Post by Deleted on Apr 27, 2017 3:41:53 GMT -6
Quintin Castle’s 1965 Chevy Malibu Chevelle SS is parked at Fort Funston beach in San Francisco. The nice thing about these old cars? They have big trunks. Quintin Castle operates with the stealth of a ninja, and the precision of a Nascar Pit crew. Pulling the cooler, the wok and the propane burner out of the trunk of his 65 Malibu. Next come the LED lanterns which unfold onto self-contained stands and are set up in a roughly square pattern. He lights the burner, squirts some oil into the wok and sets that there, but he’s not quite fast enough to have the chairs set up by the time Ashley Tierney finally stalks up out of the darkness, Lazer Tag gun in hand.
Ashley Tierney: There you are. Wait, what’s all of this?
Quintin Castle: This? This is the part of Thousand Oaks I imported; my kitchen. Or enough of it to get the job done.
Ashley Tierney: I see.
Ashley looks over the area with an amused half-smirk while Quinn sets up the chairs and drags the huge red cooler over by the wok. He opens the cooler and tosses her a water bottle.
Ashley Tierney: Thanks.
As she unscrews the cap, she wanders around to look in the cooler.
Ashley Tierney: So...what’s on the menu?
Quintin Castle: Chicken stir fry with cilantro lime rice.
Ashley Tierney: That...actually sounds really good. Tell me you brought more than water, though.
Quintin Castle: I did, just wait.
Ashley Tierney: Alright.
Quinn pulls one chair up by the wok checks the thermometer on the side. He swirls more oil around the pan, before dumping in a Zip Lock full of chicken. As he seasons the meat with spices dispensed from Tic-Tac containers, he suddenly feels very wary about Ashley watching him.
Quintin Castle: What?
Ashley Tierney: Just where did you learn to do all of this?
Quintin Castle: Alton Brown. I mean, you know, his show. Not him personally.
Ashley Tierney: I see.
Quin stirs the chicken around, turning to his cooler again, but he stops as he catches Ashley studying him pensively.
Quintin Castle: What?
Ashley Tierney: Nothing.
Quintin Castle: It’s not “nothing”.
Ashley Tierney: I’m just trying to figure out if this is really you, or you’re just trying too hard.
Quintin Castle: Trying too hard? I don’t know what you mean.
Ashley scowls, languidly pacing over to drop into the chair across the fire from Quinn.
Ashley Tierney: Quintin, don’t insult my intelligence, or your own. There’s a reason you drove six hours up to meet my flight with Lazer Tag and a portable kitchen in your trunk.
Quintin Castle: In all fairness, I always have the Lazer tag.
Ashley smirks.
Ashley Tierney: I believe that. But this? All this? Is this really who you are? Or is this what you think will impress me?
Quinn’s quiet as he dumps vegetables into the wok. He pinches in some more spices and stirs them before he settles back in his chair to look across at her.
Quintin Castle: It’s a little of both, if I’m being totally honest. I mean, of course I’m trying to impress you. But this is who I am. I figure a hundred guys have bent over backwards trying to get you to notice them. And they pull out all the stops for, like, two weeks. And it’s not just you guys do that for, we do that for every woman. We go all out and put up this front until you notice us, then we can’t maintain it.
Ashley Tierney: Yeah, I’ve met a few guys like that.
Quintin Castle: I’ve been that guy. And I realized I wasn’t doing anybody any favors playing that game. So...I don’t. Do I carry around a wok and cook on the beach every night? No. But I do like the beach, I do like to cook, I occasionally combine the two, like I’m doing right now. So this is who I am, and I hope it impresses you. My father once told me not to presume to know what’s on a woman’s mind. So I don’t play games. What you see is what you get with me.
Ashley Tierney: Your father is a smart man.
Quinn pours rice, lime juice, and water into the wok and turns up the propane, then he puts the lid on.
Quintin Castle: Seals in the heat so it boils faster.
Ashley Tierney: I see. So, how’d you get into wrestling?
Quintin Castle: I was a hyper kid, so my mom signed me up when I was seven.
Ashley Tierney: No, I mean…
Quintin Castle: Professionally?
Ashley Tierney: Yeah.
Quintin Castle: Okay, I’d just graduated from Stanford, tried out for the 2012 Olympic team, didn’t make it. But they liked me enough that they brought me along as a coaching assistant. After the games, I got a job in the PR department of the USOC. I was working out, trying to make the 2016 team, living in Colorado Springs and I ran into this guy, Stygian.
