Vivienne (whitemagiclady) wrote in light_of_may, @ 2009-06-13 22:48:00 |
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Entry tags: | 2009-06-04 |
I'm just that good
Who: Alejandro and Vivienne
Where: Anywhere But Here
When: 10ish
It was the Friday of Alejandro's week-- he was too poor at customer service and too low on the bar's totem pole to merit the coveted Friday night-- and he was starting to get antsy. He had a place all picked out for tomorrow night. He wasn't hungry, not exactly, and he probably wouldn't be since he'd fed so very well the weekend before, but he was antsy. And going out and feeding helped that. So would a good lay, he was sure, but that wasn't really an option for him, now, was it? Not unless he did find someone who could tell him how to make dead flesh feel warm again....
So for now, he was dealing with his almost-empty bar, filling the basic requests of the current clientelle with an air of distraction around him, and cleaning the damn bartop for the twentieth time while his mind was on blood and death and a twisting guilt that, right then, he really wished he could ignore. It was gonna be a rotten night.
Vivienne headed into the bar and found her way to the counter, climbing up on one of the stools and crossing one leg over the other. She wanted to kill a little time before the radio show and just couldn't seem to sleep anymore, so she decided a drink was in order. She had a couple hours before the show started so she knew she couldn't get drunk or anything close to it, but a drink or two would be nice and a little buzz on the radio might help her come up with more topics to talk about. Maybe drunk Vivienne could be more interesting than completely sober Viv. She smiled at the man behind the counter who was wiping the counter down. "Hello." she said, sounding pretty chipper for it being so late in the evening.
For a beat Alejandro blinked at the new customer without really seeing her, distracted by his thoughts. Then he shook his head, gave her a wry half-smile, and said, "Evenin'. Someone sounds like they're having a good night. what can I getcha?" Since she was probably here for a drink, and he was the bartender, and all. Even if he couldn't quite smother the mental image of her with blood spilled across her throat, if just for the instant when she'd sat down. You're sick, he told himself silently, but the half-smile didn't falter.
"Just woke up so I guess I'm a bit bouncy." she smiled, brushing her hair back over her shoulder. "Um... how bout a tequila sunrise?" she smiled. She'd been craving one for days and she'd be damned if she actually went into a bar and didn't get one.
Bouncy and blonde. Lovely. Perfect for ruining-- fuck. No. It was a damn good thing he was going out of the area tomorrow night; even if he indulged his sick and twisted urges, he couldn't afford to give anyone here any ideas. He was disgusting and evil, not stupid. "Tequila sunrise coming right up," he told her, setting about putting one together for her. "Perfect for being nocturnal, I guess. You get a different kind of sunrise." Ugh, she wasn't udead too was she? Some of them still ate and drank human food....
"Well I'm normally not so nocturnal." she admitted. "But I just started working for this late night radio station between midnight and four in the morning, so It's making me a bit of a night owl." she smiled. "I went to bed and when I woke up tonight I just couldn't seem to want to go to sleep again, so here I am, getting a drink from you."
Not a vampire, then. Good. Alejandro already knew too many of those. "Well, temporary nocturnal-ness, then." Keep talking, keep her talking, and maybe he wouldn't think anything he shouldn't but couldn't resist thinking. "So how's the radio show business?" he asked. "Better than bartending?" He flashed her a smile, just barely concealing the fangs.
"It's interesting." she nodded. "Getting used to it mostly. Met a new friend though. I think that's the most interesting part. Haven't hung out with too many of his kind before. But the purpose of the radio show I guess is to be drawing in some of the night crowd so it seems likely that's why they picked him to be the other personality on the show." Vivienne grinned right back at him and shrugged a little. "Can't say if it's better than bartending. Haven't done it before."
"His kind?" Alejandro repeated, trying not to feel apprehensive. "Night crowd? There a theme you got goin' there, baby?" He set her drink in front of her with raised brows. "Maybe you're at the wrong bar."
