RP: Poker Night

[damien_j]

Date: December 2, 2011
Characters: Soledad Navarro, Damien Jackson, Jasper Woods, Ezra Loy, Miranda Jackson, Ariel Crabtree, Gigi Campbell
Location: Damien and Soli's apartment
Status: Private
Summary: Just a way to get some friends together and relax.
Completion: Complete

Comments

[ezra_loy]

As Ariel got out of the car Ezra manage to surprise himself with the way he studied her, while he had just worn his usual t-shirt and jeans, it would seem Ariel had gone a little further, still casual and yet she looked very pretty as well, which was another thought to be studied for another day.

His train of thought was derailed though when Ariel replied to his earlier comments. "Yeah? Well even with a year between you and the last time you played you're still likely better than me." Ezra replied with a laugh, hitting the lock button on the key fob for the Camaro. "So glad you're willing to help me win whatever money I happen to lose back." He wasn't ashamed of admitting his terrible poker skills.

Once Ariel had reached him he made a motion for her to move towards the stairs to the apartment first, and thought about making some comment like 'Ladies first' but not even he was that corny. "Have to admit though I feel a little under dressed next to you." Ezra said as the moved up the stairs towards the apartment door, glancing over at Ariel with a smile.

[ariel_crabtree]

Her pair of jeans was new, the first pair of brand new ones she'd had in years, dark blue and straight legged. It clung to her hips just a little, but not so tight that she was actually uncomfortable. She'd also bought a new sweater, and she couldn't resist wearing both tonight. Her nails and her lipstick matched everything and she'd done her hair simply. Her heeled boots she'd had for a couple of years, but they still looked new.

"You invited me along, it's the least I can do," she said with a grin. Wasn't like she had too much money of her own to play with, but it was enough she'd be able to do at least a little of it.

She continued up the stairs ahead of him. "Aww, don't feel under dressed. I just got this the other day, I wanted to wear it somewhere," she said, smoothing a hand down first sweater then jeans. "Can't help but match things up, really. Given my job and all." She smiled. It was rare to see her without her hair and nails done. She hung back just slightly as he went to the door; she was his guest, after all, he should go first.

[ezra_loy]

Ezra laughed and shook his head. "Didn't invite you along solely to win my money back though. Invited you along because I like your company." Which was the entire truth, he enjoyed being around Ariel in a way he hadn't entirely expected. "Although I won't object to you helping me win my money back."

He really probably shouldn't have let his gaze move over Ariel as she spoke, and he really shouldn't he letting his gaze linger on the sway of her hips as she moved up the stairs ahead of him. "You'll probably come to find I'm not exactly the dressing up sort." Ezra liked his t-shirt and jeans. "And I'm not really a fashion guy, so my opinion might not be all that educated, you look nice though." So 'nice' wasn't exactly the word that had sprung to mind, and God, he hoped he wasn't actually flushing the way he thought he was at the word that had jumped into his mind. He was thankful for the distraction of knocking on the door, not entirely sure what he should think of his reaction.

After knocking on the door, Ezra turned back to Ariel. "So it's a hazard of your job to always be put together?" Lame question he knew, but he was at a loss of what to say right now as his mind still focused on what he'd just thought moments ago, and what that meant.

[ariel_crabtree]

Ariel smiled up at him. "Aww, well, thanks, I appreciate it," she told him. She really did. It was nice to go out somewhere with a friend. She hadn't had plans, even with Harley, tonight, so all she would have been doing was either staying home or going out for a drink on her own.

"No harm in dressing up some," she told him, glancing at him over her shoulder. "Not for everyone, but I've always liked looking nice." Not like the trailer trash she was. "You'd look good dressed up some." Not that he looked bad now, but hopefully he'd know what she meant. "Thanks," she said, brightening at the compliment, looking pleased.

She lifted one shoulder. "Sort of?" she offered. "I mean, who's going to have their hair or nails done by someone who doesn't look that good. Like going to a dentist who has bad teeth," she said, wrinkling her nose. "But I like looking nice." It was, she'd been told, the only attribute she really had.

[ezra_loy]

Ezra grinned and reached up to rub at the back of neck. "You're welcome, and really, your name was one of the names that came to mind when Damien told me it'd be okay to invite friends." He really didn't have a huge network of friends, even if he did though, he kind of thought Ariel's name would have been on the top of the list, right under Erica's.

"Didn't think there was." he replied with laugh. "Though I've got a sister who says that if you put effort into your appearance it shows other people you respect yourself enough to want to look good." It made some kind of strange logic to him, even if he still usually went for casual, though he still tried to look presentable. "Yeah? You think I should ditch the t-shirt and jeans?" He understood what Ariel meant, and was maybe just a little curious to what her response might be to his question. "Welcome." The way she brightened at the compliment didn't go unnoticed by Ezra, and he kind of liked the fact that she seemed pleased.

