Carl ended up extending his time with Rick until the following Wednesday. Of course Rick didn't mind, he already hated to think of the time he spent with his son as allotted visits scheduled out through the permissions of the court and Lori. Once again his ex seemed to need more time for her newlywed husband and unborn child. She'd given him some poor excuse about how she and Shane were pinched for time in acquiring a bigger space to house Carl and the baby, and that time would be better served house hunting. Rick couldn't agree more or less. The arrival of a new born was very much taxing, but his exes had each other and Lori had the advantage of experience. It all made Rick question Lori's vehement pleas during their family court sessions that she not be separated from her son.
Nevertheless, having Carl stay till the middle of the week was a plus for Rick. He did have to scramble on Tuesday to find a babysitter, but Beth came through like she always did. Lucky enough for him Beth had a cancellation at the last minute from the new Saturday art instructor. The one he couldn't keep his eyes off of after their brief introduction. Michonne had set Carl up with a mini canvas of his own and the pair entertained each other for the next hour and a half. Rick checked in on them every once in a while and always seemed to find them chuckling about something. He should've been more vigilant to their topics but he was pretty enthralled with her charm and the way she'd managed to charm his more recently surly child. It didn't hurt that her son was a ball of chaotically good energy. He would hang of his mother's back giggling while she bent low to survey and encourage Carl's work. Rick had managed to catch his name after hearing Michonne yell out an "Andre" as his little legs scurried away from what was supposed to be his designated play area.
The young woman was deemed "alright" by Carl with a soft smile and a shrug when Rick implored about the mini art lesson as the two made small talk over burgers and milkshakes at Carol's diner later that evening. Which would bode well for the program and also gave Rick some hope from maybe peeling his son away from his gaming system for at least an hour. Have to start somewhere, he thought to himself. Now he just needed to get the other parents on board. Maybe he would ask Glenn and Maggie Rhee if they would be up for bringing 3-year-old little Hershel around. He wasn't in the stated age group but he might find a friend with Michonne's toddler.
Rick wasn't scheduled to have Carl this weekend but he would still make the trip down to the farmer's market. Maybe he could encourage some of the fellow PTA members to just give it a shot. Lori was always better at these things then him. Now when he found himself face to face with another parent they mostly sputtered their conversions along with him or simply stared, openly. Rick for the life of him couldn't figure it out and mostly equated their reactions to the results of his divorce and the sightings of Lori and Shane around town. He received little to no help when Carol would point it out and laugh. He wasn't sure when she'd decided to play this omnipotent cryptic role in his life, especially when it came to women but if it stopped anytime soon it would be greatly appreciated.
It was now Friday and Rick had just gotten back home from work. He'd hopped in the shower and was begrudgingly throwing on a clean white v neck and his most worn pairs Levi's. Daryl's girlfriend Sasha had insisted on him coming out to their bar MugShots for an indulgent weekend evening. She made the valid point that he didn't have Carl or work for the weekend and could afford to relax for a night.
Rick's phone went off with a text notification from Sasha. He made a swiping motion to unlock the phone and brought up the message. With a heavy sigh he made his way back into his bathroom and dug around the bathroom closet for a comb he could've sworn he'd thrown back there a while ago. His hair was getting pretty long but it wasn't that bad he thought, in response to Sasha's gentle request that he tackle his hair. Once he found the ancient looking thing that one would call a comb, he racked it through his still damp curls, pushing the hair in a sweeping wave till his curls hung daintily at the nape of his hair.
The rest of the text message had instructed a selfie to ensure he adhered to demands, but Rick drew the line at that. He didn't collect much pleasure staring at his face through the screen of his phone and sending it to someone else to stare at as well. He grabbed his keys and wallet from the little dish in the living room and made his way into his truck and down to the bar. It was one of those warm summer evenings that offered just a little relief after the sun went down but was still hot all the same. The drive to the bar wasn't too far, so Rick opted to drive without the AC on and the windows down. He figured he'd save himself gas and dry his hair at the same time.
MugShots was always decently packed on a Friday, and tonight was no different. Rick found a parking spot and quickly made his way into the establishment owned by, as of late, his best friend Daryl. He walked up to the bar and greeted his pal with a simple nod as he watched him pour a steady and moderate rocks glass with bourbon.
"You got Sasha's text?" Rick chuckled with another nod.
"Can't you see her handiwork?" he gestured to his head with the glass and raised it in a solo cheers.
"She wasn't sure you got, seeing as how she didn't get a picture back."
