You were being watched. It was as simple as that. And no, it wasn't like you were feeling some floating eye of god following you around, it were the two eyes of a regular man. In short, you had a stalker.
As crazy as it sounds, it didn't really bother you. The man kept his distance, never interacted with you directly, didn't do anything weird. Or, you know, weirder. Quite frankly, you weren't even fully convinced it was a man, you had never seen this person's face after all. You'd only caught glimpses of a figure, masculine built but long hair. In the end, you just assumed that it was a man.
It all started when you went to this quaint little antiquarian bookshop where you found a book that just drew you in. You bought it without thinking it through and only when you got home and tried to read it did you notice that it was entirely in Latin, a language you didn't speak. The only thing you were able to read was the little info at the front: From the library of Jurgen Leitner.
You didn't end up reading the book or doing anything at all with it, really. Just put it on your shelf and moved on with your life. However, the very same night you could feel someone's eyes piercing into you through your window. When you looked outside you spotted a dark figure not even trying to hide that he was clearly looking up at you.
Maybe it wasn't the most rational choice, but you just closed the curtains and put on a movie, eventually going to bed. Nothing ever came of it and in a way you started to appreciate the company. Yeah, yeah, it sounds kind of insane, but this stalker was starting to feel like the only human who was able to even acknowledge your existence.
Your coworkers planned around you as if you weren't there, your friends stopped texting back and even your family members couldn't hold a conversation with you. They always drifted off and eventually just got up and left, no goodbye, nothing. It felt like your stalker became the only person who could even see you.
Eventually, you tried to drown out your increasing feeling of loneliness by burying yourself in books. Which is how that strange old book fell back into your hands. You still didn't understand any of the Latin but this time you noticed a picture on one of the pages. It was a double page, one eye on each side. The eyes looked… sad. With a distant look in them, sort of glassy. Like the eyes of someone who was fully out of it.
With a sigh you closed the book again, the picture having stressed you out, hitting a little too close to home. In the exact same moment you heard a knock on the door. You froze until the knock came again. This time you managed to move yourself towards the door, putting the book back on the shelf as you passed by it. Then you slowly opened the door.
In front of you stood a man with long hair that was very unnaturally black. He was wearing all black with tears and chains all over his clothes. It sort of looked like he tried to go for a goth look but gave up somewhere along the way.
"The book. How much to buy it off of you?" You blinked at him slowly, considering his question. "Why don't you come in first." You stepped out of the way and watched as he entered your apartment. After you had closed the door behind him, you followed him to your bookshelf. He had already found the book he was looking for but he didn't reach for it.
"You're the guy who's been following me, aren't you?" He turned to face you, expression hard to read but definitely tired. "Yes." You hummed as you thought for a moment before speaking again. Somewhere inside you knew that the book was the cause for everyone forgetting you, you just couldn't explain how that was possible. The idea that he could take both the book and this curse off of you however seemed very promising.
"£50. That's ten more than I payed for it." You had no idea why you felt like sharing that info with him, but the man didn't seem to care. He just quietly reached for his back pocket and pulled out some money that he handed to you before finally taking the book off of the shelf.
And just like that he left again. Well, he did say goodbye but he just left you all alone again. Granted, he was a stranger and the fact that you let him into your apartment in the first place might have been a little strange as well. But still, he was the first one in a while who talked to you first.
You didn't have to worry too much, though. The next morning he was back, albeit at his regular distance again. Still, just having him around made you feel safer somehow. Slowly, over the course of the next few weeks the people around you started acknowledging you again. And slowly, the man showed up less and less, as if he realised that his job was done.
Gerry + 42 & 84 - “stop being so cute” / “show me what’s behind your back”
Requested by Anon
Author’s Note: Oh man this is short, but I really like the premise - I just worry that it’s super close to the one I wrote for ‘Stay Here Tonight’.
Set Pre-Mississippi Grind
May I present ‘two idiots waiting for the other to make the first move!’ 😁
Dare Ya - Carly Pearce
Disclaimer: Mississippi Grind & characters not mine / lyrics not mine (Gerry and Andrew are basically the keepers of Carly Pearce now.) / Gifs not mine.
Premise: You’d been friends with Gerry a while, but you’d always wanted to be more than friends. Is this a confession either of you can navigate, without the added worry of messing it up?
Words: 2180
Warnings: mentions of drinking + gambling / swearing
_____
I took your coat, I wasn't that cold
Got a little too close, come on, don't you know?
Am I giving you enough to let you know that I want ya?
My heart’s beating out loud like thunder
Are you gonna kiss me? Are you gonna make me wonder?
These strung-up lights are staring right at us
It'd be the perfect time to mess my lipstick up
Tryna keep my cool, but you give me fire
I'm already high, but you could take me higher
Turn this sweet night into something wilder
It's your move, boy
I'll follow you, boy
And I ain't gonna lead, I'm a lady like that
So I'm gonna keep looking at you like
I, I, I dare ya
I, I, I'm gonna keep looking at you like
I, I, I dare ya
---
You stirred your drink gently with your straw as you listened to him talk about his win and loss tallies for the past week. It was strange that you could think of this as enjoyable, you knew how this would end – he’d certainly have lost more money than he made. But there was something about the way Gerry talked that meant you wouldn’t care. All you wanted was his voice in your head.
This wasn’t a crush you took lightly. You’d been friends with the man joyfully sitting across from you for many years. You were only a casual gambler yourself, but unlike Gerry you also knew when it was best for you to get out. You’d met him at a table, and then subsequently the bar afterwards, and ever since then you’d hung out with him. Just being friends with him developed swiftly into a crush – but by that time it was too late – and you weren’t about to ruin the friendship you had just to maybe get the opportunity to date him.
Even if you did, that could just as easily land you in big trouble. On occasion you’d helped Gerry settle a few of his debts; but you’d never been stupid enough to lend him money. You knew for a fact you’d never get that back.
“…So anyway, I managed to win the last one – so I’m actually up for once!” Euphoria crossed his face that didn’t match your surprise, obviously.
“Well why don’t you try to keep it in your pocket for more than a day this time, hmm?”
He gave a shrug, “I dunno… I – I’d like to buy your drink.”
You laughed softly, “Okay, you…” you were bashful as you looked away from him, shuffling in your seat, “You can buy me my drink.” He cheered, causing you to lean on your palm to hide your obvious blush; “J-Just don’t blow all your money on me okay?”
“It’d be worth it-!”
“Gerry-! You need to pay like the whole town! I think that’s a little more important!”
“Than you? Nah!” He waved away the suggestion and this time you did cover your face;
“Stop being so cute-!” You giggled again, “It’s not decent.”
He leant across the table, flashing a grin, “With you looking like that I don’t think I will!”
“Gerry-!”
Your general catch up talk continued, with him being the cutie that he always was – listening intently to all your musings and grumbles from the past week, before you caught sight of the time and, with you both working tomorrow, you left the bar and hit the parking lot.
You shivered, “Oh man, I thought it was supposed to get warmer!”
Immediately Gerry shrugged from his coat, and draped it around your shoulders. It was all you could do to look across to him – lips parted to say thank you, but never quite getting there at the sight of his gentle, sweet smile. You shook your head slowly at him – it wasn’t even that cold, you were joking; but Gerry would give his up for you anyway. And you wondered if he was oblivious; but how could he be? These days you weren’t even all that subtle about it, and you refused to believe that he thought it was just friendly banter. How can you not know… Gerry, how can you not?
This man spent his time reading people – he knew peoples tells. By now Gerry must have a good grasp of all yours… either he didn’t want to see it, or he was waiting. But for what?
He nudged your shoulder with his own; “You can keep it, if you need it.”
You attempted another flirt; “Well, I’ll return it… unless this is like one of those couple things where it just becomes an addition to my wardrobe?”
“That’s… your prerogative I guess.” He shrugged, smile still on his face and you very nearly rolled your eyes. If he wasn’t interested you kinda wished he’d just put you out of your misery. If Gerry was interested then you wished he’d give you a sign – one simple, obvious, flirt back was all you really wanted. Something to let you know exactly how what you said made him feel. If it was making him uncomfortable he’d let you know, wouldn’t he? You suspected even you could read that on him.
Gerry drove you home, accommodating his car to be as comfortable for you as possible. Perhaps you were thinking on it too much; but what if that was his tell. Gerry was perhaps not trying to tell you his feelings with words, but with his actions. The problem was that you couldn’t be sure; you didn’t want to assume this to be true. You couldn’t read people like Gerry could; before you believed it, he’d have to say it to your face…
It wasn’t the first time, or the last, that something like this would ever happen. And these journeys back from bars always seemed to provide the perfect backdrops to opportune moments. Sometimes in summer it was so nice outside that Gerry would simply walk you back home. When you could walk close to him so you always touched and lean in, pretending you couldn’t hear him and his soft, thoughtful voice. How sometimes you could use the excuse for hating the dark to hold his hand – even when there was a street lamp every 10 yards. Or when you’d reach your front porch and stand there saying goodbye for a little too long, embrace each other a little too tight, or stand in a comfortable silence staring at each other’s lips – so often sometimes you thought ‘this is it… this is the one where he’d going to kiss me.’
Maybe you were simply reading all the signs wrong, but there had to be something. He held you so close sometimes you could swear he’d hear your heartbeat and just know. You yearned for that moment, more than anything. Where you wouldn’t need to say anything – where it would just click, and Gerry would beam at you. That gorgeous smile of his that lit your world up.
“Oh… It’s you. You’ve always been right in front of me.”
Almost hung on forever though… and each and every time he simply said goodnight and slid his hand from yours your heart hurt a little more, yet your yearning for him grew stronger.
You’d long since stopped thinking that’d settle.
***
Your best friends at work of course knew everything about your little crush, and your office was small. So, whilst they had the most intimate detail of it – pretty much everyone knew about Gerry. At this point, Gerry might well have been the only one not to know you had a crush on him. From time to time, if you couldn’t meet in the evening, he’d swing by the office to take you somewhere for a lunchtime catch up. His car in the parking lot always accompanied by suggestive raised eyebrows by everyone in the office. Earning nothing more than a furious blush and SHUTUP!! from you.
As your meetings were a regular occurrence, and you clearly couldn’t keep a smile off your face the day of or the day after, the office was always buzzing with jokes. You could give as good as you got though, and always played this off as work banter. It didn’t matter too much to you, you kind of enjoyed the fact that everyone cared enough to ask questions. To their credit, most of the time they kept off the subject if Gerry wasn’t in the immediate vicinity.
Which is why, sitting at your desk and minding your own business, you found it odd that people started whistling in your general direction. You weren’t due to see him for another couple of days, why would they want to bother about it now? Raising your head, you looked around the office confused at the few stood up and ogling you with little smirks.
“What-!?” You were only met with chuckles, until your very best friend passed your desk, nonchalantly calling over her shoulder;
“Your boyfriend is in the parking lot.”
“He’s NOT my boyfr-” You turned suddenly, wait, Gerry-!? and sure enough he was standing against his car, looking like he was working up to something. “Oh. Shit-!”
“You better go out and get him, Y/N!”
“SHUT UP!” Although you could already feel yourself going red as you stood and headed towards the lobby. The building itself was glass fronted, so the moment he caught your movement Gerry smiled in relief and held up his hand in a wave, you waved back, still confused – walk turning into a jog as soon as you got outside.
“Gerry-!”
“Hey, Y/N! How are you doing?”
“I’m- I’m good yeah! What… what are you doing here?” You surveyed him, hands behind his back to straighten his stance.
“OH, I… just wanted to come and see my favourite person.”
Pink immediately painted your cheeks, and his smile couldn’t help but widen. Gerry knew you always called him cute, but he didn’t think you realised how utterly adorable you were.
“Me?”
“Mhm…” He beamed, “But I don’t think you needed to ask that question, right…?”
“Well I…” you bit your lip, “I guess I just wanted to check-!”
“Anyway, I got you something.”
Once again you couldn’t help but he surprised; “B-but Gerry! I told you not to spend your money on me.”
“Believe me, Y/N.” He sighed, “You’re more than worth it.”
You wondered where he could possibly have put wherever it was; until your registered his stance, and it hit you full in the face. Although you were smiling, you squinted suspiciously.
“Gerry…” You tipped your head, “Show me what's behind your back.”
He laughed, that little giggle of his; “Well, I thought you might like these.”
You gasped, hands flying to your mouth as Gerry presented you with a bunch of flowers – not just any flowers of course, but bright red roses. You were probably about the same colour right now.
“You got me roses?” Your voice was euphoric and you couldn’t help it; red roses were so romantic it was almost the best-known cliché. And right now you could be nothing but glad of that.
“Like I say, you’re worth it. NO, you… you deserve them!”
