The Femme Fatale

"The distance between insanity and genius is measured only by success."

[gabriellaxking]

phated·:

   he expects to have to explain himself, to at least exchange pleasantries. for them, it’s hardly necessary. she’s wordless, distinctly soft against his side. the light which soaks up the shadows of her bedroom burn at angel’s eyes, he casts them downward with a barely audible chuckle. “yeah– sorry about that.” something in his tone says that’s a lie. “they’re safe tonight.”

gabriella implores his gaze and he obliges. how couldn’t he? the smile he shows her is minute, as placid as ever. “you know why.” because he’s tired. because life is getting harder, his relationship with the mancinis - and his newfound one with the sullivans - growing more and more tumultuous. because he has to be drunk to find the confidence to come knocking on her door.

“i’m all right,” he assures her, pulling at her wrist. encapsulates her hand in both of his. “just want to make sure you are, too.” there’s a pause, he’s thoughtful. eyes train to her fingers, he tries to find the words. “feel like maybe it’s time i get out of here, you know?”

“I know you’re a stubborn man, who doesn't know when to quit.”

With the touch of calloused hand wrapped around hers, she couldn’t help the tug that wrapped around her heart. She knew why he had to do this but couldn’t be okay with it. Knees touch carpeted floors as she falls to reach just below eye level.

 He was tired. It wasn’t just sleep that could remedy her desperado’s heart. 

But the suggestion of leaving this place, without her, was unfathomable. 

“Just say the word and I can pack a bag within the hour. We can go east like I’ve always wanted.” Heart pounding and unknowing why this was happening, Gabriella looked up at Angel with promise. “You know I love you. Despite everything. All odds. This life. I’d do anything for you.”

[gabriellaxking]

phated·:

—– @gabriellaxking

   it’s late and angel’s buzz is wearing off. he’s losing excuses for why he’s knocking incessantly on gabriella’s door. losing confidence, too. he has to take a pause, a long, exhausted sigh. head tips against the door, softened by unruly, black curls. “gab,” he mumbles into the wood. gaining momentum again, he finds his balance. one hand braces against the frame, the other comes down on the barrier. he’s got to get in, he’s desperate. he has to see her. “it’s me. c’mon. please.”

Gabriella’s dozing eyes snap open at the sound of lazy knocks on her door. Instinctively she reached for her pistol under the coffee table; who could want her at this hour? It’s the pleading that tugs her heart. She pads to the door way and opens the mahogany wood. The smell of alcohol hits her like a wall. It’s familiar. The whole situation was cyclical. But sh’e dod it again and again if it meant he came home to her.

 Without hesitation, the brunette tucks herself under his arm for support and leads him into her abode. She leads him into her bedroom and turns on the lamp, yellow hues warm every corner of her space. She sets him onto the plush comforter, “You know last time we shared a bed, I had to buy new lamps and curtains from the mess we made.” Gabriella chuckles. Delicate hand upon palm as she lifts his gaze to meet hers. 

“Why do you do this to yourself, mon ami?”

[gabriellaxking]

phated·:

     the sun’s hanging high in the sky, it’s blazing hot and the pool is alive with laughter and movement. water flings through the air, splashes against the concrete as someone canonballs in. decked out in his full suit, tie, and sunglasses, jimmy sticks out like a sore thumb. the oversized margarita he holds in his hand, complete with umbrella and pineapple slice, only make it all the more comical.

an eternal smirk lives on his lips but he makes a bee-line, plops into the lounge chair right next to his person of interest. make no bones about it, he’s here on business. “gee, they’ll let anyone in here, won’t they?” brows quirk behind shaded lenses. he pauses for a sip, pregnant with expectation. “–you managing to stay out of trouble? seems like things are heatin’ up, more ways than one.”

“You know I’m always on my best behavior, Officer.” She chuckled, lighting a cigarette between Scarlett lips. “Are you?”

