Dinner parties...
Category: Pink Sheep RPG
Reilly wasn't entirely sure how she'd ended up in Blake's kitchen, fully clothed, preparing food for other people. In the few weeks since they'd taken their relationship to the next level she'd spent quite a lot of time at his home in Kensington. She'd even spent a substantial amount of time in his kitchen since both she and Blake enjoyed cooking and had a tendency to work up an appetite during their time together. This was the first time they would be inviting other people into their private routine, though, and the feeling was a little awkward for Reilly. She didn't share parts of herself easily, but here she was. Blake could talk her into most anything, it seemed.
"You know, Katie Bell will likely worry I'm going to molest her through the whole dinner," she commented wryly. She didn't know if Blake had heard about her history with the Puddlemere captain, but it would put an interesting twist on the evening.
"Is the feeling merited?" He was grinning when he came up behind her, hands sliding over her hips. Blake hadn't expected to have his mate over so soon, but Reilly wasn't as on edge these days and had agreed more readily than anticipated.
Leaning into the solid warmth of his chest, Reilly tipped her head and pressed a kiss to Blake's lips before smirking. "Well, I did proposition her once. Don't get your hopes up for the night to end with the lot of us in bed, though. Miss Bell is only interested in men. I was shot down."
"Her loss," he said, eyes crinkling with his grin. "No sense of adventure, that one." He pressed another kiss to the underside of her jaw before moving to her side to taste the tomato bisque he'd had on a very low simmer for a good part of the afternoon. He tasted the soup before snatching the basil and sprinkling.
Blake didn't have casual relationships, and he hadn't been in a serious relationship in years. He usually prepared food for himself and any guests himself, but he found he liked having her comfortable warmth at his side. He liked having her in his home, and he liked falling asleep with her skin warm against his.
A tiny smile curled her lips at Blake's response to her little confession. Never having been in a true relationship before, Reilly had never concerned herself with men's reactions to the fact she was occasionally attracted to women. Those who knew, though, were generally either intimidated or far too enthusiastic about it. Blake took it in stride, and that pleased her.
Turning to check the veal, Reilly noticed - not for the first time - that she and Blake moved around each other instinctively in the kitchen. There were no near collisions, they stayed close without ever seeming to get in each other's way. In many things she was finding they just worked well together. "I suppose I'll just consider myself lucky that only one of you chose Stewart Ackerley over me," she said with a grin.
"Archie's not so adventurous either," Blake said with a wink before he turned to pull the bowls and plates out of the cupboard.
The distinct 'pop' of Apparation sounded in the entryway then. "Kitchen," he called.
A bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape in hand, Stewart gestured down the hall with his free hand. "Ladies first." Never let it be said he didn't mind his manners. Or appreciate the view from behind her. On reaching the kitchen, Stewart grinned in greeting. "Alright, clothes on, you two."
Reilly was glad her back was turned to the new arrivals. She'd agreed to spend the evening with Blake's friends and her initial reaction to Stewart's joke was not one she would've wanted to show in their first interaction. Just the same, she didn't know him and she fervently hoped her intimate relations with Blake would not be prevalent in the discourse of the evening.
Blake felt more than saw Reilly's back stiffen. She wasn't a woman who took well to sarcasm, and his friend was a man who liked to push buttons as much as he himself did. To say the evening would be interesting was probably an understatement. Unpredictability is the spice of life though, and Blake wasn't overly concerned. In fact, he was a little anticipatory to see if Stewart would provoke Reilly enough to make her verbally maim.
"You both could always take yours off and join us," Blake returned as he set the bowls down on the counter and then moved towards his friend to shake his hand. He looked to Katie and nodded in greeting. "Bell. Think you can convince the nun to join the fun?"
"Why would I?" she asked, quirking a brow at him as her lips curled upwards in a small smirk. "I don't share."
Her gaze slid from Blake's eternally amused expression to the woman behind him. She'd been surprised when Stewart had mentioned his friend's woman of choice; the idea of Blake Dunstan with Reilly Chambers didn't really mesh. And she'd never really liked the way the other woman had looked at her on previous occasions.
