2019-09-02 - Punching Things

It's early enough in the day and Poe may have had too much to drink or - something - the night before. His body is certainly feeling it, along with not having spent a lot of time in the gym since he'd returned to Gray Harbor. This morning has been an attempt to make up for lost time and that's likely not the best way to run your exercise program. He's breathing hard, muscle shirt damp through and his face and arms glowing with sweat. His eyes are slightly lowered, hair sprawling in all directions since he didn't bother with any kind of product. Poe is light on his feet and exceptionally well balanced - and he doesn't ignore the foot work while he works his way around the punching bag. Some of that tiredness shows through when he drives a few short jabs at the easily swinging bag and not squaring them up clean. "Fuck." He swears, the word loud - but the gym is pretty quiet right now. He steps forward and wraps an arm around the bag to stop the swinging before walking over to find his water bottle and take a pull.

Mae walks in the gym, stuffing her phone into the pocket of her hoodie as she checks the place out. She continues in, dropping her duffel bag near a treadmill, spotting Poe as he lays into the punching bag. He's a little off balance, but she's not going to interrupt him to tell him that, it would be rude. Instead she just finds a place to lean and watch until he hugs the bag to keep it from swinging. "Nice moves, Tex." She says, approaching slowly. "Still waking up?" She looks like she's been awake for a while, her face bright and her words chipper. She's wearing a pair of dancing shorts and a sports bra, a loose black hoodie covering all of that. "So.." She takes stock, looks around and then flashes a slight grin at her friend. "Come here often?"

"Mae." Poe says, taking up a towel and running it over his face and hair before settling it down beside his water bottle again. He flares a quick smile in her direction. "Better moves about an hour ago, but I'm starting to feel it. Need to make sure I get over here more often or I'm going to get slow." He takes this moment to lean back against the wall and take a bit of weight off while he rests, his breath having mostly returned to him by now. He sweeps his eyes over the dancer, not simply gawking - more about appraisal. It isn't the first time he's looked at Mae that way. "No work last night?" He asks. "You don't usually quite seem so bright at this hour."

"Even strippers get two nights off, I usually get the slow days as my days of rest. Antonio wants me there when it's busy." Mae steps closer, leaving her duffel bag where it is for now. "So yeah, I'm awake at a normal time without being a zombie." She is within spitting distance of Poe now, bumping in to nudge him with an elbow. "Hanging out here now or is this an official thing?" She jerks a thumb toward the ring, grinning. "You been getting in there and teaching people why you have to watch out for the quiet ones?" She glances around a bit more, eyes thoughtful. "Think this is a decent place to work out?" Her voice is a little more quiet here, eyes tilting up to make contact with his.

Poe doesn't shift when Mae moves in closer, just watching her face when she approaches. He smiles again at the elbow bump and returns the tap casually. "I half lived here growing up. Expect I'll make it a pretty frequent haunt again. Sounds like Joey has his eyes on getting some fights going and making us all some money and I'm here for that." He turns his head to look over toward the ring, shaking his head. "Haven't actually gotten in the ring since I got back here yet, but I'm ready for it. You put the gloves on at all, Mae? If you want to go a round - well, get yourself loosened up and you can let out all your stress with punches thrown at my face. That's not an offer many refuse."

He sweeps his eyes around the place and lowers his voice to match Mae's. "This is where you want to be, Mae. People here mind their business. Joey runs a good shop. It doesn't look like much but everyone here knows the deal. You want a place where you can workout without half the room whistling at your ass? This is the place. Not all the clientele may be welcome in other places, but this is neutral ground. Get your workout done, no bullshit."

"I don't want to bruise you up, that will get me slapped.. I think." Mae jerks her chin toward the ring, shrugging. "You wanna let me throw some punches, I'm all for it, but no sparring for now. Last thing I need is a bruise when I go into work. Antonio would lose his shit." She listens to his quiet words, her eyes on the punching bag before she chuckles lowly. "I'm sold, just tell me where to pay and I've got.. shit.. about two hundred singles in my purse. Bank is my next stop." She sighs and shrugs out of her hoodie, and suddenly a lot more inked skin is on display. She backtracks, picks up her bag and hangs the hoodie in between the straps, setting it down again. "I wouldn't be adverse to you giving me some pointers, I'm all anger and no skill, really. I've thrown punches to get myself out of trouble, never actually tried to learn the art of it."

