The Sex Junkie (PM to join)

[Gothic Shujin]

Control.

It was as simple as that.

Its what turned Tristam on. Having it, anyway.

More than that though was the irony in a situation. How the script would flip, deliciously so at times, and especially in the bedroom...

The twenty-five year old Worked in a small office for several months as an administrative assistant in title but in truth running gun and doing all the heavy lifting and dirty work in an office full of the type of women that enjoyed watching a young man sweat and stretch and flex. It was lewd, sure, and while doubling as a maintenance guy wasn't in his job description... he didn't mind. Quite the contrary really. Its why he kept the job. Certainly not for the pay or the challenge, since his boss was more than capable and the data entry portion of his duties could be completed while nearly in a coma.

It was a nice way to pass the time while he wasn't studying at the nearby university. The position was handed to him by a friend who recommended him for it once he himself was promoted.

All things considered Tristam still might of been gone by now, if it weren't for a cute thirty-something year old whose attention he always seemed to have.

She worked in a different department, but the extremely fuckable woman always seemed to need something.

She needed something alright.

So far this month he had fixed two of three copy machines on her floor, moved a wall of file boxes and addressed various simple operation issues with her pc.

They had spoken briefly on occasion. He had seen her on her brake a number of times, speaking with her husband but their conversations were usually innocent. There was this single incident where he commented on how she looked upset, a line to break the ice, but all that was discovered was that her marriage was in a rut. Not entirely useless information, but he normally stayed away from married women.

Normally.

It was a shame, she was as sexy a woman as he had ever seen, or at least could be if she wanted to. The office didn't allow for much sexual expression in way of apparel. She was certainly the hottest bitch at work and he often wondered how much of her job she accomplished while gawking at him from afar.

Tristam laughed to himself. She must think of me in a way that is totally contrary to who i really am, he thought. If she knew what lived beneath... perhaps she would shrink away... afraid. Or perhaps she would no longer be able to contain herself.

He shut his computer down and packed his things away in his portfolio. He was about to call it quits for the day, and shoot to a bar in the neighborhood when his boss Karen approached him.

"Trist can you be a doll and run upstairs real quick before you leave," she said in passing on her way to the exit "... something about something you left lying around in the girls' way up there. Thank hun, have a great night!"

It was one of those "requests" that you had no say in whatsoever.

With a sigh Tristan ran his fingers through his dark hair, pushing it back out of his face and leaned his things against one of the walls of his cubicle. He took the elevator so he would have time to brush his jeans and fix his hair further.

The elevator rang indicating the doors would be opening and he stepped out, knowing exactly who it was that required his help....

[Mephistophelily]

Vivian, or simply "Vi" as some of the other girls of her floor had come to deem her; a nickname that left her frowning- it was hard to be taken seriously when your name was condensed to simply two letters- was still trying to figure out exactly what was wrong with her printer. She had asked it to print a good twelve times in the last twenty minutes, receiving error after error that something new was wrong: A paper jam, which she fixed... An ink block, which she cleaned... but the most recent odd sequence of numbers garbled across the bottom of her screen was just too complicated. She had no idea what any of that meant-!

With a hard sigh, she picked up the phone beside her desk, her other hand sending a quick text to her husband that she was running late. "Karen? Heyyy. It's Vivian again. I know, I know, I'm sorry, your guys are probably packing up to leave, but I really need this presentation for tomorrow morning, and I've been fighting with this stupid thing for way too long now and- Is there anyone around who can give me a hand? Maybe Trist? He was so helpful yesterday.. It's like these things know to listen to him or something, like he's the Comp Whisperer..." She laughed lightly, only to make a face as a text came back on the cell in her hand. Jason was mad. Of course he was. Heaven forbid she not be right home to make his dinner. "You'll check? Oh great, thanks; I'll be right here..."

The damned printer was beeping again, ranting in its own way about some new unknown mistake she managed to do to piss it off. "Ohhh, shut up, would you?," She hissed softly at it, slapping it gently across the top panel.

More beeps.
Louder than before.

Vivian gave a light yelp, stepping away from it with her hands raised defensively. "Okay, sorry! I won't do that again!" She paused as yet another beep went off, this time from her desk; the lone light on back down the line of cubicles. Jason again, most likely.

The sound of the elevator's light binging noise brought a hopeful smile to Vivian's face, looking up from the now screeching printer. "Oh thank god! I tried to fix it myself and that- umm... that was a terrible idea."

