Seamus Reinhardt worked Thursday morning from opening until lunchtime. It was a slow day, which gave him time to think. His time with Iris was on his mind and would not leave. Not just the sexual things, as they had not done much beyond him fingering her with and without the new vibe and her giving him a blow job the likes of which he’d never experienced. Mostly he was thinking of their conversations. Particular the meeting with Daisy and his realization, with Iris’s help that Daisy thought more for him than just ‘friends fuck too’.
He almost changed his plans when Megan came in looking ill, but she said she was fine and to go on and get out. As she insisted, he did leave and, instead of turning right to go home, he turned left, and headed for Daisy’s little apartment. She had the day off, he already knew and, when he turned the corner onto 1st, he saw Dillon Smith get into his plumbing van, start the engine, make a u-turn and drive off. He paused as the van drove past him and then he moved into the side yard and to the first floor rear apartment of Daisy Dale. Without hesitation, he knocked, then stepped back, waiting on her to answer. He’s dressed in very good jeans and white trainers for work, as well as a black and white hoodie.
Daisy yanked open the door “Did you forget another wrench….oh...oh Seamus...hi.” She went from annoyed with a bumbling plumber to now the same hurt look she’d had in the laundromat. She was in a cropped tie dye tank top and short short cutoff jeans shorts with her blonde hair loose. She walked back in and left the door open for him to follow her but ended up in the centre of the room with her arms folded “So, you had your romp with Iris and now you’re here on my day off looking for a fuck? Well you better ask nicely…” She wasn’t saying he’d better not ask, or that she wouldn't, just that he had to work for it.
Seamus saw the door open and heard the mistaken identity and the realization that it was him. Before he could say anything, she told him exactly why he was there after a romp with Iris, followed by telling him that if he wanted to fuck her, he’d have to work for it. And so much clicked in his head. Iris had been right. Even Sasha had hinted it might be the case. Many of Seamus’s relationships ended with women saying ‘I love you’, but Daisy never had. Yet whenever she was mad at him for being with someone else, he’d walk in, tell her to relax because she knew he always came back to her, lean down, kiss her and that would be all there was to ‘earning it’. Then he’d use his tongue to earn her forgiveness. But this time he walked in, closed the door and looked at her standing in the center of the room looking mad and pouty. He actually considered his words. “Daisy. I think I owe you an apology….”
Daisy gives him a look and then Daisy being Daisy she actually just says “Duh!” She sighs at him with a little coy smile “You’re really taking your time about it Shay but you know I’ll take you back.” She gives her hair a little flip “Well go on then…”
Seamus hears the words ‘i’ll take you back’ and sighs. How had he been so blind? Was it because everyone that knew him knew her and they didn’t want to interfere? Did Sasha and Iris being fresh eyes help him to see? He keeps his hands at his side, here he would have reached out to her. “No … take me back?” he blows out a breath. “How many times have I told you….” he stops himself again. “You know I …” and he stops himself again, and realizes that talking to Daisy is work. Picking your words carefully so she doesn’t implode. And if she starts talking nonselse then kiss her then fuck her and she’d be happy. “Daisy, I think you and I have different feelings for each other.” he tries, although he doubts any set of words would stop what he feared was coming.
Daisy twirls her hair now, still looking coy like she had done with boys since high school. She hasn't evolved her approach. It was all she had. As he doesn’t move to her she stops twirling. “Seamus...what are you doing?” She looks confused. When he finally comes out with his full sentence she freezes and just stares at him for a full two minutes and then goes from zero to sixty in less than 2 seconds. “Different feelings?!” She fully wails at him, her voice going up in pitch as her eyes water “What the hell does that fucking mean?!” Still pitchy.
Seamus quickly realizes that he should have said his peace and left. Of all of the Reinhardts, he believed that it was Fiona who was the stereotypical fiery redhead. She’d tell you off in a heartbeat if you pissed her off. But Seamus was far more even tempered. It was like he was seeing Daisy for the first time clearly in three years. But now he remembered how she could be. He never saw the worst of it because he would help her when she needed it .. or fuck her if she needed it. And he makes his decision. It won’t be kind, but he thinks it might be crueler to drag this into a lengthy … discussion. “That means, Daisy, that I don’t love you. I never have, and I never will.” he almost says he is sorry and decides against it. He turns towards the open door, steps out, closes it and turns right, leaving the back way.