"You're fine for today. Try the place out. No one is going to come around looking for your membership card - Joey or Erin will likely be around later and you can work out the fees with them. Just let them know you're a friend of mine and you should get treated well. Not that they'd treat you poorly anyway, but never hurts to lubricate." Poe twists a quick grin at that comment and pushes his way off the wall, having pretty much recovered. He walks over to pick up a pair of catching mitts and a pair of gloves that are likely to fit Mae's hands. He tosses the gloves toward her. "You're strong, Mae. I've watched your dances - everything is controlled. Your footwork is great. You're likely closer to being a great fighter than you realize. Most people starting out aren't strong or fast. You're both." He pulls the catching mitts on and moves toward her. "Throw a couple at me and show me where you're at. Then I can give you some pointers to start you in the right direction. If you want more than that we can get serious."

"Flattery will get you everywhere, Poe. You already know that with me though." Mae catches the gloves, pulling them on her fists. She laces them up, chuckling softly as she climbs up into the ring. "One day this week you ought to come to the dance studio with me, I know you've got some moves in there and I could use an opinion when I practice and come up with new routines." She raises her gloved hands over her head, stretching. She makes a noise as she rises up on her tip toes, and when her heels come back down she rolls her neck. "You have to keep up the weight training to work the pole, and while I don't use it all that much at the Cabaret, I still want to keep my strength up so it's an option." She waits until Poe climbs into the ring with her and she squares up, her shoulders hunching slightly as her eyes settle on the targets her fists will be trying to connect with. "How are things with Dorothy?"

"I'm not above flattery, but I don't fuck around in here, Mae. Everything I said was true and relevant. Fighting and dancing aren't so different. I don't know how many times I've KOed guys with fifty pounds and six inches on me because they couldn't move. Sure, if they landed a blow it would put me into next week - but they didn't." Poe climbs up into the ring after Mae, easing into position and putting the mitts up for her to take aim at. "You show me some things at the dance studio, I'll see what I can help you with there. That sounds like a good deal to me." He shifts onto the balls of his feet, but he keeps the targets from wavering too much, just wanting to see Mae land a few blows. "Gran is physically in great shape - like almost better than I remember when I left. But, her mind wanders a lot. Got some doctors appointments lined up to try to get a better idea what's going on with that, you know? Never looked after anyone before. Lex has dealt with it a bit, so giving me some help."

Mae takes her first swing, connecting with the left hand glove. She pauses for a moment, takes a deep breath and then she's swinging at both gloves, connecting lightly. "I just need a male opinion for some dances that I'm working on for the club. I'm going to be taking ballet lessons there as well, try to get a little more graceful, a little less slutty.. I guess?" She almost misses on one swing, the problem with talking and boxing at the same time. Probably why boxers in professional matches aren't having a gossip fest while they fight. She connects solidly with her left, but her feet aren't mirroring what her fists are doing, for all that she's graceful when she wants to be, she tends to plant herself when she's swinging from the shoulder. Hit something hard enough and you're fucking up your own body. She doesn't notice this though, she's still talking to Poe as she connects with the gloves. "If I can do anything to help, let me know. Just don't give me any cookies in thanks, Dorothy is a nice lady and all, but your gramma doesn't know how to bake, pal."

"Slow up, slow up." Poe says after the first few swings - "Your body has to move with the punch, turn yourself into it. If you're flat footed you're only giving the power from shoulder to fist when you've got so much more to put into it - not to mention that you need to always be moving the feet because once your punch lands you want to be moving away from the reply that your opponent is bringing. Ok. Again." He puts the catching mitts up again to let her have another go at it with that advice in mind. "You know where to find me. Just fire me a text and I'll come over and give you my expert opinion on how much your moves make me want to part with my singles." He says with a grins. "Gran is an awful cook, always has been. Not getting any better now that she starts a meal and then forgets about it for a day before she comes back to finish it. I've been making my own shit." He's on the easy side of the equation, just waiting to catch punches it's not too hard to be gossip idly.

