A Chance Meeting | Chris Evans

Chapter 76

A/N: This is really long one, but I've left it in one piece because I couldn't really find a good place to split it. Anyway, I really liked this chapter, hopefully you will too xx
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When they walked back in the games room, the first thing Becca saw was Chris and Scarlett. Scarlett was standing close to him with her hand on his shoulder, talking quietly to him, and Chris looked tense.
Oh dear, looks like he's freaking out.
On the other side of the room, Hemsworth, Renner and Ruffalo were on the driving game again, and looked oblivious.
As soon as he saw them, Chris came striding over, leaving Scarlett mid-sentence.
'I'm so sorry.' He said to Becca, as Scarlett followed him over.
'What for?' Becca asked, confused.
'I said I'd stay with you, but I was on the game and I wasn't paying attention and I left you on your own and then I looked up and you'd gone. I tried to call you and you didn't answer...' he tailed off, breathing heavily.
'Hey, it's fine.' Becca said.
'Yeah dorito, she was fine with me.' Robert said. 'Not like I was dismembering her.' He added with a wink at Becca, who gave a small smile.
'What?!' Scarlett asked, startled.
'British humour.' Robert said offhandedly to Scarlett.
'But I promised-' Chris began.
'Look, let's go and get a drink.' Becca said giving his arm a small tug in the direction of the bar - wanting to talk to him,  but not feeling comfortable enough to do it in front of Robert and Scarlett.
Chris leaned on the other side of the bar while Becca went to the fridge to get herself a diet coke.
Might as well make myself at home.
'You want anything while I'm here?' She asked Chris.
'No thanks.' Chris said miserably. 'I am really sorry for leaving you on your own. You were really nervous and I'd promised to stay with you.'
Poor Chris.
Becca leaned across the bar and gave his hand a squeeze, and he squeezed back and held on.
'It's okay, really.' She said soothingly. 'I know I asked you not to leave me by myself, but it turns out they're not that bad.' She added with a smile. 'I can handle being on my own with them for a bit.'
Chris gave a small laugh. 'Even Robert?' He asked.
'Even Robert.' She replied, smiling. 'Although he still makes me kind of nervous - I never know if he's joking or not.'
'He usually is.'
There were a few moments of silence before Chris said. 'I looked up and suddenly you weren't there anymore. And you didn't answer your phone.'
'I'd left it outside on the table.'
'Oh, I'd thought...'
'What? That I'd done a bunk?' Becca joked.
'Yes. I thought that something had happened to freak you out and I hadn't been there like I'd promised and you'd run for it.'
'Well I hadn't, so there's no need to beat yourself up about it.' Becca added.
'Okay.' Chris said, starting to look a little more relaxed.
'Why did Robert mention dismembering you?' He asked after a moment.
Becca straightened up, laughing and pulled her hand gently away.
'I may have attempted a joke.' She said, cringing.
'About him dismembering you?'
'Something like that.' Becca said, shaking her head. 'Don't judge me, it's a mental disorder.'
Chris laughed.
That's better, he's far too sweet to be sad.
'So what game am I going to thrash you at?' Becca asked, mock-seriously.
Chris grinned. 'Someone's feeling a little overconfident.'
'Well, it's not overconfidence if there's a real superiority.' Becca joked.
Chris raised his eyebrows.
'It's a Mr Darcy quote from Pride and Prejudice.' Becca explained. 'Well, I paraphrased quite a bit.'
'I think I've read that bit - I'm about two thirds of the way through.'
'You've stuck with it?'
'Yeah.'
'I'm impressed.' Becca said.
Chris gave an embarrassed smile.
'How are you at air hockey?' He asked, changing the subject.
'I don't know - it's been so long since I played.'
'Looks like it's going to be me thrashing you then.' He said with a grin.

