TPWK

Eli chucked and nodded his head “Well, I’m a firm believer that the sunrise is just as good as the sunset.  Maybe I can convince you to come on the hike with me sometime.”  Davis was a good guy, and Eli got along with him, as well as everyone else he was around.  Eli wasn’t the type to not be friendly to someone.  He didn’t hold grudges because he thought life was too beautiful and too sacred to hold grudges and to not be the sunshine that everyone needs every once in a while.  Opening the door to the coffee shop, Eli nodded his head in.  “Well, that’s get that pick me up and get movin!”

davis scrunched his nose up, “yeah, i don’t know. maybe. i get up early if it includes early morning loving from a girl.” which, wasn’t really in the cards right now. the only girl he was interested in had ghosted him. he thought things were going well between them but obviously he was wrong. “but i do like exercise too.” he finally added, his shoulders lifting up in a shrug. he chuckled once the man opened the door and he nodded his head, walking in and immediately making his way to the line that would lead them up to the counter. “what do you say i pay for both coffees this morning? my treat.”

In a way he got why people disagreed with him, some liked the attention, having all eyes on them, but he just didn’t share that feeling, “No, not everyone does,” it just sucked, because he loved singing, but at least he could do it in a small groups, “I would love that, just name the day, and I will be there.”

davis actually functioned on attention and maybe that wasn’t always a good way to be but he liked being the center of attention. that’s just who he was. “altight, sure. what day of the week works best for you? how’s sunday?”

Hadley was glad Davis thought she was worth sticking around for. It would’e been so easy for him to write her off after meeting not one but two of her brothers on their second date. Usually, Hadley was much less open about the guys she was seeing, but it looked like word was spreading simply because of how unlikely it was that Davis and Hadley would even date in the first place. “I think that sounds like a plan,” she agreed, nodding once in agreement. At the feeling of his arm around her shoulders, Hadley slipped into the natural closeness she’d always had with Davis. Even on their first date, she had wanted to be as near as possible to him. Something about Davis Smith drew Hadley in, and she liked it an awful lot. Resting her hand on the inside of his knee, Hadley’s thumb trailed back and forth as she turned her gaze back to her date. “Is it weird watching baseball instead of playing or coaching? Or is being a spectator second nature?”

davis still wasn’t sure where things between them were going to go. he wasn’t sure if they were going to continue going out on dates or if they’d ever make things more serious. either way, he did want to continue seeing her. “i figured you wouldn’t fight it too much. who can say no to ice cream anyways? not anyone i want to hang out with.” he teased and gave her hand a soft squeeze. he didn’t know what it was about the girl that kept him around but whatever it was, he liked it quite a bit. he liked her quite a bit. he shook his head in response, “it’s a second nature. i watch it on tv during my off time. so, it’s nothing new to me. baseball is kinda my thing.” he confessed with a small chuckle. “i do think i like playing the most but i’m just not as good as i used to be.”

Eli had been day dreaming, or something similar to it, thinking about what film he would show in class since it was the end of their section on WWII, and there were a number of films, new and old he could show. Thinking about this, though, caused him to not pay attention to what was going on around him. This caused him to run into someone, but, thankfully it was someone he knew, so it wasn’t as embarrassing. “Davis, hey! Bolder than a cup of Folgers.” He chuckled at the comment before nodding at the coffee house “Sure am, gotta keep that energy going for the day. What has you here? Aren’t you normally asleep in your desk chair til practice?” He poked fun at the man, knowing full well if Eli didn’t have a full schedule of history he’d be happy to be known as the sleeper of the teachers.

davis laughed softly and shook his head. he knew that most of them knew davis as the one that was more than likely going to be late. he was tired and he’d always been one to sleep late. “that would be nice but unfortunately, no. sometimes, i have to put my big boys track pants on and get up before the sun goes down.” he joked back, a smile resting on his lips. “anyways, i need a pick me up. i don’t like getting up before noon but hey, adults can’t sleep late like that, especially when we have responsibilities.” he added. 

