The Dramatic Spiel of Arthur and Chardonnay~ (7,131 views)

Arthur didn’t know what her texting him every night meant to Chardonnay. As far as he thought, she only did it to appease him, and maybe as an excuse to do something. When he first got her to text him all those years ago, she had done so reluctantly, and he had excused his concern because she... because he just knew her. He thought that after a few months maybe a year max, he would stop insisting she text him nightly and that she would stop doing it. But... she never had. She always texted him and he always appreciated her texts. Even though they only exchanged brief texts, she was one of the only people he actually texted every night, aside from the group text he had with his sister and niece.

Hearing her say that she appreciated it, though, made Arthur feel a sense of happiness. It was a sense of happiness that, despite his weariness and fatigue, got him to crack a small smile as he looked at her. She was looking right at him, with a serious expression on her face. Though when she reminded him again that she didn’t have friends, or anyone aside from her parents, that got his smile to slacken just slightly. He wondered how she could live without any friends. He didn’t understand how she could... and it worried him. He couldn’t bear to think about what would happen when they stopped this thing between them and she didn’t have anyone to text anymore. He could try to move on with his life, and would always have friends, but she would just have... her parents. Anyone else? He didn’t know. So, he didn’t linger on those thoughts, and just focused on the moment.

”Well, whatever I am to you now, you have me.” He said, just as serious as she was. And he meant it. He knew if she was broken down in god-knew California in the middle of a tornado warning again, he’d still go out and pick her up. He’d still make sure she was safe and accounted for before he got mad at her for doing something stupid in the first place. They weren’t enemies. The feelings he had for her back in high school and even college wasn’t how he viewed her now. He respected her, cared about her in a way he never thought he would, and even though he couldn’t trust how much she cared about him... he still considered her, on some level, a friend. A friend-with-benefits, rather than just a fuckbuddy. Which scared him more about ending this – he knew Chardonnay wouldn’t want to keep a friendship going if they weren’t hooking up. They didn’t do anything together besides hook up, but between the moments of hooking up, they’d had moments, intimate moments, where they just felt... connected, even if they weren’t doing anything in particular.

The assurance that she too didn’t go to the trial made his brows raise. So he wasn’t alone in avoiding it? It wasn’t surprising that her parents knew what they looked like – and that was another similarity – Susan had gone to the trial herself.

”My sister did the same thing. Well, sort of. She went to the trial to see their faces. She almost got arrested herself for the shit she spewed at them when they were getting taken away, according to her anyway.” he didn’t know how reliable Susan’s word of mouth, but honestly all he doubted was her actually facing jail time. She had quite the mouth and in that situation, when she was pissed at those gunmen, she had ran her mouth at them until the police car was driving away and even then she wasn’t satisfied. Besides, he was in the hospital still when the trial happened. He definitely didn’t want to make the emotional journey there. At her comment that they were fucked if they decided to do something without the same mask, the dark humor made him snort. ”Right. Actually, your parents and my sister might be able to help us out. Though I don’t want my sister anywhere near those guys and I doubt you want your parents near them, either.”

It was best to just hope they’d lost interest or were still rotting in jail, so he nodded in response to Chardonnay’s comment and watched as she poured two cups of coffee. He was surprised that she got him a cup and when she set the cup in front of him, he said thank you and took the coffee. He had sugar on the table and pulled it towards him, scooping three spoonful’s of it into his drink before he took a sip. Once he took one sip he took another few, the caffeine and sugar beginning to help him wake up. He couldn’t feel his leg anymore, which he took as a positive sign.

Her advice was something that – though he hadn’t asked for it in direct words – he really wanted to hear. He listened to what she said as she admitted she didn’t trust anyone but told him he couldn’t keep doing this. He knew he couldn’t. He was exhausted, and the only things giving him energy anymore were coffee and sex. As much as he loved spending time with his family it was scarcer now – Adelaide was in school and Susan at work – so often he passed his days moping about his theater’s revenue and how nothing added up.

”We open at 10 every day, the first showings always start at 11. But openers have to get in for 9 to start set up. We close at 3 AM, and whenever the last movie is done playing and the last penny counted I leave.” He said. When she suggested asking someone he trusted and mentioned Jason, he initially brushed the thought off and almost shook his head. Jason wouldn’t be able to be a good judge of character, the man loved everyone. But there was a person who popped into his mind when she mentioned someone he trusted, he knew the only employee who he could say he trusted one hundred percent right now was Jasmin. He was surprised to hear that Chardonnay had kept Heather, and even more surprised that she admitted she thought having a manager was a good decision. ”Jason’s judge of character is awful. He’d be no help, but... Jasmin might be. She’s got my old job. I could have her look over the applications because I’m fucking lost.”

He glanced over at Chardonnay, taking another sip of his coffee as he regarded her face. It was odd to be talking so civilly to her in a kitchen setting, with the sky bleeding light from the sun about to rise, but it was kind of... nice. It made him feel less lonely in this apartment that was too big for just him, especially after that nightmare, which still sent jolts of unease throughout his system no matter how much caffeine he tried to pour into it.

”Maybe I’ll have her hire the new closing manager,” He said, after he finished his sip of coffee. He might, with enough of a pay incentive, be able to convince Jasmin to work mornings while he worked nights to just... ensure everything was accounted for so he didn’t have to do it alone. That might work.

There was a silence that followed his statement that she had him – a pregnant, long silence that Arthur didn’t shy away from. He didn’t know what Chardonnay was thinking about what he said but he wasn’t going to ask. He just wanted her to know that he was there for her even if she didn’t want him to be. He knew how stubborn she could be, but she wasn’t dumb. She knew when she needed help and when she didn’t. And he just... wanted her to know that when she did need help, he’d be there.

He took a sip of his coffee again, noting that she hadn’t said anything in response to his comment. He wasn’t about to push for one, and what was said was already said. Besides, what else could she say to that? Maybe he’d wanted another thanks, or a smile from her, but that was just him being... was greedy the right word? He didn’t know. He tried not to think about it too much. When she expressed shock at his sisters temper Arthur snorted and leaned back in the chair.

