Trouble Man

Georgia was one of the nicest people you could ever meet some may say too nice, but that didn’t mean she was a pushover, she could go from miss nice to bitch at a snap of her fingers if pushed far enough. “ Thank you, I may not like it but they are just kids, not that it’s an excuse because it isn’t! but it’s worse when it comes from grown ass men.”

“It’s not an excuse at all, at any age, but you’d think that someone would teach these kids a little bit about respecting a woman and having manners.  It’s become something that’s just overlooked, and that’s just...sad. “ He sighed, turning his expression to a smile as he looked at her. “ But I hope you don’t let these little punks ruin your day. After all, it’s still a nice day out, even if there’s a few assholes who dont’ know how to tell a woman they find her beautiful in a way that doesn’t make her feel like she’s on a conveyor belt.”

Mason laughed the guy could make him laugh and he looked good. “ Yes I can see that, did you use a whole tub or something?” He asked as he looked at the man. Mason shook the man’s hand then pulled away and grabbed his towel.  pretending to check the man out he smirked.“They  haven’t  helped  sorry dude.” He joked looking at him.

Vince was confident -- cocky even, so someone’s comments weren’t going to effect him, but he had notice the guy staring a little harder than he needed to, and figured it was probably a playful jab.“Oh, jokes -- funny. Lemme tell you something, kid -- when you get this old, I wanna see you maintain yours shape. Our body’s are just naturally against us, and the older we get, the harder it is to stay fit.” 

The more they laughed at her, the higher her temper rose. She was practically red in the face by the time Vince spoke again. It escalated when he used the word cute. There were many words in the English language Joey could do without, but cute was certainly one of the ones at the top. “I’m not fucking cute and I can take care of myself. I’m not all bark and no bite,” she promised, conflicted between yelling at him and yelling at the group of boys. The more they snickered, the less she was worried about potential assault charges for what she wanted to do for them. “Y’all fuck off,” she growled, taking a step in their direction. “Thanks for coming to the rescue of someone who sure as hell didn’t need it,” she snorted at Vince, her southern accent coming through thicker and thicker the more agitated she became.

“Honey....” He chuckled. Her face was red, like she was actually furious, but even as she yelled it sounded like  her voice was cracking. The last thing he wanted to do was to humiliate her in front of the gang of boys, but she was making it hard. Lowering his voice he tried to speak so only she could hear. “ Why don’t you try to take a deep breath and walk away from all this? I dont’ know if you think you look like a badass, but you actually look like a child throwing a tantrum over a lollipop her parents wont buy for her.”

More laughter as she looks at him, she takes a minute to consider the pretty white boy chatting her up in the gym. He’s confident, making everything melt away so he can use  his pickup line and tell her a joke. Dark eyes meet his blues and she smiles, “I always prefer my breakfasts homemade.”

“I have a waffle maker.” He countered quickly, smile still in place. “I’m quite handy with it too, if I do say so myself. IHOP maybe have be bee on the various syrups but I make a mean scrambled egg, too.”

“I’m chastising you because you automatically assumed that I could not deal with it on my own and I’ve dealt with that far too much in my life to let one more person do it. It’s the twenty-first century. I’m not in a skirt and I can fight my own battles,” she insisted, hands on her hips and the meanest glare on her little face. Quick as a blink, she switched her body to look at the other boys. “And as far as y’all go. If I so much as see you breathe in my direction, I will have your manhood tied up with a rubber band and falling off within the next twenty-four hours like bull testicles. Understood?”

Wide eyed and clearly confused, Vince had to blink a few times as he watched the boys snicker among themselves but that wasn’t what would cause him to break out into a laugh. The small brunette was a feisty teacup puppy nipping at a pack of wolves. “ I never said or even implied any of that, in fact I was only doing what any man should do to educate the younger of his gender, but that’s cute, I have to admit. Really cute. You’re strong, I can admit that, but you need to be a little smarter in New York City. a big mouth isn’t exactly going to chase off a group of boys if Heaven forbid they tried to mess with you. A little gratitude would have been preferred, but alright...” 

She shrugged at his disbelief that some piece of gross DNA from a celebrity wouldn’t be valuable. “The internet is a weird place. With weird people. Some of whom are trying to get rid of their Bitcoin on weird shit. Even if it can’t be guaranteed. Never say never to anything making money on eBay.” She still snickered, having to agree with him in the end. “But anyone involved with that sort of transaction definitely needs their computer taken away for a little bit to get themselves sorted out.” Looking over at him, she held out her own towel, which she had been sure to keep a careful eye on. “But I am sorry about your towel. You can borrow mine, if you want. Promise it’s clean.”

“All of that is just incredibly disturbing to think about. Thank goodness I’m not a celebrity, because I’m not sure how I’d manage with that stalker issue. I mean, sure, there are easier ways to get my DNA, but that’s still private...” He chuckled. Taking the towel from her with a non of gratitude, he dried ff a bit. “ Well, at least something good came of this -- I don’t usually disturb beautiful women at the gym, so it’s lucky that I got the chance to speak with you.”

