This wasn't the first time his parents tried to make him meet with women and Alex would normally just be an ass and dissuade the other party to cancel any prospective arrangement with him. And it always worked, thus his glorious single status. Yet, there was something suspicious about this new one.
This was the only time that his snob parents sound exasperated and the first time they suggested he could skip it if he wanted. As if there was something about the arrangement they greatly disliked but a higher power had their hands tied, so they're leaving it up to him to fuck it over. And as expected of Alex who sought ways to be the bane of his parents' existence, he wanted to check out who had their panties in a twist.
Uncharacteristically dressed in a pristine dark blue suit and looking his cleanest and sharpest ever, Alex arrived early at the restaurant where his parents arranged for him to meet his future fiance. To be fair, he doesn't look forward to spending dinner in this overly posh restaurant with a stranger, but he was just too curious.
Sitting at their reserved table, he asked the waiter to serve him tequila on the rocks, something to mellow him down whilst he waited. TagLondon Bridges
Her heels clicked on the floor as she walked casually into the small restaurant, hips on hypnotize and eyes on paralyze. A lovely deep green halter neck dress hung around her frame, stopping at her knees-- nothing flashy but a little something she bought to blend in better with the high class crowd in the restaurant. London Bridges received many stares as she walked past the various tables, but she was used to the curiosity. Between here naturally eye catching height, or the shocked stares of the men who recognized her from the days they spirited away down to the outer city to shower her with dollars from their family savings. Men were not worth the tile beneath her toes. They, and the snooty women gaping at her could look all they liked, as long as they understood they could not touch for free.
Her mother had been up to no good again. Or maybe she was up to too much good? Either way, she wasn't quite sure how she got conned into meeting up with a stranger, but her mother was a master scammer so that was no surprise. The woman had her meanest mug ready to go should the man begin speaking to her with disrespect, and a brick in her purse ready to go should he get fresh. London had managed to go 29 years without an unworthy, crusty knuckled man physically desecrating her body and today would not be the end of that streak if she had anything to say about it.
There was only one table with an open seat across it, and a man in a blue suit sat casually with a glass off liquor in front of him. London walked slowly towards the table, looking up once she reached the empty chair across him and folded her arms delicately in front of her, blinking slowly.
"Good Evening. Are you Mr. Geoff?" She asked, her voice smooth and low pitched like butter. She was fully prepared that if this was him and her seat remained un-pulled, she would be out of there before he could say hello. She had to ensure that this man knew she was going to be respected, whether they were getting engaged or just meeting up for a drink, that was just how London handled her business.
Posted 10-10-2021, 12:23 AMThis post was last modified: 10-10-2021, 12:26 AM by London Bridges
The posh restaurant which his parents kindly reserved in his behalf, was of course, littered with patrons who were within the same social circle. The women dressed to exquisitness, as if they were there for some gala night instead of a simple dinner, and their men attired the same. Each table droned with the most boring and mundane conversations, yet there was nothing about the world outside the Inner Citadel. As if the world beyond the white picket fences or their marble palaces did not exist.
It was annoying to hear all of this and yet, as he was used to, Alex couldn't help but eavesdrop here and there. It was one of the occupational hazards that came with his job, being alert all the time. He did his best not to make any faces at the conversations though, but when it was too much to bare, he would sip on his drink and pretend that it was what which made him grimace.
Alex had drank most of his tequila when in came a svelte and sophisticated woman, yet one which starkly stood out from the rest of the well-kept wives of high society. The emerald dress made her skin glow and the exposed skin of her mile-long legs were definitely catchy. In his opinion, she looked positively feisty, his type of gal, yet when she came sashaying to his table with intent, Alex couldn't help feel regretful.
Although he had no concrete game plan yet, he was hoping his parents set him up with one of those young, easy to disappoint daughters of high society, so that he could easily asshole his way out. The woman before him and the now having some inkling as to why his parents were quite exasperated with the arrangement, somehow made him curious enough to stick with it.
"Good evening. Not the one and only but definitely the one always pressed to be engaged." He greeted the woman back as he stood up to courteously pull the seat for her. "Miss Bridges I presume?" he asked, way more polite than was his usual.
When she was finally seated, Alex called over the waiter then looked back at his date. "Just so I don't cringe the whole night, please call me Alex." He chuckled, not putting any effort in veiling the fact that he didn't like to be there nor did he have a good relationship with his older brother and father.
