Hard day's work {Alicia}

It was a regular morning for Leifr, he was already up and working to get the Stag & Hen ready for the day. He only had about half an hour before the doors would officially be open. Thankfully he’d done most of his prep the night before, so he had very little to do other than wipe down the bartop and the tables before he could take a moment to collect himself before his long day would begin. The best way to do that in his opinion was to get some grub. If he didn’t, he knew he wouldn’t see a decent meal for several hours. His solution to this dilemma? Use the kitchen. That’s what found the wizard scraping together a breakfast of bacon, eggs, and toast.

Making breakfast for himself wasn’t usually something Leifr did, at least not at work, but sometimes he had to take the opportunities that presented themselves. And particularly with the way his stomach was growling, there was no way that the wizard wasn’t going to dirty a few dishes to make his day a whole lot better, especially when he had a wand and could make the dishes do themselves. Just as he was about to finish up, and put the dishes in the sink, the ex Gryffindor heard the side entrance open, telling him that his co-worker for the day had arrived. Alicia. She’d been working at the Stag&Hen for a few months at this point. She was a good worker, and it seemed like the patrons liked her well enough. Not to mention, she was easy to work with but then again, Leifr got on with everyone he worked with, so that wasn’t much of a surprise.

As the witch rounded the corner, and made her way into the kitchen, Leifr nodded at her in greeting “Morning, Alicia.”  and gestured to the plate in front of him “You want anything before our shift begins?” He figured he might as well ask and see, the dishes weren’t in the sink yet, and most of the ingredients were still out on the counter. All it would take was a wave of his wand to set things cooking. While he waited to see what her answer would be, another question popped into his head and he figured he might as well ask that one too “How’s the season shaping up?”

Narrowed grey eyes focused on Leifr over her travel coffee mug. "Don't say a word." She uncharacteristically snarked, before sliding back around the corner from whence she came. Damn him for being at his own establishment. What made him think he could be on time and cheerful. Sliding off her jacket, she hung it on a hook, and reentered the kitchen, she shot him another look. This wasn't the time for happiness. She was hungover and sulky, and the remnants of his food made her want to keel over and die. She dramatically laid on the counter, hiding her face. Light was bright, deadly and she was going to die. Many times over. She began to talk, but it was muffled by her arm. Too lazy to sit up, all she did was move her hand a little so he could decipher her words. "...kill me now."

Last night had been the worst idea she'd ever had. She'd been in contract negotiations with another team to get traded, and just that afternoon her agent had sent her an owl with the finalized contract. Finally! She was sick of being second string for the Harpies. Not only was that Jones bint crazy, but she didn't become a professional player to sit on the sidelines until someone got themselves hurt. Now, with her getting traded she got better coverage. So, in celebration, a pack of her friends joined her bar hopping. Not just one or two bars. No. She wasn't that lucky. They'd hit seven bars. Most of the previous night had been a blur. She remembered only bits and pieces. She'd taken way too many shots and danced on a few tables, heels shaking precariously underneath wobbly feet. It'd been so much fun, and the fact that she danced with so many people that all of their faces made one big monster person when she tried to think back. All she remembered was putting her face into her pillows at 4.04 am.

Then she woke up with 20 minutes to spare to get to work. Usually she'd pick out clothes that would be super casual so Leifr wouldn't think she was dressing up or trying to impress him. Instead, whirlwind Alicia ran through her shower quickly, washing the stink of liquor off of her skin, grabbed whatever clothes she could find, and stumbled to work. Now here she was, in the presence of her boss, who was entirely too attractive for his own good with yesterday's makeup still on her face damn magic, and leather trousers that clung too tightly to her thighs. She felt like she was overdressed and under-dressed at the same time.

Oh right. He was talking. Blearily she looked up and focused on his lips for a moment before tilting her head curiously. Food? Oh. Food. "If you have something that can get rid of this troll doing a shimmy in my head and the gnome churning butter in my stomach, I'd appreciate it." She gave him a wry smile. "Don't worry. I'm not dying. Just..." She sat up, waving her hand in the air in his direction. "I feel like I'm dying...I drank enough booze to kill an elephant..." Standing, she walked over to the sink and turned on the faucet. Completely unladylike, but she didn't care, she drank straight from the tap, before standing and wiping her face. Why did she need to dirty a glass when she'd just have to clean it?

DID SHE JUST DO THAT? He paid her money, and he probably thought she was a drunken slag with no manners. She sent him a glance out the side of her eyes. "...Food? Yes?" DIVERSION! IMPERATIVE! LEVEL 2 DIVERSION. "The season is good. Just got traded." Um. Her cheeks filled with red and she looked at him, squirming like a kid who'd just spilled red drink on a pristine white carpet. "...Food?" She squeaked. SQUEAKED It couldn't get any worse, right?

Of course he was supposed to be the mature one, he was older after all, right? Right. But he wasn’t. Watching Alicia as she dramatically made her entrance, so to speak, the only thing the Gryffindor alum could do was do his best to hide his amusement, and that wasn’t working so well. When she’d finally flopped herself up onto the bar to curl up into a ball, and dared him not to say anything, the man grinned “ Rough night last night?” Judging by her next comment, it had been exactly that. But it wasn’t as if he’d never had a night like that before, either, in fact, he’d had plenty, so he wasn’t really questioning her as much as he was poking fun at her “Oh come on. Can’t be that bad.” He threw a look her way, wanting to see how she was taking his fun.

