[Deleted]

[googlefont="Rock Salt"]

530 words Sedaiyus had awoken to the sound of his alarm clock going off. It was an orchestral melody from one of many Hans Zimmer hits which was one of Sedaiyus's favorite composers to listen to and the perfect way to awaken. He looked over to find that the companion he had spent the previous night with from the party he threw was already gone. Looking at the clock which read 7pm, he had slept for 12 hours. This was not surprising as he had been up for 48 hours straight on a case prior and then ended the week with a party and afterwards he was up entertaining his final guest until morning. He was not upset though, he smiled elfish like as he reminisced at the wonderful time he had with her before moving on. Sedaiyus got out of bed and stretched, he let the music continue to play, it was relaxing and beautiful after all. He made his bed then spread a yoga mat on the floor and proceeded to do twenty minutes of yoga. He showered and chose his apparel for the night, a task that usually took about an hour, never was something so simple made so complicated by Sedaiyus before than picking the perfect outfit. Then there was how he planned to do his hair, whether he would be clean shaven or keep a rougher look which he sometimes did when he didn't have to work, there was of course what kind of cologne to wear, and so much more. He was as bad as his mother at getting ready but Sedaiyus enjoyed the process. Continuing his Saturday tradition of eating poorly and his ritual of when ever he awoke was when he had breakfast, Sedaiyus made his way to the kitchen where he got to do one of his favorite things; cook. He made a large breakfast with chocolate chip pancakes with whip cream on top and strawberry syrup made from scratch as he didn't care much for maple syrup, thick cinnamon french toast with powdered sugar, scrambled eggs, two pieces of bacon & sausage, and freshly squeezed orange juice. He checked his voice mail and email while watching the news while he ate. He finished and cleaned the kitchen up and prepared to head out. It was about 9:30pm by this point and Sedaiyus wanted to make it to one of his favorite clubs which was a 20 minute walk from his apartment and the club opened at 10pm. Sedaiyus always was on the list for saturday nights and had a reserved table as well. He often attracted allot of customers and encouraged them to drink and spend money while they were there with him to the club and had a good relationship with the workers too. Of course it also helped that he spent more money than someone on a government salary should too, often paying for drinks for others. When Sedaiyus walked into the club it wasn't as busy just yet as it normally was, it would be an hour before it got packed. Sedaiyus sat down at his U shaped booth table and ordered a simple beer to start off. @anyone

Made by Riley at THQ!

[Taliah Dawson]

Don't mistake my silence for ignorance, my calmness for acceptance or my kindness for weakness

There were certain occupations that a person could have in which working on the weekend wasn't exactly mandatory but should be expected. Much to her dismay, Taliah was very much employed at such a place. Which was why the revelation that her schedule had afforded her a Saturday off had come as such a surprise to the brunette. In fact, she'd become so accustomed to working Saturdays that she never even bothered to schedule anything else on those days.

While there was no shortages of errands to be ran from picking up groceries and paying a few bills to dropping her uniform off for dry cleaning, the brunette was in no way interested in acting responsibly. Particularly, as her conscience, otherwise known as her twin sister Tanice was markedly absent from their apartment when she'd awoken that afternoon. Almost as if on cue, Liah's phone began to vibrate vigorously.

Seizing the device from her nightstand, Taliah swiped her finger upward on the home screen to unlock her phone. No sooner had she done this did a text message pop up.

Hey sis. Ry picked me up early this morning for breakfast.😍 He's off today so we're spending the whole day together. Probably won't be in till late tonight. Maybe even early tomorrow morning.🍆

Taliah didn't bother to refrain from rolling her eyes at her sister's text. Perhaps the only thing that the siblings had in common aside from their appearance was their healthy sexual appetite and resistance to monogamy. With the only difference being that Liah accepted her commitment phobia while Tanice seemed determined to deny its existence. The twenty three year old's lips curled upwards into an amused smirk as she rolled over on her side and typed out a response.

