Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Chapter 2

             Chapter 2
“Mornin Rhys”
Almost spitting out the coffee he had been drinking, Rhys whirled in his seat. He blinked a few times wondering if he was somehow still drunk as he stared at his red haired companion.
“Well suppose there is a first time for everything Trae, I never thought you’d grace the rest of Silvermoon with your presence this early.”
“Yeah actually sleeping for an entire night does things to your schedule” He waved a hand dismissively at Rhys taking a sip from his drink.
“So wait for once in your life you’re up on time to actually attend a class and you’re skipping? Man I thought you had some standards” Rhys smirked at him.
“Hey, I have important things to do today. Ever think of that.” Trae said noticeably avoiding eye contact.
“Oh like what? Another rendezvous with that little blonde waitress?” Rhys didn’t bother keeping his voice down as per usual. The staff and many patrons of the cafĂ© getting to listen to their entire conversation.
“One, lower your voice. I know you don’t care what people think but still. Secondly, I don’t want to talk about it.”
Rhys grinned like a lion closing in on a kill “Come on you know I’m just going to keep digging until you tell me. Save me the half hour of bugging you and just tell me.”
“I said drop it” Trae groaned trying his best to entertain himself by staring out the window.
“Hmm something went wrong didn’t it? What was it? Another boyfriend? No…foot fetish? Bondage? Was she a dude in drag?”
“Damnit Rhys, I don’t want to talk about it!”
“Wow so what makes today so special that Traestus would dare grace us with his presence so early?” A voice interrupted the incoming barrage of questions coming from Rhysienn. A young woman slid into the seat between the two men.
“I already made that joke Anira.” Rhys informed her before turning his attention back to Traestus
"Oh hells not you too!" Traestus threw his hands up in the air "What do I have to deal with attacks from two fronts this morning?"
Anira simply shrugged as if she had no clue what he was speaking about. "What I'm simply commenting on your rather unusual appearance both at this hour and this proximity to the college you've enrolled in, though I use that term rather lightly." It was up for debate why Anira hung out with the pair, where they were unfocused on anything but girls and partying she was actually making something of herself as a top student in the ranger academy in addition to normal classes. Of course this was when she didn't get swept up in their stupid schemes, which she was happy to partake in preferring their company and adventures to those offered from the books.
Traestus grumbled turning his back to his friends for the moment "Everybody’s a comedian this morning." Rhysienn was busy ordering himself another drink, while Anira sat in her chair quietly. Trae heard Rhys come back to the table, yet the man remained quiet a rather unusual event.
"Alright what's up you two aren't exactly prime suspects for playing the quiet game all of the sudden" Trae turned around to face the pair, a look of horror shooting across his face as he saw Anira fiddling with his communicator.
"Hey give that back!" Trae cried lunging across the table. Rhys pinned down his arm as Anira danced out of the way cackling as she turned up the volume so all three could hear the voice on the other line pick up.
"Hello! This is Threska" A woman answered the call her voice decidedly unfeminine "Is it a suitor calling or someone needing me to spill blood in the name of the warchief"
Rhys let go of the Trae's arm leaving him to sit in his seat fuming as Rhysienn nearly doubled over in raucous laughter. Anira somehow managed to take the call in stride
"Wow you certainly sound like a strong...wait are you an orc?"
"Hah of course I am, the pinnacle of strength and beauty. Even my voice radiates it"
"I can tell, and I coul-" the offending device was finally yanked away from Anira as Trae decided to annihilate all traces of the serial number from existence. He considered doing the same for the device but decided against it in better judgment.
"Why didn't you tell us you got a girlfriend Trae" Rhys managed to get out as he recovered still bent over the table "She sounds amazing"
"Hey if you want to not end up barbecued I suggest neither of you ever mention this again" Trae pointed to the both of them "I mean it."
"So, wanna explain?"Rhys inquired, making it clear that Trae wasn't going to be able to avoid answering.
"That…was a wrong number," the Traestus responded evasively, avoiding eye contact.
"That's it?" Rhys asked, but his eyebrows quirked as realization dawned on him, "That was the number you got? Ha! That blondie got you good."
