Sam's silent tirade was interrupted unexpectedly by a deep voice on his right greeting him uncertainly. He turned and frowned at the large mortal, not really recognising him and not having paid too much attention to what he'd said as an opening line (though he assumed it was something to do with being offered a drink). He quickly found out he was very wrong and his mood shifted dramatically as his unexpected companion continued speaking.
"You're that friend of Gene's, aren't you?" Dom asked, smiling his most beguiling smile as he pretended to not really know who Sam was. Like he hadn't listened to Gene get drunk and lament the mistake he'd made in not opening up to this guy sooner. Gene would likely want to kill him for even starting this conversation but he had a very specific reason for seeking Sam out and telling him Gene was on his way; entry into the club.
"Gene? Oh, yes! I'm Sam," he drawled, reaching out a hand to be shaken.
"Dom," the mortal responded, his white teeth flashing in the darkness as he shook the vampire's cold hand enthusiastically. "Yeah, I remember you from Sticks and Stakes. I called Gene a while ago and told him to come down here because they were letting non-invitees in if they were good looking but he hasn't made it inside yet," Dom explained with an apologetic chuckle.
Sam examined the mortal's demeanour, his mind racing and his senses flaring at the thought of seeing Gene again tonight. He quickly decided he would like that very much, despite their last encounter being somewhat awkward when he confessed to being in a relationship with Vomas. Fat lot of good that was doing him and, frankly, he half expected that it would all be over soon anyway. How ironic that the last time he'd actually seen Gene (he'd tried calling him afterwards but their conversations had become shorter and more awkward as things progressed swimmingly with Vomas, until he'd given up calling the mortal 'just to catch up' - mainly because his calls weren't answered anyway) was the night Vomas had told him to surrender his heart.
"You know, I might just be able to help with that," Sam said with a grim smile and he turned and hastened downstairs, too caught up in his vindictive thoughts to notice Dom's smug smile. When he reached the ground level, he didn't bother looking around to see what Vomas was doing, he headed straight for the entrance and spoke quietly to one of the bouncers. The other was, coincidentally, scanning the line to bring in another three mortals and Sam hastily checked that Gene was there - giving him a little wave of encouragement that caused all the people lined up ahead of him to turn and look at him - before he requested his friend be brought in as soon as possible. The bouncer called her partner back and relayed Sam's wish for the dirty blonde-haired mortal to be given entry to the club and they gave him a hard stare, which he did his best to remain firm beneath, before the one who'd been out choosing agreed and went to collect the next batch of mortal entrants to the club.
Sam stepped back deeper into the club as the three mortals approached, ignoring the two strangers that went giddily by him and concentrating intently on Gene's expression, trying to judge whether he was glad to see him or not. At first, his smile was beautiful and happy but then he looked uncertain as he got closer, looking past Sam like he expected him to not be alone. The vampire's expression softened and he smiled encouragingly, enveloping the mortal in a brief hug and kissing his cheek near the corner of his mouth as his arms wrapped around Gene's broad shoulders and gave an affectionate squeeze. The undeniable scent of whiskey wafted around the mortal, telling Sam that he maybe wasn't all that sober but he was standing pretty straight and he smelled good beneath the aroma of alcohol anyway. Almost as good as he looked.
"Hey, you," he breathed in Gene's ear before he pulled back to smile genuinely at him, his right hand trailing down the mortal's left arm to grasp his hand. "I'm real glad to see you, it's been too long. Come on, Dom's upstairs," he drawled with a tilt of his head, tugging on Gene's hand to lead him to the stairs, expecting he'd want to at least check in with his human friend (before they continued with some alone time to catch up). He was surprised by how excited and comfortable he felt in Gene's presence - and not surprised that his thoughts were less than noble when looking at his beautiful face. In his current mood, he knew it likely was a terrible idea that he be left alone with Gene but that same mood also made him want it even more.
While Sam had his eager reunion by the front door, Owen placed his order with the staff member Vincent had sent his way, before he returned to his sire's side and sat down once more. His expression declared that he was impressed with Vincent's influence. "Well, that was efficient! Gives us more time to soak up the ambience. Have you looked around much? Were you here long before me?" he enquired breezily, doing his best to keep the conversation inane and harmless and also to steer clear of thinking about how nice it might be to be properly alone with Vincent. He settled back into his former relaxed position, mostly facing his sire but looked pointedly around them now, noticing what was going on nearby.
