Claire sits underneath a freshly blooming peach tree, cocking her head to meet Gray's expression. "So, what do you do for fun around here?" she asks.
Gray is lounging next to her, taking a piece of straw from his mouth to crumple it up between his fingers. This all feels very countryside-esque to him, if he's being honest. "I told you, this is the Boonies. There is no 'fun.'" He flicks the piece of hay away. Claire crosses her arms behind her head, leaning against the cool bark of the tree.
"So, you don't do anything?" she asks, reaching over to lift her dog onto her lap. But Maggie has become very, very attached to Gray, continuously rolling over on her stomach so that he'll pet her. He's not a people person, but he's definitely a dog person.
"I work. Know what that is?"
She huffs. "Besides that."
Gray stops for a moment to think. "I watch Cheers re-runs before I go to bed, on my shitty little television."
Claire smiles at him. "I like Frasier."
"I mean it," he tells her, lifting his hat to scratch his head. Her big blue eyes are fixated on the painted, warm colours of the sunset, as if she's mesmerized or something. He's staring at her though, like he's the mesmerized one. Is the view beyond the horizon, or right in front of him?
Nah, fuck on outta here with that sappy shit. "There's really not much to do, so if you came here to have fun, you're fucked."
Claire frowns. "I came here to learn how to be independent, not to 'have fun.'"
He smirks. "Then why'd you ask?"
She rolls her eyes at him. "What do you like, then?"
He arches his brow at her, wincing. He needs to stop moving the goddamn healing one. "I like rock music."
"I love 80's music," she says wistfully. "80's and 90's everything."
How sick; she's one of these nostalgic-for-the-sake-of-being-nostalgic girls. "Sometimes I go for a run and practice my boxing," he continues.
Her eyes widen further. "Could you teach me?"
"To run? It's hopeless. You'll never learn such a skill." There's an unusually playful tone in his voice. What the hell's with him today?
Claire scrunches her nose at him. "I should learn self-defense."
He shakes his head. "That's very different from boxing."
"Could you teach me?"
Gray sizes her up, trying to be cool about it. She's honestly such a natural beauty, it's kind of unbelievable. With her deep eyes, nice smile, and pretty blonde hair, she looks like one of those teen stars in the movies. Obviously, she's not just another pretty face to be taken at surface value, though. For example, he's also gathered that she's clearly a pain in the ass and lame as hell.
Thing is, his grandfather or Kai would probably argue that lately, Gray's been matching those exact traits too. Is he really in any position to judge?
"I could. Doesn't mean I will." Although he's trying to joke around, Gray wonders if his tone still comes across like a real asshole.
"Is that a no?"
"That's a definite no."
Claire pauses for a moment, and then pushes him lightly. "You're actually terrible," she says, coyly. She seems to be treading lightly, before adding: "Mary had a lot to say about you."
Gray leans back on his elbows, completely unphased. Maggie comes over to him to lick his cheek. "I'll bet."
She raises herself up, hugging her knees. Her limbs are tiny, and when she bends her legs to her chest, she looks like she's shrunk in size. All 5 foot nothing of her. "We met yesterday at the library," Claire says. He waits for the next, inevitable part that's surely coming. "What happened between you two?"
Ha.
Gray makes a face. Normally, he hates when people get in his business, but he'd prefer to set the record straight right now. "Uh, nothing happened. Me not wanting to date her, or fuck her for that matter, doesn't make me a bad person."
Claire's eyes widen again, the apples of her cheeks growing red. "I wasn't down to tap that," he says. Claire nods like she completely understands, even though his statement's made her very flustered.
Don't tell me she's never had sex.
They share a long moment of silence, staring at the orange sky ahead of them. "I've got all this responsibility now, but I used to be so carefree in the city," she tells him.
"So did I," Gray says. He reminisces fondly at his own days in Chicago. Claire's expression looks dubious. "I'm serious," he continues. "I used to ride the subway at 2 in the morning, with a class at 7 AM that same day."
Claire smiles at him. "I used to leave stuff 'till the last minute, finishing it, like, twenty minutes before it was due. I procrastinate so hard."
