Float On - Modest Mouse

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"So doing the food shopping with me is your way of trying to distract me?"

I smiled at my other best friend, Jake as I threw a bag of peas into his cart. "It's my way of making sure you're doing okay."

His green eyes sparkled with amusement. "You mean it's your way of making sure I'm not going to jilt my soon to be wife."

I gasped and landed my hands on top of my jean clad hips. "Now what would make you think that?"

Jake's laugh was always so care free, it'd always had the power to make me smile. Jake had the gorgeous blonde boy next door look. So clean cut, so handsome, strong, tall. He'd been my best friend since uni; he basically was the brother I never had. I loved him to pieces and to be honest, I don't think I could imagine Miranda and Jake without one and other. They might be slight opposites separately but together they were inseparable.

I'd shoved him in my car twenty minutes ago and asked him if he wanted to join me in food shopping. I didn't even need to food shop, I just couldn't think of anything else to do.

This week had been... Okay, I guess. I'd finished work about an hour ago... Oh, and Eddie had been naked about an hour ago too. But I wasn't in there. Not once, I just couldn't do it. I tried to psych myself up into staying, even to the few seconds before he'd stepped out of the closet. But as soon as he came out with the gown around him and I'd lowered my eyes to the floor when he'd dropped it, I couldn't erase the tiny glimpse of his perfect backside. I'd panicked. I'd told the class what to do and escaped that room like a bat out of hell. I didn't return until Eddie was shrugging the gown back on. I'd had a glance at everyone's work and sighed with relief when I saw everyone's work was okay.

It was selfish of me to leave them to it; I certainly couldn't do it again. I was just glad it was the weekend. The weekends were my sanctuary.

"So where are we having dinner?"

I shrugged out of my thoughts and smiled. "I'm not sure yet, hungry for anything?"

"You know me. I'll have whatever's around." He started pushing through the next isle of junk food and grinned.

"No. No junk food for dinner, what are you a kid?"

As I turned around and went to turn the corner, something or rather someone barrelled into my legs. I grabbed the child by her arms when I saw her begin to fall backward and steadied her.

"Whoa." She murmured, her dark blonde hair falling in ringlets above her shoulders.

I looked down into a pair of blue eyes. She looked no older than four.

"Are you okay?"

The pretty little girl nodded shyly as I let go.

"Chelsea! For crying out... Oh! Olivia Reilly, hello!"

I turned and blinked at the sight of Grace walking toward us with a... hell that man was a bear, in tow. "Hi, Grace. Nice to see you again."

"Nice to see you too! I see you've met our trouble maker niece."

Chelsea rolled her eyes at Grace and I raised a brow at the weird level of maturity that eye roll brought with it. The bear of a man behind Grace smiled and picked up the so called trouble maker.

"Oh, my husband Chase, you didn't get to meet him before. Chase this is the girl that booked the restaurant for the party."

He held out his hand and I shook it with a pleasant smile. Quiet man wasn't he...

"This is my friend, Jake." He shook both of their hands politely. "Restaurant okay?"

"Restaurants great, you should come by soon!"

"Actually, we might this evening if it isn't booked up?"

"We should have a table available if you come on by straight after. We'll be there."

I said my goodbyes to the couple and Chelsea and turned back to a smirking Jake.

"Chase and Grace?" Jake clarified after they left. "Well, they must of thought they were hilarious when they first started dating."

**

I bit into my 6oz beef burger, releasing a sigh of absolute pleasure before smiling at the way Jake was devouring his ribs. "Enjoying yourself?" I asked around a mouthful.

"Why haven't we been here before?" He groaned.

"Because it's kind of new. This is the place we're having Randy's bachelorette party, so you don't have to worry about any strippers."

He cleared his mouth of barbecue sauce. "What makes you think there won't be strippers? Isn't Mack going?"

"I told her not to."

"When does she listen? Just be prepared anyway, Liv. I wouldn't be surprised if Mack's booked anything."

I grimaced slightly. I guess it was right to prepare myself. I may be opposed to it but some may view it as fun. I glanced around the happy family's eating dinner with their kids and then on the far side where a few men in suits were settling into a booth with a pitcher of beer. This place really was thriving and doing well. I almost shuddered at the thought of Mack spoiling the sanctity of it with strippers.

After half hour and after sharing a slice of luscious chocolate cake, we halved the bill and I'd just exited the bathroom when I was once again, almost knocked over by a head of blonde hair.

"Sorry! Ah, sorry, sorry!"

"It's okay." I smiled trying my hardest not to laugh at the way she looked up at me as if I were a giant. "Where you running to?"

