cry baby

※

Kevin couldn’t help the soft chuckle that followed that wink. It seemed there was no awkwardness at all, which was … well, perhaps not a relief, but he was glad of it, either way. “Well, thank you.” He could tell there was no serious intent behind the gesture, so he didn’t bother trying to frame a return compliment, though he was very aware there were any number of flattering things that could be said about the other patron’s appearance. “Oh, I think free food is a prize in its own right,” he replied absently. It was the next quip, however, that had him laughing outright. “Oh, now I’ve gotta ask — my friends didn’t send you in here to prank me, or something?” The fact that his taste in clothing tended to give off those very same old man vibes escaped notice for the moment. “You’re safe from tuna salad and white bread, though. I ordered pastrami on sourdough.” He wasn’t sure if that wasn’t its own brand of old man order, but hey, he liked what he liked.

🍑

“What would be the prank?” Finn questioned, “Someone thinking you’re hot and coming on to you, or someone insinuating you’re an old man?  Because if it’s the former we gotta work on your self esteem, baby boy.  If it’s the latter....Well, you’re certainly rocking that cardigan.” Finn responded with a twinkle in his eye and a small snicker.  He wasn’t lying though.  He was pulling off the sexy professor look real well.  “Oh man, I’m a slut for sourdough.  Good choice.  It may even save the sandwich from the pastrami.”

OZ: Yo so I was on a hike today and I found this little guy all on his own and brought him home to get warm but he seems pretty comfy

OZ: we've got room for another cat, right?

OZ: gonna take that silence as a yes

FINN: you know that we don't

FINN: rebecca and jake are gonna killlllllllll youuuuu

※

For a moment, Kevin had no words; it had been an offer totally devoid of ulterior motives, not a pickup scheme. He’d never really been interested in those kinds of games, either; if he liked someone, he’d say so. It had little to do with his willingness to do kind things for those around him. And on one hand, he was kind of flattered that the other patron was flirting, and on the other … the only person he wanted to take to bed was Isla Jean. “It’s not, it’s just a free lunch,” Kevin said with a smile he hoped diffused any awkwardness in the situation. “And as much as I appreciate the offer, I’m gonna pass, I’m seeing someone and nobody else is getting in my bed.”

🍑

“Well that’s a shame, you’re cute.” Finn replied, throwing the man a wink, now purely out of fun rather than for flirting.  Finn had done his fair share of being the so called other woman, so to speak, when he was young and stupid, and it wasn’t something he wanted to repeat.  “But I won’t ever turn down free food, and it’s a pretty good consolation prize.” he finished with a shrug, looking up at the board of possibilities, but finding all the choice overwhelming, and turning to the waiting worker, “I’ll just have whatever he got.  Gonna see if he has good taste.” he turned back to the man once more, “Lets hope you didn’t order some boring ass old man meal like, tuna salad on white or something.  That’d be quite the let down with a face like yours.” 

@eureka-starters​

open starter

It had been a long day on the docks but his walks with his dog, Sundance, were habitual. No matter how draining the day it still managed to make him feel at peace and so he rarely ever skipped them. They took the same route every night, and Sundance was good enough to be off leash which usually left him a little further ahead than Ephram. Sometimes they cam across a familiar face causing the dog to stop, as he did tonight. Ephram approached with a small but warm smile, greeting them with a small wave. “You could at least pretend you are happy to see me somewhat as much as you are him,” he teased, nodding down to the dog.

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Finn never liked to go home at the end of a shift.  His partner and coworkers did, but that’s all because they had people to go home to. Who could help them forget what they had seen during their day, to unwind that tight ball of energy that sat on their chest or in their shoulders or back, and relax.  Finn didn’t have that.  Sure, he had his roommates, and he loved them, but it wasn’t the same.  So most nights, after getting off, Finn found himself out and about.  Sometimes at a bar or club, or on quieter nights like tonight, strolling around town and through his own thoughts, sorting everything out before returning home.  His best walks were the ones when he ran into his favorite quadruped.  “Sorry, Lark, I know you’re used to being the cutest one in the room, but you’re always gonna take second place when it comes to Sundance here.” Finn shot back and he got down on his knees to say hi to the hairy rascal.  

@eureka-starters.

location. Delish on 5th

“—with swiss cheese, and um, the spicy mustard, please.” Having finished ordering his sandwich, Kevin turned to the person behind him in line, and added, “And whatever they’re getting. My treat.” It was one of the rare half days where he, too, could leave early — at least to grab lunch — and Kevin had an extra spring in his step for the excuse to deviate from his usual weekday lunch of leftovers. If he could pass a little of that happiness on to others, he would, for friend or stranger alike.

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There are four certainties in life: life, death, taxes, and the fact that Finn was always broke, despite his many side hustles.  It didn’t matter how many bachelorette (or bachelor) parties he stripped for, how many subscribers he had on onlyfans, how many romance novels he posed for, or how many extra shifts on the rig he picked up, the matter of the fact was that Finn would always be broke.  And that was okay, because it meant his mother was being well taken care of.  That being said, the sudden treat of someone randomly offering to pay for his meal put a twinkle in the mans eye.  “If this is your way of trying to get me into bed, the answer is yes.”  He joked, although it wasn’t completely false.  The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach and all of that.

Clayton laughed, gesturing towards the table. “Show me, Obi-Wan.” He held the pool stick between his hands as he leaned against it slightly as his eyes dropped towards the table, watching as Finn made another shot. He raised his eyes back up towards the other, nodding his head at his words as another chuckle left him. “I don’t know, might happen sooner than you think… This town is not that big.” He smirked. “We all have to make money somehow, right?” He laughed again, shaking his head a little. “Wow me, Murray.”