"Well, I didn't mean it like that. I just never really talked to a vampire before, so it was interesting to finally meet one face to face." she said, the smile on her face obviously saying she meant no harm in the way she'd put what she'd said. "Wrong bar?" she questioned, arching a brow at the man. "You're a ... you're one too?" she whispered.
Trying hard not to lok defensive, Alejandro rolled his eyes, looking irritated, instead. "If you were so excited about meeting one," he explained carefully, though it probably came across as that overly-patient condescending tone people-- including himself-- could take, "then you ought to be at the vampire bar, not this one. I," he added firmly, "don't like vampires. Drink your tequila sunrise, or something. Tell me how it is."
The smile on her face slowly faded into a frown and she looked down at her drink. She was doing good at offending people lately, especially if he was rolling his eyes and looking all irritated at her only a little while into the conversation. "I wasn't excited about meeting one, it just happened..." she explained. "It's not like I go out trolling for vampires or anything... I... I didn't mean it like that." She let her fingertips wrap around the glass, but didn't know if she wanted to drink it now. Feeling more than a little like just leaving the bar and trying to occupy herself with not pissing people off instead. "How much do I owe you?" she questioned instead.
Now he had to try not to look satisfied that he'd cowed her; how sick was it that he liked dragging people down, these days? He couldn't tell if it was because of the undeadness or the unhappiness, or some combination of both. It certainly did clear the irritation away, though, letting his expression settle into something more neutral. "If you aren't going to drink it," he said with a shrug, since she wasn't drinking it, "I'm not going to charge you for it."
She sighed and lifted the glass from the table. It took her a minute or so to down the thing, but she did, then she sat it back down. Trailing her tongue over her top lip to lick away the bit of liquor and juice that remained there, she pushed the glass towards him. "There, I drank it. Now. How much do I own you?" she asked, still not looking up at him.
Part of him was feeling a lot better, now that he'd upset someone; there was still that guilt, though. He shouldn't feel so good about it. Not to mention, now, he was warring incredulity for the complete lack of respect she'd given a perfectly good mixed drink. "You couldn't hardly have tasted that," he protested. It had to have burned on the way down, in fact. One did not guzzle anything with tequila in it.
"Why does it matter if I tasted it or not. You said to drink it. I drank it, now let me pay for it and I'll leave." Only then did she finally let her eyes wander back up to his face. "So how much was it?" she questioned. Respecting the mixed drink was the last thing on Vivienne's mind . She felt more like running out of the bar and never returning again. That was sounding like a better idea than sitting around annoying this bartender guy. Her throat burned and she wanted something to chase the drink with. Please just let me pay for this damn drink.
Alejandro sighed. "Well, I was kind of hoping you'd at least like the drink a little," he grumbled-- after all, making things like that was the only thing he did well, besides killing people-- but he told her the price, anyway. If she wanted out so badly, she could go. He did pour her a glass of 7-Up as he told her, though, and set it in front of her before she could even get a dollar out. "Drink that before you go. No charge for that one."
"Are you always so friendly?" she questioned. "Or am I just lucky to have caught you on a good night?" Most likely it was her own fault for saying things and not thinking about them before they slipped past her lips. She set the money on the counter and slid it across to him and then wrapped slender fingers around the glass of 7-up. "Thank you." she said, still sounding friendly at least.
"No, I'm pretty much generally an asshole," Alejandro admitted, one part bitter and two parts resigned, with maybe a tiny bit of apology in there somewhere. If you looked close. "Which would be why I'm stuck on weeknight shifts; the fact that I mix pretty well and can keep it under control some of the time means I haven't been fired yet." He hitched a shoulder in a shrug, then collected her money unobstrusively. "It isn't you."
Well at least it wasn't her that turned him into a dick. He was just dickish normally. Not that the statement really made her feel any better, but she supposed as long as she didn't urge this sudden asshole act from him, she could deal with it. She sipped the 7-Up slower than she had the mixed drink. At least it helped sooth the burning in her throat. "I didn't mean to offend you." she said, as if he hadn't heard her before. "I seem to have been doing a damn fine job of annoying people lately with my questions or... wonderings... whatever."
