Den of Angels (closed for wideeyedone and Blase)

wideeyedone

Baby did a bad, bad thing
Joined
Jan 5, 2007
Posts
7,070
Name: Julie Thayer
Age: 21
Occupation: aspiring cellist/ waitress

Description: Julie is a pretty girl, but she has never maximized it. She has long straight chocolate brown hair that reaches her shoulder blades. She has big brown eyes, framed by dark, long lashes. She has small features, except for her eyes. She is slender. Sleek legs, a smooth tummy, high pert breasts. She has always had a bit of a sophisticated look for her age. Little girl face, but lots of style.

She has arrived in New York to pursue her dream to be a cellist. She lives in a tiny little cheap apartment and squirrels away all of her tips for tuition. She did have a job at Patty’s Diner, but the tips aren’t enough. She needs to work where the money is.



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Julie went to her job interview at Den of Angels. It was a bar just a few blocks from her crummy apartment. The former warehouses were now hotspots and Den of Angels was always packed. Her friend Aimee had known a waitress that had quit there but the word on the street was that the tips were awesome. The girls had to dress a little skimpy, but Julie was hungry for that tuition money. So she might have to shake her ass in a pair of tight jeans, it couldn't be that bad.

She waited in a line of girls for the interview. The owner of the bar sized them each up. There were only a few girls with waitressing experience and a few of the girls were .... more suited for kitchen help. It wasn't long before the line of forty girls was down to seven. He asked them each a few questions. The telling one for him was always "Why do you want this job?" The girls that were in it to be discovered, or for the attention never lasted. They liked the ass shaking part of the job, but they always ended up hated slinging drinks and dealing with customers. Julie had the perfect answer. She needed the money. Girls that needed the money didn't quit and they worked hard.

"Be here at eight, jeans and heels.... Tanya will get you a few of our shirts for you to wear."

Julie was thrilled. She was handed three skin tight scoop neck belly t shirts. On the back silver angel wings were screen printed. On the front the name of the bar would be stretched across her breasts, but between the scoop neck and the belly showing, there was very little shirt. Julie didn't care. She had seen some of the other waitresses picking up their checks. They were all hot, glamorous and made up to a T. She would never get noticed among all of them. She would waitress, smile alot and then count her tips all the way to the registrar's office.
 
Joel

Name: Joel Serrano
Age: 27
Occupation: Web Designer/Writer

Despite his first name, Joel is of Italian extraction and more or less looks it, with curly black hair and a dark complexion. He isn't a fanatical bodybuilder but works out and plays raquetball because keeping in shape and socializing are givens among the young and hot in his upper-middle class world. His income is in the six-figure range, but he works for it - he's comfortable, but far from idle.

He actually spends less time out with friends now than he did a few years ago, due to the solitary nature of his business and the fact that he's getting a little older and the novelty of certain things has largely worn off for him.

He has not become a monk, though. He has a fondness for beautiful things and sybaritic pleasures. And when he finds a person who he feels is worth getting to know, he knows how to appreciate that, too...


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God, she was cute. Pretty, even, but not what a lot of people meant when they said pretty. She didn't have the kind of prettiness that was so sculpted and agressive that it gave a feeling of artificiality. The sort of look that was too much in evidence anywhere that the girls were "supposed to" be beautiful.

To Joel, it was a relief to see her among all the Barbie dolls at Den of Angels. He liked the bar. He liked the food, although it was mostly standard pub grub. He just didn't like seeing so many android-perfect faces, even though they all came with figures that their faded jeans and skimpy shirts showed to good advantage.

But he liked her.

He had to come back for two consecutive evenings to get the opening he wanted. Finally, one night when business was slow, he saw her disappear into the kitchen, then come back out and sit at the bar, obviously taking a break.

He flagged his own waitress down as she passed his table.

"Excuse me, I'd like to send a beer to your coworker sitting at the bar. Do you have Black Rock Stout?"

Assured that the bar did, he handed the girl twice what the beer would cost and waited.
 
