Tequila Kisses || James

[Aspen Lorelei Fleur]

[googlefont="PT Serif"][googlefont="Playfair Display SC"][googlefont="Satisfy"]

Hey, I'm a little drunk on you

And high on summertime

Aspen finally closed shop, and she was exhausted. She had helped her mom hand sew over 1,000 gems on silk ribbon for a bridal order, and her hands were beginning to stiffen up from the precision. At least the design was simpler than she thought. As much as Aspen loved sewing, hand stitching gems was a pain in the ass and took many hours. Between running other things in the store, she was just happy she could even find time to sit down – even if it was just to sew.

Before Aspen left her store, she changed from her work clothing into a white t-shirt, a pair of light blue jeans with some fraying on the hem, and a pair of flip flops. She was a bit sweaty, but she put on body spray and the smell of passion fruit covered her. When she had everything ready and packed up, she turned the lock and readjusted her purse over her shoulder. Her thumb pressed the unlock button on her set of keys, and when she heard it go off, Aspen stepped into her car to only drive down a block or so. She could have easily walked to the bar, but knowing how tired she would be later on--walking was not an option.

The bar was not super packed, but there were a few people there. Most of them were at tables with a few of their friends after a long day at work as she was, but Aspen was flying solo. The blonde woman found a seat at the bar and undid her hair from its constraining ponytail.

Blonde hair strands fell in soft waves around her face, and Aspen ran her fingers through them before pulling out her phone to see if there were any texts. So far, nothing. Her attention was brought from her phone to the tender who asked what she wanted, and Aspen answered with a polite smile, “Tequila Sunrise, please and thank you!”

April 11• Outfit • JAMESON MATTHEW CUTTER

[JAMESON MATTHEW CUTTER]

T his was what Jameson considered to be an awful day. By awful, he meant boring. Dreadfully boring. In his previous life, there was no such thing as a boring day. He always had something to do that would get his adrenaline pumping. On the off chance that there was nothing pressing to do, he was more than happy to find himself at a bar drinking whiskey, hitting on women, and causing some sort of trouble. The usual. It just so happened that this particular day he was at a bar. However, this time there was was no trouble to cause because it would cost him his job. Jameson never really had to work any sort of traditional, taxable job. Plus felonies really made it difficult to find employment. He had to lie and fabricate work experience to get this bartending gig at the local dive bar. He was not taking it for granted, that was for sure.  The man was pulled from his thoughts when he caught the door opening out of his peripherals. It was a young blonde girl walking inside the bar. His initial thought was what was a pretty lady like her doing in this semi shady dive? Regardless, he gave her a quick greeting and took her drink order. Tequila Sunrise. Typical drink for someone her age, he wasn't surprised in the least. Despite his judgments, he poured it quickly and slid it across the bar to her.  After giving a once over to the rest of his guests, he saw that no one had any pressing needs. He decided to bite the bullet, so to speak, and try to be friendly with her, as she was alone and he did not have anything better to do. So what brings you in here? he asked as he leaned up against a counter behind him, so he was facing her. Despite his monotone speech, he was fairly interested, it was unusual to have anyone under the age of 50 walk in, especially alone.  339 words Aspen Lorelei Fleur   notes: finally, sorry about the delay!

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[Aspen Lorelei Fleur]

[googlefont="PT Serif"][googlefont="Playfair Display SC"][googlefont="Satisfy"]

Hey, I'm a little drunk on you

And high on summertime

Aspen wasn’t dumb; she could feel the judgment from the tender’s eyes. There was no denying that the man was very attractive. He had this roughness to him and was obviously a few years older than her, but not by much. The tender made her drink pretty quick and handed it to her, and Aspen gave him a soft smile before taking a sip. “Don’t worry, if I didn’t have to drive my ass home – I’d be requesting a full bottle of Jameson.”

While Aspen didn’t drink too much in public, at home – there were times she went ham. She could go through a bottle of whiskey like nobody’s business. She would feel awful in the morning, for sure, but it was all in good fun. Plus, she didn’t have worry about harming her family image when she drank at home. Unlike a few other rich people who partied too hard and passed out on the streets. Hell, Aspen had even seen some of these actors do the whole drunk like a fish and use a pizza slice as a pillow. It was actions like that that made Aspen wonder if people had any public dignity. But to each their own, as long as they weren’t hurting anyone. Luckily, most people had that one person who was sober enough.

