Batofar

[blueeyeddevil]

Solange de Grace

Even as Tristan prepared to tell his story, Solange was starting to wonder if this was all such a good idea. Honestly she didn't want to think about Caleb. She was certain Tristan didn't want to think about his own past girlfriends! Why the hell were they doing this?! All this was going to do was make them feel awful! She had already agreed, though, and she didn't want Tristan to think she was backing down. It looked like she was going to have to keep going. At least he was going first.

“Man, this is the last time I let you take the lead.” he said and a small smirked pulled up the corners of her lips. They both knew that wasn't true at all. “Okay… Fine. My last real relationship – not date, but actual, long-term relationship – ended almost four years ago. Her name was Aimee and she was a nurse and it was good. For a while. I used to joke that I got her patients when she was done with ‘em. And we both had crazy hours, so when we both were free…”

Solange nodded her understanding. She wasn't sure why she was so surprised to find out Tristan had once had what sounded like a fairly normal relationship. She continued to listen as he began to speak again.

“I thought things were good, anyways. So I started saving up. You know, for a ring or whatever. I thought that’s what you did after a couple years or something. I don’t know. But then one afternoon, we were at my place and I was making lunch and she goes, ‘Where do you think this is going, Tristan?’ and I thought she was being… I don’t know… coy? I guess? And so I go, ‘I don’t know. You tell me.’ And she said… well… ” Tristan said, giving a shrug, but Solange could see where this was going. “She said it was over. That she couldn’t see us lasting. So I had almost a thousand euros squirreled away. Paid for the sound system in the hearse with it.”

That was even more shocking to Solange, that the relationship had been serious enough that he had at least been considering marriage. Of course that made the ending more painful. A twinge of sadness pricked at her chest and she found herself looking away.

“I ran into her, like, a month ago when I went to sign a couple death certificates,” he said. “She’s married now, working regular hours, like a responsible adult.” His hand ran over her back and he gave a fairly unconvincing smile. “So, I guess I dodged a bullet there. But that is way more than enough about me. Let’s hear yours. I’d rather hear yours.”

Solange drew in a sharp breath and finally met his eyes again. She bit her lip again, stalling just a bit. "I suppose its only fair. I did say I'd go if you went first," she said and paused, thinking for a moment. "I suppose if we're going by real, long term relationships then my last one ended just over a year ago. His name was Caleb."

Her mind conjured up the image of the young man with shaggy light brown hair and hunter green eyes. He'd been majoring in law and something about him she had just connected with. He'd been charismatic and intelligent, the center of the social scene and obviously she had been thrilled when he asked her out. For once she didn't feel the emptiness that had been there since her grandfather had passed.

"I met him my first semester at Cambridge. I had been hiding out in the library, doing some studying and then Caleb, Mr. Popularity, comes over and starts talking to me," she said, shaking her head with a sad smile. "Before I knew it he was inviting me to all these parties, which he later told me was an excuse to see me more. One day he asked me out for coffee, just the two of us. He did that two more times before he finally asked me to be his girlfriend."

She and Caleb had tried their best to make their dates around their class schedules and school work. It had been hard, but they made it work. However, that hadn't been the only thing that went wrong between the two of them.

"We were really happy together. But we were both so busy with school, it was hard to see each other. We were both so different too," she said softly. "I mean, he was this socialite kind of guy that wanted to go out on the town all the time and hang out with friend, while I just wanted to stay home sometimes and watch a movie. We'd fight...a lot. But we were crazy about each other and we were committed to making it work. We were together for two years." It was then that she'd graduated and gone home to be with her grandmother while Caleb had gone on to law school.

"After graduation it all kind of fell apart. I came back home so I could take care of Grandmother and he went to law school there at Cambridge. We kept in contact for a couple months but then one day he called and said that he loved me and wanted me to move back to England and be with him....I made the choice to stay with my grandmother. It ended right there. Two years gone."

She shook her head and bit her tongue hard to distract herself from the burning in her eyes. There were times she wondered if she made the right choice...if she should have gone back to England to be with Caleb. He was the only time she had cried over a break up. "Damn, this was a bad idea..." she muttered, glaring up at Tristan without any real malice. "Great plan," she said sarcastically, with a short laugh. "Brilliant of me to agree to it too."