You were still red as you walked forward to receive them, “Oh… Gerry they’re so beautiful, thank you!”
Finally, finally there was a faint blush across his cheeks; “You’re welcome. I, uh…” that blush heightened, but he wasn’t looking at you, causing you to turn and very nearly cover your face again. In the time you’d been talking – and knowing your office - you’d gathered a small audience. Not only that, now they were all standing by the windows cheering. Several of them giving you a thumbs up.
You turned back to him, possibly the most embarrassed you’d ever been in your entire life, “I’m gonna kill ‘em!!”
Gerry scratched his head bashfully, but was still giggling; “No, you… you know that’s- Kinda helpful.”
“Helpful-!?”
“Yeah!” He grinned, “Y/N, you talk about me? That’s sweet!”
“I have never been more embarrassed that my entire team would sell me out like this!” You took a deep breath, shyly looking to the floor, “But, of course I talk about you Gerry. You- you just mean so much to me. I can’t really image my life without you now.”
He took a step forward and took your hand in his, immediately met with more cheering from your office, which made him flash a confident grin.
“I know how you feel. Not just because I’ve known for a little while now. Maybe more than just a little while but…” Gerry chewed his lip with a small shrug, “I understand because I feel the same about you.”
You could have heard a pin drop, part of you wanted to scream, part of you wanted to embrace him tighter than ever before and finally have those lips on yours, the rest of you wanted to run and hide – never to be found again!
Gerry nodded to your office, “But that… says a lot.” He grinned and turned back to you; and suddenly he wasn’t that shy, sweetheart that sat across from you nearly every week to tell you of everything that happened in his life – he was that confident gambler who was on a lucky streak, who could smirk and smooth talk himself all the way to a win. “So, I guess there’s just one thing to ask you, Y/N.”
Good God, was this happening? More importantly, was it happening in the middle of your work parking lot-!? But you just nodded, very nearly welling up but you couldn’t cry right now – besides, the teasing would be endless.
“Date? You and me, Saturday night?”
You couldn’t help but grin, and laugh, squeezing his hand a little tighter – and it was so obvious in your voice how much and for how long you’d wanted this. But you couldn’t care less; ”YES!”
---
12/16 - The four left are the big players. 👌👌 And one is Platonic! I’m so excited! We’re nearly there guys!
Stay Here Tonight - Gerry x Reader (Mississippi Grind)
100 Sentence Challenge Request
@mandy23b @happyskywhale @wltz-bby #MendoTagSquad
(If it works this way I’ll keep it in mind for future! Sorry guys! Tumblr is a mess!)
Gerry + 6 - ‘I need a place to stay’
Not that I ever looked for an excuse to use this gif but @zsaszette78 gave me one 😁
Thank you for requesting!
Author’s Note: Gerry has once again not survived being the subject matter of projection and ...well I guess self reflection?
I don’t know what it is about him that makes it so easy? But it get’s you and me some good content! And here we are!
Goodnight n Go - Ariana Grande
Disclaimer: Mississippi Grind and characters not mine / lyrics not mine / gif not
Premise: When Gerry comes to your town to catch up with Curtis, there’s nothing he would like more than to pay you a visit. When it becomes a little too late in the evening, you seize an opportunity...
Words: 1870
Warnings: Small swears
______
Tell me why you gotta look at me that way
You know what it does to me
So baby, what you tryna say?
Oh, why'd you have to be so cute?
It's impossible to ignore you, ah
Why must you make me laugh so much?
It's bad enough we get along so well
Just say goodnight and go
One of these days
You'll miss your train and come stay with me
(It's always say goodnight and go)
We'll have drinks and talk about things
And any excuse to stay awake with you
And you'd sleep here, I'd sleep there
But then the heating may be down again
(At my convenience)
We'd be good, we'd be great together
I know how you want it, baby, just like this
Know you're thinking' 'bout it, baby, just one kiss
While you're lookin' at 'em, baby, read my lips
I know what you want, but you can't have this
---
It wasn’t very often that Gerry came to visit you. Not because he didn’t want to - rather, both of you were often busy. But, Curtis was back in town and Gerry had driven up here to catch up with his good friend. It’d been a little while since their jaunt across the Mississippi to win big, so they had a lot of catching up to do. Still Gerry had called you, before he even had it solidly booked with Curtis, joyful:
“Y/N!”
“Gerry-!” You couldn’t help smiling, it was so good to hear his voice. You caught up on the phone often. And it wasn’t to say you hadn’t met up a few times. You both liked each other - that much was obvious. But it was distance. And he’d all but admitted that himself. So it’d never really gone anywhere - one day it’d work, you were sure. One day Gerry would admit to himself that it didn’t matter... heck you had a friend living in NYC in a long-distance relationship with someone in LA. It might have been a drive from him to you, but it was pretty much next door in comparison to that. “It’s good to hear from you!” You said like you didn’t end up in 4-hour conversations, staying up nearly all night when you really should know better, every time one of you called.
The way he laughed every time you said it making your cheeks pink, “It’s great to hear your voice, Y/N…! Guess what? I’m coming to you! I don’t know when yet, I’ll keep you updated! But Curtis is in town so, I’m gonna head up to see him. It’d be awesome to see you again, too.”
“Well when you have a firm date let me know - I’ll be free.”
“You sure?! I mean, I don’t want you waiting around for me to figure this out with him...”
“Gerry, honey, I’d clear my calendar for you, you know that.”
He very nearly giggled, “Yeah... yeah I guess I do.”
So he did keep you updated as to when Curtis finalised the date, and then promised that as soon as he had finished there, he’d come see you.
As you might expect, the two of them hung out nearly all day and well into the evening. You guessed they had way more to catch up on, considering they hadn’t seen each other since the trip ended - before you finally received a knock on the door. Which you opened probably a little more enthusiastically than you should have.
“Hey!”
“Hey! Y/N!!” Gerry lit up immediately and accepted your hug with a bashful little smile, “How you doing?”
“Good-! Great! So much better!” That bashful look was now accompanied by a light blush in the knowledge that it was him that’d caused it.
“That’s nice to hear...” He followed you back into your house and you offered him a drink “Coffee, is probably a good idea.”
“He’s not had you out at casinos, has he?” Considering how well Gerry was doing, the last thing you wanted was for Curtis to drag him back.
“Oh, no, no! Seeing the sights.” You scoffed at that, as if there were any around here.
“Would you like something to eat, sweetie?”
“Oh! No! You don’t need to, thank you! We did go to a restaurant.” You nodded, glad that Curtis was at least taking care of him. You would have found the guy and slapped him if he’d taken Gerry anywhere near a table.
**
You sat and held hands as you talked, like you were in love. Because you were - it was everything but a relationship. In reality you had barely spent enough time with him to say such a thing. But you’d talked SO often, and for so long that you knew him and he knew you. Maybe better than anyone else, he was so easy to talk to – you’d told Gerry things you’d never said to another soul. It didn’t seem like such a strange thing to say that you were in love...
You just wished something would happen that could allow him to see that it’d all work out.
It was funny how as soon as you thought that his eyes flicked to your clock. The conversation was long from over, but he gasped in shock.
“Is that the time-!?” You glanced over your shoulder; very nearly midnight. “Oh! God I... I gotta get...” Gerry faltered and you turned back to him,
“You’re crazy if you think I’m going to let you drive all the way back at midnight! It’s Saturday, you don’t need to work tomorrow, right?
His eyes made their way back to yours and they were wide. “It’s so late!” Gerry covered his face for a moment, hand slipping from yours for the first time since he’d placed it there upon his realisation, “Oh shit! I have nowhere to stay!” His exhale was hard; “…I need a place to stay.”
You sat in stunned silence for a minute - because if ever the chance to do something was staring you right in the face, it was now. And you realised you had to say something before he got the bright idea to check into a hotel and you missed it.
Taking his hands back in yours, you gave him your sweetest smile, “Gerry, it’s okay, you can stay here.”
His eyes somehow got wider, and he spluttered through his reply; “Oh-! No, no! I wouldn’t want to trouble you-!”
“You’ve seen the hotels around here right? I wouldn’t trust ‘em. And I’d be worried.” You gave him your best pleading look.
Gerry blushed again, but his smile was adorable as he warmed a little to the idea. “Well, I wouldn’t want that.”
“Mhm... I mean it would be the couch, as a sofa bed but it’s better than-”
“Y/N...” He pulled your hand and kissed your knuckles delicately enough to have you blushing along with him, “it’s okay. I’ll be fine - I can survive on a couch for a night!”
***
You didn’t sleep. Heck, you couldn’t sleep. You’d just about manage to stop thinking for long enough to forget that you weren’t meant to be thinking on the fact that Gerry was asleep on your couch, and then your heart started beating on overdrive again.
It was so unreal to you that this was actually happening. Even though he was downstairs and you were here, all you could think about was running down there and wrapping him in your arms. What it might feel like to have his around you. Well – you knew what that felt like, he’d hugged you before. In this context, though? You let your mind run away with you, and suddenly it was going from getting kisses and cuddles, to what would it be like for him to lie beside you and hold you every night, to thoughts not so innocent at all – which you almost slapped yourself for, before the inevitable dressing in white scenario popped into your head.
The dream indeed. You just about managed to halt yourself firmly there. Hell, you weren’t in a relationship yet, you couldn’t start thinking about walking down an aisle to him. Your eyebrows furrowed at your own thoughts for a moment – and you realised that you felt incredibly guilty for him, for these thoughts running around your head. Maybe you wanted him too much. That’d cause problems of its own. You took a deep breath to calm yourself, attempting to close your eyes again, no – best to bury all that. If you wanted it to become a reality, you couldn’t think on it, or risk forcing it to happen too fast.
**
You must have got a little bit of sleep because the next thing you knew it was light outside. Although your alarm clock alerted you to the fact that it was still the small hours of the morning. You stayed in bed, unable to get yourself to drift off again you didn’t want to rise and wake him already.
Eventually you found tossing and turning up here was no good – and it would be more practical for you to just start your day.
And the day didn’t start much better than with your favourite hot drink.
You tried to keep quiet and to yourself in the kitchen until you heard him shuffling around, turning instinctively at the sound of his yawn and groan through his stretch. You couldn’t help but smile, turning your coffee maker on; you knew how to make his favourite by now.
You knocked on the living room door before you entered to see him curled up on the sofa rubbing his eyes sleepily.
“Morning.” You’d never heard his morning voice, and right now it was giving you the good kind of shivers.
“Good morning, I’ve put coffee on…” You smiled sweetly, “Did you sleep well?”
“Yeah! Comfiest couch I think I’ve ever slept on!” You both laughed, before Gerry returned your question, “Did you sleep well?”
“Uh, I’ve had better evenings but – I’ll be fine. I’m just glad you’re okay. You’ve got a long drive home…” You paused, unsure of what to say next – a little unusual considering the relationship you shared. Before you giggled nervously, feeling yourself blush, “Right-! Coffee-!”
You skipped back into your kitchen and he called after you; “Y/N!”
“Mhm??”
“I could always drive back a little later if you wanted to do anything today?”
You bit your lips together and resisted punching the air in celebration; “Y-Yeah! That’d be nice!”
You collected Gerry’s cup and walked back to him, holding it out. “That should make the morning better!”
“Oh I dunno, you’re here aren’t ya?”
You only laughed again, clasping your hands in front of yourself to watch him; once again you found yourself unable to think of anything to say. You had probably done this to yourself by overthinking last night. Just another reason you shouldn’t have.
Gerry took a too hot gulp of coffee that he didn’t mind and set his cup down, hand outstretched to you.
“What?”
“C’mere.”
“Gerry?”
“I can’t watch you stand around staring at me, c’mere!” You were a little unsure as you took his hand, but he pulled you down into the comforter with him and wound his arms around you, nuzzling your face for a moment. “There, better, right?”
You knew you were bright red – but beaming. And looking into his eyes you had to admit he was right, “Much.”
“That’s what I thought.” Gerry smiled himself, pressing a kiss gently to your forehead, “Now, about today…”
So you sat cuddled up on your couch with coffee and discussed what you were going to do for the rest of the day. It felt good to be in his arms; comfortable to be the way you were right now.
Maybe this was how you were meant to be together – how things were supposed to be between you right now.
You found yourself suddenly smiling – if that were true, then you had to enjoy this while you had it. Dreaming was for later; reality was good right now. All that mattered, all you knew, was that you couldn’t lose this.
You Kissed Me First - Gerry x Reader (Mississippi Grind)
Moderation / Somethin’ I’m Good At
Gif Credit: X
Author’s Note:
SO... Over 4 pieces of writing, and 14,631 words I haven’t actually ever written Gerry a kiss...