"What a rebel," he says with a chuckle. "I used to go to a Catholic school and skip mass to do who knows what."
"You're Catholic?"
"No." Well, Greek Orthodox on one side, barely Irish Catholic on the other. But if you ask Gray what the difference between any of these streams are, he wouldn't be able to tell you. Kai and him were only enrolled there because it was close by, and there wasn't any prerequisite to demonstrate your religious beliefs. "I'm nothing right now."
Claire widens her eyes at him. "So, you'd just skip church?" she exclaims, like this is the most absurd notion in the world. Gray smirks at her expression. He remembers sneaking off with his ex-girlfriend during those periods, when no one would be home at that time.
"I'm a bad boy at heart."
She shakes her head with a small smile. "Even my first week being here, I still went to mass on Saturday."
Gray nods. "I know."
"You know?"
Aw, shit. Real smooth. His cheeks flame. "I mean, I heard." Fuck, that's no better.
"Oh, you heard, huh?" Claire asks, playfully. He can feel the red creeping on to his entire face now. He brings his hat down, scoffing at her.
"I'm not sure if you're aware, Blondie, but it's a ridiculously small town," he says, in attempt to backtrack on his own stupidity. City Gray would've never embarrassed himself like this.
"Didn't know that the fellow church-goers were such gossipers," she muses.
There is a long pause again.
"How come you go to church?" Gray finally asks.
"To have a good time all around," she says. Is she flirting right now? But more importantly, has he met his sarcastic match?
"Yeah, sure."
Claire is quiet again for a moment, before speaking up. "It's really humbling to go and just focus an hour of your time on thanking whichever God you pray to."
Gray stares at her, for what feels like forever. She groans. "Now you think I'm a crazy-church lover, huh?"
He lets down his mean exterior for a brief moment. "I don't think that at all," Gray says in assurance. Claire gives him a thankful look, before he returns to his rough tone. "But I'm guessing you don't like to drink?"
She shakes her head. "Not really."
"And you don't like tattoos?"
"I don't have one, if that's what you're wondering," she answers, enquiringly. "But, I think they're cool."
"And you don't like sex, then?"
This question makes her blush. He had a feeling that one would get her. "Um, it's fine," Claire says, looking down at her lap.
Yeah, she's a freakin' virgin.
"I think it's better than 'fine,'" says Gray. Then, quickly, he adds: "I just definitely won't do it with Mary."
She giggles. "Have you been to the inn? Pastor Carter told me that they have the best food in town."
"No shit, I've been to the inn." Gray rolls his eyes. He thinks about Ann's room at the top floor of the building, before trying to get his mind out of the gutter. "And their food is dope."
"Let me just put Maggie inside, and we'll go. I haven't eaten all day." Claire shoots up, lifting her puppy into her arms while shaking off the blades of grass from her overalls. "I'm starving." She tucks Maggie into the crook of her other arm as she extends her hand to Gray.
Even though he doesn't need help getting up, he takes it anyway. Her skin is soft and smooth against the roughness of his own. Claire smiles warmly at him, and Gray decides to actually smile back for a change.
She takes a bite of the pasta that Doug has placed in front of her. "This is delicious."
Doug beams at her. His eyes seem to light up beneath his scruffy brows. "Gotta hand it to my daughter, Ann," he responds. His face is swelled with pride. "Gray knows it, too."
He sits across from Claire, busy wolfing down his baked corn. Gray looks up at Doug from his seat, but quickly averts his attention back to his plate, shovelling each bite into his mouth. "She's great, Doug," he says before swallowing. As the words escape his lips, he realizes their stupidity and begins to choke on his food.
Doug looks confused. "Huh?"
Gray begins coughing profusely. Why did he say that?! Claire hands him his water quizzically after his fit is done. "I mean... she cooks great," he mutters, trying to regain his breath. Doug just laughs.
"You're a funny guy, Gray," he says.
Yeah, a funny guy who had your daughter pinned up against the wall a few days ago. He would like nothing more than to die in this very moment.
"I'll go get my Ann so you two can tell her that," says Doug. "She'd also love to meet you, Claire."