[The Exodus]

Tristan Vidal

He was determined not to be sad about Aimee. It had been four years and he’d gone on dates since then. Awful blind dates that his friends set him up on, usually so that they and their wives would have someone to double-date with; and then of course there was this fake date with Solange. Which, really, was probably breaking all the rules of dates – real or fake – since they were talking about their exes.

But to be fair, Tristan was curious; genuinely far too curious to know about Solange’s dating life. Why was it that this relationship – this fake relationship they really didn’t have to keep pretending they had – the best one that she’d been in. He wondered if she’d had her heart broken or if she was still too young to be kicked down by life like that.

You were only two years older than she is now when Aimee left you.

Tristan decided that age didn’t matter and it was just as likely that Solange had known heartache as he had. And he was sure that she had when she met his gaze. Her blue eyes were uncomfortably sad. Tristan spent his days dealing with grieving widows and widowers; confused children who’d lost their parents to something they couldn’t name. And there was something of that in Solange’s eyes. He didn’t want to know suddenly. Not because he didn’t care, but because seeing Solange sad was worse than seeing her naked would have been. Not that seeing her naked would have been unpleasant… Just that, well…

He’d never seen her this vulnerable before. He’d never seen her vulnerable, period.

Tonight was a night of firsts.

"I suppose it’s only fair. I did say I'd go if you went first," Solange said. Tristan thought about telling her that if she really didn’t want to, he wouldn’t force her, but she started to speak. “I suppose if we're going by real, long term relationships then my last one ended just over a year ago. His name was Caleb. “I met him my first semester at Cambridge. I had been hiding out in the library, doing some studying and then Caleb, Mr. Popularity, comes over and starts talking to me."

She said this with a half-hearted smile and Tristan could feel nostalgic sadness come off of her in droves. He offered her an encouraging, sympathetic look. But in the back of his mind, a surprisingly bitter, Of course he was Mister Popularity cropped up, impotent and competitive. He elected to ignore it and listen instead.

"Before I knew it he was inviting me to all these parties, which he later told me was an excuse to see me more. One day he asked me out for coffee, just the two of us. He did that two more times before he finally asked me to be his girlfriend. We were really happy together. But we were both so busy with school, it was hard to see each other. We were both so different too," she said softly. "I mean, he was this socialite kind of guy that wanted to go out on the town all the time and hang out with friends, while I just wanted to stay home sometimes and watch a movie. We'd fight...a lot. But we were crazy about each other and we were committed to making it work. We were together for two years."

Two years was a long time to be with someone. Longer than Tristan expected her to say, since it had been during college and college relationships were usually impermanent. Two years wasn’t enternity, but it was substantial. A first real long term relationship, if Tristan had to guess. Sometimes, he forgot how young Solange was.

"After graduation it all kind of fell apart. I came back home so I could take care of Grandmother and he went to law school there at Cambridge. We kept in contact for a couple months but then one day he called and said that he loved me and wanted me to move back to England and be with him....I made the choice to stay with my grandmother. It ended right there. Two years gone."

For what it was worth, Tristan admired her for staying with her grandmother. Jacqui had been a wonderful woman; one of the best people Tristan had ever known. When Solange came to stay with her, she’d gotten some kind of second wind for a while. If you didn’t know better, you wouldn’t have guessed that Jacqui had been in any kind of pain.

But Tristan had to wonder what the hell kind of guy ended things like that. Over the phone, from another country. ‘Oh, your grandmother is dying? I guess I can’t wait for you.’ What kind of guy wouldn’t wait for Solange? If he loved her so much, he should have waited as long as it took. He should have gotten on a train from Cambridge or wherever and come to Paris for her. Torben had done that for Gwen, a long time ago. And Tristan held all men to that standard; even ones named Caleb who he had never met and who had absolutely gutted Solange.

Especially ones named Caleb who he had never met. Tristan absolutely never wanted to see that look of anguish on Solange’s face again. They said that misery loved company, but not this kind of misery. This was the private kind you didn’t share with anybody. And yet here they were, the two of them, talking about heartaches that Tristan would bet neither of them told anyone else about ever.

