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etherealwaifgoddess · 5 years ago

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Maybe I Am? - Chpt.2

Characters: Steve Rogers x Bucky Barnes

Summary: Steve takes a risk and the guys go out on a “date”. Master list HERE

Content Warning: first “date” cuteness, making out

Word Count: 2.5k

Author’s Note: Hello lovelies! Today is one of those days where I am eternally grateful for having a “draft” option. Because honestly, ya girl is exhausted. So yay for drafts! Enjoy chapter two. I’m honestly too tired to give ya’ll a better note right now. :-\ XOXO - Ash

Chapter Two

Steeeeve [9:32:08PM]: Hey, it’s Steve.

Bucky Barnes [9:32:47PM]: hi steve

Steeeeve [9:33:15PM]: I had a lot of fun meeting up today.

Bucky Barnes [9:33:39PM]: me 2

Steve huffed staring at Bucky’s second generic response. He was usually so much more lively. Steve took a long sigh and started texting what he needed to get off his chest.

Steeeeve [9:35:21PM]: I’m sorry if I came off as confused or misleading.

Steeeeve [9:35:26PM]: I didn’t mean to do that. But I am kind of confused right now.

Steeeeve [9:35:35PM]: I spent so much time liking the idea of you, and you in real life was even more amazing than I could have expected. But I’ve never dated a guy before and I never expected to want to. And now I think I do.

Steeeeve [9:35:49PM]: I’m sorry. This probably isn’t any less confusing. I’m apparently really bad at this lol. I guess what I’m trying to say is, will you go out on a maybe-date with me? I want to try and see how I feel. I don’t want to string you on, but I want to try.

Bucky stared at the flurry of texts coming into his phone. Damn, serial texter much? He read and re-read Steve texts a few times, chewing nervously his bottom lip, trying to find a response. He wasn’t willing to let his heart get trample on again, not after Brock. But he really liked Steve and if there was a chance Steve might like him too, it was too good to pass up. He had a distinct feeling he was going to regret it, but he tapped out the only honest response he could think of.

Bucky Barnes [9:44:13PM]: i like u 2 steve. i get that ur confused. lets try ur maybe-date and see how it goes? if it goes well cool, if not no hard feelings. k?

Steeeeve [9:45:20PM]: Thank you. Really, thank you for being so great about this. Can we get dinner one night this week?

Bucky Barnes [9:45:55PM]: im free any nite but tues

Steeeeve [9:46:10PM]: I can do Friday night around 7. There’s a really great Mexican place a few blocks over from the gym if you’re willing to schelp all the way over to Park Slope.

Bucky Barnes [9:46:31PM]: sounds good. see u then

Bucky sighed, putting his phone away into the pocket of his favorite old hoodie. He had a date. A maybe-date, but for some reason that felt good enough for him at the moment.

xxXxx

Steve discovered the best part of being able to text Bucky wasn’t just that their chatting was no longer limited to when they were both near a computer, but that they now had a full range of emojis, memes, and GIFs at their disposal. He could now send Bucky random funny things he found during the day and he felt a little proud when Bucky would send back a string of laughing emojis, knowing he had brightened the other man’s day a little. He had worried with their maybe-date looming things might be a little awkward but if anything they were going even better. By the time Friday came Steve was genuinely looking forward to their maybe-date. He had even gone out on Wednesday before his shift at the gym to pick up a set of clothes that were distinctly not gym wear. He couldn’t remember the last time he bought a button up shirt but he had to admit the blue and white checked shirt looked nice on him. He was trying not to stress over the maybe-date but he felt this gnawing need to know, definitively, if he was truly interested in Bucky, or just the fantasy of WinterBae.

Steve raced home Friday to shower and change, hoping he’d left himself enough time to do all that and still make it over to Los Aztecas in time. Taking the time to slick back his hair and do a quick shave, Steve was hustling out the door only to realize he’d forgotten the bottle of wine once he got outside. After a fast double back for the wine he was on his way, making it to the tiny authentic Mexican restaurant with three minutes to spare. He had barely stopped walking when he saw Bucky hopping out of an uber. Steve felt a little flutter at the sight of Bucky and he took it as a good sign.

