you wanna go to a party tonight? (Star Trek RPF Fanfic / Pinto / Sequel)
Title: you wanna go to a party tonight?
Author: therumjournals
Fandom: Star Trek RPF
Pairings: Chris/Zach, Karl/OFC
Rating: R
Word Count: 2,656
Description: Chris and Becky meet up with Zach for ‘80s night.
Sequel to i could use another round, so i could really get on down.
A/N: So I checked in with my brain, and it still doesn’t want to write het. But it does apparently want to be your bitch and write you sequels to random one-shots strangely lacking in Pinto. So here you go. :-)
"How does this look?"
"Lose the jacket. Wear a t-shirt."
"Why?"
"He likes t-shirts."
"How do you know that? You danced with him for like ten minutes! Did you even talk to him?"
"It was more than ten minutes. Just trust me. No, not a white one."
Chris put down the white v-neck he'd picked up and rolled his eyes. "Is this one okay?" he asked, picking up a dark gray t-shirt with some kind of abstract lightning strike across the lower left.
"Oh my god, that's perfect. Where did you get that? How have I not seen this before?!”
"Um...I got it from that trendy hipster store where John works, like, two days ago. Does that answer all of your questions?" He handed her the rum and coke she'd set down on his bureau.
She took a long swig. "Put it on." She watched as Chris pulled the t-shirt on over his head and checked himself out in the mirror. "What shoes are you going to wear? No, you know what, don't even answer. Wear these," she said, tossing a pair of shoes to him.
"You're very bossy."
"At a certain point, I'm going to be completely removed from your love life. I'm just trying to leave my mark where I can."
"Awww, Bex, I would never do that to you," Chris said, putting his arm around her and giving her a kiss on the head.
"You're so full of shit."
"Okay," Chris said, pulling on the shoes. "Am I ready?"
Becky shook her head. "We have to do something about the hair."
*
She'd pulled every single thing out of Chris's medicine cabinet and was looking at the cluttered counter in dismay. "Chris!" she yelled toward the bedroom. "What kind of a gay man are you? This is just embarrassing!"
"What?" Chris asked, leaning into the bathroom. Becky eyed the flourescent pink drink he was holding. Okay, so he was definitely gay. But still...
"No hair product? Seriously?"
"Oh. Um..." Chris opened the lower cabinet and reached into the back. "Here."
"How old is this?"
"Like...three years?"
"Ew." Becky looked around frantically. "Do we have time to go shopping?"
Chris checked his watch. "No. It's 10:30 already. Come on, come on, let's go!"
Becky grinned. "You're so adorable when you're getting ready for a first hook-up."
"Funny."
"Here." She pulled him toward the mirror and shoved a scoop of hair wax into his palm. "Do something with that."
*
"My hair's all poky," Chris said, bumping the palm of his hand against his new spikes.
"Stop touching it," Becky hissed, pulling him forward in line. "Come on, we're almost in. You're paying my cover, by the way."
"Grr." Chris pulled his wallet out of his pocket to hand his ID to the bouncer. "Oh god. I just got really nervous. What if he isn’t into me?”
“Chris, he called you, like, twelve hours after you drunkenly texted him a picture of yourself. I think you’re good to go. Plus, it’s ‘80s night. The moment Like a Prayer comes on, your tongue will be down his throat, I guarantee it.”
“We should have had more to drink before we left."
"No way. The last thing we need is you getting all sloppy."
"Shut up, I saw you take another shot before we left."
"That’s because I had to kill the taste of that bubble gum vodka shit that you made me drink,” she muttered as they entered the club. "Now come on, let's find our boy."
*
Becky saw him first, standing at the bar, looking out over the crowd. Her stomach did a little flip. He was even hotter than she remembered. He caught her eye, stood up a little straighter, and smiled. Her stomach flipped harder, and she squeezed Chris's wrist. "Oh my god. There he is."
"Holy fuck."
"I know."
She pulled Chris through the crowd towards the bar. Zach turned away for a second as they got close, and turned back holding two appletinis. Oh my god, Becky thought as she took the drink. Could this guy be any more perfect?
