She's a Wildflower

[Matt Wilson]

"See, I reckon on this endin' one of three ways for ya," Matt said, holding up three fingers with the arm that leaned atop the bar. "One," index finger up, "an' by far the most likely. Lady here kicks yer ass so hard that you wake up in the mornin' convinced you went three rounds with a pro. Two," two fingers, "I kick yer ass an' you wake up in the hospital an' I gotta explain to my cop friends how you got there. Three," third finger, "you walk away now, nursin' that drink an' your wounded pride."

Matt arched his brows and then wrapped his fingers back into a fist. Yeah, he probably figured that the show of machismo wasn't exactly necessary. Tamara Sulik came in from time to time, usually dressed in a way that drew a two-syllable damn out of Matt. He'd seen her do pretty much the first enough to know that when he said that, it was definitely a viable option. Still, he could no sooner abandon his chivalry than he could his accent. His momma would whup him if she found out he'd let a woman get insulted in his presence, let alone in his establishment.

So it was lean, look every inch the impressive ex-special forces guy, and give the guy the three options, all while expecting Tamara to be simultaneously grateful and to try punching him a few times.

[Tamara Sulik]

Tamara was no damsel in distress. Of course, some people might think otherwise. Just like some people might think she was just a damsel that needed to be taken care of. Sadly for her, those who believed that last option tended to be in the most annoying categories of men. Considering she believed having more balls than any of them, she did not hesitate to point out how little interest she had for them. Most got the hint. Some however needed a little help to understand that. Again, it was something she could normally do on her own. That being said, she was not going to argue with Matt as he decided to take care of things.

She’d been ignoring the guy for quite some time now, nursing her drinks and only talking to the owner of the place to show just how little interest she had in having a conversation with him. But he refused to listen. She had started to lose patience, something that Matt apparently picked but not the guy. She was actually grateful that Matt chose to step up to take care of this. He noticed how the man had been acting around her and he knew that she could indeed kick some serious ass when pushed that much but this was his place and she wanted to still be welcomed here and not cause him any trouble.

Some guys just felt the need to be chivalrous and in this particular occasion, she was ready to let Matt be so. She sipped on her drink quietly before turning her face towards the guy. This might be one of the very few glances he received from her and definitely the longest one she gave him. She was waiting to know which one it was going to be.

She was aware Matt made more of an impression than her and was certainly the reason why the man walked away, probably muttering some more insults their way. Not that she care. He could call her a tease or some terrible term for lesbian. So long as he left her alone, she was fine with that. Her eyes then turned towards Matt. “I think he was one of the worse,” she let out. A small smile appeared on her lips as she handed him her glass so he could fill it up again. “Thanks for that.”

[Matt Wilson]

the guy walked away, likely mumbling curses, and Matt was half-tempted to yell after him. He didn't particularly like that breed of clientele, but they did have a tendency to sit at a bar and order their share of drinks. Sometimes it was worth swallowing a bit of distaste in order to get some cash in the pocket. Matt just would rather not alienate another fairly regular customer in the process. And given a choice, he definitely knew which face he'd rather be looking at.

"Happens when you run a joint with hole in the name," Matt admitted. he took the glass, quickly moving it over to give her a refill of her usual drink. "You know, you could jus' avoid dealin' with trouble like that if you jus' found a higher class of place to drink," he set the drink in front of her, leaning forward again and smiling. "'course, that would bring the ambiance of this place down a few notches, an' I can't promise that the business would survive."

He chuckled and leaned back, drumming a quick beat on the bar before pointing at her drink. "That one's on the house," he insisted, before giving another little rap to the tap. "Cuz I'm obviously hopin' to bribe you into stickin' around."

[Tamara Sulik]

Tamara just wanted to say good riddance. A part of her brain did remind her that she better hope he was not the kind to sit there and bide his time only to meet with her in the parking lot or something. But she also couldn’t believe she cannot take him if that happened. Not wise, certainly, but as long as she was sitting here at the bar she was safe and that let her think such things. Anyway, she was certain he was more the type to be all talk. He’ll get over it.