Bucky looked amazing in his dark skinny jeans and a silky looking black shirt. A minimalist necklace was around his throat, the simple bar resting just below the wings of his collarbones. Steve noticed Bucky had swapped out the cheery beaded bracelets he’d worn on Sunday for a set of sleek silver and leather ones. He looked like he belonged on the cover of a fashion magazine and Steve felt ridiculous in what Sam had teased was his bible salesman outfit.

“Heya.” Bucky greeted warmly, extending an arm for a half hug.

“Hey,” Steve echoed, hugging back with his free hand. “Ready for the best Mexican food of your life?”

“Definitely, let’s go.”

Steve led Bucky inside the little restaurant, its cozy decor making the place feel intimate instead of cramped. Steve had called ahead for reservations so they were whisked off to a table as soon as he gave the concierge his name. Bucky was looking around fascinated, taking in all the colorful decorations.

“It’s really something, huh?” Steve prompted with a smile.

Bucky nodded in agreement, “Yeah, it’s beautiful. So much art packed into so little space. Thanks for bringing me here, Steve.”

“It’s one of my favorite places in the area, mostly for the tacos but also for the art. I got my degree in fine art before I switched gears and went back to get certified in exercise science.”

“That’s quite a switch.” Bucky laughed.

“Art will always be my first love, but it’s not exactly profitable. And once I got healthier I knew I wanted to help other people do the same. I was really sick as a kid and didn’t hit any major growth spurts until I was almost 21. After that, I worked out a lot getting used to my new body and fell in love with the gym.”

“Wow. I’m glad you were able to get healthier, and it’s sweet you’re trying to give back to others with that.”

“Do you go to a gym? I won’t be offended that it’s a competitor, I swear.”

Bucky barked out a laugh, “No. God, no. I am perfectly happy with not having abs or a totally flat stomach as long as waffles exist.”

Steve couldn’t help his eyes dropping to Bucky’s stomach which honestly couldn’t have had more than the smallest layer of padding across it. “That’s okay too. Waffles are pretty great.”

The waitress stopped by to uncork their wine and drop off a basket of fresh tortilla chips and salsa verde.

“What did you bring?” Bucky asked as he took the glass of white wine Steve had poured him.

“Albariño. A waitress here recommended it a few years ago and now it’s my go to. It’s light and crisp, and kinda citrusy? I’m not a wine snob but it’s damn good and goes really well with tacos. I hope you like white wine, I forgot to ask.”

“I’ve yet to meet a white wine I didn’t like, so you’re safe.” Bucky sipped the wine and his eyes lit up, “Oh yeah, this is good. I’ll be hunting this down next time I go shopping.”

“You can get it over at the little wine boutique near the farmers market in Sunset Park. They always have this kind.”

“Nice, I’ll have to check it out. My sister will love this the next time she visits.”

The conversation flowed as the basket of tortilla chips disappeared, only ebbing when their platters arrived and they tucked into their food. Steve had ordered his usual taco platter while Bucky opted for the taquitos platter, an assortment of slow roasted meats wrapped in thin crispy shells. He let out a groan at his first bite that had Steve’s heart stuttering in his chest. The maybe-date had mostly felt like a friend-date up until that point, though Steve had to admit there was a tiny flutter of like there too. But the noise Bucky made and the expression on his face had Steve thinking anything but friends only thoughts.

Bucky caught Steve staring at him as he licked a dribble of sauce off his bottom lip. He hadn’t gotten a distinct date-date vibe from Steve but the look on the blonde’s face was priceless. Bucky thought he probably had made a similar one the first time he saw Devon Sawa in Wild America when he was 12. He had never stood a chance of being straight after that. Testing the waters a little bit, Bucky smirked at Steve, making it abundantly clear he’d been caught staring. Steve flushed and Bucky’s smile widened. There might be hope after all.

Steve wasn’t sure if it was the wine or too many tacos but by the time dinner was over he felt glued to his seat. He hated knowing the evening was coming to an end and wanted to do something, anything, to prolong it. The waitress dropped off the sales receipt with a pen and Steve tried to steady his hand as he signed his name. He knew he needed to muster up his courage or he would be saying goodbye to Bucky in mere minutes.

“Thanks again for paying.” Bucky said after draining the last of his wine, “This was really nice.”