He could, apparently, because next he was wrapping a palm around the back of her head and leaning down to give her a peck on the lips. "Hey, cutie," he murmured.
She was blushing too hard to answer, so she took a sip of her drink and stepped aside so he could hand Chris the other appletini. She watched them check each other out. Zach looked impressed. Becky smiled into her drink.
Chris took the glass from Zach and licked his lips. "Do I get one of those, too?" he asked, nodding toward Becky.
Zach smiled and stepped closer, put a hand on Chris's hip, and leaned in to give him a chaste kiss on the corner of his lips. Becky rolled her eyes. She'd been hoping to get through at least one drink before they started going at it. But Zach didn’t linger just yet, pulling away to smile at them both. "You guys want to dance?"
They stepped onto the dance floor just as Like a Prayer started blasting through the speakers. Chris winked at her and slid an arm around Zach’s waist. Ah, fuck.
*
Becky tried to stick it out for as long as she could, she really did. And she’d never had a problem dancing on her own, but dancing on her own while Chris and Zach were trying to climb into each others' clothes right next to her was getting a little annoying. Not that it wasn't smoking hot, because it was. Just, she preferred to watch from afar, and preferably with a drink nearby. As soon as Zach moved his hand, she reached into Chris's back pocket, pulled a twenty from his wallet, and headed for the bar.
*
Becky leaned on the bar, prepared to watch the bartender flirt for a while before he got to her. She glanced around in the meantime, wondering if there was any chance of repeating the previous night's success and finding another hot, resigned gay guy to dance with her for the rest of the night.
"What can I get you?" the bartender yelled over the music.
"Rum and coke?" she yelled back.
He nodded, made the drink, and slid it across the bar to her. "It's on that guy," he said, gesturing toward someone at the end of the bar. She stood on tiptoe to see down the bar, and some guy raised his glass and smiled at her through the strobing lights. This was an intriguing development. She grabbed her drink and headed over.
"Thanks," she said, raising her drink. He lifted his - whiskey on the rocks or something, it looked like - and they tapped their glasses together.
"No problem."
Hello. Suddenly, Becky was a lot more interested. What was that, Australian or something? She smiled at him. "Why aren't you dancing? Didn't you hear that it's '80s night?"
"Yeaaah," he said, drawing it out. He furrowed his brows. "This isn't really my kind of club."
Oh really. "Oh? So...what are you doing here?"
He rolled his eyes. "Coupla my mates wanted to check it out. I don't think they read the fine print," he said with a wink.
"Ah." Her eyes flicked down to the open collar of his black button up. This guy was getting hotter by the second. Bet he'd gotten a lot of free drinks tonight.
"Yeah. The free drinks aren't hurting though," he said, smiling. Oh my god. Dimples. Becky took a long sip of her drink and tried to catch her breath.
"So, what's your name?" she asked, after she’d set her empty glass on the bar. She probably shouldn't have finished that so fast, but if ever there was a time for liquid courage, this was it.
"What?" he yelled. Come on, Eileen was pounding through the speakers now. If the volume was anything to go by, the DJ really liked this song.
"What's your name?" she yelled, louder.
He leaned forward and shouted something in her ear that sounded like "Col."
She wrinkled her nose. "WHAT?"
He yelled it again. "COL?" she yelled back.
He rolled his eyes in resigned exasperation and stepped closer. "KARRRRUL" he said, exaggerating the "R".
"OH, KAHHHL," she said, flashing him a flirty smile. He shook his head, but he was smiling, too. Also, his hand was on her hip, and she wasn't sure when that had happened, but she never wanted to move, ever.
She leaned into him a little, and he slid his hand around to her back.
"Would you like to dance?"
*
Becky was in love with Karl. Okay, maybe it was more like lust, but really, it wasn't like she just wanted to sleep with him. She also wanted to talk to him, for hours and hours. Well, mostly so she could listen to that accent for hours and hours and then sleep with him, but yeah, she was pretty sure it was love. They'd been on the dance floor for a while, and though he had nothing on Zach when it came to dance moves, he had a bit of rhythm, and he was holding her close and murmuring humorous observations in her ear and he smelled amazing. At some point she realized that she hadn't spared a thought for Chris in quite a while. Oh well. She was sure he was doing just fine.
