Summary:Felicia and Jimmy meet at a nightclub. Log Info:Storyteller: None |
Related LogsTheme SongNone |
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It's a deep, late night, and the Aerie is still just as active as it had been when the sun first set. While most of that comes from an influx of people arriving later, Jimmy finds himself just as fresh as he had been on arrival. The friend who'd brought him here has long since gone home and to bed, but Jimmy just… isn't tired. So he's been wiling away the night with random conversations, a little dancing, and steady drinking — though nothing alcoholic, which might catch a few odd looks. Who comes to the Aerie to not indulge in vices?
Being a thief such renown doesn't come without its privileges. Felicia had heard rumor that two potential marks were making an appearance at Aerie tonight to talk shop. But the goods they would be discussing were already hotter than July. It's time /someone/ stepped in.
Unfortunately, as luck would have it, the two men were not to be found, and Felicia had been there for hours in a tight black patent dress cut just long enough not to be discussed, at least at Aerie. And her silvery hair is swept up into a sleep ponytail that falls straight, down to between her shoulder blades. She is having a drink at the bar, bought by someone else and delivered by the bartender. It has a cherry in it, which she's enjoying as she holds it by the stem.
More than anything, Jimmy is here for people. He soaks in their presence, the array of emotions surrounding him. To him, it's no more invasive than listening to voices or watching faces. It's simply a passive awareness.
And it brings him towards the bar, following a certain feeling which seems like it could do with intervention.
He slides into a seat two away from Felicia — close enough for conversation, but not to invade her personal space. And the mix of her inner disappointment, her being dressed so nicely, and sitting by herself… he comes to a logical but not-quite-accurate conclusion. "Just not showing up, huh?" He means a date standing her up, not a pair of marks not coming by; it's clear in his tone, even if he doesn't put it in so many words.
Felicia narrows her eyes and glances sidelong at the newcomer. There's a new playfulness in her tone as she turns to him, sucking the cherry from the stem and smiling. "Oh, I wouldn't say /that/…you're here now, aren't you?"
She crosses her legs, swinging one dangling high-heeled foot slowly as she looks him over. "I scarcely count that as a disappointment."
Jimmy sits in a straight but comfortable pose. With his hands idly laid on the bar, it doesn't do much to block the view of what he's wearing: black slacks, a dark grey shirt, and a blue tie which goes well with his eyes. He laughs at her greeting. "Well, I doubt you were waiting specifically for me." He holds out a hand to her. "I'm Jimmy. I don't think we've met."
"Enchanted," Felicia replies, taking his hand. "And really, who's to say what one awaits, if she is waiting? Perhaps fates and gods know far more of of our tapestry, of which the back side is all that we can see before its completion." She smiles, as a green sparkle deepens the hue of her aqua eyes. "Therefore, Jimmy, it might truly be said that I was waiting for you. I'm Felicia."
Jimmy's touch is firm but not crushing: a respectable handshake, not an attempt to crush her fingers, and he lets her hand go in short order. He laughs again, a slight warmth coming to his cheeks. "Well, even if you hadn't decided on it on purpose, I'll count myself lucky if 'the fates' had you waiting for me. Makes a nice surprise. Do you come to the Aerie often? This is my first time out here — a work friend wanted to come, but he didn't want to come alone."
"I've come here a few times," Felicia replies with a smile, turning to look around the room. "More for research than socialization, I'm afraid. I prefer to peoplewatch, most often. It makes for educational entertainmemt, wouldn't you agree?"
Jimmy follows her gaze, looking out onto the dancefloor. "Mm. It can be interesting to see how people interact, what chemical-reactions result from the different 'elements' coming together. Like… that pair over there." He nods to a pair of women milling together on the dancefloor. "I'd bet you the brunette's actively trying to flirt with her, but the blue-haired girl's oblivious and just thinks the compliments are a 'woman to woman' thing." He has some unfair advantages in his guesses.
Arching a brow, Felicia nods slowly. "I'd buy that. Because the brunette hit on me twice earlier tonight. Unfortunately, I'm afraid she is quite simply /not/ my type. Nor am I hers, truth be known."
She turns back to Jimmy with a mischievous little grin. "And just what have you decided about me? Am I trouble?"
That grin does get Jimmy eyeing her, even when he should only have caught it in peripheral vision. "So far, undecided. You seemed like you'd be interesting company to keep, and I'm not sure yet of just what shape that takes. How about you?" He sips his soda. "What have you decided about me?"