He really was a nice guy, Vivian thought. Always came up with a smile, more than willing to set aside what he was doing to give her a hand... She partially wished that Jason could take a few lessons from him. He seemed to never have anything upsetting him, ribbing her a few times on the equipment that may have gone on the fritz. She couldn't even remember the last time Jason tried to make her laugh.

Her brown eyes gave him a slightly pitiful look as she held up the last attempt to use the printer, a light frown on her face as she brushed a few stray red hairs from her face. "It hates me again. It needs your magic touch, Tristam!," she remarked, pouting a bit still before giving a grin. "Think you can fix it?"

[Gothic Shujin]

She always looked twice as attractive to him when she looked helpless, that was due as much to his predatory nature as it was her innocent beauty and general loveliness. Her shapely body was pinned as usual beneath her work attire but the sharp outline of her ass was more than apparent as she held her hands up in what looked like desperation over the copier.

She was happy to see him... as always. He returned her smile with one of his own, suddenly the irritation he was hiding was genuinely gone.

"Sure Vivian it shouldn't be a problem," he began as he started to remove the housing on the large three in one, copier, scanner and printer, "... i know you girl's been having a problem with this one for a while... so I've been beginning to suspect something. Excuse me."

He brushed passed her, intentionally... his abdomen grazing her ass and his hand slightly resting on her shoulder for a moment. He knelt down and began to check for the culprit.

From his vantage on the floor he admired her legs in an only slightly obvious fashion. Stealing casual glances while he went about his work.

"Burning the midnight oil as they say? I admire that."

There was a ring or tone from what sounded like a cell phone. He checked his pocket but it wasn't him.

"I think thats you."

[Mephistophelily]

"It just hates me, pure and simple," Vivian stated flatly, frowning as he started to work on the stubborn machine. He slipped past her to her a closer look at it, his hand resting on her shoulder as to keep his balance. She simply smiled, glancing at him before stepping out of his way. Best to leave the master to his domain...

Peeking over to see what it was he was doing, she noticed the few glances he gave back her way, wondering if perhaps he was deliberately doing things slowly as for her to learn how to do this herself. At least he was doing it in a kinder fashion that Jason's way of trying to show her something; calling her an idiot and insisting she learn how to 'fucking do things for herself'.

"Can't play til the work's away," She replied softly, shaking her head. "It would've driven me crazy to know this report wasn't fully ready. Finally get it done, and... this. If it's not one thing, it's another, right?"

The light noise caught her ear, but she tried to ignore it. It wasn't until Tristam brought it up that she finally acknowledged it, giving a quick nod and acting surprised. "Oh, is it? Sorry about that, didn't even notice..."

Frowning, she returned to her desk, her phone violently shaking away on the papers sprawled about. Rolling her eyes, she grabbed it, tucking it beneath her amber curls to answer it. "YES, Jason...?" She paused, her eyes narrowing slightly as the loud voice roared into the phone. "Well, I know that, but- No, I'm not out with someone, I'm still at work. if you had just bothered to call the phone here, you'd know that. I- What? No! I'm not- Will you stop, please? Jason..."

A light sigh and nod came from her after a moment. "Ok. Alright. As soon as I get these printed, I'll be right home. Yes, I'll stop by the store. A 12 pack. Right."

Hitting the little red button, she dropped the phone back onto her desk, running her fingers over her face for a moment before heaving another heavy breath. She hated when he did this. He was upset with her, and now demanding alcohol to make up for it. He'd be drunk by the end of the night... Hopefully he'd just pass out too.

"How's it going over there?," She called out with a forced cheerfulness, glancing back at Tristam with a smile. "The beeps stopped... Must be doing better than I did..."

[Gothic Shujin]

"luckily my work is easy, I hardly fall behind... that is... when I'm not up to my eyeballs in repairing things for you ladies up here," he joked... tossing her a devilish grin so she knew he was kidding.

After a few moments she answered her call, uninterested he finished up with the machine and found a small tissue box near her desk to wipe some printer ink off of his hands.

He caught most of the conversation, and looked at her with a wonder. Why on earth do people so hot and young get married. Perhaps he was simply too immature in some ways to understand.

Being single forever didn't sound very appealing either. But in the meantime, plenty of sex was doing just fine as a consolation.

"How's it going over there? The beeps stopped... Must be doing better than I did..." she could turn her charm on and off like a switch but he could tell the talk with her husband had her upset.

"Well... you were right. It definitely hates you," he teased.

Laughing as he closed the housing he reset the copier and stood back as it began to humm. He tested it in front of her and once saw that it was fine, gave her another smile and explained...

