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 Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2015 8:56 pm
Cambria had been working at the bar for a while now, and Zack was pretty sure it was high time they took their friendship to the next level—which meant moving onto 'more than work buddies'. So he'd taken the effort to get his house cleaned up (which actually meant bugging someone else to do the work while he caught up on his beauty sleep) and was currently enjoying a steaming hot shower.
Cambria was supposed to be over in half an hour or so, so he figured he had plenty of time.
Evan was probably finished straightening up the house by now, judging by the smells coming from the kitchen, so Zack figured he didn't have anything to worry about—and certainly no reason to rush this glorious shower.
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Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2015 9:18 pm
Cambria didn’t like to be late…so of course she was almost half an hour early. She dressed in the cutest outfit she could think of, and as she knocked on the door, she wondered just how this was going to work…after all, you weren’t supposed to date the people you worked with…or was this a date? What about all of the people she was interested in while she was Lysithea…did those count as dates?
Maybe she just lived two lives and that was two separate things and it didn’t count…
Or maybe she was just a floozy. That was a possibility as well.
With a sigh, Cambria knocked on the door again, frowning just slightly. Come on Zack. Open the door.
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Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2015 9:24 pm
For a moment, the door didn't open, and there was absolutely no call from inside. The seconds ticked by with no indication that anyone had heard, and then the knob twisted.
Except, it wasn't Zack opening the door, it was Evan.
Evan, dressed in a too-large sweatshirt over his skinny jeans and polka dot socks, looking like he was very comfortable and not at all dressed up for any occasion.
He stood a good few inches shorter than Cambria, if not because of his naturally short height but also because he was slouching against the door. He didn't know if Zack had mentioned that he was over, but he had known that Cambria would be here.
"You're early," he noted as he moved aside to let her in. "Zack's in the shower, but you can come in. Dinner's not done yet, but I can get you the remote and something to drink if you wanna wait for him in the living room?"
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Posted: Sun Sep 27, 2015 9:37 pm
This wasn’t what Cambria had been expecting. Why was he here? For a few moments she was wondering if she had the wrong house or something…but then…oh. She was just early. Of course she was early..what kind of a schmuck turned up to a date late…?
“I just didn’t want to be late, you know it’s my first time coming here and I didn’t want to get lost or anything.” The tucked a lock of her black hair behind an ear and shrugged. “So uh…what are you doing here, Evan? Are you eating with us?”
Was this not a date? Had she misinterpreted the invitation that Zack had given?
Oh lord, she was a floozy after all…
“I mean, if you are, that’s cool…I uh. How are you? I don’t see you that much, You’re always in the back and…Did you make dinner for tonight? That’s pretty cool.”
Dang. Talking to this kid was so hard sometimes. It was like talking to a brick wall.
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Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2015 2:07 pm
For a few seconds, Evan just looked at her; he seemed to be examining her face, trying to read her emotions or something. Whatever it was, it was just that thing he did around people that always seemed like he was trying to size them up and see right through them.
In the end, he just looked away and shrugged. "Nah, I'm not eating with you guys. I needed a place to crash so we traded favors. I tried something that's not on the menu though, so you have to tell me what you think of it." It was like a little switch flipped on when he was talking about the food, and he shifted positions and seemed like that was a conversation he wanted to have. "I mean, you can tell me at work tomorrow, I won't get in your way while you two are spending time together. He seemed pretty excited anyway. What are you guys doing tonight?"
He shoved his hands into his pockets and half glanced at her after taking a few steps into the room; this topic he seemed a little more timid about, but he rocked on his heels and was at least trying to be social. He might have seen Cambria on a fairly daily basis, but when it came to conversation, he was still testing the waters with her.
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Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2015 9:03 pm
Cambria blinked, letting her head tilt to the side just slightly. This was the most she had ever heard Evan talk, and she wasn’t quite sure what to make of it. He was staying here? Did he live here? Was there something going on with him and Zack? Honestly she had kind of suspected that for a while now but wasn’t sure what to say or how to ask or…well. Anything like that.
