Lover For A Night

[Akeem Ten-Amen]

Akeem was back. He couldn’t say he missed the place. But he was now twenty-one, which meant he could have some fun in town. It was true though, he never really waited until he was twenty-one to go out in bars and nightclubs. Why should he, when he could use his power to convince the right people that he was old enough to be here? What do you say, it’s wrong? Yeah, right. People who said that were only hypocritical moralising morons or they were simply jealous because their power didn’t allow them to do that.

Despite all that, there was something nice in being able to simply flash your ID to get in somewhere. The club was loud, there was a small crowd gathered on the dance floor. It wasn’t so bad. He could live with that. Anyway, it wasn’t like he should be expecting more from a town like Kalispell.

He stepped in and scanned the room. He couldn’t bring someone home but he might be able to find someone who lived on her own. He wanted some fun and he intended to get it, even if he had to force the girl a little to accept doing it in the club’s restrooms. Now, he wouldn’t downright rape her. Merely put her in the right dispositions to do it.

Akeem also wanted to drink a little so he headed towards the bar to get something first. He then turned to look at the crowd and make his selection amongst the female population of Kalispell’s nightlife.

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina was bored. There were only two reasons she ever ended up in this club. To relieve stress or to relieve boredom. Though, she could honestly say that this club had never really done her much good either way, so why was she here? People always seemed to find such entertainment in these places, but the supposed glamor of it all eluded her completely. Sure, she’d had a few fun dances on the less crowded floor, but still… it just wasn’t enough. Dirty Little Secrets was a place she was much more comfortable in, but she couldn’t afford to tip the dancers well enough to go in good conscience at the current time.

    Selina belatedly realized that she’d probably get more relaxation from a workout, but she’d already finished her personal quota for the day so she’d wanted to do something different… which had led her here. To the Pulse. And now she was regretting her choice and sincerely thinking about leaving. Selina glanced about the club and sighed as she thought of going home alone. She’d wanted something akin to being around people. Even if she wasn’t the most social person, even she could occasionally feel the need for company.

    Selina turned to go, accidentally brushing against a guy on the way out, “Perdón,” she murmured unthinkingly. It was the reflexive answer she’d used ever since her childhood and she wasn’t about to correct herself for some American. She glanced up at him and thought he might be from the school. Not many people outside of Bellefonte in this town looked like anything other than the typical bland brand of pale-skinned mountainfolk that roamed this place.

[Akeem Ten-Amen]

The school was nice and all, but sometimes, a guy needed something more. Akeem didn’t want all of his acquaintances to be from there and, quite frankly, he didn’t give a damn about this whole ‘mutant community’ thing. If they wanted to stay amongst their ‘kind’ it was their problem but Akeem could see why people did not trust them. Who else liked to stay amongst their kind and have little contact with the rest of the world? Cults. He didn’t need to be labeled a freak of nature. There were already enough people who couldn’t make the difference between an American of Egyptian descent like him and the Muslim terrorists.

Though he didn’t feel that here. And he was glad. Because using his pheromones to put people at ease was tiresome. Akeem had stopped his choice on someone, a pretty blonde woman sitting at a table with what looked like a friend of hers. He was walking towards her when another girl passed right in front of him, even brushing him as they nearly bumped into one another. She was pretty good looking too and for a moment, she distracted him of his main course.

He didn’t hear her since she whispered her apology but he noticed her lips moving and figured what it probably was. “I’m sorry, it’s my fault,” he told her. He touched her elbow gently, just to have her stay here next to him, and gave her a smile. “Would you like a drink? You were not leaving are you?” Cue the big and charming eyes. He didn’t need to use his pheromones just yet to have her say yes. Even if she didn’t want to, the night was still young and there were plenty of interesting girls.

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina was briefly surprised at his manners and she rewarded the man with a warm smile, “Don’t worry about it, I wasn’t watching where I was going.” She was slightly surprised that he wasn’t the usual brand of creepy bastard that she ran into here. She gave him a quick onceover and decided he didn’t look half bad either. Maybe she’d actually have some luck here for once. Kalispell hadn’t been the best place for picking up random men for a night, as most of the men she’d briefly considered ended up proving themselves to be far below her standards.


