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 Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2023 9:53 pm
 Lay wrapped up clearing leftover glasses along the bar, wiping the counters, and let out a exhausted sigh. Opening night was a hit, he had been able to momentarily able to take a break with everyone. Found himself dancing in the thrall of others moving with the best beats EvRi put out. Of course, he went back to the bar and did his job too, he loved every minute. He hadn’t had much chance to do much else, which was fine, he would be here when he wasn’t on duty he knew. More so, than anywhere else. He pulled out his ponytail letting his hair fall, unbuttoned the vest he wore over his button down, cleared up a few more things and prepped for another night before he headed for the exit. His heals clacking more loudly without all the noise to mask. He wasn’t sure where he was heading, he hadn’t quite had a chance to move from his old place so it would be a bit of a walk to his apartment. He caught sight of a table needing to be cleared before he got to the door and instantly took care of this, carrying what should now be the last. He almost set all the glasses down before he dropped one, the shatter louder to him than it really was. “There goes that record.” He took another sip, bidding his time.
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Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2023 10:33 pm
"Here," Duke said, moving swiftly, grabbing a broom tucked behind the bar. "Let me help you with that." The one who'd dropped the glass looked familiar. Maybe he'd been in the club during the opening night? It was Duke's second shift at the Sin Bin. He didn't wait for permission, just began to sweep up the little shards of glass. The liquid could wait. It wasn't in danger of cutting any sensitive paws, as the glass shards were. Glancing up after a moment, he grinned a little sardonically at Lay.
"What record, by the way?" he asked, before kneeling down to sweep the glass into the dust pan. He was genuinely curious, although he thought he might already know the answer. Let the other bartender enjoy his drink. Duke didn't mind pitching in, especially since he was the low man on the totem pole, so to speak.
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Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2023 11:52 pm
Lay watched as the other staff member took care of the mess he made and was avoiding. He remembered him, how could he not. He had found himself drawn to him every time he was in view. Especially when he watched him working. The timing was perfect yet also not exactly the way he wanted to present himself, a clutz. He swallowed the mouthful of liquor he had held in his mouth, not even realizing. He smirked at him in return following his every move. “For not breaking anything.” He finished his glass and put it in the bar sink with the others he managed not to drop. He grabbed the towel he meant to before and joined the other to wipe up the liquid now that the glass was gone. “Thanks, for the help.”
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Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2023 1:05 am
It was honestly a little bit funny. It was his second night on the job and this was the most memorable thing that had happened to him. "Ah... well, it happens to the best of us," he offered. Really easy to forgive, as well, given just how pretty the bartender happened to be. Honestly, the entire club was filled with beautiful employees, and it was more than a little distracting. His current company was the most distracting of them all, however.
"You're welcome," he said, when Lay came over to help wipe up the liquid. "And thank you. You know, for helping." The glass shards were safely tucked away in the dust bin, and he brought the whole lot over to a trash can and tossed them in. "Also, hi. I don't believe we've met. Not officially, anyway." Although he did remember him very clearly from the opening night.
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Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2023 9:23 pm
Lay shrugged, “I wasn’t really worried about it.” Accidents tended to happen when you were too comfortable and not paying enough attention. He had nothing to blame but that, having been too quick to leave and not taking care and hurried. Now he couldn’t remember why he was trying to hurry, there wasn’t much else he had to do tonight. He wiped the rest up, stood and smiled at him, arms crossed, hip cocked. “Hi,” his eyes flicked down admiring his torso briefly. He tossed the towel at the counter to free his hand to reach out offering it in greeting his eyes Tracing back to his face. “I’m Layzel” His voice sultry part on purpose, part habit, and part due to him having that last drink for the night. “And what should I call you, Mr. Abs?”
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Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2023 10:49 pm
Duke swallowed, suddenly distracted. "Ah," he said, dimly aware that he probably didn't sound like the charming, intelligent man he wanted to in front of a very, very pretty man. Well, shucks. "Well. Good, then." Ah yes. Very intelligent. Surely the other man was riveted. He grinned crookedly, his expression more than a little self-deprecating.
