A/N:
I want to thank you guys for not freaking out TOO much that I put Church in here as a romantic interest. Clearly I'm not following all canon (Dakota and North aren't related, Dakota/Lee (aka 479er) aren't lesbians in the show, etc) but I wanted to bring Church in, and it was the more entertaining way.
Thanks for taking the survey, too! I've gotten a few responses, and I'm laughing because Grif/Simmons has actually gotten a couple votes. C'MON YOU GUYS, THEY'RE JUST BROS. THAT WAS A JOKE. D: But Yorkalina is currently leading, which is good, haha.
I hope you enjoy Church as much as I enjoy writing him. GOD, it's fun to just write a character who can be a dick. I think he and Carolina bounce off each other very well, personally. I'm already thinking about one-shot stories with the two of them... :D
Also, to commenter ARE WE IN A CAR: You should make a damn account so I can respond to your comments! You make me laugh so much, I appreciate them! As well as I appreciate ALL your guys' comments, seriously. So many feels. 3
Part 53
"Goddammit, you asshole, just fucking listen to me! Fuck—can I get two words in? … Yeah, fuck you! Look, nothing happened, just—I don't care who saw me leave, I didn't—fuck you!"
Carolina opened her eyes, trying to remember what happened. A quick glance out the window confirmed it was mid-morning, though she wasn't sure where she was. A poster on the far wall looked familiar and she frowned—was she in her apartment? Something seemed…off.
After a moment of thinking, it occurred to her that it was probably Church wandering around at the foot of her bed, only wearing boxers and a scowl, which was the problem.
"C'mon, just—okay seriously, getting a little tired of the constant interrupt—no, you burn in hell!" Church threw his phone at the floor, glaring at it. "And stay there!" he added, like it made a difference.
"Uh, what was that? And why are you in my room?" Carolina looked down and saw that she was covered with a sheet, but otherwise naked save for her underwear. Her sweater was on the floor next to the bed and she dove for it, yanking it over her head.
"You invited me back here," Church replied. "Don't worry; we only fooled around a bit. I mean, we were both pretty drunk, so I don't think a lot would have happened anyway. By the way, you are a phenomenal kisser, just want to make sure you know that."
"Great."
"Apparently my brother saw us leave the bar together, that's who I was yelling at. Sorry if I woke you up." Church sat on the foot of the bed, scratching his chin. "Shit. He's gonna tell her I was sleeping around again. Motherfucker. I hate him."
"Who cares what your ex-girlfriend thinks?" Carolina asked, rubbing her eyes sleepily.
"Because I still love her! Even though she fucking hates me right now," he replied, shrugging. "We've sort of had this on-again, off-again thing for years now. But we've been in the off-again period for a few months, so I thought sleeping with someone else wasn't going to be a big deal. Not that she was ever going to find out about it, anyway. Unless that fucker rats me out, that is."
"Maybe he won't?"
"Nah, he has it in for me. Been tryin' to break up me and Allison for ages. Apparently he 'doesn't approve' of my drinking habits or swearing, even though Allison's just as bad." He punctuated the words with air quotes. "Oh, your phone was ringing, but it went to voicemail. Couple hours ago, maybe, I was half-awake."
"Oh, shit. Where is it?" She climbed out of the bed towards the desk near the window, seeing it lying on top of her bra. Ignoring the fact that she was still in her underwear, she grabbed it and checked her missed calls, seeing that both York and Wash had tried calling. "By the way, if you still love your ex, you should tell her that instead of sleeping around," she lectured over her shoulder, hearing Church laugh in response.
"Oh, I'm sorry, is this coming from the girl who loves two guys but just had me sleep over?"
She tried to ignore him as she listened to her messages. The first was from York, asking her to pick up the phone at some point yesterday. Second was York again, wondering where she was. The next three were from Wash, sounding more freaked out as they went on, going on about how he hoped she wasn't dead or in the hospital or something. Finally the most recent one, from about two hours earlier, was from Grif.
