Collecting
It took some initiative to get Shay moving tonight, so content would she have been to have stayed at home, in her tank and shorts working on her book. But after her meeting with Kyle she decided she needed more ideas independent from her own experiences thus far, to flesh out certain sections of the book. Too many times she found herself reverting to the same phrases and words being used in descriptions...she needed either a more objective eye, or just an entirely new take on things.
She was sorry she hadn't been able to get in touch with Paul. It had been ages since she'd seen him, and she had a world of questions she could as him now. She hoped her friend was doing okay, and that he would get in touch with her soon, if for no other reason than to just say hello. In the back of her mind she hoped he and Alex had hit it off and were becoming as happy as she and Alexi were.
Alexi. She wished he had been able to join her tonight, but his new job seemed to be taking up a lot of his time these days. Selfishly she had to admit she had needed to make quite an adjustment with him being gone so much, but she knew it was so much better for him to have something to focus on, and to give him a sense of purpose. Besides that, she hoped it would continue to help him get back on track with his clan.
Getting out of the house tonight was also an attempt to regain some of her own independence. No matter how much she loved Alexi, she needed to maintain her life as well, and not get so lost in him that she lost herself in the process. She had come perilously close in the past, and was on constant alert now to avoid that.
Sipping her scotch, Shay watched as people passed by her little booth. Couples with eyes only for themselves, singles with eyes out for anyone else...everyone seemed to have an agenda tonight. She wondered if she appeared approachable or not, and if not, how she could make herself seem more friendly, without becoming TOO friendly.
"Besides, I'd hate to have to kill you, Nic." Her gaze scanned the club once more and she noted that the bouncer had placed himself close enough to eavesdrop but not close enough to intrude. 'How...delightful. It looks like I may dine very well tonight.'
He nodded, then grinned when she brought up 'killing' him if he were to learn her secrets.
"I guess you could always try, though many women have, and failed...much to their chagrin. But I'll go easy on you and remove the need... What you do will just remain one of those things for me to hopefully find out, once I get to know you better. That's provided you extend me the opportunity."
There...he's thrown out the least obvious or offensive line he could come up with. Would she take it, or trounce it?
"That is a most intriguing proposition. Let's test it out shall we?" Her brogue returning just as seamlessly.
She turned to Shay and shared one of those knowing looks with her. "Do you mind if I let Nic take me out on the dance floor?" She didn't want to leave the familiar alone in a known vampire hang out, if she could manage it. It was never safe for familiars to be out on their own, and she wondered why Mathais let his do such things.
((ooc no offense Shay, Ginnie has some old fashioned ideas sometimes.))
While she listened with a half ear, Shay continued to watch the different people around the club, and noticed the security guy had moved from his earlier station to one much closer to her booth. She wondered if he was really as disinterested as he looked, or if that was a front. Her focus on him was redirected to another couple on the dance floor, and she had to grin. Though she wasn't a fantastic dancer by any means, the two she was watching were just sad. She guessed it really didn't matter though, since they both seemed to be having a great deal of fun.
"Hmm? Mind? Oh for heaven sake no...go have fun you two."
She waved them off and grinned, curious now to see how they paired up on the dance floor.
(ooc - good thing Shay can't read minds - lol)
Yet even appreciating a woman making the first move, Nic still held to some more traditional courtesies, and he stood, moved to Ginnie's side, and held out his hand when she mentioned dancing. It didn't take him being asked twice, though in reality she hadn't asked. He certainly wasn't going to mince words.
"Lead on...till we get to the dance floor anyway, then I'm afraid I'll need to take over from there."
He gave her a wink and a grin, and waited for her to move past him.
She really wanted to stop and whisper something breathy in that guard's ear, but she thought perhaps she would wait until after the dance, it would give her a more legitimate excuse for talking to him anyway. She contented herself with a smile and another wink his way. Turning toward the dance floor she began to weave her way through the crowd.
Ginnie seemed to follow well, and Nic wondered if she was just a quick study, or if she had taken lessons as well. However, not wanting to seem too much an old codger when it came to the dance step, Nic eventually spun her around again, and released her when she was facing him. He was then able to begin moving in a little more modern form, wherein there was more bouncing instead of spinning.