After a minute she had to admit that he was right.
'You've knocked the last three in your own goal!' Chris laughed.
'I know!' She said, laughing at her own ineptitude.
'Dammit!' She said as she did it again, making Chris crack up.
'Five nil.' Chris said.
'Yes, thank you Christopher.' She said sarcastically, making Chris laugh again.
Then the last two pucks sailed in her goal.
'Okay, I've remembered that I suck at air hockey.' Becca said, putting down her paddle.
'You really do!' Chris teased.
'Thanks. Rub it in, why don't you.'
'Seven nil! I wasn't even hitting them hard.'
'Show off.' Becca joked.
Hemsworth and Renner chose that moment to wander over.
Don't be weird. She reminded herself. You can do this.
'How's it going?' Hemsworth asked.
'Umm...terrible - I suck at air hockey.' Becca said. 'One of you needs to play him.'
'Don't mind if I do.' Said Renner, picking up a paddle. 'If you think you're up to it?' He said to Chris.
'I can spare five minutes to kick your ass.' Chris grinned.
'You've started something now.' Hemsworth said to Becca. 'This is going to get really competitive.'
'You might want to stand back.' He added.
Becca could see why he'd said that once they started playing - it was seriously fast.
Wow. If that puck ricochets off the table, it's going to take someone's head off.
Hemsworth drained his beer. 'I'm grabbing another cold one.' He said to Becca. 'You want anything?'
Becca hesitated, partly because she knew her last drink was still half-full on the table, but mostly because it would be so much easier to avoid the interaction.
Come on, you can do this. He seems nice. Make the effort.
'Err...sure.' She said, and followed Hemsworth back to the bar and sat on one of the barstools.
See, this is fine. You can do this.
'So what're you having?' Hemsworth asked, walking behind the bar. 'I make a mean Long Island Iced Tea.'
I've heard of that. Kind of.
'That's a cocktail, right?' Asked Becca, feeling a bit uncultured.
'Yeah, it's vodka, gin, tequila, rum, triple sec and cola.'
'That sounds seriously alcoholic.'
Chris merely grinned.
I think not. The last thing I need is to get drunk around these people.
'Maybe I'll just have the cola part. Diet please.' She said.
'Sure.' He said, grabbing a can from the fridge. Before handing it over, he spun it in the air.
I'm going to open that very carefully. Becca thought as she watched it go end over end.
But instead of catching it, Hemsworth somehow fumbled it and the can hit the floor with a dull thud.
'Oops.' Hemsworth said, looking down.
Becca leaned over the bar to look, expecting coke to be everywhere, but surprisingly it wasn't.
'How has that not exploded?' She asked.
Hemsworth carefully picked it up and showed Becca the huge dent on the bottom.
'Dunno, but I think we'll get you one that isn't all bashed in.' He said, passing her a different can.
'Thanks.'
'I'll just put this one back in the fridge for Downey to find later when he's least expecting it.' He said with a chuckle and grinned at Becca. 'Mums the word.'
Becca laughed.
'So, you don't drink?' Hemsworth said, coming round the bar to sit on a barstool.
'I do, just not tonight.' Becca answered. 'I kind of feel like I need to keep my wits about me.'
'Ah.' He took a sip of his beer.
This is going fine. Keep it going. Ask him something.
'So, you umm, make any other cocktails? Or just the Long Island Iced Tea?'
'That one's my specialty - it's Elsa's favourite. I'm more of a beer guy.' He said. 'My wife.' He added at Becs's blank expression.
'Have you been married long?'
'Err...I wanna say...five years? Six?' He paused, thinking. 'Yeah six, because India's just had her fourth birthday.'
He took his phone out of his pocket and scrolled through it.
'This is us.' He said, handing the phone to Becca.
'That's Elsa, who I have definitely been married to for six years. Don't tell her I forgot - she'll kill me.' He added with a grin. 'That's India, and that's Sasha and Tristan. They're both three.'
'That's a lovely photo.' Becca said, handing the phone back. 'You must have your hands full having three of them so close in age.'
'Tell me about it.' He said.