Mae stops, takes stock of his words and nods, taking a deep breath. She manages to keep moving as her fists flash forward for a light tap against his mitts. "Expert opinion. You make yourself sound like a stripper whisperer." She jokes, focusing more on where her fists and feet are going than on her words. She's trying not to put her body weight behind her strikes, it's practice after all, moving in a circle as she lets her arms snap out another strike. "I'm not a good cook either, but those cookies .. does she put cat food in them or something? Christ." She connects with the mitt again, her eyes narrowed with concentration. "You can cook? I'm not surprised, but I'm kind of surprised. Our household pretty much exists on take out unless we're grilling. We can at least handle that." She snaps out another strike and whatever she's done makes her wince. "Ow." She rolls her shoulder and frowns. "Okay coach, what did I do wrong there?"

"I wouldn't go that far. I've likely seen more strippers than your average guy though. I doin't know if that makes me a better or worse judge of what's actually good to the crowd?" Poe says, genuine curiosity in his tone while he shifts his weight to accept each strike from Zoiya. "I'm not a good cook, but I know how to make meals that are both cheap and halfway healthy. Hard to keep muscle on if you're eating shit all the time. You make stuff enough and figure out how to make it taste better over time. But, I will go on weeks where I just eat the same thing every day - fuck variety." He's wincing even before the blow lands that jam's Zoiya's shoulder, holding his gloves up to make sure she stops for the time being. "Few of those were really good - you planted your feet and tried to kill me with that last strike, likely hit you just as hard as you hit me. Don't bring the power from your shoulder." He drops his hands down to prevent her from throwing any more for the time being. "When you're at the bag focus on slower, lighter punches and concentrate on the footwork. Get to the point where you don't ever move those hands without the body coming for the ride."

"Not much do to in L.A. huh? Strippers and gyms?" Mae listens to him talk about food, eating the same thing every day? She would wither and die, variety is the spice of life. She doesn't try to hit the mitt again after she jams her shoulder, nodding ruefully as he steps close to explain her faux pas. "Slower, lighter, footwork." She sighs and tilts her head slightly, her eyes following him even as she continues to roll her shoulder for relief. "How are you supposed to put someone down if you're not putting any power behind your punch?" She glances toward the punching bag and makes a face. "Speaking of food." Because she can always speak of food. "Are you coming over for dinner tonight?" She doesn't feel a pinch or pull when she moves her shoulder so she calls it good, moving toward the edge of the ring, heading toward the bag that was indicated. "I think Blake made something in that little miracle pot thing he cooks in. Smelled good when I was leaving, anyway."

"You fall in with a certain crowd, Mae. A lot of us trying to make our way through the day to day in less than traditional ways. And it wasn't always clean cut, but a lot of us looked out for each other. No one else was fucking well going to do it. Guys like me didn't get bothered so much, but a lot of the girls weren't so lucky. So, we didn't get charged any cover and made sure everyone got home safe. Everyone was happy." Poe makes a face - clearly a lot of everyone were a long distance from happy, but it was perhaps one less thing to worry about in a day. He drops down out of the ring and tosses the catching mitts back to where they'd been resting. "Here is my take on putting someone down with a punch, Mae. Don't need to do it with a single punch. Quick, well balanced combo will do it better every time. And I'm not saying you can't hit hard - just don't want you to focus on it. You get your body moving with your fists and the hard will come with it. Look at this."

He walks over to one of the bags, takes a deep breath and then drives a few powerful and well executed punches into it with his feet planted. Poe is plenty strong enough that this gets the bag swaying and if it was someone's face they'd be feeling it. He stops the bag, glancing to Mae and then executes a few more punches, this time his feet move and his body flows along with his fists. The sound of the impact and the shudder of the bag is noticeably different despite it looking like Poe wasn't swinging nearly as hard. "Put all that weight into them. Not just this." He taps his shoulder, then stops the bag again.

