2019-08-25 - Love at the Platinum Cabaret

The afternoon wears on toward 3 or 3:30, it's hard to tell in a dark, specially lit club. When all the lighting is artificial, no windows out to the day, it loses meaning. Time is measured in songs, dances, and drinks. It's cool in here, whereas it's uncomfortably hot outside. The drinks are cold and flow easily. It's not exceptionally busy, yet, but the crowd has been steadily increasing for about the last twenty minutes, in trickles.

A tall tattooed woman sits on a stool at the bar, a couple of seats open on either side of her. She's dressed casually, not for a night out. Love's dark blue skinny jeans and patent leather maroon Chucks are paired with a simple v-neck tee, pulled up and tied with a belly-baring knot situated just under her ribs. She wears a long rosary as a necklace, onyx and silver. Most of her visible flesh is inked from temples to throat, arms and hands. Her nails are painted a high-shine black, and she appears to be nursing a small rocks glass of something smokey scented and amber-colored on ice, fingers steepled over the rim.

Zoiya is a creature of noise and chaos, today is no exception, she pushes open the door and when a shout goes up in the crowd from a few regulars, she does a pirouette and an ass shimmy before she heads to the bar. A duffle bag is dropped next to the stool she choses, putting her next to Love. "Uh..D'Usse, babe. Rocks." She's dressed in a pair of tight black dancer's shorts and a very loose, Platinum Cabaret t-shirt. Her wild hair is pulled up in a messy bun, spilling loose curls down the back of her neck. Her ink covers almost all of her body, colorful and brash.

"Love the rosary." She murmurs, leaning in as if she might touch it, aiming a smile at her bar neighbor. "Makes a statement better than any chains would." She holds out a hand, introducing herself since she nearly got all touchy feely. "Mae."

Love crosses her legs and turns slightly as another equally tattooed woman bodies up to the bar. She turns her head to watch the shimmy. Her hair's also pulled up in a topknot, gunmetal-grey hair also a bit messy, but it suits. She smells a bit like sunblock and the ocean, like she spent most of the day on the beach.

Her fingertips come up, almond shaped nails sliding under the rosary chain. "Thank you. It's funny how many people refuse to acknowledge it, especially in a strip club." She reaches over when the hand is offered, taking it without hesitation. Her hands are soft. She doesn't seem to mine that momentary reach for the chain, and doesn't move away, though it's a near miss rather than a touch of the rosary. "Love." Her fingers are a bit cool from touching the iced glass. "Do you dance here, Mae? It looks like an entertaining place." She grins a little, and her gaze wanders. There's a subtle difference between appreciating ink and ogling, subtle as it is. "Nice work."

"I find that people are afraid of anything that might get in the way of their fun. Politics, religion.. it's easier to ignore it than face it and deal with it." Zoiya lets out a soft snorting laugh, leaning against the bar when her drink is delivered. She slides two bills to the bartender and he cracks a smile at both of the ladies before moving off. "What a fucking name. I bet it at turns amuses the fuck out of you and makes you want to slap people. How many put emphasis on it, and get slapped around for it?" She takes a sip, nodding at the query, a crooked smile on her lips. "Yup, I dance here. Tonight is going to be one of those boring nights, but it's money." She glances down her arms, and down at her thighs. "Thank you. Took a few years to manage it. Yours is beautiful as well, you look like a work of art." She does reach out, fingers gently brushing over the wheat on her shoulder. "Here for a drink or come to watch the afternoon girls fall all over the old dudes trying not to get caught stroking it at the rail? It's a hell of a show."

Love chuckles at that, "Yeah, yeah, it does. I have a new friend who uses love as a term of endearment, and he gets all tripped up every time we talk." She smirks into her glass, taking a sip. She tips her head and watches Mae, even as her fingers graze over the tattoo on her shoulder, the delicate little stalks taking up a lot of prime real estate. There's another moment where her pale gaze roams, noting the roses, which she also has, some unfinished. "Most people think I'm fucking with them when I introduce myself. It's a delicate balance. Seriously? is the most common response." She grins again, "You get used to it or you learn better places to hide the bodies."

"I like the way your wings frame your neck." She doesn't touch Z, but mirrors the placement by touching a couple of fingers to her own throat in that position. "I came in to cool off, but I do like watching perverts get bounced. And I don't mind watching a little dancing."

"Our perverts are aren't the worst I've met. They're pretty careful." Zoiya almost sounds fond of them, letting her elbow rest on the bar as she and Love conversate. "Yikes. I will never fuck around and joke about your name. There are probably too many places in this town to hide a body." She tilts her chin up, grinning as Love takes a look. "Thank you. It's one of my favorites, I think it looks best with the roses all along my upper chest." She picks up her glass, primed to take another sip. "So what do you down around here? Don't tell me you work down at the parlor, I haven't made it in there yet."

"If you're going to get pervs, I suppose it's best to get the polite, subtle kind." Love seems amused by this, eyes crinkling with that little smile that lingers somewhere in the vicinity of a smirk still. Her black lipstick makes a flash of teeth pretty obvious when she grins. "A whole wide ocean to body dump," is all she says on the subject of hiding bodies. She shakes her head a little, then lifts her glass to take a small sip of chilly booze.

"I don't, no. I'm an artist, but only picked up a machine a few times. I prefer a stable canvas that doesn't cry when it bleeds." She puts her glass down, giving it a slow spin. "I'm on sabbatical from teaching this year, and came down to settle some affairs for my father, who lives here. I've thought about some part-time employment, but haven't made the leap yet. My days are mostly living at the motel and hanging out on the beach." She's really pale for someone who hangs at the beach, which probably explains that cococnutty sunblock scent she's wearing.

"I usually don't like polite and subtle men, but when they're perverts at work.." Zoiya trails off, swirling the liquor in her glass, ice cubs clinking merrily. "Yep, not fucking with you. I can't swim." She shudders and turns to listen, watching Love as she speaks. "Painters have the most chill aura, always looking for the next canvas or the best light. Everything is so careful and strict with them. I could never do it, because I can't sit still for too long, but I appreciate what they do." She props her chin on her palm and quirks a brow. "I got lucky and found this place as I was rolling into town. I didn't think a place like this would have a strip club, I'm kind of glad that I was wrong. I am so not cut out to be a waitress." She gives Love another up and down glance. "The beach, really? What do you do there?"

"It's better to know where you stand with a man. Nobody ever had a polite orgasm, except maybe Brits." Love swirls her glass again, chasing that whiskey around and around the softly-clinking ice cubes. "I like to paint people. Portraits are my thing. If you'd ever be interested in sitting for one, I'd like to paint you. Usually I do a session of life drawing, take some photos and work from there, so you don't have to sit still for ten hours."

"I haven't been down to the local shop yet either, but I'd like to. I think I'm due for another moth, maybe some touch-ups on older work. I've waitressed before. It's not bad. Flirt a little, be nice, only punch them when they really deserve it. Usually gets to fired, but in this place, maybe not." She glances around. "I surf. Some days I just look at the water and think about surfing." Her pale-eyed gaze returns to Z. "I'm going slowly mad in that motel. My neighbors are nice enough. The hot tub is highly questionable. I fully expect to find a dead hooker in there one day. You cannot beat the beach access." She lifts her glass again, thoughtful, and doesn't take a drink. "This is one of the nicer strip clubs I've been in. I'll have to clean up, put on some heels, and come back on a packed night to see how wild the shows get."

"Remind me never to fuck a British man then, what do they do, apologize?" Zoiya snorts softly, her eyebrows quirking gently as Love asks her to sit for a painting. "Sure, I'm always open to try something new, and I can honestly say that I've never been painted before. If you're not out of the hotel by then, maybe I can find us a fun place to do your sessions."

"Last time I was a waitress, for two whole days mind you, I was going straight, right? Gonna do something normal and blase, serve people food, be nice." She takes a deep breath, rolling her eyes. "Two hours later, some old bint was screaming in my face because her rolls weren't buttery enough on the top and I got fired for slapping the histrionics out of her." Her shoulders lift as she shrugs. "Here, I can slap the shit out of someone and they tip me. So, I guess I'm in the right place."

She aims a cheeky grin at Love, head tilting slightly. "Well..this Saturday coming, I'll be up on stage in a nun's habit, shaking my bikini clad ass to some bumping music. Though, I've wilder sets, that one is gonna be pretty tame, if you don't factor in me spanking men with a ruler."

"Jesus, I hope not. I've only known a few and they were all exceedingly polite." Love pauses briefly. "Not that there's anything wrong with a polite man. We could certainly use more of those in the spectrum." She glances over at the story about buttery rolls and laughs. "Oh my. Yes, too, have been fired from quite a few waitressing positions in my time, mostly during graduate school when I was pissed off and over-stressed. Being tipped for slapping unruly customers does sound intriguing." Despite all the ink, though, Love doesn't really seem the type to slap a bunch of strangers. Then again, maybe she just needs a little more distilled spirits in her.

"Hey, I'm always on board with spanking men." She raises her glass. "I'll see if I can't come down and have a watch, let someone buy me a few drinks, get to know the locals outside of awkward conversations in antique shops and other places." She glances over to the bartender, gesturing for a refill. "I would like to find a place with a little more natural light, somewhere with some space to set up an easel, store some paintings. I've been trying to find something, even an Air BnB for temporary stay, but this town... the last guy who responded to my ad answered the door in a mesh onesie."

"I don't know what I would do if I got an apology. Laugh maybe? Might ruin the mood." Zoiya nods her agreement with Love, downing the rest of her cognac. "I've met a few polite men since I've been in town. My version of polite and yours might differ, but yeah.. there aren't enough of them, honestly." She clears her throat, trying not to join in on the laughter. "Every time I try to get a job that isn't shaking my ass for money, I get in trouble. Now that isn't to say that I don't have trouble here, but it's been trouble I can handle. I figure I should stop splitting the odds and just stick to what I'm good at."

She makes a muffled noise, something along the lines of a laugh. "In this case, if they get too grabby while I'm a nun, I can just swat them to make them think twice later. At the very least it'll get me some private dance offers."

"There are some beautiful places I've seen out near the bay, I can't afford them. I live down on Elm street. The house isn't so bad, has a bad reputation though." She aims a mild look at Love. "Mesh onesie? Christ. Tell me you slapped him at least."

"From the look on his face when he opened the door, I'm pretty sure he would have enjoyed it. You know the look when a guy sees all the tattoos and assumes biker bitch." Love shudders. "Ugh." She drains the dregs of her drink at the mental image, sliding her glass across the bar for that refill. What has been seen cannot be unseen.

"If you want to borrow my rosary for that performance, you're welcome to it." She laughs softly, shaking her head again at the mental image of Zoiya up there on the stage smacking hands and sundry other parts with a ruler. "I'm in the wrong line of work."

"I'm not rolling in it, so I'll need at least a roommate, maybe two, to rent a house. I've still got the ad up online, and I might run one through the local paper, though the amount of crank offers I get is astounding. Even the dead hooker hot tub looks pretty great in comparison." She glances over. "You live in a house on Elm Street and is has a bad reputation. Why is that?" There's an obvious joke there, but she doesn't make it.

"Men can be pigs." Zoiya points out, no stranger to odd men and requests, especially based on her appearance. She grins as Love shudders, and looks thoughtful, tongue playing along her sharp canine, she nods shortly after. "I'll take you up on that, having that thing swinging around my neck will get them turned up, and completely embarrassed at the same time. Can't pass something like that up." She holds up a hand, giggling softly. "Don't let my boss hear you say that, he'll try to convince you to give this a try, he'll offer lessons. He'll offer me for lessons." She smirks and beams a smile at the bartender when another drink is dropped off. "I have two roomies, but I'm pretty sure that I could afford rent alone." She grimaces and takes a sip, fortification for what comes next. "Apparently there have been a few murders and suicides there, really makes rent cheap. Though, people do claim that it's haunted, that helps too." She sighs and leans against the bar. "Batty old woman is our landlord, she's sweet enough, but kind of ..forgets everything? So her grandson is in town, and .." She sighs, looking far away for a moment. ".. well he's a real tall drink of water."

"I question my ability to dance for that long in stilettos, Mae." Love leans in against the bar, her arms crossed loosely. "I excel at watching, eating, dancing while buzzed in flats, occasionally dancing while buzzed in heels, surfing, drinking, being tattooed, painting, and holding my breath for unnecessarily long periods of time. Few of these will get me tipped in a strip club. Waitressing, I could do, if the slapping customers is allowed." She glances around to see if there's a waitress nearby in uniform.

"... A few murders and suicides? What, as in different events separated by months or weeks or years? Are you saying you live in a Death House? On... Elm Street." Her lips press together briefly. "This town is weirder than I remember." The last time she went out shopping, she ran into a bunch of people obsessed with spirit photography.

"See, now you're talking. Hot, tall men. Do you have any slyly snapped photos on your phone?" She raises her brows.

"After the fight night of tips, you question it, and then you find someone to rub your feet or some really nice pain relievers." Zoiya listens to the list, quiet laughter shaking her shoulders, until the end comes. "I think surfing and being tattooed are the only two that wouldn't get you tipped here, but if you were surfing naked, someone would throw money at you. Good luck getting at it in the ocean." She glances around as well, a smile quirking her lips. "Some of the customers get handsy, some of our waitresses slap. You could always see about that, our bouncers are pretty good at their jobs, so you wouldn't have to slap much. Plus, the dancers here dedicate some money into a tip pool for the wait and serve staff, we don't like to leave you folks high and dry."

She looks sheepish and nods in Love's direction. "A ..few.." She starts to laugh, pointing at the pale woman as she gets the joke. "Right? If Freddy Kruger starts to stalk me, I'm getting the hell out of dodge. Seriously."

"Oh.. oh." Zoiya pulls her phone from her purse and thumbs at the screen, passing it over for Love to peruse. "Offered to hit someone for me if necessary too. Be still my fluttering heart."

Love glances over. "Really? Holding my breat—Oh." Now it's her turn to laugh. "I could come by some night with blacklight body paint. That would be fun. Waitresses in nothing but optical illusory costume." That might cause a riot, but the tips would be good until such time as.

She leans over to look at the phone. "That is all the right kind of trouble. He's very cute. And he offered to defend your honor. Romantic, right?"

"I'll think on that. I do enjoy cash, the air conditioning, and my evenings are open. I don't do much surfing after dusk anymore." She nods her thanks to the bartender, and passes a folded bill over the bar, tip included. She waves off change. She zooms in on the photo once before she hands the phone back. "That one has hot public sex written all over him."

"I did a set once in body paint and glitter. It was nice not having to take anything off, just shake my ass to the music." Zoiya makes a noise and starts to giggle. "Shit, that idea is too good, now I'm gonna have to make you talk to Antonio. You have more ideas like that and he'll probably pay for them." She thinks it might cause a riot too, but she's a creature of chaos. Bring that shit on.

She glances down at the phone and shrugs. "He's cute, but he's the landlord. Sleeping with him would be all sorts of trouble on a stick, because when I eventually break his heart -- and I would -- we could get kicked out. Plus, romance.. " She shudders and rolls her eyes. "Romance is a trap."

She quirks a finger at Love, laughing. "Think about it, working here is pretty easy if you do your job, and the jobs here aren't difficult. Show up, look cute, get tips." She takes another look at the phone. "Around here? Where, at the dip and swirl? This place seems too boring for public sex."

"Sitting on a barstool being paid for ideas is pretty much the best job description since I surfed professionally." Love laughs at that. "Also, a black light night with can be pretty entertaining for the customers. I used to work a few raves back in the day, which is how I made some pocket money after the waitressing in straight jobs resulted in my fourth and final firing."

