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His lips twitched the slightest bit when she mimicked his stance. He wasn't trying to be intimidating, not in the slightest, he just couldn't have her close. Already he'd dealt with a squeaking and affectionate younger woman, he was okay with not making it two. He barely even came into physical contact with his family, let alone people who worked for him.
"Yes, weekends. Thursday, Friday and Saturday. We open at 7pm and close at 2:30am," Although he was considering opening earlier to prolong business hours. He didn't have many dancers, so it wasn't the worst thing int he world, but on the off chance that they got to be a hot spot, well, he was just going to have to cross that bridge when they came to it. Another reason he had Lorena helping him with the business end.
Luca gave a nod and let out a breath, "Well, there will be a meeting on Wednesday night for the dancers as well as dress rehearsals and such starting before the club opens. We're working out the details of how long sets are still, but you'll be informed at the meeting. If you have any questions or concerns, you can call mine or my sister's cellphone which are listed on the website as well as posted on the board that is hanging up back stage in the employee section. Good?"
Luca smiled, but he wasn't happy about her response. He couldn't decipher why she'd care enough to listen to his sisters say anything about him. Let alone nice things. He still didn't think he was a very good person, but everyone in his life held him in such high regard. Like he could do no wrong, even though he did more often than not. "Lorena and Jezebel would definitely only say nice things about me, but I don't think they have it in them to say anything bad about anybody. Sort of like you," He mused with a grin.
Her question made his grin turn sheepish and he cleared his throat, "I think so. It's not that I was keeping you a secret out of shame or anything, I just didn't want her to hear how I talked about you." His eyes dropped to the table, "Especially when I first met her, I mean, I still wasn't quite over you."
Still wasn't, but he left that little bit of information out.
"I can't imagine you'd want to listen to them talk about me," Luca said quietly. He didn't mean it in a self-deprecating way, it just didn't make sense for her to want to talk about him with anyone. It made sense for his sisters to want to talk about him with her though.
He had to laugh at the crazy ex-fiancee thing because while he didn't expect her to make a trip to America any time soon, he wouldn't put it past her to be a raging lunatic. She hadn't even liked him that much, but she liked the money and he'd taken away any glam lifestyle she thought she'd have. Not that she was by any means poor. He took a deep breath and shook his head, he'd definitely dodged a bullet there.
"She wouldn't have any reason to create conflict with you, you were my best kept secret from her," But she was the only one. Even his father knew about his 'silly American romance' as he called it.
Her question made him freeze for a moment and he realized that it had been stupid of him to say something. Lorena was no worry to him, but he could never be sure what Jezebel would bring up, especially knowing the way Luca regarded Callie. Therein lied the problem with her question, Callie didn't know all of the things he'd told his sisters about her.
"Oh, Jez, she likes to talk and sometimes she mentions things offhand if she thinks they have to do with the topic of conversation," Was that a good enough cover? The biggest worry he had was that they would give Callie the wrong impression, like he'd just been pining for her since he left. Although it wasn't a false impression, it made him look pathetic.
He bit the inside of his cheek and tried to laugh, "I like to try and get ahead of her motormouth."
Although the club was his and he was the overall boss, Luca didn't quite feel comfortable being called Mr. Ivaskov by anyone. It sounded so much like what his father was looking for and Luca couldn't have that. So when she asked what to call him, he was quick in his response, "Just Luca, or Luc will do. I'm not really keen on formalities."
He kept his arms folded across his chest when she approached, his discomfort probably clearer than he intended. Proximity was still a thing he didn't do well with, fully aware of the chill that radiated from his body. The heat that came off of others was also something he was put off by. It took him longer to regulate his temperature after constant interaction with others. Probably why he didn't socialize very often.
"Is there anything I should know for your schedule? Availability and such?"
Her words, while he appreciated the sentiment behind them, only made him feel guilty. What was the difference, really, between what his father had done to him and what he'd done to her? His father put someone in front of him and told him to love her. Luca had put himself in front of Callie and told her to love him in so many words. Over the course of the last few years, he'd realized that was where he went wrong. He'd gone about loving her in a selfish way and expected it returned because that was all he knew of love.
Now, well, he looked at things a lot differently now.
Luca shrugged again, "It's nothing to be sorry about." He wouldn't tell her why, but it was the learning experience that he needed. "It was just a thing that happened while I was away." And if that didn't paint a picture of the dynamic between him and his father, he wasn't sure what would. The fighting only gave away so much, but the depth of tradition that was forced down his throat, that was where the real problems lied. "I didn't want you to find out from one of my sisters, I thought it would be better coming from me."