Sierra sighed for a moment and smiled over at her best friend, “Well that is good, I am very glad to hear that. I hope things work out for you. Just please don’t forget about me. Or at least Kiera, she misses you, you know.” She laughed a little looking over at him for a moment and sighed, “I know I should have and I hate myself for not. I guess I can’t change the past. Sierra’s my world and I love her so much.” 

“yeah, i do too. i do like her and you know what? i know someone’s going to snatch you up before you know it and make you fall in love with ‘em. you deserve to be happy, sierra.” he promised his close friend. “i’ll stop by and have dinner with y’all this week. what day’s good for you?” he added. “yeah, you’re right. “you can’t change the past but you can make it right.”

Natalie laughed a little and nodded, “Well that’s good. I just wanted to make sure I didn’t hurt you whilst I fell.” She laughed still slightly embarrassed. She smiled over at him, “I don’t think we have met though, I’m Natalie by the way.” She smiled for a brief moment. 

davis shook his head in reassurance, “i’m alright.” he promised and then nodded. “right, yeah. it’s nice to meet you. i’m davis. you’re not from here, are you? i haven’t seen you around before.”

Sierra looked over at him for a moment, “Yeah for sure we do love a good party. Or I mean I do at least.” She laughed a little looking for a moment, “Oh that must be nice, is this like your first date or something?” She asked smiling over at him, “That is good. Yeah I came alone but having a great time. You know we should hangout more outside of work. I feel like I should for sure I need to start making an effort with the people who work in the same place.” She laughed a little as she took a sip of her drink for a moment. 

davis shook his head in response, “it’s our second.” and he was already hoping for more. he was enjoying his time with hadley mor than he ever expected to. “there’s nothin’ wrong with that either. plenty of people showed up here alone and you’re more than likely able to find someone to dance with.” he paused for a moment and nodded in agreement, “okay, sure. i wouldn’t mind that.” he wasn’t sure what they’d do but he wouldn’t mind hanging out with her. 

According to people he was good at his job, and he would like to think that they were right. Until that moment, he hadn’t done anything that caused someone else to get hurt, “I would like to think so too,” he would hate not being able to do it anymore, “I actually do it, but never really for like a large crowd, I wanted to work in the backstage, because stages always frightened me.”

davis nodded his head, “hey, man. that makes sense. not everyone wants to be in the spotlight.” he replied and shifted on his feet. davis had no idea how he’d missed the male the whole time he’d been in tupelo, “well, we should really catch up one time. we should grab lunch or something.”

He knew the moment Davis found out about him kissing his sister, he was going to give him a hard time about it. It was simply what Davis had been doing for as long as he had known Dixie’s twin. “Hey yourself,” he knew that smirk on Davis’ face and was only prepared to get the worst I told you so in the books. “I know you told me,” he shook his head, “Actually,” Arty admitted foolishly, “we are takin’ it slow. I - I really didn’t think it was a good idea at first and we didn’t talk for a whole week,” he was giving Davis the short version, “long story short, everyone was right and we are actually in love with each other.”

davis knew that arty knew what was coming. this ‘i told you so’ was bound to happen the moment davis saw what happened. of course, he hadn’t approached them at the party because he had a date of his own but he was waiting until he ran into one of them again. he knew dixie wouldn’t talk to him about it so he didn’t even try but arty, he would. he furrowed his eyebrows, “you tellin’ me you rejected my sister at the bash?” he asked, shaking his head. “you’re lucky she’s forgiving and in love with you.”