"Companies have a smart chip in their ink and toner cartridges. Its what lets you keep track of the amount of ink that's left in the printer cartridge. Its also what makes the printer yell at you cause its knows its out. The problem is that most printer cartridges are manufactured through the use of previously discarded ones. They clean them, inspect for damages, refill em and repackage them...."

He could tell by the look on her face that it was much more info than she needed to know... so he decided to just capsize.

"...basically i just had to tell the printer that the cartridge was new and reset the smart chip. It was going all funky cause to be honest printers are dumb, its hard for them to tell you whats wrong when they only have like 4 or 5 error messages... anyhow.... I hope this didn't cause too much of a problem... " it was clear he was referring to her call "... this was in no way YOUR fault. This shit just fucken happens, plain and simple."

[Mephistophelily]

Vivian smiled again, shaking her head as the first few papers finally spitted out from the stubborn thing. "Thanks again, Tristam. You really are a lifesaver. Sorry if I held you up at all..." She made a slight face at his comment on the printer truly hating her, shaking a finger at the now overly-excited machine that was printing off every previous request of her papers. "See if I give you another dusting before housekeeping comes up, you evil thing!"

As he explained the full problem, she simply nodded, though was a bit lost on exactly everything he was telling her. He must've noticed, swapping it for a more condensed version. "Oh, so that's what error code 59867 means. Why didn't I know that?" She rolled her eyes, laughing softly over the confusion of the situation.

He must've heard some of that talk with Jason. "Don't worry on that," She replied softly, waving a hand about in the air. "He's just tired and grumpy. Seems to be his typical mood anymore. You know what? I owe you. You keep doing all these favors for me up here, and tonight I even kept you over hours. I'm so sorry about that... Tomorrow night, let me take you out for drinks, okay? I'll tell Jason it's a business meeting so he doesn't turn into the Evil Ogre on me... But right after work, we're going to that bar down the street. My treat. I at least owe you that, right?"

It was one thing to have her husband glooming up her day, but now he was starting to make her bring up her personal problems at work. She hated giving away such things... But Tristam seemed like someone who understood. "You can help me escape the Ogre for a little bit." She winked at him with that, gathering up her printed papers.

[Gothic Shujin]

Tristam laughed at her admonishing the thing and helped her with the report papers she fished out of the copier as there were more than a few. He lifted the lid to make sure she got the last original as well and handed his small pile to her. He purposely cupped his hand over hers briefly as she took them and considered her proposition.

"Owe me huh?," he smirked obviously enjoying the idea "... well, its been my pleasure, so i dunno about owing me anything, but I'd be a fool to turn down a free drink."

He watched her silently for a few moments, as she gathered her things, she was in a rush sure but still graceful as she stuffed her briefcase full of documents and paraphernalia.

He had better get downstairs and get his own shit together. He had spent enough time in this building, and he didn't plan on staying home tonight.

"I'll walk you down, I'm calling it a night myself."

He hit the downstairs button and waited for her to enter before letting it close.

The two passed by his rather simple desk so he could get his portfolio and he walked her out as promised, In the parking lot their two cars where the only ones left. Ironically side by side.

[Mephistophelily]

"Good. Right after work then." Vivian smiled at him over her shoulder, finishing the rearranging of her work in her folders before slipping them into her briefcase. Snapping it closed and sliding the strap over her shoulder, she gave a thankful nod at his offer to walk her out. "Thanks. It gets a little... spooky in that parking lot when it starts getting dark so early."

She took her phone out of her bag as the elevator took them down, resetting the tone to a silent setting. The last thing she wanted on the ride home was Jason calling to bitch her out even more. They took a quick detour through Tristam's work area, Vivian waiting for him as he gathered his own things.

The fact the cars were side by side was a bit more soothing, especially when the lot had switched its overhead lights to a minimum setting for the later hours of the day. "I miss summer," She grumbled with a frown. "This early dark stuff is terrible."

Taking her keys from her purse, she gave him another smile, starting to unlock her door. "Thanks again for your help tonight. You really are a lifesaver."

[Gothic Shujin]

"I kinda like the when it gets darker earlier... I'm a bit of a night person, but it does get a little creepy."

He placed a small black hardbound book atop of his car while he had the driver's side open and tossed his portfolio inside before turning to face her, a leg inside, and holding onto the door...

"Think nothing of it, that's what I'm here for... I'll be looking forward to tomorrow."

He hopped inside his ride and rolled down the window once the motor was going.

"Maybe bring a change of clothes with you... just a thought, that way you don't have to wear a stuffy suit while we have drinks. Night Vivian."

He admired her again before smiling and rolling up.