    Selina paused and stiffened as his hand made contact with her skin. She was about to break a few of his fingers when she remembered that her response would be disproportionate to what he’d done. Besides, he’d been perfectly polite so far. Instead she merely pulled her arm gently away from him and smiled at his offer, “Sure. I could use a drink,” she admitted. Selina had a general policy not to turn down anything free. She’d learned to be very practical growing up in a poor home.


    Selina hadn’t truly wanted to go back to her dorm yet anyway, and perhaps this evening would turn out to be more interesting than she’d originally thought. If he turned out to be a cut above the usual she met here, she might even to come back to this club in the future.

[Akeem Ten-Amen]

Akeem had no difficulty to put on the charm. He was always ready to work it, if it was worth the effort. If something had little interest to him however, it was hard for him to pretend that it did. Including people. He had no idea what this girl could bring him but he was ready to see. He could have told her to watch it when she bumped into him. Had she been a guy, or a less attractive girl, he could have done it. But she was neither of these things and so he was polite, shrugging it off for the accident it really was.

He noticed how she pulled her arm away. He never meant to grab her or anything, just stopped her should she try to leave before he could talk. But he understood that this girl didn’t like to be touched. At least not yet. It was true they had not even shared their names. It was not necessarily important but he got the feeling that, for her, it would be. At least she agreed on the drink and his smile grew wider at this. He nodded and intended to head back towards the bar, this time making sure he was not touching her so she’d pull away again. “What would you like?” Akeem wouldn’t mind choosing for her but his choice might not be hers. He thought about playing it safe. As he went to the bar, he made sure to look whether she was following or not. He was not going to pay for a drink if she agreed only to slip off. He could still find a way to give it to someone else, but it was not the plan here. Then again, he already changed his main plan.

“Name’s Akeem,” he told her, getting close just enough to make sure she could hear him.

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina was glad he got the hint and let go of her. She then followed him to the bar and glanced at the list of drinks offered. Selina’s favorite drink back home had been a sweet Chilean white wine that was augmented with Pisco, a local whiskey, and pineapple ice-cream. Its name translated to earthquake and after a liter-and-a-half of the stuff you couldn’t walk straight and the earth really did seem to be moving. She’d found nothing like it here in the states however, so she was wanting to try something new. “Whatever you’re having,” she offered with a shrug.


    Selina then looked up at him and nodded, “My name’s Selina,” she replied easily. She didn’t mind him being close in the crowded club, she just hadn’t liked being touched without consent. That he had respected that was a definite positive in her mind. She was absently considering bringing him back to her dorm, but she was patient and would wait to see how things went. After all, she had no clue as to what lie beneath his charming veneer yet, so her guard was still high.


    “You come here often?” she asked as she watched the bartender, slightly fascinated. Selina had many differing interests and alcohol happened to be one of them. It was almost always her habit to watch how they mixed the drinks to see what they did differently from herself and her mother. She also held a healthy suspicion for what went into her drinks when they were bought by strangers, so her observation served a dual purpose.

[Akeem Ten-Amen]

Akeem was ready to go for a beer. He didn’t have that fancy a taste when it came to alcohol and couldn’t care less about all those cocktails but when she said she’d have what he was having, he did hesitate about ordering a beer. Maybe he should go for one of their fancy drinks after all. He ordered something with gin and maraschino liqueur. The pinkish color was not all that attractive to him but the taste compensated for it. Plus he wanted something she might like and nothing like a fancy cocktail they called aviation for that. Although he might have chosen it also because it was one of the first in the list of drinks offered.

Selina was a beautiful name. There was something cat-like about and he probably had Batman to thank for it. She didn’t seem shy so he figured the movement away from him earlier had more to do with him touching her. He’ll made sure to be more careful next time. He handed her the drink before answering her question. “I might. I’ve not been in town for long, still getting my bearings, finding all the good spots,” he told her. No doubt that a nightclub would be part of said good spots for him. Flirting at school might be easier but he happened to be amongst the oldest students and constantly picking amongst the younger ones, having to make sure they were actually the right age, it could be tiresome.

Akeem also didn't want with the cliché of telling her he’d come here more often if he knew he could meet her there. Were still people attracted to those lines? Maybe it was nice to know someone was flirting with you but it was so obvious that he thought to have more chances of being laughed at than get the reaction he wanted. “You’re a regular?”

