Not your normal day.
He had never been in such a place before, and he didn't expect the old Panda to willingly bring him to such a place. It was strange because the moment he walked in he could feel how heavy the atmosphere was. The whole place seemed casual but he could feel it, see it. People were there for one reason or another and it wasn't for the cheap drinks at the bar.
"What're we doing here?" he whined feeling uncomfortable.
"I'm trying to get certain things out of your head before you develop something that cannot be fixed so easily," the old man rumbled.
"Like what?" he scoffed.
"Like attachments," the man scoffed back, "Lately I've noticed things, certain frustrations,"
"Like sexual frustrations," he said quickly, cutting the other man off.
"Exactly, and I want you to be rid of them before they get out of hand and form attachments. I remember what it's like to be young and have yearnings. So I brought you here to get them out of your system before it becomes troublesome," the old man said stiffly, turning away to light his cigar.
The young man glanced around the room, taking in multiple couples, clutching at each other, dancing, kissing, everything that he had been previously denied. He didn't see the point in it all. In his mind it could only possibly make things worse. So he voiced his opinion.
"Wouldn't this make things worse?" he asked.
"Only if you're stupid," the old man retorted.
"Stupid is all I am, according to you," he said with a sigh.
Making his way over to the bar he ordered himself a scotch on the rocks and a gin and tonic for the old man. Neither of them drank often but despite their indifference to everything they both had their preferences. The bar man nodded at his order and he immediately noticed the way the man moved, figuring that the man was partially, if not completely blind. He was still an excellent bar man, going off of feel and weight, instead of sight, The young man was impressed and decided to tip the man, dropping some coins into a glass on the bar that said tips.
"Thanks," the barman said obviously hearing the coins hit the the glass.
He finished up the drinks, sure and study without taking up too much time, and set them in front of the young man.
"Thanks," he said, pushing the man a fifty, "Keep the change."
The bar man smiled and nodded, taking the note. His eyes widening as he felt the edges of the note, realising what he had just been given.
"Hey… wait," he called.
It was too late however as he had grabbed his drinks and walked away. He scanned the room and immediately found the old man sitting at a small circular table. He made his way over and sat the drinks down on the table. With a sigh he sat down across from the old man, immediately taking a sip from his drink.
"So what do I have to do?" he questioned with another sigh.
He waited impatiently as the old man took a small sip of his drink before sitting it back down on the table.
"I have hired a girl for you, her name is Lenalee, currently the most popular girl. She is currently at the bar."
The younger man turned in his seat and glanced towards the bar. He had already internally logged everyone at the bar while ordering the drinks, but he turned to make sure that nothing had changed. And nothing had, there was no one new at the bar, but the only obvious working girl currently had her arms around someone else.
"Looks like she's preoccupied," he spoke up.
"That young man is not a customer, he works here."
"A working man then?"
"No," the old man said, taking another small sip of his drink before lighting another cigar. "That young man is, Allen, the piano player. From what I can tell he 'can't get it up', as I believe the saying is."
"That's harsh old man."
'Never the less it is true," he said systematically as always. "It does not matter, your date is the young Lenalee, so I suggest you compose yourself as she is walking over here."
'Huh," he said, turning his eyes back towards the bar.
Sure enough the two people had split apart, the male heading towards the large piano, the female, Lenalee, making a bee line straight for him. She was physically attractive, there was no doubt about that, and she knew how to move her body seductively. He knew no one else would notice, but he could tell that there was a hint of sadness to her walk. Her sway wasn't quite right and her eyes were soft, unlike the hardened eyes he saw of all the other girls. Yet he could see the hardness there, underneath it all. There was something that was making her job hard for her, and he had a sneaking suspicion it was recent, and caused by the young man she had just left.
"HI there," she purred in a way that would make any man melt, but he himself just found it sad. It was a forced act and he knew it, and he could tell the old man sensed it as well.
"Hey," he said casually.
"The name's Lenalee. What's yours?"
"Lavi," he said, even if it wasn't his real name. It was a name chosen at random, from the long list of names he had previously used.
"It's a pleasure," she purred once more. She held out a hand to him and he took it, allowing her to pull him up and drag him out to the dance floor. "Do you like to dance?" she asked.
"I've got two left feet," he said while stumbling along to her moves blindly.
It was a lie, he knew basic dancing moves along with a number of other seemingly useless things. Because seemingly useless things can always come in handy. He simple lied and stumbled about, because he didn't want the whole night to be extended more than it had to be. He just wanted the whole thing over and done with. The quicker it was done the better, he would get rid of what was unfortunately natural urges, and at the same time get the old man off his back.
"You really do have two left feet," Lenalee laughed.
Most of it was forced, but Lavi could detect a hint of sincerity and honest laughter under it. She was so sad, and Lavi enjoyed hearing a somewhat genuine laugh.
"I'm sorry, I don't often do these things," he said lying, "I'm only here because of the old man, " he said for once telling the truth.
