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perfectirishgifts · 4 years

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Ski Resort Dining In A Pandemic - Your Best Bets For Eating This Winter

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Ski Resort Dining In A Pandemic - Your Best Bets For Eating This Winter

Ski resorts face a lot a of challenges in a pandemic winter like none other, but ski towns and top … [] hotels like the St. Regis Deer Valley, famous for its nightly champagne sabering, are rolling out lots of new ideas to make ding safer and more fun.

The ski industry and ski travel have been heavily impacted by the coronavirus pandemic and COVID-19. Last season most ski resorts closed a month early and lost spring break and a good chunk of the best snow. This year they face looming limitations on capacity, especially lifts. Many ski-centric states, such as New Mexico, California and Vermont, also have among the nation’s strictest travel rules around the spread of COVID, and in general, leisure travel and flying are still being (rightly) viewed with skepticism by much of the public.

On top of all these issues, one big problem facing ski and snowboard resorts and mountain towns is on the culinary front. Dining and skiing have forever been intertwined, an integral part of the ski day in a way not found in golf or similar pursuits. For everyone but day skiers, dinner is also a requirement of any overnight stay. But many areas are still limiting – or not allowing any – indoor dining, and this summer, in the midst of coping with the pandemic, restaurants and customers all over the country turned to outside tables, from newly blocked off city streets to impromptu beer gardens. But just a few months ago, that looked like a non-starter for the ski industry, which only exists where it is cold, often really cold, especially after dark. If the weather stops people from eating outside in New York, what would it do in Utah and Wyoming?

But much to my surprise, the ski industry got super creative, and just about every major resort and ski town has rolled out new concepts to cater to rationale travelers who are rightly concerned about indoor dining and drinking. More and more evidence has shown indoor gatherings and maskless gatherings to be very risky events, and dining inside combines these two potentially dangerous behaviors while potentially mixing travelers from all over the country.

Several top designers and manufacturers of outdoor recreation and sports gear, from mountaineering equipment to cycling apparel, stepped up at the onset of the pandemic and turned their prowess to making technically better masks, ones that fit well, perform well and have added features like anti-viral treatments and better filtration. For a roundup of some of the best masks on the consumer market, read this.

When guests don’t want to eat in restaurants, one solution is to erect a “yurt village” and offer … [] private meals in each yurt. That’s what the St. Regis Deer Valley did.

Consider the St. Regis Deer Valley, the very first ski hotel in the country that I saw moving early this year to add new, special culinary features to make customers feel safer in the current environment. In 25 years of covering ski travel, I have visited literally every 4 and 5-Star luxury ski hotel in the nation, and there is no doubt that the St. Regis is one of the best. In addition to a superb ski-in/ski-out slopeside location, it has its own direct funicular link with the Deer Valley Resort’s Snow Park base area, so those guests seeking a change of venue can go down and hit such famous options as the iconic Seafood Buffet (in normal years). The resort has a superb spa, full service white glove ski concierge with well-equipped demo rental shop and resort ticket desk, first class guest rooms, more than first class residences, and the famous St. Regis butler services.

It’s a great ski hotel across the board, but the area in which it has always excelled is food and beverage, with a variety of topnotch culinary options, special events like winemaker dinners, and of course the signature St. Regis nightly complimentary champagne sabering demonstration and tasting. Even before COVID, the latter spectacle has been held outside, on the well heated and spacious Mountain Terrace. This eatery was already set up perfectly for outdoor lunch and après, with lots of heaters and firepits, but now the St. Regis has gone overboard. For this season, all three of the hotel’s eateries will offer heated outdoor terrace dining all winter long, including the fine dining RIME and bistro-style Brassiere 7452, which has a three-sided outdoor fireplace for capturing the ski vacation feel.

The ski-in/ski-out St. Regis Deer Valley is one of the best luxury ski hotels in the country.

