"Just don't make it where I have to cut you off." She smirked, "or get the bouncer to kick you out." Her brows raising and she ran her tongue across her teeth, stopping the cleaning she had started to put her attention on him, "oh really? I mean I can be pretty fun, but I came here to make drinks. Not entertain the crowd." She teased before shaking her head, "You're welcome. So you a local or you got a whole travel story thing to go with those good looks?"
"I'm pretty sure I can handle my alcohol." Javi said as he looked at Leya. He took a swig from the bottle in front of him as he adjusted his posture on the barstool. "Who said anything about entertaining the crowd? I'm just talking about me." He smirked towards her, leaning up against the bar as he watched her for a moment. "New to town but here for the long haul. You know, the whole get out of the military thing. I've seen a bit of the town, maybe you can show me a bit more of the....private spaces?"
who: anyone @whiskeyflatsstarters
where: coffee & concerts @ the office
"It takes a lot of courage to get up on that stage," she commented, watching as another took the stage after the last had shown off their ability to sing. "It couldn't be me, but kudos to those that make it up there. Are you thinking of taking the stage? Maybe showcase some kind of hidden talent you haven't shared with others yet?" she smiled at the other nearby, careful not to speak too loudly to disturb too many others around them as the person on stage started to perform.
Javi looked over towards the other one with a smile plastered on his face, a laugh building. "Absolutely not. I don't think you'd ever catch me up on some sort of stage." He said as he shook his head. "at least not trying to do music or whatever it is that person is trying to do up there." He shook his head. "Besides, I don't think you'd believe me if I told you what my hidden talent is." He said with a smirk as he watched the person on the stage."
There was something about the man that called out to him that appeared familiar, but Jay couldn't place it. Instead, he offered a friendly smile and walked to the whiskey aisle to meet him. "Depends what you're looking for..." He offered, pondering the options in front of him. "I like a sweet and smooth kind of blend, so the Irish brands like Jameson would be my favorite, but if you like a stronger kick with smokey notes, then scotch is the way for you." He then picked up a bottle from a local brewery and offered it to the man. "This would be the most traditional for the area, and being local it's super fresh. It's sweet, almost like a bourbon, but not sickly like J&D..." He liked to support local businesses when he could and it truly was a beautiful whiskey. "This one is one me, brother. If you care to share it with me and shoot the shit?" Jay asked, slapping his shoulder. He might have been a stranger, but he felt a kinship with him, so wanted to know more.
"Let's just say that I'm used to drinking whatever is thrown my way by good old Uncle Sam." Javi said as he followed Jay to the whiskey aisle and stopped to look at all of the options that were suddenly in front of him. He listened to the explanations, though he never really cared to learn the differences before, he liked pretty much anything he had been able to get his hands on. "Always good to support local." He said and offered the other a genuine smile. "Really? Yeah man, that sounds like a good time."
Even as she pulled back, Logan felt the urge to hug him once more in hopes that it would fill the years of them being apart. And how many times that she closed one of their calls in years because she never knew when she'd see him again or if she even would. She stood there, but felt unable to fully comprehend how he'd shown up and made it this far without her knowing. "You never said a single word. Not in any of your letters or I.. I would have been better prepared for this," she spoke with a smile even as she wiped at her cheeks because they felt wet despite not realizing that she'd started to cry in seeing him there in person.
She paused. "You're staying here." It wasn't a question, not even close to one as she moved aside with the door opening wider for the two of them to step inside. It wasn't much of a place, but it was all hers which meant that there was always going to be room for him there. If she'd been in the bunkhouse, then she would have had to let him go too soon and Logan wasn't sure that she'd be able to do that. "I've got a couch an' I'm sure that I can get one of the rollaway cots from the bunkhouse if it isn't that comfortable. Or there's my bed an' I'll take the couch," her words came out as a slight rush because she was trying to come up with any number of options to keep him there.