Judging by her unusual choice of outfit for her shift, in comparison to what she normally wore, it was definitely one of the mornings he liked to call the oh shite mornings. Meaning the night before had kicked his ass, and he’d woken up with just enough time to get to wherever he had to be, as long as he didn’t focus on what he was going to be wearing that day. This only served to make Leifr more amused, and a chuckle escape his lips. He was being a little mean, and he knew it, but he couldn’t help himself. Not when she made it so easy. But he also knew that what he’d just offered her would get her attention. Food was both the best and worse thing after a night out like hers. Both enemy and friend.

Nodding, Leifr gave a wave of his wand, sending the dishes he’d used back to the stove, and some of their greasiest breakfast foods into the pan. Grease was about the only way to satisfy a queasy stomach. While it was cooking the wizard reached under the counter and pulled out a pepper up potion.and slid it across the bar in her direction “This first, then food.” Pausing, the man flicked his wand and let the breakfast items plate themselves before sliding that down the bar too “It’s greasy, but it’ll do the trick. Trust me. I’ve met that elephant, he’s not a very friendly bloke, though.” He wasn’t about to make her work if she didn’t feel decently enough to move from the bar top, but she wasn’t going to get much more sympathy than this, either, mostly because he’d been in her situation loads of times, and managed to get through his day just fine. Not that he really expected to have to tell her that, but all the same.

When Alicia got up and went to the faucet, Leifr knew something entertaining was about to happen, and his thoughts were confirmed when she bent down and drank straight from the tap. If she’d done it during business hours, the man might have actually been surprised, and a bit worried, but it was just the two of them at the moment, and he wasn’t about to fault her for something like that when she was hungover. But he was also more interested in her own reaction when she realized what she’d just done. Sometimes the brain took a moment to catch up to the body on a morning like this one, so he watched his co-worker expectantly.

He gave her the sternest look he could muster without letting himself burst out laughing. But that didn’t last long, when she squeaked at him for the food, the wizard lost it. Laughing hard, and grinning at her mischievously he pointed her back to the bar “Congratulations on getting traded.” Pausing to compose himself just a little, Leifr continued, giving her a playfully exasperated look “Yeah yeah, the thing you really want me for is over there.” He finished gesturing back to the bar for the umpteenth time. He’d been expecting a good morning, but nothing quite like this. He really took too much pleasure in her embarrassment sometimes.

Her cheeks were on fire. It was hot, and this was hell and her cheeks were probably the brightest red he'd ever seen. She didn't get it. Everytime she had an emotional reaction like being embarrassed, or nervous, or so attracted to someone that she'd probably keel over and die if they spoke to her, she blushed. She was an adult! Why was she still blushing. Goddammit, this was so embarrasing. Her hand slid through her hair and she smiled at him, before biting her lips. Her fingers wrapped round the bottle of pepper up potion as she sat in a chair, pulling the plate closer to her.

"Thanks...I'd tell you what team, but you might hate me..." She said softly and teasingly, rubbing her cheeks before downing the potion. She sat and stared at him for a bit, her still slightly drunk mind trying to fully grasp the nuances of speech. The only thing she focused on was the last bit he said. Her brows furrowed in confusion. What...? She looked him up and down slowly, head tilted to the side. "If women only want you for food, then they are doing the sex thing wrong...because...damn..." She was glad she was just thinking that, because if she'd said it, she'd be damn near mortified. You weren't supposed to slowly undress your employer in his own establishment. But she did, especially when he was bent over the bar chatting to one of the customers. It was entirely his fault. His butt was nice, and those arms...and when he reached up and his shirt slid up. Alicia shook herself, looking back down again.

She tapped her fork against the plate twice before digging into her food, humming happily. She swayed in her seat, the food making her content. Her headache was fading, not entirely gone, but not like a field of gophers destroying her mental yard. She bounced in her seat, doing a happy dance. She loved food. Her mother complained that that was the reason why she was so 'curvy'. She really didn't care. She worked out more than she had fun, and she'd eat all she damned well pleased. Food was good.

Alicia slid the fork up and pointed it at him as she chewed on the last bit of food in her mouth. "What do you have for me to do today, then? Am I just the slave? I'm not dressed appropriately..." She looked down at her legs. She had on leather trousers that clung to everything, and an almost sheer shirt that you could see a peek of lace through. Did she really care...? Not really. "I'm sure the customers will appreciate the change up from plaid, yeah?" She looked down at her plate when her fork clicked against it. It was empty. Her full lips curved into the most childish of pouts and she looked at him with big pleading eyes.

"Leifr..." Her voice was husky, almost sexual in the way that she purred his name. She pushed the plate towards him. "Please...?" She stared up at him, waiting impatiently. "...I'm still hungry." Her bottom lip poked out more and trembled. That would work, right?

He was probably a bad person for taking so much pleasure in her suffering, but at the moment Leifr couldn’t bring himself to feel guilty, it was still funny. Grinning back at her the wizard decided it might be too mean to point out the fact that she was about as red as a tomato. So instead of acting on the impulse to tease her even more, the man leaned back against the bar and waited to see what would happen next. 

What team could she have possibly gotten traded to that he’d hate? There weren’t many teams out there that the man really hated, except for maybe the Chudley Cannons simply because they were so, so bad. But he wouldn’t tell her that just yet, that wouldn’t be any fun, keeping his tone light he fixed her with a look “Oh c’mon....whoever  picked you up can’t be that bad, you’ve got skill after all...” He’d stop teasing her soon, but she just made it so easy to have fun. Especially when it was still clear that her mouth and brain were on two different levels, meaning she was likely to say things she normally wouldn’t say. Which meant that the entertainment value of his morning had just gotten much better. Though even he hadn’t been expecting her to say something like what had just come out of her mouth.