But the biggie is an entirely new dining experience, opening December 21 – the Yurt Village at The St. Regis Deer Valley. This will serve lunch, après and dinner on the snow at the resort’s “Ski Beach.” The St. Regis jumped on the pandemic creativity trend early and ordered these three custom-made yurts many months ago (yurts are traditional round portable dwellings used by Nomadic people in Central Asia, sort of a spacious tent on steroids, and modern interpretations have become very popular for their size and ease of heating). Each has intricate mahogany lattice, plexiglass stargazing dome, windows overlooking the Wasatch Range, and radiant heat. Each seats up to eight and is individually-themed based on the three 2002 Winter Olympics skiing disciplines hosted at Deer Valley: Slalom, Moguls and Aerials. Menus change weekly, but dinner ($175 per person) might be an amuse Bouche of Morel Tartlet with Brie and Raspberry Tartare; first course of Smoked Utah Trout Chowder with Potato Gallate; second course of Smoked Beet Salad served with Herb Crusted Goat Cheese, Aged Balsamic, Watercress and Pickled Shallots; main course including Forty-Eight Hour Short Ribs served with Potato Gratin, Smoked Hon Himeji, Carrot Puree and Roasted Garlic Jam; or King Salmon Osso Bucco, served with Potato and Leek Brandade and Beurre Rouge; and dessert of Chocolate Almond Tart, Coconut Cream, Candied Pistachios and Dark Chocolate Curls. Optional wine pairings are available in two tiers ($75 or $150).

Most importantly, there is only one seating at each yurt for each meal service, with several hours and an extensive clearing in between each (reservations definitely required!)

That is one of the more dramatic examples of what new and interesting culinary experiences await skiers and snowboarders (except at Deer Valley, where they are still not welcome) this coming season, but it’s not the only one, and creativity is not limited to top tier luxury hotels. Here are some other standout examples.

Telluride is one of the world’s best ski destinations, and has lots of new cool dining features this … [] winter.

Telluride: Telluride is tied with Jackson as my personal favorite ski resort in the United States – and I’ve been to all of them. In fact, the last major ski travel piece I did here at Forbes before the pandemic hit was back in February, 5 Great Reasons To Ski Telluride This Winter. Many things have changed since then, but not the town and resort’s commitment to its customers.

What’s the big deal? How about commissioning the purchase and restoration of 20 old ski gondola cabins that have been turned into private “dining cabins” with heated floors, lights, and individual ventilation systems. They are scattered around the center of pedestrianized Mountain Village, and each seats a single party up to eight – who can order via QR code from 12 different restaurants around the village that will then deliver to the gondola.

That is really cool – and will still be really cool long after this crazy virus is in the rear-view mirror. But it’s not all. Winter enhancement plans also include temporary weatherproof structures adjacent to Mountain Village restaurants, seating up to 24. “Outside dining areas will be more important this winter than ever as public health requirements are expected to continue to limit indoor capacities,” said Mountain Village Business Development and Sustainability Director Zoe Dohnal. “Everyone involved has worked hard to build a strong combination of COVID mitigation strategies for our businesses. We are excited about the unique and inviting ambiance these elements will bring to our village center this winter and years to come.”

This winter, old gondola cars are being repurposed into private dining “bubbles,” like these at the … [] Mountain Tap Brewery in Steamboat, CO

The California Ski Resort/ Alpine Meadows: Like the former NFL Redskins, now the Washington Football Team, the ski resort long known as Squaw Valley is rebranding to a yet to be determined name, but its immediately adjacent sibling Alpine Meadows swill stay the same. In either case, they form one of the biggest and most impressive single ski destinations in North America, with tons of terrain for every ability, though world famous for extreme terrain, shown in many, many ski films over the decades, and Squaw is one of just three Winter Olympic venues in the United States (1960). Last winter I featured them in my ongoing World’s Best Ski Resorts series, with lots of detail on what makes it so good. This year they will have far more outdoor seating than ever before, including expanded deck seating at three major base lodges, adding hundreds of new tables, chairs, heaters, umbrellas and fire pits, as well an all-new food truck in the main base village.

Sun Valley, ID: Just ranked the Number One Ski Resort in North America, the industry’s highest honor, Sun Valley is the nation’s original destination ski resort, and inventor of the chairlift. Not one to stop improving, they just added two mobile eateries at each of its base areas for outdoor dining.

