An unexpected discovery (Alex)

With a smirk, Alex raised an eyebrow and fixed her with a disbelieving look. "Uh huh, sure it is. Is that the latest excuse that all the cool kids are using?"

"Suffice to say, going somewhere far away from both our works sounds good. I do know a pretty good place. I've heard they even do body-shots," he added with a teasing smirk.

Idrys chuckled softly, the blush never leaving her cheeks. It was just who she was and she could understand if he didn't like it. But it was one thing she couldn't change.
"It's not an excuse, it's the truth," she kept going, though her shy smile said otherwise. "And I have never been one of the 'cool kids', so it's not the case."

At his next words though, she raised her shoulders slightly and took an intake of air. "I am not exactly one for body-shots, I thought you already know that. But if you like it, I would love to be there," she smiled, her brown eyes looking straight into his this time.

Alex gave a chuckle. "Well, you know what they say - there's a first time for everything. Try a body shot with me, and then we'll see if you decide to go back after that," he said with a wink, a playful grin on his lips. "I'm one of the best in that regard."

He looked at his watch, gave a low whistle. "Listen, would you like to go get breakfast? We'll be kicked out of here soon and I'd like to treat you. I know this great little place that is open pretty much 24 hours..."

Idrys chuckled softly, suddenly looking down at her hands and shaking her head ever-so-slightly. Despite the fact that she was working in a club, she didn't like this kind of fun, which made her feel a little bit weird. She definetly prefered a walk in the park, a trip to the cinema or a meeting in a little coffee shop; but for Alex, let's say she could try something.

At his next question, she raised her hazel eyes to look at him. She smiled slightly and nodded a little bit. "Sure, I would love to," she replied. She has overreacted, so spending a bit more time with him could only do good.

Her reaction instantly made Alex realise that it had been the wrong thing to suggest. "You hardly looked convinced. Ok, no to that idea. At least not until we get to know each other a lot better," he couldn't resist adding. He was still a party boy and was planning on dragging the girl out to places. But getting better acquainted seemed like it was in order first.

"Brilliant. Shall we, then?" He offered her an arm, nodding farewells to the lone staff staying behind and to the bouncers as the pair passed them. "I have a question though - up until the work hiccup, did you enjoy your night?"

Idrys's eyes widened slightly when he, who really seemed a party boy, decided to pick something different, just because she didn't seem comfortable. She hadn't really expected something like this from him, but he was probably trying to make up for the earlier events of the night. "No, really, you don't have to worry about this. We can... give it a try," she smiled slightly, just to show him that she actually wanted to go out with him again, maybe even try something crazier than before.

Smiling still, she gently took his arm and started out of the club. She looked up into his eyes when he spoke. "I did, I enjoyed the night," she assured him, nodding slowly. "And I overreacted about all this; it's not like your job is a shame, it was just... unexpected."

Alex laughed, shaking his head as he pushed the door open and left the club with her in tow, rather thankful for the cool morning breeze that greeted him. "No need to look so shocked," he teased her with a grin. "Contrary to popular belief, guys can change their minds if their friend doesn't want to do something. And the world need not explode in a giant ball of flames when such an occurrence happens..."

He looked around the city as he walked. It had lost most of its charm since he'd been here so long and the city's beauty was now a thing that went unnoticed. But tonight, walking the near-empty streets with Idrys made him see why he'd loved it in the first place. "It's alright," he replied with a shrug. "It's not every day that you meet someone in my line of work, so the reaction was kinda understandable. Doesn't make me a man-whore either, like most people would think," he said, a hint of sadness in his tone. Girlfriends never seem to have understood that fact...

"But hey - we all do jobs that aren't lovely and proper if we have to. After all, the rent does have to be paid!" he added with a laugh. "And as you've seen at your work - minimal clothing sells."

Idrys was again surprised when he noticed that she was pretty much shocked, but this time didn't show it. She just chuckled and, still holding his arm softly, looked down at her feet as she walked. There were moments when she would've liked to be different; more talkative, funnier, more popular and a party girl, because it seemed that only those had lots of friend and relationships. But she was simply not the same, she was different and she had other principles, unfortunately.

Hearing Alex's next words, she laughed lightly and nodded, looking ahead this time. "Yes, I did notice, unfortunately," she smiled, shrugging a bit. "They made me wear those slutty outfits a few times. Don't think they'll do it again after what happened last time," she mumbled, though she knew that the man didn't know what she was talking about.

"I didn't realise it was club policy for the staff to dress up too... Wouldn't that kind of defeat the point of having the girls up there then?" he asked. It wasn't at all a surprise hearing that the staff at her work had to dress up. It just didn't make sense why you'd want to drag attention away from your star attraction.

"What happened last time?" he asked, curiosity getting the better of him. It could only be one of two things, really - either a customer hit on her or she was so far out of her comfort zone that she couldn't even see the coast. Or she upstaged the girls in her outfit, the flirty part of his mind couldn't resist adding.

Idrys chuckled slightly, shaking her head a little bit and turning her eyes to him. He was so good-looking, she couldn't help noticing everytime she looked at him. The girls up there get the attention anyway, she explained. They are gorgeous, and fit, and they have great moves. We were dressed up only for the atmosphere, she said modestly. She had never thought of herself as good-looking, so the dancers were definetly better.

She sighed softly hearing his question. It had happened the night they met, when he kind of saved her from a not-so-pleasing man, but it seemed like it was not over. It was nothing... There was this man, I think he was in his late forties. After throwing at me flirty words and sick looks, he just got up, took the tray away from me and pinned me against the wall. And unlike last time, I managed to get rid of him all by myself, but Juliet thought that it was better for us to be more decent, because it might help.

"They are gorgeous only because they're taking their clothes off," Alex retorted. "I used to know a couple of dancers, worked at one of those lower-on-the-food-chain clubs. Y'know, the ones who can't actually call themselves a 'Gentleman's Club' because they're not up to that standard. Anyway, they definitely weren't gorgeous and didn't have amazing moves, and yet they still made money. Why? Because men are pervs who will drool at anything that is wearing a layer of clothing or less."

"Anyway, I'm glad you don't have to wear the clothing. I doubt it be very comfortable anyway." That stuff might look sexy, but chances are it was as comfortable as hugging a porcupine. Then he blinked in faint recognition at her next words. "Hang on - isn't that the night we first met?"

Idrys was actually surprised, once again, by Alex's words. She had expected him to love those dancers, just like all the men who stopped by their club; because they definetly didn't go in there to see the waitresses or taste the drinks, most of them came for the show. However, she was used to not being the most popular or the most interesting in a group of women, so it didn't bother her much.

She chuckled slightly at his next words. Yes, that's how we met, she smiled. That memory had a special place in her heart, despite the fact that she would never admit it. You saved me from that sick pervert. Next time, I did it myself, as you were not there, she joked, shrugging a little bit.

Alexander noted Idrys's surprise with some satisfaction. He'd known that she'd thought he had a certain fondness for dancers. Which wasn't true - just because a girl was a dancer didn't mean that he liked her. For him it was about the personality. A dancer could be gorgeous and yet thick as a brick wall; Alex would never go there. So it was good to clear that up - he didn't want Idrys to think of him as a man-whore. Sure, he liked to flirt, but that was different; that was just a bit of fun.

"Ah yeah, I remember that night. I'm glad I could help you," he replied with a smile. One thing he couldn't stand was when people treated women as objects, as just something they could stare and perv at and who had no mind of their own. "That guy was a creep. And glad you learnt some tips from me - unfortunately us superheros can't be everywhere at once," he laughed.