Laughing, he supposed Ariel made a good point. "You make valid point, probably only someone oblivious would go to someone like that. Though, something tells me you'd have to try really hard and it might be near impossible for you to not look good." He was digging himself some kind of hole, and was extremely thankful when the apartment door opened at that moment, pretty much stalling out whatever conversation Ezra and Ariel might have been having.

[damien_j]

Damien hopped up from the couch when he heard the knock at the door and went to answer it. He wasn't surprised when he opened the door to see Ezra on the other side, but as soon as his eyes moved to Ezra's companion, he froze for just a moment. Ariel wasn't a terribly common name, but when Ezra had mentioned he was inviting Ariel and Miranda, he'd never even thought it could be the Ariel that he'd met and bedded that one time over the summer.

It only took him a moment to recover and then he was smiling at them. "Ezra, Ariel, come on in. How are you?" he asked them both, stepping out of the way for them to come inside and then closing the door once they did. Fuck, should he tell Soli about being with Ariel that one time? If she was good enough friends with Ezra that he'd invited her, that they'd come together, odds were that this wouldn't be the last time she was around them, unless she was too weirded out to hang out in a group with him, so he probably should. If he didn't, it would only make it seem like a big deal when it did come out, and he really did think that these things always came out eventually.

[ariel_crabtree]

“Yeah, I guess that’s so.” Ariel wasn’t sure precisely if she respected herself, per se-she’d done a lot of questionable things in her life, some more recent, most more distant past. “Naah, you look fine in them. But it never hurts to dress nice sometimes, to remind yourself you look nice that way too,” she said, grinning.

She blinked slightly up at him, flattered and a bit curious as to his rambling in her direction. “Um, thanks,” she said, smiling faintly. He was acting rather odd, and she didn’t completely get it. Perhaps if she’d thought he was interested in women, she would have figured something out, but she still thought men were the sum all of his interest. HE could still think she looked nice, though.

She looked up as the door opened and froze for a moment, her smile staying exactly the same. Oh shit, Damien. She’d seen him around, sort of, but she hadn’t approached him again, even if she had wondered once or twice if she’d be interesting to him a second time. She was lonely, yes. But also unaccountably shy at times, these days. She had never expected to end up here, hadn’t realized it was here, and in a situation to socialize with him. It was unexpectedly embarrassing; she was trying not to blush and she stuck closer to Ezra’s side as they entered. She pushed back a lock of hair and ducked her head, smile a little fixed but that would only be noticeable to someone who really knew her. “Hi,” she said brightly enough.

[ezra_loy]

Ezra shrugged, he wasn't going to push the issue. "Just something she says, doesn't make it God's honest truth or anything." He said. nodding as Ariel commented on the whole jeans and t-shirt thing. "Noted, dressing nice is not a bad thing." He remarked with a laugh, though he wasn't sure he was really the sort of person prone to dressing up.

He really needed to stop talking, he was rambling and he really didn't even know exactly why he was rambling. Ezra wouldn't be surprised if Ariel was now certain he was slightly unhinged, because seriously nobody seemed to ramble the same way he did. "Welcome." He said with a half grin, more amused with himself than anything else.

"Hey." Ezra returned Damien's greeting, quirking an eyebrow at the way Ariel seemed to inch closer to him as they moved into the apartment. That was strange. "Don't know about Ariel, but I'm not doing too bad." He answered, trying not to wonder why Ariel seemed tense, or why Damien had seemed momentarily surprised when he opened the door. Maybe they knew each other, though neither one of them were acting like they knew the other, at least their greetings didn't seem familiar. "So how've you been, Damien?" Ezra pushed on with the conversation, determined to get past whatever this weird moment was.

[damien_j]

Damien noticed Ariel pause, but she didn't look upset, so maybe she wouldn't be awkward about this. He hated awkward. When he noticed the way she seemed to stick just a little closer to Ezra, he had to bite back a sigh. He had no idea what she expected from him that she thought she needed to use Ezra as some sort of shield, but he had no intention of doing anything to make her uncomfortable. He tried to ignore that she hadn't been able to say anything but 'hi'. He wasn't going to be made to feel awkward in his own home.

"That's good," he said at Ezra's answer. He grinned when he asked how he'd been. "Not bad at all. Finally put feelers out to hire someone at that store, so I'm hoping to get some applicants soon," he answered as he led them away from the front door. "Makes yourselves comfortable. Want anything to drink?" he offered.

