"Wow, it smells amazing." Kirstie commented as the rich aroma pleased her senses.

"Thanks." Eli answered as he finished up with a pot on the stove. "But I can't take all the credit, it's Earl's recipe and he may have helped a little..."

"Yeah, Earl's actually a trained chef." Geoff mentioned as he leaned up against the wall of the kitchen.

Kirstie raised her eyebrows then turned her brown-eyed gaze to Earl. "No kidding." she commented, a smile forming on her lips, "That's awesome! So, if you're a police officer," she referred to Geoff, "and Earl's a chef... what do the rest of you do?"

"I'm the voice of Classic Rock Radio." Eli explained, "And working my way up to getting my very own talk show." he smirked.

Geoff patted her shoulder and said quietly to her in a joking manor, "Just encourage him."

Kirstie giggled and Eli gave the snickering bass a look before rolling his eyes and chuckling anyway.

"Layne, here, is a business man." Geoff also mentioned as he placed a hand on the his quiet friend's shoulder. "He got his business degree and works for a large company. You might've heard of them, it's Barten Business Centre."

"And Tony, who's hairdresser." Eli finished.

"What'd you do, Kirstie?" Eli asked the girl as he cautiously removed the pot from the oven stove after turning it off.  

"I'm a veterinarian." Kirstie explained, taking a seat in the closest chair to her, which was Layne's. Layne then awkwardly moved to the stool he had set up for himself.

"That's awesome!" Geoff replied brightly. "What made you want to be a vet?"

Kirstie shrugged mildly, "I guess I just love animals."

"Well, the food's ready. Someone get Tony." Eli said as he lifted the pot off the stove and cautiously brought it over to the table and eased it gently onto two clothes.

Earl went to get Tony. Kirstie then went to grab the nearest seat, which was the one next to Layne. She sat herself down as she watched the guys set up the rest of the food.

"Hey, Kristan." Tony greeted as he came into the kitchen, wearing a casual sweater and forest-green pants.

"It's Kirstin. But you can call me Kirstie." Kirstie corrected nicely.

"Tony isn't very good with names." Geoff mentioned, occupying the other seat next to Kirstie. "Or birthdays, or friends... or people."

Kirstie giggled while Tony just simply shot him an annoyed glare. Tony took the seat beside Geoff. Earl look the seat next to Tony, and Eli between Layne and Earl.

They were about half an hour into supper and Geoff and Kirstie really hit it off, going on about even the simplest topics and joking around.

Despite the undying conversation between the two, it was Eli who noticed Layne's absentminded expression. Eli gave his friend a nudge before making eyes at him in silent conversation.

Layne gave him a confused look before turning his eyes away almost annoyedly.

Tony seemed rather absentminded as well. Only, he noticed Layne's behavior almost instantly. A devilish smirk grew on his face. He cleared his throat and captured the attention the other five seated around the table. "So, Kirstie... Y'know, you could have invited your boyfriend, too." Tony mentioned casually.

"Oh, I don't have a boyfriend." she mentioned politely. Tony shot a rather flushed Layne a wink before he crossed one leg over the other, "Oh –" he began before he felt his leg collide into someone else's.

"Ow!" Tony found himself exclaiming as he felt a foot abruptly slam back into his calf.

"Oh my goodness!" Kirstie gasped, her cheeks flushed a bright pink before her hands cupped her mouth.

Tony seemed amused, but gave her a strange look. "Did you just kick me?" Tony asked with slight humor in his voice. The others seemed confused at first, but were silent with a growing amusement.

"Oh... yeah... I'm so sorry! I uh, have six brothers and... ugh, I'm just so sorry!" she apologized.

Geoff chuckled with his deep voice before saying, "That's okay, I mean, who doesn't want to kick Tony?"

"You shoulda aimed a little higher..." Earl muttered just loud enough for everyone to hear. Kirsten burst into a fit of giggles and the others were also caught in a fit of laughter. Even Tony found himself covering his face and trying desperately not to smile.

