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 Posted: Tue Dec 25, 2012 10:45 pm
Christmas shopping - a thing Lex wasn't the most used to. Christmas for him had been he and his mother in the morning exchanging gifts and putting aside the business talk and familial tension for the special day, followed by actually going to Mass for once, and then a night of mixing drinks and swooning a woman.
So, in essence, he'd only shopped for his mother - which just required picking out quality tequila, wine, and maybe a few miscellaneous nick knacks, like an electronic goldfish tank for her desk. He couldn't exactly do that for everyone he knew, though; he actually had to think while shopping for his Deus acquaintances.
Luckily, New York City had a lot of shops for him to think and choose in. He'd eventually selected everything and found himself with time to spare. He smiled brightly and determined that yes, he did have enough time to grab a few drinks - including actual eggnog.
On his way over, he bumped into a smallish, familiar girl.
"Eva?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2012 2:09 am
Eva loved Christmas shopping. Since she liked getting all her shopping done in one day, she only had one day a year to dedicate to buying her friends gifts, and she was going to cherish it. Unlike the previous year, where she had had company while buying gifts, the girl had decided to go solo this year. After all, it made buying surprises for people a lot easier when they weren't right there.
New York was obviously the best place to choose when it came to buying presents. Eva hand picked each gift carefully, trying to consider what her friends would like or, in some cases, what they would (hopefully) look good in. She had gotten through most of her list, and only had one person left to buy for--Robert--when someone bumped into her on the street.
She stumbled back a little, her lips automatically turning upwards in a smile as she began to look up and apologize. However, the voice made her freeze, and after a moment of staring up at the man blankly, Eva's lips spread into a big grin instead. "Lex!" She greeted brightly, abruptly dropping all the bags she had been hanging onto to give him a hug, "Fancy seeing you here--ah." There was a pause, and then she not-so-subtly reached out with her foot to slide one of her bags behind her. After ensuring that it was out of view, she turned back to flash him another grin.
"So! Christmas shopping?"
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Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2012 11:06 pm
Lex totally caught that little present shift thing, but didn't bring it up - he wasn't one of those people that had to know what he got for Christmas. The fact that someone had even thought to buy him something was enough to bring a big smile to his face and prompt a near bear hug for the smaller woman.
"Yeah, Christmas shopping." He answered, shifting the bag with her things into a bigger bag, hoping she wouldn't catch it. "Never bought this many things that weren't for myself before, in all honesty. It's kind of exhausting." His eyes said it all, half lidded as he grabbed her arm suddenly, realizing that they were in the middle of a New York sidewalk and were probably causing a bit of a traffic jam, and he pulled her into a side alley.
"Sorry about that, didn't want you getting trampled."
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Posted: Mon Dec 31, 2012 12:12 am
The bear hug surprised her, but judging from the laughter, was not unwelcome. When he let go and shift his presents, she paid little mind to the action, focusing instead on his words as she beamed up at him. "Ah ha, is that so? I love it!" She bent back down to gather up all of her bags before looking up at him again, lips spread into a wide grin. "Though I'll admit that it is pretty tiring. I'll have to take a break soon before I get that last gift for Robert."
And she still had no idea what to get him. Was Lex acquainted with the other Life Hunter, perhaps? Eva opened her mouth to ask, but found herself emitting a little squeak instead as she felt herself get tugged into the side alley. She turned to blink at the spot where they had been standing at a moment ago, letting out a little laugh after a second passed. "Haha, don't apologize! You're right--it wasn't the best place to be standing."
Shifting her bags, she cocked her head to the side as she peered up at him. "So, what are your plans now? Are you done buying everything, or...?"
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Posted: Tue Jan 01, 2013 11:53 pm
Lex knew Robert vaguely as the man from under the table during that one meeting. Yeah...that was odd. Though, if Eva trusted him....wait, no. Eva was the kind of girl to trust anyone, it seemed. Then again, maybe Lex was just judging her too early? He shook himself mentally, deciding that Robert probably was a fine guy and that he needed to keep talking to Eva.
"Yeah, all my shopping is done, and I've still got money to spare." He smiled, thinking vaguely about what he was going to order at the bar. Johnnie Walker? Jack? Cuervo? He just didn't know - he'd probably order all of them, though; along with some bar food to keep him from getting smashed. Buffalo sliders actually sounded really good...
Oh. Oh, right. Eva was 21.
"Actually, I planned on hitting up the bar down the street - and seeing as I promised you birthday drinks." He raised an eyebrow with a little smile, nodding out of the alley. "C'mon, I bet they have eggnog with rum in it."