Snowbasin, Utah: Perhaps the least well known truly great ski mountain in the country, Snowbasin hosted alpine races for the Salt Lake Olympics, but will forever be etched in my memory as the location for filming the little-known ski horror movie Frozen (which Ski Magazine called “Hollywood’s Scariest Ski Movie” despite there being no competition whatsoever) – not the more famous (and later) Disney hit of the same title. For this winter, the resort is adding three different food truck-style eateries, at each of its three base areas. Must be a tough pill to swallow, as Snowbasin has arguably the nicest base lodges in the country.

Cities have food trucks, ski resorts have food trucks on treads that can serve right on the slopes, … [] like the “Taco Beast” at Steamboat, CO.

Steamboat, CO: The ski resort now has two on snow “food trucks” on treads, converted from snow cats, one added last winter and one all new. These are very user friendly, just ski right up and order. The “Taco Beast” changes location daily and announces it on social media. In the village of Steamboat Springs, the Mountain Tap Brewery is adding three gondola cars in the style of the Telluride ones mentioned above. I ate at the Aurum Food & Wine restaurant in Breckenridge, CO and it was really good, curated global eclectic cuisine. For instance, it is one of the (very) few places I can say I really enjoyed cauliflower – crispy curried cauliflower with shishito peppers, golden raisins, cashews and a sweet and sour reduction. There is a second location in Steamboat, and both now have heated yurts for up to eight guests, just like the St. Regis Deer Valley above. 3 and 6-course tasting menus are offered ($75 and $115) and reservations are extremely limited.

Breckenridge, CO: Also featuring Aurum Food & Wine and it’s great menus in a yurt setting, same prices as above. Breckenridge is typically the second most popular ski and snowboard resort in the nation, trailing only sibling Vail.

Copper Mountain, CO: Copper Mountain, known for its pedestrianized base areas – and for being the closets of the big mountains on the I-70 corridor to Denver – is adding three notable new options this year. Sawmill Pizza and Taphouse is an all-new restaurant in Copper’s Center Village with extensive outdoor patio seating and heated tables. Sendy’s Taco Truck will debut this season, and the food truck will move throughout the resort based on demand. Because so much of the lodging at the resort is in condos with kitchens, Copper Provisions is a great idea for those who want to eat in safely without going shopping – or cooking. The take n’ bake retailer will operate out of Hasty’s in Center Village, and features meals for families of 4-8 that are designed to be cooked in the oven at the condo. Orders can be placed online or over the phone.

Jackson Hole, WY: Bodega is an already very popular gourmet food shop and sort of bar in the parking lot at the bottom of the resort, a not so hidden gem beloved by locals and visitor alike. It happens to be run by the most successful restaurant group in Jackson, behind many of the top eateries in town (Rendezvous Bistro, Bin 22) and in hotels at the mountain (Il Villagio Osteria). The store has a lot of take and bake gourmet options, sups, chilis, and such, perfect for anyone staying in a condo or rental home with kitchen. But for this winter season, Bodega is kicking it up a notch with a new pandemic-inspired beer and bratwurst garden under a tent outside the shop. They will grill sausages from local artisan butcher Bovine Swine and pour craft beer from Roadhouse, a brewery on Jackson’s town square.

Boyne Mountain Resort, MI: Michigan’s most famous ski mountain, Boyne is eschewing yurts and instead adding five new dining igloos that will provide private seating for groups of up to 10. The igloos are in the Biergarten behind Forty Acres Tavern right in the Village base, and offer the restaurant’s full menu, plus beverages.

The Viceroy Snowmass, CO: A lot of predictions have been made about skiing going back to the old days of people packing brown bag lunches and eating in the parking lot or trailside to avoid on mountain dining altogether. The Viceroy Snowmass (the largest of the four ski mountains comprising the Aspen Snowmass resort) is embracing this nostalgia, with a luxury spin, through its “Gold Bag” lunch program. Guests pre-order from a special menu and get a fancy bagged lunch prepared by the hotel’s culinary team and designed to fit in a ski jacket pocket.

