Funky Furniture Fun (Attn: Shay and Ana)

"You know Wren...I think that chair was made for you. Even if it didn't go with your decor, it suits...you."

Even though Shay's perception of Wren was of limited experience, specifically at that minute in time she too seemed very sunny and bright.

"I vote for the Studio...I'm dying to see it, and I'd like to know a little ahead of time where it is. Then when I come to sign up, I won't get lost."

Russ took that particular time to start whining and fidgeting, so Shay opened her car door again and got out.

"Give me a sec please?" She said with a tone of apology, and walked to a small patch of grass around a tree in front of the store. Much to her delight Russ lifted his leg next to the tree immediately and peed, before falling over onto his side, only to get back up again yapping. Silly guy didn't quite seem to have his balance down yet, when doing his business, and Shay laughed at his antics.

"Thanks for waiting...if that's how difficult potty training is going to be, I may go get another dog!" The words were giggled, mainly because Shay really didn't take that kind of possibility seriously.

"So, where to?"

Ana kept her silence as Wren purchased her new chair and arranged delivery, then giggled at Russ' falling over when peeing. "The Studio sounds good to me, too. Wren's been building us up for it all day, and I can't wait to see it. And Shay has a point... No sense not learning early where it is!"

Quietly she pondered to herself over the course of the drive whether or not she would actually sign up for a dance class. She would have to ask Wren some pointed questions, maybe get some suggestions. See what might work best for her. Find out if the reverse of mass media male stereotypes was true... If men go to dance classes to find single women, can't a single woman do the same?

Then again, maybe learning how to dance a little might help for nights like the Ball, or Fallon's party. If she had dancing planned, that is.

"Then to The Studio we shall go!"

Wren joined in Ana's giggles at the puppy, he had to be the cutest little ball of fluff ever. Since the consensus was a visit to the Studio she headed in that direction, on the way she pushed the little button on the bluetooth thing on her steering wheel and told it to dial Joey.

"The Studio, this is Joey."

"Hey kid, I'm bringing friends over. Is the office ok to go in now?"

"Hey Wren. Yeah, I just took down the last of the tape, and I'm in the process of sweeping up. The carpet guys will be here later today. You comin' now?"

His voice was smooth and deep, like sex on a hot jungle night, as it filled her car. It did twitchy things to her tummy, but she'd gotten used to them by now and ignored them. Drev thought it was funny that it only happened when she spoke to him on the phone. She smiled at the windshield, and put on her blinker.

"Yep, is that ladder still in the lobby?"

"Nope, it's in the bathroom."

Wren laughed. "I don't think I want to know why it's in the bathroom."

"No I don't guess you do." The laughter in his voice told her it was just one more goofy thing in the story of getting the Studio up and running.

"Good enough. We'll see you in a bit. Bye Joey."

"Later." The dial tone filled the car for a moment, before Wren touched the button on the wheel again.

"Sounds like everything is shipshape. We'll be there in no time."

She turned onto the Strip, then off it again and ten minutes later they were pulling into the alley behind the little brick building, dwarfed by the imposing Meridian Towers. She grinned up at the modern marvel as she got out of the car and held Ana's seat.

Shay watched as Wren used her 'hands free' phone system, and wondered if she should get one too. She didn't use her cell too often, but really hated it when the thing rang while she was driving.

Once they arrived at the studio, she slid off the seat and out of the car, looking around and waiting for Wren to lead the way. There wasn't too much to see, what with the very tall building next door to it taking up most of the viewing space.

"Wow...what's that building? It's huge! Pretty, in a very cold, modernistic way, but huge in comparison." Moving to the back door of the building Shay walked into the smaller, more friendly looking structure, still gawking.

Before her eyes could take in much of the decor, she was distracted by the very attractive man she assumed must be 'Joey'. Her assumption was based purely on the familiar way he seemed to look at Wren, coupled with the way he was dressed, and the fact that he was wearing a tool belt...slung low on his very manly looking frame.

Looking up to his face, Shay thought he was smiling at her, so she smiled back, but then just as quickly looked away. He was not only built well, but had a great face to match, and Shay felt her breath catch for a second before she pulled herself back to reality. She really had to stop spending to much time away from Alexi, she thought.

"Well, from what I can see, everything looks great...and pretty much done now...?" Once the question was posed she looked between Wren, and the man she assumed was Joey. That gaze was broken when Russ somehow managed to wriggle out of Shay's hands, fortunately land on the floor, and run over to the workman, to promptly pee on his foot!

"Oh my god! Russ!!" Thoroughly embarrassed, Shay made a mad dash to pick up her wayward pup, and pat him on his butt. "No no no no! You must not pee on people!" She cried as she reprimanded the dog, and then turned her eyes back to the man.

