is it too early to bring in this dork
Posts: 9
Preferred Name: Lube
Character Profile: [ x ]
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Post by hound on Aug 3, 2015 15:16:11 GMT -5
The job that Alex held at his mother's café was not his favorite job. It required things of him he did not exactly have, such as the ability to handle crowds of people, and also social skills. Alex was keenly aware of the fact that, although he seemed to be the charming son everyone expected from his mother, he also spent way too much time mentally going over possible worse-case scenarios in his head— turning each moment over and over like an object to be scrutinized, trying to find some kind of crack or opening from which to pry out a decent experience.
It did not help, exactly, that he was an impeccable host despite all this. He watched his mother greet guests and converse with them with ease, treating each like an old friend or possibly close family— and while he didn't exactly manage to imitate this, he did manage to keep his shit together enough for his mother to keep asking him to come.
And there was no way Alex could say no to his mother.
Alex took a deep breath behind the bar counter, dressed to the tens yet feeling a more like a 5.6. He preferred his day job, the one that kept him safely behind the desk of an office, where he had a multiple stacks of paper to shield him from other people. Of course, he only covered on occasion, since his mother definitely wasn't in short supply of laborers, but it didn't exactly change the fact that it was getting closer and closer to 6pm and once the clock struck the hour, he'd have to... make small talk. With strangers.
He frowned, suppressing the urge to groan.
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Post by trace on Aug 5, 2015 10:12:42 GMT -5
Trace skipped down the street in the direction of his workplace, not in uniform for the first time since he'd gotten the job a little while ago. He was still impeccably dressed, of course (anything less was simply unthinkable), but today's look was brought to you by the Trace collection™.
Since he'd already gotten used to the daily routine, his boss had suggested he come by and visit sometime to check the place out from the other side of the fence. It was pretty happening and Trace definitely didn't really have anything better to do, so he figured he would grace the place with his presence on this very fine evening.
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Turning his eyes to the bar in search of Laina, Trace—
Whoa there. Hold on. Stop the presses. Why was there some hot dude standing behind his bar counter? He'd never seen this guy, much less heard from Laina about the rando Russian prince who happened to work here on Thursday nights. Wtf man, way to throw Trace for a loop. And here he thought he'd learned most of the place's ~cool secrets~ in the past week. Was Laina hiding this dude in the sketchy storeroom with the fingerprint scanner or something?
Of course, surprises meant there was a need for further observation and investigation. So Trace sidled up to the counter to engage him in stimulating, meaningful conversation.
"Hey, there. I haven't seen you around here before... D'you work here often?"
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is it too early to bring in this dork
Posts: 9
Preferred Name: Lube
Character Profile: [ x ]
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Post by hound on Aug 5, 2015 14:01:04 GMT -5
And here came the first of his troubles: a young male who looked a shade too young to be anywhere near the bar. Alex looked at him, silent as he continued to needlessly polish the same five square inch area of the counter with the cloth in his hand.
"I don't, actually," he said, already feeling done with the conversation. "I'm going to need to scan your NUIP. We don't allow minors in here."
That's what his mother said, at least. In actuality, she was incredibly lax about who entered the bar, though she kept their fridges well-stocked with juice for the under-aged. Alex, however, was different. He preferred his rules be stuck to, adhered to through the most dire circumstances if at all possible. Rules were there to keep everyone safe, and also probably to keep people from doing idiotic things as they were sometimes prone to doing. Alex for one was quite grateful there were such things keeping his life from going down the route of death and depravity, so yes, he was in fact the asshole who IDed every person regardless of how they physically looked.
And Alex was quite ready to bust someone if necessary. He worked out for a reason.
He handed a portable NUIP scanner to the blond, looking at him expectantly.
"Sorry, I don't make the rules."