😁😁😁
It actually makes me really happy to present you with this one because, for me, Gerry is not the easiest character to write for. But two in a matter of weeks has even me shocked. I guess the songs are just getting me right... It’s nice. I will continue to follow the Mendo inspiration right now - that’s for sure!
You Kissed Me First - Carly Pearce
@sufferthesea @mandy23b This is for you, my darlings 😘💜
Disclaimer: Mississippi Grind characters not mine / gif not mine / lyrics not mine.
Premise: On your first girls night out in months, Gerry is the last person you’d expect to walk into this bar...
Words: 4254
Warnings: Drinking
_______
I know I put on that dress
And painted my lips red
I know I walked in this bar
With a couple of my friends
I know that I told you
The barstool was free
I know that I smiled back
When you smiled at me
I know I laid my head
On your shoulder in the dark
I know I took your hand
Under the neon stars
I know I told myself
Let's see where it goes
I know I didn't pull back
When you pulled me close
But you were the one that got me a drink
Champagne glass full of sunset pink
You asked me to dance,
Then you paid the bar band to play
One more slow song before last call
Then you leaned in so it ain't my fault
If I wake up in your t-shirt
Just remember, you kissed me first
And I won't be the one to blame, If this is meant to be
And I won't feel guilty, If you fall in love with me
---
It was the first time in a long while that you'd been out with your friends to a bar. All of you had different work schedules, so getting everything to line up perfectly was hard. Also at least a handful of you had significant others, yourself now included. Well, at least you guessed you were dating - from your perspective that made you exclusive, but, you supposed it wasn't 'official' yet. And you were still edging on the this could go anywhere side of caution. It wasn't like Gerry didn't spend his time warning you how bad he would be for you. And you always had to counter with the fact you wanted to take that chance...
As you'd all finally managed to settle on a free date, that meant you were determined to not waste tonight - considering it wouldn't be easy to predict when the next time you may get to do this would be.
You all had a favourite bar downtown that you liked to frequent. And that was where you found yourselves now. Perhaps a little overdressed for a little bar with a nearly empty dancefloor in the middle of your little Iowa town, even on a Friday - but it wasn't like any of you cared. And you'd be rectifying the dancefloor situation by the end of the night.
All you were looking to do was have a good time - and unwind a little from the day to day.
You'd been catching up for a good long while and been through a few drinks when the bar started getting busier. Still not overly loud, and with a comfortable ambience that allowed you to enjoy the cover songs from the live band - but the dancefloor did begin to fill with couples and friends also looking to loosen up after a long hard week.
When Gerry walked into the little bar, you were the last person he expected to see there. Not that he didn't know that you were out with friends today - he would just have expected you to have chosen literally anywhere else in town. It wasn't exactly lacking in choice for those around your age group. Though he also supposed there was a big difference between dance clubs and quiet bars where you could actually hear each other over the music.
That didn't mean he didn't linger in the doorway for a little while, smile on his face just watching you. He had half a mind to turn and walk out and find somewhere else, but if he went over the other side of town that could quickly lead to bar encounters he didn't need, or something much worse... And he was supposed to be over card games. So Gerry bit his lip gently through his smile, and made his way confidently through the bar and over to you.
You almost had to do a triple take. So involved in the conversation were you that when someone asked you if the seat next to you was taken, all you did was simply relay the truth. No it's free!
The glance over your shoulder to them lasted barely half a second. And upon turning back to your friends to tune back into their chat, you lost your train of thought. Pausing, you blinked a couple of times; wait...!
You swivelled back to him slowly as he sat, small smile on his face.
"Hi!"
"H-Hi!!" Your face quickly changed from surprised to amused, and lit up sweetly, "What are you doing here?!"
"Pretty great coincidence, right?" He leant on the bar, smile turning into a grin, "I'm just here for a drink, I promise!" He turned to the bar tender who had noticed his presence - "Ah, first off I'll buy a drink for the lady..." He pointed to your glass, "Another or..?"
"Gerry-!" You giggled, "Okay, yeah sure!" But then leant in towards the barman too "He'll probably have a Woodford, you can put it on my tab."
"No, no..." Gerry waved a hand to dismiss you "Let me get you a drink!"
You shook your head, knowing that once your friends became interested in the man buying you rounds, they'd want all theirs on his tab too.
"Ger-"
"Just one. Then you can do the rest if you insist..."
You sighed gently, unable to look away from his pleading eyes "Okay, one." He celebrated like he'd just got much more out of you than one drink and turned straight to the bar;
"Sorry, you- you're probably having a great night..." He cleared his throat, "I'll have one then I can go."
"Gerry..." You touched his arm gently, "What do you mean? You just made my night even better; I didn't think I was going to get to see you-! How lucky does that make me?"
He giggled then, almost lowering his head completely to the bar as blush crossed his cheeks; "Oh, okay!"
You shook your head gently at him as the smile remained on his face but his eyes didn't flick back to yours until after the barman had poured your drinks.
"Cheers-!" He clinked his glass to the one you raised, arm brushing yours. That had him smiling again, but you knew exactly why. Gerry liked to be close to you, politely, and a little bar like this afforded just that amount of intimate touching - although he didn't want to get too into your personal space - it did mean that the little affectionate points of contact that occurred couldn't really be helped - and he lived for them.
**
You continued a brief conversation about how each of your days had been, and future plans. Before your friends realised that you weren't hanging onto their every word anymore.
"Y/N-!" You received a gentle nudge to your back which made you turn to face them,
"Yeah?"
All three were staring at you with the same expression. Your eyes flicked between them; "What-!?"
Sadie was the one to begin the questions, leaning across the others; "First off, whooooo is the cutie pie!!?"
"Second off - are you not gonna introduce us-!?" Nicole gasped "OH MY GOD! Did he buy you a drink already-!?"
"OH!" You laughed, a little embarrassed, and pressed your back against the bar, "Sorry, I realise I've not done this before-!"
Gerry had really come here to think a couple of things through over a drink, but he'd been glad of your company, even in the vicinity. But in the fact that you were now addressing him and your friends, he was pulled away from his bourbon again, right to three women staring at him with various levels of interest.
He realised immediately that meant introducing himself to them first; "Oh! Hi! I'm Gerry-!"
They all turned from his sweet as sugar little smile back to you, of course they knew as much as you'd cared to tell them about the man who frequented your cafe so often, and had admitted his crush on you. Only for you to end up dating - at least casually – and silence hung in the air for a moment, before Jen punched the top of your arm; "THE GERRY!? YOU DIDN'T SAY HE WAS AN ABSOLUTE CUTIE-!?!?!”
That only made you go redder, "Yeah..." though she didn’t have to make it so obvious that you spent a lot of time talking about him-!
Eyes flicking between the four of you, the look on Gerry’s face read that he didn't think that his night was going to get any better. You were here, three girls he'd never met were suddenly calling him cute (and yes, he would take it! That was the friend seal of approval and was a great honour!), he had his favourite drink... And a dance floor. He'd utilise that one a little later though.
The girls all introduced themselves to him one by one and suddenly he was the complete centre of attention, he wasn't exactly used to something like that - but his shyness just made him even more adorable to them. And finally, you got them all to settle down and go back to it being a girl’s night out.
That didn't mean you, nor he - with the way he read everything - missed the looks that every man in the room was giving him. And the way that Gerry let you cuddle into him as he wound an arm around your shoulders.
Eventually you let him get back to his drink, but he at least acted reluctant. If he'd come here for quiet you didn't exactly want to distract him from that - but as you continued your evening you kept your hand in his as he made his way through another glass.
**
Eventually he slid off the bar stool, and let his hand delicately leave yours, as he paid his tab. You thought that would count Gerry's night as over, and you were about to turn to wish him goodnight, and while he was here, figure out when the next time you would see him would be. It didn't sound like he was so busy this weekend, so maybe it wouldn't have to be at the cafe, maybe you would get to go on a date.
Gerry had different ideas, because although he was now standing, he was shrugging himself out of his jacket to put over the back of your chair. He was determined to make tonight a date if you would let him.
Your friends weren't about to deter him from doing so either. So when he held his hand out for yours and asked you to dance, you were only a little hesitant.
"Of course she will-!" The girls answered for you, and you had to laugh again as they did almost everything apart from literally pushing you onto the dancefloor.
You let him take your hand and raised your eyebrows to your friends with a wink; liquid confidence... Or maybe something else - unless Gerry used this demeanour as a facade for his gambling, you doubted this was the man that people at his usual tables knew. He got his conviction from somewhere...
His confidence was still gentle as he laced his fingers with yours, confessing that he wasn't the best dancer - but that because he had you, it probably didn't matter so much. You were hardly one to care about that, more that he would want to take your hands in his, or you in his arms and pull you closer to him out here on the floor at all. And not just for one song.
This wasn't unnoticed by your friends of course, because their eyes were glued to you. And their phones too -
"Oh my god..." You whispered but with Gerry this close, he heard you;
"What?"
"Well don't look at my friends now, but this is gonna be all over social media tomorrow..!"
He laughed softly; "Is there a problem with that?"
Your smile was a little absentminded before you turned your eyes on him; "No...It’s the least of my problems. A little like getting to be here with you at all."
Again he acted bashful, blue eyes hitting the floor, voice soft; "You don't need to say that..."
"I mean it-!" You kept your eyes on his until he raised them back to you, and then he smiled gently pausing the sway of your dance Gerry made a firm decision and slipped his hands from yours;
"Wait here..."
You barely had time to respond before he approached the band winding up their current song. He took out his wallet and added to their tip jar, beckoning the singer in closer to whisper a song and pointed at you through the crowd. Upon the band’s agreement, Gerry made his way back to you with a smile on his face.
You eyed him warily; "What have you just got me into-!?"
"One more slow song before they head for last call..." He took you back in his arms, and let you entwine your fingers with his - recognising the song as one of your favourites. That made you bite your lip as you beamed, unable to look back into his eyes for fear of becoming something akin to a blushing mess. But when you finally felt like you could, you thanked him. And then your eyes didn't leave his for the remainder of the song. And you were aware that he continued to pull you closer inch by inch - and that excitement ran over your body as you realised what he was about to do, and that you knew you wouldn't stop him from pulling you in.
Gerry's eyes flicked from your eyes to your lips far too often, and it was almost a little too much for him as he took a deep breath and looked away
"...Y/N..." He paused again, like he was trying to get a grip on the situation, "...Y/N... I think I..." He bit his lips together and his eyes widened slightly, "I'm..."
When those beautiful blue eyes looked back in yours, he realised that all you were doing was waiting for him now. And that maybe saying it just wouldn't do the moment justice.
Gerry closed what was left of the gap, and his lean in was slow, enough for you to read every second of the situation, and grip his hand tighter, hold him as close as he was holding you. Your eyes closed as his lips touched yours, sweet and hesitant at first, as unsure as he always seemed. The way he'd look at you in the café, like he didn't believe you could possibly feel the same way about him. So you kept him close, the pressure of your hand on his back encouraging. That injected confidence into his kiss immediately - but it was still soft and gentle, tasting a little like a hint of his favourite Kentucky bourbon. Not a kiss you wanted to end in a hurry - and a damn good first one.
He pulled away looking at least a little guilty, was that okay? Are you sure? And you couldn't help but fall harder for that charming innocence he had - no matter what you knew about his past. You just beamed in response, but shied away from anything he might wish to say to you now, nestling your head in his shoulder. You could feel your face heating up already - and wanted to hide that from him as much as you did your friends.
Who, hell yes, had just witnessed that. Then you smiled to yourself - Gerry had made a hell of a move to kiss you first, but he'd just done it in full view of your three best friends. He deserved a little something for that, when it could also have gone so wrong. You leant up and kisses his cheek, returning to your position on his shoulder. For a moment he looked surprised, before he turned to you, gentle heart-warming smile on his face - and Gerry knew he'd made the right choice.
***
When last call did eventually come you evacuated the dancefloor, with all of your friends looking both enamoured with the two of you and overly smug.
"What-!?"
"Do you realise how cute you two are?!"
You hid your face in his arm for a second, met with his nervous giggle - "Shut up!"
"Nope. It's totally true-!"
The girls hugged you both close and continued teasing you - but in an affectionate way. Before they all decided to call it a night;
"Y/N? Are you coming with us or..."
"Uh..." You turned to Gerry, now shrugging his jacket back on. Going back to his place? That felt like rushing something... As much as it felt right... "I..."
Jen shook her head, "If it's hard for you to decide then you've already decided." She hugged you once more, "He seems very sweet. You know I'm still gonna ask you to be careful. But, you're a smart girl!"
You grinned "Thank you! I will I promise!"
When Gerry twisted to you again, he realised you were alone; "Oh... They left?"
