always the goddamn babysitter

Cheeks still blazing red, Alice lets out a huff of an exhale and looks past Steve, fixing her gaze on the painting hanging on the wall behind him. "We don't have to go all the way," she assures him. "We can just--"

What?

Make out.

Grope and touch.

Fool around.

Hit every other base but home plate?

She makes herself drag her gaze back to meet his eyes. "I just want to be able to hold my own. To--to know how to, you know, touch and be touched, and not freeze up like somebody's dumped me into woodshop and told me to build a Goddamn house without knowing how to use a hammer and nails first."

This had definitely taken a very unexpected turn but judging by the deep shade of red burning hot in Alice's cheeks, he could determine that she was being 100% serious right now. It's a crazy request coming from her and it's not even an issue of him not finding her attractive, he'd actually have to be blind to not think so, it's more just shock that she would want to go there with him when they've established a purely platonic relationship in permanent ink since they were kids. Even if she's only looking at this proposed request as a learning experience and nothing more.

Once he manages to shake off some of the shock, his eyes meet hers as he clears his throat to respond. "I'll help you," he starts, even if some small voice in the back of his head warns him against it given their whole friendship and the complications that could potentially arise from crossing the line. "But you should know it's not going to be as easy as us just making out or scoring the winning basket if it goes that far. Knowing what to do, figuring out what you like and what they like... That can take some time and you'll need to learn to adjust from person to person. What I respond to might not be the same as what Boring Brett might respond to, get it?"

A warm smile presents itself on her features when he looks at her. "Jason will come around. Not any time soon, of course... when he's ready." It was a major shift for her, Jason, and Steve. Especially when the three of them had been friends since Steve removed the metaphorical crown, paving the way for Chrissy and company. When the topic shifted to how she was doing, there was no sign of discomfort, or a shift to steer clear from her thoughts and feelings. For some time, Chrissy was always able to comfortably talk to Steve with little to no filter.

"I feel as though I should be asking you the question instead." Nodding to the wine glass that was nearly but not quite empty. On that note, she begins to make more room on the lawn blanket, her painting of the gardens completely dry from the evening air. She then moves closer to him, gentle hand on his forearm in a manner to comfort and reassure him. "It was my choice to make. I chose you, Steve."

After so much time together before, during, and after the fall out between him and Nancy, to Tommy and Carol, Chrissy had been choosing Steve every day. "You said it best. The heart wants what it wants. Mine always chose you." The hand on his forearm moved up to caress his cheek, her touch filled with tenderness that matched the care she had for him. "Truthfully, I wanted to be your girl since I was 9? I couldn't even bring myself to sneak a Valentine's Day card when I had the chance. Sadly, they ended up in the trash by the end of day, but I promise to make it up to you next year." She says with a sweet laugh.

Her confidence is enough to lift the weird mood surrounding the whole evening, even if only a little bit. Neither of them had really intended to hurt Jason with the dramatic shift in their feelings and group dynamics between them but sometimes life just happened like that. A small grin of his own appears as he offers a nod in response to her assurance that Jason would be alright eventually. "Yeah, I'm sure you're right. He just needs some time to process." Maybe even a lot of time. Steve knew better than most how difficult it could be to mend a broken heart.

When she turns the question around on him, Steve briefly glances down at the nearly empty glass of wine in his hand and softly shrugs. "Well, I'm a better drinker than I am a painter," he lightly teases before lifting the glass to his lips and finishing off the rest of it and setting the glass aside. "Unfortunately I'm not buzzing yet though so nothing to worry about." The guests were fairly loud sharing the gossip about them, almost like they wanted them to overhear but at least out here in the gardens, it was pretty quiet. Even better though, Chrissy made it easy to even forget that was all going on in the background of this event as she shifts closer to him on the blanket and rests a gentle hand on his arm.