Didn’t make it any less of a pain though and Tamara smiled at Matt’s little jest. “Hey, I’ve been on your side of the counter before. At least I get the chance to walk away if they’re going too far,” she retorted. Then again, an odd thought came to her, making her wonder if Matt ever had to endure someone like that. Certainly. If not someone flirting with him, he must have seen and heard his share of annoying men, whining over their bad luck and being insulting beyond measure, excused by everyone around because he was drunk yet said excuse being said with disgust in the voice. One thing she was glad not to have to deal with.

She smiled as she brought the glass closer to her. “And here I thought you would say I needed to wear something more covering.” Speaking to Matt was clearly more enjoyable than any conversation the current clientele of his bar could offer her. She saw no reason to leave that seat of hers to look for someone else. She kept smiling, amusing by him comments. She was not naive to the point of thinking there was any truth in that but she had yet met anyone who didn’t like to be complimented like this. “Oh? But I could never let you run out of business, that will simply not do.”

She lifted her glass to thank him as he decided this one was on the house. “You know, I love your place but I always feel like I’m missing a cowboy hat or something to really fit in,” she said after she drank some of the alcohol in the glass and took the time to look around. She offered him another one of her amused smile.

[Matt Wilson]

"Hell, you wanna come back over, you know there's a job waiting for ya," Matt said, adding another wink. He would've agreed with Tamara's assessment: there were indeed people that he would love to eject from his bar. He didn't quite work his way through the clientele that closely. Matt did have a bit of a live and let live. So long as you didn't mess with the girls more than they wanted and you didn't break anything too expensive, you were allowed in. Hell, Matt had poured drinks for some people he knew were kids.

her comment about wearing more had him snorting. "And deprive myself of the best damn view in the whole bar?" He asked, adding another chuckle. "Tam, I'm a gentleman, I ain't stupid." He added another wink and grinned, before pouring himself a drink and taking a position nearish to her, still keeping himself near the tap, still looking over the bar and doing what an owner should be doing.

"Want one?" he asked, looking over at her and grinning. "Because about the only way you'd be any hotter is if you had one perched atop your head. Shit, you come in here with one and a pair of Daisy Dukes an' we'll be beating them off with the stick," he reached down beneath the bar, coming up with an officially labeled (emblazoned with actual flame) "Beating Stick." "Jus' in case," he said, nodding a few times and slapping it into his fist. Technically this was Mk 3... the first two had become so much kindling from use.

[Tamara Sulik]

If she wanted to be a barmaid again? Not really. This kids with attitude were replaced by customers with attitude and unlike at school where she could do something about it, write something down in their file, give them detention or just close a door in their face, she would have to stay behind the bar and pretend she didn’t have enough of them already. “Tempting, but I think I’ll pass,” she said with a smile, doubting in the first place that Matt had been serious. He seemed to be doing fine enough as it was. And she had far better chances to get her son back working at Bellefonte than at his bar, no disrespect for the establishment intended.

Besides, she came here for two reasons: the drinks were good and the man serving the drinks was good. Had it not been for that, she would have found herself another place. It was not like she didn't visit other bars and nightclubs when she felt like it. It all depended what she wanted of her night. She laughed with him. “Is that how we flirt in the south?” she teased him. She didn't really care about the other customers and whether or not they found it fair she gave her attention only to the barman and not them. She was not here to find a bedmate.

She had this image now, of herself with that shirt on but the shorts and the cowboy hat. She could totally wear that without feeling shy at all. She was aware of the way she looked and never did anything to hide it. “I think I might just have my Halloween costume for this year,” she let out, an amused smile playing on her lips. She looked at the ‘stick’ as he called it. She had to stretch her neck a little to look at the thing. “God, I’m not sure I want to know what kind of customers you have when I’m not around,” she replied after he admitted this was the third one. She drank only to replace her glass on the counter to add “Though I believe I’ve seen you show your skills with it once. Never thought people would be stupid enough to come at it again.”

[Matt Wilson]

Matt shrugged as Tamara turned down his "offer." Would he have given her the job? If she asked for it, probably. But he didn't think that she'd leave her real job; she was too attached to it, too much this strange nurturing figure to really want to give it up for reasons like that. Besides, she probably didn't want to spend any more time in this hole than she had to.

