#est19

Taddie leaned her chin in her hand and had a content smile on her face as her eyes bounced around, taking in the scenery. She slid her fingers through her hair and her curls resettled. In doing so, she tucked more of her hair behind her ear and Baze caught a glimpse of silver at the tip of her ear. As his smirk grew a little more, he lowered the menu and said, “Is that a cartilage piercing?”

Taddie turned to him and her hand shot up to her ear. With a soft laugh, she nodded, twisting the jewelry around for a moment, and said, “Yeah. I’ve had it for a long time. Christmas 2011, I think?”

Baze let out a brief, low whistle, then chuckled. “Nothing else pierced?” He asked, letting his eyes casually roam her face. Taddie shook her head and said, with a shrug, “Nope. Just the cartilage and two on each lobe. I kind of want my nose pierced though? But I’m terrified that I’ll accidentally rip it out and just the thought of that hurts.”

Taddie smirked as Baze let out a short laugh. “Yeah, I’ve ripped out a few earrings. I can’t imagine ripping it out of my nose.” He chuckled. Taddie nodded and wrinkled her nose slightly, then smiled. Their waiter soon returned with the answers to one of Baze’s questions and took their drink and appetizer orders.

“Double whiskey on the rocks and...Just the garlic bread to start with.” Baze said, giving the waiter a polite smile before looking at Taddie. At the mention of garlic bread, Taddie couldn’t help it as her eyes shot up to him and she tried not to smirk too hard.

“And for you, miss?” The waiter asked, turning to Taddie. With a brief lick of her lips, she looked away from Baze, up to the waiter and smiled, sweetly.

“Um...A glass of Moscato, please? And a water. Thank you.” She said. The waiter jotted it down and smiled at them both.

“Perfect. I’ll be right back with your drinks and your bread. And if you need anything, be sure to use the sign!” He said, giving a little hop and pointing two finger guns at the ‘Run, Forest, Run’ license plate sign at the end of the table. Taddie chuckled as he walked away then closed her menu and sat back, looking over at Baze.

“So, did Thea tell you I am a low key bread whore or am I just that obvious?” Taddie asked with a giggle. Baze smirked, letting out a soft snicker and shook his head, saying, “Nah, actually I was ordering for me. Did you want some?”

His smirk grew as Taddie laughed and kicked out her foot at him, gently. “Rude. Just because I’m a girl doesn’t mean I don’t eat. I have the munchies just like any other stoner.” She shot back. Now Baze laughed, sitting back and shaking his head, lightly. Taddie smirked and nudged his foot before pulling her legs back and crossing them at the ankle. Baze watched her, cocking his head to the side, slightly, then said, “How long have you known Thea?”

Taddie puckered her lips then exhale through them as she sat back. “God...All our lives? She’s actually my cousin and we’re as close as sisters.” She said with a soft chuckle. Baze raised an eyebrow and leaned forward, resting his forearms on the edge of the table.

“Really? How did I never hear about you before tonight then?” He asked with a soft chuckle. Taddie shrugged and chuckled, softly.

“I mean, she doesn’t go blasting my shit around, but I’m sure she has mentioned me in a few stories about when she was younger. We were really wild back in the day.” Taddie said with a giggle. “But she might have called me Theo. My full name is Theodora.”

“Theodora? Really?” Baze asked with a chuckle. Taddie tilted her head and gave him a look with a tight smile on her face. She couldn’t help her giggle as she said, “Are you making fun of me? Theodora is a badass name.”

“No! No, it is. It is. I just wasn’t expecting that.” Baze said. Taddie narrowed her eyes at him briefly before the look faded away and she chuckled. 

“What did you think Taddie was short for?” She asked, shifting in her seat to sit forward. Baze shrugged and said, “Dunno. Only thing I could think of is some little kid called you ‘Taddie’ instead of ‘Addie’?” When Taddie shook her head, Baze added, “So what made the change from Theo to Taddie?”

“Well, everyone mixed us up all the time; Me and Thea. I wanted to start going by Thea, but I started living with her when we were 16, so that pretty much flew out the window.” Taddie said with a laugh. She gave a shrug and said, “I dunno, I was at school one day and some kid was tossing out nicknames and he came up with Thaddie, it stuck but people dropped the ‘H’ and started calling me Taddie.”

“I like Taddie. It’s different. It’s cool.” Baze said, his voice a little lower and softer. A soft blush formed on Taddie’s cheeks as she fought her smile from growing. Thankfully, the waiter returned with their drinks and set the basket of bread on the table. After giving their order, the waiter left and Baze grabbed his glass, lifting it for a toast. Taddie chuckled and picked up her glass, touching it to his.

“What are we toasting to?” She asked, leaving her hand there, waiting. Baze chuckled and gave a small shrug, saying, “Blind dates? Sneaky friends who may actually know what they’re doing?”

“Oh? So tonight is going well?” Taddie teased, pulling her glass from his and to her lips to take a sip. Baze nodded as he took a drink and set the glass down.

“I think so...What about you?” He asked, watching her. Taddie nodded and smiled as she set her glass down. “I think so too.”

She crossed her arms on the table and leaned closer. Baze smirked and met her halfway, gently planting a kiss on her lips. Taddie giggled and slid her tongue over her lower lip then sucking it between her teeth, slightly, as he leaned away a little from her. Baze chuckled and picked up his glass for another drink before grabbing a piece of bread and ripping off a bite and chewing for a moment. Taddie shifted and placed one on her plate as well, then said, “Okay, I want to hear one of your stories now. I mean, while I’m a fan of Colson’s, I’ve seen some of the KellyVisions...Through no will of my own…So, I haven’t really seen them.”