"Damn, this was a bad idea..." Solange murmured. She glared at Tristan, but it lacked its usual meanness. She looked sad and tired at the same time. "Great plan," she said sarcastically, with a short laugh. "Brilliant of me to agree to it too."

“You didn’t have to,” Tristan said. “I didn’t actually expect you to. I thought you would tell me to get bent or step on my foot or something when I suggested it. But I’m glad you agreed to it. Really. It’s like we’re friends or something.”


More like ‘or something’, he thought. They were supposed to look like boyfriend and girlfriend, not friends right now. And it was unlikely that Solange wanted to be Tristan’s friend, since she probably had dozens already who didn’t annoy her day in and day out. And Tristan wasn’t sure if he wanted to be friends, either, since he still felt fluttery on the inside from holding her in his arms, from listening to her talk. But he’d take what he could get.

[blueeyeddevil]

Solange de Grace

She didn't tell Tristan that part of the reason for her break up was her promise to grandmother to take over her job. She hadn't even told him about that promise to begin with. It had been her decision to make and now she had to live with the consequences. She had chosen to stay in Paris and honor her grandmother's wishes. That included watching out for Tristan, though sometimes she wondered if she was doing such a good job of that.

She blinked back tears as she thought of Caleb. She'd been lying if she said she hadn't thought about him since their break up, but it had been several months since the last time she had drudged up his memory. She chastised Tristan for coming up up with the idea of sharing about their exes at the same time she berated herself for going along with it.

“You didn’t have to,” he told her. “I didn’t actually expect you to. I thought you would tell me to get bent or step on my foot or something when I suggested it. But I’m glad you agreed to it. Really. It’s like we’re friends or something.”

Another small smile flickered to her face and she shook her head. "Yeah...almost," she agreed with a soft laugh as the song around them came to a close. She glanced over to see that Garret had disappeared off somewhere, probably turning his attention on someone more 'available'. She looked back at Tristan as they pulled apart. "I don't about you, but after sharing stories like that, I should could use another drink....maybe 5 more. If I have a hangover tomorrow, I'm blaming you," she said sarcastically.

[The Exodus]

Tristan Vidal

A smile appeared on Solange’s face. It wasn’t coy and Tristan hoped to God it wasn’t fake because he wasn’t sure anymore how to tell when Solange was smiling at him to be sweet or sarcastic.

"Yeah...almost," said Solange, laughing a little.

Tristan laughed, too, although he wasn’t sure why. But it was less than a second before Solange was looking beyond him and he figured he’d been right to believe they were “or somethings”. Especially now that she was pulling away from him and the music was over.

"I don't about you, but after sharing stories like that, I should could use another drink....maybe 5 more. If I have a hangover tomorrow, I'm blaming you," Solange said, sounding a bit more recognizable as the Solange Tristan saw from nine-to-five. She had a point.

“I’ll buy,” he said. “You don’t have to sit with me or dance with me again, but I at least owe you a drink after putting you through that.”

He meant the conversation, but supposed he’d already put her through too much tonight; she certainly had put him through the ringer. Playing with his feelings like that. In the last half hour – fifteen minutes? Had it only been fifteen minutes? – Tristan had run miles of emotion. He’d gone from surprise to irritation to lust to disappointment to sadness to whatever you called how he felt now. This weird, sticky feeling of awkward fondness that took everything he’d run through in this marathon and clumped it together.

Five, six, seven more drinks sounded appealing. He didn’t know exactly why Solange was hellbent on getting drunk, but he had his own reasons for wanting to wake up tomorrow feeling like someone had backed over him with a semi-truck.

Because now that they were going their separate ways for the night, Tristan already felt kind of like he’d been backed over by a semi-truck. Not that he’d expected anything else; not that he had the right to. But his mind was already whirring with thoughts of what tomorrow would bring. It would be easier to not talk. To sulk in silence while they both nursed headaches than to acknowledge that they’d had this little talk. And easier to acknowledge this talk than it would be to fess up about the weird, sinking feeling in his stomach.