He wasn’t offended, not in the least. Like it had been with the faucet, he’d have been much more concerned if it wasn’t just the two of them and during business hours. Even though he wasn’t offended, there was no doubting that he was a bit surprised. He was used to women finding him attractive, but not used to his co-workers inner monologues gone rogue being that forward, or hearing them for that matter. And it really left him with little to do other than to stand there smirking at her and wait for the other proverbial shoe to drop “ I’m glad someone can appreciate me for things other than my cooking..” Yes, this was going to be priceless. It was also a little more thought provoking than the ex-Gryffindor would have liked. Particularly because even Leifr tried not to make eyeing attractive co-workers a thing, but with someone like Alicia saying things like that, it made it a little difficult not to think about her in a way that was likely far from appropriate for work.

So while she ate the wizard took advantage of the silence to try and compose himself and his thoughts. He was at work, and was the boss, he had to try and be at least a little responsible, even if it was in the confines of his own mind. When a more work related, and appropriate subject came up, Leifr wasted no time using it to his advantage “I think you’re probably going to be running a few orders, but mostly just making sure the place looks nice. I don’t expect that many people in this morning.” He wasn’t even going to think about touching her comment about how she was dressed, not considering the way their previous conversations had gone. It was an odd choice of clothing, but it also showed off much more than he was willing to contemplate at the moment. But when she took a stab at his choice in dress he couldn’t resist saying something “Oh for sure, because tight leather pants are much more fashionable....” He liked his plaid, and didn’t always wear it, but it was nice on slow mornings.

And before he knew what was happening he was looking at her face with that big pout and those big eyes, and he knew what was about to happen. Before he could even say no properly, she’d started speaking. The way she’d said his name had him a little thrown off balance, but he did his best to ignore it, they were working. But not trusting himself to speak, Leifr frowned, doing his best to look stern and resolute, but the longer she kept staring at him, the less he could stand it. After a few moments the man gave in “Fine, but eat it quick, we’ve got to open in about fifteen minuets.” With that the wizard sent what had been left over in the pan onto her plate, sighing as he mentally made sure everything was set for opening, and avoided thinking about the way she’d said his name. This was going to be one hell of a morning after all.

She was finally getting to that stable level of barely drunk. She still was a tad tipsy but she could function properly. Her eyes narrowed deadly like at him and she scowled a bit. "It's like you haven't the least faith in me." She crossed her arms, bouncing in her seat. "'That bad?' Do you want me to be on a shitty team or summat?" She stuck her tongue out at him before coming to a decision. "That's it. Now you have to guess. I'm not telling you." She sliced her hand across her throat. "You're cut off from this fount of information." She was firm in her beliefs. There was nothing he could do to convince her to tell him now. He'd have to do nothing short of giving her a strip tease on the bar before she'd reveal this information...who was she kidding? If he stepped too close to her and asked she'd be spouting it off quicker than she could control.

Appreciate him for things other than his cooking? She did that with is. She appreciated him for his sense of humor, even though he was a jerk sometimes. "I appreciate you for a lot more than your cooking..." She said low, her lip sliding between her teeth. Her eyes slowly trailed his long frame before stopping on his face. Wait. Whut? Why was he looking at her like that. Her eyes widened and she blinked rapidly before looking down at the table. Her cheeks after calming down were now a bright red again. "I said that outloud right?" She murmured before looking at him, waiting for his reaction. She had, hadn't she? This...probably was going to turn out badly, but she was a Gryffindor and she didn't run from anything. "I meant it all, I don't care." She said resolutely, thankful that he switched the subject.

"Is it just us this morning then?" Talk about awkward. Now he knew that she mentally undressed him whenever he wasn't looking, and the day was going to be hell. God, she was so stupid. She could have tried to sober up more than she'd done before coming in. Alicia had been in such a rush and panicked, so now she was reeping the benefits. She was never drinking again. Infact, she was going to avoid working with Leifr alone as much as she could because it was going to be the death of her. She'd ruined all of her chances for a fun pleasant day by running her gab. "Just point out what you see needs fixing outside of tables, and I've got it..." She wasn't even going to mention how good he looked in whatever he wore, but expecially plaid. It was like those shirts emphasized how nice his shoulders were.

Her eyes lit up at the sight of food. Her fork clicked against the plate before she finished, smiling sweetly at him. "Thank you." She used her wand to flick the dish over to the sink with the pan, cleaning them as she stood. Her hand slid into her bra, forgetting that he was infront of her as she walked around to the side of the bar. Before she entered, she gathered her hair in a tall pony before washing her hands. Alicia reached to grab her apron and tied it around her waist, sliding beside him before smiling. "You ready for this, bossman?" She tucked an errant strand of hair behind her ear before her hand betrayed her. It slid up his forearm before gently tugging at the sleeve of his plaid shirt. "I like the plaid..." she said softly as she looked up at him, her hand resting against his arm before sliding away as she danced around the bar to the other side.

Seperation.

Space.

That was exactly what she needed. Not the feeling of her hand on his arm, or being so close to him that she'd felt his body heat. Long day. This was going to be a long day. She began to fix the tables, looking around the room to make sure everything was perfect. "Oi! What have you been doing while I've been gone?" She demanded, trying to break the silence. "Missing me, yeah? Sinking into a pit of quicksand without my stunning smile and quick wit?"

