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"I mean it," he said, pointing his finger at her. He knew Dawn took him seriously, but there was something about someone agreeing to all of that so quickly that made him apprehensive. He figured in two weeks' time, she'd be changing her tune and begging him to do just one silly dance. That was how Nina roped him in to shit all the time. His lips turned up a little, though, and he wasn't entirely too convincing in the moment. "We do cocktails for events and stuff, like we did discounted shots for Pride and they were all a different color, we made, like, a rainbow." He gestured his hands in a half circle, somehow feeling the need to explain even though there was literally no reason to.

Dawn laughed and held up her hands in surrender. “I promise, no silly dances. Cross my heart.” She said with a grin, making an X over her heart. When he mentioned the rainbow shots for pride, she nodded, enthusiastically. “Yes! That’s exactly the kind of content that should go on your social media. People love seeing businesses that care about their community.” She leaned forward, getting more animated. “Bars are never boring to people who don’t work in them. You’re mixing drinks and creating experiences, that’s way more interesting than most people’s day jobs.” She nodded approvingly at his plan. “Smart thinking putting Nina and Adriana on the case once it’s set up.” She smiled at Benny. She already had a few ideas of how to do it. “I’m sure Spencer won't mind, but I’ll mention it to him just in case.” She agreed, sipping her drink. “Plus, more business for me, means I can treat him to coffee for once.”

"Terrible timing. The worst, even." Nate managed a small smile, scratching the back of his neck. But he was quick to assure her, shaking his head. "You're not misreading anything. Not unless I've been misreading too, and I'm pretty damn certain I haven't." Her question gave him pause, but it also caused a slight warmth in his chest. "Ideally? Well, I'd like to take you on a real date. I think--no, I know--that I really like bein' with you. And I haven't had that in a really long time." He laughed, ducking his head as an undeniable flush colored his cheeks. "And if you'd like to be a part of my story, well then--hell, that works out great for me, but I want it to be because you want it. Not because of some...misplaced piece of media. You know? So maybe we can stop dancing around eachother.. Maybe we give it a try." Nate allowed himself to step closer to Dawn, lacing their fingers together as his blue eyes searched hers. "What do you say?"

Dawn felt her heart do a little flip at his words. A smile spread over her face, bright and genuine. “A real date,” she repeated softly, like she was testing how it sounded. When he stepped closer and took her hand, she looked down at their laced fingers, then back up at him. “Yes,” she said, maybe a little too quickly, blushing furiously when she caught herself. “I mean, yes, I’d really like that.” Her thumb brushed over his knuckles and the back of his hand. “I haven’t felt this way about someone in a really long time either, so maybe we’re both a little out of practice, but…” she shrugged, still smiling. “I think that’s okay. We can figure it out together, right?” 

Nate laughed sharply, the kind that didn't carry much humor but softened the air between them anyway. "No apology necessary. You saw it same as I did." His thumb rubbed against his palm, restless, before he forced his hands to settle at his sides. He'd promised himself that he wouldn't fidget through this. "And you're right--we're not anything. Not officially." His tone softened, quiet but firm. "Still doesn't mean I like the idea of you thinking I'd go behind your back."

Dawn felt some of the tension in her chest ease at his words. She wasn’t sure what to call it. It felt unfair to feel this way since they weren’t officially anything. But seeing that picture had still worried her, and brought her right back to the promise she had made to herself after everything had gone down in New York. “Well, that’s a relief,” she said with a small laugh, her smile more real and less forced this time. “I was worried I’d completely misread…” she gestured vaguely between them, but less uncertain this time, “whatever this is we’ve been doing. Your friend has awful timing, but I guess I can’t be too mad if she didn’t know about us?” It came out as more of a question than she intended. She bit her lip thoughtfully. The way she had felt when she saw the picture told her more about her feelings than she had even realised were going on. “So, where do you see your story going from here?” She asked curiously. “You said you don’t let people set your story anymore, which is great. But where would you like it to go next?” 

Dawn’s expression softened even more. She could hear the sincerity in his voice. “I can tell you do,” she said and nodded. “The fact that you’re thinking about it this much says a lot.” She smiled at him. She thought it was sweet how much Tae cared. She hoped it stayed that way and that him and Spencer could find happiness together. They both deserved it - even if she would keep an eye on Tae, just in case. “We should definitely go. I’ll see if I can find someone to ask. I don’t have many friends either,” she admitted sheepishly. “So either we’re not at all pathetic, or we’re both pathetic - either way we’re in it together.” She laughed, and bumped his shoulder lightly. “And now you’ve got me pestering you about Korean BBQ so that’s something, right?” She grinned. “It’s also nice to have someone to speak Korean around. It comes with less filtering, though, so… All our conversations from here on out are confidential.” She half-joked. 