"So, other than me, anything on the menu you fancy?" He winked at the young woman and grinned. TagLondon Bridges
Posted 10-13-2021, 11:10 AMThis post was last modified: 10-13-2021, 11:10 AM by Seryna Constantine
Oh brother, this one was certainly going to be a long night she could tell. At least he hadn’t been raised in the outer citadel, he rose and pulled out her chair very gentlemanly. How drab, but at least this end piece of bread of a man understood the rules of this engagement. She pushed her black hair to the side and seated herself gingerly, reaching for the man’s glass and draining it leaving her black lipstick behind. She would need to loosen her wheels if she was to behave at all pleasantly for a stranger this evening. Besides, what was his would be hers too soon enough.
“London. One would think a man like you wouldn’t need to be pressed for anything but a pair of slacks. Certainly not for female company.” It was less of a compliment, more of an observation. She was not blind, the man was incredibly attractive in a golden retriever sort of way—but his looks concerned her very little.
The type of man she dreamed of could bite back—to, able to shut her up just by giving her the right heated look or a firm hand around her throat while also understand she was in charge. This man looked like he’d give her his wallet if she asked coyly enough. Boring. But the night was early, and all that ultimately mattered was that they married and lived happily blah blah blah. The man waved over the waiter, and sat himself before her once more.
“Cringe, hm?” She asked, circling her finger around the rim of the empty glass out of habit. “If you like, you can become the one and only Mr. Bridges instead. Since certainly won’t be becoming Mrs. Geoff. I happen to like London Bridges. Don’t you agree?” She tilted her lips, the man had blatant displeasure on his face at the mention of his family name and siblings. Good, because she didn’t like his family either. They turned their noses up at her during the engagement agreement like she wasn’t worthy of their son. So, at least they’d have that in common. She might be able to get along ‘so is there anything on the menu other than me you fancy?’ …
London and the server glanced at each other
“Sweetheart I’m going to need the good stuff. Make it burn.” She told the server, who nodded.”I’ll also take, hm..shrimp and grits.” She said with a finger placed at her chin, having not glanced at the menu at all. Nothing stood in between her and what she wanted.
“Ma’am we don’t have—“
“Mhm, I want shrimp and grits. I’m sure you’ll figure something out for me, right? No tails on that shrimp please, thank you so much honey.” She said, reaching in her bra and fishing out $200 in cash. She held it up to the waiter who made it disappear from her hand like lighting.
“Yes ma’am of course, right away.”
“Now let’s move on to Mr…Alex here. The faster we order the sooner he can stop “cringing” at the mere thought of dinner with me and go back to…whatever it is he does.” She said, her eyebrows raised. Truth be told she was more amused than anything about how much he didn’t care to be sitting there. The feeling was mutual, however she did not want to ruin her mother’s hard work in setting this little meeting up. She was currently busting he balls to see what he would do, mostly. To see if he would let her push. There was a little curiosity on her end there, what kind of man was the one before her, truly?
One good thing about being raised in such an uptight family like his and then being sent to the Military at such a young age, was that he learned to school his facial expressions to show as little of his true emotions as possible. Despite his great amusement when she reached over and drained his glass, it was the same technique which he employed so that he wouldn't openly show just how likeable he was finding the woman.
He sat back and watch her drink and then snickered at the implication of her words. ”Well, you stand out in this crowd just as much.” Compared to the other women in the restaurant, London appeared to belong more outside the Citadel than within. Based on the way she spoke and moved, she was aware of it too. Though whether or not the haughtiness was brought upon by insecurity was yet to be determined. ”In a good way of course.” he intentionally added belatedly.
Alex nodded along when she appeared to have taken the meaning behind his words. Then when she offered that he married into her family, he laughed. ”That’s one enticing offer. Though, I must say, I’m still fully enjoying the perks of being a Geoff. If you’d offer me something of equivalent value, then sure why not?” He chuckled, his statement both a gentle prod at the obvious lack of power behind her family name and a deliberate jab to push her airs a couple of notches down.
More often than not, the women set up with him looked forward to attaching themselves to the money behind his name, rather than to the man himself. If he was going to be forced into any marriage, he at least wanted to make it clear that he had no plans associating himself with his family any more than was civilly necessary. Sure, there are times he enjoys the perks of being a Geoff and yes, he dotes upon his little sister like she hang up the moon in the sky, but that was just about the extent of his familial bond. He was yet to be too pressed to see to cutting that bond though.
When she appeared unamused by his antics and displayed such a crass way of bribing their server, Alex once again laughed. He was finding London cute, sexy and feisty. A woman after his heart. If only this wasn’t set up by his parents, then he would’ve definitely brought her to church right now. As it stands though, he was feeling like his parents have sinister plans in the works behind presenting this “perfect woman” to him. Which made him warier and less amused.
