#then she saw loni and just nodded appreciatively

[dcwnrisen-aa]

taja is such a chaotic bisexual.

[royallyprincesslilly]

Title: Love, Maybe? {7}

Chris Evans X Reader Vixen Giovanni

Chapter Warning: Cursing, Plot, Angst, Slow Burn

Word Count: 2.9K

Note: Bold Italics are Chris’ inner thoughts. Italics are Vixen’s inner thoughts

**Slightly Edited/Proofread**

**Interactive**

Thank you guys for reading!!!! If you enjoyed this please LIKE, COMMENT, REBLOG. 😊 ❤️ ❤️

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 7: Times Change

-Chris-

 “Welcome Chris Evans to the show.”

 The audience’s applause was deafening. He took a deep breath, released it, flipped his mental switch, and plastered a smile on his face as he walked out to the view of the audience. Once they saw him, he smiled wider and waved to them as he made his way to the talk show hosts of “The Real.” He greeted each of them with a hug and a cheek kiss as his mother taught him. When he sat down the applause and cheers didn’t stop, they continued. He laughed to himself, feeling even more embarrassed than he had a few moments ago. Slowly the audience calmed down and took their seats.

    “Do you ever get used to that?”

    He smiled at Adrianne’s question and scoffed before he shook his head.

    “No, never. It’s not something you just relax into.”

    “So it’s still weird?

    “Yes, because keep in mind at home with my family I’m just Chris I don’t get greeted with applause, more like a slap to the back of the head. We’re Bostonians we’re not with the pomp,” he explained.

    The audience laughed.

  “But you’ve been in Hollywood for a few years, more than a decade, right? At some point it has to be “oh more cheering, yawn,” Tamara expressed.

    “No, it’s always flattering but never boring. I’m a shy guy, a quiet guy.”

    “You are now for the last three years. Before that you had your fair share of tabloid stories, right? Loni brought up.

    He smiled and nodded. He knew those years would catch up to him. He wasn’t ashamed of them per se, but he did wish he’d practiced more discretion and stiffer selectiveness.

   “You’re right. In my younger years, I was a little wild, but I think we can chop that up to being young, especially in Hollywood, everyone spins out of control and rebels underneath the scrutiny. I’m no different. I did have a few years where I didn’t care at all about anything but a good time,” he candidly admitted.

 “That’s understandable. The only difference with you and every person in the world is you had paparazzi and cameras in your face to catch it. My dad called it sowing your wild oats.”

    The audience laughed at Jennie’s comment, and he couldn’t stifle the laugh.

    “There was no sowing, but I get the analogy.”

   The audience laughed louder and clapped.

    “You’ve played Captain America for a long time, right?”

     “Yes, quite a while, eight years.”

   Again, the audience clapped.

    “If and when the role ends are you looking forward to playing other roles?” Tamara asked.

   “Uh, yes. I’m looking forward to a few different kinds of roles, maybe none so active. Maybe a few I can eat a cheeseburger or fries without worrying if it’ll throw me off. I miss carbs.”

    The audience laughs like clockwork. It never ceased to amaze him how rudimentary these interviews were.

    “So you want to get rid of the superhero body. I know that day will be a sad one for millions of women around the world,” Adrianne suggested.

    “Ha, ha, well then maybe I’ll be liked for my brains then.”

   “Oh, I see.”

    “Yeah, I get taken for a pretty face and a body all the time. I get women wanting to touch my chest and stuff like that. I mean don’t get me wrong I appreciate the fans--,”

    “But you’re more than that. We get it.”

    The audience awed, and he nodded somberly. He didn’t know why he was being so frank.

   “So you’re how old now?”

    “Thirty-seven.”

    “I have a question. What does Chris Evans want in his life right now?”

    He thought about it, but he knew he didn’t have to think too deeply. He knew what he wanted, and it was a cruel joke by the universe.

    “Uh, well honestly if I’m going to be truthful and not care how it makes me sound then I really want kids.”

    “Kids?”

    The audience collectively gasped and exclaimed their shock then applauded as if this was music to their ears.

    “Yeah, I do. I like pretty pedestrian, domestic things. I want a wife; I want kids. I like ceremony. I want to carve pumpkins and decorate Christmas trees and shit like that,” he professed.

   “Wow.”

    “Yeah, normally I wouldn’t say that but what the hell.”

    He shrugged and leaned back into the chair some more.

    “I went through the time in my life where I was all about work and career and having fun and no attachments and stupid stuff like that and sad to say it’s true. Men go through these phases, and eventually, they get to the settling down phase and either it’s at the right time as the woman in his life or its sort of like a hit and miss situation.”

   “Are you speaking from experience?” Jeannie asked.

