say your social graces

Noah laughed just as brightly and shook his head. “Well, we don’t want them thinking I’m gay either, now, do we?” he teased. Instinctively he reached up, thumbed over the subtle pansexual pride pin on his shirt. “How else am I supposed to make out with cute girls, boys, and enbies, huh?” He got it, really he did. People heard one line about him craving a gay bar and assumed it was because he was gay, not because he wanted a safe space to be himself with no fear.

Even still, there was no offense - just the natural warmth that always rolled off of him. He leaned into the counter, body fully turned toward hers in attention and interest, and grinned. “A town like this? Hell yeah. Let’s fuck it up, Zooey.” He was sick enough some days about how wealthy these people were, how privileged they were. Most of them would never understand exactly how well off they always would be compared to someone like Noah. But Zooey? She struck him as a suitable companion. “Got even the faintest idea, or should we trust everything to fate?” 

“ fate’s a finicky bitch, but i think she’s onto something. ” zooey mused, turning noah around to face the other side of the bar. “ see that old bald guy talking to that girl who definitely isn’t his daughter but could be?  recognize him?  i mean, probably not. i only know him because the bartender pointed him out earlier, but he’s like some ceo of something. he’d be forbes’ 60 over 60. all i know is someone that rich definitely has a pool, and is probably likely to delete the security camera footage so his wife doesn’t see ... well, her. ” she nodded to the girl strapped around him, face buried into the side of his as she whispered in her ear. zooey had to admit, she admired the hustle. 

“ so, yes, i have a faint idea. but it’s just an idea, so let me know what you think. but all i know is we probably shouldn’t stay here too much longer. ” she noted, looking down at her minimum-wage outfit that probably wasn’t up to par with the grandview lifestyle. sure, she was cute, but she stuck out around the suits. “ especially if we’re gonna pull some hooligan crap. for the record, though, i love hooligan crap. ”

“Hell yeah!” Noah said brightly, looking around the space. This place was clearly a little more high end than he was used to, but he could afford to splurge from time to time. “Hey, uh…” He got the bartender’s attention and flashed them a grin. “When you got a sec, another dirty martini, please? Thanks so much!” It was instinct to show more politeness to bar staff than anyone else he ever met.

By the time he looked back at Zooey, he was already waving off her concerns. “Naaaah, if I was cruising that’d be one thing,” he teased, “but this town doesn’t have a single damn gay bar in it - can you believe that shit?” He’d always been an affectionate person, and he reached out without even thinking, giving one of her tendrils of hair the gentlest tug. “Guess I’ll spend some time with a pretty girl instead - no skin off my back.” Her martini arrived right after, and Noah made a pleased sound, lifting his glass. “Cheers.”

ZOOEY COULDN’T HELP but let a wide smile grow on her face as the boy put her worries to rest. while she was looking for just a casual night, the thought of a night out with the chipper bartender she sees on a weekly basis was just as appealing. “ pretty girl?  careful there, noah, people might think you’re straight. ” she said with a laugh, taking her martini and raising it up to meet noah’s. “ cheers!  ”

“ i can’t believe the one night i’m not at your bar and i still manage to run into you. i think it’s fate. ” she began, leaving a dramatic pause as she continued to sip her drink. “ what fate wants from us is beyond me, but i think we owe it to the universe to do something great tonight. which is my annoying way of saying i’ve decided i want to paint the town red. you up for that tonight, noah?  ”

Out of all the babysitters Gabe had been through for the past five years, Zooey was definitely one of the few that had stuck around the longest. Well, half of the time Gabriel was the one firing people because things just didn’t work out, but so far, the complications with the blonde had been slim. Mila adored her, and she was definitely good company without being too chatty. Especially after the separation with Chloe; it had been invaluable to have a sitter that didn’t come with prying eyes or curious questions, one other thing that would definitely have led to him letting them go. Yeah, Mila liked Zooey, and as long as his daughter was happy, Gabe liked her too.

Gesturing for the bartender to serve him a shot of the same as she was having, he steered his gaze back to the blonde with mild amusement. “Honestly? Neither yet. It’s been a long day but I won’t hear back from them until the morning.” Giving them a night to consider things, as always. “Yeah?” Furrowing his eyebrows, Gabe picked up the shot glass, mimicking Zooey’s actions and instantly downing it. Grimacing, he glanced back up at her, adding, “I feel like this is the part where I should ask you why.”

