A/N: Hi to guest reviewers, since I can't reply directly. Everyone, I love to hear what you think. I really do. And I am officially over my review crisis. But don't stop! :)
And to those who have asked me, yes, there are some one shots of Steve's POV during this time, but I'm not posting yet, because 'spoilers', if Evie doesn't know what he's thinking, neither can you! All in good time...
This road house was a wide, low building, the main room so much bigger than Buck's that there was space for a small stage and a dance floor at the back, even with all the tables crowded in. The bar stretched through an archway to another, darker, room so that the bartenders could serve both rooms.
Buzz found us a little round table between the end of the bar and the stage, fetched drinks for us, then disappeared through the archway. The music was loud already and the place was filling up. Looked like some kind of happening scene tonight. Several guys were checking us out, but we were playing it cool so far, ignoring the interested looks.
Sylvia leaned towards me, her voice low. "It ain't gonna bother you, is it, Evie, that Randle's here?"
"Real funny," I said sarcastically.
She shook her head slightly, her eyes flicking towards the door. "I ain't kidding."
Oh, Christ. I summoned all my courage and met her eyes. "Nah," I lied smoothly. "It ain't gonna bother me." I didn't look towards the door. I didn't turn my head at all. It would not bother me. I would not let it. Besides, he was going to ignore me, if the party was anything to go by, so I could easily do the same.
Well, maybe not easily.
"Okay then. Good for you." Sylvia beamed at me proudly. "Looks like he and Mathews got chicks with 'em. Why do I know that blonde one? Ooh, not Curtis, though. He's on the make again. Wanna make a bet how many hook ups he gets tonight?"
So now I had to look, just casually. They were grabbing one of the last free tables, way over on the other side of the room.
"It's Kathy. Two-Bit's dated her before. And no, I do not wanna bet you anything about Soda." Not with the way he looked tonight, and I wasn't just thinking about how much of a doll he was. There was an energy about the way he moved, the way he scoped the room, that made him look positively dangerous. Girls were already discreetly fluffing their hair and undoing top buttons.
That left the other occupants of the table for me to assess. Steve was leaning back in his chair, that half bored expression - that actually meant he felt a little uncomfortable - on his face. His date had long brunette hair. Nothing special, not the full Jean Shrimpton do or anything. Not the tall girl. Never seen this one before in my life.
"Looks like Randle got sent down to the minor leagues," Sylvia sniped. I smiled at her gratefully. Glancing over my shoulder, her tone changed, she quirked an eyebrow. "Heads up. Incoming Early Birds." That was what she called the guys who made the first move of the evening when we went out, the ones who couldn't wait, too desperate maybe, or too worried that someone else would get to us first.
"Ladies. You on your own?" They were okay looking, not kids, dressed in shirts and clean jeans. Not necessarily falling into the 'desperate' category. I noticed Sylvia sit up a bit straighter.
"Yes and no," she answered cryptically. Because she'd seen what I had, that Buzz was weaving his way back to us, through the crowd. The guys offered to buy us a drink. We indicated that we had drinks in front of us. The tall one sat down next to Sylvia uninvited and said he'd wait until she finished, then buy her the next one.
"Mind if I join you?" Ah, the blond one wasn't as pushy, or at least, he was playing the part of the polite friend. I shrugged. He took that as a 'yes', sat down and introduced himself as Joe, his pushy friend as Bill.
"Holy Christ, Cooper, I been gone two seconds an' you're movin' in on my sister?" Buzz loudly challenged the other guy, who jumped up and away from Sylvia pretty quick. He relaxed as Buzz grinned. They shook hands and slapped backs, doing that weird 'guy greeting' shit, and Buzz sat down between the two guys, opposite me. He greeted Joe with more restraint, it seemed they didn't know each other so well.
"You ain't his sister, too?" Joe asked me.
I shook my head at the same time as Buzz answered, "No, she ain't," in a tone I didn't quite understand, but which seemed to make Joe look at me quizzically.
"I was comin' back to tell you lovely ladies that I had the offer of a game, out back, but I didn't wanna abandon y'all to the sharks in here. Now that I know Cooper's here...well, I definitely don't wanna leave you alone!" Buzz laughed.
"Man, you know I would treat any sister of yours with nothin' but respect," the other guy drawled, placing his hand on his heart.
"Hell, get lost then, let me hook up with someone fun!" Sylvia pouted, making all of us laugh.
Although he was joking around, Buzz still hesitated.
"Go." Sylvia waved him away, smiling. "Just tell us if we're gonna need a ride later, if you're playin' all night."
"I got my car," Joe spoke up.
Buzz nodded at him. "You better not be drinking much, then."
