2019-12-11 - Just A Quiet Night

(TXT to Lalo) Mariah : How goes your week so far handsome?

(TXT to Mariah) Lalo : Hey mama. Pretty good 😉 Whatcha up to?

(TXT to Lalo) Mariah : I'm not up to much. Worked the lunch shift so have the evening open. You working tonight?

(TXT to Mariah) Lalo : I'm off at 8. Want to get together?

(TXT to Lalo) Mariah : I'd like that. 🙂 If you aren't too tired and don't mind a blonde.

(TXT to Mariah) Lalo : I've heard they have more fun so I'm down for that. I don't think I'll be too tired for you.

(TXT to Lalo) Mariah : Did you want me to meet you somewhere in particular? 🙂

(TXT to Mariah) Lalo : Do you want to go out or stay in? You're welcome at my place.

(TXT to Lalo) Mariah : I am good with either, if I meet you at your place do you want me to bring dinner?

(TXT to Mariah) Lalo : I wouldn't say no. I feel like you're always feeding me. Next time I'll cook for you.

(TXT to Lalo) Mariah : I don't have a problem with feeding you, especially after you've been working. Anything in particular you'd like?

(TXT to Mariah) Lalo : How about Mexican? Of course you could always have a little Mexican later, too. 😉

(TXT to Lalo) Mariah : I'm debating if I should go full on innuendo with that or save it for in person. :p

(TXT to Mariah) Lalo : ::thinking face:: 😉

(TXT to Lalo) Mariah : Is it just a little?

(TXT to Mariah) Lalo : You're gonna have to wait and find out.

(TXT to Lalo) Mariah : I think I can wait for dessert. I will see you later. 😉

(TXT to Mariah) Lalo : See you then.

Lalo gets home at around eight twenty, and considering he's about to have a guest at any moment, there's a few things he has to do to become presentable. So, he does them quickly, and hopefully before she's arrived he's had a shower and has changed into street clothes. Since she's bringing the food, there's not much else for him to do, but he does have alcohol, presumably.

Mariah gives him enough time to get home and do his thing, she does show up around 8:45ish with dinner. She'd gotten what he wanted and some extra chips and things. She knocks on the door and steps back, waiting for him to answer. She's dressed in a pair of leggings that fit like a second skin, a crimson low cut sweater and her old jean jacket. Her wealth of blonde hair is piled up on her head in a messy, but adorable bun.

It doesn't take him long -- the door opens, and Lalo smiles when he sees her, pulling it open wider so that she can enter. "Hey," he says, and once she's inside he leans forward to kiss her briefly. He is wearing jeans and what is probably a date night shirt, even though it's his own house. Hey, efforts must be made! The house itself doesn't have much in the way of personalization -- it's small, though certainly enough for one person. "Thanks for coming over. I'm starving." There are plates and silverware laid out in the kitchen on the table.

Mariah gives a bright smile when he opens the door, "Hi there." she states as she steps in. The brief kiss is returned and then she holds up the bag, "Never fear, dinner is here for you now." she teases him. She lets him lead the way to the kitchen where she settles the bag down and starts to unload things. "How was the rest of work?" she asks him as she's doing this.

While she's taking out the food, Lalo opens the fridge, reaching inside and pulling out two beers. He grabs a bottle opener and pops the tops off, handing setting one by her plate and taking a sip from the other one. "Pretty good," he says as he sits down, stretching his legs out under the table. "Had a couple broken bones, some other stuff, but nothing crazy."

Mariah listens to him and after she's done settling stuff on the table she takes a seat and looks to him, "Thank you for letting me bring you dinner." she tells him. "And I'm glad that you haven't had anything crazy." she states. "You working this weekend?" she asks him as she picks up the bottle of beer. "I hired two new bartenders this week. Getting some more help before New Years." she smiles to that.

"This weekend? Some of it," Lalo confirms. He reaches into his pocket, pulling out his phone and scrolling through it, possibly to check his schedule. "I picked up someone's shift on Saturday night so I'm doing a double that day, but Sunday I'm free. Gonna have to sleep at least part of the day, though." He grins, grabbing a handful of chips from the bag. "Oh, yeah? Good for you. Maybe you'll be a little less busy, huh?"

Mariah gives a nod, "Yeah. Just wanted to check and see if I could maybe get you out for coffee or something. Maybe take you with me to buy a Christmas tree. Just normal people stuff." she chuckles to that. "And yeah, hoping to be less busy so I can spend time with a guy I really like." she grins at that as she takes a bite of her food.