“I’ll tell the bartender to put your drinks on my tab,” he said. “Then maybe you won’t have to find a new fake boyfriend tonight. Thanks for the dance.”

[blueeyeddevil]

Solange de Grace

Solange knew Tristan wasn't the only one to blame should she have a hangover tomorrow morning. She didn't need to drink herself into a stupor, firstly. Secondly, she didn't have to agree to answer about her past. But she had and she was surprised to find while talking about Caleb again had certainly made her feel awful, it helped a little knowing that she wasn't the only one whose dating life was completely terrible. And somehow she suspected that alcohol could only make her feel even better...at least for now.

“I’ll buy,” Tristan offered. “You don’t have to sit with me or dance with me again, but I at least owe you a drink after putting you through that.”

She blinked in surprise. He was offering to buy her a drink? He'd helped her out of her tricky situation and he was the one offering to buy her a drink? He'd brought up their exes, yeah, but he'd just been making conversation. And again, she was the one who had agreed.

"Tristan, you really don't..." she started to say

“I’ll tell the bartender to put your drinks on my tab,” he said, cutting in. “Then maybe you won’t have to find a new fake boyfriend tonight. Thanks for the dance.”

She slowly nodded and smiled faintly at him, glancing at the floor. "Thank you for offering. It did get the guy off my back," she said with a shrug. Second time to thank him tonight. That had to be a new record. "And thank you for the drink. I'll try not to run up your tab too much." She was a streak! She shot him a small smirk as they headed back to the bar.

She ordered another mojito and waited for a bit. As the bartender brought over her order, she took a sip before raising her glass towards Tristan in one last small display of thanks With that she turned to head back to her friends who would undoubtedly be wondering where she had gotten off to.

She hoped things wouldn't be too awkward between her and Tristan at work tomorrow, but she sincerely doubted that.

[RaeRae]

OOC: Decided to just throw Kent out here since I'm due for an Open RP scene ^^. Here the car if anyone's curious (or as close to it as I can kinda guess) tiny.cc/a70ssw

BiC:

Kent William

"You told me that I wouldn't lose!"

"No. I told you that if you practiced you wouldn't lose. It's in no way my fault that you jumped the gun." The young man, he couldn't have been more then 16 or 17, just glared; but he knew that the other was right, and had no comeback for him. "Now get out of here, you need to come up with another car before your parents get back." A look of panic and then the boy took off.

Kent Williams smirked slightly as he watched the kid take off, amusement in his light blue eyes. He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair before stepping inside the boat. He had just got done with a race and was the new owner of a bright blue Mustang which was currently sitting in his warehouse is La Périphérie- where he'd just come from. The kid that had just taken off was new the scene, and very stupid.

Making his way to the bar on the top deck of Batofar he leaned against it and ordered his usual after winning a race, a glass of brandy with one ice cube. "What kind of car is it tonight?" The bartender was asking as he set the glass down. Kent grinned. "Mustang, fourth generation, bright blue. Beautiful car." He took another sip of his drink and let his eyes wander around a moment.

Not too many people on this particular deck, there were probably more on the lower ones, but that was alright. Kent wasn't a huge fan of crowds unless they were there to watch people race. Checking his watch he made a mental note to stop by the garage on his way home to double check if the guys cleaned down his car properly, then just wash it again because he didn't trust them with his baby.

A little shake of the head and another smile. Tonight was going to be a good night, he could feel it.

[blueeyeddevil]

OOC: I'll snatch him up! ^_^

Reese Cordova

Reese was having a blast tonight, just handing out with a group of her friends. After her release from the rehab clinic about a year before, it had taken a while for things between her and her friends to go back to normal. It had happened right away with her really close friends like Santiago and Damien. They had never really treated her any differently after that. But it had been different with her fellow ballerinas. They didn't quite understand what she had been going through at the time. But things were mostly back to the way they had been now and it was nights like this that really helped.

She laughed happily as she moved out on the dance floor, the other ballerinas and her all doing ballet moves to dance party music. They were getting ll kinds of strange and amazed looks and it only made all of them laugh even more. She glanced up to see that the large guy (though at only 5 feet tall most people were large to her) that had been bugging her all night was heading their way. She had tried to be as nice as possible in turning down his multiple requests for a dance, but the guy simply didn't take no as an answer.