"Reilly," she greeted. "Nice to see you again."
"You as well, Katie," Reilly returned, ignoring the banter that had been going around. A dark feeling had risen in Reilly's chest at the thought of 'sharing' her lover. Blake was hers. It might not have been stated outright, but she was certain that 'sharing' was not something either she or Blake would welcome.
Shaking it off for the moment, she turned her attention to Stewart and waited to be introduced.
Blake wrapped his arm around Reilly's waist, hand splaying over her hip. As much as he jested, this was not a woman he would share. Such couldn't be said for all of his past relationships and encounters, but Reilly was different. "Archie, this is the light of my life, Reilly Chambers. Rei, this is the incessant pain in the arse I've known since school, Stewart Ackerley."
Slipping her arm around Blake, Reilly's lips curled into a genuine, if rather reserved, smile. Blake had said the same to his father when he'd introduced them and at the time she'd taken it as a joke. She was beginning to believe the words were sincere though, and it was almost a surprise how much that pleased her.
Offering her hand, she met Stewart's amused gaze. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Stewart."
"You too, Reilly." The quidditch player shook the dainty, offered hand. "I should thank you for forcing him into some semblance of a social life." He looked over to the other man and heaved a heartfelt sigh. "I've been missing my blondie-bear."
Reilly's smile turned wry at the credit laid at her feet, though Stewart's endearment nearly made her snort. "I wish I could accept your thanks, but it's actually Blake who's managed to convince me to abandon my antisocial nature for the evening. I'm happy to end your suffering, though. In the future I'll do my best to remind said bear that others require his attention, too."
"Right now this 'bear' is hungry," Blake announced cheekily. He'd not been sure if his best friend and his girlfriend would get on, but he was pleased to find that any concerns were unfounded.
Pulling away from Reilly, Blake grabbed the bowls again and headed for the table. Everything else was set. "You want anything to drink, Katie?" he asked as he finished setting up the table. He heard Stewart take in a breath to make his own request and cut him off. "Get your own drink, Arch."
Stewart snorted. "The very soul of hospitality, aren't you mate? Must've been all your knightly etiquette classes." The brunette summoned a brew from the fridge, smiling as the frosted brown glass landed heavily against his palm. It was a struggle to simply drop the bottle top in the bin and not peg it at a certain blond head, as would have been his wont were they not being grown ups with dates and dinner parties.
Katie nudged Stewart in the stomach with her elbow, rolling her eyes at him. Those two would probably be acting like twelve year-olds when they were in the geriatric ward.
"Water would be great, Blake," she said, tipping her face up to Stewart's to give him a sweet smile, the hint of a smirk dancing on her lips.
Drinks were distributed and the food was set about the table mostly without incident (Blake might have flicked a pea from the salad at Stewart, and the tall man may have shot it back). As they sat down, each couple facing the other, Reilly tried for a genial expression but it wasn't natural. Polite aloofness was her default and while a part of her wished she was more of a people person - for Blake's benefit - she also knew her boyfriend liked her as she was. The others would make up their own minds.
"So," she began thoughtfully, stirring her soup with an idle hand, "how long have you known Lord Hartington here, Stewart? Any horribly embarrassing stories you'd care to share?"
The brunette man shook his head sorrowfully. "Too much of my life's been spent picking up after Lord Fancy-Britches, here. I can't tell you the worst story on threat of painful Muggle tortures, but just ask him about the time we brought a niffler to Chatsworth House for tea and crumpets with the duke." His smile had broadened when he recounted; it had been one of their youthful triumphs.
"Bloody hell," Blake said, bright grin lighting his features as he thought back to that day. It had been one of their more epic adventures as boys. "That was brilliant. Maids screaming and the butler yelping like a little girl." He glanced at Reilly. "We had to owl the Ministry because we didn't know how to make it stop, and then we took the Knight Bus to Archie's before the Obliviation Squad showed up."
"Yeah, where some genius decided to tell my mother why we'd turned up. I'd fetched the getaway brooms and our dashing dolt here had to go and confess. Pillock." It had only made sense to Stewart to start climbing even without Blake. Every under-aged wizard for himself, and all that.
