Re: Game Day - Liu

by **Jedi_Master_007** Tue Jul 21, 2009 5:22 pm

Without looking over my shoulder at Nicolette I bit down into the soggy, greasy, meaty part of the cheese steak. With food still half in my mouth and half being chewed up, I pulled a long stringy piece of cheese off with my index finger and ate it down too. I must've been the most attractive guy at the bar. "You're damn right I am. This is better then sex."

In like, what seemed to be 3 and a half bites I had already destroyed half of the Philly. And then after gulping down half the beer, I ate the dill pickle. I did manage to use a napkin to wipe my mouth. I wasn't a complete savage. "I never been to a dig site, but I've been all over Gettysburg. You know the Rebels would've won the war if they'd have won the battle of Gettysburg? Another thing most people don't realize is that it's the only battle that took place north of the Mason-Dixon line. Weird, huh?"

by **Ac1ds0ld13r** Tue Jul 21, 2009 1:48 pm

Avi didn't so much as set the cheese steak in front of you as throw it at you while he scowled.

She shook her head at the cheese-steak offer while she thought your question over. "Last piece was a Sumerian fertility goddess. Some private collector needed one. We do a lot of stolen family heirlooms too. Those are the ones I like most. The rich collector types just pay the bills, but when you bring someone back a trunk that had all their family photos in it from the 1920s, thats pretty incredible." She grinned. "We do that type of thing for free for families that can't afford it. And I can't eat that. It doesn't even look like food."

You looked back down at the cheese-steak. Aside from the bed and green peppers, it did look a lot like dog food. It was made right too. This wasn't nearly as greasy as the ones you'd find from the street vendors, but you don't fuck with the cheese-steak, as a result, this was one of the few fried things on the menu. Already you could see a piece of the bread getting a little soggy from the grease soaking into it. This thing was gonna be good!

Nicolete looked at it again and made a face. She was kind of grossed out and amused by it at the same time. "You're really...Gonna eat that aren't you?

by **Jedi_Master_007** Mon Jul 20, 2009 8:36 pm

I moved away from her when she touched my knee. I liked forward women, especially ones that looked as good as her, but once again I found that Nicolette had no reason to be putting her attention all over me. I eyed her a little suspiciously. "Two girlfriends actually. Neither one of them is worth much in bed lately, so I don't know how much of a girlfriend either of them are. I have a cat. He's really fat and he likes to fight... I named him after Chuck Norris." I was immediately distracted by the arrival of a bloated Philly cheese steak.

"What sort of archeological artifacts? I'm a History major myself, but I specialize in US history. My favorite era just happens to be the American Civil War. I have a thing for ancient Greek and Roman history too." I looked away and back at the cheese steak. I let my stomach growl at it. "Want a piece? It's really good."

by **Ac1ds0ld13r** Thu Jul 16, 2009 4:04 am

"Very busy schedule." She smiled and waited on Avi to yell back to Isaac your order. She looked up thoughtfully, cocking her head slightly then replied, "Well, I moved to the U.S. just after University where I majored in History. I was a teacher in London at a wonderful private school until I fell in love with a Wallstreet self-made millionaire. I moved here, we got married after two years and divorced two years later." She made a face. "I caught him in the physical act of cheating on me with his Assistant." She swirled her drink around a little more and looked at you. "Obviously we got divorced. I got half. He got to keep the Assistant. This was all a year ago. Since the divorce I've started a neat little company that does historical research for different companies and people. We chase down rare books, archeological items and we have one company that makes trivia games that regularly gets us to do their material. Most importantly to me though is proofing and accuracy checking for most of the major text book publishers." She had a smile of pride on her face as she concluded. Not arrogance or self righteousness. Just an abundance of self-confidence that comes from taking a bad situation, getting over it and coming out healthy, and then making something successful out of your life with the pieces that were left.

Nicolete slid her drank closer to the inside of the bar, universal signal she was done with it. With a fluid move she was closer to you; a hand on your knee. "So, Liu, do you have a girlfriend? Hows your home life? Pets? Family? I miss mine." She looked almost sad for a moment and looked at the floor, but that smile came back when she looked at you.

by **Jedi_Master_007** Wed Jul 15, 2009 4:42 pm

"Yea. Cheese steaks. You probably don't know what they are in England. I didn't think of that. But anyway, they're slices of beef chopped and diced into smaller bits until brown. They're mixed with onions and peppers. Then you put them on a long foot long bun. You cover it in cheese, usually provolone and sometimes swiss. They're really good." I nod-nodded. "Actually..." When Avi came to get me another beer, I held him up a minute, grin on my face. "Lemme get a Philly Cheese too. Put some Swiss on it."