“It was.” Steve agreed, seeing his chance, “You know, I have another bottle of this wine back at my place if you wanna come over for a bit. Maybe you could help me find that movie app you were telling me about for the Fire Stick?”

“Sure, I’m happy to help. I won’t say no to more of that wine either.” Bucky stamped down the hopeful cheering in his chest that Steve was inviting him over. The poor guy probably didn’t mean that anything would happen other than wine and tech help but Bucky could always dream. He would be respectful though, he resolved to himself. He’d never dated a guy who was questioning his sexuality before and Bucky didn’t want to push too far too soon. Bucky figured it was best to let Steve set the pace and just hope his heart didn’t get run over in the process.

Steve’s apartment was only four blocks from the restaurant, a second floor walk up in an old converted brownstone. It was nicer than Bucky’s little hole in the wall apartment and even had a small second bedroom that Steve had set up as a home office. After giving Bucky a quick tour, he led them to the kitchen to pull another bottle of Albariño out of his cabinet. Passing a stemless glass to Bucky, he poured them both a generous amount of wine which they carried out to the living room so Bucky could show Steve the app he’d mentioned during dinner. A few clicks and a quick download later, Steve had access to a ridiculous amount of free movies.

“This is so great.” Steve praised, clicking through the different options. “Oh I love this one!”

“Hm?” Bucky looked up from his glass to see Steve hovering over 10 Things I Hate About You. “Oh that one is great. I remember wanting to be Patrick Verona when I grew up after seeing that.”

Steve gave an amused side eyed look at Bucky. “I think you did a decent job.” he teased, throwing on the movie out of sheer impulse.

Bucky laughed, “You’re sweet. But god knows I’ll never be that smooth.”

“You’re better off than me. I’ve been told I’m hopeless on more than one occasion.”

“You hold your own, Rogers.” Bucky assured him, reaching over to take Steve’s hand in his, stroking the pad of his thumb over the ridges of Steve’s knuckles.

Steve blinked slowly, looking from their joined hands up to Bucky’s face. It felt good, that fluttery feeling stirring in his gut at the contact. He gave Bucky a smile and squeezed his hand gently, making sure his consent was clear.

The movie rolled and they sipped their wine as Patrick did his best to woo Kat. Bucky slowly nudged closer to Steve until he was pressed against his side, his head leaning against Steve’s shoulder. He was warm and comfortable and completely unwilling to move by the time Letters to Cleo played into the credits.

“I can’t believe it’s after eleven already.” Steve yawned.

Bucky yawned next, set off by Steve’s. “Same. I had a really good night, Steve.” He looked up curiously, wondering if Steve had found any new revelations on their maybe-date.

“Me too. This was… really nice. Hey, um, I know this was a maybe-date, but maybe um…”

Bucky shifted so he could sit up taller and face Steve while he fumbled for words.

“I, um, I’d really like to kiss you right now.” Steve blurted out, looking equal parts excited and terrified.

Bucky’s smile was like the sun. “Okay, yeah.” Bucky reached out to cup Steve’s cheek, going agonizingly slow to give Steve a chance to bolt if he needed it. He leaned up a little and Steve craned his neck down, tentatively meeting Bucky’s lips with his own.

A soft press, a pause, another soft press, and then the kiss deepened, Bucky’s lips parting to slot Steve’s with his. Steve let out a choked off moan, unable to believe what he was doing and how good it felt. He let a hand rake through Bucky’s hair and it only made him want to feel more of the silky locks. The scent of cedar and teak from his cologne filled Steve’s nose and though it was very distinctly male, Steve couldn’t get enough of it. It was so much more than he could have expected but also not nearly enough. He was breathing raggedly when he finally pulled back, repressing a shudder at the well kissed expression on Bucky’s face. His full bottom lip was shining and red, his eyes heavy lidded and his chest heaving just as much as Steve’s.

“Whoa.” Steve finally breathed out in amazement.

“Yeah, whoa.” Bucky agreed. “So does this help in sorting out if this was a date-date?”

“I think it was definitely a date-date.”

“I’m glad. And do you think you’d want to try another date sometime?”

“When are you free next?” Steve chuckled, only half kidding.