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Julie was glad for the chance to eat. The place hadn't been busy but she had been waiting on the table from hell. It was a bachelor party that was starting off light before they hit the strip joints. She had oblingingly posed for a picture for the groom's scrapbook, but after that the catcalls and ridiculous requests got old. They were asking her for things just so she would have to come back to the table. And worst of all, they were lousy tippers. They had run up a bill of a couple of hundred dollars and there had been a some singles left in a pile in the middle of the table.

She had to smile when she got her dinner though. She had made friends with the guys in the kitchen. She always gave them her orders nicely and smiled when she checked on the E.T.A. of her orders. The guys in the kitchen always took care of her when she ordered dinner. Her burger was well done and her fried were extra crispy. She was ready to no be "on". Then one of the blond bombshell waitresses brought her a bottle of beer.

"I didn't order this.. Matt was going to grab a coke for me." She said a little confused. The waitress rolled her eyes.

"Sweetie, it is from table 11. He is a regular. Drink up and wave and smile. He is a good tipper." Julie was a little shocked by the whole thing. She looked over her shoulder and smiled. She wasn't really a beer drinker, she usually ordered pretty girly drinks, the kind with a fruit garnish and a straw. She waved at Joel. She appraised him quickly. He was good looking, but not in that cocky sort of way. And he was casual but well dressed. Too bad for him that I have a boyfriend, she thought.
 
Joel raised his glass and smiled at Julie as she waved.

Then he sat back, a bit troubled.

She hadn't come over.

As signs went, that was a pretty bad one.

On the other hand, she had smiled. The expression and the wave had seemed friendly, rather than perfunctory, but by themselves, they didn't leave him much room to maneuver. Oh, he could get up and go over to her, but being that agressive in response to such a slight cue would put many girls off.

Joel didn't want to put this one off.

He sighed, deciding to order a light dinner and stick around for awhile. It was still fairly early: Later on, the girls would doubtless do their bar dancing thing. He had seen her dance the previous night, and the contrast between her and the other girls was just as marked in that area as it was when it came to looks. There was no question that she liked to dance, and no doubt that she looked mouth-wateringly sexy as she did, but it was the natural, un-self-conscious sexiness of a young woman enjoying herself, the rhythm of the music and the movement of her body. Joel had sat, watching the other girls using come-hither looks and overt sexual phantomiming, and found himself looking back to her again and again.

Well, she knew his face now, and she didn't seem to have instantly decided that he was some kind of creep. It would do for a start.

And he'd get to see her dance again.
 
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Some of the other girls worked up their routines ahead of time. Part of the bit was that the bartender acted as if he was just struck by a whim and cranked the music for the girls to pop up on the bar and do their thing. But in all actuality the girls got the heads up before the shift. Song title and time were provided to all of the waitresses. Julie never bothered to decide where her hip pops, or deep bends were going to take place. She just let the music do its work and move through her body.

Being one of the new girls she didn't have as prime of a spot on the bar. She wasn't in everyone's line of sight but she was there for the tips and the tips were more tied to the waitressing, atleast in Julie's mind. The bartender hit the volume button and all of the girls scattered from their waitressing to hit the bar. Julie was only a few inches over five feet, so she had to boost herself up onto the bar. She hadn't had a foothold yet that would get her on the bar elegantly.

The song wasn't one that she knew, but with her musician's ear she listened for the bass line and that is where she settled her hips into the lick of the bass player. She let that wiggle up her torso, her hands sliding up her stomach, then her ribcage. Her smile was fun. She almost giggled when Layla (as if that could really be her real name) gave her smoldering come hither eyes. Julie shook out her dark hair. She watched the crowd. The attention really was good for the ego, and the pissed off women in the crowd who had been dragged along by a drooling boyfriend were priceless. The music thrummed through the bar and Julie couldn't keep herself from looking for the guy that had sent her a drink. He was cute and nice. She was impressed that he hadn't shouldered over to see her.

She smiled when their eyes met. She couldn't help it. Her shoulders worked as she did body rolls that worked from her shoulders all the way to her hips. The bartender looked up at Julie with a smirk. "You are the only girl laughing Julie!" And she was. She had fun working to the bass line until the song was over and then she slipped down from the bar and was ready to take her next tray of drinks. There was only an hour until her shift was over and then she could go home, kick her heels off and wash off her makeup.
 
Cute, sexy and athletic.

