InsaneJournal

Tweak says, "Do a little dance!"

Idris Khalid|| Σήθ (Set/Seth/Sutekh) (counterbalance) wrote in paxletalelogs,
@ 2011-07-31 23:43:00

Entry tags:

nephthys, set

Who: Idris and Vanessa
What: Staying in at night is getting to be far too boring, so Idris decides to check out a local pub...
Where: Muldoon's, downtown Newport Beach
When: 10:17 P.M., July 29th, 2011.
Warnings: Slight foul language, but otherwise nothing else as of yet.
Notes: None as of yet.

Work had been a pain in the ass this past week, to say the least. Idris was more than happy to leave Friday afternoon after he'd gone through a stack of new invoices for what seemed to be the fifth time. It wasn't that he was a slacker--well, all right, he could be, but hadn't he managed his own dealership for how many years? It was only that simply getting out and about was definitely foremost in his frame of mind the entire drive home. Other than taking care of menial activities such as grocery shopping and finally, finally! finishing unpacking, he hadn't had much time for himself since moving to California. Well, that was about to change tonight, even if the only thing that happened was a nice glass of whatever available ASAP in his hand. The sooner, the better.

Idris, in a bad mood? No, certainly not. But you couldn't blame a man for wanting to get out of the confines of the daily grind at least once in awhile.

While Idris wasn't big into surfing the internet (unless he was really, REALLY bored, and then he mostly played Farmville--hey, in his defense, his sheep always stayed fed and the crops...ah, well, they might suffer a little, but he was still proud of his level 30 accomplishment), he'd come across an interesting forum note made by yet another new tenant to the Pax building. The new arrivals seemed to be popping up like daisies in the middle of a particularly warm Spring, but Idris didn't mind. The more people that were around, the more chances he had of finding someone that'd definitely be into moving and shaking it on the weeknights and preferably the weekends as well. Everyone needed a break from their every day lives, it was only a matter of finding the right person. Or people, as it were. Yeah, people sounded a lot better. The more the merrier!

And so he quickly googled the location of the pub the new tenant spoke of, writing down the directions on a handy post-it note. He'd get the hang of this city soon enough, but for now there was no sense in getting lost. Maybe he'd even hail a cab--in fact, that sounded great and 100% more safe than driving home, no matter what his eventual state of intoxication would be.

Having made the necessary ride accommodations (the post-it note now forgotten), Idris quickly dressed for the evening: dark slacks and a simple tan dress shirt. Basics were essential when scoping out a new place, but it didn't hurt to look put together overall. Adjusting his hair and checking for any slight signs of looking definitely not put together in the bathroom mirror, Idris finally deemed himself ready. Checking his watch, he grinned when he saw that he still had ten minutes before his cab would arrive. He left the bathroom and grabbed his billfold from the kitchen counter and slipped it into his back pocket. Making sure he had his keys, Idris gave the main room of his apartment a once-over before nodding to himself and locking the front door behind him. He jingled said keys good-naturedly along his walk to the elevator, making it out of the building with three minutes to spare.

The ride to Muldoon's was quick and painless; Idris cheerfully paid the cab driver and headed inside the establishment, unable to keep the corners of his mouth from turning upwards in a somewhat self-satisfied smile. Nice. For a Friday night, the pub was decently packed, filled with people from all sorts of backgrounds mingling together and sharing drinks, stories, and even spit at the side right corner table. Again, nice. He headed to the bar, taking a seat on one of the bright red stools after casually glancing around the room at what sort of pickings there'd probably be as the evening continued. For a Friday night crowd, the assorted patrons seemed primarily jovial, but in situations such as these there was always the chance for a fight to break out, unsettling the pleasant evening activities. To be perfectly honest with himself, Idris wasn't entirely opposed to such a thing happening, not as long as he had a drink in his hand first and could watch from a safe vantage point.

