Stretch Your Imagination

Winter Voelker | 28 | Voice Actress

[wintervoelker-blog]

alechawthorne‌:

         “He wants to open more? That sounds as if it’s going really well for him. Lucky him.” Alec smiled, nodding slightly to underline his words. At least someone managed to make something good of his life, and while he didn’t hate being a teacher, he just didn’t like it as much as the idea of being a professional athlete either. “Not really, no. I had other dreams, but that didn’t work out, so… it doesn’t really matter. I’m trying not to dwell on it.” Even if that didn’t work out all that well for him. “High school kids are really dumb sometimes, I’m not kidding. The things I’ve heard – sometimes it really makes me cringe. It’s always surprising to see them become proper adults.”

“That’s his goal anyway. He always had pretty lofty ones,” she said with a fond quirk of her lips. “No though, he does seem to being doing well for himself. It may have taken him a bit to get there, but...” She raised one shoulder in a lofty shrug, “It’s that way for a lot of people, myself included.” She kept the fact that she had suffered a lot of angst over that fact to herself.  “Understandable,” she said, trying to steer the conversation into more comfortable waters for him. “I never thought I’d be doing what I am either.” Though, she thought to herself, she actually liked her job, and she wasn’t sure Alec liked his very much. Laughing, Winter shook her head, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I can only imagine. I felt like high school kids were bad back when I was in high school. I shudder to think what stupid stuff comes out of their mouths now. Especially considering the jump from fourteen to eighteen is a pretty big one, in terms of maturity.”

[wintervoelker-blog]

henryohara‌:

         “I built furniture. Tables, shelves, chairs… take your pick. Haven’t been doing it for a long time, but it’s working out well so far.” Better than Henry had expected. When he started making stuff for his own house, he never thought there’d be people who wanted the same or similar pieces made by his own hands. Now it was how he paid for his life, and he surely wouldn’t complain about that. Being his own boss was actually pretty good for him. “Hey, it’s fine. So far you haven’t really bored me, so I think you’re doing good,” he smirked, winking at the other. “I bet. I hated being away from my sisters, so now I’m happy we’re in the same place again. Makes annoying them and protecting them a whole lot easier,” he grinned. “Where are your brothers now? Far away?”

“Oh cool,” Winter breathed, her fingers itching at the mere thought of it. “Do you have a shop, or are you just selling it online or something like that.” Woodworking was pretty neat, assuming that was what he did, but really, anyone who could make something out of nothing was cool, in Winter’s opinion. Grinning, Winter nodded her head, heaving a sigh of relief. “Oh, good. Please feel free to tell me if I am. Boring you, I mean.” She figured being told was better than continuing to drone on. Huffing out a laugh, Winter shook her head. “Somehow I have a feeling you and my older brothers would get along. Bond over your shared need to embarrass the younger sisters,” she chuckled. “But yeah. My oldest brother is in California, running a sports bar. My middle brother is actually in the Army. He’s overseas right now. He’s not allowed to tell us exactly where, but he writes me as often as he can.”

[wintervoelker-blog]

earthtoelix‌:

“Do they?” He questioned with a sly little smirk “I think they will go with whatever society goes with, except for the small few.” He smiled “at least you think I’m cool” Elliot’s stomached growled at the thought of a good burger and beer, it was as if she had read his mind. “It’s like you’re in my head sometimes winter. It’s freaky” he laughed leading the way out the door but letting her lead the rest of the way “so, whatcha been up to this weekend? Anything exciting?”

“They do,” she said with a nod, even as a smirk pulled at the corner of her mouth. “Nah though, you’re probably right. Societal factors are powerful things.” Not that she knew, really. She’d always been one to march to the beat of her own drum. But she still remembered school and all the pressures that came with it. Snorting, she raised one shoulder in a lofty shrug, shooting him a grin over her shoulder. “Maybe I am in your head. Maybe I’m a mind reader. It would certainly make for a fun story,” she joked. With long legged strides, she led them out of the building, breathing in fresh air in a single inhalation. “You want to walk or drive there? I’m fine either way, considering how nice it is out.” She grinned, drumming her fingers against her thigh at his next question. “Oh, not really. Went to a bar, but that wasn’t all that exciting. Oh! I did get a call back from Naughty Dog about my latest bit of work. I have to go back in and reshoot some lines, which is kind of fun.”