Logan let out a watered down laugh then, realizing that her heart was racing in her chest and she couldn't stand it any longer as she shut the door behind them. "I still can't believe you're here. I've wanted that for so long."
Javi looked at Logan and shrugged. "That would have ruined the surprise." He said as he reached forward and wiped a few of the tears away. He just couldn't stop watching her, not fully believing that he was actually seeing her again. "I can't ask you to let me stay like that Logan, I have no idea how long it's going to take me to find a place of my own." He said as he looked towards her before walking into the house. "I also can't ask you to give up your own bed. The couch will be perfectly fine, but I'm not gonna make you put up with me for too long, I promise."
Setting his bag down carefully, Javi shook his head. "Well, I'm here so you're gonna have to believe it." He said as he pulled her into one more hug, holding on for just a moment. "Sorry, I just have a lot of hugs to make up for, and probably a lot of explaining to do..." He said as he watched her for just a moment, standing back up straighter, wincing just slightly at the movement.
"Hey," Leya had noticed the guy at the bar her brows raising since he had barely turned around to see the performers, he was just ordering drinks. "You alright? Normally the people come here for the shows." She smirked, nodding in the direction of the main stage. "I know, I'm not that entertaining. I mean, you can't really deny that she is way more fun than me right now." She laughed pointing to the dancer that was now topless. "Tell you what," she smiled setting another bottle on the bar for him, "this one is on me."
Javi found himself sitting at the bar, wanting to be out and around people but not always having to be social, plus alcohol was never a bad thing at the moment. He turned to face the person who had started talking to him and he raised an eyebrow. "Oh, totally fine. The shows are fine and all, but I'm just really enjoying the alcohol right now." He smirked as he turned to look at the dancer before turning back around, shrugging his shoulders. "I don't know...you look pretty fun yourself." He took the bottle. "Thanks, appreciate it."
Javier didn't dance, never had, never will but that didn't stop him from checking out the local dance place to watch other people dance and get a few drinks. He walked in, nodding to a few people as he passed by, heading straight for the bar. He got himself a beer and turned around to lean against it as he watched people seemingly float across the dance floor. He looked over to the person he had stood next to and raised an eyebrow. "Is it usually this busy in here?" He asked curiously.
Javi wanted to surprise Logan with bringing back some groceries but he didn't realize just how expensive it was to buy food these days. He walked through the aisles and frowned as he stopped to look at all of the chip options, picking up a bag of lays and setting them in the cart. He moved to the candy aisle and went to grab a bag of gummy bears but they slipped from his fingers. He frowned as he carefully started to bend down to pick up the bag, wincing slightly at the pain the sent shivers down his back. He got down ad grabbed the bag but then realized he was stuck in that position.
Javier hadn't been able to sleep, at least not since he had been back and he found himself standing outside of the liquor store, deciding if he really wanted to go in or not. He ran his fingers through his hair as he stepped inside of the store, swallowing as he looked at all of the different brands, not used to having free access to alcohol. He shoved his hands in his pockets as he looked at all the whiskey, looking over to see someone standing nearby. "Do you have a favorite whiskey? Gonna be honest here, been in the military since I was 18 so never had much knowledge about this stuff."
Javier hadn't really gotten to know the town just yet but he had made sure to ask his sister where the bar was in town. It had been a long time since he had been able to go out and get a drink like a normal, everyday civilian. He walked into the Sombrero and looked around before walking up to the bar, ordering a beer and something to eat. He looked around as he grabbed what he thought was his beer before realizing it was the person next to him's beer. "Hey, sorry man." He said as he let go of the bottle.
She was at a loss for words, an unusual feeling, at seeing her brother standing there after so many years apart with only a phone call or a letter to tell her that he was still out there in one piece. Her entire life had been seeing him from a distance, unsure of the day when the last letter would arrive or someone else would be the bearer of the bad news that always seemed to loom on the horizon. Never would she have thought that he'd appear in her life again, on her front door no less, and look as he always did in every facetime call they were able to make over the years.