The moment Joey heard the cat calling, her face had lit up in both embarrassment and anger. Immediately, she had turned on her heels to beat the living shit out of them, but someone else had gotten there before her. “Hey,” she snapped, at Vince instead of the boys who now looked weirded out and frightened enough without her on them too, “I can handle my own battles, prince fucking charming.” 

The sharp voice made Vince smirk, assuming the woman came back to shout at the boys with a boost of confidence from someone supporting her. He wasn’t expecting the anger to be directed at him. Small and something like being yelled at by a chipmunk, Vince had to hold in a laugh as she squeaked at him, the boys confused as she got on the older man’s case. “ Um... Excuse me? He chuckled dryly. “ I’m a little confused... Forgive me for that -- it happens with age... But am I to understand that this young men just called behind you with vulgar statements and you’ve come back to chide me? Do you mind taking a moment to explain to me how that works?”

Giulia rolled her eyes but she still shot him a small smile. Maybe she can deal with him if that means she doesn’t have to pay, maybe. “Alright, fine. But I am considering ordering a lot so you have to pay more, just so you know.”

Her smile made him feel like he wasn’t going to get slapped, which relaxed him.  “Well I guess I’ll have to open a tab then, wont I?” He smiled. “ You are very, very, very beautiful and you should have people buying your drinks for you in hopes to get to speak to you for a wile, which I hope you’ll consider affording me a moment of your time.” Vince wasn’t always forward and crass -- a master flirt knew when to dial it back, and the last thing he wanted was to make anyone uncomfortable. “ What are you having, Miss...?”

Edy craved the sun all winter, and the moment it reached past 40 degrees she took it upon herself to enjoy the serotonin increasing rays of sunshine. She ditched her winter hibernation look of jeans and a sweatshirt for a dress and tights. It seemed like a good idea in her apartment away from the prying eyes of the average dude who hung out on the city streets seemingly at ever hour of the day or night. She hugged her stack of books closer to her chest as she heard the teens calling to her, saying their vile thoughts out loud. It was ignorable enough, even if it made Edy feel like she wanted to crawl inside of her skin and never come out. 

She stayed collected until she heard a gruff voice coming towards them, causing her to stop dead in her tracks. At first the angry voice sent cold shivers over her whole body before there was a moment of relief, which finally made way for anger. “Hey!” She interjected turning around to witness the altercation she had caused. “You should respect women because they are human beings who deserve respect. Not just because you don’t want someone to forcefully sexualize the token women in your life.” 

His temper was usually easy to keep under check, but kids like this really got under his skin. Thankfully for them, the woman they’d howled at like a pack of rabid wolves doubled back to scold....Vince. He was slightly surprised at the direction she’d taken, after all he had technically come to her defense. Still, she wasn’t wrong. “ Well, you  have a valid point, Miss, they do, but do you honestly think these knuckleheads are thinking about all women? As a matter of fact,” He turned back to the kids. “ What’s your mom look like? Is she single? Wait -- I don’t actually care if she is, so long as she’s hot.  Maybe I could do a few of the things you were just shouting to this lovely young lady to her. Try to get that image out of your head.” 

The kids visibly cringed, meaning he’d scarred them like he intended, and all without throwing a punch. They tried to meander about their day but Vince stood in their path. “ Why don’t you give this nice lady an apology and go make something of yourself so you don’t end up on a watch list somewhere?” Vince locked his jaw fiercely as the kids mumbled sorry and were quick to depart. He could only scowl as they made off without so much as looking her in the eye. ” I find it amusing that they can shout at women with pride but  can’t even look you in the eye to say sorry.”

He’s full of innuendo-sexual tension and humor, it’s a vibe she appreciates. Too many dudes came at her with no sense of humor, like getting their dick wet was a matter of national security. He makes her laugh, Imogen tilts her head back as she does, shaking slightly as she looks at him. “You’re one goofy dude.” She replies with a smile, “But if you want some of this black girl magic, you gotta buy me a drink first.”

Laughter was always a good sign. He knew he was being laughed with, and not laughed at, which was why Vince kept his grin in place. “ A drink? Why stop there? You should let me by you dinner.” He offered, a chuckle rumbling in his chest as the setup for one of the good-cheesy lines he knew was too perfect to miss. “ If you like I can even buy you breakfast in the morning.”

“Thanks,” she said. Weird, odd, or different were usually what she got when she told people her name, so Vince’s compliment was much appreciated. Delta kept her own eyes locked on him from where she stood across from him. “Not just men, but yes,” she agreed, smirking at him. “I can see that. It really is good that you’ve got me here to help you,” she pointed out. She ran her tongue slowly over her lips, before running a hand through her hair. “I’m sure it’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”

Georgia was used to getting all kinds of unwanted attention, some of it she let fly over he head because it wasn’t worth getting upset about, it sort of came with her job, but there were also things she hated like catcalling.  Hearing the young boys Georgia spun around but before she could say a word  Vince had jumped in. Georgia watched for a moment before jumping in and pushing Vince away. “ You better go before I let him go…… and if you ever talk to me like that again you’ll be heading to the hospital to  make sure those small dicks of yours aren’t broken.” She replied as she flashed her innocent eyes at the boys.