"Maybe I'll find something else to do. Like dancin'." Joe smiled perfectly pleasantly, but it was like something unspoken was passing between them. I sipped my drink, watching as Sylvia tapped her foot impatiently. She wanted Buzz gone, so she could move in on Bill. Buzz winked at her, picked up his drink and left us to it.
I hated this part of any evening. The pretending to be interested in who worked where and what they thought about the band. All the small talk. Maybe it showed in my answers, because Joe stopped asking questions about me.
"Do ya just wanna dance?" he suggested.
I felt a bit guilty, if I'd been rude. He was quite cute. He had a stripe of freckles across his nose and he was real tanned for a blond guy, so I wasn't surprised when he'd said he worked in construction, outdoors all the time. I nodded and stood up. No point trying to tell Sylvia where I was going, she was practically in Bill's lap as they 'talked'.
Joe grinned appreciatively at me when I stood. He obviously hadn't seen us walk in. Waving me in front of him towards the dance floor, he accepted a high five from Bill, who apparently had enough peripheral vision to take in my legs, even as he made up to Sylvia.
Joe was a reasonably good dancer and I started having a lot of fun. The band was excellent, real tight. Although it was quite crammed at first, a space cleared to one side as people moved, becoming spectators as much as dancers, their heads turning.
I saw, but didn't stop dancing even when some of Joe's attention was taken by the spectacle of Soda and the girl he was dancing with. They were fantastic, anyone would have to agree. At one point he had her bent so far back, her red hair nearly swept the floor, then he swung her around and up into his arms so smoothly, you couldn't tell if she was jumping or he was lifting her. They swayed, their legs entwined, hips so close you almost had to check they were dressed. They'd have been expelled on the spot, never mind cited for lewd conduct, if we'd been back at the school dance. That seemed like it was a long time ago.
Around us, other couples started trying to copy them, some with more success than others. One guy trod on his partner's toes and she yelped, stalking off.
Joe laughed in my ear, having pulled me closer. "Don't desert me, if I tread on you," he pleaded.
"Tread on you right back, instead?" I asked sweetly, following his moves closely.
"Ouch. Not in those heels."
The music changed, but I didn't let him back away. I kept my arms around his neck, glad he wasn't too tall for me. He was copying Soda, keeping our hips in contact, his arm tight around me. I didn't stop him when he slid it further down, holding my butt. He was about to find out just how short my skirt was.
"I think I need another drink," he murmured after a while.
"Ain't you supposed to be being good, if you're drivin'?" I teased.
Joe looked at me thoughtfully. "Yeah, 'bout that. Richardson ain't gonna be waiting to pop me one, is he?"
"Why?" I didn't know what his problem was.
"I ain't like, on his turf here, or something?"
I had no idea what he was talking about. I told him so.
"You and him?"
I laughed and shook my head. Me and Buzz? Me and Buzz? I danced a little more closely against Joe, until he cleared his throat and said he wanted to sit down. The song was just ending anyway, so we threaded our way off the floor, my hand in his.
"Hey, Evie," Soda sent a lazy smile my way, over the redhead's shoulder. I smiled back. Maybe we hadn't parted on the best of terms, but it didn't look like he was bearing a grudge.
Back at the table, Joe downed his beer quickly. I was thirsty myself.
"I see you were in competition with the Sodapop show," Sylvia said slyly, as Bill went to fetch another round of drinks. "Told ya he'd be on the make tonight."
"Soda what?" Joe queried. "You talking about that guy dancin'? You know him?" He directed the last question at me. I'd seen him register when Soda spoke to me.
"Oh, yeah, we know him," Sylvia answered for me. "He ain't done yet though, he won't be goin' home with that Ann-Margret wannabe, count on that."
Joe looked over at Soda, still entwined around the red head. "How come you know him? He something to ya?" I was already bored of his jealousy. First Buzz, now Soda? He must think I'd been with every guy in here.
I sipped the last inch of my drink. It was mostly ice water now. Joe repeated his question. I rolled my eyes at Sylvia, who smirked. I leaned across and planted a kiss on Joe. A quick one, but I made it count. His eyes were wide when I pulled back.
"Are we done talkin' about other guys?" I asked, my tone letting him know there was only one acceptable answer. He nodded.
"Good. Be a sweetie an' go hurry up your friend. I'm thirsty." I waved him away towards the bar.
Sylvia was rocking with laughter as he shot away, practically tripping over his feet.
"Well, really. I ain't got the patience to hear him go on about Soda Curtis all night," I drawled, stretching theatrically and making her snort loudly.
"Just as well he don't know your real ex is one death stare away."
