While he would love to say that he slept well, Danny had been up since five a.m. After an especially restless night, he opted to turn on the TV and let the white noise distract him for a while in hopes that it would eventually lull him to sleep. It was now just past seven a.m. and he was no closer to sleep than he had been two hours prior.
He had always had trouble falling asleep whenever there were unsettled matters. It was a reoccurring theme while he was married and their issues often kept him up at night. Going to work after a lack of sleep was always a struggle and accounted for a lot of his grumpiness. It wasn't anything that he made public, so he just let his colleagues attribute it to a naturally bad attitude, not really concerning himself with what they thought.
It was important to him that he figure out what was bothering Mindy soon, if he wanted to enjoy the rest of his trip. If it was something he did, then maybe he could correct it right away. It couldn't have been the simple matter of him dancing very briefly with that very drunk woman, could it? He was merely dancing with her to be polite after she had very aggressively approached him. Truthfully, he would have much preferred just hanging out with Mindy the whole night, club be damned.
Though he wanted to try knocking on her door again, he had already left her a note. Whatever was bothering her, he didn't want to exacerbate the issue by crowding her. He made it more than clear that he was available to talk, so it was safe to say that the ball was in her court. Furthermore, he was still trying to figure out whether he was more annoyed with her for carelessly ditching him at Julep or more concerned for her well-being. His feelings changed from moment to moment. Right now he felt concerned, but in a minute or two he was sure to be annoyed again.
He also decided the file this incident under the "traveling drama" he had dreaded prior to agreeing to tag along.
Minutes later there was a knock on the door and he could already tell who was on the other side. In the interest of not appearing too eager, he waited two seconds before leaping out of his bed and answering it. There stood Mindy in a night shirt and yoga pants, holding a plate containing a strawberry pastry. She was biting her lip nervously, which managed to totally eradicate any possible desire to fight with her. He quickly made a mental note to never let her know how much that habit affected him or else she'd have him wrapped around her finger.
"Morning, Danny," she greeted in a low tone. She offered the plate to him. "I wanted to bring you this apology pastry."
Danny narrowed his eyes and took the plate with an amused smile. "An apology pastry, Mindy?"
Mindy sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. "Yeah, for being so weird to you last night. I had a lot going on and I totally projected that onto you."
"What do you mean you had a lot going on? What happened?"
"I'll explain later, maybe, but it's really not important," Mindy blurted dismissively. "Leaving you there was totally inconsiderate. It's none of my business who you want to hook up with."
"Mindy-"
"I have to remember that this is your vacation, too, and if landing one or five hot blondes is on the agenda –"
"Mindy, please-"
"-then that is your prerogative. I'm not sure how effective of a wingwoman I could be right now-"
"MINDY!" Danny bellowed. Mindy's mouth snapped closed and she starred upon him with a wide-eyed, anticipatory expression. Danny blew out a calming breath. "Look, I'm sorry I shouted, alright? I really need you to listen to me."
Mindy gave him a small nod and he continued. "I only danced with that woman for half a song, then I went looking for you –"
"Danny, you don't have to-"
"No, Mindy, listen," Danny groaned. "We danced for half a song and then I went looking for you. I had no desire to hook up with her, nor do I really have a desire to hook up with anyone else while I'm here. I really just want us to have a good time together."
With a confused look, Mindy said, "But Danny, this is just as much your vacation as it is mine. I shouldn't expect you to focus entirely on me."
"I'm not focused entirely on you," he corrected. "I'm also focused on me and what I want…and what I want is to spend as much time with you as I can get. Really, when you think about it, we packed together, traveled here together, and have a shared itinerary. Technically, this is our vacation. I think it would be kind of messed up to ditch you for some random woman during our vacation, don't you?"
The sentiment dragged a reluctant smile from Mindy and she shrugged at the question. Danny smirked at the sight, then asked, "What, do you want to hook up with guys while we're-"
"NO," Mindy answered emphatically.
"'cuz if you did-"
"No, Danny," Mindy insisted. "You're right, this is our vacation and I want to spend it with you."
