The Author's
Place
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Chapter 1
"Yeah, I thought so..." "You probably are. I just didn't want to send you out front to Cy in case you weren't. Go out front, check with him, he'll tell you what tables to take. Remember, we don't split tips here, so if he tries to bullshit you into giving him your cash, tell him *I* said to fuck off. But you do have to tip out your bussers yourself, cool with that?" She dumps more wine into the skillet, sending more steam everywhere, not even noticing when he ducks out and joins the rotation. It's getting late for dinner but the trattoria is still kicking, bless those conventioners. For the next two hours she doesn't know who's shouting what, completely ignoring the din around her. It's just the grill, the stove, the fryer, and the fridge, with voiceless words echoing in her ears, commanding her where to turn and what to cook next. Bliss. As the orders slow down, she takes over verbally once again, telling who to clean what, doing mental inventory and listing it off out loud for the designated person to write down, automatically shifting into set up for the next day, preparing things as she finishes out the current meals. When the last plate of linguini and clams goes out the door and the next day's mortadella is prepped, she takes a heavy breath. Washing up, she gives a few more instructions, peeks out front and then allows a waitress to take off early. Cyrus finds her in the employee's area, changing her shirt. "Hey Luc, you're staying tonight, right? Mind if I get going?" "Just gimme five, Cy?" she asks, brushing out her hair, carefully pulling it back up. "That new guy, he wouldn't give me his tips." Smiling, "I told him not to." "Aw, I was counting on that for drinking money tonight." She purses her lips, stifling the thought that threatens to pop out. "Go watch the cash, I'll be there in a couple minutes." "I emptied $2500 out of the drawers," he pats his jacket pocket. "You're lying." "I'm not, we had a great night. Plenty of stragglers still drinking too." "Shit. That'll help with Masonly." "That fuck," Cy growls as he goes back out front. Lucy finishes straightening herself up. Lingering uncharacteristically in front of the mirror, fussing with her hair, using an extra spritz of Bath & Body, telling herself that the reason she suddenly wishes she had some eyeliner has nothing to do with Danny himself. It's only because he's a new person, she wants to seem like a together boss to the new employee on the first day at least. It's because Cy warned her that it's still busy with customers at the bar that she wants to look decent. Danny? No. He's going to be dating her sister for God's sake. He's not all that anyhow. Out of her league or not, she's not interested. So what if there was a little spark yesterday? She's not stupid. She knew right away he was working her, trying to get a job. And she'll have to stay on guard tonight, he's still new and he'll probably pull out that canned charm shit again just to get on her good side. Winking at her. Is he serious? She goes out front, threads her way up to the bar, giving a few directions to the waitstaff as they clean up the dining area. Behind the bar, her eyes involuntarily flit over a couple bottles. Involuntarily. Right. It's voluntary. She just can't help herself from looking. Cyrus doesn't notice it though, thankfully. Another bottle gone. Cristal this time. Two bottles of Dom yesterday. Of course she'll check the receipts later. Of course, she won't find it on any of them. Madone. At least the Cristal was the Rose '95, not the '90. Like it just went POOF into thin air? Yeah, right. More like the cash from it is hanging out in Cy's pocket, that's his drinking money for tonight. Like THAT three hundred bucks wouldn't help out with Masonly. Whatever. She'll dance around it same as always. What she really wants to know is if Cyrus *actually* believes in his own mind that she doesn't notice his skimming. Probably. He probably honestly thinks she's none the wiser. Doesn't matter. She'd never confront him anyhow. Let him do it. And let him think she doesn't know. It would only make her look incredibly anal and suspicious for being able to tell exactly what they should have on hand here. For his part, Cyrus gives her a wave and ducks out the front doors as soon as she's behind the bar. She fills a couple glasses, empties ashtrays, re-fills snack dishes, and wipes down the bar. Turning around, she looks up and sees Danny hovering by the bar. He leans forward on his elbows, giving her that smile of his, just saying, "Hey." "Hey. So how's it going for you? Cy give you any decent tables?" Him