"Romance doesn't have to be a trap. The landlord situation is tricky, no doubt. If he looks like that, he might be worth it. Even if it flames out. Even if you get kicked out. Even if." She smiles. "Course you probably shouldn't listen to me. I've left a lot of heart carnage in my wake, and have been kicked out a time or two." Or seventeen. Who's counting? Not this woman. Noooope.

"Small towns will fool you, with all the quaint attempts at ethnic food, the waterfront homes priced out of range, the neat little postage-stamp yards, the rustic lumberjack types." She sits back, her hands on the edge of the bar. "Rooftops, dark alleys, somebody's pool. Just don't be tricked into the beach trap. If never works out well and you always get sand where you do not want it." Always.

"Right? I'd love to be signed up for shit like that, but most of my ideas are recycled from my other strip joint jobs. They're not bad ideas, but they're certainly not original." Zoiya remembers that she has a drink and takes a sip, smirking about Love being fired. "This place is kind of like a rave, with titties." As she says this, some honkey tonk music comes on and a girl who is more tits than ass comes out to shake it half-heartedly at the light crowd.

Zoiya looks away from that, rolling her eyes at Love. "Romance has always been a trap for me. I haven't found a guy yet who's kept a promise, and honestly it's probably because of the types of guys I usually go for. The fact that I'm not trying to jump this guy's bones probably means he's too good for me." She wrinkles her nose and sighs, shaking her head. "I've got too many problems as it is, adding another mess to clean up after just seems masochistic."

"Been there done that with the sand. Backyards are decent too, haven't tried a rooftop, and again.. pool? Can't swim, the little death will turn into true death in my case. I'd sink to the bottom." She starts to laugh, running inked fingers through her hair. "Shit. Ethnic food? Have I missed it?"

Love glances over at the stage, but only briefly. The music is less than inspiring, and the dancer doesn't seem to be into her performance, so Love's attention wanders, not as easily kept by massive endowment as some of the men in the thin crowd seem to be. "Rave with an extra dose of nipple."

"If you feel that way, you might be right, but... making the mess is really part of the fun. You can look without touching for a while. It's not like there's a deadline. You're a beautiful woman with a steady job. What's not to appreciate about that?"

Love mms in the middle of a sip. "No, attempted ethnic food. There used to be a Thai place, and I think one time someone tried Ethiopian, but I don't think that one stuck. I think they maybe have some Americanized Chinese and some kind of fusion at the strip mall. Shit, I should know." She officially owns that property now. Sort of. On paper, apparently, but... beach and motel. Beach and motel. "Uh, the pool thing, just do it on the steps. Nobody dies. Unless the owners come home and happen to have a shotgun. Embarrassing half-naked sprints through suburban yards is always an adventure." Not that she's speaking from experience.

Zoiya thumbs toward the stage, rolling her eyes. "New." She doesn't mouth it, but she looks a little disdained. "Every time you get up there, you should give it your all. No crowd, large crowd, all women, all men. Just dance. Fucks sake."

She grins at Love, nodding as she shrugs a shoulder. "We'll see, but at the very least I'd have to kick someone out of the bed to make room. It's getting very ring around the rosey and I sprawl when I sleep." She takes another sip of her drink, fishing out a piece of ice to suck into her mouth, crunching down on it.

"I would kill for something I didn't have to drive two cities over for, or have to get Uber'd here." She winces and considers pool steps, lips pursed as the thought rolls around in her head. "Sounds like fun, and I mean, before fucking comes into it, if I find a place that has a pool where I can sneak in a swim, I'm gonna float somewhere for a while. It's too fucking hot outside."

"Right? Fake it till your panties runeth over with bills." Love glances briefly over to the stage again. "Maybe she should have had a drink first." She turns her gaze back to Mae after a brief moment of watching that performance, if it can be called such, and says, "Nothing wrong with that either. Long as you're comfortable. Seems like this place, the shoes, the calorie expenditure would be a slog. I can sleep almost anywhere. I think it's a gift from all that traveling. I could probably fall asleep on this bar, even with the music going."

"It's been really hot here. I don't remember it getting this hot, but the last time I came through here, I was a kid and shit like that didn't matter. If I could find an actual Thai family who wanted to open a Thai place in this town, I'd do everything I could to make them stay. I miss Vancouver. Anything is one internet order away." It would be accurate to say Love isn't doing much cooking in a motel room. She cradles her glass in one hand, nearly two-thirds through it. "You're right. I'd most likely take a long float. It's absolutely too hot this month for anything else." She nods in absolute agreement.

"She should have, or something else to take the edge off. Antonio would flip his shit if he saw that." Zoiya frowns and presses her lips together. "I have to stop saying things like that, he keeps throwing the words floor manager at me, and I don't want to actually work. I like to dance." She glances down at her shoes, and rolls her ankles, smirking. "I come out of here at two in the morning, find a diner and I eat until I feel like I'm going to die. Then I sleep for eight hours, get up and do it all over again. It's pretty fucking amazing."

"If you can get a Thai family to do that, I'll buy your drinks here as long as you haunt the place, I need some options. Diner food is overtaking my metabolism and soon I'm gonna be a roly poly stripper." She quirks a brow at Love, an impish smile on her face, pulling her phone from her purse. "Here, slip me your number. If I find a pool that looks likely, I'll send you the deets, we can take a dip."

"Oof. Promotion. Take some of the fun out of it, huh? Chasing the other employees around. Performance evals. Hiring and firing?" Love shakes her head. "Yeah, far cry from showing up, having a drink, dancing your ass off, and going home without worrying about enthusiasm levels." She flicks a look at the stage, tips her head, then turns back to the bar.

"I miss that. I miss that absolute satisfaction at a job. Doing your thing, throwing you whole body into it, and grinding it day after day. I do... I do like teaching, but it's a lot of managerial style work, and I have to slip in what I really want to do on the side. It's a lot more paperwork than I ever thought I'd put my hands on." She grins at the commentary about diner food. "Seriously, I'm going to turn into a goddamn grilled cheese sandwich." She reaches over to take the phone once unlocked, and types in her number with her thumbs, passing it back right after. No snooping. "It's a deal."

"Right? I don't want to tell these bitches how to do their job. I don't want to nag at them for not doing their job. I just wanna come in, have fun and dance my ass off. That's it." Zoiya lets out a sigh and takes another drink of her cognac, a pleased smile on her face. "It's nice, to do what feels fun, know that when you go home at night it was a good night. I have that here. I come in, do my thing, don't get harassed and rarely have to deal with serious shit."

She takes her phone back and she bounces briefly on her bar stool, causing things to jiggle. "Awesome. Maybe we can even go skinny dipping. I haven't done that since I was what.. fifteen?" Zoiya is sitting on a barstool next to Love chatting over a drink, there is a tired looking stripper on stage, looking a little downtrodden due to the place not being filled yet. Honky tonk music plays loudly from the speakers.

"This chick likes to dance to -that-, huh?! I dig it. Variety is the spice or whatever they say, right?" Antonio emerges from the back office and saunters over toward a nearby barstool, flagging down the bartender and placing his usual order -- an extra-dirty Ketel One martini. For just a moment, the faint scent of herbal delight emanates from Antonio's office, suggesting the vodka won't be the first intoxicant he's consumed.

"You forgot have mad stacks of cash slid into your very skimpy outfits." Love replies, raising her rocks glass to the other tattooed woman's description of her idea job. "It does sound like a little bit of heaven. God knows I'm avoiding all the serious shit in my life this month." Thoroughly, her tone says. Hard.

Love sits at the bar next to Zoiya, not quite dressed for a night out. She's in casual street clothes, probably more suited to the boardwalk than hanging out at the bar in a club. "I've skinny dipped in many an unwise place, and look forward to doing it again." is what Love's saying to Mae just as Antonio wanders over. Perfect timing. She takes a slow, deep breath at the familiar, heady scent of one of her favorite vices follows the new arrival out of the back. "That reminds me, I haven't been to the dispensary yet." She seems to be drinking something amber-colored and a little smoke-scented. Probably bourbon.

"Dispensary?" Zoiya blinks and stares over at Love. "Huh, again, not something I thought I'd see in a town like this." Antonio's appearance makes her grin, she's already planning on stealing a sip of the martini. She tilts her head toward Love and quietly murmurs, "That's the boss." She puts on a pretty smile and wiggles her fingers in his direction. "How about you, Antonio? Ever gone skinny dipping somewhere you shouldn't have?" She dips a finger into her glass and slowly swirls it around the rim, making it sing. "You like this honky tonk shit?" She shifts her eyes over to Love. "Very very skimpy. Very."

"Nah, country music ain't really my thing. But if we have customers who like it and they wanna pay for some honky tonk ass-shaking, bring on the cowgirl hats." Antonio takes up his drink once it's delivered, offering the women a mock salute from his martini glass before taking a sip. "Skinny dipping, huh? Just in a hot tub -- I'm boring like that. The most boring strip club owner you'll ever meet, right?" He shoots an exaggerated wink to Mae, and looks to Love. "Antonio Williams, owner and operator, at your service. Or really just the owner -- I don't operate shit other than the microphone, most of the time."

"Pot, liberals, lumberjacks, serial killers, music, questionable history, coffee, and organic food." Love says this all, a litany of the things the PNW is probably most well known for. She sips from her glass, turning her pale gaze to Antonio at Zoiya's mention of the word boss. "Love." No last name forthcoming.

"Mae's been telling me about this place. It's nice. Cool. Cold drinks. Good place to hang out on hot summer nights." It's unbearable outside right now. "Yep, boring is the first word that comes to mind when I think about club owners, especially strip clubs."

"Please, that list is not making me happy. I'm not going back to Chicago though, nor New York." Zoiya snorts out a laugh and walks her fingers toward that martini, an innocent look on her pretty face. "Boss, she brought up blacklight body paint, I like her." She tilts her head toward Love, a slight grin on her face. Her fingers make contact with the base of Antonio's glass and she starts to slowly slide it in her direction. "Antonio isn't boring, he keeps shit real here, which is a blessing."

The boss allows the conquest of his drink -- for now. "We're aiming to be the finest gentlemen's club in a hundred miles, you know what I mean? And I say gentlemen's club, but it's equally open to ladies who like to look." Antonio winks once to Love, leaning an elbow on the bartop as he converses. "Body paint, huh? I like you already. We're gonna have some theme nights too, maybe put that on the list. Love kinda sounds like a stage name, though. Not complaining." The strip club owner seems to find that very funny, belting out a boisterous laugh. "Glad you like it here."

"There's plenty more where that came from. Everybody's thrown off by the serial killers, but the views and all that coastline." Love smiles at Zoiya. "Mae, you just gotta look a little deeper. If you can get past all the rain." She mhms behind her glass. "Blacklight body paint, a little retro neon night. It can trend toward seizure inducing for the sensitive types, but you throw in some glow bracelets and it's like mardi gras with a $50 minimum."

The tall woman laughs. "Everybody likes me, Antonio. I'm a likable person." She shakes her head, "Nope, it's on my ID and everything. Who needs a stage name when your parents have such good taste?" It might go a ways to explaining why she has so many tattoos. "You wouldn't happen to be hiring anything other than dancers, would you? Part time, nights preferred. I've waitressed, I've bartended."

"I like rain. I can sleep when it rains." Zoiya responds, shaking her head back and forth, there is probably going to be a thundestorm this evening. Always is when it's hot. She points at Love and smirks. "Floor manager material, right?" She giggles at her own joke and takes a sip of the martini, licking her lips after. She slides it back toward Antonio and sits back, pulling on her club t-shirt. "Could also get special shirts for that particular night. Make everyone light up like a Christmas tree." She grins when Love makes her pitch, eyes shifting from her to Antonio.

"Yeah. Helps set the mood, too. Which I care about, because customers empty their fatass wallets when they're in the right mood." Antonio takes his martini back, sipping again as he eyes Love with an appreciative smirk. "Already got a waitress, and besides, don't really need one unless it's really busy. If you have experience behind the bar and you don't mind dressing the part for this type of place, I imagine we can work something out." Antonio's eyes seem to light up at the prospect, and he grins broadly to Mae. "You're in the business of finding quality talent for this place, huh? Good."

Park has obviously picked up the quiet shifts as she rocks up so early at her new place of employ. Usual happy smile on her face. So excited to be wanted and doing something she loves. That would be music, not dancing with few clothes on. Still, she is dressing the part, arriving in a short skirted school uniform, her laptop in a satchel bag over one shoulder. Spotting her boss and Mae, she bounces over, doing her best to avoid beer spillage and loose wigs. "Hey, Mae! Mister Antonio." A fingerwave to the other tattooed lady. "Hi, I'm Mee...or Park. Do you work here too? You should. You're totally pretty."

Love mms. "Yeah, same. Thunderstorms still put me right out." There's a little snort into her drink when the floor manager material line comes out. "Girl. Only if cracking skulls is on the job description." It's kind of funny coming out in her soft voice, even with all those tattoos. She looks like she might crack some candy skulls, but people? "Unless that comes with bossing enormous bounders around." She thinks on that a moment, then says, "I'm kidding." She's probably kidding.

"So, dressing the part. What's your uniform looking like? I don't do short-shorts without fishnets. I have some scars." Scars she doesn't seem to want to put on display. "Behind the bar, nobody'll see those. I prefer flats, but I have no problem with a low cut top. I'll even take my hair down." At the moment, her hair's pulled up in a messy topknot, gunmetal grey. "If anybody touches me, I reserve the right to introduce their face to the bar top. Those are basically my personal rules. How's that sit with you?"

Love blinks a few times as all that is Park's adorableness front-and-centers. "Uh, hi." She can't help but smile in the face of the perkiness. "I don't. I might. Not yet. Mahalo, aren't you sweet." She made it most of the night without dropping some Hawaiian into the conversation, but there it goes. She thumbs toward herself. "Love. You can pretty much call me Love."

"I'm in the business of finding people that make it easy to come to work." Zoiya responds to Antonio, smirking in his direction. Then Park appears, and Zoiya blows the girl a kiss, winking in her direction. "I can think of a few strippers who would benefit from cranial readjustment." She clears her throat, shifting her eyes from Love to Antonio and then back again. She crosses her legs, gestures for a beer and watches Love settle into work talk. It makes her smile, especially when she mentions introducing faces to the bar top. She does manage not to laugh, and it's a near thing. "Yeah, Park is adorable, and she loves lap dances." She aims a smoldering look at the younger girl. "It's adorable."

"Customers are gonna be asking for a dance in that outfit, young lady. But you'll be in the DJ booth with a laptop, so hopefully they'll get the clue." Antonio smirks broadly to Park, giving her short pleated skirt a once-over before returning his attention to Love. "I don't have a uniform, y'know? Whatever you'd like to wear behind the bar, so long as you're slinging drinks and getting my customers nice and drunk. Show a little skin and you'll probably get more tips, fact of life in this business." Antonio swirls his martini and drinks, his smile broadening. "Speaking of lapdances, if you're looking cute behind the bar, guys will ask you for one. It's not available, of course, unless you decide you like someone. In that case, you charge him at least a hundred bucks per song for the pleasure. That's my recommendation, anyway." The boss shoots Love an exaggerated wink, drinking again.