Daisy starts fully crying at Seamus’s full rejection of her and looks like he’s literally stabbed her in the heart as she doubles over and sinks down to the floor just bawling loudly as he leaves. She curls into a ball and continues sounding like some kind of horribly wounded animal in a trap of her own making. How could he? How could he not love her back? After all this time when she thought he’d just come around…..
Chris feels Noelle give his hair a tug. He was between her legs and could have pleasured her all afternoon but she wants him to move up...and inside her. He stops and kisses her deeply while he pads the side table looking for the condoms “Mmmm…..god i love you…..just one moment…” He murmurs. She’s already cum but he’s hoping for more...much more. Then he hears an alarming cry and pulls up from Noelle “What was that?” He tries to identify the source. It was a painful wailing from below.
Noelle is panting from her orgasm and wants nothing more than Chris inside of her. It’s been days since they’ve been able to have alone time and with them, that was near a lifetime. “I love you too.” she pants, but then a keening starts. She can’t identify it for a moment, and she drops her hands to the mattress, trying to get her brain thinking of something other than making love to Chris. “A … cat?” she wonders. God that noise was awful.
Chris shakes his head and puts the condom box down with a little sigh. His cop brain was overriding his lovemaking brain. “I think someone’s injured….I’m sorry but we should go look...what if they’re outside behind your building?” He steps back and pulls on just his boxer briefs and his jeans over but doesn’t even do them up. The crying goes on and then there’s banging and screaming with it.
Daisy has crawled to the door Seamus left through and hurled herself at it and begun to pound on it and scream as well as her continued loud crying.
Chris is through the door and out the landing and halfway down the stairs in time now realizing that the sound is from Daisy’s apartment “It’s Daisy’s place!” He yells to Noelle.
Noelle hears the pounding and drops her head to the pillow. “Daisy?” she jumps up and grabs Chris’s shirt, which she swims in. Heading out of the door she quickly stops herself, her mind still part way on what they had been about to do. She grabs from the counter three pieces or peppermint candy from the kitchen counter and jogs to Chris, putting them in his hand. “Here.” she says shortly and then moves smoothly past him to the floor below. There she sees Daisy pounding on her closed front/kitchen door. “Daisy?” she calls, staring. Daisy looks like a wailing widow to her still pulling it together mind.
Chris has peppermint candy shoved in his hand and looks confused for a second and then sniffs at the candy and smells his fingers in the process, which minutes ago were inside Noelle. He can’t help but chuckle at how practical she is on the fly and eats the candy as he walks through and sees Daisy slumped by the door. He realizes his pants are still undone as he approaches her and quickly tries to do them up but he’s shirtless and his hair is also revealing of his prior moments. She looks up at he and Noelle just as he does up the pants fully and he swoops to her and kneels ready to offer first aid “Are you injured Daisy?”
Daisy hears Noelle and Chris come in and Noelle’s voice calling to her. She turns and rolls a bit to look at them and sees Noelle in an oversized men’s tshirt and Chris doing up his pants and wails some more “Oh fuck you both...don’t even bother. Clearly I’ve interrupted a good time…..must be nice.” She gulps, feeling immediately bad for saying that to them and then sobs “I’m sorry…..it’s not you. He doesn’t love me…” She says but doesn’t explain who she means “He’s never loved me….” She curls back into a ball and her voice goes pitchy “How can he not love me?!!” She wails.
Noelle tried the door and found it unlocked, opening it and stepping inside just in time for Daisy to say fuck them both. She didn’t need to be told who ‘he’ was. These days ‘he’ was only one man. She looks up at Chris and hopes he remembers her telling him about ‘him’, Daisy and their ‘friends fuck too’ deal and mouths ‘Seamus’. She moves over to Daisy and tries to touch her shoulders, truly hoping Chris understands … and may even wash his hands. “Did Seamus say something to you?” her heart is pounding because it looks like he did.