Golden Oldies: While most ski resort have on mountain restaurants with outdoor dining, you usually still have to go inside and wait on line and order. These are not new, but they are exceptions to that rule, and thus perfect for this season.

Ritz-Carlton NorthStar at Lake Tahoe, CA: One of my favorite lunch and après spots in skiing – and perfect this year for anyone skiing NorthStar. The Ritz, perfectly located mid-mountain and trailside, has an outdoor authentic slow smoked southern BBQ shack that you can ski right tup to, order and eat entirely outside. Backyard Bar & BBQ has real deal smoked meats but also wood fired pizzas, burgers, brats, local craft beer and signature cocktails. The Ritz-Carlton NorthStar also happens to be one of the very best luxury ski-in/out hotels in the country, and I wrote a detailed review of it last year here at Forbes.

Bon Vivant, Telluride, CO: Just off the top of a lift, Bon Vivant is a quick trip to Europe, all outdoors, under heaters. Classic French country cuisine and an all-French wine list in a gorgeous open-air setting.

Ajax Tavern, Aspen, CO: Long the power lunch spot in Aspen, the outdoor patio at the Ajax Tavern serves great food – “causal fine dining” – right at the base of Aspen Mountain and is part of the Forbes 5-Star Little Nell, a world-renowned luxury ski hotel.

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fabermemorialrink · 7 years

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variations on a theme

For NurseyDex Week Day 1 (mutual pining/getting together), posted a day late because I wrote this at the last minute like a fool. Thanks for reading!

“You look good,” Dex says, and it’s not the champagne speaking, because his glass is still fizzing full and his face isn’t as pink as the table centerpiece yet. Which means it must be a feint.

“My tie was stolen,” is the first defense Nursey can scrounge up. At least it’s true; Chowder’s cousin’s daughter is wearing it like a pageant sash over her fluffy yellow dress.

“You can’t call it a crime if you gave it away, Nurse.”

“I was coerced! She sent her goons after me.” He points to the girl’s two older siblings, each probably about six or seven years old. One of them waves shyly when he notices Nursey looking his way.

“Strong-armed by some first graders? Incredible.”

“Hey, I’m a pacifist, man. There’s nothing I could’ve done.”

Dex laughs into his glass before knocking back the whole thing in one gulp like they can still drink the way they did in college. “And here I was, thinking you were some kind of big, tough sports star - Farmer’s sister told me you play that game...what’s it called? Hocking? Hackney?”

“Hackysack,” Nursey says with a modest shrug. “You want a demonstration? We could clear a little spot on the dance floor, use Farmer’s bouquet-”

“Jesus, don’t, you’ll take someone out at the knees.” Dex is laughing again, and Nursey feels that familiar old flutter all over that also has nothing to do with champagne. A few years out from Samwell he had come to terms with the fact that it would never quite fade. Distance and time notwithstanding, because Nursey knows by now that he when he burns, he burns down to the wick.

The reception is nothing like a Haus party, but there’s something reminiscent of those hazy nights where time loses meaning and the present is a blur of heat and music. Maybe it’s just that after all these years, no matter how many people are in the room, Nursey’s eyes still search for every flash of amber and orange, every glimpse of freckled skin and that hesitant smile. Whatever it is, it’s brought back that same old ache.

Here they are again, dressed to the nines and a decade too old to be making alcohol driven mistakes, and Nursey wants nothing more than to lean in and confess one of the thousand iterations of that truth, the one he’s held close to his heart for too damn long. The same one he almost gave away after their last game in junior year (variation 29), and graduation day (variation 4), and that itinerant night in the city when Dex’s plane wasn't leaving until 5 a.m. the next morning (variation 41).

Variation 26 tickles at the back of Nursey’s throat - you remember that time we got locked outside the Haus on Christmas Eve and we realized we’d have to hibernate in the library stacks for the winter, and you promised you wouldn't eat my kidneys to survive - but he swallows it down, because all these truths end the same way, and he knows he can't say those words tonight. A hundred and more chances over the last ten years, and they've never been spoken yet. Tonight's no different.