Ashley Tierney: I’m from WEW, I know who Stygian is. Well, I’ve heard of him. Not much flattering. There was some bad blood back then. Not with me personally.
Quintin Castle: I don’t know anything about that. He was nice to me. We met at this gym where we were both training into some MMA. Me because I thought I might want to try my hand there, him because he was adding to his game. Anyway, he invited me to an event in Denver. Got me tickets, passes, the whole nine, and it was insane. I just loved it. So he hooked me up with his trainer there in Colorado. Guy named Chuck Finley. Chuck had been big in Japan in the 80’s. I was training both for a while, this and training for the Olympic Trials. But then I started getting bookings. I got an offer to go down to Mexico for five months. I’d have to quit at the USOC and I could kiss the 2016 games goodbye. But I figured, I already failed there once, and I was kinda getting good at this, so? I went. After Mexico, Chuck called some friends, got me bookings in Japan. I kinda travelled all over, you know, young wrestler, finding his place. I’ve wrestled on five continents now. Had long stays in Japan and the UK, and I decided it was time to come home.
Ashley Tierney: Why is that?
Quintin Castle: Ultimately the best are here, in America. There’s a few guys around the world, but the US is where most of the big names are, as you well know. You were a world champion in a big company.
Ashley Tierney: Did some checking up on me, I see.
Quintin Castle: It’s in your twitter bio. It’s not like I broke into your house and read your journal.
Quinn opens the wok and stirs the contents, continuing quietly.
Quintin Castle: Not that I didn’t try...I got the address wrong. Your neighbor, Mrs. Lewicky? She’s into some different stuff, Ash.
Ash stares at Quinn a second, before cracking up.
Quintin Castle: There were polaroids!
Ashley laughs harder, shaking her head. Quinn speaks in a horrified, hushed tone.
Quintin Castle: That poor meerkat.
Ashley Tierney: Jesus. Okay! Stop.
Quintin Castle: He’s seen things, Ashley, he’s seen...things…
Ashley Tierney: Ghaa, no, don’t make me throw up before we eat.
Quintin Castle: You have a point.
Quinn looks into the wok again, and takes the lid off.
Quintin Castle: Let some of that boil away…
He says more to himself as he digs into the cooler. He pulls out a dark bottle wrapped in a white towel.
Quintin Castle: Madame this is, uh...it’s a white wine. Supposed to go with chicken.
Ashley Tierney: You had to Google that, didn’t you?
Quintin Castle: Yeah. I usually serve a fine selection of Corona at my beachside cookouts.
Ashley Tierney: Corona would have been fine. Here give me that, and your Swiss Army knife.
Ashley sets to work on uncorking the bottle as Quinn gives her a sheepish look.
Quintin Castle: I didn’t, you know, prepare everything, all I have is Red Solo Cups.
Ashley gets up and walks around the burner to plop down in Quintin’s lap with a smile.
Ashley Tierney: I think we’ll be alright, here…
She pours wine into one cup and hands it to him, then takes one for herself, sticking the bottle down into the sand so it sits up.
Ashley Tierney: Smells good.
Quintin Castle: Should be ready in another five minutes…
A while later, Quinn is loading up the car, Ashley is leaning against the back fender, holding a Zip Lock container full of leftovers.
Ashley Tierney: You’re sure you don’t need a hand?
Quintin Castle: No, I have packing this thing down to a science. Anyone else will just mess it up.
True to form, before long he’s slamming the trunk and slinking around to Ashley and her leftovers. He leans in resting his hands on either side of her.
Quintin Castle: So you’re keeping that?
Ashley Tierney: Are you kidding, this stuff was amazing. I might have to cut you if you try to take it.
Quintin Castle: At least I cook better than I Lazer Tag.
Ashley Tierney: You do.
Quintin Castle: Well...we should get going. It’s a long drive back to Thousand Oaks.
Ashley Tierney: I thought your dad told you not to presume what a woman was thinking.
Quintin Castle: He did.
Ashley Tierney: Then…
She reaches up with her free hand and grabs his shirt, pulling him closer.
Ashley Tierney: ...why do you presume I’m letting you go back to Thousand Oaks tonight?
Quintin Castle: That was rather presumptuous of me.
Quinn slides his arms around her waist, and she pulls his shirt until their lips touch. She tosses the leftover container in the car, and the pair of them slide along the car to the door. Quinn fumbles around feeling for the door handle until his hand closes around it and he pushes the button to open it. He spins around, pulling Ashley around with him to land on the driver’s seat, with her in his lap. She pulls the door closed, and looks down at him, the pair of them grinning like idiots and catching their breath.