Chris moves past Daisy and Noelle now and does go wash his hands at her kitchen sink as well as his face under his nose to his chin. Daisy knew after all so he didn’t have to pretend like they weren’t just upstairs in bed together. Seamus. Shit, they had a complicated arrangement for what seemed to be billed as simple. He moved to Daisy’s other side with a look of sympathy but let Noelle field it for now.
Daisy sits up a bit and lets Noelle touch her shoulders “Last night he walked by the laundromat with a girl, Iris. They were holding hands….he even had the fucking balls to walk right in with her and visit Olivia and then introduce her to me. I know he fucks other girls...he always has….but he’s never made a point to introduce them? Who the fuck is Iris?” She spits out. “I’ve always been the main...even though he didn’t say it. I figured he’d just come around...I thought he knew..” Now she starts crying again “I thought he knew I was in love with him!”
Noelle looks up at Chris helplessly as Daisy goes on. But her eyes fly back to Daisy at the mention of Iris. She waits until Daisy pauses to take a breath and tries to calm her down. “Daisy … I mean … you told me you two had that whole …” her hands move through the air aimlessly. “Friends fuck too thing going on. You’ve known how he is since high school. Maybe…” she cuts herself off and decides that maybe this is a good thing. “You don’t need Seamus Reinhardt. Let Iris Page have him. You’re better off without him.” and she looks at Chris, who might recognise Iris’s name with a look saying that if he wants sex anytime soon he will back her up. Maybe Daisy can start taking care of herself for a change.
Chris exhales. Seamus had been pretty absent. He kinda missed the guy around. Daisy was easier with the balance of him to anchor her. Iris Page? He slips up slightly “Oh the library lady Iris?” And then he compensates “Boring and bookish….Noelle’s right. Plenty of fish in the sea eh?” He’s floundering himself a bit. Iris was actually very kind, especially to Blaze. She had a whole stack of train books for him in no time when he had just asked her a simple question about one book. He smiles weakly at Noelle and then at Daisy sadly “We’re here for you Daisy.” The last part is genuine, making up for his earlier fumbling.
Daisy sniffles “Well I told him that’s all I wanted because I thought he’d stay long enough to see the rest. How can you fuck someone for years and not fall in love with them? Is there something WRONG with ME?” She sobs and then hears the girls name from both of them “Iris Page who works at the library? Hmmph! He probably just fucked her...that’s what he does best. He was just weird about it. I can do better. Dillon Smith was checking me out when he fixed my pipes...he’s old but fuck Seamus….no don’t fuck Seamus, I’ve still got it…”
Noelle gives Chris points for trying. “Oh, Dais …” she almost wails herself. “Fucking is not LOVE. Come ON … it’s in what people do for each other. Working together to make a relationship work.” she hears Daisy’s speculations about Iris and Seamus. “Well, it doesn’t matter if he’s fucking Iris. And … Dillon Smith?” she blinks and sighs. “Don’t boomerang …. Isn’t that how you and Seamus got together in the FIRST place?”
Chris winces “Yeah don’t rebound. What Noelle said. Heal first and then….maybe not Dillon…..but honestly Daisy take care of yourself.”
Daisy wipes at her face a bit “I don’t know how to make a relationship work….that part’s clear as a bell today.” She concedes “Dillon is a bit old...and the whole plumber’s butt thing…” She laughs a little and then sniffs. She looks up at Chris “What about your brother? Is he still single?” Daisy had been in a Seamus cocoon for a long time and not been paying attention to the pairings in town aside from Chris and Noelle.
Noelle ignores the relationship thing and smiles at the plumber butt. But when Daisy mentions Patrick, she lifts a finger. “No. Just … no.” she sighs. “Daisy, how about you just … I don’t know … learn to fix your sink and do all of the things you had Seamus doing for you. He was a damn handyman who fucked you.” she knows she sounds annoyed and impatient but … Daisy had been letting men have their way … or manipulating them since they’d met in high school. “Find a man who loves YOU … I mean … I know Seamus knows how good you are with make up, but does he know all you do to plan out the faces? Does he even know your favorite color? What about your favorite foods and I mean your REALLY favorite not your conveniently having the same favorites as him?” she searches her mind. “What has he given you for every Christmas? What about your birthday? Does he know when that is?”