"Yeah, yeah," Traestus grumbled, sulking as he fiddled with his hair. What he didn't mention was that he'd spent a good hour the previous evening trying to get a straight answer from the idiot, only to finally realize that she was not related to the waitress and clearly didn't know her. He would have hung up immediately in any other circumstance, except the bitch kept leading him on with her "I only remember strong people act."
Rhysienn suddenly shoved his hand in Traestus's face, his palm opened wide as though he was expecting something. Trae looked up with an eyebrow raised, only to be met with a demanding look.
"Now, if I remember right, we had a little bet…"
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Eva scribbled down some notes as her professor droned on about economics and the theory behind dragonhawk herd size and crop growth. Thankfully, her classes were the least of her worries at the moment, if only because she had spent the most time addressing that problem. Money was the most pressing issue as she was a week away from a paycheck and she had that sow of a landlord breathing down her neck for rent money.
The weekend was approaching so if she pulled double shifts and got lucky on a few big tips she might be able to scrape by if she spent her cash on nothing else; of course this brought to light her second problem as her grumbling stomach was very quick to remind her. It was Friday her day off, which meant she couldn't grab any free food from the restaurant today.
As the lecture came to a close Eva stared off into the high ceiling, if worse came to worse she could mooch off a friend for a few days. Of course she'd prefer if her situation didn't force her into such an embarrassing position but she had to survive right.
As Eva headed out of the lecture hall she sighed "Only three more years to go right?" she thought. That disturbingly haunting insight only further served to dour her mood.
"Hey wait up Eva!" A voice called from behind her; shockingly it wasn't some carrier of even more bad news.
"There's this party tonight" Ellua said with a grin, happy to have finally tracked down the girl.
"And?" Eva said clearly annoyed for a variety of unrelated reasons.
"Well I was thinking...."
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"Gods are you still moping about Trae" Rhys groaned as he stared out the window of the coach "If I didn't know you better I'd actually say you were hung up on this chick."
"Hells no, I'm just pissed. Bad aftertaste and what not" The pair sat in the back of Rhysienn's coach as the wheeled down the Silvermoon streets, the falling sun marking the true beginning to their day.
"Oh calm down, what would you do if you met that orc anyway? She'd probably rip you limb from limb, and that's just if she decided that she wanted to sex you up!" Rhys playfully punched Trae in the shoulder grinning "Come on we're going to a great party, they'll be plenty more chicks for you there"
Trae flicked the dead end of a cigarette out the window a predatory smirk returning to his face "Yeah guess after last night I do have to make up for lost time, what better place than some mixed university party. Commoners and nobles right? Heh, this'll be too easy." Trae was rubbing his hands together excitedly.
"I've seen that look before, at least try and pace yourself. Though..." Rhys trailed off a smirk slowly forming on his face.
"What" Traestus turned back to him as the coach rumbled forward.
"I bet you couldn't do it?" Rhys replied in a taunting manner.
"Uhhh I'm pretty sure there are scores of women that could attest to the exact opposite of that in both ability and skill." The mage replied folding his arms across his chest.
"No not that you moron, I bet you couldn't keep your hands or any other part of your anatomy to yourself for an entire night."
"So wait why after a night of getting stiffed would I even dream of taking that bet?"

"Oh no reason...unless you want me holding it over your damn head for the next month."
"Oh and exactly why would that matter? You hold just about everything over my head that you can get your hands on."

"True but..." Rhys cleared his throat adopting a very familiar voice that Trae was none too interested in being reminded of "I think everyone would be very interested to know about your strong new friend."
"Gah fine I get it" Trae growled. He could live without reminders of that particular creature, his annoyance only grew as he realized that the threat was actually going to be effective. That coupled with the fact that if he did accept the bet he would be torturing himself for the entire night. Granted that was what Rhys most likely intended.
"Fine fine, I accept" Trae finally mumbled out, much to Rhys's pleasure, however before he could begin gloating Trae continued "But on one condition: You don't drink for the entire night."

"Excuse me?"
"You head me Delador, what you can't handle the heat?"
Rhys chewed on his lip for a moment before nodding his head.
"Good" Trae stated "So what are the stakes?"
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Trae sat in a chair grumbling in frustration. He was on his third beer of the night and he downed half of this one in a single gulp. It was one of the few parties he could remember that he wasn't having a good time at, that included the time he had hit on the girl who was packing a bit extra down below. Leering from his seats he watched as girls ground their way across the dance floor, curvy young frames rubbing against one another.
