read em and weep

when: may  where: city hall  who: marcus & open (0/3)

"That's a shame," Beau responds quietly, "you've got a real nice smile it seems." He's never really liked getting his picture taken much. Georgia was always the more photogenic of the pair and if a good picture was taken, it was because she had orchestrated it. Now he's just going to have to rely on instinct and he's pretty sure he will find some awkward middle between smiling and scowling at the camera. "Um, I'm not too sure," he's never thought about it before, "maybe I'm more of glaring kind of guy?" @snailingmail

dallas nods his head, removing his jacket and handing it over to beau. "i know it's all just hypothetical, b. if we were on a date right now, i'd think you were the nicest guy in this bar. i'd feel . . ." he searches around for the word as the bartender slides over the drinks. "fortunate." he murmurs, finding the right word after almost too long a pause. "coors. okay." dallas repeats in almost awe, handing over the long island. "i'll be honest, i've never had one, but i think we just found our next drink." nudging beau slightly with his arm, he sticks a straw in his long island and takes a long sip. "thoughts so far?"

There's a slow nod that follows Dallas' words as Beau lets everything sink in, feeling a bit more optimistic than he had a few moments before. Truth is, he's struggling to find that balance when it comes to being out and about with male companions because, well, he's never had many friends and he's afraid of overstepping boundaries. "Appreciate the honestly and, um, I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable? Not looking to make a date out of this or anything. I'm just, um, trying to figure out some stuff." Not that it's Dallas' responsibility to help him, but he's grateful for the difference in perspective.

even back in la, caroline had always been fond of farmers' markets, indulging on a bus drive with heavy bags in order to get the freshest produce. this wasn't an issue in deer valley, thankfully, even if she did have to drive to the valley for it, but she had always enjoyed the trip anyways. her attention is on the stand of pickled vegetables (some of them would be perfect for an impromptu hamburguer night back home) but it's impossible not to notice the ruckus as it happens next to her.

"God, I hope not," he responds, picking up as many tomatoes as he can before the owner of the stand notices. Luckily for him, she's distracted by another customer. And look, he's all for taking accountability but he really doesn't know what he's meant to do with a stand full of tomatoes and he's sure that most of them are salvageable. Turning a few of them around to make their bruising less noticeable, he immediately feels guilty and picks them back up before placing them into his basket, "Um, erm... do you maybe need some tomatoes? I'm sure they'll be fine if you cook them right away, it's just... I'm kind of cooking for just one person right now and, um, I don't need all these tomatoes."

"oh, she's great," georgia nodded, her eyes widening slightly in amusement. "i hope you're prepared to get an earful on the car ride, she's had a very eventful week at school and if her story to you is anything like the one i got, she'll spare no detail." ever the chatterbox, their daughter had always been bright and full of energy, and somehow one of the most outgoing kids she'd ever met. that outgoing quality definitely came from her, she wouldn't deny that. getting to watch that little girl grow up and into her features had been georgia's greatest treasure in her life, she was sure of it.

He wouldn't expect anything else from their daughter. Ever the chatterbox, Paisely's good at filling the silence that Beau often brings to the table. Although he knows he should be encouraging her to gossip less, he doesn't want to shame her for being observant about her surroundings. "Right," he says, nodding, "last weekend she was telling me about Katie and a boy named Dylan, but that was Katie with an IE and not with a Y... they're two different girls and apparently one of them hates Dylan." To him, it seems like Paisley might actually have a crush on the boy, but he isn't going to press her over the matter. The thought of her having a crush on anyone scares him because, well, she's just a baby in his eyes. "Not sure if she's maybe moved on from that, though. It's been awhile."

closed starter for beau! ( @reedxem ) where: hartley farms

Beau has, and always will have, a special place in his heart for Georgia. So despite being the one that asked for a divorce, it pains him that he's put her in such a position. Sometimes he still questions if it was the right choice and while he knows it was, he can't help but feel like he could have found a better way to go about it. Should he have called it quits sooner? Waited until Paisley was older? Tried couple's counseling? So many thoughts had raced through his head over the last year, but ultimately they didn't matter because every path still lead to the inevitable and none of them made him any less gay.