"She's a mum," Blake said as if that explained everything. "She has special powers. I couldn't help it." Nevermind that he'd always loved Stewart's mum as if she was his own. She'd always treated him as a son and had even been willing to welcome him into her home to live if Blake's father hadn't been such a hateful bastard about everything. As it was, Blake was already thinking of taking Reilly over to meet the Ackerleys. They were much more his family than his true blood had ever been.
He grinned at his best mate then. "Stewie here managed to get up on his broom and Mrs. Ackerley yelled so loud I think she made the banshees proud. Was the fateful day I learned his middle name."
"Which does not need to be uttered at table, thank you very much. Or anywhere near a working set of ears," Stewart interrupted loudly. That was a particularly private and shameful subject.
Blake snickered much like he had that day. Well, he'd been literally rolling in the lawn after
Stewart's mum had sent a stinging hex that hit his mate's bum and brought him straight back down to the ground. "He complained for weeks how the Obliviation Squad would come to my house, but not to his."
Listening to the two old friend reminisce and laugh at their childhood escapades, Reilly couldn't help but be drawn in. With a shake of her head, she covered Blake's hand with her own and squeezed it affectionately, mirth lighting her eyes as she chuckled. If she also found it rather endearing that the man beside her was susceptible to the power of mums, she kept it to herself. She couldn't let him think she'd gone totally soft, could she?
"Come now, it can't that terrible, can it?" Reilly asked, turning her attention to Blake's mate. 'Reilly' was an unusual enough name, but she'd always rather liked it. "You tell me yours and I'll tell you mine."
"Yes, Stewart, enlighten the table," Katie said, turning amused brown eyes up to her boyfriend. She'd heard a few tales of Stewart and Blake's youth, and she was content to sit and listen. From the little he'd let on, Blake didn't have a very happy home life.
Katie could relate.
"Yeah, Archie," Blake said, grin growing wider, "let's hear it."
"Certain things," said the youngest at the gathering, with a stern look towards Blake, "are not to be uttered at the dinner table. Middle name things. Nevada things." The blond knew exactly what Stewart meant. And how hard he would hit him later on.
Blake's brows rose and a grin curled his lips, but he quieted and said no more on the subject. While he wasn't technically embarrassed about what happened in Las Vegas on their post-Hogwarts tour, it definitely wasn't dinner conversation. It was more the type of thing Blake needed a few pints in him to really speak of, and considering he rarely drank, there was a reason it didn't get related often.
A change of subject was in order.
"So, how about dessert?" Blake asked the group. He ignored the fact that they'd barely started in on their supper.
Katie quirked a brow. "Can I finish my dinner before?" she asked wryly, lips twitching at the blatant attempt to change the subject.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When they'd finally gotten around to the promised dessert - Stewart was mightily disappointed it hadn't been served both before and after their main course - the younger man posed a question to their host.
"You're not going to be hugely busy in May, are you?"
Blake leaned back in his chair. "Finishing up the league and getting crowned champions. Again." His lips twitched. "But that's not what you were wondering, is it, sunshine?"
"Really? You don't think he just wanted to hear you wax philosophical about your prowess on the pitch?" Reilly intoned, the corner of her mouth lifting just a hair.
Stewart snickered. He liked that this Reilly bird put Dunners in his place; Merlin knew the bloke needed it more often. "Bring your pretty crown along if you like, mate, as long as you get your arse to the World Cup games and cheer it off for us."
Underneath the table, Katie slipped her hand into Stewart's and gave it a tight squeeze. They'd only found the news out yesterday; the both of them and Angie on the World Cup squad. It was like a dream come true.
Blake's brows rose and a smile lit his features. "Congrats, mate," he said to his friend. He was happy for Stewart; it'd been his dream to make it to the Quidditch world cup since they were boys - Blake's too, and he was hoping to be drafted onto England's team the next football world cup.
He reached across the table to shake Stewart's hand, made a crack about finally making it to the big league's before turning his attention to Katie and nodding. "Congrats to you too, Bell. You, obviously, have been in the big league's for awhile. You can show Stewie the ropes," he said with a wink as he sat back down.