"I am soooooo sorry! I just got him and he's not house broken yet...do you have any rags anywhere that I can get?" She looked around expectedly, hoping she could quickly right the wrong she was responsible for, while very firmly keeping her animal under control.

"That's Meridian Towers. It's imposing in a cozy sort of way."

She smiled again, and led the way into the back door which opened into the ladies dressing room. This room was painted and ready for flooring, the pale yellow making Wren very happy.

"This is going to be the..."


Wren gasped softly then began to giggle as Russ peed on Joey's boot and her concrete, as yet unfinished floor. Joey also laughed, and bent to pick up the puppy but was beaten to it by Shay.

"That's alright, miss. He meant no harm, he was just excited."

His voice sounding less like hot jungle sex ad more like molten chocolate drizzled on a flat belly and licked slowly away. He gave the dog a firm scrubbing on the head and pulled a paint stained rag from his back pocket, dropping it to the floor. He cleaned up his boot and the floor. He tossed it over his shoulder to a small pile of similar rags near the door. He pulled a small green bottle of instant hand sanitizer from his pocket and put a small dollop on his hand and rubbed it in.

Wren recovered enough to clear her throat and introduce her friends.

"Joey, this is Shay and Ana, and the little piddler is Russ."

"Pleased to meet you Shay, Ana, and Russ the Piddler." He offered a hand to first Shay and then Ana and then gave Russ another scratch on the head.

Ana couldn't quite hear Joey's voice as she rode in the back seat, though something in the speaker-phone-distributed tone of it made her belly feel funny. At first she thought it was a byproduct of sitting in the back seat for longer than she was used to - a bout of nausea or the like - or maybe her body saying 'hey, I'm hungry, coffee wasn't enough' - but it went away when Wren hung up.

The New York native wasn't so impressed by the building's architecture as by it's monolithic presentation. It felt like she was standing in front of a sheer box of mirrors...

The taller man who entered when Wren brought them into The Studio proper made Ana wish she'd worried more about her hair that morning. She felt her hand fidgeting at her right ear and had to hold it at her waist so she wouldn't look like a Nervous Nancy.

Wait, since when did she care about her hair in relation to men?

Since she first saw Alec, her brain reminded her.

Smiling, she tried to hide her nervousness... Until Russ ran over and peed on the man's foot. She lost herself in a fit of giggles. Trying to hide behind the taller women, she watched as he bent over to wipe his boot and giggled again as she heard Wren trying to stifle her own.

She shook the man's hand - Joey's hand - and felt that same strange twingling build up in her belly. "I'm pleased to meet you too, Joey. I wouldn't worry too much about Russ, he is a bit young. Then again so am I, but I wouldn't pee on your foot to tell you I like you."

Ana's mouth dropped open as she realized that, not only was she still shaking Joey's hand, monopolizing it, but that she rambled and had actually said she liked Joey. Taking a step back, she realized her hand wouldn't let go until she looked at it, and mumbled to herself 'yeah uh huh way to go braincase.'

Thankful and relieved that no one seemed too put out with her errant animal, Shay smiled and took Joey's hand. What surprised her more than the act of the pup was her response to the man himself, and to prevent herself from getting too caught up in him, she moved back a safe distance as soon as she could.

"Nice to meet you too Joey." She nearly stammered but luckily didn't.

"I'm beginning to think I may have been premature in naming him...Piddles does have a nice ring to it." She giggled softly as she shook her head and gave Russ an admonishing look.

As she watched and listened to Ana meet Joey, Shay felt herself grinning widely. Did this man have such a strong effect on every woman he met? And if so...why was he still single...or was he? That hadn't been a topic of conversation yet. She thought Ana looked terribly sweet with the man though, and loved her unabashed innocence as she spoke of 'peeing' on his foot. Shay's free hand slowly moved to cover the giggle that tried to burst forth, as she imagined a romance possibly budding before her eyes.

And then thoughts of her own went back to those of Alexi, and their first meeting.

Joey took Ana's greeting in his stride. She was a cute little thing, with those glasses, making him wish he had room in his brain for a woman. It was much too full of the paintings he was working on to let a woman in, it always had been. Not that he didn't have his fair share of lovers, a man had needs, but love just never had a place for him. Ana's obvious innocence made him regret that a little. Well maybe when the studio was open and his hours were pushed back he could finish some paintings and there might be room for a change.

"Well that's good to hear, Ana."