Claire smiles, swallowing her bite of rigatoni. She dabs at her saucy lips with a napkin. "That would be wonderf-"
"Maybe later!" Gray interrupts frantically. Doug and Claire are visibly perplexed by his outburst. Since he can't just up and die right on the spot, he feels the need to further explain himself. "If Ann comes by with food still on our plate, she'll think that we don't like it," he reasons convincingly, tone nonchalant.
Doug chortles. "You got a point, my boy," he says, filling up their water glasses, before darting off into the kitchen with a wink. It's not that Gray minds seeing Ann, but he doesn't want Claire, or Doug, to accidentally find out about their hookups. And given that he's on a roll for saying unintentional dumb shit, that just might happen.
Claire shoots him a puzzled look. "What was that about?"
He would really like to disappear. What the hell is this anxious, awkward side to him? It's not a good look, that's for sure. I'm better off when I stay quiet and look unapproachable. "Nothing," Gray says, clearing his throat in attempt to get the pieces of corn out of his trachea.
Claire stops for a moment, as though she's lost in thought. Before they sat down to eat, she messily pulled side pieces of her longer bangs, the ones that frame her face, back, with white hair clips on both sides. They reveal her shell-shaped ears, a pair of heart-shaped jewelry studded in the lobe. He can't help but think that she looks a lot like the pretty main character in that stupid Legally Blonde movie that Popuri made Kai and him watch one night.
Her face instantly brightens. "Oh, I know!" Claire exclaims.
Gray scoffs at her. "You literally know nothing."
"Believe me, I know." She winks. "I can read a room."
"You definitely can't," he says, hoping that this is not the case. Claire just chews her meal triumphantly.
"Are you dating his daughter?" she guesses. Gray shakes his head.
"Nope."
"You dated his daughter, then?"
"No."
Claire frowns. "Then what-"
"Whoa, who's this pretty young thing?" A familiar voice enters the air. Gray turns to see his best friend, cocky as ever, strolling over to their table. Kai pulls up a chair, grinning at the two of them.
"I'm Kai," he says, greeting Claire warmly while flashing that signature white smile of his. Kai adjusts the purple bandana over his head quickly, to reveal his moussed curls. He's implemented cropping it short lately in an attempt to better tame it with product. Recently, though, Kai just keeps it tucked under that purple thing his girlfriend made for him. He sticks his hand out once he's done fixing himself up.
"Claire," she replies, taking his hand.
"Oy vey, Gray, you shoulda told me you'd be having dinner with a model. I'd have dressed nicer." Kai leans back in his chair smugly. He isn't as tall or as muscular as Gray, but he makes up for this with his loud, "infectious" personality. A self-proclaimed ladies' man since high school.
Big emphasis on the "self-proclaimed" part.
"O-oh," Claire mumbles, chewing on the inside of her cheek. Gray instantly notes this as a nervous habit of hers. As if she's not used to compliments on the way that she looks. "Thank you."
"'Oy vey?' The only time I ever hear that term is when your dad uses it back at the restaurant," Gray says, chuckling. Kai's father is Sephardi Jewish, hailing originally from Spain but who lived in Argentina for a good chunk of his life, and currently owns an Italian eatery back in Chicago. Try repeating that one five times fast. In addition to all of this, his mother is from Ethiopia, so Kai has grown up bragging about his ability to swear in a multitude of different languages. His parent's house is like Gray's second home, though; they're good people that made him an honorary member of their family.
"You're getting me verklempt when you talk about home like that, Grayson." Kai has one hand on his heart in mock sadness, the other grabbing a fork to eat the last few bites of Gray's baked corn.
Claire snickers. "You watch the 'Coffee Talk' skits too, huh? They're hilarious." They both stare at her. "From Saturday Night Live... right?"
Gray doesn't know why he's so surprised that she watches comedy sketches on NBC, but he is. "Talk amongst yourselves," Kai says with a grin, before non-discreetly pointing at Claire and mouthing, I like her!
He glares at Kai and his now-empty plate. "I dunno if I speak for Blondie over here, but your Yiddish, as well as your presence, is making me nervous. Besides, where's Pope?"
