Who: Zania and Shan When: middayish, Monday, July 16th Where: the new studio! Status: Complete
Shan was over the moon. She didn’t think she’d ever been so excited about obtaining something in her life -- but she’d never really thought she would be a business owner either. The business was barely off the ground, of course, and she didn’t really own anything yet since she hadn’t put the money up herself, but still. Shan had signed the lease on the place she and Caden had snooped around in at the end of the week prior, and she had already called a contractor to start talking about renovating to turn it into a dance studio.
Around noon on Monday, she had just finished talking to the man who was supposed to install the big wall mirror. The setup was going to be kind of pricey, but Caden was on board with the investment, and Shan was determined to make the most out of that, so she could start to pay him back. And his brothers back too -- he hadn’t been very explicit to her on where he was getting the money, but she suspected it was coming out of the Porch’s budget. Shan was fine with that, she didn’t want to know the details. The important part was that it happened and she had her own place to build something, and it was amazing.
She walked the mirror guy to the door, making sure he had her number right before she let him leave, then stepped out onto the sidewalk herself, turning her face up toward the sun for a moment, a smile lingering on her lips. She was dressed in black leggings and a sports bra with a loose tank top over it, her hair up in a messy bun, occupying herself with cleaning in between appointments. It was nice to just stand and soak up the sunshine for a moment before she got back to work.
Monday’s were always slow, so Zania was happy to let Nic watch the shop while she took an extended lunch. They only ever needed both of them in the shop if they were prepping ingredients or specific items for sale, and they’d finished the latest batch that morning. She’d joined Gabriel for lunch, lingering until his next appointment, then kissed him goodbye and stepped out onto the sidewalk. Her attention immediately turned to the woman standing just next door. She’d seen her when she’d arrived, inside meeting with someone, and was too curious to keep her mouth shut. “Hey,” she said, strolling over. “You moving in?” she asked, gesturing towards the vacant shop.
Shan looked over as someone spoke to her, one eye still squinted. To her pleasant surprise, it happened to be a veryhot woman, and a smile bloomed automatically on her face. She’d caught a couple of glimpses of the guy who worked in the salon next door, but never for long enough to strike up a chat. Apparently the place attracted hotties. “Hi,” she greeted, turning toward Zan and resting her hands on her hips. “Sure am. Just signed the lease this morning. You work next door? Or just get those gorgeous locs taken care of over there?” So far her new sisters had mostly been nice to her but they were all kind of bland and pollyanna for Shan’s tastes. She was used to having wilder friends, and this girl looked more like her speed. Appearances could be deceiving, of course, but it was worth a shot, this town was boring as hell.
A smile sprung to Zania’s lips as she instantly decided she liked the woman. Sure, it was just her hair, but the number of people in town that appreciated it were few and far between. “Oh, I like you,” she grinned. “My boyfriend owns the shop. I was just dropping by for lunch. I work down the street, though he does get the privilege of tending to my locs these days.” She’d been doing it herself until she met Gabriel and absolutely loved being pampered by him. If they hadn’t met in her shop, even if they weren’t dating, she’d probably have sought him out for that alone. “What’re you looking to open?” she asked, taking a few steps closer and glancing inside, then back to Shan. It was a good space, with lots of possibilities, and she hoped it wasn’t another kitschy little boutique. If she was willing to judge by appearances, that didn’t look like Shan’s sort of thing, but she never knew.
That pairing immediately made sense to Shan -- a tall handsome black man coupled with the girl in front of her. Neither of them really looked like they belonged in this dinky-ass town, and that made them Shan’s kind of people already. “A dance studio,” she answered, the pride obvious in her tone. “Pole, burlesque, twerking ...” She grinned. It was always fun to tell people what kind of dance she specialized in. This was not going to be some snooty ballet studio. She stepped in closer to the hot redhead and offered her hand out with a smirk. “I’m Shan.”
“Ooo, sign me up!” Zania squealed, eyes wide with excitement. “That sounds like a shitton of fun. I have no idea how I’ll do on a pole, but I’m in. We’re in serious need of something different around here.” While she knew she should be grateful in the current lull in Point Pleasant style excitement, Zania found herself getting bored. It was almost enough for her to conjure up her own form of entertainment, but this would be better. And probably a lot less dangerous. “I’m Zan,” she smiled, shaking Shan’s hand. “I own the spice shop down the street. We sell tea, spices, edibles, whatever.”
