Socializing for the Socially Disinclined (Wide Open)

Naomi had been standing outside the establishment for several moments, trying to come up with the nerve to actually walk through the door with some air of confidence. Under her breath, she was singing to herself.

Finally, taking a deep breath, she pushed her hair back over her shoulders, clutched her small black purse and straightened the waist of her dress.

In she went, going directly to the bar, and smiling at everyone as brightly as she possibly could.

This place... was totally sketch.

Upon entering, Naomi would notice one large, obvious camera in the front of the building. Cigarette butts and leaves were plastered to the pavement, obviously having been there for a long while without care. A broken window was hastily fixed with duct tape and a ripped piece of cardboard. The inside was no more impressive, ripped, stained carpet covering the floor, the florescent lights (those that were still functioning) poorly placed. A half naked woman was on stage, boredly wrapping herself around the pole while the crowd of men hooped, hollered, and threw their $1 bills.

The bartender, a hulk of a man in a t-shirt whose sleeves had been ripped off, glanced to Naomi as she entered. The quirked brow on his face, along with surprise, said that he recognized immediately she didn't belong.

Well, isn't this special...

Naomi acted like she didn't care about the carpet, the girl or the whooping men and their dirty dollar bills. Though... this would more than likely turn out to be the worst Valentine's Day in her existence. Which was fine, considering it was a holiday pushed by the candy companies and the Hallmark card corporation.

She strode up to the bar and leaned against it, only after touching it with her hands realizing the grime and germs that may be there.

"Ah.. hi. Can I get a Jack and coke?"

Awkward.

"You here for Celeste?" He asked, a brow still quirked as he grabbed a surprisingly polished looking glass. Ice went in first, then a generous amount of JD, followed up with the coke. One of the drunk men in the seats noted Naomi's presence, smirking as he stood and began to stumble towards her. The barkeep averted his attention for a moment from the pretty blonde to shoot an intimidating glare at the guy, which seemed to be enough to get him to walk back to his seat.. however grudgingly.

"Celeste?"

Her left eyebrow lifted. The blonde ghoul couldn't actually remember if that name sounded familiar or not. Maybe?

"Oh," she let the syllable drag out. Though she really didn't have a proper clue. "Yeah, yeah that's it," she nodded.

"That and to... observe the primates," her head didn't move, but her eyes shifted around, indicated the jack wads that were, in her opinion, drunk morons, too stupid to notice if they were sitting in their own urine.

He pulled a walky talky from under the table, pushing the button on the side, "Celeste, someone here for you." And put it away without waiting for a response. He chuckled as his gaze drifted over those in the club, giving a nod of his head. Despite his well-worn attire, his eyes betrayed a certain collected wisdom and friendliness. "I can't account for them, sorry."

"Of course not, not at all. You just keep the Jack coming, and... I'm sure I won't even notice cat calls and wolf whistles headed in the general direction of the stage, hm?"

She picked up her glass and offered the bar keep a smile before knocking back a big gulp of the good stuff.

He gave a cocky grin and nodded. The drink was good - it tasted like they made their own coke, soda water and syrup, or maybe it was sugar cane cola...

The bouncy redhead emerged from a backroom, her bright gaze surveying the room before resting on Naomi.

Bingo! Said her pleased expression as she speed-walked up to the Ghoul. "Hey, Naomi, right?" She flashed a bright smile as she slipped onto the stool next to the girl.

Naomi kept her smile and gave Celeste a little wave.

Ooooh... now she remembered who this was.

As Celeste sat next to her, the ghoul nodded, bringing the glass back to her lips for another drink.

"Yeah, that's right. Is this your place? Like... Do you own it?"

"Yep, Sugars, in all its glory." She waved a hand in an over-exaggerated sort of way, chuckling a bit. "What brings you to the seedy side of town?"

"Just wanted to prove I could do it. I figured a little exploration wouldn't hurt." She downed the contents of the glass and slid it back in front of the bartender.

"Didn't know this place was yours, though. So... Hope I'm not infringing or anything."

Celeste laughed, strangely pleased with the thought. "Infringing? Hardly, it's always fun when people come to visit me here - purposefully or not.."

"So... ah... It was an interesting night here a few weeks back, huh?"

She glanced at Celeste with a soft expression.

"You okay?"

Her head lowered, she might have even looked mildly embarrassed. "Yeah, I just.. get very protective of my girls." Her shoulders shrugged up. "I'm okay, though. Are you okay? I know.. I know it wasn't the most comfortable situation for you."

"I'm not entirely sure," she gave a small smile to the red head. "I kind of feel like what I had to say was a little lost in translation. And I don't... I don't remember if I even got it all out there. But I figure, if I'm needed more, someone would let me know."

"I've been alive a very, very long time.." Her shoulders shrugged up casually as she spun the stool slowly back and forth. "But I'm still human." Her head was nodded in thanks as the barkeep brought her a neon green drink. "If you need anything 'translated', I'm a pretty good bet for doing it."

Naomi pointed at the green drink, she was staring hard at it.

"Think you can translate what's in that thing for me?"

She chuckled and held it up, "It's just Absinthe - the legal kind, let me assure you." She held it forward, "Wanna try? It tastes like black licorice, sorta.."

Naomi tilted her head to the side, looking at the glass and then reached for it.

"I like licorice," she muttered softly.

She gave a little nod and a smile, "And it's not from Europe.. so it's not as good as the other stuff, but it also won't make you hallucinate."

"The European version makes you hallucinate?"

She took a sniff of the drink before sampling a very small amount. She looked like a dog who had peanut butter stuck to it's mouth as she let the flavor roll about and handed the glass back.

"Interesting. This your favorite drink?"

"One of them." She grinned impishly, "You like it?"

"It's... It's pretty tasty," she chuckled softly as she wiped her top lips with her finger and picked up her own drink once more.

"So... why the... why this type of atmosphere? Just because?"

She shrugged casually, "It's a good cover for the real place - it keeps my clientele protected from prying eyes."

"The real place?" She quirked a brow. "This is just a cover?"