nodding, "Not bad, not bad. He tried for my tips but I hung on to 'em. Is it always this busy so late? I figured dinner'd be winding down by the time I got in." "Uh, Thursdays, yeah, we get late eaters. Fridays, Saturdays too, so you should clear some decent tips those nights. Don't shoo out the last turn, let 'em stay, drink up. Why don't you stay on tables tonight? You can take all those orders, I'll fill 'em for you if you're busy." He nods, glances around. Leaning even further over the bar, "So uh, when's it gonna calm down, when'm I gonna get some time to be stuck with just you?" Lucy smiles, ignoring the thumping in her chest. She looks over his shoulder and nods. "That table wants another round." It continues to be a good night for after-dinner drinking, busy but not chaotic. Lucy keeps one eye on Danny when she can. She brushes away the slight whiff of disappointment when she sees him talking up a blonde. She can't hear what he's saying, but can see him leaning into her, smiling and obviously flirting with her. Her suspicions are confirmed when she catches him in action again with a stacked brunette only a half hour later. No disappointment with the second one, actually somewhat relieved to not get entangled in a potential angst-filled situation. Instead a knowing grin accompanies the thought of how he certainly won't hurt business. The women eat it up from him, seemingly flattered and turned on at the same time. He's a first class flirt, plenty of charisma. It's probably as natural to him as putting on pants in the morning. As she watches him go so far as to bend down next to the woman's chair, she also realizes something else. He's probably an incurable pussy hound on top of it. It's all good by her. Especially when it comes to Val. Lucy can tell he'll be able to charm her. Cyrus would probably pop an aneurysm just thinking about him sticking his dick in her, but hey. Maybe Danny will lay off and not go for it. Even though Val will probably push it and jump on him. Shit, it would do Val good to get laid anyhow. And if Danny's half as good with women in bed as he is out, then she'll be getting her money's worth. Or Lucy's money's worth to be precise. As she watches Danny stand up and slowly saunter across the room to another table, Lucy tries to imagine what he'd be like. Whether he's all into the woman, or into himself. If he's slow and deliberate, seductively serious about it? Or maybe more loose and fun, enjoying it from every angle? She hears her name being called and it jars her, suddenly aware of how inappropriate those thoughts were. Embarrassed, she stands stiffly and goes to wait on old Charlie who called her name. By midnight most of the tables are cleared out, only a four top and a three top still throwing back drinks. Only a few scattered people at the bar, so as the cleaning guy comes in, Lucy has Danny take over, dismisses the rest of the staff on time, and goes in back to cook them a pizza for dinner, wishing Cy would deliver her a cheeseburger instead but making do. When she's done, she takes it up front, watches as Danny dives in appreciatively. After a few bites, him saying, "This is good, man. You know, you're really good at this." "It's just a pizza, it's not hard." "No, not this. I mean, yeah, this is great, I love white pizza. All this though. I saw you tonight, earlier, when it was busy. You never lost your cool, you know what you're doing back there. And I ate here last night, that was great too. You're good at all this, running this whole place." "Cyrus does a lot." "I bet it's natural for you, probably grew up in this place, huh?" "Um, actually, no. Dad was a card dealer when I was growing up, he worked at the Sands. He didn't get this place 'til he retired from there. I guess it was always a dream of his or something. Cyrus? He worked here since Dad got it but I didn't." "How long you been here?" "About five years now." "No shit. That's it? What'd you do before that?" Lucy shrugs, takes another bite, again wishes for a cheeseburger, and then answers as she chews, no longer the least bit concerned about impressing him, "I moved away for a while. My dad had a heart attack, that's when I came back. He's fine now but he doesn't work in here at all, I guess he likes retirement. How 'bout you? How long you been waiting tables?" "Always," he sighs. "'Cept when I was on that show." "I bet you made the mad cash then, huh?" Shaking his head with a laugh. "Hell no. I even had to wait tables between seasons. I got scale, it was just a dumb, dinky cable show, Lucy." "Yeah, well, you were really good on it. You should be able to get more things." Cocking a brow, "I got a new gig coming up, remember?" "Mmm," she