Melisande was in the middle of her shift, and she had to admit, she was a little tired. She'd stayed up later than she'd wanted trying to get her apartment cleaned, and working nights was only as good as the sleep you got during the day. She was seated at the bar on break with her small chin in her hands, blue eyes sweeping towards the door every time it opened (which was frequently), scanning for... She didn't know. She always felt like she was waiting.
Nikolas slid her some Sprite with a cherry in it, and she sipped the drink as she listened to all the conversations around her. Tawny was on stage now - she could never mistake her introductory music. She turned to look over her shoulder, smiling when she saw Aimee making her way through the array of chairs to the bar.
"Hey," she said good-naturedly. "I don't think I've seen that routine you did before. It's either new, or I'm really as tired as I feel."
Aimee had pulled some clothes on after her last routine and gone out to the bar, though not for anything other than some air that wasn't sitting in the back rooms, casual conversation, and a glass of water. She smiled brightly at Nikki when she asked for the water, then turned her good spirits on Melisande. She'd come over to this specific stool just to sit by the girl, and she settled in for her break as he turned to take in her friend.
"Hey! You may still be tired, but yes, that's a new one. Did you like it?" she asked, and despite the wording, she meant it in an entirely non-sexual way. She just wanted to know if it had come out the way she'd been planning, or if it had looked lame. Not that she really thought many of the customers would think that it was lame, of all things, but she liked to impress. The money was better when she did.
She figured Eden would tell her what he thought later, but she'd rather be prepared. Eden, though he could sound like a total creep when he wanted, was more than capable of taking a professional look at the dances and dancers themselves. He just enjoyed his job. "Eden thought something new would be a good idea. Fresh." It wasn't like she was boring and didn't switch things up ever, but that was all new, thus the questioning.
Melisande nodded a little, but didn't think that her tired head-bob displayed the actual enthusiasm she had, so she spoke: "Actually, yeah. Evidently the crowd did, too. You've got a little fanclub over there," she said, gesturing with the Sprite in her hand to a group of men (young men - were they even old enough to be here?) by the stage. "I think they've come in here before, too. They adore you," she said with a giggle.
Unlike most clubs, there was no real envy in this one that Melisande had been subject to. She'd heard Tawny could exercise the right to be a massive bitch when she felt like it, but it wasn't often. Eden had a careful hand in selecting his staff, and he knew who he could keep in check and who he couldn't. It was the reason Melisande stayed when she knew that she could obtain other jobs elsewhere - that and the money, but mostly because even with such a - a carnal sort of environment, there was a tight-knit community of staff that she had come to know as her friends.
She glanced up as a redheaded man came through the doors, another dark blond-haired man behind him. She studied them for a moment, and it was no surprise that they plunked themselves down a few seats from the girls. Melisande wore a simple black skirt, heels, and a sparkling purple tube top - an outfit that was not a uniform (they didn't have them) but something cute and comfortable to her. She knew that they weren't regulars by the way they acted, and she bit her lip to suppress a laugh as she realized they probably thought that she and Aimee were clientèle, not staff.
She turned her attention from them and back to the brunette. "So how's things?" she asked. "Nikki couch surfed last night after he walked me home. For someone who has no real need to sleep, the feline in him sure demands a full eight hours. I woke up to find him passed out under a pastel pink blanket with reruns of Fresh Prince on my TV."
Aimee followed Melisande's gesture to the young men by the stage, men that she remembered being loud and particularly attentive when she was up there, and she giggled right along with the other girl. "Is it me, or do they look young? Maybe I should change my stage name to Mrs. Robinson," she remarked. Fortunately, the young men hadn't noticed her over by the bar, so she was more likely to get some peace until she was prepared to be harassed again. She might hit those guys up again a little later for a lap dance or something, just to see how much she could get out of them, and if they could behave. Because of Nero, she was very careful about just how much touching was allowed, meaning, not much.
No, the envy at All Hallows was pretty low. Each dancer had her (or his) fair share of 'fans' and regulars, so nobody really had to feel jealous. There was enough for everyone, and Eden took good care of them all, which included keeping the trash out of their staff. He was a smart man, though Aimee wouldn't honestly say that she trusted him. Sure, she trusted him to do what was necessary and what was best for his business, but she knew that he wasn't always fond of doing what was 'right'. She'd also heard about Marius being harassed to get on stage after some strange incident involving him giving a customer a lap dance. She hadn't been there, but she'd heard plenty about it. Eden had his mind set on it, and so he was going to keep trying. That was why she didn't give the man a reason to get anything set in his mind about her. He didn't need the encouragement.
Aimee glanced up as the redhead and the blond walked in and sat just a few seats away, and smirked at Melisande just in time to realize that they had to be thinking the same thing. These weren't regulars, and they didn't know that the two women they'd settled near were staff. That could be fun.
That smirk turned into a fully-fledged grin as Melisande described Nikki's sleeping situation, and she glanced at the bartender before leaning in towards her friend in excitement. "Did you get any pictures? Tell me you did, because we have to plaster them all over the staff room."
"She didn't," Nikki casually dropped in as he moved passed them with two Bud Lights for the men who'd just come in and sat down. As soon as he'd given them their tasty beverages, he slid back to the counter and put an arm down just long enough to lean forward and give Melisande the most chaste kiss on her doll-like cheek. "And I love her for it." He winked at Aimee and went back to tending further down the row.