"Your name is Love? Oh my gosh! How awesome is that." Park grins at Antonio. "She has to have a job here with that name. You could advertise things like 'Come and find Love at the Platinum Cabaret', you know? Not that we would hide her or anything. I wasn't thinking like an Easter egg hunt but more a play on words." Park tries for a greeting kiss to each of Mae's cheeks before blushing bright at talk of lapdances. Look at that interesting thing on the floor she is now studying intently. A nervous fiddling with her hair as feet scuff. "It was a good lapdance" she mumbles.

Thankfully, there is an Antonio distraction, causing Park to look over her clothing choices. "If they ask for a dance, I will point them to Mae. I would probably stand on their feet. Do you think this outfit is too much? I could go with the hot pants instead." Her eyes go wide at how much a lapdance costs. "A hundred? How long do they have to go for? I think Mae was being very generous with mind." A nervous clearing of her throat before seeing if that object on the floor has moved.

Love may not look strong enough to face-smash people into a bar top, but she's likely motivated, and though her muscles are small, she's certainly toned enough to make a go at it. She finishes her drink and puts the glass on the bar, ice clinking softly. "I try not to bounce strippers off the furniture, Mae. Call me sexist. It's grabbyhands boys that get the rough stuff." She raises her hands slightly, then drops her arms again to the bar.

"Cool. No new clothes. I can just roll in off the beach with a little more makeup on." To look at her current ensemble, she doesn't seem opposed to flashing plenty of her tattoos. "It'd take a pretty hot tamale for me to come out from behind the bar for a dance, and even then, I'd probably insist on at least $300. $500 if he gave me lip."

She shakes her head. "Sounds easy enough." She shakes her head at the suggestion her name go on any posters, adverts. "Oh, Christ."

"Sexist." Zoiya drawls, trying hard not to grin when she says it. "Bounce strippers off the furniture, god damn.. woman." She takes a deep breath, and she leans in to allow Park her cheek kisses, giving her chin a gentle pinch as she gives one kiss back. "Nice to see you sweetheart." She looks pleased that Love and Antonio were able to come to terms, sipping again from her glass. "See, she has the right idea, but those high rollers come through here few and far between. I never leave broke though, that's for certain. I make enough that I don't have to hassle Antonio for a raise, or benefits." She rubs a hand over her chest, glances down at her outfit and frowns. "Almost time for me to go back and get into something hot for my first set." She wiggles two fingers at the bartender. "One more hit on the cognac, and then I'll get to work."

"Yeah, five hundred bucks is even better. If they're drunk and asking you for a dance, make sure they hit their ATM withdrawal limit. That bad boy charges a ten percent upcharge, too." Antonio jabs his thumb in the direction of the VIP Room -- there's a shady-looking machine near the entrance, simply marked 'CashUSA.' Swirling his drink and taking a sip, he grins to Park. "You look just fine. I was just playing with you, y'know? I'm mean like that. Real mean." The club owner laughs heartily.

"Are you going to be security?" Park asks Love with wide-eyed admiration. "I hope you don't bounce DJs off the furniture either" she giggles, missing any alternative meanings for the bouncing. "I should probably wear more make-up" she muses. "Or some. But I'm not very good at that." A grin for Antonio. "Don't be silly, you're not mean. You're like a big cuddly bear who likes martinis." A gasp of shock. "Five hundred? For one dance?" She owes Mae big time. "What music would you like, Mae?" Park asks eagerly, patting her bag. "And you look hot already." She makes a mental note never to use the ATM here.

Love mhms in agreement with Zoiya. "It's true." She laughs at the reiteration of bounce strippers off furniture. "Right, phrasing." She nods, "I don't think anyone's gonna offer me five hundred, but I also don't wanna come out from behind the bar. I'll just tell them they can buy me a lap dance for two hundred, and go halfsies with you, Mae. How's that?"

"Oh, what's your strike rule? One touch and gone, or do they get a warning before you bounce them for groping the beautiful ladies on staff?" This question is obviously for Antonio, though Mae surely knows too. She looks to Park and smiles. "He's right. That look works for you. And I would never, ever bounce you off a piece of furniture, Mee. Swear." She actually crosses her heart. "If you want some help with make-up, I have a cosmetics habit and a huge travel case. Painter by trade, Sephora junkie by choice."

At the mention of the ATM machine, Love glances over, and nods. "Check, suggest ATM use as often as possible."

"If you want, one night you can come backstage with me and I can show you how to make your face up, babe." Zoiya says to Park, chuckling lowly at her mention of bouncing DJ's off of furniture. She glances down at her sports bra and dancer's shorts. "You're too sweet, I'm gonna go put on some body glitter, assless chaps and a leather bikini top though. Sound better?" Her hazel eyes shift over to Antonio when Park calls him a teddy bear. "She pegged you quick." She glances over at Love, tilting her head back and forth. "For staff, it's up to what you're comfortable with. I allow a lot, personally. When someone steps over my line, it's pretty goddamn clear to anyone who is in the immediate vicinity. If shit gets really serious, just call out for Cristobal, he is the champion at bar top head slamming."

"I ain't no teddy bear, shit." Antonio seems genuinely perturbed at that for a moment, but then laughs. "Whatever. I guess I'm not the meanest person, right?" He shoots a wink to Park and then casts his eyes over toward Love. "Yeah, dancers set their own rules for that sort of thing. No one's gonna be grabbing the bartender, but if they do, just yell for me or security, and we'll toss 'em right on the pavement outside." Antonio drinks to that, draining his martini glass and pushing the empty forward on the bar with an expectant look toward Love. "So, you want a paid audition behind the bar? It won't take long." His smirk stretches almost from ear to ear.

Park's eyes are wide again as she looks from Love to Mae and back. "You'd teach me how to do make-up? Oh my gosh! Thank you so much, both of you. I mean, I use lip gloss sometimes but I'm terrible at everything else." A curious tilt of her head. "What's Sephora?" A blushing nod to Mae's choice of dance clothes. "Yeah, that's probably better." To Love she giggles, "No one's tried to touch me. I'm used to that."

Park does look momentarily worried at Antonio's reaction to being called a teddy bear. But since he is soon laughing, it looks like she still has a job. A look of relief at the wink. "Not mean at all" she smiles before nodding to Love. "One of the times I came here to try and get work I had to step around a jock on the pavement. I think he tried to grope Mae. So they definitely look after you here."

Love nods as Mae mentions the bouncer. It's good to be on first name basis with the muscle. "I guess I'm buying Cristobal a drink." She places her hand over her cup and refuses a refill, but does ask for a water the next time the bartender wanders by. "Who doesn't like assless chaps?" That's her entire contribution to the commentary, except, "Leather bikini, huh? I have one of those. Looks amazing, not so great for water. Excellent for Renaissance Faires."

"A paid audition, huh? Sure. Cash up front." Love uncrosses her long legs and slides off of the stool, all 5' 11" of her. She sure enough holds a hand, palm up, to Antonio, high-shine, almond-shaped nails painted black. Maybe it's the price of the smirk. She looks to Park, "Girl. Sephora. We'll talk." She smiles at the mention of a jock on the pavement. "Good to know. Oh, and if you want to start small, pick some makeup you like and colors you think might be good, though with your skin tone, you can wear anything and it'll look amazing. Start with silver and black."

Zoiya slips off of the stool, tugging her top down, grabbing her drink. "I'll be back out front in about twenty minutes. Dance dance, and then I'll need a drink." She grabs her duffel and heads toward the back. "Sephora is fucking amazing, I spend way too much money there!" She upnods one of the regulars as she slips backstage, her overly loud laughter heard even out front. Someone must be doing something hilarious in the dressing room.

"Cash up front, huh? Assertive. I like it." The club boss fishes in his pocket for his black leather wallet, revealing it and sliding a crisp twenty-dollar bill into Love's palm. "Just a dirty martini, y'know? And get yourself whatever you want, on the house." Antonio smirks, shooting a look toward the backstage area before bringing his attention to Park. "You gonna spin some good tracks tonight, sweetie?"

"Silver and black?" To Park, that sounds pretty rebellious and radical. Therefore, it MUST be done. She nods rapidly to Love at the idea. "I will. Gosh, you're so tall. Cool." A wave as Mae leaves to turn into Zoiya - hopefully she has her music already set. "It's nice when poeple laugh so much." Her brow furrows at Antonio's drink request. Does that involve using a dirty glass? Oh, a question. She beams brightly to Antonio. "Yes, sir! I even did a track using your suggestion about the music mentioning 'ass' a lot. I originally had lyrics that said 'I love anal' because I needed that extra syllable but it was pointed out to me that changed the meaning of the song. So I put it back to 'I love ass-ss', with that emphasis on the stretching out the 's' and making it go up at the end. It's a real banger. I'll try and slip it in later."

Love grins and takes the twenty offered over. She folds it neatly, tucks it into her back pocket, and uses one of the stools to hop over the bar once the bartender clears the area. "Dirty martini. Yup." She doesn't have to look that one up. She's been sitting at this bar for at least an hour, facing the bottles for most of it, until Mae came over to chat.

Love begins by washing her hands, then selecting a martini glass, and shoveling a few cubes into it to chill on the bar while she sorts through the location of everything. She shifts a few bottles, chooses a mid-range vodka, wanders around a beat looking for the olives and vermouth, a strainer, a shaker, a spoon. Shake or stirred depends on which item she comes up with first. Spoon. She glances over at the phrase I love anal, regarding Park for a moment before she measures out the various liquids into a tall tumbler.

Yeah, I'm gonna take my horse to the old told road, gonna ride till I can't no more. Gonna take my horse to the old town road, gonna ride till I can't no more.

Zoiya steps out from backstage, wearing a cowboy hat, a leather bikini top and a pair of matching chaps that seem to be missing the ass, a matching g-string beneath it. The bass hits on the song and she starts to dance across the stage, doing a modified two step as she bounces, her breasts jiggling in her top. The chorus comes on, and she pantomimes like she's riding something, making her body bounce as she moves.

Yeah, I'm gonna take my horse to the old told road, gonna ride till I can't no more. Gonna take my horse to the old town road, gonna ride till I can't no more.

She turns, one hand on the pole as she sways her hips from side to side, making eyes at a man holding out a bill for her to come take. She sways toward him, letting him tuck the bill into her chaps, laughing at his quiet words. The song is starting to wind down, and she sinks to her knees, crawling toward the edge of the stage, whipping her hair over her shoulder like a stallion, her hat flopping down on the stage.

Men gather to put money in her top, her chaps, and she rests back on her haunches, doing a shimmy as the last note dies off, her laughter loud and brash.

She didn't take off a stitch of clothing, but the audience doesn't seem to mind.

"Oh, THIS song. Instant winner, this one. Gonna make em splash that cash." Antonio's grin widens as he casts his eyes toward the stage, his approval obvious. That satisfaction is likewise on display as he watches Love start to mix his drink, his eyebrows raised. "Lookin' like I have some real nice staff. Real nice." His gaze winds its way to Park, and he chuckles. "Yeah, stick with those booty dancing tracks I told you about, y'know? You'll get the hang of it."

The glass doesn't look dirty so Park decides it's probably a metaphor. Like 'Dirty Girl'. Interesting drink. Her attention turning to the stage as Mae performs, a big grin on Park's face like she's proud of the dancer. They're totally BFFs...right? "She's so good" she asides to the others. "Did you know this song was banned from the country charts because it wasn't country enough. Yet Taylor Swift's songs still are. Racist much?" A nod to Antonio about the music choices. "Will do. Emphasis the booty."

Love is chuckling by the time she's finished with the pouring, jams a few cubes in and stirs with a long metal spoon. Just listening to Park speak keeps that smile on her face. Stir, stir, stir. She snorts out a laugh. She really tried to hold it in. She did. A strainer goes in place with one hand. She dumps the ice out of the martini glass with the other, shakes out the excess water, clinks it down on the bar and pours. Two olives meet a skewer and she tucks it along the diagonal of the glass, sliding it over to Antonio. The drink is translucent, slightly cloudy, and chilled.

She almost immediately grabs another glass, also a martini glass, and leans on the bar a moment while she decides, fingers tapping lightly against the bar. "Do you have raspberry liqueur?" She snags some pineapple juice, chooses another tumblr, and measures out an ounce and half of each, flipping the measuring jigger scissored between her index and middle finger. "You wouldn't happen to keep a vlog, Mee, would you?" Streaming that personality while she's high would be amazing. She pauses, glancing up to watch Mae take the stage. She tips her head and nods. "Yep." God help her, she's dancing behind the bar now. "Is that true? That's fucked up. Country forgot where it came from."

Zoiya bounces her way over to the bar, slapping the bar with her palm. "Water please. Gotta sweat out some of this cognac so my next set doesn't kill me." She takes a seat, squirming as she pulls money from various crevices. She folds the bills once they're situated and stuffs them down her top. "Whatcha making with raspberry liqueur?" She caught that on her walk over, leaning against the bar as she brushes her hair back away from her slightly sweaty face.

"You didn't go wrong with this referral, huh? She's a great bartender." Antonio is seated at the bar, directing his comment to Mae and indicating Love with a cock of his head. "Gonna make lots of money here. You mean like Chambord? Think we got that." The club boss's satisfied smile stretches nearly from ear to ear as he glances to Park. "Good. So long as the girls can shake their ass to it and the customers can empty their wallets to it, I'm game."

"A Vlog? Me?" Park laughs at the ridiculousness of the very idea. "No one wants to see me" she blushes. "They might want to hear my music though..." A beat. "Do you think I should do a vlog? Hmm...I don't think my parents would ever see it. Could be doable." Her reverie interrupted by the return of Mae. "Oh my gosh. You were soooo good. I totally believed you were riding...something." Another blush before a thumbs up to her boss. "Ass shakage is go!"

With the upcoming body shots night, Lyric had come in a little early for her shift to sort of find out what that meant for her exactly in her position. Wearing a skirt with white socks pulled up just over her knees and a pink shirt that doesn't hang low enough to overlap the skirt, she also has on a white shirt over it, button up, but it's unbuttoned and tied around her waist. Her hair is fashionably messy so it's kinda cute. If one is into that sort of thing. Straight to the bar she goes and leans her elbows on the edge. "Hi guys," greeting them all warmly.

Love digs up a cup of ice and uses the fountain attachment to shhhhhwooosh out some water into a tall glass. She's still standing back here trying to decide what her on-the-house drink will be, after all. May as well be of use the talent. She jams a straw in and slides the ice water over to Mae. "Nicely done, girl. I actually didn't hate that song." Which means she liked it, of course. "It's a variation on a French martini, but it's tart from the raspberry instead of creamy from Crème de cassis." It's not too long before she finds a bottle of the liqueur she's looking for. "You wanna try a sip?" She splashes in the raspberry, caps the shaker and gives it a vigorous shake. Straining the liquid into a pre-chilled glass is easy enough. She slides it over to Mae a little after the water.

"I'm good with martinis. You played to my strength, Antonio. Thanks for that, the twenty, and a free cocktail." She gives him a playful salute. And of course she says to Park. "I think your vlog would be excellent. Even a podcast." Ass-shakage is go. Good god. She manages to hold her amusement to a wide grin this time. "Confessions of a Strip Club DJ." Maybe this is revenge for the suggestion for those adverts earlier. She waves to Lyric. New face behind the bar.

Hard to tell exactly when he arrived as he hasn't been seen much inside. Sitting at the entrance when most of the people have been showing up. Helping with greeting and perhaps even making sure people get situated. Finally coming inside and leading a group of guys, seemingly a party of sorts. Perhaps a bachelor party. Helping them out some before coming towards the bar with one of the patrons. "Feel free to order up here, and I am sure things can be handled and served easily enough. Feel free to find me if anything is up." Giving a smile and nod to the others. Leaving the customer in better care. Shooting a look towards the entrance to see it being a bit slower now. Trying to be well dressed. A black buttoned up shirt, and a blazer over, with thin silver lines accented the clothing. Looking to the one he doesn't recognize, behind the bar. Giving a smile and nod to her as well. To be fair, he's only been here a few days.