Took him long enough. I was starting to think that you weren't his body type. 🤣 Hopefully, you've cleared out all the cobwebs since it's been a whole week since you got laid.😏

Taliah had barely tossed the covers off her legs and arisen from the bed when her sister's snark reply came through.

Bitch

Laughing as her fingers flew over the keys in rapid succession, Taliah responded

Whore

Shuffling into the kitchen, the brunette withdrew a plastic bowl from the cabinet and was reaching to grab a box of cereal when her phone buzzed. Taliah dumped the contents of the box into the bowl and grabbed her phone.

Why you gotta slut shame me?

Deciding to leave her sister to her bedroom shenanigans, Liah poured milk into the bowl and carried her cereal into the living room. Depositing the bowl onto an end table, the twenty three year old seized the controller to her PS4 and powered on the gaming console.


~~~
In her mind, the few rounds of Call of Duty and handful of quests in Final Fantasy had only taken place over an hour or two. However, in reality the brunette had spent the better part of the day gaming.  Glancing at the clock, Taliah was shocked to see that it was nearly eight oclock. Stretching, Taliah arose from the couch and was halfway to the kitchen when her phone chimed forcing her to scurry back into the living room.

Ladies free till 11 tonight. You in?

The text had come from one of the few co workers that the brunette could tolerate outside of work. Why the hell not, she thought to herself as  she keyed in rapidly

I'll meet you there.

It hadn't been necessary for her colleague to tell her where as those that knew Liah were aware that there was truly only one club that the young woman frequented. Having been known to take a considerable amount of time preparing for a night out on the town, Taliah decided to take her shower now. 

Twenty minutes later, Liah stepped out of the shower stall and commenced with her skin care regimen prior to stepping into a red wraparound dress with a plunging neckline  and asymmetrical hem. Sliding her feet into a pair of corresponding pumps, the brunette busied herself with sliding a pair of diamond studs into her ears as she picked up her phone to call an uber.

Heading into the bathroom, Taliah then turned her attention to meticulously running her flatiron through her silky tresses insuring that every strand had been touched prior to applying her makeup for the night which consisted of winged black liner with heavy coats of mascara and a smoky bronze shadow. Liah then applied a bright red lipstick and finished off her look by applying lash extensions.

Scrambling out of the bathroom, Taliah grabbed a clutch from the couch and rushed out of the apartment. After taking a moment to lock the door behind her, Liah descended the stairs just in time to meet her Uber.  Feeling generous, the brunette resolved to tip her driver later as she strolled up to the front door. Being quite "familiar" with the bouncer, the twenty three year old was easily granted access without having to bother with digging out her identification.

With the club still setting up, Taliah made a beeline for the bar. As she slid onto an empty stool, the young woman caught sight of an amorous young couple out of her peripheral. As she waited for her long island ice tea, a rather bored Liah opted to scan the thoughts of the lovely couple.  Shaking her head, Taliah lifted her hand to get the bartender's attention.

"Better make that two. Give the second one to that blond over there. Something tells me she's about to have a really bad night. And on her birthday too."

Whatever doesn't kill me had better start running and fast

Tag: @ Notes:

credit to Laura of Adox

[Deleted]

[googlefont="Rock Salt"]

444 words Sedaiyus finished his beer and fiddled with his phone for a bit. He looked up to find the place becoming more and more busy. Sedaiyus got up from his table and walked over to the bar to order another drink and to see if anyone interesting stuck out at him. He approached the bar leaning over on it as he awaited the bar tenders attention. He had over heard the women he was next to asking the bar tender to give a second drink to someone else who she thought would need it. Sedaiyus watched the bar tender make a long island ice tea for the woman next to him then for another woman away from them who appeared to be with someone. Sedaiyus turned to the woman he was next to amused and curious. His alluringly evocative ocean blue eyes that seemed to sparkle in even the dim set club gazed upon the woman with a smirk on his face. Sedaiyus then spoke, blandiloquent as always his words were sweet and his voice soothing and dulcet even when speaking above the music and chatter of the club. His soft toned words flowed articulately and was almost mellifluous to listen to. "Gracious as you are graceful it would seem, now that is not a common characteristic of the women I have met here before to have." Sedaiyus said admirably. "But do you not believe it to be a bit presumptuous to assume someone is going to need a drink when all accounts show that they are just out with their significant other, hopefully having a good time?" Sedaiyus asked with a somewhat teasing tone.  "Or does your elegance somehow give you some perspicacity a simple man like myself couldn't possibly be enlightened to have?" Sedaiyus added playfully. Sedaiyus turned his attention briefly away from the young lady and asked the bartender when he returned for a rusty nail on the rocks then shifted his attention back to the woman. "My name is Sedaiyus by the way. It would be a pleasure to know who the beautiful and apparently insightful woman I am speaking to is, as I said, I haven't had the privilege of meeting too many like that. Although if I was a betting man I would suspect there aren't really any women like you around here is there?" Sedaiyus asked without actually asking which was common for him to do as it didn't give off the impression of prying and there was no direct question to not answer if someone wasn't comfortable revealing what ever was being suggested to reveal, it was a flattering way of removing uncomfortable tension from personal information. @taliah

Made by Riley at THQ!

[Taliah Dawson]

Don't mistake my silence for ignorance, my calmness for acceptance or my kindness for weakness

As with most things there were pros and cons with arriving  too early. On one hand she'd arrived prior to eleven and as such was able to take advantage of the "Ladies free before eleven" promotion that the establishment was currently  running. On top of the fact that her entry was free, her punctuality had also enabled her to secure a seat that the bar that was ideal for people watching. Not to mention the scarcity of the nightclub meant that she didn't have to wait very long for the bartender to fulfill her order.

On the other hand, the DJ was still setting up which meant that there wasn't any music playing, just sporadic mic and sound checks. It was times like these that the brunette realized one of the many reasons that relationships were so challenging for her to maintain...she simply bored too easily. The brunette was snapped out of her reverie as the mixologist set a glass on the bar in front of her. With a toothy grin the bartender informed her of the total for the two drinks.

How cute, he actually thought that I bought money to the club with me, Liah mused.  Where do they do that at? The clutch the young woman had grabbed on her way out had been for aesthetic purposes. Nevertheless, the twenty three year old undid the clasp and pretended to sift through the purse before shifting her gaze back to the mixologist's face with a bashful expression on her lovely visage. "It seems that I left my wallet in my other clutch. OMG, I am so embarassed. I don't suppose that you'd be willing to GIVE me the drinks for free, would you? Just this once?"


For most the slight inflection she gave to the word "give" would go completely unnoticed. However, the admittedly handsome bartender returned her bashful grin with a sheepish one of his own as hre replied "Well, it is early and my boss hasn't shown up yet, so I don't suppose there's any harm in giving you this one the house, but just this once, ok? Don't tell anyone."

With a giggle that was solely for the purpose of the barkeeper, Taliah made a gesture to indicate to the clean cut barkeep that her lips were "sealed". Having been a little preoccupied with honing her "craft", Taliah had barely noticed the tall, dark, and handsome stranger that had been standing next to her until he spoke, prompting the brunette to shift her gaze in his direction. There was something eerily comforting about the smooth timbre of the man's tone as he addressed which managed to both command her attention and invoke her curiosity at the same time.

Taliah appreciative gaze swept the man's visage taking in all the features of his admittedly well chisled face before finally coming to rest on his aquamarine orbs. There was no escaping the fact that the man was quite pleasing to the eye and while there had been no clear indication that he possessed any degree of arrogance, Liah would find it impossible to believe that he was ignorant of the effect that he had on women.

