montana

“Oh I would be more than happy to introduce you to my friends. They’re quite an outgoing bunch of people. But first, let’s get you that drink… what’s your poison?” Dimitri asked the other as he led her towards the bar. “I take it you haven’t been around the city all that much?” He noted upon hearing the other’s words, which caused him to chuckle softly. He was not one to judge. “I wouldn’t blame you though. Chicago’s a pretty big city.” He admitted with a shrug before he laughed softly at her question. “Honestly, I didn’t meet any of these people overnight or anything like that. Most of these people are friends from work. I’ve been working at the hospital for eleven years now so… that’s where I met most of my friends. But the others… I guess, I’m just a social butterfly. I go about pretty much everywhere and end up making friends… kind of like how I met you, you know?” 

Montana: did i leave my sunglasses at the bar last night?

“Hm… usually when it comes to wedding, I’ve been told that you’re early as long as you arrive before the bride and groom.” Lauren remarked, laughing softly. “Though I guess in our case, there’s nothing wrong with being a little late.” Though she was not all that used to getting along with strangers, there was something about the other that made her feel a little comfortable. “Oh no, I’m a nurse. I feel like being a nurse has always been better than being a doctor, because we’ve got the more practical skills. But hey, if anything does go wrong, this place is filled with medical professionals… so you have nothing to worry about.” She explained to the other, shrugging off her joke. “Oh really? Who’s your friend? I wonder if I know her, by any chance…” 

Usually, bookstores are the one place Mateo seemed to least enjoy, but he promised someone he would take a look around, and that someone was himself. Flaunting your masculinity may be fun for some but days like this, he just wanted to curl up with a blanket, some wine, and a good book. Mateo walked through the door and was instantly greeted by a young woman. “Oh hello,” He began, “I was just wondering if you had anything that’s not Twilight but somewhat similar… without the supernatural creatures.?” As he spoke, his words seemed to jumble together. What was the genre he was thinking of? It completely slipped his mind.

The man seemed to struggle to describe what he was looking for. Coincidentally, the ‘guess what I’m thinking of’ game was one of Montana’s favorites. It allowed her to offer her own suggestions until someone finally decided on something. It made people get more specific. Or, at the very least, it made for fun stories when she went home to make fun of them to her friends. “So... Twilight, but not Twilight... and no vampires or werewolves or shapeshifters or whatever they were?” she clarified. “Are you looking for a romance novel?”

Victoria chuckled at the response, those words resonating with her. “Well, if it makes you feel any better you’re definitely not alone.” though she wasn’t sure if hearing from the older woman about a lack of dating was going to make her feel any better. But she seemed young and still had plenty of time before the pessimism took over more permanently.  “But weddings aren’t the worst place to meet someone, especially one of this size.” Victoria could recall several weddings she had been to where she didn’t exactly leave alone. But she didn’t see that happening this time. “And me too, a plus one of a friend, though it seems like my plus one might’ve bailed on me so I’ll be flying solo..” 

“Good. There’s nothing worse than being alone in being alone,” she joked. There was some truth in it, though. Seeing happy people all over the place, celebrating what was supposed to be some eternal, unbreakable bond -- all while knowing that she was just as alone as she’d pretty much been since high school? It didn’t feel great. “That’s fair. Though I think if I try to strike up too deep of a conversation with someone, they might realize I don’t actually know the bride or the groom. -- What is it with these dates bailing on us? They shouldn’t be surprised if we ditch them and just hang out with each other all night.”

Laughing softly at the woman who had just entered the reception as well, Lauren shook her head in response. “I’m glad to know that I’m not the only one who’s fashionably late to this wedding. I’m not going to lie… I was actually starting to get worried during the driver over.” She quipped. “Honestly, I’m not that surprised that this party’s packed. It’s beiing thrown by one of the doctors I work with. I’m Lauren, it’s nice to meet you. I actually work with Penny. How do you know the bride and groom?” 

“If you show up on time to a wedding, you’re early. If you show up late, you’re on time... or at least, that’s what I’ve always found.” Not exactly true, but it was true of other things, so what was a little stretching of the truth to make some small talk? Montana ran a hand through her hair. “Oh -- are you a doctor, too? I guess it’s good to know we’re all in safe hands if anything were to go wrong. -- Not that it will. Just... joking, of course.” Her smile was awkward, apologetic. “I’m a plus-one, actually. My friend’s partner had something come up last minute, and she really hates going to these things alone. I’m sure they’re both lovely people, though. I’ve only heard fantastic things.”