[wintervoelker-blog]

themarleycallahan‌:

“I do.” Marley didn’t hesitate to reply back, serious despite the fact that Winter herself had laughed. Though, a smile did tug at her own lips, especially in reply to the wink shot her way, shaking her head in amusement at the other. “I think you’re plenty fun.” Indulging a stranger in a dance in a packed club could be intimidating to anybody, so the fact that Winter had joined her with almost no hesitation said something about her to Marley. Something the blonde quite liked, and wanted to see more of (even if just for tonight). She wasn’t secretive in her desires, either. Her soft voice and drawl often shocked people when paired with the bluntness she was both capable and rather fond of, and Winter wasn’t any exception…but the change in the other’s grin, the look in her eyes, had a shiver running down Marley’s spine. Anticipation. “Why’s there gotta be a why, hm?” Her eyebrows raised, fingers reaching for and gripping at Winter’s hip, pulling the woman in closer the same time she reached to do the same. “Why can’t there just…be?”

“I’m alright, I guess,” she teased. “Certainly fun enough to dance with.” She was by no means an excellent dancer, but Winter could hold her own enough to make it fun. That, plus she didn’t really mind looking ridiculous if it meant pulling a smile from someone. “Haven’t stepped on your feet once. I’d consider that a win.” Breathing out a laugh, Winter shrugged one shoulder. “I guess there doesn’t have to be a why.” She paused, admittedly a little surprised at the strength of Marley’s grip. Though, she certainly wasn’t complaining. “I guess I’m a glutton for knowledge, so I just...want to know why.” She tilted her head, wondering distantly why Marley was so resistant to telling her. Maybe she didn’t know herself. If Winter had known her better, she may have pressed, may have wheedled it out of her bit by bit. As it were though, she didn’t know Marley, so she let it go. “If you want it to just be, it can just be though. Far be it from me to press a pretty girl for answers.” She grinned again, giving Marley’s hip a warm squeeze to show she was down to roll with whatever punches came her way.

[wintervoelker-blog]

closed starter for @luke-olsen

On occasion, Winter got strange letters from her brother. She never thought much of them, figuring he was under a lot of stress and not sleeping very much. Most of the time, he addressed it in the next letter, saying he hadn’t slept for a few days, or whatever excuse came about. This time, she’d mentioned meeting a man in passing, one Luke Olsen, and had gotten an excited letter in response, insisting they hang out more. He’d sent her a small trinket too, not letting her know why, just insisting she give it to Luke. Rather confused, she’d shot Luke a brief text, hoping he would be amenable enough to meet with her again. Wandering into the park she’d chosen for the occasion, she raised a hand once she saw him, grinning wide and warm.

“Hi Luke,” she chuckled, “Sorry to meet with you on such short notice, but -” She frowned, pulling out a small piece of cloth, a mere piece of what she could only assume was her brother’s uniform. “My brother was insistent that we hang out and I give this to you? I honestly don’t know why. Did you guys know each other in the Army or something? He was pretty light on the details.” Aaron Voelker was apparently still being the annoying older brother Winter knew him to be. “I’m not sure what’s going on, but he was very excited to hear I knew you,” she laughed, “Sorry about the weirdness.”

[wintervoelker-blog]

annaliselandry‌:

There were nights when she looked forward to working the bar on her own - slow nights when she could exercise a bit more mixologist creativity without dealing with so many drunks screaming for her attention that she was sure she wouldn’t be able to properly breathe until the last tab was closed out and the last patron was escorted through the bar doors. AJ was lucky that tonight was so slow that it seemed almost daunting - almost. The brunette busied herself with an experiment — fully improvised, and not so properly thought out.