Amused at being perceived as either gracious or graceful, an easy smile fell on Taliah's lips as she replied "I'm afraid you would definitely be in the wrong place if you were looking for that kind of woman. Perhaps, you've just caught me on a good night. " Liah's gaze drifted over to the young couple and lingered for a moment as she added "Usually, yes it would be a bit presumptuous, but we'll just say that I'm a bit more perceptive than most. If you look closely at his left hand there are slight indentations around his finger which means that a ring was there and probably should still be. Hasn't been taken off long if you can still see the imprint. There's also a weariness in his eyes that leads me to believe that chances are he's henpecked. There are no ring or ring imprints on her fingers, so it's highly unlikely that she's married and least of all to him. Then there's the way that he's acting towards her. He accepts her touch but with reservation, reciprocates her kiss with scaled back passion. Limits prolonged eye contact. He's got bad news for her before the night is over. She either doesn't know he's married or does but thinks he'll leave his wife. Either way she'll end up sorely disappointed."


As he introduced himself, the brunette dragged her gaze back to her unexpected companion for the night. Offering him a perfectly manicured hand, Taliah responded "It's a pleasure to meet you Sedaiyus. My name is Taliah. Let's certainly hope that there aren't too many women out there like me. It's probably a good thing for us both if there isn't."

Whatever doesn't kill me had better start running and fast

Tag: @ Notes:

credit to Laura of Adox

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credit to Laura of Adox

[Deleted]

[googlefont="Rock Salt"]

318  words Sedaiyus looked over to the couple as his companion explained that the man was married. Sedaiyus turned back, his gaze meeting Taliah's as he spoke, his speech euphonious and optimistic. "Perhaps, though should I detail this tale in the book I am writing, I believe I would like my version much better. A man who recently lost his wife, struggles to move on, and hesitates to reciprocate feelings out of fear of losing that deep connection he once held but lost so abruptly." Sedaiyus continued. "But time permits us all the happy ending we deserve, should we be willing to fight for it. In the end, he will eventually tell her the truth, and they will grow closer because of it, and so on and so fourth; happily ever after." Sedaiyus light heartedly chuckled at himself "But you are probably right, I am just a hopeless romantic I suppose." As Taliah offered her hand, Sedaiyus gently took it in his and kissed it softly before lightly letting go. "An unsurprisingly fitting and lovely name." Sedaiyus briefly said afterwards. He looked over at his table and saw the server cleaning it. "Well I should head back to my table, it isn't fair to my server to stay up here and bypassing her services and costing her well deserved tips." Sedaiyus turned and grabbed his drink and added "I would be delightfully pleased to have you join me, it is a bit more comfortable, and the servers already started a tab for me there with expected guests. It is up to you." Sedaiyus rose from his seat but turned one last time to Taliah and added lastly. "No matter, it has been an absolute delight to meet you Taliah." Sedaiyus with a friendly smile took his drink in hand and headed over to his table, sliding around the U shaped cushioned booth to the middle and sipped his drink conservatively. @taliah

Made by Riley at THQ!

[Taliah Dawson]

Don't mistake my silence for ignorance, my calmness for acceptance or my kindness for weakness

As their gazes met, Taliah took note of the twinkle in the man's eye as he regaled her with his interpretation of her observations. It was true that on more than one occasion she'd been referred to as pessimistic and while Liah didn't necessarily agree with the label, the brunette had to admit that there was an iota of truth to it. The harshness of her upbringing had effectively stamped out the young woman's ability to be optimistic. Taliah mush more preferred realism than idealism and if she came off as negative as a result then so be it.

With an amiable smile, Liah replied "Well, for the purposes of selling a book or even a movie, I would have to agree that your version is likely far more palatable than mine. When it comes to entertainment, the guy always has to get the grl, the good guy always wins,  and everything is wrapped up in a tidy bow in order to proclaim that they all lived happily ver after. Those seem to be the rules, but I've never much been one for rules to be honest. I firmly believe that variety is the spice of life and I enjoy switching things up a bit just to throw off the norm."



Something about Sedaiyus's chuckle was infectious causing Taliah to chuckle a little herself as she added "A hopeless romantic, huh? Not exactly my scene, but to each his own. That's a rare find in a guy though, so I imagine that most women must eat that kind of thing up." Having extended her hand for a handshake, the twenty-three year old was a bit taken back when he bought her hand to his lips and brushed them tenderly against it. Liah's lips curled upwards into an amused smirk as she continued "Well, aren't you the charmer? And they say that chivalry is dead."