Baze snickered softly and looked up at her. “Thea make you watch them?” He asked. Taddie nodded as she took a bite of her bread, quickly chewing and swallowing before she answered, “She’s been in love with Rook since she first found you guys. It took me a while for me to come around on you guys because she wouldn’t shut the fuck up about y’all.” She gave a giggle before adding, “But I came around. Anything she found funny or if we were bored in our apartment one night; it didn’t matter. I would spend like 2-3 hours watching videos with her and smoking. It was just...A thing we did.”

Baze laughed almost choking as he took another drink. Taddie took a sip of her wine and smirked. “I’m serious,” She said, taking another before setting the glass down. “It was quite ridiculous, I’m actually relieved she’s dating him.”

“Honestly, so are we. I don’t know what kind of hold Thea has on him, but, my boy has calmed down a lot in the last several months.” Baze chuckled, finishing the last bite of his garlic bread. “Well, there’s a lot of shit that happens on tour. We’d be here for several days.”

“She showed me a few spots of a video when you guys got caught in a hurricane in Mexico?” Taddie posited, picking up a second slice of bread and eating it. Baze snickered and shook his head, scratching at his beard before stroking it gently.

“Ah, shit. That was a long time ago. Shit was wild. Thought about eating Rook at one point.” He snickered. Taddie rolled her eyes and said, with a chuckle, “That was one of the parts Thea showed me.”

With a smirk, Baze nodded and said, “We were on the beach when we got the notice there was a hurricane. We were dumb and didn’t leave so we got caught in it kinda.” Baze chuckled to himself, remembering, as he said, “Kells and Rook got way too heated about a game of pool.”

Taddie gave a shrug and said, “It didn’t surprise me honestly.” She laughed, softly, and added, “I mean from what I know and what Thea showed me, y’all are wild.”

“Oh, yeah. Anything goes, honestly. That’s why it was brought up to eat Rook.” Baze said, picking up his glass as he gave her a wide toothy grin that made her chuckle. After taking a sip, he smacked his lips lightly and said, “Nah, we lost power that morning though. Almost the entire night too. Came back on late.”

“And you conveniently left out the newscast?” Taddie asked, trying to hide her smirk in her glass as she took another sip. Baze smirked and said, “She showed you that?”

“Um, it was almost immediately after the ‘eating Rook’ bit.” Taddie said, in a mock defensive tone, then giggled. Baze shook his head.

“Some wild shit happens with us, honey. At least Thea knew what she was in for.” Baze said, sitting back. Taddie shrugged and said, “I’ve heard some stories, so I wouldn’t be surprised at the shit y’all get into.”

Baze chuckled and said, “What about you, then? What do you do for work?” His eyes were fixed on her. Watching her as she smiled and looked away, a soft pink tinting her cheeks. With his eyes on her, he reached for a piece of bread the same time she had looked away to reach for one. When their hands collided gently in the basket, their eyes shot over at their hands, then back to each other with a twin chuckle. 

“Well, I’m a photographer.” Taddie started, her fingers finding the edge of the bread and grabbing it. Baze’s hand slid over hers slowly before grabbing a piece and moving it to his plate quickly. Taddie blinked once, quickly glancing down at her plate as she set the bread down, then looked back up at him and said, “I actually work with Thea. Sometimes she has make-up gigs and her clients are okay with a quick photoshoot, both for them and for us. Or I’ll have a photoshoot and they request make-up and Thea tags along, I charge for Thea and we split what we get.”

“Effective.” Baze said with a chuckle. “You guys have your own business or just freelance?”

“Mainly freelance. But a few times a year one of us will be contracted for an event or a wedding or a shower or something. Just depending on the job, we’ll work it together.” She said with a smile. “It’s actually quite a relief I get to work with her. She knows me so well, it’s just easy for the most part. And that’s when we give our quality work.”

With an understanding nod as he set down his glass, Baze said, “It’s a hell of a lot easier working with someone who knows how you work. Takes the stress away.” Taddie let her head hang back as she let out a soft groan and said, “It’s the worst when you’re alone on a project and there’s some bitch who thinks she knows better because she has model experience.”

Baze laughed as she adopted an affected accent at the end. “That’s the worst, honestly. Like, bro, do you want to do my job or me? What are you paying me for? What are we doing here, my guy?” Baze said, acting out with his hands. A giggle fit descended over Taddie as she finished off the rest of her wine.

“It’s one of the reasons I refuse to go back to portrait studio work.” Taddie said, scrunching up her face at the thought. She shook her head and with a sigh, she said, “It’s basically retail and customer service. I broke down twice during my first Christmas season…Stressful as fuck. Especially when we were left there alone most of the time? I made sure I was out before the second. I was not going to endure that again, no Ma’am!”

Baze chuckled and shook his head, popping the last bite into his mouth and wiping off his hands. Before he could ask anymore questions, their waiter came back with their meals, placing the plates down and clearing the bread and small plates.

“Was there anything else I can get you? A refill on the wine, Miss?” He asked, gesturing to Taddie’s empty glass. Taddie shook her head and handed it to him.

“Oh. No, thank you. I think just the one glass is fine.” Taddie said with a polite smile. The waiter smiled and took the glass, also with a smile.

“Well, if there’s anything else, don’t forget the sign.” He said, gesturing to the sign again. With a chuckle, before he walked away, the waiter added, “Enjoy your meals.”

~

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