Zoiya takes a long drink of her water, her eyes on Love as she describes the drink in question. When she's offered a drink, she nods, makes a muffled noise and has managed to suck down the water that was placed in front of her. She takes a deep breath, huffs it out and laughs. "I was thirsty." She picks up the glass pushed in her direction and sips at it, making a pleased noise. "That's good, now I just need to remember what the fuck you called it next time I want one." She pushes the glass back gingerly and lets her lashes lower to her cheeks. "Thanks, next set is going to be .. kind of an oldie now I guess, well.. I think it's old. Good song though." She fishes out an ice cube from her glass to suck on. She beams a smile at Lyric and Ico when they approach, happy now that she made decent tips on her first set of the night. "How are you two doing?" She crunches down on her ice cube and sneaks a look at Park. "You should try the podcast, the name is golden."

The club boss shoots a grin toward Ico as he handles an incoming party, giving the host a nod of appreciation as he takes up his newly-poured martini and sips. "Delicious." His eyes are then on Lyric, and his grin remains as he looks over her and Park. "You gonna split the DJ booth tonight? Could be fun."

"Hi, Lyric!" Park greets her fellow DJ, almost bouncing as she does so. The Korean-American dressed in a school uniform that veers on the small side, her pleated skirt nowhere near a modest length. She tries the kiss to each cheek greeting to Lyric. "You look awesome" she grins. "I was going to take the early shift to pracitice.." It is early evening. "...but I can help you if you like. Maybe we can do a set together so you can teach me?"

And all this pressure to make a vlog. Confessions of a Strip Club DJ. That is pretty catchy. "But I don't have anything to confess" Park pouts. "Maybe I could get all of you on it? Not that you have things to confess, just that you have way more stories than me. Better stories too. Oh hey, Ico." A shy wave for the doorman. "Lyric. Ico and I had a talk about the band the other day. Do we have a name?"

"Oh sure, I'd like that." Lyric settles onto one of the stools, propping her mary jane covered feet on the lower rung of it. "I did bring my uniform, I have it in a locker in the back so when it's time to work I can change out of this." Sitting up a little she toys with the ties of the shirt at her waist. "On the night we're doing the body shots, what all happens that night? Just keep the music hopping and the patrons happy? Will they be getting shots from the dancers?" Curious about it all. A bob of her head is offered to Love, the new face behind the bar, "Hi, I'm Lyric. One of the DJ's here. Between sets if there's ever anything you'd like to hear, just let me know. I'll get it played for you." Zoiya is given a wave, as is Park, but her eyes linger on Mae a moment. "Are you going to do body shots?" Then her eyes lift to Antonio, "Hi boss, it's good to see you. We can split the booth." Looking back to Park she shakes her head, "Not yet but we're all open to suggestions."

Love grins and says to Mae, "You can just call it the pink tart one, and I'll try to remember you're talking about drinks." She finishes up washing out the ware she just used, lining it up to dry out of sight. She glances up as Ico approaches, and gives him a nod in return. Her grin tips up a fraction as Zoiya weighs in on the podcast idea, just another nudge at unleashing Park on the world. Her pale gaze turns to Antonio when he samples the drink and finds it satisfactory. "Thanks." She turns back to Park and shakes her head a little.

Lyric snags her attention again soon enough. "Pleasure, Lyric. I'm Love. Thanks, I'll look forward to hearing what you and Mee spin." At the mention of body shots, her dark brows go up. "Sounds like a party." She retrieves her martini, gives a grateful wave to the actual bartender on duty, and comes out from behind the bar in the usual way, rather than going over the top of it again. Getting in that way is easier than getting out.

Ico does offer a small smile to Zoiya, "Hey Mae, doing well. You? Good day so far?" A nod in return to Antonio as well, in a slow motion, thanking him for that subtle apprectiation. Looking to Park and Lyric to see if they are sharing. "I am sure there are a lot of stories you will see or hear soon enough, and I guess a lot of people would be happy to guest on the show." He offers to Park, shrugging after offering his two cents. Raising a brow about the body shot night. "Sounds like a fun night." Not seeming to have heard much about it. "Ah, right. I'm Ico." He offers to Love, after hearing Lyric's greeting. "Just a general host." He offers and grins. Excusing himself to help some people out.

"Oh I'll be doing body shots." Zoiya murmurs, a finger playing with the string of her leather bikini top. "The more body shots some people do, the more they'll pay for a lapdance, and I plan on making bank on tips that night, which all falls down to you lovely people at the end of the working day." Tipping out the bartenders and DJ's ensures that they take care of you when you need it. "I'd just keep the music bumping, let people make requests for a tip, like.. set a dollar limit and see what you can rake in. Some people like that kind of shit." She takes the glass of water and tips it back to get whatever water she left behind on the bottom of the cup, letting two ice cubs fall into her mouth. "More please." She pouts at Love, letting her bottom lip tremble. Ico snags her attention, and she nods at him. "Not a weekend night, but it'll do. I'll hopefully make enough to get some waffles after last call." She watches him walk away. "Nice guy.."

"Yeah, make it a competition. Who can tip more? Smart." Antonio nods his agreement along with Mae's words, watching Ico with a grin. "Gotta get 'em drunk, but not -too- drunk. Still gotta have enough sense to know what they want, and pay for it." Antonio's eyes track back over toward the ripoff ATM machine, as he shots a wink toward Lyric and Park. "Good. Looking forward to hearing what you girls spin." He swirls his martini and takes a sip, sampling one of the green olives. "That's the real stuff."

"Yeah, he is a nice guy" Park nods as she watches Ico wander off, all smiles when she looks back at the others. "That's not what you're wearing to DJ?" she asks Lyric. "It looks so good though. You can look better?" A little bit of her envy returning with all the lovely women around her. "Am I needed on body shot night? I hope I don't have classes. We can decide on a band name later. Oh, does everyone know that Lyric, Ico and I are in a band? A vlog would be good for that too. I am definitely doing it." A firm nod of her head. All this talk of tips and business makes her head spin but at least there are a few words she can cling to. "I like waffles" she announces with a smile.

"Love. I really like that name! It's pretty." Lyric is confident enough in her abilities. The DJ booth was exactly that, not a turn table, so it wasn't entirely difficult to do her job. SHe's definitely a DJ, not a turntablist. "It would be expensive, but having a club with battle DJs at a turntable would be interesting. But I would never want to detract from the dancers. They are the money of the club here." A nod to Mae lets her know she heard. "I bet you get so many tups and sell so many shots if you're doing body shots. You're such a good dancer and really pretty." A touch of hero worship in there. "I guess the DJ's could offer body shots if you wanted, boss man. And if it was alright with the dancers. Or if Park was interested?" She looks to her fellow DJ to see. "Oh we have a uniform. It's kind of like Hooters. A tight black shirt with Platinum Cabaret in pretty silver writing and booty shorts. Short ones. That's our uniform."

Love looks to Ico again, smiling as he introduces himself, "Well, general host, I'll look forward to your hospitality." Does she know what a general host does in a strip club? Nope, but it probably has something to do with keeping the parties of rowdy bachelors from charging over the line of good time to assault. She's all for that. The good news is that there's a drink nozzle right next to where Love was seated, so she can lean over the bar, grab hold of it, and refill Mae's cup while the actual bartender is busy at the other end of the bar.

"I left most of my nice stuff up in Van. Looks like it's bikini tops and slinky tanks until my car's back from the shop." Love finally takes a sip of her tart little French martini, seems satisfied. "Waffles are good. You're in a band? What kind of music do you play?" Tiny bands are so very PNW. "I haven't tried the waffles at the diner. Good?" Her smile is easy, lips quirking when Lyric's enthusiasm for her name doesn't come with puns. "Thank you. You'd know, Lyric. Yours is too." Lyric and Love. Mae and Mee. Who has to keep all this straight with payroll?

Ico does offer a smile to Zoiya. "Ah, nice nice. Hope so, cause waffles are awesome." He offers and grins. Along with a bow of his head to Love he says, "I'll do my best. Hopefully send a lot of people your way to order up." After leaving he is greeting new people before gesturing for one of the bouncers to keep an eye on someone. He's not getting out of hand, but wanting to be ahead of it. Returning to the bar. "Sorry, could I also get some water?" He asks. Hearing only part of the body shot conversation. "I guess all are doing it?" He asks and grins. "And you boss?" He offers playfully. "I'd offer to, but doubt our customers are interested in that." Shifting a bit as he looks around. Missing the talk about him.

Zoiya slips off her stool, winking at Lyric. "Thank you honey, I'm gonna go back for my next set, one of you cue up my music for me? I'll remember you later." Her eyes are on Park when she mentions that she likes waffles. "Well that's because waffles are amazing, we'll all have to go out after we close one night and pig out together." She takes her water with her, sipping it as she makes her way backstage to get dressed for her second set. "There are some thirsty women ..and men.. out there Ico, surely you can get someone to body up to you for a shot!" She heard him as she was heading backstage, her loud brashness turning a few heads. Like she cares.

"I haven't done bodyshots since college. And just kidding, cuz I didn't go to college!" Antonio offers with a loud laugh, sipping from his martini as he shoots a wink toward Ico and watches Zoiya shimmy off toward the backstage.

Oh oh oh! Lyric does love her job and she salutes enthusiastically to Mae. "I got ya!" With a wink to Antonio she offers softly. "I didn't go to college either." Touching his shoulder briefly and offering a smile to Love and Ico and Park, before bouncing over to the DJ booth to queue up the music and get Zoiya's first song set and going so that it goes from the one playing to smoothly blend in as it changes to hers. She'll time it so it's all perfectly spaced out and Mae can come out at the perfect part of the song, headphones on but one side flipped up. Not in her uniform yet, she still doesn't look bad doing it in her short skirt, knee socks, cut off shirt and over shirt tied around her waist. And she looks positively exuberant, obviously loving her job, watching the stage as she tunes out everything but the dancer for the moment.

Love slides a full ice water from near her over to Ico. She didn't drink any of it yet, so technically it hasn't been claimed! She manages to keep her grin under control when Mae makes her exit, sipping from her dark pink martini. She doesn't say much on the subject of college, drinking as she is. She flashes Lyric a peace sign with her free hand, though.

With an easy greeting to whoever is bouncing at the door, Poe drifts into the club. He's wearing a tight fitted muscle shirt and jeans that are equally painted on, both in muted colours. Once he's fully inside he swings his eyes around the place to take it all in. This is his first time in the building so he takes a moment to get his bearings before making the inevitable trip over toward the bar.

Ico chuckles and nods to Zoiya at her parting words. "Fair. And good luck, or break a leg. Or.. Whichever you prefer." Offered to both Zoiya and Lyric, followed by a two finger salute. Smirking to Antonio. "Well then, about time then." Waiting a beat. "The body shot stuff, not the college stuff. Unless you get body shots from college students?" Shrugging at that, dropping it. Thanking Love as she offers the water. Drinking some from the glass before setting it down. Spotting Poe coming along. Finishing his water and heading over. "Hi, welcome to Platinum Cabaret." Is offered with a smile. "Feel free to ask if there is anything you need. A good show just about to start." Letting him order drinks from Love then, gesturing for her to help him out once she is finished with any other patron.

Park will definitely let Lyric take the job for Mae. She doesn't want to step on toes and Lyric is in charge as far as she's concerned. "Body shots? Off me? At least the plate would be flat" she giggles. "It would have to be a really tight shirt too. No ta-tas." Park looks down at her schoolgirl outfit. "Hmm...remind me not to dress like this to come to work in future. The looks I got on the bus. There was this one guy who was drooling as he looked at me. And not from his mouth. We need to have a band talk about directions and things, Love. I play bass...and keyboards if I need to. And I do recording and mixing and stuff.. You should totally come and listen to us." A beat. "Not that any of us know what we sound like yet." She will follow after Lyric though to check out the booth in action. "Be right back!"

The lights dim in the club, and a bright light shines behind the curtain at the back of the stage. Zoiya steps out from that curtain, hands over her head, bouncing along with the music, when the bass drops she turns and bends at the waist, hands on her ankles as she sways from side to side, her hair brushing against the floor. The music bumps with her movements and when she stands back up, whipping her hair back over her shoulder she's got a bright smile on her face.

She comes away from the light, wearing a black linen body wrap that forms a V, her breasts caught in two bands that descend between her legs, a single line of fabric up her back. When the bass drops away from the song, she shimmies her back against the pole, letting herself sink down the pole until she's squatting, legs open wide. Her fingers undo something at the neck and the body wrap falls away, leaving her completely nude. When the bass comes back, her knees hit the floor and she starts to dance, rolling her body and letting her breasts bounce to the beat, her arms out to the side as her shoulder keeps contact with the pole.

She's back on her feet when the bass drops away again, twerking as Flo Rida starts sing about double entredre, laughing out loud. She raises a leg, putting the toe of her high heels on the shoulder of a grabby patron, still managing to sway to the music as she shakes her head and a finger at him. He favors her with a tip, which is nice since she gave him quite the show, turning to drop it and shake her ass in his face.

The music starts to fade out, and she dances toward the side of the stage, hopping down to dance the last few lingering notes toward the bar, hands over her head. She snags a loose t-shirt from behind the bar, but otherwise, naked underneath.

Antonio watches the stage show with obvious delight dancing in his eyes, his smile broadening as customers display their appreciation for the dancer by tossing cash onto the stage. Taking a sip from his martini, the club owner's smile only grows. "Wouldn't be a party this weekend unless I did at least one shot, right? Some sort of tequila shooter, probably. I'll buy a round for the staff, too." His eyes linger on Poe for a moment, and he gives the man a nod of acknolwedgment before looking over toward the DJ booth. "Nice choice of music, eh? Real nice." The compliment is directed to Mae as he drinks from his martini, shooting a wink toward Love in continued appreciation for the excellently-crafted concoction.

One hand on the headphones that cover one ear, Lyric bobs along to the music, getting really into it as she watches Mae, making sure everything goes smoothly. She even mouths some of the lyrics to the song and the other hand lifts when it Flo Rida says put your hands up. Nothing to draw attention to herself and away from the dancer, just getting into the music. A true music lover, she adores all types. As Park joins she leans in to share the moment, offering a shoulder bump to the girl even if her attention was on Mae. Only when the song ends does she make sure it's set up for the next dancer, but she removes the headphones and offers them to Park. "Your turn. I'm going to go get a shot!" A quick grin before she dances over, "Mae, that was so amazing. You're so good!" Poe gets a once over and a smile, "Hi, Welcome to Platinum Cabaret." She sinks back down into a chair for one of those shots the boss mentioned.

"I don't play, but bass is one of my favorite instruments. I seem to have a disproportionate number of friends who play it." Love lifts her drink to Park. "I might just take you up on that, especially if you find yourself playing near the beach." She really has a thing for the ocean, seems like.

Now that she's not mixing when Mae hits the stage, Love turns around to lean back against the bar and watch. Her brows go up when it all comes off with still quite a lot of performance to go. No wonder the brunette gets so many good tips with her energy and sheer joy in dancing, not to mention all the bared skin.

