2019-10-22 - How Not To Be Boring

The evening is beginning to dim the skies to the point that the streetlights outside are coming on even though the town is still fairly well-lit. It's been a while since Dominic has gotten some quality exercise in, but here he is trying to make up for lost time. Usually found in a bar with a cigarette hanging from his lips and a cheap beer in his hand, he's instead standing in front of a heavy punching bag wearing light clothes that are beginning to dampen with sweat that is beginning to stream down his neck. He throws a few punches against the bag and takes a step back, wincing in pain as he shakes his wrapped fist and laughs quietly to himself, "Gone fuckin' soft."

The gym isn't that far from the house, and Everly has a tendency to go loiter when she's not busy loitering somewhere else, so none of the regulars that might be wandering in and out are probably surprised by her arrival. Despite the hour, the weather, and the location, when she wanders through the door she's sporting a pair of chunky heeled ankle boots, and a skirt with an over-sized and likely stolen from someone much, much bigger than her sweater. "Yeah, I get it...I'll be there soon as I can." The words are the dismissive sounds of someone telling someone on the other end of the line a flat lie about ever showing up, and the half smoked cigarette in her hand is probably illegal enough to get most people kicked out.

Tightening his fist a few times to test the resilience of his knuckles that haven't seen this much action in weeks, Dominic assumes his fighting posture once again and tosses a few left jabs at the bag, exhaling sharply with each shot before he twists his body and slams his fist into the right side of the bag in a well-placed right hook. Taking a few steps back to reset, he hesitates and sniffs the air for a moment. He could swear he smells cigarette smoke. Shit, is it him? He smells his hands and furrows his brow as he looks himself over. Then he hears a voice spouting some bullshit over the phone and turns around to see Everly strolling in. At first the sight of someone so improperly dressed for a gym stuns him, but a grin slowly crosses his lips as he observes her 'not giving a shit' attitude.

There are zero shits given. Less than zero. Enough that Everly just stops near the trash can, giving a few uh huhs and yeahs into the phone before she says bye, which means that she can finally finish her cigarette. Which doesn't take very long, and when she does she drops it onto the floor to crush it beneath the toes of her shoe. It's ground out twice as hard as it really needs it, but this way she can be certain there is no chance that she'll burn the place down when she reaches down to pluck it up, then toss it into the trash can. Leaving the mess on the floor behind her, as well as the cloud of bullshit and smoke, she starts to drift further into the gym, letting her eyes drift around until she spots Dominic, a brow lifting when she notices him looking, "What?"

When he watches Everly drop the cigarette and twist it out beneath her boot, Dominic expects her to just leave it there and walk away. His brows lift as he watches her bend down to pick it up and even toss it into the trash. And then he's busted. When she looks his way and spots him unknowingly staring at her, he clears his throat with the grin still on his lips and offhandedly shrugs his shoulders. His head tilts to one side and then he turns around to square up to the bag again, tossing a few lazy jabs at it again before he glances over his shoulder at her again.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Everly probably could be knocked over with a good poke, but that doesn't prevent her from narrowing her eyes at him like she's going to do something. Which she isn't, obviously. Either way she continues towards the back, and then into the hallway, pulling a set of keys out of her pocket to let herself into the office, the door getting shut behind her for a moment, then when she emerges she's got a plastic cup in her hand and she locks the door back behind her before she moves back out into the main room of the gym.

Looking over again to see the woman walking away after a snide comment, Dominic pauses as he watches her unlock the office and step in. His grin is replaced by a brief episode of confusion as his head shifts and then he gradually returns to the heavy bag. He throws another series of punches at the bag. Jab after jab with a few hooks thrown in for good measure. His breathing grows slow and heavy again and by the time Everly returns from the office, he's starting to drip again. Dropping his head, he rests his hands against his hips and closes his eyes to catch his breath. "Fuck's sake," he mumbles under his breath. He used to be in fantastic shape but he's been partying a little too much over the past few months.

"You should talk to Joey." Everly is about as subtle and sneaky as a brick to the face, so it's a good bet he'd notice that she was heading his direction, coming to a stop near him, the cup lifted for a sip before she holds it out towards him, a brow lifting upwards at him, "He can help you out with getting all that shit sorted out." That shit, it seems, is probably the hitting of things. Because what else could it possibly be?

Hearing her voice again, Dominic opens his eyes and raises his head to see her barreling his way. A brow lifts and one corner of his mouth shows signs of a grin re-emerging until she stops in front of him and takes a drink from her cup. When it's held out to him, he takes it and glances down into it, "You think I need to get my shit sorted out?" His eyes shift towards her and he takes a sip of what's in the cup and flashes her a quick wink. The swagger he's attempting to maintain dissipates a bit when the vodka hits his mouth. He never was a big vodka fan and it shows in the way his eyes squint and he hands the cup back to Everly with a muffled cough. "That's, ah..." He wipes his mouth with the back of his hand, ".. delicious." He takes a moment to compose himself and then he's looking at her again, "You manage the place or something?"

"Here? God...no. Joey wouldn't let me touch anything in this place officially if his life depended on it." Everly replies with a shake of her head, taking the cup back before she crosses her arms over her chest, the cup let to hang from her fingertips, tilting her head towards the door, "I wait tables somewhere else." Which isn't surprising as there are no tables here. Brilliant, she is. "But sure, why not? I'm pretty sure that someone somewhere said there is always room for improvement."

He doesn't know why, but when Everly tilts her head towards the door he follows it with his gaze. Looking at the door, he blinks a few times and for an instant wonders why he even bothered looking that way since there's clearly no restaurant over there. Returning his attention to her, Dominic chuckles quietly and idly begins to unwrap one of his hands. "Well if you aren't a manager, I guess you just come in to relieve Joey of his vodka then?" His head tilts slightly, "There are other ways to get drinks that don't involve thieving from a gym office." His smile widens as he expects to get another aggressive rebuttal. Nothing like a little verbal hostility. At least he hopes to hell it's only verbal.

"You buying?" There is zero hostility for someone that'll buy, it seems. "But the vodka is mine." She glances down at the cup in her hand, tilting it to the side with a frown, "At least I'm pretty sure this was my bottle, unless he finished it off and replaced it, in which case he owed me anyways." Which is all very logical, if she's being honest. Then the contents of the cup are downed before she holds out her free hand, "Everly."

Her response draws another soft chuckle out of Dominic. "Sure, I'll buy you a drink." He looks down at her cup and watches as she finishes it off and tries to figure out if it is actually her vodka or not. "If the man killed your bottle, then the least you could do it kill his, right?" Once his right hand is unwrapped, he starts to work on the left, then she holds out her hand and introduces herself. "Dominic," he says as he wipes his hand against the side of his hip, then reaches out to take hers with a gentle shake. "Nice to meet you," he says before going back to unwrapping his left hand. "I've been dying for a cigarette since you came in."

"I mean, maybe? But..." Everly considers something for a moment, letting her attention wander towards the door, then back before she finishes the thought, "Joey babysits for me, so I figure I should at least leave him something to drink, right?" She reaches unto her pocket to pull out a crumpled back of Camels, holding it out in his direction at the mention of dying for a smoke, "I'd suggest smoking outside though. Did you know it's illegal to smoke inside?"

Which clearly didn't stop her from doing it when she came in. Double-standards much?

"I suppose that's a fair trade, then. Babysitting for booze." Dominic makes a subtle face after hearing the last statement that came out of his mouth and how fucked it sounds. He shakes his head and looks back to her as she reaches out to offer a Camel. He has half a pack in his gym bag but it's rude not to accept when something is offered. He reaches out and plucks one from the crumpled pack and tucks it behind his ear with a slight bow of his head, "For that I'll buy you two drinks." He winks at Everly as he crumples up the unwrapped tape and tilts his head in the direction of the bench that holds his gym bag, "I'd offer to get them for you now but as you can see," he says as he glances down at his workout clothes and his overall sweatiness in general, "I'm pretty gross at the moment."