Shan gave the woman’s hand a squeeze and laughed a bit at how similar their names were -- Zan and Shan. She wondered if it was short for anything, but she hated her own full name so she rarely asked the full names of others. “Oooo, the good kind of edibles?” she asked, bobbing her eyebrows a bit as she grinned. Weed was legal in Maine, but Shan hadn’t seen any real dispensaries in this tiny hick town, so discovering a reliable source would definitely be a plus in her book. “Nice to meet you though. You’re like, the coolest looking bitch I’ve seen around here so far.” Shan’s broad smile indicated the ‘bitch’ was an affectionate term, and she didn’t think Zan would misunderstand.
“Only the best kind of edibles,” Zania smiled. “If you have special requests, just let me know. I sometimes bake to order.” What she didn’t do was advertise. Weed might be legal in Maine, but she didn’t have all the licenses necessary to run an official dispensary. She could probably bank if she went that direction, but it was more red tape than she wanted to mess with and she didn’t need anyone official poking around the shop, since she sold more than tea and weed. She had no desire to explain to someone why she stocked hemlock. “Aw, thanks! You’re pretty hot yourself,” she grinned, laughing softly. “It’s always exciting to meet someone who appreciates more alternative looks. I’m sure you’ve noticed, but it’s not the norm around here. What brought you to Point Pleasant?”
So she was a reliable source. It made Shan happy, like one more box on her Pros list had been ticked about this place. If she could be married to a hot man who fucked her right and paid most of the bills, run a successful dance studio, and get high whenever she wanted? It was the fucking dream, wasn’t it? She might never have to show her tits to some undeserving asshole again. Shan grinned at the compliment and cocked her hips to one side in a pleased little pose, then laughed a bit. “Um ... well, I actually went on a bender? And ended up marrying this guy from here ... back in Atlantic City.” She may as well be honest about it, right? Why the fuck not? Shan laughed and shrugged. “I woke up and he was still cute, so ... here I am. Just wantin’ to do something different for a while, you know?”
“Oh, shit, girl!” Zania laughed. “I’ve had wild nights, but never ended up with a ring before. Who’s the lucky guy? I might know him.” It was a small town, so chances were high that she’d at least know the name. She couldn’t imagine moving from somewhere like Atlantic City to Point Pleasant though. It would be a major adjustment, the pace of daily life slowing down to a crawl, unless, of course, things went off the rails. Either way, an adjustment, but Shan seemed like the kind of girl who could handle herself. “Do you like it here so far? That’s a huge change, big city to small town. What did you do before?”
Shan hadn’t ended up with a ring either, just paperwork and a giant hangover, but she was okay with that. Staying with Caden long term was still very much up in the air, no binding jewelry was just one less thing to fight about if she ever left. Plus, it made flirting easier. “It’s definitely different,” she admitted with a little laugh, tilting her head back and forth. “I was a stripper before, so I’m used to a lot more uh, night life. But I like it so far. It’s a pretty town, and everybody’s been, like ... nice.” Considering how they could have been treating her, Shan had to give Caden’s family credit. She’d only sensed some bitchiness from Mila, hesitance and slight suspicion from everyone else. Shan couldn’t really blame them, given how she joined the family. “His name’s Caden Lucas. Him and his brothers own The Back Porch bar.”
Zania hadn’t even noticed the lack of ring on Shan’s finger. It was just one of those things she associated with getting married, though if she thought about it, she probably would have realized that marrying anyone while blitzed probably didn’t come with jewelry. Which was unfortunate. Every married woman deserved a decent sized rock, in her opinion. “Yeah, the night life here is kind of lacking. We’ve just got The Porch and Dragonfly, unless you count the occasional bonfire or party at the marina.” Still, none of that compared to Atlantic City. Zania had traveled enough to know the difference. “No shit! Caden? I’d have filed papers the next day,” she laughed. “Must be a fantastic lay.”
It was still so odd when Shan said Caden’s name and people knew exactly who he was ... especially since most of their responses seemed to lean a certain way. She was cottoning onto the fact that her husband was not well-liked in this tiny town, and Shan found that interesting. She tilted her head to the side, the corners of her lips slightly upturned as she studied Zania. “He is, but ... what makes you say that?” she asked, never one to shy away from being direct. Her tone wasn’t confrontational yet, just mildly curious, but her opinion of this woman was ready to turn on a dime if she started insulting Shan’s man. Shan wasn’t entirely naive, she was sure Caden had earned his reputation on some level, but she wanted to know what types of transgressions everyone else seemed to know about.
