Eager

[Existentially Odd]

David's night moved surprisingly slowly once he woke up.  Finding multiple texts from Bill made him giddy with pleasure and he read through all of them at least three times before he decided how best to respond.  Strangely, it had only been a day's sleep (well, longer, really, because he'd gone to bed at night, to be with Bill) since he'd seen the mortal but... fuck, he wanted to see him again.  Stranger still, it wasn't even to get anything out of him, he just wanted to spend time with him.  In fact, he had the rather insane urge to spend time with him in public, to take him somewhere nice and... was he wooing him?  Even he wasn't that old but it was where his urges were leading him.  He liked the idea of spending his nights with Bill so he was interested in doing stuff that would make it appealing to the mortal.

With this plan in mind, he traded texts with Bill for a bit and ascertained that he was with Emil.  Hrmm.  He wasn't jealous about that, per se, he was just... disappointed, he decided after a little while.  That changed when Bill said he was just there to catch up with his friend and he wouldn't be tied up all night and David suddenly felt a rush of magnanimity towards the unknown vampire (though he still resented the guy for freaking Bill out with his stupid information overload in the first place, he could almost forgive him now, just because he wasn't keeping Bill with him all night).  He suddenly felt just fine about letting them have their visit and arranged for Bill to text him when he was ready to be picked up - he assumed from Emil's place but then consequent texts implied it would be his house instead.  He wondered why, then realised Bill probably wanted to keep him away from Emil since he hadn't said very nice things about him.  That made sense.  He vowed to be nicer tonight (if he could).

He showered and dressed up, pulling on a modern-styled black suit over an olive green shirt with an enlarged collar.  He left the top three buttons undone and didn't wear a tie, pulling on matching green socks and some slick shiny black dress shoes.  The bathroom was where he spent the longest amount of time, though, deciding what to do with his hair and which out of his many colognes to spray on.  He'd washed his hair so after he dried it, he straightened it, just for a different look, and then put a gold chain with a heart on it that his sire had given him over his head.  It hung down onto his chest, glinting in the opening of his shirt as he played with his hair, tossing it this way and that while he decided what would look best.  With a bit of product in to keep the hair smoothed back and out of his eyes, he sprayed on something masculine and spicy, ensuring there was plenty so it would last until he got to Bill.

Deciding he didn't want to spoil his outfit on the bike (nor his hair inside a helmet), he called a cab and had them take him to a car dealership he knew well.  He'd been there quite a few times, trying to make up his mind on a car, whether he needed it, how he could justify its existence inside his garage beside his very convenient bike, whether Darius would object to such an extravagant purchase (sadly, he knew he wouldn't).  Tonight, he wanted it, so he bought a red BMW M3 Coupe and drove out in it, inhaling the lovely new-car smell of it.  The dealer hadn't quite believed he'd finally bought it after test driving it twice without so much as a word of encouragement - nor that the full (negotiated) amount had been paid up front - so he'd left him blinking in astonishment.  No doubt it usually happened the other way around, when potential buyers ended up bedazzled by him and drove away in their new car, blinking because they'd only been window shopping.

He went and got a drink at Risk, intending to go to the bar but once he walked in he was lured by the lights, the dance floor, the mortal rhythms on display.  He found a match with no problem, drinking well and finding it surprisingly easy to demur any advancement, thinking that he'd be spending time with Bill and that was enough for him.  The guy was cute when he was pouty and David found that more difficult to resist so he removed himself from the situation and went back to dancing so as not to be tempted.  He'd just secured his second drink for the evening - with a woman this time, so he wouldn't be nudged to comply at all - when his phone alerted him to the fact that Bill was ready.  With a smile, he finished up and hurried out of the club, a little bit thrilled to recall he had a new car and a lot thrilled to know he was going to be picking Bill up in it.

When he reached the address he'd been given, he pulled smoothly over to the kerb, secretly laughing as Bill gave the vehicle a startled look and stepped back, expecting to be picked up on the bike, no doubt and unable to see his face in the dark.  That changed when he turned the car off and hastened around towards Bill to open his door for him, grinning as he leaned a jaunty arm on the open door, crossed one foot over the other and gestured to the plush black leather passenger seat.  "You ordered a ride, sir?" he asked with mocking aplomb, waiting until Bill registered that it was him before he broke his pose and closed in for a hug and a kiss instead of standing there like a chaffeur, his grin broad indeed.

[Annalas]

Bill had had a very nice visit with Emil, but as the sun set, it became apparent to him that his friend wanted to be out on the town, most likely at Risk or whatever club it was now. Was Venture even open yet?

Sadly, he didn't really want to go out to a club, considering what had happened last time he had gone out with a friend. So instead he made plans with David and had Emil drop him off at home, where he changed his clothes and awaited David.

