WE REALLY HAVE TO STOP MEETING LIKE THIS (APRIL)

[shane]

Shane dug his hands into his jet black leather jacket pockets as he trudged through the puddles along the sidewalks of Downtown LA.. He was not dressed to impress tonight at all. He was sporting a pair of dark faded blue jeans and a white tee shirt underneath his jacket all topped off with a black and white pair of sneakers. Not that it would be a problem really to impress someone with what he had decided to wear. Tonight was business though….well at least first it was business. He could always change his mind later.

Shane could hear the clock tower across town on the UCLA campus chime to make the rather oblivious and naïve college students aware that it was 10pm. And as he approached LA Fever, that clock also made him aware that he was going to be slightly late for this little drug deal. The line was atrocious, something he definitely didn’t want to have to stand in. So, as he reached the end of the line, he just kept walking passed all the fashionable ladies and slipped in behind the doorman. Shane wasn’t surprised that the man wasn’t a witness to his rather small display of delinquency. A very pissed off and rather ugly woman was attempting to cause trouble with him because he wouldn’t let her get in without paying even though her daughter was apparently somewhere in the club where she wasn’t supposed to be.

Shane pushed aside the curtain that revealed the lively club. He squinted immediately at the strobe lights pulsating in every which way possible. Although he had been around light long enough to adapt to it in his human form, club lighting always gave him a major headache behind his eyes. The music vibrated along the hairs in his ears, and he shook his head to adjust to the very loud atmosphere. It took Shane only a few seconds to survey the club before spotting which VIP room his middle man was in. He could tell immediately by the very large burly man guarding the door. Next to that guy, Shane looked like a freakin’ twig, something that could easily be picked up and tossed to the wind. Although the body guard already knew that Shane was definitely not that pathetic. There had been countless times where Shane got into fists fights with him and won. But he really didn’t feel like fighting tonight which was quite a surprise. There seemed to never be a time where Shane didn’t want to cause a bit of violence.

Shane headed towards the stairs that spiraled up to the second floor where Vinnie was probably getting dry humped by a bunch of very promiscuous women. As he walked past the bar, he glanced at behind the counter at the bartenders who were working. He rarely saw a male bartender in this town. Not that he was complaining. Guy bartenders were no fun at all. The women behind that counter were definitely fun to look at. This was where all his major drug deals went down. He’d come in around this time, Vinnie would hand him the shit, sometimes he’d stay for a few drinks, flirt it up, possibly bring a chick or two home. All that compiled into one a monthly thing. Sometimes even a few times a month because he sold his drugs quick enough.

As Shane reached the steps he began to climb, and as skimpy outfitted women walked passed him with smirks on their faces, he just returned the smirk and followed them with his eyes as they descended down the stairs. When Shane made it to the top of the stairs, he nodded at the body guard who nodded back and let him in the very air conditioned room. And of course, just as Shane had thought, there sat Vinnie with a large grin plastered across his lips as he locked eyes with some dirty blonde chick who was giving him a lap dance. Shane chuckled plopping down on the white leather couch in front of him.

Vinnie moved his eyes from the girl to Shane. “Hey, hey! My man.” The girl was about to get off of Vinnie assuming that she was done with the dance, but Vinnie protested. “Where do you think you’re going?” He grabbed her waist and pulled her into him again with a very large smile on his face. “I’m not done yet. You want that money, you gotta earn it.” Shane’s eyes glanced up at the girl who he knew was probably disgusted with Vinnie in the first place, and now he was making her feel like a piece of meat. It was a very small thought in Shane’s mind. He wasn’t going to say anything about it, and he wasn’t going to waste his time thinking too much into it either. She was dancing for some reason, so whatever that was, she had brought it on herself. At least that’s how he thought about things. When the girl turned around and ground her bottom up against Vinnie, Vinnie glanced over at Shane and nodded his head in an attempt to make Shane jealous with the invisible words “look at me, look at me”. Shane just rolled his eyes with a smirk and shook his head. “You got my money?” Vinnie asked him.

Shane leaned forward reaching into his back jeaned pockets. ”Don’t I always?” He pulled out a very large sum of money and handed it to the chick on Vinnie’s lap. Her eyes flickered up to him and then the money. ”You deserve it way more than this bastard does.” He said in a joking manner, but he was honestly telling the truth. Vinnie wasn’t exactly his favorite person. He got a smile out of the girl as she took it out of his hand and handed up back to Vinnie.

Vinnie grabbed it greedily and sifted through the stack. He cleared his throat glancing at Shane. ”It’s not all here.”

”No fuckin’ shit it’s not all there. You know how I roll. I take my cut out before you can get your greedy little hands on it. That was our deal. And then you trust me enough to know that what I kept isn’t over my percentage.”

Vinnie stared at him for a few seconds. He gripped the girl’s hips and moved her very forcefully off of him. She seemed used to it because she said nothing as she headed towards the door before he could even tell her to leave. Vinnie leaned forward. ”Don’t think you are all high and mighty around here, kid. Don’t forget who you work for.”

