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If someone had asked her years prior if she could ever see herself being a bartender, Lux would have given them a flat no. It wasn't a very luxurious job - or even that fascinating, but she enjoyed it. At least parts of it.
It made her feel a little safer, having the bar table between her and everyone else. It made her feel secluded and sheltered. The very same feeling people like Jack had forced on her years ago.
Before it had felt more like crutches, but now? Now it had grown comfortable.
"Hey!" she called out, brows furrowed as she leaned over the bar table, one arm waving. "Put that down, now." She'd never understand how some people could drink themselves so stupid they had no regard for other people's property.
New Year's Eve carried the same attitude no matter where Carter went. A different country didn't change much; people drank themselves into a state where clever choices went out the window. Everything was now driven by pure impulse as the clock was winding down to all zeros across the board. Carter had a carefree stance about the whole thing. He was part of it too, of course.
Money in a crowded bar wasn't the only reason people gravitated to him. He was technically a stranger in town again; there were familiar faces but everything was so new. He liked it a lot more. His platinum card expressed such gratitude when a round or two of drinks had been thrown on it at a whim.
A call from behind the bar sounded like a cry for help; one he was all too happy to oblige with. A strong arm reached over and put it down for her.
"You're welcome!" He called without looking. Without hesitation, his glass hit the counter top; "Now how about you fill this?"
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
At least someone wasn't acting like a douche, well, she could overlook entitlement. A quick glance at a platina blonde head of hairs and Luxanna accepted his help. "Thank you," she said, pulling herself upright.
"What's your preferred vice?" she asked, pulling the glass nearer.
There was something familiar about the voice, that accent, though, she didn't really think much of it. It wouldn't be the first time, nor the last, that she met someone she knew or had heard of around these parts. Most of the people she recognized she didn't even know. Or rather, they didn't really know her.
Carter grinned at the question about his vice. He liked to think most people would just know what he wanted. Without much delay, he even managed a laugh. He shifted in his seat slightly, bodies around him moving like a wave as he reeled back before pressing his forearm to the bar itself.
He leaned in, because he had to. Though the music covered the way he hummed, it couldn't drown out his words; "Surprise me."
It was hard to find recognition in the new move. He looked at her and he felt that little pull, but it wasn't enough to make an overt connection. Surely fate wouldn't pull him so overtly.
"It's my first night back." He declared idly, waving his hand about like she cared. She should care; "Though, I suppose it's not really back, is it? Really, it's my first time here."
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
A grin formed at his words; As if she was supposed to know. A shrug quickly followed then and her eyes dropped as he shifted. Brown liquor would have been her first guess, though, perhaps that was simply her being stereotypical. She didn't think it was the better option, considering the state of things.
Gathering the necessarily bottles, she filled the metal shaker. Ice, vodka, Pisang ambon, sprite and a little bit of sour mixed into it. Sour green - it wasn't too sweet, nor too bitter. It was the kind of drink one could drink all night long without feeling the need to throw it back up.
"Oh yeah?" she asked, head bopping as she shook the metal container. His words gave a lot away, she supposed, but that usually came with the trade. "Well," she added, putting the glass down in front of him, "I suppose a welcome is in order then," she added, looking up.
Green eyes narrowed at the recognition and her mouth fell into a hard line. "Fucking hell," she said with a sharp intake of breath.
Carter had honestly expected something simple. He assumed just as she must have; it would have been so easy to pour dark liquor onto ice and throw it back at him. Most times, his attitude was worthy of such little care. But she started mixing about, and it was enough to gather his attention completely. He tilted his head to the side at her choice, grinning almost enthusiastically.
He glanced down at the glass as he spoke, smart hands holding it without a usual kind of delicacy. Truth be told, a lot of alcohol was already coursing through his veins. This time, he just happened to sit at the bar across from her.
"I appreciate i-" He started, and then she swore, and he laughed at her for it.
"Oh come now," He continued, barely missing a beat; "I'm not that breathtaking, am I?"
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
Out of all the people Lux didn't think she'd ever see again, Carter was at the very top of the list. Naturally, it wasn't as if it was unwelcome, but that didn't mean she particularly liked the surprise.
It struck her then, from the way he looked at her; He didn't recognize her at all. Had she been any lesser of a person, she might have felt offended.
She had to make a choice; Shrug it off and go back to her business, or she could take advantage of the situation. She was either so easily forgettable that he didn't know who she was, or he was simply that drunk.
"Mmm," she mused, voice nearly steady, "I've seen worse." She offered him a shrug. Grabbing a cloth, she swept it over the bar table. "But then again," she added quickly, glancing at him with one eyebrow raised in challenge, "The great Carter Chevalier doesn't need anyone telling him that. He already knows it - unless," she paused, turning her attention to someone else ordering a drink. "Unless he's lost his touch."
"Or was that Dom?" she added, thoughtfully, not to anyone in particular. "Ah, well." she shrugged.
Usually, conversations such as these filtered through a particular pattern. Women almost always gave in. So did men. It was nice to be shown attention and even the threat of affection from an attractive stranger. He waited without holding his breath, but he didn't let his eyes stray from her face.
