Zoie - New Odds and Drunken Shrimps

From Masq
Date: Setting:

IC:  08/08/2008
RL: 03/02/2011

Main Room: Blackbird Cafe -- Old Town -- Albuquerque

Walls painted a calm light blue wrap around the room, decorated liberally with a wide variety of artwork: Native American prints mixed amongst Zen drawings and calligraphy, a poster of a Tibetan mandala, and a painting depicting Arthur and the Knights of Camelot at the Round Table. Potted plants dot the room, with one large tree framing the front window, an amazingly lifelike stuffed raven perched in its branches. A ceiling fan turns lazily overhead, helping to circulate the air and clear out the smoke from those patrons who must so indulge. The background music ranges the spectrum from soothing New Age music to classic rock and roll, played at acceptably soft levels.

Small tables and couches are scattered about the room, all of them comfortable and well-worn. On the ceiling there is a great mural of a giant black bird winging its way across the sky as forest gives way to a more desert surrounding, where a coyote lopes lazily. The staff, dressed in black uniforms with the Cafe's logo (a soaring bird), move quickly and efficiently through the room, offering up a 'menu' to those who would like to see one.

Cast:
Log:
Jacob hasn't gotten a seat yet; he's standing near the entrance just inside the door, dressed a hair nicer than he was the other night at the pizza place. He seems content to wait and exchange idle chatter with a few of the waitstaff.

Zoie pauses in front of the door to fix her hair in the glass of the resturant. It doesn't occur to her that others can see her when she does this. Then the girl pulls on the skirt she's wearing, fidgetting to get everything perfect. It is only then that she enters in and looks around. Zoie chews on her lower right corner of her lip as she tries to find the man of the hour. She's not in her regular jeans, exchanging it for a nicer shirt and a short skirt.

Jacob's wearing jeans, yes, but at least he has on a button-down shirt. That's an improvement! He looks up as she enters, and straightens and gives an easy grin, only pausing long enough to say, "Yeah, two please," to the waitstaff. "Hey," he offers as he heads over. "You look nice tonight."

Zoie fiddles with her hair a bit more. "I um..." Zoie clears her throat. "Thanks for asking me to um.. dinner." She blushes a bit and offers. "You look nice too." Her eyes move around the place as they wait to be seated. "Have you been here before?"

"My pleasure." The waitstaff direct them to a table. Being dinnertime, the place is a little busy, but not overly noisy. "Remember I haven't been here much longer than you," he answers with a grin. "I just looked this place up, it had good reviews."

Zoie grins to that. "Oh well then I'm sure it will be great." Zoie moves over to the table and slides into the chair with a smile to the host. Then she looks back at him. "I met a gay guy at this open mic place last night. It was kinda fun. He got in the backroom and everything."

Jacob takes a seat in the chair opposite, accepting his menu that the waiter hands over. And, to that, he looks entirely amused. "Yeah? Have fun at the open mic place? You go to perform or just to watch?"

Zoie goes a bit white around the gills to that. "Oh no! He totally wanted me to go sing with him, but that's not really my thing, you know?" Her lips curve a bit more. "I just like to hear the local talent, you know. What about you? I bet you sing very good in the shower. I'd like to hear it sometime." There is a pause as her green eyes round out and her cheeks flush red. "I mean the singing not the shower. No! I mean not you in the shower! I mean I don't want to see you out of the shower if you just had a shower. I mean... look I'm not trying to see you naked, I just meant um..." Her hand reaches out for a drink, but it isn't there.

Jake just -watches- her during all of that, the grin slowly widening . "Well," he states, teasing, "If -that's- what you wanted to do instead, I guess I could have suggested something else aside from dinner." It's a gentle sort of teasing, though, and he just chuckles. "I have to have a couple beers in me before singing sounds like a good idea. But man, I'm pretty awesome when I do." That's a little dry, but.

Zoie looks around for anything to just shut her mouth. There is sadly nothing around and she looks at him with a pathetic expression. "I don't want to see you naked." It is apparent that she thinks the tease means that part of it. Zoie ponders those words. "Well I mean I do, but.. no I mean.. when do the drinks get here?"

Jacob just grins and leaves the poor girl alone, though not without a wink first. And, he hands over the menu. "Here, look it over. I'm just going to have a beer myself."

Zoie looks the menu over and then sets it aside to smile at him. "So.. all your other adoring females busy tonight, or was I the only number you remembered?"

Jacob quirks his brows upwards. "Well. Despite the fact that I'm good-looking enough to make you think I've got a harem, I don't, so there's that." He gives a crooked grin. "I'm not seeing anyone. I'm not the type to ask half a dozen girls out, you know."

Zoie laughs to that and orders a Strawberry Margarita. "No, I don't know that. I just met you, Jake." Zoie reminds lightly as she swings her feet. They of course do not touch the floor. "So what kind of guy are you, my future husband?"

"Touche," he counters, and orders a beer for himself as they come around for drink orders. "I," he states, tapping the corner of the menu against the table, "like to think I have everything together. I'm sort of a ---" He pauses, grappling for a word as he sets the menu down and flips it open, "-- someone who likes to get out and do things, I guess. I figure life is too short to trap yourself into something you hate." He mulls that over for a moment, then rebounds the question back toward her with a faint amused smile, "And how about you? What sort of girl are you?"

"Quiet." Zoie offers. "I don't mind to have fun, but I'm not usually the first one to start it. I tend to try and shy away from the limelight. I guess, I just want to be the kind of girl that one might run to instead of from. You know? Like the kind that mother's like and boys settle down with." Her cheeks blush again to that. "So Jake.. bartending hmm?"