nods, brightening, giving up on the pizza, "yeah. Let's talk about that." So they go over the details concerning him taking out Val. Lucy feels it will be more organic (her word) if they meet here some night when she comes in. Danny can take it from there to ask her out. Danny's fairly confident she won't turn him down, but Lucy will be sure to talk him up in case it seems necessary. From there, since he's to be the perfect date, he'll give Val the option of what to do. If she leaves it to him, though, Lucy will plan the evening. Dinner and a show, maybe dancing at a hot club afterward. She steers him away from gambling when he asks. Not only because she knows Cy would pitch a fit if they'd have to pay gambling money, but also because she knows Val wouldn't be into it. "So that's your idea of a perfect date, huh?" Danny asks. "Dinner, show, and dancing? No gambling." "No," Lucy nearly shouts, then quickly softens. "Well, I don't know." Shrugging, "I guess it could be. I could do that. Honestly? I'd be happy if someone made me a peanut butter sandwich and then we watched SportsCenter and drank a twelve pack." "Sta da zeet!" Danny laughs. "You'd think he was a cheap bastard." "No, I wouldn't. I'd think it was thoughtful. I love peanut butter and jelly. And it's nice to have someone make me food for a change. I just don't need a big production. Not all the time at least. But that's not the point, it's not what I like, we're talking about Val's idea of a good night. Why? What would you rather do?" "I don't know. I guess that's fine. I never really thought about it I guess." "Pfft. Yeah, cause you don't have to most of the time." "What's that mean?" "Nothing. Anyhow, I think you'll have fun with her, seriously." "Yeah? If she's so fun and so gorgeous how come you gotta buy her a date?" "Ok. Listen, last time. She doesn't need anyone to buy her a date. She's pretty. And she's fun. She gets plenty of dates. She just hasn't had any good ones recently. And we all think it's because she's sabotaging herself intentionally. She got used to being treated badly and so now she intentionally tries to make it be messed up because she thinks that's what she deserves. And it's not." Danny dips glasses into the sink, scrubbing them as he listens. "So you think if someone -- me -- if I treat her nice, she'll realize that she likes it and be good to go then." "Exactly." "That's some deep psychological shit you're messing with there," he says as he shakes his head, rinsing off a glass. "You sure you wanna mess with it? I mean, how do you know that's all it is?" Lucy sighs. "Because these bad patterns of hers started at a specific time. A certain guy she liked dumped her for someone else, and I think it just made her think that would happen every time. Or, I don't know. Look, does it really matter? All you have to do is be nice to her. If she annoys you, which I doubt she will, all you have to do is remember that this is a job. You're *acting* like a perfect date." "Yeah? So uh, I got a question," he says and halts, rinsing off another glass. "Shoot." "What if she falls for me?" Lucy fights off a smirk as she grabs a towel to dry the glasses. "You really do love yourself, don't you?" Rinsing his own hands now, Danny seems amused too. "No, that's not what I meant. It won't even be ME she's dating. I'm saying, if I act all perfect, there's a chance she really likes it, then what?" "Well, maybe you'll fall for her too." Too quickly, "Don't count on it." Lucy laughs, her full loud laugh, simply saying, "I knew it, love 'em and leave 'em Lothario syndrome, huh?" "No," Danny says, wiping off his hands with Lucy's towel, getting close to her face. "I just don't fall easily." Lucy takes a step back, "Well, neither does Val, so don't worry. Besides, me and Cy have plans in case something starts to move quickly. There's another guy, one who already likes her, a lot." "So why not send him in now?" "Because," Lucy explains, "the way Val is now, she'll chew him up. We need YOU to get her used to being treated good first." Danny moves a step closer again, lowers his voice, "So what about sex?" "Hey, that's on you. If you want her, I don't care. I wouldn't talk it up to Cyrus though." "Huh uh, that's not what I meant. What if SHE wants me. What'm I supposed to do?" "You mean, what if she wants you and you don't want her?" Lucy stares him in the eye as she answers. "That won't happen. You'd be willing. Trust me." "What if I'm not?" he presses. Dropping his voice, "What if there's someone else?" "You have a girlfriend?" she asks. "Do you have a boyfriend?" "Do you?" "Two," Danny answers with a grin. "Really?" Lucy's surprised. She didn't see that one coming