Quintin Castle: So...your place?
Ashley Tierney: Eventually…
If this were a movie, this is the part where it would elegantly fade out. It’s not a movie, but, all the same, get lost, you pervert.
Ashley Tierney: There you are. Wait, what’s all of this?
Quintin Castle: This? This is the part of Thousand Oaks I imported; my kitchen. Or enough of it to get the job done.
Ashley Tierney: I see.
Ashley looks over the area with an amused half-smirk while Quinn sets up the chairs and drags the huge red cooler over by the wok. He opens the cooler and tosses her a water bottle.
Ashley Tierney: Thanks.
As she unscrews the cap, she wanders around to look in the cooler.
Ashley Tierney: So...what’s on the menu?
Quintin Castle: Chicken stir fry with cilantro lime rice.
Ashley Tierney: That...actually sounds really good. Tell me you brought more than water, though.
Quintin Castle: I did, just wait.
Ashley Tierney: Alright.
Quinn pulls one chair up by the wok checks the thermometer on the side. He swirls more oil around the pan, before dumping in a Zip Lock full of chicken. As he seasons the meat with spices dispensed from Tic-Tac containers, he suddenly feels very wary about Ashley watching him.
Quintin Castle: What?
Ashley Tierney: Just where did you learn to do all of this?
Quintin Castle: Alton Brown. I mean, you know, his show. Not him personally.
Ashley Tierney: I see.
Quin stirs the chicken around, turning to his cooler again, but he stops as he catches Ashley studying him pensively.
Quintin Castle: What?
Ashley Tierney: Nothing.
Quintin Castle: It’s not “nothing”.
Ashley Tierney: I’m just trying to figure out if this is really you, or you’re just trying too hard.
Quintin Castle: Trying too hard? I don’t know what you mean.
Ashley scowls, languidly pacing over to drop into the chair across the fire from Quinn.
Ashley Tierney: Quintin, don’t insult my intelligence, or your own. There’s a reason you drove six hours up to meet my flight with Lazer Tag and a portable kitchen in your trunk.
Quintin Castle: In all fairness, I always have the Lazer tag.
Ashley smirks.
Ashley Tierney: I believe that. But this? All this? Is this really who you are? Or is this what you think will impress me?
Quinn’s quiet as he dumps vegetables into the wok. He pinches in some more spices and stirs them before he settles back in his chair to look across at her.
Quintin Castle: It’s a little of both, if I’m being totally honest. I mean, of course I’m trying to impress you. But this is who I am. I figure a hundred guys have bent over backwards trying to get you to notice them. And they pull out all the stops for, like, two weeks. And it’s not just you guys do that for, we do that for every woman. We go all out and put up this front until you notice us, then we can’t maintain it.
Ashley Tierney: Yeah, I’ve met a few guys like that.
Quintin Castle: I’ve been that guy. And I realized I wasn’t doing anybody any favors playing that game. So...I don’t. Do I carry around a wok and cook on the beach every night? No. But I do like the beach, I do like to cook, I occasionally combine the two, like I’m doing right now. So this is who I am, and I hope it impresses you. My father once told me not to presume to know what’s on a woman’s mind. So I don’t play games. What you see is what you get with me.
Ashley Tierney: Your father is a smart man.
Quinn pours rice, lime juice, and water into the wok and turns up the propane, then he puts the lid on.
Quintin Castle: Seals in the heat so it boils faster.
Ashley Tierney: I see. So, how’d you get into wrestling?
Quintin Castle: I was a hyper kid, so my mom signed me up when I was seven.
Ashley Tierney: No, I mean…
Quintin Castle: Professionally?
Ashley Tierney: Yeah.
Quintin Castle: Okay, I’d just graduated from Stanford, tried out for the 2012 Olympic team, didn’t make it. But they liked me enough that they brought me along as a coaching assistant. After the games, I got a job in the PR department of the USOC. I was working out, trying to make the 2016 team, living in Colorado Springs and I ran into this guy, Stygian.
Ashley Tierney: I’m from WEW, I know who Stygian is. Well, I’ve heard of him. Not much flattering. There was some bad blood back then. Not with me personally.