Eyes narrowed at the boys, the brunette doubled back to step in-between, which he wasn’t sure if it was to keep him from getting charges pressed on him or to defend herself. Either way, he relaxed his shoulders to a non-threatening posture when she stood in the middle, inside admiring her showing that she could shout back just as loud, but on the outside still scowling as the boys wanted off mumbling. “ Well that was a magnanimous gesture on your part in spite of the circumstance.” He noted as his eyes fell to the woman. “ To think that they stood yelling vulgar things at you and you still saved them from a black eye. If that isn’t the poise and class of a woman’s strength, I don’t know what is.” He smiled, relaxing into a more comfortable pose. “ I’d apologize on behalf of them but I don’t even think I could.”

One of the reasons why Eli played at bars so often was that even though his pay was absolutely awful, he could always improve it a little with the few tips people left in case they were enjoying the way he set the background music for their night out. Sometimes people even stopped their conversations to observe and listen to him which was honestly the highlight of his entire week considering he didn’t get much attention or appreciation even otherwise. He had always worked hard, apart from the times where he was so deep in his weird funk that he found it impossible to even get out of bed in the morning. Tonight was just another night for him though where he got lost in his art for a while to forget about all the things that went wrong in his life and once his fingers started hurting and he was due for a break, the glass of tips was forgotten about completely. The pianist jumped a little when a random stranger put the heavy jar on the bar right next to him, looking at him wide eyed and with his brows quirked in confusion. “Excuse me?” He was lost for a moment until the man elaborated. “Oh shit…,” he muttered when he realized. “Thanks, man. You really saved my night right now. I didn’t even think about that but I guess that just shows that humanity is fucked either way,” Eli added with a sigh before chuckling and shaking his head. “Sorry, sorry…but it’s a goddamn joke that anyone here would wanna grab a starving artist’s tip jar when the drinks here cost more than a full bottle of booze anyways,” he told the man with a half-grin. “I owe you though. What are you drinking?” He asked as he raised a hand to get the barkeeper’s attention, downing what was left of his drink so he could get a refill.

With a sigh, Vince clapped the man on the back and took the seat next to him. “ No worries, pal -- we’ve all been there.” He offered. As a thief with morals, of course Vince had his moments where he’d fallen on hard times. Planning cons took time, and there were the years her tried to go straight and ended up living off instant noodle for the sake of his desire to be a good guy. He couldn’t go back to that, but he couldn’t stand a working class guy being cheated either. “ No, I get it, buddy -- the world’s gone to the dogs. People forget how to treat people and we all get laughed at by the one percent enough that it drives us to desperate measures. But sometimes, shocking as it is, there’s a person who’ll help you out. Tonight, guess that was me.” Kind as it was, Vince brushed off the man’s offer, ordering himself a scotch when the barkeep got close enough and taking the initiative to order one on him for the man next to him instead. “This one’s on me, pal. Keep your tips.”

Giulia shot him a look and rolled her eyes. She may not have been able to go out much in the past few years, men making comments like Vince did were a constant. She leaned forward on her elbows, not looking at him. “Keep making comments like that and you won’t get to.” She retorted, drinking from her glass.

Crass as it was, Vince couldn’t help but chuckle.  “I know, and I’m sorry, I really am, but you set it up so perfectly that I couldn’t resist myself. N o matter how hard I try, I’m still a man.” He flashed a charming grin her way, but his eyes were apologetic. “May I pick up your tab and ask for your forgiveness for not being able to resist a poorly timed , tasteless joke?”

Mason hoped that the towel hadn’t been stolen and that it was just a mistake, as he hated the idea that someone may be here stealing when there hadn’t been any issues with it in the past. “ I am sure it is, did it have your name on it?” He asked as he looked at the man smiling. “ The juice bar here is one of the best or at least I like to think so, so you’ll have to tell me what you think later.” He replied smiling as he shook the man’s hand. “ I’m Mason, it’s nice to meet you”

“My name on it? No, but maybe it should have. I usually avoid the whole concept of monogrammed fabrics because I figure I look enough like a douchebag with the amount of product in my hair already.” Vince chuckled at his own joke, a greeting exchanged before he took a glance around him. “ Good to meet you, Mason. And thanks for the towel. I honestly hope it’s as good as you say -- downing wheat grass shots and kale-protein mixes is hard enough, you know what I’m saying? But when you get a cheap blender and everything in there is chunky or they can’t throw a fruit in there for taste, it’s enough to make you wish you weren’t born, you know what I’m saying? The things we do to look good, huh?”