"You want anything?" I asked Nicolette over my shoulder while leaning on the bar a bit. Okay. I was feeling a bit better about the conversation now that it was directed in a more comfortable topic - me. I wasn't an idiot though, and so the first thing that came to mind was that this chick could be some kind of spy for the paper or something that wanted to know about my pictures from the night before. It wasn't every night that a woman like this approached me for no really good reason.

Once the order was put in, my attention went back to Nicolette. I was pointedly a little guarded. "You can't be a regular here. I'd have seen you before. I know, because I am a regular here. I come here all the time. Avi and his brother are cool people." I followed Nicolette's look to Avi. The look he gave was a little disturbing, not the daggers, but the defeated one. I made a thinking face and then immediately returned my attention back to the gorgeous woman whose tits I couldn't stop looking at.

"I don't know French or Italian, but I do know Spanish and Cantonese." Thank God that I was standing and she was seated. I could look at those plu--huh? Shit. Making eye contact again, I made sure that I wasn't caught staring this time. "I didn't know this place was a speakeasy though. That's kind of interesting. I thought most of that stuff happened in Chicago, with Al Capone and all." I shrugged. With a chuckle, I added, "Avi talks a lot. I don't tutor so much as get paid to help dumb jocks pass their classes. I only do it Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays between 4 and 6." Without skipping a beat, I kept on going, completely forgetting about how I was trying to guard myself from revealing too much information. Oops.

"I help out at an animal shelter on Sunday mornings. It's more filling then going to church I guess. I work over at Tyson's Corner Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, and sometimes, when it's really busy or something special is going on, Sunday nights. And then I work part time on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday over at Atomic Comics." I shrugged.

"It's a pretty busy schedule, but this is New York and everything is expensive." The light bulb went off in my head. "But what about you? You're the hot one who knows Avi and has a British accent." A quick glance around, I saw people eating, and that made me want my cheese steak even more.

by **Ac1ds0ld13r** Wed Jul 15, 2009 4:03 am

Nicolete shrugged, "No idea. The only other languages I speak are French and, of course, Italian. He's definitely interesting though." Avi approached, glaring daggers at you and her. She gave him a look that could only be described as murderous. Avi dropped his head, tossed your bottle and replaced it with a full one. All the while he appeared defeated and brow beaten. "Cheese steaks huh? She chuckled. "I come in here pretty regularly. I like the ambiance, though those atrocious TVs Avi has up everywhere are starting to kill it. This place used to be such a beautiful place. A speak-easy during Prohibition." She almost seemed nostalgic. "I still like it. I was a regular before Avi and Isaac bought it from the last owners." She shrugged again. She pursed her lips slightly and smirked, "I'm not alone though, am I? You're here. But tell me about yourself. Avi said you were a tutor? And you mentioned something about an animal shelter?"

by **Jedi_Master_007** Wed Jul 15, 2009 3:46 am

"Oh, England. I always get England and Australia mixed up when it comes to accents. But at least I'm not a complete idiot. I can at least find England on a map. One of my friends is from Ireland." I sipped my beer again. When I noticed it was almost gone, I tipped it in Avi's direction, knowing he'd seen me. I finished it and then put the empty bottle on the bar. Inside I was smirking at my own clever taunt.

Changing the subject a bit, I realized that I was being socially disarmed without thinking about it. Either it was the alcohol or it was the girl. It was probably some form of both. "Do you know what they are saying back and forth to each other? I always wanted to learn to cuss in Jewish. It's just hard for me to picture a Jewish person not as a vendor pushing one of those carts and selling Philly cheese steaks or not as a Rabbi. I think that's why I come here all the time. Avi has an interesting personality."

I looked away from the bar to look back at Nicolette for just a minute. "So what are you doing here? And more importantly what are you doing here all by yourself?"

by **Ac1ds0ld13r** Wed Jul 15, 2009 3:24 am

She laughed a little at your rapid fire questions and your nervousness. "Nicolete is fine. Yes, Avi told me and originally I'm from Florence in Italy, but my family moved to London when I was 12." She smiled again. "As for the staring," She smiled and cocked her eyebrow again, leaning closer to you she added in a conspiratorial tone, "We don't put them out there for them to be ignored." She leaned back to her original position and swirled her cosmopolitan around in its little glass and looked at you out of the corner of her eyes, smiling. She was pleased with herself and with the situation. She was being coy, but you knew you had her attention.