"Ah... I dropped my water. Gotta' wipe it cos' they'll see."

"Alright well, be careful running around these corners, okay?"

"Okay." She murmured but then stretched her full mouth into a smile. I smiled right back and turned to leave but paused when her little voice said, "Can you help? Please?"

I'm a stranger right? Was this... Okay? "Um..."

"Please?"

Dear god. Those giant blue eyes... I glanced through the hall and sighed. How was I supposed to say no? Whoever this child's parents were, I took pity on them. She must get whatever she wanted. "Alright then..." I said slowly.

Somehow this - probably - four year old had managed to rope me into cleaning up her spilt water in her booth beside the bar whilst she rattled off a story about how she once managed to spill the contents of her Adventure Time cup onto her cream carpet and her mom had taken away her 'Jake the dog' - her favourite teddy - for two nights. I caught eyes with Grace and she sent me a look that said, 'good luck escaping.'

I could see Jake chuckling in the corner, sipping on his beer and finishing off my Coke. I sent him an apologetic look when the girl sat me down beside her and started showing me her slightly damp scrap book. But I started to take an interest when she went to the back pages of it. "Did you do these?"

"Yep. My mommy helped a little."

Her mother must have helped a lot because holy hell these were works of art. The style was flawless, the strokes of paint on the landscape were fantastic. I could see which half Chelsea must have done from the childlike strokes on the other half. The style was almost familiar.

From the corner of my eye, I could see Jake approaching as I flicked through the next few pages, complimenting the farm animals she'd drawn at school. I turned to the next but froze on one of the detailed drawings of a cow. The signature on the far left corner almost made my heart drop. "Chelsea," I cleared my throat. "Is your last name Solomon?"

"That's my moms name, I got my dads." She shrugged.

No way. "Is your mother Debbie Solomon?"

Her eyes turned to ones of confusion as she frowned. "Yeah."

I had to literally contain my scream.

Debbie A. Solomon was one of New York's 'Most Followed' art critics, right next to Jerry Saltz. She used to paint, she displayed her work at the ripe age of twenty-five before deciding to be a critic instead. Such a career change, she was watched for years everyone waiting for the prodigy art student to fail in writing but she basically flipped them the middle finger and surpassed all up-in coming writers.

I wouldn't say I followed her work, but she was everywhere. Her name was in Creative Review, her face was in the back sometimes even. If someone wanted to get the word out about an intimate studio or gallery opening then she was the woman to go to. She could ruin someone with the snap of her fingers or make them famous just by blinking an eye lid.

Was this a sign? Could I call this luck? In what world would I meet the daughter to a famous art critic? I wanted to open my own gallery maybe even for a few days just to show my work; of course it'd be even better if someone actually brought my work.

Getting hold of this woman would be a nightmare. It could probably take weeks, maybe even months. So maybe I could look at a few studios, try to call her and see where things go. I've saved enough money, I've over-thought the situation a thousand times but Debbie Solomon had never been a factor in any of those scenarios.

I could see the resemblance in Chelsea's eyes and a little in her smile but that full mouthed frown belonged to someone else. Her father probably.

"Well." I whispered.

"Yeah, she did art and stuff. So does dad." Her brilliant blue eyes shined up toward me. "Dad helps me to learn to draw better."

"Well it pays off. They look really good. I especially love," I turned to the pages before and pointed to the few duplicated coloured in drawings of characters from the cartoon Adventure Time. "These. They're really cool, Chelsea."

Her mouth opened as she grinned a toothy grin and I smiled right back. She was a cute little girl, gorgeous as well. A heart-breaker in the making; I didn't know the girl and I already felt like I was wrapped around her little finger. Her poor parents.

I smiled up at Jake aware he was glancing at the pages within the scrap book as well and turned back to her. "I gotta go now." Her childlike look of sadness literally made me hesitate. Once again, her poor parents. "It was nice talking to you. Thanks for showing me your drawings."

That immediately made her brighten up. "Next time I'll show you my Adventure Time teddy!"

"Sure." I said as I slid out of the booth. I sent her a small wave as well as Grace behind the bar and settled into my car with a sigh. "Give me a heads up when you decide to have a child, okay?"

"She's a talkative one." He chuckled. "What was that she showed you? It looked like you found a million dollars."

"Her mother is Debbie Solomon."

"Why's that name familiar?"

"She's an art critic. If I wanted to open my studio, she'd be the one to go to. She's right up there with Jerry Saltz, Dave Hickey and... You don't know what I'm even talking about do you?"

"Not really, Liv." He shrugged. "But I'm going to guess that it's a good thing?"