"Hey, just wanted to say good job on the epic fuck-up with Wash and York. We've been at the hotel all night trying to figure out where you went, not to mention trying to sober up a super drunk Wash—he's violent when he drinks, did you know that? Anyway—shut up, Simmons, I'm leaving a fucking message here—uh, yeah, if you're home, we'll be home later today, but we're gonna drive everyone to the airport in a bit. I'd suggest you showing up soon if you're gonna say goodbye. Later."
"Oh shit, I think they already—" She checked the time on her phone. "Uh, Church?"
He was busy texting someone on his phone, and looked up at her with a scowl. "Yeah?"
"Do you need a ride home? I've got to run." Carolina ran over to the closet and grabbed a clean shirt and pair of jeans, rushing to get dressed as Church's phone rang again.
"Hello?... No, I'm still fucking pissed at you—don't you dare call her… Mike, c'mon—Caboose, sorry, fucking seriously, worst nickname ever—no, I'm not yelling at you, I'm yelling at the phone which is near you. …Fuck you, tell her if you want, we're over! No—wait—Caboose—" He hung up the phone, clenching it in his hand as he looked around for his pants. "Shit. I'm not going home now. Can I come with you?"
Carolina rolled her eyes, buttoning her pants. "Whatever. I'm running to the airport though, so it's not going to be exciting for you or anything."
"Better than fighting with my brother." Church got dressed and made sure his wallet was in his pocket. He ran a hand through his hair and tried to flatten part of it. "Oh well, guess I'm good to go."
(b)
"Any idea where you're going?"
Carolina checked her phone, the notepad file open with the flight information showing on the screen. "Should be up ahead, but I'm too late. It's taking off in twenty minutes, and they'll have already gone through security by now, and are probably already on the plane. Shit."
"Did you really want to see either of them?" Church asked, stopping to look around them. "Ooh, coffee. Fuck, I really need coffee. Want anything? It's on me."
"No."
"Okay. Back in a few." He sauntered off towards the small coffee shop and she stared down at her phone, as though it would reverse time enough that she could make it to the airport before everyone had left. She tried calling York, but his phone went straight to voicemail. Same with Dakota's and Wash's, and she didn't want to try CT.
"Great," she muttered. She walked towards the coffee shop and found Church waiting for his drink at the other end of the counter, scratching his chin as he tapped his foot. He smiled at her as she approached.
"I'll be ready to go in a minute. Did you catch them?"
"No, and no one's picking up their phones. I'm pretty much screwed."
"Carolina?"
She spun around to see Grif and Simmons sitting at a table a few feet away, sipping on coffees, looking exhausted. "What—why are you two here?"
"Uh, we drove everyone here and decided to get breakfast, and then we got lazy and figured we'd people-watch. What are you doing here? You're…" Grif checked his phone that was sitting on the counter. "You're a good hour late to actually do anything."
"You know these guys?" Church asked, taking a step closer to her.
She nodded. "They're my roommates."
"Who's this?" Simmons raised a suspicious eyebrow.
"Uh…"
"Leonard Church," he introduced himself, not offering a handshake. Simmons nodded, still giving Carolina a strange look.
"Simmons. And this fatass is Grif."
"Hey!"
"So did Wash or York say anything before they left?" Carolina asked.
Grif shook his head. "Wash was really quiet the whole morning, and York barely said anything either. I don't think they're friends anymore. You, uh…you missed a pretty epic fight last night, gotta say. Where the hell were you?" he asked, eyeing Church, who scowled at him.
"I was…busy. And my phone was dead," she lied.
"Sure, sure."
Someone called Church's name and he went over to the counter to grab his drink, leaving Carolina being stared down by Grif and Simmons.
"So everyone left?"
"Well, North and Maine were at the hotel when we left, they're staying a few more days they said. Oh, Maine wants you to call him, I was supposed to pass on that message," Simmons said.
"Okay. I'll call him later." Carolina buried her face in her hands and sighed heavily. "Do me a favor," she said, her voice muffled from her hands. "If Wash calls you, tell him to call me?"
"Why don't you just call him?"
"I tried, no one is answering. Not even Dakota."
"Yeah, she was pretty pissed too." Grif shrugged. "You done fucked up."