Feeling that torturing himself was the worst possible way to spend the night he looked around for Rhys, finding him across the room chatting up a few acquaintances. He looked just as miserable as Trae did, but the grin on his face meant that he thought that Trae would crack first.
Trae wiggled his beer at Rhys sipping some more, enjoying the squirming this brought forth from Rhys. And all things considered, he probably got the better half of the bet. At least he could drink himself into a coma. This plan seemed like a very viable option until a familiar blonde head bobbed across the room.
Slipping from his chair he worked his way across the room doing his bests to keep his eyes up, along with his hands. After a tight squeeze between a rather touchy couple he found himself face to face with a familiar pair of green eyes.
"Oh come on" The girl said angrily "Is there a god up there dedicated to fucking with me or something?"
"Hey come on now, you can't be THAT upset to see me." He said going to sip from his beer only to find it empty, the nearby window providing a convienient trash bin.
"Oh and why would that be? I think most people would get the fuck off message after the wrong number, even the biggest idiots aren't that dumb."
"You know you could have just said not interested" He replied fishing a beer out of a nearby bucket.
"Look just take your whole act somewhere else, I'm not interested. Not sure how to make that any more clear."

Trae shrugged clearly indifferent "You know you'd be a lot cuter if you kept up the whole polite waitress thing going."
"Yeah sure and you'd be a lot easier to deal with if you were stuck at the bottom of some hole in the woods."
"Hmm possible, but then you wouldn't be able to enjoy my company so easily, company if I might remind you that you're still in."
Eva didn't hesitate to start walking away before Trae reached out to grab her wrist pulling her back towards him. He had sat down on the floor underneath the window and next to a bucket of beer.
"Okay maybe you're too stupid to get this but I have no intention of being your little conquest for the night so just get lost."
"Exactly" he answered flipping off the top of the beer grinning now.
The odd response surprised Eva, though she didn't let her guard down. "Explain. Now."
"Well see you're in luck, for this one night only I've made a vow of celibacy." He grinned sipping his beer. Her confused expression prompted him to continue further. "Look I made a bet, so for tonight I'm sleeping both alone and frustrated."
"Whatever" she spat back at him "How do I factor into that?"
"Well, there's about two ways I get through this. One, I drink myself into a coma which I'm well on the way too. Of course I have to wait until that happens, and after a few more of these I'm not really sure what will happen. The second is I hang around you all night, knowing I'll probably get my ass kicked or stabbed if I start playing grab hands. Since I'll probably end up killing the same amount of brain cells either way I figure I'll go with you, as it'll be more entertaining."
"Right and suppose I'm not an idiot and don't just blindly trust you here." Eva folded her arms glaring down at him, her posture somewhat relaxing though.

"Look I'm shameless not an idiot. After that stunt with that orc chick, I'm a little afraid of what you'd do next if I tried to pull anything."
Eva did her best to suppress a smirk, snorting in amusement instead. "Fine, but if you decide to play grab hands I'm breaking each finger and each bone in your hand"
Trae laughed digging into the bucket to offer her a beer "Good enough for me" He nudged over the seat towards her offering the beer "I'm Traestus Koth'Arsvent."
She stared down at him for a long moment before snapping the beer out of his hands sitting down in the chair avoiding his look.
"Oh come it's just a name! Not like I can do much with that."
She sighed as she popped the top to her drink "Eva."
He clapped his hands together grinning "Oh see I knew you could do it."
They sat in silence for a bit, Traestus gazing out longingly at the wilder partiers, while Eva was content to sip from her bottle and making sure the man wasn't trying anything. The mage wasn't one to sit still for long though, and tried to get his overly stiff companion to chat.
"So, why are you here, anyway? Doesn't seem like your kind of place."
"Why? Just because I'm not some sexed up party girl doesn't mean I'm a total loser," Eva shot back, still having the bite to her voice.
"Right…so that's why you're over here?' Traestus replied, gesturing to their window and bucket. The blonde glanced away sheepishly.
"Free food and beer," she muttered.
"Funny reason to go out partying."
"I was unaware I needed a reason to go partying besides you're here in the midst of a bet which forces you to do the exact opposite of what normally goes on at a party."