[gabriellaxking]

phated·:

      “—screw it, the whole damn thing’s rigged,” angel’s haughty, scoffs as he throws down his hand of cards. “the midas big wigs are stealing our coins to pay for that big, ol’ blood spot in the lobby, wouldn’t you say? better off playing solitaire with the devil…” 

he can’t help but catch his eye on all the chips stacked before the person next to him. a brow arches, equal parts curious and mischievous. “looks like i’m sittin’ right next to him. you wouldn’t be counting cards, would ya?”

“You know I was always horrible at math, Angel.” Gabriella sighs, looking at her own cards. Still, she had a knack for the game she played. “I’d be careful with how you run that pretty little mouth of yours. You never know who’s listening through these paper thin walls.”

[gabriellaxking]

If there’s a starter that’s not showing up let me know! I’d love to reply to all you wonderful beauties!

Will be on to reply or plot, whichever

[gabriellaxking]

phated·:

     lower lip rolls in, his teeth hold it in place a moment as he nods along with her, resisting the urge to cast hooded eyes her way. “oh, i’m intimately familiar with that, yeah. can’t imagine much has changed.” and that thought sparks something in the pit of his chest that he’s doing his best to ignore. their footsteps are hollow against the faded pavement and though he wishes it were, it’s by no means a quiet night. the strip is alive, booming with music and laughter. makes it easier to blend in, to fall right back into the bubble that always consumes them.

“if anyone can do it, it’s you,” he heaves a sigh, accentuated by a soft chuckle. when they stop outside the building it occurs to angel he hasn’t seen the inside of it for a long time and he hesitates, clears his throat.

“i don’t have to, ah…,” he jerks his head up at the condos, grimaces a forced smile. “you’re being real sugary and i appreciate it, but you don’t have to… it’s okay, i mean. i don’t gotta go in.” 

“Why? Afraid you’ll become seduced by my bookcase, Angel?” She asked, taking the keys out of her bag. Gabriella unlocked the door, nodding her head for him to follow. “Or worse? Bewitched by the coffee table I assembled.” It was an intimate space, her home, one he hadn’t been in for a long while. But regardless of time, he would always know her more intimately than anyone else. 

“C’mon.” The walk up wasn’t so bad and upon entering her condo she realized just how small her space was. Comfortable for one but tight for two. Almost suffocated from the mere additional presence of Angel. 

Yet, if she died by asphyxiation at least her last sight was of her long time love.

Gab leaned over the kitchen counter and grabbed the few letters, holding them out to him. She felt as though she was losing someone who wasn’t hers to hold on to begin with. Her heart race quickened, how she hated feeling so out of control. 

“Have a drink with me?” Gab could feel herself nearly pleading, unable to stop the invitation. “Got an old whiskey I haven’t opened.” She gestured to the glass bottle on top of her unfinished bookcase. “Collects dusts if we don’t share a glass or two.” But perhaps this is the life she was born to live. Pining for a life, a man, she could never have.  Still hoping one day, she might. 

[gabriellaxking]

phated·:

   there’s hesitance in his eyes at her offer, it stuns him. angel has been under the impression that wasn’t an option anymore, that there was a line drawn in the sand between them. “i, ah— i wouldn’t impose on you. i’m doing all right,” he answers softly, haltingly. it’d sure be nice, even for a night, but what’s simple in the moonlight by the morning never is. he’d be out again, go through it all over. best for him to keep his distance, he figures. protects them both. 

her touch extends his shock and he watches her face, gauges her, trying to figure her out. he’s clearing his throat, distracted by mixed up, confused thoughts and only when she pulls her jacket from behind the bar does he touch back to reality. probably no other woman in town is wearing a leather jacket. he scoffs a laugh, shakes his head at her. “regular james dean, aren’t you?”

the night does prove to be brisk, he opens his sports coat only long enough to procure a cigarette, sticks it in the middle of his smile. “a bookcase? you wild woman, tell me you aren’t building shit again. you can never just buy the damn thing like a normal person,” he laughs, soft and fleeting. 