 “ you don’t have too, ” she started, now feeling bad for bringing it up in the first place. “ it’s nothing interesting. same-old-same-old adult life is hard and i’m constantly stressed, you know?  ” if anyone knew, it was gabe. the separation, the daughter, the being-a-ceo  of it all just screamed stress, but at least she knew he could relate. 

“ i’m doing better now, though. ” she offered, with a warm smile as she looked up at the man. “ thanks for the drink, i’ll cover myself from here out, though. and, regardless of it technically being your money in the first place, my offer still stands to buy you one back. who are you here with, by the way?  you’re not the type to hit up the bar alone. ” she said, looking back to see if she could spot some sort of crowd beckoning him to come back. “ i hope i’m not keeping you from anything, or anyone important. ”

@zooeycarmi​

Will had the corner office, and he absolutely hated it. Gerson Hall was the oldest building on Lakeham University’s campus; one of the first, he was told, that was built when the campus was first established in the late-1800’s. It was an apparent honor to be placed in the Neoclassical brick monstrosity — but with no A/C in late-August, it was absolute hell. 

Usually, after class, he headed right out towards the campus center where he’d grab an overpriced iced coffee and sit by one of the windows and read or write or grade papers, but today was the dreaded open office hours. The irony was that most of the students who actually needed office hours never came, and the ones who did were at the top of the class, and perhaps somewhere entangled in that correlation was a causation, but Will didn’t like to think about it too much. 

The little plastic fan was whizzing behind him, blowing warm air into the even warmer office while Will had his sleeves rolled up and feet up on the edge of his desk, rereading the first couple of chapters of the book he assigned to his English 1 class, when all of a sudden, a quick succession of knocks jolted him out of his concentration. He quickly pulled his legs down and cleared his throat. “Come in,” he shouted.

WHILE ZOOEY WAS CONFIDENT in her intelligence, starting school as a mature student certainly came with a lot of anxieties. she felt as though she had less room to mess up, and less chances to prove something of herself. though she was proud of herself for committing to school, the stress of her assignments and her own insecurities were taking its toll on her. maybe it didn’t help that zooey opted for the chance to take university courses while still in college too, but what could she say?  she was eager — now, however, maybe not so much. 

at least office hours were available, and zooey had been taking full advantage of them. while some appointments were less than useful, zooey found herself making her way back to professor bennett’s office. though she had only gone to speak to him a couple times before, knowing there was someone there who she could turn to for help, and would actually help her, gave zooey a sense of calm in this stressful storm she was enduring.

“ hi, professor. ” smiled as she walked in, shutting the door behind then and sitting before his desk. “ i just wanted to thank you for the advice you gave me last time. i really think it helped, but i guess you’re the judge of that, right?  ” she gave with a weak chuckle, reaching for her paper in her backpack and sliding it across his desk to him.

When asked about her drink, Alex really didn’t have a good answer. Most of the time she tried to stay away from the heavy liquor, because most of the time, she always had work in the morning. But not today, and so, a real drink or two wouldn’t be the worst in the world.

“Is there a good type of poison? I mean, I feel like there isn’t, or they wouldn’t call it poison.” For a moment, it looked like she was seriously contemplating the answer to her own question. “I can do tequila. Or vodka. Either way it’s still gonna taste like hell.” The smile on her lips dragged out into a wide grin, laughing lightly at Zooey’s words. “Don’t worry, I’ll knock you down before you get that far. I’m Alex.”

“ i don’t think there’s a good  type, but moreso that there are bad types — and it’s gin. ” she said, matter-of-fact—ly. the bartender made their way over and zooey asked for two shots of tequila, paying with a twenty up front. “ knock me down, huh?  i don’t know why, but i find that comforting. ”

as the bartender brought the shots over, zooey slid one over to the girl, holding up her own. “ cheers!  cheers to ... uh, new friends?  ” she offered with a small grin as she threw her head back to take the shot. you’d think with how often she drank these things, she’d be immune to making that god-kill-me-now , but no matter how much zooey insisted she enjoyed the taste, that burn would never be pleasant. 

With a day off work, somehow, at some point, her path had led her to a bar by the end of the day. Initially, it had started out as dinner with a friend, then she met another friend at the restaurant, who in turn introduced her to a group of others… And now here she was. Alex wasn’t usually a heavy drinker, but after already having a couple of beers, it was slowly starting to get to her.