"Well, guess you're not too uptight," Traestus said, laughing again after looking her over for a moment, "But you might as well be having some fun if you're going to be here. Or maybe…that number was your girlfriend's?"
The mage snickered as Eva choked on her drink, glad to have a little bit of payback. Eva tried to regain her composure, coughing to clear her throat properly.
"One shut the hell up, that's NOT anywhere close to true. And if I recall I'm the reason you're in this stupid bet, which sounds like a stupid bet to take in the first place"
"It's a matter of pride," Trae stated matter-of-factly, "Especially after you cost me the last one."
Eva looked to him curious. "And how'd I do that?"
"My friend thought I'd strike out with you, I thought I'd strike it rich, you should know how that turned out. Not that I mind losing the cash, but it definitely sucked," the red head said, smiling, "Of course, I think you ended up on top in this one."
Eva just grunted, not sympathizing in the slightest. "How nice for you, being able to throw money around like nothing," she said scathingly.
"Hey, if you got it, spend it, right?"
Eva looked ready to argue, but paused, thinking for a moment.
"How much you got on you?" she asked suddenly. Traestus stared back, wondering what had brought on the sudden attentiveness.
"Enough. Why? Hope you’re not planning on mugging me now."
Eva rolled her eyes. "Look, you're bored, and I could use some quick cash -"
"Well, sure, if you really want to…but I really don't want to lose the bet…"
Eva narrowed her eyes at the implication, shooting daggers at him with her eyes. "Gods, is the only thing you think about sex you pervert? How 'bout another bet: Everything you've got, if I can drink you under the table."
"Drinking game is it?" Trae asked slowly, considering it. "And if I win? Can't say that money interests me much."
"Fine then, what do you want?"
Traestus tapped his chin thinking for a bit, making Eva briefly regretting making the offer. "If I win, we get your drunken butt on the dance floor - naked."
Gulping, the blonde girl looked ready to back out, but quickly nodded before she started thinking too hard. "Fine."
"Well, let's see what you've got then, lightweight."
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Trae groaned as he sat up, pushing against what was an unfamiliar and rather lumpy mattress. His head felt like there was a herd of Hawkstriders pounding against it. He managed to slowly start opening his eyes, light barely sneaking into the room yet it seemed unbearably bright. Finally able to make out the decor of the room he realized he hadn't a clue where in the hells he was.
Rolling over so he could sit, he looked around trying to gain his bearings. He reached out to steady himself only to collide with another form which was hidden underneath a blanket.
He sighed Rhys had clearly won the bet, something he wouldn't let go for weeks. At this point the only thing that could salvage the situation was if his companion was particularly attractive.
Sliding the blanket back some, he was met with a groan as a familiar blonde head popped forth from underneath. The shifting having awakened his companion. His eyes shot wide, as the girl's bloodshot eyes began to open wincing at the light. She shook her head once clearly hung over as she gained awareness of her current roommate.
Sadly for Trae, Eva wasn't nearly as slow to react to the bizarre situation as he was, her expression shifting from dull pain to murder in an instant.
"Oh....shit"


Sunday, January 16, 2011

Chapter 1

       How far We’ve Come
                    Chapter 1
When attempting to force one’s self the smallest noises seem to amplify over and over growing constantly louder and louder until they reach those quiet night bumps reach the point where they turn from creaks to near deafening roars of noise that seem to halt any attempts at sleep. This was as much the situation that Eva was faced with, as the rhythmic bumping of a bed sounded out from the floor above her. She prayed whatever gods might preside over such situations that it wasn’t what she thought it was, alas there were no gods of not listening to the people above you having sex at six in the morning. Muted screams of passion rained down from the ceiling, along with various bits of debris, as the morning activities came to a rather screeching halt.
     The first bits of sunlight began to sneak through the grimy shades pulled down tight, the girl let out a quiet groan apparently the gods of sleep had decided to forsake her as well. Dragging herself from the blanket wrapped confines of her bed she began to stumble her way towards the shower, the blanket was thrown haphazardly onto the one chair within room, dust exploding forth as the blanket collided with it. Eva sighed, it was bad enough she had worked the late shift the previous night but the lack of sleep on top of that was only going to make the day more difficult to get through. Grabbing the towel hung over the radiator, she made her way to the shower dropping the cloth onto the floor as she went to turn the shower on. Still half asleep she turned the knob for water only to find it firmly stuck in place.