“You are never an imposition, Angel.” Gabriella knew this routine. Knew her vices and addictions like the back of her hand. Unfortunately, even after all these years, he was still one of them. He was her drug and she was absolutely hooked. “My offer still stands.”

She chuckled at his comment, “I was always more of a Marlon Brando type of gal.” Upon hearing his laugh, she felt her heart tug. It wasn’t often, especially in this line of work, did one get to hear something so sinfully sweet. But she swore to atone for loving that warm laugh in church sometime later.

 “Oh, my sweet. You know exactly how wild I can be. A bookcase is merely child’s play compared to what I can do.” The vixen nudged his shoulder, falling into pace with him. She didn’t live too far from the hotel which was nice. “Besides you know I was never one to take the easy way out. Anyone can buy a bookcase. Takes true grit to build one yourself... Even if it takes... A while.” She’d been working on this project for over six months but still a feat nonetheless.

[gabriellaxking]

ruffiian·:

          The glass of whiskey he was nursing hovered mid air over the bar as he stopped to observe the scene unfolding in front of him. his posture shifted on the bar stool, preparing to involve himself in yet another bloody scuffle. the adrenaline was already starting to course through his veins. but, when the patron scurried off at the woman’s behest, javier’s body relaxed itself and he settled himself back in at the bar.

“That’s what it’s lookin’ to be.” his lips tug upwards to give the faintest of smiles. the remaining contents of his drink are tossed back with ease and the glass is pushed aside for another refill.  “With the way these people throw back the booze you’re probably up for a night full of hassles if they have anything to say about it.” It wasn’t lost on him that sometimes he was one of those disruptive patrons. “But, I’m sure you already know that.” 

“It comes with managing the hotel, I suppose. Never expected anything different but I’ll admit I didn’t think I’d be so often pulling the unruly by the ears out of my establishment.” Gabriella mused, taking a sip of the whiskey that the bartender laid for her. “Let me guess if I didn’t have that handled, you'd have helped a gal out?” She teased, shooting him a smirk. “By all means you get one pass to cause a scene, that’s being generous.”

[gabriellaxking]

lucreciias·:

“ THINGS AREN’T MUCH BETTER back east, that much i know. hell, even before i’d developed breasts there were CREEPY guys back in florida trying to hit on me on the streets, after my shows. the situation looks quite BLEAK, ” she notes with a weak ‘chuckle. “ though, PLAYING into hypotheticals, where in the east would you go ? ”

“I suppose there will be creepy men wherever we go. The trick is how to put them back in their place.” Gabriella pondered for a moment, where would she go? “New York City.” She landed on. “Something about making it big there means you can make it big anywhere. Or maybe I’ll just get a nice place upstate New York. Invest in property. Something that’s a little more seasonal than desert.”

[gabriellaxking]

riafontaine·:

Ria couldn’t help noticing the commotion; raised voices and the like usually caught her attention. She watched with a measured gaze, not wanting to intervene unless she had to - i.e. if this guy put up a fight. Jumping in too soon could unnecessarily escalate things. Thankfully, for him, he didn’t protest. She passed him by as he left, eyes still fixed on him until the door was closed, then she turned her attention to the woman instead.

“Everything okay?” Ria asked, hands buried in her jacket pockets. 

“Just some rowdy drunk who needed to learn his place.” Gabriella mused, watching him leave and hopefully never returning. “Nothing new. Show me someone that’s sprouted wings from their back and then I’ll call to let you know that everything is definitely not okay.”

“Can I get you a drink?”