Tonight he wore the black leather jacket with orange and red stripes on the shoulders, a red graphic tee beneath it. His legs were adorned with black skinny jeans held up by a studded belt, chuck jones converse covering his feet. His hair was blown out as it had been before, the dyed blond streaks contrasting against the black hair. A silver necklace lay across his chest. His eyes were made up with dark eyeliner, a touch of black and silver shadow upon the lids. He looked fantastic, though his hair was a bit…big.

Frowning, he took his brush and began to brush some of the hairspray out of his hair, not managing to get his hair at all straight by the time David arrived. Realizing that he was going to keep David waiting, he settled for dressing as he was and rushed out the door, waiting for David to come by.

When the red car pulled up, his eyes widened immediately. Few knew that he was really into cars, mostly because the subject generally never came up. When David pulled up, though, he knew immediately what model the car was, and he knew that it was expensive. His eyes widened, his lips parted in an 'o' shape as David got out of the car.

"Is that…is that an M3 coupe?" the words crossed his lips, the mortal stepping forward slowly. He immediately went for an embrace, lifting his lips to brush them against David's. "When did you get a car?"

[Existentially Odd]

David laughed at the fact the car was getting more attention than him, barely getting a kiss before Bill was looking at the vehicle again.  He let the mortal go, sensing he wanted to inspect it.  "Just now," he grinned.  "I've been thinking about getting one for a while - I sent my sire a text saying I was going to buy it tonight and he said, 'Agreed', so I did it.  I believe the sales guy called it an M3 Coupe, yeah," he laughed, admitting without elaboration that he'd more or less gone in and bought the one that he found the sexiest, though he'd driven quite a few of the luxury cars they had and it handled beautifully too.

"Go on, get in," David urged, doing his best to persuade Bill into the passenger seat so he could close his door for him and impress upon the mortal his gentlemanly skills.  At this stage, he was definitely losing to a certain red beast, though!

[Annalas]

David was most definitely losing to the beautiful beast in front of him, Bill  being enthralled with the car. It was a beauty, for sure, but he was already calculating the good and bad about the car. It was beautiful, and he couldn't help but wonder what lay under the hood. He highly doubted that David would let him take a look, though, and he didn't dare ask to see it.

"It's amazing…what kind of engine does it have?" he couldn't help asking, knowing immediately that it had to have at least a V6. There wasn't a sports car in existence with a four-cylinder engine, though that was most definitely the easiest to work on, in his opinion.

He slid into the passenger seat, snapping on his seat belt as David closed the door beside him. He ran his hand across the leather interior, marveling at the luxurious quality of the car. It was absolutely amazing, no doubt. Not to mention…whoever David's sire was, he was rich as fuck. He must be an older vampire, for sure.

"Sorry, I just…really, really like cars," he explained bashfully as David entered the vehicle on his own side. "And this one is…oh my god, so amazing. I can't believe you bought an M3 coupe!"

[Existentially Odd]

David laughed good-naturedly and checked the traffic before he pulled away from the kerb.  "Apparently I should've consulted you before I bought it, to see if there was something better I should get.  I have no idea what sort of engine it's got - a silver one?" he joked, pulling his best 'dumb blonde' face at Bill, batting his eyelashes for effect before he looked back at the road.

"I thought, seeing as it's still early, we might go somewhere nice tonight and I didn't want to ruin your hair in a helmet so I went into the dealer and just picked the prettiest one they had," he grinned, playing up his ignorance about cars to a greater degree than was accurate but he didn't mind if Bill thought he was being truthful rather than hamming it up.

The traffic light ahead turned orange just then and he stopped for it instead of gunning through the light, taking the opportunity to turn and smile appreciatively at his passenger.  "Doesn't quite match you, though," he complimented, sliding a hand over to squeeze Bill's thigh.  "You look great tonight.  I thought I might take you to Echelon for dinner, would you like that?"

[Malkavian Riddler]

David's phone bleeped with the familiar tone of his receiving a text message.

Cain had been thinking about David since their stolen night together at the White Rabbit and then back at David's place, before he'd returned Cain back to the hotel he was staying at.  Since then, Cain had been threatened and then chosen to leave, because he'd received a big payout for his trouble when the Oligarchy had disbanded (which had surprised him, but he supposed that all the donors had received the money they were promised from the Oligarchy, and even though Cain hadn't been there the full year he was still on the books).  Because there were new contracts being written up for the donors to renew their terms, he'd told Sam that he no longer wished to stay on and wanted a day job for himself.  Sam hadn't questioned why Cain had come to him instead of Vomas, as the new District Leader was busy setting his new headquarters up, after all.  So he'd left, and he was sure the other donors were glad to see the back of him.