"Oh, sure. Pretty fair trade, yeah. Cheap babysitting cost, too." Everly doesn't seem to be bothered by how fucked the statement is, or that brand of wtf is just that damn normal to her. When he takes a cigarette from the pack she tucks it back into the pocket that she pulled it from, shaking her head, "You can hit the showers if you want. I don't mind." She glances down into the now empty cup in her hand, giving it a thoughtful shake before adding, "I can grab myself another drink while waiting, or you can shower and tell me all about how this was all really just a carefully constructed deflection to get my number and I ruined it by being kind and patient."

The comment about vodka being a cheap cost for babysitting draws out a louder laugh this time. Dominic reaches down and unzips his bag, pulling out a towel and pushes it into his face. Exhaling long and slow, he wipes the sweat from his face and blinks several times before turning his attention back to Everly. "In that case, I'll go hit the shower and tell you all about how you fucked up my plan by being agreeable to letting me buy you a drink tonight." He picks up his bag and slings it over his shoulder and steps over to the trash can that has her outed cigarette in it and tosses his used hand tape in alongside it. "And if you have fun, then maybe I can get that number anyway despite your best efforts."

"Yeah, maybe. We'll see." Everly replies agreeably, gesturing towards the locker room, "Go on. I'm not going to wait forever. Just make sure that you get behind your ears." She refrains from adding anything else, and instead just starts towards the back again herself, probably in search of a second drink while she waits on him to clean up from his exercise.

"Yes ma'am," he says with a not-so-subtle tone of sarcasm. He glances over his shoulder in her direction as he heads towards the shower and watches her wander off to hunt for more booze. He smiles to himself and then disappears intot he showers. A little time passes and he emerges with a completely different aesthetic. Gone are the crappy old workout clothes to be replaced by a button down shirt and dark jeans. He cleans up reasonably well. His hair is still fairly damp and is somehow unkempt and orderly at the same time. The cigarette he took from Everly now dangling unlit between his lips. He's zipping up his bag and slinging it over his shoulder while he walks out into the gym, looking around for his new friend.

It's not just a drink that she's stolen this time, but also an office chair, and she's wheeled it out so that she can sit and wait for him to be done. Thankfully she's positioned herself in a way that he can see her, and she can watch the wide open office door to make sure tha no one is stupid enough to try and get inside. Everly is sprawled in the chair, arm hanging at her side with the cup in hand, and she's staring up at the ceiling until she catches him out of the corner of her eye. Without looking to make sure that it's the right person, she wonders, "You all ready to go, then?"

Stopping and turning to fully face the woman practically draped over the office chair, Dominic just stands there looking at her for a moment to take her in. He pulls his chin back closer to his chest and lowers his voice in an effort to disguise a voice she hasn't even heard enough to recognize yet, "'scuse me?" He rights his posture and his face erupts into a cheesy grin that makes the man look like an 8 year old entirely too proud of something ignorant that he's just accomplished. He swings an arm out and motions towards the door, "But yes, I'm ready to go." He fishes a lighter out of his pocket and tilts his head towards the door, "I'll be outside." He turns and makes his way towards the door so he can go light up this cigarette while she locks the chair back into the office.

"Cute." Everly has the powers of parental immunity at her disposal, so she just rolls her eyes before she gets to her feet, finishing the contents of the cup, returns the chair, throws away her trash, locks up and starts to follow him towards the door. On her way out the door she pulls her phone out of her pocket, sending a quick text message to someone before the phone gets tucked right back into her pocket.

Dominic stands just outside the door, the lit cigarette in his mouth and his back leaning up against the wall. Once Everly emerges from the gym, he looks over and pulls the cigarette from his lips and breathes a thick fog of smoke into the air. He pushes away from the wall and turns to face her, "So." He takes another quick drag from his cigarette, speaking through his lips and over the cigarette, "You like dive bars?" He pauses as he exhales another burst of smoke, "I know a place, unless you prefer someplace with a little more class. In which case I have no fucking clue."

"I like anywhere they serve drinks." Everly points out with a shake of her head, pulling her cigarettes out so that she can light her own before tucking the pack away again. She glances upwards, pulling the cigarette from her mouth before blowing the smoke upwards, "So dive bar is fine with me...But if if it is a biker bar, I'm going to warn you that I might just have to pick a fight if one of them gets mouthy." By her tone she almost, almost, sounds like she's hoping that he's about to take her to a biker bar where she can try and pick a fight with someone that is twice her size.

"Well shit," he says through his cigarette again. His brows lift a bit as he stands in slight shock as he looks her over. She's tiny and looking to whip someone's ass. "If you're looking to kick someone's ass, we can go find a place so you can stir some shit up." He grins and steps across the sidewalk to his car that's parked along the street. He unlocks the door and tosses his bag into the back seat and steps back with a gesture to her to climb in. "You sound like you may have a favorite bar to pick fights in. Or at least one you've had your eye on."

"I wouldn't say I had a favorite." Everly replies as she follows him to his car, taking a moment to look at what kind of car it is, one foot even kicking a tire while he tosses his bag in. Then like she wasn't just evaluating his choice of cars she gets in when he gestures her in, "Anywhere but the strip club...there's this on place, about twenty minutes outside town, though. If you really want to hear my choices, otherwise we can go to whatever dive bar you had in mind." Once in the car she tucks her cigarette between her lips so that she can pull her phone out, checking a message then sending one in response.

She'll be kicking the tire on a mid-2000s Volvo. In pretty decent shape considering its age with only a few dings here and there. He closes the door after she climbs in and then walks around to get into the driver's seat. He fires up the engine and opens the sun roof so the air can circulate and their combined smoke can escape. He puts the car into gear but rests his foot against the brake as he turns to look at her sending a text. "Name the place and we'll head there." He hesitates, "Unless you're just trying to rob me in the middle of nowhere." His grin returns, "I'll save you the trouble. All I have is a little blow in the glove box. Not much else."

"I wouldn't take you out to the middle of nowhere to rob you." Everly assures him, which does not promise that she won't rob him. Just not out in the middle of no where. And not that anything else won't happen in the middle of no where, just not robbing him. However she does glance towards the glove box when he mentions a little blow, "Not much else could cover a wide variety of things, still. But it's this seedy ass bar called the Downward Dog." She makes a vague gesture towards out of town, then tucks her phone into her pocket, "Just checking on my kid." Maybe as for what she was doing on her phone.

"Fair point," Dominic replies. She seems like she clearly gives no shits and would have no qualms about robbing a guy wherever the hell she wanted. "Have some if you want," he says as he finishes off his cigarette and reaches up through the sunroof to toss it into the cool night air. He then reaches over to the glove box and drops it open, "The blow, I mean." The only thing in the glove box is an envelope with the word 'Records' written in pen in pretty shitty handwriting. Part of a plastic bag sticks out of the unsealed opening and clearly there are no papers or records of anything inside. "Downward Dog it is." He heads in the vague direction that she gestured toward. "How old's your kid?"

How old is her kid? Everly pauses a second, doing some quick math, "Almost five now." She reaches into the glove box to tug out the envelope, then the baggie out of it, "I'd say something dumb here, like you better no be a cop, because if you are this is entrapment. But I know better." Because she clearly is not being coerced into doing this. "Jesse." She adds, supplying the kid's name in a show of generosity as she opens the baggie before dipping a finger in to get a quick taste to make sure that she's not about to waste her time putting baking soda up her nose. "So what about you, Dom...why are you driving around with coke in your glove box instead of being responsible and keeping all your registration in there?"

Chuckling to himself as she does the mental math to determine the age of her child, Dominic reaches into his pocket and pulls out his pack of Camels and places them in the cup holder between the seats after grabbing one, "Welcome to have one of mine." He glances towards the woman in the passenger seat as he pulls the car around a corner and starts heading further out of town. "Jesse," he says, repeating the name. He lights up his new cigarette and takes a long drag from it, the smoke pulsing from his lungs as he speaks, "I don't particularly care for responsibility in the traditional sense. I have coke in my glove box because I knew I was going to want some after working out." He glances over at the bag, "I'll have a bump of that before you put it back."