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina took the drink from him with a grateful nod, “Thank you… And this town doesn’t have many good places, but this club is a nice enough diversion on occasion,” she offered. Damn that sounded formal. Like she was in a fucking job interview or something. Selina took a drink and hoped the alcohol would loosen her up. Selina shook her head in answer to his question, “Not really. I just come here to find distraction,” she smiled as she looked up at him, “And it seems like I got luckier than usual tonight,” she added as she took another sip of her drink.


    The alcohol tasted surprisingly good and the familiarity of having a drink in her hand helped her to relax marginally. “Do you mind if I ask where you’re from, if not Kalispell?” she asked in curiosity. Selina was always more interested in those who didn’t originate in the little town, as she found she often had more in common with them than with the locals. Then again, it might be better if she knew less as opposed to more. If this was going to end up a one night stand, it would be so much easier to break ties in the morning if he didn’t feel like there was a chance for something further.


    Selina knew that she could get paranoid about these types of things, but the clingy men who she’d had to forcefully eject from her room in the past made her wary. She refused to worry about it too much though. She wanted to enjoy tonight, so she decided to deal with whatever damned consequences would come in the morning when they came. Besides, there was always the chance that he was better than she gave him credit for. Selina decided to merely wait and see.

[Akeem Ten-Amen]

“This town’s not very big, I guess it was to be expected,” Akeem admitted as she claimed this might be one of the best distraction it had to offer. There didn't seem to have a lot of clubs around town. He noticed a few other bars but not that many clubs. Not in that style at the very least.

Akeem was not that knowledgeable about the nightlife but he sure had wished for something a little more... more. But he was stuck here and he would make the best out of it until he could be out. Then he wouldn’t bury himself in some little town with little to offer. Okay, maybe it had a little more than what he claimed there was, but it was not like him to go to arcades, markets or poetry readings. He wanted loud music, fresh drinks and the feeling of flesh against flesh. Like she said, this was the best he could have in that domain.

He smirked at her comment. “It is distracting, I’ll give it that. We need more parties at the school but they are too strict for that and I doubt we’d ever get good drinks. I doubt we would even have bad beer,” he let out. He was not ashamed to say he was a student. Saying he was studying law would have its effect should they discuss that. Besides, it was not like she could seriously believe he was a high schooler.

He did not mind her question at all but made sure to drink first. “Not at all. I’m from Portland,” he answered. “I know, it’s not New York or L.A. but it’s still nice, I assure you.” He laughed at that. Was he really promoting his town? He was not nearly that loyal to it. “What about you? You’re from here or you moved in as well?” In the end, did it really matter though, if all he wanted was her body? Oh well, he could still have a little chat while they emptied their glasses.

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina nodded and glanced around her with a grimace, “I think the best you could say for Kalispell, is that it’s ‘quaint,’” the way she said the word made it clear she wasn’t giving a compliment. Ah well, not every city could be as varied and interesting as Santiago. With that being said, she’d still met quite a few people who’d piqued her curiosity since she’d come here. So Kalispell certainly wasn’t ideal but she supposed it had some advantages. She appreciated the mountains nearby and the natural beauty here at the very least.


    And the school brought in some diversity, regardless of the shitty town it’d had the bad luck of ending up in. Selina took another drink, and decided to focus on what positives she could. She was getting free alcohol off of a handsome guy who could potentially end up providing her with a meaningless fuck. Life wasn’t bad. Life was actually pretty good, if she thought about it that way. Yup, she was a positive thinker.


    Selina let out a laugh at his comment and nodded, “Tell me about it. No hard liquor whatsoever, and they’d expect us to enjoy it.” She smiled as she learned he was from Bellefonte. At least he wouldn’t freak out and run in the other direction if she ended up taking him back to her dorm. She’d had that happen once when a regular guy found out she was headed towards “the school for freaks” or whatever he’d called it, and while it was incredibly amusing, it also left her without one of life’s simpler and more enjoyable pleasures.


    Selina nodded once more, having brushed up on her U.S. geography, she sort of knew what he was talking about… sort of. She then smiled in response to his question, “I grew up in Chile all my life and this is my first year here. I transferred from the school in Santiago,” she explained easily as she took another sip.