“I hope I haven’t missed anything.” Lauren remarked as she entered the reception and made her way towards the familiar face. She was fashionably late, but was not about making an entrance. Truth be told, she had spend the start of the evening debating whether or not to actually attend the reception. Penny was her colleague, so she knew she had no choice but to show up for her sake. In the end, the blonde had decided to put on her finest outfit and drive over to the Petrescu mansion. “I must say, it seems like quite the party out here…” @hocstarters​​

Feeling more and more out of place by the minute, Montana was eager to be as invisible as possible. However, that was pretty hard to do... especially when she’d found herself near the door, where people were continuing to arrive, making the event possibly the busiest wedding Montana had been to in years. “Oh, not at all -- or maybe I’m missing something, too,” she laughed. “I didn’t realize the happy couple were so well connected. -- I’m Montana, by the way.” She offered her hand as an introduction.

It was not completely unusual for Dimitri to have a complete stranger at his birthday party, as he was always meeting new people and making new friends. He was glad that Montana hadn’t thought of him as crazy when he had first invited her. “Oh no, of course. Anything for a new friend of mine…” He stated with a wink, and chuckled softly. “What can I say? I have a lot of friends… and hopefully after tonight, you might have some friends too…?” At least, that’s what he had hoped for Montana by the end of the night. “Can I get you a drink, love?” He asked her, hoping to be a good host. The last thing he wanted was to leave her on her own in a room full of people she did not know. “And then if you want, I can introduce you to some of my friends.” 

She already felt a bit out of sorts, and when Dimitri winked at her, she could feel her face heating up. Was he flirting? Or just being nice? She didn’t know him well enough to be able to truly discern... so Montana decided it was better to play it safe and act as casual as possible about it. “Maybe -- you’ll have to introduce me, give me the ‘who’s who,” she replied, trying her best to focus on her friend and not take another look around. “Honestly, I might need one. This is probably the most people I’ve been around in a while.” Great. And now she sounded like a complete loner. “I’m not a hermit, I swear. Just... new in town. How do you go about meeting all these people, anyway?”

location: wedding event closed for @montanaj​​

If you were to ask Victoria how she ended up at a wedding where she hardly knew anyone in the party she honestly wouldn’t know what to say. She somehow slipped in as the reception was getting started after leaving her failed date earlier in the afternoon and next thing she knew she was at the bar, cocktail in hand. At some point on the way in she had found Montana and figured it’d be better to confidently stroll in as a pair rather than be seen wandering around alone. “So, how do you know the happy couple?” she asked, turning to face her. “I have to be honest, I’m not too familiar with either, though I know I’ve seen them around. They seem splendidly in love..” 

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“that’s fair, because you sit here and you sell the books all day and people tell you involuntarily about their favorite books and what happens in all of them. but see, i don’t have that problem so i don’t have to worry about that but i don’t know i just need to do something else to occupy my time.” he mentioned to her. “see, i don’t agree with that. i am a huge movie buff. i can sit there and watch some movies over and over, and every time i watch a movie for another time i think i learn something new about it.” he explained as he smiled softly. “nice to meet you, monatana, i’m beau.”

At least Beau seemed to get it. “It’s nice, but it’s also sorta like... when people spoil a movie for you, but on repeat, every day. And sure, you get paid for it, but... “ She shrugged. “By the time you leave, you’ll have a brand new reading list, and then all your free time’ll be preoccupied.” She paused, going through the list of books she’d been told about in the past few days, trying to think over which ones would be good recommendations and which ones she could only really remember vague details about. “So what’s your favorite movie? Or what are your favorite movies? Are you more of a classics guy? Thrillers? Biopics?”

🃏

He’d have been lying if he said he hadn’t expected just a little more fight, but the subtle agreement earned a grin and an increases sense of confidence as he nodded his head. “Alright that’s what I’m talking about. You totally don’t have to be a gambler, but I would also be a terrible host if I didn’t teach you what’s going on when we get there. That’s how people learn right? Besides, they may not tell you this, but they almost always let you win on your first go so that you have enough money in your pocket to afford those mozzarella sticks right?” He fibbed having no idea if this was actually true for most tables, but he’d be lying if he said he hadn’t found a way to let things slide a time or two at his own. Carew was convinced it somehow made up for the nights that others got caught cheating at the tables and what came next. “Personally I think it’s a recipe for a good time. But obviously different strokes for different folks. If it’s not your thing we can go somewhere else.” 

“Is it a continuation of another one of his stories?” Ivy found herself asking. “I’ve only read a few of his stories. A great writer. I enjoyed a few of his things. I can’t say that I have gone out of my way to find a particular book of his or had to read them all.” She then admitted. She liked to switch things up… not focusing on just one author. Every one had a different style of writing and she enjoyed experiencing that. “I don’t have a favorite author. There are some books I enjoy more than others, of course… One of their books can be amazing while the next kind of dull. I like to hop from author to author, honestly.” 