Love raises her glass in return to Antonio. She grins behind her glass and says, "You appreciate that drink too much and I'll be charging you twenty every time you order one." She crosses her legs and turns back to look toward the stage just in time to see Mae saunter over nude to grab a tee. "Watching you move makes me want to dance." Eventually, she notices Poe, regards him for a few beats like she's seen him before, and then her pale eyes flick to Mae. The smile's back in place.

Well, something to be said for timing. About the time Poe has reached the bar, the action is getting started on the stage. Seems that his thirst can hold off a few minutes while he leans there and watches the show unfold. His head moves along with the music and blue eyes don't miss a single movement that Zoiya executes up on the stage.

Sometime during this process he returns Ico's greeting with a polite 'thanks' and Lyric as well. He finds himself meeting the eye contact from Antonia for a few beats longer than might be considered polite but finally nods to him as well. A brief smile is shared with Love when she makes eye contact, but Zoiya is arriving by the bar at about that moment and pulling away his attention.

"Looking really good up there, Mae. Seems I arrived just in time for the best show in the house."

Ico does look to see Zoiya working. Bouncing his head to the music. Feeling the beat some. Letting his eyes roam to make sure that people are behaving though. Especially when she get off the stage. Once she is back at the bar he does give her applause, "Nicely done." Grinning and nodding agreeingly with Antonio about the shots. Attention still on Poe as well, wanting each customer to feel special, if possible. Especially those that seem to arrive alone, as they might not come alone next time if so. Though since he seem to know people, he will let him talk and focusing on the others, and looking towards the other customers. "A beach gig would be awesome. Might want to do a summer themed setlist for that." He suggests and nods some. Pointing to Love about Zoiya making them want to dance.

Park is really going to have to learn not to watch the dancers so much. Not when she's working at least. Full nudity! And Mae's not wearing her belt...where is that money going? Thankfully, there's a nudge from Lyric to bring her back to the music. She loves it too. Dancing around with Lyric. Park can dance, not just in the way Mae and Dahlia do. She takes the offered headphone with a gasp of excitement, nodding happily at the opportunity. Since Lyric has set up the next track, Park will figure out the next one to flow into it, checking the dancer set list for any requests they may have...and slipping in some other tunes in the gaps. No fancy scratching. Not on her first night. Hopefully the booth walls are tall enough to hide any short skirt lifting accidents as she bounces along to the tunes. Once a sufficiently long playlist is sorted, she will make her way back to the bar too. Just to be polite.

Mae bounces happily on the balls of her feet, her cheeks getting dark at the compliments. "Thank you, all this talk is gonna go to my head. I'll take a pink tart now." She grins, following Love's glance toward Poe, a brief look of surprise on her face before she flashes him a smile. "Flattery will get you everywhere." She takes a seat, tucking the shirt underneath her, crossing her legs. A few people approach her for a lap dance, and she engages them in conversation, being flirty and polite, offering to find them later in the evening. One guy walks away with a slightly dazed look to him and she exhales slowly. She sets a few bills on the bar for Love and then holds up another set of them waggling her eyebrows at Lyric and Park. "I'll take a quick drink and then I guess I'll find some table and lap dances to occupy myself with."

Lyric bobs her head to the music, enjoying it, only peeking towards the stage a time or two before wrapping a hand around the shot the boss had given out. Such a good boss. Holding the drink, she doesn't drink it yet but watches as Park returns. "Don't you just love this job? It's the best." Finally, three of the band members were all in the same place at the same time. "If you guys think of a good name, just let Ice know." Ice is what she calls Ico.

Love thumbs-up to Ico when he mentions a beach summery set list. "That sounds pretty great." She thought someone would be more likely to gripe about trying to power amps on the beach, but such quick agreement puts her in the mood to hear more music. When Mae cheekily orders up a martini she laughs and says, "Okay, okay." Back behind the bar she swings, going up and over again. No one yelled the first time, so she feels free to do it again. A martini glass is soon set up on the bar, full of ice to chill while she fills a shaker with ice, pulling the bottles she used before. It takes her a minute to find a jigger, and then ounces and half ounces are soon tipped in to an ice-filled tumbler.

Love upends the martini glass to dump the ice somewhere behind the bar, shaking out anything melted that'll water down the drink. She caps the tumbler, gives it a good thorough shake, then strains the dark pink liquid into Mae's chilled glass. She slides it over, and promptly mixes another one for herself, jamming the twenty Antonio gave her earlier into the on-duty bartender's tip jar.

"It will get me everywhere? Damn. Saves me having to tip in that case." Poe replies to Zoiya with a quick grin and a low laugh, shaking his head. He shifts his attention back to watch Love preparing the drink when Mae gets busy with customers coming up who are actually going to pay her with money rather than compliments. Only one of them pays the bills and it's in his interest for her to be able to make the rent payments.

When Love is done with Mae's drink and working on one for herself he catches her eye - "I'd take a gin and tonic if you don't mind." He asks her, pulling cash out of his pocket and dropping it on the bar to cover the drink.

Ico smilesz to Zoiya, "You deserve it." Making sure everyone is acting in a good manner, but he figures Zoiya will gesture if anything is off. "Have fun." Glancing to Park as well as she takes over for Lyric, but soon enough his attention is back on those around them. "You can hold your own up there as well." He offers to Lyric. Not sure how much is instinct and what is actively reading the room. As Lyric says Ice, he will nod. Kind of explaining that she is talking about him. "Yup, just holler. I guess we should try playing first before getting a name though, to get one fitting?" Shrugging though. Greeting Park as she return as well, offering a thumbs-up. "So, Lyric. Any thoughts about the houses?" He asks before looking to Park, "Right, did you get my text? About the band moving together, if you want to join in as well."

Zoiya pushes her heels off, crossing her legs as she pulls her drink closer to her. "Bless you, Love." She murmurs, taking a sip before she shifts her eyes toward Poe. "Compliments won't get you lapdances, keep that firmly in mind." She winks at Ico over the rim of her glass and listens to the music, saying back and forth slowly. "I should have mentioned to Antonio that I didn't bring you here to work, that I found you here when I got to work." She opens one eye and smirks over the bar at Love. "So if he gives me money, I'll shoot it in your direction." She sets her glass down on the bar and listens to the banter between Lyric, Park and Ico. She doesn't comment though, not her circus.

"Band names should probably reflect the music and image, you know" Park smiles to Lyric, still dancing with herself as she returns to the bar. "And I totally love the job." Her smile becoming a grin before being entranced by the pink drink for Mae. "It's so pretty. Umm...Mae...you don't have any pants on." It seems some patrons have spotted that too so Park will let the dancer make some money. "Text?" she asks Ico with some surprise. "No, I didn't. Let me check my phone."

"Yeah no rush or anything. Someone else mentioned name so I thought someone had an idea. I'm in no hurry." Lyric flashes a smile. "I'm going to go to the booth for a few, I'll be back." She takes her drink with her and heads over to the DJ booth so she can listen to music and dance. The headphones come on, one side folded up and she gets into it again.

Ico does look to Zoiya as she sways, "Would be fun to join you all dancing sometime." Grinning as she winks. Looking to the others well to reassure them that he is including them all. Nodding agreeingly with Park. Turning to Love, "Could you surprise me with a drink as well?" He asks her, offering some cash to pay for it. Nodding to Lyric, "See you in a bit then." Letting her slip over to the booth.

Love grins to Poe. "You got it." Since no gin preference was given, she makes her own selection. She chooses a rocks glass, dumps ice into it, and fishes around for the fresh lime wedges. She squeeze one into the glass then hits it with gin. Tonic water is next, another wedge squeezed in, ad one last lime slice is tucked onto the rim of the glass. She slides the drink over to Poe. She picks up the bills and stuffs them in a glass on the back of the bar. She leans on the bar, apparently hanging out back there again. She does reach for her martini and takes a sip. "We'll go halfsies, or you can buy my waffles at our first group breakfast," she murmurs to Mae, in response to a potential finders fee.

Of Ico, she asks, "What kind of flavors do you like? What's your favorite liquor?"

"You're welcome to come dance with me anytime you want, babe." Zoiya says to Ico, turning so she can include him in the conversation. "I think dancing with someone can be a lot of fun, especially if you plan for it, have a fun routine set up." She flashes him a grin, shrugging a shoulder. "Find me sometime quiet, and we can discuss something, yeah?" She watches Love make Poe a gin and tonic, her crossed legs swinging back and forth. She crooks a finger at Park, and when she gets close, she murmurs. "Having no pants on will get me a lot more table dance offers than if I was wearing a g-string." She winks at the younger girl and points a finger at Love. "You got it. Hopefully I'm still allowed in the waffle place." There might have been a food fight incident.

"This a new gig for you?" Poe asks of Love after he accepts the drink from her, bringing it to his lips and taking a small sip before giving her an appreciative nod. "Perfect. Thank you."

He swings his eyes to Ico when the man joins the small crowd near the bar, holding out a hand toward him in an offer to shake. He'd been polite enough earlier. "Poe." He says, offering his name along with the hand.

Besides that he seems happy to lean where he is and watch the crowd move around, picking up bits of conversation and feeling the flow of the club.

Park waves to Lyric as she heads for the booth before being drawn into the web of Zoiya. It must not be a bad place since so many end up there. A nod to the wisdom of being pantless but it's not something she has to worry about. Not as a DJ. The talk between Ico and Mae has Park blushing before she steps back and offers a frantic wave of greeting to Poe. "Hey, I'm Mee. Or Park if you prefer. DJ." In a school girl outfit. "Do you know Love? Oh my gosh, isn't that such a sweet thing to ask."

"Nothing on my phone, Ico" Park says with some sadness. She must have given him the wrong number. Probably why he hasn't been texting her. "A group house sounds like fun! I think I can do it."

Ico nods to Zoiya, "Sure, sounds good to me." He assures her. Shifting to be able to face all of them. "I think wearing no pants has turned several heads." He agrees, grinning a bit to Park at that as well. As for Love's words, he shrugs, "Oh, well. I like most things. I guess I can go for something sour for today. Rum is usually nice." Offering his hand in turn to Poe, "Pleasure to meet you. I'm Ico." Making sure that he can still see the crowd. Seeing Park blush he will lean towards Zoiya, "Think we broke her." A smile though as Park replies about the text. "Take my number and shoot a text, so I can make sure I have the right number." He suggests and smiles. Nodding about the group house. "Perfect!"

Zoiya tilts her head toward Ico, grinning slightly. "Watch." She murmurs, reaching out to pull Park closer. She slings an arm over her shoulder, leaning in to whisper something in her ear. She keeps an eye on the bar, and the conversations going on there, but whatever she's saying takes a moment or two, and then when she's done, she gives Park a gentle kiss on the cheek. Her drink is reclaimed and she takes a sip of it, tapping her fingers on the bar. "I should get back to work, but sitting here is so nice. You guys have spoiled me."

"Yeah, sure is," Love says to Poe. "Had a long, very educational chat with the lovely Mae, made a dirty martini for Antonio and the rest is history." Was she hired officially? Kind of? Is she working right now? Kind of? She's behind the bar making drinks, anyway, and since she has nowhere else to be tonight, no pressing engagements, it's cocktails for everyone!

Her silver eyes fine Mae again, "Welcome." She gives a thumbs up at the waffle-greement as it's set.

Park strikes again with her utter enthusiastic cheer and sweetness, and Love can't help but laugh. "I hope everyone knows love in their life." Oh god, she just said that. It had to happen sooner or later. Someone charmed her into making a pun on her own name. Must be the martinis. What number is this? Three? One more and things could happen. "Hmm. Rum." What to make with rum. She thinks on it for a moment, selects a highball glass and pulls a bottle of dark rum, then a bottle of ginger beer. She splashes a little into a shot glass to taste it, to test the sweetness before she sets to mixing.

"I didn't know Love, but I do now. We've officially met and the night is brighter." Poe says to Park's enthusiastic question with an easy grin on his lips. He tips his drink in Love's direction - "We've met now, right?" He just needs to confirm, he wouldn't want to be making things up. Blue eyes swing back to consider the young woman in the school girl getup, raising his hand and giving a finger-wiggle wave in reply to her. "Nice to meet you too, Mee. Park." Curiously he watches when Mai leans in to say something to the girl, looking over in Ico's direction since the man seems to know something about what's going on.

He doesn't ask though.

Being an innocent soul, Park leans in to hear Mae's whisper. Her eyes getting wider and wider. Her skin getting paler and paler. When the words end and a kiss on the cheek is added, it's a wonder Park does not fall over with the way her legs are wobbling. With the shocked nodding she sends Mae's way, it's hard to tell if that is agreement or just awed understanding. She grabs the nearest glass she can find with something in it and downs it in one shot. Shame it belonged to a very surprised patron sitting at a nearby table. Park starts coughing as the alcohol burns down her throat. "Nice to..." cough "...meet you..." She squeak out in Poe's direction. "Water. Please."

Ico smiles and nods to Zoiya. "We will probably be here when you return, to continue spoiling you." He assures her with a grin. Letting her go work though. Waiting to see what Love might make for him. Noting the different ingredients she uses. Though he does seem curious about the whispering that happened between Zoiya and Park as well, raising a brow at them. Noticing Poe's look, making Ico shrug his shoulders as he meet his gaze. Chuckling as he look between Park and Zoiya, when the former breaks down. Moving to deal with the patron that just had his drink stolen. Making sure that he get a new one. Seemingly able to calm him down, especially since it was a cute girl that stole it.

"Now she's broken." Zoiya murmurs to Ico, looking pretty proud of herself. She finishes off her pink drink, turns to face the few regulars who've gathered tonight and shouts. "Who wants a table dance?" A shout goes up and she peels off the club t-shirt, setting it on the stool. She giggles at what she's done as she pads barefoot across the floor, taking money from a very enthusiatic young man who keeps saying, "It's my first time!" She turns a head toward the bar. "Rescue my shoes, put them behind the bar please?" She waits into the music starts, stepping up on the table to sway for the young man who looks like he might actually faint.

Ice is the first ingredient Love adds to the highball glass, followed by a couple of ounces of dark rum, a splash of simple syrup to cut the dryness by a hint, and then fresh lime juice and about five ounces of ginger beer to top it. It's not a subtle cocktail, sharp and spicy, garnished in a lime wedge, with a hint of sweetness, a kick of tartness, and that slow burn of the rum. She slides the drink, with a straw, across the bar to Ico. "If you find you don't like a Dark and Stormy, I make a mean mojito." She seems to have a thing for summery cocktails tonight. Given how hot it is outside, that probably comes as no surprise.

At Poe's exchange with Park, Love smiles, though she says nothing of it, busying herself clearing up all the equipment and glasses she just dirtied. Then she picks up her martini to sip it.

With one hand, she scoops up a glass of ice and fills it with water, sliding it over to poor, poor innocent (formerly?) Park. Id she can reach Mae's shoes, she stows them.

"Dark and Stormy is tops. I think I regret my order now." Poe remarks, bringing his G&T to his lips for another sip while he watches the action unfold - the stunned look and reaction from Park enough to get a confused grin from the man. He waits for her to get a glass of water before he asks. "What the hell did she say to you?"

Maybe she's in no place to repeat it, but that doesn't stop him from asking.

Ico bows his head to Zoiya as she shows her powers of Park breaking, before starting the table dance. Giving a whistle before chuckling in a low tone to himself, looking to the others. "Looks tasty." Offered to Love before tipping her with a smile. "Nice." Sipping on it. "I like both of those, but it's been a while since I had a dark & stormy." Giving space for Zoiya to work. Dancing a bit down at the side as well, but a bit self-contained. "Damn, you're just gonna get all of us drunk, aren't you." He offers playfully to Love, showing appreciation for the drink, as he downs a lot of it. Turning to Poe with a grin, "Make it your next drink." He suggests and grins. Looking to Park as well now, to see if she can recover. "You okay?" An amused grin on his lips.