”Oh, she has a mouth as bad as mine when she’s pissed off. Especially since my safety was involved.” He said. Susan had told him a few stories that he didn’t know if he believed or not, but he’d seen her snap a few times. There were occasionally people who would talk to Adelaide when she didn’t trust them as a baby, and when there was any problem with Adelaide’s school or health Susan was always spitting questions and accusations everywhere, demanding answers even if it made her a nuisance.

He was surprised to hear he was wrong assuming that her parents had gone to the trial themselves but it made sense – they lived far away, right? At least they’d been informed and the report had, of course, been on the TV stations for a bit. No names of victims were released but the trial made brief news coverage before it was overtaken by other incidents. It was hard to avoid the coverage, but he managed to do it. He looked over at Chardonnay when she said she’d have done the same thing, he nodded his head. ”You and Susan would be competing to see who could shout the loudest.”

Arthur felt a wave of tiredness overtake him despite the coffee as he thought about how often he’d been going into the theater. ”Yeah. I used to not go in Mondays and Saturdays, or as I needed to and rarely spent the whole day there, but ever since my money started to disappear I went in every morning and left late every night. Especially when I didn’t know who it was. I couldn’t close the theater to figure it out, and since I didn’t know who it was, I had to just... observe. I got the police involved and they figured out who it was, but he closed nights, and I don’t know if any of the other managers worked with him so I’m just – too paranoid to leave the mornings alone in case they steal too. And after that vandalism, I just don’t know.”

He exhaled and leaned his elbows on the table, bringing one of his hands up to scratch an itch. He kept his fingers there, ghosting across the strands of his bedhead, getting lost in thought again. When she suggested that his niece and sister wouldn’t be happy with what he was doing, he snorted.

”Neither of them... knows I go in all day.” he admitted. It wasn’t like he withheld the information from them on purpose, but he had mentioned he was looking for a new night manager, they probably assumed he had everything under control – like he usually did. It was kind of lonely to think about how neither had been around him enough to notice for a whole month, but he pushed the thought aside. ”Adelaide’s in High School now, and Susan’s getting swamped with grading. We don’t see each other all the time anymore, and I just never mentioned it. They know about the problems I’ve been having with the theater, but they think I have it under control.”

Still, it was odd to hear that Chardonnay thought he’d figure it out and that he was smart. She’d... never said that to him before. Sure, she’d said his theater didn’t deserve to rot, but she’d never said he was smart or complimented him. Ever. It made him feel a sense of confidence, one that almost made him question her comment. But he didn’t want her to take it back, and instead just let it sink in.

”The hiring process isn’t that difficult. There’s going over the applications, calling references, and interviewing the applicant. And judging how they act and are. And are you actually admitting Lockwood was right about something? Is the world going to end tomorrow?” He couldn’t resist that quip, which brought a little life back into his face at the idea of Lockwood’s face if he ever heard Chardonnay admit he had a point. Thinking about Lockwood reminded him how long ago this whole thing started. He’d probably be very, very surprised to find out Chardonnay and Arthur still spoke... not that he’d ever find out, though. ”But... you can’t go into a business alone, or at least not without a second opinion. I guess he had a point with group projects, too.”

He could just picture his sister and Chardonnay as jail buddies after that incident, both screaming their heads off still at the guard, demanding that they be let out to go and punch the criminals who had attacked the clothing store in the face. Both of those two getting angry together about something together was something he never thought he’d be picturing. Chardonnay and Susan had only interacted a handful of times and all of those times had consisted of Susan doing her best to look out for Chardonnay, or help her with her grades, or something of the like. They never interacted otherwise and it was... odd to think that he could picture it so well in his head.

When she said he was pretty bad he snorted and rose his brows over at her. ”Look who’s talking, Princess.” He said, not really annoyed with the comment. In fact, this was quickly turning into the kind of banter he liked to have with Chardonnay. Simple, easy, and fun. The topic of discussion had faded from the clothing store and their kidnapping incident, and he was thankful after the conversation because it gave him a sense of comfort knowing he wasn’t alone in still being affected by the events that had happened. Back then, he never thought he’d be this close to Chardonnay – close enough to actually get comfort from her words. Yet, here he was, talking to her and feeling a sense of relief after she told him she was still scared of the gunmen and hadn’t seen their faces. It gave him a sense of connection to her, like even if something were to happen, they’d have that unspoken connection to one another to get through it.

He could imagine what Chardonnay would do if she discovered her employees were stealing from her – and when she said she’d be in jail for killing them, Arthur snorted. That was exactly what he imagined she’d do.

”Oh, believe me, when I fired Christian the only reason I didn’t punch him in the face was because there were children in the lobby.” He said, and after the rock incident, he felt like he would have to track the guy down again and beat some sense into him. But, then, it was revealed he had nothing to do with that and he could no longer get away with a reason for an assault. And as much as he hated Christian he didn’t want to go to jail and lose his theater.

He hadn’t expected Chardonnay to mention his other employees probably noticed he was there so often and, at the suggestion they took offense to that, it made him sit up and look at her with furrowed brows. She was... right. They probably noticed him there every morning and evening, they noticed him falling asleep in his office, and they noticed him not being as much help as he normally was. They likely noticed how anally he counted the money now, and they probably felt like he didn’t trust them at all. He wanted to trust them. But it was so difficult to. He looked at his coffee and watched as grams of undissolved sugar swirled. He took another sip.

”Well, so far there hasn’t been any. And I... probably should back off.” Arthur said, with an exhale. He looked over at her with slightly raised eyebrows and tired eyes. ”It’s hard to take a break when I don’t know if... when someone else might be...” but, then, those were all reasons he was doubting his employees, which probably bothered them. Arthur shifted uncomfortably at that thought. ”I should, at least, trust the police investigating. I can always trust Jasmin to give me accurate reports. I could even install cameras around the money and watch them rather than being there... all the time.”

He sighed and when she mentioned not wanting to be there when his family found out he was pulling all-nighters, he snorted. ”I don’t, either. Susan would chain me to my bed and try to run my theater in my steed.” He shook his head at the thought. Adelaide would... he didn’t know, try to take over herself, he supposed.

He snorted when she mentioned her high standards, and when she smirked at his retort about Lockwood, he rolled his eyes. ”Right. Only because of your dad. Because Lockwood didn’t have a shred of intelligence.” He said. Hiring folks was so difficult, and he didn’t mind making a mistake on a part-timer, but on a manager...? Someone he trusted with his funds? He didn’t want to make a mistake – he couldn’t afford to make a mistake. He felt an itch for a cigarette, but knew Chardonnay would get mad if he tried to go get one. ”Damn right it’s satisfying. I’m my own boss. I liked Jason, but I like being my own boss more.”