A ghost of a smile flickered across Taliah's face followed by an uncharacteristic giggle when Sedaiyus complimented her name as she responded "Well, my mother certainly seemed to think so and I am sure that she would be delighted to know that you agree. The brunette followed Sedayius's gaze to a table that a server that she was quite familiar with was busily clearing off  before shifting her gaze back to his face as he spoke once more. Truthfully, the waitresses here rarely anticipated tips as most patrons rarely took advantage of the establishment's cuisine opting to merely get a mixed drink from the bar, dance a little and resolve to grab a proper meal afterward. However, on the other hand being a waitress, Taliah was well aware of how dependent the waitstaff was on tips as their salary was often much lower than any other job.



Nodding her understanding, the brunette said "Oh, of course. By all means. Sara has been out for a while and I am sure that she would appreciate the tips." Taliah hadn't missed the fact that Sedaiyushad started a tab with the anticipation of having guests. This told Liah that he was either meeting someone or had anticipated meeting someone and spending the evening with that person. While she suspected that either of those scenarios wold give most women pause strangely enough the brunette was intrigued.

She herself was supposed to be meeting a friend whom was as always notoriously late. As she had been invited out tonight, Taliah supposed that the polite thing to do would be wait until her friend showed up, but who knew when that might be. The young woman studied Sedaayius's retreating form for a moment before deciding that her friend would get over it. With her mind made up, Taliah gracefull arose from the bar and made her way towards the U shaped booth.

Whatever doesn't kill me had better start running and fast

Tag: @ Notes:

credit to Laura of Adox

[Deleted]

[googlefont="Rock Salt"]

558  words Immensely delighted to see Taliah join him, Sedaiyus smiled lightheartedly at her and took a last sip of his drink before putting it down in front of him shifting his attention entirely on her. “Your company is treasured greatly Taliah, I am thrilled you decided to join me." Sedaiyus spoke sincerely. He continued with a faint chuckle “If I can be honest with you, I grew up a bit of a spoiled brat.” Sedaiyus went on to clarify things not his intention to sound as though he was bragging “You see, both my parents barely had time to spend with me, so they often tried to make up for it with material things and over exaggerated parties for special occasions.” Sedaiyus then began to speak in a bit more enlightened tone. “But because of this, it did help me learn much earlier than most people that there are many things I should always appreciate and never take for granted and those mentioned material things are never one of them.” Sedaiyus looked cheerfully at Taliah then finished more profound now “The opportunity to sit alongside such an enchanting woman like yourself however is certainly one of them and know it is a pleasure I wouldn’t dream of taking for granted. And I always appreciate meeting new friends as well, so I am humbled that you felt I was deserving of even a little of your time.” Sedaiyus raised his glass slightly towards Taliah in a toast like manner “To new friendships and appreciating the value of company”. Sedaiyus was of course was a bit of a player in practice but not in intent. Each person he met he went out of his way to connect with, he met them with compassion and respect, and his feelings were genuine. If he wasn’t interested then he would never waste his time, he was always with people he truly wanted to spend time with. He cared deeply and never held out expectations. It wasn’t a means of picking women up, it was meeting someone new, seeing if there was a spark, and then seeing if that spark could start a flame. But Sedaiyus always just went with the flow, he rarely tried steering his metaphorical boat, just let the waves and wind carry him away. Maybe that was to better shores, maybe it was towards a bunch of sharp and point rocks, the mystery added to the experience good or bad. Sedaiyus quickly spoke in a cute innocent manner "But look at me, I am being a rude host. I invited you to come to my table and haven't even offered you anything. Please feel free to get what ever you would like." Sedaiyus looked at Taliah, his eyes gazing alluringly at hers and asked curiously “But I do wonder, what is it that you most desire? If given the opportunity to have anything, what is it that you would want most?” Sedaiyus quickly looked away towards his drink. He sometimes forgot who he was, or rather what he was, and he had little interest in influencing anyone even for conversation sake. He only made it appoint to use his abilities to help uphold the law, never for personal gain, and frankly it would have been a bit insulting and hard to swallow to need to depend on such things personally for Sedaiyus. @taliah

