Rawk

New Person!

@RedPotato, you had me at D&D.

#nerdgasmftw

Oh, and Welcome to the Guild.

The Perfect Li[f]e (Rawk & Xandrya)

Traffic sucked, and there was still about an hour to go before peak rush hour kicked in and every electric and gas powered vehicle hit the road at the same time, clogging up the Manhattan streets more than they already were. Ethan sat with his head tilted back against the seat rest, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel to the steady beat of Would?, by Alice in Chains and staring blankly out across the lines of cars ahead through a pair of black RayBan Wayfarers. He couldn’t tell you how many times he’d run the same gauntlet in the afternoon, eventually stuck at a dead stop on Park Avenue, on his way to the gym to get a bit of tension out of his mind and body before starting the evening off right. And yet the incessant waiting just to move a few inches never seemed to get any better. Although, fortunately, the man that he was, needed car that could keep up with his hectic lifestyle while still maintaining the comfort and convenience needed for day-to-day work.

Enter, the midnight black Maserati GranTurismo, four hundred and fifty-four horses of raw beast packed into a sleek and sexy automobile that would probably be considered one of Ethan’s most prized possessions, if he could consider himself attached to anything at all. He just about sank into the heated leather seats as the warmth relaxed the stiffness in his lower back from a day of walking and standing.

Shit, Ethan. Thirty-Five years old and you’re already feeling the aches and pains of life.

Forty-five minutes later landed him at the gym and into his typical workout sweats and tank for about an hour of intensive -but maybe not too intensive- workout with Jack Williams, a longtime friend. The man was balding, slightly shorter but much wider and heavier set than Ethan, and knew how to pack on the carbs and calories like they were going out of style. Oddly enough though, he tended to maintain a steady weight regardless.

“Alright, so how’d she look?.” Jack inquired as he stood at the head of the weight bench, spotting his friend who was benching his usual one-thirty-five.

“Who?” The other asked with a wry grin as he lowered the bar to his chest on his fourth rep.

“Oh don’t play fuckin’ coy with me dude. Was she hot?”

Part of Ethan wanted to really mess with his friend and just straight out lie about Clara, maybe tacking on some kind of horrible story like she was in a fiery car accident that left half her body covered in third-degree burns and no hair or eyebrows. But, honestly, the man couldn’t even bring himself to that point. Not with her.

“Yeah, she was alright.” He said cooly, not wanting to give too much away.

The truth of the matter was that she looked even better than he remembered. Happy even, like nothing in the world could unhinge her in the slightest. But then again, the Starbucks meeting was brief, as they both had places to be, so it could have all been a combination of her hiding any emotional baggage really well, and Ethan simply being infatuated with one of the most beautiful women he knew.

“Bullshit!” Jack exclaimed with a chuckle, pushing down on the bar, causing the other to strain under the pressure. “Tell me the truth, or this thing’s gonna crush your neck.”

“Alright, fine!.” Ethan growled, not really amused by his friend’s sense of humor at the moment. “She was hot.”

The spotter continued to push. “But how hot, bro?” Okay, now he was being an asshole just because.

“Fuck you Jack.” The other growled again. “Now let go before I drop this on your ugly ass feet.”

Ethan pushed the bar up finally and rested onto the vertical supports before sitting up and taking a few long, deep breaths as beads of sweat broke and ran down his face.

“Oh yeah, she was more than hot.” Jack snickered, clearly amused. “I know I can’t wait to see her again.” He made a mocking, guttural growling noise. “Double date then?”

Yep, everyone had to have a friend like Jack. Maybe not to the same extremes he went, but just about anyone who was anyone had the obnoxious “gotta-love-him-anyway” kind of guy who seemed to keep their friends in line by shaking up their world a little and constantly getting under their skin.

“Yeah, I’m thinking not. In fact, I’ll probably keep her far away from you.” Ethan shook his head as he wiped the moisture from his face and neck. “Now that I think about, isn’t there still a pending restraining order against you from a few years ago. You know she hated you anyway, bruh.”

“You mean that ‘ass-grab’ thing at that salsa club in Midtown all those years ago?” The short, fatter man laughed for a moment and then the jovial expression began to melt away. “So-ah...you think she actually remembers that?”

“Dude, Clare remembers everything.” Ethan stood to his feet and turned to Jack. “Sorry bruh.” He said with faux sympathy, patting the man on his broad shoulder. “You’re doomed.”

His friend stood there with a rather down-cast expression, then a moment later shrugged while grabbing his gym bag and bottled water. “Ah well, I’m sure she’ll be thinking of me anyway the whole time.” He grinned to himself before taking a gulp of water. “Probably more so when you two are fucking like wild monkeys.”

“Jesus, Jack, shut up…” Ethan sighed, looking forward to getting the hell out of the gym, away from his idiot friend, and back home into a hot shower.

Post a random fact about yourself.

I prefer only the edible sort of apples. I have an android and a tablet.