He put it into drive and took off out of the lot... the book sliding off to one side of his hood and then off onto the floor. He Ascended down into a turn lane and down the street before eventually getting onto the parkway.

On the blacktop lay the book, open to an indiscriminate page, displaying some of Tristam's charcoal sketches of erotica. He left it intentionally sure, but figured Vivian could always tuck it away somewhere until he saw her tomorrow.

[Mephistophelily]

He had a point. Wearing her skirts and suits made it hard ot feel like she was 'off the clock', and tomorrow night was intended to be a little taste of fun, not another boring meeting. "I just might do that," She called out in agreement, slipping into the driver's seat and readjusting her keys.

She glanced up as he pulled out, noticing the book on his hood and immediately trying to wave him down, her arm out her window and flailing- but still not catching him in time. "Tristam! Hey! Wait! Your book-"

She left her headlights on, quickly getting back out of the car to pick it up. It may've been important; some type of notebook related to work. She'd hate for him to be in trouble over a lost bunch of data or something. Stooping to pick it up, she paused as she realized it was drawings. It was hard to make out in the darkness of her own shadow...

Plucking it up, she held it so the light could come over her shoulder, a soft gasp coming from her before quickly slamming the hardbound cover closed and feeling a blush rush to her cheeks. Had she actually seen what she thought she saw?!

She shook her head, still red as she got back into the car, the book tossed into the case on the seat beside her. Her drive took her to the store first, getting the beer that had been promised to Jason before going home. Dinner was already on the table; a pizza box with a cold slice left inside.

"Saved ya dinner," his harsh voice grunted from the living room, a hand reaching out from the doorway and beckoning at her. "You remember to go to the store for me or what?"

"It's on the table," She replied flatly, plunking the bag down angrily and heading to bed. She didn't have time to deal with him tonight, too much to worry about for the morning. Changing to a thin pink lingerie, she slipped into the covers, her briefcase at the side of the bed. Her own binders were waiting for her to claim them up, but something else caught her eye first.

Tristam's.

She picked it up, a rather dirty feeling coming over her for looking at his private drawings. One part of her found them to be rather well-drawn works... While another new that this was quite wrong to be going through.

She paused as the pages flipped open, a light gasp leaving her lips.
That... looked like her.
But it couldn't be her. The girl in that picture- Vivian would never do something like that.

Her eyes raised momentarily as Jason stumbled by, a beer in one hand and a magazine in the other. She frowned at that, shaking her head. They'd been on edge with each other for what felt like years now... In truth, it was more like 6 months, but still long enough for Vivian to miss certain aspects of their relationship. Anymore it was simply like having a roommate.

A rude, disgusting, asshole of a roommate.

Her gaze returned to the pictures, the drawings of these women, these rather- interesting situations...

She tightened her lips, swallowing hard as her fingers moved along the pages, a stirring inside her that felt so unfamiliar. She... was getting aroused by these things...

Jason was in the doorway. She quickly slammed the book closed, glaring up at him. "What, you actually going to sleep in here tonight?"

"Grmaagh." He clomped in next to her, flopping onto his side and wriggling out of his jeans. Within moments, he was snoring... But Vivian stayed up, the little light on next to her side of the bed as she looked through those drawings.

[Gothic Shujin]

After work Tristam Headed to a bar a few blocks away, deciding against a club as several of his friends had gone to.

He dropped his stuff off at his place and then had a few drinks, while watching the game from the small screen hovering above the bartender.

It was increasingly difficult to get thoughts of Vivian out of his mind. He considered what she did when she discovered the sketch book on the ground in the parking lot. He imagined she would take it with her, which of course was the point... but would she look through it... would she steal a moment away at home and hide in the bathroom, thrusting her legs apart and resting a finger or two over a throbbing clit?

Tristam didn't actually recall what illustrations where in the book, save for the fact that it was his last months charcoal exercises, and it was all hardcore material, save for a few more tasteful nude images. He always drew better erotica when he was horny, perhaps tonight would be a good night for some more work...

*********************************************

After getting an early coffee near the lunchroom, he sat down and booted his pc up. He clocked in via the time stamp program on his desktop and started his bosses letters and memos for the morning.

A duffel bag next to his feet and under his desk contained a change of clothes as well as a few other items of interest. He left his portfolio at home today, preferring to travel light.

Eventually lunch rolled around, and he had surprisingly not seeing hide nor hair of Vivian. He wondered if she thought she was going to squelch on their date.

Tristam got in the short line and looked at the dry erase board to see what was on the menu for today...

