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"There's no shortage of nicknames surrounding my former profession, is there?" He hadn't even been a stripper, and yet, the names kept rolling in. Ah well. If he really cared that much, he wouldn't have worked where he did.

Dropping his chin down to rest on the arm he had slung across his knees, Ed let his attention wander once again, gaze watching the waves far below. '

"Ares talked to me through the DJ at work." It'd taken a moment for him to notice that something had been amiss.

That brought his attention back around, a bit of color rising up in his cheeks as he regarded Asher's smile. It shouldn't have bothered him, the insinuation, but it managed to rankle, just a bit. "I wasn't a dancer." And why did he care if anyone assumed he had been?

"I was a bouncer, and in my free time I did some boxing." A little more than some, but since most of it involved illegal underground gambling, he would keep that bit to himself. At least for now.

Could they even get in trouble for that sort of s**t anymore? Weren't some of the other Ares chosen contract killers? It was too early to know for sure, so it was better to keep his cards close to his chest.

That seemed to earn a somewhat startled reaction, one that came with another healthy flush of color as husky blue's followed the movements of Asher's arms and shoulders. The blush wasn't for him, exactly, but because Edward could dance. Not as well as the actual dancers he'd worked with, but you didn't hang out at a strip club as long as Ed had without picking a few things up along the way.

And maybe, just maybe, they'd managed to get him up on stage once or twice when hey we're short a dancer. Ametuar night. He'd take home more money on those occasions than he usually saw on his paycheck for a night. It'd made the whole thing pretty tempting, but he'd never worked up the nerve.

Of course, by the time Asher had completed his little wave of a move and was grinning at him, Ed would manage to pull together a fraction of his usual composure, and actually carry the motion through. From his own fingertips, along one arm, through the next, and ended with his far hand. The smile back was challenging, rather than friendly. "Don't get too disappointed."

Ed wasn't expecting that, though really he should have been. There was a second of that classic deer-in-headlights look, a blink of pale eyes, and then he seemed to gather himself again. "I'm not nearly intoxicated enough to solo dance on the edge of a cliff. ". Which was actually the truth. Put on the spot, it would have taken particular circumstances to get him up and moving, and at the moment Asher wasn't meeting any of them.

"Now if you've got a flask in your pocket, we can can talk." There was a beat, Edward's gaze dipping to his sleeve to fix the roll of it, then he added. "And I'm not sure you have enough dollars on you to make it worth my while." He grinned as he said it, but his gaze stayed directed downward, not looking at Asher.

A bit reserved. As much as one could be given his profession and preferences. It was why he preferred boxing, it was quite a bit easier. You didn't have to do anything but fight.

Ed gave the other man a rather skeptical look at his counter proposal. Tit for tat still meant dancing very much out in the open, sober, but on the other hand, it wouldn't be just him.

And perhaps Asher could make it all worth his while. The shoulder roll had been promising where rythym was concerned. Even if not. Even if the younger looking man turned out to have two left feet, he was the only one out here to see, and he'd already taken to calling him any little stripped bane that came to mind. At this point, could it get any worse?

"Deal," he finally said slowly, dubious look of consideration replaced by that slow smile, again, almost daring. "But you better be worth watching, or I'll be getting the raw end of this day."

Maybe he should have been worried, but he wasn't yet. Instead Ed made a sweeping gesture at Asher, smile growing. "I believe you volunteered to be first, so by all means."

He was definitely not going first.

Where Edward was a little more on the reserved side, Asher seemed comfortably shameless. It was the sort of comfort that Ed enjoyed after a few beers and a good buzz,

but never seemed to obtain while sober. Pale eyes lifted, brows arching in surprise as the shorter man kick flipped his way up to his feet and...just started dancing. No mind paid to the cliff beside them, the almost stranger watching him, or the possibility of anyone else possibly catching a glimpse of him. It wasn't fair. Enviable, but also pretty damn good. Not the sort of dancing Edward was more used to seeing, but good non-the-less.

He watched, weight resting back on his hands, with a rather easy smile on his face. Dancing aside, the more they talked, the more comfortable Ed was becoming with Asher. He even chuckled as the other man offered(jokingly?) to start removing layers. Tempting, especially with that small glimpse of stomach Asher flashed as his shirt came up a few inches.

"I mean, I wouldn't complain." This time the grin he flashed up at the dark haired man was just as shameless as the ones Asher had been aiming at him for the last fifteen minutes or so.

It answered a few questions, as well. For himself, and possible for Asher, if he'd wondered.

There was a certain appreciation mingled in with the amusement that showed on Ed's features as Asher's shirt drew up another few inches. But then it had fallen, and the shorter man was dropping back down beside him, perfectly at ease with himself. It was the sort of easy shamelessness that the dncers had had back at the club, what made them able to get up on stage nightly.

Rolling his eyes at Asher's prodding, the bouncer got up to his feet, not with nearly as much flare as a kick flip, but as if he were being drawn up by the strings. It appeared Asher had set the bar high, and Edward really couldn't do any less than meet it. Hell, he'd try to beat it, if he could.

The foot would was sort of similar, all fluid shifts and slides, but where they differed, what set the two apart, was the proof of Ed's previous employment. The body rolls and down right suggestive hip movements he'd picked up from the dancers and the rare occasion he found himself up on stage. It had started a little slower, a little more hesitant, but once he'd settled into it, gotten out of his own head, what actual skill the man possessed shown through.

And because Asher had teased with a bit skin, it only seemed fair to do the same. The red over shirt he'd worn was eased off his shoulders, resting at his elbows before being discarded in full. Then thumbs had tucked into the hem of the t-shirt beneath, and turning, he'd work it up slow, drawing it half way up his back, showing just how well the tatty jeans fit across his backside.

It was a little more than what he'd be doing at a club, but a fair deal tamer than what he'd have been doing for money.