"Mhm." You gave a gentle shrug, "Guess it's just us!"
He held his hand out for yours "Should I walk you home?"
You bit your lip, as hesitant to say this as he was to kiss you, "I don't... Think I want to go home just yet..."
"Oh?" He gave a smile, leading you from the bar "Well, I guess there's always my place..."
Although that thought crossed your mind probably more than it should have your mood had completely changed by the time you walked through his front door.
"Drink?"
"Actually water wouldn't go amiss..."
"Good call. Smart girl." He gave a gentle hum, pouring you and himself a glass. Then paused, like he realised the significance of you standing in his house and whirled back around; "O-Oh... I-- I guess you'll be staying, huh?" Then watching the way your face changed, like you felt guilty for assuming it. Gerry held his hands out, feeling like he'd probably just put his foot in it "Oh! God-! No! It's okay-! I-I want you to stay-! Y/N...!" He crossed his kitchen to you, hands on your arms, forehead against yours, "Please... Stay..." As if he thought a simple mistake like that would cause you to walk out on him.
Your heart skipped, with him this close to you, and your smile was shy and delicate against the assuring look on his face. “…I will…” And you knew you didn’t just mean tonight.
He gathered you a shirt, and everything he thought you might need to stay at his for an evening, certainly not wanting to force anything upon you that you didn't want. And left you to get ready for bed.
However the second you slipped his soft T-shirt on the only thing you wanted was to be wrapped up in his arms. And you stood looking at yourself in the bathroom mirror for an inordinate amount of time. It smelled like all his clothes did – and although he wasn’t holding you, it was like you could feel his body warmth wrapping around you protectively. Your eyes welled up, seemingly for no reason, and suddenly you wanted that feeling more than anything.
By the time you'd finished he was also changed, and waiting for you to say goodnight. And also by the way that his eyes never left your face, was trying to be a polite gentleman about the whole situation - though you wouldn't have minded him running his eyes over your body just once... It wasn't like you weren't together;
"Well... Goodnight, Gerry. Thank you for asking me to stay..."
"You're welcome... Thank you for…uhm, accepting. Maybe we can do something together tomorrow?"
The sweet, gentle smile he was falling so in love with was back on your face "I'd like that."
"Good..." He agreed with a nod "Goodnight, Y/N..."
You gave a nod of your own, and turned to pad back down the hall to his guest room. When he didn't call you back, you turned back and took a deep breath;
"Gerry?"
"Uh huh?" He stood and tipped his head, that same clueless innocent look on his face that he liked fixing you with.
"Can I... Stay with you?" Both of you went red - you for asking, him for having you be so direct.
"Oh, I..." You could feel your heart thump loud in your chest - and once again his face changed from shock to beaming realisation,
"I just..." You tried to put it another way, and realised how sweet you were making your voice, "I just want you to hold me..."
***
Being wrapped up in his arms provided you with an ultimate moment of realisation. That you could quite happily do this for a very long time - for as long as this relationship was likely to last. For all Gerry’s warnings you already hoped the answer to that would be a good long time... You didn't want to hope too much that that might end up the case.
And yet you did.
Gerry held you close, but not too tight - his touches comforting as you spent the majority of it in silence. Conversation didn't need to pass between you, and your fingertips ran the arm he'd curled beneath you. You wanted to tell him that you didn't usually do this, not stay with someone this early into the relationship... But there was something about Gerry that made you so comfortable... That maybe he knew that already, and you didn't need to use your words. That this tender intimacy was enough. But the more he relaxed you the more you drifted off. And you fought that for as long as you could; wanting nothing more than to stare back into his loving blue eyes.
You had obviously failed at that when the next thing you knew you were waking up to daylight. Still in the warmth of his arms, however, which made you smile and cuddle further into him - returning the hold he had on you. Gerry smiled absentmindedly in his dreams and he squeezed you tight, making you giggle, before you decided you'd much rather stay here in bed with him than get up and start the day.
Meaning you were well rested by the time you did wake up - but alone. ish.
He was already dressed and sitting up on the bed, running his hand through your hair;
"Oh... Sorry..." He mumbled sheepishly, withdrawing his hand as your eyes adjusted to the light.
You rubbed them and stretched - "Well... That's one way to wake up..."
This time Gerry offered you a bashful giggle; "I just wanted you to sleep for as long as you needed..." He still wasn't really looking at you, and his fingers tapped nervously against his knees; "Uh. I guess you might want to borrow some clothes?"
You sat up, with a nod; "Thank you..." Then folded your arms with a grin "I mean I have always wondered what it'd be like to cuddle you in those sweaters... But if I get to wear one!"
This time he did go red and almost spluttered; "Well I... I guess you're gonna get both."
Your gasp was gentle, "I would very much appreciate cuddles."
"Haha, I bet..." He stood and opened his dresser... Again he tapped a rhythm against it before turning back to you. "Maybe I should just let you chose one?"
You rolled yourself out of bed and wandered over to him; "Your T-shirt and your sweater, I should be so honoured."
He laughed; "It's like you practically live here."
"Trust me - half your wardrobe would go missing if I did." You perused his extensive collection, before selecting one and kissing his cheek.
"Thank you-!"
"You're welcome..." You'd already made him smile, but now he was gently rubbing his cheek. "I'll uh, wait for you downstairs, okay?"
"Mhm-!"
***
Gerry busied himself in the kitchen whilst he waited for you, and in turn whilst you waited for him you curled yourself up on the sofa - checking your phone for messages.
"Oh God..." You whispered to yourself, head very nearly in your hands as you realised just how many messages you had received from your friends, nearly all pictures of course, from your friends in the aftermath of the previous evening. All with various comments that all said the same thing: OH MY GOD YOU TWO ARE SO CUTE--!!! And trying to come up with a good sounding ship name for you.
You sighed gently, knowing that this would probably go on for at least the whole of today. They definitely were going to love to tease you about this. Still, at least you knew the pictures were very cute; they did have that right.
Before long, you were joined not by Gerry, but by a ginger and white cat. Who eyed you with as much curiosity as you did it. Gerry had never mentioned a cat, but you would assume it was his. Curious and friendly, as it leapt onto the sofa and then onto you.
"Oh! My god, you're gorgeous! AW! Hey---!!" The affection you gave and in turn received resulted very quickly in purrs. "We'll I'm very happy to meet you too-!"
Gerry stood in the doorway for a moment, watching with a roll of his eyes;
"Hey, Jasper, come on, leave her alone-!"
He received a meow back, but Jasper definitely didn't move - "I think that's a no! Jasper?"
"Mhm..!" Gerry was carrying two mugs, which he placed carefully on the side table before joining you, scratching behind Jasper's ears - making the purring even louder.
"He's very cute."
"Yeah-! I mean... I've had him a little while, he's a good cat."
"I bet..."
Gerry pulled you closer to him winding an arm around your waist as you propped your head on his shoulder, still stroking a hand through Jasper's fur.
"Can I ask you something?"
"Yeah?" He turned his eyes to you, "Anything..."
"How do you do that?"
"Do...what?"
"Switch between confident and shy in a matter of seconds. I'm not even sure you realise you're-" you paused your sentence just by the look of surprise on his face;
"C-Confident? Me!?"
Your folded your arms in defiance of his protest; "Yes! Don't act like that, how can you not call yourself confident!?"
He gave a shrug, "I... I dunno I guess it's just a remnant of the way I used to play... You gotta have confidence at tables. Like no matter what your play is. You don't want other players to think they can rattle you easily. So, I guess..." He smiled "That's why. But then, you're giving me signals that make me confident with you... So... Again, maybe it's you too..."
"You're very sweet to say that." You brushed your lips to his cheek again and nestled into his sweater;
"Sweet maybe, but also true..." He let you settle yourself; "We need more weekends like this."
"I second..." You smiled, "We need more nights like yesterday."
Gerry laughed, but said no more, and you sat in silence for a few moments more before you glanced to the mugs on the table.
Then your smile grew, in realisation of what he'd done; "Is that hot chocolate?"
"Yeah..." His smile was sweet "Bout time. I figure I owe you that..." Then he got a flash of confidence back; "And our first kiss-!"
And with him looking at you like that; you were about to make it two.
Diligence: Moderation - Gerry x Reader (Mississippi Grind)
🎉 YOU ARE FINALLY OUT OF MY DRAFTS GERRY!!! FINALLY!!! 🎉
Author’s Note: Requested by @sufferthesea ❤😘 And... I’m so so so so so SO sorry it’s taken me so long! Considering you requested as soon as I opened them up!
OH GOD! How dare you make me chose between Gerry and Danny this song is just SO GOOD for both of them depending on how you interpret it. But...
This is where we’ve ended up..! I hope you enjoy my decision! 💙💜🙊
I couldn’t have done this without @3134045126 - I wrote 800 words of this when it was requested and... it stayed at 800 words. Because I wasn’t feeling it.
Thanks to discussions with her she inspired a brand new idea (and much happier I gotta say!) and this was born.
Although, I’m not gonna lie, it took me a while and life experience to put it down on paper
Considering the sweet Sufferthesea sent this to me as a song:
Moderation by Florence + the Machine should probably be the place you go first...!
Disclaimer: Mississippi Grind (& associated characters!) not mine! Lyrics (and song idea!) also not mine!
Premise: Having sworn himself off Gambling his life away... Gerry needs something new to fixate on...
Words: 2889
Warnings: Angst (my old friend!) /
Want me to love you in moderation
Do I look moderate to you?
Sip it slowly and pay attention
I just have to see it through
You got me looking for validation
Passion's new
Want me to love you in moderation
Well, who do you think you're talking to?
And little girl, who do you think you are?
You think you need it, you think you want love
You wouldn't want it if you knew what it was
I've never made it with moderation
No, I've never understood
All the feeling was all or nothing
And I took everything I could
Can't hold it back, I can't take the tension
Oh, I'm trying to be good
I don't see the worth
And I'm still try'na figure out if it
Always, always, always has to hurt
---
noun
1. careful and persistent work or effort.
2. the avoidance of excess or extremes, especially in one's behaviour or
political opinions
Gerry was obsessed. When wasn’t he? Obsessed with the game. With winning. With that hit gambling gave. He hadn’t known that kind of rush, been able to get that kind of fix from anything else.
But he had promised… Curtis, his daughter... himself that he was done. That this time cleaning up his life really meant just that.
There was only one problem. YOU.
All that nervous energy, that need to obsess and want something so badly... that kick... he’d poured it all into you.
You didn’t know this yet. In fact he’d barely worked up the courage to talk to you yet. He liked that. The almost. Every conversation you had had been initiated by yourself - short, sweet... everything her craved... and yet never long enough.
He would sit in the corner of the cafe you worked in and just watch you. He felt a little safer sitting all the way back here; like he could deny he was doing what he was doing. But he did it often enough for you to one day ask if he had an office that he could work from.
Whereupon he blushed and looked to the table with a nervous giggle; “I guess so...”
Trouble was, he was never productive in the office... because he could only think of you. Whenever he had to go back to showing people around houses he would make sure to stop by for a coffee either on the way or on the way back; just so he could see you.
You’d become accustomed to this routine so much that you had his order ready for him the second you saw his car pull up in the lot. But he’d always make sure to stop and talk to you for a little while, even when he knew he was running slightly late.
The worst days were when you weren’t working. Or on occasion you would swap tables with someone else, and suddenly he wasn’t waited on by you. That felt as bad as losing did. Only he supposed he wasn’t losing money; so it should have been better. The problem was it toyed with his emotions, so it felt worse.
Sometimes you would catch his eye and smile even when you weren’t waiting him. And he liked that.
You loved the smile he gave back too; his pretty blue eyes, the sweaters sometimes you wished you could wrap yourself up in. It was a strange thing to think about someone you barely knew. But you thought it all the same.
Gerry didn’t like it when you turned that smile on someone else; because sometimes he felt that it was just for him. But, what if it wasn’t? What if every joking comment you made him wasn’t cute and flirty? What if it was something you just did? Because you were kind and gentle... not because you might actually like him.
What if you didn’t really notice him at all? Sometimes you were so busy you didn’t even acknowledge him, and then that hurt even more. Because what if everything else was just because of circumstance? What if he didn’t really matter to you at all...?
He guessed he could walk away at any time, and nothing was keeping him coming back. But Gerry couldn’t walk away without knowing. He had to know.
That was like walking away from a table... you can’t walk away when the odds could still swing in your favour (not that they did that often in Gerry’s experience, but there was always that chance), even if the game is over there’s still an opportunity to play one more round. Although, the point was he was trying not to play games here.
But you... made them so hard to resist. But the tables so easy to leave...