She sipped her drink, enjoying the flavors. While she wanted to take two large sips to finish it off, Aspen wasn’t in a particular rush to get out. The bar seemed pretty quiet, but then again – it was kind of easier than the red light hours, as long as she went home to get enough sleep before heading to work super early. “Well, I just got off of work. I own Pot de Fleur, the flower shop,” she smiled, the French easily rolling off her tongue. Growing up, she was raised in a two language household but learned Italian and Russian later on because a lot of her parents’ clients were from those areas. “It was a long day, but the bride will be pleased with her table setting! And you? Are you enjoying your somewhat slower hours before the rush, or you bored as hell? You look like an action, fast paced shift loving guy.”

April 11• Outfit • JAMESON MATTHEW CUTTER

[JAMESON MATTHEW CUTTER]

A little mischievous smirk crossed his lips when the whiskey, which also happened to be his namesake, was mentioned. Before he could utter a reply, he caught himself. The old Jameson would have rebutted with something vulgar or sexual. Part of him held it in because it could cost him his job. That really depended on what kind of character this lady was and how she took it, of course. The other part of him was making an active effort to be a better person, one who displayed some sort of respect to others around him. Instead he just replied with "Much better, I'm impressed with you tastes." That was much safer, he decided, feeling moderately proud of himself for practicing self control. Jameson listened to her speak. Not only was he impressed with her whiskey tastes, but he was also genuinely impressed with the fact that she owned her own business. His eye brow raised as he listened to her continue. Though he couldn't put a pinpoint on her exact age, it was apparent that she was years younger than him. Jameson could not imagine being a business owner as a thirty- three year old man, much less when he was any younger. He did not possess that level of maturity. "I'm sure they looked stunning," he said in response to her comments pertaining to her day in the floral shop. "It must be rewarding being apart of someone's special day," he added, shifting his weight to gain a more comfortable position. "And very stressful as well," he added after more thought. There had to be a huge amount of pressure placed on her from all of the crazy brides that she must encounter at the floral shop. Jameson was sure that he would not be capable of dealing with their crazy demands and expectations. Hell, sometimes he wondered how he managed to deal with people in his own work environment. That same smirk as before played over his face when she expressed her assumption about what type of guy he was. If only she knew. Not that she ever would know, of course. "I guess you could say that about me," he said with a slightly nostalgic smile. Truth be told he was not that fast paced type of person anymore. Despite the fact that his bike was parked in the lot behind the bar, his life was rather slow anymore. "I've had a few adventures in my day, but it's pretty quiet with me anymore," he added honestly as he walked down the bar to cash out one of his few patrons sitting before him. Returning to his place, leaning against the counter he asked "What about you though, have you had any interesting adventures?"  455 words Aspen Lorelei Fleur   notes: none

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[Aspen Lorelei Fleur]

[googlefont="PT Serif"][googlefont="Playfair Display SC"][googlefont="Satisfy"]

Hey, I'm a little drunk on you

And high on summertime

“At least you don’t feel threatened by it,” Aspen said, a bit flatter than how she said everything else before. It was amazing how threatened men were when they learned a woman drank whiskey. Aspen had no idea why, unless they feared a woman could outdrink them. While there were who drank a lot and could probably outdrink a few men, it wasn’t as if women went out and purposely sought out to beat a man and ruin his ego. If she did, she obviously didn’t have her priorities straight. Aspen enjoyed the taste of all the different kinds of liquors. With her upbringing, she was around a lot of the high end and low end. Vodka, Tequila, Wine, Champagne, everything under the sun. If anything, people thought she was an alcoholic by how much she knew about her spirits – but if she were truly an alcoholic, she wouldn’t know shit.

“Well, thank you! She requested an eggshell silk ribbon and wanted the dovetails to be an ombré Swarovski crystal look. So myself, along with my mother, handstitched every single little fucker on,” she laughed, holding up one of her hands to show some small red areas on her fingertips to show how many times a needle pierced the skin. By now, Aspen was immune to the pain like chefs to pans straight from the oven. “It is until a bride’s father comes in and threatens you because you were missing one rose,” Aspen snorted as she took another sip of her drink. “I advise you to stay away from Russian fathers, especially if they’re supposedly in the mob. Granted, I don’t think I’ll have to worry too much about that here. New York, it’s a bit different.” That was the only time Aspen ever feared for her life. Luckily, she hadn’t had any other run-ins such as that. Most of her clients were very nice. Demanding, sure, but very nice. After all, her family was known for their pieces of work.