"Is that an invite? Yeah, I'll come over. I know I usually just help myself in, but I try to restrain myself."

Mae might have underestimated Poe the few times they've spent time together. She watches him now, quiet and observant. When he mentions girls getting bothered, her teeth clench and she gets a flash of memory that has her looking away from him, listening still but no longer tracking his movement. She looks back when he bids her to, moving to slip out of the ring and walk toward the punching bag. She shucks the gloves from her hands as he connects with the bag, noting the strikes and how he looked making them. She could do that, maybe. When he stops the bag, she nods. "Understood." Instead of stepping in to punch it herself she perches on the side of the ring, legs swinging idly. "You're welcome anytime, I mean, you've got a key and it's probably in you best interest to drop in occasionally to make sure the place isn't on fire or destroyed." She rolls her eyes and raises her chin toward the bag. "How long were you in L.A.?"

Poe takes up his water bottle and takes a pull from it, walking over to where Mae is perched and leaning against the ropes nearby. "Look - if you focus on what I told you today and work a a bit at it you'll be able to throw a better punch when you need to. If you're looking to actually learn to fight, even if it's just for fun, let me know and I'm happy to work with you more. I know it's not a great hobby to take up when you need to avoid bruises. Don't want to damage what pays the rent." He teases a grin while he looks down at Mae's body a moment before back to her face. "I'm not sure what it means if I'm the voice of reason in that duplex. I'm as likely to set it on fire as you three are. At least we can do it together." Another tip of his water bottle and Poe closes his eyes a moment. "Ten years. Left the summer after I finished high school. Was a stupid idea, but I made it work. It's weird being back here, Mae - but I knew I'd end up back here one of these days. Knew it from the minute I left."

"I have bouncers who throw the punches for me." Mae teases, grinning over at Poe as she sways back and forth, her shoulder bumping against his. "Yeah, I want to learn, we'll figure out the bruises thing, because you're right, my body is my moneymaker." She catches that look and her hand comes out, pushing against his cheek as she laughs out loud. "Stop oogling me or I'll kick you in the shin, pal." She shrugs and kicks her legs out again. "You're not the only voice of reason, but there is only so much I can do. There is so much shit going on there, it's not easy to focus on all of it most days." She hops down off the ring and moves over to the bag. "Do I need to tape up or wear gloves every time I use this thing?" She glances back at him, making a face. "This place is growing on me, there is something here that is just on the tip of my tongue, but I can't quite.." She shrugs and rolls her shoulders, making sure that the left one isn't tweaked still.

"Hey, I'm a warm blooded man here, Mae. I can only promise so much." Poe laughs when he gets 'swatted' away, putting up his hands in a mock defense of his actions. "I'm not sure I know half of the shit that's going on in that house. At the same time maybe I know too much of it. I - it's not just your fucking house and roommates, Mae. This entire town is not right. You know, you forget about it when you leave here. The things that happen and - " He hesitates, shaking his head. "It gets foggy. Then you come back and you remember a lot of things and you're about ready to run away again. But, you don't because this place doesn't like us to go far."

He wanders over toward the bag with Mae and shrugs. "You can hit it bare back, but likely better to wrap up or put a glove on it. Whatever feels best for you." He says this all casually enough that one might believe he's not using those particular words on purpose. "I don't know what word you're looking for, Mae. But, it's a good place. Not trying to be anything but what it is."

"Bare back, wrap up. Christ, Poe get your mind out of the fucking gutter." Mae aims a look at him, reaching for the tape that's set near the bag for those who haven't brought their own. She holds it out to him, offering him her two inked hands. The word "Fearless" is inked across her fingers. "Same. When I think I finally figured out Blake or Lex they hang a sharp left and confuse the fuck out of me. I'll be honest when I tell you that there have been a few times where I considered walking out the door, finding easier roommates. They need me though, money is tight between the two of them and I'm floating a lot of the shit there. I don't mind doing it, I just wish it wasn't quite as dramatic as it can be."

She doesn't comment any more on the town and how it might make one feel. That's a loaded conversation best not had when someone might get punched.