Ann makes a beeline from the kitchen to the three of them, one hand on her hip, the other holding a beer. Her hair is pulled back in a tight ponytail-like braid, and she wears a stained apron around her small waist. "Jesus, Kai,quit harassing our new guest. I could seriously use your help with orders." She turns to smile at Claire weakly. "Please don't mind him. He thinks that he's hilarious and believes that horniness is a personality trait. I'm Ann."
"My name is Claire," she responds, giggling. "Your food was literally the best thing that I've ever tasted."
Kai takes a swig of the beer that Ann has set down, rubbing Gray's shoulder, who in turn, swats his hand away irately. "Guess you haven't tried me-" Gray digs his elbow into Kai's side after his unnecessary remark. "OW! I mean... me... food. Ahahaha, I was... doing a pirate... impersonation?"
Claire just blinks, stifling a pained laugh. "Uh, yikes."
Ann gives Gray a very pleased look, and gestures toward Claire. I like her! she mouths silently.
Gray stares at the blonde across from him, and can't help but find himself smiling. Claire catches him looking at her, and smiles brightly back.
Me too, he finally decides, secretly mouthing this back.
Apparently, no one gives a damn if the young people of the town are drinking underage, because Kai takes yet another swig from his drink, sloshing it on his pants. "Fiddlesticks," he says, dabbing at the mess. Popuri leans over to whisper something in his ear, causing him to grin. Rick glares at the two of them from across the room, pushing his glasses up his nose while his eyes shoot daggers. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that this guy hates Kai being around his little sister, Claire thinks, sipping her screwdriver slowly. She can't help but make a face at the bitter flavour. It's more like straight vodka with a splash of orange juice.
Gray is totally drunk, sitting beside her while stifling a laugh. "F-f-fiddlesticks?" he hiccups. Claire can smell the alcohol from his breath, but enjoys the sight of him without that scowl on his face. He's such a cutie when he smiles.
Kai shoves him over. "I mean, fuck."
Karen seems unimpressed. "Is every single one of you here a lightweight or somethin'?" she asks, examining her French-manicured nails. Her fourth drink is practically finished, but she seems unphased and relatively sober, considering.
Cliff leans back on his elbows, his ponytail brushing over his left shoulder. Claire has gathered that Karen is acquainted with Cliff because she helped him get a job at the local winery. "You and Duke have a lot in common," he tells her, in comparison to his boss. Ann bursts out giggling next to him as Cliff takes another long drink from his red wine. Claire saw him at church, declining Carter's offer of wine yesterday, so it's difficult to connect him to the person chugging his drink back here tonight.
There are eight of them in total, all sitting in a cross-legged circle on the floor of the inn. Ann asked her father if he could go to bed early so that she could have her friends over. "Anything for you," Doug had said with a sigh, lovingly kissing his daughter on the cheek. Claire felt a pang in her heart when she saw this; it was just a painful reminder of the kind of relationship that she'd never have.
Under Ann's instruction, Gray and Kai had pushed the tables behind the bar, while she called Popuri, Rick, and Karen to come by. Cliff was a resident at the inn, so they merely knocked on his door and invited him down. Everyone was super close with one another, and they all got even closer when the alcohol came out. But they made Claire feel right at home: introducing themselves kindly, acting as though they'd known her forever, and catching her up with everything going on in the town. Claire learns that Karen and Rick are engaged, while Rick's little sister, Popuri, has been attached to Kai at the hip for about a year now. Every time Ann scooches herself closer to Cliff, it makes Claire scrap the internal hypothesis that she conjured up about her and Gray.
"You're nursing that drink," Popuri tells her, after finishing up her third spritzer.
Claire just smiles. "I'd better be careful. It only takes one drink, and I'm totally out of it."
She isn't kidding.
"That's *hic* completely opposite to me!" Ann exclaims, shaking the ice cubes in her empty drink. Cliff smiles at her.
"Definitely not true," he chides, before glancing over at Rick. "Are you alright, Rick?"
"It's a Sunday night, I have work tomorrow, and I'm wasted," he mumbles, adjusting the white headband in his dark blonde hair. A solemn look is painted across his face. "So, no, I am not alright." Karen rolls her eyes at him, too.
