eat, pray, love

[charlie-lynch]

ezra--benson:

“Yeah? Your grandpa got down like that? Do you have a picture of him in that chair? Maybe I can still draw it, but from a picture or something,” he said with a soft smile, knowing that it’d mean something to her. Which meant it was important to him too. “It’s cute though. Makes me feel important.” He smiled softly and poked her side lightly. “I know I have my own stuff but that doesn’t meant I can’t hear about your stuff, right? That’d be kind of selfish. Just don’t be so hard on yourself and remember Jimmy will be back soon and this whole…parade will be over. Okay? Remember to breathe, babe.”

He smirked as she spoke, already loving the feeling of her fingers in his hair. “Damn, tell me to shut up again, please,” he half teased as he took her in and leaned into her touch. He took another moment before he kissed her back, this time a lot harder as one hand slid down her body so he could unbutton her jeans. “No teasing then,” he said lowly as he pulled off his shirt then did the same for her, biting his lip as he let his eyes move over her quickly. “I will never get over how fucking sexy you are,” he commented before he moved to tug her jeans off, trying to do it as quickly as possible without her foot getting caught in the pant leg. 

When their clothes were finally piled on the floor, he bit his lip as he moved onto his back, changing his mind about what he wanted to do. “I want to make sure you miss me when I go to work,” he said and took her hand to pull her forward. “I want you to sit on my face,” he whispered as he cupped her cheek and pulled her down to kiss her again, sliding his tongue into her mouth with a moan. “Can you do that for me?”

Charlie had to think about his question for a minute. In her trunk she had a bunch of pictures of both her grandparents. She knew she had to spend an afternoon going through it all. Tapping her chin, she shrugged once. “I think so, but let me get back to you on that. It would be really nice if you could do something like that. Maybe I’ll try to convince Jimmy to hang it in the front office. It’s where he’d always be.” A soft smile graced her lips as she thought about him behind the desk checking guests in. She spent many afternoons under the desk with a steady stream of sweets from her favorite man in the whole world. “Yeah, I know. I just want him to relax. He deserves it. The motel is still standing. And even if something bad happens, we can rebuild. No big deal.”

She allowed Ezra to take the lead. It was nice to just let go sometimes. In her business life, she always had to be the type of the game. She was young with far too much money and far too many properties. She had a degree and knew what she was talking about, but being a woman didn’t make things easier. Allowing Ezra to take the lead made her feel safe. She sighed softly as she laid herself out on the bed and stared up at him. She allowed him to move her and gave in when he kissed her deeply. Her body was in full relaxation mode, reacting to his every touch and demand. “Yes, sir.” She grinned as she gave him a tiny salute. 

As she moved to readjust herself over him, her cell phone began to ring. It was loud and obnoxious. She felt her jaw and shoulders tighten each time it went off. She wanted to ignore it, to just climb up and on top Ezra’s face, but she couldn’t. Real life crashed into her room like one of the wild animals circling the property. She stretched out to grab the ringing phone and brought it to her ear. “Hello.” She held up a finger to Ezra as she looked down at him and listened to the voice on the line. “Excuse me.” Her back straightened up as she listened. “What the hell do you mean you can’t get here for another five hours? There are wild animals roaming my property.” 

[charlie-lynch]

What do you consider the most overrated virtue?

“Chastity. Not to be a dirty bird or anything. But you don’t have to abstain to be a good or moral person. A few of the others I’m not wild about, but that one is the most overrated. I’m not a nun in the holy order. Hold my chastity at the door.”

[charlie-lynch]

Did you know that Ezra's mother works at the motel? Does that make things weird?

“Oh, she does? I had no idea. Not really. His mom can work wherever she wants. She must be one of the older ladies.” 

[charlie-lynch]

have wanted to go public with ezra?

“What exactly does this mean? I’ve been in public with him. Do a photo shoot with him and release the pictures in a series of postcards for family and friends? Is that how you go public with a relationship?”

[charlie-lynch]

What creeps you out

“Clowns. Especially the ones that stand on The Strip and try to pass out their mixtapes.”