Pulling a beer from the small fridge of them behind the bar, for another patron, Alejandro said, "You didn't really offend me, you know. I was just being a jerk and mocking you because vampires piss me the fuck off." He set the beer down in front of a guy further down the bar, then wandered back, shrugging. "Who else've you pissed off, then?" Because now he was curious, and it might keep him distracted and amused to have her recount pissing other people off. Maybe. Besides, getting her irritation off him might mean he'd actually get a tip.
"The guy I work with. When I found out he was a vampire we were talking and I asked if he'd bite me... only I was just kinda meaning it more like would they just bite if they felt like it and he got offended I guess. Not really pissed off and I apologized afterwards so things are okay now. I think it just came out the wrong way or something. Like I assumed they were all bad or something, which I didn't. I just... don't really hang around vampires so I was a little curious." Vivienne explained.
Oh. The other vampire. Of course. Alejandro made a little bit of a face. "Right," was all he could think of to say. This town was all but teeming with damn vampires-- and who knew what else-- and apparently he couldn't get away from them anymore. Ugh. "Maybe vampires are just touchy," he suggested finally, with an irony she obviously wouldn't be able to pick up on.
"Perhaps. Or maybe I just open my mouth when I should keep it closed." She wasn't really sure which was closer to the truth. Vivenne shrugged a little and twirled a long strand of her blonde hair around her finger as she sipped on the soda he'd given her.
Since that might also be true, Alejandro shrugged and said, "Maybe." Okay, so he was shit at being reassuring. So what? "Or maybe you just have really bad luck and keep getting the touchy ones." He could sympatize with that, all right, and he'd call it bad luck to have to put up with him.
"Guess talkative blondes and vampires rub each other the wrong way. If I ever ended up a vampire, I bet they'd all flee when they saw me coming, even if I was a vampire too." she sighed. Vivienne couldn't help but wonder if that might actually be a bit true.
Alejandro was starting to wonder if she was just really depressed, or something. And hiding it behind being perky. yeah, probably not. But she sure did get down on herself a lot. It made it hard not to take advantage of it, but his self-preservation instincts were still pretty hyped, so he kept anything he might have said behind his pretty, sharp teeth. Stupid sharp teeth and temptations that came with them.... "Couldn't tell ya. If you've only met one vampire, pretty hard to guess how the rest of them'd like you."
"I suppose." she shrugged. "At least he doesn't hate me now. Guess I shouldn't much care anyway. You and him are the only people I've seemed to annoy lately." Tayne didn't seem to be annoyed with her at least. He was still willing to make her dinner so she doubted he hated her or was aggravated with her. Vivienne shrugged a little and let the topic drop. "I'm Vivienne... by the way." she said, not that he'd want to know her name, but now he had it anyway.
"Alejandro." He paused, then left off the "Alex". So far, only Jovie in town could call him that. Instead, he smirked and said, "It's a pleasure." Sort of, anyway. "And now that I'm not pissing you off or vice versa, you want another of those?" He picked up the empty glass, half in demonstration and half to clear the bartop. "You know, that you can actually enjoy instead of-- guzzle?" He all but shuddered as he said it. One did not guzzle tequila sunrises, dammit.
She looked at the glass, then back up at him and nodded. "Yes, please." she said. One more wouldn't kill her and she was pretty certain it wouldn't drag her into completely drunk status either. Vivienne gave a little smile and continued to sip on her glass of 7-Up.
"Great." Because she was going to appreciate his talent, even if it killed him. Again. The mental image of her messily bleeding came again, and he told himself firmly, Not that talent, pendejo. "So you don't come here that often, do you?" he asked as he poured into a fresh glass. Because he'd know if he'd pissed her off before-- and she'd probably not have come back.
