RP: Out with Brielle

[avabyrne]

Date: March 12, 2011
Characters: Ava Byrne, Brielle Martin
Location: Angel Abbey
Status: Public
Summary: Drinks!
Completion: Incomplete

Comments

[bri_martin]

Brielle turned with a grin when she heard Ava's familiar voice. "Hey! No not long at all," she answered, patting the empty seat she'd saved beside her. "I wasn't sure if you'd want a table or to hang out here, but I figured I'd reserve two here, since it seems like there's a few tables to choose from and the bar seems to fill up fast. Do you have a preference?" she offered, smiling.

The Abbey was certainly fast becoming one of her favorite places to hang out for food and drinks. The bartenders were all going to start recognizing her on sight at this point.

[avabyrne]

"Oh good," Ava said brightly, hopping up onto the bar seat Brielle had saved. "No, this is great; I had a table when I was here earlier this week anyway." Not sure where to put her purse, she hooked the strap of it over her knee and let it dangle, deciding that was as good as anything. "I was really glad you texted the other day -- I'm kind of in the mood for drinks."

[bri_martin]

"I'm turning into a downright lush," Bri snickered as she swiveled to face the other woman. "I think this is my second time this week here, too. I never used to come out so much, but the Abbey's so fun, and I'm getting addicted to having some semblance of a social life again," she admitted with a wry chuckle.

"So how've you been? Busy week? How's the puppy?"

[avabyrne]

"It can be addicting," Ava agreed, knowing perfectly well how Brielle was feeling. "It's my second time this week too, but I didn't drink on Tuesday. Had some really good food, though."

"My week's been busy. I've got a little more responsibility at work these days which apparently means working late more. I've also been working on some side research." She'd sent Rori an embarrassing amount of notes on nonprofits, all typed up and annotated with source links; by the time she'd been done with it she'd worried she'd gone overboard, but she hoped it'd been helpful. Anyway, she'd learned a lot herself. "Wilbur's great. A little under drinking age though, so he had to stay home tonight." She grinned, then scanned the bottles on the wall behind the bar. "So what do you recommend, you know, since you're a lush now and everything."

[bri_martin]

"I was actually just here for food myself, in the middle of the week," Bri admitted with a rueful grin. "I had some drinks last weekend, though. Have you met Tyler yet? He's one of the bartenders here. He kept giving me things called Legspreaders and Screaming Orgasms," she snickered as she shook her head, her cheeks flushing at the memory in amusement. "No idea what was in them, since it looked like he dumped half the bottles back there to mix them up, but they were good. Heck, everything I've had here so far has been good, so I think you're pretty safe with anything."

[avabyrne]

"Tyler? No, I don't think so," she said, "it was my first time and I didn't meet any bartenders. But I met Chris, the chef here. He's brilliant." At Brielle's next comment Ava glanced over at her, her own face heating even as she laughed. "Oh. Um. Hm. Those sound, you know, good. In general." She looked down and laughed again as one of the bartenders, presumably not Tyler, came over. "I'm sure we could probably work our way up to those. Think I'll start with a Cosmo," she decided, though she was kind of curious to try some new things too.

[bri_martin]

"Ohhh, if he's the chef, then I'd have to agree," Bri nodded. "The food here is divine." She grinned when Ava stuttered over a reply about the drinks, laughing quietly. "Yeah, that was about my reaction, too. Tyler's impossible. But very fun." When Ava ordered a drink, she perused the bottles for a choice of her own before ordering herself a mojito.

Leaning back in her stool, she stretched, slowly relaxing. "Mmmm, it was a ridiculously long week. Working on half a dozen projects at one time gets exhausting after a bit."

[avabyrne]

"Sounds like it," she said, laughing when Brielle mentioned that Tyler was fun. "I guess the best bartenders are, not that I have a ton to compare to one another." She'd been out a couple of times since being in Ft Worth but she'd never been much of a bar-hopper, despite how lousy with bars and clubs DC and Boston both were.

Ava swiveled to face Brielle a little better, resting an elbow on the bar. "Tell me about it," she said, "though at least with your job you're more likely to be surrounded by pretty things than I am." She thanked the bartender when he brought over their drinks, deciding it'd be okay to start a tab since she was pretty sure she'd be having more than one drink. "Hope it's not been too stressful, or if it is, this all helps a bit." She nodded toward Brielle's mojito and grinned.