She liked to believe herself a decent bartender when it came down to it, but she was by no means above creating something truly terrible. And this particular drink looked a bit - frightening. Feeling more than a little homesick, she’d been trying to replicate the look of the bayou, and nothing about the foggy, murky green drink looked exactly appealing. “You look brave,” AJ started, grin that only showed a hint of mischief curving her lips. “Tell me if this is terrible or not and your drinks are on me tonight.” She studied the person, quickly amending herself with a small grin. “No bullshit. I’ll know if you’re lying.”

Winter was always in the business of trying new things. She was relatively outgoing, so she never minded shoving her nose into something that didn’t really look all that appealing. So, when the truly abhorrent looking drink was placed in front of her, by a very attractive bartender no less, she felt the need to at least give it a go. Raising an eyebrow, she fixed a wide grin on her face, cocking her head. “I look brave, do I? On what grounds, by chance?” She scooped the drink up, tipping it and taking a sizable gulp from the glass. She swallowed thoughtfully, admittedly rather surprised  that it didn’t taste quite as bad as it looked. Running her tongue across the front of her teeth, Winter paused to think.

“Alright, well...honestly? I don’t think you’ll sell many of them,” she laughed, “But it’s not quite so bad, overall. It’s got a bit of...I don’t know. That aftertaste is different, but it’s nice.” Winter didn’t think she’d order it for herself again, it burned too badly on the way down, but some of the braver folks with likes for harsher alcohol could potentially love it. “So, you know. A solid 5 out of ten?” She wiped her mouth, laughing as she did so. “Maybe a 6, accounting for the fact that drinking it and not immediately dying was fun.” It certainly looked like it could kill someone. “No fibbing,” she promised, holding up three fingers in a dorky salute, “Scout’s honor.”

[wintervoelker-blog]

rhiannonswilde‌:

As Rhiannon exited the office, she spotted the person who was supposed to be on desk duty, Ron. Ron was nearly twice her age and was constantly getting on her nerves with his casual and blatant misogyny. He was also consistently calling her to take desk duty instead of working with the cars. He was leaning back in his chair, animatedly watching something on his phone. On her way to the desk, she walked by him, smacking him on the back of the head and kicking his chair out from under him. ‘Fuckin’ bitch,’ he yelped as he saw her blonde hair swishing behind her on her way to the desk. Her response was smiling smugly over her shoulder and offering him a middle finger as she did so. “Fucker,” she whispered under her breath as she settled behind the desk. 

Rhiannon nodded as the woman before her spoke. “Right, let me check.” She started rebooting the computer that she had been telling her boss to replace since she got hired. The thing was monstrous and incredibly slow.  She sighed, turning her attention back to the woman. “This might take a while but can you give me the name the car would be under and the towing company’s name if you remember it?” She asked, glancing down at the papers which they used to take notes when the computer wasn’t working - read: 98% of the time. She thought, glancing over at the garage itself. “No, you’re at the right place. We got it in a few hours ago. I didn’t look at it myself, but I know Jack was looking at it earlier. Can you verify the license plate number for me?”

Drumming her fingers against her thighs, Winter waited. Annoyance was building, and it was only exacerbated as she saw the young woman get called a fucking bitch by some loser. Her eyebrows drew harshly together, an angry frown pulling at the side of her mouth. “Real winner you got there, huh?” she grumpily muttered, glaring at the older man. If he wanted to cause some shit with her, that was fine, but Winter wasn’t in the business of being okay with young women being called names. It was clear this woman could handle it, but the point was that she shouldn’t have had to. “You have to deal with stuff like that often?” Winter wouldn’t be able to do a damn thing about it, really, but she was more than happy to open up the floor for the woman to vent should she need it.