He defaults to what he knows: the safe ground between chirping and sentimentality. “Alright, then come dance with me, Poindexter,” he demands, already mapping how the conversation will play out.

As he expects, Dex declines. “I don’t know this song,” he claims, leaning back in his chair, and for once it's not a lie.

“Just because it's in Portuguese doesn't mean you can't feel the rhythm,” Nursey counters, and Dex flicks a burst of silver confetti at him, smiling when it clings to his jacket even after he tries to brush it off.

“I thought I didn't have any rhythm, Nursey. Or so you've told me about fifty times.”

“It's never too late to learn?”

“I’m not taking lessons from you, Mr. Six-weeks-in-a-cast Eight-weeks-on-crutches.”

“What if I asked?” Farmer, now dressed in her teal wedding cheongsam instead of her white gown, leans down between the two of them, grinning when they hurry to straighten in their seats. “How about it? A dance with the bride?” She holds out a hand to Dex, who doesn't even put up a token protest before accepting.

“I know better than to turn you down.”

“Try not to step on her too much,” Nursey says as she leads him out to the floor, and Dex calls back, “Don't worry, I'll save it all for you.”

Nursey isn't left watching them long before the groom drops down into Dex’s vacated seat. “She stole your man, huh?” Chowder asks, throwing his arm around the back of Nursey’s chair. He looks flushed and happy, and Nursey loves it.

“More like I stole hers,” Nursey says, leaning over to plant a wet kiss on Chowder’s cheek. C snickers, enveloping him in a one-armed hug before reaching out to steal the last smidgen of icing from Lardo’s abandoned plate.

“So, have you taken advantage of your connecting rooms yet?” he asks brightly, and Nursey sighs, because they've been having this same ongoing battle forever.

“You know I didn't.”

Chowder isn't deterred. “I should’ve put you two in the same room. Just like old times!”

“Chris, you know that would've literally killed me.”

“Yeah, which is why I didn't. But seriously,” Chowder says, “and I know you're sick of hearing this, but just this once, as a wedding present to me, can't you take a chance and ask?” He’s as patient as he is every time he tries, but like each instance before, Nursey shakes his head.

“Not tonight. It’s not the right time.”

“It never is. Why not tonight? What’s your excuse this time?” Chowder doesn’t sound unkind, but he isn’t letting Nursey off easy again.

Nursey turns, and without exception his attention is drawn through the crowd to Dex, who spins Farmer slowly across the floor. He’s softer now in some ways than he was in college, a settled confidence in the way he carries himself that he didn’t find until a few years after they first met. When he and Farms turn again, he meets Nursey’s eyes, and it brings the slightest of smiles to his face. Variation 33 comes to mind (I was a magnet for mosquito bites, you were a magnet for fireflies, and I learned to love summer too), and Nursey knows for sure why he can’t tonight.

“It’s not what I’m looking for,” he tells Chowder, trying to keep the yearning in his voice subdued. “What, we hook-up at the hotel, then fly back home and don’t see each other for another five months, and I just have to hope that magically I’ll have gotten over him by then? It’s not an itch to scratch, C, you know that. It’s either all in or nothing at all.”

He could handle never knowing, just burning eternal on his own regrets and missed chances. But he could never pretend his feelings are less than they really are.

Chowder nods thoughtfully, considering his words. “Okay, that makes sense. But you’re both in town tomorrow too, right? If not tonight, then tomorrow morning. Skip brunch - I’ll cover for you - and go do something together. Finally go on that date you never did ask for.”

Nursey snorts, dragging a finger through the condensation on his glass, watching droplets melt away the frost. “And after? Even if he says yes-”

“He will. And after, you’ll figure it out. You guys really don’t live that far from each other,” Chowder scolds. “If you’re really all in, you’ll find a way.”

It sounds nice in theory, but Chowder’s forgetting one important point.

“Sure, I’m all in, but Dex-”

“Derek.” Chowder puts a stern hand on his shoulder, staring hard into his eyes. “You're going to tell me honestly, because I'm your best friend and I love you - do you really think you're the only one who’s been pining stupidly away for the last ten years? Can you really look me in the eye and say that you’ve never once, not for a moment, noticed that Dex looks at you the same way you look at him?”

