Authors note: Sorry this update took so long. I'm also sorry it's in 3rd person. I was giving it another shot and I realize it was a mistake but I hope it's not too unbearable. Lots of facts about the character backgrounds in here. Important chapter.
It was only a few minutes into the movie when Stuart got a call from someone important enough to send him out the door apologizing. Abby stared at the pizza and hoped that this wasn't a sign of what's to come. Before she fell asleep her phone rang.
"Hey I'm really sorry I ran out earlier. My mom was calling." Stuart explained out of breath.
"It's okay, I figured it was important. I hope everything's okay." Abby started to feel bad about thinking the worst in Stuart without letting him explain.
"Oh no everything is fine. She was just trying to warn me about my dad calling. It's no big deal." Stuart brushed it off.
"Well I guess you can tell me more about that tomorrow if we're still on?" Abby tested hoping Stuart wouldn't back out of the date.
"What? Yeah of course we're still on. Unless you don't want to?" Stuart said nervously.
"No I just wanted to make sure we were still planning to go out. I mean we didn't really firm anything up." She pointed out.
"Did you want me to tell you what I had planned or-" Abby laughed at Stuart.
"You don't have to but if there are water sports or something fancy planned, I might need to know." Abby joked making Stuart rethink all the plans to make sure he didn't give her bad information.
"No water sports or fancy dining, just dinner and some casual conversation. I'm helping Nick with some coding stuff until 5:00 but I can meet you at Google around 6:30. Does that work?" Stuart asked feeling his nerves resurface. He was never really one to plan a date, or go on dates but all the ideas Neha had suggested seemed too over the top for a second first date. He didn't want to have to worry about being over dressed or doing something embarrassing so he settled on walking the Fisherman's Wharf pier and having dinner at a cozy restaurant overlooking the water. He figured it'd be nice by the time the sun went down and there would be plenty of things to distract them if conversation tanked.
"Sounds great. I'll see you then." He could actually hear Abby's smile through the phone and the tension in his body released a bit. He tried to remain calm and relaxed for the rest of the day but it was proving to be difficult for the both of them. By the time Abby's shift was over, she had broken 14 glasses behind the bar. Lena shook her head as she watched Abby fix her makeup for what seemed like the 100th time in the dressing room mirror.
"It's weird to see you this nervous over a guy, Abs. Typically it's school nerves or getting another job nerves but never over a guy." Abby wiped the lipstick off her mouth and looked at Lena.
"Honestly, I don't think I've ever been this nervous about a date before. Maybe I shouldn't be dating right now though? I mean I have to get that money by the end of the summer or I'm going to lose my spot at school. I shouldn't be worried about some guy I've known for a few weeks right?" She questioned herself and Lena sat down in front of her, taking her hands.
"Honey, since I've known you you've always been about school, work and your dad. You deserve to live a little. This guy has clearly caught you attention which shouldn't be ignored considering how tough that is based on your insane focus with the first three things. You look gorgeous. Take a deep breath and get your sexy ass out of here so you can go on this date. If it's a flop then I won't even bother trying to set you up anymore but give this guy a shot. I mean if he's anything like Lyle then it's worth it." Lena smiled and Abby knew Lyle would be jazzed to hear that Lena was so into him. She took a deep breath and stood up ready to give this whole dating thing a shot. She left the club and headed over to Google. She waited in the car for a few minutes before she saw Stuart jogging over towards her.
"Hey! Sorry, Billy had me on the phone running down everything that could get me beaten to death." Stuart said shaking his head. He looked different. His clothes were much more casual then they usually were and it looked like he'd flattened his hair out for some reason. He was also without his glasses.
"You look…different." Abby said making Stuart swallow hard.
"Thanks? I told you it was casual right? I mean you look…great." He gestured to her outfit and she snapped out of it.
"Not bad different, wow I'm already doing really well here." She put her hand to her forehead.
"It's strange to see you so untailored I guess. That and the whole no glasses thing." She circled his face with a hand gesture and he shook his head.
"I shouldn't wear them so much, my eyes are started to depend on them. I'm wearing contacts right now." Stuart explained putting his hands in his pockets nervously. Abby nodded and started to play with her keys.