"It's a sign, Jake. I'm going to start looking into opening my own gallery where I could sell my work. Even if it's for a week or a few days, I'll rent a space and do it."

I explained the ins and outs on the way to his house; I knew he was listening with only half an ear I was babbling because I was excited! It could finally be done. Maybe I could look into renting after Christmas... Definitely after the wedding.

Jake and I said our goodbyes and I promised to see him and his best-man, Jason, next Thursday for lunch. I started brain storming the works I had that could be displayed, what works I could sell, what works I could create... Wait, no don't think too far ahead. I hadn't painted for pleasure in years, I hadn't had much inspiration.

An unusual sound filled the space of my car and I frowned. That was weird...

I could think of ten pieces at the top of my head-

The noise clunked louder and I cursed when I realised it was my engine. My car started to slow so I swung slowly to the side of the street. Not my baby! For crying out loud. Once I slammed the door of my car shut I cursed my car to the depths of hell when I noticed the smoke clouding around the bonnet. "Shit!"

I kicked the tire of my baby and grunted in absolute regret and not to mention pain.

Why me? Why?

Is it karma? Had I done something wrong in a previous life? I finally start thinking about opening my own gallery or studio and my car breaks down so now I'll have to pay for whatever the hell is wrong with it. That's a sign. This is a sign. No, I won't look at it like that. I needed to stay positive.

I could walk to Jake and Miranda's but that'd take me an hour. Well, first I'll call triple A... I was only a half hour walk away from the restaurant. Cars passed me as I called roadside assistance. It was almost completely dark out now and I started to worry how long it'd take for them to come. A Dodge Journey passed me before halting a few yards away. Of course my natural instinct was to run for the hills or maybe even sit in my car and pray that I wasn't about to be murdered. It was a nice neighbourhood but I'll be damned if I die in a drive-by.

I made a step to get into my car when the car started reversing but stopped short when I heard, "Car trouble, Liv?"

I squinted into the darkness of the car and found a familiar pair of grey eyes. Wow. This was a huge sign. "This is a joke."

"If this were a joke, I'm sure you'd be laughing." As my eyes adjusted I noticed a wide smile spread across his face.

Mocking bastard. "No car trouble, I'm fine."

"You sure don't look fine."

"What are you, the police? Why don't you scurry on home." I blurted out suddenly feeling the urge to pick up the rock beside my foot to throw it at him.

Eddie's chuckle, damn him, traveled right to my nerve endings. I expelled the image of his perfect backside from earlier with a light shake of the head. "No need to be hostile. But I thought maybe you'd like to know those clouds above are looking angry," I glanced up and frowned. "So maybe you want a lift."

"I can wait until they pick up my car."

"Then what are you going to do? It's almost half seven, the most they'll do is take your car and take you to the garage and tell you they'll fix it tomorrow."

Say no, call Randy. "I can call my friend for a lift."

"Olivia." Just as he said my name a droplet of water hit the tip of my nose. "Come on, I won't bite."

I ran my tongue along my lower lip to rid another fallen rain drop, aware his gaze dropped to my mouth and cursed the fact I really didn't have any other options. "You really don't mind?"

"I'm offering aren't I?"

Now he's a smug mocking bastard. "I have a few bags, one second-" At that exact second, the rain started pouring. I started piling my hand bag and few shopping bags out of my car and shoving it into the backseat of his Dodge. I stumbled into the front seat, aware I was probably soaked to be bone and sighed. "Sorry," I grumbled trying my hardest to keep the belligerence out of my voice.

"That's alright, here." He reached behind him and pulled out a towel. "It's clean I swear. I didn't get to use it at the gym."

I finally noticed that he was only in a pair of shorts and t-shirt. A few locks of his hair had escaped the small bun and rested by the side of his head. But then I discreetly inhaled. The smell of a man. He says he didn't get to use it but he smelt clean - of after shave and just a hint of sweat. God, even in this state he was unusually attractive. What I'd give to... What? Run my hands through his hair? Bury my nose in his neck? Pull yourself together, Liv.

"Thanks." I started drying my hair and face after rattling off my house address. The music from the radio was flowing very quietly through the space of the car as he drove. I had a few choice questions for him. Like why the hell he was in this area. He couldn't live here, I would have bumped into him at some point, I've lived in this area for three years. The shopping mall was the place everyone went, there was only one large supermarket in the area and even then I saw at least one person twice.

"I know exactly what you're thinking."

I blinked out of my reverie and swallowed. "Excuse me?"

"You're wondering why I'm here aren't you?"

I bit the inside of my cheek to hold back my retort.

"I don't live around here. I live in Bay Ridge."