Tapping his fingers on the bar counter for a moment, Idris then sat forward to take out his billfold, removing one of his credit cards. He motioned to one of the bartenders that seemed to be less busy than the others--she was pretty, with tousled, dark curls pulled half upon her head, the rest of them falling free. A particularly bright green bow adorned her hair, and Idris had to smile, for surely she must be playing along with the Irish theme of the place. And, it was amusing to note, it seemed there was no shortage of curly-haired women in this city, something that Idris had to admit he didn't mind in the least.

"Say, you got a minute?"

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counterbalance
2011-08-07 08:37 am UTC (link)

Having a little fun, was it? A 'little' fun and especially the having of it was always of interest to Idris; might as well do what a person could to enjoy themselves during their time on the Earth, after all. Idris kept himself from shifting upon his stool when Vanessa's hand moved daringly upon his leg. Instead he took another drink of his beer, strictly out of thinly-veiled self-satisfaction. His eyes then trailed down again in order to watch Vanessa adjusting her choice of statement demanding footwear.

"By all means, toot your own horn. I could never deny someone the need to do so, especially when it's well deserved." Idris chuckled appreciatively at the wink he received, admiring his new acquaintance's boldness that was on display. By far it was proving to be more fascinating than the heated debate at a nearby table involving the local sports teams (bits and pieces of it kept finding their way to Idris' ears).

"I have to say I haven't been let down yet." Idris let the hint of a smirk play across his lips before continuing. "And your wardrobe has nothing to do with it." He motioned to the bartender, indicating that he was ready to pay the bill. Again the credit card saw the light of Muldoon's and before the transaction was quickly made, Idris was sure to say that he'd pay for both his and Vanessa's drinks.

"Hope you don't mind," he stated cheerfully. "Seems only fair." He slid the card back into his wallet and stood up, gesturing openly with one hand. "Listen, I'm heading back to Pax--calling a cab, of course. If you're interested in heading back there, I'd be happy to ride with you. The offer's on the table."

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obscurityfalls
2011-08-07 08:46 am UTC (link)

Vanessa smiled when he offered and paid for both of their drinks, that was kind of him. “Thanks for the drinks, I appreciate it.” With a nod, she slid off of the red bar stool, dusting off her pants a bit, they did tend to get a little dirty throughout the night at Muldoons. At the hair salon there was an employee lot, so she always drove there, but at Muldoons, parking was fend for yourself. Since she tended to run late and despised parallel parking, she always took the bus to the bar. “Actually I am interested in heading back, and a cab sounds much better than the long bus ride I was going to take.” Normally this was the part of the night where they exchanged information and she glared at her cell phone every time she checked it, finding no voicemails, but Idris lived right upstairs, making this a bit different of a situation

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counterbalance
2011-08-07 11:49 pm UTC (link)

And then the night was over before he knew it, though it'd certainly been an agreeable outing. Idris phoned a cab that was fortunately nearby and then he and Vanessa left Muldoon's. They made small talk on the way there, laughing about the ludicrous bar fight that had nearly happened and making vague plans to one another that neither should be a stranger and possibly they should go out again some time, wouldn't that be entertaining? Before long they were back at Pax Letale and within the elevator, both heading to their respective apartments.

They said their goodbyes as the elevator dinged an announcement that they'd reached the second floor. Vanessa went to hit the sack, or whatever it was that she did at this late hour. Idris watched her leave, the ghost of a smile playing across his features for what must have been the 100th time that night, and then the doors shut behind his new neighbor and he was soon on the third floor. Heading inside his apartment, Idris glanced at his watch and decided he might as well get some shuteye.

He took it as a good sign that he seemed to be getting along fairly well with the few inhabitants of the building he'd met, particularly the hairdresser with a talent for bartending on the side. Before he drifted off to sleep, his thoughts went again to how natural it had felt to banter with Vanessa in such an unashamedly flirtatious manner. There was a nagging, almost nostalgic feel to the entire night Idris couldn't shake. Deciding it was something to think on later and not now, he pushed the thoughts away and went to sleep, hoping for good dreams.

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