“Easy there, pal.” Bucky warned lightly, patting Steve’s ridiculously broad chest. “We’ll find a day again soon.”

Steve nodded, knowing Bucky was right for wanting to take things slow. He led Bucky over to the door, giving him one last quick kiss goodbye before the brunette headed out into the early summer night. Steve was still floored by his own reactions to Bucky but it felt so right that he couldn’t agonize over it for long.

#steve rogers #bucky barnes #stucky #stucky fanfic #stucky fanfiction #idiots in love #confused steve rogers #gay bucky barnes #modern day au #no powers

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maxslogic25 · 7 years ago

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Coffee Talk: Catching Up With Hanapin’s PPC Experts

It is Friday morning. Secret Jake and I walk to a little coffee shop just a block away from our office. We order Guatemalan pour-overs (we are fancy like that). We find a table and sit down only to discover it is wobbly. But we don’t move. For some reason, I feel like sitting and drinking coffee at a wobbly table is just what we need to properly talk PPC. A woman makes her way to the counter, Chihuahua in tow. The shelves of the shop are lined with vintage sci-fi novels and succulents. The shop is abuzz with chatter and the sound of steam being released from the espresso machine.

SJ and I have been working together for 4 years but I’ve never just sat down to chat about our industry. I want to pick his brain for a while. And he is kind enough to indulge me. I told my coworkers I thought about calling these little chats “Expert-teas”. But then realized that it only works if we have tea. And while I love a good cup of Earl Gray, PPC and coffee go together like chocolate and peanut butter, so I abandoned my pun.

Jacob Fairclough. Secret Jake. SJ. He is a data analyst force to be reckoned with. As one of Hanapin’s Sr. Account Analysts, he is charged with tackling some pretty hefty problems in accounts. While he is a red account problem solver extraordinaire, today I am more interested in exploring the nifty tools he’s developed to push us to the forefront of innovation and creativity as an agency. So we start talking about our personal journeys from undergrad to PPC, starting with no knowledge of this industry.

Since you have started, what is the biggest change you have seen at Hanapin that has had the most impact?

Internally probably more structure on the roles and the work expected. I started fresh as an Account Manager with no experience and back then it was kind of “here’s an account, figure it out”. We know a lot more internally, from the PA training program and things like that, our [Associate Directors] are involved, or a Sr. AM sits on the calls and coaches you through things.

Do you see colleges starting to offer digital marketing degrees specifically?

Maybe. It almost has to go that way. But who would want a textbook on AdWords? It is a hurdle for some people, even in digital it’s like, so I kinda get the technical part. How does a website work? How does this tracking work? But even if you don’t do [technical website work] specifically, you need to be able to discuss it with the people who do. Or at least know, “this is where I should be looking if things aren’t working”.

So what is your favorite part of your role?

Finding a way to use my skills to make our work more effective. [One of our accounts is] basically paying two agencies and we are slowly transferring accounts from one to another. They spend $300,000 a month right now, whereas of a few weeks ago when I started the project we had $3,000 of that spend […]. So we built some scripts and stuff to take the information from their old ad groups and things, like all the location names, […], URLs, and everything like that and built an [AdWords] Editor-ready file from it to just drop it in the account.

What they had been doing before, was they had a basic campaign and [they were] copying and pasting it and finding and replacing in the Editor for every single thing. What we did was, with the one [campaign] I’m thinking had like 300 locations, was take a single input file with all the location information and pump it through a script that would then put it in an editor-ready file, and then you upload that, make the changes you need to ad copy or whatever and move on with your life.

So I like finding those. That is one of the more interesting side, how do we take some skills or take something more automated and make our work more effective.

Was this script built from the ground up?

So we built this one from the ground up. The biggest challenge was [as] with a lot of things, how do I take the information that is here and make it into something useable.

How did you learn scripts?

I did some seminars in school for it when I was doing my undergrad. I did an intro to computer science.

Do you think this is a skill account managers should teach themselves? If they are either at an agency where they don’t have someone to do that or if they are working solo?

Oh I waffle on this because there is the division between the more technical side and the people who say “oh well maybe we should focus on being better marketers” and the tech stuff is, whatever you want to call, it icing on the cake.

There is a weird upfront challenge of thinking in that way.