Luca could appreciate her level of professionalism at that. There were plenty of dancers that he'd offered criticism to who had not handled it quite as well. Which was in all honesty why he made his last comment about the door. He was sick of sitting through drama, his patience had been tested all day. "Good," He responded shortly, looking back down at his notes.
When he looked back up again, he folded his hands in front of him and thought about how to proceed, "Alright, the main thing, really the only thing is," He paused and pursed his lips. "Look, you've got a wonderful smile, truly. However, I want you to work on keeping it from your face when you dance. Most of the songs that will be played, while they're your choice initially, none of them will have need for a full-blown smile. The smirk, you did it once or twice in the dance, that's the most smile I want to see from you on stage." There was a certain air about his club that he wanted to have and bubbly was not quite what he was looking for.
He'd already had to make the comment to one of the younger girls that he'd liked a fair amount. She was just a lot of smiles, he pegged it on her being young. "You've got a very nice attitude though, that's what I want you to fixate on the most in your songs. Tempting, teasing, but never fully giving, you know?"
Next level, yeah that was one way to put it. Luca searched her face for anything else that he may have been missing. She was surprised, who wouldn't be? He hadn't exactly planned it out himself. Meeting her had been set up, dating her had been an obligation and a distraction and, well, the marriage thing had been pushed for a little harder than he'd expected.
That had been one of the biggest reasons for the fall out that led to him going back to the States.
Luca bit his lip and shrugged, "It was stupid and a set up. But it leads to a fun little wow factor, wouldn't you say?" He tried to lighten the weight of what he'd said with a smile, but he realized that it had probably been a bad idea to tell his ex girlfriend that he almost married a Romanian trophy wife type.
It was hard not to be amused by her dramatic tone. If only he'd been joking. Luca could remember his first year at the academy and he'd spent the majority of the time turning his nose up at anything that was given to him. Nothing had quite matched what he had back home in the way of food or in this case hot beverages. To be honest, he'd never understood the appeal of America until he developed friendships and, well, other sort of relationships. It made being apart from his siblings somewhat bearable. Until he was reunited with them, in which, he couldn't find it in himself to part with them again.
Least of all his twin.
"it'll come, Rena, and if it doesn't, we'll just need to ask Naus to ship us out the good stuff," He smiled. That was the only thing he regretted leaving behind in Romania, their caretaker. Her loyalty ran far deeper than he could fathom.
His nose scrunched and he shrugged, "Being ambitious is more your thing." They were both easily as smart as the other, but she had more drive than he did. Although, the club was his baby and he'd been working day in and day out to make sure it went off without a hitch. Auditions were done, dancers were chosen, they had bartenders and sound crew. Everything was falling into place smoothly, but he was fairly certain that it never would have happened without Lorena's expertise. "That being said, I hardly think Stagfort will ever have anything compared to a Romanian good morning. They're all a little strange here."
Luca pursed his lips and looked down at the mug in front of him, "You miss it more than you're letting on, don't you? You miss him."
Coffee was coffee, Luca had come to accept it as it was. Sure, he'd grown up with the best of the best of everything initially, but it hadn't taken him long before he was put into a real world without a silver spoon. His eyes were glued to her face when she took that first sip though because he knew that she was still getting used to what it was like in his territory. The grimace told him everything he needed to know and he wished that he could have reached out to touch her hand or something comforting.
Instead, he kept his hands folded in front of him, away from the steaming mug that was in front of him as well and he quirked his lips up at the side, "Longer than a few months, love. Unfortunately." He wished that he could speed up the adjustment period for her because it was such a tedious thing. It had taken him years to finally be comfortable in the States and he wasn't quite as introverted as his twin.
Her suggestion made him laugh and he shook his head, "Why don't we worry about getting the club off the ground and successful first? Perhaps during the daylight hours it can act as a spiked coffee shop." It was an outrageous idea, but he'd do anything if Lorena asked him to. "It would be pretty amazing, introducing these so-called coffee connoisseurs to real coffee."
He laughed at her response and nodded, "Yeah, I know. I think it's just guilt, I've made them deal with so much on their own while I was here." What could he do though? It wasn't like he could go back and change anything, he wasn't sure he would have even if he wanted to.