Melisande looked at Aimee and shrugged, a little blush rising to her cheeks. "He speaks the truth. I just couldn't bring myself to embarrass him so badly when he was sweet enough to walk me home. Drake, though - if I could ever catch that wiry little bastard off guard - ah, but it'll never happen. I am Letotse," she said, sitting upright and laying on her most dramatic Spanish accent. "Come on. He's so full of himself, but he's so adorably him that I can't fault him for it." She sighed a little. Did the men in this place have to be so damned attractive? And they were all so unique. Melisande was human, just a human.
The door opened again, and she glanced up, but it, as always, wasn't who she was seeking. She looked back at Aimee and sipped on her soda. "I don't know about Mrs. Robinson, but I bet if you went out there and did a dance to Stacy's Mom, they would all collapse. And give you their credit cards - if they aren't already maxed out from this place."
"Awww, you missed our chance!" Aimee whined, but it was all in good fun. She still laughed at Nikki's obvious awareness of just how bad it could have been. Aimee was certain that his ego could have survived, but apparently, he didn't want to try. "I swear, I'm going to start carrying a camera in my purse, just so that I can catch those things more often. Drake and Marius BOTH need to be caught doing something stupid. Drake because his ego could use the adjustment, and Marius just because he makes funny faces when he's embarrassed."
It was true, the men who worked at All Hallows all seemed to be exotic, though Aimee couldn't deny that the women tended to be, as well. Eden just had an eye for finding them, it seemed. The fact that Melisande was still human and working there actually concerned Aimee sometimes, considering Eden's usual refusal to hire humans, but she brushed it off. Melisande being human had made her something of a 'little sister' to everyone in the place, it seemed. She was more fragile than they were, and Aimee couldn't honestly think of anyone who would just stand by and let her be harmed. They were a pretty good group.
Ahhh, Stacy's mom! That was even better than Mrs. Robinson, since the younger crowd was more likely to get the reference. It made her feel old, even though she wasn't, just thinking about it. She wondered how old those guys really were, but she knew better than to think that Marius or Drake would let a bunch of kids in underage. They were probably JUST old enough. "That would be excellent. I could use a nice shopping spree," she agreed, smiling just at the image. Nero would love having the closet taken over by more clothes and shoes.
"Well, I'm sure there will be others. They take turns walking me home. Drake hasn't ever stayed, but Marius will stay up with me and watch TV 'til I fall asleep, so will Nikki. It's nice. It's like having these sort of warped big brother figures that would kick the teeth out of anyone who tried anything." She flexed her fingers a little as she spoke, and then laughed at the idea of a startled robber dropping in when she and Marius were playing the Wii. She wondered how well he'd react to a massive wolf sitting on his chest.
From the corner of her blue eyes, she saw the redhead nudge his friend, and then nod over in their direction. They were human - Melisande could tell, but only because she'd always been able to tell, hadn't she? She looked at Aimee and raised a brow, but said nothing on the matter.
"I like shopping," she said, volunteering herself for the project. "I'm sort of surprised I don't go as much as I thought I would. I have a section of my closet dedicated to 'things work-appropriate' which includes anything short and flirtatious, while 'not work-appropriate' is where my normal clothing goes. Kind of backwards," she laughed.
No, Drew and Josh weren't regulars, but that didn't mean they didn't recognize a good place when they stumbled upon it. Actually, they'd made fun of it, since the theme sounded all gothy and ridiculous, but Drew had personally been surprised upon entering. It was sexy without the creepy goth kids in white make-up, and the bartender was quick. Good so far. The hot women sitting just a few stools down from them only made it better, and he knew Josh had noticed, too.
"Getta load a' them, man. Is it the lighting, or are they fuckin' hot?" he asked, nudging Josh towards Aimee and Melisande. He had NO idea that they worked there, but that wouldn't have bothered him. They were still hot.
"Aww, that's sweet of them! I didn't know those two waited around for you to fall asleep, too," she remarked, actually impressed. If it had been guys she didn't trust as much, she'd have been worried, but this was Marius and Nikki. She knew that they weren't up to something with Melisande when they did nice things like that. The guys behind her were another story, but she could hear the one with the funny accent mention them, and she giggled a little before completely ignoring it and turning that giggle into laughter about Melisande's closet. THAT she could relate to completely.
"Oh, I know. It's kind of crazy, but mine's the same way. It felt really strange in the beginning to look at an outfit and know that it wasn't outrageous enough for work. Now, I have clothes that aren't bad enough for work, but are too bad for casual days, so they get even less use," she explained. Unlike Melisande, she wore even more 'flirtatious' clothing to work, and she didn't feel much like clubbing after working in one, so her 'club clothes' didn't get much use.
Josh nodded over his beer, giving them a glance. He always approved of brunettes, but he wasn't really going to jump in and interrupt their conversation to tell them so. He didn't put it passed Drew, so he made sure he was ready to move if his ginger friend suddenly decided to try and lay game on them.
"I don't think it's the lighting. I've heard about this place before. The atmosphere takes getting used to, but they've told me that the girls in here are some of the best looking in the city." Without any warning, he reached over and bashed the lip of Drew's beer with the butt of his own, watching it fizz furiously. "Better hurry up and drink!" he exclaimed, swilling his own down before it exploded all over the bar counter.
Melisande watched over Aimee's shoulder as the two men... interacted, and then flicked her blue eyes back to the woman with a small smile. "Cavemen," she said softly to herself, shaking her head. It still was funny. You could tell who was a friend and who was just a colleague sometimes by the smallest things.