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Post by trace on Aug 5, 2015 14:37:39 GMT -5
Wow, shut down. Like that one time early on in his acting career when he was in this cheesy spy romance flick and his character was just, pfwoo! Suddenly ejected out of the private jet at Mach 2, like, Sonic the Hedgehog had an unexpected bout of Traveler's Diarrhea. Except no, this way way worse. Getting to try out the stunt rig for that flick was sweet. This guy just blew him apart at close range with a anti-air missile ー and at the rate he was going with that polishing cloth, it'd take 13 years to get Trace's guts off all the walls.
Would he ever love again? Doubtful.
"What, me? Oh no, I'm a regular ー I come by this place like every day."
Blinking at the portable device he was handed, he set it down gently on the counter in front of him. Oh no no, Trace was far too young to let his port be investigated by a man he'd just met, even if he was, like, spicy European royalty or something. Maybe after he bought him a couple of drinks, but no dice before that.
"There's no need for that. If you worked here more often you'd definitely know my face by now. Your boss specifically told me to check out the bar, actually."
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is it too early to bring in this dork
Posts: 9
Preferred Name: Lube
Character Profile: [ x ]
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Post by hound on Aug 5, 2015 14:52:02 GMT -5
There was a long moment of silence. Possibly for mourning the loss of yet another opportunity for good rule-following. If what the guy said was right, then his mother, Lain, hired yet another sketchy fellow to work at the café without telling him— much less consulting him. Not that Lain ever listened to him anyway— a sweet woman though she was, she was also incredibly hard-headed and stubborn. At least Alex knew where he got those genes from.
Regardless, it wasn't impossible that he worked there. But Alex wanted to check. To make sure.
Gently, he nudged the scanner back towards the blond's direction. "I don't doubt you, but you must have some form of identification designating that you are, in fact, employed by my mother. For as often as I work here, practically anyone could claim what you just did."
Alex had to admit that he had... guts? No. Not quite. It wasn't incredibly gutsy, standing up to a bartender trying to ID him. That was, as far as Alex was concerned, rather normal. But he looked young, and to mosey on down here with that kind of bravado was charming in its own way to say the least. If he was telling the truth, Alex could understand why his mother hired him.
Unless she just thought he was cute. Which was a thing Lain was known to arbitrarily hire people for on occasion much to Alex's displeasure.
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Post by trace on Aug 5, 2015 15:15:55 GMT -5
Persistent. There's nothing I love more than a man who plays hard to get. Not actually, but it sounded pretty funny in his head ー like a line from some stupid romance novel. Those ones that all had the same dude on the cover with his shirt unbuttoned and his abs covered in oil or some crap. Optional half-pictured woman clinging to his basketball-sized bicep, of course.
"Okay, but I'll bet you like a thousand bucks that I do, in fact, work here."
Ceremoniously picking up the device, he scanned his NUIP and handed it back, not even waiting for the man to read the information before continuing.
"I do like your adherence to the rules, though. Straight out of the manual."
Trace stepped back from the counter, crossing his arms. "Nice to meet you. Oh, and I'm totally willing to trade the thousand dollar debt for lunch on Saturday," he added, smiling faintly.
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is it too early to bring in this dork
Posts: 9
Preferred Name: Lube
Character Profile: [ x ]
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Post by hound on Aug 5, 2015 15:32:32 GMT -5
It was true, much to Alex's chagrin. He was, in fact, employed by his mother. Alex barely resisted the urge to wipe a hand down his face in exasperation, but managed to do so if only for the sake of good manners. He took a deep breath, reading the information on the scanner out loud.
"Tracy Gannon... Employed at Black Milk Café... 18."
Well. He was underage at least. Alex was right about that much. He put the scanner away, going back to polishing the counter for lack of anything else to do.
"I don't remember agreeing to a bet," he commented. "And I'm not buying you lunch or giving you money."
Had Alex been a little more socially-aware, he might've realized that the kid was hitting on him. And, throughout the course of their conversation so far, also flirting with him in a strangely joking yet somewhat sincere manner. Maybe it was for Alex's own good then, that all of it flew right over his head— it'd save him a lot of embarrassment at the very least.
