The Stranger / Chris Evans x OC

Chapter 131: Hypothetical

AMELIA

Scott and Lisa stick around for a while before Lisa mentions feeling tired from the flight and decides to retreat to her room. 

She gives me a firm hug before she leaves, letting both Chris and I know that we'll see her tomorrow. 

Scott takes Dodger for his evening walk before bedtime, leaving Chris and I back at the hotel room. 

"I wish I could take him for walks," Chris sighs as he plops down on the couch dejectedly, "I miss walking my buddy." 

I smile softly as I sit down next to him, wrapping my arms around him. 

"I know baby, I'm sorry." 

He leans into my touch, slumping against me, making me lean back until I'm laying down on the couch. He slots himself between my legs, his head resting on my chest as my hands start stroking his hair soothingly. 

"I missed him a lot," he mumbles, his fingers playing absentmindedly with my t-shirt, "Can't wait to go back home and get some time off." 

"It was really sweet of Scott to bring him," I whisper, my nails scratching his scalp gently, "He knows how much Dodger means to you. And I know it sucks not being able to walk him right now, but it'll be alright baby. Can you bring him on set with you?" 

"Yeah, but a hotel room isn't an ideal long term solution when I can't walk him properly, that's why I didn't bring him with me this time. The other times I've been able to bring him if I rented a house." 

I nod and hum, my fingers playing with his hair as his face nuzzles into my chest, "Were you able to walk him yourself those times?"

"Not really," Chris grumbles, "I can walk him without being bothered back home in Boston, but out here is out of the question if people know we're filming for Marvel. So is LA, when I'm staying there. In general people leave me alone in Boston, that's part of the reason I prefer being there. That, and my family being close, of course." 

"Yeah, I get that. That's your home. LA is your base for work, but it's not where you belong. Right?" 

"Right," Chris smiles softly, tilting his head up to look at me, "It's my house, but it doesn't feel like my house. Still feels kind of foreign. Maybe more like a vacation home or something, except when I go, I never have time off." 

I chuckle at his words, my fingers delicately trailing over the side of his face, making his eyes flutter closed. 

"What about you?" 

"Hm?" I ask, my fingers trailing over his beard. 

"Where do you feel most at home?"

I chuckle again, "Well, I don't really have several homes. I think that's a movie star privilege." 

Chris laughs, shaking his head before he tilts it back down to get comfortable again, "I guess you have a point. But you don't exactly live close to your family. You ever thought about living somewhere else?" 

My brows furrow as I look down at Chris but he doesn't look up to face me. Instead, he keeps his eyes on his fingers as they play with the fabric of my t-shirt. 

"I mean, uhm.. No, not really. And it's not like I'm far from my family, it's only about an hour by car. If anything, I'd move closer to the city." 

"Why?" Chris asks, still not meeting my eyes, "You want to live in New York for the rest of your life?" 

I stiffen slightly, knowing that we're currently entering very dangerous territory and I need to navigate it delicately. 

"No, not necessarily. I like living in Staten Island, it's much cheaper and it doesn't take me that long to get to work. It was fine when I went to Columbia and it's fine now.. But.. If I were to move, I'd probably move closer to work. So, no, I haven't really considered leaving the state."