beyoncepadthai | Saturday, November 1st

It's not like it's the first time Mindy's had her heart broken. But it is the first time that Danny Castellano has made her feel this way.

Although she can't even blame him for all of this, as much as she might want to. Because as much as the kiss weighs against her, as much as his refusal to want to be more with her stings, there's the undeniable dilemma of having just discovered all that she's somehow forgotten – an engagement and a trip to Haiti and an almost wedding and more breakups than she can seem to keep track of.

Josh. Brendan. Casey. Cliff. The waves of emotion are all at once too much and Danny's decision to once again drive a wedge between them, this time because he wants to preserve their friendship (what a fucking cliché), pushes her over the edge. So instead of going home she heads for a bar, wondering how many drinks it will take for her to forget. Wondering if there's something she can do to send the memories back from wherever they came.

She's almost hoping for anonymity when she bumps into Luke on her way in, but she manages a smile anyway. "Hey. It's Luke, right?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Mindy's expression softens, hands reaching for her almost empty glass to lift to his in a toast. "To forgetting Manhattan," Mindy says, though she knows it's an impossibility. It will always be home. Above Darrow, above Boston. "And being the hottest pair in the bar tonight."

Luke doesn't know that anyone has ever referred to him as being hot, even if she's applying it to the both of them and he smiles behind his glass, his cheeks growing warm.

"I think you've paid me more compliments tonight than anyone ever has before," he admits.

"Oh, god, am I going overboard? I tend to do that," Mindy says, shaking her head. She's never been the best when it comes to flirting, but after all of the BS with Danny, today, she's sure she must be worse. "I can totally insult you, if you prefer that. Or, or, we could skip past the awkward entirely."

"No, no, I just... haven't received a lot of compliments," he says with a laugh, his face flushing a little deeper when she suggests they skip the awkward part entirely. Luke's never been particularly good at reading signs and he's never liked making assumptions.

"Skipping the awkward part entails... what, exactly?" he asks, smiling over at her.

Mindy's face reflects the disbelief she feels that Luke wouldn't be bombarded with compliments constantly pretty clearly. He's fucking gorgeous, and she's about to say as much when she realises she's already said so three or four times and she's not even that drunk. "Oh, boy," she says, looking at the rim of her glass. "Alright, so I just had what can only be described as the worst night ever. Titanic bad. I mean, hell, even Jack and Rose had each other, you know? But anyway. My point is, I think that we should sleep together. Just, you know, a one time thing. No strings attached. Tonight. If you want."

She's far more bold than anyone Luke has ever met and for a second he's stunned into silence, but when he thinks about it, when he really considers it, maybe this is what he needs. Jocelyn isn't here. There's no indication that she'll come here at any point. Even if she did come to Darrow, she's made it very clear that all she wants from Luke is his friendship.

Maybe it's time he learn to accept that. Maybe something like this, no strings attached, can help him.

"Is your place close?" he asks.

"Uh, yeah, just a few minutes away," Mindy says, releasing a breath that she hadn't been sure she'd been holding. She's been rejected plenty. And for all of her vanity, it's still a little bit surprising when a man says yes, sometimes, especially in a bar where he's certainly not short of many (she might argue better) other options. "If you need a few more drinks or whatever, first, though, I totally get it."

It takes Luke a moment to take her meaning and then he frowns, pushing his glass away. The idea that anyone might need to drink in order to sleep with her is absurd and he leans forward, catching her jaw gently with his hand before he kisses her. It's been a very long time since he's kissed anyone -- Lucy, he remembers, another wolf, the second girlfriend he'd ever had, the attempt at moving on from Jocelyn that he had tried to make over seven years ago -- but it's not an easy thing to forget.

And Mindy's mouth is warm and soft under his. He breathes out against her lips, then nudges the kiss gently deeper, parting her lips with his.

The kiss catches Mindy off guard more than maybe it should, especially given that she's the one that's just proposed sex, but not enough to stop her from kissing Luke in turn. "Whoa," she murmurs, smiling against his lips. This is exactly what she wants, not to use or be used but just to lose herself in another for long enough to forget the hellish wave of memories she's just received out of nowhere.

There isn't much they can do in the bar, but Luke kisses her deeper for just a moment more, his hand cupping her face, and his thumb sweeps over her cheek once before he pulls away. He doesn't need another drink, not for this, and perhaps he's never done something like this before, but he doesn't need to find courage. It's here in her voice, in the way she kisses him, in the fact that she's asked him to her place. He can find the courage he needs there.

Saturday, November 1st

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject