You left behind your life in New York for Lake Superior, settling in Duluth, Minnesota as Mason Academy's newest eighth grade teacher. You weren't expecting to meet anyone, nor were you looking. But when a field trip introduced you to Curtis Everett, your chance meeting opened another new chapter for you.
Warnings will be issued at the beginning of each chapter. This is an 18+ only blog.
Chapter One: Freightyard Education
Chapter Two: Second Chance Paulies
Chapter Three: Va Bene Night With The Stars
Chapter Four: Doorway Kisses
Chapter Five: Taking The Next Step
Chapter Six: Will You Be Mine?
Chapter Seven: When The Mask Comes Off
Chapter Eight: It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year 🎃
Chapter Nine: Life Carries On
Chapter Ten: Pretty Girl Honey
Chapter Eleven: More Than Just Turkey
Chapter Twelve: When It All Feels Like Home
Chapter Thirteen: Proceed To The Exit
Chapter Fourteen: It's The Merriest Time Of Year
Chapter Fifteen: Getaway
Chapter Sixteen: A Gift of Trust
Chapter Seventeen: Farewell Kiss
Chapter Eighteen: Introductions Made
Chapter Nineteen: Chasing Away The Winter Blues
Chapter Twenty: Sweet Addictions
Chapter Twenty-One: Lulled By The Waves
Chapter Twenty-Two: Winner Takes All
Chapter Twenty-Three: Not A Chance
Evening Quiet: Curtis and Honey Drabble.
Chapter Twenty-Four: When It All Goes Out
Chapter Twenty-Five: Heart Felt Truths
Chapter Twenty-Six: Busted
Good Fucking Girl: Curtis and Honey Drabble
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Creating New Habits
Chapter Twenty-Eight: Caught In The Rain
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Perfect Imperfections
Curtis and Honey Autumn This Or That Series (Fall celebration series 2023) 🧡🍁
Drabbles 🐝
Beehive
Welcome Home
Night Intruders
Fall Pumpkin Walk
Bonfire
Night In
Curtis’s Haunted House
Spooky Time Shows
Sitting On Face
Fall Time Discussion
Ax Throwing
Cold Winter Night
Sunday Night
Let Me FIx It
Let's Go Find Bigfoot
Betty White's My Girl
After A Month Apart
Goofing Off In The Kitchen
Lunch Break
Parent Confrontation
Game Night
First Day of School Surprise
It's Been A Day
Dogearring A Book
It's All Fun And Games
Halloween Preparations
Curtis Cheering Up His Girl
Curtis and Honey Teasing
Gray Sweatpants
Out With The Old
Working on the Camaro
Night At Paulie's
Help Required
In The Present
Two AM Pancakes
Vacation Moods
Snowstorm At The Cabin Prompt
Comfort Prompt- 2 for 1- So Many Things + Nightmares
Bad Day
Random Surprises
Soft Prompts- 2 for 1- Curtis and Honey From Behind
Soft Prompt- Curtis Gives Honey A Surprise
Ask- Curtis Surprising Honey
Smut Prompt- Curtis Making Honey His Priority
Ask- One Way To Say Goodbye
Ask- Bets On
Ask- And Chill?
BJ In Your PJ's
Halloween Special: If You Got It, Haunt It
Ask- How Is Curtis During Your Period?
Breeding Kink Ask
Curtis and The Mustache Debate Ask
Pillow Fights and Tickles Ask
Tickles Ask Continued
St Patrick's Day Special- Kiss Me, I'm-
Affection Ask
All His
Sleepy Time Ask
Watermelon Suga'
Curtis and Timmy Drabble
Ask- Curtis Catches Honey Being Leered At
Ask- Party Prep
Porch Light
Ask- Curtis Taking Care Of You
Moodboards made by @sagechanoafterdark 🐝🍯💛
Autumn Themed Moodboards made by @xxindiglow for Curtis and Honey 🍯🐝🍂🎃
Of course I used one! They were stunning and you worked hard. I plan on using a couple more. But you should post them if you want to. They a
Pairing: Club owner and Mafia boss! Curtis Everett
Since you have the memory, you noticed your body is kind of different to other girls.
When you start growing, you can see your hair on your body is more than others.
Well, most of them could be hide, but you can't wear shorts or short skirts without leggings or long socks...
And the situation is worsen when your body is larger than your colleagues. You don't like to wear skirt anymore, and you only wear short pants in home.
You accidentally let one of the girl see your calf's one time in your middle school.
You can't forget the embarrassed scene when she squealed "Eww, leg hairs!!"
You know she didn't have propose but the squeal really hurt you.
The self depression continued to your college.
Today is your friend's birthday Party in your last year, you agreed your girlfriends and some boy-friends to come here since it's the last time in college.
You standing in front of the mirror and glared at your reflection of the mirror.
You wear a long sleeve hoodie and a long skirt, the length is near your ankles and hide most of your legs.
You courged yourself that you look not bad, maybe not pretty, but at least not weird and won't have unwanted attention.
You pick up your bag and meet your friends in the front door of the bar.
You've heard this club, its owner is familiar with the cops and the gangs in this city. So you don't want to earn the unnecessary attention.
That's why when you nearly bump into a man and you're in panicked.
“Oh shit...I am so sorry, sir. Are you alright?”
You scan his face when his large hands steady you and shrink of his touch.
“I am good, miss. Next time, you can wait in the guest room if your friends not come yet.” His cobalt blue eyes stares at you and you nod eagerly while you shift to side to menage more place to let him walking away.
“I-I am sorry again, sir.” You hold your bag and want to flee out here now.
The brunette hair man doesn't bugging you, he shakes his head one more time to tell you it's nothing to worry about before he enter the club. The guards all bow to him and call him “Sir!”
When your friends arrive all, you ask them if you can enter other place but not this club.
Of course, they reject you and pull you in even though you told them what's happened before.
You duck your head down and try to stay in the crowds. Checking your watch from time to time, you order yourself a cocktail with low alcohol. You don't like the taste of alcohol and you don't think it's a safe place to drink to you.
Across the room, the brunette hair man sitting on sofas. His eyes wandering and sways the glass of Whiskey.
“Today we have some special guests, don't scare them and don't cause any trouble. Especially Barnes's girl, or I would send the troublemaker to him and let himself dealing with you.”
He shifts his eyes and spots you in the corwds, you are chatting with your friends and sipping your drinks.
Curtis suddenly feels his throat dry. To be honest, your wearing is nothing special. A common hoodie, a long skirt and a pair of Rome sandals. You're not special but somehow you catch his eyes.
He drinks your curvy inch by inch, and he gulps his whiskey without move his stares.
“Freya...” Curtis speaks under his breath before he whispers something to his man. The man nodding and leaves to do his orders.
Your friends now all down to the dance floor. Just when you think you should go home after you drink your cocktail, the bartender comes to you.
“Do you want another one, miss? This one is free?”
“Huh? Ugh..why?” The bartender just send you a small piece of paper.
There's a text "Call me" with a phone number and a name
Curtis Everett
You freeze when you read his name, and you lift up your head.
“You sure you don't send it to wrong people? It's... it's might not for me, I mean this should give to another woman...”
“I...I don't know, miss. But Mr.Everett told me, if you have any problem, just tell him yourself, he's in the end of the hallway.”
The bartender is nearly crying.
You receive the letter eventually, but when you try to find your friends and told them you're leaving. You bump into a man's arms again.
“Ohhh! Sorry, sir. Are you...alright?”
Curtis smirks and his hand tuck into his pockets of his pants. He smiles down to you, and you suddenly notice how tall and giant he is. You can barely reach his chest.
“Already tired, Freya?”
“I-I am not Freya, I am afraid you're mistaken me as someone else, Sir.”
He chuckles and shakes his head, “No no, the Freya is beyond the name of our family, it would only give your mate.”
You blink your eyes once, and twice.
“I know it's sounds creepy and too fast, but...I also know I could make you be my mate and the time would prove that. Of course, as long as you allow me.”
Though his words are polite, but you can hear that he won't take “no” as answer.
You bite your lips and nodding slowly. Curtis lift up your hand and kiss the back of it. Your face heating up and you don't know how to react.
“This is just begin, Freya. Now, I would let you go with your friends. But next time...”
He lean to you without warning and you can smell the spicy taste from the whiskey.
Summary- 2.4k Curtis Everett x Plus!Sized Reader. The first field trip of the year with your middle school class landed the bus in the Duluth's Freight Yard, intent on teaching the children about the city's vital industries. You were ready with the kids and your flashcards, what you weren't ready for was the large man with the icy blue eyes and quiet demeanor showing you around.
A/N- This became a personal passion project around January and I'm in love with this soft series where Curtis is given something good in a modern AU setting. You all have been so supportive of the snippets I have shared about these two, so thank you for that. It has certainly kept me wanting to write and excited to share Curtis and Honey. Dividers made by @firefly-graphics A HUGE thank you to @what-is-your-plan-today for betaing this project. Remember, likes are nice, shares and comments really keep creators going. 🍯🐝
Masterlist
“So you ready for the rugrats coming to visit the yard?” Edgar questioned the second Curtis stepped out of his truck in the train yards employee parking. Tugging his beanie on to combat the early September chill that signaled the beginning of fall, he arched a brow in question while he grunted.
