elspeth winced until the moment joaquinn made clear that his words were, in fact, a joke. there was still an element of doubt there—of course, the man that was ferrying them around in the passenger side of their car would try and make himself seem like a good guy. they wouldn’t know for sure until they checked the establishment out themself. “that makes sense. i bet that’s difficult, though. i know men have a tendency to get the wrong idea, to not know when enough is enough. they can’t seem to tell the difference between interest for monetary gain and genuine flirting.” speaking from first hand experience. god, elspeth wished she would swear off men for the rest of her life. it would have been a whole lot easier. taking their phone and taking hold of the loose cable, she plugged it in and began scrolling the audio files. “some demos, yeah. tell me what you think.” after a moment of quiet their heavy bassline cut the silence, then jangly guitar, then vocals. hearthead suzy sounded as though they had been plucked straight out of the seventies, yet they had been home grown in half moon bay.

Joaquinn may have enjoyed joking but one thing he was was very respectful to the ladies who worked at his job. The last thing he ever would have done was made any of his employees feel uncomfortable or sexualize them. In fact it was the complete opposite he was big on making sure they were comfortable. “It helps when you establish your rules right up front. They are posted and occasionally my bartenders will get on the mic to remind everyone of our rules. That doesn’t mean we haven’t thrown people out or banned them. Though our tolerance for shit at the club is non existent. If someone isn’t feeling comfortable the person is tossed out no questions asked.” He explained the them. “but no matter what you always have those people and not just mean who struggle with separating working from real life. That happens outside of the club though as well.” He continued. The man moved his head for a moment. “Not too bad, got a nice beat to it.”

She laughed when Joaquinn was fairly confident that his choice in music beat out barnyard noises. He wasn't wrong in assuming so. She shook her head when he questioned her about looking for a new job "I'm currently a business owner myself Joaquinn... add being a single mother into the mix and the answer would be no." With that being said she could definitely relate to the not having many days off. "You seem like the type who comes in even on his days off." She spoke. Taking another sip of her rum and coke.

the whole situation was humorous to him, he had needed the laugh tonight. "we here at full moon appreciate your business then, even if it isnt your scene." he explained. "but your friend lita over there is here enough to make up for you not wanting to come back." he teased. "ah kids, something i cant say i have ever wanted, so hats off to you for running a business and being a mom. that has to be tough." he told her with a nod as he took a seat across from her. "is it that obvious that im married to my job?"

Most of the time Hunter felt like he could tell if someone liked him or not but Joaquinn tended to leave him stumped. Felt like the guy was always scowling or telling him off but then he'd go and do a one eighty and laugh like that and make him feel like they were buddies. Hunter followed Joaquinn out to the bar and took a seat, leaning both arms on the bar top. "Fine, fine..." He sighed and ordered himself a mai tai, hopefully with a little umbrella in it too, and looked back over his shoulder at the dancers who were working today. His eyes trailed through the room looking for Lili. "Hey when's your birthday?"

joaquinn's relationship with hunter was strange. he adored the man and although he was tough on the kid he really enjoyed having him around. he would have for sure said they were friends.. just maybe not to hunters face. he raised a brow, "my birthday? july 24th, why? you are not going to plan something stupid are you because i will ban you?"

"well, i like ladies and good food, so i think i should have enough to pass the time with. as long as you're a good guy and aren't weird with them, which we've already established. you've got quite an empire going, hm?" they rolled through the streets. before, elspeth had been eager to get out of the car. now that they were talking, seemingly en route, there was a part of her that wanted to stick around and talk for the rest of the day. jackson wouldn't care—for the most part he didn't bother turning up anyway. "that sounds amazing. we have some more upbeat songs. might be a change in vibe for the night, but who knows. could be a selling point."

"who doesnt like ladies and good food? there is just something about a beautiful lady that can make us feel good and alive." he told them. "ive never been a religious man but seeing a nice pair of tits just makes me believe that maybe there is a god." though his words were clearly playful as he looked over at the other as he tried not to laugh. "nah, i have some pretty serious rules at my place. the first is all the ladies get respected.. period.. second is no one dates or has any sort of relations that work there with one another. i like to keep it a safe and toxic free environment." he explained. "do you have anything you guys have done on your phone that you can hook up to the radio?" he asked them.

elspeth was no stranger to dipping her toe into the unknown, to picking up sticks and skipping town. a part of them was tempted to do the same to hearthead suzy—would they even miss her presence, if they gave up and stuck around with joaquinn? “maybe i will.” and the maybe stood as a promise. elspeth, with their raven hair and chicken-scratch tattoos, would find their way into the other’s establishment, even if it was only to steal another glance at the handsome man in the driver’s seat. “well, you should take full responsibility.” they teased, lips pursed around the neck of their bottle. a beat passed between them, the ticking of an indicator, “you know, if you ever wanted some entertainment that wasn’t girls dancing, i’m sure jackson would be all too happy to perform in one of your establishments. if you’d have us, that is.”