The pair stood there for a moment, smiling shyly at each other as the atmosphere lightened around them.
"Alright, then," Danny finalized.
"Alright, then," Mindy repeated as she rocked on the balls of her feet. "Sooo, what should we do today? I chose the club last night and that was obviously a disaster."
"Yeah, well I chose the boat tour and you hated that," Danny pointed out.
"Well, technically we both chose that." Mindy leaned against the door with an easy smile on her face. "Bear in mind, I'm still going to use that tour as an excuse for you to buy me a meal while we're here, as a means of apologizing."
"Of course, you will," Danny accepted with a chuckle. He placed the pastry on his bed. "Well, there is a place I've been wanting to try since we got here. Richie insists that we can't leave Key West without at least two visits."
Mindy nodded. "Great! I'll finish getting ready and you can lead the way!"
"Oh, my God, Danny, this is awesome!"
"Yeah, this is pretty cool!"
Mindy swung left to right on her bar stool at Fat Tuesdays, a popular bar famous for its extensive selection of frozen drinks. Danny had been a little skeptical of the concept when Richie initially explained it to him ("What if a man wants a real drink?" he asked with incredulity), but he was happy to find a daiquiri that packed enough of a punch and, in his mind, sufficiently kept his manhood in tact. Mindy picked a drink called Violet Behavior and while Danny couldn't remember much of its contents, he knew that it was dark purple and contained enough to get Mindy somewhat loose rather quickly.
"Day drinking is the shit," she announced loudly, which earned her a nondescript cheer from a stranger sitting further down the bar. "I don't get why this is so frowned upon! We should be able to do this every day!"
"Yeah, I'm sure our patients would love that," Danny replied sarcastically, smiling as he sipped from his sports bottle. "Maybe it's best that we keep this a vacation activity."
Mindy opened her mouth to say something, then quickly closed it with a sudden realization. "I was going to say something, but I just remembered that I promised not to call you a grandpa during this trip."
"You did!"
"I totally shot myself in the foot there."
"That's a shame. Really, it is."
Mindy let out a light laugh that caused a quick jolt in Danny's chest. He hoped to remember to text his brother a heartfelt "thank you" for his suggestion. This was easily the best time they have had thus far.
"How are things?" the bearded bartender appeared with a stack of tumblers, which he stored under the bar.
"Great!" Mindy replied. She took another from her cup, which began to sound as if she was sucking the bottom of the bottle. "I'm almost out, though. I might want to try something else."
The bartender, looking pleased, placed his hands on his hips. "Well, we do have a special with shots today. They're called Spectrum Shots and they are two for five dollars." He pointed at a picture sitting on the bar of a rainbow-colored shot that appeared to be assembled in a long tube. "It's perfect for couples. You two would definitely like it."
Danny waited for the inevitable amendment from Mindy that normally came with this type of assumption. After a few seconds, however, he heard nothing. He turned to Mindy only to find her looking at the picture with interest. Then she looked up at him with a playful smirk and asked, "What do you say, my love? How about a shot?"
Danny raised his eyebrows in surprise, which Mindy answered with a challenging raise of a single eyebrow. The idea of letting these people think they were together didn't appear to bother her in the least, so he decided to play along. He placed a hand on the cusp of her shoulder and allowed his thumb to graze the side of her neck while signaling the bartender with his free hand. "Two shots, please."
"You got it, boss," he replied, grabbing two fresh tubes and stacking differently colored squirts of frozen margarita mixes in each.
"So, you don't plan on telling him that we're not a couple?" Danny asked in a hushed tone.
Mindy shrugged. "Meh. It's nobody's business, either way."
The bartender returned with their shots and Danny slapped a bill on the table. Turning to Mindy, he rose his tube in the air in salute.
"To you, Min," he toasted. Smiling appreciatively, Mindy rose her tube. Then she leaned forward and linked her arm with his, wrapping it around until their respective shots where close enough to their mouths.