Park grabs the water and downs it as quickly as she can. "Thanks, Love" she smiles to the new barkeep. "Best water ever." Now that her eyes are no longer bulging out of her head, she is slowly getting her breath back, glancing over to smile at Zaiya's ease and control. If Love can't reach the shoes, she will hand them on to her. "Thanks" she blushes to Ico, thankful for him taking care of the annoyed patron. Poe's question gets Park even redder, if that were possible. "Umm...just work talk." Smooth and totally believable. Right? She'll try to send that text to Ico now, giving him a thumbs up to his question. "Never better." cough

Zoiya kneels down at the end of the dance, having a conversation with the man who offered her the money. He reaches out to touch her and she swats at his hand, and then curls a finger under his chin, laughing at something before she responds quietly. She climbs down from the table, and makes her way back to the bar, holding a hand out for her shoes. "Gonna go in the back and see what's up before I start seeking out lap dances." She glances at Park, grinning in her direction. "Think about what I said. Twenty dollars, Mee.. it's a deal." She holds out both arms and shimmies her bare breasts in the girl's direction before she turns to walk to the back, slipping into the backstage area.

Love pours another water, saluting Park with the nozzle briefly before she tucks it back down under the bar. "You want one of those next," she says to Poe, "You got it. Drink up." She nods to Ico. "I like them too. Glad you like it. Rum is one of my favorites." She tips her head, "Get you all drunk? Me?" That's just crazy talk! Crazy accurate.

She smiles again as Park pretends she's fine. Everything's fine. It's all fine, right? "You sure you don't want something stronger than water, Mee?" She offers a wave to Mae as the woman takes off for the back, and finally, finally finishes off the martini, turning immediately to wash out the glass. No more martinis for this girl.

"Yeah, I'll take one. This will be done in a minute." Poe replies, nodding to Love. He brings his drink to his lips for a long pull, taking it down to just mostly ice left in the bottom. He reaches into the pocket of his jeans again and pulls out a bill to cover the second drink and a decent tip on top of it.

"This is a nice spot." Poe says, not to anyone in particular - maybe Ico? "When Mae said she was dancing here - well, I didn't realize there was a club running in town. Guess tourist season would be steady and hopefully enough locals to get it through the colder months."

Ico does shoot the young man a look as well. "Take care, Mae." He offers, in case they don't see each other before he leaves. Then making sure that the patrons are okay and then back to drinking his dark & stormy. Grinning at Park, but not saying anything about her and Zoiya's conversation. Trying out texting Park just to make sure that everything is in order. Grinning to Love though. "Riiight." Turning to smile to Poe, "Glad that you like it. You're always welcome here as well." He says and smiles still. "And Mae is skilled at what she does." Finishing his own drink.

Park nods absently at Mae's reminder, trying not to stare at shimmering breasts. Mind drifting off into a happy place for a few moments. "Bye, Mae" she waves before grabbing the bar counter for support. "She is sooo wicked. Isn't that cool?" Parks' grin back as she slips onto a bar stool and shakes her head at Love. "No, thank you. Beer is the hard stuff for me. Bud Lights at that. I don't hold my liquor very well. I mean, I can hold the glass or the bottle fine, but you know what I mean." She may even be already a bit tipsy from the stolen beer shot.

"It's a long way from town" Park nods to Poe with a frown. "Makes it seem sleazy but it's totally not. I've lived in this town for fifteen years and I didn't know it was here until a few weeks back. But I think Mister Antonio has some great advertising lined up. Dahlia is another good dancer." A grin as she receives a text from Ico, blushing at something before a quick text back and then the phone is put away. "This place is so exciting it makes me...umm...excited to be alive."

"That's what I said earlier," Love agrees, about the place being nice. She fills a highball glass with ice set aside to chill. She didn't put all the bottles away, so it's quick work to mix a second Dark and Stormy. She cracks open a fresh bottle of ginger beer, adds a half ounce of lime juice, a couple of rum, a splash of sweet syrup, and most of the bottle to top up the glass. Lime wedge garnish follows, and she trades it to Poe for the bills on the bar, which are stuffed into that glass in the back.

"I know what you mean, Mee. You might like a mojito light on the light rum, just a splash. It's bubbly, minty lime-aid. You can have them without the rum too. Virgin's not a dirty word, even around here."

"Places like this get a bit of a sleazy reputation by default. But, a bit of decent marketing and putting a little effort into making it not actually sleazy goes a long way toward erasing that kind of reputation. Tend to pull in a bigger crowd when people aren't embarrassed to say they frequent a place." Poe says, nodding to Park's words about the club and accepting the second drink from Love. "Thanks." And after a sip. "Oh, it's perfect. Really good burn."

Ico nods and smiles agreeingly, "Mae is quite cool." He agrees. Grinning at the phone as he check the text, putting it away and winking at Park, still amused at teasing her. Watching and listening to Love though as she works, and suggests drinks. "Agreed." Eyes turning towards the entrance for a moment, but it seems calm enough there. However, meeting the gaze of a bouncer to keep an eye on another patron before turning to Love again, "Think he's had enough." He suggests to her, nodding to whom he mean. Then adding, "Whisky Sour?" He asks of Love with puppy eyes. Paying and tipping her. Looking to Poe with a nod, "True. And I think they are slowly doing that." He agrees, smiling brightly. "I am sure our band can help promote the place as well." Grinning at that though.

Park is certainly glad to hear that 'virgin' is not a dirty word. "Bubbly and minty?" This has her interest. "I guess I could try one" she muses, wiggling bashfully on her stool. "Just a little one." Another nod to Poe. "I don't understand why people think nude bodies are so bad." Not that she would ever go nude in front of anyone herself. "Mister Antonio should think about web work too. Like, camgirls, but stripgirls. So you get all the production values, you know? Pay per view. Oh gosh, yes, we could play live here or something? Combine concerts and exotic dancing. The sky's the limit. No, it'll go past the sky."

Love pulls two highball glasses, fills them with ice, and drops a lime wedge in the bottom of a shaker. She locates a muddler and smashes it around in there, a little sugar goes in, some fresh mint leaves. A little fresh squeezed lime juice follows, she muddles them a little more. Very squelchy, this drink. She splashes in a hint of rum and fills it with soda water, straining it into the ice-filled glass before she slides it over, garnished with mint and lime, for Park to enjoy, no doubt to scamper off to the DJ booth soon.

"Whiskey sour, you got it. Let me see where they keep..." She turns away briefly, poking around for the oranges. She has so far located the other ingredients for previous drinks. "This is one of my Dad's favorites. That and a Rusty Nail and Toasted Almonds. Weird combo, right? It's one of the first drinks I ever learned. Do you like it with a cherry?"

Ico grins, "I am sure we could get some of the girls to dance to our music. Though I guess we would have to make specific setlists for this place." Shrugging about nude bodies, "Agreed, nothing wrong. Though some might just have a hard time with it. I mean, staying around all cute girls can be hard on some people. I mean, cute and skilled dancers. A cute and talented bartender, as well as two cute DJs keeping the place running all along. People might go crazy." He offers and grins. Turning back to Love, "Go nuts." He offers with a stupid grin about the pun. "Should be fine." He assures her about the cherry. Letting Park run off if she has to.

"Wow. You are really good at that." Park stares at all the things that go in a drink, smiling as it is proffered over. "How much does it cost?" she whispers over the bar, fumbling around for some cash in her satchel bag. Certainly no pockets in her skirt. "I like toasted almonds too" she smiles helpfully before looking worried at Ico. "There's another bartender?" A sip of her drink. "Ooh, yummy. I better go help Lyric. Thanks for the drink, Love. See you both later." A shy look Ico's way. "Text me?" Then she is off to the booth.

"I'm sure a little soda water and lime is on the house for a DJ." If it's not, Love surely has it covered with the ridiculous amount of cash that's already passed into her hands tonight. She gives a wave when Park retreats. While she's jabbing a marachino for the garnish, she stabs a few onto a skewer to eat. No one's looking, right? The pile of bills jammed into the cup behind her grows. She'll sort it out with the other bartender later. "I think is people have the money to give, this is a lovely place to do it."

She eyeballs the bourbons. "I like this one... and this one." She looks between the two for a moment, ultimately choosing Buffalo Trace to play up the citrus notes in the drink. Her almond shaped nails tap on the glass bottle when she pulls it out. She measures out bourbon, citrus, and simple syrup in a shaker full of ice, giving it a long shake.

From the DJ booth, Lyric gets the music set up for several more songs for the dancers and the time in between. Club music with Antoine's requisite theme. She dances a little more till one of her favorite songs is over before heading back to the bar, leaving the headphones behind at the booth for now. But she does dance her way over to the bar, enjoying herself. A seat is taken and she slides her empty shot glass onto the bar and smiles at Love. "What's good?" Her voice kind of loud over the music.

Ico nods to Park about texting her, "Will do." Glancing towards the others still around as well before sipping his drink and looking to Love again, "If I keep this up it might get hard to be a proper host." He offers a bit playfully. Shaking his head. "But your drinks are too good to pass on." Keeping an eye on the entrance as well as the patrons already here. Nodding agreeingly with the bartender. Grinning some as Love is working on it. Glancing towards Lyric as well where she is feeling the rhythm. "Welcome back." Is offered as she reaches the bar.

Normally Cristobal would come in the back of the club, through the employee entrance, but necessity dictates that he slips in the front this time. He merely gives the others a nod as he quickly slips behind the bar, dangling his hand over the service sink where a droplet of red drips from the broken skin over a knuckle onto a few ice cubes that had been dumped into the basin. Cranking on the tap, he starts rinsing off his hand with a quick flick of his light colored eyes at the others.

Once the shaker's ice cold, Love strains the drink into a rocks glass full of ice, garnishing it with a cherry and orange wheel. She slides that across the bar to Ico. "If you like it a little sweeter, let me know. I do, but I know most people don't." She laughs, "Don't be silly. A little buzz is excellent for hosting. Just ask any society hostess. Seriously, those ladies are deep in the bottle before the doorbell rings, if you know what I mean."

She's in the middle of saying something else when she finds Cristobal behind the bar with her, right next to her in fact, bleeding into the ice in the sink. She glances down, standing there with her silvery gaze fixed on his hand. "Rough night?" Love's only been behind the bar for the last hour or so. Before that, she was drinking and chatting with Mae. She reaches for the sugar shaker, and holds up a hand. "Give." No introductions. "I don't know where the first aid kit is, but sugar will help you clot faster." She doesn't mention the health department, but neither did Antonio when she slid over the bar, so NBD, right?

"Hey.." Lyric points out. "You're bleeding." Isn't she helpful? Dropping her eyes to the bleeding knuckle she tilts her head curiously. "Did you punch someone or something?" Because DJs like to know these things! A wary look is cast over the room but doesn't see anything really out of control or anything. Resting her chin on hand, elbow down on the bar, she considers a drink for herself. "Can I try one of your pink things?" There's a slight lift and she smiles at Ico, "Thanks Ice. For the welcome, I mean."

The club looks to be hopping tonight, all the better to blend into the crowd and enjoy some drinks and some skin unmolested. Or at least, this is probably Ruiz's internal monologue, as he strolls on in with his hands shoved into the pockets of his jacket. Save a brief flash of his ID to get in the door, of course. Dark tee shirt, jeans, combat boots; he's dressed, as usual, not to stand out, and parks himself at the bar while he takes stock of who's performing tonight.

Ico is still quite new here, so looks to Lyric if she knows the guy who runs in. He might have seen him, but if so doesn't remember. Not odd since Ico has only been working here for a day or two. Getting a clean cloth. "No clue which is better." Offered about the drink before handing the cloth to Cristobal. "You okay?" Is asked then before looking to Lyric. Grinning a bit at her pointing out the bleeding. "You're welcome, and your company is always nice." He assures her. Eyes scanning the room as well. Moving to greet Ruiz as he comes in. "Hi and welcome, if you need anything feel free to call for me." Gesturing for him to find a spot at the bar to be bale to order, if he wishes. Greeting other arriving guests as well.

When Cristobal is working as the bouncer here, he's usually dressed in black on black to blend in with the surroundings instead of being set off from them. Tonight, however, his appearance at the club was intended to be casual, so he's dressed in dark purple dress shirt rolled up to the sleeves and heather gray slacks. "Nothing to write home about." He says cryptically to the others as to what happened and if he's alright, but they'll be a customer with a busted lip in the parking lot who got a little too insistent on walking one of the girls to their car.

Cris' eyes stray to the newcomer at the bar, eyes narrowing slightly in recognition. "He drinks on me." This said as he distractedly holds out his hand to Love and simultaneously takes the rag from Ico before he realizes what the former is doing. "Hey! What? No. Shit, it's just a scratch, not Def Leppard video." Pour Some Sugar On Me. Get it? Maybe the DJ will.

Does she listen? No. Cristobal gets a little sugar to clot his cut. "Mhm." Love scoops a martini glass full of ice and sets it aside to chill. "Rinse it right back off if you want." She doesn't actually touch him. Nope. "Who are you?" She hans't met him yet, though she did hear his name from Mae. She's not even technically working yet, but people keep handing her money and asking for drinks after Antonio split. Longest audition ever.

"You got it, Lyric." Love pulls a shaker full of ice, pours in equal parts vodka and pineapple juice, adding in raspberry liqueur, a jigger scissored between her index and middle fingers. She gives the capped shaker a vigorous shake, maybe half a minute, until the metal shaker flushes ice cold to the touch, and it's thoroughly mixed. She pulls the top, caps it with a strainer, and strains it into the chilled glass. She slides that over, fingertips on the base of the martini glass.

"Thank you." Lyric tells Iso. The music is something she enjoys and she's wearing a smile and sort of grooving to it, despite the wounded bouncer. Curious though, she looks over to see who the bouncer is buying the drinks for. It's a Javier. Oh hey. Not that the greeting is voiced any. She just goes back to enjoying the music without any recognition at all. Her interest is in Love and the drink she's making that looked so good.

"A little tape, next time. Debería hacer el truco." The swarthy fellow in the dark tee and leather jacket offers this in Cristobal's general direction. Because apparently he's in the business of giving pro tips. His eyes slide over Lyric, and pause a beat. Then shift away to seek out the 'tender. Which appears to be.. "Ms. Liven." His brows knit slightly. All kinds of familiar faces in here tonight. "I didn't know you mixed drinks. Can you make a mint julep?"

Ico chuckles at the reference. With Ico sitting at the entrance often, he will probably be working a lot with Cristobal in the future. For now though wondering the same as Love is, waiting to hear the answer. Seeing Lyric dancing a bit to the music, joining next to her and moving to the beat. Finishing his drink. Looking to Ruiz as well, but for a moment just letting things move around him. Gaze keep going to the entrance and to the patrons.

"Disgusting." No, that's not who Cristobal is, but a reflection on the sugary coating his knuckles get, the crystals crusting in the split skin, soaking up the blood and turning the substance pink. "Cristobal. I'm the one that makes sure the only hands touching you are the ones you want." He shakes his fingers out over the sink, flicking off flakes now instead of droplets, but he doesn't rinse. "Es mejor dejarla ganar." He fires off to the Captain, the barest hint of a smirk mostly touching his eyes instead of his lips.