"Yeah? And what makes the type of girl people run to instead of away from?" He's not paying much attention to the menu. Whups. "Hm? Yeah. I like it alright. You meet interesting people, hear interesting stories. Even if," he admits a little wryly, "You end up being people's psychiatrist half the time. Except you medicate with booze instead of anything actually helpful."

Zoie laughs. "I don't know. When I figure out how to make someone run to me, I'll let you know." She hasn't looked at her menu. Well unless the menu is in his eyes or on his features, then she's memorized it. "So be my psychiatrist. What would you suggest for me?"

Jacob hesitates for a moment and considers, looking over the table toward her with a thoughtful expression. "Mm. I suppose that depends on what's bothering you, hm?"

Zoie nods her head. "Well there is a guy that I met and keeps buying me food. Do you think he's trying to go somewhere with that or you think he thinks I'm homeless?"

"Mm. Well. I guess it depends on what kind of guy he is. I mean, if he's some weirdo or old dude, then--" He shakes his head. "But hey, y'know. Asking girls out for dinner tends to be what guys do when they're interested."

Zoie considers him thoughtfully. "Well to be honest, I think he's a weirdo old dude. Should I be worried then?" There is a laugh given as the pink drink of awesome comes to the table with the beer. The waiter waits (haha pun) to see if they have their orders ready.

"Probably," Jake admits, and then, hey, beer. He shoots a grin up at the waiter that's a little apologetic. "Yeah, I think we're gonna need a couple minutes, sorry."

Zoie smiles warmly to the waiter before she takes the drink of awesome to sip on it. Then her eyes move towards him a bit. "Really? Interested huh? You are just trying to get close to me to meet my new gay friend aren't you?" Her lips curve upwards. "Totally," Jake chuckles, finally propping open the menu and looking it over. "So gay friend, eh. How'd you meet him?"

"He was the one that I met at open mic night." Zoie offers as she looks over the items on the menu. Her eyes moving over one at a time. "Drunken Shrimp? Do you think they give them little syringes of cocktails?"

"Well, yeah, I just meant... well, what, did he come up and tell you he was gay or something?" Jake looks a little curiously amused, and then glances down toward the menu. "Little drunk shrimp would be awesome. Maybe they just get them drunk and /then/ cook them."

Zoie laughs to that. "You know that's probably how they cooked them. You see, you get the little shrimp drunk and convince them that the pot is a hot tub. So they get their little drunk shrimp towels that we know as kale. They take these and those floaty noodle things for the pool, only they use veggies. Next thing you know.. presto.. drunken shrimp." Zoie then pauses. "Well he was talking about wearing puce and being a bridesmaid for our wedding."

"Hot tub antics with shrimp. Hey, hot tubs are pretty awesome to have a drink or five in, anyway, why not do it with the shrimp? They die happy." Jake chuckles, and then quirks his brows upwards at the latter. "Oh yeah? Yeah, I can... see how you could come to that conclusion, then." He muses over this, and then the waiter comes by and he orders the carne asada verde. Yay, food.

Zoie totally orders the drunken shrimp. She has to see this now. There is a laugh. "Oh is that going to be the second part of the evening? Finding a hot tub with drinks." She sips more of that pink drink and then frowns. "This tastes really alcoholic, aren't they made with sugar and soda?"

"I usually save that for the second date, but hey, whatever you want to do," he teases, and then blinks once. "You've never had one before? It's tequila, triple sec, lime and strawberries. I dunno how strong they make them, but it's usually a couple shots in one."

Zoie stares a bit to that bit of information. "Oh." The young woman coughs delicately. "I thought it was just like lime, ice and strawberries." This does not stop her from drinking the desserty glass of drink though. "So is this a first date then?"

Jacob chuckles. "Nah. They're good though. A little sweet for me, but." He shrugs, and then hesitates at the last question and gives a positively charming grin. "Well, that depends. Do you want it to be?"

Zoie chokes on that drink as she blushes and looks around. It is almost like she's looking for some answer to that question before she looks back to the man in front of her. "When you asked me out, did you want it to be?"

"Well," Jake replies, musing, picking up his beer to take a swallow. "That was sort of my inclination when I asked, but if you misunderstood, I won't hold it against you." He grins a bit. Those big green eyes get all huge and everything when he says that. "You.. really?" Zoie grins at him like an idiot. When the waiter comes back with their food she offers, "Did you know this was a first date he asked me on? Isn't he just cute?" The poor waiter simply nods bemused. Zoie prattles on though. "Of course, I'd like it to be a date. I just.. well I wasn't sure."

Jacob gives a thanks to the waiter, and then looks over toward her with a grin. "Yeah? Cool. Good." He seems amused by the goings-on, and just gives the waiter a minute little shrug, but seems glad, anyway. "I mean, I know you're new here and everything, so sorry if it seems all weird or sudden or anything."

Zoie waves a hand before her and almost up ends the water glass before catching it. "No, no.. that's fine. I just thought maybe you were feeling a bit of pity for me or something." Her smile doesn't seem to be able to be wiped now. She's on a /date/. Of course that causes her to look at his food and then her own in comparison of yummy to the tummy ratio.

Of course, all the food looks good. "You can try it if you want," he offers once he sees her eyeing the plate. "Nah, see, if that was the case, I wouldn't have called. The whole pity thing is kind of mean."

Zoie smiles to this and immediately takes part of his food, but replaces it with some of her own. "That's good. I like you too much to get pity from you." She tips her head. "So what bar do you work at? I mean, I need to know so when the baby is born I know what to put down for my welfare needs."

<FTB>