He might have told himself he’d stop teasing herself soon, but his self control wasn’t particularly good under harmless circumstances such as these. Settling for a smirk in return for her glare, Leifr shrugged lightly as he spoke “Mmh. Least faith? I don’t think it’d take it that far..” He knew it took some serious talent to make a name for ones self in the Quidditch world, and as far as he could tell Alicia Spinnet was doing a fine job of doing just that. Shrugging again, the man kept talking “No, not at all. I did say you had skill, didn’t I?” When she refused to tell her who she’d gotten traded to, the ex-Gryffindor couldn’t help but chuckle “You don’t have to. I’ll just ask my brother. He always knows whose gone where.” He finished with a mischievous twinkle in his eye, wondering how she’d take knowing he could find out whether or not she wanted him to know or not. He ventured a guess that the witch wouldn’t be terribly pleased, but he was okay with that.

Watching the realization that she’d just hit on him in his range of hearing dawn on her face was comedy gold. He almost couldn’t stop himself chuckling at the fact that even as she spoke, she was eyeing him, and her thoughts were all over her face. When she asked him for confirmation that she’d said what she was thinking out loud the wizard nodded calmly, surprised only by the fact that she was brave enough to tell him to his face that she didn’t care that he’d heard and that she didn’t take any of it back, either. She was a fellow Gryffindor, so he should have known she wouldn’t back down in a high pressure situation, but even so, he wasn’t quite sure what to do in response. So he did the first thing that came to his mind, smirked and laughed softly. It probably wasn’t the wisest thing he could have done, but he didn’t trust himself to speak, so it had been his only option.

Once again, the man found himself thankful for their mundane choice of topic, and nodded again “Yeah. Barclay might stop in towards the end of the morning shift to see how things are going, but I think that’s it.” Not that Leifr minded that either, although with their conversation from only a few minuets ago bouncing around in his skull all shift, the extra presence could prove a nice distraction. It didn’t take the man long to dish out her tasks for the day either, not when it was nice normal, non thought provoking conversation “Just make sure the right table sets are out for breakfast and wipe down the tables and chairs.” He really wasn’t expecting a big crowd during the morning hours, maybe a few regulars but that was about it. Which meant it would have been pointless for him to have given her more work, because he didn’t really buy into the whole busywork thing, unless it really was actually busy.

Returning her smile with a slight nod Leifr was grateful that things hadn’t veered off course again from regular, normal work conversation and niceties, but that didn’t last long. He’d been about to thank her for doing her own dishes, when he realized her hand was in her bra. Clearing his throat in surprise the wizard hastily turned, pretending to be focused on the dishes in the sink, while doing his best to hide his hasty movement. They were co-workers, that’s all there was to it. And he’d have to keep it that way to make sure that they both kept their jobs, and he kept his sanity. Grinning at her, the man nodded ever so slightly “As always.” He’d gotten so used to working at all hours, it didn’t really matter to him when he was working.The job brought him calm, and something to do with his hands. But before he could convince himself to get on with his days work, his mind was acutely aware of the fact that her hand was sliding it’s way up his arm. He turned to look at her, a slightly dazed and surprised look sliding across his face as he did so “Mmh...yeah, me too.” Again, he wasn’t sure what else he could say without his mouth saying something much less appropriate, with the way her hand on his arm was distracting him.

As he watched her go Leifr shook his head, doing his best to shake off the distractedness and remind himself that he had a job to do. As he moved away from the edge of the bar to start washing and shining glasses, for the first time in a long time the twenty five year old was glad for such a dull and mind numbing task, maybe it’d help him snap out of this funk the morning had thrown him into. When she called out to him, it took the wizard a few moments to respond, forgetting that they were the only ones there, and that he was the only one that she could be possibly talking to. Oops. Quick to fill the silence, the man laughed “Living the dream, of course. Who wouldn’t want my job?!” He was teasing of course, he knew he had a job only coveted by few, but he found pride in it none the less. Snorting at her next comment Leifr retorted “ I think you’re mistaken. I’ve got the quick wit, and stunning smile around here. But, you know, I guess it is nice to have you back...” He trailed off, watching for her reaction out of the corner of his eye.     

"Oooh! You don't play fair." Why was he involving other people in their little game? "You cheater!" She was now sulky. What fun was it if he involved other people? She didn't have siblings, so he had a distinct advantage over her. "Why cant you figure it out on your own." She wanted to punch him in the arm, but she was mature and wouldn't do something like that. She wanted to. He was lucky that she had self control, or his arm would be throbbing for the rest of the day.

When he laughed at her, she wanted to punch him again. Why was she so violent? Oh. Her mother had said something about her liking a boy when she knocked him out of his shoes when he pulled her braid when she was five, but that was then. She was bad at the liking people thing. She could admit she was a little starstuck when she was around him, and he could obviously see that. That didn't give him an open door to tease her about it. She should wop him a good one. Where was a wet towel when she needed one? "Yeah, laugh." She responded, a smirk on her face as she snarked at him. She was sure it wasn't the proper response, but boohoo.

"Oooooooh. Leifr's in trouble." She teased, hearing that Barclay was coming. She wiped down the counter a bit, even though it was already pristine. "You think he's going to tell you that your plaid shirt is out of style yet." She wanted to tweak it gently, but she'd already reached her limit of caresses for that day. And who knew? Her hand might betray her and lay flush on his chest, and get a grope in. Was that really betrayal if she wanted to do it? She was still drunk. She had to be, daydreaming of her hand getting a good feel.

