fancy seeing {Leo} here

[prim]

Prim smiled as she walked along, the lolly in her mouth turning her tongue a shade similar to the lip-gloss she wearing. Her gloved hands waved at the few people she knew, and a lot of people she didn’t – most of them simply because they were looking at her. To be honest, there were not many people who weren’t looking at the –this week- brunette – she was not exactly dressed for the weather, and the colours of her clothes were quite mismatched, let alone the style, but Prim liked it. She liked her clothes and the warmth of her cardigan, and she liked the stripes on the stockings and the little green bows, the bauble earrings that she wore – it reminded her of Christmas, and having just been released from her last lecture of the year, Christmas was all she wanted to think about. Well, that and work, but she wasn’t in the small thrift shop until the next week, giving her the entirety of the weekend to do as she liked.

Which was how Prim, with her multi coloured nails and somewhat eccentric attire, found herself walking along a street she hardly ever traversed, peering into the windows of some of the shops and peeking into some of the bars. It was still early evening, and many of the clubs and such were shut, but she soon found a student bar that was open – a small little place with a pool table and groups of chatting girls and guys, and the wonderful aroma of Christmas themed drinks like peppermint, eggnog and gingerbread. It was even decorated, not well, but the lights were up and there was tinsel and the intent was there to make otherwise bare walls look festive, and Prim immediately fell in love with it.

Again, she got looks and one of the guys even whistled, but prim was oblivious to it all. She always had been, throughout her entire childhood, and if you asked her she would tell you that it was the rest of the world that was weird, that was different, and she was perfectly fine – perfectly normal. She took of her gloves and bought herself something that smelt like peppermint, and quickly found herself a small nook in which to sit towards the far corner of a room. There were several armchairs here, unoccupied, and it was perfect for people watching, a pass time Prim often found herself undertaking.

She sat down, and slipped her arms from the thick woollen cardigan, revealing the damaged, scarred skin of her youth. There were hints of the scaring in the small patches of exposed skin on her left leg, but most of it was covered by her festive stockings. The large, silvery scars on her arm however where now there for everyone to see – not that the brunette cared. They were her, a part of her, and she was quite fond of them. One, if you looked at it right, had the appearance of a bunny rabbit on her forearm, and occasionally she added whiskers and eyes to it.

She ahd only been sat there for a few minutes, enjoying the warmth and the low level music, the sweetness of her drink, when the door to the bar opened again.

WORDS! 544
STATUS! complete
TAGS! Leo.
NOTES! Hope it’s okay! I had a mind blank of where she might find him – though i totally have this picture of her leaping on his back from out of nowhere when she spots him >.<
WEARING! CLICKYY
CREDITS! Template By arro @ Caution!
LYRICS! "Mine" by Taylor Swift

[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote]

['Lucky' Leo Barone]

Let's run away from these lies
Back to yesterday, safe tonight
I feel the sun creeping up like tick tock
I'm trying to keep you in my head but if not
We'll just keep running from tomorrow w/our lips locked
Yeah, you got me begging, begging

[/i][/color]



“Leo, you piece of shit-turd for brains, I hope you get hemorrhoids.”

Ah yes; words that every guy wanted to hear, after the afternoon from Hell. The woman howling them then decided to punctuate her desires by throwing a very nice piece of pottery his way. The crash echoed throughout the small shop and as more ammunition was found, the man in question beat a hasty retreat.

Man, a guy just could NOT please everyone, Leo thought to himself as he practically ran through the front door. Mary’s House of Pottery was a quaint establishment, making anyone assume that the woman who owned it was a happy, gentle lady. Nobody knew that she was actually a demon from Hell, who had an arm like Mantle and a face like DiMaggio.

”This’ the last time I help you out, Mary!” He called out, through the flower-painted glass. ”The next time you need a family heirloom found, you can go get another mook to do your dirty work! I’m—ARP!”

Damn, but he hadn’t expected her to throw that ladle at the glass door. But what the hell; his luck had been crap lately, so why not? Bah, sometimes, he really did hate his lot in life.