"I hope you stay." Poe says quietly, meeting Mae's eyes for a moment before taking the tape and looking down at her hands. He nods when he notes the letters printed across her fingers and then begins to wrap her hands with the efficiency of someone who has done this too many times in his life. "Don't think it's much of a secret how I feel about Lex. And I don't get Blake at all, but I still think he's alright. Him and I are just in different worlds? Anyway, yeah, they need you there. And it's not just about paying the rent." The tape is applied and he takes half a step back. "But, look. If you feel you need to get out? I'm not going to put those two out on the street. I don't want you to have that sitting on your shoulders and tying you down. Still, I think it's important that you're there." His tone the entire time is low and serious. Likely a couple steps more than she'd have heard from Poe in the brief time they've known each other. "You're all set." He says in a more normal tone, nodding to her hands.

"I've got reasons to for now." Mae responds, flashing Poe a brief smile before she goes quiet, letting him wrap her hands while he speaks of her roommates. "Well it's about paying the rent somewhat, you need the money just like we do. Right?" She shrugs, making a face when he mentions that she's needed there. "I'll keep all of that in mind, Poe." She flexes her fingers and moves toward the punching bag, rolling her neck before she starts to tap out strikes, her feet moving as she bounces the bag away from her with each hit. "Hey, if it gets too bad, I'll just come stay in your room and you can just go sleep in Lex's room, though Dorothy might get confused a little bit." She giggles at the thought.

"Likely want to give yourself a few more weeks yet before you want to hide out in my side of the house. The cat numbers are going down but I've hardly made a dent on the clutter. But, seriously, if you need to hide away without going too far just come on over. I'll clear off a bed for you. No guests though - I don't know that gran would handle you and Dominic very well." Poe makes his way over to the next closest bag and takes a breath, relaxing his body and starting to shift with some easy punch combos. None of them have much force behind them, more focused on his body movement than killing the bag. "Yeah, I like getting the rent. Just saying if shit happens the lights aren't going to go off. I know you're good for it." He directs another couple punches into the bag. "You seem to have your shit together." A touch of admiration in his tone?

"Sometimes I do. Sometimes I don't. I try to roll with the punches, literally and figuratively." Mae keeps punching the bag, and after a moment she lets out a soft chuckle. "I don't know, Dominic is a charmer. He'd probably try charm on your gramma. Sometimes I don't know what to think of him. Sure he has been bad news for me, but I think that on some level I do realize he did what he felt he had to do." She shrugs, another series of tapping blows to her bag, sending it swinging a little bit. "I'd love to hate him, just beat the shit out of him and make him take me seriously, but .. then he worms his way in, tries to cute it out, and manages to make that shit work. It's incredibly frustrating." She rolls her eyes and then grabs the bag to still it. "Got any plans for the house or the clutter that you need help with?"

"I don't really know your history with him." Thud, thud, thud. Poe picks up the pressure in his blows, feet and body never pausing while he shifts around the bag and shifts seamlessly from one combo to another. Sweat starts to bead on his forehead again when the intensity picks up, but he continues to talk even while breathing a bit harder. "You told me what he did and that's shit. You do what you have to do, but some lines - again, I don't know. He seems like an alright guy, we all make mistakes - maybe that was one of his. Fuck, if you're feeling good about where things are at that's what matters there, Mae. And if you change your mind and want to take turns hitting him you know what I'm at." Poe ducks his head and his body moves quickly, fists driving out in a final powerful array of blows against the bag before he bounces back out of the way, guard up while the bag swings in the air.

"If you want to spend your free time helping with clutter you're welcome to join me. Don't want to force it on anyone, though. Digging through years of junk and throwing away most of it. Sometimes it's fun to go through things, but it gets old after the first hour I find."

"Complicated. If he decides to land on the being a dick side of things, you're welcome to break a few things. He seems to be behaving for now." Mae holds on to the bag she was hitting, watching Poe take out some of his frustrations on his own bag. "It's history Poe. Your own family history. I get that it can be boring, anything can be in the right situation. If you want help, I'll help you out, maybe you find some old stock in something in there, anything is possible right?"

