middle ground || chris & devon
Chris spotted Devon almost immediately—you couldn’t miss that smile if you tried, and, well, he was trying. He rubbed at the back of his neck. You’re not that guy. He’d never wanted to be. But now he was increasingly reminded of the fact that he hadn’t told Emily that he was going to do this. And maybe he was doing more harm than good by trying to clear the air with Devon. But it was too late for that now.
“Hey, handsome. What can I do for you?”
He smiled slightly at the nickname, and then nodded toward the door. “Want to talk outside?” he asked. He could see Devon’s nosy co-worker coming back to her post, a glint in her eyes, and he wasn’t feeling up to having an audience to this conversation. He held the door open for Devon, glad to be back outside, where it was less crowded. He worried at his lip for a moment before finally deciding to just get it over with.
“I’m, ah…I’m seeing someone,” he said, looking up to see her reaction.
Coming to see her at work was probably a good sign. It wasn't like she was in love with the guy- she was just interested, and that was something she hadn't felt for a while. Most of the guys she met these days were- well, they were Tom, or they were drunk, or high. They weren't cute bartenders who blushed when she flirted, was the point.
His smile, while still great, wasn't as enthusiastic as she'd expected. She didn't let her grin falter. There were definitely good points to smiling all day, and one of them was getting used to smiling no matter what happened. Devon followed his gaze to Rosie back at her post and, still smiling, rolled her eyes. "That's Rosie, and frankly, she can go fuck herself." She knew that stupid bitch would be listening in, and she didn't care. A bad hostess was worse than a bad cook, in her eyes, and Rosie was the actual worst.
"Yeah, outside's fine!" She leaned in as they turned, enjoying the way Chris opened the door for her. He was quiet, but maybe that was just how he was. Devon didn't actually know him that well. She hoped he'd speak up a bit soon, though. It was becoming awkward.
"I’m, ah…I’m seeing someone.”
She didn't say anything for a moment, taken aback at the abruptness of it. The goofy grin on her face slipped, replaced by a far more fake one. On the one hand, fuck. On the other, well, it wasn't that big of a deal; he'd been honest, so she couldn't be that upset over it. "Okay," she said finally. "That's nice." Devon looked at the ground, contemplating what to do next.
It was going to be awkward for at least the next few minutes. That was just- that just made sense, that for the next five minutes or so they would make weird small talk about his girlfriend and he'd probably feel bad (probably already felt bad, if he came here just to tell her) and she already felt obligated to ask the stupid questions she was supposed to ask. But Devon had never been a huge fan of awkward small talk.
"Wanna get dinner?" She replaced her fake smile with a real one, looking back up at him and deciding that it wasn't worth it to be upset right now. Besides, a voice in her mind said, he came to tell you, which meant he likes you enough to set up boundaries. And boundaries are meant to be pushed.