"The old man?" she asked.
Immediately he could tell that she wasn't in any way interested in what he had to say. It was all part of the act, but for some reason her told her anyway.
"In my line of work I can't have any distractions, and sexual desire is a massive distraction. So he's set this up in a way to get it out of my system."
"Oh," she said with a lick of the lips. She was trying to look seductive and it was working, "And you don't get it out of your system yourself?" As she said this she dropped her hand from his shoulder and ran it teasingly, lightly, between his legs, pressing against his crotch for only a second.
He stiffened slightly, but quickly, in the space of a second, let himself relax again continuing his awkward dancing.
"There's only so much self service can do."
He was feeling awkward, which was strange to him, so in an attempt to get things over and done with, he deliberately trod on her toes.
"Oww!" she yelped, stepping back and letting go of him, and then she laughed, once again almost genuine, "You really are a terrible dancer."
"It's a curse," he shrugged with a smile.
"Or maybe you just want to skip that pleasantries and move straight on to upstairs?"
She rolled her hips, once more seductive and smiled at him in a very come hither way. He could tell why she was so popular, she exuded sex appeal. At the same time she could be either dominate or submissive, appealing to men and women who either wanted to concur or be concurred. She was everything in one, but all Lavi could see was what was hiding behind brown eyes and a performance.
"Let's get this over with," he said with a sigh, dropping the act for a moment.
She noticed, and if she noticed than the old man definitely noticed. The whole time they were attempting to dance he knew he was being watched, and this was a bad thing. It was too late to pick the act back up now, so he took her arm and guided her, gently, towards the stair case that led to the rooms. She scuttled along for a moment, before recovering and taking the lead, grabbing his arm instead of his hers, and leading the way. She easily moved through the crowd, and as they reached the stair case, Lavi saw her eyes dart back towards the room, and saw her, just for a second, rest her gaze on the pianist.
Lavi, for the first time since being a child, felt the smallest rush of jealousy. At first it was foreign to him, not knowing what he was feeling, and then the emotion registered. It was strange because although the urges of the body was something he couldn't control, urges of the mind were something he was well equipped to deal with. Jealous, he decided, was painful and left a certain bad taste on the tongue. It also felt too much like longing, which was something he hoped to erase years earlier. He found himself thinking, 'mine' in his mind, and he didn't like the feeling at all.
"Here we are," Lenalee whispers, leaning against a plain wooden door until it opened.
Lavi walked through the door and looked around, some how no longer interested in bodily desires now that emotional ones had come to the fore ground. The room was empty and emotionless, which should have suited him fine. Instead he found it sad, and he didn't want to be there. He heard the door click shut and lock, and then Lenalee was on him, forcing him into an emotionless kiss that he didn't want. He had lost all of his cravings by that point, and didn't want any part of what was previously planned. He could tell it was obvious to Lenalee too, as the feel of her kiss changed and the way she desperately tried to get him to involve himself in the kiss.
"No," he said softly pushing her away.
"Come on," she said, a little too forced. Lavi could tell she was starting to worry. "You have me for the whole night."
"I don't care."
"Oh god," she said, finally dropping the act, "Please don't tell me you're one of those weirdos that acts all nice than beats up on a girl."
Lavi noticed that way that she sounded scared, but didn't actually convey the feelings into her body language. She wasn't scared, a little worried yes, but not scared.
"No, I'm not going to beat up on you," he sighed.
"Then why did you come here?" she snapped, crossing her arms
"I told you, the old man brought me."
"And I don't believe that for a second."
"I'm serious."
"Yeah right," she said with a roll of the eyes, the acting coming out again, "Like I'm going to believe your father brought you to a whore house."
"He's not may father, he's my teacher."
She didn't know what to say to that.
"I'm sorry, " he said, surprised that he in some way meant it, "I just don't want to sleep with you."
They were bother shocked at what had been said. Lavi because he knew what he said was hurtful. Lenalee because no one have ever turned her down, ever.
"Before you get all offend, it was just because, you seem so sad, and you didn't want to do this"
Lavi mentally slapped himself, wondering what the fuck he was thinking. But then truly, what did a whore have to say to anyone else other than to another whore.
"Of course I don't," she said with a sigh, picking up the acting again, "Who wants to sleep with people for a living."
"That's not true," Lavi said, sitting down on the edge of the bed, his gaze focused on his hands in his lap, "I can tell. You never had a problem with what you did for a living. Not until recently. It's only in the past few months that you have began to think twice about what you do."
Lavi could tell from the silence that she was shocked. She wasn't trying to think up something to say, an excuse or anything. It was because he had spoken the truth, and she had no way to defend herself from the truth. When she didn't speak he continued talking against his better judgment.
"It's Allen isn't it? The old man didn't notice but I did. You didn't want to let him go. You want him, but for some reason he denies you, despite what you are, and this makes you despise what you do."