at all. "I work with a lot of waiters here and usually I can tell, I had no idea that you're..." "I'm not gay," Danny grins. "I have roommates that are, they call me their third boyfriend all the time, that's all. They judge all my girls." "Mm. How are they with that?" "Never found a girl yet they've liked. I think they're pretty good," he grins. Lucy pushes past him, stacking glasses, thinking to herself, ahh, pussy hound AND misogynist, the classic lethal combination. Finally saying, "Look. If you want to sleep with Val, then go ahead. If you don't want to, that's fine too. I'm not paying you to sleep with her, that's not the point. Just...what I'm saying is...just don't break her heart, ok? That's exactly what she doesn't need is another disappointment." She glances around, making sure no one needs a drink. The few people at the bar seem content in their own worlds right now though, and the tables are all cleared, so when she's done stacking the glasses she moves to get the sweeper and starts pushing it around the floor. Danny blocks her path. Arms folded in front of his chest, saying curtly, "Why don't you like me?" She drops her gaze and smiles purposefully. "I do like you," she answers. "Doesn't sound that way, thinking I'm gonna screw this up with your sister." "I don't think you will. I'm just saying, you need to keep in mind that you're being paid to act. You shouldn't get carried away and treat her like you normally would," she says and pushes past him, walking out toward the tables. "See. What's that supposed to mean? Like I normally would?" "Dan," she sighs. "You just said it yourself. You said you've never found a decent girl." He picks up his pace, moving in front of her, pulling chairs out of her way so she can clean under them. Cockily asking, "You ever found a decent guy?" That gets Lucy to laugh again. "I don't go through many guys to start with," she says. Flustered, adding, "I don't even meet a lot of guys." Finally brushing him off with, "And we're not talking about me anyhow." "Well. Let's talk about you." "Let's not." Pushing a table aside for her, he presses. "You met me. You've already written me off." "Danny! Come ON! You're going to date my sister. And you're not interested in me anyhow." "How do you know?' "I can tell," Lucy says simply. "How?" "How can I tell? You really want to know? Ok. Because you work me the same way you work other women. I think you're just used to flirting, no matter who it is. I don't mind, don't get me wrong. But, you can save the trouble, if you want. With me, that is. You don't have to flirt with me, and I do like you anyway. I didn't mean to come down on you, I just, I want you to be careful with Val. Don't lead her on, don't hurt her. You'll be great at it, I know you can do it, you're really talented," she says earnestly, looking him in the eyes. Smirking again, "Maybe just tone down the obvious flirting." It's Danny's turn to laugh now. "Obvious? So now you're giving me tips?" Playfully, "No, not tips exactly. More like direction. You can take direction, right? Well, you'll just have to really watch Val and adjust how you react to her. Sometimes be more subtle, sometimes come on even more strongly." Goading him for sheer fun now, "If you can adjust your routine, that is. Maybe you're so used to doing what you do that you can't switch. You won't have the range. That's what actors call it, right? Range?" Danny's smiling, showing off his dimples. Lucy likes that, he's showing himself to be a really good sport. He outright challenges her on it. A wide, natural smile, not like the one he glared at Lucy when she first met him, saying, "You're questioning my RANGE as an actor? You don't think I have levels to my flirting?" Lucy shrugging, baiting him, "I don't know. When I saw you on "Lost Wages" you had range. Range as a pathetic soul, a desperate gambler, a petty thief, some amount of self-hate, personal demons. Hints at obsessive behavior. Didn't see an awful lot of romantic shit on that show though, not from your character at least. Maybe the directors didn't think you could pull it off convincingly either." He scoffs. "You're joking right? What I did on there was harder than giving cow eyes to other actresses onscreen, Lucy." "Yeah, I guess. Maybe. Maybe not for you. I mean, a good actor wouldn't make it look like giving cow eyes, he'd be more subtle about it if he was trying to show romance. Hey, it's not a problem. I mean, some of the greatest actors aren't into that sort of thing either. Look at De Niro, he's a great actor, not always sexy." She watches Danny start to lightly pace in front of her, shaking his head. As he circles behind her, she continues. "Of