When she said he should have punched Christian in the face, Arthur laughed a little, the mental image of that pretty-boy getting a slug to the face too satisfying for words. Oh, he wished he could have done that. He wanted to, and to hear Chardonnay say he should have only made him feel more satisfied at the thought. He was still short tempered but knew better than to throw punches at employees and everyone who pissed him off now – no stupid asshole was worth jail time, or even losing his theater. He wasn’t that 11-year-old boy who didn’t care about anything but his sister anymore. He had goals and dreams and wasn’t going to sacrifice them for anyone. Especially not for some stupid fuckface who had already cost his business so much.

”If I meet him again in a dark alley, he’s fucked.” Arthur assured her, though when she said he was a better person than Christian, he furrowed his brow and leaned forward, resting his elbow on the table and his cheek against his knuckles. He was pretty sure he was still dreaming. Chardonnay was saying all this shit to him, shit he didn’t know she thought and that he had never once thought she pictured about him. ”You think I’m a good person?” He asked. He shrugged his shoulders. ”Well, I’m better than him. And I’ll find someone better than him to take his old job, too.”

He knew how Chardonnay must be in her restaurant – strict, bossy, demanding, and unnegotiable. Arthur himself was different than her – he was more negotiable than she probably was, and more invested in his employees as people, and probably more lenient on them even though he was, at times and about certain things, strict. He wondered how Chardonnay reacted when she had problems. Did she fire employees right away, or did she give them fair doubt first? Obviously she respected them, she said so, and he didn’t doubt her. If they didn’t think she respected them they would have stormed away from her years ago and she wouldn’t have any reliable staff. So when she said they would lose that respect for him, that feeling of being trusted... it made him think how he would feel in this situation. He had to back off, slowly. He could impose other security measures than making himself paranoid and sketchy.

When she said she doubted being wrong, Arthur rolled his eyes and looked over at her. ”I wouldn’t say completely,” He said. He knew he’d probably implement her advice later. He took a deep breath and glanced at the sky outside. He would probably give Jasmin a call later this morning and tell her that he wasn’t coming in. He trusted her, she was already going to be there all day, and she would give him good status reports. In the meantime, he was going to look into getting a better camera system for the inside of his theater. He looked back at Chardonnay when she smiled at his words, and smiled back. ”Finally, we found something we can agree on. Definitely not your assessment of Lockwood, though, that’s wrong. The man wasn’t a business professor for no reason. After all, look at two of his students.”

He snorted when she said she’d love to see that and he wondered if she’d get amusement from it – watching him beat someone up – or if she’d actually not want to see that. Though wondering if she didn’t actually want to actually do that put the situation in too serious a perspective. Nah, he could imagine she’d cheer him on and maybe even smirk as she watched him beat the shit out of Christian like his life was some shitty action movie. Then when he was done they could leave and Christian would stay in the alley, too scared to ever approach the theater and his former boss again. But as it was, his life wasn’t a shitty action movie, and he would probably never meet Christian in a dark alley and if by some off chance he did, it was highly unlikely Chardonnay would be with him. They never went out in public together, after all.

He told her that she was invited if he did meet Christian in an alley, teasingly of course, with no real seriousness behind it. Though when she answered his question that brought the twitch of a smirk up to his face. She was actually admitting he was a good person? That sent a warmth throughout his body that he didn’t know how to describe. He knew he was a decent human being, and somewhere in his mind, he always liked to think he was a good person. But to hear he was from Chardonnay was unlikely and rare – she usually insulted him. But maybe it was too early for that, or she was still concerned after that nightmare he’d had. Now that he was more awake, he could remember her face... how she’d looked at him when he was kneeling and she put her hands on his disgusting cheeks and told him he was safe. It wasn’t part of his dream (and he hoped this interaction wasn’t part of his dream, either).

When she said her reasoning was that he let her stay in his apartment for a month, he knew he wouldn’t have done that for just anyone. The only other person who he would have let live in his apartment was Maxine but even she was too much of a whirlwind to stay in one place for very long. If Erin lost her place, he would help her find somewhere to stay, maybe he’d help her pay for a hotel or let her crash on his couch for a few nights, but he wouldn’t let her stay for a whole month. Any of his other friends would be similar stories. His sister and Adelaide were the only acceptations besides Maxine to that rule – though he figured that went without saying. He saw the odd look on Chardonnay’s face and panicked momentarily – she must be backing away from the calmness of their talk. Crap. He didn’t want her to stop talking to him. He didn’t want to face this day alone... even if all he wound up doing was sleep. He decided admitting that he wouldn’t do that for just anyone was too serious and too -- was cheesy the right word -- for what he wanted to do.

”Maybe I had underlying motives besides letting you stay at my apartment. I mean, you were in my bed pretty much every night.” He suggested. Which was true, a little bit. It got him laid more often and she and he both knew that. At first it had been rough to get through the other person in his personal bubble, but after they started having sex more frequently, it became much more pleasurable to have her over. He still kind of missed it, their sort-of living together arrangement, but tried not to dwell on that. He blamed it on the fact that it was nice to not sleep alone, and that it was nice to have someone who he had sex with regularly so readily available if the both of them were interested. It was much less waiting around that texting her, or driving up to her place.

When she again emphasized she wasn’t wrong Arthur snorted and rolled his eyes. ”I’ll call Jasmin and tell her I’m not coming in today. She’ll appreciate me not breathing down her neck. Hopefully.”

He could stay home and nap, but he had a feeling he wouldn’t be getting back to sleep anytime soon because of that nightmare. So he took another drink of his coffee and when she again insulted Lockwood he shook his head. ”Only two? How the fuck were you a business minor and only took two of Lockwood’s classes? He was department head. And that means he’s the one who designed the curriculum in the first place.” When she insisted he needed someone to knock him down a few pegs he snorted. ”Well, it wasn’t us to knock him down. We finished with a 3.0 on that last project... all because we wanted to fuck.”