"Tell your girlfriend she's lucky I even showed up tonight." He pointed out.
"Tell me what?" Sasha appeared next to Daryl and looked between the two men.
"Good to see you Sasha," he mumbled, receiving an eye roll in return. She squeezed her boyfriend's bicep in greeting and moved to right side.
"You look nice. All cleaned up for anyone in particular?"
Rick laughed good naturedly, "You know it's for you. What, you think my appearance is gonna scare away potential uppity clientele?"
Sasha joined in on the laughter of the two men, "Something like that. But it doesn't hurt to look good on a Friday night. See ya in a little bit."
Rick groaned as Sasha flitted away to the end of the bar to help a costumer.
"She's not doing what I think she's doing?"
"I don't know what she's doing. But if I had to guess, I'd think ya probably right."
Sasha had been failing for the past three months to set Rick up on a date. At first that was what she pushed for but with Rick's reluctance to actually engage any of the fine women she threw his way in any type of conversation she'd settle for at least a one-night stand.
"Why is your girlfriend so invested in my dating life?" he implored before taking another sip from his glass.
"First of all, you ain't got a dating life. Maybe that's why she's so interested. And second, it wouldn't kill ya to try. Lori's struttin' around here with her belly and Shane like nuttin' happened. Try your hand at sumthin."
His friends all made valid points, but he didn't know if he was ready to get back into the dating game. Well, according to Sasha he hadn't found the right one (to be fair neither had she). And good luck to that, King County was a small town and when scandals like his broke out it could feel even smaller with all the wagging tongues and watchful eyes.
Just then Sasha returned to the bar on the opposite side and grabbed a stool by Rick.
"I heard you met my girl Michonne?" she smiled. Rick nodded and squinted at her.
"Yeah, you know I run that program."
"Well you seemed to have left an impression on her." Rick swallowed thickly and brought his eyes to the remaining swell of bourbon in his glass. He'd taken what Carol said about the beautiful young woman being semi interested in him with a grain of salt. Now Sasha was over in his ear reiterating the same thought Carol had. Still, something wasn't adding up.
"I talked to her for about 3 minutes." He shrugged. Trying to keep his cool, but his ears were glowing a warm red, the telltale signs of his growing embarrassment. He was a 37-year-old man; this type of shit was supposed to be left back in high school. "Then I let her do her thang."
"Carol said she caught you staring at her way too long to be considered friendly."
Rick groaned and slammed back the rest of his drink. He gestured towards Daryl to give him a refill. If this conversation was about to go down he sensed he was going to need the aid of the amber liquid.
"I wasn't…staring at her."
"Well you can explain yourself to her. Michonne's on her way."
As if on cue, there she was walking in through the bar entrance commanding the attention of everyone in the room. She was wearing a simple tight black dress with spaghetti straps, her dark skin had a golden tint to it as she moved through the crowd to join the trio at the bar. Her small afro was combed out into a perfect hallow and her lips were formed in a tempting red heart shape.
Michonne reached Sasha first and the two women greeted each other with open arms and giggles. Rick's eyes drifted from her tiny waist to her round backside that jiggled slightly as Sasha rocked her friend back and forth in her embrace. He turned to the bar to take another swig of his bourbon, feeling a little more empowered by the heady alcohol he chanced another peek at her backside but instead was offered the view of her front. He quickly raised his eyes and found Michonne's already locked with his.
She smiled enticingly and stepped towards him, placing herself in-between him and Sasha.
"Hey Daryl. I'll have whatever the sheriff's having." She laughed while placing her arm on the bar top. Her bangles bounced musically on the counter as she waited for her drink, simultaneously ignoring Rick.
Rick sighed inwardly, he was pretty sure he was destined to act like an imbecile whenever this beautiful woman was in his presence. He couldn't even find his tongue to offer her a 'hello' in the short interval of time she was standing there.
"Evening Michonne," he finally acknowledged her. She turned her body and nodded at his words, accepting her glass from Daryl she knocked it gently with his.
"Rick."
"This night better get interesting." Sasha mumbled, watching the pair eye each other.
"Of course it will." Michonne grabbed Rick's free hand with hers and began to drag him from his chair. "Rick's going to teach me how to play pool."
"I am?" he croaked, looking amongst Daryl and Sasha for help.
"Yeah cowboy, you are."
A/N: Okay, things are heating up with these two. I'm going to try and get the next chapter out as soon as possible. And I promise we'll see more of Michonne and Richonne in the next update. Thank you again for all your thoughts and reviews! It's all very encouraging.