A/N Okay I'm thinking after Chapter 6, I'll be done with the explanation of Cash and Charlie's relationship and ill be able to get on with the main conflict and how Charlie's powers and past are revealed to the Kindred. That means I've got this chappy and the next to build their relationship for you. Any ideas would be appreciated. R&R please.
Disclaimers: Yes, yes we all know I'm a literary pauper. I own nothing. That includes the title for "Cum on Feel the Noise."
Chapter 5
Twenty minutes after leaving the Luna mansion, Cash pulled up to the entrance of the Firebird Gallery. Charlie was nowhere to be found and the new front desk clerk was hunched over so Cash couldn't see her face. She was evidently searching for something that had rolled under the desk.
"Excuse me."
When the clerk didn't rise, Cash repeated himself, only louder this time. He was still fairly pissed off from the conversation he'd had with Julian. "Excuse Me!"
The woman jumped a little then rose to her full height. When he saw her face, Cash became even more enraged. It was Grace, Lillie Langtry's Childe, whom she'd adopted as her own after Zane had Embraced the girl against her will. Cash had nothing against Grace personally but he knew that she was a spy for her Sire. Charlie had mentioned hiring Grace but Cash had not made the connection until now.
Grace just smiled at him knowingly. The Toreador recognized Cash as the man who had first brought her to the Prince after what Zane did to her. She didn't have anything against the guy personally but her Sire's orders were clear. Watch Charlie and give a full report on her movements through the day. Lillie was very serious about winning the redhead over before she Embraced her. "Can I help you?"
Cash glared at the girl. "Yeah, you can go get your boss. Tell her that her BOYFRIEND is here to pick her up." He emphasized the word boyfriend almost as a mark of possession. As if the word itself would ward off Lillie's unwanted advances.
"Charlie's expecting you. She told me to relay that you're to go back to the studio to get her."
He glared at her once more before walking towards the back. To get to the studio, he had to go through the gallery. Charlie had shown him much of her artwork the day after they'd met, but he had never really looked at it.While he was passing through the gallery, he began to realize just how talented she really was. Her paintings were somewhat abstract but they projected an incredible amount of feeling.
As he approached the studio, Cash could hear music blaring behind the huge steal door. He opened the door and was baffled by what he saw. His anger all but evaporated at the sight before him. Charlie was going through what had to be the most bizarre artistic process that Cash had ever witnessed. She was standing on what looked to be a huge canvas stretched over some gymnastics mats. Her feet and legs were covered in various colors of paint and her hands and arms were tie dyed to the elbows.
Cash watched, mesmerized, as she danced and tumbled across the canvas. She did handstands and backflips while strategically placing hand and footprints to form a picture.
"Cum on Feel the Noise" sounded out through the room, giving Charlie a rhythm for her movements. It occured to Cash that the amount of grace with which she pulled of such acrobatics gave another level of meaning to her work. This was a woman who loved what she did.
When Charlie finally noticed Cash's presence, she stopped dead in her tracks. After turning off the radio, she walked over to him with a large smile on her face. She was careful not to get any paint on Cash when she leaned in to kiss him."I didn't hear you come in over all the noise."
"I'm not surprised. You had that thing up full blast." His shoulders bobbed up and down as he laughed.
The redhead began wiping her paint covered appendages with a huge beach towel. "I just haveta take a shower, then I'll be ready."
"Didn't you remember I was coming to pick you up?"
Charlie shrugged,"Occupational hazard. I lost track of the time. Thank God for Grace or I'd never get anything done." She headed toward the metal staircase that led to her loft. Cash followed her up.
"Yeah, you know Grace is a friend of Lillie's, right?" Cash asked uneasily. He didn't want to offend his girlfriend but he needed to know how deep Lillie was wedging herself into Charlie's life.
"Of course. Lillie referred her to me. Didn't I tell you?"
"You probably did, I don't remember."