"Not a chance. Quit trying to sweep it under the rug." There was no beating around the bush. Even if perhaps he should given the shyness of the other. Caden didn't want to step on any toes at least in a general sense but sometimes one needed a nudge to get one's self out of their shell. And he figured why not be that for him in this instance. "I don't see why not. And if not, well at least you know there's something wrong upstairs with the guy. Especially around these parts." Given the town was known for ranching and farming. "Now, are you going to wait for him to make a move or do I have to intervene and be the one to step up and introduce you in some random way? If it's the latter, I will expect a couple of drinks of my own in return."

"Um," he speaks quietly, a soft chuckle leaving his throat as he tries to find an excuse as to why he can't just go up to the guy. Does he want to? Maybe. But he's never been the type to just have the guts to approach anyone. Even now if Caden hadn't been talking to him, he likely would have just kept to himself. It's the uncertainty of mixed signals. The fear of being caught talking with a guy too soon after his divorce. Worrying he might fumble and say the wrong thing. Or worse yet, maybe it goes well and then what? Go home with the guy? Ask him out on a date? He doesn't bring any of this up to Caden, of course, his mind racing in those few seconds before he responds again. "I'll just, um.... go up to him, right?" he questions, needing reassurance. Beau stands up, awkwardly placing his beer on the bar top, genuinely hoping that Caden might literally push him forward.

dallas ponders it for a moment, thinking that if beau was his date, he'd find it sweet of him to offer to hold his jacket. "no, they do. i just don't want you to have to hold my jacket, beau. but, we're also just friends, you know? it'd be different if we were dating, i guess." he shrugs. "maybe i just made it up." he smiles at the bartender, holding up two fingers as he orders a pair of long islands. "what's your go to drink? mine's a long island or a shot of tequila if i'm feeling fancy."

Now would be a real good time for the world to open up and swallow Beau whole. "Right," he says, folding his arms almost protectively, "yeah, for sure, we're just friends...I just, um... I meant, you know... if we were on a date," Beau doesn't particularly like how that sounds either but rather than just letting it go, he continues, "would you think it's alright if I held your jacket? I used to hold my wife's jacket, but that's kinda different."

"Lucky you," Maggie said with a snort, leaning back against her chair. "Mine wants to put on her princess dresses and then immediately jump in the dirt outside. And then she ropes her brother into it and their nicest clothes are then covered in dirt. My water bill has gone up like you wouldn't believe." Her kids were young enough to still travel attached at the hip, usually following the other around some bright idea that was sure to give Maggie gray hairs before she reached 35. She embraced the chaos, truly, but it didn't stop the mild stress she got sometimes.

"Yeah, lucky me," he says, somewhat solemnly. He misses when his daughter was more interested in playing in dirt than doing her nails. Not because he doesn't encourage her to go out and do her own thing, of course he does, but because it's just one more reason for her to avoid spending time with him. Guess that's just raising a tween. "I'd say cherish it while you can, you know? It's messy, but you'll miss it more than you might realize."

familiar  voice,  familiar  face.  beau  reed.  he  didn't  smile  with  recognition,  that  just  wasn't  his  way,  but  there  was  a  subtle  inclination  of  his  head  and  a  flicker  of  something  a  little  less  guarded  in  his  naturally  dour  expression.  a  slight  dispensing  of  the  tenseness  between  the  shoulders.  friends  were  few  and  far  between  for  colt.  yet  the  reunion  was  bittersweet  as  things  tended  to  be  in  recent  years.  beau  had  the  misfortune  of  reminding  him  of  the  better  times  he'd  shared  with  carrie. "ever  feel  like  you're  severely  out  of  your  depth  for  no  good  reason?"  colt  replied  gruffly,  tracing  a  thumb  across  the  edge  of  his  bearded  jawline.  eyes  back  on  the  unintelligible  list  of  wines,  cheeses  and  hors  d'oeuvres  on  offer  this  evening.  "i  ain't  one  to  turn  my  nose  up  at  tryin'  something  new,"  it  was  a  tentative  truth,  but  one  he  was  working  on,  as  evidenced  by  his  attendance  tonight.  “but  i  swear  half  these  things  are  just  folks  puttin'  a  shiny  spin  on  somethin'  that  wouldn't  otherwise  sell,  right?  i  mean  it  is  all  just  grape  juice  and  dairy  when  it  is  all  said  an'  done.”