"My name's Duke... but if you want to call me Mr. Abs, you can." Although objectifying, it was nice to know that Layzel was looking. Maybe interested. Wow, why had his brain suddenly short circuited? He found himself dumbly holding the broom, his mind more than a little muddled. He'd never met anyone so blindingly attractive before and he was stunned, now that he really got a chance to look. Oh.
Sonnova... "Charmed," he said, reaching out to shake Lay's hand. If he was a bit embarrassed by the long pause (with broom) it could not be helped. He'd been more than a bit obvious just now, hadn't he?
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Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2023 12:15 am
He couldn't help but snicker a little. He was charmed and found the others reactions cute. Although he was more than cute. Lay was doing his best to not just drag him away with him. They were co-workers after all. He'd see him pretty regularly and that could get awkward. Unless... It wasn't like he didn't already gawk at him when he had a minute to steal looks. It was generally easy for him to chat up customers, give attention where is was sought, and finding someone to spend a moment with. There was plenty attractive males around, his preference though he'd been known to spend some time with the ladies. Duke had caught his eye leaving him distracted to the frustration of some other one nighter he already forgot. "I like Duke, but Mr. Abs might make a return though." He entertained the thought all the while wondering if what he inferred was true under that tight shirt. "So Duke," Lay decided it was pointless in heading anywhere else now so vouched to sit at the empty bar. "I didn't know anyone else was around, what were you doing hiding?"
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Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2023 11:32 pm
Blinking, Duke came back to himself. "Well. Mr. Abs is fine, like I said," he replied with a grin. Well. He was still holding Lay's hand, and self consciously, he released it. Goodness, what had gotten into him? It wasn't like he'd never seen a beautiful man before. Still, Layzel was in a category all his own. It had caught him off-guard, because he hadn't seen him close up before now. Somehow, he'd thought he'd look a little more normal up close, but he'd been wrong. Oh, how very, very wrong.
His hand dropped as Lay went to sit. Now that he was focused on him, it was hard to pay attention to other things. Things like, well, what he'd been doing just beforehand. "I was closing down the bar," he said. "And then I was restocking in the back." It was true, if an overly simplistic explanation... but then again, he couldn't help that.
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Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2023 1:58 am
He nodded, they were doing the same thing but somehow always in different areas. No wonder he didn't run into him more. Lay had been out on the floor more and hadn't even thought about restocking that night. His order of operations seemed opposite of Duke's. He would usually do more prep at the start rather than as close. Now that he finally had the chance to meet Duke, he was thrilled but reeled in his excitement. He wanted to get to know him, even if it appeared if he was just to do his normal flirt heavily and hook up it just might happen. He was looking at his palm, the one he offered and could still feel him there. "Hm." He clapped his hands together abruptly. Forcing himself out of his daze. "Well, you can call me Lay. Pretty much everyone does." He smiled warmly, smoky silver eyes focused directly at him for a moment before he nervously glanced off to side brushing his hair back behind his ears. "Now if you have to get going I understand, but if you wanted to," he hesitated. "Wanna have a drink with me? I can whip up something here." Why was he so nervous now, his confidence wavering as he actually worried about the man's answer. It was just a drink, just getting to know your fellow bartender. That was it. Right?
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Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2023 9:10 pm
Shaking himself out of his own daze, Duke worked quickly to finish up the current task, putting the broom and dust bin away. Then, he joined Lay over at the bar. "Lay, then," he said, his eyes caught by the smoky silver gaze leveled at him. "I don't actually have any plans." Or, well, anyone to go home to, at that. He had an apartment in the building, but it wasn't exactly the Taj Mahal, by any means. Not somewhere that was ready to take someone home to- and oh boy, was he getting ahead of himself there.
"Sure," he said. "You have a drink in mind? I'm not particular." Having made many a drink over the years, he had a wide variety of tastes he enjoyed. Honestly, he kind of wanted to see what Lay would mix up. "Make me something you like." It would be one way to get to know him a little better, to be sure. With a crooked but charming grin, he leaned back against the bar.