[Akeem Ten-Amen]

Akeem paused the time to think about her way to describe Kalispell. “I guess you’re right. I suppose it has its charms, just not one that rubs off on me much,” he agreed with her. Quaint... yes, that did depict it well. To him, it was like suburbs only with some ranches and farms not too far. Then again, in Akeem’s mind, there could easily be farms near suburbs. He was that prejudiced about it. And she seemed to be thinking no different as she did not appear to like it much around here either. Akeem was a city boy, plain and simple. Nature, peace and quiet, friendly neighbours and having to walk miles to get to a store was not for him. He doubted it would ever.

Funny, since Portland offered its share of nature too. But there was a different between a park and patches of woods you can go through to get somewhere faster and the wildlife. It was not the same thing. Especially since Akeem’s family did not live around the patches of woods. Nothing quaint about their lives. Other less agreeable adjectives could be used but he was not going to speak them.

Instead, he laughed with Selina. “Yeah, they need to offer us some place where we can have fun without risking involving the high schoolers if that’s what they are so scared of. All fun and no play, right?” Though he could get his fun in other ways. Still, he might not have to go in town every time he felt the need to dance to loud music if they could organize a party there once in a while. He hoped she was from Bellefonte. He didn’t exactly have a place to bring her to other than his dorm and was not feeling like going to her parents’ house for a bit of fun. He was aware there apparently was a college for the ‘regular’ kids but he had no idea what it was like and if it offered housings. It would suck if he did all this only to go home alone.

“Chile, wow. You are suddenly a lot more exotic than I would ever be,” he let out as she told him where she was from. She already had an exotic look but then again, so did he. Unlike her however he had never been to Egypt. He was born here. He emptied his glass as he looked at her. “Can I ask you to dance or do I have to offer you another drink first?”

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina laughed and nodded, “Same. Though the view is lovely,” she added with a teasing grin as she gave him a slow once-over. Taking life too seriously was boring and stressful, which was so not what she was looking for tonight. Selina had enjoyed the liveliness of Santiago and the quiet life that Kalispell offered wasn’t really her thing, but she was adaptable and able to take the good with the bad… though there seemed to be a lot less good. Selina finished off her drink to clear her head. She wasn’t here to reminisce but to make new memories, and hopefully those new memories involved a man in her bed tonight.


    Selina nodded to him, “Yes. It always seemed odd to me that they’d allow the high school to be practically a part of the college campus. Some of the high schoolers may be tolerable, but the proximity causes more problems than its worth,” she offered. Selina then grinned, “So that means you’re from Bellefonte as well?” she asked, though she already knew the answer. How nice. She wouldn’t have to worry about him freaking out over the fact that she could make his blood freeze. Not that she ever used her power unless she absolutely had to, but still.


    Selina sighed and barely prevented herself from rolling her eyes, “You call me ‘exotic’ again, and I’ll flip you into the bar,” she threatened as she set her empty glass down. “Birds and carpets are ‘exotic’. I am a human, and I don’t appreciate being gawked at like I’m some rarity in an exhibition,” she added in annoyance. Damn. Selina took a breath. She really shouldn’t care. If he saw her as an object, she didn’t need to focus on that. She would just use him for his body and be done with it. She didn’t need his respect and she didn’t need to like him. Respect was a commodity that she rarely found regardless, so why want it here?


    Selina glanced up at him, “I could go for a dance if you’re up for it,” she admitted. Drinks encouraged more talking. She didn’t want to talk anymore, just get lost in the physical. She would make herself forget about everything, including him if necessary, and live in the moment. Besides, she wouldn’t sleep with him if her mind was fogged with alcohol. It was a policy of hers that she wouldn’t ever break.

[Akeem Ten-Amen]

“I guess so,“ Akeem said. He did not particularly enjoy the view all that much himself. He was not going to argue with her though. She was entitled to her opinion and he didn’t want her to go away just because he kept thinking differently. Well, this was about the first time he might be thinking differently but he still didn't want her to go away. He was enjoying this and was not against enjoying it further.

Akeem could tolerate some of the high schoolers and ignore most of them but there were clear disadvantages in having them near. Life as a college kid was not the same. Without being one who would party every night and not wake up until noon with a terrible hangover, he still wished they could have more liberties and the ability to party when they wanted. But it was hard to and he felt as though the only advantage they gave them was a longer curfew. If he could understand that some students should not leave the school, it was ridiculous. Maybe it was just the fact he experienced what it was like in another, more regular college that he felt like it. Who knows? He nodded at her question. “Yes, I am. I left after high school but I returned for college,” he explained, ignoring the part where he had little choice but to come here to continue his studies. She didn’t need to know that. “You are too I take it?” Perfect. That would make taking her back a lot easier.