"Wellll," Felicia begins, looking him over…"You clearly aren't a the same type as the usual crowds here. You're here late, and alone, at least now. Which would indicate you have nowhere better to be. That would indicate that you're not an extremely social person. Yet you're here, taking in the scene, so you're not antisocial, either. And you're not imbibing - neither have you been - so you're not up to no good. So now you're a curisosity." Felicia sighs resignedly. "So any way you slice it, you're trouble for me."
Jimmy smiles mysteriously. "The ambiguously social-antisocial night owl, who hasn't been drinking, is trouble for the pretty girl in patent leather? Sounds like a role reversal if ever there was one." He scoots back a bit more in his stool, putting his back to the bar. "You mentioned types. That has me curious; just what type would you say you are, and what is your type?"
"Me? I'm a chameleon…I change my mind on a whim. If there was one term that /could/ be used to describe me, I guess it'd have to be 'free spirit.' But as for my type…I know it when I see it. Unfortunately for some, I am quite simply not attracted to women." She shrugs. "I've nothing at all against it. I am just not inclined that direction. And you? Do you have a type? Or are you an…equal-opportunity voyeur?"
Jimmy nods. "That's fair; I think it's just as important to respect your sexuality as it is to respect a gay person's sexuality. Some people, unfortunately, act like only their own sexuality is valid — whether that means homophobia, heterophobia, or the biphobia far too common in q—" He stops himself, coughing. "Sorry." Instead, he realigns his focus onto her question.
He taps a finger on his glass while he thinks. "Playful, to the point of cheeky. Teasing." His tone turns wry, a little self-deprecating. "And she has to enjoy blushing, given how easy it can be to get them out of me."
"Oh, I do enjoy a good blush. Especially when it sets off such lovely blue eyes. I can't believe you've not been spirited away by some lovely young thing already tonight. With a look like yours, I'd think the girls would all swarm you, and carry you out via mob mentality, if nothing else." Felicia winks, and drains her glass of its cloudy, coconut-scented elixir. "It must be my lucky night."
Okay, that gets the blush going. Jimmy turns and stares at her as she provides the mental image of a mob swarming and carrying him off. He coughs, trying to cover it by holding his glass in front of his face. "I'm not in the market to be 'spirited away', really. Teasing is fine and fun, but there are… rules." He sips his drink, and notes hers draining. "Care for another?" He half-lifts a hand, ready to seek the bartender's attention.
"Mm…water with a twist of lime, maybe, thank you. I'm not in the market for drunken cat and mouse tonight. But…explain these rules?" She rests her elbow on the bar, and her chin on her hand, watching him curiously, and clearly enjoying the view as he blushes.
Jimmy does flag the bartender, and gets a refill of his own soda along with her water-and-lime. Her continued attention makes his cheeks glow hotter, though he at least resists the urge to actually squirm. "Um. H-Hypothetically open relationship. Like, my girlfriend would want to meet and get to know how comfortable she is with you, before giving the… go-ahead. And probably join forces to see just what shade you two can make me turn. She is absolutely the type I mentioned." Playful and likes a blush. But the way he talks about it suggests that these clauses have been discussed but not used.
Felicia's brow arches again, as she takes in his 'rules.' "I see. And how often does she give the ah…go ahead?" Felicia asks, accepting her water and sipping it slowly as she gauges his answer. Hypothetically, he said. Which sounds like she may never have given the go ahead at all.
Oh jeez, the conversation isn't over? Jimmy actually does squirm a little in his seat now. He may be eyeing exits. Just… hypothetically, not actually trying to escape. "I haven't asked for it," he says. "And she hasn't asked for mine. It's something that could happen, we've talked about it, but it… hasn't yet."
Felicia blinks her wide eyes once, slowly. Her gaze still rests on him, watching him keenly. The conversation /could/ be over, but really, what's the fun of that? Especially when she already has him squirming?
She leans in closer, biting her lip thoughtfully. "Perhaps you've been waiting for just the right one to come along, hmm?"
As she comes closer, he freezes up like a dear in headlights. He sets his glass down to make sure he doesn't end up dropping it by accident.
If he could do it without turning on the glow, he probably would have veiled by now. Not that it would help: it only hides him from people who aren't already paying attention. He settles for just loosening his tie.
And tries to scrabble for some footing again. "S-So you're thinking the fates had it the other way around, hm? I was waiting for you, unawares?" There's a pinch of sarcasm in his tone; he absolutely expects this to be simple teasing for teasing's sake. Though his gaze does linger on her bitten lip for a moment longer than necessary.