Suddenly she felt another hand on her side and a broad chest pressing against her back, hips moving easily to the beat of Billie Jean. She glanced over her shoulder and smiled.
"Hey gorgeous," Zach said. Becky had a sudden thought and looked wildly around for Chris.
"Don't worry," Zach yelled, "he's just getting us drinks. He hasn't ditched me yet!"
Becky raised an eyebrow. "That's not what I'm worried about!"
Zach grinned. "And I have no intention of ditching him," he said reassuringly.
She nodded her approval, and Zach glanced across at Karl.
"Who's this?" Zach asked, his voice teasing. He reached over her shoulder to touch Karl's hair.
Becky slapped his hand away playfully. "Hands off!" She glanced back at him. "He's straight," she said in a mock whisper.
Zach raised an eyebrow, impressed. "Lucky girl," he murmured.
Chris appeared by their sides. He handed Zach a drink and shrugged apologetically at Becky. She shrugged back and smiled as Zach turned away from her, wrapped an arm around Chris's shoulders, and pulled him in for a deep, pornographic kiss. She swallowed and turned back to Karl, shaking her head. He grinned at her, and she immediately forgot all about hot gay guys, in favor of focusing on his sparkling hazel eyes. His lips brushed her ear. "Can I kiss you?"
"Hell yes.” Way to be coy, she thought, then she stopped thinking, because Karl was kissing her, and it was awesome. He still smelled fucking amazing. She may have whimpered a little when he pulled away.
"Want another drink?" he asked, reaching down to take her hand.
Yeah, she was definitely in love.
*
"BexBexBexBexBex," Chris panted, skidding to a stop in front of her. "Hi," he said to Karl, who'd stopped kissing her to look up at him. "Sorry." Karl shrugged, and Chris turned back to Becky, gripping her by the shoulders. "Zach wants me to go home with him."
"I should certainly fucking hope so!" Becky said emphatically. She was buzzed on liquor and Kiwi and Madonna, and kind of in love with the world.
"Okay, so, I'm gonna go with him, okay? Are you gonna be alright?"
"Uh, yeah." She let go of Karl reluctantly and pulled Chris a few steps away. "Give me your keys."
"What? Why?"
"Because I want to invite Karl back to your place."
"What? Hell no!"
"Chris, come on! He's sharing a hotel room with his friends, and you live so much closer that me! AND you don't have a roommate!"
Chris looked at Karl and bit his lip. "Bex, are you sure you want to do that? Bring some random guy home?”
She gave him a look. "You're not actually serious with that question, are you?" she asked pointedly. He blushed and ran a hand over the back of his neck. "Chris. Listen to me. He's from New Zealand."
Chris gave her the keys.
* * *
Becky answered Chris's call on the first ring.
"Hey!" he whispered. "You're alive! That's awesome!"
"Yeah, same to you. Why are you whispering?"
"Huh? Oh, I'm in Zach's kitchen. His apartment's kind of small, I don't want to wake him up."
"You're calling me from his apartment? I mean, I'm impressed that you understand your obligations to me, but you really could have waited until you left."
"Yeah, that's the thing, Bex. I think I might stay here for a little while. I went out and got muffins and coffee for when he wakes up."
"Muffins? Chris, you are so gay."
"Thank you, I try."
"Are you sure he'll be cool with that? I mean, you sticking around the morning after?"
"If the way he was cuddling the hell out of me all last night is any indication, then yes, he'll be fine with it."
"Oh my god," Becky groaned. "Invite me to the wedding."
"Shut up," Chris said, but she could hear the smile in his voice. "So? What about you? I didn't expect you to answer, I had this long and detailed message all planned out."
Becky chuckled. "Karl had to leave early to meet up with his friends...sorry, his mates..." She glanced at the sweet note he'd left and smiled. "They're heading down to New Orleans. But they're flying out from New York in a month, so hopefully he'll give me a call before they leave." She thought about it for a second. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure he will."
"So did you have a good time? Was he any good?"
"Oh my god, Chris. He was so good. He was so fucking good."