[charlie-lynch]

Do you think nostalgia can kill you?

“Only if you’re so lost in thought you step out into traffic. Generally, no. Nostalgia isn’t bad. It’s nice to remember the past and where you come from. But I don’t like to live there. Maybe that can be dangerous.”

[charlie-lynch]

who’s your go to band or artist when you can’t decide on something to listen to?

“Enya. She can relax you and pump you up. You can never go wrong with Orinoco Flow.”

[charlie-lynch]

What’s something you like to do the old-fashioned way?

“Fuck. I’ve read about these devices that you can connect with people online and it mimics what they’re doing on the other end. Cool, but I’m not here to fuck Alexa. Just say no to Skynet in your vagina.”

[charlie-lynch]

what is your favorite scent?

“The grass after it rains. I know there’s a technical reason for that smell, but I don’t really care. It reminds me of traveling with my grandparents to Seattle for business when I was little.”

[charlie-lynch]

What's the most valuable thing you've learned while traveling?

“Keep my money in my bra. Travel light. And always bring clothes for different weather changes.”

[charlie-lynch]

[charlie-lynch]

ezra--benson:

“Yeah, I am. First lesson is I’m the best so you just have to treat me nicely,” he joked, knowing that he wouldn’t have her treat him any other way. He loved how much he could joke around her and yet she still took him seriously when he wanted to be. Around everyone else, he felt like they were constantly treating him like a kid or like someone who didn’t know much. But with Charlie, he wasn’t afraid to be his complete self, or as much of himself as he could be with her. He let out a louder laugh at her joke and shook his head. “You know more than anyone that I can last way more than an hour,” he said with a smirk, biting his lip as she moved her hips. “Sounds like a great shopping trip to me. I personally think it’s just because you want to make out with me in a dressing room but I’ll go with the whole you caring about me looking my best,” he teased. 

“Well your grandpa was a smart dude so I’ll trust his word.” He smiled softly and let out a laugh as he watched her pick up her phone. “Putting me into your calendar? You have never been more sexy.” He winked at her, trying to prevent his smile from spreading too wide as he looked at her. It always made him excited whenever they made plans to go out together. Not that he didn’t like spending a lot of time in her bed but being out there with her made it even more real and made him believe that maybe things could really work out. 

“I mean you’re kind of in charge. I know you got this whole mysterious thing going on but you still have some say in what happens and how things go. But you’re right, nothing has burned down and Jimmy is probably having a lot of fun.” He smiled softly as she thanked him and nodded. “Yeah, of course. You know I’m always here if you need to talk about anything.” He let out another laugh and shook his head. “Alright, I’ll let you think that you have better moves than me. For now at least.” Ezra happily kissed her back, both of his hands gripping her ass. “Mm, I don’t know, you tell me, boss,” he teased. 

He leaned in to kiss her again, one hand staying on her ass as the other slid up the back of her shirt. After a long moment he pulled back and looked at her as he leaned back a bit to start to unbutton his shirt. “You know, I think I can be a few minutes late. But just a few because I’m trying to save up here so I can take you somewhere nice.” He smiled as he finished unbuttoning his shirt, dropping his hands after the last button so he could leave it up to her to take it off completely. He slid his hand to her waist and quickly turned them over, leaning down to kiss her again as he moved them further up on the bed. “I mean, unless you have somewhere else to be.”

“Oh, I know that do I?” She raised her eyebrows as he spoke. He knew that he could, but it was fun to tease Ezra. He had such a good spirit. He never took anything to heart because he knew she wasn’t being malicious. It was their own form of verbal foreplay. She enjoyed getting him riled up. She slapped his arm playfully at his next comment. “Why can’t it be both things? You’re the one who brought up suit shopping, not me. I only offered to get you something particularly nice. You’re the one with your mind in the gutter.” The thought hadn’t even entered her mind. She was older now and the time for making out in changing rooms seemed like a distant memory. But everything with Ezra was brand new. He made her feel young and alive. Not creeping up in age all alone. 