So he started staying on your shifts until closing. And because this was both new and something that you’d witnessed on 5 consecutive evenings, you started to worry. For him, and for his intentions;
“Gerry... you know this is the fifth time you’ve stayed this week right? Is everything okay?”
“Yeah... Yeah... everything’s fine...” He slid his laptop closed and looked to you; that same utterly adorable smile you couldn’t help but fall for.
“Are you sure? Will you be here tomorrow night too? I’m worried...”
“Oh you... don’t need to worry about me...” He bit his lip and looked away from you “Can I, uh... get one more coffee?”
“Coffee?” You repeated slowly “at this time of day?”
“Mm hm.”
You sighed gently; “Okay. Sure... but then you gotta leave... it’s past closing time and I gotta get home...”
“W...Well why don’t you have one with me?” It was about the most confident thing he’d said
“No...” Ouch-! “I’m okay... but... that’s sweet, thank you...”
“Well then come sit with me...”
“Gerry I gotta clear up...” you headed back to the counter “I’ll bring it over though.”
“No-! That’s okay I can come sit up by you.” He stood
“Gerry it’s okay I can..” you didn’t have the opportunity to finish by the time he was within inches of you. And even he realised that was a little too close.
“Sorry...” He lowered those blue eyes to the floor and ran a hand through his hair, bashful. You searched his face for a minute; what was going on with him?
“Are you sure you’re okay?”
“Y-Yeah... Everything is fine...” he flushed and you got the picture; everything was both fine and far from fine... and that was your fault.
You shook your head and took his hands in yours; which snapped his eyes immediately back to yours;
“Come on… Sit down… I’ll get you a drink…” Gerry sat tentatively at the bar, tapping his fingers nervously on the surface; “You sure you want coffee? You look like you could use something a little stronger…” You pulled down a mug and set about making something for him. You had just the thing.
“…Why, do you have anything stronger-?!”
You laughed to yourself; “Noooo…! Why, what’s your poison?”
“Oh, uh… Woodford is pretty good.”
“Bourbon-!?” You turned and studied him for a minute “Mmm… I can see that…”
You finished mixing your concoction and placed it in front of him;
“Oh. Is that hot chocolate?”
“Mmm hmmm.” You leant on the counter with a smile; “You look like you need it.”
“Thank you…” His voice was so gentle and again his look away from you was shy. You felt you could both be skipping around feelings here. And yet both of you were apparently okay with doing this…
“Gerry…” Your voice was soft and calm, “You had me real worried for a minute…”
He attempted to take a sip but it turned into a gulp and the too hot liquid burned, making him wince; “…Oh…?”
You leant on your hands and tilted your head; “What’s wrong… Tell me what’s wrong…”
He laughed, but it wasn’t genuine “What isn’t wrong.” He turned away from you for a minute “…I dunno… Maybe you should just ignore me… Maybe its nothing…”
“Gerry…” You were gentle again, placing a hand on his arm “Talk to me… Is it me? It kinda feels like it’s me…” Maybe you should bite the bullet on this one. Maybe you had done something without realising, or maybe he was just reading into something too much.
“No… You? You’re kidding… It’s just I…”He shook his head; removed your hand from his arm, but, kept it in his own “I am NO good for you…”
It felt like rejection. It was painful. Even though you know he’d meant it to warn you away. Even though he’d not actually told you that he had any feelings for you yet he clearly did; you wondered if he’d even realised he’d not outright said it
“Gerry… Do you have a crush on me?”
He opened his mouth and then hesitated; had he not already… made that obvious? Wait, no, he hadn’t yet told you-!? SHOOT! He began tripping on words; his heart screaming at him to say yes; but the temptation to deny it too great.
You hushed him gently; “Sweetie, calm down… It’s okay…I don’t mind…”
“You should…!!” Gerry slipped his hand from yours, looking like he’d just said a million things he wished he hadn’t “I’m no good for anyone…” He twisted back to the bar and picked up his mug again.
“Why?” You leant back on your hands; “I think you’re kinda cute.”
“W-“ He paused and looked at you uncertainly for a minute; “You do?”
You nodded “Mmm hmmm… But now I completely understand why you watch me so much…”
“You noticed-!?” pink dusted his cheeks, making you giggle;
“Yeah, I noticed…”
He tilted his head; you were suddenly unfathomable, and he had to let you know that; “…But you… I don’t get it… I don’t think I understand… you…”
You raised an eyebrow “Why?”
He shifted in his seat, almost nervously “Because… You… Somehow you make me want to keep straight… And… it’s not fair on you for me to-”
“Gerry, hold on a second… Me?! I… Me?!” You weren’t exactly sure how to react to that. Seconds ago he’d basically been telling you the reasons you shouldn’t want to love him. Now he was telling you that because he had feelings for you; that he was trying to be a better person for you, he was sitting at your tables, and not gambling tables. It wasn’t like you could help that you had fallen for him. It hadn’t exactly been something you’d had control over.
“Y/N…” He laced his free hand with yours, leaning closer to you he lowered his voice “…I can’t… DO things in half measures…” His eyes flicked to several of the tables “…I’m not. I’m not a moderate person. It’s intense… And I don’t think I can put you through a thing like that.” That sentence came with a promise. That his love would also contain no moderation. Was that not what love was about, though? Love wasn’t meant to be moderate? Was it? Wasn’t it meant to be a no-holds-barred thrill ride? Intensity… That was a whole part of it wasn’t it? He almost laughed; “You’re gonna get nothing but trouble…” He grinned “I’m sure you’re not gonna put up with that more than once.”
Finally he made you laugh “It just, sounds like you need some diligence.”
“Oh- uh huh! And where do I get that.”
You gave a gentle shrug; "Well, I mean I studied psychology..." you pushed yourself forward on your elbows "So maybe I can listen and help out..."
"Like a therapist?"
"Haha-! If you think a therapist would help you...! I'm not qualified though!" you leant on your hands with a smile at the intrigue on his face;
"I dunno, I think you'd be more than capable of... Listening to my problems... Though I don't know if I particularly want to burden you with them..."
"Nonsense..." your next smile was encouraging "Besides, I like the sound of your voice..."
There was that nervous, jumpy flicker across his face again. Cause and effect "Y- You do?"
"Mmmm..."
So he began his story. Shortened considerably, he told you about his gambling habit, meeting his lucky charm, and setting out across the Mississippi, culminating in winning a hell of a lot of money... But also his constant fear that he'd not be able to resist the pull back. But you realised, as he talked, and as he hinted, and his eyes almost pleaded with you to understand, Gerry had a new pull now. And it was the reason he was always here. Not moderate indeed. It bordered fixation... But healthier than his other one. Still, he'd also sat here and tried to give you a bunch of warnings. Self-deprecating warnings that would impede his goal.
Just like gambling... With his feelings not his money... Could you date a man like that? Could you let yourself pass up this chance? That was just as big a question. He hadn't asked it of you yet, but it was hanging in the air. That he could get those words out. That he could really confess. Maybe that would be a gamble too far... You wish you could tell him it would be worth it. Part of you didn't want to influence this. If it became something more would all that energy be poured into your relationship? Into love for you? Or would that obsession grow too much... Or manifest itself elsewhere?
*
It was long after closing by the time you both even had the inclination to look at the time.
"Oh my god! D-did you have to be anywhere?" Gerry looked slightly horrified that he'd kept you, even though you had told him one more drink and he had to be gone. Considering how closely you had watched him drink it, he must have finished hours ago.
You chuckled, "Nowhere more important than here... "
"But somewhere-!?"
"Doesn’t matter now, does it. Gerry don't worry about it. I'm happy I got to spend time here with you."
His smile was bashful and you liked that, he was just so cute. "Thank you... It was good spending time with you too..." He slid off the bar stool and collected his things; "Guess I might be back tomorrow... Anyway?"
You laughed, rounding the bar to him; "Ahhh-! You’ll be disappointed I don't work again until Thursday."
"What-!? What am I gonna do for 3 days-!" Although he said it jokingly, and then laughed "Well, it's good you have some days off you deserve it... Guess I might see you Thursday then."
"Oh," you gave him a sweet smile "I'm counting on it..."
There was that blush again, and this time when he bit his lips together he couldn’t stop himself from smiling. And this time it was you who was making that gap too small; but it was comfortable now, there was no too close about it.
The first move became all yours as you wrapped your arms around him; he tensed and jumped all at once – even though you moved slow – to feel your embrace like this.
You tried not to giggle into his shoulder as he dropped his bag; holding him there as you snuggled into him. If you’d imagined it even half as much as you thought you had – it was just as good in real life.
Hesitantly he moved his arms around under yours; and soon they were wound around you. That only made you pull him closer – revelling in the warmth of his body against yours. And if that was the way you were feeling... If Gerry’s heart was anything to go by, and you could feel it here…
Everything was blank – his brain and his heart. Although his heart was beating on overdrive and it felt as good as knowing he was just about to deal the winning hand. He simultaneously wanted to push you away and pull you desperately closer and never let go. And oh, OH, it felt so good-!
It was only when you ran your hands into his hair that he let out a noise; somewhere between a soft sigh and a whine it was barely audible but it was there as he melted into you.
“It’s okay…” You murmured it; “It’s all going to be okay…”
You let him go far too soon, and you both knew it. And that proximity left heat in both your cheeks. Your head was rushing and you thought for a moment that your idea maybe wasn't such a great one...
You walked him to the door, slowly. It’d already been about half an hour since he'd said he better leave. It didn't matter to you, now you wanted to spend as much time with him as possible.
"So..." Gerry turned at the door, stepping down and out into the street "Thursday? I'll be here..."
You nodded "I hope so...!"
He smiled and began walking away but you took his hand and pulled him back "Gerry, wait..." you held him there for a minute; and he couldn't help but entwine his fingers with yours - it was instinctive... Something he ached for.
"Call me...." This time he just let himself smile at the piece of paper he could feel transferring from your hand to his; “…if you ever need some diligence…”
“Call you?”
“I’d like a little moderation myself.” You gave a wink as you unlaced your fingers from his and folded your arms “Maybe we can figure this one out together?”
He smile turned into a grin and he laughed, truly laughed “I’d… like that a lot.”
“Good, cuz I don’t know who else is going to take care of you. But I better be making sure someone does it.”
That had him looking away from you again, but the blue in his eyes was considerably brighter this time; “Thank you…”
You stood in the doorway of the café watching him leave, and he turned back to wave as he stepped into his car, making you smile and offer him one back;
Oh, Gerry… you shook your head, loving the way you could now feel your heart beating, because he had done that… Warning or no, I want the chance to love you anyway…
---
THANK YOU FOR REQUESTING! And oh my god, once again I’m so sorry this took an age!
I hope he was worth the wait 😘😘
3 Virtues down! 💜💙
@multifandom-writings - Appropriate as you asked for him!
Authors Note: I’ve been wanting to use that stupid card image for years! And now I finally can! You know, when Mississippi Grind ended I sat there for a good five minutes wondering how that could possibly be it. Like, I need a wrap up / sequel!
Then I started thinking about what could happen... This fic has elements of that story in it but is very much its own thing.
I can’t stand that I didn’t know what happened to Gerry but also that the more I thought on it the more I wondered if it could possibly have a happy ending? Anyway, I read a post on Tumblr quoted as saying Gerry wouldn’t even make it out of State with the money. Which I thought was kinda harsh on him.
So here. I wrote our boy an ending.
The cat was meant to be a big part of it, then she kinda became an add on but I didn’t have the heart to take her out...!!
Disclaimer: You know when you sing songs, look up the lyrics and go ‘Really?! Those can’t be the lyrics!?’ Well, I edited the lyrics here. So, apologies Luke Bryan. But mine are better for the #Context.
I don’t own any characters except for the Reader. I’ve also never been gambling/played cards soooo... You’re just gonna have to take what I’ve written for those parts, ok?
Premise: Months after his encounters with Curtis are over, Gerry meets another mysterious stranger. She’s got big ideas and they all include him. Maybe just once his luck won’t actually leave...
Word Count: 8330
Warnings: Gambling / Drinking
Been in a couple scrapes, I barely got out of
Got a couple scars, I kinda ain't proud of
But you can't be afraid to drive until the gas tank's empty
And if your glass is half full, you better make damn sure it's whiskey!
And be more drunk in love and habits kicked
More miracles than magic tricks
More green grass grows than green on dollar bills
More babies raised, than raising hell
More get back ups than times you fell,
Well, I don't know it all,
Hey, but I know how it feels,
To be the guy that's trying to come back from behind,
Still trying to win life
But if you lose yourself in someone else
Than maybe you don't lose at all...
---
Read this like snippits from a road trip. It’s by no means the whole story. But it is the important points.