[Mephistophelily]

She hadn't slept much that night.
Strange dreams kept entering Vivian's mind; dreams she hadn't had for awhile now. Sex dreams, dirty dreams... Those drawings having led her mind into curious questions and possibilities that woke her up for most of the night.

She had gotten up early, a long cool shower starting her day at 4 am. She was shaking as she stood beneath the water, her own hand running up and down her flesh to rub in the soap... lingering longer than it needed against her sex, gently brushing her fingertips against the sensitive skin as water ran down her back. The realization of what she was doing left her flushed, quickly pulling her hand away and finishing the shower.

She dressed in her usual manner; the grey simple skirt suit left a bit more revealing with its collar opened more than she often did. Her eyes fell to the black book on her stand, shoving it into her bag before leaving the bedroom. Jason was still asleep... And would be for another 4 hours, no doubt. Added to her bag was a little black silk skirt, as well as a comfortable black lace top. She'd change in the ladies' room before she headed out with Tristam.

Her lingering in the shower made her late for work, a very rare thing for Vivian. Passing it off as problems with her car, she made her way to her desk, the report due that morning being plunked into the inbox of her boss on the way through. Try as she might to focus on her work, her mind drifted to those drawings. There had to be a reason for them, for Tristam to have such- peculiar things. Perhaps they weren't his. Perhaps it was for some type of art class, that required the study of the nude form. But... in THAT way?

She couldn't ask him about it. That would be far too embarrassing. But how was she going to get it back to him?

"Earth to Vi." The joking voice beside her desk made her head shoot up, nearly knocking her coffee from the stand as her hand swung outward. "It's lunch. You brownbag it or something?"

"I- um... no. Thanks, Jessi. I'll.. be right down. Got kinda lost in my work there for a minute..." She picked up her bag from the floor as the other woman walked off, slinging it over her shoulder before heading to the elevator.

Tristam was in line at the cafe. Her cheeks reddened once again, though she tried hard to fight it back. Coming behind him, she offered a light smile, resting her hand on the little rail along the path through the food line. "Thanks again for your help last night...," She said softly, though her eyes refused to leave the floor. She couldn't look at him, not with what she'd seen in that thing. "I got that report in just in time..."

[Gothic Shujin]

"I'm so glad I was able to help Vivian," Tristam replied without turning around.

He walked straight ahead as the line began to move, attempting to mask his enthusiasm at talking to her again.

She had been in his thoughts for the better half of the morning and he didn't want her to know how much he was looking forward to those drinks after work.

He reached a point where he could finally grab a tuna sandwich. He did so, then adding a soda and turned to face her.

He was pleased to notice she was showing off a little more skin than normal. It was subtle but such things never went unnoticed with a man, especially not Tristam.

"You look really nice today, so how was your night?," his smile was devious, wondering if she looked at his illustrations at all, or if she simply respected his privacy and controlled her own curiosity.

[Mephistophelily]

"Oh- um.. thanks." Vivian glanced down at the compliment on her outfit for the day, brushing a hand against her shirt. "Thought it was a nice enough day out to get away with something a little cooler... Haven't worn this in awhile."

His question on her night almost made her blush, fighting it off by forcing her mind to go elsewhere. Forget the book. Instead... ahh... Oh look, fresh salad. She grabbed one of the bowls, filling it with the veggies as she simply smiled. "It was nice," She replied in a flighty tone, letting the words linger for a moment. "Just stayed home, went to bed early with a book..."

Shit.
It still managed to come back to her mind, even coming to be mentioned. "I"m looking forward to tonight," She said quickly, taking a bottle of water from the little cooled area. "A chance to break my everyday routine. Things get so boring when it's the same old, same old. Nice to have something different tossed in there." She smiled, an honesty in her words.

After paying, she followed him from the line, taking a seat at one of the tables close to the window before playing with her food. Her mind was wandering again, trying to come up with a good excuse on the book. Simply hand it to him and pretend she never saw inside? Maybe she could pull it off.

"Oh... by the way... Last night, when we were leaving, this fell off your car." She stooped to the side of her chair, leaning over to fish the little book from her bag. She could feel her face starting to grow warm. She couldn't do it-!

She simply held the book up, still keeping her head hidden by the side of the table. "I think this is yours," She called to him, slipping it across the table and acting as though she had something else to look for in the bag as well.

[Gothic Shujin]

"Well I'm glad you did, I don't know about you, but i get tired wearing the same things month in and month out... and you wear it well," he teased.

He could see by the color in her cheeks that she was a little embarrassed by the attention, but of course liked it. She chose a salad and what he assumed was her usual lunch as she ironically discussed a break from the norm. He nodded the entire time, genuinely agreeing with her words as if they were his own.

