Brontide

"Well then. That was sudden," Alex said, taking a few tentative steps towards the still-flustered Rae.

"A bit," she muttered.

He leaned against the bar opposite her, his finger poking the dark wood. "So I guess this means that there's no chance-"

"There never was, Dear."

Alex swallowed, nodding and shifting his eyes downwards. Rae was torn between storming out in the same manner as Chris and finishing her shift, which she was barely two hours into. She decided to stay. The heartbroken Alex didn't seem like he was up for taking a solo shift and it was too late to call in someone else. So she stuck it out until just past midnight, when she proceeded to call an early last call.

The next day was empty after her morning classes. She sat through her advanced psychology class and then didn't really know what to do with herself. She'd already gone grocery shopping for the week. She could do with another book, but she'd already gone through the new stock at the store. She contemplated finding a new used book store, but the text she received from Jeremy changed her mind.

After several minutes of heavy debating, she got on her scooter and began the journey to the Upper East Side of Manhattan. At first, she found it hard to believe that this is where she would find him, but then she remembered his car and his dad's house and decided that this was probably pretty mundane for him. She glanced at her phone again and looked up at the huge building she'd stopped at. It was grey and cold against the blue sky, and she almost decided against going inside, but she did anyways, pulling her best as-seen-in-movie spy skill to get past the doorman.

She knocked on the door, which was located on the eighth floor halfway down the hall on the right side. No one answered. So she knocked again. She was about to knock a third time, but gave up on it and turned to go. She was waiting for the elevator to come back when he opened the door.

"How the hell did you find me?" Chris demanded.

Rae jumped at his voice and turned to look at him. He was in just a t-shirt and jeans, an outfit she'd never seen him in. Somehow, it managed to humanize him a little bit, to more than just an awkward robot. She cleared her throat before she talked to him.

"Jeremy's prob'ly the nosiest gay ever," she said, holding up her cellphone. "Are you gonna invite me in?"

He looked her up and down, then shrugged and gestured with his head to follow him in. The inside was exactly what she expected; all black and white, metallic and chrome and sharp edges, square and chic. She assumed that someone else had decorated for him. He didn't seem like the type to go pick out his own furniture. A raggedy grey cat was lounging on the black leather couch that looked more like a padded park bench. She touched the bald spot behind it's ear and smiled a little bit.

"You want something to drink?" he asked.

"What kind of alcohol do you have?"

"Uhm..." he opened a door that was half-hidden by it's similarity to the surrounding wall. She peered in after him and gaped at the amount of alcohol he had. It took her a moment to realize it was all flavors and ages of whiskey.

"What the hell..."

"Some people collect wine, I collect whiskey."

"Holy shit. That is a shit ton of whiskey. You could go on a hardcore bender. That shit could survive the zombie apocalypse."

"I like to look at it."

"Obviously." She touched one of the bottles and pulled it down. It was a new-ish and already-opened bottle of Knob Creek. "These people went out of business. Please tell me you have more than just this bottle."

Chris smirked. "Of course. I bought their last case."

"Oh the wonders of being rich," she smiled. "This." Rae followed Chris out of his booze closet and watched him pour them each a glass. She leaned against the clean white marble counter and looked around. Everything looked impeccable, like a cleaning lady had just gone on a rampage through the flat.

"So... I guess you know why I'm here," she said. "I'm sorry for yelling at you and... assuming you're a virgin." She laughed and a smile crept onto Chris's face as he handed her her drink.

He took a sip of his before saying, "I'm sorry for yelling at you, too. And for kissing you."

"You don't have to apologize for that part."

"Oh?" he grinned, stepping towards her and leaning against the counter next to her.

"Mmhmm." She bit her lip and pushed her hair behind her ear.

"Then I won't," Chris said quietly, his grin fading to a smirk. He leaned in

and Rae stepped out from underneath him. She walked over to the posh bench-couch and plopped down next to the cat, stroking its back. It took all of her self control not to crack a smile at the annoyed look on Chris's face.

"What's her name?" Rae asked.

"I usually just call her Cat. Feel free to name her," Chris shrugged.

Rae looked at the cat thoughtfully and said, "Francine."

"Francine?"

"Yea. She likes it. Hi, Fran." She gave the cat another scratch.

"So," he said.

"So what?"

"So have you eaten lunch yet?"

"Nope."

"You wanna go get some?"

Rae grinned at him. "Are you asking me out?"

"I think so. That is what adults do, isn't it?"

"Well gee as far as I know."

"Well then get your ass up, we're going on a date." He left and got his jacket. The leather creaked as he put it on and Rae grinned at him.

"What?" he demanded.

"Well look at you in your white t-shirt and dark wash jeans and leather jacket. Oh tell me you're gonna take me on your motorcycle." He frowned at her and she giggled. "You are so uncultured."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Take me away, Fonz."

Chris shook his head and led the way to the parking garage attached to his apartment building.A little while later, they pulled up outside of a food bus saying something about 'The Best Subs in Manhattan'. They took their subs a short walk to Central Park and found a seat on an empty patch of grass.

"This would have been so much more romantic if there was champagne," Rae said.

"Shut up and drink your soda." And then he flashed her a smile that made her heart give out for a second.

They went home not long after. He insisted on driving her back to her apartment even though her scooter was still at his. So she got to ride in his nice car at dangerous speeds and it was fun. For the first time, they actually had a conversation in the car. She'd never experienced that before with him. And it was nice. He even walked her up to her door. He turned to face her.

"We don't have to do this again, now, do we?" Rae asked.

Instead of a response, Chris put a hand on her hip and the other one on the back of her head and kissed her. He bit her lip so that she would open her mouth and he ran his tongue along her lip. The next thing she knew she was up against the door, the door knob digging into her hip. He tilted her head back to kiss her neck and she opened her eyes for a split second.

Two kids, no older than ten, were standing in the hallway not five feet from them. Rae opened her mouth to say something, slapping Chris's shoulder. He straightened and looked at her, then where she was looking. He cleared his throat and took a step back.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow then," he said.

Rae nodded and made a small noise of agreement, then backed into her apartment, thankful that no one was home.