"Jesus. How many-"
"Three times last night."
"THRICE? No way!"
"Yeah, and once this morning, because he's a gentleman like that. Oh, and one of those times was with his fingers in the back of the cab."
Chris whistled into the phone. "Wow. Usually it takes you forever to get off."
"Not if you know what you're doing, honey," she said, laughing.
“So, you owe me new sheets.”
“Fine. Worth it. Look, I've gotta go to work in a few hours. What do you want me to do with your keys?"
"Good question. Um...maybe I'll stop by the restaurant later?"
"Okay. Oooh, bring Zach! I have to thank him for ending your dry spell. You were getting a little cranky."
"Shut up."
"So what does he do, anyway?"
"He said he's an actor. He's between gigs."
"Ah. Unemployed, then."
"No," Chris said defensively.
"Whatever you say, Chris. I'm just thinking about who's going to make the money to feed the babies that you two are definitely going to have."
"Shut up!"
"Okay, okay. But seriously. You like him?"
"I don’t know...god, yeah, I think I do. He's so hot, and he's really funny, and Becky, I shit you not, there are like four Hemingway novels on his shelf."
"Oh yeah? Did you notice those when he was fucking you up against the bookshelf?" Chris was quiet. Becky laughed loudly into the phone. "Oh my god. You are such a literature slut."
"I'm so fucked."
“Yep. So many babies.”
Chris groaned.
"Did you tell him about your novel?"
"I - yeah."
"Did he make fun of you?"
"No!"
"Destinyyyyyy," she sing-songed.
"I hate you."
"I love you, Chris. Go back and wake him up with a muffin. Or, you know, your dick."
"Crude, Bex."
"See you guys at the restaurant later?"
Chris sighed. "Yeah, probably."
"Who's the best wingman ever?"
He sighed again. "You are."
"You know it. Hey Chris?"
"Yeah?"
"Can I get first dibs on your apartment when you move in with Zach?"
"BYE, Bex."
"Bye, loverboy.” She blew him a kiss into the phone, and hung up, falling back on the bed with a smile on her face.
Fucking '80s night, man. It worked every time.
Part 3: feel so much and feel nothing at all
Author: therumjournals
Fandom: Star Trek RPF
Pairings: Chris/Zach, Karl/OFC
Rating: R
Word Count: 2,656
Description: Chris and Becky meet up with Zach for ‘80s night.
Sequel to i could use another round, so i could really get on down.
A/N: So I checked in with my brain, and it still doesn’t want to write het. But it does apparently want to be your bitch and write you sequels to random one-shots strangely lacking in Pinto. So here you go. :-)
"How does this look?"
"Lose the jacket. Wear a t-shirt."
"Why?"
"He likes t-shirts."
"How do you know that? You danced with him for like ten minutes! Did you even talk to him?"
"It was more than ten minutes. Just trust me. No, not a white one."
Chris put down the white v-neck he'd picked up and rolled his eyes. "Is this one okay?" he asked, picking up a dark gray t-shirt with some kind of abstract lightning strike across the lower left.
"Oh my god, that's perfect. Where did you get that? How have I not seen this before?!”
"Um...I got it from that trendy hipster store where John works, like, two days ago. Does that answer all of your questions?" He handed her the rum and coke she'd set down on his bureau.
She took a long swig. "Put it on." She watched as Chris pulled the t-shirt on over his head and checked himself out in the mirror. "What shoes are you going to wear? No, you know what, don't even answer. Wear these," she said, tossing a pair of shoes to him.
"You're very bossy."
"At a certain point, I'm going to be completely removed from your love life. I'm just trying to leave my mark where I can."
"Awww, Bex, I would never do that to you," Chris said, putting his arm around her and giving her a kiss on the head.
"You're so full of shit."
"Okay," Chris said, pulling on the shoes. "Am I ready?"
Becky shook her head. "We have to do something about the hair."
*
She'd pulled every single thing out of Chris's medicine cabinet and was looking at the cluttered counter in dismay. "Chris!" she yelled toward the bedroom. "What kind of a gay man are you? This is just embarrassing!"