“Oh great don’t tell me you’ve rusted over now.” She sighed exasperatedly, grabbing the knob with two hands she yanked once. Then twice before giving the biggest effort of all the knob spinning in circles as she tumbled forth into the tub a cold spray of water dousing her.
“Fuck!” Eva flailed about as she scrambled forth from the tub, ice cold water drenching her before she could fully escape the wrath of the shower.
"Least I'm up." She groaned sitting on the dirty floor of her bathroom. She looked over to the cracked mirror above her sink just barely able to make out the top of her blonde head from her sitting position. "Hell of the way to start th-" her thoughts were cut off as a fist slammed into the door of her apartment.
"Oi, Eva open the 'ell up" the voice roared out.
She sat their silently perhaps the voice would somehow come to the conclusion that no one was in.

"Hey I'm not a damn idiot the shower is on Eva get yer ass out here!" The voice slammed its fist insistently upon her door."
"Figures I can't catch a damn break today" she mumbled as she stood doing her best to dry herself off with the ratty towel. "I'm comin' I'm comin'" she called out as she made her way to the pile of clothes stashed in the corner of her room. Tossing on a large shirt and pants she made her way to the door throwing it open. "What?" she attempted to sound as passionately disinterested as possible.
"Rents due" the voice stated, the owner now standing in front of her. A fat woman glared down at her “And if I recall you was late last month as well." Bits of spittle flew from her mouth as her green eyes danced with annoyance.
"I...uh...don't have it" Eva admitted shuffling her feet some.
"Well ain't dat a problem." The voice slurred out at her, bounds of chin fat jiggling as it spoke. She leaned in closer so that Eva could taste her breath, the smell of stale cigarettes and cheep alcohol on it. "Well if you ain't got the cash I suggest you start packing. Standing up the voice looked over the top of Eva's head. "From the looks of it won't take you very long."
"I get my paycheck today" Eva lied, anything to buy some extra time. The voice looked her up and down a few times before seemingly accepting. After what seemed like an eternity it relented and nodded.
"You better" the voice turned and began to waddle down the hallway, peeling wallpaper guiding her path.
"I will" she called after the woman "Oh and Val fix the damn water pipes!" she yelled this time slamming the door after her. The morning's momentary crisis had been fixed but the relief from that was quickly displaced with panic. She hadn't bought herself more than a few days with that little lie. She could ask for an advance but that was a long shot.
Eva slumped down to the floor, her eyes wandered over the hellhole of an apartment she lived in. The pathetic floral wallpaper was either peeling or faded, and the walls behind them littered with patchy repair jobs. The rough rug under her feet felt like sandpaper to her skin and probably hadn't been cleaned properly in decades. The only furniture in the room was the rickety old bed that felt like it would break under the slightest weight, a rotting coffee table that she'd found thrown in a ditch, and her dusty chair. The bathroom wasn't much better, with a tiny cracked mirror, a shower that only worked half of the time, and a toilet with pipes that were starting to rust over. Even the lights hadn't worked in over three months, the wiring having shorted out soon after she'd come to the place.
It was a pathetic dump, unfit by most anyone's standards yet it was the only place she could hope to afford with her current situation, and even that seemed to be in jeopardy. Her life was barely holding together, and the walls were closing in. Eva pushed herself to her feet grabbing books and a tattered satchel from underneath the chair as she walked out. A lot of people would have broken down and cried at this point, shitty apartment, shitty job, and a shitty life. Eva just wished she had something around that was worth breaking.
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The Sin'dorei raced down the streets and back alleys. She weaved and bobbed through the crowds, classes had run long. It always seemed on the days she needed to be somewhere the most someone decided to ask a question within the last five minutes of her class. Thankfully the few months of having to sprint from classes to work, coupled with the complete lack of money for public transportation had given her quite the pair of lungs allowing her to move at a brisk pace. Dodging an oncoming caravan she raced down an alleyway coming to a sliding halt in back of a small diner.
