2019-09-29 - Soggy Britches

Autumn had finally come to Gray Harbor. The sweltering heat was replaced with a mild chill and Kelsey was quite happy for it. Because it meant she didn't feel like dying wearing her flannels now and also that there wasn't a bunch of people actually out ON the boardwalk. Her arm was no longer in a sling - yay- but was still bandaged up tightly - the bandages peeking out from her sleeve. A tanktop under neath the flannel was paired with a pair of dark blue jeans. She was walking the boardwalk, eating an ice cream come from Sweet Retreat as a bit of a celebration for being out of the sling.

Arriving from the rocky beach, Everett is soggy. Soggy man. So soggy. Climbing the steps to the boardwalk slowly, he's in no hurry. His long black hair hangs down in thick strands like dark fingers reaching to cling to either his biker's jacket or the army green tee underneath that's equally wet, as is the black denim on his legs. He looks forward, paying enough attention to watch where he's going, while his gaze is unfixed, not truly seeing anything.

Kailey has set herself up once more on the boardwalk. The wind isn't bad and this area is sheltered on almost three sides in it's little end corner. It's just a table with a canvas drop cloth that has been painted and sprayed numerous times. The little setup is down near Sweet Retreat. And Kailey? Well she is busily working on a space piece in greens and blues while one a few people watch with interest. The artist sprays, scrapes, flicks and smears paint with a variety of tools. Very few of them what you would consider traditional, but her work isn't. Wearing her vapor mask and goggles she works. A blueooth speaker plays some catchy tune to which she seems to sway as she works.

Kelsey just so happens to become one of the people who has taken pause to watch Kailey work - though she is at the right distance to not risk her ice cream getting showered with paint. She looks fairly interested in the woman's technique because Kelsey herself has no artistic ability. Her head tilts and she happens to catch Everett out of the corner of her eyes. Then turns to look at him a little full on - puzzled mostly. She's maybe seen him once or twice at Sweet Retreat but hell if she remembers his name or knows anything about him. "Why did you go swimming in your clothes?"

Dragging his feet, the large man takes a few steps to recognize that someone's speaking, never mind speaking to him. When he lifts his head up from the planks that make up the boardwalk and blinks several times at a pause. Throwing a look over his shoulder, Everett makes sure he's not intercepting someone else's attention first. When his attention returns as lazily as his other movements, he catches where Kelsey is. Or rather, to whom she's standing near.

There's life in the gorilla after all.

His eyes go large. To Kelsey, he gestures at himself, as one would check if she's talking to him. But then he's looking up and down the boardwalk. Possibly for a way to escape.

Kailey glances over her shoulder at whoever Kelsey is talking too. Who wouldn't be curious about someone falling in the drink. Of course she recognizes the man and pauses for a second. Then returns back to finishing the piece. At the moment she is making silvery-red and purple rings around one of the ghostly green planets in the spacescape. Despite her curiousity, she has work to finish. Thankfull it will only take her another minute or two...but she does keep glancing over at poor Everett.

Unfortunately for Everett, Kelsey is very much not a shy person. Some might go so far as to consider her abrasive, and maybe a little tactless . "I don't see anyone else standing around here soaking wet on a clear night." Kelsey says plainly - though not with any kind of meanness in her tone. Just matter of factly, licking at her chocolate cone. A glance back to Kailey's work and then back to Everett.

Everett purses his lips, thinking, smoke, gears turning. Plausible excuse, excuses. And while he thinks of a lie or an embellishment, he combs his left fingers through his long hair, trying to give him a better, clearer view of who is accosting him. His army green eyes look down a little and back up, distracted.

He has the perfect answer then, continuing to look both confused and pensive. One that expresses all the answers. "Huh?" Looking down at himself, Everett takes stock of his current soaked condition and back up, cupping the back of his head with the same wet hand that combed his hair. "Oh. Uh. Rain?", he offers, stabbing a look at Kailey then back.

A snort comes from the artist. "Rain? Hasn't been much of that or I'd have my pop-up out," Comes Kailey's comment. "Did the mermaids come and sing for you to swim?" Her tone is teasing as she says this over a shoulder. Poor Everett. Her smile is somehow cheerful and devilish. Alas she doesn't get to see his face because she turns back to the canvas. She reaches into a jar and pulls out a fine, sparkling and iridescent powder. This she sprinkles into the wet paint of the rings. "That's better than admitting you slipped and fell in anyway..."

Those intense blue eyes just stare at Everett like she totally doesn't believe him. "What the colorful chick said." Kelsey agreed with a nod. A beat of pause and then peering at the man. "Did you fall in? And if so...how?" There's another pause before directing at Kailey - "You're pretty good by the way. That's looking amazing."

"I didn't slip", he protests, returning that pointed stare at Kailey's back. That's why she got it in the first place, some part of him knew, just knew there'd be a comment from her. The glare is turned toward the cone licking-- er. Everett grunts and then resumes walking. A few steps before he takes on an air, his course heading towards the Retreat. "If you must know, it's been drizzling all day. Ish. And I've been stuck. Mostly. Under a tree in the park, day drinking and woke up like this." Under his breath, the thug murmurs something dark to himself.

Kailey finishes the piece and turns on her blow-dryer. Dying the paint quicker than the weather and night air would, even with spray paint. Turning she gives the waiting people a grin, pulling down her mask. Then she glances at Kelsey. "Awwww, thanks! I have fun. Though when it gets to raining I'll have to figure out something else. Rain and spray paint do not mix." She watches wet Everett begin to skulk along. She actually looks thoughtful and worried. "You okay, man?" She sounds genuine.