She tilts her eyes down, leaning into the bag for a moment. "We should figure out a night out thing, go out and have drinks somewhere. I think everyone could use a little bit of a break. Don't you?"

"Yes." Poe says, catching the bag with his hands and holding it still, feeling pretty good about the last series of punches. The rust is falling off a bit. "Yeah, we really should. And not when you're working for a change. It was alright hanging out with Greg at his place, but need to find a night when all of us can go out somewhere and just relax a bit. Things are pretty tightly wound and I don't know how to do anything about it. I just don't want it to get to the part where it snaps and things get ugly because of it, you know? Seen that happen too many times." Poe walks over to where his towel was left and takes it up, mopping up some of the sweat. "Thanks for the offer, Mae. I'll let you know when I'm working through boxes and if you want to dig with me, head on over. With some company and a bit of music it isn't too bad for awhile." His eyes settle on her for a long few seconds, almost as though they're trying to see something beneath the exterior that gets shown so often to the world, but he looks away. "Goes both ways. If you need anything at all, say the word." The tone he promises this in makes it sound like it's not a promise lightly given.

Mae offers Poe a smile, nodding slowly. "Just can't go to the waffle place, I think I'm banned for life." She folds her arms over her chest and gazes at him, eyes narrowed. "Lots of lies. That's a problem, you know? Both of my roommates are hiding something, and it comes out, sometimes all too violently. Breakfast, usually." She rolls her eyes turning back to the bag to throw a few weak punches at it, her heart not into what she's doing. "I got what I need, but I'll think of you if it isn't enough." She shifts her eyes toward his face, another brief smile, before she looks back to the bag, jabbing at it gently. "So, hey.. subject change. Leave the heavy behind." She keeps her focus where her fists are. "When is the last time you've been to Seattle?"

"Sometimes things take time to come out. Let's hope they get there before it becomes more of a problem than it already is." Poe says, tone generally agreeable. He doesn't seem to mind the idea of shifting away from the heavy. He takes up his water bottle and drops himself down onto a bench - his actual workout is likely done for the day, but doesn't seem to be in a rush to pack up and head off while Mae is still around. "Seattle? Shit. Not since I was a kid, Mae. I don't even remember the place. I haven't been back north at all after I went to LA." He takes a drink from his bottle, watching her over it. "That's where you were before, right? And Lex too. You two met in Seattle?"

"Yeah, she did most of the work on my one sleeve and my butterfly leg." Mae snaps out a few more jabs, grimacing as one likely pulls at her shoulder. "I was thinking of taking a ride up there tomorrow, see if I can make some money. Wanted to know if you were up for a day trip. I can show you some sights, and we can grab lunch. I will warn you though, the work might be a little dangerous. So you might need to take the bike and find something to do while I'm working."

She blows out a breath and steps away from the bag, moving to settle on the bench beside Poe. "Upside? Rent money and grocery money, I'm trying to get a decent amount ahead on those things."

"Dangerous?" This seems to get Poe's attention more than anything else that she said about the potential trip. He turns to watch Mae when she settles in beside him, gesturing with his hand in a 'gimme' kind of motion. "What kind of place are you taking yourself to that you think it would be safer with me out of the way? I'm pretty good at taking care of myself, Mae. And I don't doubt your ability to handle your own shit either, but seems to me like having strength in numbers often makes things a bit more safe. People don't often try to push things when the odds don't look like they're good."

He pauses but doesn't wait for a full answer before going on. "Regardless, I'd be up for the trip. Could use a day away from here and like I said, haven't seen Seattle in over a decade. Likely changed a bit."

"Not quite so dangerous for me as it would be for you. I'll flirt, show some skin, distract some people and walk away. You don't have to help me with it unless you think you'll look good in drag." Mae is probably trying to figure out if he would look good in drag. She has a wig that she thinks might bring out his eyes. "We'll see what happens when we get there, but if you got hurt, I'm gonna get shanked." She holds out her hand toward him, is he gonna unwrap what he's wrapped? Huh.

"It'll be fun. If I had a car it could be a field trip for all, motorcycle only holds two. I'll even let you drive if you feel like you'll be emasculated by riding behind me." She giggles at that, can't help herself.