@Gunther

This is the only way to roll.

Speaking of mobile devices. I learned yesterday during a work conference that stepping away from the table and leaving your phone unlocked for your co-workers to fill your gallery with crazy selfies is just not smart.

Give Me Your Favorite Lyric(s).

Strangelove
Strange highs and strange lows
Strangelove
That's how my love goes
Strangelove
Will you give it to me?

- Depeche Mode | "Strange Love"

Nice To See You

Welcome to the Guild, @clowso

Current Mood in One Gif

My response to @Briza from the other side.

The Perfect Li[f]e (Rawk & Xandrya)

“There’s two kinds of people in our world. The ‘business leaders’ and the ‘business followers’.” The tall, lean, clean-cut man stood at one end of a black rectangular conference table which was situated in the center of the large room. “Unfortunately, from what I am seeing in the last few years, this club has been following the wrong trends, and chasing that white rabbit down into a hole of failure.” The man speaking motioned toward the projected image on the whiteboard behind him, which showed a comprehensive business plan with a few barcharts and marketing concepts to supplement the information given.

At the other end of the table, seated in high-back leather office chairs were three of Black Rhino’s management team, each seemingly captivated by their charismatic presenter as he glided through infographics and statistics regarding the past and current profit trends for the company, as well as subtle yet very relevant mistakes the nightclub has made in the past years which drove profit margins into the ground. What had once been a hotspot for not only the everyday working class, but for all those higher-ups on Wall Street, was slowly being eaten up by competitors all over New York City, and the Black Rhino felt the hit. Fortunately for them, Ethan Campbell, a friend of the owner and long-time advocate of the New York Nightclub scene was happy to impart his years of experience and wisdom on yet another struggling entertainment spot.

“Look, at the end of the day, folks, it’s not about who can throw the best parties in town.” He concluded after almost a two-hour session, closing down the PowerPoint presentation on his laptop, and clicking the projector off. “It’s about making a name that screams ‘WE THROW THE BEST FUCKIN’ PARTIES ANYWHERE IN MANHATTAN!’ “ His voice bolstered with excitement, momentarily flailing his arms out to drive the point, and then settled back to a normal tone. “It’s about having an identity that leaves an impact your guests will never forget.”

Ethan was a lot of things, to a lot of people, but everyone could agree that he would do what he set out to accomplish, or die trying. Born and raised in the Crown Heights neighborhood of central Brooklyn to a lower-middle class family and attending one of New York’s worst public school. In an attempt to not end up like his alcoholic father, or mother, who shacked up with other boyfriends just to get away from her husband, Ethan decided to get part-time work at restaurants and also attend night classes at community colleges, hoping to one day get the hell out of Brooklyn and perhaps even New York altogether. Well, long story short, he stuck around New York, but thankfully found bartending work at a few stripclubs in Manhattan and could eventually afford to live pretty decently. It wasn’t until his late twenties that he’s finally gone into business for himself, as not only a consultant for many of the clubs he’s worked for, but others across the Five Boroughs. A tough gig, sure. But well worth the effort.

“Thank you for your time, Ethan.” An older lady, one of the management staff, smiled as she shook his hand. “You certainly gave us something to think about, and I-uh” The woman still held firm to Ethan’s hand. “Hope to be seeing more of you.”

“It was my pleasure, Susan.” The man nodded with a pleasing grin, placing his other hand on top of hers. “And without a doubt, I’ll be happy to assist once you guys are ready.”

---

He was glad the day was winding down. Four client meetings, all at different corners of the city, and one of which was about as sketchy as they came. He often wondered why he took certain business on in the first place, realizing that they aren’t going to benefit much from his help, nor is he going to see much in the way of monetary gain. At least he had something to look forward to later in the evening.

Ethan couldn’t help but smile to himself, thinking about the chance run-in with Clarissa. How long had it been since they saw one another? At least a few years. Time flew by like most things do, and with career, traveling, and the rush of life as it was, it seemed there was little time to dive back into anything serious. But damn if it wasn’t good to see her again. It had really been like the memories of old times came flooding back all at once. Some good. Some bad. But mostly awesome. But what the hell was a man like Ethan to do with a girl like Clare? Sure, having a cop as a girlfriend was more of a turn-on than the guy would admit, but it always felt as though things were becoming distant for each of them. As though he was going in one direction, as she was moving in the opposite.

Hmm. C'est la vie.

The Perfect Li[f]e (Rawk & Xandrya)

@Xandrya, IC is up, so feel free to post at your leisure :)

The Perfect Li[f]e (Rawk & Xandrya)

Name:
Ethan Campbell

Age:
35

Occupation:
Officially a Nightclub Consultant within NYC. Unofficially, a “Fixer” for the Shadowland, but believing he is working for an underground organization who pays him well enough not to question the source.

Personality Traits:
Extrovert | Confident | Ambitious | Protective Instinct | Independant