Thus, ‘Lucky’ Leo Barone was introduced to the night, as crummy and irritating as it was. For the past four days, he’d been trying to track down a certain ‘heirloom;’ some sort of necklace, or jewelry that had been stolen a few weeks back. He wasn’t exactly the PI type, but a pair of pretty blue eyes had made him reconsider his specialty…not to mention that there was an even prettier retainer fee, AND hints of some hinkey stuff that ran with the necklace. It was something about a voodoo curse or something; he didn’t pay any mind, instead focusing on the fact that it was 24 karats, diamond studded, and the owner was as hot as frikkin’ Giselle. He’d put a good amount of leg work into the thing, tracking down some petty thieves and looking into pawn shop deals. Hell, for the word he’d done, he could’ve passed for an effin’ cop, which went against every ethical code he had!

And, in the end, he had succeeded in what he’d set out to do. He’d managed to track down ‘ol Steven Trask, the thief in question, and after some convincing- aka some money throwing, thanks to a ‘donation’ from the mayor’s office- he’d gotten the piece.

Then he’d started vibrating like a freaking dirty toy, and all hell broke loose.

Leo sighed in frustration as he stomped down the street. He kicked at random pieces of gravel and stray newspapers floating on the wind. Everything had been so damn easy, until he’d sensed the power in the diamond studded locket. He was going to hand it over to Mary, collect his fee, maybe get a date or two in before he moved on…it was going great. But, with one little touch, all bets were off.

Now, there was a collector in Tokyo who was real happy with his pre-owned Salem witch locket. Dammit, he really did hate the compulsion he had to either use or sell objects of power. It was a real fun-killer.

"Yeah, well, at least I can afford that sweet 800 gig drive now." He muttered to himself as he shouldered into the nearest bar and made a beeline for the counter. His cells still felt like they were bouncing around under his skin, and it would take about a day for him to calm down. The buzzing was liable to make him crazy before then, though.

Plopping down onto the stool, he hailed over the bartender and ordered a few shots. He felt so shaky inside that he didn't even bother to people watch, as he was liable to do. He held his hand up, palm down, and watched as his fingers shook.

Damn, sometimes it really didn't pay to be a freak.


[/center][/blockquote]

[prim]

It didn’t take long or the curious looks to finish – this was a small town, and most everybody knew of Prim, or about her anyhow, and it wasn’t so hard to make two and two make four when you saw the way she dressed, or the somewhat curious way she sat with one leg curled beneath her and the other up on the sofa, one arm wrapped around her leg and holding onto her glass, the other hanging off the edge of her shoe.

Well, she had never much seen the reasoning behind doing things the way everyone else did. Still, the brunette soon grew bored of her own people watching, the people in the bar were too sober to yet be interesting; the guys playing pool had nothing remarkable to them, anything that would catch her eye. Well, not this time anyway, she had dated one of them in high school for a month or so – nothing special, nothing great, nothing what so ever to ring home about. She frowned as she went over that expression, disliking it, for she had no home to call, no true girl friends to discuss such things with, no mother to ask advice for.

She sighed, and reached into her bag, pulling out on of her textbooks. Her exams were finished for the year, the semester due to start once more in January, but she liked her subject, loved the course, and with nothing better to do for a few hours, why not read up about the big cats she loved to work with, discover their innate anatomy and how to fix it? Well, some other people might think it was a somewhat strange choice in light reading, but then, haven’t we already iterated that most people believed the petite brunette to be somewhat strange anyway?

After half an hour or so, long enough for the ice cubes in her drink to melt and for her drink to start turning warm and the guys playing pool to move on, she turned the last page and stretched, easing out the muscles in her back that had started to get cramped from her hunched over position. As she stretched, and yawned a little, raising her arms over her head she cast about, eyes roaming over the people who had come in whilst she had been reading. She didn’t know any of them, and soon started to settle back to her books when her brown eyes crossed someone that was most definitely familiar.

Looking up fully once more, her lips turned up in a glib smile, for, unlike she previously though, she did recognise one person. Or rather, the back of one person – but she’d know that hair anyway, the soft tufts of blonde that stuck up in a way she had only seen naturally on one person – everyone else who tried it used far too much gunk on her hair that left her fingers sticky.

She stepped down from her seat, and started over to him, her smile turning to a grin as she realised it was him, and not someone who looked like him. She didn’t care much for what people might think, or the possibility she might give him a hear attack either, but basically threw herself on him, wrapping her arms around and under his arms, and resting the side of her face on his back. If he had been standing up, she would have gone for the full piggyback.

"Hey stranger, miss me? " She asked, grinning into his shirt.

