@txliabites
He’d never stepped foot into this bar before, The Black Diamond Club, was not far enough away from the town square for his usual liking but he’d heard good things about the woman who performed there. August wasn’t a stranger to the nightlife, while usually he frequented the Water Wheel, from the moment he walked into the Jazz Club he felt somewhat at ease. It wasn’t at all what he had imagined, and the ambiance was relaxing, calming even. The woman singing had not been done justice, for a few casual moments August merely stood in the doorway, his eyes transfixed on the woman on stage. He couldn’t take his eyes off of her, when at last he opened his mouth he asked what her name was, he should have known it already, but in an instant he’d forgotten everything else. The bouncer rolled his eyes and gruffly said, Talia.
From there August found a table, not too close to the stage, but somewhere comfortable where he could watch the show in solitude, and from a distance. It was then that he realized he knew this woman, they weren’t exactly friends, but acquaintances sure - she lived with Kolya. There was something innately alluring about her now that he’d never noticed before, something pulling his focus towards her, it was in the gravitas upon which she carried herself. It was effortless, and his pupils remained trained on her visage. August was not at all stupid, he should have understood what was going on, but it was all so compelling and there was joy and sorrow and everything in between with her performance.
He decided minutes upon sitting down that this was someone he wanted to meet, someone he needed to get to know. He sat through her show, ordered some food, and maybe even had a good time, but still he was waiting. While August had planned on going up to her as soon as her set was over, that wasn’t possible, and she had disappeared before he could. Discouraged, and feeling the effects of her song wearing off, August got up to leave as more people piled into the jazz club. It was getting late, and the place was beginning to get more crowded. While he’d been having a good time, it was officially time for him to go.
Before he could make his exit, something was pulling at him, maybe some residual guilt from his confrontation with Kolya over the holidays. Whatever the case, he managed to slip into the backroom and discreetly navigated his way to the dressing room - he was about to knock when he heard a commotion within. Some sort of argument? He couldn’t really place the voices, but one of them was Talia’s. Was it over money? Some dispute between performers? August wasn’t sure, but he was going to back away and leave the two within to sort it out when the sounds began to escalate. Without thinking, he pushed the door open and stepped in. “Is everything okay in here?”