To be fair, it was more of an answer than Edgar was expecting. The younger man was used to it, Curtis was a man of few words. It's what made his presence almost commanding. He only said something when he had something to say. “Gillian just filled me in,” Edgar explained as he looked at Curtis, who gave a small nod of understanding, “The mayor is funding an educational thing where we teach kids what jobs are available around here.”
“As long as they dont get in the way.” Curtis shrugged as he shed his extra jacket and tossed it in the truck's cab before closing his door and locking it. “This place is too dangerous for kids to be running around.”
Edgar started following him, hands in his pockets to warm them up as they both entered into a rundown building where the office was. Punching in his time card, Curtis stuffed his paperwork in an allotted slot, Edgar mimicking his actions. Across the room the office manager was on the phone, agitation coming through her tone.
“Well you sending that 10:30 train up that North track is not gonna do me any damn good when the buyer was expecting that shipment YESTERDAY.” The men paused at the desk, listening as Tanya unleashed a whole mess of words on the poor person on the other end before she pinched the bridge of her nose. “Okay, yes I will call them and fill them in. Just make sure it gets here, the last thing I need is to be made a liar.” She hit the end call and turned towards Curtis and Edgar, her anger diminishing and good nature returning like it was on the head of a pin. “I'm guessing you two are looking for this?” She held up a shipping manifest which Edgar snatched and scanned it. “Well that ain't too bad.” Curtis glanced down at the paperwork in Edgar’s hands as the young man examined it. Tanya continued on.
“Nope, why I think you and Grey can handle it, he's already down in the yard. Curtis, Gillian has something else for you. He’s in his office, just go on in Sweetheart.” Only Tanya was allowed to use terms of endearment on Curtis.
“Thanks Tanya.” He tipped his head in a nod and left, leaving Edgar leaning against the counter, making eyes at Tanya and whining out.
“Come on Tanya, why does Curtis get the good jobs? You don't love me?”
“Boy you got some growing to do before I be sweet on you, get your ass out of here.”
You managed to get your students loaded on the bus without any mishaps or fighting. While you weren't expecting anything to happen, your eighth grade class was all in all pretty decent, there were the occasional occurrences with you still being a fairly new teacher to the school and they wanted to see what they could possibly get away with. It was a relief when everything happened just the way it was supposed to. Settling in the seat right behind the kindly old bus driver named Steve, you started to sort through your flashcards.
You didn't really know much about train yards in general, so you spent the night before pulling together some questions to ask in case the students didn't have any to engage with the employee who would be showing them around. Scanning them now, you winced a bit as you chewed on your plump bottom lip, feeling that your flashcards were not all that good, but something was better than nothing you decided when you pocketed them in your plaid belted coats pocket, making sure to tighten the strap a bit around yourself. You continued to fidget though, really wanting this to all go smoothly since this was your first field trip with your class, in a new school. Instinctively you reached up to fiddle with the little bumble bee dangles you were wearing.
It wasn't long before the school bus turned into an industrial sized train yard. Cargo cars were lined up in neat numbered rows, several trains appeared to be unloading supplies and heavy machinery was moving it into designated cars for storage. A shabby little office sat next to what looked to be employee parking and the bus creaked to a stop out of the way of any incoming vehicles. Before you pulled yourself to a stand to address your students you glanced out the window to see a big burly man dressed all in black come stalking out of the office and rounding on the bus. You assumed that must be the employee who volunteered to show you around. You didn't see much of his expression as his head was tilted, but the little you did looked all hard and serious.
Standing and turning to your students who were still joking around and grabbing their clipboards with papers for taking notes, you cleared your throat. “Okay everyone, you all know the rules. We stay together, okay. This is a class trip, so we will conduct ourselves with respect for these people at their place of business.”
“Miss Y/L/N…” came a kid's voice from the back, a red curly head of a boy named Andrew popping up as he leaned against the top of a seat. “We know!”
“Yes, I know you all know. But reminders don’t hurt, we all need them.” You retorted while gathering your stuff in your arms. “And Andrew, stop hanging on the seat like that.” You finished as you turned back around and the shuffling behind you let you know that the kids were lining up in the aisle. Pausing at the bus driver, you put your hand on his shoulder. “Be back in a while.”
Already Steve was pulling out a pad of paper and charcoal for sketching, giving you a wink and kindly smile. “Take your time Miss Y/L/N. They don't need me back till the end of the day.” Leaning forward, he maneuvered the door open and you started down the stairs. Careful as you didn’t want to trip on the bus stairs when your foot connected with the ground you looked up and gave a squeak of surprise.