"Couples still do things like this, right, babe?" she asked with a hint of a mischievous giggle.
Danny simply smiled and replied, "Sure, why not?"
Their arms still linked, they rose the shot to their lips and inhaled them in a single gulp. Danny didn't care for the taste, but he found that he would be more than willing to partake in another one if she had asked.
By the look of her, though, Mindy seemed just as unimpressed. "That was an experience." She handed him the empty tube and scrunched up her nose. "Maybe I'm not drunk enough to find the appeal in that just yet."
Danny deposited the tubes beside him then turned back around to face Mindy. "So, where to now, darling? C'mon, we can't stay here all day."
She didn't answer right away, seemingly distracted by something behind him. He turned around to check out a wall full of Polaroid snapshots. All the pictures looked similar, each one of a man holding a neon green funnel.
Mindy flagged down the bartender, then pointed to the wall. "Hey, who are those guys?"
The bartender glanced at the wall and replied mysteriously, "Those are the brave men who conquered the green-eyed monster."
Mindy rolled her eyes. "Okay, I'm not even going to pretend that I understood that. What is it, like, a drinking game?"
"Basically, it's just thirty-two ounces of a mix of some of our cocktails. Turns a gnarly green color, tastes pretty gross. Not too many people get past the first sip."
"Sounds dangerous," Danny replied skeptically.
"Totally safe," the bearded man assured them both. "It's more disgusting than anything and, actually, not much stronger than your drink, bud."
Mindy looked back on the wall. "I notice there are no women up there."
The bartender didn't answer her with words, but gave a low chuckle that caused her to snap her attention back to him. "What's so funny?"
Shrugging, the bartender replied, "Well, of course there aren't any women up there. A lot of tough men have barely been able to handle it."
With that, Mindy straighten her posture and locked eyes with him determinedly. "Where's the funnel? I want to try it."
Both men stared at her with hesitation.
"Uh, Mindy-"
"No, Danny, I have to do this," Mindy replied resolutely, then turned to the bartender and added, "for feminism."
Shaking his head, he ducked under the bar and pulled out a large beer funnel wrapped in plastic. He set it on the bar and grabbed a small pitcher, which he began filling with different mixes from the row of dispensers behind him.
Mindy turned to Danny and said with excitement, "My horoscope said that I'd be a pioneer today!"
"Mindy, I doubt it meant that you should kill yourself in the process."
She waved her hand dismissively. "Between college and my cooking, this'll be a cakewalk."
"Are you sure?" Danny asked, the apprehension still present in his voice.
"Positive."
Her confident expression put him at ease. "Then knock 'em dead."
The bartender rang a loud bell positioned just above him, then came around to meet them on the other side of the bar, carrying the funnel and the pitcher filled with a dark green concoction. Two other Fat Tuesday employees came outside from the back, one carrying a camera and the other carrying a bib. The bartender spoke to Mindy. "So, the rules are that you can't pause, spit, or vomit. You've gotta chug it within the minute."
Mindy nodded her understanding, then took one last look at Danny. He cupped her face with his hands and looked her in the eyes. "You've got this, Lahiri."
She smiled, patting one of the hands on her cheek. She turned around to the small crowd that had formed around her, comprised of employee and guests. "Let's do this!"
The small crowd cheered while the girl holding the bib fastened it around Mindy's neck. The bearded man got into position after unwrapping the fresh funnel and handed the long cylinder to her. He held the open-ended portion aloft and waited for Mindy to place the tube in her mouth. "Alright, are you ready?"
Mindy gave them the thumbs up and the crowd counted down. "3…2…1…UNLEASH THE KRAKEN!"
He began to poor a steady stream of the liquid into the funnel and Danny looked upon her anxiously as the liquid reached her lips. He could tell that the taste was rough, for Mindy immediately began to squeeze her eyes shut. One of her hands grabbed Danny's and she squeezed with all her might, but she didn't stop drinking. The crowd chanted "Chug! Chug! Chug!" as she continued to take the drink in. Both her torture and her determination were evident and Danny knew that there was no way that her pride was going to allow her to quit just yet, even if she was having a tough time. It was something that he had always admired in her, even during their early residency days when he thought that he didn't like her. While that same determination was now being applied to a bar challenge, it still impressed him greatly.