"What?" Chris asked, leaning into the bathroom. Becky eyed the flourescent pink drink he was holding. Okay, so he was definitely gay. But still...
"No hair product? Seriously?"
"Oh. Um..." Chris opened the lower cabinet and reached into the back. "Here."
"How old is this?"
"Like...three years?"
"Ew." Becky looked around frantically. "Do we have time to go shopping?"
Chris checked his watch. "No. It's 10:30 already. Come on, come on, let's go!"
Becky grinned. "You're so adorable when you're getting ready for a first hook-up."
"Funny."
"Here." She pulled him toward the mirror and shoved a scoop of hair wax into his palm. "Do something with that."
*
"My hair's all poky," Chris said, bumping the palm of his hand against his new spikes.
"Stop touching it," Becky hissed, pulling him forward in line. "Come on, we're almost in. You're paying my cover, by the way."
"Grr." Chris pulled his wallet out of his pocket to hand his ID to the bouncer. "Oh god. I just got really nervous. What if he isn’t into me?”
“Chris, he called you, like, twelve hours after you drunkenly texted him a picture of yourself. I think you’re good to go. Plus, it’s ‘80s night. The moment Like a Prayer comes on, your tongue will be down his throat, I guarantee it.”
“We should have had more to drink before we left."
"No way. The last thing we need is you getting all sloppy."
"Shut up, I saw you take another shot before we left."
"That’s because I had to kill the taste of that bubble gum vodka shit that you made me drink,” she muttered as they entered the club. "Now come on, let's find our boy."
*
Becky saw him first, standing at the bar, looking out over the crowd. Her stomach did a little flip. He was even hotter than she remembered. He caught her eye, stood up a little straighter, and smiled. Her stomach flipped harder, and she squeezed Chris's wrist. "Oh my god. There he is."
"Holy fuck."
"I know."
She pulled Chris through the crowd towards the bar. Zach turned away for a second as they got close, and turned back holding two appletinis. Oh my god, Becky thought as she took the drink. Could this guy be any more perfect?
He could, apparently, because next he was wrapping a palm around the back of her head and leaning down to give her a peck on the lips. "Hey, cutie," he murmured.
She was blushing too hard to answer, so she took a sip of her drink and stepped aside so he could hand Chris the other appletini. She watched them check each other out. Zach looked impressed. Becky smiled into her drink.
Chris took the glass from Zach and licked his lips. "Do I get one of those, too?" he asked, nodding toward Becky.
Zach smiled and stepped closer, put a hand on Chris's hip, and leaned in to give him a chaste kiss on the corner of his lips. Becky rolled her eyes. She'd been hoping to get through at least one drink before they started going at it. But Zach didn’t linger just yet, pulling away to smile at them both. "You guys want to dance?"
They stepped onto the dance floor just as Like a Prayer started blasting through the speakers. Chris winked at her and slid an arm around Zach’s waist. Ah, fuck.
*
Becky tried to stick it out for as long as she could, she really did. And she’d never had a problem dancing on her own, but dancing on her own while Chris and Zach were trying to climb into each others' clothes right next to her was getting a little annoying. Not that it wasn't smoking hot, because it was. Just, she preferred to watch from afar, and preferably with a drink nearby. As soon as Zach moved his hand, she reached into Chris's back pocket, pulled a twenty from his wallet, and headed for the bar.
*
Becky leaned on the bar, prepared to watch the bartender flirt for a while before he got to her. She glanced around in the meantime, wondering if there was any chance of repeating the previous night's success and finding another hot, resigned gay guy to dance with her for the rest of the night.
"What can I get you?" the bartender yelled over the music.
"Rum and coke?" she yelled back.
He nodded, made the drink, and slid it across the bar to her. "It's on that guy," he said, gesturing toward someone at the end of the bar. She stood on tiptoe to see down the bar, and some guy raised his glass and smiled at her through the strobing lights. This was an intriguing development. She grabbed her drink and headed over.
"Thanks," she said, raising her drink. He lifted his - whiskey on the rocks or something, it looked like - and they tapped their glasses together.
"No problem."
Hello. Suddenly, Becky was a lot more interested. What was that, Australian or something? She smiled at him. "Why aren't you dancing? Didn't you hear that it's '80s night?"