You had seen the man leaving the office before, but up close and personal, he wasn't what you were expecting. You actually had to tip your head back at what you were guessing was a good six foot four or five inches with a broad chest that managed to make you feel small somehow. A dark beard covering half his face with a full bottom lip showing and icy blue eyes that seemed to rarely warm up, under the brim of a black beanie hat.
“H-hi!” you cleared your voice and gave a smile, which made his pupils widen slightly before his gaze softened just a bit. Otherwise, it was almost impossible to read his expression. Your hand shot out towards a broad sweater clad chest. “My name is Miss Y/L/N and the kids behind me are the eighth grade students of Mason Academy.” A cheer of hellos sounded from behind you and those icy eyes broke their stare off you to look behind you. You felt air reenter your body at the break from his gaze, and you couldn't help the rush of excitement that laced into the pit of your stomach.
Jesus a man who could possibly handle me… and maybe I shouldn't be lecturing the kids about respect while you are checking him out like this.
Chiding yourself as some thoughts raced through your mind, his hand reached out, rough and calloused, it just about swallowed yours as he gave a brief shake before pulling away all too soon. “Name’s Curtis Everett, just call me Curtis. None of that mister stuff.” You could see him take a swallow and you really couldn't help but grin slightly realizing that maybe he was a bit nervous. “So um- yeah I'm gonna show you all around and be answering any questions anyone might have about how the train yard works.”
Taking a step closer to the man in black, you gave a flirty little grin. “Lead the way, Curtis.”
Curtis had been surprised to see the literal goddess that stepped off that bus, the last thing he expected. He felt his heart race and mind go blank when you tilted your face to look up at him. That had never happened to him before, not to the best of his recollection, had a woman ever stunned him speechless.
It wasn't till that stuttered ‘hi’ that his brain started functioning again. Partially anyway. It wasn't stopping the thoughts of how soft you looked in your long plaid coat with the sash tight enough to shape the coat to your body, or the uplift tone in your voice or the way you were looking back at him with wide surprised eyes, yet determined as you stepped closer to shake his hand.
And your touch when he finally took it, no you were too good for him. Your touch was warm and soft in his hand, everything he really wasn't.
Fuck he was screwed and he couldn't believe he let Gillian talk him into doing this. But he had a job to do, so he resigned himself to making an attempt.
It ended up going decent enough, Curtis thought. The kids actually made the effort to ask questions that would engage him in conversations about the daily management of the train yard and what it meant to the businesses in the area. But it was your questions he was eager to answer.
You were grateful to your students, as you barely had to turn to your flashcards. It wasn't until near the end of the tour when the kids started losing interest and forming their typical groups of friends that you started shuffling through your cards. Curtis was walking next to you, it was impossible to not feel flustered at how close he was, his hands stuffed in his trench coats pockets and his gaze was unwavering focused ahead as he waited for your next question. You should look away, but you couldn't as his side profile was making those excited butterflies in your belly from earlier flutter. Your brain screamed when he turned that look on you.
Focus Y/N!
Your fingers fumbled when you knew you were caught staring and the cards went scattering to your feet. “Oh, fuc-dge.” Catching yourself you squatted down to gather them up. “I'm so clumsy I swear, you can't fix this kind of mess.” It was so automatic to make apologies. Cursing inwards at yourself, it wasn't till Curtis grabbed a card you were going to grasp that you looked up from the ground and was almost face to face with the man. He was reading the cards as he picked them up, eyes scanning back and forth until he looked up from the cards. Again you were caught up in the actual beauty of his features. He had lashes that any woman would have killed for and a smatter of barely there freckles across his nose.
“I see nothing that needs to be fixed Miss Y/L/N.” He stated simply as he held the cards out to you once more and pushed himself to a stand. His hands took yours, grasping your forearms gently while he helped you raise up easily.
Your earlier assessment was right… He is strong if he can help lift you up.
“Why thank you, Mr.Everett.”
“Curtis, please… Mr.Everett was my granddad.” He said and flashed you a smile, probably the first one you've seen and it made you return it in relief.
“I guess I better get these kids back to school unless there is more to see?” You asked almost hopefully and Curtis gave a shake of his head. “Well then, thank you, Curtis. For the wonderful informative trip, okay kids. Back on the bus.” You waved your hand for them to get back on. You and Curtis waited at the end, you counting kids getting on while Curtis would give the occasional nod of his head every time one of them thanked him. When it was just the two of you, you stepped on, turning suddenly once more face to face. “It was a pleasure to meet you, Curtis.” You said genuinely and once more you earned a soft smile in his typically stoic features.