So he'd set up rent at a new apartment for himself, keeping it simple with a two bedroom place, and having enough money in the bank to not worry about rent for a while, and to have a think about what he wanted to do with it.  He'd come far, in the short time he'd been a donor for the Oligarchy, and now he had to rethink what he wanted for himself.  In those plans (fantasies), it always included a special golden-haired someone.  The text was simple enough to get to the point.

I have a new place now, want to come by and check it out?  I'll let you christen it with me ;)~

[Existentially Odd]

The text came just as he finished speaking and he glanced at the traffic to check that he had time to read it before he lifted his hand off Bill's leg and picked the phone up out of the centre console area.  Reading the text brought a wry smile to his face and he had the grace to glance at Bill before he hastily replied.

Sorry, can't tonight, busy.  Maybe another night, will let you know.

He just had time to hit the send button before the light changed and he dropped the phone back where it had been, between he and Bill.  As he accelerated away from the lights, his hand found its way back onto Bill's leg quite naturally.

[Annalas]

Well, that sounded like something an irresponsible rich playboy would do. That wasn't exactly what he had David pegged for, but he supposed that it was close enough to the truth. He seemed to be bumming off his sire, spending his money on a whim--had he seriously gotten a car just so he wouldn't mess up Bill's hair?

"What's that?" he couldn't help but ask, not extremely well versed with some parts of the city. He certainly didn't know the name of one of the fanciest restaurants around, as he didn't generally frequent places like that, nor did he know many that did.

"Hmm, but dinner does sound good…you don't mind? With um…not eating and all, I mean." He let go the conversation about the car, David obviously having no clue what he was talking about. It was kind of cute, in a way.

"Anything important?" he asked as David dropped the phone back down and they sped off again.

[Existentially Odd]

"I definitely don't mind," David grinned.  "And if you don't know what Echelon is, then I must take you there - it's beautiful and exactly what you deserve."  His smile faltered as Bill queried the content of his text from Cain, his expression turning thoughtful as he pondered how to answer the question.  Technically, the answer was, 'No' because Cain wasn't important per se, he was just a guy he'd hooked up with.  They'd had a great time and David had been extremely grateful for the information about the Oligarchy he'd received from the insider but they hadn't discussed long term committment or anything.  Then again, nor had he with Bill.

So why was he hesitant to tell one about the other?  They were all mature adults and nothing was defined between he and Bill - certainly not two weeks ago, when Bill was just a fleeting warm thought and Cain had been a reality in his bed - so it wasn't as if he'd done anything wrong... that didn't mean he had to be unsavoury and throw it in his lover's face.  Part of him wanted to say something, though, because... why?  Because he wondered if Bill was interested in anything serious.  Telling him might nudge the boy into defining what his thoughts on the matter were.  It might also be too soon.  He wouldn't want to ruin the potential of something great for someone who was, at this stage, merely a convenience, though.  How could he get all that across to Bill without demeaning him or scaring him off?

"Uh... not important, no," he began steadily, his expression serious and his tone reflecting the gravity of his thoughts.  He glanced at Bill and maybe that was admitting there was more to the text than implied, but he didn't want to ruin their time together with disrespectful details.  It was one thing to know they were free spirits, quite another to have it pointed out.  He really couldn't think of what more to say.  Though his mouth began to form words at least twice, none of them sounded right even in his head and it felt awkward and crass to elaborate, no matter how he contemplated it.  In the end, he settled for a smile he hoped was reassuring and another squeeze of Bill's leg.

[Annalas]

It's beautiful and exactly what you deserve. Bill beamed at the words, drinking up every ounce of affection David gave him. Still, David had hesitated in telling Bill that the text wasn't important, which made Bill think that it was, at least a bit. Not pressing, perhaps, but it was obviously not something to be flippant about.

When David didn't elaborate, though, Bill didn't press for information. It was David's business, after all, and Bill didn't have any right to ask him to share everything. He simply smiled at David, covering the vampire's hand with his own.

"I like your car," he changed the subject, though his adoration of the vehicle had been quite clear from the start. Now, though, he had a new appreciation for the car, having ridden in it for a bit. It was smooth, Bill not even feeling any of the potholes that he knew dotted the inner city block. The inside itself was luxurious enough to match the outside, as it probably should. A car like this oozed wealth, and it was obvious that David had that…or at least his sire did.

[Existentially Odd]

David chuckled, recognising that Bill was deliberately trying to find something else to talk about and appreciating that, though (in another respect) he certainly wouldn't have dodged answering if he'd pressed the issue.  If anything, the vampire wanted a push in that direction.  "I like you," he said warmly, "and I'd take you over a stupid car any night."