There's a funny look given over to Cristobal before Lyric laughs lightly. "I think you're going to be in a whole lot of fights here then. All you have to do is walk through when it's crowded and someone is going to touch." Catching the drink, she smiles at Love, "Thank you." And the money is put on the bar, a tip she'd gotten at the DJ booth. While Ico dances nearby her, she grins. "They should have a guys night dancing."

Love glances up as Ruiz makes his way up to the bar. Is this who Cristobal wants to buy drinks for? It takes her a minute. He's not in the uniform making annoying demands. When he drops her name, which she has given to exactly one person under duress, she sighs. "Yes, even if it's verboten to drink one outside of Derby season. I don't think they have crushed ice here, or derby glasses, so you're gonna get it how you get it." Her soft voice softens those words a little. At least he'll get it with Kentucky bourbon. Buffalo Trace again, since she hasn't put it away after making Ico's drink.

Love fills a highball glass and puts it aside to chill. "I can keep them from touching me, pretty eyes. If I need you, I'll call you." She's five-eleven in gym shoes, fair-skinned and heavily tattooed. She doesn't sound all that tough, but she does have the bar between her and most of the clientele. "Por lo general, es mejor dejarla ganar, sí. Muy generoso de tu parte. She dumps the ice, drops a few fresh mind leaves in, and uses a spoon to bruise them around the side of the cup.

Ico has to Cristobal, "Well then, we might work together some. Ico, host." He explains. Grinning back at Lyric at her suggestion. "Try suggesting that to Antonio. Though if there is you'll have to gather a lot of folks." Not seeming against the idea. Grinning at the interaction between Love and Cris.

Give Ruiz a minute or two, and he'll probably be making annoying demands. Uniform or not. "I don't know what the fuck derby season is." Or derby glasses, for that matter. But getting it how he gets it seems to be good enough, going by the fact that he isn't raising a stink about it. His jacket is slung off with a roll of one shoulder then the other, and draped across the back of his chair. Which, of course, reveals oodles of ink. He idly watches Love make his drink, slides another brief glance Lyric's way, and almost looks like he might smile at whatever Cristobal said, followed up by Love's agreement. Almost being the operative word. A twitch of his lips, and then his phone comes out and he's got messages to answer.

There is a scuffle backstage and raised voices are starting to carry out into the main room, even over the music. Two strippers come stumbling out, screeching at each other about this man and don't you dare touch, some how dare yous. One takes a tumble, drags the other with her, and more rude words are exchanged.

Zoiya walks out of the back room, giving the pair a brief look before she makes her way up to the bar, she's dressed for a set, wearing some sort of leather-strappy get up. "I don't think I'm getting on stage until those two bitches solve their problem." She aims smiles at the new additions and takes a seat at the bar, two fingers wiggling toward Love. "I'll take a shot, something fun. Surely there is something fun back there?"

Cristobal's teeth part with a grin as Love retorts in Spanish, clicking together on air to simulate a bite. "Good thing you're not the one paying me." He turns to Ico, offering a hand across to him not in a traditional shake but a brief clasp. "Good on ya, man." His eyes get distracted for a moment, however, as the cop sheds his outer skin, taking a good gander at that ink. Lips purse, but he thinks better of a comment just now in mixed company. Zoiya's appearance makes him lean over, propping elbows on the bar with busted knuckles crusted in sugar, "How about me?" It's the first time he's done anything resembling flirting with any of the girls here, but then again he's not working at the moment.

"The pink drinks are good." Lyric tells Zoiya with that 'hero worship' smile she wears whenever the woman is nearby. "The songs are ready when you are, I've got them queued up so when you want I'll just go switch over from this set." The drink is nursed more than outright downed and she just listens to the flow of the conversation. Not really the Spanish part. "You could talk to the boss about it if you wanted to dance. I know shot night is coming soon. Mae's going to make a lot.. a lot of money." She grins in her direction.

"Jesus christ. How can you order a mint julep and not know what Derby is." Mint-infused simple syrup is the next to go into the glass, followed by tightly packed ice. It's better when crushed, but what can you do. "May. May is Derby season." A generous pour of bourbon follows, filtering down through the ice to mix with the minty essence ringing it. Love garnishes it with a mint sprig tucked next to a cocktail straw, so each sip comes with the sharp scent of fresh mint. She slides it across the bar for the off-duty cop, almond-shaped nails clicking across the cup as she releases it. "If you want something stronger, let me know."

She glances up as some screeching strippers emerge, but her attention shifts to Mae. "Sure, I got you. She selects a tall double shot glass and shoves it down in a rocks glass full of ice to chill. She turns and looks for the ingredients she wants, taking a moment. She hasn't pulled these before. Spoon. A bottle of butterscotch schnapps. It takes her a moment to find the third.

"Look, are you going to make me my drink, or give me lip all night?" Ruiz actually looks up from his cell phone to deliver this important message to the tattooed 'tender. "Mint julep. I don't know what the fuck derby is. I don't fucking care. And if you spit in it, I'll have your boss slapped with a health code violation so fucking fast, he won't know what hit him." Chances are he had something a lot less PG to tack on there, but he reins himself in and reaches for his glass once it's delivered. "Me aseguraré de hacerlo," he mutters to the woman before taking a sip.

A glance at his phone, a slight squint at something he sees, and by the time he's tucked it away and lifted his eyes again, Crisobal's watching him. So he watches the guy back, steady, as if to say try me. Because his mood tonight? Excellent. Zoiya's not yet spotted, but that's only a matter of time given how much skin she's no doubt got on display.

Zoiya aims a look at Cristobal, her eyes shifting to his knuckles before she grins at him. "Oh baby, you know you're fun. Who did you beat the shit out of?" She glances around, looking for someone on the floor. Well, just two strippers right now. "I missed it, didn't I?" She looks put out, until Love starts to play with shot glasses, spoon, butterscotch schnapps. "Are you making me a slippery nipple you bad bitch?" She looks pleased.

Lyric gets a wink and a crinkle-nosed smile. "You're gonna help me make a lot of money. I won't forget you on Saturday." She notices Javier, or really his ink, and the surly expression on her face. She winces and doesn't call attention to herself, well.. anymore than she usually does.

"You never do, Mae." Lyric tells her softly. "I'll be out of the trailer park really soon at this rate." She looks super pleased about that too. The pink drink gains her attention, anything better than taking advantage of watching the verbal volleying between Javier and .. anyone. Everyone?

"Honestly? Probably both, unless you tip your bartender." Love can be bought, as it turns out. She actually smiles at Ruiz's turn of attitude. This is much less annoying than when he was trying to get her registration. "I don't work here yet and I'm pretty sure the health code is a suggestion with this much vag swinging around. You're cute. I like you. Very feisty."

When she turns back to the bar to fish out the shot glass and flick it dry, she glances over briefly, gaze skimming over the cop's exposed ink. She also does that every time Mae wanders by, which should be no surprise considering the amount of Love's inked flesh that's showing, that is to say her temples, part of her chest, neck, both arms, and her hands—all black and grey. It's like a tattoo convention at the bar right now.

Love pours a clear ounce of butterscotch schnapps into the shot glass. She turns a spoon back up in one hand, angling it over the glass to disperse and gentle the next pour, carefully floating a half ounce of Irish cream liqueur on top. It looks like a floating round of creamy coffee when it's finished. "Buttery Nipple." She slides that over to Mae. "Very close. It's all nipples tonight." Except when it's martinis.

"Damn right I am." Cristobal declares to Zoiya as he eases back from his lean. But as to the answer to her question, there's only a pointed gaze given to Ruiz before they go back to the dancer's face. "It was my turn to dance." He says darkly before he's finally rinsing off his hand again in the sink, part amused and part amazed that the bleeding has indeed stopped. He blots dry on a rag and finally eases out from behind the bar before someone thinks he should do something about those screeching harpies. "Seat taken." It should be a question, but it's not as he plops down next to Ruiz, placing himself between Ruiz and the girls. "What's up, kid? Gonna spin my favorite tonight?" He asks Lyric before ordering his own drink from Love: an old fashioned.

Having fallen silent for a bit earlier it seems Ico is snapped out of it now. Looking at those around him trying to take in the conversations. "Think shot night will be great for all of you." Is offered.

There is a confluence of an awful lot of ink at the bar tonight. Once it's obvious Cristobal doesn't have something sassy to say to him, Ruiz dips his head low and takes a sip of his drink. Which isn't half bad. "Where did you get that done?" is asked of Love's ink. Since he's pretty sure it wasn't in town, based on that little traffic stop a few weeks back.

Zoiya's spotted eventually in his periphery, and flashed a smile that comes within an inch of actually looking friendly. Falls a bit short, unfortunately. Wolfish is the word. He's not moving out of the way for the off duty bouncer to settle in next to him, and he isn't a man who's afraid to take up space either. "Going to be dancing tonight?" he asks the inked stripper.

"Buttery, slippery, I like nipples. Mine and other peoples." Zoiya shrugs as she pulls the shot closer, licking her lips. She leans forward slightly, follows Cristobal's gaze down the bar, and then sits up straight. Not her problem. Nope. "Good luck, pal." She murmurs to him as he walks around the bar, her lips twitching as she tries not to laugh. Ruiz gets a nod and a kiss blown in his direction. The shot is picked up, pounded and placed back on the bar. "There will be more nipples and dancing if.. " Here is where she raises her voice.. ".. those annoying puta's get their asses off the floor!" One of the women raises her head, the argument breaks up, and one of the strippers starts toward the bar.

She turns back to look at Love, flashing a grin. "I hope she comes over here and starts shit, she steals my glitter, and I'd love to rip out a chunk of that weave." The drama that goes on in the back room of a strip club.

"A buttery nipple sounds slippery to me." Lyric smiles at the choice of drink and she finishes off the pink drink and just slides it onto the bar, pretty mellow right now. Her head bobs a little to the music and only when the bouncer addresses her does she lean forward to look at him over there by Javier. "Anytime you want to hear it." He did have pretty eyes but she doesn't linger there on them. Kid. Ha. Leaning forward a bit, she crosses her arms beneath her chest and just nods to Ico.

And still the Buffalo Trace bourbon comes into play again. She puts a rocks glass on the bar and drops a sugar cube into it. She repeats this with a second rocks glass, drizzling both in orange bitters. She leaves the cubes to saturate for a moment before splashing in some soda water and smashing them, ringing each glass with the slurry. Ice follows, into both glasses, then the bourbon. She stirs for a good half minute before she rubs an orange twist along the rim, floats it on the ice, and slides it over to the bouncer.

Love finishes off the second old fashioned in the same manner, stirring till it's chilled and sweetened, garnished in orange and rubbed with orange oil. "All over the world," comes her answer regarding where she had her ink done. "I think... my first one was in South Africa though." She reaches up to tap the largest death's head moth on her throat. She leaves the second Old Fashioned where it sits, at least for the moment. It continues to chill.

"Who doesn't love nipples." Love leans in the bar and says to Mae, "I'd pay to see that." She looks to Lyric, smiling.

Ico does look to the other strippers, trying to move to try and get them both into better moods, and letting them vent to him. A bit of a grin though when he hear Zoiya. For now doing what he can to get things happier so the patrons will be kept happy. A smile and a nod to Lyric as well. Letting Ruiz and Cristobal engage with those still here. Once the other strippers seem in better mood he will return to the bar.

There is a flash of a wink giving to Love for sliding over his drink. Cristobal does have an employee tab at the bar to cover both his and Ruiz' drinks, but no doubt he'll still tip the would-be bartender at the end of the evening once her trial by fire is through. "That's a great question." The bouncer says of the one Ruiz' asked Love. Where did you get your ink. Of course Cristobal's statement is made while he's looking directly at the cop's hands.

"Geoff does ink and he's super good at it. He works at Pens and Needles." Her fellow trailer park townie. "He's like a big brother. He's good at his ink though." Not that Lyric has any to speak of yet. "What's the name of the drink with coconut rum and pineapple juice or orange juice? Can I get one of those with ice?" Definitely keeping the bartender hopeful busy, the group of hired help.

"Nice to see you again," Ruiz finally pitches toward the platinum blonde DJ. Without quite making eye contact. Slurp of his drink, crack of ice being obliterated between his teeth. The glass is rested in front of him, and a thumb inked up to the first knuckle chases the rim absently, before pulling back at Cristobal's question. He turns, looks up at the younger man. He does have pretty eyes, but that's sort of beside the point right now. His tonguetip touches his lower lip, and there's a little flash of slightly pointier-than-average canines as he murmurs, "Ninguno de tus malditos negocios."

Zoiya slips to her feet, walking toward the dressing room, purposely bumping into the other stripper, who scoffs and takes a seat at the bar, gesturing for some ice. "Time for a real show!" She calls out, still being evil before she ends up backstage. The men at the rail sit up a little straighter, a few make their way to the bar to get a drink, the lights dim a bit as the DJ gets ready to cue music.

"A veces no contestar es suficiente contestar." Cristobal says quietly with a smirk into his drink to the officer and then he's shifting his weight to dig into his pocket and pull out a money clip with a modest amount of cash in it. "But at least you have good taste." He must be talking about Ruiz' attention to Zoiya, of course. He peels off a few bills and slides them in Lyric's direction. "Do me proud, baby girl."

"Did I miss anything?" Ico asks of all of them when he return. sighing though as there is still bad blood between the strippers. Looking to Those at the bar. Notb sure what to offer though, so remain silent. Taking in the talk between Cristobal and Ruiz, as well as asking Love for some water.

Love only gave Cris the shit over his identity earlier for fun. She's made no move to check on his tab. Also, technically not working, though she's working. Mainly she's mixing drinks, collecting money, and occasionally drinking one. She leans against the back counter of the bar, hooking a finger into the long rosary around her neck. The silver and onyx shining dully in the light.

Love thinks for a moment, then asks of Lyric, "Frozen or rocks? If you mean frozen with rum and coconut cream and pineapple, it's a pina colada. If you mean rocks maybe a Malibu and pineapple? If you mean a chilled martini, Malibu Driver?" She mms and says, "Mae and I were talking about checking out the shop earlier. Ask for Geoff, huh?"

With Mae getting up, Lyric does too. The song should be ready just a button push, but she hesitates by Cris and leans a hip on the bar beside him before collecting the bills. She's dressed in a short pleated skirt, a pink crop top and a white button up shirt that's tied around her waist instead of buttoned, and her socks are pulled up just past her knees. "As soon as hers is over, I'll play yours. I know your song." A whimsical smile is tossed his way while Ruiz gets a brief nod, "Thank you." Not saying much more than that to him. To Love, she considers before saying, "The rocks one. Malibu yes. Not the martini I think. I don't like gin. And for sure, ask for Geoff, he's really good. I'll be right back for the drink." She blows her a kiss before rushing over to the booth and getting Mae's music set.. starting it at the cue from the dancer.

Girl really knows her drinks. Ruiz seems impressed as he watches Love rattle all that off; or at least, about as impressed as he ever looks, which is a slight shift from ready to cut a bitch. "You're full of shit," he tells Cristobal. "And you're lucky I didn't cite you for that fucking taillight, and not wearing a seatbelt. Don't make me regret it." The remainder of his drink is downed, and his eyes flit after Lyric for a moment or two before sliding toward the stage once it looks like Zoiya's set is coming up. Which necessitates half-turning in his seat, elbow and inked forearm rested against the bar.

Zoiya's torso is all thick leather straps and bright silver buckles. She sways to the song, a slightly tilted smile on her face. Her fingers play with the first buckle as she dances. Each time she pulls one of the thick straps free, it shows skin. Once every strap is removed, the collar on her neck will be connected through web-like leather down to the g-string. She continues to dance, swaying to the beat as her fingers start to play with the second strap. She turns to shake her ass, pulling the strap free, and bending it to smack herself on the ass. It gets tossed toward the curtain to join the first strap.

