Buzzer Beater

[fits her arms around his neck, smiling at his sweetness] I love teal. And this idea. I can’t wait to move in, and make this place ours. Even if Santana might be really grumpy about it. 

[smiles] But tell me a time when Santana isn’t grumpy...

You deserve those hits. You know you’re horrible. [exhales slowly, returns his smile] I have thought about it before, living together. Someone needs to introduce you to the fine art of colors and patterns. There’s life beyond black and leather decor, you know. [laughs, pushes up on her tiptoes to brush her lips against his in a soft kiss] I want this. But you know I’m gonna need more than a drawer, right? Just so we’re clear. 

 [laughs, wrapping his arms around her after she kisses him] I think the minimalist black chrome and glass works for me, but yeah. Sure. I’ll paint the place teal if it means you’re living here. [kisses her gently on the nose] Of course. The drawer is just symbolic. You’ve also got half the closet.

[gapes at him, feeling at a loss for words over the tender honesty in his; she eventually reaches out to smack his arm] I swear, I can’t stand you. [smacks him again] You always do this. Surprise me with sweet shit and I just…[smiles and hits him once more for good measure] This is…are you sure you want this? Moving in together? 

[not sure what her reaction would be, but definitely didn’t see the smack on his arm coming.] Ow! What the--? [she hits him again] Ow! [rubs his arm, smiling] I mean, I thought it was what I wanted until you started smackin’ me. But yeah, I do. Do you?

[stares blankly] Wait…what? [glances down at the key, the empty drawers, and back to him] You want me to move in? Here, with you? 

[nods, grabbing her hands as he peers into her beautiful brown eyes] Yeah, I do. I know our schedules are crazy and that we hardly ever get to see each other, so I figured it could be a way to see you more often. I mean, I wanna wake up in the morning and hear you singing as you make breakfast. I wanna snuggle next to you on the couch and fight over what to watch on Netflix. I wanna sleep with you in my arms every night. What do you say?

[peeks inside the drawer, noting the emptiness and glances up at him, brow arched] Am I supposed to guess what’s happening…? 

[laughs] Well, yeah. Isn’t it obvious? I was thinking, I could give you this..[reaches into his pocket and pulls out a key] and empty out a few drawers so it would be easier for you to move in.

[eyes him suspiciously, lips tugging into a small smile as she stands and follows him] I’m not falling for that again, Southie. ‘Surprise’ with you and a trip to the bedroom ends up with me losing a good pair of panties to those polar bear paws. 

[laughs] Yeah.. that was kind of fun, but I promise, I’ll keep the panty tossin’ to a minimum.  [brings her to his dresser, and pulls out an empty drawer] So.. surprise!

What? [pouts a bit at the interruption] Something like what? 

A surprise, MJ. A good one. [grabs her hand and pulls her up to the couch and leads her to the bedroom]

Just stating the obvious. Not that I mind. It’s on Netflix. Restarting is possible. [brushes her thumb to his cheek, chasing the kiss with a deeper press] 

Mhmm. Definitely. [his tongue takes a swipe at her lips before pulling away] Wait.. before I forget.. I’ve got somethin’ for ya.

[giggles at the brush of his lips against her skin, fingers clutching at his bicep] That tickles…[turns, meeting his kiss with a small hum] You’re missing the movie, you know.

Hmm.... and? [continues to press a soft kiss to her lips]

I mean, I’ve got some time to kill. I guess I can hang out with you. Since you’re asking so nicely. [shrugs] She didn’t need a guy in Legally Blonde, though. And really, that is the true Reese classic. 

[kisses her neck] You guess? You don’t sound too enthused, Jones. [his eyes not even on the screen as he moves up to her lips]

Oh so this is a movie marathon kind of night? [purses her lips] I’m just tired of Hollywood trying to sell me the idea that two men would really fight over Reese Witherspoon. Do we remember ‘This Means War’? The Tom Hardy of it all…

It can be if you want it to be. I don’t have anything to do or anywhere to go tomorrow. [laughs] Okay, okay. You’ve got a point there, but she’s supposed to be America’s Sweetheart. How else is Hollywood gonna show that if dudes aren’t fighting over her?