"Why do I feel like you're more nervous than me?" Stuart broke the awkward silence and Abby let out a breath.
"God I know! I'm sorry I'm being such a spaz." Abby covered her face and Stuart laughed.
"It's also kinda weird that you being more nervous makes me surprisingly relaxed." Stuart boasted making Abby cut her eyes at him.
"And just like that my nerves are gone because of your ego." Abby teased.
"Wow if I play my cards right I could probably have you loving me and hating me by the end of the night." Stuart opened her passenger door and got in the car as Abby shook off her smile. She followed his directions and knew pretty quickly that they were going to Santa Monica Pier. She smiled as she parked the car and Stuart gave the parking attendant a tip.
"Are we spending the rest of the evening here?" She asked making Stuart shrug.
"Well yeah I mean there's plenty to do here. Is that a problem?" Stuart asked walking to the first restaurant on the corner of the pier.
"Not at all. I haven't been to the pier in a long time." Abby followed Stuart into the restaurant and they were seated pretty quickly. They each got a beer and ordered their food before actually looking at one another.
"Would it be completely cheesy of me to ask if you come here a lot?" Abby spoke up making Stuart chuckle.
"I've been here once or twice with my mom. She visits me and likes to be around the masses." Stuart explained.
"That's sweet." Abby smiled.
"So how was work?" Stuart asked regretting it instantly.
"We are really kinda crappy at this aren't we?" Abby pointed out making Stuart sip his beer.
"Don't get me wrong, I want to get to know you but I have no idea where to start." Stuart admitted.
"How about we play 20 questions then? You get 10 and I get 10 and we'll save the deep ones for another date." Abby offered making Stuart's eyebrows go up.
"Already planning ahead I see." She rolled her eyes and he nodded.
"Alright first question…what's your favorite color?" Stuart asked folding his arms on the table. Abby looked at him with a cocked eyebrow.
"Seriously? That's your first question?" She asked making him smile.
"I'm warming up, answer." He pressed. Abby rolled her eyes.
"My favorite color is purple." She said making Stuart laugh.
"Explains the bra from before." He mumbled under his breath.
"What was that?" She tested but Stuart shook his head.
"I believe it's your turn." He sipped his beer again as Abby sat back in her chair.
"Are you originally from California?" She asked making Stuart shift in his chair.
"No I'm from the East coast actually but the moment I got accepted over here, I bailed. The only thing I really enjoyed about being home is going to Mets games." Stuart said making Abby smile.
"I don't know if that's sad or not considering the Mets are horrible." Stuart cut his eyes at her and she put her hands up.
"How about you? Originally from here?" Stuart asked curious even though to his knowledge from his Facebook stalking she was from California.
"Yeah pretty much up and down the West coast but I was pretty excited when my aunt moved to New York. I think the city is beautiful in the winter so I try to make sure to drag my dad out there for the holidays to spend time with her family. Her kids love my dad." Abby smiled.
"I can see that. I mean Billy seems like he can pretty much work any audience." Stuart remembered the night at the restaurant where he had the entire place rolling on his jokes.
"Do you have any siblings?" Abby asked seeing Stuart's body language change as their food arrived.
"Yeah I have two older brothers." Stuart started twirling his spaghetti and Abby awed.
"You're the baby! That's pretty cute." She smiled.
"Trust me, they don't let me forget it either. Both are pretty much the polar opposite of me and make me wish I was an only child." Stuart made a face like his family might be a sore subject.
"Don't say that, I wish I wasn't an only child. I feel like if I had older siblings then maybe I wouldn't have to worry about my dad so much." Abby said making Stuart laugh.
"Junior is the golden boy and despite Russ being a complete joke, he still manages to stay in my father's good graces. He worries more about me wasting my life here than my actual well being." Abby reached out and put her hand on top of Stuart's making him look up at her.
"Maybe we're not in the right environment to really open up about family issues. Ask your next question and we'll come back to that when and if you're ready." Abby suggested surprising Stuart. There was only one or two other girls he'd talked about his family and they'd always acted like he was wounded or something. He hated people thinking they could fix him somehow but Abby was different. She didn't look at him like something was wrong with him. She let go of his hand and he snapped out of his funk remembering he was on a date.
"Yeah so um, I was wondering something. Is Abby Clark like your stage name or something? I mean I know Billy's last name is McMahon so I was just curious." Stuart picked his fork back up and Abby looked down at her plate.
"It was my mom's maiden name. She was globally ranked in the top 100 for dancing but when she got pregnant with me she decided to become an instructor instead. I figured if I was going to follow in her footsteps, I'd keep her name like it's a part of her legacy." Abby explained.
"I'm surprised your dad is cool with that." Stuart said shoveling spaghetti in his mouth before looking at her.
"After she died he said he didn't really mind. I think it gave him a piece of her to remember forever." Stuart choked and took a drink of his beer quickly. Abby gave him a sympathetic smile at his sudden reaction. It wasn't the first time she's had to deal with people who didn't know about her mom.
"Abby…I'm really sorry. I had no idea." Stuart apologized and she shook her head.
"It's not something I lead with but thank you." Abby finished eating her spaghetti and Stuart was mentally scolding himself for not digging deeper into her family history. He suddenly felt like such a brat. He was complaining about how shitty his home life was yet her mom was dead.
"Stop beating yourself about it." She nudged him out of his thoughts.
"My mom died right before I got out of junior high. You've got that look on your face like all the kids who said a Yo mama joke and remembered she had died. It's really okay. The name change helped me avoid the whole Abby the Man jokes by high school anyway." She joked snapping Stuart out of it and leading him into his next question.
"Are you insinuating that you didn't get asked out a lot in high school because I'm going to call bullshit." Stuart said as the waitress brought the check. He took it quickly and before Abby could argued he gave her a 50$ bill and told her to keep the change.
"I was a theater geek in high school. I mean I played some sports and my dad would always come and make a spectacle but dancing has always been my top priority. I think you and I would have probably gotten along in high school." Abby stood up and followed Stuart out of the restaurant back to the boardwalk.
"I bet you were one of those super genius in high school. Making everyone wish they could be even remotely half as intelligent as you." Abby teased but Stuart shook his head.
"I hated high school." He said as they pushed through a crowd of people. Abby grabbed his arm to hold onto so they didn't get separated and made it through the crowd.
"Why did you hate high school?" She asked curiously earning a shrug.
"Junior left high school at the top of his class, star quarterback and all around town hero. Russ was a class clown who had a gift with numbers. He once got busted gambling and was able to charm the principal into letting him work his punishment off in the tutor center where he gambled kids out of prom funds. By the time I got there, no one cared about another Twombly boy. I tried to fit in anywhere I could but it's like they had already left their mark there and I wasn't good enough. I remember…I tried out for baseball and the team seemed to be really supportive of me trying out but it turns out they thought I'd make a better punching bag then pitcher." Abby watches Stuart put his hands in his pockets and tense up.
"After they threw me in the batting cages with nothing but a catcher's mask on, I pretty much decided that there was no point trying to fit in anywhere. I didn't want to be a jock like Junior or an ass like Russ. If people didn't like me then they'd find a way to avoid me or deal. I got involved in something that none of them could touch and that just happened to be computers. I learned as much as I could and when I got accepted to college across the country, I bailed." Stuart explained and Abby wished she'd known Stuart in high school.
"No wonder you hated high school." Abby said lightening the mood and causing Stuart to laugh.
"I kind of feel like I'm bombing this date with my apparent need for therapy." Stuart joked but Abby enjoyed him opening up to her.
"Personally, I'm glad we got the bad stuff out on the table already. I'm ready for your next question to change this whole thing around." Abby clapped her hands together.
"Okay steering away from our families and our formative years…" Stuart thought aloud as Abby prepared herself for his next question and it seemed to hit him suddenly.
"So why don't you date? I mean I doubt it's because guys don't ask you out, especially in your line of work." Stuart's question made Abby laugh out loud.