🍑

“Oh I can show you a lot more than how to hustle someone at pool, Padawan.” Finn batted back with his signature twinkle of his eyes, figuring he might as well take his metaphorical shot, while he waited for the other man to take his physical one.  “Then I guess I’ll have to slow my roll, because I actually like this town, for once.” He said with a shrug, leaning against a nearby pillar, hands resting on the top of his cue.  “But trust me, me and all my many side hustles know that fact a little too well.”  

WHERE: Cal’s WITH: Open

Only a handful of days had passed since Andy’s release and rather than venture out into the world and attempt to reconnect with it, he found himself sitting at the bar with an untouched bottle of beer in front of him. Of his collection of vices, alcohol had always reared its ugly head the loudest, and Andy had yet to figure out how to turn away from the noise. Picking at the frayed edge of the bottle’s label, the man eased out a long sigh and shook his head. Naturally, he recognized that the bottle nestled between his hands was the very thing that helped land him in his most recent predicament, but right now, he wanted to forget about all of that, or at least dull the sting of it. He rolled his shoulders, hoping to shrug off the weight of the still unsigned divorce papers tucked into the inside pocket of his jacket, and lifted his beer from the bartop. “Alright,” Andy drawled, finally breaking his silence as he turned to the person beside him, “What’re we drinkin’ to this fine afternoon?” He asked, boasting a small, yet roguish grin as he raised his bottle in a mock toast, “Your call.” 

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Finn had always hated being alone, in general, but especially after a shift.  He knew plenty of his coworkers wanted to leave work at the door, go home, decompress.  But Finn had always dreaded the lull after a shift, the idea of going home to his apartment only to find it empty of his roommates.  It wasn’t as if he even wanted to talk about what happened on shift, he actually preferred not to.  But to go home, and sit and stew in the wins and losses and just the sheer enormity of responsibility of his job was his least favorite thing in the fucking world.  So, that meant when no one was available, Finn would go somewhere he could always count on at least a few other souls: a bar.  And with his odd hours, sometimes that meant he’d end up having a beer way before the socially acceptable 5 o’clock.  “Hmm,” he hummed in response to his fellow early bird patron, thinking on it, “What about, making new memories and forgetting the old shitty ones?”

Humboldt Cider Co Taproom | @eureka-starters​

Jonathan was not much of a drinker. He occasionally indulged in a beer after work, but that was largely the extent of his foray into alcohol consumption. Even after Diana left, he simply didn’t find a need for it; he could understand the allure, but, perhaps perversely, preferred not to numb himself to anything he was feeling. But while he didn’t particularly enjoy drinking, he did enjoy going to a bar. There was something about the comraderie of everyone there–the notion that, even though you were lonely, you weren’t alone. And typically, he was only one of a few patrons on the off nights he chose to go. It just so happened to be Karaoke night, and, unfortunately, when the emcee announced its procession, Jonathan was already half a beer in. So he resigned himself to the idea that this was what he’d gotten himself into, and decided to make the most of it, turning on his stool slightly to watch the steady stream of singers–a gracious overstatement for some of the patrons. He was surprised when, suddenly, the person a few stools away from him ambled up to the stage, as they’d shown far less interest in the proceedings than him. He watched them with a deal of admiration, and, as they came to sit down, raised his glass in their direction. “Interesting song choice,” he remarked. “Not what I would have expected.”

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Two Drink Finn could resist the call of karaoke.  Even Three Drink Finn could.  But Four Drink Finn?  The taproom stood no chance of coming out of the night without being serenaded by Finn at least once, if not more.  When there was a pause between volunteers, Finn quickly took his chance and grabbed the microphone, picking one of his go-to songs..  Brandy (You’re A Fine Girl).  A classic. 

He could still remember the bright days that came soon after dark ones, where his mother would swing him around in the kitchen, singing the song.  There’s a port on a western bay, and it serves a hundred ships a day...It was the song he most easily associated with his childhood, but only now, as an adult with hindsight, he realized why his mother had sung that song so much, and how it was obvious she had connected with the song.  Deluded herself into thinking that she had been Brandy, while his father was the sailor who wouldn’t leave the sea.  The sea being his real family, of course.  But my life, my lover, my lady is the sea... Regardless of his odd feelings on the song, shit was catchy, and one of his favorite songs to whip out at karaoke.  

“Mmm,” he hummed as took a sip of his beer, trying to acknowledge he heard the man without spitting out the beverage.  “It’s an under appreciated classic,” he replied once he had finally swallowed.  “And I fully intend to make my generation aware of what they’ve been missing,” he declared proudly.  “What about you, you gonna hit us with any ‘interesting song choices’?” 

Clayton glanced towards the table, watching the ball sink into the pocket effortlessly. Lightly smirking, the man brushed his tongue along his lower lip as a breathless chuckle left his lips. “Maybe a little,” he teased. Raising his dark hues back up towards Finn once again. “So, making your way through the towns along the west coast until you’ve conned us all?” He joked as he dropped his arms to his side, walking over to the wall and plucking one of the sticks off the hooks as he turned his head to look over at the man. “You know by the end of the night I’m expecting to know hell of a lot more about this trick of yours.”

🍑

“Only a little?  Then I’m gonna have to try harder.  Gotta give you the full education,” Finn grinned, his eyes twinkling with mischief.  “That’s the plan, stay until all the jilted lovers and cons run me out of town,” he joked, taking another shot, his intended shot falling just short and resulting in him unable to pocket the ball, officially ending his turn.  “Nah, nah,” he started, amending his last statement, “I only use my powers for good, now.  You know, unless i’m short on rent, then all bets are off.” he laughed, loud and bright.  “I can show you a lot of tricks, Baker.”