Gerry thought he might have noticed her before. She looked out of place here. Sharp dressed, standing against a car... and watching him?? He had thought so before.
Today she was standing with a white cat on her shoulder. If she wasn’t looking at him, then it was all too much of a strange coincidence... He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and focused on his coffee.
You looked from the photograph, to him, and back again. He had to be the guy... You looked to your cat and constant companion.
“Gotta be him...” You were as relieved as you were surprised that he’d be exactly where Curtis said he would be. It meant you wouldn’t have to track him around the country. You put her back in the car and crossed to the little cafe.
“Gerry?” Her voice was smooth and silky sending an odd sensation across his skin as he looked up to her. Clearly, she was looking for him.
“Yes?” Why was she looking for him exactly? Was the question.
You gave a sweet smile; he was a heck of a lot cuter in real life than the picture made him out to be. Maybe Curtis sending you here was going to turn out better than you’d thought.
“Thank goodness. I’m Y/N! May I sit?”
He nodded, his glance at you nervous. Probably because everyone else in the cafe was now craning to see exactly why you we’re talking to him. You did so, and to save him from looking any more shy than he did, you cut right to it;
“Curtis sent me all the way up here to check on you... “ You smiled “his heart always was in the right place...”
He instantly relaxed at a name he recognised “Curtis sent you!? How’s he doing?!”
You nodded “Very well. Yeah, but he’s much more concerned with how you are doing...”
“I’m okay.”
You didn’t believe that for a second with the way he said it. “He says, sounding the most un-OK anyone has ever sounded...?” You tilted your head “... I knew he wouldn’t ask me to do this if he wasn’t concerned. From what I observed, you do seem to be... Ok. But you don’t sound it...” Something was going on behind the front he was trying to put up. But you’d become extremely good at reading those.
He sighed “Yeah I’ve noticed you...” You smiled as he continued “You’re not exactly hard to spot in a town like this... if you wanted to be more inconspicuous...”
You shrugged “It’s not about me...”
“Why did he send you?”
“I just observe things.” True enough.
“Did he pay you?” Then he looked like that wasn’t the correct thing to imply.
“I owe him a favour ...” You decided to answer as if it wasn’t a yes/no question. Gerry made a face like he accepted it, although he didn’t have much of a choice.
“Excuse me. Can I get you anything?” The waitress came over, looking like she’d draw the short straw, and looked between you and Gerry for far too long.
“Coffee would be great. Black, please.” She hesitated for a second, but when it was clear you weren’t going to continue until she was gone, she had to concede.
“So,” He stirred his own drink with a smile “she likes her coffee black and her cats white...” He’d noticed. Good.
“Sookie? Yeah, she accompanies me around everywhere.”
“Sookie?”
“You’re clearly not a True Blood fan!” You laughed
“Is she part of your investigation on me too?”
He’d be surprised how much you could gauge from that; “No. She’s helpful, from time to time...” you paused your sentence as the waitress brought your coffee, and you stirred in a healthy amount of sugar. “You’re a cat person too.”
He opened his mouth to answer, when he realised it wasn’t a question. “I own a cat. Yeah...”
You nodded, there was of course going to always be something you liked about him. You were starting to think that this might have been a set-up. And a couple of days from now Curtis’d be calling and laughing in your face. Only, you also felt he might have a point here. You took a sip and looked to Gerry again, he couldn’t hold your gaze very well. Probably because he knew why Curtis would send you, and you were about to start asking the difficult questions.
“Did it help?”
You didn’t start where he expected “W-what?”
“The money. Did it help?”
“...With... what?”
That was a No. Clear as day. “... There’s not a lot I don’t know about you from Curtis, Gerry. Just answer the question. At least tell me you got out of State...?”
He caught on quick, thankfully. “... I got all the way back here...”
Curtis had more faith in him than you did. “And then?”
“It helped for a little while... Yeah...” He’d started with child support, because he wanted to see his daughter again. He’d started paying debts off, but that always led to tables and... Well, here he was.
**
You answered your mobile with a roll of your eyes;
“So how is he?”
“He needs a lot more work than you think he does...”
A sigh followed “Can you do it?”
“I don’t know Curtis... There’s a difference between trying and doing, and I can try.”
“You gotta do more than try!! Tell me it isn’t all gone.”
“You can’t fix him by gambling. You’re asking me to fix him by having him gamble for it...”
“Because you CAN fix him.”
“Why? Because he’s my type? I’m starting to think you’ve sent me to fix something else.”
There was an awkward pause but you could hear his cheeky smirk “Maybe. Maybe not. IS it all gone?”
“No. But he’s gotta be sensible.”
“You’re the only one I know that KNOWS how to walk away.”
“On one condition will I do this.”
“I thought I already agreed to all your conditions”
“When I walk away, you have to give up on him Curtis. If I can’t fix this... It needs to go professional and you’re gonna let me do that. Also. I’m not playing a table with him or for him.”
“No I NEED you to play it for him.”
“Curtis it’s his life! It’s not yours! It’s not mine. I can’t tell him how to play.”
“Please. Can you just... you need to teach him when to walk away.”
“You’re asking me to teach him to walk away from his gut instinct and he won’t like that.”
“Teach him to have better gut instinct!”
You breathed out a heavy sigh; yeah like that was easy...
***
"So..." You were starting to make a quick habit out of meeting in this coffee shop. He noticed today you had dressed down considerably though. He also noticed how you only ever ordered a black coffee, and that left him wondering what you did the rest of the day when you weren't talking to him. "... I cannot imagine roadtripping with Curtis. And neither can I imagine you roadtripping with Curtis. What is that even like!?" You leant on your hand, clearly amused.
“It was a lot of good fun. When we were winning." but he grinned "Or maybe it was just a lot of good fun! Y'know, he's a good guy.”
"Yeah I know." you agreed "He'd just really get on my nerves. Knows how to push my buttons too well. Maybe you're just what he needed..." Someone with a calm demeanour, a little on the shy side. But could play, and that Curtis could help out. A drifter he may have been but, he always loved helping people.
"Maybe he's just what I needed too. " You could imagine that, Gerry looked like the kind of guy who needed ANYBODY at any given time. And, apparently, now he needed you. But, you weren't for thinking that you couldn't use him too…
"Would you ever consider doing it again?"
"Doing what?" He squinted as he searched you for an answer, that made you wonder how good he was at reading people. If he played, then he should at least have an inkling.
"Another road trip?"
"That'd be fun yeah." But the look on your face made him realise you were serious "Oh!! Wi- With you!?"
You nodded slowly "First we have to get your game up a little… I've got a plan. And I'd like for you to hear it, but I need you to trust me first... And I gotta be able to trust you."
"What's wrong with my game?"
You smirked "First off. You gotta know when to quit. I've been assured that's a problem. And I can't afford to do this with someone who won’t cash out. Because, believe it or not, it’s the money we need. A small cash out is better than nothing. Or worse, losing it. Second, you gotta play like the people you'll be playing against. Not just the way you play. You have to be adaptable..."
He raised an eyebrow, "You think I can't adapt my game?"
"I don't think you've ever tried. Play the table. Not the cards!"
"I know how to play a table..."
"No you don't, not the way I'm going to teach you."
"I do! I'm good at reading people." he tilted his head "Okay. Not you and Curtis... You're so alike it's scary but... Everyone else..."
You smiled, it was something you wanted to hear "Gerry, what are you gonna do if you end up facing up against a table of people like me and Curtis. How are you gonna win then?"
He didn't look like he had an answer for that, but at least you smiled at him "Don't worry. I'll help you with that..."
***
All at once you could see why he had several problems. Currently you were sitting around a table, you and him going through a bunch of scenarios. You'd recruited some ‘friends’ of yours, that Gerry thought you were using the term ‘friends’ loosely for, specifically so they could help out...
The scenario work was actually pretty good. He could certainly talk the talk, and well. Everything you threw at him he could give you a good comeback. And when it was just you vs him at cards that was fine too. You guessed that was because he seemed comfortable around you. And you weren't playing for anything. He didn't often lose but when he did, he would laugh at the play you made "Well! Would you look at that! That was some good bluffing!"
Around this table, you weren't playing, you were watching. The first couple of games you'd been observing the whole table. You tried not to think of the games you were used to when all three of them were making terrible decisions and getting away with them. No matter, it was good you saw Gerry’s complications now.
Eventually you started directly observing him. That's what you were here for after all, and if you let him go on playing like this you weren't going to get anywhere.
"Mmm." You watched his hand hover over a card. Gerry don't do that! That's dumb! When it stayed there you did it a little louder "Uh-uh."
He put his hand down and looks to you "What!?"
You just shook your head. You weren't going to say it out loud, but could he just read the goddamn table again!? He had a much better play.
He looked back to his hand, then selected another card. Better! There we go!
This continued for another couple of games. Until you fell silent. And that was bad because then he started second guessing himself, so he started losing.
You sighed. "Hang on! Stop a minute!"
They all looked to you, head in your hands "Gerry. Don't make me say it out loud..."
"Yeah, I get it. You're trying to make me make better plays."
"Yes..."
"Well that's what I'm trying to do."
"No, now you're second guessing every move you make and you're starting to lose it. Focus!"
"You’re deliberately changing my game strategy. It's gonna take time!" He had a point. And you felt bad. But it was time you didn't have.
"Okay... You're right, I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm just trying to help you be one without being the other. I don't want you to think about every move you’re making... I'm trying to get you to play smarter! I know you can do it. And I didn’t need Curtis to tell me that. You have an answer for everything I throw at you... " You sat on the table and looked to him "But theory isn't practice. Only you also PLAY extremely well. The problem is you don't play like the people you're gonna come up against out there, and if we're gonna do this you're going to have to start. This is good. This is a good start. But you know as well as I, I can't help you out there.”
"I know. And I can. " He had a defiant confidence. You liked that. And with a smile on your face, you knew he could too.
***
“Before we leave you need to do one thing for me…”
“Okay…” He was just too trusting; it left you perplexed sometimes. Like you could ask him to do literally anything and he’d up and do it. You were the exact opposite; almost too careful. But his personality made sense for Curtis to take him in. Hell, you wouldn’t have come all the way here for Gerry without his guidance.
“Everyone you owe. I want a list, names and amounts.”
He frowned “Why?”
“Why do you think we’re doing this?! I’m getting you out of debt. Well, you’re getting yourself out. But I’m going to keep track.”
“So… We’re… NOT doing this for us?”
“It is for you! You’re gonna get even. Which sounds like it’ll be an achievement in itself…” You looked across to him; “So do I get a list or not? Because this car doesn’t move without one. Not with you in it, anyhow.”
That just made him nod vigorously “Y-Yeah I can do that.”
You smiled “Excellent! See you tomorrow!” You knew you confused him by the way you went from being so serious to so cheery. But you wanted to let him know you didn’t come to mess around – or make friends. Though Gerry’s personality made that second statement increasingly hard.
***
After the first few table runs, which had been admittedly shaky even when he wasn’t playing with his own money, Gerry seemed to get the hang of following your lead. And your presence seemed to have the Curtis effect on him. He wondered if he’d perhaps stumbled across another Rainbow, or, one had so happened to find him…
As he was playing at home, on familiar territory, and learning – you were letting him keep the money for himself. Hopefully your influence was doing some good. You hadn’t exactly told him how to spend it. You just hoped the answer was wisely. You’d imparted the importance of the list to him, so hopefully he’d been savvy enough to get started.
Every win he made boosted his confidence; you just made sure to ground him. You knew sitting around afterwards critiquing his moves put a dampener on things, but you didn’t want him to get over confident. OR get to the stage where he thought he couldn’t lose. The key was to have him cash out, not to go so far he lost it all again.
So when the time finally rolled around, he actually looked surprised; “You played well tonight. It was good to see!” Wait, you’d just paid him a compliment!? “I think you’re ready!”
“For the road trip!?”
“Mm hmm…! If you’re still up for it?”
He laughed “Yeah! Yes! Absolutely! It’ll be good for a change of scenery! We… uhm… taking your car?”
“Unless there’s a problem with that?”
“Nope. No. No problems…”
“Questions?”
He shook his head, but then thought on it; “When do we leave?”
“Tomorrow too early?”
“NO.”
***
There was quite the adrenalin rush from his first win under new management. He was pleased with himself that the hard work had paid off. You were pleased everything had worked out in his favour and your effort was not all for naught, so he didn’t end up thinking it had been a waste of time.
“What do we do with all this now??” He still hadn’t quite calmed down. The win was modest, but still good. You’d picked your road trip carefully, you’d build up the amounts, the stakes and the buy ins… As long as Gerry kept winning. That was all there was to it.
You pulled out the list, for once hating to bring him down even just a little bit; “We start ticking off…”
“What?”