He followed her eyes to their joined hands. Her's looked so tiny there in his and that made him smile, then her had was gone and she was moving away and berating herself. He wanted to pat her head or hug her or something to let her know that he didn't mind and that he thought she was cute or something. He suddenly felt like a teenager trying to let a girl he liked in on the secret. That made him chuckle. To cover it he swiped his hand on his jeans and rocked up onto his toes.

"Well I'm going to go see if I can get the light fixture in the bathroom back on the ceiling. You ladies have fun."

Wren watched the entire interlude between her assistant and Ana, and found herself pleased. Joey was such a good guy and his lack of significant other status might be changing soon. She would like that for both of them. They were so cute standing there with each other. Her eyes followed Joey out of the room when her brain settled on what he had said.

"What happened to the light?" She yelled loud enough for him to hear, but either he was ignoring her or had put the ear phones to his ipod in. She wrinkled her nose and shrugged, he would get it fixed. She returned her attention to her friends. She wanted to lightly tease Ana about Joey, but didn't think that was very appropriate so she decided on a different approach.

"Well this is going to be the ladies' dressing room. Joey did a great job on the walls in here. My office is through that door, but I want to save it for last."

She moved toward the door Joey had used and grinned at her friends.

"Come on, let me show you around."

"One little friendly piddle does not a new name make," Ana commented, keeping her eye on Joey as he walked away. "Besides, he already seems to know Russ -" and when the little dog turned his head towards her with a canine grin, making her teehee, she reached up to scratch his head "- so no sense confusing his little piddling brain."

Ana's eyes kept going back towards the door Joey had gone through as they walked into the ladies' dressing room. "For some reason I would have expected more mirrors. I guess too many hints from TV. But I like it, it's homey, it's... lush but austere. Some place to relax, but not to get too comfortable because after all, this is a school of learning. Will you have soft music playing, or will there be silence except on the dance floor?"

Wren tried to to giggle at Aa, but failed. She'd bee doing a lot of giggling ad felt all the better for it...less stressed.

"Well it could be because the mirrors are still on order and the furniture is in that storage unit I was talking about."

She grinned and stepped out into the hall. "As to music, I have mp3 players with nice big speakers for each room. Between Drev's collectio and mine, I'll have so may that I can play it for over a year and not repeat anything if I don't want to. Though I'm thinking of having weekly themes, or something. On the dance floor the music will be specific to what is happening, of course." She stepped across the hall ito the men's dressing room.

"And this is the men's dressing room."

"Ah, but it wasn't just ONE friendly piddle. In fact the minute I let Russ loose in my condo he ran over to Mathias' chair and peed on the corner leg. I'm beginning to think the little guy has some grudge against hot looking guys, and that's just wrong." Shay truly did wonder if the dog might be exhibiting some jealousy, but then realized that was just silly and dropped the thought.

The dressing room looked quite comfortable to Shay, no matter what Ana had said. But it was apparent from the differences in the three women's taste in furniture, that everyone had their own opinion on what made things homey, or comfy.

Walking to stand in front of the lone mirror, Shay held Russ up almost until his nose touched the glass. She giggled when he cocked his head as if he didn't know what to make of the other puppy, and then barked rather ferociously for his small frame.

"Looks like Russ doesn't like the puppy you already have inhabiting your studio."

Casting a teasing eye to Wren and Ana, Shay moved away from the mirror, and listened to the issue of music.

"This is all so exciting Wren...your own club! Did you ever imagine this day would come?" It reminded Shay a little of her first book signing event...when she truly knew that she had published a novel, and people were actually buying it.

Still following behind the other two women, Shay stepped into the men's dressing room and looked about there.

Ana pondered for a moment about Russ' piddling on Mathias' chair. Smirking, she said to Shay, "Perhaps it was his way of saying, 'Hey, this one might be your previous man's, but now it's mine, and I'm marking it just so you know.' And by doing that he was hoping to lay claim to you as his new owner, to also say 'hey I'm here to stay.' Of course," she said musingly, laying a finger against her chin, "if that were the case, that means Joey is now yours, too."

The sudden flare of "NO SHE CAN'T HAVE HIM" that exploded in Ana's chest shocked her into silence. Instantly she had a mental image of the Bugs Bunny/ Daffy Duck cartoon where they found the cave full of treasure. "Down down down! Mine mine mine!" If she were the crazy insane jump-on-a-man type, she could almost imagine herself bonking Shay with something handy and run and do just that. Luckily...

Closing her eyes she hid a grin, walking through the mens' dressing room. When she was able to straighten her face and remove the smirk, she turned about and leaned against the wall. "This really is amazing, Wren. I can almost picture half a dozen guys dragged here by their wives on one wall, and half a dozen more hoping to come to get a single dance with a girl on the other."