"Wow thanks but I don't typically date the people that come into the club and I'll remind you that I keep most of my clothes on." Stuart gave Abby a look like she knew he didn't mean to offend her.
"Why don't you date? You're not horrible to look at and you're fairly smart." She asked in return making Stuart's eyebrows go up.
"Don't lay it on too thick or anything." He glanced over at Abby and she seemed to be enjoying herself.
"Seriously, you're kind of a catch." She said but Stuart bit his lip. He always figured the guard he put up with everyone was to blame but he knew it was just who he was.
"I'm also an asshole. Most of the girls I date don't get past the first date without looking at me like I've just insulted everything they stand for and it's not intentional, that's just how I'm wired I guess." He shrugged it off but Abby seemed to disagree.
"Maybe you're just a particular taste. I mean yeah you say things that most guys wouldn't say out loud but you're also pretty sweet. I don't think any guy would have bought coffee and cookies as an apology unless they… really liked the girl." She blushed as the words came out of her mouth and Stuart didn't say anything. She was really the only girl who'd stuck out his shitty behavior and actually cared to know who he really was. Abby looked up at the Ferris wheel and back at Stuart.
"Wanna go for a ride?" She asked and he just nodded his head.
"I'm um...digesting. Maybe later." Stuart tried to play it off and Abby crossed her arms over her chest.
"Are you afraid of heights?" She questioned making Stuart look at her.
"I'm pretty sure it's my turn to ask the question." He gesture for them to keep walking and Abby didn't argue. They walked along to the board walk until they hit sand.
"I've always loved the beach. I don't know why I don't come more." Abby said as she slipped her shoes off to carry in her hand.
"Yeah I tend to burn fairly easy so I try to avoid the sun." Stuart spoke up making Abby laugh. She tripped and he grabbed her arm before she completely bit it.
"You know, I'm starting to think the dancing thing is a hoax. You are the clumsiest dancer I've ever met." Stuart help dust her off and she tucked her hair behind her ear.
"Well maybe you should come see just how coordinated I am sometime. Maybe I'll teach you some things." Abby glanced over at Stuart who tried to hide his chuckle. She grabbed his arm to stop him and he looked at her.
"I'm sorry this has been bugging me." Abby started messing with his hair trying to unflatten it and he laughed.
"I was wearing a hat earlier." Stuart said as she finished messing it up.
"Much better." She continued to walk next to him before they found a good spot to sit down.
"So how important is this internship for you? At first you seemed like you were already pretty defeated but you've seemed more determined then ever now." Abby asked.
"That job is pretty much the only thing that keeps me from going back to a life I don't want. The life my father wants for me is to join him and my brothers in the family business but I just don't want to be apart of that. I love computers. I love technology and the endless possibilities and the advances. I want to be apart of something that could change the world." Stuart appeared to be very passionate when he talked about technology. It was something that Abby admitted in him.
"As opposed to..." She made a gesture with her hand.
"Twombly & Sons: Architecture and Remodeling. It's been passed down through at least 5 generations. My dad in young and after Junior came back from Iraq, with a medal, he joined right along behind him. My dad doesn't think what I do will get me anywhere. He thinks hard work is work you do with your hands, like I'm some sort of softy or something." Stuart seemed mostly disgruntled with his father when he talked.
"He's sounds pretty old school." Abby pointed out trying not to cross any lines.
"He is. He lives in a world of black and white. High school jock, married his high school sweetheart and went into the family business. I see the world in-"
"HD color?" Abby joked making Stuart look over at her and smile.
"What about your dad? Do you always get along?" Stuart asked making Abby rest her elbows on her knees.
"You've met him, he's like a giant man child. It's hard not to love him." She shrugged but Stuart looked like he was waiting for her to follow it up with something.
"He's all I got in this world. You only get one dad and no matter how much he might drive me crazy, I love him and I know I'd do anything I could to make sure he's happy." Abby rested her chin on her hand and Stuart cocked his eyebrow at her.
"You sound more like the parent to be honest. What would your dad do if he found out you worked on the bar instead of behind it?" Stuart's words made Abby rub the back of her neck.