"Yeaaah," he said, drawing it out. He furrowed his brows. "This isn't really my kind of club."
Oh really. "Oh? So...what are you doing here?"
He rolled his eyes. "Coupla my mates wanted to check it out. I don't think they read the fine print," he said with a wink.
"Ah." Her eyes flicked down to the open collar of his black button up. This guy was getting hotter by the second. Bet he'd gotten a lot of free drinks tonight.
"Yeah. The free drinks aren't hurting though," he said, smiling. Oh my god. Dimples. Becky took a long sip of her drink and tried to catch her breath.
"So, what's your name?" she asked, after she’d set her empty glass on the bar. She probably shouldn't have finished that so fast, but if ever there was a time for liquid courage, this was it.
"What?" he yelled. Come on, Eileen was pounding through the speakers now. If the volume was anything to go by, the DJ really liked this song.
"What's your name?" she yelled, louder.
He leaned forward and shouted something in her ear that sounded like "Col."
She wrinkled her nose. "WHAT?"
He yelled it again. "COL?" she yelled back.
He rolled his eyes in resigned exasperation and stepped closer. "KARRRRUL" he said, exaggerating the "R".
"OH, KAHHHL," she said, flashing him a flirty smile. He shook his head, but he was smiling, too. Also, his hand was on her hip, and she wasn't sure when that had happened, but she never wanted to move, ever.
She leaned into him a little, and he slid his hand around to her back.
"Would you like to dance?"
*
Becky was in love with Karl. Okay, maybe it was more like lust, but really, it wasn't like she just wanted to sleep with him. She also wanted to talk to him, for hours and hours. Well, mostly so she could listen to that accent for hours and hours and then sleep with him, but yeah, she was pretty sure it was love. They'd been on the dance floor for a while, and though he had nothing on Zach when it came to dance moves, he had a bit of rhythm, and he was holding her close and murmuring humorous observations in her ear and he smelled amazing. At some point she realized that she hadn't spared a thought for Chris in quite a while. Oh well. She was sure he was doing just fine.
Suddenly she felt another hand on her side and a broad chest pressing against her back, hips moving easily to the beat of Billie Jean. She glanced over her shoulder and smiled.
"Hey gorgeous," Zach said. Becky had a sudden thought and looked wildly around for Chris.
"Don't worry," Zach yelled, "he's just getting us drinks. He hasn't ditched me yet!"
Becky raised an eyebrow. "That's not what I'm worried about!"
Zach grinned. "And I have no intention of ditching him," he said reassuringly.
She nodded her approval, and Zach glanced across at Karl.
"Who's this?" Zach asked, his voice teasing. He reached over her shoulder to touch Karl's hair.
Becky slapped his hand away playfully. "Hands off!" She glanced back at him. "He's straight," she said in a mock whisper.
Zach raised an eyebrow, impressed. "Lucky girl," he murmured.
Chris appeared by their sides. He handed Zach a drink and shrugged apologetically at Becky. She shrugged back and smiled as Zach turned away from her, wrapped an arm around Chris's shoulders, and pulled him in for a deep, pornographic kiss. She swallowed and turned back to Karl, shaking her head. He grinned at her, and she immediately forgot all about hot gay guys, in favor of focusing on his sparkling hazel eyes. His lips brushed her ear. "Can I kiss you?"
"Hell yes.” Way to be coy, she thought, then she stopped thinking, because Karl was kissing her, and it was awesome. He still smelled fucking amazing. She may have whimpered a little when he pulled away.
"Want another drink?" he asked, reaching down to take her hand.
Yeah, she was definitely in love.
*
"BexBexBexBexBex," Chris panted, skidding to a stop in front of her. "Hi," he said to Karl, who'd stopped kissing her to look up at him. "Sorry." Karl shrugged, and Chris turned back to Becky, gripping her by the shoulders. "Zach wants me to go home with him."
"I should certainly fucking hope so!" Becky said emphatically. She was buzzed on liquor and Kiwi and Madonna, and kind of in love with the world.
"Okay, so, I'm gonna go with him, okay? Are you gonna be alright?"