“That he’s a good lay or that I’d file papers?” Zan asked, raising a brow with a little smirk. “I dunno. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him smile, and I go to the Porch often enough. And, like, the only time I’ve ever talked to him, we were both having a really shitty day. I don’t think he liked me all that much.” Being fog stranded together didn’t exactly make them bond, especially after she set herself on fire to rid herself of demonic spiders. But that sounded far too dramatic for Zan’s taste. She also didn’t like to drop being a witch on complete strangers, even ones that seemed like they might make good friends. “Plus, I might’ve slept with his brother, like, ten years ago. Might make family get togethers awkward,” she snickered.
It was pretty obvious why anyone would think Caden was a good lay, at least to Shan. He wasn’t to everyone’s taste, obviously, but she found him wickedly hot. Even with those rare smiles. The last part of what Zania said made her laugh and she wrinkled her nose a bit. “That must have been Aaron then, because Gavin doesn’t smile either,” Shan said, grinning. It wasn’t too surprising, the whole family was attractive, but Aaron definitely seemed like the most flirtatious. Shan was amused that Zan said ‘might’ve’ like she didn’t solidly remember, that was her kind of girl. “Honestly I don’t think Caden likes anyone that much, so that’s fair,” she went on lightly. “I’m still getting to know him, but ... I’ve gotten some smiles.” She flashed a wicked grin and then nodded toward the door to her new place. “You want to come inside? I’ve got some beers in the mini-fridge.”
“I’m glad someone can get him to smile. He looked like too much work for me,” Zania grinned. Caden was attractive, but even when she’d been single she hadn’t thought him worth the effort. She wanted a guy who worked to get her, not the other way around. Hopefully he was putting some effort into keeping Shan around because she seemed awesome. Point Pleasant needed more people like her. “Sure,” she smiled. “I’m in no rush, and a beer would be nice.” Nic could handle watching the shop for a little longer. Stepping inside, she let her eyes roam over the space. It was nice and open—perfect for what Shan was planning. “How soon till you think you’ll be able to open?”
Shan led the way inside and circled around the existing counter -- which was getting moved, as per her plans with the contractor -- to open up the mini fridge and pull a couple of cold ones out. She went back to Zania to hand her drink over, gazing around the empty studio with excitement and appreciation in her eyes. “Well ... there’s some work that’s got to be done, so hopefully only a few weeks,” she answered, bouncing on her toes a little. Shan started gesturing here and there as she talked. “The big wall mirror is going on that wall ... pole area over here, I’m thinking at least six to start out with? And they’re going to move the reception desk from there to there ... I’m gonna do some of the painting myself, to save some money, I’m thinking lots of dark purples and pinks. Sexy, you know? That’s the vibe I wanna bring. Sexy women finding their power in dance.” She moved one hand like she was reading a marquee, then grinned again.
“I like it,” Zania grinned, taking the beer from Shan. “You could play with the lighting too. I feel like that’s a huge part of it. Let me know if you need any help painting.” She didn’t normally offer to help with physical labor, but Shan seemed like the kind of person she’d just enjoy hanging out with while some painting got done. And she never had an issue getting her hands dirty, especially with something as simple as paint. The sooner Shan opened her studio, the sooner Zania could sign up for one of her classes. “So, how hard is it to learn the pole? Because I could see me falling flat on my ass. I could also see me wanting to install one in my basement.” Wouldn’t that be fun? So long as it wasn’t in the middle of her work area, Zania thought she could make it happen.
She got a little thrill of glee when Zania offered to help -- doing physical work was much more fun with someone friend-like around, and she already seemed like a fun friend. Shan didn’t know that for sure, of course, Zania could turn into a raging bitch at any second ... but that wouldn’t automatically strike her off of Shan’s friend list anyway. She’d been friends with utter cunts plenty of times. Shan liked those women, they tended to be the most honest. “Oh you’ll definitely fall on your ass,” she assured her with a laugh. “That’s why we practice above mats. It takes a lot of strength work and practice, but it’s so worth it. So yeah, I highly encourage one in your basement.” Shan gave her a wicked grin. “I bet your man over there would appreciate it too.” She bobbed her eyebrows and took a sip of her beer. “What’s his name? I think I saw him the other day, and I gotta say, fine as hell.”
