#blake 001.

where: neptune

As Buddy follows along while being led to his table, he can't decide whether he's the more or less fortunate one as he notices that the one he's being led to had two empty chairs. He had arrived first, and now he had an unknown stretch of time to ponder whether or not this had been a ridiculous choice for how to spend a Friday night.

In true Aurora Bay fashion, he had to pretend he hadn't caught a glimpse of both his ex-girlfriend and his ex-boyfriend in the same room seemingly for the same purpose, determined not to let that specific kind of dampener sour his night.

( He's certain he had also spotted his older sister there as well, which was it's own kind of horrendous. )

location: sea shanty shack

Felix double-checked his watch to make sure that it was a few minutes past closing time before he headed into the restaurant, glad that they didn't immediately lock up at close and hardly able to keep the excited little grin off of his face. He'd been back a few weeks but had needed a little while to get over the jet lag, get reacquainted with everything, and return to his body again before seeing anyone. As soon as he crawled out of his little self-made hole, though, Blake was the first on his list of people to say hi to.

He spotted her in a corner of the restaurant as patrons started to make their way out, and whispered a quick apology and a reassurance that he was just there to see to a friend to a frazzled-looking host who approached him. Not wanting to scare Blake, he took a seat at a table near her and waited for her to notice him, nearly shaking with excitement.

"I’m starting to think you secretly hate your customers -- or you just hate me. That’s the only logical explanation I can think of for why you still have karaoke night on weekends." Sammy complained, wincing as someone finished out their absolutely horrendous rendition of 'Hit Me With Your Best Shot' by trying, and failing, to hit the last high note. "Either that, or you’re trying to drive me to drink more—which, I’ll admit, is working." He was three beers deep at this point, wasn't he? "Instead of listening to people shriek for two hours straight, why don't you just play the sound of 'cats in heat' over the speakers? It'd probably have the same effect."

"Oh my god this heat." Lydia whined as she took a seat beside Blake at one of the nearby picnic tables, granting herself some much-needed reprieve from bartending duties. It was a great business opportunity, having Meredith's Vines as one of the vendors for this honestly impressive event, but considering all those years she spent in a well air-conditioned bakery, it was safe to say she did not handle the heat well when working. "Do you know where I can buy one of those miniature fan thingies? I almost, almost got one on Amazon during Prime Day but talked myself out of it, which was so freakin' stupid." She sighed, fanning herself with her hand.

The Stanley Hotel wasn’t a place Finn found himself frequenting but they had a restaurant that served the best steak that he’d ever tasted in his entire life. So, from time to time, he gave in to the big prices and got himself a table there. Eating at the Stanley also meant running into Blake, which so happened to be the case that evening. "Fancy seein' you here, do you ever leave?” He teased, though it was a testament to how often he saw her at work versus outside of it. People like Blake were not exactly the types he could be friends with but it was still good to keep them in network. They just couldn’t understand each other on the same level, with their vastly different backgrounds. Still, Finn liked to throw shit at her and he knew she would throw it right back. “Suppose you’re waitin’ on a thank you for that bachelorette party you recommended to the cabaret last week, huh?” He flashed a crooked smile and extended a hand to the empty seat across from him. “Sit down, I’ll get you a drink.” Which was as much of a thank you he gave anyone without saying it out loud.