"What's the deal, Lee?" Ricardo asked as he grabbed a large shot glass and began to pour a large amount of liquor into it.
"I…I just witnessed the most heart wrenching thing in my life." Spike said as he just took the bottle from his bartending friend. He tipped it up and chugged it for 15 seconds straight.
"Easy there. What did you see?" Ricardo asked finally pulling the bottle away from his lips. Spike only glanced up into the room where Alex and Blade sat. They had just finished their kiss and a waitress was walking in with a bucket of ice, followed by another waiter with two bottles of wine.
"Them, he just took her from me." he said as Blade nodded with his arm still around Alex and the waiter placed one of the bottles in the bucket of ice to chill.
"Don't worry, there are plenty of fish in the sea. You'll have your catch in no time Lee. A handsome guy like you with a personality like that, no time at all, pal." Ricardo took back the bottle Spike was drinking from and found that he had drained it totally.
"None like her Ricardo. I know her and we dated. I don't know about the two of us anymore." He said as he pulled the black hair tie out of his hair and let it fall wildly about his shoulders. It wasn't restrained, so it began to puff out a little bit.
After the waitress left to get glasses and left the bottle in the bucket to chill, there was an eerie silence. They didn't make eye contact, but Blade kept his arm wrapped around the top of her chair. They sat in the deafening and awkward quiet.
"Alex." Blade eventually said. She looked to him. His eyes were on the floor, but they looked up to meet hers. "I…I have to meet this law inside the syndicate, its like a uh…a requirement if you're involved with someone."
"What are you getting at Blade?" she asked slowly, not knowing if she wanted to know. Blade looked at her and his eyes grew sad.
"Nothing, nothing at all. Nothing that you need to worry about." He said smiling. He was hiding something, she could tell. It was just like he was able to tell when something was bothering her. "Let's just have a fun and eventful evening." Their waitress came back with the glasses and set them in front of them.
"Are you ready to order your meals?" she asked politely as she picked up her PDA out of her pocket and waited with the tip of the stylus on the screen.
"I would like the roast chicken with the vegetable assortment." Blade said politely and with a grin.
"And I'd like to have the filet mignon with the steamed sugar snap peas and the oven baked potatoes please." Alex said as she handed her menu to the girl.
"And how would you like your meat cooked?"
"Medium well please." There was a short pause as she wrote the order down on the device.
"Okay, your meals should be out in roughly 15-20 minutes, would you like soup or salad while you wait?"
"No thank you." Blade said with a grin. The waitress then left, leaving Blade and Alex alone yet again. There was another eerie silence again for a few moments before Alex spoke again.
"Blade, how long have you cared for me like this?" she asked as she leaned back into her chair feeling more comfortable than when she fist came into the restaurant. He looked at her like she was crazy.
"I've always cared for you."
"No, when I say care for me like this, I mean like, hell, maybe even love me. How long Blade?" he was quiet for a few seconds.
"Alex, do you remember back when we were walking back to your friend's ship a few months back and you told me you were a bounty hunter?" she nodded. "Well, that was the day I consciously acknowledged that I liked and maybe even loved you. Subconsciously I guess it started back just after you left the track when we were kids the last time your dad raced before they were killed. I remember asking my mom time after time about seeing you again but being told that I couldn't because you were far, far away and there was no way I could get to you. I used to write letters and then give them to mom for her to send out, but I'd never get anything back. I guess that was what did it. Growing up missing you like I did."
"Blade, I…" she began before she didn't know what to say. He only looked at her. "I did the exact same thing."
"What do you mean?"
"When I lived at the orphanage, I wrote letters too, but the lady that ran the place would either crumple them up and toss them in the trash in front of me, or she'd just say she couldn't send it out. It depended on how drunk she was and how lazy." She said recalling her days living in the unhappy hellhole.
"So you felt the same for me?" he asked her. She saw him getting his hopes up. Her eyes went to the floor; somewhere other than where she could see his.
