Fixing a Hole (tag :: Jack)

Honestly, Axenia had read over the reply in the newspaper again and again. It certainly wasn't ideal. It struck her as so cocky. Talking about his body. Not taking the two seconds to look up the abbreviations on Google. They were read flags to her and were she still a 18 year old she would have passed the response by. But things were different now and while she certainly wasn't old by any means, she still felt her options narrowing slowly but surely. When she started this search for love she was a poor girl in Ukraine with nothing holding her anywhere. She could go anywhere and be with anyone. Back then she could afford to be picky.

These days she had a job, one that she adored. She had co-workers at the least, if not a few friends. A pet turtle and a nice car. In her own little way she'd become... tied down. So when her job asked her to move cross country again she did it without question. What scared her was the location. Just as small as Pheonicia and Oulette but this time an island on top of it all. Surrounded by water. Only accessible via ferry. It felt in it's own way like being locked up in a tower. Axenia placed the ad as soon as she feet hit ground. The bottom line was if there was no one on the island for her she wanted to know about it. She could love her job all she wanted but at the end of the day she wanted a man in her bed, not lesson plans.

So despite a few red flags in only a few small words she decided to go for it. She called the guy and set a date and time. They were going to meet at the island's only restaurant. A dinner called High Tide. Where the school chef was now running. A bit awkward but there was no alternative. So despite the casual air she did her best to dress up. She slipped on a pair of pale gold pumps, a simple black pencil dress, and a brown leather jacket that felt like butter. Her hair was wrestled into a long messy braid, coming nearly to her hip bone. She applied her make-up, smiled at the mirror and once more reassured herself that it would in fact be a fun night.

She arrived a little early. The island was so tiny it was easy to clear it in next to no time at all. So she stood outside the restaurant. It was still sunny out, even though it was starting to dip pretty low. She smiled a little as she waited. The weather was so nice she couldn't help it.

It had been two weeks, one day, and eight hours since Jack had gotten laid.

Usually he didn't count the damn hours - that was when a healthy sex drive crossed into creepy desperation. But in a shithole like this, he could have really used a couple of his favorite kind of work-outs. Jogging and stretches just didn't cut it when you were used to bedroom cardio with an extremely limber dance instructor. No, no. Instead, he got to thrust his toned body into a goddamn hurricane every single bloody day. Sweet Gabriel screwing Mary, what was wrong with the people that populated this state? At least in the shitstorms in NY, people knew how to keep themselves adequately entertained. But in Bumfuck, Oregon, the only place to gather was a diner that he was pretty sure used extra body parts from the mental institution. Usually he got his quick screws by throwing his money and abs at his date. Guess now he would have to try.

So that's what motivated him to deck his physique in a designer track suit and brave the constant drizzle. Jogging across the island wasn't exactly demanding for a pasty doing yoga twice a week; it was nothing for him. He was confident that showing up fresh from a work-out, but still sweat-free and smelling of Klein would impress. Not that he expected it would take much for a small-town gal. Hey, he didn't discriminate. Usually the ones from the quiet boring hovels were the ones with the most freaky surprises. And as he neared the location of his next anticipated conquest, he certainly hoped that would be the case. What the hell? She looked like a New Yorker through and through. Well, maybe an ironic Soho chick. Lovely petite figure, fair skin, the prettiest dye job he had seen in awhile, and an overall composed look that just reeked sophistication.

Jack slowed to a halt, stretching out his legs for a moment. Then he walked closer, cocking his head and flashing that charming smile that was his most potent weapon. "Hey," he greeted, keeping his eyes firmly on hers as he offered a hand. "You must be Axen-ee-a, right? Tell me if I'm not pronouncing it right. I'm Jack. Not quite as exotic or sexy, I know."

"Close, Ahx-EN-ya actually. It's a kind of... breathy pronunciation I think. Nothing too strong." She said with a confident smile as she extended her hand for a shake. A real lady's hand shake too. Not the kind given by business women trying to overcompensate for their lack of male genitalia. The kind that would give way softly to the male hand, but not the type to be mistaken for a dead flopping fish either. As she spoke her accent was obvious. The purring rolled 'r's of eastern Europeans that set aside the roman alphabet for cryptic Cyrillic letters. Like the code of a secret club in it's own little way.

Though it wouldn't show on her face, she was too well trained in hospitality to let it slip, she was thrown for a loop already. The man before her was quite simply not dressed for a first date, at a rinky-dinky small town dinner or not. Even a hillbilly would put in a little more effort. Axenia had upon occasion worn athletic gear on dates before, but that was hiking with her ex-husband. A much more casual, comfortable affair than a first date with a total stranger sight unseen. Axenia had to consciously try to keep her mouth shut and her eyes off his attire. But that was a difficult balancing act. She was all but reeling really. She'd see it through, she simply had too, but there was a part of her that already wanted to call it a night and go home to spend another night lying on her belly and watching her pet turtle try to eat grapes she sent rolling along the floor.