Vivian mentioned a book, also, as the line moved forward and seconds before Tristam was purchasing his mediocre lunch. He could see her almost cringe from the reference and smirked.

So she did see it. She did take it home... and she did look inside.

This pleased him.

Now off the hook, he sat down at one of the smooth lunch tables by a large window with a good view of the parking lot and again nodded. They sat together, even though this was officially the first time... usually they spoke from different tables if anything... it seemed casual and natural.

"Yeah, well It's great that I can be that change of pace for you," his smile was warm even though words were laced with a little flirt of their own. "You should get out more often, its good for you... can't be locked up all day at home... unless your into that sorta thing."

He laughed and unwrapped his sandwich, placing the translucent paper to the side with a grin.

His eyes widened as she removed the book from her bag, impressed she even had the nerve to admit having it. He swallowed the bite he had started and reached over to take the book, making sure their hands met, as he stole away another touch of her creamy skin.

He took hold of his small sketch pad and admired a few of the pieces inside.

"How embarrassing... I really shouldn't of brought this with me to work, but often i go straight to school from here. Thanks so much Vivian, your the best."

Placing the book back down on the table he slid it it halfway between them and drank some soda before looking up at her reddening face.

"A round is gonna have to be on me... by the way... did you have a chance to check it out at all?"

[Mephistophelily]

Into that sort of thing. The way he said that rung in Vivian's ears, a shiver down her spine at the remaining images of some of those drawings embedded in her head. Sort of thing...

She didn't even know what her 'thing' was.

Peeking back over the side of the table, she couldn't hide the blush on her face now as he actually opened it, thumbing through it as though it were simply another notebook of work's orders. She sat back up, stabbing at her salad as she shrugged, trying to not look back up at him. "I know what its like to lose something. I figured it must be something important, and to just- let it sit out there in the parking lot over night... It was supposed to rain. I didn't think that'd be very good for it."

He explained what it was for; just as she thought, some type of artist's classes. That made her feel a bit more at ease on what she had seen, finally feeling comfortable enough to actually take a bite of her food.

She nearly choked at his question.
Coughing slightly, she swallowed down the lettuce, quickly wrapping her napkin against her lips before looking at him. "Ch-Check it out? I.... ah... well, it did fall open when I was cleaking out my bag last night," She lied, figuring that she should be at least partially honest on the subject. "There are some... interesting drawings in there. What- um, what exactly are you studying?"

[Gothic Shujin]

"Well I'm an art major... Illustration specifically, but I'm taking a class on figure drawing, and I tend to bore easily with my assignments... so I use this book to..." he turned several pages, searching for something "... entertain myself. I have several others, maybe I can show you sometime... by the way, while I have you."

Tristam held the book open to the page of the woman which resembled Vivian in almost every regard.

"I hope you don't mind me asking but, Don't you think this looks like you a little?"

He finished his sandwich and wiped his mouth watching her reaction. She had been picking at her salad shyly during the course of their conversation, which was adorable. But he craved another look at the blush in her face and the intrigue in her eyes.

He was careful to not lay the book between them, instead getting up from his place at the table and instead coming to her side to sit next to her.

[Mephistophelily]

It had a legitimate reason for existing, Vivian reminded herself, sipping at her water as she listened to him, her eyes closed as she nodded. It made sense, and made her feel quite bad for having jumped to such conclusions the night prior. Everyone had wandering minds- some more than others, it seemed... and his artwork was an escape to let it free.

She wished sometimes that her mind could wander that way.

Her eyes raised once more as he started flipping through the book, curious at what it was that suddenly attracted his attention. It- had to do with that?! Oh, god, not here in the middle of the break room-

She set her drink back down quickly as he moved to settle beside her, biting down on her lip as she glanced at the book's page. His words didn't help any, Vivian reddening a bit once again as she quickly looked back to her food.

"I- I don't know. I mean- maybe. A... a little. I'm sure you've just seen a few other women around that look a bit like me and just- drew what came to your mind with all that and..." She trailed off, hastily grabbing her water once again and stealing a sip of it. She couldn't help but take another sidelong glance at the sketch, closing her eyes as she set the bottle back down. "In a way, I suppose... I've just... never thought of myself in that sort of way..."

[Gothic Shujin]

He feigned a dignified shock and playfully placed a hand on her shoulder for the briefest of moments.

"Oh! oh, you thought it WAS you? I'm sorry Vivian, that would of been terrible, you must think me such a pervert... no no, i simply meant that it is ironic how much it looks like you. I drew this way before we met in another book and simply redid it one day when i was bored."