    He smirked and shrugged again this time not wanting to reveal too much. The interview continued for another ten minutes where he spoke about filming and his relationship with the rest of the cast and before he knew it time was up, and he was glad for it. He thanked the ladies and the audience and hurried backstage to make his exit. As he made his way to the next stop, he got lost on his phone just scrolling aimlessly through social media not taking in anything in particular.

     The rest of the day passed in a blur; he made six more stops at different talk shows where they asked relatively the same question, and he told similar stories. It was a job filming, and a job doing all of this in between. He was looking forward to some much-needed downtime. He was exhausted. He looked out the window and happened to catch the name of a passing strip club “Vixen’s” and again he was brought back to memories of her. He thought back to the last night he’d seen her, the amazing time they had at his house—in his bed. He could still smell her scent and taste her on his lips but only faintly. The years hadn’t been kind to the memory of her although he wished more and more with each passing year that it would.

    After a few days, his memory came back of their time in Vegas and the events that led to him marrying her. He remembered all he’d shared; all she’d shared and the feeling of connection he felt to her. He didn’t know if it was the alcohol heightening things or if it were real. Either way, he couldn’t trust it then. She was a stranger, and at that time in his career, he’d had his share of crazy women who tried any and everything to be in his life and grab a piece of everything it meant to be with him. He learned the hard way about what being famous meant. He couldn’t trust she was any different, plus marriage was not something he had on his radar then.

    “Funny what three years changes.”

  He closed his eyes and leaned his head back on the headrest and did what he’d done countless times. Thought of her. He thought of her hair, her eyes, the way her smile looked and even the way her hips swayed when she walked. He thought of her, and it didn’t take him long to begin to imagine what if. What if he’d made the wrong assumptions about her? What if there could have been something between them? What if? Then those thoughts made him ultimately feel regret. He hated the feeling of regret. He’d lived his life to the maximum for the reason of him not wanting to ever feel regret for anything. He’d never felt it before, but with her, it was stronger than he liked. The vibrations from his phone brought him out his thoughts.

     “Hello?”

    “I’m throwing a party tonight, and you have to come,” Anthony shouted into his ear.

   “What’s the occasion?”

    Do I ever need one?

    He didn’t. Anthony liked to throw parties, and he threw the biggest, wildest ones. He’d gotten infamous for his parties as well as his acting chops.

    “All right,” he agreed.

  “Nice, that was easy. Maybe tonight we’ll find you a woman. I’m tired of single you. You gotta settle down, man,” Anthony voiced.

    Chris rolled his eyes and shook his head. For the last eight months, Anthony had been setting him up with almost everyone in Hollywood. He set him up with actresses, comedians, models, and even agents. No one stood out, and most importantly, no one stuck around. By date four he’d either have lost interest or found something about them that he didn’t like. He wasn’t picky, but he had a mental list that he wanted his wife and eventual mother of his children to meet.

    “I don’t know if they’ll meet that list in your head bruh, I don’t think there is a woman alive that could meet that list. Or if there are any, they’re already married. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t keep trying.”

   “I haven’t thought about that list in months,” he lied.

    “Bullshit! Man, you not fooling anyone.”

    He laughed and shook his head again. They’d been friends for so long that he could easily see through him.

    “I’ll be there. I gotta go.”

    “All right.”

   Chris ended the call and sighed out. Everyone loved to make fun of his list. He wasn’t amused.

 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

-That Night-

  When he walked through the massive privacy gate at Anthony’s house, the party was in full swing. Music was blasting from every crevasse of the property, and the cheers and screaming could be heard. He knew his neighbors hated him. He passed a few people who nodded to him and tried to talk to him. He smiled as he passed some familiar faces and some he’d never seen before. As he made his way inside the house, he bobbed and weaved through the bodies in search of Anthony. If he knew anything, he’d be in the pool. He made it to the back of the house to the infinity pool and found the man of the hour lounging on a pool float with two women beside him. He scoffed because Anthony always had women hanging off him. They just flocked to him, and he didn’t shy away from the attention.

   “Hey, Hey, Hey, it’s Captain America!” Sam shouted. Everybody surrounding the pool erupted in boisterous cheers.

    “Glad you could make it.”

     Anthony slid off the float and swam to the edge of the pool before he climbed out and pulled him into a hug. Chris groaned, feeling his polo get wet.

     “Really, man?”

   “Ah, it’s water it’ll dry. Come on there’s someone I want you to meet,” Anthony said, leading him towards the side of the house where he saw a pretty woman sitting on a chaise. As they approached, she looked to him and looked him over once before she bit her bottom lip and stood.

    “Milla, I’m glad you stuck around. I want you to meet Chris; Chris meet Milla.”

    She smiled widely and held out her hand to him. Chris shook it returning the smile.

    “Nice to meet you, Milla. How do you know Anthony?”

   “We’re starring in a little indie film together.”

    “Milla is great, she’s funny, and her favorite sport is baseball guess which team,” Anthony informed, looking at him with a smile big enough to show the gap between his teeth.

     “Red Sox,” he guessed.

     “Damn right, no better team,” Milla piped up.

 Chris nodded unimpressed. There had been countless women who claimed the Red Sox was their favorite because they were his and when it came down to it they didn’t know the difference between a home run and a touchdown. He smiled politely.

    “Isn’t that great? Anyway, I’ll be getting back in the pool. You two should chat, get to know each other.” Just like that he dove back into the pool to the gleeful squeals of his arm candy. Chris shook his head because he was as subtle as a freight train in the middle of the night.

     “How long have you known Mac?”

      “Too long,” Chris answered. She laughed more loudly than necessary.

     “He’s great. I remember I was so nervous the first day of the shoot and he was so nice, put me right at ease,” Milla offered.

     “That’s Anthony; he’s a great guy.”

    “Wanna get a drink?”

   He didn’t, but he took a deep breath and nodded before he followed her to the bar inside. For the next near hour, he talked with her. She told him about her life before she’d come to Hollywood, told him about her dreams of making it big to see her billboards on every street corner. He nodded politely and listened. He didn’t want to be rude although he knew the minute he learned she liked the Red Sox he probably wouldn’t take things further.

     When she slinked off to the bathroom, he made his escape. His freedom was short-lived, Scarlett caught him and called him out.

     “I was wondering how long it would take you before you ran,” she said.

   “Man I should have run long ago.”

     “What’s wrong with this one?”

    The look on Scarlett’s face said this wasn’t new and she never expected him to like her. He sighed and raked his fingers through his groomed hair then rubbed his bearded chin and shrugged.

    “Come on, don’t be shy. Was it the way she laughed like the last one?”

    He snorted, the last girl one of his friends particularly Seb set him up with laughed uncannily close to a hyena and there was no way he could overlook that. After two dates, he couldn’t take it anymore.

    “No, not her laugh. Okay. Was it because she had too many hand motions?”

     Chris laughed this time. The other girl Anthony set him up with looked as if she worked for NASCAR with all the hand motions she used while she was speaking. It got to the point where it distracted him every time she opened her mouth. After almost a month of dates, he’d had enough.

    “No, not the hand motions. Okay let’s see,” Scarlett pondered out loud.

    He shook his head because he knew what she was getting at. His friends thought he was picky and hard to please, and they took every opportunity to point it out. He wasn’t picky; yes, he had a particular list, but it didn’t go as deep as laugh sounds, or hand motions or even looks. If he were going to build a relationship, a connection and ultimately a life and family with someone they needed to be appealing to him otherwise he’d be yet another celeb with a divorce or two under his belt. Hell, he already had one under his belt.

     “Ah, I got it. She just wasn’t this imaginary, ideal woman you’ve created in your head. She couldn’t stack up to that woman you’ve been holding every one of them next to.”

    He looked to her because something about her words hit him in a way that made him wonder if she was right. He never thought he’d created any ideal woman and definitely didn’t think he was comparing these women to anyone. Was he?

    “The rate you’re going that wife and kid slip further and further away,” Scarlett warned.

     “So I should settle for just anything?”

    “Absolutely not. Never settle. You should broaden your horizon, give people a chance. One hour of conversation isn’t nearly enough to come to a correct assumption of someone’s character, let alone if there is anything between you.”

    “You know that saying when you know you know? Well, it works both ways good and bad,” he defended.

    “What about Lita?”

    Chris softly groaned as he remembered the last semi-serious relationship he’d had. They dated without commitment for almost nine months. Their agreement was whenever they had time for each other, they would try, but otherwise, neither of them would take it personally. It was something he came up with. The last couple months of filming Captain America hit him hard and loneliness set in something fierce, and he met her at an award’s luncheon, and they struck up a friendship that morphed into an equally beneficial relationship. There was nothing wrong with Lita, she seemed like a nice person, down to earth, funny, beautiful and smart just things fizzled, and he didn’t make any effort to rekindle them he just let it die.  

    “She managed to stick around for nine months; then she was gone like the wind. I only met her once, but you seemed like you liked her. Maybe that deserves another round,” Scarlett suggested. He thought about it for a minute. If he did reach out, would it because it was what he wanted, or would it be him settling?

    The rest of the party chugged on like all of Anthony’s parties. The music was good, the drinks even better and the good time never ended. By the time two rolled around, he was partied out and just wanted the quietness of his own home. He said his goodbyes to Anthony, who tried to fish for details about his time with Milla. One look from him and Anthony knew he was thinking Milla who. After saying a quick bye to Scarlett and Seb, he got back into his sports car and sped home.

     By four in the morning, he was sitting at his pool looking out to the moon with a stiff drink in hand and head filled with thoughts. He took out his phone and sent a message to Lita. Desperation was always blamed for bad decisions, but loneliness was equally to blame.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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