WORDS! 590
STATUS! complete
TAGS! Leo.
NOTES! Muahaha, the glomp!
WEARING! CLICKYY
CREDITS! Template By arro @ Caution!
LYRICS! "Mine" by Taylor Swift

[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote]

['Lucky' Leo Barone]

I'm not your boyfriend, baby,
I ain't your cute little sex toy,
I'm not your lion or your tiger,
Nah, nah, won't be your nasty little boy,
Who, I'm not your boyfriend, baby,
Yeah, I can't grant your every wish,
Yeah, I'm not your knight in shining armor,
So, I just leave you with this kiss

[/i][/color]


Oh, for the love of all things green, paper and beautiful, he really did hate his life sometimes. His insides felt like live worms, his hands could hardly hold the shot of liquor the bartender put in front of his face, and hell if his teeth hadn’t started chattering because, OF COURSE, he was sitting under an AC vent! Who the hell used AC in freaking 20 degree weather?! AAARGHHHH!

With a little grumble and a martyred sigh, Leo rested his forehead on one arm. He hated when he got into funks like this, especially when it involved the weird and magical. He liked to pretend that he was normal; that he was still that guy from New York, who was known for his hacking and his brainpower. He didn’t want to be the magical object key finder, dammit! He didn’t want to be a freaking MAN-WITCH! Gah, even making fun it if made him sound like a dirty sex act…

”Ugh, snap out of it, Barone,” He muttered to himself, forcing his head to lift. He peered at the labels behind the bar, doing his best to kick himself out of his current emo funk. Man, he could give those teenagers on the corner a run for their money. All he needed was a ‘TEAM JACOB’ tshirt, some baggy pants and a rebellious attitude, and he was set—

And right when he was about to turn around and give the bar a once over, he found himself pitching forward. A very loud, very unmanly yelp escaped him as his forehead met the bar counter, and with his arms flailing a bit, he fought to remain on his stool.

The familiar voice that chirped in his ear was the only thing that kept him from rearing back and aiming an elbow for the person’s face. Groaning, he rubbed at his forehead as he peered at Prim from over his shoulder.

”Oh my GAH, Prim! A simple ‘hello’ would’ve been fine, you know! I think you just made me bite my tongue. ‘Up, ‘oo ‘ade ‘ee ‘ite ‘ie ‘ongue…”

After smoothing his tongue along his lips for a moment,he whipped around with a smile finally on his face. Before she could move, he pulled her between his legs and gave her a hug. ”How could I miss you if you’re always attacking me when I least expect it? Hey, boo!”


[/center][/blockquote]

[prim]

For a second Prim pouted, thinking that he was unhappy to see her; that she would have been better ignoring his presence and staying where she had been, sat over a textbook and sipping her lukewarm drink from a cracked glass. Then she heard the lightness to his voice and realised that he had only hit his head on the table, and decided that it was partly his own fault, and smiled again. He shouldn’t be so freaking pounce-able then, should he?

For the second she was grinning against the back of his shirt, prim inhaled his scent and brought back the memories of her old friend, flooding the forefront o her mind. When had been the last time she had seen him? She couldn’t remember exactly, but I had most certainly been years before, before she had enrolled at the university at least. In fact, it was quite possibly during high school, quite likely the young woman’s somewhat geeky stage. She could not tell you exactly how long the two had been friends, but the man to whom she was currently attached was most definitely one of her older friends... and one of the few people alive to which she would attach that tag.

"Sowwy" Prim murmured into his shirt, only half apologizing for making him bite his tongue. well, he should come and see her once in a blue moon, rather than showing up randomly in a bar, and then she might not feel the need to pounce him. It was highly unlikely, but still a possibility anyways. Then, he was span round and she was pulled against his chest, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, her face half smushed against his chest to the point where she could feel the line of his muscles through his shirt. Well, she thought for a brief second, someone’s changed a little bit.

After a long moment, she pulled away from him, getting a good look at his features from the front, her face set in one of concentration as she memorised the features and compared them to the face she knew well. Other than the stubble that flecked his cheeks, the boy she knew was clearly present in the man, and she smiled again, and kissed his forehead where the red mark indicated he had bumped it. “Well, maybe if you came to see me like you promised, i wouldn’t attack you when i do. She told him, grinning enough to show her level white teeth, now completely brace free.