Dawn was a friend who had come into Spencer's life in the years Tae had been gone from it. Tae liked to think he knew Spencer better than almost anyone, and maybe he did, but the last five years, Dawn had spent more time with him than Tae had. He realized he didn't know much about her life, or their friendship, and it stung his heart a little to hear her say she didn't have many friends. "Well, I'll be your friend. You're Spencer's friend, so I'm kind of obligated," he teased. He knew it wasn't literally the case, but he wanted to share their life together, and that meant making room in it for the people Spencer cared about. "It'll be nice having someone to speak Korean with, too." He had his family, and Jin, but they normally spoke English. "I'll set it up and I'll get Spencer to message you."

Spencer couldn't stop the light blush from appearing on his cheeks when his own employee had called him out. He really wasn't subtle, at all. "Hey, I tried," he said with a slight shrug of his shoulders. He was touched to hear that Dawn actually cared about him, though. "Oh it's a story, alright," he said, laughing lightly. "You're right, I'm sorry I haven't been gossiping about my love life." He grinned widely, clearly teasing her.

Dawn blinked a few times, processing what Spencer had just told her. Oh, this was better than anything she’d ever been served back in New York City. “So…” She said after a moment, a sly grin spreading over her lips as she leaned her elbows on the counter. “You’ve essentially gone from zero boyfriends to potentially two boyfriends? And they are also seeing each other… right?” She laughed, shaking her head slightly. “Honestly, I’m both surprised and not surprised. If anyone, it would be you.” She teased him. Her expression softened slightly as she looked up at him again. “Are you okay with all this? Like, you’re all… dating each other, right? How does that work without someone becoming the third wheel?” She asked, genuinely curious about the dynamic. She was genuinely excited for Spencer if this was something he wanted, but she also cared enough about him to have her guard up just a little - just in case something was complicated. It wasn’t exactly a traditional setup, in any sense, and Tae did strike her as more of a traditional guy. 

Tae let out a sigh of relief. He knew he hadn't been the perfect partner to Tae in the past, too busy nursing his own ego and his own demons to worry properly about the impact it would have on the man he loved. Trauma wasn't an excuse, but he knew it had made him selfish, put him in survival mode. He was doing better now. He hoped what he had learned over the years they'd been apart would help him keep their relationship together this time. "That's good. I really do want to make him happy, Dawn," Tae said sincerely. He couldn't blame people who cares about Spencer for being protective. He hadn't even met the family again yet, but they were probably too polite to grill him too hard.

Dawn’s expression softened even more. She could hear the sincerity in his voice. “I can tell you do,” she said and nodded. “The fact that you’re thinking about it this much says a lot.” She smiled at him. She thought it was sweet how much Tae cared. She hoped it stayed that way and that him and Spencer could find happiness together. They both deserved it - even if she would keep an eye on Tae, just in case. “We should definitely go. I’ll see if I can find someone to ask. I don’t have many friends either,” she admitted sheepishly. “So either we’re not at all pathetic, or we’re both pathetic - either way we’re in it together.” She laughed, and bumped his shoulder lightly. “And now you’ve got me pestering you about Korean BBQ so that’s something, right?” She grinned. “It’s also nice to have someone to speak Korean around. It comes with less filtering, though, so… All our conversations from here on out are confidential.” She half-joked. 

"Good," Benny replied with a simple nod of his head, glad to know Dawn hadn't been put in any precarious positions with asshole guys in her former line of work. He eyed her carefully when she talked about social media, wondering if she was going to get overly into the idea like Nina had originally. Unfortunately for him, Nina was always excited about the prospect of things and less so about the follow-through. It usually left him with a lot of the grunt work, or at least left him delegating it all to his other staff. "Sandy used to have a TikTok for her bartending, but she swore off social media, so I'm pretty clueless." He wasn't quite sure how real Dawn's sentiment was about authentic, down-to-earth stuff, because from what little he knew about social media, it was all very fake and phony. "What do you have in mind, exactly? I don't want to agree to let you help me only to end up in some kind of ridiculous costume actin' like a damn idiot on the internet. I can't spent a lot of time makin' posts, either." He pursed his lips, scratching his chin thoughtfully. "You got pricing or anything? For helping people with this stuff?"