[gabriellaxking]

phated·:

  the proximity and her skin on his quickens his pulse and he’s afraid of what she’ll say when she looks him in the eyes. coming to the hotel and seeing gabriella is entirely masochistic. it goes nowhere and only hurts. angel should know her better though, because the sentiment is unexpected. typical, she never ceases to surprise him. mouth flickers into a smile as he exhales a laugh, head tilting fractionally into her palm. “aw, i’ll sleep when i’m dead,” he assures her.

at the bar, his hazel gaze pauses over her drink - he’s familiar with the meaning - and he shoots her a glance, smiling and placid. if she’s okay, he’s okay.

he knocks on the bartop, tells the bartender he’s having what she’s having and greedily downs it all when it arrives. “gab, you know the only letters i get are from bill collectors,” he scoffs, eyes glittering as he tosses an olive in his mouth. “and they ain’t about love.” mostly he’s sidestepping the topic. he leans into the bar, inspects his fingernails. “i’m crashing above the garage these day. best you keep away from that place,” he gives her a sidelong glance, managing a smile and a nod. “i’ll come by and grab it, save you the trouble… might even find it in my heart to walk you home while i’m at it, if your shift’s ending any time soon.”

Could a laugh embody honey dripping from its hive? If so it would’ve been Angel’s. The brunette let out a small smirk, “Goin’ be a long while before I let anyone take you away from me, Santiago. If someone’s putting you six feet under, it’ll be me.” 

She watched in awe as he downed the drink but it was quickly taken over with concern. If Angel was in trouble, surely he knew to tell her. Then again she nearly married a Bull in the way he was so stubborn.

“You know... If you ever need a warm space to stay.” Gab found the words coming out quicker than she could process. “I’ll always have a place for you.” Whether she was talking about her heart or her home, Gab didn’t know. But what was true was even after all this time she cared too much about the desperado next to her. 

“Wow how chivalrous. My true knight in shining armor... Well in this case, a knight in worn down jeans and sleep filled eyes.” A small smile curved her lips as she ran a hand through his soft locks, stopping at the base of his neck. She missed the times where she could touch him whenever she wanted. “You’ll be okay, mon amour.”

She downed the rest of her martini. Feeling the sting burn the back of her throat. At least she felt something. 

Gab reached over the bar top and fished for her leather jacket. Desert nights were brisk this time of year.  “C’mon the night’s young but my shift’s over anyway. Is it sad I’m excited you get to see the bookcase I’m building?” She teased, walking out of the hotel with him. 

[gabriellaxking]

zacharydubois·:

Parties thrown at the hotel usually meant a great security risk for obvious reasons and he was usually more than happy to handle it and deal with any patrons that got a little too frisky. But this? This was on a whole other level, one he’d never experienced in his years working security at the hotel. It was exhausting to say the least. “I swear to god, having all these people in here is going to give me a heart attack,” he muttered to the person closest to him as his fingers were quick to grab a drink from a tray passing by. It wasn’t the number of people in there that did him in, no, it was who these people were and having them all gathered like this had him s t r e s s e d. “I’m too young for my heart to give in.”

“Nonsense, Zachary. Don’t blame your body blame the business you’re in.” Gabriella chided as she took a sip from her martini glass. “C’mon. You’re too young to be stressing over something like this. Go in there and have a little fun.”

[gabriellaxking]

lucreciias·:

DESPITE HAVING LONG SINCE LEARNED how to deal with men like that, lucrecía enjoys watching as gabriella tells him off. one of the many ADVANTAGES to having a woman as your boss, lu has FOUND, is that they are more willing to protect you. “ while men don’t learn to keep their hands to themselves, it’ll ALWAYS be one of those nights, ” a smile attempts to hide the SADNESS behind her words, her tone sounding more ANNOYED than horrified at this point. “ thank you, ” she says. “ i can usually handle myself, but that was just… too much. ”

“No need to thank me. You perform in ways I can’t so the least I can do is protect my girls when they need me.” Gabriella sighed. “It doesn’t always have to be one of those nights. You can always uproot yourself and move east. It’s what I think about sometimes.”

[gabriellaxking]

maricnas·:

MARIANA COULDN’T HELP THE SMIRK that danced over her features as she watched the verbal take down. she was very aware that MOST men were PIGS - unable to keep their hands to themselves. maybe it was genetic, or maybe they were just self-entitled bastards. either way, she SHRUGGED it off with a sip of her martini, before facing gabriella. “when isn’t it ONE OF THOSE NIGHTS?” she challenges the other with a quirk of her eyebrow and a small smile. “it’s a miracle you’re still REMOTELY SANE.”