Chris chimes in “Just to be clear, Patrick does have a girlfriend. But I agree with Noelle...in fact hang on..I saw something on Twitter…” He pads his pockets and remarkably his phone is in one of them. He steps away slightly and scrolls for it as Noelle goes into more details, all of which are very valid.
Daisy sighs and nods “OK OK…..” She looks a little helpless about sinks and handy things. She shakes her head about the makeup “No, he didn’t really see that part.” Daisy thinks about the next questions “He’s never asked my favourite colour…..but I’m sure he’s seen me wear light pink like every second day and knows.” She frowns and nods “I got used to mushrooms on pizza but they still gross me out. They’re grown in poop! Poop! And no presents unless you count sex as a gift. I’ve given him a few presents...but less since it seemed like he didn’t really want to exchange.”
Chris steps back over “Jill of All Trades…..workshops for women and femmes organized by Gwen Fontaine. Tuesdays at the community centre from 7 to 9pm starting this July….Hell I could watch both the kids so both of you can go to these. There’s one on basic home repairs in the mix, sewing, welding...damn I wish I was a woman..I’d love to learn welding.” He laughs and holds out his phone with the info.
Noelle listens to the answers and nods. “See … “ she sighs deeply. “I think Seamus meant well. He took good care of you and Olivia, but …” she considers. “What DO you know about Seamus, Daisy? So far not much except he took care of you and your baby.” she stares at Chris when he volunteers to take care of BOTH kids so she and Daisy could take the class. “I … yes … I .. I’d love to take the class with you.” she stammers. Chris had been teaching her things .. how to fix the sink, how to hang the blinds when they fell, how to drive a nail. Now he was volunteering so she could learn even more. Plus .. she blinks … he didn't say babysit? Did that mean something? She clears her throat, forcing her attention back to Daisy. “Let's take that class.” she urges. “And I’ll get you a new battery operated boyfriend NOT from the Love Shack!”
It’s beginning to resonate with Daisy that her relationship with Seamus, if she could call it that, was both very one dimensional and also very surface. They really didn’t know a lot about one another outside the bedroom. In fact now that she wracked her brain, she couldn’t think of what Seamus’s favourite colour might be either. “I don’t know his favourite colour either…” she laughs and then nods “He was good to Olivia and nice to me when others weren’t. That part I’ll remember. “ She listens to Chris looking curious “OK….what do they mean femmes? Is it half in French or something?” She giggles at Noelle about the BOB “Oh my yes….although honestly I might be a little toyed out for awhile after product testing for Shay.”
Chris looks pleased about watching the kids and helping both the woman he loves and her heartbroken friend find some time to pursue interests and skills “Awesome.” He looks at Noelle after the colour conversation “Brown right?” He’s hoping he got it right. He always picks red tokens in board games with Blaze and he wears lots of red shirts among the black and greys. He was pretty sure she knew on the red even if he hadn’t said it. He always left her notes in red crayon from Blaze’s stash when he had to leave early for work and didn’t want to wake her. Then Daisy asks about femmes and he raises a brow “Well Daisy, not everyone stays the gender or sex they’re born to biologically right? So respecting all variations of identity this Gwen person, who by the way is our former Mayor Sewid’s granddaughter, is saying anyone who identifies as female in whatever form...may attend or I assume even teach one since it looks kind of like a collective approach. By that token you could teach about makeup, and Noelle you could teach about plants or veganism….” he doesn’t address the toy thing. More than he wants to know about it all where Daisy is concerned.
Noelle watches Daisy sort of bounce back. The problem was keeping her on this new track before she found a willing man she could be with. It wasn’t a generous thing to say, but she knew Daisy. She giggles at the idea of being toyed out. “Toys are overrated, if you ask me.” she winks at her and looks at Chris as he mentioned brown as her favorite color. “Yes, Red is yours.” she pauses and smiles at the description of femme, pleased that Chris would know it. “Plants?” she considers. “I mean … veganism … is too political and I hate it BUT … plant based diet …” she murmurs. “That might be worth teaching ….” she gets lost in that thought. “Anyway, Daisy. Do you feel better? Stronger, even?”
