Hopes and dreams in Lake View

“There you go proving my point yet again Gray.” Dom said raising an eyebrow coolly, challengingly. And then a smirk crossed his face Gabriel always stuck him as so cool and collected, like he was so above everyone else that it was nice to see the man get rattled even if it was just a brief flicker that disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. “Oh I never fuck around when it comes to such …. sensitive matters.” He said slowly, enticingly. “Besides…” He said leaning in towards the other man, close enough that their faces were mere inches away. “Something tells me we could both use an outlet to let off some steam.”

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Gabriel could tell that Dom was enjoying how flustered he was getting and it only made him more flustered  “You know, you aren’t who everyone thinks you are.” He smirked, giving Dom a knowing look.  He watched Dom as he spoke, running his tongue over his lower lip.  “So you’re just going to use me then, Russell? Just going to scratch your itch for you.” He teased, putting his hand on the other’s chest.

“Better?”

“Slightly.” Gabe teased, looking over at her. “But you can tell me if anything is wrong.”

“Ya know, that’s a great idea!” Dom said warmly. “Chance is always waking me up at ungodly hours of the morning. Maybe if I let him tire himself out in the yard he’ll actually let me sleep in for once.”

Avery laughed softly.  “Its worth a shot. But if you that doesn’t work doggy cbd is actually pretty popular.  Especially when there are thunderstorms or fireworks or something.”

“Oh yeah?” He questioned raising an eyebrow. “If I’d have known that’s all it took I would’ve done a lot more singing growing up.” He teased playfully. “Okay, okay. I’m going.” Dom said with a chuckle as he stood up and made his way over to the kid turning back towards Charlotte and sticking his tongue out at her with a smile before he reached the boy. It took some time but eventually he was able to convince the kid that this was one of those things it was probably better to work through on your own. Finally he returned to their table “There, happy now?” he asked.

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Charlotte rolled her eyes at him as he teased her.  “You wish I had hung out with you more. You were always jealous when I choose Andrew over you.” She joked, giving him a look.  She tried not to look as nervous as she felt as she watched him approach the kid.  She had to look away, playing with the straw in her drink as she waited for him. “I’m not, I feel kind of bad but I really think I would have gone crazy if I heard the song again.”

“I like to believe the best of people.” Marcus chuckled softly, stepping up to place his order after hers, paying for them both.

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“Thank you.” She offered when he paid for her drink. She tucked her hair behind her ear as she looked at him. “So, how long have you lived in Sandpoint?”

Joey wrinkled her nose at him. “I am so going to make it!” She insisted. “Are you on-call? Or are you drinking too?”

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Eli shook his head with a laugh. “I am so carrying you out of here tonight.” He teased. “But, no, I am not on call. I made sure to get someone to cover my shift for tonight and tomorrow night.”

Avi walked into their house after a long day at work.  He had to admit, they hadn’t been married long but he really liked being able to come home to her, especially when he had a bad day.  “It smells amazing in here, love.  What are you making?” He asked, moving to kiss her cheek before sitting down at the table next to her. “And I really hope you had a better day than I did.”

“Oh I definitely stand by my statement, we’re very lucky that you decided to settle here in Sandpoint.” He insisted sincerely “Oh he absolutely adores having so much space. I’m pretty sure he’d run around out there for hours on end if I let him.” Dom said with a chuckle at the thought

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Avery could feel her blush deepen at his insistence, doing her best to shrug it off. “We all have our callings.” She offered.  “Maybe you should let him then.” She teased. “I’m sure he would have a good sleep that night.”  

“I bet. I would be too if I was sterilized.”

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“That’s a fair point.”

“Give me a minute and I’ll see what I can do,” Andrew offered with a wink before standing up and going to the juke box. It took a few dollars but he queued up about ten different songs before going to the guy and giving him a twenty to get himself a couple of drinks. “There, we should be good. At least for the next twenty minutes or so.”

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Charlotte smiled as Andrew got up, taking a sip of her water as she watched him go up to the juke box.  “Please tell me you queued up good songs.” She teased, giving him a look.

“I’m not sort of a bartender. I just happen to own a restaurant with a bar in it,” James countered. He looked at her, weighing his options, before sighing and scrunching his face. “You’re kind of terrible,” he said as he got up from the table. Walking over to the kid, he dropped a five dollar bill from his pocket behind him. “Hey bud, I think you dropped some money.” When the kid turned to look, James grabbed the jukebox remote the owner always kept velcro-ed to the back of the machine. When he got back to the table, he waited to make sure the kid wasn’t looking over before hitting the power button, turning the machine off. The kid looked around the machine for a moment before giving up and walking away. James slid the remote over to his friend. “Here. I don’t want to be caught with the murder weapon.”

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Charlotte couldn’t hide her smile as he gave in to her and got up, going over to the boy.  She mouthed thank you and watched as he dropped money, curiously watching it all unfold.  Her brow furrowed as he grabbed something from behind the machine, smirking as he walked back until he handed her the remote.  “Wait, no way, I can’t hold this. It’s too much pressure.”

“I dunno Charley, I’m kinda digging it. Maybe we can turn it into a sing-along or somethin’.” Dom teased unable to stifle a laugh. “I suppose I can talk to him.” he said with an exaggerated huff even as a smile crossed his lips. “You’re lucky I love ya” He quipped

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Charlotte looked over at Dom, shaking her head. “If you start singing, I’m leaving.” She teased, giving him the most serious look she could muster as he laughed.  She nodded, practically pushing him from the seat.  “Love you too, now go make it stop.”

The man’s buddies peeled him off the floor and took him away when Gabriel finally got off of him. Instinctively she took his hand, noticing the bruises and how he seemed to cut open his skin. “As chivalrous as that is, you didn’t have to nearly cave his skull in…or destroy your knuckles,” she said with a hint of annoyance in her tone. 

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Gabe looked over at Lila as she took his hand, furrowing his brow as he looked back at where the guy was being pulled away.  He turned back to her when he noticed the annoyance in her voice.  “It’s hardly the first time I’ve been in a fight for you.”

“I’ve found that Shakespeare knew exactly what he was talking about” Dom offered simply with a shrug. Dom’s eyes flickered down as he noticed Gabriel grab the table. The man was normally so collected and Dom would be lying if he said he wasn’t enjoying getting him riled up a bit. “Now that relies entirely on you Gray” He replied, as a wicked smirk crossed his face. “Although, I do have to admit that I don’t hate the idea.” he said sucking on his lip seductively as he raised an eyebrow studying the other man’s face for a reaction.

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“I knew you were old, but I didn’t know you were Shakespeare old.”  Gabe teased, though he knew it wasn’t his best retort.  He wasn’t enjoying how much Dom was able to get under his skin. His eyes flashed to Dom’s face as the other said he didn’t hate the idea.  “I can’t tell if you’re fucking with Russell.. But I suppose if you are serious... we could probably come up with an agreement.” 

“It’ll be good for you. A learning experience,” she wiggled her eyebrows. “Live like the rest of us do,” she chuckled, enjoying teasing him. 

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“Abby... it’s like you’ve never met me before and are speaking a foreign language.  If you had just opened the door and rang up my sale, we would already be done with this conversation.”

“You better. Otherwise if I show up this weekend and you don’t I’m gonna hunt you down.”

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“This weekend might not work...”