What do you mean?

It’s understanding the small details when moving to a coding language or something like that, it can be kind of weird in trying to understand what data types to use. Writing code isn’t super hard, it is how to map the technical side of what I need to do. How do I choose the right data types? It is a really valuable skill. It can make automating things much easier. It opens up a lot of new opportunities but it is a skill. My hesitation [is], if you aren’t interested in it, or you aren’t working on some of those problems, then learning the code isn’t going to make you a better account manager. So you could have some of the technical abilities but if you don’t understand the system or the client communication or the business side of the problem then you aren’t going to get anywhere. You are just going to do crappy things differently.

Best script you’ve created?

I think the one that I’m probably most proud of and I learned the most because I hadn’t done anything like that, was [one for our client that uses] AppsFlyer. So [AppsFlyer] records all of [the users] in-app activity, then we have the AdWords data, and we had the AdStage reporting platform. The issue is that AppsFlyer is measuring in-app activity, like open rates, that isn’t available on the AdWords side, but we want to tie it back to our campaigns and things like that so we created a script that downloads all of the information from AppsFlyer, formats it, then pushes it into AdStage so you can link those datasets together. Some of them you don’t have conversion tracking at the campaign level on maybe AdWords, or Bing, or on the Apple side. And the other side would be okay we don’t actually care about people just downloading the app we actually want to start counting when people open the app or use the app over 7 days or whatever. So by importing those custom conversions, we can start figuring that into automated rules or even just reporting.

Forecasting. That seems to be something a lot of people especially as they start to plan their budgets toward the end of the year struggle with, dealing with attribution and seasonality. What is your recommendation?

Holt-winters forecasting model. But I went to a workshop on statistics and programming a few months ago and someone had asked the question and the response was “there is a lot of stuff that goes into forecasting and maybe that is your solution at this point that it is good enough for what you do.” There are some cool methods out there like Facebook’s Profit and things like that which take a little programming experience, but it has a kind of built-in tool to build its own model around like time series and things like that. I think the biggest change, and I think it is hard in a PPC realm because we are so focused on having very specific data points, is just loosening up on the forecasting because sometimes it is driven by our own need for perfection and sometimes it is driven by the client who thinks “Oh, I need to know down to the dollar how much we need to spend”. But when I start looking into more forecasting there is always a probability associated with it and it is going to fall within a certain range. And we can’t tell the future. Oh, well maybe your sales side picks up. Maybe you start doing TV buys. And you start looking at forecasting in other areas like forecasting for TV or radio. There is a lot of guesswork involved and [saying] “I think this is going to happen”. So on the PPC side we need to be okay with that. I think people are starting to come around to that.

But I think it is because PPC by nature is transparent, so…

Well it is the same thing when we have CPA goals. There is a lot that goes into [maintaining those goals].

One, you need to be able to think more probabilistically. [To look at data and say “these are the probable outcomes of something”. And the other side is one that, the data isn’t sacred. It isn’t a perfect entity. It is a resource you can use. So it is how do I use it as a resource to make better decisions?

What is your PPCHero Superpower?

It depends on who you ask. According to some feedback, I am good at being an office weirdo. The other side would be finding ways to manipulate the data or find a way to put it together. Sometimes it is really mundane and sometimes it is really interesting. So it goes back to that scripting API example. How do I take one data source and format it and take all the required information we need and send it to another service. I like to dabble in a lot of things. So figuring out how to connect those different pieces. I am a serial dabbler.

So [my advice is], If you aren’t interested in the technical side, who can handle that side? Who is your resource? You don’t have to do everything but you should be able to be aware of all the areas you need to focus on and then if you can’t do something, have a resource. And that is the great thing about Hanapin.

Discover more tools and tricks from PPC Hero:

How To Work Smarter and Faster With AdWords Scripts

Improving Your Account Through AdWords Scripts

5 Easy Ways To Customize AdWords Scripts

Are You Too Focused On Your Data?

How to Find Seasonality in your PPC Accounts

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8217493 http://www.ppchero.com/interview-with-a-hanapin-ppc-expert/

0 notes

racheltgibsau · 7 years ago

Text

Coffee Talk: Catching Up With Hanapin’s PPC Experts

Since you have started, what is the biggest change you have seen at Hanapin that has had the most impact?