“I fully expect to be horribly sore after the first class,” Zania smiled. “I used to dance, but haven’t done any kind of a workout in forever.” Going to the gym was never going to appeal to her, but this was something she could get into. If she could actually learn to use the pole, she couldn’t imagine Gabriel having an issue helping her install one. And while she learned, he would probably get a good laugh out of it. “Gabriel,” she grinned. “We’ve been together about 8 months maybe?” Her eyes widened at that revelation. “Shit, I didn’t realize it’d been that long,” she laughed softly. It made sense, considering he’d moved in with her, but it was still the longest relationship Zania had been in in a good while. “He is fine, though. Probably the best man I’ve ever been with. And definitely one to enjoy a pole in the basement.”
Shan wanted to fist pump and dance around and rub it in all the doubters’ faces -- she already had customers and she hadn’t even gotten fully set up yet. There was more than one woman in this town who was interested too, so hopefully she would have enough students to keep the business afloat. She kept her composure though, laughing a bit when Zania did about how time had snuck up on them. “Aww, that’s cute,” she said, grinning. “Congrats though, good men are few and far between.” Shan didn’t quite know yet if she’d found one that was just rough around the edges, or if Caden truly sucked deep down, but she was in this to find out. She didn’t really want a sweet soft guy, she never really found them attractive, but she didn’t want to be with a really bad person either. Shan had been there and done that too many times already. “I would love to teach him too if he’s brave enough to try,” she added, her eyes sparkling. “I have seen some incredible male pole dancers.”
“Thanks,” Zania smiled. “He’s put up with a lot of crazy and stuck around, so maybe he’s a keeper.” Zania’s definition of a good man might not be universal, but she was pretty sure that Gabriel was good for her, which was what mattered. If he’d been too good, she wouldn’t have been interested in him, or he wouldn’t have been interested in her. So far they’d found themselves in a happy place right in the middle; she didn’t know if it was luck or fate, but she’d take it. “I don’t know if I can drag him to a lesson, but I’ll try,” she laughed. “If nothing else, he’d find out how hard it is and not laugh so much when I crash and burn. Or he’ll show me up entirely.” He was definitely stronger than her, but possibly lacking in flexibility and coordination. Maybe. She honestly wasn’t sure how he’d fare, but it would be fun. “I’ve got a few friends I might be able to talk into it. Unfortunately, most of my friends are guys, so who knows.”
A lot of crazy. Shan kind of wanted to ask what that meant, see if this woman would tell her the juicy details of her life. A lot of women were so open about the trauma that had shaped them ... and the hottest gossip in their lives, depending on which woman you were talking to. But she knew it was none of her business, and ‘crazy’ in this town didn’t always mean personal drama, she was finding. Maybe she and Zania would get close enough for Shan to find out which it was. “Hey, anybody you can pitch it to, I’ll teach,” she said with a little laugh. “I have a friend here, Shane? He wants me to teach him and his boyfriend, so like ... yeah, some guys are into it. I don’t know about having a whole class of them though, women’s egos are already bad enough.” She laughed again and shook her head. “I’m going to do some kid friendly stuff too, like simple ballet and hip hop, if you know anybody with kids. Trying to cover a lot of bases.”
“Shane, like, Shane and Reza?” Zania asked, eyes lighting up. It had to be them, the chances of there being two queer Shanes in their tiny little town too slim, but it occurred to Zania that she didn’t even know Shane’s last name to confirm. Not off the top of her head, at least. It was probably in her phone, along with his number, but it had to be him. “It’s got to be them. God, I hope it is, because they would be a shit ton of fun. Let me think on the kids. None of my friends have ‘em, but I can help get the word out.” She might not have a lot of friends with little kids, but Zania knew people, especially those looking for something a little different.
Shan’s eyebrows rose up sharply as Zania recognized the name, but she supposed she shouldn't be too surprised. Of course Shane had already sniffed out all of the cool people in this town. “Yeah, like Shane and Reza,” she answered with a laugh. “You know them, I take it.” That was obvious, but now Shan was curious just how well Zania knew them. Part of her felt a teensy bit possessive of Shane, since she’d kinda-sorta known him before he’d even met his boyfriend, but it was easy enough to ignore. “I met Shane like, years ago in Atlantic City, we had a good time together ... and then surprise! He’s here, for some weird reason.” Shan laughed again. “But they are a shit ton of fun, yeah, can confirm. We’ve hung out a few times. It makes Caden jealous.” She couldn’t help but look a little smug about that.