"They wait, but mostly because I still have those weird dreams. Sometimes they go and do their thing - " she meant feed, but she didn't like to say it - "and come back to check on me before they dip out for good. It's good, but it's also bad, because they out me to Eden when they know I'm too exhausted to work. I think tonight is the border, I'm glad I've got two consecutive nights off." Melisande was thankful for their relaxed schedules; she knew Aimee's was probably more difficult.
"It must be nice not to have to worry about stupid things like 'exhaustion'," she said with a small laugh. Melisande was pretty sure that she was the only human in the establishment at that point, which both surprised and worried her. It meant that she was rare, but among this clientele, she wasn't the object of affection. It also meant, however, that she was delicate. She stayed close to the other staffers, but she was thankful silently for Eden's 'no bullshit' policy when fighting and arguments were concerned. Getting caught in the middle would be... bad.
There was no way that Drew would hear Melisande call them 'cave men', and really, could he argue? 'Oh, we're sophisticated! Shit, my beer!' Yeah, that'd go over well.
"Shit!" he shot off, dipping his head to suck up the fizz and take a good, long swig to avoid losing the drink all over the bar (or himself). Once he was satisfied that the beer was no longer explosive, he gave Josh's shoulder a rough shove that he didn't really mean, and glanced back at the women. "Jackass. You're right, though. Ain't the lighting."
That was the truth.
Aimee was NOT oblivious of the fact that Melisande was watching the men over her shoulder, and she smirked at the 'cavemen' comment. This might have to be addressed in the next few minutes, but important stuff first.
"I still don't get what's going on with those dreams of yours. It just doesn't make sense to me," she sighed, and not for the first time. The whole situation had baffled her from the start, and mostly because she couldn't decide if she thought the dreams were a psychological thing, or if they really meant something. Apparently, the boys weren't taking any chances, and were keeping an eye on her. Good.
"Maybe you just need to take your mind off of everything. We have a little while left of breaktime before Eden's going to notice us gone. Wanna have some fun?" she asked, gesturing in a way that the men behind her wouldn't see to let Melisande know she was talking about them. Naturally, Aimee wouldn't be doing much that wasn't part of the job, but that was because of Nero. She didn't need any other guys. Besides, this one was about Melisande.
Joshua smiled to himself, and sat back in his chair a little bit. He was glad he'd gone out with Drew, after all. After Frank had left that Hole in the Wall place, which really was a hole in the wall, he'd been just intoxicated enough not to drive, so Drew had been appropriately drunk-dialed, and here they were. He knew that he'd base the rest of his drinking on Drew's ability to consume. If Drew had more, he'd have less. Either way, there was always a taxi if they both got too shitfaced, which, a few more beers, and Joshua would be.
"What do you think they're talking about?" he asked. "What do women talk about? Oh, hehe, so like, today I like went shopping...," he said, using a very high-pitched and extremely gay-sounding voice, tossing back imaginary hair. "Ah.. yeah. There's a reason I'm not married yet, which, by the way - yeah," he said, pointing at him with the neck of his beer. "Don't do it. I got bailed on tonight again because someone's wife-zilla wouldn't let him out of the house."
"I don't get it either. I wish I did," she said sullenly, feeling a little pouty over the entire ordeal. "I've had them since I was little; nothing's new. I think the way I feel about them has just changed - that and the overall tone of them is different." She paused as the door opened and glanced up - humans, three of them.
She looked back at Aimee, a brow lofted. "How do you suggest that?" she asked, following the direction of Aimee's hand to the men she'd been watching. "Oh, yeah." She smiled a little. "I guess the job isn't too stressful, after all," she said with a little purr, tilting her head to smile at the red-headed man a little. Honestly, Melisande had the cutest chipmunk cheeks, something that went with her features rather than against. She was adorable - and Aimee, well, Aimee was just hot.
"Hey dude," Josh said, nudging Drew's chair with his foot not-so-subtly. "Hey. She's looking at you," he hissed. "Go talk to her."
Drew was glad that Josh had called him, too. He'd been sitting at home with his PS2 and a beer, trying to tell himself that it was NOT pathetic to be sitting in front of a video game instead of out with people. Then, Josh had called and that whole theory went out the window, and he was going to see which one of them, if either, was capable of driving out of there that night. He was going to try to hold off, but sometimes they got started and just forgot to quit.
"Man, don't ever do that again. That was fuckin' scary," he shot back, also gesturing with his beer bottle, then taking another swill of it. Josh's 'gay voice' was just weird, and highly disturbing. It also didn't help that it was followed rather closely by the whole 'don't get married' thing. It wasn't like Drew had any serious options currently, so he wasn't worried about it, but the irony was there. "So I guess proposin' now ain't a good idea?"
Aimee knew the basics about the dreams, but she couldn't help her scientific studies. It made her want to exhaust all of the normal possibilities before touching on anything paranormal, despite her own shifter blood. She didn't deny that the magic was out there, but she knew that most things had logical explanations. This one was strange, though. If there was one she might believe was really paranormal, it'd probably be this one. She'd have to get more details out of Melisande later, when they had more time. Now, she just wanted the girl to relax and loosen up a little. Stressing herself out at work wouldn't do her any good.