Happy that she had arrived with time to actually spare she caught a quick breather, the diner was one of the few things she could consider actually working out in her life at the moment. The pay was decent for someone at her age and experience level that and tips had allowed her to stay enrolled in classes and have a roof over head though nothing more. Plus they had flexible hours to the point where she could both work and go to school, plus no one seemed to care if she sneaked some food from the kitchen during her breaks and with her money any free food was good food. The dinner rush hadn't started yet as she opened the back door.
"Ah good to see you're on time today Eva" the booming voice of the manager roared out. Eva winced her boss was a good enough guy but the last few days construction had forced her to take a small detour and she had been late.
"I uh...try to follow your advice sir." she said through gritted teeth.
"Good perhaps you're learning something here after all." He laughed at his stupid joke heading out to the front part of the restaurant.
Eva sighed as she slid on her uniform, tossing her pack into the recesses of the kitchen. "Idiot" she mumbled once he was clearly out of earshot.
The night had so far been uneventful, tables moved in and out. However a full day of classes coupled with the lack of sleep had begun to wear on the girl as she sat down in a chair in the kitchen.
"You know you could take the day off" a bossy voice sounded speaking to Eva.
"Can't afford that, you know as much Ell." Her coworker looked at her though somewhat sad eyes. Ell was a student at the local common school like her, she was studying to be a doctor, leading her to often...butt in with suggestions about Eva's health. Eva didn't mind it much Ell was could be bossy but for the most part it was generally sound advice, plus she was, for all intents and purposes, nice. As a result, she was one of the few people that Eva could be around for long periods of time without getting an urge to commit some violence related crime.
"I'm a day away from being evicted, not exactly the time for a vacation is it?" she grinned at Ell. "Plus if I didn't show up who'd be here to take care of all your sorry asses."
Ell huffed stomping away leaving Eva with a few more moments of solitary rest as she tried to slow down time with her sheer force of will. However, like always, the more she wanted time to slow down, the faster it seemed to go, and she soon heard someone calling for her.
"Eva two at table four." A voice rang out beckoning her to return to her duties.
"Yeah yeah I head you. Don't blow a blood vein." She sighed cracking her neck wondering who she would have the pleasure of serving this time.
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"Okay spill, the scratches on the arms and back maybe, but there's no way THAT is from one of your romps."
"Hah well once more you're wrong."
"Bad move, no way am I letting this go now, spill."
"Fiiiiine, remember that sales girl from yesterday?"
"The red head who couldn't look you in the eye or string together three words did that?" An eyebrow was raised "She didn't strike me as a scratcher."
A laugh rang out "Hah. No. I'm in her room, she's naked, sweaty, and desperate. I'm just about to get her to call out my name, when guess who comes charging into the bedroom."
"Who her dad?"
"No worse. Boyfriend."
The shorter of the two men, threw his head back and cackled like a mad man. A few other patrons stared at him but he seemed entirely unconcerned. Upon regaining his composure he waved at his companion indicating for the story to continue.
"Right so he comes charging in, his fucking sword drawn and swinging. My reaction is to head for the window. Course it's three stories up, but hey what is magic good for. So I blink down only to land in a damn rosebush. I try jumping the fence only to get this." He motions to the leg wound "Anyway the damn bastard ended up chasing me for three blocks while I'm in nothing but my underwear."
This of course brought on more laughter, visibly disturbing some of the patrons as if the story wasn't enough. The man nearly spilling out of his chair in his bouts of laughter.
"Damnit Traestus, you're the only one who could not only get himself into these situations but actually seem to enjoy them."
Traestus grinned spreading his arms wide "I aim to please"
Righting himself in his chair, the shorter man fiddled with his hair flicking a braid.
"So what happened next? Ever get those clothes back?"
"You know me Rhys, I never go back. Especially when there's angry boyfriends with swords involved."
The young man known as Traestus simply grinned as he finished sipping his beer. Young, handsome, and filthy rich were the best ways to describe Traestus Koth'Arsvent. His father owned one large shipping business, his mother owned one of the most successful chains of exotic fabric businesses in all of Silvermoon. Never wanting much for himself growing up in addition to an easy life growing up without any sort of rules or guidance had lead him to a rather...care-free personality and general life outlook. Seventy-Five, a university student only in name, preferring to use his ties there to chat up pretty girls that caught his eyes at the different clubs and taverns.
