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The way her eyes rolled had Carter laughing again. It was joyous in nature; probably rare to catch from him given how seriously he used to carry himself. There were so few moments four years ago where he felt he could give in all control and just be as old as he was.
And she was combating him at the sudden turn of conversation. He figured she would, given how she clearly felt about the new year celebration. Kissing someone at midnight was just part of that, wasn't it? Of course she wouldn't realise the importance of such a momentous choice.
"Well, let me put it this way. Either you decide who you're going to kiss, or someone else will decide they're going to kiss you." Carter pointed out. Then, he made the decision to point out some of the less-than ideal players in the arena. The kind who looked at her like she really wouldn't have a choice if she got remotely close.
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
She had never really seen this side of Carter before. She'd seen him serious and she'd seen him be gentle, but never quite this... Relaxed, perhaps. It was nice. It made her happy.
Leaning forward while resting her head against the back of her hand, Luxanna pursed her lips. Her eyes followed his movements, eyeing the people he seemingly found less than worthy of, well, anyone's attention.
She smiled then. He hadn't changed much. At least, that part of him hadn't. Even though he didn't seem to recognize her, he was still pushing her out of her shell. In his own way.
"You were always good at pressing me to make a decision," she said softly. The words slipping out of her before she could even stop it. "Hm," she mused, pulling back again.
When she seemed to look around, Carter knew he'd hooked her into something. She mightn't have agreed with him completely, but she could at least agree that in present company, he was certainly one of the best. He wasn't causing a disturbance. He wasn't acting like a mess, or making one. He was a good, solid choice for a midnight kiss, even if he hadn't technically put himself forward for the position.
Yet.
Her words admittedly caught him off guard. A clouded mind struggled to keep up with most of what happened around him, but thay was a particular shot. It sounded weirdly familiar. It felt familiar too.
"Oh no, have we met?" Carter asked her then, a pinch of woe in his voice. He often tried not to tred where he'd gone before, but it had been four years; "That kiss we were discussing might help refresh my memory."
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
Was it supposed to make her feel sad? In truth, she understood that the circumstances weren't the best, but then again, chances were, he wouldn't have remembered her regardless. It was fine, though. It would have been selfish of her to hold that against him.
Instead, Lux smiled. "You and your brother had quite the presence back at school. Crossing paths were inevitable," she said simply. Even she, whose presence had been next to zero had heard of the brothers before she met them. It couldn't be helped.
She chuckled then; barely able to stop her eyes from rolling in amusement. "Forgive me," she said then, head tilting. "Having the upper hand for once feels rather nice. I'm not sure if I'm quite ready to let that go yet." Perhaps it was coy of her, but it was honest.
Now she certainly did have some kind of upper hand. Carter strolled into the conversation with the mentality of a complete stranger. He should have known such a trick wouldn't work very well here, after all, most people probably moved with the school. Somehow this had gone from a place people wanted to flee to a place people called a haven.
At least she looked like she was having fun with him. That was nice.
"I'd rather not leave you to the wolves, my dear, after all-" He made a literal point of glancing at his watch, but it took a little longer than it should have. That bought him perfect seconds. His eyes also struggled to adjust to the face; "You have precious little time left to decide."
With a harsh shrug of his shoulders, Carter leaned inward towards the bar with both arms against it. "And I'm positive the man in the ill-fitting flannel three people down is already bragging about his exploits with you." He continued on, tilting his head to the side not-so-subtly. Sure enough, the eyes of a complete stranger were on her.
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
He was as smooth as he'd always been and Luxanna found herself caught in a haze of remembrance. She'd thought she'd grown during the past four years, but here she was, finding herself buckling under everything that he was.
Quickly, she threw a glance around the room; Most people had gone from milling about in groups, to duos.
"Well," she said, voice soft as she leaned forward, elbows propped up against the bar table. "That would be quite the unflattering rumor," she added.
The countdown started, the bar filling with the echos of voices calling out numbers. Ten, nine, eight. The air seemed to fill with the excitement steaming from each individual. Even the lonely ones. Seven, six, five. There was a sort of thrill to be found in it, she supposed. It reminded her of why she liked her job. Four, three, two. She had but a moment to decide.
Leaning forward, Luxanna met his eyes for a split second. One. Tilting her head just as she moved in, Lux placed a kiss on the platinum blonde's cheek. "Happy new year."
She seemed to get the gist of what he was saying, and Carter could only be grateful for it. It was easy to catch out the odd looking fellow who clearly wanted her attention, and he wanted to laugh for it. But when the countdown started he was solely focused on her.
Lips pressed against his cheek, and he couldn't stop the surprise from hitting his face. It wasn't what he expected, but he didn't seem mad at it. He reeled back and looked her dead in the eye again, his voice softer.
"Well played, Luxanna." He declared, and in a flash of a grin he left his seat again. Three people down and he was pressing his hands to either side of the ill-fitting flannel shirt wearing man's face. He placed a generous kiss against his lips.