[ariel_crabtree]

Ariel shook herself slightly, telling herself to get over being a bit embarrassed and be normal about this. Just because she'd never run into an old fling before (didn't barely have one to run into) didn't mean she could act weird. "I'm doing pretty good, thanks, Damien," she said, pushing back her hair and looking up at him somewhat tentatively, smiling.

She tried to get it out of her head that he'd seen her naked, God, and yeah. This was not a situation she was used to. Ariel took a deep breath, reminded herself she'd been through things much worse than the awkwardness present currently. She forced herself to relax. "I'll take something," she said. "Is there anything I can help with? Ezra didn't tell me if I should bring anything along, so I didn't make anything." She normally contributed to a gathering with cookies, at least, but she hadn't known if it was proper.

[ezra_loy]

Ezra was still aware that both Damien and Ariel seemed a little tense, but he wasn't going to ask about it, instead focusing on Damien's answer. "Oh yeah? Well I hope you find someone soon." And he really did, it had sounded like having someone man the store was just what Damien needed. "Ah, what do you have?"

He felt a little better when Ariel seemed to relax a hair and answer Damien's question as well. Ezra didn't know what was going on, all he knew is that there was a tension that had been in the air. Pulling a face, he piped up. "Sure, sure. Blame me for that, I'm the easy scapegoat." Ezra was really just teasing, he didn't mind at all that Ariel had pointed out that he kind of sucks at party etiquette and such.

[damien_j]

Damien smiled, relaxing just a little when Ariel answered him and seemed to relax some, herself. This didn't need to be awkward, and he was really hoping it wouldn't be. Though it probably would be when he told Soli about it all. He just wasn't sure that would happen while everyone was here. "I'm sure I will," he told Ezra. "Beer, soda, water. Liquor if you want a mixed drink. It's a variety kind of night." His grin was pretty wide as he told them what all they had.

He chuckled under his breath at Ezra's retort to being blamed. "No, we've got it all covered," he told Ariel. "But thanks. Just relax, we're just waiting on a couple people, I think." Gigi and Ezra's other friend, Miranda.

[ariel_crabtree]

"You are the easy scapegoat," Ariel said, poking his ribs teasingly, feeling a little more of her tension drop as she teased Ezra, though she still felt far too aware of herself. And the fact that someone in the room had seen her naked. It wasn't a situation she was used to at all.

"I'll take a beer, I think," Ariel said decisively enough. Alcohol might not be the best idea, but it wasn't like she planned on having too much, and she could really use something to take the edge off right now. Stupid self consciousness, stupid hormones, stupid girl.

[ezra_loy]

Ezra still wasn't entirely sure why Ariel had been tense, it wasn't like Damien was really the kind of guy that intimidated people. She was relaxing now though, and he wasn't about to go opening his mouth and asking her why she had tensed up like that. Turning his attention back to Damien, he pondered the choices before going with simple. "I'll just have a beer." Not that he was planning on drinking much, especially since he'd be driving.

"Least I'm good for something." Ezra laughed as Ariel poked at his ribs, reaching up to try and get her hand as she did it. Grinning brightly, he couldn't stop himself from adding. "See, they didn't need anything brought anyway." He was pleased that Ariel seemed to be relaxing even more, and he'd continuing the teasing if it was helping her to feel more comfortable. "Miranda's driving herself as near as I know." Ezra added when Damien mentioned waiting on a couple people.

[damien_j]

"All right, beer it is," Damien said with a grin, wondering who else might drink tonight. Jasper wouldn't, he knew that much, and Gigi didn't drink. Soli might drink some, but he didn't know anything about Ezra's friend Miranda (at least he hoped he didn't know her! One past fling showing up was more than enough!), so he had no frame of reference on whether or not she would be drinking.

He observed the continued teasing with some curiosity, wondering if there might be more going on there than friends. He didn't know Ezra very well, and it had never come up whether or not the other guy was gay or bisexual, and he was a little surprised that he kind of hoped Ezra was bi, though he chalked it up to acknowledging that Ariel was a sweet girl and she probably deserved a nice guy like Ezra. "All right, good to know. I'll go get those beers," he said, excusing himself.

[ariel_crabtree]

Ariel pulled her hand back out of reach, hiding it behind her back. "Nuh uh, my hand," she told him, unable to hide her grin. She remembered how that game went, and she might not get her hand back if he caught it. She couldn't play cards with one hand, she didn't think.

"Thanks, Damien. I 'preciate it," she said, making herself relax a bit more. She still felt rather self conscious, but she would manage, especially since Damien didn't seem about to mention it. She might have to explain to Ezra later, if he had caught her acting funny, but she supposed she could suffer through telling him that.

"So who all's coming?"