Beau never really did find it easy to talk to Colt. It wasn't because he didn't like the guy, on the contrary sometimes he found himself thinking a little too much about his rugged looks, but rather he just felt content with the silence between them. Now both divorced, he can't say he finds it any easier, but at least he doesn't have to pretend anymore. He knows their relationships ended for different reasons and while he doesn't know the full scope of what went wrong with Carrie and Colt, he figures it's best to avoid asking.

dallas lets a laugh slip between his lips, shaking his head quickly. "no! no, i mean, maybe." he squints in the darkness at beau's outfit, realizing his old denim jacket might actually destroy the look he's gone with. "beau, you're too good to me." he laughs, shaking his head once more as he pats him on the back. "i won't do that to you. besides, i've heard sweating is kinda hot, anyway. might help my game out tonight." he shrugs his shoulders and steps up to the bar. "they do a nasty long island. nasty in a good way." dallas clarifies, drumming his fingers on the bar. "interested?"

"Hm," Beau mumbles lowly, "do guys not want me to hold their jacket?" It's a genuine question, one that comes out of his only dating knowledge revolving around his ex wife. It seems polite to offer to hold someone's jacket, though he's also aware that they're not on a date. "Haven't really heard that one before," he admits, skirting around the topic carefully because he doesn't want to come off flirty. "you'll wear it well, I'm sure"

‎ “no axe body spray… got it,” he mumbles, taking that information down as a footnote on the space at the bottom of the page with his barely legible handwriting. jamie is glad that, despite his questionable qualifications, beau is letting him help. he thinks back on how he figured out his own sexuality, but he can’t pin down on one defining moment how he realized he wasn’t into just girls. he may have taken it for granted, but he’s grateful now that his parents didn’t impose that kind of conventionality on them, which kind of makes sense with how they made up for it with other traditions. “so, if tyler had made a move on you back then, you would’ve… let him?” he’s always remembered beau to be the quiet, aloof type—he still kind of is, which is a miracle that he’s opening up to jamie like this in the first place—so he isn’t sure if beau’s repression came from a fear of himself or a lack of options in a small town dating pool. or maybe it ran deeper than that, but he’s only got, like, thirty minutes left on his lunch break. “how the guy looked on the bottle?” jamie smiles at beau endearingly, almost rolling his eyes. “you mean paul newman, the actor? butch cassidy?" blue-eyed gentleman outlaw with a big heart and a sense of humor. he can see beau going for that. “hey, no judgment here, man. a lotta people liked how he looked on the bottle. though, i’m probably more into the burt lancaster type myself.” he wonders what that says about him. “so… you’re into… dilfs, then?” or maybe that wasn’t the point of beau telling him that. “or, just like… cool, easy-going, laid back guys with just a little bit of edge?”

Beau lets out a laugh at his comment. As a man in his thirties, he's pretty sure that he shouldn't be dating anyone who still thinks axe body spray is the way to go. In a small town like this, he probably shouldn't be so picky, but a line has to be drawn somewhere. Jamie's next observation makes Beau got quiet for a moment, thinking back to a time where he was far less sure of himself. "Probably not," he responds, a sort of sadness lingering in his tone, "Or, well, it would have gone over my head." It wasn't an easy way out, not by a long shot, but back then it seemed like it was a lot less hassle to just follow society's norms and get married to his high school sweetheart. It beat trying to figure out why his heart fluttered every time a handsome guy crossed his path. Some might say he was simply just in denial and perhaps he was, but it ran much deeper than that.

𝐂𝐋𝐎𝐒𝐄𝐃 𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐑: ( @reedxem) beau.

At the risk of sounding cliche, Beau looks down at his own outfit and questions Dallas' request, "you don't think it'll clash?" In all honesty, it's a nice jacket and not far off from what Beau typically wears, but he's just put a bit more effort into his appearance tonight and genuinely doesn't know if it's the right choice. Still, he reaches out, "I don't mind holding it for ya, and um, you don't have to buy me a drink. I'll keep it real safe."

where:  the  w  hotel  when:  wine  and  cheese  night,  april  17th.  who:  open  (0/3)

Beau isn't the sort of guy who attends wine tastings. The only reason he's here tonight is because in exchange for a good deal on goat cheese from the farm, he's been given a discount to enjoy the festivities. It didn't feel right to decline the invitation and he figured it wouldn't be wise for business either. He wants to stay in the Hartley's good graces.