"Fuck you."
"I should get home," Church interrupted, grabbing Carolina's arm. She made a noise of protest but he spun her away, marching her out of the coffee house while carefully holding the coffee in his other hand. "Nice to meet you guys," he called over his shoulder as they left.
"Hey! What the fuck—"
"Look, I don't want to get involved in some major drama bullshit," Church said as they walked, winding their way around groups of people walking around the airport. "I mean, I kind of knew what I was in for since you told me all that stuff last night, but I thought you were over exaggerating or something. Guess you weren't."
"No," she said bitterly. "I wasn't."
"So I'm gonna do you a favor, even though you didn't ask. I'm gonna help get your mind off of all this shit and take you out for a proper dinner tonight."
She side-eyed Church as he sipped his coffee, his hand still on her arm. "Excuse me?"
"I don't think Allison's gonna want to talk after my brother gets done talking to her, which he will, because he's an idiot. So I'm definitely going to be free tonight, and despite the hangover, I had fun last night." He glanced over at her, watching her blush. "Didn't you?"
"Well…yeah, I guess, but—"
"Good. How about I meet you at the bar around six? There's a great sandwich shop a few blocks over from there, we can keep it casual. But no talking about boyfriends or girlfriends or anything like that—just a nice, quiet dinner. Sound good?"
Despite everything in her brain yelling at her to say no, including Wash's voice, she nodded. "Sure, why not?"
I deserve a break, don't I? Besides…I'm technically single anyway. It won't hurt to have a nice, quiet dinner.
They crossed the walkway leading to the parking garage and Church slid his hand down her arm, taking her hand in his. She didn't pull away.
Part 54
"Hey, it's me. I don't know if you guys have landed yet, but I just…I wanted to say I'm sorry. I don't really know what happened last night, but I should have been there. I'm sorry. Please call me back."
Carolina hung up and dialed another number, pressing the phone to her ear again. Voicemail.
"Hi…it's me. Look, I'm sorry about yesterday. I should have called you earlier. I shouldn't have ignored you. Everything is just really complicated right now, and I'm sorry. Honestly, Wash said some things that sort of freaked me out, and just—I know that's not an excuse, but I hope you'll call me back."
She set the phone on the counter and sighed, checking the clock. It was only three in the afternoon, and she had a few more hours until she was going to meet Church. She sat down on her bed and started running through what she would say, provided either Wash or York actually called her back.
(b)
"Hey. Hey, Dakota."
"Fuck off."
"Come on. Hey. Hey."
"Shut up."
"C'mon, switch seats with me."
"No. Sit next to Wash like a man."
York pouted over the back of the chair he was crouched in, waiting for boarding to start. "I don't wanna. He's gonna punch me."
"Punch him first before he gets the chance," Lee said.
"Don't encourage him, Lee. York, go away."
"Fine." York turned and walked to the other set of chairs, flopping down next to CT and Brandon. He watched Wash stand up and approach Dakota, apparently asking her the same question, judging by the reaction he got.
"Go away!" Dakota yelled, dropping her head to her chest. "Stop asking me stupid questions!"
Wash retreated and sat back down a couple seats away, pulling his phone out of his pocket. A few seconds later he looked up at York, who scowled at him, and frowned back, putting the phone away. They both stuck their tongues out at each other and CT reached across Brandon, smacking York on the shoulder.
"Grow the fuck up, you guys," she lectured. Brandon rolled his eyes and went back to reading his magazine as York continued pouting.
(b)
York made his way down the skinny airplane aisle, holding his duffle in his hand, looking for his row. Finally he reached Row 27 and saw Wash already sitting in the window seat, even though he was supposed to sit there; he loved staring at the clouds, and Wash got sick just sitting in a car for too long, much less looking out an airplane window. He glared down at Wash, who glared back up at him, folding his arms across his chest.
"You're in my seat."
"You're in my life."
"Great comeback."
"So's your face."
York rolled his eyes and shoved the duffle into the overhead bin, sitting in the middle seat next to Wash. He felt something jab at his arm and looked over to see Wash retracting his elbow. Scowling, he angled his elbow and jabbed him right back in the arm, watching him wince.