Ye, it had been a while.

She untangled herself from between his legs, and hopped up onto the seat next to him, crossing her legs and letting the cool AC float of her features and ruffle her hair. She found the cool breeze refreshing, though she might guess that it would soon become an annoyance. ” So... where have you been that means i haven’t seen you in nearly five years?

WORDS! 495
STATUS! complete
TAGS! Leo.
NOTES! awww poor tongue biting leo –pets- Hope you don’t mind about the friends thing i came up with, i can change it if you like?
WEARING! CLICKYY
CREDITS! Template By arro @ Caution!
LYRICS! "Mine" by Taylor Swift

[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote]

['Lucky' Leo Barone]

Cause I don't wanna be like this
I've been running these streets
for too long now
I've got nothing that's true
but this song now
but the further I go
I wanna go home

[/i][/color]


Holy crap, but this was probably turning out to be one helluva day. It’d started out crappy and he expected it to end just as crappy…but this particular filling in between those burnt cookies was definitely sweet. Who would’ve thought that he’d run into Prim! Of all people! When she pulled away from him, he took a minute to look her over, the grin on his face widening.

Well, lookit that; little geeky Prim had gone and grown into a beautiful woman. Ah man, he really did hate the fact that he’d lost touch with her…but, then again, it was probably for the best. Him and women, man; those ships always managed to find some definite rocks in the bay. If they’d stayed in contact, he probably would’ve hit on her, dated her, dumped her, then lost her number, as he’d done to pretty much every other person of the opposite gender.

But this one? His gut said that this one was different, and he just couldn’t go that route with a clear conscience.
Which left him with a slightly awkward vibe that he was DEFINITELY not used to feeling. Holy crap, if he couldn’t flirt and/or seduce…what the hell else was he supposed to do? That was part of his charm!

Thank God that she started talking, or he’d have probably had a heart attack right there. Leo Barone, not knowing how to talk to a girl! Oh, but his ego was wailing at that one. When she kissed his forehead, he couldn’t help but lean forward and give her another squeeze. His poor eyes were throbbing like crazy after the little ‘hello, bar counter,’ but it just wouldn’t be manly to acknowledge it.

”I know, I know…it’s been a while, huh? But things have been a bit busy on my end of things. And hey, College Girl; you probably didn’t have much time for my lame ass, right?” Nudging her with his shoulder playfully, he swiveled so he could face her. Damn, but she’d definitely grown up a bit! But…yup, there was that familiar playfulness he remembered. Very nice.

Leaning his head on his hand, he couldn’t help but grin as he shrugged. ”Oh, you know…this and that. After crap went down in New York, I had to leave, y’know? Been around the country, doin jobs and stuff; making a name for myself. I ain’t really qualified to do much else. What about you?”


((BAH, shortness. >< Nah, I don't mind about the memories! GO FOR IT; I'm easy peasy. ))

[/center][/blockquote]

[prim]

Well well well, If Prim could only hear what Leo was thinking she would be blushing up to the tips of her ears, her skin turning a truly darling shade of crimson so much that, if you took her along to a DIY shop, they could even mix a paint up in the exact shade for your walls, just to remember her by. As was, Prims particular ability meant that, by touching someone she could tell what was physically and sometimes, mentally wrong with them, she could not however, read his mind and know these thoughts of his. This did however mean, having kissed Leo’s forehead, she knew it would not bruise, but would probably hurt like a son of a bitch for a few hours. Still, she put it down to her medical training, rather than any supernatural ability – you see Prim was blissfully, and happily, unaware.

Still for now, she quickly grew bored of her crossed knees and lifted her foot up onto the stool, hugging her leg and resting her chin on her knee, right where her scarring stopped being visible on the front of her leg and instead twisted round to her calf and ankle – scars now conveniently covered by her long, festively coloured socks. She grinned as he nudged her with his shoulder, swaying on her bar stool slightly. She blatantly and obviously studied his face – there was a reason most people thought she was weird – though perhaps quite peculiarly she never met the young man’s eyes. But then, she never met anyone’s eyes, always averted her own whenever anyone tried, a habit from childhood that she wasn’t sure she fully understood.