course, he was pretty romantic in "Casino". And "Heat". And "Falling in Love". Yeah, he is pretty sexy, I guess. And don't get me started on Ray Liotta. Talk about sexy? Ray? Wow. But you know, if that's not your thing..." He cuts her off. "I can flirt ten different ways and you'd believe 'em all." He halts his steps directly in front of her, looking her in the eyes, challenging. Not pissed though. She can't pick up any anger. "I'd do it, I'd show you right now, 'cept it would probably melt you, then I'd have to do all the work in here." "I don't melt, Danny." "I could do it. I could melt you." "When snow falls in Vegas is when you'll melt me, Slick." "I could do it. At least make you believe it for a while." "Tell you what, hotshot, you melt me, you keep the tips for the night." "Ha. I already kept my tips, remember?" "Huh uh. Mine too. You can have them all. Ten. Ten different ways. I'll warn you though, I don't gamble. I only make sure bets. So be prepared to lose." He cocks his head to the side, eyeing her up. He takes a step back, sits on the edge of a table, crosses his arms, still inspecting her. Slowly, his smile fades, he drops his gaze, then hangs his head. Lucy stands still, watching him. Suddenly feeling guilty, knowing she pushed him too far. Shit. She sees him swallow hard, exhale deeply. She feels a pang in her stomach. Shit. Fucking actors, so sensitive. And she was such a bitch, insulting him like that, especially when she knows he is talented. His arms drop, he fidgets with his fingers, speaking softly. "You're right, you know. That's why I'm still here, waiting tables, I never could really get anywhere cause I'm just not..." his voice trails off. Oh my GOD! Why did she put him on the spot like this? He sniffs, glances up at her with a weak smile, looks back down nearly immediately. Ahh, hell. She didn't even mean it. If she believed it, she'd have never actually said those things. She steps over to him. "Danny," she says, placing her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry, I was just screwing with you, I didn't meant it. I saw you, I wasn't lying, you were really good, you are a good actor." "Oh, I know," he says, looking up quickly, eyes flashing with glee. Rising, confident, grabbing her hand. "That was wounded. Chicks love to rescue a tortured soul. To comfort them." He chuckles. She slaps his arm with her free hand, yanks the other away. "Asshole!" she laughs. "That was rotten." "No, that was mischievous," he ducks from another slap, catches her hand again. "Chicks love to chastise a bad boy. Suddenly can't keep your hands off me, can you? I think we can call those two in my favor?" "What?" Lucy yanks her hand back, glowering at him. "Hey, I got physical contact with BOTH of those, they count." Lucy walks away from him, so he tails after her, pleading, "Oh, come on, don't cheat. Please? At least let's set the ground rules?" He steps in front of her, moves to her other side, she keeps her eyes straight ahead though, he swoops closer on his next pass. "Please? Come on Luc, don't be mad, I wasn't suckering you, you took the challenge, let's do it, now I wanna see if I can do it, please? Come on, it's not busy in here, won't take that long." "Fine!" she relents, pushing him out of her way as she strides toward the bar. "Yeah," he grins. "That was persistent. Chicks dig the extra effort, they always cave." "Oh come ON!" she shouts, laughing against her will. "This is so unfair." "You don't like these? Alright, you name them." "What?" "You name them, I'll do them. You tell me if I nail them or not. I did three of mine, you pick the other seven." "Oh come on. I don't know. Seven different ways?" "Oh, hey, if you aren't experienced enough to come up with that many. I mean, as an actor I do have this vast, subtle range at my disposal that maybe you aren't attuned to..." "What's this? What is this one?" she cuts her eyes at him, folding her arms deliberately to make sure she doesn't come in contact with him. "What are you doing now? Insulting? Is that one in your repertoire that you consider to be effective? I can come up with seven, Danny." "Make it six. That wasn't insulting, it was challenging, and you took the bait." Frustration bubbles up in her as she yells, "Come on!" For his part, Danny grins smugly. Pursing her lips, careful to pick her words lest she gets caught again, she says evenly, "You're being ridiculous. These, these things aren't flirting, you're just annoying me is all." "Schoolyard tactics, maybe. It's annoying you 'cause I'm getting the best of you. I'm getting under your skin." "Yeah, well, STDs get under your skin too, I don't find those particularly charming though." "I'm