Felicia gives him an appraising look, then sits back on her stool and angles back toward the bar to set her water glass down. "I don't expect any man waits for me, aware or otherwise," she says simply. "In my experience, that isn't how it works."
Jimmy tilts his head. It gives him a chance to breathe a bit more, and he sits up in his seat. "In your experience, they don't wait for you?" He downs a sip, though the soda doesn't have the same calming effect as if he'd had alcohol. It's mostly just to keep his mouth from drying out.
"I my experience," Felicia replies matter-of-factly, without elaborating. "But that isn't my concern." She flashes a brilliant smile as she glances sidelong toward him. "So long as I don't depend on anyone else, I don't have to worry about being disappointed."
Jimmy nods slowly, his eyes resting on her face. He doesn't pry in any sense. "That still sounds a little… saddening." He takes a breath, lifting his glass again. "So. Uh. Topic change?" He intones it like it's less of a question, and more of a mad lib: 'insert topic change here'.
"So…you're telling me you've been here tonight, and no one has tried to pick you up? A pretty face like that?" Felicia shakes her head as that mischievous grin reappears. "Somehow I find that tough to swallow." She takes another sip of her water.
Jimmy lets out a little, puppy-ish whine. So the topic isn't changing quite as far as he might have hoped. "If they have, I haven't noticed," he says. "I tend to miss that. I know most guys overperceive interest — you know, false positives where they think someone's actively flirting when they're just being friendly — so I try to offset that by just…" He shrugs. "…assuming they aren't."
Felicia smirks and slides over to the seat between them. "Do you think I'm actively flirting?"
Oh gosh now she's in physical proximity. Jimmy manages not to actually shrink away while he turns to face her. "I think you're teasing," he says, from behind a blush. "If it is flirting, it's for the sake of making me squirm, not an expression of…" Now he mumbles into his drink. "…i-interest. That's what I think."
"Mm…" Felicia stirs her water slowly with the black swizzle stick that came in it.The ice has melted to mere chips, and are all but invisible beneath the surface of the water. Only the faint clink as they make contact with the glass evidence their presence at all.
"Sometimes when I flirt, it's in the interest of making one squirm. Or blush." She looks back at Jimmy. "Sometimes it's intrigue and interest. It's fun to make you squirm and blush, I won't deny that. But I'd be lying if I said you didn't have my curiosity piqued."
At first, Jimmy just nods along. So far, it sounds like his guess was right! Then she reaches the last, the 'but'… and the thought that it wasn't just cat and mouse play brings his blush hotly to his cheeks, his eyes widening. "O-Oh. I, uh, um." Jimmy.exe has crashed. You can find an error report in C:\Logs.
Felicia prepares to dig into the C drive for that log. "You seem surprised. You're not like most guys. There's a whole different vibe to you. Maybe you're just /that/ unassuming. But it's interesting, to say the least."
Pause… beep. Power-On Self Test completed successfully. Loading operating system…
Jimmy blinks. "Thank you. I do try not to assume in general. So I certainly wouldn't have assumed I'd get actual interest from probably one of the most gorgeous women here. So yes, surprised. Just… pleasantly so."
Felicia half-smiles…one of her most genuine expressions yet. "Well, you shouldn't be surprised. You're a little bit fascinating. So tell me, Jimmy. What do you do when you're not in a bar not expecting interest?"
And the genuineness, the match between smile and emotion, the clarity that it's not just teasing… that somehow makes Jimmy blush more. "Th-Thank you. And, um. Working to get a counselling license, interning at Doctor Yendez's office. Spending time with Darcy — that's the girlfriend I mentioned. Studying medicine. Being social. That's pretty much it." Felicia, expert in lies that she is, might guess that there's something he's not mentioning.
A brow lifts at the name, but Felicia nods. "Pretty adorable when you blush, y'know…" She sets her glass down. "And….?" She isn't letting it go. "Men like you always have a little secret. One that is only found out later…."
Jimmy locks eyes with her. "And I like to collect little ceramic unicorn figurines. The more garish the pink, the better." That's clearly not the true answer, but it wouldn't be a secret if he let it go that easy, now would it? "How about you, Felicia? How do you like to spend your time?"
Felicia breathes a laugh, and waves off her own question, as of course she knows she won't get his secrets. "I, too, collect figurines, among other things. I try to steer clear of the pink ones, though. So at least I'm not competing with you for the same ones."