“Yeah, he hasn’t been here all that long. It’s crazy that you both ended up here,” Zania smiled, shaking her head. Point Pleasant might be small, but this made the world feel small. What were the chances that they’d both be drawn there? Zania knew exactly why Shane was there, but Shan? It was dumb luck, or fate. “We partied with them a few weeks back, but I’d love to hang out with them more,” she said, taking a sip of her beer. “Why is Caden jealous? They seem pretty attached. Or is it just ‘cause Shane’s hot?” They both were, actually, but she didn’t get the sense that either one of them were interested in girls. Or anyone other than each other. But she could be wrong. They’d never said anything about being mutually exclusive.
It was definitely a weird coincidence, considering they were in a whole different state and Point Pleasant couldn’t be more different than Atlantic City. But at the same time it felt kind of right and like it was supposed to be this way -- even if there was no real rhyme or reason to it, Shan was grateful that she had a friend here that was just her own. “He hasn’t even met them,” Shan said with a roll of her eyes. “So yeah I have to assume it’s just ‘cause they’re a couple of other penises in my vicinity.” She sounded amused about it, even if it was an annoying trait of her new husband’s. Shan could handle herself with jealous men, she’d been doing it all her life. “What I haven’t told him is that Shane and I fucked like crazy rabbits back in AC ... before he met Reza, of course. He seems a little more settled down now, it’s kind of cute. Still a party boy though.”
Zania’s eyes widened at the revelation that Shane and Shan had been fuck buddies, surprised to find her assumptions proved wrong, but that’s what she got for assuming. She could totally see it though. “Yeah, I’m not sure I would mention that to Caden, not unless you want a fight every time you hang out with Shane,” Zania snickered. “Or maybe do it, then come home and remind him it’s you he married.” She’d been with jealous guys in the past and knew there were plenty of fun ways to stroke their egos. “I think Shane’s still totally a party boy,” she said. “That kind of thing doesn’t really fade away.” She should know. The parties might be a lot smaller and a little less rowdy than the ones she’d been to in college, but Zania was still drawn to them.
“Like he doesn’t have a past,” Shan said with a roll of her eyes and a sigh. Men were so stupid sometimes. “He was engaged for like, years. And she left him and they’re both about to be at the same wedding, so like ... he can shut up.” Not that Caden had actually said anything yet, because she hadn’t told him, but Shan had gone through that argument in her head a dozen times already. “But yeah, Shane’s definitely the same guy I met -- it was only the once, but like, girl, so fucking good -- he’s just all in love now.” She couldn’t help but toss a compliment in there, because that wild stretch of hours with Shane had been fantastic and memorable. Shan drained some more of her beer and bounced a little on her toes.
“He definitely doesn’t have room to talk,” Zania agreed. She lucked out in not having to be anywhere near any of Gabriel’s exes, whereas hers were all over the place. She didn’t bring them up, but it wouldn’t surprise her if he’d figured out at least a few of them. Most of them she was on friendly terms with, but her relationship with Caius would always be complicated. “He looks like he’d be a lot of fun,” she grinned, and almost said something about how the two of them could’ve set the bed on fire, but decided against it. She didn’t know what Shan knew in that regard, and Shane had missed his window with her, just as she had with him. She wouldn’t fuck up her relationship with Gabriel for anything. “Is he actually admitting he’s in love now? I think he was struggling with denial last time we talked.”
Shane wasn’t even an ex of hers, and considering how she and Caden met, Shan thought it would be so hypocritical of him to judge her for hooking up with someone in the past ... but men could be giant idiots, especially when they were jealous. Caden hadn’t yet made it a Problem, so she wasn’t ready to bail yet, but Shan wasn’t going to put up with much of that shit if it came up. “Aw, was he?” she asked, tilting her head a bit in thought. “I can’t remember now if he like, said as much out loud, but it’s so obvious when they’re together. So I hope he’s saying it to Reza, at least.” She sipped some more of her beer and was briefly tempted to do a cartwheel just to do it in this big open space. God, she couldn’t wait to have all of this up and running. “How about you and Gabriel? Sounds like you've been together a while ... total lovebirds?” Shan grinned.