"Sure," Lalo replies, "that sounds good. I'm always up for coffee." As for the second part, though, he tips his head to the side, eyeing her for a moment or two before he continues, "Oh, yeah? So I shouldn't keep Sunday open, then? 'Cause I feel like that's just mean to talk about it in front of me." He can't keep a straight face at that, though, and it dissolves into a grin a moment later.

"I figured getting out and things is a good thing." Mariah tells him with a soft smile. Then she sobers a moment before she realizes he's kidding! "Well, I just didn't want to assume that it would be alright to try to pencil myself in a lot." she tells him with a soft smile. "You sure you don't mind dating a younger woman?" she asks as she quirks her eyebrow at him.

Lalo can't help it -- he has to laugh a little bit in response to her confusion. It's not at her, but he's obviously amused. "If I didn't want to hang out," he says, "believe me, I'd tell you. I'm a big boy." And speaking of age! The laugh turns a little wry at her question, though he's not too serious. "I feel a little bit like the creepy old guy who people roll their eyes at," he admits, "but I'm not gonna worry about it right now. I think people are more gonna be wondering what the hell you're thinking if they see us out, so that just benefits me."

Mariah tosses a piece of her tortilla chip at him, "Brat." she tells him with a soft laugh. "And I appreciate you being up front and I promise not to be too clingy or needy." she tells him seriously. Then there's a bit of a headshake, "Don't feel like that. " she states. Then there's a bit of a grin, "You think people are going to think the pretty blonde needed a sugar daddy or something?" she asks. "Think I'll just wait to see if anyone even notices." she states.

The food tossed in his direction just makes Lalo laugh harder, holding up a hand to fend off further attacks. "If you think I'm not still gonna eat that, you're wrong," he says, and to prove the point, he grabs the chip off the table and pops it into his mouth. "Thanks for the second delivery." He serves himself some rice, before he snorts. "Maybe," he concedes. "Since they don't know you probably make more money than I do. I could always start selling pills on the side, but that seems like a lot of work."

"Good, I worked hard to deliver that to you!" Mariah laughs, her face flushing a bit from being a bit embarrassed that she tossed food at him. "And I'm not going to be running around calling you Papi or Daddy, so they can get that right out of their heads." she muses. Then she shakes her head at talk of pill selling, "I don't think I make more money than you and selling drugs is just bad business all around." she sighs softly. "How is family doing? You have any plans to visit them for Christmas?" she asks him.

"You can save that for when we're alone," Lalo replies with a wider grin -- of the nicknames, that is. It's difficult to tell whether he's joking or serious. He sounds like he's joking, but who knows, really? "But yeah, I'm probably not gonna become a drug kingpin at this point in my life. I'm doing okay."

He takes a bite of rice, though when she asks this, once he's swallowed he shakes his head. "Nah," he says. "I haven't seen my parents in years. My brother's here, so I'll probably spend it with him." There's a brief pause, before he adds, "He's in the psych ward at Addington." He doesn't say it like it's a big deal, but more like he's just sharing it with her, since she asked.

Mariah gives a bit of an impish grin, "Don't tempt me." she winks at him. He'd figure out if she was joking some other time. "I have a rule for those that work at the bar, no drugs. None at all. Not in the bar, don't come in high. If they do it at home in their own time that's fine, but I don't want them around." she states with a nod.

Then she listens to him talk on family and there's a gentle nod to that, "My parents live here...but I doubt we'll be getting together for the holiday." she admits. The revelation about his brother makes her look thoughtful for a moment, "Can I ask why he's there or is that something you don't want to talk about at this time?" she asks him.

Lalo's grin takes on a different cast at her joke that may not be a joke, raising an eyebrow, but he'll find that out later, possibly. Instead, he just nods, replying, "Good to know. I don't think we'll have a problem with that." Not that he works at the bar, but still.

As to his brother, he shrugs, taking another bite. "I don't mind," he says. "I mean, we don't have to get too far into it. He has schizophrenia. Had it since he was a kid." Which is, of course, not very common, but maybe that's how Lalo can be so blasé about it. "He's just really never been able to get stable with meds, so he's mostly in the hospital now. I've kind of been taking care of him most of him since he was a kid. I don't want him to be in the hospital on Christmas so I'll probably sign him out for the day."

Mariah gives a smile to him and there's a nod about the drugs, but she doesn't comment. As he talks on his brother there is a soft look that settles over her face, "I think he'll appreciate not being in the ward on Christmas." she states in a quiet tone. She looks like she's about to say something further, but then she thinks about it for the moment. Then she speaks, "If there's something that I can do to help with the day just let me know." she offers. "I know it might be odd. Just wanted to make sure you know you've got others around that day." she tells him with a bit of a smile.