Danny looked at the pitcher and was happy to see that it was already mostly gone. He didn't think he could be so invested in something as simple as drinking, but a part of him really wanted Mindy to be able to shove a victory in the smug bartender's face.
"You've got this, Min!" he yelled. She squeezed his hand even harder, continuing to chug until there was nothing left. The bartender removed the funnel from Mindy's mouth and cried with excitement "THE MONSTER HAS BEEN CONQUERED!"
The bar cheered and Danny scooped Mindy up and a clenching hug. "Nice job!"
He put her down to find a pained expression on her face as she grabbed her head with both of her hands. "I forgot that brain freezes were a thing! Dammit!"
Danny immediately sat her down and gently grabbed her shoulders. "Shit, are you okay?"
Mindy exhaled slowly, then nodded. "I'm alright. That was so disgusting. But I'm so ready to tell that guy to 'suck it." Where is he?"
Danny looked around and found the bartender in question rinsing out funnel with water from the tap. "Hey, man, can you come here for a sec? The lady would like to tell you to 'suck it.'" Missing the bartender's rolling eyes, he turned to Mindy and they both laughed as people came up to the victor to clap her on the back and congratulate her. Mindy removed the bib while the bartender approached her with the funnel.
"Congrats, you get to keep the funnel and the bib. Derek over there will take a picture of you for our wall."
"SUCK IT!" Mindy yelled as she snatched the funnel from his clutches. She looked quite pleased with herself, which Danny found pretty charming.
The bartender mumbled something indistinguishable under his breath and returned to the back of the bar while Derek the Employee motioned for her to stand in front of a bare wall with her funnel. She looked to Danny and attempted to blindly fix her hair.
"Danny, do I look okay?" she asked self-consciously.
Maybe it was all the alcohol in his system or the high off of Mindy's small victory, but something about her in that moment made it impossible to be guarded with her. In her simplest attire and absence of make-up, she looked wonderful.
"You look beautiful, Min," he replied, one corner of his mouth curled upward.
She smiled, then leaned forward and planted a firm kiss on his cheek. The action took him a little by surprise, but he remembered that the bartender was still under the impression that they were together. He wondered if that's what inspired her to kiss him, but then found that it didn't really matter to him. Mindy scurried over to the wall and smiled as she posed proudly with her funnel. Derek took the picture then grabbed a sharpie out of his pocket. He handed both the picture and the marker to her.
"Just write your name at the bottom and we'll put it on the wall once it's developed!"
Mindy carefully grabbed both items and scribbled "Chloe Silverado" at the bottom and handed them back. She turned to Danny and said in a low tone, "Okay, I need to drink a ton of water and sleep this off. Day-drinking is a dangerous, dangerous game."
Danny chuckled, grabbed his sports bottle, and wrapped his arm around Mindy's shoulders and guided her out of the bar. "Let's head home for a little while, champ."
A/N: Everyone has been so kind with this story (as you all always are, but it bears repeating)! Thank you all so much for the encouragement and support you've shown.
HOW AMAZING WERE THOSE NEW EPISODES?! My heart is full! I'm hoping they inspire a barrage of fics in the days to come!
Fun fact: Fat Tuesdays, for those of you who don't know, is a very real place and Violet Behavior is one of their drinks. The Green Monster Challenge, however, is imaginary. So please, if you ever visit it one day, please don't reference this story and say that you "want to conquer the green monster" because there's no telling what they'll respond with.
Fun fact #2: there's more to Day 3, but I've decided to split that into two chapters because I liked these moments so much that I thought they could stand alone. I like the second half of the day, too, which we'll see in the next chapter. I'm hoping to finish that up very soon.
Review if you can! I'd love to hear what you think!
Have fun with the new episodes and Hollaatchyagirl,
Phunky