"I like it. It's a very simple, strong name I think. Like you're from good stock." she said with a smile as they made their way inside. Axenia held herself and those around her to a high standard, perhaps that was true. But of course, she wasn't without faults herself. For instance, her style of dressing still held an element of 'Fresh-off-the-boat' within. It may perhaps only be evident as something off, but the trained eye could see it. Today it was the several length of gold chain around her neck. She'd tried to make a modern fashion statement with it but there was still something just a tad too gaudy about it.

As they took their seats Axenia raised a hand to smooth down the side of some of her rambunctious curls. Again, like the chains just a little too much for some tastes. Still, she loved her hair, endlessly. Her best feature in her eyes. As the waitress tallied drinks Axenia ordered a glass of red and a water. She paused waiting for the young girl to hurry away once more and turned back to the man before her. Fashion choices aside he was handsome in a way. Axenia had always been a bit more interested in brunettes than blonds but that was a minor detail at best. He had a nice jawline and his eyes were a lovely shade. Perhaps it wouldn't be a wash. What was a woman if not someone who could polish up a man to his finest?

"So Jack, what brings you to Green Ridge? What do you do here? Have you always lived on the island?"

Oh fuck, one of those types. Jack had a healthy ego (and every reason to possess it, he figured), but he wasn't completely oblivious. He could sense the disdain in her critical gaze, the sexual possibilities closing like the stance of her legs. She was polite as hell, but he loathed manners in women. It just meant that they would lay on the bullshit instead of lay down in his bed. That added to the fact her greeting dripped pretentiousness...this was going to be a colossal waste of time. Oh well. At least he could have some fun with it, right? If he couldn't fuck Blanche DuBois, then he could at least get a good mind-screw in for the night.

"I like it. It's a very simple, strong name I think. Like you're from good stock."

He smirked a bit at that, surveying the dump as he entered. They entered an empty booth and almost immediately she started filling the awkwardness with conversation. Searching the menu, he searched for the hardest drink possible. "Actually, Snyder Sr. was a Pollock alcoholic. Brought that tradition from the good ol' land. When I was popped out of his second wife's womb, he had Jack Daniels ramming inside him. That's how I got my namesake." He looked up and grinned at her. Not true in the slightest, but it would do the job. Damn. She was even prettier in low lighting, he had to admit. Kind of soft and romantic - like those Lautrec madames, perched over their absinthe. Didn't change a damn thing, but hey, at least he could look. It was an image he could at least save for later.

"So I grew up and became a goddamn better man. Believe it or not, honey, I'm probs more educated than the finest gentlemen you could dream up. And how about you, Ahx-EN-ya? What's a refined lady like you doing with personals? Don't you know the dogs you attract you with that shit?"

Axenia gave a sniff of distaste and rolled her eyes at his story. "Ah yes, I know that song and dance all too well." She said simply. She'd be embarrassed later if she ever found out his story was false. Normally she wouldn't mention her father on a first date. Too bitter a business, too destructive for such a delicate situation. That is to say, she wasn't the type to hide her background–she preferred to celebrate her triumph over it– but she still would have with-held that at first. Just for the sake of pleasantness. In this instance however she felt comfortable exposing it. It was good to find common ground, even if it wasn't a green suburban lawn. She nodded understandingly before moving on. If he was terribly curious he could ask, but she wasn't about to divulge her personal woes otherwise.

She gave a light laugh at his description of the classifieds. Her hand fluttering to lightly touch her chest and throat. The way he said it you'd think she'd placed and ad in the seedy section of Craig's List. No, nothing quite so dangerous. At least not to her mind.

"Oh no, haven't you heard, the serial killers all use the internet now." She smirked and held his eye contact for a moment. She hoped a little bit of humor might ease their date. If he found her at all charming that was... Eye contact broke as the waitress brought their drinks over with a smile. Axenia gave a soft nod and a thank you as the woman left to give them a moment with the menus.

"No, in all seriousness. Well, I met my first husband over the internet. A site for woman looking for marriage in America, type of thing. But obviously I am divorced now, and since I have a steady job I wasn't open to moving for someone any longer. So I figured the newspaper would be easiest. More localized. And what about you sir? You seem plenty handsome enough to meet women in person. Is there not a co-ed gym around here?" Her tone shifted from playful to matter-of-fact and back to playful once more. A little sparkle to her eyes as she took a sip of her wine and waited for his response. Many people were shocked to hear she'd had a divorce at 25, long before most women even married the first time. But Axenia wasn't the type. She couldn't help what she wanted out of life and lying to herself and other's was no way to get it.