She'd done some things up on the bar tonight that reminded Joel of professional acrobatic performances. And even though she still did little that was overtly suggestive, her sex appeal came through as strongly as ever. At least to him.

Of course, Joel reflected, there was one thing that he found sexy that she just couldn't help. You simply couldn't move like that in such a tight shirt without, er, firming up.

Once, she'd caught his eye, and he'd done his best to look friendly and enthusiastic rather than horny and leering.

What to do now, though?

Joel considered, then decided that it was time to go home for the the night. He was sure that eagerness at this point would only blow the whole thing.

Mentally bidding her farewell, he made himself turn toward the door and leave before she reappeared. He was not going to hang around and introduce himself, offer her a ride home or do any of the other foolish things that he was thinking of.

For tonight, he'd go to his home, she'd go to hers, and neither of them would know anything more about the other until they came back to the bar.

He had a feeling, though. He just had a feeling that he was going to learn a lot more about her.

No, it wasn't just a feeling. It was a dearly held hope.
 
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After her shift, Julie changed into a Atlanta Braves jersey and her Converse tennis shoes. She walked home to her apartment. The neighborhood wasn't expensive but she did alright. She flopped into her chair at the apartment as soon as she got through the door.

The message light on the phone was blinking. She smiled. It was bound to be Jason her boyfriend from home. She hit the button and his sweet southern voice was there. "How was the new restaruant? Was it as provocative as you thought? Were the tips really worth it? Call me, baby. I love you." His voice made her shiver. But she didn't want to listen to him complain. So she put off calling. Besides, tomorrow she was going to go back. If she waited to call Jason, she would have more info for him.
 
Even though he could have gotten away with sitting at his computer in his underwear, with stinky pits and a day-old beard, Joel made it a point to shower and shave every morning before he started to work. It helped him to feel alert and on top of his game.

Exiting the bathroom, he walked across the loft to his work area. The Space Place job needed some work, then later on he actually had to go out in order to interview that oceanographer, Matt, for the piece about life around oceanic hot water vents.

He brought up the Space Place site in an HTML editor, then, on an impulse, he opened a browser window and called up the Den of Angels site, which he liked, even though it wasn't one of his. He started to glance through their image galleries, but shook his head after a couple minutes.

No sign of her. She was just too new.

Apparently, he and Den of Angels were both still getting used to the new girl.

He hoped that she was getting used to them.
 
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Julie awoke late in the morning. The sun was streaming in from the window in her effeciency apartment. She adjusted on her futon, feeling as if a permanent bar line was going to be emblazoned on her hip from the torturous furniture. She staggered to kitchen for yogurt and juice. Then she went for her run. She ran in full "don't pay attention to me" mode. Ponytail, oversized t shirt and sweats were her usual uniform.

Then her favorite part of the day came. She got her cello from its case. She practiced as if she were in a conservatory. Most of her neighbors worked so she wasn't bothering anyone. Mrs. McCullum downstairs could barely hear so she had said she didn't mind.

Julie laid the fingerboard on her shoulder as she took her seat. She made sure she was tuned and her bow was rosined and then she would play. The music would fill the apartment. Julie had loved this since she had been old enough to play. Every teacher she had had told her that she had a gift. And that is exactly what it felt like to her. It was a gift to know music like this and to be able to make it.

In the late afternoon she took a nap before work. Then she started what she considered her "hussy-ing" up process. She painted her face and put her hair up in a high ponytail. Tonight she was having her picture taken for her profile on the website. She also had to write a little bio about herself, the other girls had told her to vamp it up and not put anything too personal in it.

Then it was off to work.
 
That night he got a break.

The table he chose turned out to be one of hers.

She smiled as she gave him the standard formulaic greeting.

"Hi, I'm Julie. I'll be your server tonight."

Julie, he thought, rolling the name over in his mind. Jewel-lie.

"Julie, hi, I'm Joel."

"I'm a regular here. I've noticed you working the past few nights and I was hoping you'd be my...server at some point."

No sense pretending, he shrugged inwardly, and gave her a small smile of his own:

"Did you like the Black Rock Stout?"
 
"I am not much of a beer drinker... my boyfriend always teases me about drinking chick drinks." She offered with a smile, there was no need leading him on even though he was really cute."The Black Rock was great though."