She quickly slipped away from the group and headed for the bar, hoping to avoid the guy for a little while. She had climbed up onto the bar stool next to a rather attractive blond guy who was maybe a few years older than her, sighing with slight relief at having gotten away. She was about to order a drink, debating on just staying here the rest of the night when she suddenly saw that her relief was a bit early. The guy from the dance floor had followed her up here!

"Hey! I've been looking all over for you," he said with a leering grin. "Wondering if you'd thought anymore on that dance."

Reese let out a soft sigh. "Look, I'm really sorry! I told you I'm not really interested," she tried to explain in as calm a voice as possible. Fear coursed through her though when the man's eyes lit up with anger.

"You know what, I've been trying to be patient," he growled, his words slurred. He was quite obviously drunk. "I'm getting a little tired of you playing hard to get! Come on! We're going have a dance."

He grabbed her wrist, pulling her off the bar stool and back towards the dance floor. "Let go!! Stop it!" she cried out, struggling against the guy. He was much bigger though and it wasn't doing anything at all! Panic shot through her as she glanced back at the bartender, only to see he was too busy to even notice. Her eyes did lock with the man she'd been sitting next to though, silently begging him to help.

[RaeRae]

Kent made small talk with the bartender, and a couple people who recognized him from the race that night. He was never much of a dancer himself but he did enjoy watching other people dance- or attempt to. His eyes had settled on the group of girls dancing to the music, but it was more of...well Kent didn't know exactly how to describe it.

The more he watched though, the more it clicked. Kent supposed it did help that one of the girls did a pirouette-like move. Ballet dancers? Or just girls being silly? At least they were having a good time. He turned his attention back to the bartender so he could get a refill when he heard a little commotion a few minutes later.

"Hey! I've been looking all over for you, wondering if you'd thought anymore on that dance." It was the voice of a man, Kent's eyes followed the sound to settle on a rather large, drunk man. Then his eyes traveled the woman he was speaking to, one of the ballet girls. "Look, I'm really sorry! I told you I'm not really interested."

Kent figured the guy would sulk away, but no. Instead he seemed to get angry fast and his voice had a threatening tone as he grabbed the girl's hand. The girl panics as she tried to get away. "Let go!! Stop it!" Then she shot Kent a pleading look. Well Kent couldn't let this thug hurt her.

He straightened and stepped over, grabbing the man's wrist with a surprisingly strong grip. "I suggest you let her go, right now." His tone was low and threatening. "Unless you'd like to spend every waking moment of your life looking over your shoulder." Menace flashed through his eyes for the briefest moment. He'd made guys with guns back down before just using his words and posture. Kent had no doubts that this guy would scare easily.

However, just to make sure, Kent slid an arm around the woman's waist. "She's here with me, and no one messes with my girls. Especially not a loser like you." He looked the man up and down and then settled his still narrowed gaze on him.

[blueeyeddevil]

Reese Cordova

The more she tried to get away from the guy, the tighter his grip became and the more it began to hurt. This creep seemed to think she'd just been toying with him and was fed up with it. He thought he was claiming something she was planning to give him anyway. No one else seemed to notice and all she could do was hope that the guy she had been sitting next to before would take notice and be willing to step in.

Apparently he seemed more than happy to. A strong hand grabbed the guy's wrist. "I suggest you let her go, right now." the attractive guy from the bar growled in a dangerous voice. "Unless you'd like to spend every waking moment of your life looking over your shoulder."

With a glare the other man released her wrist and she took a step back, closer to the blond guy. "She's here with me, and no one messes with my girls. Especially not a loser like you." he said firmly and quickly went along with it, wrapping her arms around his middle as though cowering into her boyfriend.

There was another glaring contest but the other man took one more look at her 'boyfriend' and quickly slunk away with a few muttered curses. Reese let out a deep sigh of relief, her slender shoulders slowly relaxing. She found herself hugging the man whose arm was still around her, unbelievably grateful that he'd managed to make the other man leave.