"Day drinking huh? Wish I could do some day drinking lately. " But those pain meds were pretty good. Really she probably could ease off them a little by now. Anyway, more ice cream is eaten as she watches Everett's movements. "Sounds like a terrible way to wake up though." And maybe she's still dubios that this all came from sitting under a tree. However, she's in a good mood - more or less - and willing to let it go. "Probably not." She answered Kailey's question to Everett. "People don't day drink for now reason."

Opening his mouth to say something, Everett instead pauses and then points at Kelsey while looking at Kailey. For all the love that's holy, get new names, And he closes his mouth before he catches something. His attention though goes to the hairdryer and he purses his lips in thought. A change of course, Everett ambles towards the artist, watching her hair. When he joins her, nods to acknowledge Kailey. "I call dibs." Then he turns his body to look at the easel. And cants his head to the left.

"Dibs?" Kailey blinks in confusion at the strange and gloomy and moist man. "Ummmmm, this one is there," She says, jerking her thumb at two men in their late twenties who are trying to ignore the chatter. Instead ooing and ahing at the drying piece. "But I can make you one!" She beams brightly at Everett, enthused at his interest. "Wind will be picking up and those clouds creeping in look mean, so just enough time for one," She glances at Kelsey and gives another cheery smile. "Or two more."

Kelsey gave a fleeting grin in return to Kailey. "Maybe next time. I need to get back home and get my dog ready for bed." She looked to Everett then. "And maybe you should bring an umbrella next time you day drink under a tree yeah?" Offering a wry smile before giving a bit of a wave to the pair and heading off.

"Eh?" stampers Everett, looking to the blokes as they're pointed out. Turning his head back, it shakes softly, least his hair sends droplets on canvas. "No, not for a painting." Everett glances towards the blonde and up nods at her before he turns his attention back down and points at the hair dyer. And then his wet hair. His brows uplift, making a question out of it. "Dibs." Everett then looks up to the second story of the ice cream parlor and frowns. "Hey. You can see into my bedroom from here."

Kailey bobs her head and says, "'Kay!" Without missing a beat and waving cheerfully. "Have a great night." The girl has salesmanship down fairly well. Then she looks at Everett, the blowdryer, and back. The smile is warm and she hands it over, "Sure. You need it!" She says with a soft little gigglre. Turning with the painting she offers it to the couple. Money exchanges hands as she passes the painting to them. "Thanks! You two have an awesome night, 'kay?" And back to Everett she turns, then up at the window and back. His revelation seems a surprise, "It is? You live above the place? Lucky!"

Accepts the hairdryer when offered, and while she's getting paid, Everett does his best to get his hair blown dry. He's still tilting his head, bent over and facing away when she comes back, consistent that he might get water where it would ruin something. Forking his fingers through his hair when Kailey returns, Everett stands and regards her dubiously. "Yeah", he stretches the last syllable, "real lucky. That's me." His tone sarcastic before he leaves the hair dryer on and, without batting an eyelash, opens hem of his pants with a thumb and pushes the hair dryer nuzzle a few inches inside. Without looking away from the crazy woman.

Kailey moves to start tidying her space. Not quite paying attention to the giant making use of her blow dryer. She is cleaning some brushes and scrapers in a metal tin when she turns to him again. And just sort of stops and stairs. Her eyes go from his face down to his pants and blowdryer and back. "Feel better?" She asks with a raised brow. "You're weird. Which is good. I like weird." A pause as she turns back to her cleaning up. "What's wrong with it? Get to smell that sweet and wonderful food all the time...though I suppose if you're watching you're figure..."

"Ah." Everett looks blissful for a moment. When she asks if he's feeling better, he holds up a finger, his broody expression lessening, trying not to smile mostly from the right side of his mouth. Hold on. Holding his pose for a second longer, Everett pulls the hair dryer out, wiggling his hips both before and after. "Any longer and I think I mighta." Tentatively touching the business end of the blow dryer, he murmurs, "It was getting pretty hot", he says, before offering it back to her, "any longer and I think I would have burnt something very precious to me."

Watching he getting busy his head bobs, "Yeah, I'm really weird. Swimming in the ocean with my clothes on, stuffing blow dryers down my pants, getting peeped on when I come out of the shower by artists who are probably doing something completely untoward with that mental imagery." He shakes his head and tsks twice. "But, yeah. I am watching my figure."

Kailey continues to clean her tools. Shooting him an amused glance, smirking the entire time. "Heh, that might be a shame!" She tells him with a flash of teeth in her smile. The tools all go into a tackle box. Spray paints tucked into an old wooden whiskey box. "I didn't even know you lived there, silly," She chuckles as she says it, glancing at him in amusement. Then her eyes pause to give him a more full up and down. "I doubt you need too. Watch it anyway. It seems quite fit already." Wet and clinging clothes probably help. "So why did you swim in the ocean?"

"Oh, I don't know. It can't be that much of a shame." Everett closes his hand into a big fist with his pinkie extended, wiggling. "It's vestigial anyways." He glances back up to the second floor. "I dunno", shifting his weight to his left and tucking his hands into his back pockets. "I bet you're watching me coming out of the shower. Staring at the water slowly trickling down my body and all sixteen of my nipples."

Turning his head back, Everett's smiling softly. He watches a moment longer, then turns around so she can feast her eyes on all of him, "If you're going to ogle, I might as well make it easy for you." Then shrugging a shoulder he adds, "I look that way because I watch what I eat. But thank you." His right hand comes out of his back pocket for the front. Pulling out a ring of keys, and watching where he's thumbing to, Everett murmurs, "It rained, remember?"