“That’s okay,” she said, tucking her hands in her pockets, “I don’t have anything else to do today, so please take your time. But uh...I don’t remember the company, but I think it started with a K?” She scrunched her nose, closing her eyes and trying to recall, but coming up empty. “Yeah, sorry, I don’t really remember. The name should be Winter Voelker though. I talked to the company, but if it would be under the name on the registration, that would be Addison Voelker.” She sighed in relief, her whole body sagging as she ran anxious hands though her hair. “Oh thank god. I seriously don’t know what I would have done if I showed up at the wrong spot. But sure, no problem. License number is XP7-4HI.”

[wintervoelker-blog]

rhiannonswilde‌:

Rhiannon was in the back office of the Tire Palace, back pressed the wall as she tried to blow the smoke from her cigarette to the open window rather than in front of her own face. She coughed after a moment, still not used to the burn the the smoke left her in throat. She had mainly started smoking as an act of rebellion in college but never really got used to it. At the sound of the bell ringing out front, she glanced at the hallway, assuming someone not on their break would take care of it. However, after the third and following fourth ringing of the bell, Rhiannon sighed, putting out the cigarette with her boot. 

“Coming,” she yelled in the direction of the front desk. She heaved a sigh, expecting that the customer would likely yell at her for taking so long - even though her break only started three minutes ago and that made manning the desk someone else’s problem. She steeled herself as she walked out. “Sorry for the wait,” she started, stifling her southern accent. She was hoping that her coveralls were enough of a sign that she wasn’t a goddamn receptionist and she wouldn’t get yet another ‘hi, honey, can you get one of the mechanics for me?’ Pushing that to the back of her mind, she put her hands on the counter. “What can I help you with?”

Winter really wasn’t entirely sure how she’d gotten here today. It had started out fine, a plan to go get her mother, drive her to one of her many follow up appointments and get her home while her father worked. She’d borrowed their car, a generally reliable Honda with fantastic gas mileage. It was better than Winter’s vehicle, anyway. Getting to the appointments had been fine, it was the getting home that had ended up being the problem. The car had just...quit working on her, smoke billowing up from under the hood. Knowing absolutely nothing about cars, she was forced to pull over and call someone to come help. Naturally, it had been towed to the shop, and Winter just knew the repairs were going to be expensive. Now, two Uber rides later, Winter found herself in front of the shop, hoping to be able to pick up the car, but really just wanting some information.

Annoyance was mounting as she was forced to ring the bell four times, but she sternly reminded herself that these people were going to help her. She didn’t need to get pissy with someone when her bad day wasn’t their fault. She was set to ring it a fifth time when finally, finally someone showed up. The girl looked young, but Winter had never been the best at approximating ages. “Oh - hi,” she blurted, running her hands through her hair, frazzled. “It’s okay, I just - well. My parents’ car broke down earlier today and a towing service said they were going to bring it here so someone could repair it?” She felt her cheeks turn pink and she let out a defeated laugh. “I’m a dumbass with no idea how all this works, so I was hoping maybe you could tell me what’s wrong with a 2017 black Honda Accord? If you’ve even seen one come through? God, I hope I’m at the right mechanic.”

[wintervoelker-blog]

spencercosta‌:

Standing in front of the specialty imported chocolates, Spencer was like a kid in a candy shop in this, well, candy shop. When things were a little too stressful at the shop, which was fairly often when her boss was on one, Candy Boulevard was her happy place. This was her second trip to the candy store this week, but the indulgence was necessary and always worth it. “Don’t tell me buy two, get one free,” she warned the sale tag above the Belgian chocolates as she noticed it.

Seeing the sale as a sign from the fates, she tossed six different flavors of her favorite brand into her basket and moved on. “I still think my favorite part of being an adult is how much money I can spend on chocolate now,” she admitted to the person next to her as she passed by. “Don’t tell my mother.”