"Well, since the gallery hasn't officially opened yet, I had to find someone to help me with the technical stuff. So, I was talking to Lillie a few nights ago at the club, and she took a real interest in my work. I brought her over here to see my work and BAM! She offered to sponsor and organize the whole opening for me. And she said she'd use her connections to bring in some real high rollers from the art world." Charlie sounded extremely happy as she told Cash about Lillie's proposal from the shower. *And why wouldn't she be? Lillie's making her dreams come true.* he thought bitterly. Cash stood with his back against the closed bathroom door.
Thoughts raced through the Gangrel's mind as he did so. Lillie was closing in on Charlie fast. *Probably cause she knows I'll fight for her.* he thought. He'd really have to talk to the Toreador and make his position where the human was concerned very clear.
"...get them for me, Cash?" Charlie's words brought him out of his deep thoughts.
"What?"
"I said, I left my jeans on the bed. Will you get them for me?"
"Sure." he shouted back. As he went to the bedroom, Cash realized how familiar he'd become with everything in Charlie's apartment. Usually it took him months to familiarize himself that much with a woman and he hadn't been that close to anyone in a long time. It occurred to Cash that he wouldn't be able to find a Harley in Sasha's room if she gave him a map. However, he'd gotten close enough to Charlie in two weeks that he'd be able to find an earring in her apartment if she'd lost it.
Also, he felt completely at ease opening the door to hand a semi-nude Charlie her jeans. They weren't sleeping together yet, at least not in a sexual sense. But they had an intimacy between them that ran just as deep as if they had been, deeper even. And Cash felt completely comfortable around Charlie, as he knew she did around him.
"Okay!" Charlie announced as she emerged from the bathroom in a new, paint-free ensemble. "I'm ready."
Cash gazed at her for a moment. * God, she really is beautiful* he thought. Her hair was pulled back into a semi-ponytail. She wore tattered jeans with rips at the knees, a tight Mr. Bubble T-shirt, and a purple silk overshirt. Cash began to chuckle as his eyes were drawn down to her bright tie-dyed sneakers.
"What?" Charlie looked down at her shoes. "Hey, these are my lucky shoes, pal. I plan on kicking some ass at the carnival games."
Cash smiled and shrugged. He had a feeling that no matter how long he was with Charlie, she'd always keep surprising him. "Whatever works. Let's go."
Disclaimers: Yes, yes we all know I'm a literary pauper. I own nothing. That includes the title for "Cum on Feel the Noise."
Chapter 5
Twenty minutes after leaving the Luna mansion, Cash pulled up to the entrance of the Firebird Gallery. Charlie was nowhere to be found and the new front desk clerk was hunched over so Cash couldn't see her face. She was evidently searching for something that had rolled under the desk.
"Excuse me."
When the clerk didn't rise, Cash repeated himself, only louder this time. He was still fairly pissed off from the conversation he'd had with Julian. "Excuse Me!"
The woman jumped a little then rose to her full height. When he saw her face, Cash became even more enraged. It was Grace, Lillie Langtry's Childe, whom she'd adopted as her own after Zane had Embraced the girl against her will. Cash had nothing against Grace personally but he knew that she was a spy for her Sire. Charlie had mentioned hiring Grace but Cash had not made the connection until now.
Grace just smiled at him knowingly. The Toreador recognized Cash as the man who had first brought her to the Prince after what Zane did to her. She didn't have anything against the guy personally but her Sire's orders were clear. Watch Charlie and give a full report on her movements through the day. Lillie was very serious about winning the redhead over before she Embraced her. "Can I help you?"
Cash glared at the girl. "Yeah, you can go get your boss. Tell her that her BOYFRIEND is here to pick her up." He emphasized the word boyfriend almost as a mark of possession. As if the word itself would ward off Lillie's unwanted advances.
"Charlie's expecting you. She told me to relay that you're to go back to the studio to get her."
He glared at her once more before walking towards the back. To get to the studio, he had to go through the gallery. Charlie had shown him much of her artwork the day after they'd met, but he had never really looked at it.While he was passing through the gallery, he began to realize just how talented she really was. Her paintings were somewhat abstract but they projected an incredible amount of feeling.