When Ana's comments coincided pretty much with Shay's thoughts, she nodded along. However, when Ana crossed over to the Joey matter, Shay felt her heart jump into her throat.

"Uh no...Joey is most attractive, but I've got all the men in my life now that I can handle, thank you very much." Not that Joey was ever more than an image of eye candy in Shay's mind. She loved Alexi - body and soul - and though she could definitely appreciate another man, at least from an esthetic point of view, there was no chance her love would be swayed by a nice set of pecs.

Shay giggled to herself as she listened to Ana. Her new found friend had quite the quick wit, and Shay was enjoying her company greatly.

"I never thought about it from that standpoint, Ana, but you may have something there. For people who just can't tolerate going to bars and clubs, this could be a very nice place to meet people, and possibly hook up. You'd have the fun of learning something in common, and getting to know the other person in a very safe environment."

Shay found she was smirking herself, as she pictured women dragging their husbands into the room, by the hair, kicking and screaming.

Wren smiled and ran her had over one of the jester diamonds on the wall. "That's exactly what I'm hoping for. I want people to come here to learn, and meet new people, but also I want to get to know some of the serious dancers in the area who need a non-competitive class to help them relax, as well as provide a different alternative to the gym work-out rut."

She pushed away from the wall she had leaned on, and headed to the door. The rooms would be so much better furnished, but they needed floors first.

"I had thought to teach children, but then I came to the realization that people aren't going to want a stripper teaching little Mary Jane how to pirouette, I figure adults don't care as much. And if they do, they can not come."

She shrugged and left the room. As she passed the bathroom she looked in and saw the upper half of Joey's body lost in the ceiling. She had a huge desire to pinch his butt. She resisted, but only because she didn't want him to electrocute himself.

"How's it going up there?" She called loudly. When he didn't answer she confirmed her notion that he'd put in his ear phones.

"This is the bathroom. I'd let you see it, but Joey's ass is in the way."

"What are in the buildings adjacent to this one?" Shay inquired. Because of the atmosphere Wren was going for, Shay wondered if there was a nice diner or coffee shop nearby where Wren's patrons might go after a dance lesson, to continue with the whole 'getting to know you' aspect. She even briefly toyed with the idea of what it would be like to run such a place. Not that she needed the income, but it might be fun, and was the kind of thing she could do, and still continue her writing.

Nodding, a little sadly, at Wren's probably accurate thoughts on teaching children, Shay felt an actual 'children's' studio would probably be a better idea anyway. To cater to such a wide variety of ages could stifle both to some extent.

Smiling as she looked at the tightly jean clad ass, Shay rubbed Russ under the chin, and shook her head before looking to see Ana's reaction.

"That's okay Wren, at least it is a very nice ass."

"I've never been much of a fan of the gym. Too much like a home-owner's association. I'm SO glad I don't have to deal with one of them at my place." In fact, Ana thought to herself, the community was rather lenient. Her new dragon statue mailbox got a few notes of 'Hey cool' and her neighbor Bob had even gotten her a carved dragon numberplate as a welcoming gift. He also asked after Fallon rather often, she suddenly realized...

"I can understand not wanting to teach children. The reading hour at the library can be a real hazard sometimes, with tiny legs and arms all swinging about, especially after they nap and one latches onto your feet."

Wren's further comment caught Ana's attention. "You're going to hire a stripper to help teach? Is that for the exotic class? I bet that would be fun. I might even want to try it... Maybe..." Her gaze went around the larger room and saw Joey climbing a ladder into the ceiling.

She found herself following Shay and Wren towards the room that Joey was fiddling in the ceiling with. When Wren called 'How's it going up there?' she heard a muffled zap and the buttocks visible flexed - Ana's eyes widened - and she heard Shay's comment about it being a nice one. She found herself nodding and had to force herself to stare away from the denim just a bit over her eyes' height.

"I'm glad you like it. I think I'm going to keep it around for a while."

Wren giggled and turned to answer Ana's question, but her giggles escalated into a laugh at the sight of Ana, looking everywhere but Joeys ass. It was cute, and she decided then and there to get to know Ana better so that she could feel comfortable with Joey dating her...'Wow, when did I get so protective of Joey? Just now I suppose.'

She cleared her throat and took several deep breaths to try and stop the laughter, when it was under control she moved onto the large empty room that would be the dance floor.