"That's too bad," Jimmy says. "If we were collecting the same types, then we could trade more easily, and round out each other's collections. Instead, I suppose we'd just be keeping out of each other's way. Though I'm sure the black figurines suit you much better anyway. Around this time of year, there must be plenty of bats and cats to collect."
Felicia giggles softly, leaning forward and inadvertently (maybe) giving him a bit more of a show that either of them expected. "Well…I'm more into figurines that date back a bit farther. Let's call me an artifacts enthusiast. I collect antiquities. And…antique…figurines…Religious artifacts. That sort of thing."
Jimmy notices, yes. His gaze tugs down… and after a second, he forces it back up to her face and his cheeks heat up. "A-Ah, an art collector, then? Sounds like an expensive hobby. And a varied one — 'religious art' is, like, most of the Renaissance, and would include all kinds of reliquaries." He squints at her. "…you don't collect bits of saints, do you? That would be…" Well, it'd be gross for one thing, but it could also be mystically significant.
"Oh no, I do try to avoid bringing dead body parts into the house, whenever I can. I enjoy renaissance art, among other periods. The cost is never a problem, thankfully. But I'd rather enjoy your body parts while they are attached to their owner, not when they have been nicked from a corpse." She frets at her lip for just a moment, watching him. "I mean…" No, she meant what she said.
She avoids bringing dead bodies and parts thereof into the house? Well, she obviously can't be Black Cat then. Any suspicions are erased.
Especially with that derailing comment, which just so happens to have landed while he was taking a sip. He splutters, chokes, and doubles over with coughing while he glares at her. "I'm no saint to begin with, so you don't need to worry about that!"
"Excellent. Then I shouldn't have to worry about bursting into flames if I corrupt you with my desires." She takes a sip of her water, looking self-satisfied after his response.
"No," Jimmy says. "The only thing bursting into flames, apparently, is my cheeks." He winces, rubbing along the front of his neck. "…and my throat. Can I have a sip?" Plain water would help a soda'd throat better than having more soda.
"Oh, of course." Felicia hands him the water glass with a mildly apologetic expression. "I'm sorry, I'm being a little rough on you, hmm?"
Jimmy takes a sip, and breathes easier straight after. Maybe it's the water. Maybe he just heals with suspicious speed. He considers the apologetic look, chewing his tongue… and decides to at least try returning fire. "I'm sure it's all fair; you strike me as the type who'd love if I were 'rough' on you, too." The pause gave him the chance to gather enough resolve to say it without deepening his own blush.
A lopsided grin tugs at Felicia's lips as she twists the tip of her ponytail around her finger. "That depends on whether you're good at it. Is that an offer?" No, she isn't going to let him off that hook so easy.
Backfire. Abort mission. Get to the evac zone. "I…" Jimmy's mouth works in silence for a while, his hand tightening about his glass. "It… is not for me to say whether I'm 'good at it'. There's someone else you can ask, though" He checks his watch. "yeah, she'd be long since asleep by now."
"Aww." Felicia reaches over to touch his shoulder. "It's all right Handsome. I won't bite. Not yet, anyway. It's just fun to watch you squirm. You seem to be more fun than I can resist. I have shite for willpower, after all."
Jimmy allows the touch, though even the simple contact makes him flush. "And I just keep on inviting it. I know I'm playing with fire, here. And Darcy would find it hilarious and team up with you to leave me a blushing, whimpering puddle, I'm sure, so it's even fun you can have guilt-free." Yeah he's doomed.
"Well then." Felicia opens a black sequined clutch and draws out a platinum card, handing it to the bartender. "For my tab. And if Jimmy here has a tab, for his, too." She pulls out a hundred dollar bill and stuffs it into a glass tip vase that looks something like a giant brandy snifter. Then she pulls out a business-sized card that bears only her name - Felicia - and a phone number. "In case you're a glutton for punishment…" She winks playfully.
Jimmy smiles; he would lift a hand to catch the bartender, but instead— "Thank you, but I don't keep a tab; I just pay as I go." The flashy tip lifts his eyebrows, though. "I can see what you mean about art collecting's price not being a problem. Impressive." He takes the card and provides one of his own: it uses the same card stock as Doctor Victor Yendez's counselling office, and lists an email address as well as a phone number. "In case you feel an urge to satisfy that gluttony. I'll see you around, Felicia."
Felicia takes the card and slips it into her clutch along with the platinum card the bartender returns back to her. "Very well. It's been a pleasure, Jimmy. I'm certain I'll be seeing you around." Like he could keep her from it. "So until then…" She gives a slight bow of her head and slips through the throngs and out the front door.