“That’s so bad for you, you know,” Winter teased, glancing into Spencer’s basket even as she tossed a few chocolates into her own. “I won’t tell your mom if you promise not to tell mine. Or my roommate.” She preached to Brady about healthy eating enough that buying a ton of chocolate would surely make her never hear the end of it. Taking a closer look into Spencer’s basket, Winter grinned. “Alright, hold up, which ones did you grab? Because I feel like I need more variety.” She hefted the three dark chocolate raspberry sweets with a wrinkle of her nose.

[wintervoelker-blog]

themarleycallahan‌:

Marley’s eyes dipped from behind Winter’s shoulder to the side where she’d nodded, not knowing for sure who was part of the group Winter had come here with, but taking her word for it that they were otherwise occupied. “Their loss.” Marley murmured back to her, pulling back to offer the girl a smile, her eyebrows raising when it was revealed the other had a question for her. It was dangerous, that smile of hers. Dizzying and distracting, it left Marley completely and totally dazzled, nearly missing the question that followed it’s appearance. What could a girl like Marley want to dance with a woman like Winter for? Was Winter blind? The blonde let out a laugh at the question, shaking her head in amusement, before leveling back with the brunette. “Oh, darlin’…I don’t wanna dance with ya.” Letting the statement sink in, her smile turned to a full blown grin. “I wanna do so much more.”

“I don’t know about that,” she laughed, shaking her head, “I mean, don’t get me wrong. I’m a delight.” She tipped Marley a joking wink. “But I’m probably less fun than all of that.” It wasn’t meant to be self deprecating, Winter was just making an observation that sometimes drunk people tended to be hedonistic, herself included. The statement sent a stab of heat right through her, prickling from the crown of her head all the way down to the soles of her feet. That was something she hadn’t been expecting, but now that it was out there, it was all she could think about. Her grin turned sharper, more dangerous. “I’d love to get into the details of all that, but still. Doesn’t quite answer why.” She wondered if it was just that Marley found her attractive, or if there was something else there. Maybe the fact that she’d seemed bored, leaning against a corner. Winter couldn’t help it, she wanted to know. With another bright grin, she twirled Marley once more, tugging her back in close so they could continue speaking.

[wintervoelker-blog]

corinneivory‌:

Corrine places a hand on winters figeting fingers, acknowledging her anxiety yet having no judgement in her eyes “it’s okay if you don’t know, sometimes it’s a plethora of things all mixed into one, but we will get to the root of it” Corrine let off of her just as smooth and silently as she got on. “Do you like meditation?”

The contact startled her, but it wasn’t at all unwelcome. Winter had never minded touch, and this woman’s tended to be quite calming. Swallowing thickly, she relaxed back into her seat, chewing anxiously on the inside of her cheek. “Maybe you’re right,” she allowed, blinking at her next question. “Meditation?” she blurted, “I - well, I don’t know. I’ve never tried it, to be honest.” 

[wintervoelker-blog]

henryohara‌:

        “That’s not an excuse I could use, I work for myself, so I have my own hours in hand. I’ve just – I don’t think video games will ever be very high up on my priority list.” Especially not any games that involved shooting and war. He’d had enough of that in his life, and he figured it would hit too close to home as well. “Hey, don’t worry about it. If you talk a lot about your work it means you like it. And that’s the most important thing there is, right?”, he smiled, giving her a reassuring nod. “Oh, I’m pretty sure it’s in our biology. And if you guys didn’t enjoy it, then we’d be wasting a lot of time. I know you don’t always say it, but I can see it in my sisters’ eyes when they like it. And I don’t think they could ever complain about me driving them around.”

“Oh yeah?” Winter began curiously, “Do you mind if I ask what you do?” Plenty of people were self employed and Winter often wondered how they got there. She was at the whims of various companies, so people who managed to start businesses, or work for themselves, as Henry had said, always interested her. It was a big reason why she was so stoked to invest in Brady’s company. “I think so,” she said, breathing a sigh of relief. “It’s just - you know, I’d hate to bore you with my endless voice acting talk,” she chuckled. With a snort, Winter inclined her head. “Nah, we may complain and moan about it, but we totally appreciate it. At least I did. Still do, even if my brothers aren’t in town with me. It’s pretty cool that you and your sisters still get to hang out.” She missed her brothers often, though the years away had soothed the worst of the ache. “Of course not though,” she teased, shooting him a joking wink, “Built in chauffeur right?”