He laughed. Maybe she was threatening him for real, he was not sure. He would listen to her of course and not say that again. “I didn’t mean to compare you to a carpet. I get that term a lot myself. Never cared much but I won’t use it again. I can guarantee you I wouldn’t be nearly as interested if you were an object in an exhibition.” Obviously, she was sensitive on the subject and Akeem preferred not to know why.

Dancing seemed even more important now, to get her mind off this. Their glasses empty, he gave her a hand so he could take her to the dance floor. With some luck, this would go a lot better than the conversation. At the very least, it would allow him to be more physical and he was all for it.

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina laughed at his response, “I meant the view from right here,” she explained. “You are quite the handsome devil, and I was trying to give you a compliment,” Selina offered with a grin. His hatred of Kalispell seemed to outstrip her own, which was both amusing and comforting in an odd way. She knew there were others who didn’t appreciate Bellefonte, but at the same time, it was always nice to actually meet them. She did sometimes like the views that the mountains nearby offered, but she wouldn’t really talk about such things with him. For some reason, the things that made her content or happy were more personal in nature than those which she despised. It was part of the reason why she could speak of her distaste for Kalispell so easily, yet not let a word slip about actually liking nature, chocolate, or even alcohol.


    Selina then nodded in response to his question, “I am,” she replied simply. To come back to the town that he seemed to despise so much after having been able to leave… there was an interesting story there, but she certainly wouldn’t pry. She didn’t have any need to find out personal details that wouldn’t matter later. Sometimes her curiosity overcame her common sense, but tonight she was a little too sober. Damn. Part of her just wanted to get really drunk and have sex anyway, but she knew better. Selina wasn’t one to risk anything that she couldn’t afford to… except for when she did. Her anger and her impulsive nature had gotten her into some nasty scrapes, but she was trying to be better recently.


    Selina sighed as she listened to his explanation and looked him over once before she shook her head, “Don’t worry about it too much. I’m just more on edge than I’d originally thought,” she offered with an easy smile that wasn’t entirely genuine, but she was trying. It wasn’t all that important in the end anyway, and she didn’t want to scare him away. Besides, he likely had to deal with some of the same shit that she did from what he’d just said, though she imagined they didn’t sexualize and dehumanize him in quite the same way. Either way, it was a moot point now.
Selina took his offered hand with a grin and headed out to the dance floor. There were better things to focus on.

[Akeem Ten-Amen]

“Oh,” he let out as only answer to his mistake. How did he manage to miss a compliment? Akeem tended to notice them usually, perhaps even more than he did insults, but this time, he thought she was just talking of the view around the town and not here in this club. He grinned back at her. “I’ll take this compliment with pleasure. Hope it’s not too late to say the view is the most lovely from my point too. If so, pretend you didn't hear,” he kept a smile on, as if teasing. As interested as she appeared to be in him, there was something about her that also made it quite clear she wanted none of his bullshit. Normally, a girl would love to hear some of that crap before showing her interest, even when that would last only for a night. She might be even more straightforward than he was. All the better, there would be no awkward after moment.

And the fact she seemed to be from Bellefonte made it even better, and simpler. The only dilemma they might have would be to know which dorm they would go to. For a moment, he did worry she could be a high school student with a fake ID. This would make things awkward for real. Oh well, he would regret it tomorrow if that was the case.

“Well if there’s anything I can do to get you off the edge, just let me know,” he replied as she tried to reassure him somehow. Yes, he was suggesting something there and no he was not being subtle. If she was straightforward, he saw little point in not making it clear what he was expecting at the end of the day.

For now though, they would dance. It was a nice prelude to what else he might have in mind. And if that helped her calm down and relax, they would both benefit from it. Akeem thought he was better at dancing than smooth talking. It was hard after all to know exactly how to talk to get just any girl when all you had to do was throw some pheromones in the air to have them all at your feet. There were too many people around though so he had to focus on not thinking about that. It was like saying not to think of pink elephants. So he focused his attention on her instead and moving in rhythm with her and the music.