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Posted: Wed Jan 02, 2013 12:23 pm
Eva couldn't say that she was a good gift buyer, but she was an enthusiastic one. As she had proven in the past, there was nothing that the girl liked more than going out and buying people things. Christmas provided a perfect opportunity for this and so, despite the fact she was lugging around a ton of bags, the grin and bright look in her eyes never left her face.
She nodded when he told her that he was done shopping, perking up suddenly when he mentioned that he was going to drop by a bar. And when he went on to bring up the birthday drinks he had mentioned when they first met...
"Oh, right!" Ooh, drinks! Sounded like a good break! "Well, if I'm not imposing on your or your private time, I do need to take a break--...what is eggnog with rum?" At once, Eva's expression changed, becoming puzzled and...slightly concerned as she wrinkled her nose and stared up at him.
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Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 12:46 am
"It's eggnog...with rum." Lex stated, smiling sweetly. She was obviously inexperienced with alcohol - which was probably a good thing, to be honest. Underage drinking was a bad, bad thing that got you tied up in bad, bad things. Things like not remembering where you underwear were, or who all you'd slept with that night. Regretful things like that.
He shook himself inwardly to focus back on Eva, taking her by a bag laden hand so as to avoid getting separated by the bustling New York streets, smiling brightly and leading them to a place called The Watering Hole.
"Now," Lex stopped right before entering, giving Eva a sterner look, yet retaining his ever charming smile, "a few rules before we enter. One, don't stray too far from me. Two, don't respond to any sleezebag that talks to you. Three - last one - don't order anything too hard. I'll carry you back home, but you won't be able to pick Robert's gift up."
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Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 10:57 pm
Judging by the look on Eva's face, that did not sound like an appealing drink to her...but that being said, what did she know about drinks? If anyone asked her what her favourite drink was, she would answer "Sprite". Her knowledge of alcoholic drinks was pretty much zero.
And so, she would have to trust Lex to guide her along a little. She trotted after him like an obedient puppy as he led her to the bar, only to blink up at him in confusion when he informed her that he had a couple of rules for her. With no room or reason to protest, Eva simply nodded.
Not straying too far from him was easy enough, and so that got a nod. The bit about responding to sleezebags got a puzzled, "how do I know if they're sleezebags?" and his last question earned a very blank stare.
...
"Sure, you can tell me not to order anything too 'hard', but considering that I'm not sure...what constitutes as a 'hard' drink..."
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Posted: Thu Jan 03, 2013 11:45 pm
Lex returned Eva's look with a look of his own that said "you'll be able to tell" before he moved on to her statement. "Well, a hard drink is something that will knock you out. Like..." He thought for a few seconds, tossing around several drinks in his mind. "Like whiskey, or straight vodka. Just stick to martinis, or the eggnog." He smiled, patting her on the head.
What would the girl be able to take, anyway? Certainly she hadn't had much alcohol in her life, and considering how small she was....
A few martinis, maybe. He'd try to keep her in check.
"Alright, let's get on it." He started, making his way inside and heading right for a bar stool that he pulled out for Eva before taking his own. The bar was rather upbeat, playing a good mix of classic rock and nineties R&B, and very clean. There were lounge areas stocked with plush chairs and loveseats, oak tables, and menus. Reconsidering their positions, Lex gave a nod towards one of the lounge areas and got up to make his way over to a chair, picking up a menu to see what sort of food they'd be able to have.
"Alright sweetie, make sure you eat. It'll take more to get you tipsy if you've got food in your system." He smiled before examining the menu, pouting lightly at the unorginiality of the food selection. Burgers, wings, jalapeno poppers, and sandwiches; very boring. When a waitress in pumps and a black mini dress came over, Lex ordered them both eggnog and a BLT for himself.
"And whatever she wants, of course." He added with a little wink at the waitress, grinning a fox's sly grin. Maybe he'd be able to score a free bottle tonight - it was the holidays, after all.
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Posted: Fri Jan 04, 2013 5:52 pm
Oh, that seemed...easy enough. Okay, so stick with either martinis or eggnog--
A pause, and then she wrinkled her nose again, staring up at the man as he pat her on the head. "Eggnog...is that really good?" She asked, following after him into the bar, "I mean, it doesn't sound very tasty, and--oooooooooh."