"Yeah, Jesse." Everly glances down at what is left of the cigarette she had in her hand, then she takes a final drag before flicking it out of the car and reaching for a fresh one. "What is an untraditional sense of responsibility, though?" She wonders, taking a proper bump from the bag before she holds it out towards him, then she tucks the fresh cigarette between her lips while hunting for a lighter. "I'm also pretty sure that you're supposed to feel energized after a workout, enough that you shouldn't need the coke. But I'm not an expert there."

"Fuck if I know," he answers. Adjusting his position in his seat, he rests one hand on the top of the wheel and the other hand on the gear shift. "I pay my bills. Try not to be an asshole." He sighs and takes a drag from his cigarette, "Although I tend to fail at that one from time to time." He reaches over to take the bag of coke from her and lifts a knee to steer as he pulls out a pocket knife and dips the blade in to get himself a healthy bump before he closes it and tosses it into the glove box. "I knew I'd be going out drinking after the workout and I tend to need a little pick-me-up when I drink."

"I'm pretty sure that all those things counter act each other in the long run." Everly points out with a shake of her head, lighting the cigarette before she slouches down in her seat, legs crossing before she brushes lost ashes off her sweater. "In fact, I'm damn certain that smoking, drinking and drugs sort of ruin any good effort done working out." She shrugs her shoulders though, turning her attention towards the window, "Why try to not be an asshole? I mean...really. Why?"

"I know. I just drink and do the drugs to counter-balance all of the working out I do." He glances over at Everly and shrugs before looking back to the road ahead, "I don't want to be in too-good'a shape, right?" He grins at himself and considers her first point. "I bump so I can drink more and then at the end of the night I start drinking more so I can actually sleep." He tosses a glance her way again, "Probably not the best strategy." He takes another long drag from his cigarette and quietly considers her question for a few moments. "Honestly I don't know." He pauses for another few moments and the casual joking nature disappears. "Guess I grew up thinking if you were nice to others they'd be nice to you." He shakes his head and snaps out of it, "Pretty fuckin' stupid."

"Theoretically that's the way it should work, but most people are just assholes, so might as well be an asshole back." Lord help her kid. "Not sure it's worth being nice to most idiots these days." Everly takes a drag from the cigarette before she lifts her hand to flick the ashes in the general direction of the sun roof, "Alright, so...I'm going to explain to you the best way to counter this. It's not drinking more." She sits up straighter, only so that she can turn around to face him, "So you do a line or two, drink as much as you want until you're ready to go to bed, then pop two bars and lay down. If that doesn't knock you out pop half, and chase it with a beer." Which should knock anyone out, actually, the problem might be in waking up the next day.

"Funny how when you're growing up you're always told by people older than you about how you should act," he says as he finishes up his next cigarette. He sighs and reaches up to toss it out of the car and settle his hand back onto the shift. Looks like he may be done smoking for now. "Most people start out acting that way but then one person shits on them and it's all out the window. They shit on someone else and it just keeps going down the line." He glances over at Everly, "Fuck, sorry. Been a long day." He purses his lips and contemplates her advice, "You know, that makes perfect sense. I might have to start out with half and killing a beer though." He grins to himself as he brings them up to where to Downward Dog sits perched up against the road. A row of bikes sits in a uniform row out front and a few greasy old dudes stand out front smoking cigarettes and generally looking intimidating. A 15 year old Volvo pulling in really looks at home. Pulling into a space, he kills the engine and looks over at Everly, "Place looks awesome."

"Too bad being nice doesn't work like that...despite what that fucking commercial tells you." Everly replies taking a quick final few drags from her cigarette before she opens the door, starting to climb out but then she pauses, "I'll just say this now. In case there was any worry, but..." She glances out the window towards the greasy old dudes outside, "As long as you don't look them in the eye, you'll be fine, Buttercup." Then she is hauling herself out of the car, pushing the door closed with a deep breath that is let out with a huff, "Home sweet rat hole."

Standing up straight after climbing out of the car, Dominic groans as he stretches and rolls his head, his neck popping a few times. He glances over the roof of the car towards Everly as she offers her friendly advice. "Buttercup." Stepping around the back of the bar as he heads towards the door, he looks at Everly again, "I don't know if you were paying attention to the heavy bag, but I can handle myself." He can handle himself for about 30 seconds until he gets winded and has to take a break. Stepping onto the walk in front of the bar, Dominic strolls by the bikers standing outside, "Gentlemen." He's wholly ignored as he steps up to the door and tugs it open, stepping aside to let Everly walk in before following her inside.

"Oh, I'm sure." Everly agrees with a chipper smile tossed his direction before she heads towards the front of the bar, ignoring the men just like they are ignored. When he holds the door open for her she gives him an amused look, and a whispered, "Don't act too polite here, it'll draw attention." She's probably kidding, though. Either way she breezes through the door and into the smoky darkness inside, glancing around before she points out the seating options when he follows her inside, "Table, or bar."

Stepping into the dark, dank bar after Everly, Dominic scans the interior and seems to appreciate the view. She wasn't joking, this place is a biker bar through and through. The classic rock playing on the jukebox. He bets that if he were to go look at the music selection would be nothing but Foghat and Steppenwolf. "Start at the bar and see what happens?" He steps up to the bar and straddles a stool and pats the one beside him, looking at her with a goofy smile on his face. It's almost like he's trying to stand out more than he already does in this place. "PBR please," he says in the general direction of the bartender. "And whatever she's having."

When he starts smiling goofily, ordering shit like PBR, well, Everly can't help but squint at him as she hoists herself up onto the stool, crossing her legs before she leans forward to rest her elbows on the bar. "Sure, yeah. Let's go with a PBR." Because she might as well embrace the whole potential of pissing off every biker in the bar right away. "So, Dom. Other than avoiding responsibility, what do you do all day long?"

When you're a grown man and you drink PBR no matter where you go, you get used to the looks. So he's not only not surprised by her reaction, he's amused by it. "Another PBR, please sir," he says to the bartender. It's not difficult to see that the man is not used to anyone being this upbeat at this particular bar. He stands motionless for a good 5 or 6 seconds just staring at Dominic before he finally walks over to a cooler and grabs a pair of PBR tall boys and almost reluctantly bring them over to the strange pair in his biker bar. "Thanks, man," Dominic says to the guy and hoists his can into the air before taking a sip. "When I'm not traveling for work, I.. deliver things to buyers. Like the 'records' in my car."

"Same brand of work, this traveling and delivery service." Everly is clearly picking up what he is putting down in regards to his job, and what he's delivering. At least. She reaches for the can when it is set in front of her, taking a sip from it before making a face, clearly her joining in on this was just for solidarity, not because she is a crazy person that likes that cheap shit. "And, don't mind me if I ask, but you a local delivery man, or like..." She's getting at something maybe? Who knows.

Glancing over at Everly as she takes a sip of the PBR, he laughs out loud and then lifts the beer to his lips but pauses long enough to speak first, "If you hate it, I'll take it." He then tilts his head back and pours another healthy drink down his throat. "The travel and the deliveries are separate endeavors." He takes another quick drink of beer and then fishes out his pack of cigarettes and lighter and tosses them onto the bar after pulling out a smoke. "Yeah, I'm just local. Not doing anything too crazy." He lights his cigarette and takes a long drag, "It's just a little supplemental income. Nothing too fancy." He exhales quickly, making a pained face for a moment, "But enough about me. What about you? You wait tables 'somewhere' and occasionally go take a little sip of vodka from the gym's office. What else are you up to?"

"Platinum, and the Waffle Shoppe." Guess which one probably pays her better! There is, however, a shake of her head about the beer, "It's fine." It's free beer, afterall. She takes another swallow from it to prove the point, and only makes a little bit of a face, then she leans forward onto her forearms, tucking the beer closer to her, "So you work for a local on your local shit?" Nosey, yes, yes she is. But she's also willing to give him answers in return. "But me? I mean, I hang around the gym sometimes, bug Joey if he's there. I...wander around town. Get drunk. Fuck around sometimes. Life is pretty much boring, though."