“He was. You would have liked him. He would have smoked out of your pen with you and asked you to draw him in his favorite chair.” She laughed at the memory of her grandpa -- a kind man who helped formulate her into the woman she was today. “Shut up, Ezra. I don’t want to forget. Work always gets wild during the holidays and you come first.” She kissed the tip of his nose before relaxing into a proper kiss. “I’m a silent partner. I trust Jimmy and who he’s put in charge. I don’t want to meddle. I handled the animal thing. I think. At least animal control has been called.” She sighed heavily before slumping onto Ezra a little heavier. “I know, but you have your own stuff too. I promise I’m alright.” And she was, especially when he showed up at the right time. 

The kiss left her feeling wired. His hand up the back of her shirt was enough to ignite goosebumps. His touch always had a way of making her feel dizzy. When he pulled away, she grunted in frustration. She didn’t want him to stop, even if it was to unbutton his shirt. She sat back and watched -- taking in his creamy and soft skin as it was revealed. “I guess I should allow you to work even if I want to be selfish and keep you with me.” She let out a fit of giggled as he flipped them over. It wasn’t the first time, but it still made her feel light when he did it. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he kissed her and moved them up the bed. She sighed softly into it, annoyed when he pulled away to tease her. “Shut the fuck up, Ezra.” She huffed slightly as her fingers fisted at the back of his hair. She bit his bottom lip before pulling away. “I’m not in the mood for you to tease me.” She pouted slightly before dragging her nails down his back. 

[sophiabushgifs]

[charlie-lynch]

ezra--benson:

“I love that you call it stupid yet you’re asking to use it. Didn’t you ever learn about manners?” He smirked as he pulled the pen out of one of his pocket and set it next to them on the bed. “For once? Alright I’m gonna remember that next time I beat you at some pop culture trivia,” he teased and dragged his fingers along her sides. He felt himself relaxing against the bed and he just wanted to stay in there with her all day. “Well my shift doesn’t start for another hour so…” he raised an eyebrow as he slid one hand to rest on her ass as she straddled him. “I told her that I’d let her. And yeah, I know that but you shouldn’t have to when I want to give it to you. There’s a difference.”

He tried not to show how much he was blushing when she called him babe, his free hand moving to take her hand so he could kiss her fingers. “Custom made? Baby…” he said softly before letting out a soft laugh, still taken aback by Charlie’s generosity. He knew it was because she cared and she believed in him but he couldn’t help but feel guilty every time she gave a little more and he kept up the lie about who he was. He lost his train of thought though when he trailed her fingers down and she kissed his chest. “Mm, whenever you’re free. I have off on Thursday if you’re gonna be free then.” He leaned up to steal a kiss, smiling softly as he met her eyes. “You’re okay, right? I mean I know you said you are but I just want to make sure. I know the animals are a little funny but all the other shit can be…a lot.” He grabbed his pen and held it up to her with a laugh. “Come here,” he said and sat up a bit, snaking his arm around her waist before taking a long tug from the pen. He met her eyes before pressing his lips lightly to hers and blew the smoke into her mouth before kissing her again, this time a little deeper as he held her close. “I missed you,” he said honestly as he pulled back to press his forehead against hers. “Maybe…after we go get the suit, we can go…out,” he said and shrugged. “Somewhere not on the strip and where I can do this without running into someone from the Starlite,” he said and leaned to kiss at her neck before he was smiling at her. “What do you say? Maybe we can go dancing and I can show you up,” he teased and pressed a kiss to her forehead, then her cheeks, eventually making his way back to her lips.

“You’re going to teach me about manners?” She couldn’t help but smirk at his teasing. She watched as he made the pen appear and placed it on the bed. She was otherwise preoccupied though. The pull to him was always magnetic. “Oh, by all means. Pop culture trivia night, you can hand my ass to me. But still, for once.” She bit her lip as she tried to now hide the smile threatening to spill. “A whole hour? You sure you can last that long?” She quirked an eyebrow as him and let her head fall back as he palmed her ass. She rocked her hips teasingly against him before opening her eyes again. “Good, if you need any supplies, we can pick that up when we go get the suit.”