The younger man smiled as he leaned in to cover the book even better. He looked at it once more... then to her, then again to the book, making a subtle show of his admiration of the likeness.

"I didn't think you WOULD think of yourself that way... not that you are not attractive enough... and I hope you don't mind me saying so... i don't mean to sound like I'm making a pass at you... but i know your way to decent a woman to act in such a manner...."

He shut the book, placing it under his arm... readying to go toss his refuse so he could get back to work. He swung a leg over chair, standing up over her... he leaned in with one arm so only she could hear him.

"...which i think is a shame."

Tristam walked slowly to the trash receptacle and dumped his garbage leaving his tray on top. With book in hand he headed to his department without so much as a second glance.

Later he figured he'd meet up with her before she clocked out for drinks... unless he couldn't find her... especially if this last encounter scared her off.

[Mephistophelily]

Vivian didn't think her face could redden any worse than it was now. "I- No, I didn't... Um... Excuse me." She took her water up once again, nearly finishing off the entire contents in one gulp. How could one little conversation, one innocent (Well, maybe not THAT innocent) drawing lead to her feeling so embarrassed?

She glanced up at him as he stood, seeing the smirk on his face. He was playing with her! She tightened her lips, looking back at her half eaten salad. She didn't really like this kind of game.

His parting words lingered with her; words on her actions and mannerisms... How she was too decent a woman to ever consider being like what he depicted in his sketches.

She stared at the salad for awhile, the fork pecking about but never bringing anything to her lips. Thinking about such things at work seemed a horrible thing to be doing, but she found her mind refusing to stay off the subject. Her life was rather mundane, repetitive anymore. She wished something could change to make it more interesting.... but something like that? It seemed rather... extreme.

She glanced at her watch. She needed to get back to work. Dumping out what was left of her lunch, she caught the elevator back upstairs, returning to her cubicle and trying to focus.

She ended up staying at her desk a bit longer than the others of her department, finishing up the various little tasks that had managed to add up from her thoughts wandering off throughout the afternoon. The alarm on her phone sounded; reminding her on her promised 'date' with Tristam. She picked it up, shutting off the alarm and staring at the phone for a moment. She prayed that subject didn't come up again. She had promised to go out for awhile with him, but- Talking about that made her so uncomfortable. Maybe now that the book was back in his posession, he'd forget the subject.

Possibly.

Heading to the ladies room, she changed her clothes quickly, the lace top being a bit tighter about her chest than she remembered. Damn it, Jason had messed up the laundry again... Well, no time to worry about it now. She made her way to the elevator, using the mirrored walls to better situate her skirt and shirt before arriving at Tristam's floor.

[Gothic Shujin]

Tristam finished the rest of his day with a minimum amount of hassle. Eager for the day to come to an end, but with enough work to keep him occupied for once, he didn't exactly have to watch the clock. Though it was far from invisible.

About twenty minutes till he needed to clock out, he took his bag with him to the men's room. He wanted to make sure he looked alright when he next saw Vivian. Nothing extremely exciting, it was after all intended to be just drinks, He changed out of his work clothes, replacing them with a black dress shirt and matching jeans. He rolled the sleeves of the shirt up to just below his elbows, feeling it may be a bit too hot for the evening. Tristam let his hair down for a moment, pulling the thin black scrunchie out and combing, then wetting it some before replacing it. A small amount of a subtle cologne he liked was his last touch, hoping it would appeal to her.

It was only several moments after returning to his desk and logging out for the night that the elevator door from upstairs opened to reveal Vivian. He realized he had spent longer preparing than he had thought.

She looked exquisite, infinitely more attractive than during a normal day in the office. Her breasts seemed to struggle slightly within her top, he was not sure if it was intentional but it pleased him, certainly surprising him. She wore a tasteful skirt, showing off the legs he had been dying to see in all the time he knew her. Her skin looked soft and he yearned to touch it... but maintained a pleasant friendly air about him and smiled at her.

"You look great... shall we?"

He stood, shutting his computer down and grabbing his bag, then inviting his co-worker to walk with him.

[Mephistophelily]

"All set." Vivian nodded as came to his desk, her hand resting idly on the side of it as she waited for him. "Thanks...," She added about his compliment on her clothes, a faint quick redness crossing her cheeks. The shirt was still bothering her, but at least it was just for the evening. It wasn't like this was a meeting with the boss where she had to be sure every thread and hair was in place or else fear the judging eye; it was simply a few drinks with Tristam. He wasn't that judging...

...Was he?

