8. Amber Hart, again once more
Vortex's "special night" is certainly special. Amber can see the line wrapping back around the block, people eager to get in to the party beyond their wildest dreams surely taking place inside. She and Kev get envious and disbelieving looks as she skips the line and presents the badge Teresa gave her to the bouncer. He looks it over and nods politely, letting them both in to a chorus of groans from the line.
Kev, for his part, seems kind of amazed at being part of the "in" crowd at such an event, skipping past the hordes of beautiful and clearly monied people waiting in line. He looks nice, if a bit generic, in a black suit with a crisp white shirt underneath. He didn't wear a tie, but before they arrived showed Amber (a bit nervously) that he brought one in a pocket just in case he hadn't dressed up enough for her needs.
Amber considered a suit, but is glad she avoided it - a suit on her would clash with Kev's own attempt. Her dress is rather fancier than much of the crowd, trying less to emphasize her physical attributes (though naturally it does leave quite a bit of skin showing) and serving more to imply status. She already knows everyone here wants her, and can leave things to the imagination in that confidence. Kev gets a kiss on the cheek as he mentions having a tie in his pocket - it's cute. No, he won't need it.
Vortex is packed, barely enough room left to meander through the tables. The dance floor heaves like a living organism to the beat of the music. Amber has to admit, Teresa wasn't lying about the DJ. Rather than just playing music, he's directing the crowd like a maestro, playing with the emotional intensity of the room casually.
It's no accident she steps into the room just as a song ends, just as a hush falls over the crowd and a wave of attention ripples around the room, turning to look at her. She flashes a smile and nods at the DJ as if they're old friends. They're not, but her beast is watching him carefully, recognizing another professional leading the herd around by their feelings. Music starts up again, and most people turn away from her - but not completely, She made an entrance, and it'll stick in their minds whether they want it to or not.
Amber quickly finds herself in several conversations - rich kids asking her what she does, they haven't seen her around, is she at the college, all the usual, and she answers charmingly, easily, and above all, superficially. Kev is out of his depth a bit, but she keeps drawing him back into things, turning questions sideways towards issues he can speak on with some authority - mostly medicine, since that's what she knows of him, beyond the fact that he's cute. It's a not particularly subtle bit of psychology. When she's around, he can fit in with the rich just fine. Left to his own, he'd be ignored and perhaps mocked. With Amber there, everything is pleasant and smooth. Dependency, that's the name of the game. He's cool. People like him. But he needs her there, or the magic starts to drain away.
Kev sticks to Amber like a drowning man clinging to a life preserver, but as she buoys him up, Amber can see the glimmer of something genuine there. Kev's not especially confident, but given a way to forget that, he can be funny, even charming. There's something there, something to draw out and refine, if Amber wishes. But for now he's still rough around the edges, and relies on her to keep the momentum going.
Refinement by example is the order of the evening - refinement and seduction. When she finally gets tired of talking (not quite as loud as a normal club, but still hard to hear anything subtle) and takes him out to the dance floor, the way she holds her hand on the back of his neck, the way she rubs her hip against him, and the way she smiles slyly up when the crowd pushes them close together are not exactly subtle signals that he might go further than last time, if he has the courage to make something happen.
As they dance, pressed closer together by the crowd, Amber feels Kev's hands start sliding back from her hips, a sort of reckless daring in his eyes- and then a hand that definitely isn't Kev's runs over her ass and Kev is forced back by another person cutting in between them so smoothly it might have been choreographed. This new man is familiar but - and then it clicks. Thomas, the guy that Luke fed on. The one whose life she saved. He grins his arrogant trust-fund smile, teeth white enough to reflect the lights of the dance floor a little. "Well hello again!" He says loudly enough to be heard over the music, pulling Amber close in the crush of people.
Amber attempts to duck under his arm, put herself back next to Kev, but Thomas has a good hold of her, and all she ends up doing is squirming in his grip a bit. It's an extremely unpleasant reminder that for all her power and charm, she's still actually just a rather small woman.
There's a brief moment where Amber gets a glimpse under Thomas's arm of Kev's face. He looks... defeated. As if he was waking back up from a dream that was only a pleasant distraction from cold reality. Thomas dances with Amber for a few moments, and opens his mouth to- Amber never did hear what he was going to say. Kev grabs Thomas's shoulder, pulls just enough to throw off his balance mid-step and decks Thomas across the face. It's not an especially astounding punch, in terms of technique or strength. Amber once saw Siveri hit a punching bag hard enough to explode its guts out the other side, after all. But it was timed almost perfectly and Thomas staggers back, his balance tips, and he falls on his back hard. Amber can see the back of his head smack against the dance floor, though she can't hear the sound over the music. People who happened to see what happened try to clear away, give them space, but the dance floor is too packed, and not enough people were looking, too busy moving against one another to notice. Thomas's fall pushed some people over, but the music is still pounding and not many people have yet noticed that there's a commotion brewing.
