7737/A Night At Luke's Bar

A Night At Luke's Bar
Date of Scene:	04 June 2019
Location:	Luke's Bar - Central Harlem
Synopsis:	Johnny Blaze runs into Vanessa Carlysle, who has ducked out of the rain and into Luke's bar.
Cast of Characters:	Ghost Rider (Blaze), Copycat

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Ghost Rider (Blaze) has posed:
It was dark outside, and WAY past 5 o'clock for all the alcoholics and the drinkers to be at the bar. Luke's Bar, specifically. Johnny is one of those patrons. Dressed in a leather jacket that highlights a strong physique, some dark pants, and a black shirt, Johnny enters after smoking a cigarette.

He slowly makes his way to the bar, as if to try and find a spot open...but on a busy night like tonight? It might not be possible. But, this also causes him to not quite watch where he's going, so someone might be bumped into.

Well...beer leads to brawls, as they say. but good music is playing and people around these parts are - mostly - friendly. cough.

sometimes.

Copycat has posed:
Way past 5 o'clock, and closer to closing than to opening. The night outside has been nasty. Dark grey clouds had closed in over the city during the day as if threatening to rain. Though they held off until just recently, with light drizzles starting to fall intermittently, as if further threatening that heavier rainfall was yet to come.

The weather had a lot to do with bringing Vanessa Carlysle into the bar tonight. Not that she didn't need to be out working. She did, she'd barely made rent. But she'd long ago realized the weather had a large impact on the line of work that she had ended up in. "Should have got a shift at the club tonight," she mutters sotto voce as she sits at the bar.

Habit causes her to glance around the bar, though not in the professional way she otherwise might. Vanessa had never met the 'Luke' who owned the bar. There were bars that didn't mind certain business arrangements being made within their confines, and those that did. Seeing the obvious care that went into the bar, Vanessa had decided this was likely the latter, and had covered up her revealing attire with a jacket upon entry. The brief look from the old man behind the bar, turning into an approving smile and nod as Vanessa's coat went on suggested she'd made the right choice.

And so Vanessa had returned the smile and then taken a seat, ordering the cheapest beer they had and having to straighten a few crumpled bills to pay for it. The tip she pushed across the bar was pushed back to her. "Thanks," she tells him, soft, dark eyes giving a grateful look to the man who just nods back to her and then goes on to pour another drink.

Behind Vanessa, two men bump into each other, one a new arrival to the bar. A drink is jostled and some of it pours down Vanessa's neck, causing her to sit up right and give a sharp gasp. The man with the drink glares at the other, "Watch where you're going," he says before turning back to his friends, paying no attention to the woman he spilled on. He saw her stockings and mini-skirt visible beneath the coat. Neither the first nor last time she'll have a drink spilled on her.

Ghost Rider (Blaze) has posed:
Woops.

Johnny looks at Vanessa as she gasps, knowing full well he was one of two parts that made the poor woman spill her drink. Though unlike the other guy, Johnny takes the time to make sure Vanessa's alright. "I'm very sorry about that. Are you good? I hope it didn't get everywhere." He then looks at her drink, looking rather..guilty, to be honest.

"Let me make it up to you. Can I buy you a drink?" Johnny appears sincere, though Vanessa probably has multiple reasons to not trust him. But honestly, its the least Johnny can do. At least he didn't fight the guy who helped bump him into Vanessa.

Of course, he gets a good look at her and hooooolllyyy shit.

Copycat has posed:
The drink of the guy who was bumped into had spilled down Vanessa's back inside the neck of her coat. She sits up straighter on her stool, pulling the coat away from her back where it's wet and popping it back a few times to fan some air inside. Which people do, though it's kind of futile. Not like a few puffs of air will dry it out.

She turns and looks over her shoulder at the man with the beer. He has rather vain light highlights in his hair and has already turned his back to her. "Try to keep it in the glass, Frosty," she says, keying on those frosted locks of his hair. He doesn't even bother to turn back to her though.

Vanessa glances over towards Johnny as he makes the offer. She realizes he doesn't have a drink, so perhaps deduces he was part of the incident. "Yes, I'll be ok. Figured coming in here would keep me from getting wet," she comments, glancing out the windows at the city street outside where a constant mist of rain is falling. Indeed, her hair looks just a little damp as if she's been at the bar for a short time. "But hey, if it'll help you sleep tonight, help yourself," she says at the mention of a drink, motioning toward the bar. There's an empty stool beside her as is it turns out, too.

Ghost Rider (Blaze) has posed:
Johnny looks at Vanessa and he takes a light breath. Well uh....she was beautiful. Mode of dress not withstanding. But Blaze is a gentleman, keeping his eyes on Vanessa as she makes a quip about avoiding the rain. "Well, nothing helps me sleep at night. Something about Insomnia." he grins. But he does take off his leather jacket and offers it to her. There's fur on the inside, so at least it would help keep her warm. "Here, you probably need this more than I do." and it has a hood!