When they had long finished supper and carried on a long and fruitful conversation at the dinner table, they had decided to begin cleaning up. Kirsten offered to help and the guys already knew they couldn't stop her.

"So, after that, me and Chance, we managed to calm the entire joint down." Geoff concluded as he washed the dishes and Kirsten dried them with a wash towel.

"Wow." Kirstie commented with fascination. "Being a cop and all, does it still scare you?"

"Oh, yeah. Cops are scared all the time, we just have to bear with it." Geoff answered, puffing out his chest as if being bold and courageous and bursting with pride in his job.

"That sounds pretty scary, I'll admit." Kirstie commented.

Tony, who had finished wiping down the table and the counters, caught sight of Layne, who seemed to be moping about with the broom. Tony made his way across the room to his friend and sat down on the table with his legs dangling off.

Layne turned his attention toward the man giving him a knowing expression and watching him expectantly. The usually-cheery individual then rolled his eyes and continued to sadly sweep the floor.

"Get your ass of the table, Tony!" came a sudden voice that seemed to send a jolt of energy through everyone else in the room. Soon enough, Eli was trying to shoo the smirking baritone off the table.

Kirstie and Geoff both laughed at the two before going back to their own conversation. Tony switched his gaze between the two who were sparked in conversation and the one who watched them almost longingly.

"Welcome to Rejects Row, buddy." Tony mentioned to his friend in a hushed voice.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Layne denied with false innocence before turning his back away stubbornly. Tony rolled his eyes.

"Bullshit. Just go make a move, before Geoff does." Tony told him seriously, referring to the two mingling people.

"But I'm not like Geoff." Layne whispered harshly as if it all would  finally unfold in front of Tony's eyes at that very moment. "I can't do... that!" he said almost accusingly as he made a hand gesture to the two social butterflies.

"At least say something." Tony told him surely, "It's better than standing in the corner and moping around like a lost puppy."

"What do I even say?" Layne questioned as if the entire world didn't make sense anymore.

Tony sighed before turning away from his friend and heading towards Geoff and Kirstie.

"My family had gone skiing last winter and that's where I broke my leg..." Kirstie said, which sparked Tony's attention.

"You like to ski?" Tony asked as if an idea popped into his mind just then.

"Oh yeah!" Kirstie smiled excitedly, "I've been dying to get back on the hills again!"

"You know what? That sounds like a lot of fun." Geoff commented with interest, "I mean, the holidays are coming up soon and I think it would be fun for the entire group. Would you be interested, Kirstie?" Geoff asked.

"Hell yeah!" Kirstie exclaimed, smiling ear-to-ear.

"What'd you guys say?" Geoff announced to the group.

"Layne and I would love to." Tony blurted before fully realizing what he said.

"Yeah, count us in." Earl agreed as he spoke for him and Eli.

"We could rent cabins up there and spend a few days." Eli also mentioned.

"Yeah, we could ask Tristan and Kelly is they want to come, too." Earl pointed out.

"Chance, too." Geoff said with a smile.

"This actually sounds like a lot of fun!" Kirstie was glowing with happiness. "We can also go hiking and ice fishing and sledding and..."

Geoff was chuckling with amusement. "You really love the outdoors, don't you?" he mused.

"It's my second home." Kirstie replied with shyness beginning to creep in again as her cheeks flushed a bright pink.

"We'll start making plans already, get a hold of the others and decide the place and how to split the cost..." Eli went on as he considered all the technical parts of the vacation.

"That's only in a few days!" Earl realized as it suddenly dawned on him.

"We better act fast then." Geoff answered determinedly.

As the others started discussing ideas, Tony slowly made his way over to his friend who was still frozen in the same place sweeping the floor. "Well then..." Tony answered almost cautiously.

"I have no idea how to ski or ice fish or anything..." Layne worried self-consciously.

"What did we get into?"

~•~

ScarletMIX