"Do I give off the vibe of a guy who is easily emasculated, Mae? Maybe let me drive some of the way just because it's fun? " Poe asks with a lazy grin while he turns his attention to those wraps and goes about unwinding them from her hands. "I'm likely bulky in the wrong places to do much justice to drag, though. Never tried it." He admits with a chuckle, lifting his eyes to meet Mae's for another brief moment before going to remove that second wrap. "I've taken care of myself in rough crowds since before my voice had broken, Mae. You don't have to worry about me. But, if you promise me you're going to be fine and it's going to make it easier on you to have me out of sight, that's fine. I can take the bike and keep myself busy while you're working."

"I'll tuck you into a nearby coffee house in case there's trouble. I've a big mouth, I know you'll hear me." Mae finds this amusing, and she snorts out a laugh, her eyes on her hands as he unwraps them. "That's fine, you can drive part of the way as long as you're careful with my baby. If something happens to my bike, I'm gonna be pretty damn sad about it." She shrugs a shoulder and wrinkles her nose, giving Poe a brief grin. "Now we're gonna have to have a drag night at the Cabaret. I think you'd do well with some small melons in a bra or something. If it doesn't work out, snack."

"I like the idea of a snack." Poe says, and he laughs - it's a full laugh this time, none of the reserved amusement that has been winning the day so far. "I could likely get some decent cleavage if I wrapped myself up right, though." Without much warning he tugs up his shirt to reveal his well built body. He puts his hands on either side of his pecs and leans forward a bit while pushing them in, creating something along the lines of faux-cleavage. "See. I could make some dollars, right? Hoping I'll get over to amateur night, but might have some other business to deal with." Still grinning he drops his shirt back down and leans back against the wall, taking up his water. "I saw the way you drove the other night. I think I'll be easier on your bike than you are, honestly. I'll take care of her, don't worry. You planning to leave early, or more of an evening trip?" She is working after all.

"Melons are pretty yummy." Mae giggles along with his laugh, reaching out to steal his water to take a sip. "Use some tape, tape does wonderful things. You tape those bad boys together and i think you'd get some tips." She gives him a once over when he pulls his shirt up, if someone is showing you something, you best pay attention. It's only polite. "I drive just fine, thank you very much. I go when I gotta go, and I'm slow when I need to be. On a bike you have a little more wiggle room, you know?" She folds her arms over her chest and passes the water back, looking thoughtful. "It'll be a mid afternoon thing, but I'd like to leave in the morning. I'll have to get dressed once I'm there. Gonna grab some things from my old place, and then get shit together so I can have the rest stored."

"I can help with moving shit around if you need too. Don't know how much you've got there. Didn't realize you still had a place in Seattle at all. Still paying rent on that?" Poe asks. He doesn't seem to mind having some attention paid - fair is fair.

"I'm going to come here early tomorrow and get a workout in. I'll show and be ready to go whenever you are. Is 9 early enough? Just let me know and I'll make sure I'm dressed and at the house. Looking forward to it." He heaves a sigh and pushes himself up off the bench. "Should likely get into a shower and do some other shit today too. If I work for a bit I can have my room almost cleared out. Then catch Lex later on when she's off work. You got plans? You're off tonight and then back on for the Amateurs tomorrow?"

"I had a roommate, he's still there. I send my half, he kept me out of some trouble at one point, I don't mind helping him out until he finds someone else. That's another reason I have to get up there, I think he's moving another girl in." Mae grins at Poe, shrugging a shoulder. "Most of the shit there is gonna get sold, I have a few more of my outfits up there I can use for routines in the Cabaret, I'd like to grab those and some other things."

"Nine is good. I'll be showered and waiting a little after that if it works out." She nods and flashes a grin at Poe. "Yep, off tonight amateur strippers tomorrow." She gets to her feet, leaning down to grab her bag. "I'll see you around at some point tonight, I'm sure. I'm gonna go catch a shower and see what trouble I can get myself up to this evening." She wiggles her fingers at him as she pulls the hoodie back on, zipping up the front. "I'll text you later!"