BACK OF MY MIND

Emir: I feel like we shouldn’t be having this conversation over text.

Emir: You said you’re home, yeah?

Sofia: :(

the violet hour closed for: @sofiaramircz

The Violet Hour was always going to be known as this place that gave Emir this weird sensation in the pit of his stomach, the feeling all too similar to fluttering and he knew the reason behind it had almost everything to do with Sofia. The likelihood of running into her gave him the worst sort of nerves, but he wouldn’t dare let it show, not tonight when the feeling of the crowd around him felt so electric he couldn’t help but allow himself some ease for just this once. He felt proud, she deserved this, and maybe that’s why he went to seek her out after a small help of liquid courage and some half-decent advice that’s been rolling around in the back of his mind over the last couple of days. 

“The place looks amazing.” It was a simple greet as he approached her at the bar, something of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips as he slots himself into a spot that has freed up with his gaze traveling to hers under the glow of the low lights. “but I do think you should be out here enjoying it with the rest of us.”

...

Sofia stood behind the bar. After what her ex did with stealing money from the bar, it made it almost impossible for her to sit down and enjoy the bar since she couldn’t pay anyone else really to work there until she caught up on where she had been months ago. The brunette moved along the bar, making small chat and pouring drinks. Her eyes drifted towards her best friend every so often to see him enjoying himself and that was all that mattered to her. The people who came into this bar deserved to have some fun despite how much at the end of the day she wanted to cry because of the situation she had put herself into. 

After a while, Emir slipped into one of the stools and the woman smiled as she raised her hand up while drying the glass in her hand. “What makes you think I’m not enjoying myself?” She teased, glancing towards the other woman behind the bar. At least she had an understanding employee she was able to keep after the financial struggle. Her head turned back towards him. “I can’t make her do all the work, ya know?”

location: Violet Hour who: @sofiaramircz​ — closed.

Altan walked into Violet Hour, moving past the crowds without needed to bump shoulders as people moved out of his way the moment they saw him walking near. It was in the way he held himself with such high regard that tended to make others want to be on his good side, resulting in favors even as small as clearing a path when he looked busy. “Ah, yup.” He slowed when he found her. “When I couldn’t reach you on the phone I figured you’d still be here.” Hard working as always. That was good, useful. However, to be frank, Sofia was one of the few people that Altan truly considered a friend. “Come on, Sof. You’re the boss and it’s past your bedtime. Let’s head out, I have something to run by you. Where’s your coat? It’s getting cold out there.” 

...

Sofia had pulled herself into a corner booth so she could keep an eye on the bar and still shift through paperwork to figure out how much her ex screwed her. “Best way to reach me if you can’t get a hold of me on my cell is callin’ the bar and you know it,” she mused playfully as she glanced towards her cellphone, moving her hand up towards the power button to click it on to see how many times he tried to get a hold of it, a soft grimace crossing her features. “God, sorry.” She turned her head to look over at him, putting her pen down as she cleared her throat. “Would you mind just sitting down across from me? I just... I have a few more things to touch up on. It shouldn’t take me long... Please, Al... You’d be doin’ me the biggest favor.”

It took a long moment for familiarity to register and as the other woman spoke, Leyla couldn’t help but offer her a broad grin in return. “What is this, beauty, brains and humor? Well aren’t you just the full package.“ She teased and as soon as both were stead upon their feet, she stepped forward and wrapped the other in a tight embrace. It had been sometime since had been able to catch up with her nearest and dearest within Chicago and Sofia was most definitely toward the top of that list. “I don’t think any mistakes could be made in that number.” The heiress added as she motioned to the others attire. “I actually only flew into the city late last week and it’s looking like I’ll be here for the foreseeable future.” She explained, shoulders rising and falling in a small shrug. “Which means we have all the time in the world to catch up and maybe, just maybe you’ll finally agree to allowing me to overhaul that wardrobe of yours.”

...

Sofia kept her messy break up on the down low, not wanting a lot of people to be aware of how naïve and idiotic she had been to trust someone like her ex. Her lips curled into a wide smile as she shook her head, putting her arm over Leylae’s shoulder after the quick embrace. “If anyone is a triple threat, it’s you.” She mused as she turned her head to look over towards the double doors. “At least tell me one of us will be getting kissed at Midnight. I have to live through you, ya know?” She teased. “Well, I’m extremely excited to see that you are back where you belong.” She started to walk towards the doors. “And I hope you know I’ve officially kidnapped you.” She turned her head to look over at her. “What’s mine is yours, babe.”

closed.

new years eve╱ balcony  @sofiaramircz

EMIR HADN’T EXACTLY been taking the night in stride: the first few hours of the evening had felt feather - light to how he was feeling now, wrought with some emotion close to guilt mostly because he had been hiding during the pinnacle of the evening. Hiding from what exactly, he wasn’t quite sure: from the sounds of new bottles of champagne being popped, from whispers and questions about his whereabouts at the top of each long hour, of friends who he knew would send shots his way, of a certain someone he still hadn’t found the courage to approach. None of it surprising when it all leads him from out of the ballroom, and the grandiose aura that came with it, and out onto the balcony that looked out over Chicago just so he could escape that feeling of being trapped in a stuffy room with people he barely knew and that lingering presence that stemmed from feeling lonely inside of his typical extroverted shell. He was drawn to be being outside and was met with company in the form of the exact person he still hadn’t built the courage up to see. And while he knew she had been here celebrating like everyone else was, it still didn’t shake his look of surprise when he saw her. 

Be cool, be cool.