“I guess so?” Zania said with a little laugh. “I don’t know that I would’ve called us that, but we have our moments.” There were some couples that appeared sickeningly in love all the time and Zania knew that that wasn’t them, but she adored Gabriel and had no intention of ever leaving him. Maybe someday they’d make it official, but it was a subject she hadn’t even broached with him. She knew men well enough to know that a ring on his finger wouldn’t necessarily make him stay, but forcing him to commit before he was ready to might make him run. Gabriel was good to her, better than most, and she wouldn’t risk it. If she wanted a ring that badly, she could go buy one for herself. “He’s mine. I’d do anything for him. Anything. Does that count?”
“Fuck yeah that counts,” Shan said with a laugh. She could hear the fierceness in Zania’s voice and found it immensely appealing. She’d always been drawn to passion, and fiery, possessive people had a lot of it, for better or worse. “That’s my kinda love.” She lifted her beer in a little toast before taking another swig of it. Shan couldn’t really say she was in love with Caden yet, but she definitely felt that ‘he’s mine’ heat in the pit of her stomach when she thought about him. Maybe they were getting there. “I’ve thought it was a big fucking scam most of my life -- love, I mean. But I’m open to being surprised one of these days. We’ll see, I guess.”
Zania tipped her beer back towards Shan with a smile, then took another sip as she listened, nodding in agreement. “I think, with the right person, it can be magical. With the wrong one, it can fuck you up good.” She’d had a bad habit of growing attached to the wrong guys in the past and it was something she was happy to put behind her. Hollywood made love look easy, but she’d found it was more often full of heartache. Finding a good match was real magic, the kind she couldn’t bottle and sell in her shop. She sometimes looked for it now, finding the little lines between two people’s auras, but she was sure those were formed after the relationship, not before. “Seems like you’re off to a good start,” she smiled. “I assume he supports this?” she asked, gesturing to the studio around them.
Shan wasn’t sure that getting completely blackout drunk and high and marrying a guy just because he gave good dick counted as ‘off to a good start’ when it came to love, but hey, what did she know? Maybe that would just be their meet-cute story for their grandchildren one day. Or grand-nieces and nephews, since neither of them wanted kids for themselves. Everybody was different and could fall in love different ways, right? Did Shan even want Caden to be in love with her? She didn’t really have an answer. But none of that was Zania’s problem. “Hmm, a bit reluctantly?” she answered with a laugh. “He’s funding it, and I honestly think he agreed just to keep me from trying to remodel the bar and change everything they do, so ... good enough for me.” She shrugged and smiled. “Once I’m a huge smashing success, he’ll see. Any good local businesswoman tips? Anywhere I should advertise, stay away from ...?”
Maybe it wasn’t the best way to start a marriage, but Zania gave them both a lot of credit for giving it a try. Most people wouldn’t move in together, let alone start a new life in a new place. And if Caden was funding Shan’s startup, that had to mean something. What, she had no clue. “Hmm,” Zania hummed thoughtfully, tapping the bottle lip against her lips. “Everyone is a potential customer. Even if they’re not interested, they probably know someone who is. And the town’s small, so word of mouth’s a big deal. I’m sure this all sounds like common sense, but I try to keep it in mind when someone’s pissing me off.” She laughed softly, as if this was a common occurrence. “Go to all the events. The ones at the country club often auction things off and a free lesson could be good publicity. And befriend an Overlook bitch. They spend money like it’s burning a hole in their pocket.”
Shan laughed with her a bit, then again at the phrase ‘Overlook bitch.’ It did sound like common sense, but she hadn’t really thought about going to events yet, so it was all helpful to hear anyway. This was Shan’s first time running her own business, working solely for herself, and she would accept all the advice she could get. “I might not be good at that last part,” she said, smirking. “But I’ll do my best to find one that’s like, tolerably stuck up.” Shan tittered and finished off her beer. She danced her way over to the trash can to drop her empty into it. “I never even thought of the country club though. I’ve been dirt poor pretty much my whole life, so like ... do you have to know somebody to get in? Or in a place this small is it just open door for everybody?” The rules were probably different for vendors at an auction versus becoming a member, but the opportunity for networking was probably insane there. Maybe she could goad Caden into joining with her.