She offered to take his order. Then one of the girls came by and said with a smile, "Pose with your Angel for the website... we don't have a picture of Julie yet."
 
So much for getting a break.

"You're gonna be on the website? Hey, cool!"

"No, please go ahead! I'll still be here for awhile."

That explained why she looked so dolled-up today.

Now, how to explain that it felt like the bottom had fallen out of his heart?

He told himself that he was being silly; that it was just biology that had caused him to feel so strongly attracted to a girl whose name he hadn't even known until just then.

Then he told himself that boyfriends came and went all the time.

Then he told himself that he was a fool.


He really wasn't crazy about all that makeup on her. She just didn't need it.

In his mind he saw himself with a damp facecloth, swiping playfully at her face to clean it off as she laughed and made token efforts to defend herself...


He picked up the menu, snapping it open and making himself think about buffalo wings.
 
Later that night the manager of the bar uploaded her picture to the website for Den of Angels. Her picture turned out really well. She was sitting on a barstool, big smile. Her baby blue t shirt was stretched so tight across her breasts that the word ANGEL was a little hard to read.

In a little town right outside of Birmingham, her boyfriend Jason checked out the site. He was not happy about that picture and he was even more unhappy about the profile.

She listed herself as single. Her interests included classical music, days at the beach and Matthew McConnauhey. She was supposed to be studying music and making money. She looked so flirty in her pic. He wondered how many other guys were looking at her picture right now, and what they were thinking about his girlfriend. He didn't like it, not one little bit.
 
She looked good. He'd know she would.

Funny, she'd listed herself as single, but he supposed that was just part of the image that the girls were supposed to project.

Either that or she'd just invented a boyfriend as a way to fend off an inconvenient guy.

Neither scenario was particularly promising.


He looked back at his monitor. God, she still looked so cute, even with the makeup. And her smile was so open and natural.

And then there was, well, her chest...

Joel tried not to be a lech, but it was, as they said in some places, a natural fact. She was female, and he simply couldn't look at her without being all too pleasantly aware of it. Stupid to pretend that a grown woman didn't have nipples when she obviously did...



For a moment, he thought of what it would be like to know her really well. Intimately well.

He imagined waking in the morning to find that she'd already gotten up and showered. Now she was standing in front of the bathroom mirror with the door left open to let the steam from her shower escape. She was combing her hair, having pulled on jeans but not a top, yet.

She smiled as he came up behind her, stepping softly but not too quietly to hear. He placed his hands on her waist and kissed the back of her neck, saying good morning as he breathed the scents of her shampoo and her warm skin...



Ok, he was really going off the deep end.

What about a more likely scenario? Like the one where she became increasingly distant towards him until he decided that he was just being rude to keep coming around when his presence clearly made her uncomfortable, and finally stopped going to Den of Angels at all.

Her nipples weren't erect in that one.
 
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Julie was sitting in the doorframe of her bathroom with her phone to her ear. She had known six words into the phone call that it was over. Jason had been her boyfriend since highschool. Her only lover. And now he was jealous and suspicious.

He wanted her to come home. He wanted her to quit her job. Julie was having none of it. She hadn't even made any real friends yet, let alone met a guy. She told him all about the drink she was ordered and how she told him that she had a boyfriend. It all fell on deaf ears. So, forty five minutes later she told him she was going to bed.

Julie curled in bed and cried. She could barely think of what it meant that her relationship with Jason was over. They had been together for almost four years. She was just desperately sad, not just at the loss. She was heartbroken that he thought she might be unfaithful or flirting with other guys.

The next morning she didn't even get the cello out of the case. She allowed herself one day to wallow in bed.
 
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It took guts to go back to Den of Angels that night.

At least, that was what he wanted to tell himself. He knew the truth was that it probably would have taken a lot more guts to stay away.

His table wasn't one of hers, that night. In fact, he barely got a glimpse of her until he decided to go to the men's room. As he was passing by the kitchen door, it opened and she stalked out of it, very nearly walking right into him.

Startled, he looked at her and realized instantly that something was odd.

"Julie, hi!"

"Uh, are you ok? You look..." The word that popped into his mind was upset, but knowing her name and having seen her at her job a few times just didn't give him the standing to ask.

