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Please Please Me. (Open)
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Post by Deleted on Aug 25, 2011 21:39:13 GMT -5
When it came to the simplest of things, Tobias thought there was nothing better than coffee, cigarettes and a large cheese Danish. Or two. When it came to the most complicated of things, Tobias often thought of Caroline.
The morning had started out quite well. It was early enough still and dawn had not quite manifested into midmorning. Because of the calmness of today, Tobias wished he could truly appreciate a sunrise. The weekend hadn’t quite come in yet so the plaza wasn’t as busy as it could have been. This was okay by him, as Tobias could actually hear the jazz music playing from the old speakers in the coffee shop.
It was the day after Caroline had let him out of the cell and it was like nothing had happened, no hiccup in normalcy had existed.
Knowing that he was chained up, or having just had fantastic passionate intimacy with Caroline, but the change hadn’t been that bad. He had slept most of yesterday, fatigue ripping at him. The coffee and cigarette Tobias was currently sucking down helped shake off the residue of the change, but the beast still lingered. It always did, like a black cloud chasing after him. Some days were better than others.
Tobias flipped open the crossword puzzle in the newspaper and began working on it after he finished off his Danish. When he had left the apartment, Caroline was still sleeping and he left her a note saying that he would get her breakfast if she’d like because he had just gotten his first paycheck.
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Post by Tempest on Aug 26, 2011 17:43:46 GMT -5
Jaime Cardenas practically danced into the coffee shoppe, humming a latin song to himself as he approached the counter. Without looking at the sign, he said, "Coffee, black, por favor." His accent was incredibly thick and matched the appearance of its owner. Though he wore pretty standard American clothing, his skin tone and facial features marked him as a latino.
He smoothed the front of his red and white plaid button-up shirt, trying to get it to lay flat under the strap attaching his boku to his back. He dug in the pocket of his black jeans to find a few bills to pay for the coffee. He pulled them out and dropped the change the cashier handed him into a tip jar.
Taking the coffee, he headed outside so he could enjoy the fresh air and the view of the square. Unfortunately, there was a man smoking out there. He paused when he saw him, eyeing the cigarette with some longing. His fingers itched for one, but he pushed past this weakness and went to a different table. He had quit and he would stay smoke-free for as long as possible.
He took off the drum to sit down. Jaime made an effort to enjoy his coffee, which he found tolerable though he preferred the stuff from home. His left hand drummed intricate beats as the pungent tobacco smoke smell drifted over to his table. At least the morning was quiet. The drumming he was doing slowly started to coincide with the jazz coming out from the speakers.
At last, he felt a need to be friendly to his fellow coffee-drinker. "Ehhhmm... Beautiful morning, no? Muy tranquila."
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Post by Deleted on Aug 26, 2011 18:13:11 GMT -5
Tobias had been deep into his crossword and hadn’t seen the strutting Cuban at first. It had figured out a four letter word ‘for whom the bell tolls’ and he felt like an utter dunce for taking so long to realize the simple answer. “Jazus it’s for thee,” he mumbled to himself as he pushed his hair away from his eyes and jotted down the answer.
The hipster kid with the double zero gages, working behind the counter, had flipped the music station over to a channel Tobias had least expected but enjoyed very much. Muddy Waters thundered out in his Hootchie Coochie style and instantaneously, Tobias’ foot began to keep beat. He liked this song. It was the type he’d pick for singing if he was extremely drunk and there was a karaoke machine about. All too soon the song had ended and Canned Heat tittered through, so much more light hearted and carefree than a sharecropper’s heartache.
Tobias started a little, distracted again by the crossword, when the stranger had addressed him. With a nod, he stamped out his cigarette in the Altoid tin he always carried with him and offered the man a cigarette. “It is so.” The scent of the man was familiar and Tobias realized that there were a few threads that he, the stranger, shared with Emilio. Now thinking on it, the family resemblance was uncanny. Tobias wondered vaguely if this guy had it out for him too, but his body language suggested otherwise. Tobias was also a stranger enjoying the tranquil morning. That was all.
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Post by Tempest on Aug 26, 2011 19:01:07 GMT -5
Jaime was not bothered by the change of station. He enjoyed most music, and his finger tapping changed subtly to match the new songs. He looked forward to heading out to the school's auditorium to drum for a bit before things got busy.
He stared at the offered cigarette for a long moment before shaking his head. He gave the man an apologetic smile. "No, gracias. I ehm, I quit fumando... ah, smoking, few months ago." Based on the man's accent, he was from Ireland.