[wintervoelker-blog]

alechawthorne‌:

          Her words hit the wrong spot, as Alec himself had hoped to play as a professional until a knew injury ruined that wish. “A sports bar? He got it better than me, I just ended up as a teacher,” he tried to joke, though his career path was not something that made him feel particularly like joking. “I do, yeah. Teaching the team is the best part about it. It makes up for all the stupid things students say and write every day.” Of course not all of the students – though he was not supposed to, Alec always had his favorites. Those who were nice, those who tried to do the best thing. “What? Comparing this to spring does not mean I’m good at writing. Not at all.”

“Yep! He’s still doing pretty well. I keep trying to convince him to open more, but I think his current one is his baby.” She was clueless over the fact that Alec didn’t seem too keen on discussing things like this, but she did notice that the joke fell a little flat. “I don’t know. Teachers are pretty important, I’d say,” she tried to reassure. “Did you not want to be a teacher originally?” Most people she knew had never ended up in their ideal career path, so she was curious if Alec had had something else firmly in mind before all of this. “Oof, no kidding, right? High school kids really can say the dumbest stuff sometimes,” she laughed. Cheeks flushing, Winter ducked her head, chuckling to herself. “Oh - no, I wasn’t saying that. I was just saying maybe being creative in that sense - with comparisons - means that you might not be as bad as you think.”

[wintervoelker-blog]

themarleycallahan‌:

Knowing exactly what it was Winter wanted from her, Marley laughed, not hesitating to twirl underneath the woman’s arms once, twice, three times, the sudden wave of dizziness having her stumble closer to the brunette, or perhaps it was the tug on her hand that had her doing so. Either way, their bodies pressed close, her ear turned towards Winter’s lips in order to hear better. She turned her head to answer the question, the two switching positions, so it was Marley’s lips grazing the shell of Winter’s ear as she spoke. “Myself.” She answered, shrugging her shoulders at the admission. It certainly wasn’t something she was ashamed about. “How ‘bout you?”

Winter wasn’t one to force people into things if she could help it. She could have grabbed Marley’s hips, pressing their bodies together and moving that way. She could have, wanted to, even. But there was the pesky matter of not knowing if Marley would be okay with that. For all Winter knew she was just a girl out to have a good time and dance with strangers, not get accosted by someone who took her friendliness for permission. So, when she was suddenly far closer than Winter expected, she hesitated briefly before pressing a hand to her lower back. She felt her stomach drop as she felt Marley’s lips brush the shell of her ear, and she swallowed so hard she was sure Marley could hear it. “With a group,” she answered, nodding off to their left. “Most of them have found other things to entertain themselves with, however.” One group was doing shots, another two aggressively kissing various people on the dance floor. “I got a question for you,” she said, leveling her with a bright smile, “What in the world did a girl like you want to dance with me for?”

[wintervoelker-blog]

dylan-rosa‌:

Well, at least she had someone to chat with while she was waiting. Dylan was a social person and her disability didn’t prevent her from trying to have conversations. With knowledge of the topic and hearing every couple of words, she could read lips to fill in the blanks and keep up. Dylan laughed softly at the topic for a moment, Before Winter’s blunt statement threw her off a bit. “Oh…” Came out with a few blinks, Dylan feeling her face flush already. She didn’t know why it always felt like a smack in the face finding another gay girl, but she found herself tripping over her words as usual at the realization. “ Yeah…” She agreed, though you wouldn’t know to what as she turned her face away for a moment.  After beat, she turned back. “ What? Oh, no, not at all. Please…” She gestured to the stool next to her. “I’m um…kinda? I’m designated driver for tonight… So… I’m just kinda of here waiting…”