“As it was mine as well. Take care Miss Y/L/N.”
“Oh! I'm sorry, it's Y/N.” Giving a wave you stepped up and the door closed. As you made your way back to the seat you were in earlier, you immediately glanced out the window to see the broad shouldered man walking away, slightly haunched to the cold wind in his retreating form.
“Are you ready to return to the school Teach?” Steve asked and you hummed a yes, taking one last look at Curtis before you returned to real life.
Returning to the school, you pushed one tall brooding man to the back of your mind while the students filed off. You ended up helping the driver check all the seats for any forgotten items from the kids. On your way off, you happened to catch sight of Steve's drawing pad on the dashboard and plucked it up. It was a perfect rendering of the train yard, including quick sketches of the group returning back to the bus. In the front was a rough sketch of you and Curtis engaged in conversation. “This… is amazing. I can’t believe you did this while we were walking around.”
Steve came back up, giving a shrug. “Hobby of mine, sitting all that time behind the wheel waiting on you Teach’s educating those kids, well I gotta do something. You all basically remained in view so it was easy to replicate.”
“Do you think I could have this?” You questioned with hope and he plucked a pencil that he had tucked into a shirt pocket and motioned for you to hand it over. At the bottom, he scribbled his initials and pulled the page out of his book.
“Sure Teach.”
Making your way off, you continued to admire the drawing before you tucked it away in your paperwork.
Summary- 3.5k Curtis Everett x Plus!Sized Reader. Finishing out the week with an invite from some of the fellow teachers for a night at Paulie's, you take them up on a night out of the apartment. Curtis was still firmly on your mind after the field trip and you were looking for the welcome distraction since there was no way a man like that could possibly be interested in a woman like you. Right? Wrong, seems like fate had other plans and Paulies Bar was made for second chances.
Warnings- Some body image issues
A/N- Thank you so much to everyone who has shown such interest and support for this! It really has shocked me and given me confidence in what I'm doing. So thank you, thank you, thank you! A million times. Special thank you to @what-is-your-plan-today for reading this and editing it. I'm a messy writer, so it is much appreciated. Dividers made by @firefly-graphics. Please comment and reblog if you enjoyed the fic. 🐝🍯
Chapter One / Masterlist
Friday night and you managed to doll yourself up a bit for a night to a bar called Paulies. You would be lying if you did not admit that you had spent all week thinking about Curtis from the train yard, and a bit bummed knowing that you probably wouldn’t see him again. It wasn't like you would go seek him out, you were sure that he had long forgotten about you. Men like that wouldn’t be interested in a woman like you. You stared at yourself a bit longer than usual in the mirror, picking out the flaws you saw in yourself. Yes you had a ‘cute’ face as you have been told, but you were too much everywhere else. Your ex certainly made that comment to you all the time.
You stepped back and turned to your side, brushing your hand down your back and over the curve of your ample curved ass. Fuck your ex, you broke up with him for a reason. And you looked damn good, you had the ass to prove it. Your pep talk made you smile, you certainly remembered the way his breath hitched when he saw you, so maybe you were being a bit too hard on yourself.
It didn’t matter, Curtis was a passing moment and how unprofessional would it be for you to just show up at his work because you thought that maybe he was attracted to you. It was obvious, you needed a night out to get him off your mind. This had been going on all week and you needed at least a break from the back and forth debate on what chemistry there was or wasn’t going on at the freightyard.
So when one of the teachers you had made friends with named Claude offered a night out at one of Duluth's secret little hidden treasures, you decided that it was the perfect distraction you needed. Leaning into your mirror, you perfected your eyeliner as much as you were going to be able to, giving a smokey eye look, added a touch of color to your lips and took a step back to make sure the whole look went fine with the off the shoulder top and flowing skirt. All you had left to do was put on your pair of boots with a slight bit of heel and you would be good to go.
A buzz from your phone dropped your gaze, clicking on the screen to bring up the notification ~Ready to head out? I’m downstairs in the metallic gray car.
You glanced up from your phone but couldn't be bothered to answer, instead you grabbed your boots to slip on and jacket. Within seconds you were out the door and down the stairs to go out onto the street. Slipping into Claude's car, your exuberant coworker was checking herself in the mirror before turning to you.
“Y/N! Girl, you clean up nice. I wish I could get my eyes to stand out as much as you can.” She reached over to fiddle with a piece of your clothing and gave a bit of a sigh. “You look so pretty tonight.”
You imagined what the words she left unsaid were, -for that body. She didn't need to, you were used to these kinds of things all your life. Always just a little too much of you for someone to be okay with. Over the years you managed to hide the churning of discomfort these thoughts caused, inside you were trying to shrink yourself, outside you easily flashed Claude a smile of thanks to her compliment.