Even Carter Chevalier couldn't dodge the fist that flew at his face moments later.
Even Luxanna caught the surprise on his face, and that was probably the most surprising thing of all. She was experiencing a lot of new things with Carter tonight, it seemed. Though, unless she met him drunk again, she didn't think she'd ever see it again.
One corner of Lux's lips turned upward at the mention of her name and her eyes followed his movements. A chuckle escaped the brunette's lips at the flare and dramatics he showed.
She supposed the hit should have been expected, but even Luxanna, who worked around these kinds of people almost every night didn't realize it was coming before it had already happened.
Quickly, she grabbed a cloth tied around some ice and stepped outside the comforts of the bar table, right as one of the bouncers moved up to the two males. Meeting eyes, Lux nodded towards Carter and raised the cloth filled with ice, as if saying that unless Carter were to hit back, the bouncer could focus his attention on the other male.
Still, the brunette remained vary; she didn't want to get caught in the middle of something she shouldn't be.
Chivalry in the form of gliding bouncers were hardly coming to Carter's aid, but at least they had every intention of separating them before any major damage could be done. Good thing too; his face was incredibly priceless.
He looked at her with a curled fist that immediately let go. She wasn't so hard to read, at least, not with simplicities like this.
"Bonne Année!" He called loudly, with the roar of the crowd. Arms hoisted themselves high to show he had no desire to engage a second time, despite the way he pursed his lips as if offering another kiss to the man still held by security.
He filtered back into his seat, hand pressed to his cheek. The very cheek she'd just bestowed such grace to was now slowly swelling under the weight of that drunken hit.
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
A breath of relief passed the brunette's lips. She wasn't so worried about a fight breaking out as she was seeing Carter be a part of it. It was unfair of her, really. To hold him to such high standards.
Wasn't that the very same thing she hated people doing to her?
Offering the bouncer a grateful smile, Lux turned and walked towards the blonde. "Here," she said softly, her voice barely audible above the noise. She placed her free hand on the hand on his cheek. She lifted the cloth next; it had already started to melt.
Carter very much doubted he'd be staying for long, now. Usually he carried a little more tact in his approach to others, but in his instance a lot of clever thought had gone out the window. Such was the way when alcohol was involved.
Glancing at her again, Carter looked at what was offered to him. He eased his hand away slowly to take hold of what was offered to him. The instant cool he felt was relieving in a way. After all, what was more important than his face?
A heavy exhale passed his lips then. "Not a bad way to start the year." He said, shrugging his shoulders. It was as if the physical altercation never happened. Or it didn't matter. Most other people didn't.
"Someone aught to look after me, hmm?" He mused aloud, looking at her from the corner of his eye with a grin.
His mood had dimmed somewhat, which was to be expected really. Though, not nearly as much as Lux had hoped. It seemed to come so easy to him, shrugging things off like that.
"Well, you did kind of ask for it," she said. Her hands dropped to her sides then and she glanced over to the other man; the bouncer had already moved him to the doorway.
His words had her immediately looking back at him. With a scoff, followed by a chuckle the brunette rolled her eyes. "Mmm-hm."
Rounding the corner of the bar table, Lux picked up her keys. "I'll drive you home." She frowned then, as if realizing something. "Alone."
Carter feigned a highly shocked expression. How dare she remotely insinuate that he deserved the strike he received? His jaw dropped and his eyes gawked at her widely for a few moments before he couldn't suppress the smirk he wore. At least she wasn't the way she used to be; watching him get hit in the face might have once sent her running completely.
If only she knew the reasoning. Well, he supposed he might give that to her a little later. She wasn't exactly complying with what he wanted. Carter hauled himself out of his chair slowly, slumping his shoulders immediately before stretching his free arm out.
"Oh come on," He started again, "You don't need to be shy around me."
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
She wondered, all things considered, if this was a bad idea. Naturally, the interaction came easier, given the blonde's current state, and she had never been one to play with fire. Well, least not for the last four years.
That counted, right?
"You're bold enough for the both of us," she countered, with what felt to her like a feeble attempt. She looked down at his arm then, not sure what to really do with it.
Instead, Lux leaned over the bar table, signaling for one of the other bartenders to draw close. "I'll be heading out for a short while, call me if you guys need me back." The other bartender nodded then and Lux turned her attention back to Carter.
Eyebrows raised at him, she made a shoo motion with her hands.
Carter offered a conceding look to the idea of being bold enough for the two combined. Really, she wasn't wrong. Somehow, drinking only made him worse. It released the kind of control he often sought to have over his own movements. Truthfully, a sober Carter might have run from the face he hadn't seen in four years. It wasn't as if he never thought about her in that time.
He listened with pursed, clearly unimpressed lips as she explained herself to a coworker. His face was still pressed - practically squished - against the makeshift ice pack she had been kind enough to give him. He looked at her hands as they moved, letting his bright eyes travel all the way back up to her face.