I couldn't even mask my surprise. That was quite far from Manhattan...

"I live near my family. I moved into a house after my divorce." He supplied answering all of my unvoiced questions. I couldn't understand how he could voice his life so easily to me. I was practically a stranger after all. He said he wanted to get to know me... Which I still couldn't bring myself to understand. But the more he talked about himself, the more I was curious to know more about him.

"So what brings you around here?" I wondered.

"My uncle works around here, I'd come to say hello but that can wait," His mouth curved into a smirk. "I'm more interested in rescuing the damsel in distress anyway."

"I wasn't in distress nor am I a damsel."

"But you're extremely lucky I was driving past. What would you have done?"

"Called Miranda."

He glanced at me, his smile widening still. "You're still friends with her?"

"Yeah I am."

"Well, what if Miranda didn't pick up."

"Then I'd call a cab."

"What if your phone died."

At a traffic light we faced each other and I could see the amusement dancing along his eyes. "Why are you purposefully trying to piss me off."

"Because I like seeing you angry. You have a fire in your eyes, Olivia. And the only time I get to see that is when you're either getting angry or..." He shifted slightly; the smile on his face dropping as he tightened his grip on the steering wheel when the lights turned green. "So... Yeah."

The words on the tip of my tongue died when his grey eyes darkened. It was such a mistake getting in this car with him. It was almost as if just his presence was taking up all of the airspace. I didn't know whether the heater was on but I felt ten times hotter than I did a minute ago.

"You're a tense woman."

I scowled, the heat coursing through my body diluting to anger. I couldn't give him the satisfaction in seeing me angry again. "And you're too honest for your own good."

"I could be more honest but I have a feeling you wouldn't like it."

I probably would, but I remained silent.

It took another fifteen minutes before he parked outside of my apartment, the quiet radio filling the silence all the way there. The rain had thankfully stopped. But as I squinted to look closer into the entrance way I could see my sister sitting on the steps with a plastic bag at her feet. She stood as the car approached and I could see the confusion on her face as she tried to glare inside. Great. How was I supposed to explain this to her.

"Thanks for this. I guess I... Owe you one." I said quite reluctantly. "I suppose it was luck, you driving past."

"You're welcome." He smiled. Just as I put my hand on the handle I paused when he said, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Tomorrow's Saturday..." I replied cautiously.

"I know." His smile was oddly triumphant. "I can pick you up tomorrow to take you to the mechanics. And for coffee."

"F-for what?"

"You owe me one. So we'll call it even if you have coffee with me."

"But-"

"Or would you prefer a drink?"

"I prefer neither, Eddie. Look I really appreciate this but I thought I'd... I don't know buy... Well..." Crap.

"A drink?" He finished for me.

Yep. I've walked right into this one.

"Just one drink, Olivia. I'm not all bad. Tomorrow evening, I'll pick you up. I doubt your car will be ready by then. Bring your friend if you really don't trust me." I could almost hear the unspoken 'or yourself.'

I pinched my bottom lip between my thumb and forefinger. I had to ask myself, why was I being so hostile?

Because Eddie Marshall is a no-filter-intense-determined-hard-headed idiot and he can see right through you.

Just one drink he says. And I could bring Miranda... and probably Jake too... Maybe even Corrine... No, just Miranda and Jake. At least it would be in a bar or a pub, it wouldn't just be me and him sitting intimately across one and other in a coffee shop.

"Fine." I relented. "One drink."

The corner of his mouth twitched upward. "Thistle Hill Tavern. Tell your friend for nine."

I exited the car with my few shopping bags and waited until his Dodge drove around the corner before releasing a large breath. What did I just agree to? So much for my weekend being my sanctuary.

"Who was that hunk of a man? He looked kind of familiar." I heard behind me.

"He was no one Corrine. I thought you had a key?" I changed the subject swiftly, passing her on the stairs.

"I left them on your table. Someone let me through this door... Oh, my God! That's that guy you drew. Wow, hot damn Livvy. He looks even better than your drawings, no offence."

I rolled my eyes as she shot question after question about whether I was 'dating him' or whether I was 'banging' him for crying out loud. By the time I'd settled onto my couch and she'd heated up the food she'd brought and felt like eating here - I couldn't even tell you why - she'd thankfully finished her questioning.

That was until she asked, "Is he ten times better naked now than when you were in college?"

"Corry."

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Much love guys, sorry for the late update! College is high priority!!

SO: What do you thinks going to happen at the Tavern? I know exactly where I want this story to go now and I'm going to thoroughly enjoy getting it there!

Don't forget to leave a comment!