Thus, she was more than pleased when Melisande took her suggestion to heart and smiled at one of the men. A short glance, and she could tell which one by the way the other nudged at his chair, and by the surprised look the redhead wore. "Oh, he's cute. Just don't break him, and I'll keep his friend busy for you," she offered, assuming that they could approach together, and then split the two men up for private time. Aimee's would be decidedly less interesting (she hoped Melisande would have some fun) unless the guy was willing to pay for a dance, but she just wanted to give the girl a chance alone with the other one.
"Go on, I'm here."
Drew glanced up from his beer and his conversation just in time for Josh to do the same, and while his friend was kicking at his chair and telling him to go talk to the woman who was making doe eyes at him, he basically froze. First off, he had no idea what suddenly got her attention or made her notice him, and second, she was very cute and he was very unprepared. At least he didn't choke on his beer and the lighting in the area made it hard to tell if he got at all pink in the face. Not going to talk to her would get him harassed forever, so he took a last swig of his beer and hopped off the stool, giving Josh an eye roll as he did so.
If this blows up in my face...
Melisande had that same sort of innocent smile on her face, though it froze for a moment when she realized that the redhead was actually going to come talk to her. She wasn't used to being so stunned by men trying to strike up conversations with her, especially in this environment. So why was this different? She didn't know, but she felt a little butterfly flutter around in her stomach.
"Go on, I'm here," Aimee said gently in her ear.
With that little bit of encouragement, she cleared her throat, and swiveled around in her stool, feet propelling her in a half-circle to meet Drew face to face when he approached her. "Hi," she said brightly. "I saw you and your friend come in - I don't think I've ever seen you in here before," she said.
D'oh! Now it makes me sound like I come here a lot. Wait, I do come here a lot. I work here! Oh, crap crap crap!
She managed to keep her composure for the most part, a small giggle escaping her mouth. God, she was so childish sometimes.
Joshua, in the meantime, stayed where he was long enough for Drew to get over to his target. He did think her companion was quite pretty - gorgeous, in fact, but he didn't want to try and interfere unless Drew called him in for backup. He simply scooted over a chair to keep a better ear on things, nodding a little to Aimee.
"Hey, I'm Josh. That's Drew - how are you ladies doing this evening?" he asked. He knew he slurred a little, but damnit, he was well drunk. He was entitled. At least he wasn't falling all over the place.
Well, Drew felt like a damn fool, and tried not to falter in his steps when she looked almost surprised over him walking towards her. She recovered so quickly that he wasn't even sure he saw it, and he shot another glance over his shoulder towards Josh. This girl wasn't like his usual, that much he'd been able to tell from where he was sitting. She didn't strike him as the fast fun that they usually aimed for. It was something in her smile, and he didn't know if he knew how to deal with it.
It was true, her statement suggested she was in the club often, and he glanced at the stage. Either she was into women, or he and Josh had been lucky in seeing the few women that danced on Lady's night. Maybe she just liked the music?
He felt like an idiot. Why was he here again? Because a girl smiled at him and Josh had kicked him? Yeah, that made a lot of sense. "Hey," he returned, smiling back at her. Her giggle was cute. It made her sound a little young, but it was still cute. He had to wonder how old she really was. "Yeah, we're not---"
That was when Josh spoke up, apparently talking to the other woman, but it didn't really matter. They were close enough. "Uh, yeah, I'm Drew," he told the girl in front of him, smiling a little sheepishly. He was going to beat Josh's ass later. "This is the first time we stopped in here. S' a pretty nice place so far. Never been big into strippers, but the girls here are amaz--I mean, they're nice, but so are you....and I have a really bad case of foot-in-mouth disease, so I think I'mma shut up now."
God, if Josh didn't laugh at him for the rest of his life, he was going to count himself lucky.
Actually, Josh laughing at him was the least of Drew's worries, since Aimee started giggling almost as soon as the guy started talking. First, his friend completely knocked him off-balance where the conversation was concerned, and then he knocked himself off again a moment later. He was funny, in a way, and she was totally leaving Melisande to talk to him. Maybe he'd calm down if he didn't have an audience.
"Josh," she purred, fully intending to take his attention and get him away from Melisande and his friend. The guy was already slurring, so he'd be a good distraction until she had to go back on stage, as long as he didn't get touchy or anything. "I'm Delilah, and this is Melisande. I think we're doing rather well tonight, don't you?" she asked, looking to Melisande for confirmation after giving their names. If Melisande had a stage name, she'd have given that instead of her real one, just in case, but that wasn't really an option. She didn't think the girl would mind too much, really. What girl wouldn't be pleased with having a guy tripping over himself like that? As long as he wasn't a complete loser, and this one didn't seem to be.
"This a guy's night out?"
Melisande opened her mouth, inhaling before she moved to speak, but instantly closed it as Drew sort of stumbled over his statements about the women there. She just sat back a little and smiled at him, shaking her head lightly.
"No, it's fine. They are amazing," she agreed. "Friends with most of them, actually, though I'm not into the dancing much myself." She didn't really want to tell him she worked here, but he'd find out sooner or later, wouldn't he? "I'm actually just a waitress. Sometimes I help at the bar, but I'm not usually as fast as Nikolas is."
A very loud, "No kidding," sounded off behind her as Nikki whizzed by, laughing.
"Yeah," she said sullenly. "That." She looked down for a moment, and then brightened back up, scooting a little closer to Drew, bringing her to the edge of her chair. She kept her legs crossed, though - short black skirts with a little swish to them were nice and all, but she was no Britney Spears. She brushed a strand of her golden-brown hair away from her face, tucking it behind her ear, and then held out her hand.