Claude didn't say anymore, but instead turned on the radio and within a short period of time she was pulling into a parking lot with other cars you recognized from the school. “Okay, no talk of school, students or parents.” She grabbed at her purse while laying out the rules. “Tonight is about having fun!”
“I’m down for that.” You moved to step outside and glanced at the rather unimpressive building. “It looks… charming?”
Claude came around the car, shrugging. “The outside isn’t much, but I promise you are gonna have a good time. Also some good looking singles hang out here.” She hooked her arm through yours, leading you up to the front door.
You chuckled and shook your head softly while going inside. “No, really this is more my speed, I promise.”
Curtis held open the door while Edgar and Grey filed into the bar. “Come on, Paulie really wants to start a dart-throwing team, I think we should make a team. We can get matching shirts.” Edgar rambled on excitedly, having spent the whole day at work trying to get Curtis and Grey to commit to doing a team with him.
Curtis was absolutely not going to wear a matching team shirt.
“We can join in on a tournament. Maybe make some extra spending money.”
Grey led them up to the bar. “And what would we call ourselves Edgar?” He asked while glancing at what was on tap that night.
“I don't know, something cool though. Piercers? Cause like… Darts have that pointy end?” Edgar drummed his hands against the bar, whining. “Come on Paulie, we're dehydrated over here, and is the kitchen open tonight? Cause we're also starving.”
A man at the end of the bar looked frazzled as he worked on making drinks. “Hold yer horses, fuck. It’s just me for now. Serve yerselves, you always do anyways.” Even appearing rushed, Paulie still had a good natured tone welcoming to him, like he thrived on the chaos of serving all the people filling the bar's edge.
Grey took it as an invitation to hop over the bar and draw out three glasses while Edgar turned back to Curtis. “So… what do you think about it, we could be the Piercers!” he made finger guns towards Curtis with an hopeful look.
“Not going to happen.” Curtis muttered as he took the beer Grey offered him and took a drag from it, wiping the foam that got caught on his in the hair of his upper lip away. Grasping the pitcher that was handed over next, he sought out a table near the dart wall where they planned to spend their time.
“Told you man, if you just kept it simple and to the point, he might have been on board.” Grey came back around the bar with another pitcher, joining Curtis who was gathering enough darts for all three of them.
Edgar just rolled his eyes at Grey while setting down the full glasses Grey had handed him earlier on throwaway coasters. “He just doesn't know how to have fun.”
“My idea of fun and yours are two different things Edgar.” Curtis opened the dart board's casing and went to stand at the line indicating where he was to shoot from, taking aim and flinging the first dart to hit the board.
“Oh yeah, what's yours?” Edgar snorted in disbelief as Grey prepared for his own darts. He easily sent them hitting near the targets he was aiming for and Edgar groaned, waving a hand at the board. “See, we could kick ass. This bastard gets almost all the targets.”
Curtis sat himself at the high bar room table, refilling his glass that he half drained earlier. “What do I consider a good time? Fine ass woman in my lap sounds pretty good right now.”
“Like that teacher you were showing around Monday? We all saw you stick pretty close to her.” Grey shot him a knowing look and Curtis felt the swell in his chest at the mere mention of you. It made his heart race thinking about that sweet smile you gave him when you came off the bus with that sweet smile and damn if he wasn't getting a bit of a hard on thinking about the touch of your hand brushing against him, how your touch would feel all over him. He merely grunted in agreement, letting his eyes roam around the room as it was starting to get busier.
“Yeah, she was pretty.” Edgar followed up as he made his own attempt to gain points on the board. The conversation continued on, Curtis drifted away from what they were discussing since they wandered from talking about you.
The bar was picking up, Curtis could hear Paul calling out drink orders to patrons waiting at the bar's edge. That's when his gaze fell on you, standing at the end patiently, clutching a small bag to you while you waited for him to wander back down to your end. Could he really be that lucky? What were the chances you would come to this place? You were just as sweet and soft looking as he remembered. The drape of your skirt hid those curves he got to admire before and this time you had a bit of heel to your boot, making you look slightly taller than before, but not by much. You had on heavier make up, making your eyes look wide eyed as you glanced around the room back towards your table on the other end of the bar. Curtis didn’t believe in fate, but it seemed like the perfect opportunity for him to get to know you better, so maybe it was just a bit of fate and a whole lot of luck. Whatever it was that put you in his path once more, he wasn’t going to let you just walk away again without trying for your number.