Well, depending on what she does at Platinum it's entirely possible that the Waffle Shoppe pays more! Dominic grins as he watches Everly take another swallow of beer and try not to look disgusted by it. He shakes his head and nurses his cigarette for a moment. "I don't really work for anyone. I just pick shit up and sell it to whoever needs it." When she begins to talk about herself, he swivels on his stool to pay attention to her answers. "You work several jobs and somehow still manage to get bored?" He shakes his head and blows air between his lips, "Fuck man, I don't even work that much and I can entertain myself a million different ways." He watches her silently for a moment, "What do you /want/ to be doing?"

"Running a fortune 500 company. But that'd probably bore me, too. At least when I wait tables I can tune out what I'm doing and do complicated sums in my head, or contemplate the very nature of the world." She takes another sip from her beer before she shakes her head, gesturing at him with the beer, "Like, quantum entanglement, and what that really means for the state of the world." She then twists around on her stool to face him in return, "Who who Becky with the good hair really was. So when you leave town, and travel for work, what kind of work is that?"

"Huh." Dominic pauses after taking a drink of beer to regard her with curiosity. He can't tell if she's joking, but she seems genuine enough. "So you're a genius then?" He glances down at the bar and drums his fingertips across the surface, "I can't even pay attention when someone is talking to me half the time, much less ponder the nature of existence while working." When she asks about his travel work, he glances up at a television on behind the bar playing some fishing show on mute with closed captioning on. Somewhere in the back of his mind he finds a lot of entertainment in the typos in the translation. "I relieve people of their money."

"I like to think I am, which probably just means I'm a douche." Everly points out with a snort of what is probably some amusement, maybe. Either way she takes another sip from the beer before she nods slowly, taking what he says at full face value for a split second, then she cracks an actual smile, "So you're in sales." It's a joke, honestly. "And you only work solo?"

"Everyone's a douche in one way or another," Dominic says as he leans forward, resting his forearms against the bar. "But the fact that you acknowledge it means you probably aren't too much of a douche." He watches her for a moment after being unusually honest about his line of work to see what sort of reaction he's going to get. "If I was actually in sales, I might be offended by that," he says with a laugh. "Although I guess you could say that I am in sales in a very roundabout way." He doesn't elaborate further. "And yes, I work alone. Easier that way."

"No, everyone is an asshole in one way or another, a douche is extra special." Everly counters, just to be contrary. She sets the beer down before she rests her elbow on the bar, tucking her hand beneath her hair so that she can lean her head on it, "Alright. No. Not even roundabout. Sales is just about convincing someone that they need to buy a product, what the product is doesn't matter. If you're delivering shit like what is in your glove box, unless you've got someone else arranging the sales, you're in sales. Which, since you work alone..." She gives him this look that probably sounds exactly like Archer when he says 'Ergo, Latin....'. "And sure, easier until you realize you're working in someone elses territory, right? Or need someone watching your back."

"Fair enough," he says to her counter point, reaching out to take up his can and lift it in a salutory manner. He takes a long drink and then replaces it on the bar and goes back to folding his arms over one another and leaning forward against his forearms. "Ordinarily I would agree with you, but the product sells itself. I just facilitate the availability of the goods, that's all." He shrugs, "I always looked at working alone as eliminating as many variables as possible. Can't be betrayed if you don't trust anyone, you know?" He glances at her a offers her a smile between pursed lips and takes another drink of his beer.

"So does food, but yet people still put in effort to make sure you buy from them." Everly replies with a shrug of her shoulders, looking about as invested in the argument as she might on arguing that water wasn't wet. It's all for entertainment at this point in time. "You can still be betrayed. It's just harder...the people you sell to can betray you, right? What if they rolled."

"Alright, you make a fair point about food," he says, throwing a hand up in a surrendering manner. "All I'm saying is I have established clients and they refer new ones to me, so I don't really have to do much aside from provide." He looks over at Everly and grins, "I guess having someone I could trust to back me up would be nice, but when you're in my line of work it's not exactly easy to find people who won't try to fuck you in the end, you know?" He takes another drink, pouring the rest of the can's contents down his throat. He slides the empty can across the bar and waves down the bartender, "Another, kind sir!"

"Sure, sure...and even if you think you do it could all just be a slow con until they stab you in the back." Everly replies with a shrug, not bothering to argue the point. Because on this one? This one he's right on, really. And she's made all the points that she wants to make, anyways. When he orders another one she straightens up, twisting around towards the bartender, "Two shots of tequila, not fucking watered down, either. Got it?" There is a very pointed glare for the bartender when she says that.

The bartender is already annoyed at this pretty boy son of a bitch who strolled into the bar with his good attitude. But he's not so annoyed that he's not in the process of getting him another PBR. As he takes all the time in the world walking the beer over towards Dominic, he stares at Everly as she rather pointedly insinuates that their liquir is watered down.

The PBR is set down in front of Dominic with a little more force than necessary, causing some beer to slosh out onto the bar and Dominic's shirt. "Fuck's sake, man," he mutters as he holds his arms out to his sides and looks down at his wet shirt. The bartender grabs two shot glasses and a bottle of Jose Cuervo and pours two full shots and then rests his hands against the bar and stares between Dominic and Everly, finally looking at Dominic, "Your lady has a fuckin' mouth on her."

Dominic grabs the shot glasses and slides one down in front of Everly, looking at her with a 'this guy' look as he thumbs in the bartender's direction.

"Don't speed, you'll get pulled over, and busted for drunk driving." Everly offers helpfully when the beer goes sloshing all over and makes a mess, regardless of the fact that she should be trying to find napkins. Or asking for a bar towel. But who would really want to touch a bar towel in a place like this?

Someone who wanted to get Hep C, that's who.

But the comment about her having a mouth on her rolls off her back until she can pick the shot glass up and knock back the contents, then she winks at Dominic. She then plants her feet against the rung on the stool before she pushes herself up to her feet, using that stool to aid to her height as she leans forward, one hand resting on the bar as she leans towards the bartender, "Asshole. I said not watered down."

When Everly goes to take her shot, Dominic winks back at her and follows suit. He almost hates tequila as much as he hates vodka, but Cuervo is a level of shitty you're used to by the time you finish school. He groans out as he slams the empty shot glass down onto the bar and wipes his mouth as he looks over at Everly standing on the stool rungs and practically yelling down at the bartender.

He chokes out a laugh until he hears some footsteps and banter in the bar behind him. Spinning around on the stool, he sees that Everly's words have gotten the attention of a few of the bikers and they're now standing in the middle of the floor staring at the two outsiders. "Evening, fellas," Dominic offers the trio with a smile and a mock salute with a single finger up to his forehead.

The bartender looks back at Everly and scowls, revealing the 5 or 6 teeth he still has in his mouth, "Listen here, bitch." He raises a hand and points at Everly as he takes a few steps down the bar to get closer so he can tell her exactly how he feels.

"I'm listening. You just going to keep blowing hot air or say something useful?" Everly wonders, keeping her eyes on the bartender even as she reaches down and casually chucks the empty shot glass over the edge of the bar.

The move is classic cat looking for attention. Entirely purposeful, entirely stupid. Really. Every cat in the world knows that when they knock things over the only attention that could possibly get bounced their direction is a big, giant angry person flailing and running at them. Everly knows this is what the bartender is likely to do, and yet, she tosses the shot glass anyways.

It's possible that she assumes Dominic is actually going to help her out when she goes and starts trouble, because she doesn't even flinch about a few bikers standing right behind her, or the fact that she's a quarter of the size of everyone in the bar and they could probably literally wipe the floor with her if they tried.

Dominic isn't exactly a bareknuckle boxing champion, but he can hold his own. Even if his time with the heavy bag suggests otherwise. When he hears the shot glass topple over the edge of the bar and fall to the floor only to explode into dozens of tiny pieces, he clears his throat and slides off the stool so he's standing between the bar and the trio of gentlebikers who are now approaching him.

Obviously he's only sitting beside the girl causing the trouble, but she's barely 5 feet tall so he's going to be the one getting an ass whipping. Take a few steps to put him clearly between Everly and the three bikers, Dominic holds his hands up, palms facing the bikers, and shakes his head, "Alright, alright. Nothing going on here fellas." He turns to glance over his shoulder at Everly, "Right dear?" He winks at her and immediately turns and throws a fist out in one smooth motion in an effort to catch one the bikers off guard.