Shane watched him. He rested his elbows on his knees and connected his hands in front of him. ”How can I forget if I don’t even know who I work for. You may be a supplier, but you have a supplier as well. In all honesty, I think you’re just a middle man who reaps the benefits of everyone else’s dirty work.” Shane shrugged widening his eyes for emphasis or for the sake of just being a complete smart ass. ”But that’s just my opinion. And I’m just the dealer, so I guess it doesn’t matter.” Shane clapped his hands against his legs. ”Okay then, so what drugs are you giving me this month, supplier? Supply me up.” Shane stood and waited for Vinnie to dismiss what Shane said to him like he so often did.

Vinnie looked away probably ashamed that he yet again got his ass handed to him by Shane. He glanced over at the other man who was in the room. He was yet another body guard who stood by a briefcase. The body guard handed Vinnie the briefcase who then handed it to Shane. “Since you did the pills last time, it’s powder time. You got me?”

Shane nodded taking the briefcase from him. He knew it was probably a bad idea to stick around tonight, but he was so in the mood for a drink now. He had been debating it when he first came in, but now it was a plan. Oh well. It wasn’t like he couldn’t protect himself and the drugs. He headed towards the door and was about to reach for the doorknob when the body guard inside beat him to it and opened the door for him. Shane chuckled. ”Gosh, you guys are good people, I’m telling you.” He was definitely lying. Vinnie definitely didn’t resemble a good person in Shane’s book, but it was whatever. In all honesty, he did need Vinnie around to get him the drugs. He could always find another profession, but dealing was so much more interesting, especially because of all the people he came across.

”Yeah, yeah, yeah.” Vinnie said. “If you see me stripper out there, tell her to get back in here.”

”Alright V,” Shane said as he exited the room. He had no intention of doing it though. He was more interested in getting that drink. Shane headed down the stairs making his way back through the crowd of very sweaty and bouncing bodies. Once he got there, he slid into one of the high top bar counter stools. The bar was pretty busy tonight which was expected. It was busy every night here at LA Fever. It was the best club in town. Shane set his briefcase in his lap laying it down, and then leaned on the counter resting his arms on the counter. As he waited for a bartender to become available for service, Shane couldn’t help but notice the flash of long dark hair over the vibrant pulsating lights. His eyes focused on her. She was behind the counter tending to the other side of the bar. His eyes moved over her entire form, and a soft smile spread across his face. When she turned around to hand the guy in front of her a drink, he caught a glimpse of her face. ”Well, that isn’t something you see every day.” He murmured more to himself than anyone else.

”Excuse me,” a voice southern sounding voice said from in front of him.

Shane’s eyes moved away from the girl across the way to the blonde bartender who had apparently already been attempting to serve his dazed self. Shane laughed shaking his head. ”Sorry, sorry. I was distracted. Hmm, can you tell me what that girl’s name is over there?” Shane pointed towards the other end of the bar at the dark haired brunette he had been watching a few seconds before.

The southern bell smiled. “Oh, that’s April Cartel. She’s been working here for a while now.”

Shane stood up sliding off the stool. ”Thank you, thank you.” Shane grabbed his briefcase and moved down the way to the other end of the bar counter. He slid into yet another seat this time now setting the briefcase on the floor in front of his stool and resting his feet on it. He watched as April was facing away from him working with the Gin it looked like. ”You know, April, we really have to stop meeting like this.” Of course, he had never met her before now, but that was the fun of it. Hopefully she’d take the hook. It wasn’t really a big deal if she didn’t take it though. There were plenty of girls in this club, although he wasn’t going to deny it, none of them looked as good as she did to him right now.

[april]

Tonight, April was pretty much dressed to impressed, in the short black dress that fell just above her knees and the black sandals that matched perfectly. She wore no jewelry, as she rarely ever did on the job and had her hair high up on her head in a ponytail, making it look as though she was a pole dancer in her free hours. She handed the man a Gin, as he was obviously with somebody that was probably in some booth or something, or in the VIP rooms, she’d rather stay clear of. “Here you go.” She said, smiling. Earning a look past her frame, that made her roll her eyes and turn away. Unavailable guys were just.. boring. And besides that, he was totally not her type.

She was here for the fun, not for the constant rambling about her looks. She knew already she looked good, no ego thrown in the mix at all, there, but she was still single too, not that she minded. She liked flirting and having relationships with men without expecting anything in return, like mixing business and entertainment with Reginald. The deal she had made with him, was one of the best yet. And it gave her some sense of solidarity.

When she heard a voice, using her name in a sentence, telling her they needed to stop meeting like this, she smirked and leant against the bar, looking at him. He was handsome. He was. People like that, were rarely ever single. Or he was one of the players, in which case, she wasn’t sure if she was more or less interested. ”And how is that, handsome?” She asked, easily, as she couldn’t recall ever meeting him before. Well, there was a change for everything, it seemed. And when her eyes fell on the briefcase, she knew better than to ask. Apparently he was one of those guys, that mixed pleasure with business. It kind of made him more interesting to her.