“Curtis, it's your turn.” Grey nudged but the game was completely forgotten about. “Curtis?” Grey tried once more thinking Curtis didn't hear him but then he caught sight of you.
“Where is he going?” Edgar asked, puzzled when Curtis abruptly left his friends waiting for him to play and Grey shook his head.
“He’s all done man, just the two of us.”
You were debating about what you wanted. All the others were doing mixed drinks, but you weren't sure if you were up for that tonight, your goal wasn’t to get completely wasted. A touch to your arm made you jump in surprise, your head turning to a gray henley stretching over a broad chest and then upwards to a familiar set of brilliantly blue eyes and a bearded face. You were amused to see that he still had a beanie stretched over the top of his head, hiding away the soft buzz cut you assumed was underneath. “Curtis!” The mere mention of his name had him break out in a shy looking grin, a soft pink going up his neck. “Oh, I never expected to see you here. How uh- have you been?”
Curtis leaned against his forearms on the bar, bringing him down more to your level. “Ah, just blowing off some steam after the work week with a few of the guys.” He didn't bother pointing them out but instead moved closer to you, you swore you could feel the warmth radiating off him. “And you?”
“Letting off some steam as well with a few of the teachers. T-G-I-F you know.” You leaned in a little closer too, drawn closer and seem to forget you were here with your coworkers. “I have never been here, but was told to give it a try. I’m really glad I did now.”
You felt those crystalline blues studying you for a moment, maybe trying to figure out if you were open to his company, which you very much were. “It’s always good to take that chance, never know when something new is going to pay off.” He moved away from you suddenly to go around the bar. “Pauls a friend.” Curtis assured you when you arched a questioning brow at him. “I was just about to refill my beer, what would you like?”
You arched to your tiptoes to lean over the bar enough to look at what was on tap. “What are you having Curtis?”
“Sam Addams tonight.” He admitted as he pulled the tap, leaning the glass just so to keep the foam under control.
“Same, hook me up with one of those.” You said while admiring him work effortlessly, the henley did him nothing but favors, clinging to his chest and showing the shift in muscles under the soft fabric. Curtis grasped another cup and filled it up. You watched him move around the hustle and bustle behind the bar like he was used to it and for such a massive man, that was a hard accomplishment to stay out of everyone's way. “You want to… find someplace a bit quieter to enjoy these?”
“Please.” He said relieved as he came back around and glanced around the room. You followed his gaze to see him looking over by the dart boards, two men watching your interaction intently and one even flashed a thumbs up. You swore red flared the tips of Curtis’s ears while his hand came to rest against the small of your back, slightly steering you the other way towards booths lining the wall. His touch was warm and inviting. You didn't try to move away or anything but sunk into it, falling back closer to him when you two approached the booths.
You could feel the giddy excitement at feeling his very solid frame just behind you steering you towards the quieter section of the bar. “You know, we could have gone back to your friends.” You offered him but fiercely blue eyes darted from them to you and he gave a slight shake of the head.
A man of few words you thought to yourself and was happy with his choice for a more private setting, that was until you two reached a rather small and tight looking booth’s lining along the bars wall. Once you realized where he was leading you, your steps stuttered, causing his chest to brush against you as he bumped into you. You could just see yourself trying to squeeze into the narrow unmoving bench seat, no room to breathe, trying to suck in your stomach so it didn't press into the table's edge and look like it was going to spill over. Your excitement at spending the evening with Curtis was so quickly taking a complete turn all because of a booth.
You were bracing yourself for it, that move where you would try to make yourself look comfortable in a too small space. But Curtis wrapped his hand against your side to stop you and look around before by some saving grace there was a single empty table towards the pool tables that had just been vacated. “Mind if we sit over there instead? My legs are just to fucking long to be comfterable at these things. I keep telling Paul he needs to rip them out.”
You swore you could have kissed that man right there. “Of course.” You said right back in your good mood and you both rushed over to the table to claim its spot. Settling into a seat that you could easily maneuver to fit you, you took a sip off the top of your beer and set it on a cardboard coaster while Curtis made himself comfortable as well. A quick peek under the table showed he wasn't lying, one long leg was stretched out under the table throwing a booted foot practically under your chair. At the booths they would have been knocking knees the whole time. There was an awkward pause of silence, as if neither of you knew where to really start now that you two were alone.
“So is this-”
“Do you-”
You both started at the same time, which you broke into a laugh at the stumble and he cracked a grin too. “Sorry Y/N, what were you saying?”
“So is this your regular place or did your friends insist on coming here?” You restarted and he nodded.
“Yeah a regular, a lot of us from the yard come here afterwards. Paulie is an old friend, knew him since we were kids.”