Mysterious man wasn’t he? After all, Aspen didn’t expect everyone to just spill their whole backstory to her. After all, this was the first time they met, so some playful banter was alright. If anything, the tender would most likely forget about her.

“What, too old for adventure?” she teased with a wink, sipping up whatever was left of her drink. “But hey, at least you had some excitement in your life.” Black straw fished for the small décor of orange and cherry that was added as a garnish. Once in her grasp, Aspen took the toothpick and popped the cherry into her mouth, stem and all. She took a few answer to answer, only to reveal a completely tied cherry stem she removed from her lips and placed it on her napkin. “Depends. What do you think a 28-year-old usually does?” If she wanted to be completely honest, Aspen would tell him about all her travels. But he probably didn’t have the time to hear about it. “I’ve done a few things. Skydiving, rock climbing, cliff diving. My work brings me around the world. I think my favorite time was when I went to Bali for a destination wedding. Other than that, nothing too crazy.”

April 11• Outfit • JAMESON MATTHEW CUTTER

[JAMESON MATTHEW CUTTER]

J ameson felt no reason to be threatened by a girl who chose to drink dark spirits. He had spent countless nights sitting with other club members' old ladies shooting whiskey and smoking cigars. That was normal. He supposed that this conservative town might be different than biker bars out West in their beliefs and values. Even beyond that, he had to admit that he had encountered many men who were so insecure in themselves that they had to assert some form of superiority over women to make themselves feel better. While Jameson was not always the most respectful or understanding towards women, he truly thought that type of behavior was silly. Jameson himself felt comfortable enough with both his strengths and weaknesses that he approached women on an equal playing field. He listened attentively to her speak about her recent order that she filled in the flower shop. He had absolutely no clue what the hell any of it meant, but he tried his best to look interested. He was sure that she did not expect him to be able to make sense of it. Generally, women just wanted someone to listen to them, it did not matter if they understood. He nodded as she finished and chuckled when she spoke of the mob involved father. Jameson found it hard to imagine this petite blonde in front of him being in a confrontation with a Russian mobster man. He would not have stood for it had he been there, but it seemed to be alright to laugh about now that it was in the past.  "I will heed that advice," he said with a smile. Jameson, of course, had no intention of getting involved in any sort of crime anymore. His run ins with mobs, gangs and other clubs in the past were always a combination of thrilling and stressful. The topic of conversation posed an interesting comparison for him about his and her individual lives. While she was just a stranger at his bar, he could not help but toy with the possibility of a future relationship with her. He did this all the time with customers. It was not really anything about her or any of them in particular, but rather it was more about what would it feel like to be in a committed relationship in general. In his thirty odd years, he had not been able to keep anyone around for more than a few months. The lifestyle was too complicated. But having this topic of conversation, he realized that even with his lifestyle change, a relationship would be complicated still. He had too much history that people would not understand. Jameson was happy when the topic of conversation switched to something more lighthearted. It was easier. "Do I look that old to you?" he asked with a playful smile. He knew that years of drugs, booze and hours baking in the sun on a bike had not been kind to him. He looked every bit of his age, possibly more. "I've had enough adventures to last me a lifetime," he said after watching her pull the tied cherry stem from her lips. It was interesting to hear he list off some of her adventures. Again, the comparison was interesting. Her adventures were too controlled, too safe for him. While they would be fun, nothing would compare to the rush of adrenaline when he feared for his life.  "I would have never realized a small town florist would be so well traveled," he replied honestly. "All of those things sound like a lot of fun," he added without so much honesty. He turned around to grab the bottle of tequila that was on the counter. "Another one?" he asked nodding towards the bottle in his hand. While conversation was enjoyable, he did have to remind himself that he had a job to do here. "So you mentioned your job for the Russians in New York. Did you live there as well?" he asked in an attempt to keep the conversation flowing to convince her to stay for another drink. Jameson would be lying if he did not admit that he was enjoying her company and would be minimally disappointed to see her go.  715 words Aspen Lorelei Fleur notes: none

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[Aspen Lorelei Fleur]

[googlefont="PT Serif"][googlefont="Playfair Display SC"][googlefont="Satisfy"]

Hey, I'm a little drunk on you

And high on summertime

“No, of course not, but then again, I like my men like I like my whiskey. Nicely aged.” It was true, Aspen often went for older men because she found them attractive as well as ones she could seem to connect to more. While she had her share of younger men and men her age, they seemed to bore her, or she bored them. They were too worried about missing party or getting drunk. Sure, Aspen liked all of that, but she was always more mature in manner. She had a business to run and money to make. Of course, she knew how to have fun, but she was married to her work since most men in her life – romantically were a waste of time. There were a few lovers, but casual sex got pretty old with different people who all shared the same personality. One could say she was picky about her men, but Aspen was tired of entering a relationship that failed a month later. There just weren’t enough single older men in the area since most of them were married, or just didn’t like the aspect of being with a 28-year-old.