Avi, for his part was working the bar pretty steady, but you could see him huffing and puffing and staring daggers at you and her. She was clearly making advances at you, and it was not sitting well with Avi. He was not a happy guy while he worked, thankfully the bar was jumping, and Isaac was screaming hebrew vulgarities at Avi. Insults the younger brother in the front was obligated to respond to. So, while he was showing a mile wide jealous streak, there was nothing he could do about it. Besides, you and Avi were cool. He'd get over it.

by **Jedi_Master_007** Wed Jul 15, 2009 3:13 am

Uh... shit. I still couldn't think of anything incredibly witty to say. I felt like such a jackass. Here was this really hot woman with such incredible tits all perked up and looking right at me and I couldn't think of something cool to say. What kind of tart was I? And then of course she had to catch me looking. Well what the fuck? "Sorry," I said tipping my head just a bit. "It's hard to not look when they're staring at me."

Turning towards Nikki in my seat I flopped off of it onto my heels and then leaned forward in a complete upright position. "Hi, Nicolette. Yep. I'm Liu. If you don't mind, I prefer Nicolette. I take care of a dog at the shelter named Nikki. She's a weird dog that licks people's feet. She's starved for attention too." Holding my free beer, I took another gulp.

"So how do you know who I am? Avi told you? I like your accent too. It kinda gives you away as not being from around here though. So where are you from? Australia?" I felt like such a dork. I could never figure out which accent was which. I was unusually lucky. I didn't sound like a New Yorker. I didn't sound Black. I didn't sound Korean either. Unfortunately I was dense when it came to other accents. The only accent I ever noticed was Lixin's and that's because she was Chinese and sounded Irish. Now that was weird.

by **Ac1ds0ld13r** Wed Jul 15, 2009 1:54 am

''Ello to you too, and you're very much welcome. Liu correct?" She slid a little closer to you, all hips and tits. She noticed you checking her out and her eyebrow did that little raise and she smiled a little. "I'm Nicolete. You may call me Nikki." Her accents was very much SoHo London. "Its a pleasure to meet you."

by **Jedi_Master_007** Mon Jul 13, 2009 4:30 pm

I tried to think of something to say to this woman. Having her check me out was pretty fucking sweet, and normally I could think of like sixty million things to say, but right now I just really wanted to tell her she had nice tits. It wasn't like I was setting out to stare at them, but they were all perky and propped up to look at.

Taking a moment to distract myself and look away, I sipped my new beer. Turning back at her, I said the two coolest things I could think of at the moment. "Hi. Thanks for the beer."

by **Ac1ds0ld13r** Sat Jul 11, 2009 4:48 am

The woman had cascading dark hair. Not quite black, but definitely not brown either. Dark almond shaped eyes and some of the smoothest skin you had ever seen. If she was wearing make up, it was professionally applied - like 10 minutes ago. When some guy spun around to return to his table with a few beers you got a faint whiff of some place far away. Earthy, a faint fruit, and what you could only describe as sunshine. The smell of a warm summer day. Not in New York City, but in the country somewhere. That smell of warm earth. It was subtle and unlike anything you had ever smelled before. She had on a long black skirt embroidered in white. A corset operated as her top pushing her glorious cleavage up. You could see the guy next to her about falling into his beer as he peeked. She wasn't tall, but not short. She wasn't thin, but instead she was perfectly rounded. She smiled at you when she seen you looking at her and her face lit up when she did. It was like watching fireworks.

None of the girls you were seeing right now were even in the same league as this broad. She had grace, class, and she wasn't just hot. It would probably be worth kicking Avi's ass to get with this girl...

by **Jedi_Master_007** Wed Jul 08, 2009 7:58 pm

I didn't pay much attention to the female at first. Well, I take that back. I didn't pay any attention to the female at first. After eating the salad, I had two more beers. Then I decided to get some wings made extra spicy. I even bragged that I'd add an extra $100.00 tip to Avi's brother if they could make them so spicy I couldn't eat them. Spicy food didn't effect me like it did most people. I got tricked into eating an habanero pepper raw by my dad when I was a kid, and ever since then, I considered it a personal war to eat anything spicy. I had even gone to this Pakistani place one time just to eat their curry soup. I have a plaque on the wall with my name on it for being able to eat the whole bowl of soup. It was one of the things that made the place famous.