Damn her, just when I was having real fun, she had to go and mention Steve. I let myself look across the room. Steve was in the process of refusing to dance. The brunette was tugging on his hand but he just sat there, shaking his head, until she sat down again, pouting. She began talking to Kathy, obviously hoping that turning her back on Steve would bother him. Good luck with that, I thought mischievously.
As I registered what song the band were playing, the smile faded from my lips and Steve looked up, his eyes hitting mine dead center.
Bill and Joe reappeared, yakking, blocking my sight line, and by the time the drinks were distributed and they'd sat down, Steve was no longer looking my way. Soda was sitting down, talking animatedly and they were all laughing.
I wasn't surprised Soda had left the dance floor. He never was a big Beach Boys fan. 'Don't Worry Baby' was on his list of least liked records.
I took a large sip of my drink, followed immediately by another, letting Sylvia's chatter anchor me to this side of the room.
xXx
"I ain't bothered, it's up to you." Sylvia made a minuscule adjustment to her eyeliner in the restroom mirror.
I mused on this for all of a second, before bursting into laughter. "It's up to me whether you let Bill in your underwear?"
Sylvia rolled her eyes. "How much you had to drink? I said, 'It's up to you, if we invite them in', seeing as how you're stayin' over at mine. I did not mention where I may, or may not, let him get. I ain't decided. An' I can't work out if you're going for that Joe or not. You're winding him up and down like a friggin' yo-yo."
I shrugged. "He's kind of annoying. He's so serious."
"Hell, I thought you got off on serious. Namin' no names."
"Well, maybe I'm looking for a change," I shot back. And maybe I was. Being with Joe tonight had made me think about that. He didn't even know me, we sure as hell weren't together, and yet he was acting like he owned me already.
There was one particular thing he'd made me think about, though. Yeah, that was nagging at me now.
"Well, how are we getting home, if we don't go with 'em?"
"Aw, we can get a ride home out of it. Ain't like we gotta see 'em again." I shrugged at Sylvia. And so we did.
Once they'd driven us back and parked outside the Richardson house, Joe pawed at me enthusiastically. I heard Bill in the back seat, begging Sylvia to let him in the house.
"Well, that would be great, lover, but my daddy'll be waiting up. With his shotgun," Sylvia said in a serious tone. That was my cue to wriggle away and open the car door, as she did the same in the back.
"There ain't any lights on," Bill protested.
Sylvia nodded. "He don't want to spoil his night vision. Little trick he picked up in the Marines."
"You gotta be kiddin' me." Joe was mighty pissed. I shrugged apologetically and thanked him sweetly for a lovely evening. His response was not quite as sweet. The car roared away behind us, as Sylvia and I tripped up the path, giggling fit to bust.
"Sylv, you okay about this? You didn't mind ditching 'em?" I checked.
She made a retching noise. "Not even a little bit." She opened the door, grinning at me. "He musta bathed in Aqua Velva, I can still taste it." She tried to wipe her tongue. "For Christ's sake, let's find the vodka, disinfect my mouth."
"Has your dad really got a shotgun?" I was curious.
Sylvia nodded. "He ain't that good of a shot, though. 'Specially not all the way from McAlester!"
xXx
I sat at the kitchen table, leafing aimlessly through one of Sylvia's many fashion magazines. I didn't want the sandwich I'd made and it lay on the plate, untouched. I tipped a little more vodka into my glass. I wasn't sleepy enough yet, despite the fact that it was three a.m.
The front door clicked and then the kitchen door opened. No noise from the dog, so I knew it wasn't Trey.
"Hello, Evie," Buzz said with a grin, heavy on the 'E' sounds, like always.
"Hello, Buzzzzzz," I answered, like a demented bee. He winked at me, reaching inside the ice box for a beer. He patted his pockets, in a search of a church key, I assumed.
"How come you always think you have these things you look for?" I teased. "When you never do?"
"Do too," he came back at me, in a voice like a little kid arguing. He leaned down to me, all goggle eyed. "Just not always where they should be, is all..." He put his hand up to the side of my head and twisted it, revealing the church key as if he'd found it in my ear.
"Wow." I said in a real unimpressed tone. "I bet you could make good money doin' that. If you only had a rabbit in a hat, to back you up."
"Rabbits are overrated. What I need is a glamorous assistant to saw in half. Lie on the table, I got a real big saw somewhere."
I raised my eyebrow at him. "I bet you say that to all the girls."
He grinned widely, pulling out a chair and appropriating my sandwich.
"Can I have this?" he asked, around a mouthful. I simply pulled a face at him. What was I going to do, take it back? He swallowed, his eyes twinkling impishly. "I thought you might still be dancin' the night away."