“As long as you were able to enjoy life, that’s all the matters. Whether it be doing stupid shit, sitting on the couch, or backpacking the wilderness. Adventure is an adventure, no matter how you personally define it. I mean, I would love to do more personal traveling, but the wedding industry will never flop, and everyone always needs flowers,” she smirked. There were times Aspen wondered what her life would be like if she went to college and didn’t follow her parent's footsteps. She would most likely be not here, that’s for sure. As much as she loved Ellisville, she yearned for more – but she was at least traveling for work. It wasn’t her ideal way of traveling, but at least she was traveling?

“Yes, please,” she smiled. “I’m not in any rush unless of course, things get busy here. I don’t want to hold you back from a more interesting conversation with your regulars. And no, I haven’t lived there. Not in the sense of living. I was there for a month since it was easier than traveling back and forth between here and New York. I was born and raised here in Ellisville, but I hope to live somewhere else – even if it’s for a year. So I try my best to travel when I can. Helps fill that curiosity if that makes sense? What about you?” While Aspen had seen a lot of people and knew most of the people, she didn’t remember everyone.

April 11• Outfit • JAMESON MATTHEW CUTTER

[JAMESON MATTHEW CUTTER]

J ameson thought it was rather funny the way his evening was turning out thus far. Although he did not hate his job, he had been dreading coming in for the entire day. He really started dreading it the night prior when he was laying in bed trying to go to sleep. He just was not in the mood. The weather was very pleasant outside and he had been spending the day exploring and hanging out with his sidekick, Atticus. The dog was more than happy to spend his evening alone on the couch fast asleep, but Jameson felt guilty leaving him. Despite this, his conversation with this lovely customer was quickly eradicating the guilt that he felt and replacing it was interest. Jameson kept to himself, choosing only the company of his canine. Having another human being to chat with was a nice change. The fact that she was a lady and was quite easy on the eyes was a bonus. "Looks like I'm in luck then," he said with a smirk and a wink when she made her comment of enjoying aged men. Jameson used to be quite the flirt back in the day. He was aware of the fact that he was an attractive man and he used to use it to his advantage to woo the ladies. If they were not swayed by his bad boy attitude, paired with charming conversation, his beautiful Harley Davidson usually won them over in the end. In all honesty, Jameson could have probably been considered a womanizer, and he was proud of it. After moving across the country, he kind of tucked that aspect of his personality away. Chatting here with this girl, he could not help but easily fall back into a flirty demeanor. It felt normal and natural to him. Jameson did as he was told, pouring the girl another drink. "Don't worry about that, I'm sure it won't get too busy," he said with a shrug. It was a beautiful evening outside and he doubted that anyone would want to be sitting in a dark, dingy, little dive bar. There were plenty of places with nice, outdoor patios around the area. Plus, with the new film crew in town, he had noticed locals were always out and about trying to catch glimpses of the celebrities. They sure as hell weren't going to run across any stars in this joint. The man nodded as he listened to her speak. He understood the way she felt. "That's why I'm here," he replied as he shifted his footing to gain a more comfortable position. "I needed a change of scenery, so to speak," he added with a smile. It was true, this little town was beautiful in comparison to the big city feel of Oakland. "I recently moved here from out West, California," he further explained. "I came for a slower paced lifestyle, because of my old age and all," he said with another wink and a little chuckle. Jameson never really gave away many details, especially things that could identify him. If someone was really curious, a simple internet search of his name could give him away of course. Just like when he was an active club member, information was given out on a need to know basis. He could not think of one good reason this stranger, or anyone else in this town would need to know shit about him. "If you could live anywhere, where would you pick?" he asked in an attempt to turn the topic of conversation back to her. If there was one thing that he had learned behind this bar it was that people always loved to talk about themselves. Well that and that he tended to not get along with people well, but that was a whole other issue. 636 words Aspen Lorelei Fleur notes: none