"You dance well...do you get out a lot?"
The music was loud, and he wasn't sure if she heard him or not, but rather than continuing to yell, he just shook his head, and let the music take control of his movements.
"What did you say?" She made her voice low and breathy. It was sexy even to her ears.
Her voice was just the added incentive he was looking for, to proceed and get a little closer. Leaning into her ear, he replied.
"It doesn't matter, really, does it? But for the sake of argument, I said you dance well...do you get out often? I'd like to change that now to 'Any chance you might want to come back to my place later?'" Nic took the opportunity then, to place a soft kiss on the pulse point in her neck, and let his tongue taste her skin briefly.
If he insisted she could always take a little walk inside his mind and make him remember things differently. She let her body move gracefully against his, as though her joints were made of water. She nuzzled gently at his neck, forcing her fangs to stay well hidden as the Hunger welled inside of her and caused her to breathe deeply. Swallowing against a growl rising in her throat, she moved her face from the temptation and looked up away from him.
"Ginnie, Ginnie, Ginnie...I'm not strange, just not so well known. But believe me, I can rectify that situation easily."
The blood coursing through her neck reminded him he had yet to feed. Fortunately, he could put it off till just before dawn if necessary. And if things worked out the way he hoped, he could even feed a little from her, as well as the supply he had at home. After what happened in the past, Nic never wanted to take more than a good taste from his dates again. His desires were more base than that tonight anyway.
"But don't worry...I can wait...see how things go."
And spinning her around again, the music ended, and he moved slightly away from her. He wasn't sure if she wanted to continue dancing, which would have been fine with him, or if she was ready to sit down. Either way, he was smiling.
So she sat, and watched Ginnie and Nic, and the other couples.
After the music had played for a few minutes, Shay considered leaving. She didn't think Ginnie needed her there, and it occurred to her even, that Ginnie might be planning on using Nic, in the way that a lot of vampires did. Not that Shay cared. She would have needed to know Nic a lot longer to chose him over her clan sister. And even if Shay didn't really feel any kinship with those of her clan, she still liked Ginnie, and had known her longer. So her loyalties were easily sorted.
While she sat and considered all that, the music ended and she realized she'd missed her chance anyway. So she watched the pair on the dance floor, and finished her drink.
Her feet hurt, and she decided she hated heels, especially three inch strappy black ones. If she was going to keep this up all night, she was going to have to do it shoe less.
She smiled brightly at Shay as they returned to the table. She scooted in next to Shay and retrieved her purse.
Raising her fingers to his lips, Nic pressed his lips to the tops of them, and then returned her hand to her side. Shaking his head, Nic turned towards the table and caressed Ginnie's back as they walked back. Her skin was soft under his fingertips, and he almost ached with wanting to feel more of her body.
He was more than disappointed to find Shay was still at the table, but was getting used to these road blocks always popping up in his way. It seemed the days of smooth sailings for him, were over, and from now on anything he wanted was going to be hard fought for.
Being polite he smiled at Shay, and when Ginnie was seated, Nic made an excuse to leave the table for a few minutes. Thinking it might be wise if he tempered his thirst a little, just in case he was able to get Ginnie to go home with him. He didn't want to get too enthused about the situation and do something he might regret later.
"Please excuse me ladies. I'll return shortly...nature calls."
Once the two women acknowledged his leaving, he did. Moving back towards the men's room, which was also in the vicinity of the private rooms, Nic kept his eyes peeled for someone who might accommodate his hunger. He was quickly rewarded when a young woman who had just said good bye to some friends, headed towards the restrooms as well.
"So...since you and Alec are still 'together', am I to assume Nic is...an appetizer for the evening?" Shay smirked, and winked. Maybe she'd find out more tonight after all, than she had given up hope of doing.
