Delusional Sunset

"Hey, Rich, I need another bottle of Jack and Smirnoff over here!" Gail calls from behind the bar to her host. Music is blaring out as bodies moved round on the busy Friday night. There was a surf competition the next day and plenty of the competitors were having a few pre-play drinks before going out onto the waves that next morning. Richie quickly went from shuffling around full tables to the back of the restaurant to look for the alcohol asked for.

"Gail!" a waitress called out as said woman was giving out her last order of shots. The said blonde looks over at the college student, while uncapping a few bottles of beer with the edge of the counter. She hands them out to the waiting hands. There was not a second to spare, causing Gail to be in a frenzy as she tried to play bartender and restaurant owner. There was too much to focus on. "Alex said there's only two steaks left and we just got ten orders of it."

"Motherfuckers!" Gail shouts to herself, just low enough so it can't be heard over the music. Continuing to curse to herself, she angrily wipes her hands on her jeans. Today had not been one of her best. Richie comes out just seconds later with a case of the whiskey and vodka Gail had requested. Quickly, she finishes a few more orders before handing them out and putting the bottles in their respective places. Gail reaches for her car keys under the counter.

"I have to run to the story, Rich. Alex is out of steaks and we have nothing else on the menu to make up for it. I'll be back as soon as I can."

Richie, left to hold down the bar to the best of his nonexistent ability, deals with the dilemma the best he can and begins to give out the beers and shots asked for. The waitress, Kristy, goes back into the kitchen to check on her orders. Gail moves through the packed restaurant and out to her truck as fast as she can. The traffic isn't as busy as the restaurants by the pier and beach, but it is evident, by the banner and camera vans, that it will be the next day.

Just three blocks away, Gail pulls up to the Fresh Food Market, hoping they still have enough steaks for her to last the rest of the night before her next shipment comes in the morning. No such luck. She stares longing up at the dark sign before jumping back in her truck and going another two blocks over to the meat store she's always used.

The sign on the door, sadly, tells Gail that she is too late and Jeffery has already closed for the day. She stares at the sign, hoping time will rewind and give her those few extra minutes she needed. No such luck.

It's been ten minutes and Gail is completely lost of what to do. The actual supermarket is too damn far, and expensive, and she does not know what to do. She can't tell her customers that there is no steak - it is the special of the month. How can a restaurant run out of their special?

Finally, after staring into the dark window of the meat shop, Gail sighs and pulls out her cell phone, pressing down on the number to the restaurant. Kristy or Rich will pick up, hopefully.

"Hey, you okay?"

Gail turns quickly, no longer staring at the pavement beneath her feet. She drops her cell phone, and curses.

"Shit! I'm sorry-" Both bend down to pick it up, and bump heads quite hard. Gail winces and reaches up to rub the spot. The two stand, slowly. He holds out her phone to her. "Here you go. Sorry about that."

Gail grabs at her phone and purses her lips at the cracked screen.

"Not like an apology can fix my phone," she mumbles before looking up at the man, still rubbing the spot on her head. She stops, suddenly. It's him. "Hey, you're that guy from yesterday. The one I ran into."

She almost didn't notice him because of the hat and sunglasses obstructing the view of his face. However, the two dog tags hanging from around his neck gave him away. They stopped clinking once gravity has pushed down on them enough.

He chuckles, the sound caressing her ears. She flushes slightly from the sound. "More like I ran into you, but yeah. You smacked my hand," he says jokingly, holding up the hand. She can't see the mark on his skin, but she knows what he's talking about. She flushes a bit more.

"Sorry about that. I was just trying to hurry up and get back to the kitchens and I knew that if we both fought over who was going to untangle them, then we'd be standing there for hours."

He chuckles and nods, waving it off with his free hand. She notices the paper bag of groceries in his other. "Don't worry about it, although I'm really sorry about your phone. I don't mind paying for a new one-"

"No, it's my fault. I have a backup at home that I can use until I can get a replacement."

"You sure?"

Gail nods, stuffing the broken phone into her jacket pocket. The red leather makes a sound with her movement, and she suddenly notices that she has no idea who this man is. How is she supposed to be subtle in introducing themselves?

"Oh, right!" She heard him say before he shifted the bag from one arm to the other. "Are you okay? You look like you could use some help."

"Oh," she murmurs, before looking back up at the closed store with a sigh. "The restaurant ran out of steaks and we've got a shit load of orders for it and I've been running around trying to find somewhere that I can get cheap, good-quality steaks ASAP."