Well, he didn’t regret it. Not with the way his life was now, even if he was going through a difficult time. He had his degree, his theater, his family, and Chardonnay was still a part of his life, only because they fucked. Whatever they were, everything they’d been through, had started that night when after they finished their project, they gave into their sexual desire and fucked on his bed. ”It was worth it, though.” He finished with a small shrug.

Arthur snorted when she suggested that he give her a call if the situation ever arose. He doubted that he’d actually have time to call her – or anyone – if he was seeing that much red when he saw that stupid fuck’s face. He wouldn’t even record it, he’d just start swinging until the guy was down and bleeding and he didn’t have to deal with him anymore. It might have been years since he’d been in a full-fledged fight, but he could still hold his own. Probably. The last time he’d come close to getting in a fight was when he got a black eye after getting Maxine away from some creep – and before that were schoolyard squabbles that wound up leading him in detention and into trouble with his older sister slash legal guardian. He brought his fingers up to his lips, lost in thought, forgetting that he didn’t have a cigarette between them. He blinked down at his hands, before he glanced over at Chardonnay. He had no doubt she’d kill him if he decided to light a cigarette here. So he didn’t, even though he could feel his shoulders start to shake with the urge to just excuse himself and go watch the sunrise with a cigarette between his lips. That was honestly something – if he ever caught the sunrise – he loved to do when he had time. Just sitting out there and watching the world slowly come to life had a way of calming him down after a nightmare, especially if he had a cigarette and a mug of coffee to help.

He shifted so that he was holding his chin in his palm, still looking over at Chardonnay, somewhat lazily. Them just here... talking about whether or not he was a good person in his kitchen was odd, but not unwelcome. He liked to hear her admit that she thought he was a decent person. He might be a jackass and an asshole to her – he had a feeling that would never change – but when she said he was a good person he just smirked. And that smirk only twitched wider when she pointed out that he might not have had ulterior motives because the first week she’d been over had been celibate. He could have made another comment about his ulterior motive just not being alone, but that was too depressing and sappy. Instead he just rolled his eyes.

Besides, that two weeks had just been awful. He remembered regretting letting her stay with him, for a little bit. It was a huge infringement on his personal bubble, one that he realized every night when he expected to come home to an empty apartment and to just be alone to do whatever it was he wanted to do. That was made worse when Chardonnay was so hostile towards him, and though he could have shut her up with kisses and sex, he just didn’t want to. When they finally did have sex again, after he snapped at her for buying the new mattress, it felt amazing. It released all of the tension that he felt about her being there – mostly – and when they were finished and facing one another in his bed he felt better about the whole thing. Maybe he did wish he had started the sex sooner. But, he didn’t, and it was what it was.

”You could have initiated sex with me, too.” He pointed out. ”I was irritated those two weeks, I had to adjust to you being a regular in my apartment, but that didn’t mean I didn’t want to fuck you. It just would have been awkward if you rejected me,” he hadn’t meant to say that and he didn’t realize he had until it was out. He exhaled. Maybe part of him hadn’t initiated because he didn’t think Chardonnay was comfortable. And if she wasn’t comfortable, and refused sex, then it’d put a damage in their relationship that just... he hadn’t known if it could be fixed. He shook his head. ”Doesn’t matter, though. Once we started having sex when you stayed over it was well worth it.”

When she told him most people would appreciate him not breathing down their necks, he snorted. ”You seem to like it just fine when my mouth’s on your neck,” he grumbled, feeling a wave of exhaustion overtake him despite the coffee. Still, he knew he wouldn’t be able to sleep, but maybe lying down would help. Either that, or a nice warm shower. Despite the small quip he sent Chardonnay’s way, he knew she was right. Most people didn’t like being nagged and he was doing just that to all his employees. He rubbed his forehead.

Of course she had to insult Lockwood. He shook his head but said nothing, knowing her mind couldn’t be changed and too tired to defend Lockwood’s honor. What did he care anyway? He hadn’t talked to him in years and while he did use the man as a reference when he applied for a manager position at the theater, he wasn’t that devoted to the guy. Still, it was odd that because of him, he was in the situation he was now, with Chardonnay still in her oversized shirt and underwear, leaning against his kitchen counter. It was so natural to see her there, devoid of makeup and formal dress. It almost made him want to try to do something else to take his mind off the nightmare – like initiate sex or pull her into a kiss – except he knew he was too tired to last very long. Her light laugh caused his smirk to fall into a more natural smile. He liked the way her skin flushed at his words – it was so rare that he got to fluster her. Typically it was the other way around. When she said she couldn’t believe it was with him, he snorted. He could hardly believe his first and only sexual experiences were with her, too. If someone told him from High School that, he would have probably blushed, insisted it never would happen, and avoid her forever. College him would have been the same, until after that kiss. After that kiss, he knew that some part of him was curious about what it would be like to kiss her sober, what it would be like to feel her skin underneath his, and what it would feel like to have her moaning against his skin. Well now he knew how all of that felt and – he reiterated his thoughts – it was worth it. ”I just can’t believe you actually fucked me. I was expecting you to just shove me off of you until we went into my room, honestly, it was nerve-wracking.” when she suggested they matured he rose his brows. ”Sure, we matured. And after we did that, we figured out we were attracted to one another. That’s why we started this whole thing.”

Well, yeah. At least things were significantly less new and awkward in bed. He liked that he knew Chardonnay's body just as well as he knew his own. He knew what she liked, how to talk to her in bed, and how to react to her touches and what she did most often. He wasn't as shy to mention sex around her anymore -- like right now -- and it was refreshing. He liked that a lot better than the novelty. Though it was nice to discover her body and all of its curves and contours, he liked knowing more. He took another sip of his coffee, his eyes still lazily focused on Chardonnay. He stifled a yawn behind his hand.

Arthur shook his head when she said she was irritated. Of course she was – but she wasn’t the one living with a practical stranger for a month. Sure, her condo was damaged, but she had other options than staying with him. He knew she did. Yet... she had decided to stay here. Why she’d done that was beyond him and he remembered initially being frustrated by that, and he remembered wanting to kick her out because he knew she could live somewhere else. She could stay at a hotel if she really needed to. Yet for some stupid reason in those two weeks, he didn’t. He kept her there and didn’t fuck her in case she rejected him. If she had rejected him she would have left and likely called off the fuckbuddy relationship. It was irritating... it was tiresome. He also noticed her stare and it threw him off for a second – her wide eyes were too awake to be a vacant stare from sleepiness. He looked away from her wide eyes and knotted his fingers through his hair. He could feel the craving beginning to grow. God, he needed a cigarette.