Given that Jaime had met no other Irishmen at Foresta yet, he went ahead and assumed that this was the notorious Tobias Williams. He cast an appraising glance at the man, yet came up with very little information he could use. Tobias was a very tall man (easy to tell even if he was sitting), a smoker. There was an empty plate, so he'd presumably eaten breakfast here. This last detail clashed with the thing he'd heard from Emilio. If this man and Caroline were sleeping together as his brother suspected, would they not take breakfast together? Then again, the habits of other people were not necessarily so cut-and-paste.
"Soy Jaime Cardenas," he introduced himself. Unlike his brother, he felt that Caroline could be trusted to do what was best for her. If she felt that Tobias was welcome, then he was. However, if Tobias wound up hurting her and losing her esteem, Jaime would have no qualms about giving the man a piece of his mind. "Y usted?" He was going to go through the motions of a new acquaintanceship, mostly because it was the polite thing to do. He didn't drop the calm and easygoing air he had perfected since changing his lifestyle, though his fingertip drumming grew a little more complicated.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 26, 2011 19:53:19 GMT -5
Tobias smiled thoughtfully. “Soy Tobias Williams. English not your first language? Mine either.” He shifted slightly to pocket the crumbled pack and mint tin. Living in the south of the States as long as he had had given Tobias an understanding of Spanish. Unfortunately he could only speak a spattering of words and butchered them all with his own accent. Fluid Spanish was quite a beautiful thing, however, and Tobias made a mental note to ask Caroline to speak it to him the next time they were alone together.
He drained his coffee cup and winced. It had gone cold. With a sigh, he stood and stretched. “Pardon,” he added, nodding to Jaime, before ducking back into the store for a refill. He took his coffee black, which was well and good as the effects of the sugar in the Danish were kicking in. He shouldn’t have had the second one knowing that it probably would make him sick. But Tobias shook off the feeling and returned to his own table, though he sat at a chair closer to Jaime. He didn’t want to give the impression that he wasn’t interested in continuing a conversation, if not rather butchered.
“You work up at the school as well?” Tobias asked, drinking slowly from the fresh cup. His hand trembled slightly as he set it down on the table. Damn sugar.
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Post by Tempest on Aug 27, 2011 8:44:12 GMT -5
Jaime nodded, replying, "English... is un idioma que... that seem to have more exceptions than reglas... rules. Es muy dificil que aprender." He watched as Tobias went to refresh his coffee. When he was gone, Jaime wondered how such a chill guy could stir up his siblings so much. He also considered dropping the ESL act- it was difficult to keep up and sort of pointless. Tobias Williams seemed like the kind of guy who was careful with sensitive information.
He'd just about made up his mind when Tobias returned with a fresh cup of coffee. Jaime finished taking a long drink from his own mug and shrugged. "In a way," he said, "I am a substitute." The difference in the way he spoke was marked in the lack of hesitation and inserted Spanish words. However, his accent was just as thick. "Emilio said you were some kind of handyman around the school. This is true?"
Unlike Emilio, Jaime had no opinion whatsoever about his sister dating a guy with a blue-collar job. Hell, he understood how things were. He noticed the shaking of Tobias's hand, but said nothing about it. It could be a number of things causing the shakes, but he wasn't about to leap to some conclusion. He reached into a pocket and pulled out a container of cinnamon-flavored toothpicks he sometimes chewed on when the cigarette craving was particularly strong.
He paused and asked, "Dime, is extreme drama an occasional occurrence here or the status quo?" This had been something he'd been worrying about since he'd arrived. From Emilio's letters, he had found out about the Hector incident and a fistfight his brother had had with a vampire at some kind of festival. Then there was all the stuff his sister got into- either in her own love life or vicariously through the headmistress... and not a day went by without hearing something or other on the student front.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2011 17:37:39 GMT -5
Tobias smiled a little at Jaime’s miraculous transformation into near perfect English. He busied himself with folding the paper back up. Already he was thinking about another cigarette. In Ireland, smoking and drinking was the social norm. Hell, the priests even did it with great abandon. When he had gone back a year ago Tobias was done to a pack and a half a day and now he was pushing up to four packs again. It was time to literally nip the habit in the bud.
He took another drink and paused thinking over the question about his job. “I’ve got a doctorate in Theology but keep that to yourself. I don’t want kids asking me anything important,” Tobias said with a soft smile.