She giggled softly when he called her college girl, wondering how he might have guessed, but he was far from the truth with suggesting she was busy – sure she had College and assignments and the shop – but it wasn’t like she had friends to fill her nights with. If she was being truly honest with herself, she had missed Leo, and his easy banter, his acceptance of her and the way she was, terribly – but she would never admit this to his face. She knew of his ego, and its easily inflatable tendencies after all. ” Oh ye,” She smiled, and picked at a stain on the bar with her finger ”You know me, busy busy and life of the party and all that.” Of course, that didn’t mean she was a great liar either.

Still, she brightened when he asked about her, and quickly told him about university and the course she was studying. ” It’s really fun, i mean.... i never saw myself doing it but now. Well. I couldn’t think of anything else i was good at.” her smile was one of content – of someone who had pulled her straws in life and wasn’t too pissed off with the lott she had drawn. ” So, how long do i get your company before you vanish of the face of the planet for another five years?” She asked, looking up at him from beneath her eyelashes, simultaneously picking at the stain (which had now become a splinter) on the bar, and kicking him lightly in the shin. ”You’d best not bugger off too quickly, mr.” She teased him, a somewhat sly expression on her impish features.

WORDS! 559
STATUS! complete
TAGS! Leo.
NOTES!
WEARING! CLICKYY
CREDITS! Template By arro @ Caution!
LYRICS! "Mine" by Taylor Swift

[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote]

['Lucky' Leo Barone]

Not for the first time since he’d first met Prim, Leo felt the undying need to duck his head and catch that elusive gaze of hers. The girl was definitely one of the cookier ones he still talked to, but instead of thinking her strange, making a cross with his fingers and scooting away, as he’d do to pretty much anyone else on the planet who acted this way, he shook his head with a fond little smile. Only with this girl, who’d known him for God knew how long, actually made him feel…yeesh, comfortable. Well, lookit that; a girl who made him relax without flirty eyes and a nice cup size.

The world was about to end, he was SURE of it!

He grinned again at her reply to his chirpy little comment, and leaned sideways on the bar. He rested his temple against his knuckles as a drink magically appeared at his elbow. For now, he would ignore the nice looking blond down the bar who’d so obviously bought him a drink- had he slept with her already? Crap, stupid memory banks- and concentrate on what his best buddy was saying.

Though, as she started talking about her course, he couldn’t help his eyes from glazing over ever so slightly. He’d never really fancied school, as boring as hell as it was…but the excited look on his friend’s face was definitely worth those two minutes of boredom. He wanted to yank her right off her stool and give her a big hug!

Which proceeded to hurt his manly ego, so he quickly let him go. Yeesh, he had to stop watching those chick flick movies with his sexy neighbor. Next thing he knew, he’d be painting Prim’s friggin’ toenails while she read him articles from Cosmo! OH THE HORROR!

“Well, I’m glad that you found something you’re enjoying,” He said, when his brain finally cut back into the conversation. Why was he imagining himself in a pink robe with pigtails? Ugh…nightmare material. “There aren’t a lot of people who get the opportunity to pursue what they want. I’m happy for you, Prim-babe.”

A slightly less amused smile slid onto his face as the conversation changed. Was he going to be sticking around? Probably, because he couldn’t stop his insides from vibrating and his one-time client from sicking her voodoo friends on him! But he wasn’t going to tell her that. There were just some things that buddies didn’t need to know about their besties. The fact that he started shaking like a bad porno toy was probably number one on the ‘Don’t Need To Know’ list.

With a casual shrug, he made a show of inspecting his nails. “You know how it is; I’m always in demand. Been moving around a bit for work. I just never know where I’m gonna be in the next few days; you gotta put yourself on my calendar really quick, you know. Now, where did I put that thing…”

He dramatically started to pat his pockets, then stopped with a little laugh. “Ha...yeah, I’m gonna be around for at least a few months, I think. So you can have as much of Leo as you want, mon chere.”

[/blockquote]

[prim]

Prim babe – Her skin tingled at the words, a pleasant flush that rode through her body on the crest of a wave- not unlike a Hawaiian surfer. Lucky for him she knew him, knew what he was like and was quite certain that, even if he had had the chance he would do nothing of it, because if anyone else called her babe they would get a swift kick to the groin area. Yes, today Leo was spared the pain of her boots, because she knew he could call her –almost- whatever he liked, and she wouldn’t, or possibly, couldn’t, do anything about it. Naaw, she got on with him to well, enjoyed his crazy company too much, to change anything about their relationship.