As far as the flirting went, he had to give her a smile and a shrug. "Southerner, God fearin' American, veteran, combat veteran, actually," he gave her another smile before adding another shrug. Like Tamara didn't already know enough about him; he wasn't exactly shy about anything along those lines. He had to grin at her mention of the costume, however.

"If you do, you oughta trick or treat 'round here," he suggested, flicking his fingers her direction and adding a slight nod. There was the stick to be pulled out then, and Matt had to grin as she talked about it, adding a slight nod. "Pretty decent at it, when it comes down to it," he admitted, giving the thing a few swings. "You'd be surprised at how ornery people can be with it. Takes a few sometimes. Least I haven't had to call the cops but a few times," Matt chuckled and set it back where it belonged, before eyeing Tamara's glass. Not that he had any particular reason to keep it filled or anything. "You lookin' to eat any?" He asked, before looking at her. "Most of the grub'll attack yer gut, but it's edible enough."

[Tamara Sulik]

It was nice to know that, should anything happen, she could count on Matt to help her out but the fact remained she didn’t need his help, not in that way. She already had a job and even if she often grumbled at the students and what she had to deal with thanks to them, she actually liked it. It was the first job she kept for more than a few months and it had grown on her. There were still times when she felt the urge to leave it all behind. Roots were good and she wanted some but she also had a feeling of being trapped along with them and she always had this reflex when that happened to run away. She had to control that urge and stay. It eventually went away. If not, some time off did the trick. She now understood the appeal of vacations. “You don’t find it tiring sometimes? Two works? When do you even sleep?”

Tamara nodded, certain she heard something along those lines before regarding Matt. With Spence too. She figured the two men also knew each other before working here, judging by the way they interacted together but she didn’t know much more than that. It was not like she was always around whenever these two decided to mention their common past. If they ever did go in detail there. “You know, when I hear the word veteran, I can’t help but imagine someone older. Then again, I rarely think about the army,” she shared. Why would she think of that, really? It was not like she ever had any wish to enlist, either in this one or back in Serbia.

She grinned to him as he pointed out she had to come over here should she ever put on that Daisy Duke attire. “I’ll make note of that, even if Halloween generally means trying to calm down whatever party the students decide to throw. Isn’t that awesome to be the adult?” she said, a teasing smirk playing on her lips at the thought. Oh, she cut them some slack, let them party a bit. Even the school allowed that. But there was a limit not to cross and someone had to be the annoying one telling them it was over for tonight. Then Matt pulled out his bat, no pun intended, and she listened to him. “I don’t worry too much for you there. In fact, I’d even pity whoever pissed you off. I wouldn’t want to end at the wrong of that thing if you’re swinging it.” Especially with his ability. No doubt he could break a few skulls if they pushed him to that.

Tamara paused at the question he gave her. “Why not. At this rate, I won’t be in any state to drive back and that might not be a good idea,” she agreed. An amused smile showed up as she slapped the man’s arm. “I can take spices. Bring it on.”

[Matt Wilson]

"I make time," Matt said, shrugging. "Catch catnaps when I can. It ain't too bad," in truth Matt wasn't the best of sleepers. Part of the whole veteran thing, but also the fact that he'd been married just long enough to get used to having someone around. The two combined to make him sort of twitchy, and not in fun ways.

"I'm downright ancient," Matt drawled, meeting Tamara's eyes. He knew what she meant though, knew it all too well. He could recall being a kid and looking at all those veterans standing up at sporting events and who knows what. It always seemed like there were those Vietnam vets or something like that. You didn't expect the strong looking young guy. Like the army had to take everything from you instead of giving.

Boy, was that deeper than Matt really wanted to go. He definitely appreciated the conversation turning to imagining Tamara in a pair of Daisy Dukes. though he had to admit that if she actually did, he'd probably have to find the courage to actually say something to her. Or he'd end up using the bat on someone for getting too touchy, one or the other. He tucked it away for now.