Nursey hesitates a split second too long, because he can't, not if he's being absolutely honest. And that's what always gets him, that's why he hasn't let go. Because the possibility was always greater than zero, and so he held on hope that one day it would be the right time, the perfect moment. That singular point when everything they wanted and everything they were could finally align with each other.

Chowder notices, because he always does, and he sits back to give Nursey some space to think. They sit quietly, watching the festivities around them, and Chowder muses aloud to Nursey, “You know, all those reasons you think you shouldn't be together...they don't stand a chance against the reasons why you should. You don’t think Cait and I ever had doubts? Or problems, or stupid fights?” His brown eyes soften unexpectedly, and he bumps his fist against Nursey’s arm. “But we knew we were it for each other, and we made it work. I’m pretty sure you two stubborn jerkasses can work it out too. If for no reason other than to spite me.”

And of course Nursey knows that relationships take work, that love can't sustain itself without effort, and that thought isn't as terrifying as he figured it might be. He's good at hard work. And Dex makes him feel like it would be worth it. Worth the culmination of years and years of quiet pining.

There’s a reason he always finds himself rewriting the same lines to this poem, these feelings that exist in infinite variation.

“How do you always make your way sound so reasonable?” Nursey asks, feigning a frown, and Chowder pulls him to his feet, knowing that he’s won.

“Because at least one of us has to be the sensible one, and after freshman year it was obviously me. Now, I'm gonna go dance with my wife, then check on my team, and you are going to finally do what you've been putting off for too long.”

“Alright. Fuck, I'm doing this.” Chowder beams, and Nursey pulls him into a tight hug. “Congratulations again, bro. You and Cait really deserve each other, and I'm so happy for you two.”

“Thanks, Nursey. You ready?”

They come upon Dex and Farmer talking to some of her former SWV teammates, and Chowder whisks her away after thanking everyone there. Nursey feels awkward breaking up the conversation but Dex follows him off to the side without thinking twice, and they end up milling near the doorway, away from the crowds.

“I didn't step on any toes, but I did have some small children point and laugh at me, so I'm not sure if I can consider this a win,” Dex says ruefully, and Nursey feels the tension inside him dissolve when he laughs. This is just Dex, he reminds himself. This doesn't have to be difficult. Things haven’t been difficult since they turned 21 and almost threw up their fishbowl specials on each other outside the last existing Burger King in southern Mass.

“I told you, bro, kids are vicious. Mean little fuckers.”

Dex watches him sidelong for a second before the corner of his mouth twitches up. “You can’t fool me. Kids love you.”

“They love tormenting me, yes.” Nursey swoons dramatically against the wall, and Dex taps his ankle with his foot.

“Liar. I know you’re a cool uncle; I recognize my own kind.”

“You’ve never been cool a single day in your life, William.”

“Don’t even start with me, Derek.”

Dex bumps their shoulders and Nursey is flashing back to senior year: on the ice and under the arena lights, back to the boards and Dex and C wrapped around him as noise envelopes them. Then (with you, I’m invincible), just as now (you pretend you don’t give my name away like a gift), he wants to lay it bare, spill his secrets out in whatever form comes first to him.

Now. Now is the time. He just has to do what Chowder suggested.

He takes a breath. Swallows it down. Pushes out the extraneous words that sprout like white clover under his tongue, because he needs to keep this simple.

Before he can get the first words out, Dex speaks up. “Hey. Are you busy tomorrow?” He’s looking at the dance floor instead of at Nursey.

“Um, I was putting some serious thought into brunch,” Nursey answers mindlessly, scrambling to recoup the plan. “But I could be free. I mean, I can become available, if you, like, had plans or whatevs.”

Dex stops watching Rans and Holster gathering Chow cousins for a conga line, and settles his gaze on Nursey, his whiskey gold eyes studying him for a moment longer before he speaks again.