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Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2023 11:38 pm
Lay did not hesitate to get behind the bar. Instead of walking around though he hopped up onto the counter and swung his legs over dropping off the other side in one fluid motion. He started to look over the options, he really wasn’t complex, he liked the simple drinks, classics were his favorite. Picking up the few things he would need and two cocktail glasses out from the underbar rack. “How do you feel about sweet?” He paused for effect. A bit of his everyday bar personality coming out. A playful smile as he set the glasses down. “And sour?” Without waiting for an answer, he took a lemon and sliced it in half squeezing it by hand into the shaker and used the remains of the lemon to wet the rims before dipping them into a sugar rim. He set them aside as he combined the rest in the tin; vodka, cointreau, and simple syrup over ice. He didn’t play up the bartending flair, keeping it simply to shaking and straining the mix into the two prepped glasses. Adding a dash of zest at the end to top them off. “Simple but one of my drinks of choice.” He leaned on the bar and slid one over before picking his up and taking a sip and licking the sugar from his lips.
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Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2023 3:08 pm
"I'm a man of many tastes," he said, giving a little grin. "I'll take whatever you want to make me." Which was good, because Lay kept going. Duke was coming to find that he enjoyed watching Layzel work, and although the other might have felt like he wasn't putting too much flair into it, his skill spoke for itself. The flair was not needed, and certainly not for a fellow bartender. "Looks delicious," he said, reaching out to take the drink the was sliding his way.
If he was a little distracted by the way the bartender licked his lips, well, so be it. Taking a sip, he let the flavors linger on his tongue, swirling it in his mouth a bit before swallowing. The ingredients were of high quality, mixing together in a way that was quite complementary. "Mm. That's a good drink. Lemon Drop... or Vodka Sidecar?" he asked, wondering if his guess was close to the mark.
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Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2023 5:22 pm
“A Lemon Drop though really it could go the other way too. They are nearly identical.” He licked the rim before taking another sip. He enjoyed many drinks, leaning sweet, sour, and tart. He would try anything once, he quite enjoyed a spicy mango margarita he ran across hunting for new options. He resorted to elbows while he shared a moment with the other bartender, sipping in silence unsure where to go from here. In the quiet of the empty bar, he felt too open. He found comfort in the hustle and bustle and could act any way fit for the moment. Now, what was he to do? He forgot he had just straight vodka while he chided himself for the earlier accident and it had crept up. Nothing he couldn’t handle as it was. Glassy eyes scanning the other bartender curiously. Another sip. He wished he had moved in already, he had spaced and hadn’t gotten around to it. His face soured briefly as he thought about how far he would have to go. He had reached a point where he just finished off the drink. Rim nearly cleaned from his habit of licking off the lemony sugar. “Do you live close?” Inquiring innocently, an attempt at small talk. Though how the other would take it, well it could go either way.
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Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2023 6:28 pm
As he sipped on the Lemon Drop, Duke took note of how delicately Lay had mixed the flavors together. "They are... but the Lemon Drop has the juice in the mix. The Vodka Sidecar just is garnished with lemon, I think," he mused, realizing where he'd went wrong, there. "You're great at this," he said, and realized that the compliment probably sounded a little tepid when directed at the Sin Bin's premier mixologist. But he wasn't exactly a wordsmith. It was a genuine compliment, meant sincerely.
He almost choked on his drink, however, when Lay asked him where he lived. It was an innocent question, and Duke scolded himself for taking it the wrong way. He swallowed, took a couple more sips, and then tried to sort out his silly mind. "Yeah, I do. I actually live here. You know, in the little apartments attached to the 'Bin." He had his own place, and while it wasn't exactly a mansion, it was comfortable.
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Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2023 9:06 pm
Lay was thrilled with the compliment. He couldn't have another fellow bartender thinking little of him now. He did his research and played with mixes all the time. He enjoyed putting in the care for others. "Thank you." He beamed. He was quite humble with his work, pushing for improvement at every chance. He couldn't help but notice the off way Duke swallowed. Did he just..? He laughed lightly, dropping his head on his hands utterly charmed putting himself ever closer from across the counter. Gazing at him, taking mental notes of his every reaction and features. He wanted to see what else he'd do. He wasn't really trying to fluster him but it made him smile. "Oh so you are close. Easy to find then. Soon I too will be next door." How he wished he was.
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