Chapter 2.30 – Coffee Shop Meet ‘N Greet

Cole’s phone buzzed during a routine exam, indicating he had just received a text message.  

As soon as he was finished with his current 4 legged patient, he sat down at the desk and slipped his phone out of his pocket.  Dannie….she had been checking up on him daily since Laney left three weeks ago.

“Call me” was all that was in the text.

Cole smiled in spite of his depressed mood and dialed his friend.

“Hey Blue-eyes…how you hanging?”  said Dannie cheerfully, picking up on the first ring.

“Okay,” he said without any enthusiasm.

“Isn’t it almost time for your shift to be over?” she asked.

“Yes. So I can go home – alone.” He knew he was whining but he didn’t care.

“Well…how about some company? Ryker’s out of town visiting his grandparents, so I thought we could grab a coffee. Why don’t I meet you there when you’re done.”

He enjoyed Dannie’s company. She always made him laugh. He missed hanging out with her since she and Ryker had been back together.  “Sure, that sounds good. Thanks Dannie.”

Cole left the clinic for the short walk over to the coffee bar. As he walked he thought about Dannie.  She had been such a great friend to him.  She knew he was a wreck after Laney left and had made it her mission to make sure he was okay.  Ryker was lucky to have someone so caring and giving. He hoped the dumb jock realized it.

He opened the door and saw that Dannie was already there.  When she saw him, her face lit up, which in turn, made him smile too. 

“Hi!” he said when he got to the table.

Dannie stood up and kissed him on the cheek.  He felt warmed by the show of affection.  

“Thanks for calling,” he said as he sat down, “I really appreciate the company, I know Ryker is keeping you pretty busy.”

“Yes. We have been busy trying to get things organized for when college starts,” she said.

Once seated, he noticed a cup was waiting for him. He pointed at it and grinned at Dannie. “For me?”

“I got here early, so I went on and ordered for you since you always get the same thing. I hope it’s okay,” she said. 

Cole gave her a pained smile. “Maybe that’s my problem….too predictable,” he said sadly.

“There’s nothing wrong with that Cole. Some of us like predictability. You know what you want. So what?” she said with a shrug of her shoulders.

“I guess,” he said and sighed. “Have you figured out where you going to live in San Myshuno yet?” 

“Maybe…Ryker’s scholarship includes housing. There is a dorm on campus that is covered by the scholarship. He wanted me to live there with him, but there was a catch.  Another guy would be living there too. It was a two bedroom, but they share a bathroom. Total. Deal. Breaker.  So, he is going to get an efficiency apartment just off campus and we will have to pay the difference.”

“Can’t you just live with you Aunt?” asked Cole.

“Ryker doesn’t want me to. He still wants to get married.”

“I thought he backed off.”

“We compromised. I agreed to move in, and then, after college, I would consider marriage ”

“Dude loves you, I guess.”

“He does.  And I love him too…..I’m just not ready for marriage yet.”

“Then why move in?” asked Cole, confused by her decision.

Dannie sighed. “He said he doesn’t want to lose me again. Cole, he’s been really sweet.”

Cole frowned. “What about what you want Dannie?”

“I don’t need much. I’m going to take some writing classes. So, I can just pull up a desk and work no matter where I am……and, it will be nice to see him every day.”

“Did Nicky tell you she decided on Brindleton Bay University? I think, since I’m going there, she checked it out, figuring she would know at least one person. Plus, they have a great art program.  Actually, I’m glad she’s going there too. It will be nice to know there is a familiar face to hang with. The veterinary college isn’t on the same campus as the art school, so we’ll just have to make it a point to meet for lunch or something.”

“Yes,” said Dannie, “She’s super excited about it…” Dannie paused and looked towards the door and laughed. “Speak of the devil, here she is now. And that good looking cowboy with her must be Mickey.”

Cole whipped his head around. She was excited about seeing Mickey so he wasn’t surprised to see them together, he just didn’t know he was already in town.

“Hi guys!” said Dannie waving at them. Then she directed her attention to Cole and lowered her voice. “Mickey really is handsome,” she said.

Cole groaned. “You too? Does that guy walk on water or something?”

Dannie laughed.  “You’re jealous! Do you still like Nicky?”

“NO! I mean, yes, I like her, but I don’t like her, like her.” Dannie’s tinkly laugh made Cole laugh, that was, until he heard the deep voice behind him.

“Murdock! How’s it going?” boomed Mickey. His presence dominated the space they were in, intimidating Cole. Maybe it was the cowboy hat he wore. He didn’t know exactly what it was about him that rubbed him wrong.

“Fine,” said Cole and smiled, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes.

Nicky spoke up since it was obvious Cole wasn’t going to introduce him to Dannie. “Mickey, this is Dannie Stevens, my good friend that I told you about. Dannie, Mickey Blake.”

Cole frowned when Dannie smiled sweetly at him. “Hi! Nice to finally meet the mystery man Nicky’s been talking about non-stop.”