"Fuck you!"
"Hey, kids are on board, asshole."
Wash turned and glared silently at the cover over the window as York reached into the seat back in front of him, pulling out the magazine that had all the awesome, useless toys that rich people bought. He settled in and started flipping through the pages, occasionally making a 'huh' noise at the more interesting items.
Eventually the flight attendants came out and did the safety demonstration, and York ignored Wash as he made remarks under his breath along the lines of 'not even if I was drowning' and 'yeah, like anything can support that much idiocy.' York resisted the urge to elbow him again as the plane started to take off, and he leaned back in the seat, gripping the armrests.
He hated flying.
The airplane kept trembling throughout takeoff and he closed his eyes, wishing he could be looking out the window at the sky instead of the blackness behind his eyelids. Something pressed against his forearm and he dared to crack open his eye, seeing that Wash's hand was holding his arm, squeezing it in what was probably supposed to be a comforting manner, but was almost too rough. He decided to let him continue, especially as the plane hit a small patch of increased turbulence as it righted itself in the sky.
The captain's voice came over the speaker to assure them that they were well on their way and to warn about keeping seatbelts on as York let up on his death grip on the armrests, flexing his fingers. He opened his eyes and felt Wash's hand quickly move way, reaching for the magazine in front of his own seat.
"Thanks," he mumbled.
"Didn't do anything," was the reply, just as quietly.
York reclined his seat and reached across Wash, flipping up the visor over the window. Immediately Wash blanched and scrambled for his seat belt.
"Switch seats?"
"If you insist."
(b)
"So I said, if the plane can support so much weight, why not just pull a smaller plane behind it and have that carry all the luggage? And he said—"
York kicked the seat in front of him, exhausted beyond belief from the stupid blather the kid in front of him had been telling his friend. The kid popped his head over the back of the seat, glaring at York.
"You kicked me again."
"Sorry. Foot slipped. No room back here."
The kid narrowed his eyes and turned back around, settling into his seat as Wash chuckled. York glanced over at him and shrugged.
"Only took three hours for you to stop ignoring me?" he asked.
"Could say the same for you."
"Hmm. Point."
Awkward silence filled the space between them again as they listened to the humming of the plane and small talk.
"Sorry."
"About what?" York's first response on the tip of his tongue was 'should be' but curiosity got the better of him.
Wash shook his head. "I shouldn't have gotten involved with your relationship. I thought I could help, that's all."
"We might be beyond helping."
"No, don't say that." Wash looked at him, nudging his arm with his elbow. "She's just so damn independent. I shouldn't have pushed her."
"Did she really say…that…" He hesitated. "That, uh…she still loves you?"
"Yeah."
"Wash—"
"Look, it doesn't matter. I've already decided to let her go." Wash shrugged. "It's fine. I mean, it's not, but whatever. The two of us were never going to work out anyway."
"Why?"
"Because." He sighed. "Because we want different things. Because she's too…something, fuck, I don't know how to describe it. 'Independent' isn't really the right word, I can't think of it though. She's…she's Carolina, you know? She's—god, I really suck at talking right now. I can't think of the word I want—"
"You already said it."
"What?"
"The word. It's Carolina. That's who she is. That's what she is. One and the same."
Wash went silent at that, as though contemplating what he'd said. "Yeah," he said quietly.
"Anyway, I'm done talking about it. I'm going to take a nap." York leaned against the window, shifting his body in an attempt to stop his legs from going numb. "Not like it'll probably happen, these fucking seats are so small."
Wash bent over and grabbed for his bag he'd stuffed under the seat in front of him, digging for something. A moment later he pulled out a hoodie and rolled it into a small dense square. He leaned around York and shoved it between his head and the window, letting out a small 'urk' noise as he accidentally looked outside.
York reached up and closed the window shade, leaning against the makeshift pillow. The unspoken thanks hung between them as Wash reclined his own seat, resuming going through the magazine. A few minutes later York was asleep, snoring lightly.
(b)
"—sorry. Please call me back."