"I did. But after so many times of witnessing my letter being rejected, I lost hope and faith. Just enough to dampen my spirits to think I'd never be able to see you again, and I believed it. After I turned 16, I got tired of it and just flat out left. One night after the lights had been turned out, I picked up all of my stuff and snuck out. They came looking for me, but I was already far enough gone, they couldn't catch up. I lived on the streets until the day we saw each other again after the countless years that passed. So much had happened to me in that period of time, you wouldn't even think me to be the same person after I'd tell you all of it." She said keeping her eyes away from him.
"But Alex," he said as he pulled her face to look him dead in the eyes, "I want to know everything about you. Of all the times I've told you, I don't think you understand what I'm saying. I'm telling you that I love you and I want to be with you." He said with a smile, trying to coax one out of her; he only received tears.
"I…I can't. It's not you, it's just that…" she said as she pulled her eyes off of his and turned her entire body to face away from him as her tears flowed from her eyes.
"You can tell me. I care about you Alex. You are my best friend, which is why I want to be with you so much." He said as he placed his hand on her shoulder. He kissed her lightly on the soft skin that was between her neck and shoulder. The light scent of roses hung in the air around her and made him desire her even more. A sudden movement from outside the room caught his eye, and as he looked over to the bar, Blade could see another man with long hair staring in at Alex, his Alex.
"I just don't know anymore. It's like my life was coming together but now it's all just falling apart again. So much at once makes me wonder if I can keep my sanity anymore." She said as she placed her hand over his, but then pushed it off of her shoulder. What was she doing?
"What's wrong? What are you trying to say?" he asked as she turned to look at him. His eyes were full of confusion and worry. She couldn't just reject him here, like this. After tonight, she'd tell him about her and Spike and how they are so into each other.
"Nothing," she smiled as she pushed her emotions back, "I'm just babbling again is all." He still looked concerned, but why? He knew she was hiding something, and she could tell he knew there was something going on.
"If you say so," he said with a sigh. He knew she wasn't going to tell him without him having to drag it out of her, but this wasn't the time or place for that. "So tell me, how is it going aboard the Bebop with your friend?" Finally! Something she could talk about!
"Well, Jet and I have been doing pretty well. Bringing in a lot of money and buying tons of musical equipment. I taught him to play the harmonica and the piano, and I play the guitar, piano, and the saxophone now. We make a pretty decent band. There's another girl that hangs around with us that plays the drums and she's a good drummer, so look forward to hearing about me being famous soon." She said with a smile. At least something was going well for her.
"That's good to hear. Maybe I can be in one of your music videos eventually?" he asked as he touched the tip of her nose with his index finger lightly.
"So, what about you? Did you completely give up modeling?" she asked as she reached up and flicked a strand of hair out of his face.
"Not totally. I enjoy doing it, so every now and then I get a call from some magazine about doing a shoot I go out and do it. I actually have one just after dinner if you'd like to tag along." He said hinting to her that he wanted her to go. She grinned.
"I don't know. I'd have to tell Jet about it and let him know that I won't be home until later."
"You might not go home at all." He said as a playful smirk crossed his face. She giggled uneasily knowing that either he was just trying to be funny or he was actually going to keep her with him.
"I think I will go home tonight, we lift off first thing in the morning to head out to Venus. The guy we're after moves around a lot and we've finally found him on Venus, but we don't know how long he'll be there so we have to leave right away. We were planning on leaving today, but then you called and sort of switched everything." She said lying to him. She wasn't comfortable with the way he said that. He shrugged his shoulders.
"How much was he worth?"
"I think about 18 million."
"If you stay with me tonight, I'll pay you 20." He said with a sly and sneaky tone of voice. She couldn't believe he just said that!
"Blade, I'm not some escort you can just hire and waltz around town with." She said becoming annoyed. He quickly picked it up.
"God, what was I thinking? I'm sorry, but it's just that I haven't been able to get together with you in so long and I just want to spend some time with you. I realize bounty hunting is what you do to get money and get by, but I want to be with you for one night before we don't see each other again for god only knows how long." He said apologizing for his rudeness. She looked at him slyly for a moment.
"Let me go and call Jet, I'll let you know what he says." She said standing up and preparing to leave the room. He nodded as she passed through the curtain and began to cross the restaurant. He watched her go across the dance floor and towards the bar, but then busied himself with buckling his sword back around his waist and then having some of his wine.