"Honestly? I don't know. It'd probably break his heart. He tries really hard to make sure I can afford school but just being a bartender and teaching classes at the studio goes mostly to bills. I work overtime and mornings to try and make sure the money for tuition is there but dancing is the only thing that gives me the tips to go towards tuition. They constantly tell me that I'd make what I needed in a week if I did private dances and went topless but I'd like to save the whole half naked grinding for someone special." Stuart was blushing and trying not to be completely obvious as to how much he'd love to be that guy but Abby nudged him.
"Well what would come after school? I mean you finish your schooling and then what? What do you want to do?" Stuart asked curiously. He knew that you could get a degree at a regular school and possibly get a job in that field but he had no idea what you'd do with a degree in fine arts.
"I'd be okay with teaching. My mom loved to teach me and my friends how to dance. She was such a classical dancer but she loved the self expression and freedom you could have outside of just being a ballerina. I want to teach other people a way to use their body to express themselves. If I can help just one person feel what I feel when I dance then it'd be worth it. She was everything I hope to be." Stuart smiled at Abby as she talked about her mother. He knew his own mother would really like how alive and spunky Abby was and almost considered inviting her to the stupid wedding but it seemed too soon for all that.
"You know we've talked about your family and my family but you haven't really talked about your own mom." Abby pointed out.
"That's because I love my mom." Stuart joked.
"Ah so you're a momma's boy are you? That's pretty adorable." She teased but he had no shame.
"Yeah yeah, she's the only one that doesn't make me feel like I'm a giant outcast. She tries to send me money all the time but I make sure to work it off with side jobs like fixing people's wifi or hacking. She's probably the only thing I actually miss about home." Stuart admitted making Abby put her hand on his knee.
"You should visit her more than. Screw your brothers and your dad. I'm sure she'd love to see you more." Stuart kept watched her rest her hand on his knee for a few moments before clearing his throat.
"Oh I'll see her soon. Junior is getting married at the end of the summer so the whole family is moving into the beach house until then which is kind of a nightmare but it'll be nice to see my mom again." Abby's eyes went wide.
"Your family has a beach house? What part of New York are you from?" She laughed.
"Hampton, New York. Yeah my dad designs and builds homes for the wealthy but he's a firm believer in saving your hard earned money. My mom likes the beach so he bought her a family home here for special vacations. Juniors fiancee loves it here so that's where the wedding is going to be." Stuart looked at Abby to gauge her reaction but she just nodded her head.
"Wow. It kind of sounds like we both have a lot on our plates." Abby realized how critical that sounded and Stuart kept his eyes on her.
"Yeah I guess we do." She then turned her head and met his gaze.
"Do you really think that this is a good idea? Not that I didn't have a really good time tonight because this has actually been one of the best dates I've ever been on but I don't want to distract you from the internship now that I know how important it is to you and I have a lot of thing's I have to do by the end of the-" Abby was cut off by Stuart's lips. The kiss was so sudden that Abby almost lost her balance on the log they were sitting on. Stuart wanted to keep seeing Abby. Despite how nervous and frustrated she makes him, he really enjoyed hanging out with her tonight and didn't want to just let her put it end to it before it even began. It only took a moment to realize her lips weren't really responding to his kiss. Stuart opened his eyes and pulled away from her quickly realizing what he'd done.
"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean to just attack you like that." Stuart apologized and Abby laughed catching his attention.
"That was a bit unexpected." Abby said seeing how flustered Stuart's cheeks were.
"I guess we should probably. I can catch a cab-" Abby jumped to her feet as Stuart rubbed the back of his neck.
"Will you relax? It's okay. I didn't hate the kiss but next time warn a girl. I do need to get home though. I have the morning shift." Abby said making Stuart shove his hands in his pockets again. She realized he walked like that when he was unsure of himself. She added it to the list of things she learned about him tonight while Stuart stewed in his own shame. He couldn't believe he had blown such a perfect evening. He'd never had a date go this well and he pretty much threw himself at her instead of just telling her that he wanted to keep seeing her. They got back to the boardwalk and while Abby slipped her shoes back on, Stuart spotted a stand with fiber optic flowers. He glanced back at Abby as she wiped the sand off her feet and knew he had enough time to buy the flower and put it in his pocket. He also grabbed her cotton candy to try and turn the date back around. She laughed as he approached with it.