His commentary paused quite naturally as he turned a corner, making sure they were headed deeper into the city, to where the restaurant was located.  Once he was confident he was going the right way and he was no longer peering through the windscreen at street signs, his conversation resumed.  "Actually, I'd take you over everything any night, if you let me.  But you can drive the stupid car any time you like," he offered, grinning cheekily at Bill as he anticipated his lover might defend the sleek machine against such a harsh descriptor.

[Annalas]

"Pretty expensive for a something so stupid," he couldn't help but comment. He certainly wasn't used to anyone around him having enough luxury to just go out and just buy a sports car for the hell of it (or to impress a guy; whichever).

"Wouldn't I like…break it?" he asked, surprised that David would even consider letting him touch anything outside of a passenger's seat on the car. There was a slight other problem with that activity, too…mainly the fact that he couldn't exactly do it legally.

No one had been around to teach him or his brother how to drive since their mother had died in a car accident when they were twelve. Their father never seemed to have even thought about teaching them, and while George had taken it upon himself to teach Thomas the rudimentary basics of driving a stick, Bill had never learned.

He didn't respond to the first part of the David's sentence, not sure how he quite felt about it. On one hand, he loved the affection, the compliments dripping from David's mouth. He loved feeling wanted, and that was exactly how he felt. There was also the downside, though.

David was a vampire, and Tom had dated a vampire for years. He had also ultimately become one, last Bill had heard. It didn't take a genius to figure out that if they did get serious, Bill would share the same fate. After all, David had already mentioned his mother's age before. He'd realize soon enough that as Bill aged and he didn't, something had to be done.

Don't get attached, he told himself, hoping that David wouldn't, either. It sounded like he was getting attached, though, and that was worrisome.

[Existentially Odd]

David's expression was troubled and he glanced away from the road and towards Bill.  "It bothers you, doesn't it?  That I used my sire's money to go out and buy something so expensive?  Would it make you feel better if I'd just Dominated the salesman into thinking he'd sold me the car and driven away without paying?" he proposed, knowing he could've done that, too, but this way no-one really lost out.

For all he knew, that was exactly how his sire had come by his money in the first place, he'd been around long enough and was powerful enough to have accrued whatever he wanted, frankly.  David had never asked but figured it was all relative.  Vampires could always take or kill to get what they wanted, because they had superior talents.  Those that didn't were still humane or honest enough to respect the laws of balance, he supposed.  Just because he could take didn't mean he wanted to; he preferred there to be balance.

[Annalas]

"Kinda," Bill admitted with a sheepish smile. It would make more sense than to spend someone else's hard-earned money. He hadn't had a problem with David dominating the clerk at the food court, either, though at the time he had been thinking about other things.

It was one thing, he decided, to go out and steal a car…but it was something else entirely to waste money on a brand new one for another guy. Especially with as much as this car must have cost. The lower end BMWs sold for about thirty grand, he knew. This one…this one was obviously top of the line.

"Sorry, I'm just not used to…you know, having actual money," he explained with a small shrug, looking down. As much as he hated admitting that he was poor, it was reflected in the slightly worn second-hand clothing he wore, the part of town he lived in, and the way he was so frugal with his money. He took what he could get, and it was enough to scrape by. College, though, his dreams of going into art history, were absolute dust.

[Existentially Odd]

The vampire was stunned to think that Bill would've preferred him to steal, rather than use money on a purchase; he seemed so nice!  Was it because he didn't have money that he was more accustomed to less legal means of acquisition?  It baffled him, no matter how he looked at it, though it gave him some further insight into Bill's personality and morals.  Something to think on later.

He breathed a laugh at Bill's apology.  "Ah man, I know exactly what you mean.  I was there my whole life.  I grew up without a father and with a hippy mother, driving from city to city, squashed into a beat-up van with my brother and sister, protesting war and hate and killing the forests and whatever the hell else my crazy mother had a passion for but never knowing where my next feed would come from.  When I finally decided to make a change, I headed for New York with my boyfriend, intending to become a star.  The things I did to make rent would curl your eyelashes and the things I did for food would make you blush.  It was an ugly time.  Then I got cheated by a vampire and I learned of a world where money wasn't an issue, where you could develop your powers and take what you wanted and never be hungry or poor or flat-out desperate again and I did everything I could to claw my way in."

He was watching the road unseeingly as he spoke, his expression tight and grimness in his eyes as he thought of his youth, of how far he'd fallen before he managed to fight his way up.  He and Bill weren't so very different.  It was just that maybe he'd lived in the dirt a bit longer and grown more determined to leave the filth behind him a little sooner than the mortal beside him had.  In some ways, he felt guilt about using Darius to achieve his goals but they'd had twenty good years together and there was still love.  On his side, anyway.  He wasn't sure Darius was happy with what he'd received in the balance but he tried not to let it keep him awake days, it was what it was now.