Quintin Castle: I don’t know anything about that. He was nice to me. We met at this gym where we were both training into some MMA. Me because I thought I might want to try my hand there, him because he was adding to his game. Anyway, he invited me to an event in Denver. Got me tickets, passes, the whole nine, and it was insane. I just loved it. So he hooked me up with his trainer there in Colorado. Guy named Chuck Finley. Chuck had been big in Japan in the 80’s. I was training both for a while, this and training for the Olympic Trials. But then I started getting bookings. I got an offer to go down to Mexico for five months. I’d have to quit at the USOC and I could kiss the 2016 games goodbye. But I figured, I already failed there once, and I was kinda getting good at this, so? I went. After Mexico, Chuck called some friends, got me bookings in Japan. I kinda travelled all over, you know, young wrestler, finding his place. I’ve wrestled on five continents now. Had long stays in Japan and the UK, and I decided it was time to come home.
Ashley Tierney: Why is that?
Quintin Castle: Ultimately the best are here, in America. There’s a few guys around the world, but the US is where most of the big names are, as you well know. You were a world champion in a big company.
Ashley Tierney: Did some checking up on me, I see.
Quintin Castle: It’s in your twitter bio. It’s not like I broke into your house and read your journal.
Quinn opens the wok and stirs the contents, continuing quietly.
Quintin Castle: Not that I didn’t try...I got the address wrong. Your neighbor, Mrs. Lewicky? She’s into some different stuff, Ash.
Ash stares at Quinn a second, before cracking up.
Quintin Castle: There were polaroids!
Ashley laughs harder, shaking her head. Quinn speaks in a horrified, hushed tone.
Quintin Castle: That poor meerkat.
Ashley Tierney: Jesus. Okay! Stop.
Quintin Castle: He’s seen things, Ashley, he’s seen...things…
Ashley Tierney: Ghaa, no, don’t make me throw up before we eat.
Quintin Castle: You have a point.
Quinn looks into the wok again, and takes the lid off.
Quintin Castle: Let some of that boil away…
He says more to himself as he digs into the cooler. He pulls out a dark bottle wrapped in a white towel.
Quintin Castle: Madame this is, uh...it’s a white wine. Supposed to go with chicken.
Ashley Tierney: You had to Google that, didn’t you?
Quintin Castle: Yeah. I usually serve a fine selection of Corona at my beachside cookouts.
Ashley Tierney: Corona would have been fine. Here give me that, and your Swiss Army knife.
Ashley sets to work on uncorking the bottle as Quinn gives her a sheepish look.
Quintin Castle: I didn’t, you know, prepare everything, all I have is Red Solo Cups.
Ashley gets up and walks around the burner to plop down in Quintin’s lap with a smile.
Ashley Tierney: I think we’ll be alright, here…
She pours wine into one cup and hands it to him, then takes one for herself, sticking the bottle down into the sand so it sits up.
Ashley Tierney: Smells good.
Quintin Castle: Should be ready in another five minutes…
A while later, Quinn is loading up the car, Ashley is leaning against the back fender, holding a Zip Lock container full of leftovers.
Ashley Tierney: You’re sure you don’t need a hand?
Quintin Castle: No, I have packing this thing down to a science. Anyone else will just mess it up.
True to form, before long he’s slamming the trunk and slinking around to Ashley and her leftovers. He leans in resting his hands on either side of her.
Quintin Castle: So you’re keeping that?
Ashley Tierney: Are you kidding, this stuff was amazing. I might have to cut you if you try to take it.
Quintin Castle: At least I cook better than I Lazer Tag.
Ashley Tierney: You do.
Quintin Castle: Well...we should get going. It’s a long drive back to Thousand Oaks.
Ashley Tierney: I thought your dad told you not to presume what a woman was thinking.
Quintin Castle: He did.
Ashley Tierney: Then…
She reaches up with her free hand and grabs his shirt, pulling him closer.
Ashley Tierney: ...why do you presume I’m letting you go back to Thousand Oaks tonight?
Quintin Castle: That was rather presumptuous of me.
Quinn slides his arms around her waist, and she pulls his shirt until their lips touch. She tosses the leftover container in the car, and the pair of them slide along the car to the door. Quinn fumbles around feeling for the door handle until his hand closes around it and he pushes the button to open it. He spins around, pulling Ashley around with him to land on the driver’s seat, with her in his lap. She pulls the door closed, and looks down at him, the pair of them grinning like idiots and catching their breath.
Quintin Castle: So...your place?
Ashley Tierney: Eventually…
If this were a movie, this is the part where it would elegantly fade out. It’s not a movie, but, all the same, get lost, you pervert.