Wash disconnected from his voicemail and tucked the phone back in his pocket, grabbing his suitcase handle to start dragging it towards the terminal exit. He saw York on his phone, apparently listening to a message himself, and decided not to wait around. It had been pushing his luck trying to be friendly on the plane, and now that he was home, he didn't want to give York a chance to punch him in the face.
(b)
"That was probably the most awkward plane ride ever," CT chuckled, nudging Dakota as they walked. She nodded as a reply.
"Ugh, those stupid planes are so small," Lee complained as she stretched her arms over her head, her oversized duffel hanging from her hands. "I really wish Maine had upgraded us to first class or something."
"I don't think he was that willing to accommodate us," Brandon spoke up, for what seemed like the first time ever. Dakota raised an eyebrow at him.
"He did pay for the hotel and everything too."
"No, I'm grateful, I just meant—ah, never mind. Did you guys have a good time?"
Lee nodded. "Yeah, we did a lot of sightseeing, it was fun! Excited to be back home though. Besides, I missed having alone time." She nudged up against Dakota, who coughed.
"What? Didn't you have your own room?" CT asked.
"We did, but we spent so much time out with everyone else or just sightseeing that we didn't have much time to relax. Though we did hit up the hotel hot tub, which was pretty—"
"Good, it was good," Dakota finished. Lee giggled and held her bag with one hand, reaching over to smack Dakota's ass.
(b)
"…I know that's not an excuse, but I hope you'll call me back."
York watched Wash walk away as he listened to the voicemail again, trying to pick up on any subtle hints about…whatever he was hoping for, which he didn't know what that would be. Just something that maybe told him that she still loved him.
Dakota and CT walked past him, flanked by Brandon and Lee, as they left to find cabs to their own apartments. York sighed. He didn't want to go home; North and Maine were still in New York, and he hated being in the apartment alone. He quickly debated asking one of the girls if he could stay with them for a couple of days, but realized they'd probably want their space, not to mention he was pretty sure Dakota was still pissed at him.
He started to dial Carolina's number, but hung up as soon as he hit 'call.' They had just left—surely she wanted some time to herself first.
(b)
Carolina stared at her phone, willing it to ring, hoping either of them would call. It was five-thirty and she needed to leave to meet Church.
Heaving a sigh she stood up and tucked her phone into her purse, heading out into the front room. Grif was on the couch watching TV, munching on some crackers, while Simmons made pasta in the kitchen.
"How much do you want?" Simmons asked, holding up a ladle full of noodles. "Should be ready in about ten minutes."
"Did you throw it at a wall yet?" Grif called out.
"What?! Why would I do that?" Simmons replied, dumping the noodles back into the pot.
"To see if the noodles are ready!"
"I have no idea what you are talking about."
"You're supposed to throw a noodle at the wall and if it sticks, it's good."
"That is the dumbest shit I have ever heard."
"I read it! It's legit!"
"Read it where?"
"Okay, fine, Jason told me once, but still!"
"You're a fucking idiot."
"Fuck you!"
"I'm going out for dinner," Carolina finally said, getting a chance to talk.
"Going to meet North and Maine?"
"No, just grabbing food by myself."
Simmons arched his eyebrow. "Uh huh."
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Are you dating that asshole?" Grif asked, suddenly right behind her. She jumped as she felt crumbs hit the back of her neck, turning to glare at him. He reached out and brushed off her neck with a muttered apology.
"No, I'm not. He's a friend."
"A naked friend?"
"A friend," she repeated. "Can you drop it now?"
"Wow, you don't know us very well if you think that," Grif said.
Carolina smacked his arm and headed for the door. "Call if you need me. I'll be back later."
"Yeah, sure. Just make sure you use—" The end of Grif's comment was cut off by the door slam. He turned and grinned at Simmons. "Use his credit card to pay," he finished, and Simmons threw a noodle at him.
(b)
"Did someone punch you on the way over, or do you always look pissed off?" Church asked as she approached, her hands shoved in her pockets. The weather was nice enough to not need a coat, but she still had on a light jacket over her t-shirt.