The bartender watches the glass fall to the floor and grimaces at Everly, stepping forward with a little more haste now, "God-fuckin'-dammit!" He reaches out over the bar in Everly's general direction, presumably to grab her while commotion erupts on the other side of the bar as Dominic sucker punches one of the bikers in the face, sending him staggering back and to the ground. The sound of pool cues and men cursing erupt in the dingy bar and Dominic's voice bleeds through the noise, "Fuck this is going to hurt."

It really is going to hurt. Arguably, Dominic is probably right that nice gentlebikers might ignore the five foot nothing twig of a girl and attack him instead, especially now that he's sucker punched one, but that is not as easily said as done. When the bartender grabs her she lets him, using his strength and effort to bodily pull her across the bar so that when she's close enough she can grab him in return, and pull herself closer, going right for his nose, all while answering that question with a lobbed return of, "Right, dear."

Does she head butt him? No. That would have probably been a less gross option, considering, but no. Instead she bites him on the nose, opting for rabid dog instead of just straight up dirty fighting. No one, not a single person in this entire world, can handle this being bitten on the nose thing, theoretically. Which is what she's banking on.

Did either of them happen to do a headcount when they walked in? Figure out exactly how many people were going to be beating their asses before they were able to escape? Not Everly. If she had, she might not be so willing to have started all this.

There were three guys outside. And the bartender. That's all Dominic noticed when they came in. No telling how many people were already inside the bar. For all he knows, the three guys he's about to get murdered by were the three guys outside. That is, until the door opens and two more bikers come in with a look of curious derangement on their collective faces. "Fuck's goin' on in here?" They look at each other with confusion and then step towards Dominic and their biker brethren.

The bartender immediately begins screaming when Everly's teeth clamp down on his nose. She's right. As soon as he's being bitten, he loses his shit and starts flailing his arms around trying to shove her away before his nose is removed from his face.

The sound of the bartender screaming gets Dominic's attention and he turns to glance at the man when one of the bikers takes a swing at him. Fortunately his reflexes save him and he's able to turn back and duck out of the way just before his jaw is crushed. Unfortuantely, however, the rotund biker's momentum carries him forward and his body slams into Dominic and sends them both against the bar where Dominic is subsequently pinned. "Gah, shit, get off me!" His face twists in pain and annoyance as he starts instinctively throwing punches at the man's midsection as the three others approach to join in. One of them hops up and reaches across the bar in an attempt to grab Everly and get her off of the bartender.

The flailing is exactly what Everly wanted out of all this, because she's not a vampire, so it can't be blood, and last she checked she's also not a cannibal. Even if she might be biting hard enough like she's going to try and bite his nose off, even keeping her teeth clamped as he pushes at her. However, she can't keep up the effort when the second one comes in to grab her.

This time she gets startled and lets go, twisting around to try and kick at the biker, which is surprisingly effective as a fighting method when one is wearing chunky heeled boots. It is not, however, effective when the person you are kicking it a much larger, probably is a whole lot tougher than her, so it is pretty just kicking at a wall. A human, fleshy, wall.

Despite the odds stacked against them, and the fact that he's pinned, and there are a whole lot more just waiting to leap into this fight, Everly is laughing, "You sure do know how to show a girl a good time."

When the biting stops, the bartender staggers backwards, his hands clasping over his nose in equal parts to make sure it's still there and to protect it with his life. He collapses back against the back bar and slides down onto his ass and just retreats, whimpering about being viciously attacked. In the meantime, the biker who grabbed Everly is dragging her back over the bar and away from the bartender despite her best efforts to kick the shit out of him, "Don't make me hurt you, lady." Probably not the best thing to say to her, considering she's the one who started this whole mess.

After throwing a few hooks into his biker's ribs, Dominic hears Everly laughing and looks up at her and gives her his best cheesy smile. This gives the biker enough of an opening to slam his fist down at Dom's head, but Dominic sees it coming and thrusts his head back just in time to see the fist smash down against the corner of the bar. A few cracks can be heard over the jukebox as the guy's fingers break and he steps back holding his hand up with a scream.

Suddenly 'Born To Be Wild' kicks in on the jukebox but it's hardly audible over the sound of one biker screaming and the bartender whimpering from the floor.

Now that he's not pinned down any longer, Dominic straightens and steps over to grab at the biker who is grappling Everly. He gets behind the biker and does his best bear hug, slipping his arms over the bikers' and trying to squeeze him so he let's go of the girl.

No one wants a boot to the face. Or stomach. Everly isn't really aiming anywhere, just kicking and flailing this time as she's dragged entirely the other way across the bar, twisting around to sit up as she's pulled to the edge. Just in time to save her from going ass over tea kettle off the bar is that bear hug, "Hurt me?"

If anyone cared to put money on it they'd probably win as she lifts a foot and kicks right for the face, it's not a solid hit, but her point is likely easily made as she start to scramble off the bar as soon as she's released by the man. As soon as her feet hit the floor she bounces back into the bar as her balance shifts, "Oof...." It slows her down, and it gives any of the others a fair chance of getting back into the fight, despite the fact that now that she has created literal chaos in the bar, she's got an entirely different idea, "We should go."

Everly's kick to the biker's face, while not a direct shot to his mouth that may knock out what little teeth he has left, is enough to knock him aside enough for her to get away. It's also enough for him to stagger back against Dominic, who is currently holding on to him as tightly as possible. Unfortunately the biker's weight is a little much for Dominic to handle and his grasp fails him, sending him to the floor.

"Fuck yeah we should go," he says as he scrambles to get to his feet now that three guys are beginning to surround him. He quickly reaches out and grabs the nearest bar stool and swings it wildly, not connecting with anyone but causing the bikers to back up and give them enough of a berth to maybe get out of here. "Go!" He swings again to give Everly a little extra room to run. Once she does, he swings again, hesitates in a defensive posture, and then just throws the stool at one of the bikers, hitting him in the shin. "Ow, fuck, man!" the biker yells as Dominic hurries past him and towards the door.

In addition to starting a fight, Everly is heading for the door to run away. Without paying. This is clearly going to turn her soul black and eventually keep her out of heaven the day she dies.

But run she does, the extra few seconds allowed by the swinging of the stool has her scrambling for the door, and when she hits it she shoves it open, and holds it for Dominic so that he's got a few extra seconds to get through the door before the three bikers that are trying to get to him manage to actually reach him, "Hurry!"

As if he needs her to tell him to hurry, right? He's the one that's gotten the worst of the damage.

As soon as Everly is clear of the mass of biker dudes, Dominic is sprinting towards the door. He somehow manages to pull his wallet out of his pocket and fish out a few bills. He crumples them up and just tosses them to the side on the floor before he bolts through the door so graciously held open by Everly. Stuffing the wallet back into his pocket, he grabs the door and hurls it closed, hoping that maybe it'll knock the lead biker down and give them a few more moments.

He turns and sprints down the walkway towards the parking lot and is already digging out his keys and spamming the shit out of the unlock button. The lights on his car begin flashing to signal that the car is unlocked but he keeps mashing it anyway, just in case. Once he reaches the driver's side door, he pauses long enough to look over towards the entrance to see the three bikers rounding the corner and heading towards them, "Ooohhhh shit!" The pitch of his voice raises as he sinks into the car and he fires up the engine, shifting into reverse and holding his foot on the brakes until Everly is able to get in safely, "Three fat fuckers on our six, pal!" He glances over his shoulder and out of the back window to see the three hulking bikers moving surprisingly quick despite their size.

The boots were great for kicking things, and adding an inch or two to her height. They are, however, not nearly as great for running as a pay of tennis shoes would be. But Everly runs as fast as she can to the brightly blinking car, jerking the car door open before diving into it, "Just drive."

It's a thin hope, honestly, that the bikers won't get to their bikes and follow, and if someone had really been planning they'd have gone and slashed all the tired before even picking a fight, or getting in the car. But none of those things happened, and Everly will probably think back on this day in twenty years and smack her palm against her forehead when she realizes what would have really worked in this situation.

But that day isn't today, today she's trying to get the door of the car closed fast as she can without catching her foot in the door, and avoid the bikers being able to introduce either of them to the business end of a gun for picking a fight.