"Besides, I have a schedule. There are things that I need to do on Saturdays that are very important."
Okay, that was kind of a lie. Sort of. Yeah. He did have stuff to do, and it was pretty important, like visiting his mother for example. Except if Lain caught whiff of this conversation, Alex had the feeling she'd probably blackmail him into agreeing to Tracy's outrageous request. Alex prayed that it would not happen. Both his mother, and so far Tracy both seemed to have a certain smugness that reminded him of certain shiba inus he'd seen on the internet.
"So, short answer, no bet, no lunch."
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Post by trace on Aug 5, 2015 16:07:14 GMT -5
"That's me."
And there it was, the slightly dull buzz of victory pre-decided and not earned in the slightest. The man behind the counter seemed to take it pretty well too, though maybe the fact he went back to polishing the same spot contradicted that? Either way, if he kept it up he just might rub straight through the fabric of time and space and reach life on other planets.
So it appeared that either this man's ability to be unaffected by rather tame but not especially subtle flirting was either through the roof or he was just completely oblivious. Unanswered questions, much like secrets, meant there was a need for further observation and investigation.
"I'm glad you're not in the habit of taking out just any random stranger you meet," he said, grinning. "I'll just have to try again once we know each other a little better. For starters, since I'll be seeing more of you it would probably be helpful if I knew your name." |
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is it too early to bring in this dork
Posts: 9
Preferred Name: Lube
Character Profile: [ x ]
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Post by hound on Aug 5, 2015 16:18:48 GMT -5
Well. If they were to be coworkers, it would be rude of him to not introduce himself at the very least. Plus, that aside, Alex was a man of propriety— and also his mom might get onto him for being rude to a new employee, so. Yeah. Introductions.
"Alexander," he started. "Alexander Maechevsky. Yes, I am related to the owner. Please do not ask me any questions about my mom. People have a tendency to do that and I find it very unsettling when I'm being asked what her bra size is."
True story. And a common one for when his patrons got drunk and a little too buddy-buddy. His mother was, well, pretty. And she did attract attention from all sorts of people— from the unsavory male with an unkempt beard to the business woman dressed in a well-pressed suit. For better or for worse, Lain attracted a lot of attention and Alex had to suffer the brunt of it, with the numerous embarrassing and incredibly invasive questions about her.
Actually, he got plenty of questions about himself too. Like what his shoe size was. He never understood the purpose of that particular piece of information, but he never gave it out since it was just way too weird.
"It's a... pleasure to meet you, uh... Tracy."
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Post by trace on Aug 5, 2015 16:42:42 GMT -5
Alexander, huh? Alexander Maechevsky... What a spicy prince name. Laina obviously had super good taste. And super hot genes and stuff, obviously. Though he was willing to bet Alexander's father was quite the looker as well. The boss was just too much of a queen to settle for anything less than Spicy Prince Sr. (Spicy King? Spicy King Consort? He wasn't sure about the terminology, but it was definitely a Queendom.)
Trace made a face at Alex's comment about his mother. A face like a teenage boy accidentally discovering the video documenting his birth. Or one sent an innocuous link by a friend and tricked into seeing a high-quality GIF of old, unclothed men participating in acts of debauchery. Maybe not that horrified, but decently surprised and weirded out.
"Uh... Trust me, I have absolutely no interest in your mom."
Yeah, Laina was definitely the bae but not the bae. He supposed Alexander's warning was appropriate given the breadth of his experience, but that was also still a really weird thing to hear and not what he expected when he made his way over to talk to the spicy prince here. That must be what Laina meant when she was saying all that stuff about her son the other day. For all his Spicy Prince™ looks, Alexander seemed very tense and stressed. And a little bit socially awkward, though Trace figured it was way too early to tell whether that was true or not.
"Call me Trace," he said, grimacing only a little at his given name. "And the pleasure's all mine." |
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