Laughing, she rolled her shoulders before bending over to wipe down the tables, her back to Leifr. Looking at him was a bad idea when she was trying to get work done. Especially today after blatantly hitting on him. "Living the dream, eh?" She set the table, trying to concentrate on making sure all the settings were correct. Her snort was loud in the silence, and she held back laughter. "I don't know, Trickett. I'm pretty sure I'd make a prettier picture behind that bar than you. I could plaid it up, and let out manly jokes to customers."

She squared her shoulders and deepened her voice, mocking his laugh before rolling her eyes. Going back to her table, she tilted her head. Was that a scratch? Yuck. No, that was dried food. She flicked her wand and it disappeared. "Maybe you're right. Your smile is kind of cute, your arse even nicer..." She just kept digging that hole. Had it gotten to the centre of the earth yet? She turned and blinked innocently at him, blush still on her cheeks as she tried to tease him. "However, I'm pretty sure the customers prefer a nice rack when getting their drinks. You'd look horrid with tits, so leave all of that to me, and today will be a good day." What was a small bit of flirting when she'd already admitted to staring at the man? She'd be gone for part of the year once season started, so it wasn't like he could hold it over her head.

She pulled the salt and pepper shakers to the bar and sat down, beginning to fill them, flicking her wand to send them to their respective tables. "You know, if you don't miss me, I can stop taking shifts here and get out of your hair." She teased, looking at him with an arched brow. "But I know you did, so I'll stay until season starts, and grace you with my presence. No charge." It was almost opening time, she might as well do things to last through the night as a preemptive strike for the people who worked the next shift.

Grinning childishly when he heard her retort the man shrugged “Since when have I ever played fair?” It was the truth, though too. It wasn’t often that Leifr cheated or used advantages over others like he just had with Alicia, but he wasn’t about to pass up an opportunity like that, not when she had been so smug about the whole thing. When she called him a cheater, he laughed quietly, and only responded by winking at her. As for her other question, that had the man shrugging “Why should I figure it out on my own when I know someone who probably knows the answer already?” He was a Gryffindor, honest and true, and many of the other hallmark traits of his house, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t above cutting corners when he could, particularly if it meant winning, even if just briefly.

“I am laughing” He teased her evenly, mischief written on his face. He was being childish, still, but in all fairness, she was being a little childish too, so he figured they could call it even for the moment. And, he figured, by the way she was smirking at him, she wasn’t really that upset with him.

Him? In trouble with Barclay? That was funny. Leifr couldn’t remember the last time when he’d even been close to actually being in trouble with the bar’s proprietor. The old man loved him, and the respect was mutual. Barclay had been understanding when the war had hit and his Order duties had called, and even let him come back to the bar after the war had ended, with no questions asked no less. Raising his eyebrows at her the twenty five year old rolled his eyes playfully “Barclay comes here to worship at my alter, is more like it. The man loves me.” After another pause “My plaid, out of style? Funny. I think you mean he’ll come here to tell me how great it makes my chest look, and how that gets me bigger tips..” He was kidding, of course, but all the same, he had yet to find something more resliliant than plaid on a busy night. The way he was saying it all, it sounded like Leifr didn’t have much of the same respect for Barclay as the man had for him, but he figured she’d been working here long enough to know that for herself.

As he bent down to restock some of the more popular items from the weekend, he could see that out of the corner of his eye, Alicia was bending over. He was determined not to look. They might work in a bar, but that didn’t mean he didn’t actually have to try and be professional. Forcing his gaze back to the rows of bottles in front of him the man shook his head silently. Focus. He could do that, couldn’t he? Shouldn’t be that hard. Except for it was, had been that way all damn morning. He wasn’t living the dream he’d had as a kid, but he was happy, and thats what mattered. So he gave her a a retort of his own “Damn right it’s the dream...and prettier than me? Thats a possibility. I mean I’d have to work this bar shirtless to compete with all the customers you’d bring in...” he finished chuckling, eyeing her, wondering what she’d say next.

He frowned playfully when he realized she was mocking him. Not that he was terribly offended, with his family, being made fun of was pretty routine in some way or another. What did give him pause was the fact that she was back to hitting on him again, not that he could complain, but not that he could do a whole lot about it at the moment anyway. So rather than leaving her hanging he winked at her, his gaze letting her know it wasn’t a dead subject. Laughing and rolling his eyes, playing into her bit the man tucked a rag into his back pocket as he spoke “Are you kidding? I’d look fabulous with tits.” He paused, his mind calculating or whether or not his mouth should say the next thought that popped to mind, and when he didn’t see what could go wrong, he shrugged easily as he spoke “But obviously not as good as you..” He’d leave that where it was for now.

As he watched her refill the shakers and other table condiments, Leifr made his way over to the front door, and officially turned the lock, opening the bar for business. Shooting her a glance as he made his way back to his perch behind the bar, keeping his tone light “You couldn’t stop working here. You’d miss looking at my arse while you think I’m not looking.” He was teasing, of course, but he knew there was a grain of truth to it too. Settling back into his stool behind the bar, the man waited to see what the day had in store for him next. 

"You're damn right I'm a sight prettier than you, Trickett." She quipped teasingly, pushing a loose wave behind her ear. She continued cleaning the tables, perfecting them. Some times she needed to clean to relax, and for some reason she was tense. Like she was tip toeing through a lava pit. She had to watched where she stepped, because she felt like she was wading into deep waters that she wasn't used to. Liking people was stupid, but stupid her could say she honestly liked the devil in plaid.