Katie chose to believe his quip was more about Stewart's lack of experience on the international circuit than it was about her own age. Merlin only knew, Stewart's father thought the four years age difference between them was humorous enough.
"We'll see," she said, brown eyes mischievous as she tipped her head back to look at her boyfriend. "You know how this one is. Notoriously uncoachable, a regular diva. I'll be hard pressed to stand him through the tournament."
"Don't I know it," Blake said, nodding sagely. "Can't take him anywhere. Throws fits when he doesn't get his way and has never responded well to discipline." His lips turned into a smirk. "He'll need a firm hand, Ms. Bell, and I'm sure you're up to the job."
"And the conversation takes a turn to poorly veiled sexuality," Reilly said with a roll of her eyes.
As soon as she saw Stewart open his mouth to reply, Katie reached up and placed one finger over his lips.
"Shut up," she said, lips twitching.
Stewart licked at her finger tip, snickering when Katie jerked her hand away. "If you're worried about poorly veiled sexuality, Sir Love-a-lot over there's your first port of call," the keeper announced with a wink.
Reilly's eyes narrowed, though she could hardly believe she was letting herself get drawn into such a conversation. Stewart had managed to sufficiently irk her to allow for it, however. "Are you trying to suggest, Mr. Ackerley, that what I have on offer is not to Blake's satisfaction?"
He couldn't help but smirk. "I'd never disparage your charms, love," he wouldn't dare, "it's just that you lack a certain appendage he's rather fond of. But that's his issue."
Blake smiled jauntily. "Bygones," he said, "and not supper conversation unless we want to recount the whole of our tour to the Colonies." He'd not been the only one to have a bit more fun that was entirely prudent in Las Vegas - part of their post-graduation trip around the world. Though really, the Danes had been a good time.
Stewart coughed slightly on his beer. "So, the weather outside," he paused for a moment, mentally scrounging up the line from the song, "frightful."
Summary: Blake and Reilly invite Stewart and Katie for dinner.
Reilly wasn't entirely sure how she'd ended up in Blake's kitchen, fully clothed, preparing food for other people. In the few weeks since they'd taken their relationship to the next level she'd spent quite a lot of time at his home in Kensington. She'd even spent a substantial amount of time in his kitchen since both she and Blake enjoyed cooking and had a tendency to work up an appetite during their time together. This was the first time they would be inviting other people into their private routine, though, and the feeling was a little awkward for Reilly. She didn't share parts of herself easily, but here she was. Blake could talk her into most anything, it seemed.
"You know, Katie Bell will likely worry I'm going to molest her through the whole dinner," she commented wryly. She didn't know if Blake had heard about her history with the Puddlemere captain, but it would put an interesting twist on the evening.
"Is the feeling merited?" He was grinning when he came up behind her, hands sliding over her hips. Blake hadn't expected to have his mate over so soon, but Reilly wasn't as on edge these days and had agreed more readily than anticipated.
Leaning into the solid warmth of his chest, Reilly tipped her head and pressed a kiss to Blake's lips before smirking. "Well, I did proposition her once. Don't get your hopes up for the night to end with the lot of us in bed, though. Miss Bell is only interested in men. I was shot down."
"Her loss," he said, eyes crinkling with his grin. "No sense of adventure, that one." He pressed another kiss to the underside of her jaw before moving to her side to taste the tomato bisque he'd had on a very low simmer for a good part of the afternoon. He tasted the soup before snatching the basil and sprinkling.
Blake didn't have casual relationships, and he hadn't been in a serious relationship in years. He usually prepared food for himself and any guests himself, but he found he liked having her comfortable warmth at his side. He liked having her in his home, and he liked falling asleep with her skin warm against his.
A tiny smile curled her lips at Blake's response to her little confession. Never having been in a true relationship before, Reilly had never concerned herself with men's reactions to the fact she was occasionally attracted to women. Those who knew, though, were generally either intimidated or far too enthusiastic about it. Blake took it in stride, and that pleased her.