Made by Riley at THQ!

[Taliah Dawson]

Don't mistake my silence for ignorance, my calmness for acceptance or my kindness for weakness

Sedaiyus didn't bother to conceal his delight as Taliah approached which the brunette honestly found to be quite refreshing. Such openness in displaying his emotions would seem to suggest that the handsome stranger didn't engage in the mind games that had become so commonplace in interactions among members of the opposite sex these days. Liah's theory was soon proven to be accurate as the dark haired casanova voiced his pleasure with her decision to join him. A hint of a smile flickered across the twenty three year old's face as she slid into the booth. "Well, not to stroke your ego too much, but to be honest there really isn't anyone else in here that's actually worthy of my company at the moment."

As Sedaiyus confessed to being something of a spoiled brat, Taliah tried rather unsuccessfully to conceal her amusement. Everything about the way that the man carried himself indicated to Liah that he came from money. Truthfully, on the surface, Sedaiyus was precisely the sort of guy that turned Taliah off and yet, she was strangely intrigued by him. The narrative of well to do parents spoiling their kid rotten as compensation for a severe lack of quality time was one that she'd heard often. In most scenarios the child in question often turned out to be an entitled asshole. A fate, it seemed that Sedaiyus had managed to escape.

With a casual shrug of her shoulders, Taliah replied "Call me an optimist, but I'm not sure not having alot of your parents' time and attention is such a bad thing. It teaches you to be independent and builds character." Despite herself a soft giggle erupted from the brunette's throat as Sedaiyus went on to explain that the lack of attention from his parents had taught him to learn to appreciate non material things more so. "To be honest, I think it's much easier to appreciate non material things when you have a plethora of material things," Taliah responded.


Liah had learned some time ago that there were two kind of men that were almost always guaranteed to 'get the girl'. A handsome man or a wealthy man and as Sedaiyus had both fronts covered, the brunette was fairly certain that there was no shortage of enchanting women willing to sit alongside him. Nevetheless, the waitress did appreciate the sentiment. A playful smirk tugged at the corners of Taliah's lips as she answered "Well, let's hope that I'm right in believing that you are indeed deserving of my time."

Lifting her glass in response to Sedaiyus's own gesture, Taliah responded with a curt nod and a simple "Indeed", to Sedaiyus's toast. The brunette's face then adopted a mock look of abject horror as she added "Tsk, Tsk, Tsk. Whatever would your parents say about your hosting? Dare I say that they would be rather disappointed with you." Out of her peripheral, Liah caught sight of a familiar tuft of auburn hair. Lifting her hand to catch the waitress's attention, the twenty three year old flashed a friendly smile at the redhead as she approached the booth saying "Hey Sara. It's been a while. How's your kid?" The waitress gushed for several minutes about how fast he was growing and how worried she'd been when he'd been ill recently before finally taking confirming Taliah's regular order of a pomegranate kamikazi.

As Sara moved away to place her order with the bartender, Sedaiyus spoke again prompting, Taliah to shift her gaze back to that chiseled face and those gorgeous eyes of his. However, moreso that his smouldering gaze, it was the nature of the question that he asked that had most caught the young woman offguard. While she was privy to many a person's innermost thoughts, few people ever concerned themselves with hers. In fact, come to think of it, Liah couldn't ever recall it having happened before. With an uncharacteristically bashful smile, Taliah replied "Well, it may sound a bit silly, but honestly I desire most is my own space. All of my life, I've shared everything with my sisters and most of the time I don't really mind it, but sometimes it feels like I give so much of myself to them that there really isn't much left for me."

Whatever doesn't kill me had better start running and fast

Tag: @ Notes:

credit to Laura of Adox