The moment Everly is in the car, even before the door is shut, Dominic lets his foot off the brake and slams the gas pedal into the floor, causing the front tires to spin and kick up gravel. The car lurches backwards and he's turning the wheel /hard/ to bring them around. The front of the Volvo spins around until the headlights are illuminating the three bikers, who have all stopped in their tracks now that a car is staring them down.

For a brief moment nothing happens. Dominic sits motionless behind the wheel, gripping it with both hands to the point that his knuckles have turned white. The bikers stare back. Then, all at once, Dominic shifts into drive and gasses it just as the bikers all reach into their pants to pull out handguns. They level their weapons at the car as it flies past and out onto the road. The tires barely have the ability to grip the pavement as he turns down the road under a hail of bullets, "Hooooly shit." He half laughs hald whispers the words as he looks into his rearview mirror as the bikers all lumber out into the middle of the road and take shots at his car. Fortunately they're terrible shots and so far not a single one has landed.

Looking over at the woman in the passenger seat, Dominic exhales sharply, "You okay?"

Staring down a group of bikers is oddly less frightening when behind the deceptive delusion of protective glass. That is, until guns really do become involved, and Everly sinks down into the seat, looking like she might just slide herself all the way down into the floor boards before she comes to a stop only half way.

It's clearly an attempt to make sure she's not actually hit by anything, if those wildly placed bullets had actually hit, at least.

But nothing happens, and she looks a little ridiculous for the effort, which doesn't seem to bother her as she laughs, nodding, "Yeah, I'm great." With a little wiggling she drags herself back up, glancing behind them, "You?"

Once the car has gone around a few curves to place trees and plenty of road between the car and the pissed of bikers, Dominic manages to stop staring in the rear view and start breathing again. "Well, I may need a change of pants," he says through a stupid smile as the adrenaline courses through his body. His heart racing and his energy level spiking, he looks across the car towards Everly and shakes his head before looking in the mirror again. "There's no way in hell they aren't mounting up right now to hunt us down." He looks ahead so his eyes are on the road, speeding up as the tires squeal, trying to grip the road as he rounds a shallow curve. "We have to get somewhere off this road and lay low." He glances around for any signs of side roads they can duck down and shut off the lights for a few minutes. "I don't know where the hell we are though, so we may just have to race them into town."

"We won't make it to town, probably."

There's math done about this, and despite the fact he's speeding down the road she doesn't seem to think they'll reach town before the bikers manage to catch up. "A half a mile up, turn left." She suggests leaning back in her seat, eyes sliding upwards towards the sunroof, staring at it for a moment before she reaches into her pocket to pull her cigarettes out again. Two are fished out and lit before she reaches over, offering one of the pair to him as she blows smoke out, "We can get lost in the back roads pretty easy."

Nodding to her words, Dominic believes her when she says they won't make it to town. Without taking his eyes off the road, he reaches out and plucks the lit cigarette from her fingers and stuffs it between his lips, "Thanks." His eyes trade between the road ahead and the mirror, constantly checking for the road behind lighting up around the curves.

After what seems like forever, he looks in the mirror and sees light eminating from behind the trees at the apex of a curve, "Shit, they're about to catch up." Just then, he sees the road on the left that Everly was talking about. He slams on the brakes and brings the car around and then guns it again, getting as far as he can from the road they just left. He slows down and stares at the mirror until he can see the road lighting up behind them. Then he reaches up and twists the light knob on the dash to kill all of the lights. He lets off of the brake so the lights are not giving away their position. And he just waits.

A few seconds go by and the rumble of a pack of motorcycles can be heard growling by on their way into town. "Holy shit, it worked." He sighs and finally presses the brakes, bringing the car to a halt. He leans forward and rests his forehead on top of the wheel and sighs again.

"Yeah, they aren't the brightest assholes in the world." Everly sounds like the voice of experience when she states it, taking another drag from her cigarette before she reaches for the door of the car, "They'll be halfway to Seattle before they realize it, too."

That is a bit of a generous statement, though. She knows that, but she still makes it anyways as she lets herself out of the car, leaving the door open as she slouches against the back passenger door, leaning her head back so that she can look upwards at the sky, breathing out a slow sigh before she laughs, "Well, that was exciting."

She takes another long drag off the cigarette before she flicks the ashes off it into the dirt at her feet, her other hand raising up to tug the sleeve of her sweater down to cover her hand before she starts to scrub at her mouth, trying to rub the taste of greasy bartender off her tongue. The words that follow are muffled as she offers, "I bet I should get my shots updated."

Dominic's eyes close and the smoke from the cigarette in his mouth wafts across his face as he lets his heart rate just go nuts for a moment. The door opening draws his head back up, however, just for a moment thinking maybe someone had caught up and had pulled the door open. When he sees it's just Everly getting out, he laughs at himself and shifts the car into park and kills the engine. He pushes his own door open and climbs out, groaning as he nudges the door shut with his ass. Stepping around the rear of the car, he leans back against the quarter panel and slides to the ground and rests against the rear tire next to Everly.

"There is no telling where that motherfucker has been," he says with a laugh as he pulls his knees up towards his chest and rests his forearms across them. "I don't know how the hell we made it out of there without getting stabbed or shot."

"Luck."

Everly glances down at him when she replies, "I'd love to say skill, and maybe some was, but no...Really. Just dumb fucking luck. They weren't expecting that shit, and we caught them off guard." She seems satisfied with the scrubbing, both because it's really a bit of uselessness, but also the best she can do in the circumstances. She slides herself down next to him, slouching against the door of the car, knees up, "So now that you've had your fun for the night, you think you're going to be able to sleep?"

"Absolutely dumb fucking luck," he says with a grin. He glances over at her as she slumps down beside him and looks at her for a moment, breathing in his cigarette fumes before he tugs it from his mouth and dangles it from the arm resting on his knee.

Exhaling the smoke into the night sky, he rests his head back against the panel of his car and sighs, "My heart isn't going to stop freaking the fuck out for several hours, so I don't think I'll be getting to sleep anytime soon." He laughs out loud and rolls his head against the car so he can look at her again, "That really killed any chances of the tequila doing its job, too." He shakes his head, "What about you?"

There is a moment where she assesses her state of being just how tired she might be, or might not be. Then she shakes her head at him, "Nope, not sure that I could sleep right now if I tried. Even if I took a whole bunch of xanax, and downed an entire bottle of tequila."

The ashes from her cigarette are flicked once more, this time she aims slightly upwards into the darkness, watching as one of the knocked free embers winks out of existence before it hits the ground. Then she takes another drag from the cigarette, head thumping back against the car, eyes closing, "I might grab something to eat...Take a walk. Do something to burn off the extra energy from all this." She shakes her head a bit, a smile spreading across her mouth, "Enjoy just feeling alive."

A bunch of xanax and even more tequila actually sounds pretty nice at the moment. That would probably knock him right out, even with all of the adrenaline pumping through his body. He sighs and closes his eyes as well, the sound of her laughter causing him to join in. "I think I need to appreciate feeling alive after tonight. Fucking almost wouldn't be anymore if we hadn't left when we did." He pushes himself up and rests his cigarette in his mouth as he steps around Everly to the passenger side door and pulls it open.

He bends down and grabs the plastic bag out of the glove box and shuts the box and then the door. He opens it up as he sits back down beside Everly and digs out his keys, dipping one in to get a little bump before lifting it to his nose. "Probably a bad idea considering," he says and pauses long enough to inhale the mound, "but what the hell." Wiping his nostril a few times, he exhales slowly as he offers the bag to her, "I can take you back to town if you want to get some food. Or we can hang out in the dark in the middle of nowhere and do some blow."

When he gets up she looks in his direction, expression curious until she realizes just what he's doing. "You don't get into fights often, then?" She takes a final drag of her cigarette before she stubs it out in the ground next to her, making sure that it's fully out. Once again not wanting to catch anything on fire.