Two to go, the bottoms of her breasts are showing now.

A few men are clamoring forward to tip her, and she moves toward them, turning to shake her ass, a pleased smile on her face as bills are slipped into her g-string. She bends over, swaying back and forth, showing a lot to the other side of the stage as she gives one man a kiss on the cheek. The third strap is worked at, this one primed to show her navel, looks like she's not showing nipples until just before the song is over.

The strap comes off, and she leans over to use it to tilt a man's chin up to look her in the eyes, instead of her tits. Rude. She slaps the strap against her thigh and waits patiently for her tip, which is quickly forthcoming. Since her audience was so appreciative, she works on the last strap, tossing the third back toward the curtain. There are some hoots and hollers as she pulls slowly on it, revealing her breasts in time to dance to the last chorus, arms over her head as she enjoys the beat.

Love simply thumbs up, and begins on the drink, so it's ready when Lyric can pop back to the bar after setting up the music. The recipe is easy, two parts pineapple juice to one part Malibu rum over ice. She pours both directly into a glass over the ice, stirring with a long metal spoon only briefly, the bright yellow drink a spot of cheer on the bar, lacking only a colorful umbrella. She tucks a straw into it, and garnishes with a slice of pineapple. It's waiting, perched on a napkin, waiting for Lyric when she returns.

The tall, tattooed woman reaches over the bar to take Ruiz's empty, and slides the second old fashioned over to replace it. She dumps the spent ice before he chews any more of it. She rinses out the glass and tucks it into a bin for a more thorough washing later. She spends the duration of the song watching Mae dance.

Ico grins as he offers a thumbs-up to Love. "You're quote impressive." He offers before looking to the stage, towards Zoiya and Lyric as well at the booth. Moving along a bit to the music as he watches the dance. Then back to Love. "CCan I have a rum & coke?" Smiling over sweetly before paying and tipping.

"If you haven't already regretted it, I'm losing my touch. But it's good to see there's a spark in there after all." Cristobal says lightly in retort to Ruiz, before his attention is drawn aptly away to the stage. When he's working, he displays a strictly hands-off, eyes-off sort of cold professionalism, but when he's here as a patron? He has no problems with sticking his forefinger and thumb in his mouth and giving shrill whistles of appreciation for the show. Still, he doesn't go up to the stage to tip, but merely drops a twenty on the tray of a passing waitress to go deliver it for him. Taking another absent sip from the rim of his glass - no sissy straw needed - he comments aside to Love. "I'll put in a good word with the boss. Damn fine drink."

Lyric gets to the booth in time to get the music going and the headphones popped onto her head, one side of them folded up like usual. She hipsways along with the beat, or more likely just shakes her ass to it, but she's more watching the show. When it ends with her top gone, she whistles for Mae and offers a double thumbs up. Not that Mae has time to respond with all the tips coming her way. Once the stage is cleared and between strippers, Lyric puts on another song. "This one is for Cris." Shortening his name without really asking for permission. Then the song begins to play.

There are more songs up for playing after and she's set it to continue before she comes back to the bar and in front of her drink. A tip is slid over to Love along with a grateful look. "This looks perfect. Thank you so much." Chilled and delicious looking, she lifts it and sips through the straw, enjoying it.

Zoiya went backstage after her set, changed into some comfortable clothes and when she appears again, she's wearing a ripped all to hell club t-shirt and a pair of tight black booty shorts. It's a few hours into her shift, so she's barefoot, a smile on her face as she makes her way back to the bar. She passes Cristobal and Ruiz as she walks, stopping to say something quietly to both men, and then slips onto a stool. She peels off some bills and sets them in front of Love, winking in her direction.

A few more are separated so that she can give them to Lyric when she comes back near the bar again.

Zoiya is very good at what she does. So the fact that she has most of the men in the room practically salivating by the time her tits come out of hiding, should surprise no-one. Ruiz is smiling slightly as he watches, dark eyes creased at the corners with a fine network of lines sketched into his weathered face. "I suggest you work on your technique," he offers up to Cristobal in a low murmur, paired with a brief look askance. He's already sliding some cash out of his wallet as he speaks. And then there's an Old Fashioned plunked down where his empty was. He gives Love a steady look, like, I didn't order this.

And then Zoiya's sidling up to murmur something to him, and he slides the bill into the back of her booty shorts, and offers a brief reply.

"Oh fuck yeah!" Cristobal says when Lyric starts spinning his song, and the bouncer is immediately up from his seat, pausing to bend his head slightly to hear the quiet words from Zoiya and give her a toothy grin. Whatever is asked he must consent to, because he's licking his bottom lip and giving a slow nod before he takes her hand and spins her off to whatever direction she's headed. His eyes close and his head tilts back and then the man is in full club dance mode.

Love nods to Ico. "Yeah, easy enough. You like it strong or sweet?" She fills a highball glass with ice and starts putting back sundry bottles before she selects decent rum, pours, follows it with coke. If he says he likes it strong, she'll top it with another splash of Captain Morgan. "Thanks, babe. Really it's all about traveling extensively with a shitload of drinkers with high metabolism in tropical locales." She raises her brows and trades Ico's glass for his cash. She makes note of the tip and salutes him with the folded bills. "Much obliged."

"I haven't heard this song in forever." Love grins to Lyric, "Good choice." Upbeat, a little nostalgic. She picks up the cash on the bar and winks right back to Mae. "I think I have the best view in the house from back here." Tips go in her back pocket, drink payments go in a stuffed glass behind her on the back bar.

When she catches Ruiz's look at his drink and then her, her brows go up, darkly arched over her pale eyes. She nods to the glass. "Try it. You'll like it." Don't argue is implied, unspoken. She smiles. "If you don't like it, I'll drink it. Or he'll drink it." She nods to Cristobal.

Finding the bills, Lyric tells Mae thank you and she pockets them.. kind of. They go in he bra beneath her shirt. When she seats herself again she adjusts the short pleated skirt over her legs so that it covers her at least a little modestly. Her wardrobe has gotten better at least, since she was hired here. She sips the coconut rum and pineapple juice drink befoe sucking on the pineapple chunk, only a little dazed from the amount of alcohol she'd had so far. Or maybe more than a little. But she had DJ relief and the other girl takes over since Lyric was finished for the night.

Changing her mind, she gets to her feet and dances around a little by herself, carefree and having fun. Her drink still in hand.

Ruiz definitely isn't an Old Fashioned man. But booze is booze, and despite his surliness, he's not completely without manners. So the glass is collected, some cash slid across to pay for it and the one prior - since he apparently has no idea Cristobal put him on his tab - and he lifts it to his mouth for a sip. Right as his phone buzzes. It's tugged out, answered with a roll of his eyes, which skitter to watch Cristobal and Zoiya, and then Lyric join in the dancing before shifting away again. Nope, not nearly drunk enough for that.

Ico chuckles and dances along with Cristobal. Looking to Love about the drink, "Go strong." Smiling and nodding to her as he get the drink. Still dancing but contained to be able to look aroubd the place. A smile abd nod to Lyric and Zoiya as they both return, "Awesome work!"

Zoiya laughs when Cristobal spins her toward her bar stool, she plops down, watches him dance and lets out a wolf whistle of her own. Her phone is drawn out, money fished from her bottom, added to the pile that goes in her purse. "Best view in the house, best music to listen to, and nobody will bother you or they'll have to deal with him.." She jerks a thumb toward the man grooving, a tilted grin on her lips. "..when he's on duty, of course."

"You're going to like it here." She gives her phone attention, tapping out a text before she puts the phone in her top. She gestures to the drink she just delivered. "I'll take one of those, what's in it?"

Love was explicitly told to get customers drunk, and it wasn't specified that she shouldn't also get the employees sloshed. Antonio should have been a tiny bit more specific. Does she take the cash Ruiz passes over? Yes, yes, she does. It goes right into her back pocket.

"Old fashioned?" The grey-haired woman nods to Ruiz's Old Fashioned. "Orange bitters, sugar, bourbon, splash of soda water, and an orange peel. It smells like citrus and tastes like sweet burning." The assembly is easy, though it takes about three minutes. She drops a sugar cube into a rocks glass and saturates it in bitters, leaving it to soften and absorb the flavor.

"Atta girl." Cristobal croons to Lyric when she joins him in moving around to the song, his fingers trailing at her wrist until he finds her own, crooking into them to draw her hand to his hip. As they're both dancing with their drinks, he doesn't rope her in closer than that. There is a movement to his hips, belying a little bit of latinx rhythm with a grin over the DJ's head to Ruiz. "Sweet burning. That's right." He must still be hearing snippets of conversation from the bar, or at least the bits he wants to hear.

Lyric is just out to have fun. Fun is where it's at. Sandcastles or dances or music, that's all that counts. With her back to the bar she moves her hips like she'd seen Mae doing, taking great joy in moving her body in the same way she'd seen the dancer do. Her drink balances easily enough in her hand and she makes no moves to press closer, just having a great time moving her body to the beat of Cris' favorite song. "Sweet burning?" Hearing Cris, she laughs, her head thrown back a little, not even sure about now what she's laughing at. It just comes naturally with the alcohol. At least she's a happy drunk.

Ruiz composes another reply to a message on his phone, and then finishes off his drink with an impressively steady slug. A touch of froth is wiped off his beard with the meat of his thumb, and he pushes off his seat at the bar with a flickered smile to Love. "Gracias." His gaze sweeps over the pair dancing nearby, and fixes on Cris when he tells him something that sounds like sweet burning. Whatever that means. He, however, is in need of a smoke and some fresh air. So away he goes. His pack comes out of his pants pocket as he prowls for the entrance, followed by his lighter, followed by his shoulder to the door.

Zoiya turns to watch the dancing, waiting for her drink. Her breasts vibrate and she glances down at her shirt, pulling her phone free free. She sends off another text, places the phone on the bar and puts her hand next to her mouth. "Sweet burning isn't always a good thing, if it's when you pee, better get that looked at." She calls out, turning to quirk an eyebrow at Love. She pulls money from wherever she managed to stash it, slipping more to the new bartender. "When you came in here this afternoon, did you think this was going to be your night? Shit, at this point we could get the waffles and skinny dipping out of the way."

Love splashes soda water into the cup, crushes the cube into a slurry with a spoon then adds a few cubes of ice. A generous pour of bourbon follows, and she stirs for a while, ice clinging softly in the glass as the liquor takes up the orange and the sweet and the chill. She peels off a curl of orange, rubs it against the glass rim, so every sip is scented, and floats the spiral on the ice. She takes hold of the glass and passes it across to Mae, leaving it just in front of her on the bar.

Love picks up a shaker, goes looking through the fresh fruit, and drops a couple of blackberries in. A half teaspoon of sugar follows. She muddles it, macerating the berries with the help of the gritty, sweet granules. Several sage leaves follow and she bruises them with the muddle. Gin tops it off. She fills to the max with ice, caps it and shakes the hell out of it.

Love smiles a little bit more every time she hears somebody laugh, particularly if she's recently handed them a drink. To Ruiz, she says simply, "De nada." She laughs then and says to Mae, "No. No I didn't." She planned to have two, maybe three drinks and blow. Back to the beach, that is.

Ico chuckles as he watches the others, stopping his own dancing for now. Leaning against the bar. Happy to see people enjoying themselves. A bit tipsy himself but at least able to handle himself decently. Chuckling about sweet burning. "Indeed." Offered in turn to Zoiya's words. Giving Ruiz a nod as he head "Nice moves." Offeeed to Cris and Lyric.

As the music switches to something else, Cris brings Lyric's hand away from his hip and drops a quick kiss to her knuckles, muttering in his deeper register, "Un angel esta en tu risa." To Ico's compliment, "Gracias." With a step back, he downs the rest of his drink and wedges back hip to hip with the others at the bar. "A round for my new friends. Tequila, chilled and dressed, por favor." It's only when he orders up the shots, that he notices Ruiz has snuck out during all the dancing, and he just drops his head with a laugh that shakes his shoulders.

"You're getting drunk." Zoiya says to Cristobal, but she is too so everything is fine, right? She pulls her drink closer, gives it a sniff and takes a drink. This drink is almost as good as the pale pink, she gives it another sip, sucking in a breath as it burns a bit. "How the fuck am I going to make it home now?" She glances around for her phone, picks it up, responds to a text and tries to find an Uber. Bet that goes well.

Love pours the ice-chilled martinis into two glasses, the sweet berry matched with the sharp hint of sage, underscored by gin, but not overpowered by it. It's a refreshing summer cocktail. She picks up one to drink it in small sips. She doesn't bother garnishing either. Straining it means the drink's a soft pink concoction without the crunchy little seeds in. "Hm. Better with vodka." Not bad, though. She pulls some of the cash from her back pocket and stuffs it into the payment glass. Not much more is going to fit in there. She puts her glass down, turns and pulls the wad of cash, then wanders down to hand it off to the bartender, with a brief explanation of which cocktails were ordered. It takes a moment. She's handing over a wad of cash. She thinks about the martinis she just made and turns to add a squeeze of lime to each.

"How many friends do you have, Cristobal?" Little cheeky, Love. She's probably going to have trouble getting out from behind the bar if she finishes this drink she's just made.

Lyric has no idea what he says in Spanish, but she recognizes the language for what it is. A smile is given, a completely enchanted smile. "Thank you," Dipping her head and twirling once before going back to the seats with her drink that still has plenty in it. She slides into the seat she'd been in before and smiles to the others. "This is the best job ever." She hasn't even noticed that Ruiz left.

Ico bows his head to Cristobal. As for Zoiya speaking of getting home, he shrugs first. "I don't know, but if you want I ma sure I could help you out." He assures her. Looking to Love as well as he hear her talk to Cris. though the order of tequila has him laughing a bit. "It is indeed a good job." He agrees with Lyric.

Cristobal looks aside to Zoiya, dragging his gaze slowly down and then back up. "What can I say, I'm a lucky, lucky man." He turns to the question posed from Love, and his finger ticks back and forth to indicate the length of the bar. "This many." An up-nod is given to the bartender that relieves the hopeful job applicant, silently bidding it to be put on his tab. "Be right back, gotta take a piss." And yet he's heading for the front door. Odd, that.

After handing over the cash and probably giving the actual bartender a rundown of Cristobal's purchases so far this evening, she lines up several shots of tequila with a couple of salt shakers, and freshly sliced lime wedges, along with a couple of orange wedges—some people prefer oranges, after all. She slides them over on a little tray, leaving Cris to dole them out. Meanwhile, she drains her raspberry sage martini, which is probably number 5ish, officially Stupid Decisions Martini, and picks up the second one she mixed, which she was going to hand off, but everyone else around here is too drunk, and that would be irresponsible. She wanders out from the bar working on Where'd I Leave My Panties Martini. It's fine, right? Everything's fine. "You're drunk. You get five." No more than five. He's definitely way more drunk than she is. The thing about outrageous core strength is you don't look as think as you drunk you are.

Zoiya looks at the shots, squints and takes a deep breath, plucking one up to drink. She makes a face, shoots a look at Ico and smirks. "If you wanna help me get home, I'm not going to tell you no. You might need to carry me into my house. Fair warning." She gets up from the bar, looking remarkably steady for someone who has probably drunk half her weight (seems like) and goes to find her purse. "I'll be back out in a jiff. Thank god you're here, or I'd be hitching my ass down the road."