"I'm Melisande," she said. She was dimly aware that Aimee had already said her name, and she blushed a little. "But I guess you knew that already, Drew," she said, using his name. She'd learned that names got people's attention in conversation, drew them in. It was something she'd picked up from working here that she'd found effective in real-life conversation. It was also the fastest way to piss someone off, alternately. She'd done it four hours prior at Target when someone there had recognized her and hassled her. It was gratifying.
"I hope you're having a good time, at least," she sang. "This club isn't like any other club I've been to, not that I go a lot. When you work at one, it sort of sucks all the fun out of going out and partying. Every night's a party, yay," she said, clapping her hands a little, although it was hard to tell if she was being sarcastic or genuine. It was probably a mix of both.
"Nice to meet you, Delilah, and yes, it is most definitely a boys' night out. I had fully intended to shoot pool with buddies, but all of them decided to bail at the last minute on account of... whatever it is they do, and I called that goober," he said, pointing at Drew with his bottle again before taking a sip, "... and here we are." He smiled that charming smile at her - but he wasn't trying to charm her. More like, he needed to distract her from her pretty friend so Drew might have a snowball's chance in Hell. Women traveled in packs, just like men did.
"We don't get to go out terribly often, since our jobs are more than a little demanding, but we try to do it at least once or twice a month to remind us we're still human," he chuckled. Ooh, job drop. Josh was really digging Drew a hole.
Drew almost dropped his beer bottle when she mentioned being friends with most of the dancers, but not being into it herself. She worked here. She wasn't a dancer, but that didn't make her any less of an employee at a strip club, and he was actually surprised. He'd have judged from her smiles and giggling that she was a little out of place here, and he'd been wondering why she was there in the first place. Imagining her there on a regular basis seemed strange.
"Of course we're amazing," Aimee piped in, smirking. She wasn't just talking about herself, since Eve and Tawny and all of the other girls were incredible (and so were the guys), but the amount of money that passed hands and the crowd suggested that they were plenty good. "Nikki may be good behind that bar, but I bet he wouldn't be able to pull off getting tips in that cute skirt like you do. I'd like to see him try it, though."
Fortunately, he held onto his drink as the two women talked, and took Melisande's hand in a gentle shake when she offered it. She re-introduced herself, which actually made him feel less like a doofus for doing it himself, and he smiled at that. That wasn't so bad. "S' a pleasure, Melisande," he told her, being more careful with the pronunciation of her name than he was with the rest of his sentence. If he sounded like a Southern hick, that was fine, but he wouldn't butcher her name on her.
He smacked Josh in the ribs with his elbow when his 'friend' called him a goober to Delilah, though he grinned and tried to pretend he hadn't just heard Josh pull a 'job drop'. Within five seconds, one of the women would be asking what they did for a living. He pursued the job conversation on Melisande's end instead, figuring that keeping the attention off of himself would be easier. "I guess that could be a pain, but at least your job ain't borin'. If you don't go clubbin', then what do you do for fun?"
Everyone had hobbies.
Poor Josh had no idea that it'd take more than a charming smile to distract her from Melisande, and that even if SHE got distracted, every other employee in the place was still going to be watching out for her. Nikki alone could take care of anything the two humans tried to pull, not that she really thought they'd be trouble. They seemed like decent guys, though she smelled something interesting about them. Gunpowder?
"So what is it that you do that you have to come here to remind yourselves that you're human?" she asked, finding the irony in them coming to a place like this for that purpose incredibly amusing. It SHOULD remind them that they were human, since Melisande was the only one working there who wasn't a shifter or something, but they couldn't know that. Unless they were hunters, but she somehow didn't think so.
"Oh, well," she trailed off with a shy laugh. What did she do for fun? "I like to walk in the park, watch movies at home, beat the living crap out of our bouncers at Super Smash Brothers. The usual stuff that you get to do when you work at a place like this. It doesn't really allow for much of an adult day life in my head," she said. She knew that Aimee actually had a day job, and she didn't mean any insult - but for Melisande, there was only one or the other, not both. She'd tried, and it just didn't work. She was too easy to side-track. Obviously.
Before she could ask what they did, Aimee beat her to the punch. She tipped her head, glancing at the neon-ringed clock above the bar. She scanned the floor quickly, but there were more than enough staffers on the floor to cover what was happening for the moment.
Josh wasn't trying to charm Aimee, he just had that lazy sort of smile that he used with all women. It was better than his in-your-face glare, and probably way less likely to get his ass rocked by bouncers. "We're cops," he said happily, as though that explained everything. He'd let Drew tell them they were SWAT. He liked hearing it - still. He supposed that was a sign he loved his job.
"Really?" Melisande asked. She glanced at Drew, who didn't really seem like the type. He was so... nice. And Southern. She loved his accent, actually. She thought it was incredibly cute - much more nice on the ears than the harsh tone of New York and Long Island and, God, Stanton Island. "That's pretty cool. Suddenly my job is a lot less important," she said with a laugh.
"Nah, not at all," Josh said, smiling at her. "Without places like these, the world would be a little too taboo," he offered. "It all works together." Profound, and very drunk. He ordered another beer, effectively making Drew either the DD, or solidifying their need for a cab in the future.
To Aimee, he simply said, "It's not always fun - but living in the city, I'm sure you'd know that. Some days are light, and some are... not. I'm just glad I'm not homicide. They have their hands full right now. Some fire or something. Way, way too much info. Sorry," he said with a grin. "Beer talking." He pointed affectionately at the bottle and took a long swig of it.
