Pictures And Some Memories

Forty: Cherry

alright, i'm gonna be honest here: this is probably the textbook example of what the pros call a filler chapter.

but I love it too much not to include it!

here's hoping y'all like it, too!

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"Erik, my guy, what's with the A/C in this place?" I huffed, grabbing a rag from behind the bar to wipe the sweat dripping from my face. "It's like, 100 degrees in here."

Charlotte shot me a look, clad in her own sweatshirt and leggings. Sure, she was sweaty, too, but she was currently building the frames for her pieces she'd be displaying in just five days alongside Erik and I.

"Babe, it's like, 72 in here," Erik assured me, tossing me a bottle of water. "Are you okay? Should I call Baker down here?"

"No, no, I'm fine," I replied instantly, then nearly choked on my water. "Wait, did—did you call him Baker?"

"Yeah..."

I shook my head, wiping my forehead again. "I just... Just a handful of months ago, you were practically fangirling to meet the legendary Zacky Vengeance." I swooned for dramatic effect. 

"I guess I'm just surprised you're so casual with him, now."

"Hah! I didn't – I didn't fangirl, per se," Erik sputtered, noticing Zack rounding the corner as he began to reply. "C'mon, man, everyone else calls him Baker. I like being part of that club."

"Well, you have earned your spot, so I can't argue that," I shrugged.

"Deflection over with, let's circle back to you, my friend," Erik smiled, perching himself beside me on the bar. "Are you feeling okay? Maybe it's the stress—"

"The launch is only five days away," Charlotte piped up, sounding about as anxious as I did.

"I'm fine," I repeated as Zack moved behind the bar, giving me his trademarked worried look. 

I hated that look. 

"Seriously, everything is fine. I guess I just got a little too hot when I was hanging my pieces, that's all."

"Here, babe, take a break. Have a drink, a Zacky V specialty," Zack chimed then, reaching for a glass from underneath the bar.

"Oh boy, can I have one too? Please, please?" Erik grinned, leaping from the bar to one of stools, putting on his generic feminine voice that he always used to imitate me. I couldn't help but snicker and join him at the stools.

"Alex, you around up there, buddy? Charlotte, want a drink? Come take a break!" Zack called, deciding for all of us that we'd be taking a break, no protests allowed.

"Do I get to make a request, bartender?" I asked, leaning over the bar toward him. "You see, my friends here, they want something fruity but I need something that'll pack a punch."

He leaned on his forearms in front of me, giving me a flirtatious smirk. I felt the spark it always gave me course through me at that moment, and I swallowed to maintain composure. "What do you want, doll? I'll make you anything you want."

"We're really gonna let them role-play in front of us like this?" Charlotte interjected then, looking to Erik for help.

"Well, it's better than anything I've seen online lately, truth be told," Erik joked, causing her to groan.

"You've been single for a while, huh?" she asked, sounding upset she even had to ask.

I returned my focus back to my boyfriend behind the bar. "What's the Zacky V specialty, anyway? I don't think I've had that one. I did have the Baker 2-step in high school, and that one was a crowd favorite."