Her cheeks flushed as he called her baby. She had heard men and women use that on her for years. But for some reason, the way Ezra said it made her body feel like it was on pins and needles. It was a new experience and something she wanted to explore more. “Yeah, custom made. If you’re going to get a suit, it needs to be a proper one. That’s something my grandpa used to say. Thursday works for me. I don’t think I have anything going on.” Leaning over, she grabbed her phone from the charger and put the event into her calendar. It wasn’t that she could forget exactly. But with so much business to handle, things slipped through the cracks. She didn’t want to let Ezra down -- not for his suit. 

The stolen kiss made her drop the phone. It was no longer of importance. She leaned into the kiss and sighed. “Yeah, I’m okay. I’m not the one in charge. It’s hard to see the motel descend into chaos. But as long as Jimmy is relaxing and it hasn’t burned down, I can’t ask for more. The animals are hilarious. And cute.” She pushed the hair off his forehead. “Thank you for checking on me though.” Her fingers fisted the front of his shirt as he pulled her in to the blow smoke into her mouth. She held it in her lungs as he deepened the kiss -- a small moan managed to slip out before she could stop herself. She sighed softly as his admission and trailed her lips along his cheek and jaw. She hummed lowly in his ear as she spoke. She tilted her head to allow him more access to her neck -- one of her weak spots. “Okay, yes. We can go wherever you want. As for dancing, you can’t show me up.” She grabbed his face and stared down at him before kissing him a little more intensely than before. “You sure you have to go to work?” She nuzzled into his skin. 

[charlie-lynch]

ezra--benson:

“I have no idea. They’re gonna send out the Ezra single. Which is basically just an E with a weed leaf behind it.” He laughed at his own joke, giving her hand a squeeze to let her know that she could breathe a little more easily now. “Yeah they don’t seem bad, people are just a little spooked but it’s not like you could have helped it. Plus, it’s Vegas, weirder shit has happened.” He let his eyes close for a moment when he felt her fingers in his hair. She knew how much he loved that and at this point it had become one of his greatest sources of comfort. And one of the main reasons why he refused to cut his hair, despite snide comments from Nadia and Lila. “It’s beautiful because it’s you too though,” he said softly and let her push his head as he met her eyes. “You know you’re not the first one to tell me that. Lila wants to put some of my work up in the Grille. I’m like a commissioned artist now.” He smiled as he put his hands back on her waist. “But you get it for free,” he said with a wink and kissed her softly. 

“I’m glad you like it,” he said and reached up to tuck some of her hair behind her ear before kissing her cheek. “I actually need your help with something. Since you mentioned doing this full time but uh, I have a super important meeting with a friend of Lila’s who’s apparently big in the art world. But for the life of me I can’t remember the last time I wore a suit..or even owned one.” He bit his lip as he met her eyes. “What do you say…you wanna come buy a suit with me?” He wiggled his eyebrows before falling back on the bed and looking at her. “I feel like you’d be a good judge of what makes me look the most handsome, obviously.”

“You got that stupid pen with you? I could use a hit or two from that.” She shook her head at his joke, not wanting to encourage him. At least not when it came to dumb jokes. She nodded a few times at his words. He was right, but it didn’t usually happen at The Starlite. The weirder shit usually kept to the Strip or the suburbs. “You’re right. For once.” She tacked on the last part with a small smile -- one of the first real ones of the day. Her smile widened at his next words as she continued to work her fingers through his hair. She felt the overwhelming urge to bend down and kiss him silly, but she stopped herself. “You better stop if you need to leave soon.” Her voice dipped into her signature husky tone. “Then you should listen to her! Lila is a smart woman who has an eye for art. Do something nice for the Grille.” She bent and gently placed the paper on the bed. Bringing up her now free hand, she stroked at the skin on his cheek. “I would pay for your art, you know that.” Before she could argue, she gave into the kiss. Biting at his bottom lip, she finally pulled away -- her eyes fluttering closed.

