001 [warning: sexytimes]

[seeagreatergood]

Happy Hour at Allen's is, as usual, loud with competing voices and scents, all of which are less important to Auggie than Annie and Jai's laughter and the second beer in front of him.

Well. Almost all. Occasionally Auggie cocks his head at the sound of heels or the floral scent of shampoo and listens to Jai and Annie's reactions. Jai has one chuckle for redheads and another for brunettes, while Annie has a groan for blondes that Auggie is told is rather hypocritical of her.

"Did the last three girls all have tequila, or was it just one carrying enough shots for her whole party?" he wonders.

"The last four," Jai corrects, audibly smirking. "Your nose must be getting tired."

"I don't get it. Cinco de Mayo is tomorrow -- you'd think people could hold off on the faux-Mexican debauchery until Saturday."

He hears Annie sit bolt upright.

"Oh crap, it's Friday, I have a thing with my--"

"Sister," Auggie and Jai chorus with her. Auggie grins, in spite of the dirty look he's sure she's giving him, and adds, "Jai, you owe me ten bucks."

Jai sighs and digs in his pockets. "Which ought to just about cover your cab ride." He slaps the money onto the table at Auggie's ten o'clock. "Annie, I'll walk you to your car, I'm headed that way."

"Now there's a Pyrrhic victory," Auggie says, with a sigh of his own. "Annie, did he really give me a ten?"

"Yes!" Annie says, laughing, and squeezes his shoulder as she stands. "You're so paranoid."

"I'm wounded that you don't trust me," Jai agrees, also standing.

"You'll heal, I'm sure. Have a good weekend, you two. Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

"Same to you, Auggie," Jai says, with an eyeroll crystal-clear in his voice.

"That'll be a boring weekend, then," Auggie calls after Jai's cologne and Annie's heels, then turns back to his beer. Now where is he going to find a ride with all these tequila-soaked early birds?

Comments

[seeagreatergood]

He grins, rubbing his thumb over the margin of metal and leather, and turns his head to nuzzle her hair and her cheek.

"Want to get out of here?"

[prima-sequentem.livejournal.com]

"Love to. Where do you live?"

[seeagreatergood]

"Up in Bethesda."

He rattles off the directions -- it's pretty straightforward.

"Can you remember that? I've never taken a motorcycle up there, so I'm probably not going to be able to tell you when to turn."

[prima-sequentem.livejournal.com]

"I have a very good memory," she assures him, squeezing his waist a little before she lets go and steps the the side. "Let me get you a helmet."

[seeagreatergood]

"You've got a spare?"

He (considers adjusting his pants, but decides he's probably okay for the moment) folds up his cane with a few practiced moves and stows it in his bag.

[prima-sequentem.livejournal.com]

"Nope."

A faint smell of leather rolls out of the bike's right saddlebag as she opens it.

"But I'm nice to my passengers. And I get the rest of the safety gear," she says, pulling on a jacket that creaks slightly in a satisfyingly durable way.

[seeagreatergood]

Auggie inhales, hesitates, and nods.

"Yeah, okay."

(Chivalry is one thing. Risking another head injury like the one from Iraq is quite another. Besides, Elizabeth doesn't seem like the type to view chivalry kindly.)

[prima-sequentem.livejournal.com]

The helmet comes next; she hands it to him carefully, then reaches into the saddlebag for a pair of gloves.

[seeagreatergood]

He takes the helmet, guesses at a few adjustments to the chin strap, and tries it on. It fits just about perfectly.

He resists the urge to make a terrible Spaceballs joke.

"Okay," he says, a little muffled, "just show me where to sit."

[prima-sequentem.livejournal.com]

"Of course."

As long as he doesn't mind that her (now leather-gloved) hand strays a little further back than his hip as she guides him into the passenger seat.

[seeagreatergood]

. . . He likes her a lot.

He also is not shy about using her for balance as he swings his leg over and settles in, sliding back to give her plenty of room to seat herself.

[prima-sequentem.livejournal.com]

"All set?" she asks, closing up the saddlebag and mounting the bike in front of him.

[seeagreatergood]

One last adjustment to make sure his bag isn't going anywhere, and he nods.

"Yeah. Can I scoot forward?"

[prima-sequentem.livejournal.com]

"Absolutely."

[seeagreatergood]

She probably can't see his grin under the helmet, but trust us, it's there.

He puts his hands on her hips to guide him and scoots forward until his hips are nestled snugly against hers, then wraps his arms around her waist.

[prima-sequentem.livejournal.com]

"Very nice," she says, wriggling a little to get comfortable. "All right, let's get on the road."



Vivi really does purr.

[seeagreatergood]

Auggie is just going to settle in here and ponder just how well this evening is going, mkay?

[prima-sequentem.livejournal.com]

Absolutely.

James does, indeed, have a very good memory; she follows his directions to the letter, humming to herself (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQTFRq1hjtM).

[seeagreatergood]

With the helmet on and the wind roaring past them, he can't catch much of the tune. Maybe he'll ask her later.

It is, as promised, about half an hour to his place: an old warehouse that's been converted into a chic apartment building.

[prima-sequentem.livejournal.com]

"Cute place," she says as she brings the bike to a neat halt in the parking lot.

[seeagreatergood]

"Huh?"

He pulls off the helmet.

"I have a space in the parking lot -- number sixteen. You can use it, it's not like I ever do. What did you say a minute ago?"

[prima-sequentem.livejournal.com]

"Sure. I said cute place," she repeats over her shoulder, and gently starts the engine again to bring them around to number sixteen. Vivi hums contentedly.

[seeagreatergood]

He rests the helmet on one hip and keeps the other arm around her waist. For balance, obviously. Yes.

"I like it. I've had it about four years. Very accommodating landlord."

[prima-sequentem.livejournal.com]

"Number sixteen," Elizabeth* announces, stopping again. This time it seems more final, especially because the next thing she does is get off the bike.

*bereft of her parentheses

[seeagreatergood]

Auggie offers her the helmet before dismounting himself. Presumably she has someplace she'd like to store it.

"Thanks for the ride."