"Uh, yeah." She let go of Karl reluctantly and pulled Chris a few steps away. "Give me your keys."
"What? Why?"
"Because I want to invite Karl back to your place."
"What? Hell no!"
"Chris, come on! He's sharing a hotel room with his friends, and you live so much closer that me! AND you don't have a roommate!"
Chris looked at Karl and bit his lip. "Bex, are you sure you want to do that? Bring some random guy home?”
She gave him a look. "You're not actually serious with that question, are you?" she asked pointedly. He blushed and ran a hand over the back of his neck. "Chris. Listen to me. He's from New Zealand."
Chris gave her the keys.
* * *
Becky answered Chris's call on the first ring.
"Hey!" he whispered. "You're alive! That's awesome!"
"Yeah, same to you. Why are you whispering?"
"Huh? Oh, I'm in Zach's kitchen. His apartment's kind of small, I don't want to wake him up."
"You're calling me from his apartment? I mean, I'm impressed that you understand your obligations to me, but you really could have waited until you left."
"Yeah, that's the thing, Bex. I think I might stay here for a little while. I went out and got muffins and coffee for when he wakes up."
"Muffins? Chris, you are so gay."
"Thank you, I try."
"Are you sure he'll be cool with that? I mean, you sticking around the morning after?"
"If the way he was cuddling the hell out of me all last night is any indication, then yes, he'll be fine with it."
"Oh my god," Becky groaned. "Invite me to the wedding."
"Shut up," Chris said, but she could hear the smile in his voice. "So? What about you? I didn't expect you to answer, I had this long and detailed message all planned out."
Becky chuckled. "Karl had to leave early to meet up with his friends...sorry, his mates..." She glanced at the sweet note he'd left and smiled. "They're heading down to New Orleans. But they're flying out from New York in a month, so hopefully he'll give me a call before they leave." She thought about it for a second. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure he will."
"So did you have a good time? Was he any good?"
"Oh my god, Chris. He was so good. He was so fucking good."
"Jesus. How many-"
"Three times last night."
"THRICE? No way!"
"Yeah, and once this morning, because he's a gentleman like that. Oh, and one of those times was with his fingers in the back of the cab."
Chris whistled into the phone. "Wow. Usually it takes you forever to get off."
"Not if you know what you're doing, honey," she said, laughing.
“So, you owe me new sheets.”
“Fine. Worth it. Look, I've gotta go to work in a few hours. What do you want me to do with your keys?"
"Good question. Um...maybe I'll stop by the restaurant later?"
"Okay. Oooh, bring Zach! I have to thank him for ending your dry spell. You were getting a little cranky."
"Shut up."
"So what does he do, anyway?"
"He said he's an actor. He's between gigs."
"Ah. Unemployed, then."
"No," Chris said defensively.
"Whatever you say, Chris. I'm just thinking about who's going to make the money to feed the babies that you two are definitely going to have."
"Shut up!"
"Okay, okay. But seriously. You like him?"
"I don’t know...god, yeah, I think I do. He's so hot, and he's really funny, and Becky, I shit you not, there are like four Hemingway novels on his shelf."
"Oh yeah? Did you notice those when he was fucking you up against the bookshelf?" Chris was quiet. Becky laughed loudly into the phone. "Oh my god. You are such a literature slut."
"I'm so fucked."
“Yep. So many babies.”
Chris groaned.
"Did you tell him about your novel?"
"I - yeah."
"Did he make fun of you?"
"No!"
"Destinyyyyyy," she sing-songed.
"I hate you."
"I love you, Chris. Go back and wake him up with a muffin. Or, you know, your dick."
"Crude, Bex."
"See you guys at the restaurant later?"
Chris sighed. "Yeah, probably."
"Who's the best wingman ever?"
He sighed again. "You are."
"You know it. Hey Chris?"
"Yeah?"
"Can I get first dibs on your apartment when you move in with Zach?"
"BYE, Bex."
"Bye, loverboy.” She blew him a kiss into the phone, and hung up, falling back on the bed with a smile on her face.
Fucking '80s night, man. It worked every time.
Part 3: feel so much and feel nothing at all