“Charity events are open to the public. You just have to buy a ticket. They raise most of their money on auction items. If there’s a closed event you want to go to, just let me know. I’ll get you a seat at my table,” she grinned. Zania knew she didn’t look the part, but growing up in Overlook had its perks. She didn’t mind footing the bill for a membership when the networking opportunities were fantastic. Plus, she liked dressing up and going to parties. She knew she stood out, even more so now that Gabriel was with her, but that had never bothered her. She had zero issues taking Shan as a guest. “I grew up there,” she shrugged. “So if you can’t find a proper Overlook bitch, I can pass for one.”
All of that made enough sense to Shan ... except for Zania being an Overlook bitch. Shan didn’t have a lot of frame of reference for what that meant, but it was easy enough to figure out that it was the rich-people neighborhood in town. She had plenty of experience with rich neighborhoods that thought she didn’t belong there. Shan thought it would be a great pleasure to walk into the country club and make a stir. “No shit?” Shan asked with her brows lifted and a grin on her face. “I never woulda pegged you as a rich girl.” There was a difference between being Rich and just having money, Shan had learned. She’d known plenty of people who made thousands of dollars a night who would never pass as Rich. “But yeah! I’d love to go to something, if that was like, a real invitation.” She flashed the other woman a grin and held up another beer in offering. “Refill? So you’ve got like, a table at the country club? How chic.”
“Well, I don’t live there now,” Zania laughed. “I live on Ludlow. It’s, like, the opposite.” It was such an extreme opposite that it was almost laughable, but she was there because it was family land, not because she had a statement to make. If her grandmother’s house had been in Overlook, Zania probably would have stayed there. That wasn’t to say that Zania wasn’t rich. She just didn’t display her income or inheritance outwardly. “But yeah, I’m serious about the invite. Depending on the event, there’s usually room for six or eight at the table, and I rarely fill it. I don’t know if it’s chic or not. I think the Castells have just been members for so long that they just extended the membership to me before they realized what they were in for.” She finished off her beer, then tossed it in the bin before shaking her head. “No, I’ve got some work to do this afternoon that I’ll fuck up if I have too much.”
Shan had plenty of work to do too, but work was always more tolerable with a buzz of some kind, and since she didn’t have any weed at the moment, beer would have to do. She put the rejected can back in the mini-fridge and cracked open her fresh drink. “I would happily show up with bells on,” she said after a sip. “Hell, I’ll bring the whole family if you want to fill the table, we can really make a splash.” Shan grinned. She might be new to town, but it hadn’t taken long for her to catch on to what sort of reputation the family she’d married into had. The Lucases weren’t total pariahs, but they were close.
“I don’t have that much room,” Zania laughed. “Not unless I kick my brother out. And while I know he hates those things, he’d still probably be pissy with me.” Nic was not near the social creature that she was, but she knew it was the only time he saw that crowd and he seemed to enjoy them from time to time, at least once he had a few drinks in him. “If you ever go by the shop and I’m not there, he’d be the one working.” Phee might be around, but they never left the shop to her by herself. She was wonderful and a quick learner, but there were some requests that only the Castells could handle.
“Oh you’ve got a brother too?” Shan asked, raising a brow. Had Zania already said that? It had flown right over Shan’s head if she had. She felt the tug of a very familiar jealousy for people who had good relationships with their siblings, but Shan pushed it down like she usually did. “I have one of those, but he’s a piece of shit, so I don’t talk to him anymore.” It came out matter-of-factly and with a shrug. “I’m sure yours is cool though,” she added, just so Zania knew she wasn’t shitting on all brothers everywhere. “So is the shop like a family business then?”
“Yeah, older brother by only fifteen minutes,” Zania smiled. It went without saying that they were close, as twins often were, even though they were mostly polar opposites. On first glance, no one would ever guess they were twins. And they worked well together, their opposing skills complementing each other. “The shop was my grandmother’s, and her father’s before that. She left it to us along with the house. So I never got to do this part, the whole first time setup thing, but I’ve worked at making it mine.” She knew she had it easy in some ways, until people remembered that she ran a tea and spice shop in a small town. That part of the shop did decently, but would have closed long ago if it wasn’t for the magic side of her business.