[bri_martin]

"It's still a new experience for me, too," Bri grinned. "But I think I'm enjoying it, besides the fact I turned every shade of red known to mankind while it was happening."

Sipping at her mojito, Brielle chuckled. "Most days, yes. I've got my work cut out for me on one of them though. Some woman with a huge loft apartment. It's gorgeous. She barely has it furnished yet and she wants it all modern, all unique pieces, and she's hugely picky. I'm a little daunted, although I have some things in mind. It's just overwhelming when you start something new you haven't done a lot of before, you know?" She grinned and raised her glass. "And this certainly helps a lot. Oh, hey, I met a friend of yours, by the way."

[avabyrne]

"No, I know how that can be, feeling overwhelmed like that," Ava said. "When you finish it, it'll feel amazing, though. And that sounds amazing, I'd love to have some big loft one day. Or a house I guess. Mm, a kitchen I couldn't reach the end of in three paces." She laughed and sipped at her drink, which was actually pretty good. "All in good time, though, I suppose."

"Oh, you did? Which friend?" Ava thought about it and figured there could really only be so many possibilities, at this point.

[bri_martin]

Brielle laughed and nodded. "Yeah, eventually. Although I like my little apartment at the moment. it's cozy. And it's the first place that was ever really mine. I'm enjoying playing house in my own little space," she added with a crooked grin. "Although I might be getting a roommate, which is exciting. And much helpful on my bank account, too. But someday I'd like a big place of my own. Still haven't decided what my style is, though, to know what exactly I'd be looking for. I always flip-flop between old and new."

"Carrie. From the bakery?" Bri grinned. "We bumped into each other at the market a week or so back. She was really nice."

[avabyrne]

"There's something to be said for cozy," Ava agreed. "Plus it's easier to decorate and furnish. I moved from Boston to DC for grad school, so this isn't my first taste of independence, but it's a bit of an upgrade anyway. Back east you have to make a mint to be able to make rent in almost any-size apartment in the city without a roommate. Here I was able to get into my own space, small as it is." She smiled wryly. "Roommates are good, though, or they can be, if you get along. I had one and it made things a lot easier." She still wasn't sure how she'd managed to make ends meet for six months after Jess had moved out. But thinking about Jess was painful for more reasons than that. "I guess there's plenty of time to figure out your own style. Not sure what mine is either really, but since you're a designer and haven't figured it out yet either, I feel a little better."

"Ohhh," Ava smiled and nodded as she took another drink. "Carrie's lovely. I actually knew her in DC, well, not that well, but we recognized each other. And I still haven

[bri_martin]

"I hope so. Besides, the girl that might be moving in with me is really nice, so that's a plus. We'll see how it goes, I suppose," Bri replied with a grin and a shrug. "You shouldn't feel bad. Some people never figure it out. Then again, some people change their minds every other year, too. That'll likely be me."

"Oh, you should. I need to get back in myself. I haven't had time this week for anything more than grabbing a bagel on the way out the front door," Brielle chuckled ruefully. "Hopefully this week will be an improvement."

[avabyrne]

"Change can be good, though. Keeps everyone else on their toes about you," she decided, smiling. "Good luck with it, though, I hope you and this girl are a good fit."

"I've been meaning to; I just usually bake so much on my own that I rarely need to add more to it," Ava said with a laugh, "it's just me so I have enough trouble eating it all. My neighbors are probably getting tired of my leftover scones."

[bri_martin]

"I'm not sure I'm inventive enough to keep people on their toes, but I'll take your word for it," Bri laughed with a bashful grin. "And I hope so too. If not... well, you'll hear so sooner or later over copious amounts of alcohol, I'm sure. But I think it'll be alright. I'm optimistic, if nothing else."

"Oh, scones," Bri sighed happily. "Now I really will have to stop by there tomorrow. I'll be craving them like mad before morning."

[avabyrne]

"I'm here if you need me," she said, gamely taking another drink to illustrate. "I can join you in lush...dom." She wrinkled her nose at the new word, then laughed. "But I'll be optimistic for you too."

Ava nodded. "Mm, scones," she agreed. "You can be another one of my recipe test subjects, hm?"