"To answer your question Ana. I'm not hiring another teacher. I was a stripper, it's how I payed for college. It's a hard reputation to put down once it's brought up. But enough of that. This is the place where everything will happen. I know it's not much, but just wait until that wall," she pointed to the wall to her left, "has mirrors from floor to ceiling and corner to corner. And that wall will have a barre and this wall will have another barre and the split wall behind you will have more mirrors. "

Wren flited about while she spoke. This place was her livelihood and her baby. Pride beamed from her face as she did a small pirouette while she continued to speak.

"The floor I'm having put in is going to be a light gray, it's a multi-purpose floor, you can do tap and ballet, and ballroom and anything else on it, with out marring the surface or making it to rough for dancers. Plus it cleans in a snap. They won't lay it until every bit of construction is done and the place is cleaned and washed, because they lay the floor ad the seal it ad ay dust under the seal will ever come up and it could cause a fall so it will wait until the week before we open. I'm hoping to open the week after Thanksgiving. I'm going to throw a big party with some of my friend from school doing some demonstration dances."


Wren stopped moving and came to stand by her friends, she felt like a little kid and really need to calm down and control herself. She was just simply overwhelmed with her luck. Since coming to Nachton, she'd met the man of her dreams, gotten rid of the man of her nightmares, bought an amazing car and she was going to open her own studio. Life couldn't get any better, but somewhere in the back of her mind rested the Wren waiting for the other shoe to drop.

Ana was somewhat shocked that Wren was the stripper she was referring to. She felt a little bit of envy for the woman in that she felt comfortable enough with her body to share it that way. The librarian couldn't think of sharing her own thusly. It made her ears heat up to think of even going out on a stage in front of dozens of men (and maybe even women) in so much as a bathing suit...

Further, she was honestly impressed Wren would show such determination and resolve to follow through with her choice to pay her way through college. It reminded her of a Grey's Anatomy episode she'd watched recently...

Her meandering thoughts were slowly muted as her ears cooled and her attention turned back to Wren's description of the remainder of the studio. She found herself hoping she'd be invited to the opening party for her friend Wren... then quashed that idea when she realized that they'd only just met, and maybe the 'first day acquaintence' period couldn't be bypassed for 'friendship.' Especially when the soft lilt of a certain Briton's voice carried in her mind.

But when Wren came back over to stand with her and Shay, the taller woman looked like she was positively quivering with excitement. Ana wrapped her arm around Wren's waist and gave her a sideways hug. "It'll be awesome. I hope I'm one of the first people through the door on opening day."

Grinning, Shay couldn't help but get caught up in Wren's enthusiasm. Any time she witnessed someone passionate about what they did, it had a tendency to rub off on her. No doubt she was open to those feelings because she had been so lucky in her own life, having had the opportunity to do what she wanted, when she wanted. And both times she had felt exactly the same way that she suspected Wren felt now. She hoped Ana felt that way about her job at the library, as well.

"Shhh, Russ!" Her pup was becoming antsy, and no amount of cooing and petting seemed to calm him. She couldn't very easily put him on the floor, at least not at this stage of the game. He was so tiny he could easily get into some area that she'd never be able to get him out of, not to mention his lack of proper potty abilities. Even if he had relieved himself on Joey's foot, Shay couldn't be sure he wouldn't try something again.

"You shouldn't worry so much about any perceived reputation hon. You did what you had to...it was all legal...and if some people are too narrow minded to comprehend that, then you don't want them here anyway."

Shay was not new to the issue of reputation. Being a cop in Los Angeles had gotten her a lot of flack; however, she was lucky that she never cared what 'those' people thought anyway.

Before she could add anything further, Russ nearly wiggled from her arm again.

"You know, I really hate to cut this short, but I'm afraid I'm going to need to see the rest of the place later."

Shay offered a slight frown to the two ladies she stood with.

"I guess I'm not used to this new mommy stuff yet, and have expected too much from this little guy. I think I need to get him home."

Though she had come to the studio in Wren's car, Shay could easily jog her way home without any issue. She was still dressed for walking anyway. She could also find a nice patch of grass somewhere along the way and let Russ run his legs off.

Wren returned Ana's hug and only let go at Shay's mention of needing to leave. Well, Russ was just a puppy and he was brand new to her, so Wren understood, even if she was disappointed. She forced the small frown off her face with a smile, and gave Russ's head a scratch.

"There's only one more room to see, do you want to take a peek? The I can drive you home and Ana I can take you home or we can have some lunch or something. It's been a long time since I've spent time with anyone other than Joey, the Studio or Drev. I'd like the company."

Wren had pointed to the door to the lobby, and had moved that way a little. The lobby was almost complete. Joey had done the murals in there first, and the other walls were finished in there as well. The lobby even had flooring, the stone guy had to come early, but that was alright, it was done now so it didn't matter, plus she had plastic to cover it to keep it safe.