Shan’s brows lifted -- twins then? Interesting. She was grateful her brother wasn’t a twin, or they might have had more of a misplaced fucked up loyalty to one another. It would have made her whole escape from her parents’ house more complicated. Not that Shan was going to get into any of that, it was years behind her now, and needed to stay there. She listened to Zania’s little family story instead, smiling a bit. “That’s awesome though,” Shan replied. “Just to have all of that history behind it.” She wasn’t really thinking about the financial reality of how a tea and spice shop stayed afloat for so long -- small towns were weird and worked by their own rules, and Shan wasn’t some economic genius anyway. If Zan knew what she was doing with her family business, good for her. “Were your parents not interested, or dead or what?”
Zania laughed because wasn’t that a sensible question? She would’ve also assumed that her grandmother had bypassed her parents because they were dead. But no, the truth was far less tragic. “My dad’s a psychiatrist and my mom works in marketing. They had zero interest in the family business.” Both used magic regularly in their jobs, but it was subtle and never spoken about. They didn’t have the drive for research that Zania did, nor the creativity that flowed through Nic. They were all about money and the power money brought them, something neither of their children seemed to care about. “They’re frequent customers, and I doubt they wanted to see it close, but would have preferred I did something else.”
She made a sound of understanding and nodded as she realized Zania had grown up in Overlook because of rich parents. Shan couldn’t relate personally, but she’d heard plenty of stories from girls who’d grown up in affluent homes and then decided to forge their own path. Those particular paths had led to exotic dancing and sex work, and Zan seemed to sell herbs and weed but hey! They were independent women. “I would say you definitely don’t look like you’ve got yuppie parents, but ... yeah I can see it,” Shan said with a laugh, glancing mostly at Zania’s hair. “Hell yeah, make your own way.” She sipped again on her beer and gave a pleased glance around the in-progress studio. She’d had help, of course, but it was still going to be hers.
Zania might not have said anything about her upbringing, but Shan would have found out eventually. The town was too small and the Castells were active in the community. Even if Shan didn’t interact with them herself, she was sure Caden knew their family name just as she’d known his. Growing up, Overlook felt like the great divide, creating an us and them mentality that Zania had hated. Trying to fit in made her feel like a fraud. Who she was now was far more authentic. “I’m sure there are little things I do that give me away, but I’m not them,” she shrugged. “I’m happier this way.” Her relationship with her mother was rocky as a result, but she could live with it. When Shan stopped to look around the room, Zania did the same. “It’s coming along. It’ll be ready before you know it.”
“A lot of people go the total opposite way as their parents, I mean,” Shan clarified with a little laugh. “You definitely don’t look like you belong on high with a McMansion, looking down your nose at the rest of us.” She hadn’t even been up in Overlook, but she’d driven past it enough to know what kinds of houses were up there, and she didn’t want Zan to think Shan had read her as some rich bitch. Even if she had real money. “But thanks! I hope to see you back sometime to give it a try,” she went on, giving a bright smile. “I’ll like ... plaster a bunch of Grand Opening posters all over your shop’s front door. And your man’s.” A handful of ideas for said poster popped into Shan’s mind and she immediately wished she was good at graphic design stuff like that.
Zania smiled back at Shan, glad she wasn’t going to hold her upbringing against her. No one could help where they came from and the circumstances surrounding them. It was what they did with them, who they strived to become that mattered. Zan and Shan might not have anything in common in their past, but they were both strong independent women now and that was as good a foundation for friendship as she could find. “I’m sure you’ll see plenty of me. I’m down here all the time,” she smiled, then picked up a pen off the desk and scribbled her number on a scrap of paper. “But just in case, here’s my number. Text me when you’re ready to open and I’ll be your first customer. If you don’t see me before then. I meant it when I said I’d help paint.” The grand opening might still be a ways off, but Zania wouldn’t forget. She was already looking forward to it. “Thanks for the drink,” she smiled as she moved towards the door. “Talk soon?”
Shan was rather delighted to get Zania’s phone number, but she kept cool as she watched the other woman jot down the digits. She hadn’t been sure she would make any real friends here, or even find like minded people in this small ass town. Knowing there was someone like Zania around was a great relief. “Hell yeah, I’ll definitely see you around then!” she chirped with a smile. Shan wasn’t going to turn down help getting set up, that was for sure. Caden would appreciate every bit of money she could save, she was sure. “Later!” She gave a little wave as Zan left, then turned to grab one more beer while she finished up what she was doing in the back.