And with that dignified trail off, she turned to stare at the interior of the bar in wonder. Ooh, listen to that music! And check out those comfortable looking chairs and loveseats! They looked so soft and plushy and--oh. Oh, were they going that way? Eva was more then happy to plop down on one of the seats, and probably would have bounced on it a bit had the waitress not arrived to take their orders. Suddenly on her best behaviour, she clasped her hands together in her lap and offered the young woman a sweet smile as she turned her attention to her.
"Um, just...this, please." She pointed to the spicy wings after eying the menu for a sec, chirping a thank you. As for other drinks...that could wait until after she tried this eggnog thing that Lex had ordered.
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Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 9:11 am
"So you're telling me you've never had eggnog?" Lex asked, slightly shocked by the revelation. Didn't everyone have the drink at one point in their life? It was somewhat of a yuletide tradition; surely it had been forced on nearly every child at some point in their lives.
Eggnog was probably the only Christmas drink Lex could have, thanks to a good for nothing cocoa allergy, so he was practically hooked on the stuff. He explained to Eva with a light smile "It's like...whole milk, with rum, cinnamon, nutmeg, and some sugar, and eggs." Well...that did sound awful when you added in the bit about eggs. Just as he'd finished, the waitress brought them a bowl of peppermint chocolate dipped pretzels. "On the house" She told them, winking at Lex.
He stared at them for a brief second, but pushed them towards Eva once the waitress left to get their drinks. "Eat up."
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Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 9:19 am
Eva simply shook her head in response to his surprise, giving a casual shrug of her shoulders. "Nope, never. I grew up on a lot of pepperminty drinks during this time of year, so I never really had the chance to try eggnog." And admittedly, any drink with the word "egg" in it made her a little wary. Surely something like that wouldn't be good...right?
To be fair, aside from the egg, Eva did like the other ingredients that Lex had listed off. "Eggs. Er...raw eggs?" That definitely didn't sound as appealing as she would have liked, though the only other option other than raw eggs in her mind were...well, cooked eggs. Like, hardboiled eggs.
In a drink.
She shuddered, but perked up when the waitress suddenly appeared. Lifting her brows at the wink that she directed towards Lex, Eva bit down on her bottom lip to hide her smile. Propping her elbows up on the table, she leaned forward and set her chin in the palm of her hands, waiting until the young woman had left before she gave Lex a grin. "Could you be what people call 'a ladies man'?"
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Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 9:32 am
Another sly grin at Eva before he turned his head to the side, acting as though he were sheepish about the subject matter. "I suppose you could say that - growing up in Sin City can make you that way." He looked back at her, grin resembling that of a mischievous child's. "It doesn't help that I'm tall, dark, and handsome."
A pause, and then he decided to move on to her question about eggnog. "Yeah, raw eggs. It sounds gross, I know, but it's really good. I promise."
Just as he said that, the waitress was back with their drinks. Two warmed glasses of eggnog were placed on the table, along with an extra shot of rum. Lex shot the woman a wink and smile, and she was off again with a small sashay in her hips.
"Okay...I'm a lot of a ladies man." He chuckled, pouring half of the extra rum into his glass. "Cheers!"
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Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 9:42 am
Eva eyed him with a grin before shaking her head, letting out a little laugh as she reached out to grab and nibble on one of the pretzels. "I guess I can't say that I'm entirely too surprised. Looks aside, you're a nice guy." ...Though in hindsight, that wasn't necessary something that the waitress would have known on first glance, but shhh. Without missing a beat, she continued by waving her pretzel at the man.
"I just hope that you've been using protection."
And she was still sober as she said this. No, Eva had no shame.
She flashed the waitress a polite smile (and gave Lex a not-so-subtle eyebrow waggle) as their drinks were delivered, chirping a polite thank you. When she left, Eva lifted the cup to her face take a hesitant sniff, her expression wary. Well, if Lex said that it was good...
"Cheers!" She echoed before taking her first sip. There was a long pause, and then she took another sip. And then another.
...Huh. "...It's not bad," She admitted finally, grinning, "Not quite what I expected, but that's probably for the best."
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Posted: Mon Jan 07, 2013 12:02 pm
Lex practically choked on his drink, swallowing it with a few subtle coughs and a wary glance around his immediate vicinity. No one was looking,so he assumed he was fine. Good, good...
"Eva...of course I do, but that's not the point. You can't just talk about things like that in public." He lightly scolded, trying to keep a good smile while he was half laughing half cringing on the inside. How did she even...?
Oh, right. Nursing school.
"Would you like something else?" He moved on, nodding towards her cup. "Or...actually you should probably wait until your food comes."
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