His eye twerks up before the corner of his lip does the same.

"Oh, well I'm real good friends with Jeff. I think I can get him to come open up for a late customer."

Gail holds a fish-out-of-water expression. "No, no, no! I couldn't ask that of either of you! I'll just go back and explain it to them and-"

"And lose potential customers? It's the least I could do. After all, the food there is delicious."

Gail can do nothing to stop the stranger before he has his phone up to his ear, looking up at the upper apartment above the butcher shop. There's a few moments of Gail fidgeting as the man speaks into his phone.

"Hey, Jeff! It's Brian. Can you do me a quick favor?" Gail can't hear the reply, but she knows there is one. "Would you mind opening up the shop for a few minutes? I have a friend here that needs some steaks for her restaurant and she's in a hurry."

Brian... that's his name.

There are a few more words swapped between the two on the phone before Brian closes his and the device disappears back to its hidding spot.

"Okay, he's on his way," Brian says with a slight grin, nodding to the light that is suddenly turned on at the front of the shop. Gail fidgets a bit more.

"Thanks, Brian. You're a life-saver."

"Well, that's a first." The wink he sends her sets off butterflies in the pit of her stomach. The blonde has to fake an expression to hide the surprise. She just got out of the relationship with Matt and now she's fawning over this man? Gail realized that she just needed to get laid.

Jeffery, an elderly man in his late sixties, comes to the door smelling of aftershave and steam. He must have just gotten out of a shower.

"Gail?" he asks with a bit of surprise in his voice. She doesn't notice the way his wrinkled eyes look over at Brian with uncertainty. "You're friends with Brian?"

Gail hesitates. "No, not really. He happened to walk up just as I was about to have a break down outside your store," she says sheepishly, trying to figure out where the sudden nervousness came from. She's never acted like this before.

"Oh," he murmurs before opening the door for her to walk in. Brian follows. "Well, what can I help you with?"

"Do you have about thirty steaks to spare?" she asks, her body curling slightly, getting ready for the response of 'no' and a number of a fraction of what she needs.

"Actually, I do," he tells her, going to the back to the freezer and after a few awkward, and alone, minutes with Brian, he walks back with two large paper bags filled with wrapped steaks. "You want me to bill you later or now?"

"Can you just send it to me in the morning and I'll write a check?"

Jeffery smiles and nods, setting the steaks on the counter for her. "Can do, sweet heart. You need any help with these?"

"I got it, Jeff," Brian says, flashing the man a certain smile before taking the two bags, along with his own bag, in his arms and carrying them to the door. Gail's eyes widen at his strength. Damn. "Thanks, old friend. I'll have to pay you back somehow."

Gail misses the mumbles under Jeffery's breath, as she hurries over to push open the store door to allow Brian out. She then rushes over to open the back door of her truck, allowing Brian to set the two bags on the plastic sheet she has set in the back for this purpose. He steps back; Gail closes the door and leans back against it slightly.

"I have no idea how to thank you for this, Brian, really I don't."

His eyes flash behind his sunglasses, but Gail does not see it. "Don't mention it Gail. You don't mind if I call you Gail, do you?"

"Gail is fine." There's a small, friendly smile on her face. Her nerves have finally eased. "My friends call me Gi, but whichever is okay."

"I like Gail," he tells her, and the butterflies are suddenly back as he smiles at her again. "Well, I guess I'll be seeing you around."

He gives a small wave and walks away, over to the only other car on the curb - a black SUV. It's large and reminds her of Matt's dark lifestyle but she can't think about him right now.

"Wait, Brian!" she calls after him, and he stops, turning slightly to face her as she speaks. "Would you... would you like a steak? It's the least I could do for calling Jeff and asking him to open the shop."

He smiles. "I wouldn't mind one. It's better than the ham sandwich I was going to make."

Gail smiles. "You know the way to the restaurant?" He nods. "Okay, I'll meet you there. Just come in and sit at the bar."

Before she can make a fool of herself from her shaking fingers and slight stutter in her voice, Gail jumps into her truck and pulls away, doing an illegal u-turn to get back in the direction she needs to go. After a few stop lights, she finds Brian driving behind her.

Her fingers reach up to feel for the pendent of her necklace, but just before her fingers touch it, she pulls them away. She can't stay in the past anymore.

First thing tomorrow, she's getting rid of everything left of Matt. Gail is going to have it like he never existed in her life.