"...tired."
 
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She had been trying her best to keep her best face on. She had slept so very little. The line cook had yelled at her for messing up an order, and she was mad at herself for making the mistake. Then she had almost knocked over her favorite customer, the nice guy who had sent her the beer. He asked her if she was okay and it took all she had not to blurt out the whole story, tears and all. She hadn't told anyone. She didn't know the girls at wowk well enough. She didn't tell her parents because she knew they would be dissapointed and want her to come home.

"I um, didn't sleep really well. I didn't mean to barrel over you." She offered apoligeticly. Her face softened just a touch. "Let me bring you a beer in a minute to make it up to you. Black Rock Stout right?" Her smile was watery, but she managed to put herself together.
 
"Uh, yeah, that's right. Thanks!"

Joel tried not to refuse hospitality when it was offered, in order to avoid hurting people's feelings. He certainly wasn't about to refuse Julie's.

He started back toward his table, even though he hadn't actually gone to the men's room, yet. He didn't want to return to his seat and find that Julie had already left the beer and gone back to her duties.

When she came over, he thanked her again.

"I don't feel like you really owe me anything," he added. "Anyone can be distracted for a second, and you didn't even bump into me."

Remembering how she'd looked a minute before, and seeing the way she looked right then, Joel just had a feeling that he should say something.

"Listen, I...It's none of my business, but is everything alright?"

"You just don't seem like yourself, tonight."
 
She blinked a few times before she managed to answer. "I should have called in, but i just started this job." She sighed softly. As much as she tried to fight it a few tears slid down her cheek, she brushed them off with the back of her hand. "My boyfriend and I broke up." Her voice broke just a bit.

She looked over her shoulder and the waitress who was working that table shot her a dirty look.

"It was really nice of you to ask. I better go. Mindi doesn't play nice." And with that she was back to her big table in the corner writing down orders.
 
Shit.

Suddenly, Joel was faced with the ultimate good news-bad news situation. If a girl you'd shown obvious interest in told you that she'd just broken up with her boyfriend, how could you continue to show an interest, yet avoid looking like a vulture?

Joel decided that the answer was very carefully.

He did stay for awhile that night, as usual. Julie was still working when he left. She'd even danced on the bar with the other girls.


She didn't approach him again, though, and as much as he wanted to, it was exactly the wrong time to approach her.

The next day was friday.

He was sure that she'd be working: Weekends weren't optional on a job like that. Especially if you wanted to make money.

In the morning, he went to a neighborhood florist and told them what he wanted.

Everything in white: no hint of romance. White roses, white lilies, babies breath and a white bow. Plus a card reading I thought you could use a little pick me up. Your Friend, Joel

He arranged to have it delivered to Den of Angels that evening.

He, himself, went nowhere near the club all night.
 
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When Julie saw the flowers being delivered before her shift started, first she wondered which of the lucky girls was getting flowers. When Callie looked at the card and said they were for her, her heart fluttered. They had to be from Jason, he was sorry about breaking up with her, he wanted her back.

When she saw they were from Joel it was bittersweet. She was dissapointed that Jason hadn't sent them. But it did make her feel better to feel like she had a real friend in the city. She snapped a rose from its stem and tucked it in her ponytail. It smelled heavenly and it looked pretty cute. She checked it in the mirror.

She made it through her shift okay. There was a bachelor party that were big tippers and some business men that had left her a fifty. Over all it was a good night. The business men asked her to pose in a picture with them. One of the angels snapped the picture and the bartender took one too. Later that night he uploaded it to the site. She was sitting in the middle of seven suits. She had on her pink ANGEL t shirt and had her rose in her hair. She was actually smiling her real smile. The week was looking up.
 
In retrospect, signing the card Your Friend had probably been a bit over the top, considering that he'd never seen her outside the club, or even spent much time talking to her in there. Then again, he was probably just overthinking it.

And it was true that, in this case, Joel was hoping that the old personal ad cliche of "friends first" would actually come true.

He did well enough in life that there were women who were willing to sleep with him.