Dawn smiled at him and shook her head. “No costumes necessary, and I’ll leave the TikTok dances to someone else.” She honestly couldn’t blame him. When she had gotten started, she had been extremely self-conscious about what she was wearing and putting online. Now she was occasionally bullying Spencer into the odd TikTok dance, but the costume remained optional. “Well, do you have any signature drinks? Or cocktails you do on special occasions? You could make videos on how to make them, or just showing them being made and prepared. ‘Behind the scenes’ stuff does pretty well when it’s a place people are interested in.” She explained. “A lot of places do atmosphere photos too, taken during events or just during a chill night.” She thought for a moment, brushing her thumb along the edge of the glass. “I can show you how you can set up a queue, and I can make like a template for you and a folder of photos to use, so you don’t have to go out of your way every time you need something posted.” She smiled at him. “I won't charge you an arm and a leg. I can set up a plan for you, and then look at how much time it’ll be, and we can work it out from there?” She suggested. 

+ starter for @redawnloaded

Dawn had been holding her breath without realising it, and she let it out slowly when he brought up the picture. She had seen it, and although she’d never admit it out loud, she had been disappointed. She was extremely firm on her stance that she wouldn’t get involved with another man who was already seeing someone. When Nate had invited her over, she had been hesitant to go, but had decided she needed to at least get the situation cleared up. “I…” She started, then stopped, biting down on her lip thoughtfully. She eventually looked up at him, trying for a casual smile, but she wasn’t sure it quite hit the mark. “I mean…” She shrugged her shoulders, her hands fidgeting slightly with the hem of her shirt. “I don’t really have the right to be upset about it anyway, you know? I just… I don’t know. I was surprised. I didn’t know you were that close, I guess?” She smiled faintly, looking away. 

Dawn's story was different, that was for certain. Benny felt the wide, open canyon of differences settle between them with the two stories, knowing full well that maybe New York City's level of drama was a whole lot nastier than he'd realized. "Shit," he said, shaking his head, "that guy sounds like a monster. You didn't ever get stuck working with guys like that, did you?" He asked as though he could do something now, as if protecting her from men like that was something he had the ability to do, despite it all being in the past.

Dawn’s expression shifts and becomes more serious for a moment when he asked his question. She shook her head. “No, thankfully, I didn’t work directly with anyone like that.” She had definitely made some rather questionable choices about who she got involved with, but that was a story for a time when she had at least a whole barrel of whiskey in her system. She took a sip of her drink, her face brightening again when he mentions social media. She practically bounces in her seat. “Oh! Trust me, half the people running successful accounts have absolutely no idea what they’re doing either.” She smiled at him, leaning her elbow on the bar. “Nina sounds great for setting it up! But if you want help with it, I can help you? Show you the ropes? It’s actually really fun once you get the hang of it. You already have the persona, you’ll kill it on social media.” She smiled encouragingly. An authentic, no nonsense bartender who doesn’t take himself too seriously is social media gold. “People eat up genuine, down-to-earth stuff.” She smiles at him. “You already have a pretty solid customer base,” she gestured vaguely to the people around them. “But do they know about what nights you do 3 for 2 on shots? Or when you’re giving out kisses to whoever wins at pool?” She teased. 

Dawn was originally from Seoul, but she had lived, worked and studied in New York for a time. Both cities made it obvious why the woman loved fashion, and why she had such an eye for it. "I'm a New Yorker!" Sara practically squealed, happy and excited that they had this - amongst so many other things - in common. "Where did you live in New York? I grew up in Deer Park, Long Island, then went to the Pratt Institute for college and lived in Brooklyn before I found myself here." Found myself seemed like a much more appropriate and clean way of saying it, instead of telling Dawn that I moved here with my abusive ex-girlfriend who grew up in Blackstone Ridge because her mom got really sick, and I had to help care for her and my ex's alcoholic antics. "And how long did you live in Seoul for? Talk about the fashion capital of the world." Sara had never been overseas before, but she'd love to go to South Korea or countless other places around the world. One day, she thought. Until then, she'd live vicariously through her new best friend.

Dawn’s face lit up when Sara mentioned she was from New York too! “No way! I lived in Manhattan in dorms, since the school was there. I went to FIT.” She explained and gestured to herself. “Imagine, we’ve probably walked past each other before and never knew we were actually besties.” She said excitedly. “Pratt is such an amazing school too, I hear amazing things about the art program!” She added with a nod of approval. It was so exciting to meet someone she apparently had a lot in common with. She couldn’t really categorise herself as a born and bred New Yorker, but as far as her American-ness went - that’s probably what she was. 