"Spice an' grease," he pointed out, before nodding. "You thinkin' of tryin' our hot wings? Or maybe you'd rather have some onion rings or somethin' along those lines. We use some of the local beer in the batter, tastes awesome. You'll have to do some dancin' or somethin' after to burn it off, but it'll be worth it while it's in your mouth."

[Tamara Sulik]

After she asked him how he did it, Tamara thought that maybe sleeping was an issue with him. It seemed to be the case with many of those who’ve lived the kind of experience a war can make you live. Still, there was a limit how much the body can take without good, proper rest and it just got worse with age. Not that she really worried for Matt. He was an adult and as such he could do whatever he wanted with his life without her being all too affected by it. “If you’re ever tired of sleeping on the teacher’s lounge’s couch, just tell me. I know which rooms are empty. Unless you enjoy crashing on one of the beds at the infirmary,” she said with a little teasing smirk. She knew he and Spencer were friends or at least acquaintances. She didn’t know too well about Spencer’s work ethic but he might just let his friend rest there. It was not all that improbable. If no one needed the bed...

She laughed. “Yes, right. And what’s ancient for you? Be careful of what you’re going to answer,” she joked. Not that he had to answer that one though. They dealt with teenagers, she bet he too heard a few of them consider them really old just because they were passed thirty of age. “I guess it’s because whenever they want vets to talk to kids, the only ones who have the time to do that are the retired ones,” she said, coming back to the topic of the veterans. The younger ones had a life to live still, they couldn’t really afford volunteering like this. Unless they were paid? Tamara never really bothered to ask. “Or maybe it’s because the only one who was a veteran in my hometown was some sort of old geezer. He was not all that bad once you knew him but he had way too much fun yelling at all of us.” She remembered him chasing the kids off his property. Yet if you lost something in there, he’d give it back to you, if you fell down, he’d pick you up and tell you to be careful. He was an old grumpy bastard when she was a kid but now that she thought of him with her adult mind, she could see he was not all that bad. She preferred not to think that people believed she was like that too.

“That’s not scaring me,” she pointed out. She was not one of those women who ran away at the simple mention of grease. She never understood this insanity of reducing every portion of food to the lowest level of calories possible. Chocolate bars were half their usual size now, just so they can write they were now under one hundred cals. That was ridiculous. If you wanted to cheat by eating a chocolate bar, you should cheat for real. As for hot wings... “How about a bit of both? I feel adventurous. I’ll tell you when you’ll come to the school if my stomach cursed both of us for this.”

[Matt Wilson]

"Should I be worried 'bout you knowin' all the places to crash in the school?" Matt asked teasingly. As if he didn't already know about Tamara's work ethic. Most of the people who walked into his bar had a work ethic that was impressive to say the least and probably downright detrimental to their health to say a good deal more than that. Matt knew just about every one connected to the school and he couldn't think of a one who put in too many damn hours at the place.

Course, he seemed to be right in there with them, and a few years older than most of them as well. Wasn't nearly as draining as the time he'd spent in the service, but sometimes it nearly felt as much. He had to smile at the thought, and the smile only increased as Tamara talked about vets. "Well, some of us don't go 'round wearin' the hats an' all," Matt drawled. He actually had the full dress uniform up in his closet, but he was more than happy to let it collect dust. He'd moved on from that life to this one, and this life included teasing hot women.

"Both it is," Matt said, giving the bar a slap. He turned for a bit. "Should mix up jus' fine, kinda designed to do it. You're gonna want to put in another drink order," he nodded toward his closest bartender before heading into the back. The kitchen was already hot, but there were advantages to being the owner. He could generally talk his cook into making an express order of just about anything. In this case, a double-order of wings and a standard serving of the onion rings could be done in just a few minutes. Matt hung back to wait for a bit, keeping his eyes out, already suspecting that Tamara was going to get sprung on again. Girl was like meat in a damn lion's den.

[Tamara Sulik]

Tamara faked being shocked by what he said but laughed with him. “Hey, it’s my job to know which room is occupied and which one isn’t. I’m not the only one who knows them and I don’t think they find the same purpose to these rooms than I do.” It was not like she really needed to know which room was empty to do naughty stuff. She had her own room and it was on a floor where whatever she may choose to do in there really was her business and hers alone. Including going back to it at three in the morning with someone at her arm if she so desired. Well, ok, maybe not that exactly. She was not sure about the ‘someone at her arm’ part. But it was not like she ever invited anyone she didn’t know if they were mutant or not.