”I never thought of disliking dining with you, Miss Bridges. In fact, with the way you’ve presented yourself, I was quite looking forward to it.” The grin on his face dropped as he stared down at her with the same steely gaze he often uses against newly minted Military recruits. ” Unfortunately, this is not that place where you can act like you’re the Queen and everyone would kiss the land you walk on just for a few measly dollars.”
Alex then beckoned another server to their table with a flick of his finger. ”We’d like to cancel that order, we would be dining someplace else. You know where to send the bill.” He told the man who stepped forward.
After which, the Captain pushed his seat back and rose to his feet then offered his hand to London. ”So, Miss Bridges, show me that place where you reign as queen. I have never had shrimps and grits before and I’m sure as hell would like my first to be an authentic one. Shall we?” He grinned down at her. TagLondon Bridges
Posted 11-20-2021, 08:51 PMThis post was last modified: 11-20-2021, 08:53 PM by Alexander Geoff
London smirked behind her glass at his obvious attempt to put her in her place with the jab on her name. She was belittled and looked down often by the women of the upper citadel, and was no stranger to comments like this no matter how smooth they may be. She set the glass down on the table and leaned on crossed arms, smiling a poisonous smile and speaking in a faux whisper
“Sweetie, it’s a tad bit embarrassing to admit aloud that you provide that little value by yourself as a man. Your family name gives you a title, but you admit you bring nothing of value to anyone else yourself. A little embarrassing really. Mildly pathetic. Probably means your...you know isn’t very big either. but don’t worry your secret's safe with me.” She said, clapping back at him but in a helpful tone of voice as if she were letting him know he had something in his teeth or was giving him directions to the subway.
“Besides, everyone’s family knows the Bridges women in one way or another. And if you never have? Be thankful for that.” She said, each of the women had their own power, whether it was because their mother knew everyone’s business, because Brooklyn was incredibly unpredictable, or because their husbands came to see London take her clothes off more often than they came home to their marital bed. She smiled, they were lower class after their scandal, but none of the Bridges had fallen. London continued to smile when he tried to use his little serious face to make it seem as if she’d done a no-no by bribing the server to get her what she wanted.
“Oh? I can’t? I’d say by the singe marks on my fingers and the missing $200 I can absolutely do that. Easy to be the Queen when there is no fool King to hold me back.” She remarked, leveling him with a look that said she fully enjoyed the tit for tat they were having. Her eyebrow raised when the man cancelled the meal entirely, sure that this meant their evening was over and she could go back to doing what she did best, pampering herself with a hot bubble bath, a glass of wine and relaxing.
He wasn’t ending the evening however, he was calling her bluff. He wanted to go to her turf, and she knew exactly the place to take him. He would know exactly what he was dealing with by the end of the night, and it would probably send the little golden boy running straight for his mother. This was going to be fun.
“Whatever you want, Sir.” London slipped her smooth palm into his hand, and walked confidently around him as she led the way out of the fancy restaurant, her long, straight, black hair swayed and just kissed the top of her ass as she walked slowly past the tables of uptight assholes.
When the two arrived in front of Top Down, a popular Outer Citadel strip club in the red light district, London turned and winked at him. “Don’t be worried, I won’t tell mommy and daddy we were here. Let me show you where I am Queen.” She teased him, and led him through the floor to ceiling glass doors to a chorus of “Nonnie!” from many of the half naked women that surrounded them. The male patrons there immediately turned their heads, many breathed her name with their eyes wide as they saw their favorite girl.
“Nonnie, I missed you. Come give me some of your time please, beautiful.” A man called over, puffing on a cigar from the VIP section. He’d known better than to demand her to do anything, instead of politely asking her his request. He not only used to be one of her regulars, but was a high ranking member in the military. His companions sat around him, all heart eyed at the sight of her. She could get whatever she wanted from these men.
She politely smiled, waving at him with her finger tips. “No dice sweetheart. I’m on a date tonight boys. Someone tell Meech to cook up two shrimp and grits, the way I like, and bring two bottles, top shelf, now please.” She called out, and two girls headed back to the kitchen to deliver the message. Jealous eyes turned towards Alex as she took him past the couches where men were receiving lap dances towards the tables in the corner that were topped with small tealight candles. The music emanating from the club was sexy, and somewhere behind them women slid around poles to the beat. She turned to look at him over her shoulder before they sat down, analyzing his expression.
“Well, Alex, are you ready for authentic?” She asked, caressing the letters of his name like the last ice cubes in a glass of hennessy.
Posted 10-09-2021, 08:13 PM
take me to church