"I've got nothing waiting at home for me." Everly replies with a shrug, which seems to be her casting her vote for staying out here in the middle of no where doing some blow. In fact, she reaches for the bag when he offers it to her, and she holds it up between her fingers, mentally measuring just how long the contents of it might be able to last them. Seeming satisfied with the answer, she scoops out a nail full off it to carry to her nose for a quick sniff, eyes widening for a split second before holding it back towards him.

"Up until recently, I have done my best to avoid fights," he says as he watches her out her cigarette. When she takes the bag from him, his eyes linger on her as he considers her comment about home. "In that case we can stay out here until we run out or you get bored." He offers the woman a smile as he takes the bag from her again and dips a key in for another quick bump before he closes it off and tucks it into his shirt pocket.

As the coke hits the back of his throat, he sighs and rests his head back against the car and takes a slow drag of his cigarette, watching the smoke trail off into the cool air. "This isn't where I thought tonight was headed, but it's turned out to be pretty damn fun." He glances over at her, "Thanks for almost getting me killed."

"Where'd you expect your night to go when you hit the gym?" Everly wonders, then she shakes her head, "Or rather...where'd you expect it to go after that very first moment of disruption, since you did say gym, coke, drinking, more drinking...passing out."

Everly reaches her hands up, sliding her fingers into her hair before she starts to comb it back from her face, twisting it around and tying it into a loose knot that barely seems to be hanging on. "Welcome. It's always good to know where you are in the world, and one of the best ways seems to be reminding yourself that you are always seconds from death in a way that you can't ignore."

"I figured I'd hit the gym, head home and shower," he says and interrupts himself with his cigarette again. "Either pick up a case of beer on the way home or step out to a bar somewhere and bring my shit with me." He pats his chest where he placed the bag of coke in his pocket. He closes his eyes for a moment as the coke drips down his throat.

He glances over at her, "I think it went off the rails when I was in the gym and this cigarette smoking chick with big-ass boots walked in and distracted me." He grins and winks at her in the darkness even though she likely isn't seeing it. "Not that I'm complaining." His head returns to resting against the car so he can peer up at the clear night sky. "I wouldn't be sitting here looking out into the stars if things didn't happen as they did tonight. So, thank you again."

"You should watch out for chicks like that, they aren't anything but trouble." Everly points out with a shake of her head, "Pure trouble. My daddy always said..." She starts, but then starts, unable to continue with the farce of a response, instead she just laughs. "Whatever. I was bored. You were someone new."

She might not see the wink in the darkness, but she does hear the thank you again, and she glances towards him, "You should look at the stars more often, though." She reaches down, absently scratching at her leg just above the cuff of her boots, expression thoughtful in the dark, face still turned towards him but her attention seems to have drifted past him. "Live a little...stars, fights, break out of your routine. You never know what you might find in life. Who you might meet. What new adventures you'll have."

Her warning about meeting chicks who are nothing but trouble draws a chuckle out of Dominic. He doesn't respond, but instead just listens to her as he stares up at the sky. Living in town with all of the light pollution makes it easy to forget that there are parts of the world where you can see the sky clearly. The number of stars is insane.

The sound of her voice turning in his direction draws his attention back to her as she speaks. "This is pretty far out of my routine while I'm in town," he says quietly. "Tonight I met Everly." He pauses, "And Gut." He raises a brow thoughtfully, "I'm sure one of those guys back there is called Gut. I mean one of 'em had to be."

"Gut." Everly repeats that name back to him with a laugh, shaking her head, "If any of them was Gut it was that fat ass behind the bar. Seems like a logical name for a fat ass bartender if you ask me."

It might not be logical, really. Either way Everly has decided that the bartender is Gut, and forever will be in her mind now. She tilts her head back, looking upwards again before she lifts a hand upwards, pointing towards the sky, "That's Draco." She sketchily sketches it out in the sky with the tip of her finger, "It never sets. You can always see it in the sky." Then she points towards one of the stars that seem to make up the head of Draco, "That is the brightest star in the constellation, Gamma Draconis."

The hand that she'd been pointing upwards is dropped down to the ground next to her, fingers catching a dead leaf between them, "Consistency is good in somethings. But you'll go crazy if you never break routine, you need to live a little more."

"Bartender Gut," he says quietly through a smile. "Next time I go back, I'll call him Gut." As if there will be a next time. If they even see a Volvo drive by that place from now on, that fucker is swiss cheese. Some poor family is going to get killed because of him.

Following her finger, roughly, he looks towards Draco. When she starts sketching out the constellation, he lowers his gaze towards her and watches her instead. Watching her point at the sky and hearing her talk about the constellation makes him smile. He stuffs out his cigarette and then tosses it out into the darkness to the side of the road and looks back up at the sky. "I find comfort in routine. I have a hard time focusing on things, so it helps when I have a routine. Otherwise I forget about shit." He exhales quickly as the thought amuses him, "If I break routine, I start leaving shit at home that I need." He glances over at Everly again, "Who know where I'm going to end up after everything tonight."

"Probably not in a gutter somewhere, shot up by bikers. Unless they are waiting for us just down the road." Everly folds her arms across her knees, leaning forward to rest her chin there, eyes still directed upwards towards the sky, "Beyond that? I think the phrase is...the world is your oyster."

Which leads her down an entirely different train of thought for a moment before she glances at him, her brows lifting upwards, "Where would you want to end up? I think that's an important question you should answer."

The world is indeed his... /their/ oyster at the moment. I mean hell, they came through certain death without a real scratch. He feels like he should probably go hit up Vegas with the kind of luck he's having tonight.

His eyes scanning the night sky again after her question, he considers it for a moment before he lowers his gaze to her again. "Honestly? This is going to sound cheesy as shit," he says with a brief pause. "I don't really care as long as you're around." He holds his eyes on her for a moment and then the corniness of what he just said hits him and he rests his head back against the car and he looks back up at the sky, scoffing at himself. "Fuck, that was really bad, wasn't it?"

"That was pretty fucking bad." Everly agrees with a snort of amusement before she reaches over to dig around in the pocket of his shirt for the bag in there, "But I forgive you for it anyways." Soon as she has the bag she tugs it out so that she can open it and scoop out another bump, tilting her head back as she makes a face, sniffing back the sudden urge to sneeze.

Then she carefully closes the bag, but doesn't give it back to him, instead she starts to get to her feet with the assistance of the car against her back, her empty hand reaching down to brush off some of the dead leaves and dirt that might have decided to try and hitch a ride on her clothes, "Come on. Get up."

Her agreement at just how bad it was makes him laugh again. "I appreciate that about you," he says through his smile as he looks over at her. "Not pulling any punches." He glances down and just watches as she retrieves his bag of coke and grins as she takes it and grabs herself a little bump of it and doesn't give it back. This is where she robs him, he knew it.

The prospect of being robbed doesn't seem to bother him, though, as his face is plastered with a goofy-assed grin. He continues to watch as she stands up and wipes dead leaves from her bottom and then requests that he gets up. With a grunt, he plants his hands against the ground and pushes himself up. Swiping his palms across his ass and the backs of his thighs to get the gravel and leaves off of him, he looks over at Everly, "Where we going?"

This might be where she robs him, but if she's robbing him she seems to be a very non-violent thief. For now. But the bag isn't just not returned, now that she's on her feet she shoves it into her pocket, "We are going into the woods."

Where into the woods? That away, it seems. Straight forward. She doesn't wait to see if he's going to follow her, or if he's going to be choosing to run for the hills and ditch her in the woods. Which would be the smart move, considering all the trouble she's caused already that night, "So, Dom." She reaches into her other pocket to pull out her phone, turning on the flash light so that she doesn't fall and break her neck stomping around in the dark. "Since I'm letting you tag along, despite your cheesy ass pick up lines, what do you want to do out here in the woods?"

She does seem like a relatively non-violent thief. A violent bar date, sure. But not a violent thief, at least. "The woods." He glances out into the darkness and then back at the car. When she steps out towards the trees, he reaches into his pocket and finds the keyless entry remote and taps the lock button a few times for good measure, causing the horn to blow quickly and the lights to flash, then he turns and moves to follow her.