He looked older than she remember but the same underneath the way they'd both changed over the years, hoping in the back of her mind that she didn't look like the ten year old that hadn't had been able to see him one last time. The same ten year old moved before she had a minute to think about anything other than being able to grab ahold of him and never let go again. "I didn't mean how did you get here but how are you here?" She laughed lightly then, holding onto him tight as she buried her face against his shoulder after so many years apart.
Logan didn't want to pull apart, but she had so many questions beyond the obvious when he spoke about being done with the army as quick as she recognized being able to hear that he was there for good. "Wait, for good?" She moved backwards from the hug reluctantly, trying not to get her hopes up in thinking that maybe she'd heard him wrong. "You're here to stay, in Salt Flats?"
Javi had been waiting so long to hold Logan in his arms, not wanting to let go. Though he had been avoided the question about how he ended up in the position that he was in, he didn't want to lie to her. He thought for a moment before shrugging. "It was just my time to retire and I wanted to surprise my little sister." He said as she pulled away, reluctantly letting her go. "Yeah, I'm here to stay as soon as I can find a place to call my own." He said and grinned towards her.
Leaning down to pick up the one bag he had, Javi felt a pain rush through his body and he did his best to hold his reaction in so she didn't see. He stood back up straight and through the bag over his shoulder gently. "It's really good to see you Logan." He said, unable to stop staring at her. It had just been so long that he didn't want to stop watching her, almost brought back to the last day he had seen her in person. "You've grown up so much, it's hard to tell through the phone."
starter for: @javireyes
location: the office coffee co.
It was like every single citizen of Salt Flats had decided they needed a caffeine fix at the exact same time. As Jordan finally managed to place her order at the bar, she turned around, scanning the busy shop for an open table. After a few moments of doing so, she couldn't find a single table. But there was a table with one open seat. Jordan let out a huff, before turning on her friendliest smile. She turned towards the table and gave the man seated an apologetic smile. "Hi, umm... there doesn't seem to be any other open seats, would you mind if I sat here?" she asked, a hopeful look in her eyes.
Javier had been trying his best to get to know the town that he had found himself now living in, still getting used to being a civilian. He hadn't been a civilian since he was 18 years old, just before he joined the Army. He had been up for a little while, unable to sleep and he needed to get some coffee to keep himself going. He found the local coffee shop and walked in, looking around as he stood in line. The place looked busy, which is normally a good sign for these kinds of places unless it was the only coffee shop in town which means it would be busy none the less. He ordered his drink and pastry before grabbing it and sitting at one of the only open tables. He was enjoying his coffee before he heard someone ask him a question. "Oh, of course! Please, sit down."
who: @javireyeswhen: early evening
where: her place
Logan had been dodging texts and invitations all day, ready to call it quits when the work had finally slowed enough that the night crew could handle it. All she wanted, and needed, was some alone time to figure out what she needed to do next with her predicament. Jordan and Finn were in her corner no matter what she decided, but she hadn't been able to make up her mind yet as even the thought of making a doctor's appointment would make everything far too real.
But the guys were calling her out for skipping so many nights at the bunkhouse, even with her needing some space after Tyler's death because they were ready for her to move on with them. So when she finally was alone for the night, ready to pull something out of the freezer for dinner and there was a knock at the door - Logan was only a few moments away from losing her cool. "I already told y'all that I am busy tonight," she called out as she head towards the front door. A small lie, but they didn't need to know the truth yet.
But when she opened the door, it wasn't any of the guys standing there but someone else entirely as her hand dropped fast from the doorknob. "Javi. You're here.. how are you here?"
Javi had dreamed of the day that he would get to see his sister in person again since he was 18, but the Army had kept him away for so long. Every time he had tried to get leave to surprise her, it was taken away from him or she had been busy and a few years turned into roughly 20 or so years. Despite writing letters once a week and an occasional face time call, he was anxious about seeing her in person again, afraid that he may have somehow let her down.