I shook my head. "We ditched 'em. I didn't like mine."
Buzz looked thoughtful for a second, then he wriggled in his chair."Goddamn, my feet hurt. I been walkin' for God knows how long."
"Where's your car?" I looked at him curiously.
"Back at the roadhouse."
"Broke down?"
"Lost."
For a second I was confused, then I realized what he meant. "You lost the car? In that poker game? Don't it bother you?"
He shrugged, replying quite happily as he munched the rest of the sandwich, "Win some, lose some. You can't be cryin' over every little bump on the road." He downed his beer. Only then did he seem to notice I was on my own. "Where's Sylv?"
"Passed out on the couch, about an hour ago."
"Lightweight," he scoffed. "Anyone else home?"
His mom was away visiting, he knew that. I shrugged. "I ain't seen Trey."
"Worshippin' at the church of the bad Shepard, no doubt. Sap." It was unclear whether he was referring to Trey or Tim. Buzz yawned. "I'mma hit the hay. You around all night? Not that I can give you a ride home." He smiled ruefully as he stood up. Maybe he did mind about the car, after all.
"Yeah." I held up my glass. "Me an' my night cap. For all the good it's doing."
He tilted his head as he studied me. "I got something can help ya sleep. If you want."
I opened my mouth to say no, but nothing came out.
Buzz nodded slowly. "If you want..." He left the room.
I leaned on the table for five minutes, counting my heartbeats.
When I went past the front room, I saw Sylvia now had a blanket over her. He must have done that on his way to bed.
The door to Buzz's room was open, but only a little. The light was on. I walked right in.
He looked up and the surprise on his face grew when I shut the door behind me. I was pleased that he hadn't assumed I was following him. He didn't move from his position, lying on his bed, one arm under his head.
I walked over and took the joint from his free hand. He watched me silently as I took a drag, then placed it on the ashtray on his night stand and lay down next to him.
"I was talkin' about downers. To help you sleep. I got those," he said.
"I know." I said, eventually. I remembered Sylvia at the funeral. Buzz waited for me to continue. "Thing is," I explained, "it ain't just the falling asleep that's a problem for me." I pushed up on one elbow, turning so I could see him.
"Uh huh." He waited still, although his eyes told me he knew where I was going with this.
"It's the waking up lonely that I've had enough of."
I leaned over and kissed him.
xXx
I was lazily taking inventory of his tattoos when we heard her.
I'd yanked the blind up a little to let more of the early morning light in. The bicep on one arm had the carefully drawn cards, which I now knew represented something called the 'dead man's hand'. On the inside of the other arm, he had a pair of tumbling dice. They were beautiful. The same tattoo artist who did the cards had drawn them - they looked like they were caught mid fall, but you could see they were landing to show a five and a two. That was important, but I wasn't really listening as he explained why.
Since I'd never seen him undressed before last night, I was more interested in the line of numbers inked just under his collarbone.
"Is this in case you forget your phone number?" I teased, tracing the numbers with my finger. He chuckled.
"Nah. S'my birthday. An' Sylv an' Trey's. All my lucky numbers."
"Is that all of your tats?" I asked, trying to lift the sheet and inspect the rest of him. He twisted it out of my hand.
"Nope. You ain't been payin' attention." He challenged me with his eyes. "I got two more. Where d'ya figure 'em to be?"
I narrowed my eyes and prepared to tickle him to get him to move. And then we heard Sylvia yelling my name.
I had a sudden panic. This might not be cool. She might hate the fact that I'd slept with her brother and I'd have lost her. I wasn't keen to lose another friend. Buzz just met my gaze steadily, unfazed.
Sylvia flung open the bedroom door, mid sentence. "Buzz, you seen...Evie?" She regarded us both, tangled in the sheets and each other. "Well, hallelujah. It's about time you two got around to it." She rolled her eyes at us and went back out. "I ain't bringin' you coffee, so don't be waiting on it," she shrieked as she went downstairs.
Buzz sat up and reached across me, for a pack of Camels on the nightstand that separated the two beds. I assumed Trey had slept elsewhere last night. We certainly hadn't been disturbed.
"Ha!" I slapped Buzz on the back. "There! No fair, I couldn't see those before." He had a four leaf clover and a horseshoe decorating his shoulder blade. He grinned at me and abandoned the smokes, pulling me down into an embrace that promised we'd never get to Sylvia's coffee before it went cold.
Uh oh. Is that the sound of all the Stevie shippers groaning? But Buzz has fans, too, right? And it didn't necessarily mean anything, just because Steve was looking at her. When their song was playing. Did it...?