With Julie, he found himself hoping for more, even as he tried to tell himself to be realistic. She was obviously a few years younger than him, though she had to be at least 21 to be working in a bar. She was probably an undergrad student, just getting out into the wide world, with her whole life and career ahead of her. He had no idea what her favorite color or her favorite anything was (except that she liked "chick drinks"). Exactly WHAT did he think they were going to build a friendship, let alone a relationship on?

Yet the hope refused to go away.



So, Joel didn't go away. But he didn't go right back, either.

The last thing he wanted was to stroll back into Den of Angels too soon, as though to say I sent you flowers when you were down. Now, I'm here to collect my reward.

So, he waited until Monday, not even knowing if she'd be working on the slowest night of the week.

Half afraid she would be.

By then, he'd found her new picture on the website. The one where she was wearing a white rose. It went great with the t-shirt.

And her smile. He liked to think that the bouquet had helped with that.

But he didn't know. He didn't know anything, it seemed.

Except that he wanted to get to know her. He kept daydreaming about talking to her for a long, long time.

Alright, he daydreamed about a lot more than that, but it didn't mean that the part about talking to her wasn't sincere. She sounded as smart as she was sexy (though you could only go into so much depth about mozzarella sticks) and Joel really believed that they could talk easily and enjoy each other's company.

In any case, he was going to have to say something at some point, and sooner would be better than later. Girls as attractive as Julie just didn't stay unattached for too long.

He tried to make his eyes focus on the menu.

Hmm, no, chili might just be a bad idea. In fact, anything with beans might be a bad idea for awhile.

Assuming that about a million unlikely things all fell into place...
 
Julie wasn't working Monday night. But Monday was pay day. The girls had to give a portion of their tips to the bartender and the hostess, so the money was turned in, the bartender and the hostess got their share and checks were cut on Monday. The paltry amount they were paid by the hour was added in. Julie came in in street clothes. She wore her hair down. Her dark hair framed her face. She had on a Crimson Tide t shirt, a pair of worn in jeans and her tennis shoes on.

Julie tried to be nonchalant as she looked around the bar. She wondered if Joel was there. It really had been so sweet of him to send the flowers. Some of the other girls had found out about Jason dumping her. Some of them had started to be a little more friendly. Marissa and Kelly had taken her out for pancakes one night after shift. She was starting to feel a tiny bit more connected to the city.

Julie sat on a barstool and waited for Matt, the bartender to be free enough to hand her her check and let her sign for it. He handed her the check and nodded toward Joel's table. "I think somebody is here to see you." Julie turned and saw Joel. She thanked Matt for the check and headed over to Joel's table. She decided to be really brave. She slipped into the chair opposite Joel.

"Hey, Joel." She said with her big smile, her southern accent coming out just a touch more. "I just got my first paycheck. And I wanted to celebrate. You really are my first friend here in the city. Can I talk you into dinner tomorrow?" Julie was so nervous she started to worry she was going to throw up.
 
If Joel had been any more surprised he probably would have pissed his pants.

He shook his head in disbelief, then realized that he'd better get a grip on himself before Julie got the impression that he was saying no to her.

"Julie, hi," he said as he had the other day when she'd nearly collided with him. "It's nice to see you again. And yeah, dinner sounds great."

"I was hoping for a chance to get to know you better, actually."

That last admission seemed safe enough (not to mention obvious) when he'd already sent her a beer and flowers. He knew that she didn't have to ask guys out and wanted her to know that her making the effort meant something to him.

"Do you have a place around here that you like?" he added.

He knew some good local places where the food was tasty and the prices reasonable, but he didn't want to make suggestions unless she asked. Just because she wasn't from the area didn't necessarily mean that she didn't already have a favorite spot or two.

He fell silent, waiting to hear what she'd say.
 
Her smile lit up her whole face. "Well, actually there is a place not too far from here... and this may not sound like any fun to you.... but it is a southern barbeque place and they have live music everynight....I haven't been."

Julie had thought it through. She didn't want to sit all night in a little black dress and worry about what to order and what to say. The barbeque joint had loud music, good beer and good food that might make her a little less homesick. She wanted to celebrate her first paycheck and she liked Joel. This night could end lots of ways. They could become friends. She could find out she liked him more than that... or if it was a total bust, he would probably quit coming around the club.

"Meet me out front around seven tomorrow?" She tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear.
 
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