"Thank you! Thank you!" she cried, hugging him. Slowly she stepped back to a more reasonable distance for strangers. "Sorry. I just...I really appreciate that. He had been following me around all night! I was trying to be nice...I just..." The words were coming out in a tumble, worked up as she was. She took a breath. "Just, thank you," she finally said.

[RaeRae]

Kent Williams

Kent smirked a bit, holding the woman just a little closer as she wrapped her arms around him. He'd keep an eye on the guy tonight, to make sure he didn't mess with anyone else. Once he was out of sight he smiled down at the young woman who he was still tangled up with, evaluating her for a moment. She was pretty, though short. He was at least a head and a half taller, it was kind of adorable he mused.

"Thank you! Thank you!" She hugged him suddenly and he was just a little taken a back-Kent wasn't very used to hugging people or being hugged. Then she was a little farther away from him and he relaxed again"Sorry. I just...I really appreciate it..." He was polite and let her continue to ramble as he looked her over again, wanting to get a better understanding of this woman. "It's really not a problem." He flashed her a grin.

"I'm more than happy to help a beautiful young woman in need." He picked up his Brandy and took a sip. "Besides, the guy really was a creep...can I buy you a drink? You seem like you could use one now" Then his eyes sparked, like he was remembering something and held out a hand. "I'm Kent by the way, and may I ask yours?" It wasn't every day he got to intervene in something like this after all, he figured it was only good manners to at least introduce himself and maybe gain her name in return.

[blueeyeddevil]

Reese Cordova

She felt the guy tense a little as she threw her arms around him in a hug. She had been told on more than one occasion that she needed to be more careful about stuff like that. She had a tendency be overly affectionate even when it came to strangers. But she figured that this guy had helped her out. He really couldn't be all that bad. But not everyone was comfortable with having strangers hug them so she quickly let go and stepped back just a little in an attempt to give him a bit of space, thanking him as she did.

"It's really not a problem." he told her with a charming grin. "I'm more than happy to help a beautiful young woman in need." She could feel a light blush creeping into her cheeks as she smiled back at him. "Besides, the guy really was a creep...can I buy you a drink? You seem like you could use one now."

She watched as he took a sip of his own drink. She hesitated briefly, but figured the guy in front of her could hardly be worse than the one he'd just made leave. And smiled again and nodded, hopping back up on her bar stool as the other had pulled her off it. "Sure. A Piña Colada sounds good," she said. Small as she was, she couldn't have anything much stronger than that.

"I'm Kent by the way, and may I ask yours?" he introduced himself, holding out a hand.

She place her small hand in his, shaking it politely. "I'm Reese," she told him, blue eyes meeting his own. "It's wonderful to meet you Kent! I must say I picked a good person to sit next to." She gave a little laugh and grinned at him. "So tell me, what do you do when you're not busy playing knight in shining armor," she asked a little teasingly.

[RaeRae]

Kent Williams

Kent idly noted that she was adorable when she blushed. "Sure. A Piña Colada sounds good." She smiled at him and he nodded to the bartender to get her drink. "Piña Colada hm? Not a bad choice." He wasn't a fan of the drink himself, but it wasn't on his 'I'm never going to drink this again' list either. If it was the only choice, he'd grin and bear it.

Maybe Kent just had a thing for shorter women, because...well he didn't even quite know. Maybe it was just the Brandy kicking in. He let his hand fall back to his side after she had introduced herself. "I'm Reese. It's wonderful to meet you Kent! I must say I picked a good person to sit next to." Kent laughed with her and ran and hand through his hair absently. "Reese is a lovely name, it suits you."

"So tell me, what do you do when you're not busy playing knight in shining armor." Reese teased him a bit and Kent's blue eyes sparkled. He hardly ever told anyone his real passion and career on the first meet, and this girl -pretty as she was - wouldn't be the exception. "I own Marcel's Mechanics in the business district." He said simply, though by the look in his eyes there was obviously more to it then that.

"What about you, Ms. Reese? When you're not playing damsel in distress - what's your day job?" Kent smirked for a fleeting moment before finishing off his drink.