”Well, it was my space you were invading. And yeah, yeah, I know you initiated it. I just didn’t think you wanted me anymore, so I never did.” Stupid insecurities. If should have just grabbed her sooner and pinned her to his bed. She probably would have loved that, and kissed him back, and then maybe she would have talked to him about the stupid mattress instead of just buying it. He hated to admit it, but he did really like that mattress. It was nice, and though he knew it was expensive, he found himself thankful he had it. He’d never admit that to Chardonnay – not even when they were fucking on the damn thing. When she raised her brows at him Arthur smirked at her response. He was only teasing, he knew the situations were different and he did actually agree with what she said. He was oblivious to her squirming feelings and just took another sip of his coffee in an attempt to stay away, the cup completely empty now. Huh. That went fast. He could still feel the tremors in his arms. He really needed a drive, to hit the highway and just drive along the highway with the windows down, a cup of coffee in his cup holder, and the morning sun to his side. He could even slip on a pair of sunglasses and keep the window entirely down, so that he wouldn’t have to squint.

”Yeah, I mean, we learned what not to do for sure,” Arthur agreed. And there had definitely been moments early on in their fuckbuddy relationship where one of them had done something wrong. Maybe he moved too fast, or she pulled too hard on his neck, or he bit too hard on her body or chest. But one thing they always did – that was shocking to think about – was they always told each other when they didn’t like something in the middle of the act and it wasn’t weird. They usually just... stopped whatever it was the other didn’t like, and did what they did like. It wasn’t ask awkward as Arthur thought it would have been. He thought that they’d scream at each other that they were doing something wrong but in bed they were much more patient with each other that they usually were, probably because they both wanted to reach orgasm with as little break as possible.

When she told him not to yawn Arthur rolled his eyes. ”Can’t help it,” he said, watching as she ran her fingers through her hair, his eyes going to the way her chest arched out at the motion and the way her shirt rode up just slightly – not enough to expose her panties, but high enough to expose most of her thigh. He noticed a small red mark there and the smirk twitched back. Oh, that was definitely from him. He could remember giving it to her last night.

The thoughts were enough to, at least temporarily, distract him from the nightmare. But her mentioning bed and the nightmare again brought the thoughts back. He exhaled, and shook his head at her offer. ”I can’t sleep after a nightmare. I just can’t. I’ll probably go for a drive. Get some coffee, and then – maybe – take a nap later. I just can’t... sleep. You can go back to bed whenever you want, though. Thanks for helping me, though. If you didn’t, I probably would still be curled up on the floor.”

When she said he could have kicked her out but didn’t, he shook his head, knowing that it was true. He could have kicked her out... but he never did. He never wanted to. He actually quite liked her being there, after they’d gotten past the barrier of their lack of sex. Sure, it was somewhat of a pain in the ass... but it was nice to not be so lonely in his apartment sometimes. Normally, he was fine, but sometimes he just felt... lonely for no reason. Having Chardonnay simply existing in the same space as him, and sleeping beside him in his bed, kind of helped that, even if they hadn’t said anything to one another.

”Well after the sex, it wasn’t an inconvenience. Even if you did get annoying sometimes.” He said. Sure, she had her annoying moments, but he did miss the not-so-annoying moments. Like when she tried to cook for him, and wound up smearing his face with chocolate mix and defacing his kitchen. He could still remember that shower they took together – which they hadn’t done since. It was nice to have her back to him, and to run his fingers through her hair and watch as the sticky mixture ran down the drain. He could remember the way she’d smiled after she laughed, she looked genuinely happy, and if he had to suffer for that first two weeks in order to achieve that, he’d go through it again. The smiles he got from her after sex were genuine, but there was hardly a time outside of sexual that he got her to crack a smile in his direction. A smirk or snort, sometimes, but a smile? The only other time prior to that he could think of was when they finished the project and he caught her smile. But that hadn’t been as directly at him as her smile when she laughed at been. He wanted to laugh with her again but didn’t know when it would ever happen... or if it would ever happen. That thought made his stomach squirm, but he tried to brush it off.

As she stuttered out a bashful response to his thanks, Arthur hoisted himself up. He wasn’t putting much weight on the leg that had been injured, limping on his other one, but he could walk. And slowly, but surely, he managed to walk on the injured leg though it was still uneven. He grabbed the cup and put it in the sink, running the water to fill the cups so they wouldn’t stain. Now he was right next to Chardonnay, standing a little lower than her because his leg was bent slightly. She mentioned she was going to work and he nodded, knowing that she was probably not going to be down here for another week. That was a depressing thought, and he wondered if he’d have another nightmare tonight. His throat clenched and his shoulders were still shaking with his desire for a cigarette as he nodded, slowly. He turned to look at her with a small smile on his face, though it didn’t quite meet his eyes. ”Well, I... really appreciate it. Tonight was just... really bad.” He stopped for a second, shrugged his shoulders, and then started to wash out his cup, removing the small stain on the inside to leave it clean. Cleaning was helping distract him from the tiredness, and the hot water running over his bare hands was helping him wake up. ”Hopefully you can get back to sleep. You’ll probably be grouchy as fuck to your staff if you don’t, and I don’t want to be held responsible for that.”

They parted without much quip. She went back to bed, and he wasn’t unaware of her eyes on him as he walked around. He didn’t necessarily feel bad about it, because he did appreciate the... concern... but he also felt slightly bothered that he could feel her eyes on him like that. He wasn’t in that bad shape. He just felt like she expected him to fall or something and he didn’t like feeling so... useless. He eventually stopped limping and managed to walk around with ease. He quickly gathered up his clothes and got in the shower, too tired to even sing to himself as he usually did. The hot water woke him up and by the time he was done – he only took about 5 minutes – he got himself dressed in a blue button-down plaid shirt and jeans. He noticed Chardonnay had stayed up until he got all situated and before he left, he made another quip about her always being a grouch around her staff – just to assure her he was still himself, the him that would banter with her most of the time – and headed outside, locking the door behind him so Chardonnay could sleep. He left a spare key on the counter for her and a note, telling her that for now she could just keep the key like she had the old one, since a lot of the time she wound up having to stay later than he did and he’d get annoyed constantly leaving the key around.