"I…I just witnessed the most heart wrenching thing in my life." Spike said as he just took the bottle from his bartending friend. He tipped it up and chugged it for 15 seconds straight.
"Easy there. What did you see?" Ricardo asked finally pulling the bottle away from his lips. Spike only glanced up into the room where Alex and Blade sat. They had just finished their kiss and a waitress was walking in with a bucket of ice, followed by another waiter with two bottles of wine.
"Them, he just took her from me." he said as Blade nodded with his arm still around Alex and the waiter placed one of the bottles in the bucket of ice to chill.
"Don't worry, there are plenty of fish in the sea. You'll have your catch in no time Lee. A handsome guy like you with a personality like that, no time at all, pal." Ricardo took back the bottle Spike was drinking from and found that he had drained it totally.
"None like her Ricardo. I know her and we dated. I don't know about the two of us anymore." He said as he pulled the black hair tie out of his hair and let it fall wildly about his shoulders. It wasn't restrained, so it began to puff out a little bit.
After the waitress left to get glasses and left the bottle in the bucket to chill, there was an eerie silence. They didn't make eye contact, but Blade kept his arm wrapped around the top of her chair. They sat in the deafening and awkward quiet.
"Alex." Blade eventually said. She looked to him. His eyes were on the floor, but they looked up to meet hers. "I…I have to meet this law inside the syndicate, its like a uh…a requirement if you're involved with someone."
"What are you getting at Blade?" she asked slowly, not knowing if she wanted to know. Blade looked at her and his eyes grew sad.
"Nothing, nothing at all. Nothing that you need to worry about." He said smiling. He was hiding something, she could tell. It was just like he was able to tell when something was bothering her. "Let's just have a fun and eventful evening." Their waitress came back with the glasses and set them in front of them.
"Are you ready to order your meals?" she asked politely as she picked up her PDA out of her pocket and waited with the tip of the stylus on the screen.
"I would like the roast chicken with the vegetable assortment." Blade said politely and with a grin.
"And I'd like to have the filet mignon with the steamed sugar snap peas and the oven baked potatoes please." Alex said as she handed her menu to the girl.
"And how would you like your meat cooked?"
"Medium well please." There was a short pause as she wrote the order down on the device.
"Okay, your meals should be out in roughly 15-20 minutes, would you like soup or salad while you wait?"
"No thank you." Blade said with a grin. The waitress then left, leaving Blade and Alex alone yet again. There was another eerie silence again for a few moments before Alex spoke again.
"Blade, how long have you cared for me like this?" she asked as she leaned back into her chair feeling more comfortable than when she fist came into the restaurant. He looked at her like she was crazy.
"I've always cared for you."
"No, when I say care for me like this, I mean like, hell, maybe even love me. How long Blade?" he was quiet for a few seconds.
"Alex, do you remember back when we were walking back to your friend's ship a few months back and you told me you were a bounty hunter?" she nodded. "Well, that was the day I consciously acknowledged that I liked and maybe even loved you. Subconsciously I guess it started back just after you left the track when we were kids the last time your dad raced before they were killed. I remember asking my mom time after time about seeing you again but being told that I couldn't because you were far, far away and there was no way I could get to you. I used to write letters and then give them to mom for her to send out, but I'd never get anything back. I guess that was what did it. Growing up missing you like I did."
"Blade, I…" she began before she didn't know what to say. He only looked at her. "I did the exact same thing."
"What do you mean?"
"When I lived at the orphanage, I wrote letters too, but the lady that ran the place would either crumple them up and toss them in the trash in front of me, or she'd just say she couldn't send it out. It depended on how drunk she was and how lazy." She said recalling her days living in the unhappy hellhole.
"So you felt the same for me?" he asked her. She saw him getting his hopes up. Her eyes went to the floor; somewhere other than where she could see his.