"Also…" Kai begins, cradling Popuri's waist and pausing for dramatic effect. She's practically on top of him right now. "Your sister's sitting on my lap."
Rick leans his head against Karen's shoulder. "Yeah, that too," he mutters bitterly, before shutting his eyes tightly.
"Let's play a game!" Karen suggests, shimmying Rick's weight off of her. He makes a groaning noise. "Before you all fall asleep."
Claire is careful to take small sips from her drink, knowing damn well that if she finishes the whole thing, she'll be worse off than poor Rick. It doesn't help that she hardly ate today. Even the miniscule amount that she's allowing herself to have is making her slightly dizzy.
She just really doesn't want the others to think of her as boring, or lame, or even worse: a prude. Maybe that's why she told Gray that sex was "fine" when he asked about it earlier. As if she knows; she's never even had it.
She's not allowed to have it.
"I hate these games," Gray mumbles.
Claire smiles. "I think that you hate everything," she corrects.
He brings the top of nearly-empty wine bottle to his eye, like he's looking through it. "That's a… possibility," Gray says, and then he gives her this tipsy kind of look. Is this his version of flirting?
"Oookay," Karen says, chugging back the last of her drink, tucking her dirty blonde hair behind her ears. "Cliff, ready?"
"Not really," answers Cliff, flatly. His eyes look glazed over.
Karen merely continues. "Your task for the game is to… prank call Carter!"
"What? No way! It's, like, past midnight."
Karen pauses, and Claire sees her catch Ann's pleading expression from across the room. "Um, okay, the alternative is to... tell Ann... how you feel?" She says this last bit like a question.
Cliff just stares. "Why didn't you make that the first option?" he asks, exasperated. He quickly turns to Ann. "Ann, uhm… I'm feeling… tired."
Ann just blinks at him. She looks lost.
Claire realizes that she's the only one who isn't even remotely sloshed right now, feeling out of place like she always does. Does everyone notice? Am I the group loser?
It's not like they're the type of people to turn on her, but she just really wants to fit in with the crowd.
Screw it, Claire thinks, and she tips the entire contents of her glass into her mouth. Gray raises his unpierced eyebrow in astonishment at her. The alcohol burns her throat, hitting her bloodstream instantly, room spinning like a carnival ride around her. She looks over to see Kai and Popuri holding out a thumbs-up of approval.
"Can you try a different dare?" Ann murmurs to Karen, loudly. Cliff looks like he's in a daze.
"You're sooo lame, Ann. Hold the phone," Karen whispers back, just as loud. "Okay, Kai. I dare you to show Popuri to your room!" She winks, and Kai jolts up rapidly, like these are the magic words. He snatches Popuri up quickly in his arms, her long, pink hair a cloud of cotton candy around her head.
Popuri frowns over at Karen. "I told you I've seen his room before, Kare."
This seems to awaken Rick out of his drunken trance. "Karen, is this a fucking joke?"
"Rick, I dare you to shut the hell up."
"That's my little sister!" Rick is speechless as he watches Kai comically tip-toeing his way up the stairs.
"She can make her own decisions, hon," she says, flicking his head.
Rick just silently sulks, glaring at Kai from across the room. "You better not fucking touch her, Kai."
"Does anyone have a condom?" Kai asks in joking response. Claire wonders if this another poor attempt at trying to be funny, or if he just wants to direct some disrespect towards Rick. Regardless, Popuri does not look impressed. "What? I'm kidding."
"He's not kidding," says Gray under his breath.
Claire's brain feels foggy; a wave of nausea seeping in to her. She stands up to see if that will help ease her stomach, only to start swaying on the spot.
"Whoa," Gray says, lifting himself to his feet. He steadies her with his hands. Big, strong, calloused, worker's hands. "Are… you okay?"
"I bet Gray has a condom."
Everyone turns to see the doors of the inn already opened, as Mary stands in between them, her arms crossed. She stares at Gray as he holds on to Claire, before turning to Ann. Her hair is pulled back in a tight black braid, glasses framing her flashing eyes.
Claire decides that she looked a lot nicer with her nose in a book at the library.