Once he left his apartment, he felt the sun on his face and the wind on his back. He took a deep breath and grabbed his car keys out of his pocket, glancing over his phone messages. Nothing from no one, yet. It was still only 5:45 in the morning, after all.

He opened his Jeep and slipped inside the driver’s seat, and immediately rolled down his window and slipped on a pair of sunglasses he kept in his car just in case it was bright. He put the keys in the ignition and pulled out of the parking lot, immediately feeling more awake as he made a few turns here and there in town, went through the Dunkin Donuts drive-thru, and then pulled onto the highway. With the window rolled all the way down Arthur had to crank the radio up to hear the pop music playing. The sun was peeking up from behind the trees, and Arthur was pretty much alone on the highway. He tapped his hands along to the beat of the song playing, going faster than he should have been, but he didn’t care. Right now he was just clearing his head.

He couldn’t believe he’d let that happen. He could still recall the first night he’d had a nightmare and Chardonnay had been over. He’d woken up in a cold sweat and sat up in the bed, hugging himself, staring at nothing. He must have woken Chardonnay up because she grumbled something at him but he shook his head and said it was nothing, before he slowly untangled himself from the sheets and went into his kitchen to grab a drink. Armed with a glass of chocolate milk and a cigarette, he’d gone to the balcony in his apartment and watched the sun rise. He hadn’t needed any comfort from her. The second time she had seemed more awake but once again he’d said it was nothing, untangled himself from the sheets, and went out to his balcony. But he wasn’t lying when he said it’d never happened that badly before. He felt embarrassed, because of all people to see him in a fragile moment, he never expected it to be Chardonnay. She saw him in sexual moments, and he saw her in fragile moments, and he didn’t care. He didn’t mind helping her when she had a nightmare, or was drunk, or was a mess. But him... it reminded him of when he’d turned around and allowed Chardonnay to wash the mixture from his hair. He didn’t want to look fragile in front of her because he already thought she believed he was subpar, lower than her. He was scared the second she found something she didn’t like about him she’d laugh and whack him, and then leave, and then never call or text him again.

He found himself zoning out and it wasn’t until a trunk honked its horn at him that he realized he was swerving between lanes and bolted awake with a surge of adrenaline. He made it to that bridge he liked and pulled over, grabbed his phone and a package of cigarettes, and leaned against the railing overlooking the glistening ocean. He lit a cigarette and immediately felt a sense of euphoria as the smoke entered his lungs and he exhaled it in a plume, bringing his phone up to his ear after dialing Jasmin’s number.

He told her that she’d be alone with the theater today and – as he expected – she was shocked. She asked him why with everything happened he wasn’t coming in, but then he took a second to explain that he thought about it and needed to back off. He’d already upgraded the security and the people who worked there now, he knew he could trust. Or, if he could trust no one, he could at least trust Jasmin. That comment caused her to pause for a second before he could hear the smile in her voice when she said he could trust her. He told her to call if anything was amiss, or if she needed anything, and she agreed, and hung up. That left Arthur with no one to talk to, just leaning against the railing with a cigarette between his fingers as he watched the clouds roll by and the waves shake. At some point Susan texted him and when he replied saying he was talking the day off of work, she called him and they talked for a few minutes. By the time they were done, it was nearly 3. Arthur exhaled and decided, then, to head back to his car and make the trek home. He didn’t want to nap because he needed to sleep right tonight – plus, the coffee had woken him up considerably.

Arthur hit the highway again with his shades on and the window rolled down, this time, surrounded by traffic. He even got stuck in an aggravating jam that resulted in him shouting a few obscenities at the slow-moving traffic before him, until he managed to make it home. Slightly annoyed, Arthur unlocked his door. He noticed they key was gone, as was Chardonnay. He ignored the slight sadness he felt at that, as he booted up his laptop and watched some anime while chomping down on the burger he’d gotten from burger king on his way down. That was the only thing aside from coffee he’d had all day.

By 8 PM, Arthur was getting tired. He’d definitely go to sleep early tonight. He rubbed his forehead and wondered if Chardonnay was still at work. She obviously was. He wondered if she’d understand if he didn’t text her back when she got home safe, or if she’d even care. He considered texting her to tell her he wouldn’t respond, but... he didn’t know. Ironically, at that moment, his phone vibrated and he saw a call from Spoiled Princess coming in. He rose his eyebrows. Why had she called him? His first thought was that something was wrong, so he slid the phone to take the call and brought it up to his ear.

He didn’t even have time to ask what was wrong before he heard her voice in his ear, loud and clear, asking him if he was doing anything tomorrow. He furrowed his brow and looked at the clock. They didn’t normally make plans to sleep together that far in advance. He wondered if – maybe – she was just concerned about him given the nightmare, but... why would she ask about tomorrow?

”Well, uhm... no. Why?” He asked, shifting slightly. ”Is something wrong?”

The only thing Arthur could wonder was if this was another situation like before? Was Chardonnay’s condo damaged, did she need a place to stay that night? He wondered if she was okay, really, because even though she said she was, she didn’t sound okay. She sounded odd, different, and if he didn’t know any better, nervous. He furrowed his brow and leaned back in his chair, waiting for her to reiterate when she said she was just wondering... what? She was silent again and Arthur glanced at his wall. What the hell was she so tongue-tied about?

When she finally explained what was happening tomorrow – some food banquet thing – he blinked and felt his heart skip a beat for... a dumb reason, probably. She was asking him to go to this gourmet event? When she always made fun of him for having no taste in anything? She usually went with her parents, but they were busy, and she was just extending the invitation because she knew he had a bad month and didn’t eat properly. Even when she insisted it wasn’t a date, he couldn’t force the goofy smile that had stretched across his face at her offer. It wasn’t a date. He knew it wasn’t a date, and he didn’t want to date Chardonnay, but he couldn’t lie and say the idea that she had thought about him enough to invite him when he’d had such a shut month... it made him feel a warmth spread in his chest, and it made him wonder what Chardonnay was doing on the other end of the line.