His friend Rhysienn Delador, was very much the same, differing only in personal vices. Trae had a penchant for pretty girls and one night stands. Rhys instead preferred the parties themselves and was rarely seen at night without a large stack of bottles surrounding him. Physically speaking he was just as attractive as Traestus if not a bit shorter, granted that was dependent upon who you asked, and of course if you could get past Rhys's somewhat acerbic attitude. He'd met Trae back when they were in a primary school for nobles back when they were even more immature. They'd hit it off immediately much to the horror of every adult within a fifty mile radius. Their equally reckless life outlook fitting with each other well, and thus best friends were born.
They were sitting at a table in the front of the restaurant near the giant glass window, a few young girls stopping once and a while to sneak a peek at the two of them. However, to Trae's sadness Rhys was far more concerned with filling his stomach than hitting on pretty girls.
"Look just order your damn food and let’s get out of here. It's not like if you don't pick up someone now you won't have six more eating out of your hands in a few hours."
"Hey you don't know that" Trae said defensively though without much conviction.
"Whatever just keep it out of the restaurant I don't feel like fleeing for my life since you decided to use the bathroom for recreational purposes, or even worse the damn kitchen!"
"Hey that was once" Trae snapped back.
"Yeah and we're still not allowed back in there, they had really good food too." Trae dismissed his friend's complaint with a wave. As Rhys studied the menu with intent that most people would study a textbook, Trae studied the restaurant. It was quiet, not the type of place his usual prey frequented. However it seemed to be his lucky night as a blonde head bobbed out from the kitchen doors and made its way over to their table.
"Just you two correct" She said briskly, as she brushed her hair back over her shoulder.
"You are" he said smirking as he locked eyes with her green meeting green.
"Right then I'll be back with your water in a moment then" She turned on her heels and started to walk off towards the kitchen. Trae sighed inwardly he had hoped she was a blusher, as he made sure that his leg rubbed against hers as she walked off.
"Not even a shiver" he thought to himself as she was gone. Her absence was not long as she brought back the waters. Trae made sure to take his personally as he softly caressed her hand with his fingers before taking his glass.
"Are you ready to order?" the waitress asked levelly, not even hesitating. Figuring that he had to be a little more direct, the playboy leaned back letting red hair fall over his face smirking at her.
"How about whatever you'd get if you had the option." he said quietly, eyes keeping constant contact with hers from beneath red locks.
"Right and you" She asked Rhysienn as he ordered not missing a beat or even addressing Trae's flirting.
Rhys somehow managed to contain himself until the girl had made her way back into the kitchen. "Looks like the great ones swing and miss a few times here Trae."
Traestus shrugged "While that's true, this one is in the bag." he said grinning at his companion. "I can feel it."
"Hah. You're kidding right? Sure you're just not feeling your damn overactive sex drive?"
"Nope" Trae just shook his head "I know I'm right."
"Bullshit" Rhys responded.
"Care to bet the bill on it?"
Rhys hesitated for a moment, but nodded confidently. Smiling and leaning back in her chair, Traestus calmly waited. A few minutes later, the waitress came back to their table, sliding two plates in front of them, walking off just as quickly. Rhys grinned, thinking that he'd won, but Traestus grinned back, slyly lifting up the slip of paper that had been discreetly dropped in her lap. Inside was a small piece of paper with the serial number for the waitress’s communicator.
"See, I don't swing and miss" Traestus said confidently stuffing the piece of paper into a pocket.
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Eva watched the two men walk out of the restaurant, the flirtatious one giving her a parting wink before she left. Sighing in frustration, she went to clear the table, but was soon smiling when she counted the cash that was left there.
"Might get enough tips tonight to get the gorilla off my back for a few days," she thought, pocketing the bills.
It was definitely the worst part of the job, having the damn players trying to pick her up. She'd lost a lot of work because of them – well, more like the broken noses that she'd given them – but eventually she'd found an easy solution to deal with the problem: turns out that the second they got a number they stopped hitting on her. Best of all, they always tipped better when they thought they were getting laid, and that alone made it worth showing a little restraint.
Chuckling to herself as she counted her tip, she briefly imagined the man calling the number she'd given him. With any luck, that over obsessive narcissist hadn't moved yet.