As he approached the studio, Cash could hear music blaring behind the huge steal door. He opened the door and was baffled by what he saw. His anger all but evaporated at the sight before him. Charlie was going through what had to be the most bizarre artistic process that Cash had ever witnessed. She was standing on what looked to be a huge canvas stretched over some gymnastics mats. Her feet and legs were covered in various colors of paint and her hands and arms were tie dyed to the elbows.
Cash watched, mesmerized, as she danced and tumbled across the canvas. She did handstands and backflips while strategically placing hand and footprints to form a picture.
"Cum on Feel the Noise" sounded out through the room, giving Charlie a rhythm for her movements. It occured to Cash that the amount of grace with which she pulled of such acrobatics gave another level of meaning to her work. This was a woman who loved what she did.
When Charlie finally noticed Cash's presence, she stopped dead in her tracks. After turning off the radio, she walked over to him with a large smile on her face. She was careful not to get any paint on Cash when she leaned in to kiss him."I didn't hear you come in over all the noise."
"I'm not surprised. You had that thing up full blast." His shoulders bobbed up and down as he laughed.
The redhead began wiping her paint covered appendages with a huge beach towel. "I just haveta take a shower, then I'll be ready."
"Didn't you remember I was coming to pick you up?"
Charlie shrugged,"Occupational hazard. I lost track of the time. Thank God for Grace or I'd never get anything done." She headed toward the metal staircase that led to her loft. Cash followed her up.
"Yeah, you know Grace is a friend of Lillie's, right?" Cash asked uneasily. He didn't want to offend his girlfriend but he needed to know how deep Lillie was wedging herself into Charlie's life.
"Of course. Lillie referred her to me. Didn't I tell you?"
"You probably did, I don't remember."
"Well, since the gallery hasn't officially opened yet, I had to find someone to help me with the technical stuff. So, I was talking to Lillie a few nights ago at the club, and she took a real interest in my work. I brought her over here to see my work and BAM! She offered to sponsor and organize the whole opening for me. And she said she'd use her connections to bring in some real high rollers from the art world." Charlie sounded extremely happy as she told Cash about Lillie's proposal from the shower. *And why wouldn't she be? Lillie's making her dreams come true.* he thought bitterly. Cash stood with his back against the closed bathroom door.
Thoughts raced through the Gangrel's mind as he did so. Lillie was closing in on Charlie fast. *Probably cause she knows I'll fight for her.* he thought. He'd really have to talk to the Toreador and make his position where the human was concerned very clear.
"...get them for me, Cash?" Charlie's words brought him out of his deep thoughts.
"What?"
"I said, I left my jeans on the bed. Will you get them for me?"
"Sure." he shouted back. As he went to the bedroom, Cash realized how familiar he'd become with everything in Charlie's apartment. Usually it took him months to familiarize himself that much with a woman and he hadn't been that close to anyone in a long time. It occurred to Cash that he wouldn't be able to find a Harley in Sasha's room if she gave him a map. However, he'd gotten close enough to Charlie in two weeks that he'd be able to find an earring in her apartment if she'd lost it.
Also, he felt completely at ease opening the door to hand a semi-nude Charlie her jeans. They weren't sleeping together yet, at least not in a sexual sense. But they had an intimacy between them that ran just as deep as if they had been, deeper even. And Cash felt completely comfortable around Charlie, as he knew she did around him.
"Okay!" Charlie announced as she emerged from the bathroom in a new, paint-free ensemble. "I'm ready."
Cash gazed at her for a moment. * God, she really is beautiful* he thought. Her hair was pulled back into a semi-ponytail. She wore tattered jeans with rips at the knees, a tight Mr. Bubble T-shirt, and a purple silk overshirt. Cash began to chuckle as his eyes were drawn down to her bright tie-dyed sneakers.
"What?" Charlie looked down at her shoes. "Hey, these are my lucky shoes, pal. I plan on kicking some ass at the carnival games."
Cash smiled and shrugged. He had a feeling that no matter how long he was with Charlie, she'd always keep surprising him. "Whatever works. Let's go."