"Yeah. It's hard on him." Lalo's head tips to the side when she pauses, this time both eyebrows raising, though he doesn't rush her, just lets her go on. The smile that appears when she does is a little softer, as well. "Thanks," he says. "It's not odd, and I appreciate it. I'll see how he's doing and whether he's up for company or not. But I'm sure you'll meet him at some point." He takes another bite, before adding, "Now you know why I don't really get into anything too serious."

"I can't imagine that it's easy for either of you." Mariah admits with a look to him. "If he's not up to having company I'm not going to press it, but if he is I would like to meet him." she smiles to that. "Or I will meet him down the line. No rushing it." she tells him. "You don't get into serious things because of your brothers situation?" she asks him.

"Yeah," Lalo replies with a shrug. "It's kind of just been him and me for a long time. You know how it is." Or maybe not, but he will assume she does in any case. "We've moved around to different places that had other treatments to try. Hoping we'll settle here for at least a little while. It's a lot to pick up everything every couple years."

Mariah gives a soft look to him, "I'll be honest, my parents are both alcoholics and drug addicts, so, I don't tend to spend a lot of time with them. They are either too drunk to realize someone is trying to get in touch with them or if they realize they have a kid it's just to call and borrow money." she chuckles. "Never moved from Gray Harbor though, just left for college and came back." she admits. "You guys seem like a little stability might be good." she adds with a soft smile to him.

"Oh shit," Lalo replies, his grin fading a little bit when she speaks. "That sucks." It's not necessarily the most eloquent statement, but it's definitely sincere. "I'm sorry." He nods, though, at her last words, continuing, "Yeah, it probably would be. Hopefully this one sticks. Even if it's a little weird." The smile widens again, as though he's joking -- and maybe he's a little bit joking, but not totally so. It is weird.

Mariah gives a bit of a head shake, "Nothing to apologize for and I really don't talk about it much." she admits. Then she gives a low whistle, "Have you experienced any of the weird for yourself?" she asks him. "I mean, if you're going to be here for a bit, you're going to notice that our fair little town isn't like others." she muses.

Lalo doesn't address the first part, just letting it pass, but he does reach over to take her hand, squeezing it briefly before he releases it. Instead, he says a little more seriously, "Not personally, but you hear things, you know? Weird shit. Crazy flus, people coming and going, like, instantly." He shrugs, "You know. It's always the small towns that have all the shit going on. In LA no one cares." This gets a little chuckle.

Mariah gives him a smile, but she doesn't bring up the family stuff anymore. She was fine with things being talked on and then moving on for the moment. "You hear things, yeah. See things." she nods to that. There's a thoughtful moment, debating something, but she decides not to levitate anything. That would probably scare him. "Just if you start having any weird dreams...let me know?" she asks him.

It may be the right move for her not to make anything fly around the room -- the evening was going so well, no need to put a damper on it just yet. The mention of dreams, however, gets a nod. "Sure," he says, before his smile returns, and with a little bit of a different quality to it this time, too. "All my weird dreams?" he asks. "Even if you figure into them? I got some freaky shit that happens up here." He taps the side of his head to illustrate his point.

Mariah gives a nod to that, "Yeah, even if I figure into them. Like...if they are out of the ordinary and you feel like something else might be going on." she tells him with a bit of a smile. "I mean, if you are having dreams about naked blondes that's pretty normal." she winks at him.

"You've never lived inside my head," Lalo counters, his smile widening even further into a full-on grin. "Nothing normal about it, let me tell you." He regards her thoughtfully for a moment or two, before he adds, "Of course, it's usually better in reality." He reaches for his beer, taking a sip, though his eyes don't leave her.

Mariah gives a bit of a chuckle, "No, no I haven't." she admits to him. Then she's finishing her own beer and there's a look to him, "Well...we could always see how good it is in reality if you like?" she waggles her eyebrows at him as she stands up. "Or we could clean up dinner and then I could go home?" she teases him.

There's not much hesitation after those choices. "I'm gonna go with the first one," Lalo says as he reaches forward to take her hand again as she stands up, pulling her toward him. "Gotta give me something to dream about, right?" He stands up, too, then leans down so that he can kiss her thoroughly.

"I was hoping you'd go with one." Mariah tells him in a warm tone as she is pulled towards him. "Having good dreams is always a good choice." she winks at him. She then lets her hands slide up to his shoulders and kisses him eagerly in turn.

It is certainly not a short kiss, but it does, eventually break. The main reason for that breaking, however, is so that Lalo can start toward a little hallway which, presumably, leads to the bedroom. "Uh huh," he agrees with a grin as they go. "But I can have those tomorrow night."