“Wow, you look,” For someone who often has so much to say, finding the words to express just how stunning the other looked felt impossible, like the words were on the tip of his tongue yet still out of reach. “ — very wow.” He smiled something toothy despite wanting to slap himself. “Amazing. You look amazing.”

...

Sofia knew how out of touch she had been with everything the last few weeks after what had happened with Thomas. Having to kick out your fiancé and make sure all his shit went with him was emotionally tolling but if there was one person in this entire building who was fully aware of everything she had been going through it was the male heading in her direction. Emir had been one of her saving graces the last few years, someone who came to help support the reopening of the bar and the person she called whenever she was having a plumbing problem or something along those lines. He had been her best friend for as long as she could remember and there wasn’t a day that went by where she could imagine losing that.

Her head tilted down to look at the black and red dress that touched her knees, a smile spreading along her features as she raised her eyes back up towards him. Her hand reached out, adjusting the knot of his tie. “You look very wow too, Emir.” She dropped her hand to her side after fixing the tie. “Someone catch your eye tonight?”

Admittedly, Luca wouldn’t always go out of his way to pay for anything, for anyone. There was something in the way the woman beside him turned the drink already in her hand empty rather quickly though. A quickened pace, and one step closer to the end of her night. Perhaps he wasn’t the only one counting down the hours until his respective Vronsky counterpart decided enough was enough. “You looked like you needed it.” He noted, with a slight gesture between the brunette and the empty glass she left behind. 

...

Sofia pressed her lips together at the words that left the man next to her, clearing her throat as she used her index finger to push the empty glass towards the bartender. “Very observant,” she turned her head to look over at him. Emir had been somewhere in the room and the last thing she wanted was to make him feel like he had to stick by her side the whole night because she had been in a rut since she kicked Thomas to the curb, the sting he had left in his wake after four years together and an engagement ring. “I don’t have much hope that tomorrow will be better than today,” a little comparison between the whole new year new everything concept. Tomorrow will be another day... Just like the rest of them were.

location: NYE event, main entrance

status: open to all

Slipping out of the blackened SUV, the woman bid farewell to her driver before drinking in the extravagance of the historic building. It seemed almost as if the entire thing was glowing luminescent amidst the backdrop of the Chicago winter wonderland. Pulling her jacket close, she made the short distance to the entrance, narrowly avoiding slipping on the slowly forming ice that layered the stairs. However, it seemed another was not so fortunate as they stumbled over the threshold. Instinctively the brunette reached out, a firm hand enveloping their arm in an effort to steady them before she offered something akin to a tight smile. “I don’t think falling into the new year should be taken quite so seriously.” She mused in jest, an idle comment to break the ice before offering a smile in greeting.

...

Sofia had walked into the building a few moments prior, sticking towards the door as an easy out if she wasn’t feeling it. There would be a movie and a drawer of junk food waiting for her at home. She turned right in time to reach her hand out to steady the woman who tripped through the threshold, a soft laugh leaving her lips. “Or you were just falling for me, Ley.” She teased as she helped her stand back up, pulling her hand back once her friend was steady on her feet. “Thank God there’s a familiar face here I was wondering if I made a mistake coming here or not... You saved me from being bored to death.”

open

location: grand ballroom

For the most part, the gig that Luca had worked himself into for the bratva kept him busy and better yet - out of reach of certain others. He’d yet to really find anything about it that he disliked as greatly as finding refuge among the Bratva to begin with. At least, he’d thought so, until he’d entered the extravagant ballroom and was overcome by the overwhelming urge to roll his eyes into the back of his head. A group of loud, middle aged women shuffled around him, giggling and asking him to save a dance, his response little more than a menial smile and unenthusiastic nod as he wove his way out of their grasp. A shiver ran down his spine, the kind that one could encourage on their own and by the time he’d reached the bar, he’d internally cursed himself - and mapped out the entire room, much to his own dismay. “Double ouzo and.. whatever they’re having..” Clearly, those beside him had been waiting far longer, and while he wasn’t one to pave the way for anyone, it was new years. 

...

Sofia didn’t imagine spending her New Years alone at the beginning of the year. As the months crumbled closer to the end of her engagement, the woman hadn’t been focused on the meaning of starting a new year being in a way different place in her life than she had been eleven months prior. She leaned against the bar, holding a vodka tonic in her hand. She brought it up to her lips, tilting her head back to drink it in one swift motion. She placed the glass back down onto the surface, turning her head when she heard the male next to her offered to get her next drink. “Thanks,” she said softly, mostly gauging to see if the person was up for small talk or not. 

BIOGRAPHY

ALIAS: Sofia Ramirez

BIRTHDATE & AGE: July 17th, 33

AFFILIATION: Civilian ; Owner of The Violet Hour 

FACECLAIM: Ana De Armas

HISTORY

Out of six children, Sofia was the only daughter of the Ramirez family. From a young age, she had thick skin and was considered to be one of the boys in each of her friend circles. She knew how to stand her own and wasn’t the type of girl who let other people push her around. She put her foot down in any and all situations. She told it like it was and wasn’t afraid to drop people in her life when they did her wrong. Relationships were also hard for her develop since she had a high standards for the way she deserved to be treated. Usually, she didn’t get attached to any of her boyfriends because her saying always was. If you expect disappointment, you want be disappointed when it happens. 

At a young age, her father purchased a bar called the Violet Hour. She spent most of her afternoons in the office, working on her homework and learning the ins and outs of the business because if there was one thing her father knew was that she would be the one capable of taking over the business. As each of her siblings graduated, they each left Chicago in the rearview mirror unlike Sofia who stuck around long after she graduated. At the age of twenty-one was when she first started to officially work at the bar, becoming one of the most the beloved bartenders.