getting your attention and responses from you, Lucy, that's flirting." She glares at him. Like she doesn't know what flirting is? What? He thinks no one ever hits on her? Realizing her money's on the line though, she waits a beat and measures her temper, then her words. Sighing, leaning one hand on the bar, "Ok. But you know what? This is about Val. I don't want you to annoy her, she won't like that. It's too aggressive." "Yeah, well, I wasn't working on Val just now. I was playing with you. See, I read you and knew what you'd respond to." She scoffs, "Bullshit." "I'll change with Val. I can be subtle. You tell me. Tell me right now, you're picking, tell me what approach she'd like." "I don't know, let me think. Complimentary. Val loves to be complimented." She pauses, trying to formulate a mental picture of what sort of thing Val likes. Her mind flits backward, flipping back over guys who got her attention, disregarding most everyone's mannerisms because Val ultimately rejected them. Then, still going in reverse, she finally settles on one. Michael. Wistfully, reluctantly, Lucy summons memories of him, trying to pinpoint memories and distill them into characteristics. Actions. Visual recollections replay in front of her, ones she usually keeps locked away. Michael's smile, his easy wink. The way he'd take control, always opening doors, placing a hand on the small of her back to guide her along, easily and proudly showing the world they were together. The way he'd look at her, like she really was important. Special. Without warning, the memories suddenly sour, Lucy neatly files them away, wishing she'd never undusted them at all. Matching the feelings to words the best she can, saying, "Chivalrous." From across the bar, Charlie shouts out, "I'm thirsty! What's it take to get a drink here? If you two are gonna do the nasty then get to it. Otherwise fill me up over here, dammit!" "Coming," she says quietly, happy for the intrusion, then crossing the distance, picking up Charlie's glass, flicking on the tap to fill it up. It goes half-way before the tap sputters and pops, coughing up foam. Lucy pursing her lips, simply saying, "Damn it." Turning to Danny, "I'll be right back, I gotta change kegs." "In the back? I saw where earlier. I can do it." "No, it's alright, I have to pull one from the cooler first." "I'll do it, you worked hard enough already," he pats her shoulder and quickly brushes past her. Charlie huffs as Danny walks away, turns on Lucy then, "What do you want with him anyhow?" "Charlie, stop. I don't want anything with him. He's dating my sister." "The hooker?" he gasps. "She's not a hooker! Call her that one more time and you'll never get another beer in here again." Danny returns promptly, wiping his hands, giving her the ok. She fills a glass of foam and then the tap is smoothly running again. As she fills Charlie's beer, Danny slides behind the bar, fills a few orders himself and wipes the bar in the area he's working in. He efficiently washes a couple glasses, then pulls out the chair and brings it over to Lucy, nodding for her to sit. "Relax a couple minutes, you've been going all night." "Thanks," she answers, gratefully accepting the break, clicking the channels on the overhead TV and keeping one eye on Dan as he rounds the bar, filling more orders efficiently, courteously. When he comes back over to her, she says, "You're good at this. Thank you for the help." "Hey, it's my job. I think you'd be fine here by yourself, ain't that busy, you can handle it all. But since I'm here, you know." She nods, "Cy doesn't like me being here by myself late at night anyhow, no matter how slow it is." Danny just nods. "Yeah, well. You put in long hours. All the cooking's gotta wear you down. I can tell you like it though, shows in the food. I can't get over how good it all is, you're a natural at it." "Think so?" she tilts her head, inspecting his expression. "Thanks." A wily grin creeps across his face, he cocks a brow and waits a beat, finally saying, "So uh, I take it you respond to chivalrous and complimentary too." "Come ON!" Lucy flies off the chair at him. Danny laughs, ducking away from her. "Admit it, you were liking it," he exaggeratedly bats his eyelashes at her, tilts his head with a mock wide-eyed look. Disgusted with herself for being so gullible, especially after so much practice here in the bar at throwing up the defense radar, she sulks past him, spitting out, "You're so cocky. And that won't work with Val. It has a certain appeal to some women, but not her, let me tell you." "Ahh, come on, I'm not cocky, I'm playing with you. Part of playing is winning, and part of winning is gloating. I figured