Turning to check the veal, Reilly noticed - not for the first time - that she and Blake moved around each other instinctively in the kitchen. There were no near collisions, they stayed close without ever seeming to get in each other's way. In many things she was finding they just worked well together. "I suppose I'll just consider myself lucky that only one of you chose Stewart Ackerley over me," she said with a grin.
"Archie's not so adventurous either," Blake said with a wink before he turned to pull the bowls and plates out of the cupboard.
The distinct 'pop' of Apparation sounded in the entryway then. "Kitchen," he called.
A bottle of Châteauneuf-du-Pape in hand, Stewart gestured down the hall with his free hand. "Ladies first." Never let it be said he didn't mind his manners. Or appreciate the view from behind her. On reaching the kitchen, Stewart grinned in greeting. "Alright, clothes on, you two."
Reilly was glad her back was turned to the new arrivals. She'd agreed to spend the evening with Blake's friends and her initial reaction to Stewart's joke was not one she would've wanted to show in their first interaction. Just the same, she didn't know him and she fervently hoped her intimate relations with Blake would not be prevalent in the discourse of the evening.
Blake felt more than saw Reilly's back stiffen. She wasn't a woman who took well to sarcasm, and his friend was a man who liked to push buttons as much as he himself did. To say the evening would be interesting was probably an understatement. Unpredictability is the spice of life though, and Blake wasn't overly concerned. In fact, he was a little anticipatory to see if Stewart would provoke Reilly enough to make her verbally maim.
"You both could always take yours off and join us," Blake returned as he set the bowls down on the counter and then moved towards his friend to shake his hand. He looked to Katie and nodded in greeting. "Bell. Think you can convince the nun to join the fun?"
"Why would I?" she asked, quirking a brow at him as her lips curled upwards in a small smirk. "I don't share."
Her gaze slid from Blake's eternally amused expression to the woman behind him. She'd been surprised when Stewart had mentioned his friend's woman of choice; the idea of Blake Dunstan with Reilly Chambers didn't really mesh. And she'd never really liked the way the other woman had looked at her on previous occasions.
"Reilly," she greeted. "Nice to see you again."
"You as well, Katie," Reilly returned, ignoring the banter that had been going around. A dark feeling had risen in Reilly's chest at the thought of 'sharing' her lover. Blake was hers. It might not have been stated outright, but she was certain that 'sharing' was not something either she or Blake would welcome.
Shaking it off for the moment, she turned her attention to Stewart and waited to be introduced.
Blake wrapped his arm around Reilly's waist, hand splaying over her hip. As much as he jested, this was not a woman he would share. Such couldn't be said for all of his past relationships and encounters, but Reilly was different. "Archie, this is the light of my life, Reilly Chambers. Rei, this is the incessant pain in the arse I've known since school, Stewart Ackerley."
Slipping her arm around Blake, Reilly's lips curled into a genuine, if rather reserved, smile. Blake had said the same to his father when he'd introduced them and at the time she'd taken it as a joke. She was beginning to believe the words were sincere though, and it was almost a surprise how much that pleased her.
Offering her hand, she met Stewart's amused gaze. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Stewart."
"You too, Reilly." The quidditch player shook the dainty, offered hand. "I should thank you for forcing him into some semblance of a social life." He looked over to the other man and heaved a heartfelt sigh. "I've been missing my blondie-bear."
Reilly's smile turned wry at the credit laid at her feet, though Stewart's endearment nearly made her snort. "I wish I could accept your thanks, but it's actually Blake who's managed to convince me to abandon my antisocial nature for the evening. I'm happy to end your suffering, though. In the future I'll do my best to remind said bear that others require his attention, too."
"Right now this 'bear' is hungry," Blake announced cheekily. He'd not been sure if his best friend and his girlfriend would get on, but he was pleased to find that any concerns were unfounded.
Pulling away from Reilly, Blake grabbed the bowls again and headed for the table. Everything else was set. "You want anything to drink, Katie?" he asked as he finished setting up the table. He heard Stewart take in a breath to make his own request and cut him off. "Get your own drink, Arch."
