saturday night and the moon is out

[feel_human]

Tucked away off the road in Bon Temps, there's a road house. Warm light spills from its windows, and the sound of a jukebox playing drifts out into the muggy Louisiana night. The regular assortment of trucks and Hail-Mary-please-keep-this-lemon-goin'-just-a-little-longer cars sit in the dirt parking lot; what amounts to about half the town's small population... or, at least, of those of the 'drinking age and above' persuasion.

Inside, it's a bar of the type scattered all across the American South: homey, no-nonsense. Booths and tables. A man in a plaid flannel shirt wiping the bar; a crossdresser in the kitchen singing Gospel hymns and rolling his hips in time with the words just to scandalize the prep cook. A handful of waitresses, bustling about.

Sookie makes her way briskly through it all, a tray balanced on her palm and her eyes kept stubbornly front, as voices swarm around her. Aloud, and... less so.

...I’m just going to have one beer tonight Jesus one beer that’s all...

...better not gripe about me eating fries not after what I did for him last night...

...I cannot wait to get the hell out of this podunk town...

 

 "Well, make sure you do, and before it’s too late," she responds, thoughtless, to the young man. "Because every year you wait? You just get more and more stuck here. Believe me, I know."

He stares at her. So do his parents.

So does the other table. And she realizes, too little too late, that he hadn't said that out loud, not at all. She laughs, uncomfortable. "I’ll get y'all some ketchup," she says, brightly, and flees, ponytail swinging against the nape of her neck as she goes.

Stupid, Sookie, she chides herself. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

 

Comments

[feel_human]

Sam's wiping glasses and setting them away as she comes to the counter, unlacing her apron. "I'm goin' on break," she says, and ignores the hooting that comes from the kitchen, though her ears burn.

Tara exchanges a glance with Sam over the rim of her margarita. "Break, huh?"

"I get one, don't I?" She keeps it light, but there's a stubborn lift to her chin, and Tara shrugs, looks back at Sam.

His smile is a little forced. "'Course you do," he says. "Glad you're actually takin' one. But it's a busy night, Sook. Don't be late comin' back."

"I never am," she says, pert, and leaves the bar counter to set her apron in her cubby in Sam's office, then pushes her way through the back door and into the muggy Louisiana night.

[gavemea_45]

He waits out front by his bike, where he'd said he would, and keeps a sharp eye out for any sign of movement inside Merlotte's that might indicate Bill taking an unpleasant kind of action. Sam makes sure to stay in clear sight so he doesn't unnerve Sookie by appearing from the shadows to startle her.

Hearing a door around back close, he calls out, "Sookie?"

[feel_human]

She comes around the corner of the building and walks toward him, hands tucked into the pockets of her black shorts, light sneakers crunching on the gravel. "Hi."

Now it comes to it, she feels shyer than ever, though her smile is big and bright. "It's nice to get some fresh air, huh?"

[gavemea_45]

"It sure is." Sam smiles back at her, somewhat bashfully. "Thanks for spending the time with me. You've got a really busy night going in there."

[feel_human]

"Well, that makes gettin' a break especially nice, doesn't it?"

His smile really is sweet. She directs her own grin at her toes for a second, then comes a little closer. "This your bike?"

[gavemea_45]

"It sure is." He pats the headlamp and moves to the side so she can come get a good look at it without feeling crowded. "Handles the roads pretty well, all kinds."

By the look of the saddlebags, he travels pretty light.

[feel_human]

"This where I oughta say 'it's nice,'" she says, slipping her hands into her back pockets as she steps forward to take a look at it. She grins at him, bright and warm. "But I'd be a liar if I tried to pretend I knew anythin' about motorcycles."

[gavemea_45]

He grins back. "I just know enough to keep it running, mostly," Sam confides. He's glad that his voice doesn't shiver when he continues, "My dad was a mechanic. He showed me the basics, but it was my brother who really took after him."

[feel_human]

"Oh, you got a brother?"

Her amusement is clear in her voice as she turns back to him. "Me too. Is yours kinda an idiot, too?"

[gavemea_45]

"I sure do." She sounds amused; he sounds rueful. "And he sure is. Is yours older or younger?"

[feel_human]

"Older." Her expression turns a little wry; things with Jason are... complicated, to say the least.

But she's distracted from that thought by a scuffle of paws on gravel and a cold, wet nose snuffling against her bare leg, making her laugh. "Hey there, dog."

The little brown and white collie that hangs around the bar slides between her and Sam, leaning against her legs as if to defend her, and she laughs again. "Checkin' up on me?"

[gavemea_45]

"Mine, too."

Sam looks down at the new arrival and breathes an amused laugh. "Hey, boy. Who's a good dog, huh?" he asks, as he crouches down on his heels and holds out a hand.

[feel_human]

The collie presses against her legs, and she feels the rumble of a growl vibrating through its ribs as it watches Sam. "Hey!"

Leaning down, she tugs at one soft ear. "Don't be so rude. He's just sayin' hi."

The collie licks at her fingers, then regards Sam with as much disapproval as a dog's face can manage. She chuckles. "Silly old thing. I guess he isn't much for strangers."

[gavemea_45]

Sam stands back up, a little puzzled. “Guess not. That’s okay, boy, maybe I’ll grow on you.”

He smiles at Sookie. “He yours?”

[feel_human]

"No." She reaches to rub the dog's silky head and giggles when he licks at her fingers again. "He's just some ol' dog that hangs around the bar sometimes."

She directs a louder voice to the dog. "I don't need protectin', thanks! Go on, now, shoo."

The collie glances mournfully up at her, but trots obligingly away, tail low.

[gavemea_45]

“Not from me, anyway,” Sam says, lightly. He watches the dog trot off. “Sorry, boy.”

[feel_human]

"Oh, he'll manage."

Now that Sam's standing again, she has to look up – and up – to meet his glance. Heavens, he's tall. "What brought you rollin' into Bon Temps, anyhow?"

[gavemea_45]

“On my way to California,” he says. “Taking the scenic route.”

[feel_human]

"You certainly are," she chuckles. "California! Why're you headed all the way out there?"

[gavemea_45]

"College," he says, as simply as he can. It feels so awkward to explain, but he better get used to it. "I got a scholarship."

[feel_human]

"No kiddin'!"

College had never been in the cards for her, and she accepted it long ago, but that doesn't mean she can't be thrilled for someone who does get the chance – and who doesn't toss it away, like Jason had.

Her grins shines huge and delighted. "That's amazin'. Congratulations, Sam."

[gavemea_45]

He ducks his head as a bashful smile appears. "Thanks. That's nice of you to say."

She sounds absolutely thrilled for him, a hell of a lot more than his own family had been.

[feel_human]

She likes that shy smile of his, and how it dimples his cheeks. She likes it a lot. Almost as much as she likes the quiet of his mind.

He seems like a sweet guy. "A scholarship and everythin'. You must be a pretty bright guy."

[gavemea_45]

"I tried to study hard, anyway." He shrugs. "Anyway, school doesn't start until fall, so I thought I'd take the summer to make my way there at my own pace, you know?"

[feel_human]

"Makes sense."

She lifts her shoulders, digging her hands deeper into her back pockets. "It sounds incredible, a trip like that. California. I've never even been further than Shreveport."