A snort escaped her lips as she tried to imagine a top heavy Leifr. He'd have that nice jawline, but really big bubbies. She wondered what type of bra he liked...not on...GAH! Bad thoughts. Bad thoughts. She looked back at him, and his compliment struck her. Her cheeks filled with a soft pink, and she looked at him out of the corner of her eye. She watched him walk, and admired the set of his shoulders. He was...very handsome. And devilish, and she swore she was going to punch him one.

As she began to set the matched pairs of salt and pepper on the tables, she thought. Maybe this was dangerous territory. She kept flirting with him, and he might even really flirt back, and she'd be a stupid puddle of idiot Alicia. He might even smirk at her, like he usually did. Smug bastard.

She watched him walk over to the door, and went over to clean up the mess she'd made on the counter of the salt and pepper. Alicia shook off her cloth, tucking it into her apron. She watched him walk past her again, and as he spoke, her temper rose a bit. He was teasing her, and as much as she liked it sometimes, she felt as if he thought she was a joke. She bit her bottom lip and sat up, so she was face to face with him, the bar seperating them. She looked dead into his eyes, and tilted her head slightly.

"Maybe I couldn't stop working here. And if I didn't, it'd only be because of the person who keeps giving me those shows, knowing I'm watching." She bit her bottom lip, eyebrows arched. Her hand reached up to cup his cheek, and she trailed her thumb along his lip. "You're very handsome, and if you don't stop teasing me I'm going to punch you..." She lightly threatened, before beaming. She hopped off of her stool as the door opened.

When she turned, she beamed. It was Isaac, one of the older men who was usually there like three times a week, and she'd missed him when she was gone. She watched him walk over to the table, and she walked over to him, and she proceeded to flirt with him. She watched the older man blush, and a pretty grin crossed her face. He was charming, and when it was slow he liked to tell her about his wife, Michelle, who he missed very much. After taking his order on her notepad, she walked over to the bar where Leifr was still seated. She ripped off the paper and sat it infront of him, making sure to brush her hand against his. She didn't know where she'd gotten so bold, but dammit it was fun.

"I can get the cranberry juice, if you'll get the meal?" Her lips curved into a smile as she looked at him through her lashes. She walked away from him, going to the icebox and getting the cranberry juice. She poured it and put it on the tray, walking over to the table, shooking Leifr a look as she walked past him. After she sat the drink down, Isaac began to speak to her, and she beamed at him, listening to him go off into one of those familiar tales. It was her favorite one, about how he and Michelle met.

The man shot her a look and shook his head, laughing quietly “Yeah, yeah.....whatever..” He of course knew she was prettier, women generally were. And that was part of he reason he enjoyed them so much. He appreciated their banter, though something told him todays banter wasn’t as empty as it usually was, but that was something to think over later.

Grinning when he heard her snort at his retort, Leifr had to admit that did probably create quite the picture. Him with boobs? Yeah, that wouldn’t be the most flattering thing, but the purpose had been to make her laugh, and so he’d at least made that happen, which was a success in his book. The ex-Gryffindor was even more pleased to see her color slightly at his compliment. Normally, had she been looking right at him, Leifr might have smirked, or done something equally macho, but he figured the chances were better now that she wasn’t looking, so he settled with smiling softly to himself before moving on to his next task.

As he slid on to his stool behind the bar, it took the wizard a moment to realize that while he’d been obliviously fiddling with rags and glasses, Alicia had been staring at him. Turning his gaze upward, Leifr found himself almost face to face with the witch, and she was looking dead at him. Unsure of what was really going on, the man blinked once or twice, holding her gaze as he tried to figure out exactly what she was up to. But he didn’t have long to wait before she was talking to him. He listened as she called him out,  a dash of surprise on his face. When she paused, and bit her lip, his eyes flicked downward, unable to stop them, Leifr really wasn’t sure what to do. He found himself in an even bigger predicament when the witch reached up, and cupped his face, letting her thumb trace over his lip. But instead of some witty remark or cocky retort, the only thing that really came to mind was the fact that she was touching him. When her hand finally dropped from his cheek, the man found himself absently licking his own lips. He’d gotten her message, loud and clear, but his brain was still a few steps behind his ears.

He stared rather dumbly at her as he watched her go. What he didn’t understand was how she could be so innocent and cute one minuet, and then all sexy and unafraid to call him out the next. Cursing quietly one final time as he watched her hop away from the bar, he wondered how much she’d be in his thoughts from now on. But he had to force himself to have the wherewithal to greet Isaac politely, and with a small wave. It was the best he could manage, and it looked like Alicia had it well under control. Leifr watched as she flirted harmlessly with the old man, making him smile and blush. Isaac had lost his wife, and it was clear that Alicia’s small efforts made his day a little brighter. Shaking his head, he decided she was one hell of a girl, that was for sure.

The wizard was brought back to the present by her hand brushing lightly against hers. Well, damn. He couldn’t let her out do him at his own game, now could he? Especially not after she’d just rendered him speechless. So in response, Leifr nodded slightly, biting his lip and winking at her as he back away from the bar and headed back to the kitchen. Game on. Bringing out the dish a few minuets later, the wizard hand delivered Isaac’s food to him, grinning at him as he did so. But he made sure that as he was standing back up from setting the plate on the table that his hand brushed it’s way up Alicia’s arm. He was fairly certain he was going to get punched before the day was over.