Daisy looks a little less than excited about Chris’s little PC lesson. “Oh politics and crap….yeah ok. I’ll smile and nod.” She was a little the same about the whole vegan thing sometimes but polite. Daisy just hadn’t grown up in a household with that on her radar and she could be a little ignorant, not malicious, just ignorant. “But I’d rather attend the class than teach anything...too much work.” She gives Noelle a polite and encouraging smile “You know stuff...you could teach.” She looks up and takes a breath “I don’t know. I think so. I mean I guess I’ll really know when I run into Seamus or this Iris again, or worse, together. He doesn’t often do repeats….asides from me but that’s done so she’s probably been discarded. I almost feel sorry for her because she must be new in town.”
Chris gives Noelle a bit of a smoldering look at her toys' overrated statement and her wink. He nods about the red and grins “No it’s not too political...I dunno maybe for some people…..” He turns away from Daisy and rolls his eyes at the politics and crap comment. Noelle can see him though. He turns back “The Page family is one of the new ones in town, and eye doctor with 4 daughters….there’s also like a small village of Puerto Riccan people - Negron is the surname and they took over the garden centre, the dentist family I forget the last name, something French but not Quebec French someone was saying at work. Actually I think there’s two French names…..we haven't had new folks in awhile, Girards, but they’re from Banff...I actually chatted with that guy - Andre, he’s Metis and they’re opening a scuba shop which is pretty cool…..Oh and the banker and her kids...technically it’s a credit union I think. Sharon Lancaster. She came in and gave us all her cards.”
Daisy retorts about the Page family having 4 daughters “Well then Shay can just fuck his way through all of the Page girls…”
Chris grimaces “Whoah...some of them are kids Daisy. Reign it in.”
Noelle sighs as Daisy both berates herself and somehow starts talking about Semus’s sex life again. Chris unintentionally makes it worse by revealing that Iris had three sisters and then Daisy … pulls a Daisy and she looks at her. “Come on, Dais. I’ve delivered there … there's one older sister and two younger .. like 12 and 7 or something. Seamus isn’t like that and you know it.” she puts an almost parental chide in her voice which sometimes you have to do to rein Daisy in when she gets malicious about girls. It’s like high school all over again.
Daisy gets double shit from both Chris and Noelle and Noelle’s tone is what makes her rethink her words “I’m sorry...I’m just still mad and hurt. It’s not Iris’s fault even. It’s Shay’s.” She sighs “I’ll try not to be so mean…”
Chris looks sympathetic. Daisy was clearly heartbroken and lashing out “We understand it hurts..”
Daisy snapped again “You? Look at you Chris...no one’s ever dumped you…”
Chris sighs “K I know you’re just pissed...but you don’t know me Daisy and yes they have. Daisy this is not a shot at you. You and Seamus just didn’t...whatever the didn’t is you didn’t. I’m sorry.” He looks at Noelle now half pleading. Daisy was work.
Noelle goes silent when Daisy lashes out at Chris. As Chris looks at her, she stands slowly. “Don’t.” The word was many things, not the least of which is a warning. “You tried to hold on to air. You told me that you and Seamus agreed he coyesuld play the field, so don't get mad at Chris because he did. I love you but … no. Just … no.” she reaches for Chris’s hand. “You’re my friend, Daisy. When you calm down, call and we’ll talk again, okay?” she will take Chris’s hand and lead him out. Daily would need time to absorb this but Noelle wasn’t going to let her snap at Chris. Not a chance.
Chris looks sympathetically at Daisy “I really am sorry….” He gets led back upstairs and as soon as they’re in the door he pulls Noelle into a tight hug “She’s just upset….I get it.” He pulls back and looks at her “You’re fucking gorgeous when you defend me though, even from Daisy. I love you Noelle. I never want either of us to feel unloved ever again...you’re it for me…” He kisses her now with intense emotion behind it.
Noelle goes back upstairs and closes then locks the door behind them. “She will be/ Just .. hope she doesn’t rebound.” she smiles when he comments on her defending him. “I love you, too. I tried so hard NOT to love you … and … now I can’t imagine …” she almost says more, but Chris kisses her and she kisses him back, then loves him, distracting both of them from other people's problems. They have each other … and they have a future … as a family she hopes.
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