When Avi came back to me with another beer, I looked at it, nodded, and then looked at the woman who bought it for me. I wiped down my hands and my face again, just to make sure that there was no sticky wing sauce where it shouldn't be. Of course I checked her out. I wanted to see what she looked like. Appearances weren't everything, but when you were already kinda seeing two different girls, appearances were everything. Especially if it was someone the bartender looked envious about.

by **Ac1ds0ld13r** Tue Jul 07, 2009 4:16 am

You were sitting there eating as the bar started to fill up. It was about that time. The sun had gone down and the boxing match on the TV to your left was gearing up. A few guys came in and sat down followed by another group sitting at a table. Avi broke away and started working the bar. One of the waitresses came in, and another, and another.

Within an hour Scotland Yard was jumping. Ten minutes later you had completely finished your salad and were getting sucked into the Manny Pacquiao fight. You hardly noticed the woman with the dark brown hair come in. You didn't think twice when she made her way through the tables and sat at the bar a few stools down. You never noticed that Avi was waiting on her as if she were the most important woman in the world, nor did you quite realize they were both looking at you while they talked.

You did notice when Avi moved back down to you and handed you another beer. "From the lady down the way. I think she likes ya." Was there a hint of jealousy in his voice?

by **Jedi_Master_007** Tue Jul 07, 2009 3:31 am

Without saying much about it, I decided that a million for a bar, even if it was in a good location in the middle of New York was hardly worth it. Somehow I managed to keep myself from telling Avi he got Jewed. When my food came up, I was happy that I was hungry and dove in fork and knife first. Forget table manners, I ate like a horse, or a pig, or whatever ate like there was no tomorrow. Mouth still full of food, I paused long enough to ask Avi if he had some pepper.

While eating, Hell could've frozen over right next to me and it would not have mattered. The Devil would have to wait until I was finished.

by **Ac1ds0ld13r** Tue Jul 07, 2009 3:18 am

Avi shrugged at your family comment "I'm not a family man. I'm married to the bar. Don't tell my Mom that though. She'd bust my balls all night. You ever been cussed out by a 64 year old woman in Hebrew?" He shook his head "Bad times." When you changed tempo to the bar and money he thought long and hard before answering. "Well, this place is a historic landmark. We even got the plaque outside. I think we payed half a mil, maybe more for the place? Renovatin' the kitchen put us out another three hundred. Tap system was shot. Got that updated with new purge kits and pumps. That was only about fifteen. Purge kits stop your beer from tastin like the last beer I poured by the way. He shrugged. A mil give or take. Isaac and me got a few other places. One in the Bowery, two here on the Island. This is our baby though." He looked around with pride and wiped the bar down. It was already gleaming.

Isaac yelled something in Hebrew and your salad appeared in the window behind Avi, who turned around grabbed it up, spun and put it down neatly in front of you, clean silverware and cloth napkin at the ready. "You got a location in mind?"

by **Jedi_Master_007** Sat Jun 27, 2009 8:42 pm

I shrugged at the mention of Dana. It was a one hit wonder, a hit it and quit it sort of thing. Madisen was better suited to me, but she was going through one of those "I don't want to give it up" phases, and so she was becoming more problematic then it was worth to me. I said as much to Avi, too. "What about you? I always see you here, but it against your religion or something to not be married? I thought all Jews were big into family and ceremonies and stuff." I shrugged. My attention immediately went to the game on one of the TVs. The Mets were beating the Phillies and the resulting smirk that formed on the corner of my lips meant that I was happy about that.

