more than worth all the work. He'd do it over a hundred times again to see him smile like that. "I did, but she drives a very hard bargain. She gets the first call when we're done celebrating just the two of us. I had to tell her what it was for before she even considered giving it up," he explains. "Oh, and I promised I would never share it with you or bring it to any event. I can only make it on special occasions for you."

[shakinthedust]

the way sawyer tucks herself against him so perfectly makes him smile and his cheeks warm. he can't remember the last time he was this happy and it's all thanks to sawyer. he pulls her extra close to press a quick kiss to the top of her head. "yeah, so, maybe not the best story grandpa, but still a good one," he laughs a bit awkwardly. "yeah. it just... all came together. and here we are. and it's pretty great."

sawyer wraps her arm around kyle's waist, liking the way it feels to be held against his side. it's so casual and small, but it's also so nice. she can't help but giggle when he recounts the story, if you can even call what he said a story. but she doesn't know that she would've been much better. "i mean, you got all the highlights in there?" she can't but laugh again, giving him a gentle squeeze. "honestly, i don't know that there's much more to tell. it was just like it kind of all clicked into place? it stopped seeming so scary to admit to how i felt."

[shakinthedust]

Nate leans into her when she steals her kiss, grinning wide from ear to ear. "I am too," he says softly. Nate throws his head back laughing. He knows how serious Charlotte is. She and Nina are as thick as thieves. "Hey, if I did that, she'd probably stay the weekend," he tells her. "There could be a silver lining here. Sure, I might get my ass handed to me by a tiny shrimp but your best friend would be in town for a minute." Nate snorts. "No, it's not bad. Or if it is, we're both fucked. I want there to be a beef too. Imagine the ice pun potential. Could be funny as hell. And of course we're going to pick Easy Freezy. Was there ever any doubt?"

"Yes, he really does! He gets so excited when you come hang out with him," she assures him. She thinks Nate's been as good for Chris as Chris has been for Nate. Her dad never did great on his own and having Nate check in has helped the house feel less empty. She leans up and presses another kiss to his cheek. "I'm glad you two have each other. Makes me happy to know my favorite guys are taken care of." She fake gasps and pulls away from him. "You better not say any of that to Nina! She'll probably come kick your ass since she'd never hurt me." Nina was a formidable enemy if Nate wanted to go there. "Is it bad that I hope there's beef? I feel like if it comes down to taking sides, we have to go with Easy Freezy, even if this new place is good, because brand loyalty is important. And weird, potential fronts are the backbone of small town America."

[shakinthedust]

"well, it's really only half planned right now if i'm honest, but it'll be fully there in time for dinner. and is six tonight okay? or do you wanna go a little earlier? enjoy some quiet time tonight?"

"evan, i know whatever you've planned is going to be perfect. anytime i get to spend with you is best, especially when it's just us. what time should i be ready?"

[shakinthedust]

"nah, that's definitely you," jer says firmly with a shake of his head. "you are brilliant in all things and i merely stand in awe." he smiles softly at that. "you think so?" he asks before thinking about it and chuckling lightly. "i wanted us to get here. and i'm so glad you were brave. and maybe a little proud," he adds, voice shifting into a question. "is that weird?" when she tells him she wouldn't have been able to keep her feelings to herself forever, his heart stutters. she really was so much braver than she knew.

"look at you continuing to bring up very, very good points. i'm starting to think you might be the brains behind this whole operation," she plays along, smiling brightly at him. "i'm really happy that we're here too," she agrees. "i'd like to think we would've gotten here eventually. maybe not as quickly, but i don't know, you make feel a little braver. i don't think i would've been able to keep the way i felt all to myself forever."

[shakinthedust]

grayson smiles at that and nods. "you know, i never really thought of it like that. you have a good point," he agrees easily. as someone who loved learning new things, it was nice to meet a stranger with a similar frame of mind. grayson waves him off and shakes his head. "no problem. i was happy to help. stressful situations can make our brains go a little haywire but i know you would have figured it out without me. i just sped it up a little. you got it from here?"

"it's always nice to learn something new, isn't it? and here, there are so many new things to learn." he thinks he could visit a hundred more times and the humans will have come up with something new each and every time. he smiles and takes the receipt, he'll have to ask emrys what this was later. it seemed important. "thank you again, really. i was so lost and you were so kind." he says, reaching out to gently pat grayson on the shoulder. as he does, he casts a little good luck charm. it should last a week or so. something small to repay the kindness.

[shakinthedust]

"You'll survive," Thatcher promised. He nodded in mock seriousness. "Yeah, you know me. Really need to dot my Is and cross my Ts. Hey, there's your name. Thoroughly Thatcher," he suggested. "I mean, not really, but the alliteration is fun." Thatcher looked up in surprise at Charlie's tone. He tilted his head and started to smile. Oh, so that's how it is, he thought. "Yeah? How appealing? On a scale of barely tolerable to downright irresistible?"

"Oh, that's just mean," Charlie replied, grinning right back at him. "A bulleted list and citations? Wow, you're being very thorough," he played along. The smile on his face softened as Thatcher explained the drink, happy that he'd managed everything he wanted with it and that someone else thought so too. "I liked it a lot, but I'm definitely biased towards iced lattes," he answered with a shrug. "See, I happen think it sounds very appearing." Was he being too obvious? Maybe it would be good if he was, that way there was no misunderstanding what he was going for.

[shakinthedust]

"oh could we? and how would you suggest we do that? what are you envisioning tucker?" she asks, tilting her head with a smirk, all but daring him to keep going. billie nods in acceptance. "that makes sense. sometimes you just need to know you can stand on your own. i respect that. very independent woman. alright, i'll text him to see if shiloh can just stay over so we don't wake her up when we get home."

"we could always make things more exciting without the cloak and dagger shit, just me and you," he says with a wink. he just can't help himself. billie's too cute not to flirt with. "it can be a little much, but i get why she does it. she wants to know she's making a name for herself on her own and not because of who are dad is. the show's on saturday, i think it starts at 8? so we could be back late saturday night if he could at least swing a few hours."

[shakinthedust]

"i don't know, maybe because that's how conversations work? and i haven't made my mind up yet but that tone certainly isn't helping your case."

@shakinthedust

"well, why ask then? it sounds like you've already got your mind made up."

[shakinthedust]

grayson smiles a little and nods at that. Ah, so he was just helping a wealthy guy who wasn't used to this sort of thing. he could respect that. "well, there's a first time for everything, right? and you got to learn something new today. not too bad at all," he assures him. his experience on campus has taught him that sometimes the wealthiest of people need the most help and being kind is easy when you remember everyone is just a person fumbling through life. "and with that, you are all set," he tells him, handing him his receipt.

caius nods at the instructions and starts inserting the money, surprised at the force with which the machine takes the funds. “oh, uh, i don’t do the shopping where i’m from. things are usually delivered to us. i think our chef just handles it. sort of the first time i’ve had to do this.” is that embarrassing? it seems like the sort of the thing that might be embarrassing to a human.