you could take it, you seem like a sport." "I AM A SPORT," she nearly yells. Drawing in a deep breath, calming herself, realizing that she's acting irrationally, she says evenly, "But Val's not. She likes the old fashioned approach. Charming, sincere." Taking interest in the game again, ready to start pushing Danny's buttons right back, she decides to test his limits. Coyly saying, "Sensual, even a little suggestive." "Suggestive?" Danny asks. Licking her lips, "Randy." "Oh. Randy?" "Dirty." She watches Danny freeze as she says it. A-HA! Let the cocky little shit squirm out of this one, he probably won't even try to pick up the gauntlet, it's just too daunting to pull off, to even attempt. She leans back against the cooler, confident. He moves in, but she notices that he refuses to get locked in her risky stare. Instead, his eyes dance up her body, slowly. Starting at her feet, a lingering gaze working up legs, inspecting her torso, his eyes obviously hovering on her chest as he shakes his head, simply saying, "Mmm." For her part, Lucy stands stiffly, unyielding. He moves closer, brushing his fingers down her arm, leaning close, whispering in her ear, "I gotta tell you something. That shirt is very becoming on you." He waits a beat, inches back, glancing down at her chest again. As he looks up to her face, he moves his mouth close to her ear, cooing, "Course, if I was on you, I'd be coming too." Lucy laughs. Loud, sudden, hard. Pushing him away, saying, "Dude that was LAME! That line is so old I think my grandmother slapped my grandfather for saying it when they were still back in Italy." Danny squints at her as she continues to laugh. Him saying, "Three things. First, that line doesn't translate in Italian, hotshot. Second, if he ever said it, it sure didn't hurt, cause they ended up together. And third, it worked just now." "It so did not work!" Lucy says, astounded. "Oh, it worked. It made you laugh." "Yeah, but, only because it was so lame." Danny shrugs. "So what? Lame or not. It was dirty, and it got you laughing. You even touched me again." "To push you away!" "Whatever. That's number seven." Lucy's still laughing, more at herself, reluctantly agreeing with him. "Fine. You're right. You're insufferable, but you're right." She looks up to catch him grinning and he winks at her, taking her off guard again. "Know why this is so easy for me right now?" he asks, moving close again, lightly grasping her hand. "Cause you're good at it. I'm enjoying it. Kinda like acting, know what I mean? They say you're only as good as who you're acting with." Bringing her hand to his mouth, his dark eyes fixed on hers, his normally heavy lids even lower, somewhat sleepy looking. He lightly kisses her knuckles, then gently releases her hand. Placing his hand on the cooler near her head, crossing his feet, leaning in slightly, saying, "It's easy to be good opposite a Julianne Moore, it'd be nearly impossible to play off a Jennifer Love Hewitt though." "That's very charming," Lucy nods knowingly. "Yeah? I liked it too," he drawls, leaning even closer. Closer, dangerously close. Leaving not even an inch of space between them. With his free hand he brushes a few locks of hair off her shoulder, sighs in her ear. His fingers dance across her throat, up to her jaw. Lightly, he brings his hand down across her face, raspy voiced in her ear urging her, "Close your eyes." Thrumming inside, she knows he's playing, working it. But she's curious too, wondering how far he'll go, letting herself enjoy it because she knows it's all fake. She does as he asks, closing her eyes, feeling his breath on her neck, his fingers on her face, tracing around her mouth, her lips. It's undeniable the physical reactions he's eliciting from her. Externally, she's still and placid. But inside she's crackling, sparking as his warm exhalations hit her skin, as his lips graze her earlobe. A pure physical reaction. His voice again, sultry and low, vibrations directly in her ear, murmuring to her flatteringly, "Soft skin." His fingers, moving away from her mouth, igniting the nerves beneath them, making the ones around them yearn for similar attention. Trailing a single finger back down her throat as he inches closer, closing the tiny gap between their bodies. Warm, pressing against her side, so close that she can smell the lingering aftershave clinging to him. Her body's buzzing and fizzing, fully relenting to him. His fingers dance across her collarbone, she knows where they'll lead to next if she allows it. Worse, the way her body just shivered against her will, she knows what sort of angst-ridden mess this could lead to if she allows it. His voice, his breath, the