He assumed she was at work, probably in her office. He wondered if she was blushing, or if anyone could overhear what she was saying. He imagined her huffing and pouting when she tried to figure out a way to say what she wanted to say. He thought it was kind of cute, the way she was fumbling over her words and trying to make excuses for herself. Her voice cracked at the end of her quip and he hid his mouth with his hand, as though if he didn’t she could hear his smile. He didn’t know how to describe how he felt, in that moment, but even when she said she was doing this to fatten him up and get him to appreciate her craft, he felt more like she actually cared and less cynical of what she was saying.

”I wouldn't mind. What time is it? This gourmet thing?” He wondered if he’d have to drive up there himself – or if it was close to Salem. Or what if it was somewhere farther from her city and Salem, in an opposite direction? He wondered why she asked him, though. Despite her excuses and insistences, he wondered why she was asking him and not someone more versed in cuisine, someone like Chad maybe, who would love to go to an event like this. Not like Arthur had an objection, though – he loved free things! Especially food! But speaking of... was it actually free? He shifted again and leaned back on the chair he was in. He switched the tab on his laptop to Facebook and scanned over his feed. Nothing important. ”I never said you were asking me on a date in the first place, Princess. Does this thing cost money?”

Of course that was the first thing out of his mouth. But then, she shouldn’t be surprised, that was just how he was. ”And where is it? Is it in Salem, or? Do you need to stay over here another night before you -- er, we -- go to it?”

He wondered what kinds of food would be there. Would it be kind of like a buffet? Or would people have stands set up where you just took little free samples? He doubted Chardonnay would ever enter her restaurant’s food in t because he couldn’t imagine her giving even a morsel of her food away for free. Hell, whenever she fed him, she got her ‘payment in the form of sex. Thinking like that kind of make Arthur feel like a prostitute, so he shook the thought away. There was nothing wrong with him showing appreciation for her food by ravishing her body. That didn’t make him a prostitute, especially not since Chardonnay was the only person, still, who could get sex from him even though he could name a few people who had wanted to sleep with him for some ungodly reason. But she was still the only one he desired, out of anyone who had ever wanted him. It was odd.

Apparently this thing would start in the afternoon – good, he wouldn’t have to get up for like 8 AM – and it went on into the night. Frankly, Arthur was surprised she was willing to be seen in public with him. Let alone in public surrounded by her peers. He almost voiced that, but then he thought about her retracting her offer if he reminded her and froze. As much as he hated to think of it, now that he had the idea of going with her to this thing tomorrow, he was excited for it. It made him feel like he had something fun to do, something fun that wasn’t watching a show or going to the bar with Maxine. He’d never done this... something fun with Chardonnay... and as odd as the thought was, he knew he really wanted to see what it would be like to just... have fun with her and not have sex with her.

He rolled his eyes when she made a comment about his precious money. ”Hey. Don’t fucking give me that. If this isn’t a date, that means you’re not offering to pay for me and for all I know, there’s an admission fee. I wouldn’t mind paying. I just like to budget.”

As she explained where this thing was his brows rose when she said it was between, but she was going to come pick him up at his apartment. Really? She was going to pick him up? Why? Because he didn’t have to bring ‘that Jeep’? He frowned and glared in the direction of the phone.

”And what the fuck is wrong with ‘that Jeep’, anyway? My Jeep’s a fucking great car,” He spat, but then he raised a hand and massaged his forehead. ”I could meet you halfway if you want. Unless you’re coming to Salem for some reason anyway.”

Arthur rolled his eyes, again, at Chardonnay dismissing his questions. It wasn’t that odd that he wanted to know if it cost money! What the hell was she getting so pissed for? It wasn’t like he was like her – raised rich from birth. While he now understood that she wasn’t just some spoiled brat who had everything handed to her without her lifting a finger, she was still spoiled. While she’d worked for her restaurant and money she hadn’t worked the same way he had worked. She probably went to events like this often, with free food and drinks, and didn’t have to worry for a day in her life about having to go without a meal to save money.

”Trusting you is a pretty big commitment.” He rolled his eyes again at that, but he knew he would, anyway. If she said it wasn’t going to cost him anything, it probably wasn’t. As spoiled as Chardonnay was she wasn’t a liar. She wouldn’t deliberately take him somewhere and force him to pay money to go. When she told him his car wouldn’t look like anything at the event, he frowned. What was that supposed to mean? It was likely going to full of snobby, aristocratic people. With their fancy cars that were pointlessly flashy. He felt the warmth and happiness begin to fade at the reminder that he’d never blend into Chardonnay’s life. And it wasn’t that he wanted to! Not at all. He just... would never be enough. He wasn’t rich enough, he wasn’t a good enough cook, and he certainly wasn’t snooty enough. But then he thought about earlier – their moment of civility – and wondered if they were friends. Maybe her inviting him out like this... was the beginning of a friendship? He rolled his eyes at his thoughts. Like she’d ever consider him a friend.

”Right. Well. Okay.” She did have a point about two cars being useless, and if it was that strict about letting people in, he didn’t want to get turned away. He wondered if she’d know anyone there... or if anyone would ask about him. He was sure that people would. ”Fine. I’ll be ready at 2:15. And uh. So. Are you just going tell these people I’m your friend? Because you fucking know we’re going to get asked if we're dating. So I want to know what I’m telling people.”

Arthur shook his head, irritated that she was getting angry at him for asking a simple question. Why wouldn’t he care about if this cost money? She had loads of money, maybe she didn’t think about that sort of thing! He knew, of course, that he’d have to bring some money with him. Just in case Chardonnay got mad at him and he had to get a taxi home, or if there was some added bill to pay... come to think of it, he should probably give her gas money for coming all the way to Salem. Stingy as he was, Arthur couldn’t bear the thought of owing money, let alone owing it to Chardonnay. She already paid him excess for staying over at his apartment – he didn’t need to accumulate any more debt to her.