"Isaac!" Alicia squeaked, looking into the bright green eyes of the older man. He'd just told her a particularly raunchy joke about him and a couple of his friends. There was a nurse, a bra and a banana involved. Her cheeks were red, as they'd had been from the beginning of the day. Did the men in her lives have to drive her mad? Even the older man, who'd she'd assumed was innocent, had to have some of the dirtiest joke. Just as she was about to lightly berate him about his funny joke, she felt an electric shock slid up her spine when Leifr walked passed her. She hadn't even been able to pick up the plate, and there he was. Evil.

Suddenly his arm was sliding up her arm, and then he was walking away. What? WHAT? He'd never ever done that before. He'd never gone her way to deliberately touch her in such a manner...until she'd done it to him. Wait. What? Was he doing it on purpose? Oh. That man. Her eyes narrowed slowly, and she was about to give him a piece of her mind, but the door opened and weirdly enough a crowd of people walked in. Excusing herself from, Isaac, she did what she did best. Be herself. As she greeted the people, Alicia smiled brightly at them, getting rewarded with smiles back.

Over the next couple of hours, Alicia was buzzing around the room, taking orders, serving customers. Even though it was super busy, she enjoyed it. She also took this opportunity to get a little a little payback in. Leifr didn't know what he'd gotten into. Every time she put in an order, or had to go back behind the bar to get a drink, she brushed against him. Her hand slid against is, or down his arm. She let her breasts slide along his arm when she reached to get a glass, or rested her hand on his lower back. It was a little out of character for her a bit, but he'd issued the challenge. She'd be a disgrace to her house were she to not to come up to the challenge. And what a pleasurable challenge it was.

It was only a few hours later, and they were finally almost empty. Alicia was in the back, and sort of hiding. She was a wizard. She was well aware of it. There was something soothing at least about hand-washing dishes. After they were clean, she put them on the rack for drying before walking back outside of the kitchen. The lone person was dawdling over a newspaper, and she stood next to where he was seated. She leaned forward, putting her elbows on the counter, nudging his arm with hers.  Her hair had fallen down from her ponytail and fell in soft waves around her face. "Man, Leifr...I'm tired. I feel like I've ran 20 miles and I want to slide into a bubble bath..." She began softly, before looking at him out the corner of her eye. "I thought you were going to have to step out there in one of those cute little aprons and help out..." Her hand slid to rest on his lightly, and she trailed a finger along his knuckles before letting her hand fall back to the counter.

"You have a good day?"

So, he hadn’t been punched yet, but it hadn’t taken Leifr long to figure out that Alicia had gotten, and accepted his silent challenge. Judging by the number of times he’d had his train of thought interrupted by the brush of her hand or some part of her brushing against him, the wizard was pretty sure she’d caught on. Thankfully he was so accustomed to having to multitask and having to focus on multiple things at once that having to deal with her distracting him, and tending to the bar, or do work in the back, that he was fairly sure nobody but the two of them knew what was going on. He thought he might have seen Isaac grinning at him in that mischievous ‘nothing gets past me‘ look, but the bartender chose to ignore that possibility for the moment. His head was already reeling a little based on the fact that the witch had actually challenged him at his own game. Most girls just blushed and got all breathy. Which he usually found amusing because it was so easy to make them do it, but not with Alicia.

He knew that he could make her blush, and squirm a little, but she was the first woman he’d met who had met his teasing head on, and it was definitely a change. Leifr wasn’t sure if he liked it or not. He was fairly sure he found it attractive, but he also found himself feeling like he might not know what to do in response. That was not something the ex Gryffindor liked feeling. As easy going as the man could be, he liked having control over things, calling the shots and being able to predict the outcomes. And right now, that wasn’t happening thanks to a certain co-worker of his.

The wizard had to admit that she was no slouch, Alicia was certainly as subtle as he had been, teasing him just enough to get his attention, but not lingering any longer than seemed necessary. It intrigued him, because he never quite knew when she’d skim her hand along his or leave a hand resting on his back, but it was also slightly irritating because she had the liberty of coming and going, Leifr didn’t have the kind of freedom to retaliate as freely as he did. He wasn‘t sure what’d he’d do about it, but he knew he’d think of something before the day was out.

By the time the day had run its course, Leifr was tired, and entirely too puzzled by the days events to really put a whole lot of thought into what was left of it. Content to let his frazzled brain aimlessly peruse and read articles in the paper, Leifr had almost forgotten that Alicia was there. She’d been so quiet, off in the back where he guessed she was cleaning or something similar. His mind was jolted back to the present when he realized she’d almost magically reappeared by his side. The man guessed he might not have noticed for several minuets had she not bumped his arm with hers. Speaking of which, there she was touching him again. He’d really stepped into something that he hadn’t expected, and he had to admire her again for that.

Bringing his gaze up to hers, acknowledging that he was paying attention to her, Leifr did his best to continue reading the paper in front of him, he couldn’t let her know how she was affecting him more than she likely already did. But when she started speaking and the wizard looked up to watch her as she spoke, he couldn’t help but find himself distracted by the way her hair had fallen from it’s ponytail, and the way it made the witch look even more attractive. And then she was mentioning bubble baths. Shit. Not wanting the silence to stretch too far between them, he said the first thing that came to mind “Oh yeah? Me too..bubble baths are my favorite..” He trailed off laughing. He’d have to be careful and watch what he was saying more often, that was for damn sure. If he could get his brain and mouth on the same page, that was. At the mention of him in an apron, Leifr grinned, fixing her with a look as he spoke “Me in an apron? I didn’t know you were into roleplay...” Right now it seemed like his best bet was to play a little offense by playing some defense, but there were definitely other ways he could have gone about it. When her hand made it’s way to rest on his, and her finger traced his knuckles, the wizard realized he was biting his lip before he’d had any chance of stopping himself. Not good. He was going to have to get back at her a little more.