[shane]

When she turned around to face him, he watched as she moved toward him leaning on the bar counter. She had taken the hook, now he just had to keep her wanting it. He chuckled at the question she had asked him in response to his comment towards her. At least she thought he was handsome, but who didn’t? Shane knew he was quite attractive to a lot of women. What could he say? Apparently women had good taste. Shane moved in closer to her. ”Like two gorgeous people yearning to have just a bit of fun.” He sat back moving away from her long enough for him to shrug. ”I mean it’s pretty obvious what we need to do about this.” He gave her a smile and moved himself slightly in his circle chair so that the chair was slightly twirling like the very large tea cup rids at major amusement parks and carnivals. ”I think we should move these little encounters elsewhere don’t you think?” Shane watched as her eyes fell on his briefcase. Oh crap. From his experience before, when some women saw a briefcase such as this the first thing that came to mind was that something sinister was in the works which was very true in Shane’s case, although he was hoping that wouldn’t sway this girl’s interest. ”Hey,” he smirked, ”those pretty eyes should be focused on these pretty eyes.” He said referring to his own eyes. He may have been coming on a bit too strong after all, a lot of girls didn’t like when guys flirted so much, but that comment was more focused on swaying her curiosity. He really didn’t want to deal with her questions or anything. Not like he’d share his little side jobs with her anyway. And if she did start asking, he’d either again attempt to drop the subject or just call it a night. Shane sighed changing the subject yet again. ”So, how ‘bout it? I’m sure there is someplace more interesting than this here in LA.”

[april]

April smiled, finding him interesting to say the least. He had that attitude that made it very clear that he knew exactly what he was doing here and how to act around women. It was the kind of attitude she liked taking the bait for. Although, she wasn’t sure if it would stay with that or not. Probably not, because hey, she was sleeping with her boss, Reginald, so a guy that seemed her own age at least, could be nice as well. ”Well, handsome, I’m working, so, the fun has got to wait a little.” She replied with a smirk, as she watched what he did.

”Where did you want to move this conversation to, now that we’re at it?” April then asked, still with a smirk on her face. When she heard his comment, obviously to sway her eyes from the briefcase, she smiled and looked at him. ”I’m sure there are plenty of more interesting places, but I’m pretty sure you already knew that, don’t you?” She asked in a flirty way. She didn’t care what was in the damn suitcase. She cared about what he had in mind and that better not be a cheesy comment as ‘his or her apartment’, because she would just call it a night herself then and go on to help other customers.

[shane]

Shane never let his eyes leave hers as his grin spread when she complimented him and then explained to him that she was still working so the fun would have to wait. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for him to hear that he was attractive because that was something women constantly seemed to make sure he’d never forget. And it also wasn’t out of the ordinary for a woman to accept his offer to get together sometime. ”Well, it looks to me like I’m waiting then.” He nodded over to the liquor behind her. ”But since I’m waiting, I could use a few shots.” Shane watched her. Maybe she was ‘take home’ material, maybe she wasn’t. Either way, she seemed like someone he should at least find out with. And it wasn’t like it was going to be an issue for him. He was a baccrum from Andromida here on Earth, there wasn’t much else he had to do. And when she asked him where they would be moving the conversation he noticed her eyes move from his to the briefcase. He chuckled and leaned forward on the bar counter connecting his hands in front of him. ”And wouldn’t you like to know.” He was partly referring to the place that they would be going after she did get off of work, but he was also implying the briefcase that he had. He moved his arms back and let them drop into his lap shrugging with yet another smirk. He shook his head. ”Nah, I’ll think of something. May not be the best place, but we’ll make it fun….promise. Now, how ‘bout that Jack Daniels?”

[april]

April had to admit to herself, mostly, that she liked him. He was different than most of the other guys she had met, besides that, he had a sense of danger that she loved. But still, she had the feeling that he knew what he had on his hands, like his ego was the size of a coco-cola truck. But, she'd only just met him, so she could be wrong as well. It was something she just had to wait for and having fun was something she could use. Having fun with him, was just an added bonus. "Then you must be very patient." She half-joked. She then nodded and smiled again. "Sure." She laughed at his comment and moved away to get him his shot. "I'll just have to wait then, huh?" She asked, as she gave him his shot of Jack Daniels.

[shane]

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Shane leaned against the alley wall outside of the demon bar smoking a cigarette. He had decided that taking the briefcase home was the best idea here. He wasn’t necessarily sure what this night would consist of, and he didn’t want to have to haul around a briefcase full of profit. So, he had made the very short flight back to his apartment complex and dropped it off and now was back at Bloodlust waiting outside for Ms. April Cartel to join him. She probably thought he had just left because he hadn’t really told her he was leaving. He had a few drinks, and while she was helping a few drunks, he slipped away. And here in LA, he knew that the bartenders weren’t crazy enough to leave out the back door, so here he stood by the front. He had a few things in mind for tonight, but he’d just play it by ear. He had actually contemplated just staying home once he got there, but he didn’t want to be done for the night. He had a nice buzz going and a beautiful woman who was about to walk out those front doors. Who knew what would happen tonight.

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