If he hadn't been paying attention to the rest of what she'd said, beginning with 'walk in the park' would have made him seriously think of a personals ad. 'Likes long walks on the beach...' seemed so cliched, but then she finished off with beating the crap out of the bouncers at Super Smash Brothers, and there was nothing romantic about that, just cool. Way cool.
"N64 or Wii? I have a PS2, but I don't play it much anymore. Jus' too busy," he said with a shrug, though he also smiled happily at Josh's declaration that they were cops. He liked hearing it, too. He'd liked telling people he was a Marine before, but being a cop got you less chances of getting reamed by the anti-war types. "SWAT, actually, and what he said. Ain't nothin' better than a good night out, and this place seems great for it. Do you like your job? Because that's really all that matters."
In the end, that was it. If she liked it, it was important.
He was going to ignore Josh now, and just focus on Melisande. Josh was getting pretty drunk, which meant that Drew was driving. He hoped he'd get a good chance to mess with the guy later. Maybe stick something in his mouth and get a picture with his phone.
It was incredible how humans could get so 'deep' when they were drinking. She wasn't so sure if this guy would be saying things like that if he could think clearly, but it was amusing nonetheless. "No need to apologize, I think it's interesting. So, SWAT? That's a big deal. You really think that the homicide department has it worse than you do?" She could see it, but if you were risking your life so often, wouldn't you prefer something less dangerous?
Maybe not. There were plenty of hunters out there, some of them good customers of hers, that seemed to like it. Maybe after so much excitement, you just can't settle down into something more normal. "What got you into something like that?"
Josh shrugged a little. "I was a Marine. So was he," he nodded at Drew. "We were in the sandbox for quite a while. Doesn't matter if we agree about what's going on, we were told to go, and we did, and I hope we did something right while we were there." He didn't really want to delve into the entire situation, because it wasn't a pleasant story. He was still a little shocked he'd survived, or that he'd gotten his team out alive. If that wasn't bravery, then it was something close to it.
"Anyways, I got the itch, and since I was a sniper... there you have it. I don't necessarily think they have it any better than us, but I don't know if some of them could really do what we did. I think the entire SWAT is a bunch of adrenaline junkies, anyways - myself included. So. There you have it," he said with a smile. He drank his last beer kind of quickly, and then sat back in his chair and looked lazy. It was amazing he wasn't a cat, sometimes.
"Wii. I fucking hate the 64. The controller looks like a Lego," she said, quoting Master Chief. She'd be right, too. "I had a PS2, but then the PS3 came out, so I sold it, got that, and..." she made a flittering motion with her hand. "It's lame. All the good games were for PS2. But, the Wii is... well. We have Drunk Mario Kart sometimes, so that's fun, but aside from a few of the cartoonish games, it sort of sucks, too. I guess I just get bored too easily," she concluded with a tiny shrug.
Wow, was she talking too much? She blushed a little more, but under the dim lights, it was hard to tell. She bit her lower lip, wondering if she sounded like a real - what had Josh said? Goober? Yeah, she didn't want to be a goober.
"I like my job well enough. Truth be told, I don't usually even come out to this area when I'm on break. I usually hang out in the back. The girls here are all pretty good friends, even if some of them can be a little bit princess-y at times. We all have our moments, but I'm.." she trailed off. She couldn't precisely tell him that she was the only human there in employment. She settled for something else, something that was still partially true. "I'm the baby, so I get a little bit of teasing, and mostly people watching my back. It's nice."
She paused. She realized that no, she didn't really go out into the main area on break. Was Drew really the first guy she'd ever voluntarily struck a conversation with? She furrowed her brow, and then smiled at him. He was. She felt like telling him that wouldn't mean anything, though, so she kept it to herself.
Fortunately, Drew was more than capable of ignoring Josh's end of the conversation, because the sandbox was the last thing he wanted to think about right then. He was more interested in focusing on Melisande and plotting what he could get away with once Josh was too drunk to care. He had a load of pens in his car, since it seemed like every pen in his vicinity somehow ended up there, so he could try fitting as many as he could in Josh's mouth. All he needed was for the guy to pass out on the way home.
His gray eyes widened some when she cursed, then said that the 64 controller looked like a Lego, not sure which he thought was funnier. He came from the South, and yes, it's the 21st century, but he was still brought up on the whole 'treat a woman like a lady' thing. He didn't always follow it with his one-night stands, but he tried. He didn't like breaking hearts, and he didn't like fighting with women, but it still caught him off-guard when one dropped the F-bomb like that. Especially girls like Melisande, who were so sweet. He didn't bat an eye if a prostitute or crack-whore did it. "I dunno, I'm satisfied with my PS2. RE4's gotta be the best lookin' game on the system, and it's gotta hell of a story. Gotta confess, I have a thang for shootin' up on the zombies in those games."
Honestly, she had no worries about sounding like a goober. Her talking as much as she was just served to make HIM feel like less of a goober, since he wasn't sitting there not knowing what to say. Conversation made things easier. "Well, I guess it's jus' my lucky night then, ain't it? S'long as I don't get my ass kicked by one of your friends," he pointed out, smiling happily.
Wow, the more that man talked, the more Aimee wanted to sit and stare at him. It was like another language for a girl who hadn't ever heard deep south before, and she couldn't get over it. She couldn't decide if it sounded great or like something off of NASCAR. Maybe a little of both.