Ah, there it was. The protective best friend coming out to save the day. "I'm not sure how much Spencer has told you about us..." Probably a lot. It had to come up when the two of them were together at the shop all day, right? What else did you fill your time with? "But I do plan to treat him well. I hope I already do." If Spencer was unhappy, surely he would have told Tae, right? They'd had so many conversations about the status of their relationship, about Jin.

Dawns expression softened, and she shook her head. “He seems pretty happy. We haven’t really talked about it a lot.” Sure, they talked about it now and then, but mostly if Dawn had questions. She didn’t really like to pry, though. As long as Spencer seemed happy, that was good enough for her. “He’s clearly being treated well, so I’m assuming you and that producer guy are both doing an okay job.” She teased, nudging his arm playfully. When he mentioned going out for a Korean BBQ instead, she nodded. “Oh, going out would be amazing, actually. I say I miss having people to cook with, but what I really mean is I miss watching as other people cook for me, so maybe that’s not fair to you guys.” She chuckled lightly. She hadn’t been to a Korean BBQ place since New York, so going out to Fort Worth or Dallas was perfect. “I’ll see if I know anyone who’d like to come! If not, I’ll happily third-wheel as long as I get to stuff my face with some good food.” 

"Hell, we can do both," Spencer said with a shrug and a smile. If Dawn wanted to go all out, why not? Okay, maybe not completely, knowing that some of their ideas combined would've been more than either of them could chew. "Speaking of romance..." he started to say as he took another bite of his sandwich, chewing slowly before swallowing, like he was trying to tease her with the dramatic pause. "I know you've been watching me and Tae. Go ahead, ask your questions." He knew that Dawn was only being protective, so of course he had to tease her a little bit.

Dawn just grinned when Spencer brought up Tae. She had absolutely been watching. But she had also watched Spencer chat up that DJ guy who kept giving him horror books, so she wasn’t entirely sure where any of this was going. “I wouldn’t say I have been watching,” she said, feigning innocence. “It's more that I have eyes, and you’re not exactly subtle.” She pointed her sandwich at him accusingly. “And I care about you not getting your heart broken by some well-dressed guy who comes in here, so sue me I guess.” She rolled her eyes playfully. “Actually, don’t sue me, I can’t afford it.” She laughed. “Okay, but, what’s the story? And what about the guy with the horror books? You’re being so busy, but not busy enough gossiping with me.” She took a sip of her drink. 

"Oh yeah? New York secrets got us beat, you think? I don't know, there's something to be said for the fact that ol' Mrs. Dugan is still chasin' that friend of her son's around from time to time even though her husband's still alive, just got a heart problem." Benny laughed, knowing that the small town gossip had nothing on a big city's, but it was all somehow juicier when you knew people first-hand. "You should spoil 'em anyway. Hell, you can spoil 'em for me, I won't read 'em anyway. Tell me how one ends, just to get it off your chest." Benny flashed her a rare but genuine smile, crossing his arms over his chest as though he was readying himself for some big plot drop. "Shit, girl, ain't nothing new around here. I don't like new, that just means more work. I like when things stay nice and smooth. Who am I wearing? Shit, I don't know if there's even a brand on this shirt, I've had it so long." Benny's gaze moved down to the button up he was wearing, tugging it slightly off his chest and looking down at it. "Might be Levi's, if I'm honest. Can't remember, but I clearly am high fashion, you know."

Dawn gasped and placed a hand over her mouth in surprise. “Mrs Dugan! That’s so messy, oh my god.” She laughed. She didn’t really know who Mrs Dugan was, she was horrible with names, but she could only imagine it was one of the ladies that came by the store every now and then. She thought about his request for gossip for a moment before nodding. “Okay.” She cleared her throat, her hand wrapping around her drink. “Someone I used to know when I lived in New York got fired for trying to sleep with models during fashion week.” She said in a hushed tone. “The kicker is he pretended to be gay so he’d be allowed in with them, which is super gross in itself. So there was a whole thing.” Despite many of them turning their back on Dawn when she was fired, she still had channels where she got the inside scoop that never quite made it to the tabloids. “I think there are lawsuits happening too.” She raised her eyebrows as if to say, ‘can you believe?’ before leaning back in her seat a little again.