“So…I’m sure whatever you’re making is going to be awesome. Your food is the best I think I’ve ever tasted, you’re like…the best cook I know, so…even if you’re making something new it’ll be good, so…and I think him and I are just having dinner, I think…”
She glanced around the little bit of the house that she could see and drew in a long breath before just coming out and asking. “Evan…are you and Zack dating? Why am I here…because I could have sworn he’s been flirting with me, and I was pretty sure this was supposed to be a date…so if I’m stepping on your toes or anything, please tell me now so I can just…you know…leave before it gets awkward…”
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Posted: Mon Sep 28, 2015 11:18 pm
Evan paused and seemed almost confused at her words. His brows were knit and an answer was on his lips, but before he could speak, someone else already was.
"Me and Ev? Nah."
Zack was combing his fingers through his hair as he walked across the room. "We're not dating. He's just a friend. If I'd had it my way, it would have been just you and I here tonight. I can't cook like him, so we'd have ordered pizza or something, watched some movies. Curled up together on the couch and fallen asleep with my arm wrapped around you."
He walked by and winked at Cambria, but ruffled Evan's hair as the younger man moved out of his way.
"But Ev's got a mouth on him and he and his parents don't always see eye to eye. They kicked him out again, and I didn't want him sleeping at another bus station."
Evan's jaw was set in a firm line and his brows were knit; he was almost glaring at Zack but there was too much hurt for him to seem even remotely intimidating. Zack didn't even seem to notice and was too busy admiring Cambria's outfit, anyway. After a second it seemed that Evan had calmed himself; he drew in a slow breath and reached up to smooth out his hair.
After a second he again opened his mouth and attempted to say something but was cut short when Zack looked at Cambria and, smiling, said, "This was supposed to be a date, by the way. You look really cute."
Evan closed his mouth, waited a second, and then walked back into the kitchen.
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Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2015 6:46 pm
Cambria watched Evan for a moment, then gave a soft sigh when he retreated back into his kitchen sanctuary. “Zack, you’re so mean sometimes. I think that kid likes you, even if you’ve totally got all the hots for me. That kind of sucks for him, don’t you think?”
She didn’t want to be a jerk…but she liked the attention, and there was at least a little part of herself that really liked the attention and the fact that Evan was being snubbed…sure she didn’t want to be such a floozyawfuljerk…but sometimes…you just had to sit back and watch someone’s heart get broken while yours inflated with compliments.
That was how the world worked, right?
“So, since we’re not having pizza and cuddling…what’s your new plan, oh wonderful and mysterious Zack? Do you even have a new plan, or are you just winging it from here on out?”
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Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2015 7:05 pm
Zack just laughed. "I'm winging it," he said, hooking his arm around her and squeezing tightly. "If you've got a problem with Evan being here, I'll just kick him out for a few hours."
He didn't seem to have any concern with personal space; he worked in close quarters with Cambria on a frequent enough basis that it seemed natural to e in her persoanl bubble.
Maybe he was pushing it a little when he leaned in close and nipped at the girl's ear. "…Of course, since I do have the hots for you, I could always just let him sleep in the bar tonight. Then we'd have the whole place to ourselves. Though…I suppose I'd really only need to show you the bedroom."
The male gave her one more n** and then laughed, detaching himself from her side. "Do you have any ideas? Because we can move the television into my room and watch things in there. My bed's great. We should have drinks and watch shitty movies until we pass out, sound good?"
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Posted: Tue Sep 29, 2015 7:43 pm
Oh god. He was so smooth it was like he was made of butter. What a complete and total dog. She hesitated a split second after he left her side, before reaching out on impulse and grabbing his hand, squeezing it tightly.
“Well, that sounds like a plan to me. I don’t think sending Evan to the bar to sleep is very nice. It’s not very comfortable in there…he can have the couch…and you and I can just stay in your room. I think that sounds like a wonderful idea.”
What the ******** was she even saying.
Drinks? And a movie? In a guy’s bed? Well. There was a first time for everything, and tonight. Cambria was going all out. Extreme date night. Take one.
Action.
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Posted: Wed Sep 30, 2015 4:49 pm
A triumphant grin slipped across Zack's face and he nodded. "I think that sounds like an excellent plan. So while he's finishing up dinner, why don't I give you a tour of the place. And when you're good and settled I'll whip us up some drinks, and you and I can snuggle in." He winked at her. "We'll have a good night."
No matter what happened.
Except, Zack was pretty sure he knew what was going to happen.
In fact, he was going to do his damnedest to see that it did.
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