Stewart snorted. "The very soul of hospitality, aren't you mate? Must've been all your knightly etiquette classes." The brunette summoned a brew from the fridge, smiling as the frosted brown glass landed heavily against his palm. It was a struggle to simply drop the bottle top in the bin and not peg it at a certain blond head, as would have been his wont were they not being grown ups with dates and dinner parties.
Katie nudged Stewart in the stomach with her elbow, rolling her eyes at him. Those two would probably be acting like twelve year-olds when they were in the geriatric ward.
"Water would be great, Blake," she said, tipping her face up to Stewart's to give him a sweet smile, the hint of a smirk dancing on her lips.
Drinks were distributed and the food was set about the table mostly without incident (Blake might have flicked a pea from the salad at Stewart, and the tall man may have shot it back). As they sat down, each couple facing the other, Reilly tried for a genial expression but it wasn't natural. Polite aloofness was her default and while a part of her wished she was more of a people person - for Blake's benefit - she also knew her boyfriend liked her as she was. The others would make up their own minds.
"So," she began thoughtfully, stirring her soup with an idle hand, "how long have you known Lord Hartington here, Stewart? Any horribly embarrassing stories you'd care to share?"
The brunette man shook his head sorrowfully. "Too much of my life's been spent picking up after Lord Fancy-Britches, here. I can't tell you the worst story on threat of painful Muggle tortures, but just ask him about the time we brought a niffler to Chatsworth House for tea and crumpets with the duke." His smile had broadened when he recounted; it had been one of their youthful triumphs.
"Bloody hell," Blake said, bright grin lighting his features as he thought back to that day. It had been one of their more epic adventures as boys. "That was brilliant. Maids screaming and the butler yelping like a little girl." He glanced at Reilly. "We had to owl the Ministry because we didn't know how to make it stop, and then we took the Knight Bus to Archie's before the Obliviation Squad showed up."
"Yeah, where some genius decided to tell my mother why we'd turned up. I'd fetched the getaway brooms and our dashing dolt here had to go and confess. Pillock." It had only made sense to Stewart to start climbing even without Blake. Every under-aged wizard for himself, and all that.
"She's a mum," Blake said as if that explained everything. "She has special powers. I couldn't help it." Nevermind that he'd always loved Stewart's mum as if she was his own. She'd always treated him as a son and had even been willing to welcome him into her home to live if Blake's father hadn't been such a hateful bastard about everything. As it was, Blake was already thinking of taking Reilly over to meet the Ackerleys. They were much more his family than his true blood had ever been.
He grinned at his best mate then. "Stewie here managed to get up on his broom and Mrs. Ackerley yelled so loud I think she made the banshees proud. Was the fateful day I learned his middle name."
"Which does not need to be uttered at table, thank you very much. Or anywhere near a working set of ears," Stewart interrupted loudly. That was a particularly private and shameful subject.
Blake snickered much like he had that day. Well, he'd been literally rolling in the lawn after
Stewart's mum had sent a stinging hex that hit his mate's bum and brought him straight back down to the ground. "He complained for weeks how the Obliviation Squad would come to my house, but not to his."
Listening to the two old friend reminisce and laugh at their childhood escapades, Reilly couldn't help but be drawn in. With a shake of her head, she covered Blake's hand with her own and squeezed it affectionately, mirth lighting her eyes as she chuckled. If she also found it rather endearing that the man beside her was susceptible to the power of mums, she kept it to herself. She couldn't let him think she'd gone totally soft, could she?
"Come now, it can't that terrible, can it?" Reilly asked, turning her attention to Blake's mate. 'Reilly' was an unusual enough name, but she'd always rather liked it. "You tell me yours and I'll tell you mine."
"Yes, Stewart, enlighten the table," Katie said, turning amused brown eyes up to her boyfriend. She'd heard a few tales of Stewart and Blake's youth, and she was content to sit and listen. From the little he'd let on, Blake didn't have a very happy home life.
Katie could relate.
"Yeah, Archie," Blake said, grin growing wider, "let's hear it."