[blueeyeddevil]

Reese Cordova

She smiled as she sat next to the blond haired man whose name she now knew was Kent. He was definitely very intriguing with his good looks and devilish charm. She wanted to know more about him. She took him up on his offer to buy her a drink, a little nervous as she did. It actually wasn't every day that something like this happened to her. She didn't see the harm in staying for a bit though and figured that her friends could wait for a little while and ordered a Piña Colada. It was a fruity, girly little drink, but it was delicious and she was a lightweight so it was better if she had less alcohol.

She introduced herself next. "Reese is a lovely name, it suits you." he said, running a hand through his sandy blond hair. She grinned and glanced away, taking a little bite of the pineapple chunk that had come with her drink.

"I always thought it sounded a little cutesy to be honest," she said with a laugh, wrinkling her nose a bit before it smoothed out and she smiled at him. "But thank you!"

She asked what it was he did for a living, noting the glimmer in his blue eyes. "I own Marcel's Mechanics in the business district." he said, though something about the way he said, about the look in his eyes, made her think there was more to it than that. She was going to try and not pry...she was very bad at that actually.

"Oh? A business owner? Impressive," she said with a smile. "Do you work on the cars too? If so, I'll really be impressed." Her voice was teasing and light as she went to take a another drink of her Piña Colada, blue eyes dancing over the edge of her glass.

"What about you, Ms. Reese? When you're not playing damsel in distress - what's your day job?" he asked and she laughed and shook her head in dismay as being known as such. She supposed it was true though. He'd certain come to her rescue.

"I dance ballet at the Opera Garnier," she replied with a bright smile. "It's been a dream of since as long as I can remember and I finally made it."

[RaeRae]

Kent Williams

"I always thought it sounded a little cutesy to be honest, but thank you!' He chuckled softly and relaxed a little more against the bar. He figured it would be best to keep what he was thinking to himself for now. Not that it was really mean or anything, but she might be offended, he still didn't know her well. So was content to just move on to the next subject.

"Oh? A business owner? Impressive...do you work on the cars too? If so I'll really be impressed." She was teasing again and Kent couldn't say he wasn't enjoying himself. It had been a while since he'd had a decent conversation with someone random. At the races it was either hurling insults or quicks congratulations, at work it was all shop or silence while he worked on his baby. It all depended.

Kent inched a bit closer, flashing her another one of his award-winning grins. "Well I do want to impress you. I do infact. I've been working on cars since I was a teenager. " Maybe it was better to say that cars were Kent's passion. Cars the passion, racing the career, and Marcel's the storefront for it all. That sounded good. Then she explained her day job. "I dance ballet at the Opera Garnier. Its' been a dream of mine since as long as I can remember, and I finally made it."

"Somehow I pegged you for a ballet dancer...after all you and your friends looked like you knew a thing or two about it." He laughed a bit. "I'm glad you achieved your dream though. Not many people get the chance to."

[blueeyeddevil]

Reese Cordova

She was enjoying this conversation that they had going. She had been told before that she was a definite people person and she liked to think that. She had been a bit of a flirt in her school years and it had helped her gain the attention of more than one of her male co-dancers. The conversation was easy and comfortable and she was always up for meeting new people. Especially when they were as interesting and attractive as the one sitting next to her. She asked about his work, wondering if he worked on the cars too.

Another gorgeous smile from him had her own lips turning up as he moved a little closer. "Well I do want to impress you. I do infact. I've been working on cars since I was a teenager." he told her. She leaned forward on the bar, chin in her hand, quite interested.

"Oh? Then consider me impressed," she said with small laugh and a smile. "Were you self taught or did your dad show you the ropes starting out?"

She explained in the return that she was a ballet dancer. "Somehow I pegged you for a ballet dancer...after all you and your friends looked like you knew a thing or two about it." he said.

A mischievous little smile pulled at the corners of her lips. "Oh? Does this mean you were watching me then," she asked, coaxing her head to the side a little.

"I'm glad you achieved your dream though. Not many people get the chance to." he told her.

She bit her lip, blushing a bit again. "Thank you. Dance means a lot to me. There is nothing I'd rather do," she said softly before smiling at him. "Just like I'm sure there is nothing you'd rather do more than work with cars."