Phoenix loved his job, really. He made money enough to keep him well fed, clothed and satisfied for at least 7 years if he stopped working at that moment. But he didn’t want to, because Phoenix loved the thrill of the chase. Phoenix was a car racer and a good one at that. He loved cars and the power that he had under his feet and hands whenever he sat in the car; whenever he pressed his boot to the accelerator. When he was behind the wheel Phoenix felt like he could fly. Maybe it was the near death experience at such a young age that had him craving to get close to the void. But with the good there was also bad. Now, to be fair, the bad wasn’t terrible but it certainly wasn’t fantastic either. Phoenix didn’t mind being social as long as he wasn’t the centre of attention, he despised having all eyes on him: he preferred very much to simply blend in. To watch, To choose who he wanted to talk too. Choose he wanted to fuck. Drugs and alcohol made party’s more bearable, the promise of getting laid was also a upside as well. And maybe if he knew that the races were being rigged so what? He didn’t particularly care. He got paid, money was made and that’s all that mattered. Phoenix didn’t care who got hurt because he never let himself get attached.
But then there was Jupiter. Jupiter was on two of Phoenix’s metaphorical lists being; ‘want to fuck’ and ‘want to figure out’. Jupiter was tall, dark and incredibly handsome and absolutely Phoenix’s type. He was always at the races, never as a competitor (Phoenix noted) always on the sidelines. The business he worked under was quiet extensive and employed people of all nationalities, ages snd genders so it was hard to pinpoint who was on the crew and who was the crew. Lucas Mikaelson was smart in he didn’t let everyone in on the secrets; the drugs, the sex, the tampering. Phoenix had met Lucas’ son - Thomas - at high school and he became one of Phoenix’s only real friends. Thomas knew of Phoenix’s car jacking tendency’s and eventually introduced him to his father, the rest was history.
It was a night that was an all too familiar scene - another win, another loss. Another after party. This time, Vegas. It wasn’t the first time in Vegas, nor would it be the last, but it was the first time Phoenix was actually planning on furthering his conversations with Jupiter. Phoenix had recently dyed his hair a shocking shade of bright red and for the party had matched a large Chanel Ruby earring with it. Phoenix was dressed in his usual leather pants, branded Louis Vuitton boots and low cut (tasteful) leaped print top. It didn’t take long for him to spot Jupiter having conversation out on the balcony with one of the other races on the team. Phoenix pulled his vape pen from his back pocket and slunk out onto the balcony. “You always look like you’re thoroughly enjoying yourself at these parties” Phoenix inserted himself rather rudely, eyes on Jupiter “Think you’ll get bored of them?” The other racer, Monica - Phoenix recognised her as - scowled and left.
Jupiter had a girlfriend back home but he wasn’t going to stop Monica from flirting with him. He would never cheat on Lily with another woman, she was much too nice for that-- much too nice for him really. But Lily was back home while Monica was right in front of him and the microdose of ecstasy made it hard for him to deny her advances. She let him touch his arm, even squeeze his muscles, but he wouldn’t let it go farther that than. Not that any of that was going to happen as soon as Phoenix showed. Jupiter looked at the racer and scoffed, then looked back at Monica who was already leaving. “You’re ruining my game, pretty boy.”
Phoenix wasn’t a bad guy. In a relative sense. The guys Jupiter couldn’t stand were the ones that talked shit about their girlfriends to other guys for a laugh or thought their dicks were so great that they gave hookers mind-blowing orgasms. Thieves were fine, he’d been raised by dealers, and met a couple nice hit-men in his time. But it was guys like that he couldn’t stand. So Pretty-Boy-Phoenix was alright. If a little eccentric. Jupiter looked him up and down. “Really embracing the Vegas vibe huh?” He unbuttoned the top button of Phoenix’s leopard print shirt. “Are you going to the slots later tonight?”
He looked Phoenix in the eye. Jupiter made it no secret that he found the racer attractive even if he passed it off as a joke. He had dark eyes you could get lost in and lips that were full but masculine. Jupiter was pretty sure the guy’s face was perfectly symmetrically which someone told him was a sign of attractiveness. Come to think of it, it might have been Lily. She was smart like that. The only flaw Jupiter could really pin-point on the other man was that his ears stuck out, a bit like Dumbo. But if Phoenix was self conscious about this he did show it, especially with his choice of jewelry. Alright there was one other thing that wasn’t super attractive-- “you look like a stop light” He messed up Phoenix’s hair. “Trying to confuse the other racers?”
Jupiter himself was dressed pretty standard. Dark jeans and a large, loose shirt printed with a graphic MF Doom’s mask, a few gold bangles-- since this was one of the few times their jangling wouldn’t get in the way of his work. Still, the most expensive thing on him was his sneakers. Jupiter pointed to Phoenix’s vape, “let me hit that. Unless you’re squeamish about indirect kissing.”