"Certain things," said the youngest at the gathering, with a stern look towards Blake, "are not to be uttered at the dinner table. Middle name things. Nevada things." The blond knew exactly what Stewart meant. And how hard he would hit him later on.
Blake's brows rose and a grin curled his lips, but he quieted and said no more on the subject. While he wasn't technically embarrassed about what happened in Las Vegas on their post-Hogwarts tour, it definitely wasn't dinner conversation. It was more the type of thing Blake needed a few pints in him to really speak of, and considering he rarely drank, there was a reason it didn't get related often.
A change of subject was in order.
"So, how about dessert?" Blake asked the group. He ignored the fact that they'd barely started in on their supper.
Katie quirked a brow. "Can I finish my dinner before?" she asked wryly, lips twitching at the blatant attempt to change the subject.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
When they'd finally gotten around to the promised dessert - Stewart was mightily disappointed it hadn't been served both before and after their main course - the younger man posed a question to their host.
"You're not going to be hugely busy in May, are you?"
Blake leaned back in his chair. "Finishing up the league and getting crowned champions. Again." His lips twitched. "But that's not what you were wondering, is it, sunshine?"
"Really? You don't think he just wanted to hear you wax philosophical about your prowess on the pitch?" Reilly intoned, the corner of her mouth lifting just a hair.
Stewart snickered. He liked that this Reilly bird put Dunners in his place; Merlin knew the bloke needed it more often. "Bring your pretty crown along if you like, mate, as long as you get your arse to the World Cup games and cheer it off for us."
Underneath the table, Katie slipped her hand into Stewart's and gave it a tight squeeze. They'd only found the news out yesterday; the both of them and Angie on the World Cup squad. It was like a dream come true.
Blake's brows rose and a smile lit his features. "Congrats, mate," he said to his friend. He was happy for Stewart; it'd been his dream to make it to the Quidditch world cup since they were boys - Blake's too, and he was hoping to be drafted onto England's team the next football world cup.
He reached across the table to shake Stewart's hand, made a crack about finally making it to the big league's before turning his attention to Katie and nodding. "Congrats to you too, Bell. You, obviously, have been in the big league's for awhile. You can show Stewie the ropes," he said with a wink as he sat back down.
Katie chose to believe his quip was more about Stewart's lack of experience on the international circuit than it was about her own age. Merlin only knew, Stewart's father thought the four years age difference between them was humorous enough.
"We'll see," she said, brown eyes mischievous as she tipped her head back to look at her boyfriend. "You know how this one is. Notoriously uncoachable, a regular diva. I'll be hard pressed to stand him through the tournament."
"Don't I know it," Blake said, nodding sagely. "Can't take him anywhere. Throws fits when he doesn't get his way and has never responded well to discipline." His lips turned into a smirk. "He'll need a firm hand, Ms. Bell, and I'm sure you're up to the job."
"And the conversation takes a turn to poorly veiled sexuality," Reilly said with a roll of her eyes.
As soon as she saw Stewart open his mouth to reply, Katie reached up and placed one finger over his lips.
"Shut up," she said, lips twitching.
Stewart licked at her finger tip, snickering when Katie jerked her hand away. "If you're worried about poorly veiled sexuality, Sir Love-a-lot over there's your first port of call," the keeper announced with a wink.
Reilly's eyes narrowed, though she could hardly believe she was letting herself get drawn into such a conversation. Stewart had managed to sufficiently irk her to allow for it, however. "Are you trying to suggest, Mr. Ackerley, that what I have on offer is not to Blake's satisfaction?"
He couldn't help but smirk. "I'd never disparage your charms, love," he wouldn't dare, "it's just that you lack a certain appendage he's rather fond of. But that's his issue."
Blake smiled jauntily. "Bygones," he said, "and not supper conversation unless we want to recount the whole of our tour to the Colonies." He'd not been the only one to have a bit more fun that was entirely prudent in Las Vegas - part of their post-graduation trip around the world. Though really, the Danes had been a good time.
Stewart coughed slightly on his beer. "So, the weather outside," he paused for a moment, mentally scrounging up the line from the song, "frightful."
Summary: Blake and Reilly invite Stewart and Katie for dinner.