The silence drew out once again, and just when Lavi was about to get up and leave, he heard laughter. It wasn't a happy laughter, but it wasn't fake. It was the sad laughter of a women finally coming to terms with something so obvious. She knew it, so did he, but it was the first time it had ever been spoken out loud. The bed next to him sunk under a weight and Lavi finally looked up from his hands to see her sitting next to him.
"You're right you know," she said with a smile. It was a sad smile, but still held some small form of happiness. Lavi knew it was from thinking about him. She was sad but Lavi liked, actually liked, the way she didn't succumb to inner emotions and let them run free. She was hurting internally, but externally she let only the smallest amount out in a way that only someone like him could see.
They were two people who never let their emotions show, and should really not have met.
"I like him, a whole lot, and if I knew what true love was I might just say I was in love."
She fell back on the bed, letting her arms stretch out behind her lazily. She was relaxing and letting her defences down.
"Don't get me wrong, I know what love is. I love my brother, I love my few friends. But love between a man and a woman, something that isn't platonic, that's something I don't' really know. I can only think about it, wonder if it's real. But Allen, he's something different, and I hope to the God who does not exist, that maybe it's real."
"Why do you love him?" Lavi asked, not doubting for a second that was what she felt.
"Because he's different. Men and women come here night after night wanting little more than sex and alcohol. Allen doesn't want that, he doesn't desire flesh, and God knows I've offered it to him enough times. He has a few drinks, but never get's drunk. He'll smoke on and off, but he's never addicted, it's just because he wants to."
"What do you feel when he denies you?" Lavi asked, more curious than another, it's not often he heard much into emotional depth. He lay back on the bed and rolled his head to look at her, but her eyes were locked to the ceiling, lost in her own world away from him.
"What I feel is dirty. I know Allen's not one to judge someone by what they do, even if they are a whore. But I can't help but think that maybe if I wasn't what I am, then maybe he would want me. It's rare that someone doesn't want me."
She stretched out on the bed, locking her fingers behind her and pushing up, a few knuckles cracking. Relaxing again, she rolled to her side and sidled up again Lavi in a completely innocent way. There was no under lying tone of promised sex, but instead just the human desire to be close to someone. Something that Lavi found himself curling into, until the both of them were lying curled into each other, legs entwined.
"Silly isn't it?" she whispered,"but what makes it worse, is that in the last few months, I think he's found someone."
"Who?"
"Just a customer. I've never seen him take any of the workers up to a room, but he hangs around, and recently he's been hanging around a lot more often. He rests on the piano and stares at Allen all night, and Allen… well he doesn't stare back but he glances. Then they will have a drink, and step outside for a smoke. I don't think they do much, but it's just long enough for maybe something to happen."
She curled into him tighter and he let her wriggle under his arm and rest her head against his chest.
"Pretty pathetic right? I've fallen for a possibly gay man," she said with a mirthless chuckle.
"Not at all," Lavi said with a laugh of his own, "After all they are so much nicer than us horrible straight men."
They both laughed at that and then they separated, both lying back and staring up at the ceiling.
"So what now?" she asked,"We're booked for the whole night? And you didn't seem very interested."
"Sorry bout that… Do you just want to sleep together?" Lavi asked, unable to hold back the pun, "And by that I mean actually sleep."
"I sleep all day. What about you? I'm sure you still have a lot of tension built up. How about a massage?"
"Nah, that's alright," Lavi said, even though he had changed his mind. He was once more very interested in her, and it wasn't just the natural urges, it was her herself. "I'll be happy enough just to sleep."
"Don't be like that," she said, getting up off the bed and walking around in front of him, "I'd like to do something for you."
She knelt in front of him and began to run her hands lightly over his thighs, his calves hanging over the edge of the bed. She reached up and unbuttoned his jeans pulling them down slightly. Lavi let her, unable to think of what to say to stop her.
"After all, I like you," she said, crawling up along him.
"But not like, Allen," he whispered before he could stop himself.
"No," she said without emotion, her hands stopping, "Not like, Allen."
She began to move her hands again and then went down on him, and Lavi let her.
Lavi knew that the old man organised the whole night to make things less complicated. Make things complicated was exactly what he had done though, because Lavi was stupid. He felt something for the girl in front of him, and it was not pity, nor was it disgust of remorse. It was a very dangerous feeling, and he prayed to the God he did not believe in that the old man didn't notice and take him away from it.
…
I think they way I would like to go with this, is every second chapter being about another person, but every other chapter than that being about Allen and possibly Tyki. This wont be very long, but I like it.
I think this chapter is possible one of my favourite things that I have written and for once I am actually happy with it.
Sorry for spelling mistakes, I started off slow a few days again, writing a few lines and paragraphs and going over them. And then tonight I just pushed it all out. So the second half I didn't go over as many times and may have a different feel about it.
Sorry for people hanging on for more Poker pair but this had to be written, and I like it going this way.
Reviews and opinions are greatly appreciated.