“Oh there is plenty of drama, without a doubt. It keeps things entertaining though.” He shrugged and tucked a loose bit of hair behind his ear and leaned back, stretching out his long legs and hooking them at the ankle. “It’s mostly kids stuff though. Who did what, what did who…that rubbish.” Again, Tobias wondered what Jaime did or did not know about the relationship between him and Caroline. At least he seemed less hotheaded than Emilio and that was a nice thing.
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Post by Tempest on Aug 27, 2011 20:08:53 GMT -5
Jaime took the toothpick out of his mouth for just a moment so he could finish his coffee. Sliding it back between his teeth, he reclined a little and waited for the caffeine to make an appearance in his system. He didn't need it to wake up, but it hardly felt like a morning without the rush.
A woman crossing the square caught his attention suddenly. He leaned forward and squinted at her, completely surprised at her appearance. She couldn't possibly be in town, but her appearance was very distinctive. She was short (5'2" or so), curvaceous in the latina sort of way without looking overweight, with long, curly black hair that reached the middle of her back when it was let down. Right now, it was tied back into a loose ponytail. It had to be her, which was bad BAD news.
He fazed back into reality and blinked a few times. He'd barely heard what Tobias had said, and that would make him seem rude. Jaime shook his head and tried to remember what they were talking about. "I won't tell anybody. But, man, you're shortchanging yourself if you don't use that degree. I mean, you could easily be my boss." He inclined his head at Tobias. "You're talking to a high school dropout. But keep that to yourself. Don't need to be giving kids any ideas. Nor do I need anybody taking a closer look at my credentials."
Jaime raised an eyebrow. "I'd gathered that there was some danger inherent in hanging with people with strange abilities. Emilio wrote to me about an incident with a... a..." he waved a hand vaguely in the air until he came up with the right word. "A necromancer." He shrugged. "And the other day, Nikolai came back to the apartments grumbling about a water elementalist destroying a wall and some of the fixtures at the gym. Doesn't sound like kids stuff... at least, not the usual kids stuff."
His eyes were riveted on the woman across the square. She was certainly going to cause drama and he wondered if she had already gone to harass his brother yet. Renata Cabrera was somebody who liked to get her own way. "Can I see your newspaper, hombre?" He didn't want to deal with the crazy woman just yet and she was slowly making her way around the square, window shopping (or something.)
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Post by Deleted on Aug 27, 2011 20:30:32 GMT -5
Tobias arched a thick brow and followed Jaime’s gaze. He understood, from dating Caroline, that Latin women were all sorts of trouble. But then, his last serious relationship had been Ugandan-American and she had been trouble too. Maybe Tobias just attracted troublesome women. Without a word, Tobias passed the paper to Jaime. The metal deck chair leaned onto its back two legs as Tobias had to stretch to close the distance.
Again, Tobias stood up to get a refresh on his coffee and when he returned a cigarette had found a way to his thin lips. He lit it with a flourish and scratched the stubble on his chin thoughtfully, watching the woman. His daughter Amelia had to be taller than her, and she was only eleven.
The day was growing hot and quickly too and Tobias was starting to hate the length of his hair. He always did this time of year, and he had forgotten a tie to pull it back. He drank his coffee and wondered if Caroline was still sleeping or if she had seen the note he left. He kept looking at the woman, curiously looking her over with a slight cock to his head. She didn’t seem so threatening, but the way Jaime was acting suggested otherwise. Then again, people were scared of fifty pound dogs…it made since that they would be scared of a tiny woman roughly the same size charging at them.
"You need me to create a distraction?" Tobias asked after taking a long drag from his cigarette.
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Post by Tempest on Aug 27, 2011 21:06:38 GMT -5
Jaime was going to refuse the offer of a distraction since he was almost ready with the newspaper.... but it was too late. She'd spotted him. "Mierda," he cursed, rising to his feet and refolding the newspaper. He tossed it onto the table and picked up his drum. "She must have followed me from Cuba, there's really no other explanation for her to show up here now. After I refused to tell her where mi hermano had gone, she probably started monitoring my own movements. I didn't think she'd be that persistent." He shot Tobias a grateful glance. "I'll be in your debt. Renata is a crazy bitch. Just give me a few minutes' headstart."
He buckled the strap that looped over his chest and was set to run. An afterthought struck him and he commented, "Keep an eye out for knives. Seeya later, man." He took off only twenty seconds before the woman reached the coffee shoppe.