“Look at the perks, you get behind the bar privileges.” You wiggled your brows and Curtis snorted with a roll of his eyes.
“He did give me a crash course in how to bartend, I'm actually surprised he hasn't tried tonight since it's Friday and appears he didn’t schedule accordingly.”
“It really is pretty busy for him to be doing this alone.” You glanced around, and although busy the atmosphere was pretty laid back, everyone seemed to be having a good time. “Maybe he saw you talking to me and didn’t want to bother you?” You offered a hopeful alternative response and Curtis turned back towards you.
“Maybe, and I'm not complaining. I would rather be in your company anyways. You were really good with the kids the other day. How long have you been at the school?”
“Not too long, I just moved here from the east coast. I was offered a job and needed to get away, so here I am. Been here since July at this point. It’s nice.” You looked down at your glass, fiddling with it. Curtis seemed to pick on your unease at the mention of you moving and instead turned your attention to the pool table.
“How about a game? It’s been a while since I've played.”
You once more lightened up, pushing up to a stand while giving a shrug. “Well I’ve never played, so teach me?”
“Think I can do that.” He gave a wink and started to explain the game while getting the table ready.
Turns out pool was just what was needed, you two spent the next couple hours playing the game terribly and teasing one another. A couple pitchers littered your table, leaving you giggling with a buzz and Curtis although still his usual quiet self, a bit more relaxed. He wouldn't hesitate to move up behind you and let his hands rest on your hips to readjust you, lean over and point out the ball for you to shoot for, which whenever you missed, clanking the balls all over the table, you would give a moan of defeat and a sigh.
They were noises Curtis didn’t seem to mind though, every time you gave them you felt him press in closer, distracting you with the smell of his cologne and a genuine grin that made his whole demeanor brighten up. You finally admitted to defeat when you glanced up at the clock and saw that it was edging on one am. “Shit, I wonder if my ride is even still here.” You giggled as you leaned on Curtis’s side, looking around the room.
“Who did you come with?”
“Some coworkers took me out, but they seem to have left.” You felt for your phone, checking to see if Claude happened to text you. Which she did, hours ago. Apparently she had left on a hookup. “Shit.” You muttered, trying to clear your mind from the buzz. “I will just call an uber.”
“I will just go settle up our tab and wait with you.” He started to dig out his wallet and you protested, digging into the bag you brought.
“You can get it next time Y/N” Curtis assured you.
“Would you want there to be a next time?” You stopped trying to dig out some cash and Curtis flashed a knowing grin.
“I’m counting on a next time.” Curtis said with confidence while gathering up the pitchers off the table and your glasses, he brought them over to the bar which Paul came down to gather. You noticed that one of his friends sidled up to him, the two of them falling into a serious looking conversation that had Curtis taking a glance your way.
You did your best not to look like you were staring at the wide expanse of his shoulders in the Henley shirt.
Grey came up on Curtis’s other side, also pulling out his wallet to settle up.
“Headed out with the teacher?” Handing over his card, the men waited for Paulie to finish ringing them out.
“Just waiting on an uber to pick Y/N up. She came with some coworkers, but they left.” Curtis frowned to himself as he tucked his card back into his wallet and into his pocket. “Dick move for them to just leave her, but whatever. I don’t mind waiting with her.”
“You seemed to be enjoying yourself.” Grey observed as he did the same with his card. “You should ask her out again.”
“Hmm… See you Monday.” Curtis cut the conversation short to leave Grey at the bar alone to rejoin you.
When he came back, you were scowling at your phone, a worried wrinkle in your brow. “It will take forever for an uber to get here. I should have called earlier.” You looked at him and gave an apologetic smile. “You don’t have to wait with me.”
Curtis shrugged, not bothered by it. “I don’t mind, but I did drive here myself. I can give you a ride home if you want?”
You seemed to contemplate his offer and Curtis wouldn’t have blamed you if you refused, you didn’t really know him after all but he felt he should at least make the offer. Your answer turned to one he wasn’t exactly expecting, but he was happy with it. “You really don’t mind?”
“Not at all Y/N.” He pulled out his key and pushed open the door for you to go out into the chilly night, beeping his trucks lights so you knew where to head to.
The ride home you had the window down partially so the cold night air could help clear your head and when he pulled onto your block, he eased up to the set of apartments you directed him too. “I had a good time tonight Curtis, thank you.” You fiddled with your phone and held it up. “Want my number?”
Curtis had never been so quick to hand his phone over so you could put your number in. He waited as you finished and gathered yourself together to make your way inside. It was minutes before his phone dinged, you assuring him you were safe inside and thanking him once more for the pool lesson.
Fuck you were so damn sweet, he hoped to find out just how much.