Whenever someone reacted with what Winter observed as hesitation, it put her on her guard. She shifted her weight, leaning backward, smile slipping into a carefully blank mask. “Does that bother you?” she asked, keeping her voice deliberately bland. It was best to know now rather than find out later. She ignored the offer of the seat, instead propping her hip against it until she could fully get a read on the situation. She wouldn’t want to make Dylan uncomfortably with her presence, but more importantly, Winter had no desire to hang around people who were uncomfortable with her being gay. She fervently hoped that wasn’t what was going on. “Drew the short straw, huh?” she asked, voice deliberately light, “I’d be more than happy to hang out while your group gets messy drunk. Beats having to hang out by yourself. If that’s something that wouldn’t bother you, at least.” She spun her empty glass idly against the bar, shooting a glance at the bartender again, annoyance settling into her chest. “I’m here by myself, actually. I was just hanging out over there.” She jerked her thumb in the direction of a shadowed corner booth.

[wintervoelker-blog]

chrispcrry‌:

               “I don’t care what you think that’s going on the gram.” Before the other person could comment the male had the selfie uploaded on his story. 

The more Winter looked, the more convinced she was that this was Chris Perry. As an avid jock in high school, she’d adopted a healthy love of sports, including hockey. It wasn’t her favorite, but she knew big names when she saw them. She wasn’t entirely sure how to bring up the fact that she knew who he was, however, especially since he’d just thrown her an off handed comment. “I mean,” she laughed, raising one shoulder in a lofty shrug, “It looked alright. I’m terrible at instagram, really, so you’d probably know better than me what would be good to post. I mostly post - well. Things that aren’t selfies.”

[wintervoelker-blog]

bradyemmerson‌:

The subject of money was one that Brady generally avoided with other people, just because it made her feel a bit guilty that she got paid so much to do something she loved as deeply as she did. It wasn’t quite as bad with Winter, though, as she had been there through her entire rise to success and, of course, was basically family. “Yeah, yeah, I guess we live pretty alright. Our apartment is fine,” Brady chuckled. Really, they could have afforded to live in a house and it probably would have made more sense for them, but Brady still felt too young to be a homeowner of all things. Leaning over into Winter to watch the screen, Brady shrugged and nodded, happy to go along with whatever timeframe Winter wanted to put in there. Whatever the case, she’d make sure they were well and drunk by the time the car came to pick them up. “Good deal. Hope they don’t mind picking up drunk idiots,” Brady chuckled as the bartender passed along their drinks. “Probably we should have just called someone from work, but. Too late now.” Any of the other people at the company probably would have been thrilled to come pick them up, especially if it meant Brady had gone out of the house for a change. Sipping at her drink, Brady’s face twisted in thought before she gave a helpless shrug. “Video games are fun. I have my Switch…”

“Uh, more than fine, really. I actually really like it. It’s way better than where I was living back in LA.” Her face soured, and she childishly stuck her tongue out. “Everything’s overpriced to the point of stupidness in LA though.” Winter knew she could probably afford a nicer apartment on her own here in Northport, but with hers and Brady’s combined income, they could sit even pretier than they could on their own. “To be fair,” Winter chucked, “I feel like all they do is pick up drunk idiots half the time. We’ll be sure to tip really well. That should make the car ride worth it.” She jabbed a thumb to her own chest, a goofy crooked smile settling across her expression. “Besides. Drunk me is an absolute delight. I can probably charm the Uber driver and make it okay.” She was joking, but there was a nugget of truth in there as well. Winter knew she was relatively fun to talk to, and she knew she had the ability to keep a conversation flowing well. Winter’s face soured a moment later and she glared down at her phone. “That would have made so much more sense. Why didn’t we do that?” It was probably the alcohol, but Winter’s buzzed mind didn’t possess quite the filter her sober one did. “Oh, we do video games so often though. We’re out!” She threw her arms out wide, as if to prove a point. “We should do...you know. Outdoor...things. ...all else fails we can totally play Mario Kart though.”