"Do you always greet people so nicely?" she shot back, stopping in front of him. His hair was still slightly messed up, as he probably hadn't bothered to fix it since that morning.
"Fuck off," he said with a smile.
"You first."
"So, proper date is off to a good start." Church shifted his weight onto one foot and pivoted around, sliding his arm through the space between her elbow and waist, linking them together. "Let's go, I'm starving and I don't want to be seen loitering around outside a bar that isn't even open for another hour. Ruins the image."
"And what image is that?" she asked as they walked down the street.
"The carefully cultivated image of a sexy, sarcastic man who is in no way an alcoholic." Church laughed, bumping into her as he dodged around a fire hydrant. "And what image are you working on? Silent and angry loner rebel?"
"Loner? Do you even remember what we talked about last night?"
"Oh, right, Washingtub and Nick Fury."
"Those aren't their names."
"But they're funny, and that's more important."
"You're not going to use their real names, are you?'
"Nope."
"So where's this sandwich place?" she asked, resisting the urge to smack his arm.
"A few blocks north of here. Don't worry, I'm gonna trick you or anything. I don't know you well enough for that."
"That's…reassuring."
They walked arm in arm, chatting about what they did that day. Church had gone over to his brother's apartment to yell at him, and apparently that hadn't gone well, judging by how angry he was getting talking about it.
"I told him nothing happened, but he's such a fucking dumbass that he said he'd already called Allison to tell her I was sleeping with someone else. Now I've got to kick his ass and try to get her to talk to me, though she already left me a voicemail calling me an 'alcoholic fuckhead' and not to call her ever again."
"And this is a regular occurrence?"
"Contrary to what you might think, I don't run around hitting on every woman I see. I don't even flirt that often because it always gets back to her. I think Caboose is out to ruin my life."
"Caboose? Oh, your brother. That's a strange name."
"Michael's his real name, but he's loved trains and tanks and shit since he was a kid, so we started calling him 'Caboose' and it stuck."
Carolina laughed. "That's adorable."
"Dumber than a bag of bricks, but adorable. That's Caboose in a nutshell."
"Is he much younger than you?"
Church wrinkled his nose. "How old do you think I am?"
"I don't know…twenty-eight?"
"Close enough. I'm actually thirty. You?"
"Twenty-eight," she chuckled. "Feel a lot older most days."
"Yeah, same. And he's twenty-four, so still plenty naïve."
"I wish I had siblings. I kind of hated being an only child."
"Oh god, never say that." Church shook his head. "I wish I'd been an only child. God, having a younger brother is so irritating. Oh, turn right up here."
They turned onto another street as Church dropped her arm momentarily, reaching for his wallet. He flipped it open and pulled out a small picture, handing it to her.
A boy with floppy black hair with a goofy smile looked up at her, with an older boy standing behind him, hands on the younger boy's shoulders, a forced smile on his face. The older boy was wearing thick-rimmed glasses and looked like he'd swallowed a bug.
"That's me and Caboose about eight years ago," Church explained. "Fucker always looks so damn happy. The worst part was that picture wasn't even our parents' fault, like most shitty family photos are. No, that was all him. Worst day ever. Haven't let him take an updated one since."
"Your glasses are awful," Carolina said with a laugh.
"Fuck you, I have contacts." He tapped underneath his left eye. "I don't miss when playing darts now."
"Oh, I don't know. I'm pretty awesome."
"That sounds like a challenge."
She smiled. "Maybe."
"Then you're on," Church said with a grin.
(b)
The sandwich shop turned out to be just a sandwich shop, to Carolina's relief. She had been slightly worried Church would take her to what turned out to be a nice restaurant, but as she ordered a turkey club, she started to feel much more relaxed. Their food came out quickly and they carried their trays to a table near the back, settling in.
"Tell me about Allison," Carolina said as she rearranged the lettuce on her sandwich to be less all-over-the-place.
"Wow, don't pull any punches." Church winced. "Can I not?"
"It's only fair, since you know about Wash and York."
"Who?"
She rolled her eyes. "Washingtub and Nick Fury, dumbass."
