What are you, my bizarro twin? Who: Ford Prefect meets Bo Dennis When: July 21 Where: Bar, then Bo’s place What: Random Encounter Rating/Warning: PG rated, I guess?/No triggers, adult situation Status: Complete
Now that he had a place to live, Ford had to quickly secure some means of income, so that he wouldn’t lose the aforementioned place to live. He’d assured Holmes he could cover rent; now he had to cover his ass and actually get a job. So he was going about his usual method of walking down a street he liked and popping into all the restaurants and bars, hoping someone was hiring. He had an impressive resume in food service, and people usually overlooked that he bounced around from state to state once he turned on the charm.
Already, he was expecting one place would definitely call him back before the week was out.
Bo had a few prospects. She’d been in a few places, and was already expecting to be called. Though, she had to keep reminding herself the new number on her throw-away phone. It wasn’t as if she had the same number as she’d had several weeks ago.
She was in a restaurant bar/grill, sitting at the bar. After a conversation with the barman, and after her application had been filled out, she was enjoying a quick lunch before she’d head out again. More searching. More job applications. Then home to crash for the night, where she was squatting.
Such was the life of a transient woman, working her way around the world. Though, something in the air in this place made her feel like she wanted to stick around for a while.
In Ford’s opinion, it was a boring-looking place. Then again, he was drawn to the club scene. But he sauntered inside anyway. He wasn’t in a position to turn his nose up at anything, until he was sure he could make the rent. And even party-monsters had to eat a midday meal.
So, he sat down at the bar and signaled for a menu. He’d probably ask about jobs, but he’d feel it out first. He looked sideways at the woman a few stools away, the only other person seated at the bar, and greeted her without saying anything--though he did note her assets.
And those assets were plentiful. Bo could sense the other man before she saw him, one of those sixth sense things. Or maybe she just saw him out of the corner of her eye, which would have been one of the five. In any case, she gave him a little smile, her eyes flickering over his form in return. Not too shabby.
No, Ford was not too shabby, but he was more personality and aura than good looks. He ordered a burger and a pint of lager when the bartender asked between cleaning glasses. The place had pretty standard fare. When he received his beer, he lifted it briefly in the woman’s direction, as if to say Cheers.
Bo lifted her own in response, and gave him a small smile. Cheers. Her sandwich was half gone in front of her, but the glass was still fairly full. She glanced at the empty seat between them, then back to him as if to silently communicate, Care to join me?
Well, that one was loud and clear. Ford hopped off and moved to the stool beside her. “Afternoon,” he greeted at last with words. He pointed to himself. “Ford.”
“Bo.” Bo returned, pointing to herself and grinning cheekily. “You looked like you could use a lunch date. Am I wrong?”
Ford shrugged with equal amounts of charm and nonchalance. “Well, you invited me over. How could I say no? Or why would I say no?” He grinned and sipped from his beer. “Is this your usual place?”
She lifted her glass with a grin when he spoke. “Mmm,” Bo said, swallowing her sip. “Don’t have a regular place. I’m brand-spanking-new to the area.” Not necessarily an emphasis on the word ‘spanking’... “You?”
“Ah,” Ford lifted an eyebrow. “So, you’re me last week.” He took another, longer pull from his beer. “Just got a place in Irvine. Now I need to get a job.”
Bo gave a little chuckle. “Well, I like to think I’m just a little bit prettier than you.” She said, holding out her glass to clink against his. It was a tease. A playful one. “You, too? We should go on the hunt together. Job’s pretty important in these early stages.”
“You definitely are,” he replied, almost deadpan. Clink went the glasses. “I’ve been in and out of bars all day, looking for someone who’s hiring. My new roommate doesn’t know I don’t have a job.” But, knowing Holmes, he probably did.
“At least you have a home and a roommate. So far I’ve got... a place where I sleep. That’s about it.” She gulped from the glass again and set it down. “What’s your new roommate like?”
Ford smirked. In the meanwhile, his hamburger arrived. “I don’t know yet. He’s an odd one, no denying it. He sleeps all day and does experiments at night. And the police call up and ask for advice from him all the time. He’s some kind of detective.”
“A detective, huh?” Bo asked, after finishing off the last of her sandwich. “Sounds smart. He might see through your work situation, you know. If he’s that smart, though, chances are he already knows. And if he already knows, then he obviously doesn’t care.”
“Well, he might care once I can’t pay the rent,” said Ford, as he lifted the top bun off his hamburger and squirted some ketchup on top. He drew a smiley face and reassembled his lunch. “Where are you job hunting?” He didn’t take her for the office girl type.
“Y’know, around.” Bo said, motioning vaguely with her hand. “I normally do the sort of... waitressing or bar tending kind of thing. I worked as a bouncer once at a club in Arizona. It wasn’t really for me, but it’ll do in a pinch.” She broke into a grin as she watched him eat. “You?”