Seen worse? He scoffed at the thought. After all, it was very easy to see worse. Just about everything and everyone else was worse.
His name filtered through her lips like she knew it. He was surprised, not that she knew him but that his name carried any weight despite the way the school had moved. Nevermind the fact that his brother's name managed to filter through the void, too. "He mightn't need it, my dear, but he does so love to hear it." Carter admitted then. Anything less would be an absolute lie, after all. Perhaps it was because he was drinking, but statements like that were easier to make when the ears they hit didn't really seem to care.
"How dreadful. To work on such a night, I mean."
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
She supposed there was some comfort to be found in knowing that some people didn't change too much over time. A lot of time had passed and he'd notably grown older - as had she - but he still carried the same arrogance he had four years ago.
"I don't doubt it for a second," she replied, turning her attention back at him once she'd served a waiting customer. She didn't have many opinions regarding Carter's brother Dom. She didn't really know him, nor had she ever really gotten the chance to.
Looking out over the room filled with drunk people dancing and having the time of their life, Luxanna smiled. "I don't really mind it if I'm being honest." There was comfort to be found in that too; people enjoying life as if nothing else really mattered. She envied that.
"At least I won't be waking up in the morning with a killer headache," she offered, amused.
It was, truly, a dreadful night to work. Within the breaks of conversation, Carter watched the way she had to help other people. He spent his spare moments calculating just how to get her out of that situation. Unfortunately, most people thought they needed to keep their jobs the next day.
She got a lot of humour out of the idea of Carter with a headache. He even laughed at that. Though she only showed a little of that amusement, he could somehow tell it rolled on and on. He took a lengthy sip of his drink as he waited for her to be free for him again. He was never used to waiting for attention.
"You'll just wake up one day older, then?" He asked her, somewhat seriously. Though he didn't think much of useless celebrations, even Carter could see the appeal of an entire new year.
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
Perhaps it was better that he didn't recognize her. Somehow, it made it easier. There was a lot of thoughts swirling through her head. Conflicted emotions she wasn't sure she was ready to deal with after having pushed them down for so long.
Still, it was an odd position to be in. She was so used to be on the receiving end of his might. The way he'd always pushed her buttons. This was nothing like that. This was easy.
Letting out a silent breath, Lux tilted her head at him. "Yeah, something like that." She offered him a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. People told her to be grateful for the time she was given, but it only felt like she was clinging to a ticking bomb without knowing when it'd go off.
"Why aren't you celebrating with your family instead of being in a room filled with strangers?" she asked curiously.
There was certain things she'd never found the time, nor the place to ask him.
Carter couldn't help the way he overtly rolled his eyes at the response she gave. She was so one of those people; little to no joy in the world if a brand new year couldn't even be celebrated. That was a fake smile if he'd ever seen one, but he didn't want to laugh at that. That seemed highly cruel, even for him.
Then came a question he never quite expected. Another notion to his family; mot just Dominique's blazing infamy, else she might have just used his name again.
"They aren't here." He admitted freely, "They're in their own corners of the globe tonight, and I'm in mine." His was hardly as glamorous as what his parents and brother probably found, but that didn't seem to phase him.
" They probably don't care for the new year like I do, anyway. They're a bit like you." One day older, but in their case, none the wiser.
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
She knew she was supposed to do better, be better. She was supposed to do everything she wanted to do. Do all the things that made her truly happy and made her feel fulfilled. She was supposed to make the most of it, but somewhere along the way, she'd lost her sense of direction.
She wasn't unhappy by any means. She was content.
"A bit like me, huh?" She chuckled honestly at that. She sincerely doubted it, but she wasn't about to argue. "Do you at least miss them?" She didn't know how close he was to his family. Back at school, Carter had seemed very close to his brother. She wondered if that was still the case, but didn't dare pry.
A talk of family wasn't exactly the way Carter expected to spend his New Year's Eve. He often did his best to ignore the way such things felt, but here was this newly injected individual who dared to question something so personal so quickly. If his mind weren't in an unnatural haze, he might have fought it better.
"Don't we all? Always?" He asked her. Carter had spent years refusing separation from his brother. They were very much a pair for life. "On nights like these? I try to ignore the way that feels." He admitted then, shrugging his shoulders. He checked his watch instinctively. Not long now.
"You have got to kiss someone at midnight."
Luxanna Cross
Never to touch, and never to keep. You loved too much, and you dived too deep.
"Fair enough." Although curious, she wanted to respect that. No point in souring the mood, after all. Still, it was strange seeing him without his brother. The two had always struck her as close and she rarely, if ever, saw the one without the other.
Well, she could think of at least a few occasions where that had happened.
The mentions of kissing brought her attention back to him, green eyes rolling to the back of her skull. There he was. Good old Carter. She had to fight the slight tint of crimson threatening to emerge on her cheeks; She might have grown older, but she was still that little girl that found the idea of kissing someone terrifying.
"Do I now?" she asked, looking over the room as if she hadn't even considered him. "Didn't realize it was a requirement." Past memories haunted the back of her mind; Her body pressed against a tree, one hand firmly on the nape of her neck, the other against the small of her back. Lips locked.