"Marines? Wow, I hate to say it, but I wouldn't have pegged you two for that. I always thought that Marines were bigger and stupider, no offense," she told him, and she actually blushed under the dim lighting and dipped her face down slightly. She really DIDN'T want to offend them, but she was being honest. Hearing that they'd both been Marines really WAS surprising. She would have asked more, simply because she thought it was interesting, but he moved on, so she let it go. It didn't sound like a conversation for a fun night out, though she didn't really think that she'd be running into these two again anytime soon.
Actually, she'd have pegged Josh for a cat as well if she couldn't smell the fact that he was human, and if he were hers, she'd have offered. Leopard would have suited him. As it was, she just laughed, shaking her head a little. "I'd believe it. That job just sounds like you'd have to be an adrenaline junkie to enjoy it. It's good to hear that we're all in such capable hands," she told him teasingly.
Josh smiled a little more genuinely at Aimee when she said the last bit, no matter how much of a tease she meant it. "We do what we can," he said happily. Now there was a guy who loved his job. Seriously. "And I don't take offense to it, actually. I'd rather people totally underestimate me. It makes it that much better for me," he said, eyes half-lidded. If Joshua had known her thoughts, he might have bolted - good thing he couldn't read minds.
He shimmied up a little in his chair, trying to stay attentive to what was going on, but let's face it - he was drunk. He rested an elbow on the bar and blinked a few times, bright eyes trying to get a good feel for his surroundings. "Sorry, Delilah," he said sheepishly. "I get tired when I drink. I think it's probably a good thing. Stops me from doing too terribly much in the way of stupid things." He eyed Drew. Not to interrupt his game, but get her number already!
"Ooh, I don't like zombie stuff. I tried to play RE1 and it scared me so bad I gave it to one of the girls here, who took it home and let her little brother annihilate it. It's bad, because they've got such cool stuff, but yeah.. I don't like scary stuff so much. I'll take the squishy cartoonish crap all day long."
She glanced back up to the clock on the wall, and then back to Drew. "Your friend looks ready to pass out. Here, let me do this." She reached over the bar, brushing against him as she turned, and grabbed a pen from behind the counter. She snatched a matchbook, of all things, and quickly wrote down her number. "Give me a call in a few hours. I have to get back to work, but after I get out, I'm free. We can just hang out," she said. She meant hang out, too, not have wild sex and then never talk again. Mel wasn't really like that.
She cast a sidelong glance at Aimee, wondering if she was being too forward, but she handed him the matchbook anyways. "It was really nice to meet you. I don't think I've... wow, no, I've never given my number out to anyone here before. It's sort of against the rules for me, but... " she trailed off and just shrugged in her cute little way.
Yep, Josh was going to pass out. That'd make for awesome pictures.
Despite that, Drew wasn't in enough of a hurry. He actually LIKED this girl, and he gave Josh a look that pretty plainly said 'shut it!' right back. He didn't need to be rushed, considering his almost-botching in the early game. Fortunately for Josh, Melisande noticed, and then?
She gave him her number. HALLELUJAH, CHRISTMAS CAME EARLY!
He grinned, sticking the matchbook in his front pocket so he'd be less likely to lose it, and nodded. "Will do, I promise, and we'll avoid the scary stuff," he promised, winking and reaching to grab Josh by the arm. "I'm glad to be your exception, believe me. Lemme get his sorry ass home, and I'll call you later."
Oh, and he totally would. "Come on, man, before you pass out. You can sleep in the car," he told his friend, and again, he hoped the guy did.
She couldn't fault Josh's logic regarding being underestimated, something that she appreciated for herself, as well. The last time she'd gotten mugged coming out of work, the same had worked in her favor. He looked like he was going to fall asleep on the bar, though, and that was against the rules. Nikki would be getting him out of there if he did.
"Stops you from doing stupid things, but it must be less fun," she pointed out, and smirked wickedly once more. She wanted to ask if he fell asleep immediately after sex as well, but she kept that one to herself. No sense in messing up Melisande's 'game'. "You go home and sleep, I have to get back on stage in a few. It was nice talking to you, Josh," she told him, and she meant it.
Once they were gone, she could congratulate Melisande on being so forward. That was excellent!
He smiled a little, giving Drew a Look when he pulled him up and out of the chair. "A pleasure, Delilah. Really." He gave her that impish sort of grin, one that was hard to decode - flirtatious, drunk, charming, something of a mix, really. He allowed himself to be led by Drew out of the bar, but only because he couldn't feel his feet.
"Okay," she said, almost breathless. "I'll be looking forward to it." She smiled - she meant it, too. She would. She gave his arm a small squeeze, and then turned to Aimee as soon as they'd left eyesight and earshot.
"Oh my God. I can't believe I just did that!" she squealed. "What did I do? Oh, wow, what if he thinks I'm a total loser?" She started to stress immediately - and thusly the reason Melisande was never in relationships.
"Night, Josh! Bye, Drew! It was nice talking to you!" Aimee called out happily, finding the redhead helping his friend out the door to be rather funny. She liked those guys, from what she'd seen.
Drew knew from experience that if Josh was letting himself be led around, it was because he was THAT drunk. Wonderful, as though him nearly falling asleep at the bar hadn't been clue enough. At least Drew could be absolutely certain about this one.
"Nex' time, the leas' you can do is wait on me before gettin' trashed," he complained. He hadn't gotten to nearly as much alcohol as he'd wanted to over the course of the evening. Once he got to his car and hit the little button on his keys to unlock the doors, he grabbed the passenger side door for Josh. "Your chariot, princess."