She shook herself from her thoughts, glancing to him once again as he turned off his screen. His friendly smile finally made her give one in return, joining him as they left the building.

The bar wasn't that far; just a little walk up the road from their office. At least the night wasn't too chilled, like it had been the past few days. A little breeze hit her shoulders, reminding her of the jacket she'd left in the car as she gave a light shiver. "It's kind of funny. I thought I'd have more free time anymore to do things like this after work, but this is the first I've actually done it in- a few years." She smiled slightly, only to let it drift into a frown. "I must seem pathetic. I guess I left all that behind as soon as I hit thirty." She sighed, shaking her head. "I'm barely 32, and I feel like I'm 60. Ugh. Sometimes I swear my entire life is just being drained off. Same old routine..."

She paused, frowning once again. "I'm sorry, I must be boring you. All I seem to talk about around you is work or my own boring life... Tell me about yours! Er- not that your life is boring, just- I- Aaagh. I think I ruined that too." She laughed lightly, shaking her head. "Can you tell it's been awhile since I've gone out?"

[Gothic Shujin]

It was a pleasant night for a walk, the air was just cool enough to penetrate Tristam's shirt but not so chilling that it made him cold. Noticing a shiver, he assumed Vivian was not having as easy a time with it. What is pleasant to some is not to others.

Its the same with sex.

He looked at her as they walked having nothing to offer her to put on. The bar was close so he simply picked up the pace slightly and listened to her. She began to ramble... it was adorable really, though he was sure she didn't think so.

"You know, you really shouldn't come down so hard on yourself. Its not easy to hold down a job AND a relationship these days. Just accomplishing one is a pretty impressive thing. Its not like everyone runs around after work partying... but I will say that I'm glad you came out... it does seem that you need it, and I don't think its right that you more than likely don't have that much fun anymore.." he turned while speaking "... at least that's how it sounds anyway."

They crossed a street, after waiting for the crosswalk light... a rare thing in the city, but no need to take chances or rush when the conversation was this interesting.

"I'm a little younger than you, and even I don't get out that much. But yeah... monotony is a bitch, I hate it... I just couldn't deal with that I dunno how you do. Least tonight you can experience a change of pace."

He smiled placing his hand on her lower back, in that irrational way you do when you seem to be helping someone quite capable of walking, across a street.

"And no your not boring me, But I CAN tell its been a while," he laughed in return a wide smile on his face.

She asked him about himself and he raised his brows... smiling and cocking his head to one side... unsure where or how to begin.

The bar was like most that catered to the after work drink crowd, and made most of its revenue off the food they sold along with those drinks. There was a small line outside of varied age. The two of them blended right in.

He held the door open for Vivian as he asked "Well, what would you like to know?"

[Mephistophelily]

"What can I say... the right company can make it that much more inviting." Vivian smiled, glancing up after a moment to check the signal before sighing. "But you're right. It has been awhile. I guess I've just let my life get boring on my own. Get stuck in that same old routine, and that becomes your comfort zone. Breaking out of it can be a scary thought..."

His hand on her back as they crossed was a bit of a surprise, but his palm was warm; it felt rather nice with the chill that had come over her a few minutes ago. A sheepish smile crossed her lips as he confessed being able to tell how long it had been since she'd been out. "I've escaped," She said teasingly as they approached the bar, placing a finger against her lips. "Don't tell."

Stepping in as he held the door, she gave a slight shrug at his return question. "Oh, I don't know.... The basic stuff, I suppose. I've rambled off so much about my life, talking your ear off between work and on the walk here- What about you? I don't hear you grumbling about someone at home...."

[Gothic Shujin]

"Well I don't mind the rambling either, its a good way to get to know you. As far as myself... you don't hear me complaining about someone at home, cause there isn't anyone..."

Once inside the two of them were approached by the establishment's greeter who promptly led them to a quiet little table towards the end of the room. It was dimly lit and had two menus awaiting them. While the rest of the place was nearly full, this end was only sparsely inhabited.

Tristam held her seat out for her and then took his own before pushing the menu aside.

He already knew what he wanted....

"I lived a pretty privileged life," he began "...and took over for shaun after he left the company so this job was literally handed over to me. Between work and studying and my art, I've just ever found the right woman. I'm only 25 but still, a lot of guys my age are at least engaged where as I've only had girlfriends. Because of my upbringing I'm probably a bit spoiled... so maybe that has something to do with it."

He stopped as their waitress came over, a casually dressed associate with a small notepad in hand.

"I'll have a beer... heineken," he smiled towards Vivian "...get anything you want, its on me."