“Yeah? You want in on my plans or whatevs?” he mocks gently, nose crinkling under his grin, and Nursey remembers again what it was all this time that kept his fire lighted.

“Sure, somebody should make sure you actually let loose and have some fun in the sun.”

“Well, you’re in luck. I’m actually kind of in the market for a date right now, so if you’re up for it, the job is yours.”

Nursey starts agreeing before he parses the whole sentence. “Okay, I can- wait. What? A date?”

Dex is doing his best to appear unimpressed, but Nursey can tell he’s fighting not to look amused. “That’s what I said. I don’t know if you know, but I’m pretty single right now? And I figured, you know, I’m single, you’re single-”

“Uh,” Nursey says, because all the conversational straws are slipping from his fingers right now and he can’t snap them up quickly enough to figure out what the fuck is happening. Meanwhile, Dex has begun ticking off reasons on his fingers.

“-we’re both free, I’ve been hung up on you since the end of sophomore year - Christ, and wasn’t that a lifetime ago - you’re still as fuckin’ stunning as ever, not that that’s the only reason I’ve been carrying a torch the size of a forest fire-”

“Wait, hold on a sec-”

“-so, yeah, I mean I was practically wearing a neon ‘please notice me’ sign all through undergrad, but it’s my own fault for never coming out and just saying it, right? That might not have worked anyway, you know I was never good at words like you-”

“William J. Poindexter, shut the fuck up for a second and let me think,” Nursey says, slapping his hand over Dex’s mouth. Dex rolls his eyes, but remains uncharacteristically still, waiting for Nursey to get on his level.

Once Nursey finishes picking out the keywords from Dex’s rambling explanation, which was practically all of them, he removes his hand and promptly tries to occupy his fingers so it isn’t so obvious how much they’re fidgeting.

“In the market for a date, eh?” is what he’s apparently stuck on, which, seeing as it’s literally the first sentence of many, means he hasn’t quite absorbed the exact ramifications of everything else Dex just told him.

Dex shrugs, his own hands twitching nervously at his sides. “I mean, where ‘date’ is a synonym for ‘committed long term relationship with my hopeless forever crush,’ then sure, it’s accurate.”

Even more keywords! Very revealing ones! Damn, Nursey probably owes Chowder both his life savings and his firstborn.

“Oh, shit, you had- have a crush. On me. Forever.” Nursey knows he sounds like a starstruck idiot, but he can work with this. Dex looks both pained and endeared to whatever dumb face he’s making. “Yo, does anyone else know?”

“That’s the first thing you ask me?”

“Humor me? I’m still working through the rest of it.” He gives Dex his most winsome smile, the one that he knows can melt hearts. The best it earns for him here is a fondly put-upon sigh.

“Yeah, there might be a few people who know. Probably exactly who you think they are. One of them told me that I needed to get my shit together and stop wasting the best years of my life wishing instead of doing.”

They turn away from each other long enough to see Chowder and Farmer swaying back and forth together, radiant and rapturous.

“Funny. I got a very similar speech a few minutes ago,” Nursey admits, and Dex laughs under his breath. “Thank god at least some of us have some sense.”

“We really lucked out, meeting C.”

“Nah, I think it’s more like a sign that the universe wanted us to be happy.”

Dex watches the happy couple with a wistful sort of joy before looking back at Nursey just as softly. “So what do you say? Can I take you out tomorrow?”

Nursey’s been waiting on these words for so long that he’s surprised his heart isn’t doing cartwheels as he answers. Instead, he just feels like he’s finally finished re-reading a beloved book. “Well, you know me, I always want in on your plans, but I guess it depends. Can I take you home the next day?”

And every day after that goes unspoken, but Nursey knows Dex understands.

“Yeah, I think I can make that work,” Dex replies, aglow with happiness, and Nursey has already started composing variation 167, but it can wait for another night. Dex is taking his hand, and pulling him back across the room as the first notes of a new song fill the air.

“I think I owe you a dance,” Dex says, and Nursey smiles.

#nurseydexweek #nurseydex #omgcp fic #nursey #dex #chowder #charmer #hey i love the frogs

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