"You want to hear something awful?" Better to play it off as the joke it was than anything more. If he got ahead of it, perhaps it wouldn't upset her, assuming she actually cared at all. Luca knew that it was a lot to ask of her to really be put off by what he was going to tell her.
He cleared his throat and laughed, "I, uh, I actually almost got married while I was there."
Luca looked down at the table while he considered his words. His reason for going back home was obvious, he'd needed to get as far away from the heartbreak that he'd suffered. As well as he faced it now, at the time, he'd been a mess. Thinking that going home would be some kind of reprieve, well, it was obviously a joke.
"I think I just wanted a change. Going back home, I had my life all laid out for me. Where I'd live, what I'd do, who I'd associate with. It was thoughtless and in many ways I didn't have to feel anything either," At the last bit, he looked up to gauge her reaction. It was no surprise that he wanted to shutdown, who wouldn't in that kind of situation? At least at the time it had seemed like a good idea.
He continued, "Once I was there, I mean, it was miserable no doubt, but I had my family back. On some level." Luca had stayed put for Lorena's sake the most, he had to admit. While he didn't know exactly what it felt like to be her, he'd seen the wear his absence left on her and he couldn't imagine putting her through it again. "I was more sickened by the thought of leaving Lorena and Jezebel behind than I was by the way I was treated."
"That's exciting though, I mean, staying for a full year must have been amazing. I'm still envious that you have a place like that to go to," Not that he was sure he'd get to enjoy it much if it was during the summer. Although, in all fairness, there weren't very many places he could enjoy year-round. "It's probably nicer than Sibiu, or rather, the people probably are," He laughed.
His laugh fell short when she brought up him leaving. It was easy for him to tell her that his reason was always the same, him and his father fought and Luca couldn't take it anymore. Which was the honest truth, but there was more to it this time. A finality to it. He wasn't sure he'd ever be welcomed back in his childhood home, though he didn't think he'd want to go back.
"I think the more shocking thing is that I stayed for as long as I did. I stayed longer than I had after my mother died," And he'd left the moment that he was given a choice. Going back, he knew had been a mistake, he'd known it the moment the plane took off across the country. "You know why I left, it's always the same."
Her reasoning was sound, especially since his time here was few and far between. His expression shifted to that of amusement when she spoke of her classes. He could recall quite a few accidents in his own classes, especially the ones that dealt with more dangerous chemicals. He'd frozen a few things in chemistry, and he'd never been allowed to touch the bunsen burners because fire and ice didn't quite work well together as he and his twin had found out before his departure. "That does sound like an improvement. The chemistry teachers all seem to have it much worse than any others, I think."
He kissed the top of her head before she released him to walk into the apartment. The jab she made at his current state caused him to frown, "I'm going to try not to take offense to that. You caught me in the middle of something, so really it's your fault for being so persistent. I didn't have time to shower." Although he was not disappointed by her interruption. How could he be? "I've been trying to unpack, yes. But I needed to get that damned air conditioner set up so that I don't keel over without anyone here." That was not something he very well wanted to put on Lorena, finding him from heat exhaustion which was why they had their ecosystems. She could tolerate the house without a heater, but he could hardly function without the AC.
Luca's eyes narrowed as she scoped the apartment, and he was certain that he knew what she was looking for. Only moments later, the question came that solidified his assumption. "I think she went out for groceries or something for the club. I didn't hear her leave," He shrugged. They were adults, he had learned to loosen the reins a bit when it came to looking over the two of them, even if he was still a tad bit on the protective side. Lorena had only been in America for a few months, he probably should have been more worried by her leaving without him. "Can I get you something? A drink? I think we have a few cans of Coke left and some orange juice. I'm not sure about food, though."
Luca had to smile at that, "I pride myself on not being like most people." He was more different now than he'd ever been from others. Working towards being a semi-decent person, he just figured it was better to accept the past and move on with the future rather than hold onto grudges. Especially when it came down to someone who was so pure in so many ways, he just couldn't manage to taint the picture he had painted of her in his head.
He was grateful for the drinks that were brought and asked for a few more minutes before ordering. He was in no hurry and he'd hoped that Callie wouldn't be either. Luca took a sip of his drink and pursed his lips when he set the glass back down. "Is there anything else that's new? I mean, it's been nearly five years. I must have missed out on something exciting." She sure had, though he wasn't quite jumping at the chance to tell her about what had gone on in Romania.
His reasons for leaving were obvious in some regard, but she didn't have the full story and he wasn't sure if he should mention it or not.