"Or...well, nevermind...it's really none of my business. He just doesn't seem like much of a subversive." And that was the truth, which was why Shay assumed the other was true. Then, maybe Ginnie and Alec had a more open relationship. While she knew she'd never be able to share Alexi, she couldn't judge those who chose that lifestyle for themselves.
"Don't look now though...I've been watching that new security guard over there...and he seems to be looking your way more than a little as well." Shay smirked again, and nudged Ginnie.
It worked for her and she didn't have to worry about being caught since the men she picked weren't the type to go to the police and tell them some hot chick beat them up and took their money, after she had sex with them. Though Ginnie never actually had sex with any of her marks, they just 'thought' they had.
"You are absolutely right. We each have our own style for appeasing certain appetites. This is mine."
Ginnie did turn and look at the guard, sending him a another gentle wink. It wouldn't take long before he approached her, she would wait him out instead of making the first move this time.
"He'll make a yummy dessert to my Nic appetizer." She chuckled softly and let her gaze roam over the club again. A small crowd of young party goers had just entered, but to her chagrin, her runner was not among them.
"Can I ask you a question...purely personal and totally prying?" Shay hoped maybe appearing cavalier about it would make Ginnie less concerned about answering. Besides, since Shay lived with Alexi, the rest of the clan had to know the vampire world itself would be something familiar and open to Shay anyway. But what Ginnie wouldn't know, was that Shay was interested in hearing things from a woman's perspective.
"That is, of course, if you don't mind me asking. I was just curious about that whole feeding thing you need to do. Do you keep yourself open to feeding from anyone, or do you have preferences...I guess what I mean to ask is, do you feed from either sex?"
Shay had already come to know that feeding wasn't normally colored in sexual undertones, and what she and Alexi did together was completely different from what he might do with an actual 'meal', but were distinctions made because it was still such an intimate action?
"Shay, I am not sure what Mathias has taught you, but there are some things we do not speak of so plainly in public. There are ears everywhere and we have lived this long with out the world knowing the truth. It take only one person saying the wrong thing in the wrong place to change that. Do you understand?"
When she saw that Shay, she turned her stern look into a smile.
"That being said, we each have our own preferences. Some prefer to mix it with sex, some prefer to make it a cold act, that does little more that satisfy a need, some use it as an act of mercy, and others use it as a power tool. It really just depends on the person and their...tastes. Personally, I mix it with a more intimate act and normally only with men, as my door only swings one direction. Does that help?"
She was rather nervous to be speaking of such things so publicly, but she thought she handled it well enough that should someone be listening they wouldn't really understand what she was talking about.
The two of them found an empty room in the back, and after a few soft kisses to her cheek and lips, the girl took off and nearly knocked Nic to the floor in her fervor. Finding a sofa quickly, Nic sat them down, made quick on his goal, and left the cutie lying comfortably. He imagined she'd wake up in a few hours, think she'd wandered into the room a little more drunk than she'd originally thought, and that would be that.
After a quick pit stop in the john, where Nic cleaned and straightened up, he wended his way back to the table and hopefully his newest treat.
"I'm sorry Ginnie...I should know better. Mathias..." The dreamy look that flashed across her eyes was something she had gotten used to and just couldn't hide no matter how hard she tried. She let a knowing grin tease the corners of her mouth before she continued with a look of remembering. "Mathias has counseled me on many aspects of the life, but he doesn't interfere with my work, or how I comport myself. My apparent impropriety is not to be a reflection on him. I hope we both understand...?"
The idea that any of his clans people would take him to task for his errant 'familiar' was much more of a concern to Shay than someone thinking she was brainless. Yet she was also just a teensy bit irritated in being spoken to in a way she considered to be condescending. On the other hand, she knew Ginnie was just trying to protect herself, and this time Shay acquiesced.
"Thank you for being so frank with me. It helps a lot to know as much about Mathias' life as I can. And since I'm a part of it all now as well...the more I know, the less likely I am to make any more such faux pas as I did tonight."
She tried to smile at Ginnie in a way that spoke of friendliness, and understanding. She hated the thought that getting to know her could be ruined by such a silly misunderstanding.
"Friends?" She held out a hand in a peace provoking gesture.