Hell, the first time they had met, he’d been using her as a giant shield, and dodging flying pom poms. That said it all, really.

She traced her finger around a cup mark on the bench – it was still wet and she turned the part formed ring into a complete circle as her finger moved. She smiled softly, her porcelain features lifting as she stared at the bench, her hair falling softly over one shoulder as she lent her temple on her knee. It was an easy way to avoid a gaze, and she had most certainly picked up several tricks spending her life doing such a thing, but from time to time she might challenge herself to meet someone’s eyes for longer than a second. Now, however, was not one of those times.

Her face fell a little however when he mentioned a little book, a calendar no less, and she glanced at him when he started patting his pockets. His laugh however, earned him a swift punch, no, a tap in the arm, but a grin as well, as real as the one when she had first seen him from across the bar, one that revealed her, now straight set of pearly whites, and crinkled her eyes at the corners.

”Good,”She said, her smile reaching as far as her voice as she tucked her arms back around her knee and rested her chin on her knee cap, ”Because knowing you, you’re gonna disappear when I least expect it, conveniently change your number and forget to text me the new one, so imma get as much of you as I can.” She went back to swirling her finger on the cup mark absently, never one who could keep still for a long period of time, and swapped which leg was propped up on the bar stool, and which one got to dangle in an attempt to ward of pins and needles.

”So Mr. Barone”She smiled again, resting her chin so she could look at him, and keep track of her finger out of the corner of her eye, ”I get you for a few months before you bugger off... Maybe you should tell me where you’re staying, just so that i can show up at random times and annoy you with pizza. Or cake. Or ice-cream. Possibly all three, depending on my mood. And i promise, no chick flicks.”

WORDS! 590
STATUS! complete
TAGS! Leo.
NOTES!
WEARING! CLICKYY
CREDITS! Template By arro @ Caution!
LYRICS! "Mine" by Taylor Swift

[/size][/blockquote][/blockquote][/blockquote]

['Lucky' Leo Barone]

With a dramatic ‘OW!’ Leo made a show of rubbing his arm after she playfully thwacked it. He loved making Prim laugh, for some very strange reason. There was just something about the way her eyes lit up and her laugh became infectious. He’d seen that, when around other people, the girl tended to clam up a bit, and he was oddly proud of the fact that she came out of her shell around him. He was a joker, but not everyone was susceptible to his sense of humor.

Prim, however, seemed to get all of his offbeat cracks and wise ass remarks. She hardly ever got offended, like others did, when he goofed off and poked at her good naturedly. Out of all the people he knew, she was one of the best.

Which was exactly why he told himself not to notice how freaking cute she looked when she smiled like that. Or how those long legs looked really nice in those candy cane leggings…

He mentally smacked himself and told his brain to shut the hell up. Whenever he started going down that particular road with a woman, he ended up fucking this up! He couldn’t go there with Prim. Not with her…his only real friend in the friggin’ world.

At her accusation- very true accusation, but he wouldn’t let her know that- a wounded expression crossed onto his face and, leaning forward, he capture her hand in both of his. ”Primmy!” He exclaimed with a heavy dose of pretend-dismay. ”I would never do that to you! You’re my best girl; of course I’d give you my new number. But, you know…if I ever had to change my number, it’s ‘cause someone’s on my tail, and I doubt you’d wanna get dragged into things. Or it’s a really annoying girlfriend and I’m trying to get rid of her texting me…but really, Prim! I would never not-tell you my new number!”

Finally, he couldn’t stand it anymore and grinned. She knew him way too well, this girl of his. He tended to cut ties with everyone when he started moving around, and he knew it. It was almost liberating to go into a place and make brand new contacts, without anyone from his past bringing in old skeletons. Not to mention that he was horrible at keeping in touch with people; if not for the fact that he felt the need to reconnect with his past every once in a while, he’d probably never talk to anyone twice.

At her offer of late night pizza and movies, he couldn’t help but laugh. He hadn’t released her hand; one clasping it firmly against his knee, while the other grasped the neck of his beer bottle. Downing a few chugs, he straightened with a shrug. ”I got nowhere steady to stay at the moment,” He confessed. ”I was only supposed to be around here for a short time. But now that a few jobs have opened up, I’m probably gonna go see what nice motels are ‘round here, and I’ll let you know.”

[/blockquote]