"No." she said, shaking her head. "Usually when I drink, I'll just grab some liquor from the store and do it in front of the television with a friend or by myself, whichever I'm in the mood for at the time. I wanted to get out tonight though. Kill some time before heading to the station. Figured a little buzz might make me even more bubbly and stuff for my evening listeners." Vivienne smiled.
Alejandro snorted lightly. Even more bubbly. Who wanted to listen to bubbly in the middle of the night? Especially after midnight. "So what do you people talk about on the air, anyway?" he asked. "Just whatever comes to mind, or what?"
"Pretty much." she nodded. "Just whatever we decide to talk about. Random things mostly. We take requests and stuff and play music of course..." she shrugged. "It's a lot easier than I thought it would be actually. I think I'm doing pretty well for not having any real experience. I just applied for the fun of it and they called me back and kinda tossed me into it." Vivienne said.
"Maybe you've got the right personality for it," Alejandro suggested. "Somebody like me would only get a job being some kind of pundit." He set her second tequila sunrise in front of her and looked at her. "There. Now you tell me how that is, this time." He grinned a bit, just tightly enough to hide the fangs. He'd perfected that, in the past couple months.
"Maybe." she smiled, sliding the 7-Up to the side and picking up the mixed drink. Vivienne took a short sip this time and set the glass back down. "Much better when you sip it." she nodded. "Much better."
Laughing-- a brief, very brief flash of fangs before he remembered himself and toned down to a chuckle-- Alejandro said, "Good. I would imagine it's better that way. Less of the burning and more of the flavor. Good, then?" Yes, he was fishing. So what?
Lucky for him, Vivienne wasn't paying any attention to Alejandro's mouth. She was far too concerned with drinking her drink to really notice. She did, however, hear him when he asked about her thoughts on the drink. "It's good." she nodded. "Very, actually."
Alejandro beamed as much as he could without fang-flashing, looking as pleased as she'd seen him, yet. "Good," he said firmly. He did like to hear his drinks were well-received. And that he was good at what he did, even if he already knew it. Another customer signalled him, and since he already knew what he wanted, Alejandro set about putting it together.
Vivienne found it a little amusing that he seemed so pleased just because she liked his drink. Once he finished serving the other customer she arched a brow at him. "So... you like to know that you do a good job on your drink making?" she questioned. "I'm sure that people tell you they like your drinks all the time, don't they?"
"Actually, mostly only if I fish," he admitted, wandering back her way, since she seemed talkative. And since she really did make nice pictures in his head of killing her in very painful ways. Sick fuck. "Or they're flirting. Most people are more concerned with getting drunk or spilling their life stories to me, than complimenting my mixing."
"Well I'm not flirting with you, sweets. Not that I wouldn't, but seeing as we pissed each other off or irritated each other or whatever within the course of just a few minutes of conversation, I highly doubt I'm of any interest to you. Why let myself get shot down when I can just compliment your bartending abilities?" Vivienne asked. She'd rather not set herself up for disappointment anyway.
"You don't wanna be flirting with me, anyway, baby," Alejandro smirked at her, settling back against the shelves behind the bar. "I'm bad business for a girl like you. Goes with the asshole territory, you know." Though he was amused that she might have. And a little bit guilty, again, because he could still imagine her dying, screaming in pain. And he did like that.
"But assholes are always the best in bed." she responded probably a bit more easily than she should have. "But that's alright, I won't flirt with you if you'd rather." Vivienne shot him a little grin and tucked her hair behind her ear, taking another little sip of her drink.
Snickering, Alejandro said, "I'd attest to that, but then I'd be bragging, and nobody likes a bragger. But flirt with me if you want. Just know that you've been warned: deal with assholes at your own peril." And, you know, sadistic, undead, and often broody boys.
Vivienne leaned forward a little and shrugged her shoulders, her scoop-neck blouse giving him more than a decent view of her goods. "So you're a good lay and can mix an awesome tequila sunrise. Tell me you're as sexy naked as you are with clothes and I just have to flirt with you." she grinned. Well, she couldn't help it, he was attractive after all. And besides, it was all harmless flirting anyway.