“What are you, my bizarro twin?” Ford asked, laughing. “I’m looking for the same thing. Bartending if I can get it. I’d prefer a club and working nights. I’m not usually out this time of day.” He was on the pale side, to be honest.
Bo smirked a little. “I can tell. Looks like you get about as much sun as I do.” She didn’t look sickly by any stretch of the imagination, but she was definitely a creature of the night. “Well, Bizarro Twin, are you the competition? Should I be trying to figure out a way to trip you up so I’ll get the job first?” She asked, teasing.
Ford shook his head. “Nahhh. I’m no competition for you, with an ass like that.” It did sound very much like a compliment, with just the right amount of charm. “Hell, if I was coming in here to get a drink and I had to pick between the two of us...” He whistled a low whistle.
“You are quite the charmer, aren’t you?” Bo responded, grinning a bright grin. And, damnit, she was charmed. That was very much not what she was expecting from this outing, but she couldn’t say that she wasn’t pleased. “And if I was coming in here to get a drink, and had to pick between the two of us?” She paused for a moment, for emphasis, and drank from her glass. “Meh, it’s a draw. I’d take us both home.”
His blue eyes sparked mischievously. “Could you? Where you’re squatting?” Cos that was what had gotten him kicked out of his old place. Sort of.
“I could.” Bo broke into a delighted grin, one of excitement and mischief herself. “Not far from here. You interested? You might have to sneak in through a window.” She was kidding. ...mostly.
The thing about Ford, though, was that he took just about everything very literally. That and he wasn’t above hooking up with a woman he’d only just met. He took another long pull from his beer. “Of course,” he replied, his voice lower, almost sultry.
“Good. Let’s get out of here. Take this to go.” She motioned to his food as she stood, and dropped some money on the counter.
Well, that worked out in his favor rather quickly. Good thing he always carried condoms in his wallet. Just in case. Ford, too, signaled for the waiter to wrap up his burger, while he downed the rest of his beer.
Bo finished the last in her glass, then climbed up from her chair with her little, doggy bag. “You up for a walk, Ford?” Not that her place was far. A couple blocks at the most. She was on foot today.
He was on foot, too, because Ford wanted the kind of job where he could roll out of bed and wander bleary-eyed down the street, maybe grabbing coffee on the way. He liked for things to be easy. Everything, including his work and his women.
Ford dropped some money on the counter and followed Bo out the door.
It was a short walk down to the house where Bo was sqatting. She was going to find some permanent housing, for sure, but for now she was staying in an empty house, a staged one--the one they set up to show off to prospective buyers, to make it look lived in. She’d climbed in the window on the first night, and found the keys in a drawer in the kitchen so she could let herself in. She had to be somewhat sneaky about it, though, for fear other people might be watching.
“Over here.” They went around back, through the gate, past the pool and into the kitchen door. She’d left it unlocked, and it was still unlocked.
For a place where someone was squatting, it was a seriously nice place. Although Ford was a little disappointed when he bit into a plastic apple, snatched from a basket on the kitchen counter. “Neeah,” he grumbled, prying it from his teeth.
Bo gave a little laugh. “Yeah, it’s beautiful. But fake. At least the fridge works.” She said, moving over to it to put the leftovers in there. Then she pulled out a couple of beers. (That was all that was in there. A six pack, and now the leftovers. She had to keep it clean, just in case.) She handed a beer to Ford and clinked her bottle against his.
“You want to see the bedroom?”
Ford caught it and twisted off the cap. “Absolutely,” he said, sounding way too eager, but that this point he seriously was. Bo was incredibly sexy. And he hadn’t met any women since moving to California.
Bo wasn't exactly the bring home to meet mom and dad type. She suspected Ford wasn't looking for anything long term, either. While leading him up the stairs, she reached one hand back to take hold of one of his.
Then they reached the bedroom.
Ford used the other hand to drink his beer quickly. Alcohol tended to wear off pretty fast, though he could never figure out why. By the time they reached the room, he had both hands free to wrap around Bo’s hips. Getting it on in a house that didn’t belong to them. This was just awesome.
“You are so hot,” he purred.
Bo grinned, having discarded her own bottle. "You're not too shabby yourself." She said, lifting her arms to wrap around his shoulders. She leaned in to kiss his lips. It was fast, practically anonymous, and loads of fun.
What was it about a woman that smelled like burgers and beer that made her that much sexier? Ford didn’t even care if he got a job today. Job, what job?
They bumped into the cheap bookshelf and then into the equally cheap chest of drawers. The rattled against the wall, threatening to break.
There was hunger, then there was hunger . Bo had the latter whenever she was with a man or a woman in situations like these. Clothes were tugged off unceremoniously, and the pair tumbled into the cheap bed with the expensive-looking bedding. It felt really good to be kissed, fondled, scratched. It'd been too long.
When the cheap bed finally broke, Ford felt it had really accomplished something grand! The bedposts snapped off and the whole thing fell to a quivering heap on the floor, with them still on top, going at it like weasels.
Pftt! And Ford’s father had told him he’d be wasting his time in America...