"no maybe.. you should." he told them looking over and giving them a grin, joaquinn had been proud of the club he had built. it was his 6th full moon but it was his favorite. it had a little small town look to it but the women were beautiful and enjoyed with they did. "even if you dont care to see the lovely ladies we do have some killer food if i say so myself." he shrugged looking back at the road in front of him. "maybe one night you all can perform while my ladies still dance?" he had suggested. "not really sure if you all could play the music though my ladies strip to but.." he chuckle.

"well, then, that's pretty fucking cool of you. i know it's pretty easy to exploit people in those environments, but offering jobs to people... and jobs that pay well, i hope... that's something to commend. maybe i'll have to drop down there. i'm, like, painfully single, so maybe it'll help me play the field," although they wouldn't put their money on it. what elspeth really needed was a fairy godmother, somebody to wave a magic wand and help them find the man, woman or person of their dreams. for the moment, though, they were stuck in a car with an almost-stranger, paying particular attention to his features in case they had to relay his likeness to authorities. "i'll still be painfully late but, hey, that's fashionable, right? i bet i'll still manage to be the first person to turn up. my bandmates aren't the most reliable people in the world," with an audible slurp from their bottle, elspeth added, "i think you'd like us. hearing us play. we're pretty fucking good."

"yeah, i have seen a lot of people at places like those to get exploited. maybe it was subconsciously why i had picked the field." he informed them. "you really should, check us out and see how nice things are around here.. make the choice for yourself on what you think of us." he chuckled as he made his way back in the car and began to head back down the road with them. "showing up late is better than not showing up at all." he pointed out to them . "i am sure they will understand you can just blame it on your ride. i'll take full responsibility." he chuckled. "just give me date and time and ill be there."

Hunter smiled earnestly at Joaquinn saying that he never ceased to amaze him. He was not catching on that it wasn't in a good way and there was damn near nothing anyone could say to make Hunter understand that fact. "Thanks bud, you're amazing too." He caught the sweats with one hand and moved towards the back where he could change into them. "Look, I'm just sayin' if people start gettin' worked up or the dancers are distracted by my very impressive dick imprint, I won't be held responsible." He held up his hands to Joaquinn and then slipped into the sweat pants.

joaquinn didnt have too terribly many rules at the club.. but a dress code was one and he just hated those damn shorts. the perks of being the owner. when he heard hunters comment about his imprint he couldnt help but just laugh. the laugh came from deep in his stomach as he shook his head. "i will take the chance of people getting distracted over that." he nodded and then playfully rolled his eyes. "how about we just get you a drink and a dance?" he suggested. "i know some lovely ladies who could really use the money."

elspeth loved both ladies and men equally but, even so, they couldn't imagine spending money to gawk at women in their underwear twirling around poles and tucking singles into their panty elastic. "yeah, it's really not my vibe." she reiterated with a scrunch of her nose. "so long as they really do like what they're doing and you're not exploiting their needs, i guess that's okay. you don't seem like that kind of guy but, who knows, i'm still yet to confirm whether you're a serial killer or not." the corner of their lips twitched into a smile. it was a game they liked to play, tugging the elastic of patience taut until it snapped back and whipped them in the face. the directions seemed easy enough. with the nozzle of their bottle between painted lips, elspeth threaded back out of the gas station to the vehicle that was now familiar to them. "onwards!" tattooed fingers tucked into the handle of the door. they tore it open, slipping herself into the passenger seat, boots up on the dashboard.

joaquinn understood that the club wasnt everyone's thing. he had ran into many more people that werent into it than were in half moon bay he had felt like. a lot of his customers were more so out of town asides his regulars. "i get that and respect that." he pointed out. "it isnt everyones thing and that is cool. the ladies who work at my club all have choices to work there just like someone working at the gas station up there." he confessed to them. "we do check ins every quarter to see how things are going and what we can change.. obviously if there is something wrong before hand it is addressed right then and there. i like to think that my establishment is very classy." he gave them a smile. "please they take home a lot more money than i do." he chuckled. "only time will tell about the killer part." he teased wiggling his brows as he headed back to his truck with them. "from the sound of it we dont have too much further to go."