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[Aspen Lorelei Fleur]

[googlefont="PT Serif"][googlefont="Playfair Display SC"][googlefont="Satisfy"]

Hey, I'm a little drunk on you

And high on summertime

Aspen caught that small chuckle, and she just gave him this teasing look back. It was rare for her to flirt as openly like this. She was often more reserved in the sense of not trying to show herself has needy and desperate. Due to this trait of her, Aspen slept around but not as much as someone would think a beautiful woman such as herself would. If she wanted sex, she would get it, but it wasn’t something that she desired every second of her life. She was married to her career at the moment, so there were times she went without sex for months on end. Plus, most men in Ellisville were too hooked on the idea of possibly sleeping with a hot shot movie star – so Aspen opted for men when she was on her travels. So far, her favorite were the men from Greece. Oo baby, could they work a woman’s body like other.

“Cali, huh? That’s quite a distance, but Cali is nice for the few people who want that kind of lifestyle. Especially, LA. You have to be willing to work to the bone to get a shot on the screen, even as an extra, you know? There are no such things as breaks, but it works for a few people.” Aspen wasn’t quite sure she could do the LA lifestyle. She was great at working under pressure, and knowing how to deal with picky clients – but there was something about LA that felt too cliché. Maybe it was because that’s where everyone flocked to spot someone famous and get noticed? Aspen respected the city, there was no denying that, but she could never find herself living there year round.

“I don’t know, to be honest. I’m more of go with a flow kind of person. If I land someplace that’s amazing, I will stay there for a few, but then I would get bored and want something new. I don’t think I could live someplace longer than a few months because I just want to be able to see every place at some point. The idea of being tied down scares me, but also has this rush. I’m a planner in some aspects of life, but not much in others if that makes sense.” A family was something that Aspen desired, but she knew she could never find it here in Ellisville. She was considered too old for a lot of the men, or prude. Aspen had her preferences like everyone else, and if it came to the point that she adopted children by herself – then that was what. Currently, she took her failed relationships as fuel to expand her business and get more of the high-end clientele addicted to her work. “And what about you? If you could love anywhere, where would it be? Or are you a free form person as well?”

April 11• Outfit • JAMESON MATTHEW CUTTER

[JAMESON MATTHEW CUTTER]

E veryone always just assumed that the entire state of California was synonymous with Los Angeles. Sure, he had visited plenty of times. He had an incredible amount of fun stirring up trouble and racing around the streets of LA with scantily clad beach chicks on the back of his bike. But Oakland was home, and it was nothing like Los Angeles. Oakland was like Los Angeles' significantly poorer, white trash cousin that the family never ever spoke about to anyone. It was one of the bigger cities that California had to offer, but the poverty rate was through the roof. It made his job dealing drugs a hell of a lot easier. Impoverished people needed a fix to get some relief from the life. Come to think of it, people in Los Angeles often bought what he was selling for the same reasons, just the opposite end of the spectrum. "Yeah, LA is fun, but its definitely it's own beast," he said in response to her. "When I was out West, I was not interested in show business," he said, feeling the need to clarify.  With this movie in town, and him being from California, it could seem as if that was also why he was here. He had no interest in the stupid movie, and he did not even know about the whole thing until after he had been around for a few weeks.  Jameson listened to her talk about the kind of lifestyle she desired. Often times people viewed traveling around and living all over as very exciting and glamourous. While Oakland was his home base, Jameson was on the road at all times. He would do numerous cross country runs with fellow club members. Pushing drugs and firearms took him all over the country. There was no stability. While he would be lying if he said that he did not enjoy it, there were definitely many times that the constant change wore him down to the bone. "I used to travel frequently," he replied to her questions. "So for right now, I'm trying to love here," he added with a little shrug. There was a lot of doubt in his mind about whether or not this is a lifestyle that he could maintain. While it was relaxing, it was also boring. Often times he pondered if somewhere else, doing something different could be better for him. So he understood her desire to move around to experience all sorts of places.  "If you want to live a freer lifestyle, why don't you just sell the business and do it?" he asked her curiously. He was genuinely interested. It seemed counterproductive to him to be tied down to a business when she felt called to something more. He did, however, understand the complexities behind making the decision to take that plunge into the unknown. 481 words Aspen Lorelei Fleur notes: none

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