Johnny might be thinking she might just take the jacket and run off with it, but...hey. He spilled a drink on her, now he's gonna make sure dividends are paid. Whether or not she accepts the jacket, Johnny will pay for whatever Vanessa orders, as agreed. "So, what brings you to a somewhat shady bar like this?"

Copycat has posed:
Vanessa gives a little wave at the offer of the jacket. Though the beer was cold, it's summer and even if dreary, not all that cold out other than the drizzle. "Thanks," she says at the offer of the jacket even as she waves it off. As Johnny leave it to her what drink to order, she goes for something a little stronger than the cheap beer she was drinking.

"Whiskey?" she orders from the bartender, and older man with greying hair but a generally kind face. "You got it," he says, then his eyes swinging over to Johnny to see what he'd like. "Nothing shady about Luke's," Roy says, his tone pointed if lacking any heat.

Vanessa gives a little movement of her head as if agreeing with Roy. Best not to upset the one pouring the beverages after all. "It's a nice little place," she tells him, flashing the older man a winning smile. He waggles a finger at her and says, "Schmoozing doesn't get you larger drinks," he tells her. Then adds with a quick wink, "If the bossman is around, which he isn't." He starts pouring Vanessa's drink, making it a little more than a single.

Ghost Rider (Blaze) has posed:
Offer of the jacket waved off, Johnny slings it back over his shoulders. True to form, he takes a seat beside her as she apparently orders Whiskey. "I'll take your word for it." he tells Roy, before he nods. "I'll take a whiskey, if ou please." He does look at Vanessa as she apparently tries to schmooze Roy. Though he goes silent for a moment until he receives his glass, sipping from it and admittedly enjoying the whiskey.

"mm...good whiskey." he looks at Roy. "Alright, I take it back." That should make Roy happy. Though Johnny doesn't ask anything about the Man himself, he does look to Vanessa. He can already tell she has a silver tongue.

Copycat has posed:
Vanessa smiles as she gets the small glass of Maker's Mark. She takes a sip of it and then turns the smile over to Johnny. "Thank you. Was nice of you," she says. "I've been in here once or twice before. Seems like a pretty good crowd normally," she confirms of what Roy had said. "Though I don't make it out to this part of town as often."

She takes another sip of the whiskey before looking back over to Johnny. "I'm Vanessa," the brunette says, offering her hand over to him. "Are you dodging the rain, or come to drink some blues away?" she asks him.

Ghost Rider (Blaze) has posed:
Johnny looks at Vanessa as she finally decides to speak with him. "Yeah, don't mention it. It was the right thing to do. Was unkind of me to spill my drink on you, even if it was an accident." Though he seems to smile as she extends her hand to him in introduction. "I'm Johnny." he takes her hand, giving it a firm shake and squeeze, before he releases her hand. "Drinking away the blues sound fun. though I like the rain. Relaxing...but annoying." he teases.

She's been in here once or twice eh? "Well, the drinks are good. Might have to come around here more often."

Copycat has posed:
Vanessa shakes his hand back. "Thank you, and don't worry about it," she tells him with a friendly nod. "But thank you for the drink." She glances out towards the night outside. "I've never really been a big fan of the rain," she says with a shake of her head. "Probably lived in too many places with leaky roofs," she muses quietly before taking another sip of the whiskey.

Vanessa glances over at Johnny, seeing if she can divine anything about him from his appearance. "Something bring you over to this part of town, or you live around here?" she asks him. She still has a few swallows left in her original beer, switching back to it for a sip as they talk.

Ghost Rider (Blaze) has posed:
Johnny looks at Vanessa as he rests his wrists on the countertop, not his elbows. Does he actually have manners? He sips on his whiskey some more before he takes a breath. "Anytime." though as she tells him about living in buildings with leaky roofs, Johnny gives a slight nod of his head. Seems she's had a rough life on the streets.

"I live a little ways down the street. Own a little apartment to myself. Sometimes I get too relaxed, and I need some whiskey to help wake me up." he smiles at her. "You?"

Copycat has posed:
The door opens and a group comes in, talking in excited voices, wearing ugly bowling shirts and carrying a trophy with them with a bowler on top. They go and find one of the few small tables in the place, borrowing extra chairs to bring over to the table. Vanessa glances over that way briefly, but remembers she's not in the type of place approaching them might be appreciated by the management.

Vanessa looks back to Johnny and says, "Well, I was trying to work, but the rain ends up being a dampener on business when you work outside." Her attire is something that one either wears to a very sexy club, or the kind of thing a woman wears to draw men's attention for more professional endeavors. Given she's in here now, rather than said club, plus the mention of working outside, and one could probably make the intuitive leap towards her profession.