Not that it mattered too much here. She was not particularly looking for a man tonight. Just a moment away from kids and with people closer to her age group. And drinking. Because without being an alcoholic, sometimes she did feel like she could use one to relax. It was not a crime, right? And it hurt no one, so she would keep going with her vices.

Including taking too much fried food that would apparently burn her inside out. She was ready to take the risk though. No one could say Tamara was the kind to back down in front of a challenge. “Alright,” she said with a nod, watching Matt head towards the kitchen to give the order as she told the bartender to give her a beer this time. A small dose of liquor won’t be enough this time.

[Matt Wilson]

Tamara certainly did take her job seriously. In many ways, she kinda reminded Matt of all the females he'd run into through his time in the service. There was just something to that whole regimented thing, particularly when you combined it with someone who knew how to kick back and put their heels up as well. Of course, Matt had the whole Southern gentleman thing beat into him from an early age. Which might explain why he was hanging out at a kitchen when he could be looking down the woman's top.

The food came up, Matt took it with a quick look at the ornery cook, who knew full well why Matt wanted to be the one handling the food. The owner adjusted his grip on the food, carrying it over with some relative ease. He'd barely gotten to Tamara when another guy slithered up, not one that Matt recognized, but about the right age to be from the local college, either Bellefonte or the nonpowered one. Those types blew in from time to time.

This one apparently wanted to buy Tamara a drink and leer down her shirt. And Matt found himself hanging back for a moment, just long enough for the kid to notice and suggest that the old guy come on over and give them some of the food, which nearly made Matt want to try flinging it in his face, see if he was still smiling then.

[Tamara Sulik]

Tamara might act as though she was used to all the gazes. In a way, she was, but that did not stop it from being tiring. She learned to deal with it and show that they better be careful because this one might be pretty to look at, but she could also kick your ass if you did it in a way she judged inappropriate. She also happened to have a knight ready to kick their ass for her, it seemed and even if Tamara was more than able to take care of herself, it was not all that unpleasant to have someone do it for her.

One might wonder why Matt wanted to personally serve her but Tamara preferred not to think about that. She was kind of a regular here. Not really, but kind of. And they knew from Matt’s other job. She was not sure if they could be considered friends but if not they definitely were more than just acquaintances. She was this close to enjoy the spicy delicacies he promised her when someone decided to interrupt the moment and claim he wanted to buy her a drink. Because the fact the guy at the bar placed a beer in front of her clearly did not prove enough she didn’t need another one.

She glanced at Matt one moment just to try and tell him she was fine. “I have a better idea. How about I offer you a drink and you can go and share it with someone else? Believe me, this,” and she let her eyes go down on her person. “is more than you can handle. Matt why don’t you give him a drink so he can join back his friends.” So far, the guy had been polite so the humiliation was minor. Just a warning this was not going to happen. If he tried again, she might not be as kind.

[Matt Wilson]

Matt almost snorted as Tamara deftly handled the guy. he'd pretty well been expecting it, but there was just something almost classy about the way she did it. He did have to slide her food in front of her first. Then he sauntered over to the closest cheap tap, pulled the lever, got a nice frothy one in a glass, and then handed it over to the guy. Clearly the guy wasn't exactly thrilled with the circumstances, and he leveled a glare at Matt. The owner just smiled in response, leaning on the counter and wiggling a few fingers. He almost wanted the guy to lose it and punch: then he could punch back and it would be fun to see if he could break his teeth breaking record.

Unfortunately, the guy had been looking for a lay, not for a fight. He went off with the drink, mumbling and looking toward some of the cowgirl-coeds that often showed. Matt followed for a moment, frowning.

"Should I be worried 'bout that?" he asked, jerking his head. "Or do you reckon he's jus' doin' all his thinkin' with his manparts?" he gave Tamara's food another nudge her direction, figuring she might as well get to enjoying that.