"I did. But after so many times of witnessing my letter being rejected, I lost hope and faith. Just enough to dampen my spirits to think I'd never be able to see you again, and I believed it. After I turned 16, I got tired of it and just flat out left. One night after the lights had been turned out, I picked up all of my stuff and snuck out. They came looking for me, but I was already far enough gone, they couldn't catch up. I lived on the streets until the day we saw each other again after the countless years that passed. So much had happened to me in that period of time, you wouldn't even think me to be the same person after I'd tell you all of it." She said keeping her eyes away from him.
"But Alex," he said as he pulled her face to look him dead in the eyes, "I want to know everything about you. Of all the times I've told you, I don't think you understand what I'm saying. I'm telling you that I love you and I want to be with you." He said with a smile, trying to coax one out of her; he only received tears.
"I…I can't. It's not you, it's just that…" she said as she pulled her eyes off of his and turned her entire body to face away from him as her tears flowed from her eyes.
"You can tell me. I care about you Alex. You are my best friend, which is why I want to be with you so much." He said as he placed his hand on her shoulder. He kissed her lightly on the soft skin that was between her neck and shoulder. The light scent of roses hung in the air around her and made him desire her even more. A sudden movement from outside the room caught his eye, and as he looked over to the bar, Blade could see another man with long hair staring in at Alex, his Alex.
"I just don't know anymore. It's like my life was coming together but now it's all just falling apart again. So much at once makes me wonder if I can keep my sanity anymore." She said as she placed her hand over his, but then pushed it off of her shoulder. What was she doing?
"What's wrong? What are you trying to say?" he asked as she turned to look at him. His eyes were full of confusion and worry. She couldn't just reject him here, like this. After tonight, she'd tell him about her and Spike and how they are so into each other.
"Nothing," she smiled as she pushed her emotions back, "I'm just babbling again is all." He still looked concerned, but why? He knew she was hiding something, and she could tell he knew there was something going on.
"If you say so," he said with a sigh. He knew she wasn't going to tell him without him having to drag it out of her, but this wasn't the time or place for that. "So tell me, how is it going aboard the Bebop with your friend?" Finally! Something she could talk about!
"Well, Jet and I have been doing pretty well. Bringing in a lot of money and buying tons of musical equipment. I taught him to play the harmonica and the piano, and I play the guitar, piano, and the saxophone now. We make a pretty decent band. There's another girl that hangs around with us that plays the drums and she's a good drummer, so look forward to hearing about me being famous soon." She said with a smile. At least something was going well for her.
"That's good to hear. Maybe I can be in one of your music videos eventually?" he asked as he touched the tip of her nose with his index finger lightly.
"So, what about you? Did you completely give up modeling?" she asked as she reached up and flicked a strand of hair out of his face.
"Not totally. I enjoy doing it, so every now and then I get a call from some magazine about doing a shoot I go out and do it. I actually have one just after dinner if you'd like to tag along." He said hinting to her that he wanted her to go. She grinned.
"I don't know. I'd have to tell Jet about it and let him know that I won't be home until later."
"You might not go home at all." He said as a playful smirk crossed his face. She giggled uneasily knowing that either he was just trying to be funny or he was actually going to keep her with him.
"I think I will go home tonight, we lift off first thing in the morning to head out to Venus. The guy we're after moves around a lot and we've finally found him on Venus, but we don't know how long he'll be there so we have to leave right away. We were planning on leaving today, but then you called and sort of switched everything." She said lying to him. She wasn't comfortable with the way he said that. He shrugged his shoulders.
"How much was he worth?"
"I think about 18 million."
"If you stay with me tonight, I'll pay you 20." He said with a sly and sneaky tone of voice. She couldn't believe he just said that!
"Blade, I'm not some escort you can just hire and waltz around town with." She said becoming annoyed. He quickly picked it up.
"God, what was I thinking? I'm sorry, but it's just that I haven't been able to get together with you in so long and I just want to spend some time with you. I realize bounty hunting is what you do to get money and get by, but I want to be with you for one night before we don't see each other again for god only knows how long." He said apologizing for his rudeness. She looked at him slyly for a moment.
"Let me go and call Jet, I'll let you know what he says." She said standing up and preparing to leave the room. He nodded as she passed through the curtain and began to cross the restaurant. He watched her go across the dance floor and towards the bar, but then busied himself with buckling his sword back around his waist and then having some of his wine.