A Wink and a Whiskey Shot

~~Chapter 3~~

(A/N:: Y'all should just expect me to get really distracted at this point-
I am so sorry for this delay, and I'll be working on being more consistent in the future-
Sorry again, but enjoy qwq)

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     After everyone pitched in with cleaning the mess, the employees started heading out. Tennessee walked out of the small building, holding the door for a few people, then started heading home, himself. He put on his headphones and plugged them into his phone, playing some of his favorite songs. He decided to head to the park for some stargazing, at least to see as many stars as possible, considering the light pollution of the city.
     After about ten minutes of walking and staring at the ground, Tennessee finally made it to the park. He would go there on weekends to play his guitar, not for money, but just for the fun of it. He walked over and sat down on one of the benches, setting his phone aside next to him. He stared at the sky, able to make out some of the dim constellations in the dark sky. It wasn't as pretty as it was in the country, but it was enough.
     Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder. Tennessee jolted, startled, his headphones falling from his head to his neck. He looked to the right and saw none other than Texas, who had apparently had the same idea as him.
     "Woah, sorry for startling you-" Texas said in response to Tennessee's reaction. "You alright?"
     "Oh- Y-Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it," Tennessee smiled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck. He looked back up to the sky, and Texas did as well.
     "So. Crazy night tonight, huh?" Texas stated after a few minutes of silence.
     "It was.. eventful.. to say the least," Tennessee laughed awkwardly, slightly hugging himself.
     "You cold-?" Texas asked, looking over.
     "Just a little, not much, though," Tennessee smiled at him as if to say that he was fine.
     "It is a little chilly tonight," Texas took off his vest and put it around Tennessee's shoulders.
     "O-Oh, ah, um.. t-thanks- I-I'm okay, though," Tennessee said, starting to hand the vest back, but Texas stopped him.
     "No, just take it, you can give it back later," Texas responded, looking him in the eyes.
     "R-Right, right, sure, aha.." Tennessee nervously looked back up to the sky, eyeing the different constellations. Texas gazed at him for a few seconds, then shook his head and went back to staring at the stars as well.
     Texas spoke up again, after a bit more silence. "Hey, uh, you wanna go back to my place-? Rent a movie, or somethin'?"
     "Uhm.. s-sure! I mean, why not-?" Tennessee replied, smiling up at him.
     "Great-!" Texas quickly got to his feet. "Let's go, then," He said, starting to walk quickly in the direction of his house.
     Tennessee sprang to his feet and ran after him. "Wait up..!"
     Texas slowed down a bit, letting Tennessee catch up. "Sorry about that. Too fast?" Texas chuckled.
     "No..! I can keep up!" Tennessee huffed in response.
     "Really? Since you can keep up, race ya to the end of the street!" Texas laughed, taking off down the sidewalk.
     Tennessee yelped in surprise and quickly started running to catch up, yet never managed to. Texas was already leaning against the stop sign when Tennessee finally came to it. "No fair, you started first..!" He whined.
     "Ooor, maybe you just couldn't keep up," Texas smirked. He ruffled the shorter state's hair, who exclaimed in protest and started immediately trying to fix it. "Alright, alright, this way." Texas turned right and started down the sidewalk again. "It's not far, now." Tennessee nodded in response and followed.
     Soon enough, they reached a medium-sized craftsman home, with a star engraved on a red door. Texas led Tennessee up the stairs of the wooden patio, and opened the door. "Welcome to my humble abode. After you-" He smiled.
     "Ah, thanks-" Tennessee smiled back, stepping inside and looking around. "It's nice here.. Nice and homey feeli--" Suddenly, a dog came running towards Tennessee, jumping on him, almost knocking him down. He started laughing and petting the dog, who was running around in circles excitedly. "I didn't know you had a dog!" Tennessee giggled.
     Texas was laughing as well. "Well, now ya know- Anyways, this is Delilah, my Blue Lacy." Texas closed the door behind them and kneeled down, giving his dog some scratches behind her ears. "Isn't she the cutest thing?"
     Tennessee smiled and nodded, kneeling next to Texas to pet Delilah as well. Delilah was jumping around excitedly, she was still a young dog, full of energy.
     Texas stood up straight and held out his hand to Tennessee. "Let's go to the living room, see what we can watch," He smiled cheerfully.
     Tennessee stared at Texas' hand for a bit, then got up without taking his hand. Texas took Tennessee's hand anyway, leading him to the living room, as Delilah happily followed, her tail was wagging so quickly, it was a blur.
     Tennessee's face heated up quite a bit as Texas led him to the living room, hand in hand. Once they got to the other room, Texas sat down on the couch, Tennessee sat next to him. Delilah hopped up onto the couch with them, circling a few times before plopping down on the cushions and letting out a heavy, contented sigh.
     Texas picked up the TV remote and switched to a streaming channel. "What do you wanna watch?"
     "I'm fine with anything," Tennessee replied, one of his hands resting on Delilah's head.
     They eventually settled on watching the movie about the Alamo. Tennessee cheered on Davy Crockett whenever he was on screen, and Texas smiled brightly whenever he did so.

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(Final word count:: 937)