"Don't worry I'm not going to make you get on the Ferris wheel. No need to binge on the cotton candy." She teased him and he handed it to her.
"What you were saying before...about being too busy and not wanting to distract me...I don't consider you a distraction. Tonight has actually been the first night where I didn't feel completely disgusted with the way thing's are going. I didn't have any doubts about getting the job or worry about my family flying in. I had a lot of fun." Abby took the cotton candy and smiled.
"So did I." Stuart let Abby drive him to his place after a long debate and Abby was surprised to see him living in an apartment that wasn't nearly as nice as hers.
"Not what you were expecting huh?" Stuart nodded his head and Abby scrunched her face up.
"Not really no but I try not to judge a book by it's cover. Maybe the bedroom is really nice." Abby joked and covered her face immediately when Stuart started laughing.
"See you aren't the only one who's mouth does things without thinking." She said.
"So I know that you're going to be really busy with work this summer but I got you something to remind you of tonight. Consider it my way of making sure you can't really forget me as an option." Stuart explained.
"Yes because I have so many suitors." Abby wiggled her eyebrows but when Stuart pulled a purple flower form his pocket that glowed around the edges of the petals, she was speechless.
"It's a fiber optic lily. I don't know what your favorite flower is but I know you like purple. The flower made me think of how you described dancing. It just sort of flows beautifully even though it's still. Plus the fiber optic technological advances these days are growing vastly more complex so I figured that could remind you of me." Stuart gave her a nervous smile before she took the flower into her hands.
"I'd really like to take you out again, Abby. You should give me a call when your schedule frees up." Stuart opened the passenger door and left Abby speechless as he walked into his apartment complex. Abby touched the glowing petals and couldn't help but smile. She'd been on dates where the only thing the guy was interested in was how flexible she was as a dancer but Stuart actually listened to her talk. He made her laugh and didn't judge her lifestyle. She bit her lip trying to think of what to do next.
Stuart walked into his apartment and saw that he had 2 messages on the machine. He hit the button.
"Hey honey, it's mom. I just wanted to let you know that your father is going to call to remind you about checking up on the beach house. We will be flying in next week and I'll make sure to give you a call when we land. Try not to let your dad get you too frustrated. Love you little bear." The answering machine clicked to the next message.
"Stuart, I'm sure you've already forgotten but I need you to make sure the house is cleaned up for our arrival. Think you can find time in your busy life to drive down and check it out or do we need to call someone to do it for you? Get back to me." Stuart flopped down on his couch and shook his head.
"Love you too dad." He let out a sigh. He couldn't believe how awesome the date had gone but he hoped his exit wasn't too dramatic. Abby didn't really say anything but she seemed happy about the flower. He was pulled from his thoughts at someone knocking at the door.
"Roberta, I just got home. Can I fix your computer tomorrow?" He yelled through the door but was only answered by another knock. He pulled himself up from the couch and opened the door not expecting to see anyone but his 75 year old neighbor who struggled with Microsoft Office. His eyes went wide when he saw Abby standing there.
"Hi." She said rubbing the palm of her hand with her finger tips.
"Hey, is everything-" Before Stuart could ask if she was okay she grabbed his face and kissed him. Stuart let go of the door to rest his hand on her wrist as he kissed her back but he felt like he was dreaming. When she finally pulled away he tried to get his lips to stop moving like an idiot.
"Thank you...for everything. I had a really great time tonight and the flower is beautiful." She said taking a deep breath. His mouth continued to move but no words could be formed.
"And I would love to go out with you again...soon." She smiled and Stuart nodded his head. She licked her bottom lip before backing out of his doorway and giving him an awkward wave as she exited the building. Stuart shut his door and leaned against it still in shock from what had just occurred but once he finally realized that Abby was totally into him he did a rapid fist pump that he will forever deny if he's ever questioned. He pulled out his phone to see Abby had updated her Facebook status with a picture of the flower saying:
Best. Date. Ever.