“It doesn’t, but I promise it’s worth putting up with them,” she said with a wink in his direction. When Davis asked if she was having fun, Hadley looked at him and tried to read his face, her eyebrows twitching closer together. “Davis,” she said softly before she reached up and ran her finger along his jawbone. “I’m having a lot of fun with you, trust me. These dates have been spectacular. Don’t doubt that, okay?” She hoped that what she said was reassuring, wanting him to know how genuinely grateful she was to have the time they did together. “You know, I was kind of hoping for more time with you,” she said back, smiling as he kissed her temple. She gestured toward the seats she’d saved before climbing up to them. Once she settled in, Hadley slipped her arm around his waist and snuggled into his side. “That’s Justin,” she said, pointing to her nephew on the field where he was warming up with his team, a proud smile on her face. 

davis chuckled and nodded his head, “yeah, you are.” he agreed. she was worth putting up with a couple of overprotective brothers. sure, davis and hadley were pretty opposite when it came to most of their interests but they still seemed to get along and they still seemed to like each other which was good enough for him. he looked down at her when she ran her finger against his jaw bone and he bit down on his bottom lip, nodding again. “i won’t.” he reassured. he wasn’t doubting them at all but he just wanted this to last as long as possible, especially since he was enjoying his time with her. “well, good. ice cream it is and then we’ll see where else the night takes us. what do you think?” he wanted her to be comfortable with everything they did. he moved an arm around her shoulders after he sat down and she leaned into him. he liked that she wanted to be close to him, it made him feel good. “alright, i’ll be sure to help you cheer him on.”

Weston nodded his head. He had seen Davis out on the dance floor with his sister and while he had to admit they looked happy, he was still wary of the man standing before him. “That will help too,” he laughed softly, “How long you been seein’ Hadley?” He really hadn’t talked to her much about Davis, clearly. But there was no time like the present to start getting to know his sister’s date. 

davis did like hadley but who know where this would go? maybe she would be the one to decide she wasn’t really into him. everyone seemed to think he’d break her heart but who was to say she wouldn’t do it to him? he didn’t really expect her to though. “a week or two. it hasn’t been too long but it’s been fun.” 

@arturoxrodriguez​

Sierra looked over at the  guy from the high school, she was hoping that maybe one day they could potentially be friends. She smiled and looked over at him for a brief moment, “They are. Everyone seems to be having fun.” She smiled for a moment as she ran a hand through her hair for a moment as she looked over at the guy, “It really is. How are you finding the party? Are you enjoying it?”

davis nodded, “which is good. it wouldn’t be a good party if everyone wasn’t having fun.” he pointed out with a small laugh and then pushed his fingers through his hair. “i like it. me and hadley,” he paused nodding toward the girl from across the room who he was sure she would know from school, “we’re having a blast. what about you?”

The fact that he didn’t ask anything about the bad things that happened, were appreciated. He really wasn’t a big fan of talking about his problem, and always preferred distracting himself, “Yeah? Some people got surprised, so not everyone shares your opinion,” he supposed he could see why, he did love music after all, “I’m loving it, I like being able to help people.”

davis wasn’t one to want to get emotional anyways or press into more vulnerable conversations. he preferred things more laid back. he smiled at the male, “good. i think you’re good at helping people.” he paused for a moment, “but maybe you could still do the music stuff here and there.”

“I’m a big girl,” Hadley said, nudging Davis with her shoulder as she led him to the bleachers where her blanket was waiting. “I can make my own choices. If my brothers have a problem with who I’m datin’, then they can just suck it up.” She smiled up at the man holding her hand, grateful again for the way he made her feel like the only girl in the entire world whenever he was with her. “I won’t turn down ice cream, though. That’s one thing I can say I am happy to indulge in regardless of the outcome of tonight’s game.” 

davis nodded his head, “yeah but that doesn’t make your brothers any less intimidating.” he replied and then smiled a little. “i’m glad you feel that way. what we’ve been doing has been fun, right?” at least, he was having fun anyways and she had to be too, especially if she kept going on dates with him. “good, i was hoping to get some more time with you.” he told the girl as he squeezed her hand and pressed a kiss against her temple.