Nicky’s face turned almost as red as her hair.

“Would you two like to join us?” asked Dannie. Cole shot her a look not believing she was inviting them to sit down.

“Thanks,” said Mickey, “but we can’t stay long. We are headed to the Casbah Art Gallery.”

Dannie’s eyebrows shot up and she grinned at Nicky, who still looked completely embarrassed.  “That sounds fun,” said Dannie, “Maybe when Ryker gets back we can all get together.”

Mickey laughed. “Sounds good. Nicky, why don’t you sit down and visit with your friends, I’ll get our drinks.”

Cole got up and pulled a couple chairs over to their table.  “Cole, guess what?” asked Nicky as soon as she was seated. 

Cole arched an eyebrow and cocked his head, waiting for her to tell him what was on her mind.

“Mickey is going to Brindleton Bay University in the fall!” she said excitedly, “He is a Business major and is planning to minor in criminal justice. Isn’t that great?”

“Awesome,” said Cole, and rolled his eyes. Fucking awesome, he thought, his good mood flying out the window.  He felt kinda bad when Nicky’s smile seemed forced.

“Nicky, that’s fabulous!” said Dannie obviously picking up on his lack of enthusiasm. 

Mickey walked back over, coffees in hand. He sat Nicky’s down in front of her and lowered himself into the empty chair.

“Mickey, Nicky told us you are going to Brindleton Bay University. Cole is going to their veterinary college.  You three should room together!” said Dannie excitedly, probably to pay him back for hurting Nicky’s feelings.

A chorus of ‘No’s sounded at the table and she laughed. “Well, alrighty then, it was just a thought.”

“I’m living in campus housing near the veterinary college. It’s all setup. I have a roommate already assigned,” explained Cole, a little embarrassed.

“I’ll plan to live in a dorm,” said Nicky, “I’ve already applied.”

“My Dad already bought me a little piece of land out there. So it looks like it’s already worked out,” said Mickey, “You ready to go Nicky?”

“Yes,” she said looking at Mickey, then she glanced at Cole and Dannie.  “See you guys later.” 

Mickey stood up. See you around Murdock,” he said and clapped him on the back. Then he turned to Dannie and tipped his hat. “It was nice to meet ya.”

Dannie looked curiously at Cole as they walked off. “He’s so polite. You didn’t need to be so rude. You barely said two words to him,” she scolded, “Clearly, Nicky is taken with him. I can certainly see why.”

Cole’s good mood was tanked. “You don’t know him Dannie. He’s a privileged ass. You heard him. His Daddy already hooked him up with a “little piece of land.” It’s probably a 6 bedroom home with a pool and a pool house on 2 fucking acres.’

“Whoa….you don’t like him. What did he ever do to you? Spit in your cheerios? And, anyway, I am sure you’re exaggerating. He seemed quite charming to me,” replied Dannie.

“No. Bet me, it’s no little piece of land. And his charm is what I’m worried about. Yes, Nicky’s clearly falling for it, hook, line and sinker. He’s too fast and smooth for her. He will hurt her. And now, I have to put up with seeing him at school too. Great.”

“I’m not so sure he’s out to take advantage of her Cole. He looked at her like he really likes her. The same way you looked at Laney,” she added softly.

“He better not hurt her. He’ll wish he had never come back to Willow Creek,” said Cole still seething.

“Cole. You need to let it go. Nicky’s a big girl now.”

“I had to let Laney go. I’m gonna watch out for Nicky. Same as she did for me.”

Dannie sighed deeply. “Come on, let’s go do something fun. I know, the game room!”

“Okay Mia,” said Cole sarcastically, but couldn’t help but smile.  This was the second time since the Mia debacle that he had called her that. 

“Puleese. I’m taken – and besides – I’d have a much better approach than a fake twisted ankle! You just need to have fun.”

“Fine. Let’s go,” said Cole and laughed. They stood up to walk out and Cole playfully threw his arm around her.  “Winner at foosball buys dinner.  Got any cash on you?”

“I won’t need any…Ryker and I have been practicing,” replied Dannie as she rubbed her hands together fiendishly.

The mention of Ryker’s name caused heat to rush to his face, but he quickly put it aside, not wanting Ryker to spoil his mood. “Nope, you’re going down…..”

Go to Chapter 2.31>>>>>>

Go Back To Chapter 2.29>>>>>>

A/N:  As you may or may not know, Mickey Blake is a character in Lonestar’s “The Hourglass”.  The two stories are now on the same time line.  His chapter, posted today, has more of the interaction between Nicky and Mickey…as well as other shenanigans that Mickey and his gang are up to. 

ALSO:  I created the hat tipping poses for Mickey and his cowboy hat.  Being a Texan myself, it’s just one of those things you do. So I HAD to have them. The poses are shown to the left and can be downloaded from SimsFileShare here.  I hope you like them. 

I actually have a few other poses I need to get cleaned up (Pinky Swears 🙂 ) and will eventually create a page on my blog for them.