"Outside, now," Amber grabs both Kev and Thomas by the collars, one somewhat gently, the other far firmer. She can't haul Thomas to his feet. She wishes she could. Let either of them object and it will all fall apart now, but... she can still salvage this, without a larger incident, without anyone else getting involved. If only Thomas will cooperate. Thomas will cooperate.
Thomas is trying to blink the stars from his eyes, clearly disoriented and confused. Kev looks at Amber, his brief flash of fire and defiance quickly withering under her reaction. "I'm sorry, I thought-" he starts, before Thomas finally manages to connect A to B and realizes who hit him. He smacks Amber's hand away angrily and hauls himself to unsteady feet. Despite the clear rage and humiliation burning in his eyes and cheeks - one of which will have an excellent bruise tomorrow - he doesn't seem about to hit anyone, at least. "Learn to sleep with your eyes open." He says darkly to Kev.
When Thomas doesn't go along with it, Amber promptly lets go of Kev's collar, stepping over to his side and glaring at Thomas. "Oh buzz off," she answers his threat with irritation at having her nice evening plans ruined, or at least thrown into disarray.
Thomas stalks off, clearly working himself up to quite the brood, and vanishes as the crowd moves back to fill in the gap. On the stairs leading up to Teresa's office, Amber can see James watching the little incident, arms folded and one eyebrow raised.
"Not your fault," she says into Kev's ear, adding a kiss on the cheek. "I need to go speak with the owner, get him banned."
"Okay, uh- I'll wait around I guess." He's already wincing a bit from the pain in his hand. No one talks about how much it hurts to punch someone in the face. "Sorry - I mean, see you in a bit." He heads off to the bar, likely to get some ice.
Amber catches James' eye and makes her way in that direction. Probably has a touch of explaining to do, and a favor to ask to go along with it.
James waits for her on the stairs and when she climbs up a few steps leans against the railing. "Personal matter or business?"
"Personal. We flirted a few days ago, and I fobbed him off on an acquaintance. Apparently he couldn't take no for an answer," she answers curtly, with a frown on her face. "I'm sorry it turned into a scene."
James shrugs. "Happens. No one got seriously hurt." He seems to relax once she says it was a personal matter, though it's hard to be sure behind his inexpressive face.
"I'd take it as a personal favor if he weren't welcome back," she feels him out on the subject, keeping her tone light to make sure he knows it's nothing like a demand, which, in her position, would be entirely unreasonable. She looks back over the crowd below. "He threatened my friend on his way out," she offers as additional explanation.
"Sure. Bad for business." He lets it go with an air of magnanimity, recognizing the request for what it is and letting her know that he got the drift.
"I appreciate it," she nods, and turns to head back to find Kev before he can mope himself into an unpleasant mood.
Kev is waiting by the bar, holding his right hand in a glass filled with ice. The bartender seems amused by him, in a friendly way, and is gently teasing him when Amber arrives. "-be great in a boxing ring! They'll call you One-Round-Kev, on account of you laying 'em out in one round." Kev smiles a bit wanly, but perks up when Amber arrives back. "Hey! Sor- uh, how did it go?"
"No problems. Thomas won't be coming back here at least." She bends down to examine his hand through the side of the glass. "That was very gallant of you," she offers the complement, and means it.
"Well, I saw you trying to kind of pull away and I thought... well, I don't know if thought is the right word." He smiles sheepishly.
"Well, I appreciate it. We flirted a bit at a party earlier this week, but I don't think he took the hint when I took my leave," she grumbles, settling into a seat next to him at the bar. Should she order something? She should definitely order something. "Bleh." She doesn't.
"Well, it's alright." He kind of cautiously puts an arm around Amber. "Happy to help."
She sidles up next to him - more is still on the table, if the incident didn't ruin the mood. And she's thirstier now than before, some life blood to sooth her wounded pride. She can hear his heart racing with adrenaline and her presence. She can smell the lightning of violence singing through his blood, a slight salt tang of sweat - not uncommon in a club after all - but mostly the rush of delicious blood pounding through his veins.
"I think I've had my fill of dancing for the evening," she offers after a minute leaning up against him with his arm around her. "How about you?"
"Yeah, I think you're right." He answers, fingers brushing against her hip in what might just be an accident, but Amber is pretty sure is a subtle attempt at some kind of move. "What do you want to do instead?"
"Mmm, some night air might be nice. Or someplace a bit quieter," she scooches a bit closer, rubbing their hips together as she makes the suggestion that places other than outside might qualify as quieter.
"Quieter... sounds good." He says, obviously trying not to stumble over embarrassment or nerves, then standing. "We can probably find a place."
"Quite a place you've got going on tonight," she offers her complements to the bartender. "See ya' around." She stands, putting her own arm around Kev's waist and heading for the door.