Montana shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. It’s something completely new. Or... a standalone, I guess.” When Ivy said she hadn’t gone out of her way to read his works, though, she had to say that she was surprised. “He’s probably one of my favorites. You’ve seen movies based on his stuff, though, right?” Maybe they could connect on that, instead. “I mean, that’s fair. As much as people think I spend every day sitting around and reading, I think I probably just stick to the same stuff... because I don’t actually read as much as you might think. Is that bad? Considering people ask me for suggestions all the time and whatnot?”

Dimitri had always been a social butterfly, which probably explained how he had so many friends in Chicago, oonsidering that they were all attending his thirty-sixth birthday party that afternoon. He had met his newest friend, Montana, the week before, having literally run into her while he was on his morning run at the park. After striking up a quick conversation and learning that she was new to the city, he had managed to invite this complete stranger to this party in hopes that she would be able to meet some people. Needless to say, the surgeon hadn’t actually expected for her to show up, but was thrilled to see Montana either way. “Oh my God, Montana, you made it!” Dimitri grinned as he saw the other walk into the party. “It’s so lovely to see you.” @montanaj​​

Honestly, Montana wasn’t even sure what she was doing there. She knew Dimitri as an acquaintance -- probably just as well as she knew just about anyone in town, if she sat down to actually think about it. Showing up at his party felt like an intrusion of sorts. At the same time, she didn’t have much of anything else going on, and she figured it was just about as good an idea as anything else... so why not? She tried sneaking her way in, not making too much of a disturbance, when she ran into Dimitri himself. “Oh! Hey! Thanks again for inviting me -- it looks like you’ve got quite the party going on! I didnt’ realize like... half of Chicago was gonna be here.”

“I’m not sure why we think anything other than stopping by Jack’s is the appropriate answer for ‘what the fuck is there to do on a Wednesday night.’” Carew mused eagerly as he approached the other with a sense of belonging whether he’d been welcomed or not. “The pots insane right now. Every hand’s been fire, and not to mention you get to spend to spend your evening in the company of yours truly. What do you possibly have to lose? You know.. except the obvious.” He added as he let his fingers drum lightly against the table. “For real though they’ve also got half off drinks, and if alcohol isn’t your shtick which.. Don’t blame you. Totally not mine either…” The fibs flowed out of his mouth like melted butter. A little too easily for someone who was supposed to be bettering himself. “Then at the very least you gotta try the motzi sticks. They’re crispy on the outside and cheesy on the inside. Like a fuckin add for every lactose intolerants worst nightmare.” 

@hocstarters​

The invitation was tempting, to say the least. In the few months she’d been in town, Kennedy hadn’t been to the casino. She wasn’t really a betting type of person... and even worse, she didn’t really have anyone to go there with her. But Carew was inviting her, and that made it harder to say no to. “Okay, fine. But I don’t gamble, so... I’ll cheer you on, if you do. And the first round of mozzarella sticks are on me,” she offered. “I’ve never actually been -- is it really that good?”

Ivy had always been the type to try and get her hands on a book. Things had been a little hectic in her life, but she needed to try and calm down and take some time for herself. Lately when going home she had been putting on some random show or movie that never interested her… so maybe she could get back into reading. Her eyes instantly scanned the shop once she walked in. Hearing a voice, a soft smile formed on her lips before looking at the woman. “Just looking at the moment… but if you have some recommendations, I wouldn’t mind hearing them. I’m usually a mystery/horror type of person, but I can be swayed to pick something else up.” 

Finally, there was a person who seemed to have some idea about what they wanted. Maybe the woman didn’t have a title in mind, but at least she had a direction to point Montana to. “No problem,” she replied, going through the books she’d heard about recently in her head. “I think Stephen King came out with something new, recently. I don’t know if it’s horror, really... more of a redemption story, from what I’ve heard. Billy Summers, I think? I used to be a huge Stephen King fan. Don’t know why I stopped reading his stuff, actually. What about you?”

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“alright, i’m glad i am not alone in this situation here. i want to so badly get back into reading but i’m not too sure how well that is going to go.” he mentioned to her as he shrugged his shoulders softly. “that sounds good.” he mentioned to her as he nodded his head softly and looked around. “i guess i could try that, it never hurts to try something and see if i like it.” he suggested aloud, mostly to himself but she was there so it just came out. 

“I always say I want to get into reading, but then I come into work and I’m surrounded by books, and I hear people talk about their favorites all day, and then I feel like I’ve basically read them already,” she laughed. “You know how you watch a movie, and then you can’t watch it again because you know what happens? It feels like that, sorta. -- And worst case scenario, if you don’t like it, it’d make a great gift. And then you look like the kind of guy that gives people thoughtful, smart presents. -- I’m Montana, by the way.”