06-21-2018, 05:24 PM
The blonde girl is bright and bubbly, clearly excited to get to wherever it is we’re heading. Ivar watches her press her palm to the sensor, his level black brows rising slightly. They spare no expense, these Casia’s, and it seems the rooftop pool that Kylin mentions is even more exclusive than the party they’ve just left. He doesn’t let go of Kylin’s hand until they leave the elevator and he raises the bottle in his hand with a smile before Karat dances away to fetch a drink for herself and Karat.
“I came prepared,” he replies with a grin, taking a sip from the bottle before glancing back down at Kylin. She seems shyer than he remembers, but he’d been several drinks ahead of her at their first meeting. She’s just as pretty as he remembers though, and he’s looking at her and not at the view when he replies: “Definitely a great view.”
There’s not time to say much else, as Karat is sashaying back with two drinks in hand. They look bright and colorful, but Ivar takes another swig of the whiskey. Sugary drinks always give him the worst hangover, but he does not begrudge the ladies their colorful concoctions. Karat asks Kylin if she has a swimsuit, and it occurs to Ivar that she really does intend to turn this into a pool party. There are other people swimming, of course, but Ivar hadn’t come to this launch expecting to have any real fun. He certainly hadn’t brought a suit, but that doesn’t seem to matter.
He’d used to being eyed the way that Karat does now, and Kylin – who does not dare look at Ivar – misses the way he returns the appreciative inspection with a wink of his own. Ivar isn’t sure why Karat would need to change into a suit – her dress suggests she might just skinny-dip instead – but as the two women disappear to where he assumes the changing room is, he takes the opportunity to explore the rest of the party.
There is a woman reading in one of the pool chairs, but his attention is drawn away from her by a familiar laugh. Ivar’s brown eyes scan the crowd until he finds her. A quick glance back to the door Kylin and Karat disappeared into confirms they’re still changing, and he leaves the glass table they’d been standing beside to cross the patio.
“They let just anyone into parties these days, don’t they?” he says, coming up to the right of the auburn haired woman and sliding his left hand across the small of her back. He considers kissing her shoulder, but he doesn’t recognize the man she’s comparing to the bottle of vodka. Ivar places his bottle on the nearest table and extends a hand to the stranger. “I’m Ivar,” he says, before turning back to the woman in the white dress.
“And you, Wishbone. What’ve you been up to since we last met?” There is a grin tugging at the edges of his mouth, and one scarred brow is quirked higher than the other. Their last encounter had been in her office, he recalls, where more than just papers had been spread across the desk. Neither Stillwater Ltd. or the Leviathans had expected to make a deal, but they’d both left the meeting more than satisfied.
His hand remains on the small of her back, where his thumb toys with the delicate appliqué of her dress. Across the pool, he can still see the door to the bathroom as well as the golden elevator, from which a woman in a red dress, a man in a blue suit, and a red-headed mane with a camera are just emerging.
“I came prepared,” he replies with a grin, taking a sip from the bottle before glancing back down at Kylin. She seems shyer than he remembers, but he’d been several drinks ahead of her at their first meeting. She’s just as pretty as he remembers though, and he’s looking at her and not at the view when he replies: “Definitely a great view.”
There’s not time to say much else, as Karat is sashaying back with two drinks in hand. They look bright and colorful, but Ivar takes another swig of the whiskey. Sugary drinks always give him the worst hangover, but he does not begrudge the ladies their colorful concoctions. Karat asks Kylin if she has a swimsuit, and it occurs to Ivar that she really does intend to turn this into a pool party. There are other people swimming, of course, but Ivar hadn’t come to this launch expecting to have any real fun. He certainly hadn’t brought a suit, but that doesn’t seem to matter.
He’d used to being eyed the way that Karat does now, and Kylin – who does not dare look at Ivar – misses the way he returns the appreciative inspection with a wink of his own. Ivar isn’t sure why Karat would need to change into a suit – her dress suggests she might just skinny-dip instead – but as the two women disappear to where he assumes the changing room is, he takes the opportunity to explore the rest of the party.
There is a woman reading in one of the pool chairs, but his attention is drawn away from her by a familiar laugh. Ivar’s brown eyes scan the crowd until he finds her. A quick glance back to the door Kylin and Karat disappeared into confirms they’re still changing, and he leaves the glass table they’d been standing beside to cross the patio.
“They let just anyone into parties these days, don’t they?” he says, coming up to the right of the auburn haired woman and sliding his left hand across the small of her back. He considers kissing her shoulder, but he doesn’t recognize the man she’s comparing to the bottle of vodka. Ivar places his bottle on the nearest table and extends a hand to the stranger. “I’m Ivar,” he says, before turning back to the woman in the white dress.
“And you, Wishbone. What’ve you been up to since we last met?” There is a grin tugging at the edges of his mouth, and one scarred brow is quirked higher than the other. Their last encounter had been in her office, he recalls, where more than just papers had been spread across the desk. Neither Stillwater Ltd. or the Leviathans had expected to make a deal, but they’d both left the meeting more than satisfied.
His hand remains on the small of her back, where his thumb toys with the delicate appliqué of her dress. Across the pool, he can still see the door to the bathroom as well as the golden elevator, from which a woman in a red dress, a man in a blue suit, and a red-headed mane with a camera are just emerging.