“Sorry, Gerry, this is what we came for. I’m your money management.”
Unsurprisingly he was reluctant to hand it over “ALL of it? You don’t need all of it!”
You only made him face his own handwriting; “It’s a long list. We have a long way to go. They aren’t paying themselves!”
He did so. Because again, he trusted you for some reason. You were thankful your math was good as you did a quick count and separation in your car. He watched you, fascinated, as you ticked off several names before rummaging around for research of your own and a bunch of envelopes.
“Addresses!? You found addresses!?”
“Yeah! I did a little research…” You smiled “I want to help. I’m sure that’s pretty unbelievable…” You had spent a lot of time pushing him.
“No!” He laughed “I didn’t say that! Geez… Did you do all that in your head…?”
“Easy! Easy, easy…!” You turned to him and held out a bunch of notes you’d separated; “You did very well Gerry. You earned this.” He took it from you with a grateful smile. Money that was now really his. You gave a wink; “Just don’t do anything with it I wouldn’t approve of!”
***
He cashed out after you made your move. It was subtle, but significant. Why!? Why!?! There was still so much left to win here - what was he doing!? You weren't particularly sure you liked the way he looked as you as he got up either. Prompting you to follow him out of the doors into the quiet corridor. Where he almost literally turned on you; "Why did you do that!?"
"Do what?"
"You know what you did!"
"Do you have any idea how much money you were about to lose!?"
He sounded frustrated. If Gerry could get angry, then you figured this was it. "Then just let me lose!!! Y/N!! You can't fix me! Nothing can fix this!! Some guys were just born to lose!!! I'm one of them!"
"How can you say that about yourself!? If you think like that you're gonna become a self-fulfilling prophecy!!"
"Listen. Y/N. I won’t win by cheating. I can't do that. Winning surely isn't that important to you!?".
"I'm trying to help you!"
"No! No!! I don't want you to do that! I don't want to win by any means necessary...!!"
"You do understand how much debt you’re in right!?"
"Yeah!! You don't think I don't think about those numbers every damn second I add to them!?!?! I don't get to see my daughter BECAUSE of those numbers! But do you honestly think that when I do get to see her again I'm going to be able to look her in the eye if I cheated my way there!?! Stop it. I don't want to win this way. I might as well lose if I'm gonna win this way! If I'm going to win! If we're going to do this, we need to do it honestly!!”
There was a silence. Because you didn't think about it like that. And he was right. You were seeing numbers on a page. For you that's what this trip was about. That and your promise to Curtis. To Gerry, even though he'd agreed to those very same numbers... That wasn't why he was here. He had something else to be here for, something much more emotional. Something very real.
You bit your lip "You’re right."
He looked taken aback for a minute. He'd not seen you back down on an argument before "Gerry... You're... Absolutely right and I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... I didn't even think... And I knew... God... I'm..."
He shook his head "I get it. We're here for different reasons. And I know what you're doing... But... Can we do this for my reasons. Not yours. I can't fight... I can't WIN for the reasons you want me too... Okay?"
"Okay..." you nodded "That's fair. I… wasn't even thinking about it like that... I took away the emotional motive... I'm sorry. I guess I just don't think that way."
"Maybe you should try. Getting emotional. I mean." He smiled "You have a great smile. You know sometimes I see it, and know you feel things... You can feel. You're not so hard as you look." He pointed back to the casino "Now. I think I can kinda get back on a streak with this understanding..."
"Really!? Are you sure!? Gerry I don't want you just saying that!! Cause I-"
"AW! C'MON! I'm not!! " He grabbed your hand with a laugh, "Let's do this. Together. Y/N! We're a team now! Remember!"
***
"Alright. Deal me in." you sat. Gerry opened his mouth to protest. Was he really doing THAT badly!?! Was this to bail him out or teach him something...? With the way you'd been going, he could only imagine that you were about to teach him something.
It made his playing take a back seat. Because he was curious. He'd watched you play before, but observing you playing whilst on a table with you... Was this a test? Could he win against you or not? After a period, he just stopped trying. Your attitude was crazy. You let nearly every play show on your face. And occasionally you would mutter things to yourself. That didn't make any sense as a strategy. That was a sure-fire way to lose!!
"Okay..." Gerry was still sitting with you as the table cleared "How the HELL did you just win."
"Reverse psychology." you smiled mischievously "Everyone likes watching the rest of the table. Draw on that. Every good card is terrible and every bad card is the best thing you could have been gifted? Think about that. That draws the other players to make cocky mistakes. So, when they call and you have an amazing hand despite looking like you’re gonna lose everything, not only do you get the satisfaction of winning. You get the satisfaction of wiping that cocky little smirk off their faces." You leant towards him, "Though that could just be because I'm a girl and want to take all these chauvinistic males down... I dunno. "
"Is that how you always play?”
"No, something I picked up."
"It's how Curtis plays."
"Ahhh! Yes. Very good!"
"Who taught who?" He’d figured out there was no way it was coincidence.
"Not a taught thing, more a collab!"
He laughed "The first time I ever played him he sat at the table and said Aces are good right!"
You couldn't help but laugh, yeah that sounded like Curtis. "But you don't talk. He talks. A lot."
"I would talk more... I don't have anything interesting to say."
"Aw. I don't know about that. I think you could teach these guys a thing or two."
You almost blushed "Yeah... Maybe. But you're the only one that actually listens."
He stopped, and you thought he was the one blushing "Oh. Well... I'm sorry about that..."
"Don't be. You’re the only person I want to listen to me…" And you were aware of the way you'd said it. And the next look he gave you. And the way you were leaning towards him on your hands. So you leant back, "I - I mean. You know. Given the task at hand!"
"W-Well yeah! I get it!"
Something told you he'd 'got' a lot more than that, though...
***
When Gerry awoke, he was disoriented. None of the signs that he was seeing seemed to point to the place you’d said you were heading... He sat up and looked around for any indication of where you were
“...Y/N...??”
“Yes...” He could tell by your voice that he had interrupted a train of thought as you stared at the open road ahead.
“...Where are we...? There are no signs for-”
You smiled, still not looking at him “Detouring. Slightly. Actually, there’s a casino where we’re going, so, I’m helping you a little.”
“Where we detouring to??” You had said slightly, so you must have been close to your meticulously planned route.
“...Home.” You said it softly.
“Home? Your home!?” You nodded, eyes flicking to the sleeping cat in the back seat;
“It’ll be good to have a base for a couple of days if nothing else. Regroup... Take stock... Go back to playing mid-tables. I think I better give you some low stakes and remind you sometimes this is fun, not always hard work.”
He shook his head “No! no! This - This is fun!!”
He made you laugh with how quick he was to defend the whole trip. He was so sweet and had one heck of a big heart. You couldn’t help it nor deny it, you were falling for him pretty damn hard.
When he was here with you in your car, or anywhere that wasn’t a table, he was perhaps one of the sweetest men you’d ever met. All be it with one of the biggest gambling problems you’d ever seen. But when he was at a table, playing, it was like something switched on. All that assured confidence when he had a good hand or things were just generally swaying in his direction. From the way he spoke to the way he sat, it wasn’t sweet - it was damn near sexy.
What was the phrase... Get you a man who can do both?
***
You pulled up outside the house and could instantly tell Gerry was staring at the car in the driveway;
"Uuhhhhh...!!!"
You shook your head at him, "Pretend you didn't see it...!" you grinned
"W-W-Why? It's..." His chuckle was nervous "It's gorgeous."
"I know. Why do you think I drive around in this one!" You shook the top of his arm playfully and turned to your cat, "Sookie!" She mewled, jumping onto your lap from the back seat, nuzzling your face playfully. "Okay...Okay... Say goodbye to Gerry too, we've got work to do..."
She purred louder as Gerry ran a hand through her fur; "You really are a cat person. Thank God..."
"I wasn't lying!"
"Why did Curtis not mention this to me...?"
"Uh. Probably because it’s not something I mentioned to him."
"He's a dog person, right." You opened your car door
"Is he?"
"Oh yeah." Sookie pushed herself against Gerry’s hand in goodbye, before leaping from the car; "She'll be okay for a while..."
"Where are we going?"
"That dumb casino around here is open 24 hours. Essentially because there are people that never leave..." You looked across to Gerry "That means we can score twice the amount here. But it's OK, you can take a break. Watching you keeps giving me the itch to play. And as we have a bunch of other things to do..." You gave a shrug "I figure I can help you out a bit. Best night is Friday night though, and tomorrow night is pay day."
"...You've thought about this."
You gave a cheeky grin; "Yeah. So you can scope the place! See! Gerry! Teamwork!"
He watched you from across the casino. Not only did you have a completely different way of playing than he did. NOW you had a completely different way of playing than you were teaching him. Your strategy reminded him a lot of Curtis when he talked. You’d switched completely from how quiet you’d been a few cities ago.
You knew these people, he guessed, they greeted your presence warmly. It was easy for you to switch to something new. He also wondered if it was another confusion tactic; because you still seemed to win nearly every hand.
He was only half paying attention to the machines and he almost wanted to join the table if only to get a feel for what you were doing. So he could hear every word you said - he wondered if you even talked like Curtis when you played like this.
You were interrupted by someone tapping you on the shoulder and beckoning you away from the table. You nodded and followed him across the bar. Gerry noticed how he tried to inconspicuously point him out. But then made it blatant as you looked across to him, nudged their arm and said something that made both of you laugh.
Then as they continued talking your face became serious. You got this look he'd seen before - and if he was close enough he thought he might be able to see the idea sparking in your eyes too. The way you leant into the conversation with interest...
The machine he was sitting at beeped - jackpot! -
Eh, voila! Just like a rainbow...
"What?"
"Have you seen this guy? I mean... Careful... He's not one I've seen before."
You looked across and Luke scowled like you shouldn't be being so obvious "Gerry?! What, no, he's with me… What, is he watching me!? AM I that interesting!?"
"Oh, he's interested in something alright."
"Damn. Well what do you think? Am I in with a shot?"
Luke’s yeah right laugh made you burst into laughter too. "Anyway. Y/N I didn't call you over just because of this guy... There’s another big game going on."
"Like. A game?"
"Yes; buy in is a few damn million though. Guys only. That’s your problem." You were beginning to think that might not actually be a problem...
"It’s not something that isn’t fixable. When?"
"Few weeks. If you want in, I've got a connection."
"Well that’s what I like to hear Luke. Sure. I'm in. Winner takes all the buy in?"
"Of course. No trace. No questions asked..." He held out his hand; "As whom?"
You gave him a wide grin and shook it, as if your male partner was not obvious "Gerry."
***
"Aw Geez!" Of all people to be fawning over your cat on your front porch as you drove up; Curtis!? "When the hell did you get back!?"
"Aww it's good to see you too, gorgeous!" He wasn't looking at you though, "You changed the damn locks."
"Yeah, it's my house. Jackass." You whistled Sookie over "And leave my cat alone!"
"Our cat! What the heck are you even doing home!?!"
"Fixing your mess!" You jabbed a finger at him, ascending the steps "She has never been YOUR cat."
You swiped your card and inserted your key into the lock. "You upgraded security!?" he whined, "You’re still damn beautiful!"
"Don't make this weird. I don't let just ANY man into my house."
"…And whhhat mess!?" He made a shrug like he didn’t know what you were talking about.
"Curtis!?!"
"Gerry!?" He turned eyes wide and then turned back to you; "ANY man!?!"
"Why don't you get reacquainted. I'm just doing my job..."
"I just made a suggestion..."
"Yeah, yeah..." You waved a hand "That's always how it starts!" They followed you up the steps into your house.
You picked up your post and flicked through; "I swear to god if you sent anything here I'll kill you myself...”
"Why would I!?"
"You two live together??" Gerry was piecing together the wrong pieces of information. And it clearly left him disappointed…
"Curtis doesn't live anywhere."
"Why are you always so ANGRY with me!?"
You laughed, because he should know the answer. He was always getting you caught up in things like this. Only this time he'd also done it for his own twisted benefit of you literally falling for another hard luck case.
"So, how exactly do you two…?"
"He’s my big brother..." No point in hiding that now.
"My sister’s always had a thing for the hard luck cases..." If looks could kill. He grinned at you; "That is what this is, right??"
"He’s YOUR hard luck case."
"Are you the sister that has 3 toes missing?"
"He hasn't seen your toes!? Geez, Y/N your are working INCREDIBLY sloooow..."
You almost spit your drink out "Oh my god! You TOLD him that crap!!!"
You shook your head at Gerry "Not me!! Our other sister... Geez, Curtis she got a look in but I didn't?"
"A lot of the time you like to pretend we aren't family...!"
You gave Gerry a significant look “Is it any wonder why?"