touches, the sound, the smell, it's all so very... "Sensual," Lucy stops him by saying it aloud, her mind still in clear control. Careful not to touch him, she extracts herself, peeling away from the cooler, this time it's her turn to smirk. "I'll give you that one. But only because it was good, and it'll work on Val, she'll eat that shit up. But Danny? Just so you know, I'm not melting." "Yeah, well," he clears his throat, "you were up against that cooler, that was kinking up my game." Nodding, she silently starts ticking them off in her brain, doing the math. Wounded, mischievous, persistent, challenging, complimentary, chivalrous, charming, sensual, what else? Oh yeah, dirty. Knowing how quickly she got suckered on some of them, Lucy willfully throws up the walls, collecting herself, mind and body, resolving not to slip -- no matter what. He is slick, she'll give him that. But she was playing along, having fun, testing him out. But this is the money shot now. Lucy realizes just how sharp he is, he won't forget, he hasn't lost count. And he's definitely going to go for it. She gazes along the bar, but everyone's content. Charlie's zoned out on the TV, the only other two people are deep in conversation with full drinks in front of them. Sighing, she hops up onto the chair again, aware of Danny's eyes on her the whole time. She resists the urge to squirm or fold her arms in front of herself. That would only physically convey her blocked attitude and he might ease back, wait for a more opportune moment when he senses more vulnerability to take her off guard. No, she's ready, let him come now. She incites him by taking a surreptitious glance, then quickly looking away, hoping that was enough to hook him. He saunters over, and she immediately knows she cast a good line. He stands beside her, resting against the bar casually. Looking at the floor as he says, "Listen Lucy. I want you to know something. I'll do this thing for you, with Val. Normally, I'd be all over it, no problem. And I won't have a problem with her. But I gotta be honest with you, I'm having fun here. Right now, with you." He pauses, so Lucy eggs him on. Encouraging, coyly, "Yeah? Really?" "Really. I mean that. I know we've been screwing around and I was annoying you, but you take it well, I like that. I won't lie, you were right when you said that about me, about how I go through girls and all. But that's different. I like you, you're, I don't know, you've got it going on. I know I was playing when I was saying that stuff before, but I meant it. The way you run this place, and your cooking, I think it's great." He looks up and gives her a dimpled smile. Not the killer fake one, the real one. Shyly dropping his gaze, he folds his arms across his chest, saying, "I think you're great. I don't think about dates much, you're right about that too. But I would, if I thought it'd be worth it. And I would, you know, for you. I know I'm supposed to take Val out, but right now, I'd rather take you out, see what happens. I mean it. I know it's touchy, with me working here for you, but... I don't know. I never met anyone like you before. You're cool, you're smart. You're pretty. I just..." Lucy halts him. Stops him cold by simply saying, "I'm not THAT pretty though." He glances up at her, looking shocked, looking like he just got caught. Not even fumbling for words, he's just silent. Lucy lets him off the hook quickly. "Danny," she says, nudging his arm. "That was so very sincere of you. Nice job." "No, you don't understand..." "Yes," she grins, defenses not even close to showing a crack. "I do. I understand that you're going to be wonderful with Val. However, the bet was for me, tonight. And I hope you understand that good as that was, I'll be keeping my tips." "But, no, I meant that, what I was saying, I wasn't lying, I was being..." "Sincere. I know. It sounded it," she says, hopping down off the chair, fixing herself a glass of water. Looking him in the face as she adds, "I'm just not that easy, Dan." She winks at him, deliberately places her glass down on top of a napkin, saying, "That was fun though. Listen, will you watch things up here for a minute while I go to the bathroom?" As she strides away, she doesn't turn around, she just smirks to herself when she hears him try one last time. The boy's not a quitter, that's for sure. He's not calling out to her exactly, just talking to himself, maybe reassuring himself, trying to convince her too. "I was being sincere," he says. She laughs. Calling back to him, "I *know* Danny, sheesh. Sincere was
very good. So was sensual, and charming, and all the rest. You're a good
actor, I believed them all. I just didn't melt, dude." |