"Good. I'm glad the Phillies are losing." My attention went back to Avi, ready to listen to anything he might say. "If you don't mind me asking, what kind of money does a place like this bring in? And what's the startup on it? I'm asking because there are a lot of places in town, but not many places that serve American food and Chinese food at the same time. I don't mean that stuff you get at a buffet either, I mean authentic Chinese food. Mixing the two together though... now that's an idea."

by **Ac1ds0ld13r** Wed Jun 24, 2009 5:03 pm

"Fuck me!" Avi exclaimed. "That is some crazy shit." Whatever he was looking at one the TV was long gone. You heard Avi call back to his brother in the kitchen your order. They argued in Hebrew for a minute, and ended with Avi yelling, "Make the fookin' food asshole!" He threw his hands up in exasperation as he yelled. You could hear Isaac in the back laughing hysterically. Avi turned around and cracked a beer for himself. "You believe this shit? Always with this guy some shit. Can't ever just make the food without bustin' my beitsim. Hutzpa on this guy..." Avi snorted and took a sip of the beer. "He's makin' it now. Be right out. "So aside from gettin' robbed hows things? You and your girl, whats 'er name... You and her good?"

by **Jedi_Master_007** Sat Jun 06, 2009 6:16 pm

Without skipping a beat, I answered my own question. It was as though I was expecting to tell the story anyway. "You know that Virgin records store that got robbed last night around 8? I was there. I mean, I was there when that place got robbed. I got pictures and everything. It was some crazy shit." I nodded twice, almost too excitedly. "I seen the guy get shot, and I saw the SWAT team guys come in. I think they used a flashbang, but I was smart and so I kept my eyes closed. And then this reporter guy wanted me to give him a story, but I wasn't going to do it if I got paid. I swear it was a crazy night." I finished and waited on my beer.

"Uhhh... I don't really want a Taco salad. But I bet a regular Chef's salad would sit well with me now. Yea, I think I want one of those, with some dill pickles on the side." I nodded at Avi and then looked up at the TV to see what he was looking at, and then when my beer got here, I took a long gulp of it.

by **Ac1ds0ld13r** Sat Jun 06, 2009 4:52 pm

"Hows it goin?" Avi barked in his thick Queen's accent. "I think Isaac's working on some new taco salad, and I know we just got some decent tilapia in." Tilapia was cheap, but it was easy to prepare and not terribly bad for you if prepared correctly. With Isaac being Jewish, things were seldom prepared in a manner that made them entirely unhealthy for you. While not completely anal about being kosher, he did take the whole 'my body is a temple' thing seriously. Almost nothing on the menu was deep fried. Isaac hated deep fat friers as a rule. "Crazy shit? Whatcha got?" He looked up at the TV for a second and nodded at something he approved of.

by **Jedi_Master_007** Thu Jun 04, 2009 2:53 am

"Hey Avi!" I looked around to see how many people were here and to see what was on the big screens. When I saw Avi getting a Bud Light, I looked up at the big screen in the corner above the bar, watching a Yankee's pregame warmup. Baseball wasn't entirely my cup of tea, at least not to watch on a big screen because it was kind of boring but I liked sports enough that I could watch it. The truth was, I'd rather play it. "I'm kinda hungry. What have you got on the menu today? I just got done working out, yo, so I want something light without a bunch of grease." I took a stool in front of Avi and put a five on the bar for the beer. I didn't bother worrying about change. "You wanna hear some crazy shit?"

by **Ac1ds0ld13r** Wed Jun 03, 2009 3:11 pm

You had spent the day taking care of the few errands you had to handle and then hit the gym. Staying in shape was a necessity for your job, and it kept you looking good, so.... It worked. After you had showered and changed you decided to head down to Scotland Yard, a misnomer if there ever was one. Scotland Yard was a sports bar run by a couple of Jewish guys from Queens.

The bar was old though, so it was likely they bought it from its original owners, or even the second owners, and turned it into its current incarnation. Hard wood floors, bar and gorgeously polished beams inside the place provided a nice amber glow to the room with the lighting. The seats were a little worn, but covered in leather. The pool tables were well maintained and even the sticks were replaced every few years to stop them from getting completely warped to shit, but the duo insisted on cheap sticks so they didn't last long.

Sports paraphernalia covered the walls. A jersey signed by the 97 Giants was on one wall, another signed by the Jets. The prize though was a group of framed pennents signed by the New York Yankees, and there was one for every world series the Yanks had one in the last 15 years.

When you walked in Avi, the shorter one of the duo, was working the bar, which meant Isaac was probably in the kitchen working on the Yard's famous potato skins and wings. That also meant the food would be good. Once in awhile they switched when one of them got burned out on one station or the other, and while both were decent at doing the other's job, drinks came slower, and the food tasted a little different because Avi's recipies were slightly different than Isaacs. Thankfully, they never switched on a busy day.

Avi looked up at you and smiled. You were a regular hear. He didn't even wait for you to get to the bar and already had your favorite drink waiting on you. "Liu! Whats up!"

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