Standing from his stool, Leifr stretched, it did feel good to stand, he could appreciate that. But rather than simply walking behind Alicia, the man let his fingers trail across her back as he walked past on his way to put away the rest of the glasses remaining on the bar top, not even bothering to acknowledge that he’d done it. Speaking softly he answered her question as he moved as evenly as if it were any other day “I did. Had a pretty interesting day actually. There was this girl that came in today....” He was being mean, but if she wanted to play, they were going to really play. Game on.   

Bubble baths?


Bubble bath?


Alicia's mind went straight to a mental image of Leifr stepping out of a bathtub sans bubbles, water dripping down his skin. It was like she was focused on every imaginary droplet that slid down the vision of greatness, and she licked her lips. A few things came to her as she drifted out of her mini-fugue. 1) He was way more attractive and sexy than anyone really needed to be. 2) Her game had gotten her a little bit more hot and bothered than she really intended a get. It had been a plan to get back at him, but it was backfiring badly. 3)She really wanted to know how he kissed. It'd been a long time since she'd had any attraction towards anyone that she saw on a regular basis, and was pretty sure that if she'd told him she'd like to climb him like a tree, it'd be harassment.

Shaking that thought off, she stared at him blankly. Roleplay? Her nostrils flared, and she glared at him. "Oh, not really, I've never done anything like that, but I do have this french maid costume at home, so if you want to play, I'm sure I can make it fit you." Her smirk was broad and toothy, and she nudged his side again. "But if that's not something you're into..." She didn't think about the fact that she'd admitted to having a french maid costume in her closet. Not that she'd worn it many times, just maybe last Halloween.

Anyways, he was being a jerk again. She couldn't hide the sudden shudder when his fingers slid along her back. Her back arched deeply as she tried to pull away from his fingers, but by the time that he'd started, it was like he'd already pulled away. He was Satan in training. Maybe it wasn't his fault that her lower back was one of the more sensitive spots on her body, and he'd picked one of the worst ones. She glared at him, her lips poked out it a bit of a pout. A very red flush was covering her cheeks, and they were slightly puffed out.

Before her feathers got all ruffled, he mentioned something about a girl and she deflated. She was confused. She hadn't seen him talk to any other girl around his age but her. ...oh. OHHHHH! Was he talking about her? Wait, she was confused. What was going on? She pushed hair out of her face, and stared up at him. "Oh?" She began, deceptively calmly, cleaning some of the glasses before, going to put them up. If she happened to brush against him while she moved, it was solely an accident. "Interesting? What was this girl like...?" She questioned, reaching up to one of the taller shelves, before going back to the bar to gather some more. "I'd like to hear all the details..." A laugh was audible in her words as she teased him.

When the recognition dawned on Alicia's face, signifying that she'd caught onto his insinuation Leifr grinned. He was only teasing of course, as he usually did, but push come to shove he was relatively harmless. He was slightly surprised when the brunette told him she owned a maids costume, and his mind was quickly on its way down a path that wasn't somewhere he wanted to be going while he was at work. Raising an eyebrow the wizard smirked back at her "Well, you know....now that you mention it....I am feeling a little frisky...." He finished with a laugh. He was fairly certain that he was making an utter fool of himself, but the idea of him ever appearing anywhere in a maids costume was incredibly ridiculous, even to him. Shrugging lightly he fixed the witch with a look "Mm. You know, you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover...." He was teasing her again, just to see her reaction. But since she'd made him wonder, he figured he could stand to return the favor.

Admittedly, the barkeep hadn't expected to feel her skin shudder underneath his fingers, and almost regretted the quick gesture, as the response she'd had to his fingertips was enough to send his mind back in the direction of the maids costume, and that was still not somewhere he wanted to go at the moment. Biting his lip, he flicked hiz gaze over her briefly while he kept himself moving and working, anything to keep his mind busy. Which was already made rather difficult by the fact that when he'd glanced at her he'd immediately picked up on the flush creeping its way across her face, and the way she was pouting at him. He was going to have to ignore both those things for the moment he decided, or work was going to get that much more difficult. He might have been pleased by her reaction to his touch, but all the same, keeping on task was the unfortunate priority at the moment.

As he listened to her voice float over his way from just a few feet away, Leifr made himself keep looking at the glasses in front of him while he listened to her, picking one up after the other, and shelving each one in turn. He couldn't quite tell whether she'd figured out already that he was talking about her, or if she thought he was still talking about someone else. Sometimes that woman was harder to figure out than he figured her to be. Pausing to think over his words carefully Leifr shrugged again, keeping his tone light and even wanting to give nothing away just yet "Yeah...." Another pause for effect "This girl? Hmm.. well, she's cute, definitely pretty....seems pretty smart, athletic too. Oh, and she's got this great sense of humor..." He trailed off, not wanting to give away any more than he had to just yet, but so far everything he'd said was true. Her response had him rolling his eyes lightly "Oh....I bet you would, but I'm not just gonna spill the beans like some bad issue of Teen Witch...." He wanted to see how long it took her to catch on.