He smiled back at her-- and he looked, of course. Who wouldn't? She was pretty obviously putting herself on display. "You really want me to say shit to feed my own ego? Sure, I can do that. I am damn sexy naked." He might actually get a tip out of all this. Or even a repeat customer.
She couldn't help but let a little grin slip across her face when she felt his eyes on her. She ran her tongue over her top teeth then sucked her bottom lip into her mouth and bit it just slightly. "Thanks for the mental image to keep me company tonight, sweets." Vivienne grinned. And oh what a pretty picture he'd painted.
Watching shamelessly at the little, physical flirts, and half-grinning in admitted admiration, he said, "Should I take a few with me, too, baby?" He already had a few. They just weren't the kinds she was thinking, though they were just as pretty a picture, in their own way, in his mind. God, was he glad tomorrow was Friday. It was going to be hard to wait even through the hours of daylight.
"You do that." she said with a little grin, reaching up to draw her hair over one shoulder. "Maybe you should make those pictures into reality sometime." she added, her voice barely a murmur as Vivienne glanced up at the man again. God, you're a skank. Got one guy coming to cook you dinner and then this one you wanna fuck. Great.
Pushing up from the shelves and coming to lean on his elbows the other side of the bartop, Alejandro smirked and said in a low purr, "Maybe I should." But he needed to deal with the cold-skin-thing first, god dammit. Two women in as many days coming on to him, and he couldn't do anything about it! Ugh.
"Yes, you should. Most definitely." she agreed, eyes on his as she spoke. "Now tell me, Alejandro..." she began, reaching into her purse and pulling a pen out. She found a napkin on the bar and uncapped her pen. "If I write my number on this napkin, should I expect a phone call or would you just crumble it as soon as I walk out that door?"
"It might take me a few days," Alejandro admitted, "but I won't be crumbling up your number. Calling's sure possible." He made a point to look her over again, to emphasize that yes, he had reason to call. He just had to figure some shit out first. And kill somebody. Maybe a couple somebodies. He hadn't decided yet.
"I can handle a few days." she said, lips quirking upwards just a touch as she wrote out her name and number and held it out to him. "I don't work weekends, sweetheart. Just FYI. And I usually have some time to kill during the week between ten and twelve at night so... don't be afraid to give me a ring." Slut, slut, slut, slut.... SHUT UP INNER VOICE! Vivienne gave him another little smile and lifted her drink again to take another small sip.
And between ten and twelve at night, Alejandro was working. Except on weekends, when he was killing things. And then digesting. "Maybe after work sometime," he suggested instead with a smile that, again, didn't quite show the fangs, taking the napkin neatly with two fingers and, perhaps oddly, not taking the chance to touch her while doing so. Having cold fingers wasn't that unusual, but he was paranoid. "You get off at four, right?"
"I do." she nodded. "You'd still be up that late?" she questioned. "I wouldn't mind some company after a long... hard... day at work." Vivienne said, though obviously drawing out those particular words for other reasons.
Alejandro smiled a little more, because that? Was pretty damn awesome. Not even Jovie had the physical, vocal-cued flirting quite that obviously, and sometimes he liked that. "I don't get off until four, baby," he answered, putting a very slight emphasis on "get off", his own self. "So I've got a long... hard... day at work to make up for, myself, 'bout that time."
"Good." she grinned. "Then you'll get off when I do." she said, again putting some emphasis on words for him. "And if that's the case, we'll get along just fine."
Reaching over to brush a strand of her hair with two fingers-- not her face, her hair-- Alejandro purred, "Then we'll just have to see when we get off, then." And with that, he pushed off from the bar, taking her number with him to pocket-- in his back pocket, as he turned away from her to handle another drink request, shooting her a smirk over his shoulder.
Vivienne bit her lower lip through a little smirk of her own, eyes lingering on his back end as he moved and then on his face and that sexy little smirk he had going on. "Oh, the naughty, naughty things I could do to you." she murmured, mostly to herself as he walked away.