What? You’ve never seen Takers, either? Because that is just a mess of singers, rappers, and Hayden Christensen, while Idris Elba looks like he should fire his agent for allowing him to be part of the whole damn thing. [giggles, sound growing louder from the pokes and she prods him right back] She doesn’t even end up with Patrick, though. She gets that fake Bradley Cooper dude with the jacked up hairline. Least Patrick had a full head of hair…[presses play on the movie and settles against him] 

That sounds like a mess, but an enjoyable one. Maybe we’ll watch that one next? I mean, yeah, but she not really married again her high school sweetheart. Patrick’s head of hair can’t beat that kind of romance. [turns his attention to the screen and rubs his arm absentmindedly]

Action it is. Have you ever seen Running Scared? It’s one of my favorite Paul Walker movies…which is weird to say ‘cause you forget he did other stuff besides the Furious movies. [grins at the gasp, shakes her head] Ehh, I can take or leave Sweet Home Alabama, actually. 

[shakes head] Nope. Never seen it. Can’t say I’m too familiar with Paul Walker’s stuff so I say we watch it. [pokes her gently] Whaaaaaat? It has Patrick Dempsey, bad Southern accents, and the scandal of a shotgun wedding. What’s not to love?

[leans into his touch, shrugs a bit] It usually takes us a good fifteen minutes to even decide on a movie, but I’m okay with browsing. [grabs the remote, exiting out of the cartoon and to the main menu] What are you in the mood for? Action? Adventure? Clearly one of the many cheesy romantic offerings. I see what’s poppin’ in your queue. 

Action is always good. I mean, you can’t go wrong with shit blowing up. [gasps incredulously] Hey, Sweet Home Alabama is a classic. I mean, how could anyone not like romantic comedy Reese Witherspoon?

About Wheelin' Around

Mercedes shook her head, still amused by the rare glimpsing of Finn silliness. “I won’t deny the world the opportunity to see a giant man on a segway get pummeled by a soccer mom with a fanny pack. It’s too hilarious to pass up.” Talk of brunch only made her hungry, and Mercedes was happy for any place that would allow her the chance to sit down and relax. “Brunch is good. Anything involving a comfortable chair and alcohol, I’m in. Luckily you'really with me, and I know all the good grub spots.” She reached for his hand then, small fingers threading through his while they headed to their destination. A few blocks later, they’d reached Miss Shirley’s, a blink and you’ll miss it restaurant that specialized in all things brunch. “We should take a food tour once the weather is warmer,” she told him while tugging on the front door. “Or maybe go to a food fest. It’ll be fun.”

Finn nodded the thought of a warm meal and warm alcohol coursing through his veins sounding like the best plan. His fingers wrapped around hers as they got to Miss Shirley’s. “Yeah, a food fest would be good. I know there’s a beer fest, and I think I heard something about a bacon one. That’d be fun.” Being a Boston native, he had definitely blinked and missed this establishment. The restaurant was small and cozy, and it smelled like heaven and whipped cream. As they were lead to their seats, Finn asked. “Whoa. I didn’t even know this was here. How’d you even find this place?”

About Wheelin' Around

“Okay, but how would I explain letting you get into a fight with Mom jeans and her Damien spawn? We both know a woman who’s sporting a fanny pack has probably seen her fair share of fights and I don’t know if you want any part of that.” Mercedes chuckled at the image her words conjured up, featuring Finn getting walloped by a swinging fanny pack. “Secondly, just because a place has a ton of history doesn’t mean it’s interesting. Stubborn as you are, even you gotta admit hearing about Paul Revere more than once is boring.” She didn’t pay his griping any more attention. They’d reached the end of their tour, back at the Boston Segway building and Mercedes took a few minutes to hop down, and stretch out the aching muscles in her back. She bid the machines a hearty goodbye, returned the helmet and gathered their belongings from the bank of lockers inside the building. “So,” she started, shaking out her curls and glancing up at Finn. “How does it feel to not be so awkward and uncoordinated anymore?” 

Finn looked at her, her giggles causing a small grin to appear at the corner of his mouth. “Wait.. are you saying that if I had gotten into a fight with Fanny Pack Jean, you would have let me get pummeled by whatever she’s carrying in there? Good to know you have my back, Jones. Next you’re gonna tell me, you would have recorded it and put it on like YouTube or somethin’.” Now that his feet were back on solid, non moving ground, Finn wanted nothing more than to get on his knees and kiss the ground. Being on the awkward and clunky oversized scooter made him appreciate the bubble gum laced and trash ridden sidewalk. “It feels pretty damn amazing. I don’t know how people can stand to be on those things all damn day.” He took a quick glance at his watch. “Well its a little after 2. I’m sure we could grab some type of brunch set up somewhere near here...”