Steve moves to cover her hand with his own as his eyes lock onto her with a softness that spoke how it made him feel to hear that. "Yeah?" He smiles, leaning his cheek into her caress and turning his face slightly to sneak a soft kiss to her palm. "Since we were in elementary school, huh? You totally should have snuck me that Valentine. Probably would have saved me years of womanizing if I was stuck obsessing over those little hearts you probably drew all over it and the girl who gave it to me."

Avoiding Steve was proving to be tricky when their families were highly respected members of the same Country Club, along with the Carver's. It was the final summer event, right before a new school year was approaching, where the Carvers did not attend Wine, Paint & Movie Night. Because of this, the gossip surrounding the Club's members, was entirely focused on the children of the Harrington's and Cunningham's.

Chrissy spent most of the evening hidden out in the gardens, where the members came from other towns and cities in Indiana, making it a safe haven from others knowing about the mundane gossip surrounding her. Still, no matter how much she concentrated on her painting, part of her hoped Steve would follow her. Away from their parents and a few of their small minded town folk. Particularly, away from the horrors of the Fourth of July Russian and Monster invasion.

The concentration on her painting finally faltered when he joined her on the blanket on the soft grass, though she didn't look up to meet his gaze. "You didn't." She tells him, voice soft and clear. With a deep breath, she places the paint brush down on the holder and finally looks up at him, unable to ignore the way he looks genuinely apologetic. The cotton candy skies above them enhancing the emotion in his deep dark hazel eyes and something else.

These events had never really been Steve's cup of tea, particularly when the focus was zeroed in on him and Chrissy. A lot of times these gatherings just felt like an excuse for rich people to get together and brag about their accomplishments or just gossip about others. Luckily there was plenty of wine to go around because the loud whispering whenever he would pass by anyone this evening was enough to drive him insane. It seemed that Chrissy had found a better outlet with the painting aspect of this event; finding her hiding away in the garden and looking particularly focused on whatever she was painting.

Steve is hesitant to approach at first, finding things a tad awkward now with all the gossip surrounding them and then the Jason of it all... But when he does finally join her, it's with a sincere form of an apology for the mess created. His feelings toward her had definitely grown beyond his ability to properly handle them when he was around her and as a result, it made them painfully obvious to anyone who was paying a lick of attention. His expressive eyes gave him away every single time.

"I kind of did," he insists softly, knowing the blame was at least partially on him as he lowers himself down onto the blanket beside her. "I knew you and Jason were together. It just... wasn't enough to squash how I feel about you, I guess. The heart wants what it wants." Of course, that didn't make him feel any less shitty about how that had impacted both Chrissy and Jason but he didn't really know how to fix it either. It probably couldn't be fixed. All he could was apologize for the mess he created.

With Steve finally here, presumably ready to help her with whatever favour he thinks she might ask for, Alice's determination wavers a little. It's usually bulletproof when she sets her mind to something, but this isn't just anything. It's a big ask. Maybe too big, even for a best friend, but he's the only one that she can trust with this.

"I need your help," she blurts out. Her cheeks turn a vibrant crimson as she pushes through. "I had a third date with Brett Carter last weekend and he called me frigid 'cause I wouldn't put out." Her expression scrunches up and her hands wave in front of her like frightened sparrows flittering in the air. "And I know I'm the Ice Queen and everything and I'm not exactly known for that, but I--"

Steve makes a face almost immediately when she mentions Brett, feeling irrationally annoyed that she was still stuck on that douchebag. He had warned her against going on the first date yet here she was aiming for a fourth with him now. Steve opens his mouth, ready to verbally rip the guy to shreds in front of her like he had before her first date with him when the rest of her words following the Brett situation start to sink in, leaving him at a loss for words.

It's more shocking than anything else. They weren't... like that and never had been so she had really thrown him for a loop with what he thought she was suggesting here. It was a no wonder that she was being so secretive on the details on what she needed his help with because this wasn't your typical favor. In fact, he never would have guessed in a million years that this was what she wanted from him. "Be my getaway driver" for a bank heist would have ranked higher in the list of possibilities.