He hadn't planned on coming home when he did, however he also wasn't planning on being injured either. Javi stared at the door in front of him, still debating on if he wanted to knock or not. He didn't want to impose on his sister after being apart for as long as they had been. He let out a breath before walking up to the door, deciding to try to keep his injury to himself and he knocked on the wood, backing up a bit.
The door opened and Javi could now see Logan standing before him and his heart swelled just at the sight of his little sister. "Logan! I mean, typically to get across oceans and states and such, we tend to take a plane these days. I don't know if I can trust any more boats to cross oceans." He said and offered her a smile. "I'm uh...here for good, done with the Army and everything and I couldn't think of a better place to go then to finally come to see you."
Javier Reyes had a rough start to his life, which should have been his first clue about how the rest of his life would go. He was born to Valentina and Mateo Reyes, though he didn’t live with them long as they didn’t want anything to do with him. They were about to put him up for adoption into the system but his aunt and uncle offered to bring him into the family as they didn’t have any children of their own just yet. He had lived with his aunt and uncle since the day he was released from the hospital as a baby and not a word was spoken about the fact that he was adopted until he was older. As far as he was concerned, Valentina and Mateo were his aunt and uncle and not his birth parents until he was around 6 years old when he was told about how he was adopted and who his birth parents were. You would think it would be to just tell him, but it was more to hold it over his head, like how he should be grateful to them for taking him in. They out him into rodeo events that he could do and got him going into the entire sport, making it known that they expected him to be in the rodeo and do well in it. He hated every moment of it and he hated the mere thought that the animals he was interacting with didn’t have a choice in what they were doing, at least when it came to the bull riding.
The abuse started when he was young, but it didn’t get physical until he was about 6, when he started actually competing in rodeo events with other kids his age. Javier would either try to refuse to participate or he wouldn’t perform well and that’s when the hitting started. It’s also when the hours and hours of practice was forced upon him and when he would complain about being hungry or wanting to go home, he would suffer under the hand of his father, told to ‘man up’ and continue, which he did. When he was 8, his first sister was born, the first biological child of his parents and he loved her already. He vowed on the day she was born that he would do anything he could do to protect her from being hurt, the same when his other sisters were eventually born. He would step in every time to take the physical brunt of their parents. They grew older and he continued to shield his sisters from the abuse, continued to make his name in bull riding and he never told a soul of his parents. He would win every even but nothing was good enough and they would constantly remind him that he should be grateful they took him in and gave him what they called a “loving” home. He wanted to run away so many times in his youth but never did as to protect his sisters in the only way that he knew how, without their knowledge.
On the day that Javier turned 18, he was greeted with his stuff by the door, not a single happy birthday, at least not from his parents, and he was told to leave. He didn’t even get to say goodbye to his sisters, which probably hurt the most. He stayed away though, scared that any attempt at talking to them would only result in them getting hurt. Without anywhere else to go, Javier decided to join the army, and he left to boot camp almost immediatly. He tried his best to keep tabs on his sisters, but it was hard to do while he was so far away. He was finally able to get an address to send Logan letters from where he was and he would send a new letter every week whether it was from a base in the US, or from a base in a different country, which is where he spent a lot of time, most of his time in the service actually. He did write a letter explaining everything their parents had done to him but he didn’t send it, nervous for some reason to have Logan read the letter.
Javier was in the military from the age of 18 till now, 40. He has just recently been medically and honorablly discharged after he and his team had hit an IED and he was left injured, though alive. He was one of the lucky ones to survive. He spent some time in the hospital and though he walks with a slight limp now, he is okay and tries his best to hide the injury. He doesn’t know exactly what he is going to do now that he doesn’t have the army to fall back on and nowhere to really go, which is how he found himself in Salt Flats, Texas. It’s where his younger sister lived now and she was all he really had.