Renata was dressed in short shorts, a red tank top that showed a good deal more cleavage than a woman her age should show, and matching red flipflops. Her skin was the color of coffee mixed with milk and completely blemish-free. And she was intent on following Jaime out of the square.
||Gah, sorry it's so short.||
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2011 12:05:54 GMT -5
“Hola, Chiquita,” Tobias said casually from where he sat, butchering the Spanish charmingly with his heavy Irish accent. He didn’t find her attractive per say. After all, he had Caroline back in his arms and the funny thing about Tobias was that he tended to not look at other women in the same light after he was tied to one. They were unattainable bits of artwork when he wasn’t single, that was all.
However, just because he and Caroline had made love didn’t mean they were together again. Nothing was established (it would be something he'd have to ask her later) and he was in his twenties which meant anything with a lot of cleavage was bound to grab his attention.
Knowing the best way to distract a woman was to piss her off; Tobias decided to go for the cheesy pick up line tactic. “You looking for anyone in particular or someone who can handle you?” Well, alright, that wasn’t a cheesy pick up line but Tobias didn’t know any of those to begin with. “What brings you up to the island?” he added, hoping that asking just enough questions would give Jaime time. The brother of Emilio could prove to be a great ally.
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Post by Tempest on Aug 28, 2011 13:36:11 GMT -5
Renata paused and was distracted enough to miss the direction Jaime turned. Instantly a mood that had been focused but not malicious turned sour. Her eyes practically flashed fire and she turned on Tobias. He was handsome, but her sights were set on a specific person and if she showed any interest in Tobias, it was merely to further her own goals.
In a display that probably would have confused the Hell out of the Cardenas brothers, she merely smiled and cocked an eyebrow at the Irishman. "Are you interested? Boy, you wouldn't be able to handle me if you tried." Her demeanor had undergone another wild change and she no longer seemed to be in any hurry whatsoever. "Heard this was the place to go, so I'm here. What's it to you?"
She placed a hand on the table and leaned ever so slightly towards Tobias. "What's your name, guapo?"
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2011 14:01:40 GMT -5
“Just call me Cyrano,” Tobias said sensing automatically that giving his real name would be very bad for his health. He kept his demeanor cool however and offered a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “You know what they say about boys with big noses?” He added tapping his own. With a suggestive arch in his own thick brow, Tobias removed his cigarette and tipped the ashes into his tin. “Darlin’, you wouldn’t fit. I’d tear you apart.”
He took another long drag and finished the cigarette then removed another and lit it with the butt of the old. He was gazing at the woman coolly, and found her amusing in the same way a rattle snake was amusing. “How bout I call you Carmen?” he added. A warm breeze swept through the square and Tobias pushed his hair out of his face. The cigarette smoke rolled over his tongue and he tilted his head back so that the smoke wouldn’t choke her.
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Post by Tempest on Aug 28, 2011 14:54:54 GMT -5
Renata tossed her hair and laughed. "Wanna bet, Cyrano? I would enjoy the challenge." She was on the verge of straightening and going on her way when he suggested that he call her Carmen. "Como la gitana? A mi me gusta." She grinned at him and gave him a speculative look.
A moment passed and she made up her mind about something. She straddled Tobias's lap and covered his lips with hers. The kiss was demanding and fiery and... errr... told much of her experience. She leaned back and raised an eyebrow. "Well? Going to change your name to Escamillo?"
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Caroline was not sure if she'd find Tobias still at the coffee shop, but she had some things to get from the marketplace before work so she figured she'd swing by just in case.
At first, she was not sure what she was seeing... but when the woman leaned back, she saw Tobias and she turned on her heel and started walking in the opposite direction. There was... she was...
She cursed herself for an idiot and felt on the verge of tears. Of course, of course. Tobias was allowed to do this- she reasoned- they hadn't established jack shit about what they were. If they were anything. And clearly they weren't. Why had she let her guard slip? Christ, this was even worse than abstaining.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 28, 2011 15:20:33 GMT -5
That…that was unexpected. He wasn’t used to women pushing their tongue into his mouth. It had always been the other way around. He went rigid and supposed that her rolling tongue was due to the fact that she rolled her R’s. The sleeping beast, which had just so recently gone to rest roused itself, interested in this strange turn of events. It was something to get Tobias’ blood shaking quicker than sugar.
“Jesus and the Twelve,” Tobias growled. He had seen Caroline walking away the moment Renata had pulled away. “Dammit woman!” He shoved her off of him, never mind helping Jaime out, and strode quickly toward Caroline. There was a pain in his lower abdomen that Renata had caused and the fact that there was no way for a bit of relief was putting Tobias on edge.
“Caroline, where are you going?” Tobias asked uncertainly, tailing after her as he tossed his cigarette in the gutter as he passed it. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “I know what you saw, can I just explain?”
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