“I love it, babe. I wouldn’t lie about you being talented.” She wanted to climb onto his lap and stay for a while. But him asking for help piqued her interest. She was always ready and willing to help him out. Anything he needed, she would provide. The wiggling of the eyebrows made her laugh. Before she could answer, he collapsed back on the bed. Taking the opportunity, she climbed on the bed and straddled his lap. “I’d love to help you pick out a suit. We can get you one custom made -- that way it fits you perfectly.” She punctuated her sentence by trailing her fingers down his torso. “Yeah, I think I’m pretty good at that.” She bent down to place a kiss in the center of his chest. “When do you want to go?”

[charlie-lynch]

ezra--benson:

“You know, I’m a really big fan of that greeting.” Ezra laughed as he stepped inside and kissed her back, kicking the door closed behind him. “Mm, still submerged in darkness but we’re making due. I think Ethan got a backup generator running so I guess that means I have to work now or something,” he joked as his hands dropped to her waist. “And you? Hopefully not losing your mind. I mean the motel has a petting zoo now, who could be mad about that?” He laughed softly and met her eyes, constantly in awe that he even got the chance to stand there with her. He knew that he had made some choices when he met her but a few months later and he was having a hard time feeling any regret. “I brought you a gift,” he added with a smile as he moved to sit on the edge of her bed and pulled a folded sheet of paper out of his back pocket, unfolding it to reveal the small sketch he had drawn of her last time they were together. “It’s a little..crumpled but I remembered to grab it before I left the house.” He smiled as he handed it to her and held out a hand to pull her closer. 

“Shut up.” She glanced over his shoulder to make sure the door clicked into place. Charlie didn’t want the iguana or peacock to take the open door as an invitation. “Oh, yeah? How will the survive without your dishwashing skills, hm?” She was glad to feel his steady hand on her waist. It was the only thing that brought her comfort over the last few days. Sometimes she felt guilty when she was with him. But today wasn’t one of those days. It had been a wild few days. It was hard to remain a silent owner when the place she loved was being tested. But Jimmy had left a plan and it was to be followed. “I’m just glad the animals don’t seem to be violent. Which is good. I just got off the phone with animal control.” She sighed heavily wanting to bury her face in his neck, but instead followed him to the bed. She stood in front of him as he pulled out the paper. She plucked it from his fingers and allowed him to tug her closer. She settled between his legs before unfolding the paper. 

Running her free hand through his hair, she studied the sketch. She took her time, fingers massaging at his scalp as she took her time. “It’s beautiful, Ezra. Not because it’s me.” She cleared her throat as her eyes continued to move over each line. “You’re so talented. I’m going to get this framed and put it up.” It wasn’t an idle comment either. Once the animal situation was handled, she’d take it to her favorite framing place. Gently, she pushed his head back so he was looking up at her. “You need to be doing this full time.” 

[charlie-lynch]

ezra--benson:

Ezra looked down at his phone, contemplating whether or not he should send the text he wanted to send. He knew everyone was at their wits end this week and the last thing he wanted was to show up and find Charlie stressed as hell and wanting to bite his head off. But as he looked around the Grille and heard everyone talking about the animals now roaming the property, he figured that maybe his presence could be calming if she was actually stressed. He looked around to make sure everyone was busy before he made his way outside, smiling as he came up to her door and knocked a few times. When she opened, he leaned against the doorway with his best smile as he met her eyes. “Someone order room service?”

@charlie-lynch

Charlie knew it wasn’t time to call Jimmy. The man deserved his two weeks away from the motel. But the temptation to send a text was at an all time high. In all her years involved with the motel, she had never seen a plethora of zoo animals roam the property. So far, none of the animals actually seemed dangerous. She didn’t know about the demeanor of the penguin, but it was fucking cute. The peacock liked to get extraordinarily close to the guests -- probably in search of food. She had spoken with Nadia and told her she’d call animal control. Phone now back on the charger after the long conversation, she laid back and let out a sigh. She felt her eyes dropping when she heard the knock on the door. She wondered who it would be, slightly scared. Redoing her bun, she pulled open the door and couldn’t help the bright smile when she saw Ezra. “Fuck, you have the best timing.” She grabbed the front of his shirt and drug him inside kissing him as soon as he was close enough. “How’s the diner?”