Gerry looked more and more confused by the second at what you and Curtis were suggesting. “Why would I have seen her toes?" You stared at the table in disbelief. Was he that slow? Having said that now Curtis might have an angle on why you were being so slow.
"Oh. Knowing my sister, I would have expected you to see a lot more than that."
He took a sip of his drink to allow that to sink in. And get a kick out of Gerry’s wide-eyed realisation and you looking like you could throttle him.
Curtis was determined to keep pissing you off though; "Am I right though?! She doesn’t even want to be my sibling..."
"If we're going down that route Curtis, we are actually half siblings."
"Really!!?" Gerry looked between you to try and find significant differences
"Yeah. Different moms, same dad. In a bad way."
You opened your mouth to argue, Gerry got there first "OH."
"Yeah!"
"Oh shut up Curtis! He wasn't that bad!"
"Cuz he actually stayed with your mom!"
"I think grandpa would actually have killed him otherwise."
" 'Scuse me. You saw what mine did to my toe!" Ok. Fair enough.
Gerry just kept glancing at you both. He was fairly certain now that perhaps you both got your feisty tempers from your father - because in that respect you were exactly the same.
"But you two live together, so how'd you meet?"
"We both agreed not to tell that. But I found her."
You rolled your eyes at him; "Curtis is a drifter remember?"
"Kicking me out now?!"
"I thought Peru was the dream."
"It’s an expression."
"AH! So you didn't even like it when you finally got there! Well, you’re not staying here either!!"
"Geez what, you’re actually kicking me out!? Is Gerry staying!? I bet he is! Is he in the guest room...? Mine by the way... or in yours!?"
"Will you shut your damn mouth!" You smacked his arm.
Gerry continued to watch, fascinated. To the point where he realised something and he just started to laugh uncontrollably. Making you both stop your bickering and turn to him; "Okay, what’s so funny?"
He stopped, wiping tears from his eyes. Though he still giggled through his sentence. "Nothing... This is just..." He shook his head with a smile "It’s like a double rainbow!"
***
You begrudgingly let Curtis kick around for as long as he wanted, and he waved you off for the next part of your adventure. Not before trying to impart some romantic knowledge on you, for which he earned a slap.
"We’re switching cars."
"Why?"
"Cuz, where were going we have to have a certain... something-something we don't have in that..." You waved your hand to the car across the street "I mean. This is sleek and stylish and…"
"It’s a sports car."
"It’s... well, yeah. OK. But we need something better than that."
"I mean there’s nothing wrong with that car."
"Gerry. Honey. Not where we're headed." You smiled politely "Please step into someone else's reality...!"
"Yours, by the sounds of it..."
"Aw, only on special occasions."
Sookie was beside you by the time you looked back to call for her. "Okay. Sure, but you gotta continue being super nice to Gerry, OK? Don't let me down." As if to give you an answer she leapt over your seat and onto him. "Huh!"
"What?"
"She just. She pretty much hates everyone but me and my brother. She tolerates cat people... But you..." You gave a shrug and hopped in yourself "You're something special Gerry. You got a gift!"
***
You decided to join him at a table one final time, allowing yourself to get caught up in the way he played once more.
"…Wow maybe chatty works for you. But that was incredible the way you played that table! Man, I wish I could do that!"
"You don't even realise do you?" You beamed "Gerry you are doing that! What you just did was great!! That's what I want! For you to feel it naturally! You don't even have to know you're doing it. Second nature. Easy..." you were glowing just by the way he was looking at you, "...I guess I could have won but... With the way you played that would have been unfair."
"It would have been good competition!"
"No! I like this confidence! The player it's turning you into... You are more than ready for what I've got planned. He's incredible. Don't change him. The outlook or the attitude. It suits your play style. Keep up the good work!"
***
He watched you calculate it all quickly in your head and place the final two ticks against his list. "We’re done!?" he said it with a joyous laugh "We did it!! We're really done!!!"
You tapped your pen against the paper and shook your head "Nope."
His mood instantly fell "What!?! But the list--!? We’re done! We’ve finished the list!!"
"We're not done. We have one more stop..."
He put his head in his hands and leant against the car door "I have to do this again!?"
"Now you've paid everyone back, with sufficient interest..." your smile was significant; "You’ve got this down."
He breathed out with a murmur; "I thought I was done."
"So, you can't handle one more...?"
He made a face "Just one?" It was still impossible for him to resist the pull of a table. You'd work on it.
"Just one. And never again..." He nodded and you knew how much he was resisting 'well maybe not never' coming out of his mouth.
You turned the key in the ignition and tapped your sat nav, handing him another piece of paper
"Now be the sweetheart I know you are and type this in."
"...Sure!" You got why Curtis had put you together. Because it didn't make sense, which is why it made perfect sense...
"Tell me everything I need to know..." You noticed him tapping his fingers to the beat of your road trip playlist and studying the scenery. You couldn’t help your smirk.
"The buy in isn't even worth thinking about. It's crazy. I've covered it. But under your name. Because under no circumstances are women allowed to play these tables..." you took a deep breath; "One small acting favour from you..."
"Mm hmm?"
"You need to pretend like this is what you do. Like this is your life."
"This... Is my life." there was more sadness in that sentence than he let on.
You shook your head "Not what I meant. You need to act like you do this on a daily basis. Like you flew in on a private jet just for this game, and you're gonna fly back out tomorrow to your private island. Like the buy in was pocket change, but y’know, enough to get you excited for the game. And you're gonna have to drive this car.”
"... What kind of buy in!?"
" I'm not disclosing that and neither should you ask... Don't say anything. Just... This is your life, you got me. "
He nodded “Okay.”
But you needed to hear something else “Tell me you understand."
He looked back, blue eyes on yours; "I understand."
**
"So... Now what..." He turned back to you as you let him into the hotel room.
"You’re gonna do whatever you do to get in the zone. I'm going to put the finishing touches together..."
"What do I wear!?"
"I got you covered. Gerry, honey, I don't want you to worry about nothin' but the people on the table and the cards in your hand. OK?"
"Okay..." You felt leaving him might allow Gerry to unwind with his own thoughts, instead of have him stressing.
You spent a couple of hours banking his wins and sending checks to the last few people he owed. Picking up his suit, your dress... And a bottle.
When you got back, he was reading the invitation for the event over and over. If he was freaking out about it, it was not showing on his face. You placed the bottle of Woodford triumphantly in front of him. "Curtis only introduces people he really likes to his favourite drink, you know...! It has a heck of a kick. But I think you'll need a kick tonight!"
"You're not kidding..." He looked up at you; "Oh! What!"
You held out the suit; white. Pristine. With softer lines to suit Gerry... You had an eye for designer and he had to look like he was wearing it. Not the other way around. Like he wore a new one every day...
"When I told you Curtis told me everything..."
"He literally told you everything..." He stood and took the carrier from you. “Wow... This is..."
"Expensive. But it'll suit you..."
"What about you..?"
You tipped your head with a mysterious smile, "White suit. Black dress. We will make quite the couple..."
Indeed you did. A few glasses of Woodford down and you sitting across from him, it was like Gerry was a whole new man. If he was playing into it, he was going to do incredibly well.
***
“Just do me one favour…”
“What?”
You handed him a slip of paper “Whatever you do with this money. Put some of it in here.”
“What is it…?” He took it from you delicately
You smiled “It’s a trust fund. And it’s gonna REALLY help.” There was a silence for a moment as he attempted to thank you and you stopped him, it was fine. It was to make sure he really did what he was telling you he was going to do…
"One more thing."
He turned to you, because that was your game voice, as he was about to step out of the car. Keys to a valet?, yeah this was way above his usual gamble grade. "Huh?"
"However anyone looks at me, whatever anyone says to you about me... Ignore it."
That left him with a whole bunch of questions and slight panic that he didn't have time to ask, or you to answer, as you both stepped out of the car. He handed his keys to the valet and let you link your arm through his.
"What do you mean?"
"And don't talk to me either... "
"That's going to make for quite the evening..."
"This isn't about being here as friends Gerry. Or about being here together. This is about you being able to afford me."
"What!?" Though you held your silence. Again that left him with a bunch more questions. He had a feeling he might figure it out... But wasn't sure he wanted to.
He handed over the invitation at the door; security whispered to each other and nodded. But they did not escort the two of you to the main casino. At this point Gerry stopped having questions he knew he wasn’t about to get answers to, and decided to simply roll with it. You'd told him to act like he did this every other weekend so he would do exactly that.
Who needed regular casino tables anyway, right?
“Why are they all looking at me...?” It was the one question he needed to ask. If they knew then the game was up, after all... It also allowed him to lean in closer to you, which was also an assured part of the game.
“They aren’t looking at you...”
So you were known here? And by the looks of it in a big way. Were you an escort? Once? Were you still!?
He wasn’t sure he liked the implications of this, he was worried about you. “You sure it’s a good idea for you to be-”
You squeezed his arm gently to shut him up “If I’m here with you, looking like this, then yes.” He took a deep breath and you pulled yourself closer to him “God, Gerry! I’m so sorry that didn’t help!” You had to confess. You felt like you HAD to tell him. He stopped you. Hand over yours. “You don’t need to tell me anything. I figured it out.”
And he had. Gerry was never lying when he said he was good at reading people. You’d likely been an escort for men like this at games like this – maybe more… He didn’t like to think on that too much. Passed around like you were the game they were playing. That kinda made him angry… sick… feel a whole lot of pity for you. He wanted to win this game for you, too. And you’d actually got out; probably played your way to freedom. Though Curtis has said he had found you, Gerry wondered if he might have something to do with it.
“...What are we really doing here Y/N?”
You looked to him; sincere “Freeing you.” He tipped his head, and the smile showed he knew you were here for something else entirely. You gave small shrug and mirrored his smile; “Let’s just call it payback...”
He held out his hand for you “Now I know what I’m playing for...” He confidently flashed another brilliant smile; “There’s no way I can lose!”
“Play this game like it’s the last game you’ll ever play.”
“It COULD be the last game I ever play.” His seriousness hit you hard and made you emotional. Finally, he could see the emotion on your face, in your smile – in those gorgeous eyes of yours.
“Just play it your best. You got this Gerry… You’re the only one who’s got this.”
***
He had played his part flawlessly. But more than that, Gerry had played the GAME flawlessly. He called. There was absolutely no way, with you here, with the way he had played - that you had helped him to play - even with every single other player having all the luck in the world that he was about to lose this. None.
He held his hand out behind him, and you realised that he was asking if he could hold yours. He was too confident in this... You placed your hand in his and he grasped you gently. You were too confident in him too.
Everyone around the table revealed their hands, one by one. All pretty good. All the kind of hands that would win a game. Even a game that, for him, had really been this difficult. But Gerry had played like a pro. Like he was elite. Like he was one of them. He flipped his hand and he lent back, relaxed.
They all stated at his cards in disbelief. How!?! How did this newbie to this table come out of nowhere and win? You were equally if not more surprised. He's done it. Gerry had actually done it!!!
He rose, calm with a small smile. And his voice was quiet, soft almost "I guess I win. Gentlemen." he gave the signal to cash out and stepped back, your hand still in his he turned to you, his smile was confident and you couldn't tell if he was still acting or not. He must have been - how could he be this calm over the amount of money he had just won!?! "What do you say, we get our money and ditch this place, huh?"
This was a revenge game for everything you’d been put though. And he’d just up and won it.
***
It wasn’t ever really meant to come out the way it did. But the high from what he has just achieved had the both of you nearly in tears laughing, as you got back in your car.
“Oh-! Gerry---! I love you!”
For him it was out of the blue, you’d never indicated that it was a phrase you knew. With your background that was hardly surprising. But, he caught on to exactly what Curtis had said before and it hit him hard enough to sober him up.
“Do you really mean it?” And then it hit you; because everything about him was serious. You looked back to him, letting yourself regain your breath before you answered. Did you say it because of the moment? Because of what you’d done? Or did you say it because you really DID love him? “…Yeah… I guess… I could really love you…”
Gerry just smiled, he didn’t say anything, he didn’t push it further “Well, Alright…” But it was one hell of a smile. Gerry knew he was prepared to wait for you to make that happen.
He was decisive enough in your answer to take your hand; “Where to? We could go anywhere. You and I. Right now.”
It made you think for a minute, and suddenly smile at the realisation that you were both free. That you and he aren’t ever going back. You entwined your fingers with his;
“To the Next Great Adventure!”
GIF CREDIT @ben-mendelsohn-trash and @benmendo as always ❤
This could have been split into like 3 different parts. But I just kinda wanted it to be one long thing!
I mean, I’m right right, he’s got two personalities, right? #ThePlayer’ and then #SoftGerry...