He nearly trips over an exposed tree root and stubs his toe before she manages to turn on her phone's flashlight. He curses under his breath at the pain in his foot, but manages to catch up to her and walk through the discomfort. His eyes scan the woods for any axe murderers lingering around, "Well, I always imagined being alone in the woods with a girl there would be some pretty filthy things going on. But I'm not sure fighting bikers is enough foreplay for that sort of thing."

There's a quick look back at him, both for the locking of the car, and the stubbed toes, "You expecting someone to wander by to steal the car?" She wonders, lifting the phone up to better illuminate the path in front of them. The path is really not a path, it's just a place to squeeze through the trees and underbrush, which makes it a rather slow passage through the trees until they are deep enough for the undergrowth to thin out due to the lack of sunlight.

It's almost like she's going to ignore his comment about filthy things, her response to it not coming for a while, but when it does she stops to turn around and face him, careful to keep the light from shining directly into his eyes, "What the fuck kind of filthy things are you imagining?"

"It's just a habit," Dominic says about locking his car. Again. Routine. When he leaves his car, he locks it. And the fact that he presses the damn lock button about 5 times is probably indicative of some other damn strange habit or disorder he has. As they wander deeper into the forest, he begins to wonder just how far they're going to venture until she stops and turns around to face him.

He abruptly stops and looks at her. He finds himself somewhat disarmed by her for not the first time since he met her tonight. "I.. thought we might have bible study." He tilts his head to the side and slightly shrugs, "That's about as filthy as it gets." He rights his head and smiles down at her, stepping closer to her, "What do you think?"

"That's pretty filthy. You ever read that shit? Like, honestly sat down and read it cover to cover." Everly tilts her head right back at him after a moment, "If you never have, you really should. Bear attacks, cannibalism, rape, all sorts of crazy stuff are in that book. Super filthy." She glances down at her phone, turning the flashlight back off before she tucks it into a pocket.

"I guess if you really want to have bible study, though...we can. But." Everly trails off for a second before she shakes her head, "Pretty sure you're not actually talking about bible study out here as what you imagined is done out in the dark woods at night, alone. Where no one can hear you scream." She lifts her hands, wiggling her fingers a la spooooooky along with the last things she says. "I'm sure you know you probably couldn't offend me. So. What sort of filthy things."

Laughing, Dominic nods and rests his hands against his hips, tilting his head again, "I haven't read the whole thing, but what I did read was pretty fucked up." He watches as she turns the light on her phone off and tucks it away into her pocket, then his eyes are back on her. "No, I don't want to have a bible study." When she does the creepy, scary finger motion, Dominic laughs again and glances around the dark woods. Only the cool air and a few distant crickets to keep them company.

"Well," he says as he returns his gaze to her, "Things that involve a lot of nudity. And, since you mentioned it, maybe some screaming. Willingness and just some good old fashioned fun." He moves a little closer so he can see her better with the light off.

"So...if your version of filthy things is just nudity and good old fashion sex, I'm way more concerned about you right now than I have been all night." There is a shake of her head at that, but she doesn't move and she's not digging her phone back out to blind him with the flashlight before robbing him of his car.

"I was thinking you were going to spring this whole dark woods Satanist shit on me, or ...Honestly I don't have an or. I wasn't really sure what you were going to suggest that was really, honestly that filthy of an activity out here." There is a glance downwards, towards his feet as he keeps moving forward slowly, "I'd say I don't bite and you don't need to be scared of me, but I'm sure we both know that's probably at least a half-lie."

Her reaction makes Dominic smile and almost laugh again. "Maybe I am old fashioned, then," he says as they manage to slowly get closer to one another. Almost touching at this point as he looks down into her face through the darkness. "Going out into the woods in the middle of the night with a man you met a few hours prior and letting him put his mouth on parts of your body he should have no business putting his mouth on just seemed a little filthy to me," he says as he glances down further. "I can carve a pentagram into a tree if it would make you feel better about the whole thing."

He reaches up to slide his fingers through her hair just above her ear so his hand trails back to rest his palm against the back of her neck. "Or I can talk in some made up language or something if that makes you less comfortable." He steps closer so that at this point his body is beginning to press against hers. If it wasn't for the coke in his nostrils he might even be able to smell her at this distance. "And for the record, I sure as shit bite."

"Filthy just seems to imply it is something to be ashamed of. Naughty, kinky, exciting...maybe. But filthy? I don't know, just the way that sounds to me..." Everly lifts her shoulders upwards very slightly in a shrug, eyes shifting past him towards the nearest of the trees, "Do you have anything on you that you can use to carve on a tree?"

Which, honestly. Isn't that important of a question to answer, but the rhetorical question is a nice way of filling in the space. When he informs her that he sure as shit bites there is a look at him, her brows lifting a fraction before she laughs, glancing downwards for a moment, noting just how close he actually is to her now, "I never would have guessed you were a biter. That get you in trouble a lot during school?"

"It's in the eye of the beholder, I suppose," Dominic says with a grin and a light shrug as he glances down at the ground and what little of it he can see. "Depending on who you talk to it can mean damn near anything." He glances back up at her, "But considering the conversation I think kinky might be the more appropriate word for it." After her question, he plunges his hand into his pocket to finger his pocket knife, "Sure, although it's just a tiny knife so it might not be the best for any satanic ritual carvings."

Following her downward glance to how close their bodies are, Dominic smiles and considers taking a step back but does no such thing. "Ended up having to sit out in the hallway almost every day," he says matter of factly. Is he serious? Who the hell knows. "Got started with the habit a little early, you could say." He grins and looks back up at her, "It wasn't until college that people really appreciated the subtle art of a well-placed bite." He rests his hands behind his back, "Since then I've been complimented on the talents I exhibit with my mouth... and teeth, I guess." If she is looking at his face she might see the arch of a brow as he realizes how strange he sounds as he says the last bit.

"I think that I'll pass on the actual satanic stuff, especially since that really feels like it'd probably derail the entire thing we've got going on here right now." Everly shakes her head at him, her head tilting to the side, then back so that she can look upwards at him, one corner of her mouth twisting upwards into a crooked smile, "I mean, unless you would just really prefer to do that instead?"

Everly doesn't seem to notice the arch of a brow, or put any significance on the expression in the darkness. What she does notice, however, is that his hands have tucked behind his back. She leans slightly to the side, giving them a curious look before she straightens upwards again, "You're welcome to demonstrate just how talented you are, because I'm going to be honest. I'm not really convinced about any of it." She reaches one hand out, fingers catching at the top most done button on his shirt so that she can start to undo the buttons of it slowly, "Unless you'd rather just keep talking. I'm willing to just talk, too."

Dominic considers at the very least making a pouty face at the idea that no satanic stuff will be going down out in the woods, but he quickly decides now isn't the time. Instead, he looks down at her and tilts his head to one side and shakes it, "No, I think you're right. There's a time and place and now isn't the time." Although it certainly does seem the place considering how dark and remote it is.

When she expresses her disbelief in his abilities, his brows lift again in an 'is that so?' expression but he doesn't say anything. Instead, when she reaches up and hooks her finger into the top of his shirt so she can begin undoing his buttons, he instead reaches up and assists her. Unfastening the buttons with precision, he shrugs the shirt off of his body and tosses it into the dark nothingness to his side. Once he's free of his shirt, he steps forward and slides his hands around her waist to the small of her back and pulls her against him while he lowers his head to press his lips to hers, "We can talk later." His lips meet hers and he slowly pulls her bottom lip into his mouth and brushes his tongue across it before giving it a gentle suck.

There is a nod, very much in agreement that now is the wrong time and place, whether or not the place itself is the right one with the dark and creepy vibe the woods have going on.

His help with the buttons on his shirt make it go faster, and as soon as they are done she's left with little more to do other than glance briefly in the direction he tossed his shirt, observing simply, "You'll never find it now." Which might just be true, he might never find it in the darkness, and they might be stuck waiting out here until the sun itself rises so that he can find it. Assuming that the shirt is important enough to put that much effort into recovering. But any further observations and responses are cut off when he pulls her against him and presses his lips against hers, her head tilting backwards just a little further before she presses herself up onto her tip-toes, one hand reaching up to slide around the back of his neck, fingers slipping up into his hair.

And there is a unicorn.