“Define sane.” Gabriella chuckled, as the barkeep passed her a shot of whiskey. She downed it with no hesitation. “Stick around here long enough and the lines between insanity and genius are blurred. But that's what this place has always done. How do you keep sane, Mariana?”

[gabriellaxking]

lipstiick·:

she was still shaking. she may have been a showgirl, but in all actuality, she wasn’t as good at shaking men off as she may need to be in her job. she had smiled and tried to move his hand away from her behind. sadly, being touched while working wasn’t uncommon. this man, however, didn’t get the hint - or didn’t want to get it - and she was glad when gabriella stepped in. she had been doing this work for six years and it wasn’t getting easier. “thank you.” she said, rubbing her hand over her upper arm, almost nervous - mostly insecure. she wondered if her manager would think she was ill-equipped to handle the patrons, that she’d been a bother and she felt naked now, in her outfit. she couldn’t wait to get out of it and relax, forget about all this.

“Don’t worry about it. Are you okay?” Gabriella asked the younger woman. “Look men like that are part of the business. As unfortunate as it is...” She sighed, placing a hand on Patty’s shoulder. “You can take the rest of the night off if you need, get some rest. Self-care is important here.”

[gabriellaxking]

cherrytwists·:

    with  all  the  glee  and  fervor  of  watching  a  late  night  spectacle,  natalia  rests  her  frame  atop  the  bar  and  devours  the  sight  of  gabriella  demolishing  the  hotel’s  latest  drunken  jackass.   ‘  mm,  lucky  you  came  along,  i  was  seconds  away  from  pistol  whipping  him,  ’  she  huffs  a  soft  chuckle,  immediately  sliding  over  her  latest  shot  to  the  manager.  ‘  c’mon,  you  deserve  it.  ’

“Glad you didn’t as that’s a mess I don’t want to clean up tonight.” Gabriella chuckled, as she downed the shot that was passed to her. “How’ve you been Nat? Keeping out of trouble I hope.”

[gabriellaxking]

phated·:

      a smile flickers at his lips, fleeting. no, she’s never been one to run from trouble. lasted ten years around him, anyway. cigarette cherries and the wistfulness in his expression is hidden in a fog of smoke. “yeah,” he sighs, tongue running over his lips. “yeah, i know a thing or two about vices.” he’s got a few. frequent visits to the hotel being a big one. the picture he makes emerges to him clearly: in walks angel and all his bad habits, makes a bee-line straight for her. it’s no good and he knows it.

“don’t mean to impose, darling,” he quirks his brows, shifts his eyes away from her. “i know better than giving you any trouble. just here for a drink and i’ll be on my way.” another puff of smoke fills in his hesitant pause. he avoids catching her gaze, instead gestures to the bar. “don’t suppose i can talk you into one? i’m buying.”

“Hey...” She stepped closer to her once upon a love and placed a hand on his cheek. Gabriella hated when he didn’t look at her with those story-telling eyes. If eyes were the window to the soul, then she saw his so clearly. gently guiding his gaze to her own, her heart tugged. Tired. He looked so damn tired. But this life will do that to a person. Wear them down until there’s nothing but bone left. 

“You look like shit.” She admitted, always feeling some need to care for him. “You need sleep, love. When was the last time you had a good night’s worth?”

Her hand slides to his shoulder as she gives him a small squeeze, “Come. I’ll never say no to a free drink.” Walking over to the bar, she ordered her dirty martini. A dirty martini to let him know everything was okay in her life. 

But a whiskey on the rocks when things seemed to go awry. 

“You know I still get some of your mail? Can drop it off for you sometime if you’d like.” She said, looking over at him. “I’m sure your love letter senders would enjoy to hear back from you every now and then.” Gab teased.