"Kick rocks, Mary," says Gray angrily. Claire feels her vision blurring. She looks up at him with hazy eyes, and wonders why he'd have a condom with him.
Mary walks over to the seated group, gaze still fixed on Ann. Cliff looks uncomfortable sitting next to her.
"Well, I should hope that he carries a condom with him at all times," Mary says, her voice cold and stoic. Gray just shakes his head at her and swears under his breath. "I mean, everyone knows how sporadically he and Ann get it on."
Is this true? Claire can barely register what she's hearing. No way.
Cliff seems to sober up with this statement, staring at Ann with a dumbfounded expression on his face. "What?"
"It isn't like that," Ann whispers, shamefaced, looking like she has now woken up, too. Cliff then turns to Gray, who shakes his head in response.
"Everyone knows that you just let Gray have it when you want it," Mary continues. Her tone is harsh and nasty. "How is it not like that?" When Claire had met her, she seemed polite enough. The librarian was so timid, yet sugary sweet around all of the adults in town. Sure, I thought she was a little fake, but not cruel like this.
"Leave her alone, and get lost," Gray snaps.
"Mary," says Popuri, squinting at her. "Don't take it out on Ann, just 'cause she didn't invite you tonight."
Mary sneers at Ann, who refuses to meet her unrelenting eyes. "My mom was right; you really are like your mother," she spits at her. Ann chokes back a sobbing noise, shooting up with wobbly knees to run up the stairs to her room. She trips over her own two feet on the second step, recovering quickly as Cliff and Popuri frantically follow her.
"Her mother's dead, Mary," Karen says, glaring. She stands her ground in refusal to back down. "Seriously? C'mon. We all grew up together. I know your guys' moms are like, whatever, but you don't always have to be such a bitch to her-"
"She's a bitch right back," retorts Mary, taking a step closer to Karen. She's not as unafraid though; there's a scared look beneath her eyes.
"You should leave," Rick tells her, stepping behind his fiancée to pull her back. Mary smooths out the pleating of her signature teal dress, a scornful look plastered across her face.
"You're just mad that Gray didn't want to dick you down," Kai pipes up, drunkenly chuckling at his own words and falling over from where he's standing. Mary's cheeks flame. To Claire, this is like watching a train-wreck with dizzy eyes. How much does Gray get, exactly?
Her stomach continues heaving from the alcohol, like someone is dribbling a basketball very poorly inside of her. She's using Gray to support herself, not realizing that she's gripping onto him for her dear life. It feels like someone is shaking the room, and although she's doing her very best to remain perfectly still, Claire's still teetering.
"Let's get you home," Gray mumbles to her. She looks up at him, undecided if she wants him as her escort right now.
Mary walks over to the two of them. "Is this your next one?" she asks Gray, pointing.
Claire's heart sinks as he grits his teeth. She looks up at Gray, his strong arms still supporting her. Her face becomes twisted with worry, panic setting in as she tries to swallow the lump in her throat that won't go down. I so do not want that right now. This thought hasn't even crossed her mind; she isn't ready, isn't even in the right mindset. Also, I can't!
Gray holds onto her shoulders tightly as another wave of nausea hits her. Amidst her drunkenness, Claire wonders for a brief moment if he does the same thing to Ann in the bedroom. He catches her stare, and for a very split second, his blue eyes begin to plead with her. That vulnerability is gone in a flash, however, and Gray merely scowls once more. "Leave her alone, Mary."
Mary just stands in front of them, blocking the doorway while waiting for an expectant answer from Claire.
"No," Claire says softly. She tries to free herself from Gray's grasp, much to his confusion, but his grip is so strong on her skin. "I-I'm a virgin." She feels mortified right now, too embarrassed to even look up and read his expression.
Karen walks up behind Mary to yank on her braid. Her mouth hangs open as she angrily claws at Karen, with Rick standing in between the two of them. They go sideways, like spiders crawling up the walls of the room. In the midst of the commotion, Kai walks over to the opposite side of Gray, helping Claire up. Her eyes meet the ceiling, and she doesn't even realize that she's already fallen straight to the floor.