"I know, I just wanted to hear you say those names."
"I hate you."
"That's probably a new record." Church ripped open his bag of chips, popping one into his mouth. A thoughtful look crossed over his face as he swallowed. "Allison. Man, that's a complicated story, to be honest."
"I understand complicated," Carolina nodded, taking a bite of her sandwich.
"Well, we met…geez, eight years ago I think? I've lost track of time. Anyway, we met during senior year of college, and everything was great for a while, until she slept with someone else. We broke up, but then six months later we got back together."
"If she cheated on you, why'd you take her back?"
Church snorted. "Take her back? She took me back. Not my finest moment, I'll admit, but I was already head over heels with her by that point. We made it another year before I made out with her best friend, which lead us to breaking up again."
"I'm sensing a pattern," Carolina observed.
"Yeah. That's pretty much continued over the years—one of us would sleep with someone else, we'd break up, and get back together later down the road. I even asked her to marry me last year, but she turned me down, saying she didn't want to ruin what we have."
She frowned. "That's…uh, not the healthiest relationship."
"I know, but no matter what we do, we keep finding our way back to each other." Church sighed, eating another chip. "I like to think of her as my best friend who I happen to fuck a lot and have feelings for. We've actually told each other 'I love you' but that usually ends in a fight and another breakup. Man, if she just wasn't so hot I wouldn't care so much."
"Have you tried dating anyone else over the years?"
"Yeah, sometimes. Usually doesn't last because I end up going back to her, or she tracks me down for sex and that doesn't sit well with the current girlfriend." Church snickered. "Man, it's a vicious cycle, let me tell ya."
Carolina laughed. "You're definitely fucked up."
"I'm taking that as a compliment."
"Please do. You seem oddly proud of it."
"Eh. It's been going on so long, I don't really think of it as weird anymore."
"Yeah, I could see that."
"So anyway. Did you get in touch with either of the guys?"
Carolina leaned back in her chair, studying her sandwich. "Not yet. I left messages but they haven't called back yet. I was hoping one of them would, but…"
"Shit, sorry, I said I was going to distract you tonight." Church pushed his sandwich tray away and stood up, coming over to her side of the table to sit next to her. She noticed that he had a peculiar cologne, sort of spicy and pleasing, as he leaned over, stealing a piece of tomato that had fallen to her tray. "So…how about those sports?"
"I don't care about sports much," she replied with a chuckle.
"Movies?"
"Haven't seen any lately, too busy with school."
"Oh, you're in school? What for?"
"Grad school, for architecture."
"Wow, so you design buildings and shit?"
Carolina nodded. "Yeah, hopefully someday. I've got another year till I graduate."
Church pressed his arm against hers, his hand finding its way to her knee. "That's coming up soon."
"Ugh, yeah. And I'm nowhere near ready to figure out what I want to do with my life."
"Is anyone, though? I sure don't know what I'm doing."
"What do you do?"
"I'm a call center manager," Church said with a frown. "Super exciting, trust me. I get to yell at people who slack off, though, so that makes the days go by relatively quickly.
"How'd you get into that sort of job?"
"It was my temp job during school, and I just kept getting promoted. The previous manager died of an allergic reaction to aspirin, if you can believe it. That was a crazy day."
"Aspirin?"
"Yeah, we thought he was having a heart attack so we gave him aspirin. He never told us he was allergic." Church shrugged. "He was an old guy anyway, no family, so…I dunno. It was sad, but it could have been worse I guess. Could have been a younger guy."
"True."
They were quiet for a few minutes, picking at their food. Church's hand stayed on her knee, squeezing occasionally, and she leaned back against his arm, enjoying the warmth.
"Man, I suck at distracting you from sad shit, huh?"
"It's okay. Did you want to do anything after dinner?"
Church sat up. "We should go play darts."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, why not? I said I was going to take you on a proper date, and dates involve drinking challenges, don't they?"
Carolina shook her head. "No, I meant, are you sure you're ready to lose? Because I would feel terrible if I made you cry."
"You're a bitch," Church said with a grin.
"Is that a problem?"
"Not even a little bit."