Yep, being the most sober meant he had the most brain cells to rub together. That was a good thing, even if he didn't look like he was using them, per se.
Aimee waited, knowing that as soon as they couldn't hear her anymore, Melisande was going to freak out.
One....two......three!
"I really don't think he thinks you're a loser. Actually, I think he wanted to hit his head on the bar a few times, given his expressions right after his mouth opened. You made him nervous, sweetie, I'm so proud of you," She teased, laughing.
If this little thing actually turned into a relationship, she wished that poor guy luck in dealing with Melisande stressing these things. If she was already stressing about giving out her number, that didn't say good things about what was coming. "Relax. He'll call, and you'll see that it's nothing to worry over. You meant it when you said you'd be looking forward to it, right?"
Joshua waved goodbye and allowed himself to be shoveled out of the doors and into the car. He climbed in and tightened down his seatbelt, and then stared at Drew. "It was either get really drunk, or try to pick up on your girl. I picked the more noble of two paths, so no fucked up doll photos. Got it?" He narrowed his blue eyes at Drew.
Melisande shook her head a little. "I don't think I made him nervous," she protested. She wasn't trying to be coy, either; really, Melisande didn't expect to have that sort of effect on people. She was used to being the only human in a room full of extremely exotic women, and it might have played a little with her self-esteem, at least a tiny, small, minuscule amount.
She reached out to shove Aimee a little. "Of course I meant that I was looking forward to it. Did you see how cute he was? Oh, what if he doesn't call? Then I'll look stupid!" She put her head down in the bar and groaned. "Now I'm going to be nervous all night. Nikki, can you fix me a drink really fast before I go back on shift?" she called to the bartender. She held her fingers up, index and thumb only a small portion from eachother. "Just a little bit of alcohol, though, okay?"
At least she was actively trying to loosen up, some.
Drew's laugh couldn't be described as anything other than evil, or at least trouble. The doll photos were SO easy to get, and yet they inspired such a strong reaction. It cracked him up. At least he was only jumpy about REAL dogs, and the bigger ones. Not chihuahuas or anything easy to get into the station.
It just sucked because at least half of New York seemed to have a dog. A big one.
"I got it, I got it. Thanks for not tryin' to swipe her before I even had a chance," he returned, leaving it alone.
"Oh, don't be ridiculous! If his foot would have been any further in his mouth, he'd have needed the Heimlich!" Aimee snorted, not at all interested in the 'I'm not pretty enough' thing. Just because Melisande hung out with shifters and vampires didn't mean she wasn't attractive.
At least she was serious about being interested in the guy. Really, Aimee didn't think Melisande looked in the mirror often enough. The guy was cute, but Melisande was HOT. "Listen, you're hot, and you're sweet. He'll call, and if he does anything to hurt you, I'll chew his arm off. Got it?" she asked, smiling sweetly. Yeah, you didn't mess with Melisande anywhere that the staff at All Hallows could find out, especially if you were only a human.
Melisande smiled warmly when Aimee threatened to chew his arm off. It would only be endearing to her, of all people, when one of her less-than-human friends offered to do something like that when it came to having her heart broken. "What would I do without you?"
Tawny's song had ended, and she came from the back room with a fresh set of 'real' clothing on, pausing to lean lazily on the back of Melisande's chair and give her the lightest of hugs from behind. "Eden's looking for you," she said, nodding to Aimee. "I tried to stall him, but he wants you up after Eve."
"Hey!" Mel squealed, leaning in to hug Tawny. Honestly, how could Melisande not feel overshadowed when she had women so beautiful all over the place? She supposed that she should feel special more than anything. Eden had hired her on the spot after seeing her demonstrate her strange reminiscence of the people who dwelled within the club, and firmly said that she would be his only human employee. Speaking of which, her break was over five minutes ago.
"Ooh, I guess that's my cue. I need to go get the rowdy bunch at the stage some shots, I think. They look like they tip better when they're drunk. I'll definitely let you know how it goes, Aim," she said. She slid off of her stool and took off towards the back to grab her tray and notepad for drink orders.
"Know how it goes? Ooooh, did she meet someone?" Tawny gasped.
"You would worry yourself into a stroke, that's what," Aimee responded easily, smiling happily at Melisande's much better attitude.
Even as Tawny's song was ending, Aimee was finishing up her drink and ready to head into the back, assuming she was up for her next set, but Tawny beat her to it. That was fine, since the fun was over, anyway. Tawny seemed thrilled at the idea of some new gossip, however, and Aimee wasn't going to deny the other girls news this good. "You better!" she called after Melisande, actually looking forward to hearing all about it. Good for Melisande.
"Yes, she had a cute redhead totally tripping over himself trying to talk to her, and she played it wonderfully," she explained proudly, slipping off of her stool as she did. "She even gave him her number!"
Tawny clapped her hands to her mouth and made a face. "Wha-a-a-a-at?" she exclaimed, her voice doing that high-pitched thing at the end that showed how surprised she actually was. Her topaz eyes twinkled in the strange lights of the club, and she put a hand on her hip while the other was still on her face, fingers splayed across her cheek as she smiled fondly.
"He'd better call her, or I'll slither into his apartment and strangle him myself," she said, though she still looked mighty amused. She meant it, though. She'd never seen Melisande give her number to anyone. In fact, she'd never seen Melisande more than take drink orders and flirt a little with the guys at the club. It was like her personal rule or something.