When someone beside her called for her attention, she lifted her head from her hands, steering her hazel orbs to the blonde. “’Can you buy me a shot?’” Repeating the question and putting on a serious facade as if truly questioning her words, she soon confirmed in all seriousness, “Yes. Yes you can.” Her lips breaking into a smile, she added on a lighter note, “I mean, we’ve only just met but I’m here for you, girl. No woman should have to drink alone.” 

A WIDE SMILE grew on zooey’s face as the girl said yes. surprisingly, a lot of people turn down a free shot when asked by a total stranger. she’s usually met with a “ umm, thanks, that’s alright  ” and a weird stare.  — not that zooey did this often, or anything.

 “ yes, exactly. girls supporting girls — i’m so here for it. what’s your poison ?  ” she asked as she beckoned the bartender over. “ i usually go for tequila, unless i’m already really messed up. then i get messy and start ordering shooters. if you see me ask the bartender for anything with a sexual name, please stop me. oh , and i’m zooey, by the way. ”

Having been persuaded into tagging along with some friends to a bar for the night after an otherwise long day of work, it felt like the first time in months. So far Gabe had managed to keep the drinks to a minimum, and seeing as they were starting to run out of time for their last drinks, hopefully, things wouldn’t get much worse than this.

Heading up to the bar to pay for all their drinks for the night after having lost their bet about who could first finish a whole beer, Gabe was already pulling out his wallet as he was adressed by the person next to him. Apparently, she didn’t immediately recognize him, but he knew her voice well enough to know who it was already before glancing over to his side. “Seeing as you’re probably payin’ with parts of my money anyway, might as well just add it to my bill.” The corners of his lips pulled up in a smile, handing over his credit card when the bartender joined them, then waved for her to order. “C’mon — on me.”

ZOOEY PERKED UP as she heard his voice, suddenly seeing who it was in the dim lighting. she was thankful to be in the dark as she feared her cheeks would begin to glow a blushy pink in front of gabriel. it was one thing to drink with your employer, another to be caught totally off guard by accidentally offering to buy him shots.   and then to have him flip the switch and buy you drinks?    and another  thing to totally have the hots for him and now you’re a blushy mess as you tell the bartender you’re grabbing a shot of tequila. if zooey didn’t need the drink before, she needed it now. 

“ thanks, gabe. you’re the best. ” she said with a grin. “ isn’t he the best boss ever?  ” she leaned over to the bartender, jerking a thumb at gabe. “ so, how’s your day been ?  given you’re at a bar right now, it either went amazingly or horribly. ” zooey took the shot as the bartender handed it over, tossing her head back as she drank it immediately. “ i’m the latter, f-y-i. ”

@zooeycarmi 8:30pm, Thursday, 8/22 - 7Seas

“Whoa! Hey! You exist outside of downtown!”

Maybe that was a rude way for Noah to begin a conversation with the girl he caught sight of on the far end of the bar at the cocktail lounge, but, hell, they’ve bought drinks off each other for two whole months now. They’re practically best friends.

Noah slid onto the stool beside her and took a single sip of his martini before looking back at her with a grin. “Zooey, right? Weird seeing you without a counter between us. Sort of feel like I need to hop back there and show that guy how it’s done before I even get to talk to you.” He considered his glass once more. “…damn good martini, actually. Changed my mind. He can stay. You had a drink yet, or can I buy you one?”

IT TOOK ZOOEY a minute to acknowledge what was going on. though his comment caught her off guard, it didn’t take long for zooey to recognize the curly haired boy before her. “ yeah!  hey, noah. ” she offered, a wide smile on her face. she felt like she was seeing her favourite teacher outside of school — it was a little disorienting in the new space, but still a fun time. 

“ even without the counter, at least one thing hasn’t changed — it’s still dim as hell and we’re surrounded by neon. ” she offered with a chuckle. though she had already had a couple of drinks she nodded at his offer. “ of course you can. i’ll have whatever you’re having, and i’ve got the next round, alright?  so, what brings you here tonight, anyway?  i hope i’m not stealing you away from anything important. ”

“ hey, you ” she nodded to the first person she saw at the bar, as she pulled up a stool next to them. “ can i buy you a shot ?  i just don’t want to drink alone. last call is in, like, ten minutes, so i won’t keep you long anyway. ” she reasoned, as she called the bartender over.