Do you see colleges starting to offer digital marketing degrees specifically?

So what is your favorite part of your role?

So I like finding those. That is one of the more interesting side, how do we take some skills or take something more automated and make our work more effective.

Was this script built from the ground up?

So we built this one from the ground up. The biggest challenge was [as] with a lot of things, how do I take the information that is here and make it into something useable.

How did you learn scripts?

I did some seminars in school for it when I was doing my undergrad. I did an intro to computer science.

Do you think this is a skill account managers should teach themselves? If they are either at an agency where they don’t have someone to do that or if they are working solo?

There is a weird upfront challenge of thinking in that way.

What do you mean?

Best script you’ve created?

But I think it is because PPC by nature is transparent, so…

Well it is the same thing when we have CPA goals. There is a lot that goes into [maintaining those goals].

What is your PPCHero Superpower?

Discover more tools and tricks from PPC Hero:

How To Work Smarter and Faster With AdWords Scripts

Improving Your Account Through AdWords Scripts

5 Easy Ways To Customize AdWords Scripts

Are You Too Focused On Your Data?

How to Find Seasonality in your PPC Accounts

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8217493 http://www.ppchero.com/interview-with-a-hanapin-ppc-expert/

0 notes

zacdhaenkeau · 7 years ago

Text

Coffee Talk: Catching Up With Hanapin’s PPC Experts

Since you have started, what is the biggest change you have seen at Hanapin that has had the most impact?

Do you see colleges starting to offer digital marketing degrees specifically?

So what is your favorite part of your role?

So I like finding those. That is one of the more interesting side, how do we take some skills or take something more automated and make our work more effective.

Was this script built from the ground up?

So we built this one from the ground up. The biggest challenge was [as] with a lot of things, how do I take the information that is here and make it into something useable.

How did you learn scripts?

I did some seminars in school for it when I was doing my undergrad. I did an intro to computer science.

Do you think this is a skill account managers should teach themselves? If they are either at an agency where they don’t have someone to do that or if they are working solo?

There is a weird upfront challenge of thinking in that way.

What do you mean?

Best script you’ve created?

But I think it is because PPC by nature is transparent, so…

Well it is the same thing when we have CPA goals. There is a lot that goes into [maintaining those goals].

What is your PPCHero Superpower?

Discover more tools and tricks from PPC Hero:

How To Work Smarter and Faster With AdWords Scripts

Improving Your Account Through AdWords Scripts

5 Easy Ways To Customize AdWords Scripts

Are You Too Focused On Your Data?

How to Find Seasonality in your PPC Accounts

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8217493 http://www.ppchero.com/interview-with-a-hanapin-ppc-expert/

0 notes

archiebwoollard · 7 years ago

Text

Coffee Talk: Catching Up With Hanapin’s PPC Experts

Since you have started, what is the biggest change you have seen at Hanapin that has had the most impact?

Do you see colleges starting to offer digital marketing degrees specifically?

So what is your favorite part of your role?

So I like finding those. That is one of the more interesting side, how do we take some skills or take something more automated and make our work more effective.

Was this script built from the ground up?

So we built this one from the ground up. The biggest challenge was [as] with a lot of things, how do I take the information that is here and make it into something useable.

How did you learn scripts?

I did some seminars in school for it when I was doing my undergrad. I did an intro to computer science.

Do you think this is a skill account managers should teach themselves? If they are either at an agency where they don’t have someone to do that or if they are working solo?

There is a weird upfront challenge of thinking in that way.

What do you mean?

Best script you’ve created?

But I think it is because PPC by nature is transparent, so…

Well it is the same thing when we have CPA goals. There is a lot that goes into [maintaining those goals].

What is your PPCHero Superpower?

Discover more tools and tricks from PPC Hero:

How To Work Smarter and Faster With AdWords Scripts

Improving Your Account Through AdWords Scripts

5 Easy Ways To Customize AdWords Scripts

Are You Too Focused On Your Data?

How to Find Seasonality in your PPC Accounts

from RSSMix.com Mix ID 8217493 http://www.ppchero.com/interview-with-a-hanapin-ppc-expert/

0 notes