She agreed with his assessment that they should pose as friends – and he blinked at how weird it would be to tell people Chardonnay was his friend. But, then, weren’t they? Wasn’t she already his friend, in a way? She was someone he looked forward to spending time with, someone he looked out for when he could, and someone who he could be himself around. It was an odd thought but he decided not to say that. ”Right. How about we use the same story as that dinner a few years ago? That my former boss knows your father, and that’s how we met? I guess we won’t be quizzed on it. This isn’t Metric and there’s no annoying girl trying to constantly pair us together,” the thought of Amy made him scowl. He wondered where in the world she was now – he recalled seeing her at the reunion, but she had only spared them a few seconds of her time. She was more occupied with her friend Max, and her (surprising enough, they’d broken up) ex-boyfriend. They were asked if they were a thing and when they denied it, Amy had actually moved on. It was... odd to not be pitted up with Chardonnay anymore but then he hadn’t actually been out in public with her for years, even if you counted the time he’d picked her up in the middle of the storm as ‘public’. ”Just because I don’t know jack shit about food and if your dad’s a chef it’ll be weird if I say I’m his buddy,” plus the fact he was screwing Chardonnay without the guy’s knowledge, but he only let the thought rest in his mind for a moment. Mr. Nicholas would never know, and this was just a one-time thing.

”So I’ll see you tomorrow, I guess? ...And... uh,” he paused for a second, searching for something to say, until he eventually found it. ”...thanks. For inviting me.”

The phone call ended and Arthur was left in his apartment, sitting on his chair with his leg tucked up underneath him and his eyes staring at the ‘ended call’ screen on his phone. He was still thinking about how odd it was that Chardonnay had called him to invite him out. He was still thinking about how the thought that she wanted to invite him out somewhere and how weird it was that it made him happy to think that. He thought about it for a while – too surprised to really feel tired anymore – and then he snapped himself out of it when he got another phone call and picked up the phone.

This time it was Susan, and she was asking him if he wanted to do something later that evening. Arthur wasn’t entirely sure about doing something, not really, but he heard a level of whining in Susan’s voice that convinced him to say yes to her. What the ‘something’ she wanted to do was have him come over to watch a movie or two with her. Arthur said that was fine but that he had to get home by 12 tomorrow – and that he had plans.

Of course, Susan was curious about these plans. Arthur said he was going out with a friend – not Maxine or Erin, a different friend – and of course Susan’s first guess was him going on a date. But he insisted that he wasn’t going on a date and that he was just getting out of the house. He said he’d tell Susan if he did get a date, though, and she seemed temporarily appeased by that knowledge. She put in the movie, and halfway through, Arthur fell asleep, snoring on his sister’s shoulder. Adelaide, too cool for the movie, was holed up in her bedroom the whole time, on her laptop playing a game with Annabelle online. Arthur was comfortable on the couch, oblivious to his sister’s silly little smile as she watched the duration of the movie and tried not to giggle too loud when her brother shifted in his sleep and his breath started to tickle her. When the movie was over, Susan laid him down on the couch and then turned the TV off, and settled in for bed herself.

She noticed Arthur’s phone vibrate at one point during the night – right when she was lying him down to put the blanket over him. She almost reached down and grabbed for his phone, except her brother groaned in his sleep and grabbed for his phone. Susan thought his sleepy, grumpy expression was hilarious and giggled – he didn’t seem to notice – and he didn’t have enough strength to respond to the message, either. Susan pressed a kiss to his forehead and then slipped into her room, setting her alarm for 9 the next morning.

Arthur was up early, and found himself looking for his phone – which at some point had fallen onto the floor. He saw the open, read message from Chardonnay and his eyebrow twitched. He didn’t respond. He wanted to. He quickly at up in bed and scrawled out a ’sorry, I fell asleep’ message, followed by a little sleepy faced emoji. By the time he was done his text message he was stifling a yawn, and getting ready to go. Susan woke up shortly after and approached him, asked how work was going, and Arthur hesitated for a moment too long before he told her he had a lot of crap going on.

As he expected, Susan was angry to hear he hadn’t been sleeping much lately. She was furious he hadn’t told her that he’d been doing this for a month – and that he felt the need to do this in general. She demanded that he stay home that day – to which Arthur snorted and replied he wasn’t going into work – and that seemed to appease Susan. He explained that going out with the friend today was his break from work. Susan raised her eyebrows and he said that this friend managed to convince him he needed a break. Susan pouted, obviously upset she hadn’t been able to nag him enough, but she did end by telling him he had to keep this friend, who obviously knew when he needed a break better than he did. Arthur snorted and finished his coffee. He hugged Adelaide and Susan good-bye before he trucked off to his apartment.

Once he got there, it was 1. He went to his room and looked through his clothes, wondering what exactly he should wear. Chardonnay hadn’t mentioned a dress code, so... he shrugged and grabbed some clothes, lying them out on his bed before he slipped into his shower and washed his hair and body, wrapping a towel around his waist when he finished. He went to the mirror and cleaned up his chin, rubbing it with aftershave before he ruffled his towel through his hair and allowed it to stay the way it was. After that he went back to his bedroom and got dressed in a plaid shirt and jeans, looping a belt through the pants and rolling his sleeves up slightly. He didn’t look bad – by most peoples’ standards this was a normal, everyday outfit, and even though Chardonnay hated plaid who cared, it wasn’t like he looked like a hick. This couldn’t really be that fancy an event anyways – Chardonnay wouldn’t have invited him otherwise.

Once he was dressed, he heard a knock on the door. He furrowed his brows and decided – fuck it – he didn’t need to comb his hair, it looked fine the way it did. He approached the door and opened it, not... entirely sure what to expect.

Once he did open the door he opened his mouth to speak, but the words were taken out of his mouth when he saw Chardonnay literally glittering in the sunlight. He looked down from her face to her chest, hips, and heels, and then his eyes moved back up but instead of moving back to her eyes they stopped at her chest. He was so used to kissing her when she arrived at his doorstep that he almost leaned forward to do that – or, well, he would have if he wasn’t so damn distracted.

What... the hell was she wearing? It made him feel like a bum and he actually dressed nice today! His hair was still uncombed or styled. He was supposed to walk around with Chardonnay when she looked like that? How was he supposed to keep his eyes off her chest, weren’t they pretending to be just friends?! Wait – no – that wasn’t the issue here! Or was it? Fuck it. He didn’t know. He finally moved his eyes up to Chardonnay’s, and took in her made-up and immaculate face. God. Why the hell did she always have to look so... perfect? And no, he didn’t mean that in the cheesy she-always-looks-perfect-to-me way. He almost cringed at that thought.

”Uhm...?” He asked, giving her body another once over before his eyes fell on her face again. ”How formal is this thing supposed to be, exactly”