Smoke and Mirrors [Nick]

[Nicolas Constantine]

The bottle was pulled from his hand and Nick looked over at Tash to see her taking a long gulp of the bubbling liquid while she giggled at his risque French.

"Virgin ears my arse." he retorted silently.

And then Nick's eyes opened up wide as Tash's arms creeped around his neck and she pressed her body against his. He could feel every lightly muscular curve of her torso as she pulled herself to his ear to whisper in it.

"That's no way to talk to a lady."[/b]

Nick's mind was buzzing. He thought that she had said that she wasn't really interested in him, but her behavior today said the exact opposite. He was also too intoxicated to think straight, and he couldn't comprehend that maybe she was as well. But instinct took over and before he knew it, his lips were on hers, tongue seeking entry.

[Tash]

He really did make quite a comfortable pillow. He was warm and he smelled like boy - in a good way. And a little booze. And some weed. But still nice, somehow. A personal pillow man. Except for one lump in the pillow that's...oopsie....She thought to herself and giggled a little.

She'd stretched out to get comfortable, happened to be using her friend as a pillow. What was so wrong with that? Nothing, not till you find yourself nose to nose with him, laughing about something you can't even remember because it wouldn't be funny if you weren't so high. And the next thing you know his lips are on yours and your mind is totally somewhere else. There's nothing about the mind that enters into it, actually. Nothing at all, not for the first half minute. There's some sort of shortage going on because of the wine and the weed and Nick's artful kissing doesn't register as being Nick's at all. It's kind of an out of body experience somehow....she's been dumped in someone else's body. And he's doing nice things.
So the girl's body who's Tash-not-Tash's body responds at first. Her pouty lips part gently, letting their tongues dance, and she nips his lower lip playfully, softly. One hand cups his jaw, fingers tracing lightly along the skin. Of it's own volition and totally without the mind having cast it's votes, her lithe body presses itself into his.

And then there's consciousness. And it registers through her beautifully hazy mind that, ah, this is Nick. This is.....ah. Hmmm. That's not right at all, poor Nick, he'll be so confused.

God, I swear I am never getting high with a guy again. Ever. Ever. I will blaze away merrily on my lonesome, thank you!

But somehow none of that really comes out. Damn the depressants. And all she can manage is to pull back slightly and tell him, "I said you'd have to be patient. That wasn't patient, mister!" With a funny little smile. Unfortunately, this would probably turn out seeming kind of coy....

[Nicolas Constantine]

Nick's mind was portraying the events that were taking place as a dream, a very lucid dream, not really comprehending what was reality and what was not. He was lost in a world of happiness as their tongues danced and she touched his face gently, their bodies pushed up against each other. He could feel every line, every curve the girl possessed, and when their lips parted he lazily licked his lips, his eyes still heavy with all the alcohol and pot in his system.

The smile she put on made him think she was just toying with him some more.

"That's not what your tongue said." he said slyly with a smirk.

Nick would then go in for another kiss, thinking she had no real objections.

[Tash]

He was a sweet guy. He really was. She liked spending time with him, they got along fantastically. But through the smoke and booze she realized how much she had left to assumption. She'd never meant for him to kiss her and kissing him back had been a knee jerk reaction she could have avoided had she not been so intoxicated.

He moved to kiss her again and she lifts a hand, gently pressing them to his lips, her big green eyes whirling with frustration and disappointment - not in him, but in herself. This had the potential to hurt more than one person and it was more or less all her fault.


"Mi scuso, Nicholas, oh dio, what have I fucked up now....Merda" She groans, almost more to herself than to him. "Merda!" Louder this time. She bites her lower lip before beginning to explain herself, her voice shaking a little with the effort of concentrating on keeping her speech from riffing off into a flurry of Italian that would be too fast for him to follow. "Nick...Nick, I know it's a shit thing to do - to blame how I acted on the booze and the weed. It's not what I'm doing, not quite. It's just....shit. It's just that I'm already a flirt and because...because I was high and shit, it just...it didn't occur to me that you might not understand what I meant. I just assumed you know know I wasn't serious and I just stupidly assumed that you wouldn't try anything. It's not your fault, it's....look, you mean a lot to me, as a friend. There's only one guy who's ever made me feel...different, you know? He's my friend Dominic - one of my family friends from Italy. His family owns the merlot winery. We've never been...official. In fact I don't even know that he feels the same way I do, but everyone says he does and I think he does...and I just. I can't. He means too much to me. I'm sorry for this misunderstanding Nick. I really am."

[Nicolas Constantine]

Nick's lips were suddenly stopped by Tash's fingers before they could connect. He opened his eyes and looked around to see what the problem was, to rest his gaze on Tash's expression. Apparently something was wrong. She cursed herself for what she did before going on about how it was a mistake and how it was her fault that she kiss him and edged him on. That she was in love with another boy, from Italy and her childhood. After she was done speaking, Nick just looked at her with wide eyes and a confused look.

"Oh." he managed to say.

He just let the silence ring in his ears as the veil of intoxication dropped for the moment. The sudden change in atmosphere woke Nick from his trance and he was tongue tied.

"I-Its alright. I understand. No worries, Tash..." he looked rather disappointed.

[Tash]

Just as frustration with herself was starting to bloom in her gut, she caught herself. Sure, she had set this up and it had gone so horribly different from what she had planned. But he had known she had told him that she wasn't interested. How hard was that to remember? And it wasn't as though he couldn't tell she was inebriated, for God's sake! A good friend might have had some respect for her. The thought flashed into her head. No. No this was definitely not her fault entirely.

Tash heaves a sigh and purses her lips, standing slowly and picking up the empty bottle of Mt. Etna on the floor. She turns away to dump the bottle in her trash can, addressing Nick as she does so. Her voice is guarded and matter of fact.


"Thanks for understanding....maybe. Maybe you should go. I'm sorry about this." She glances over her shoulder at him, wide jade pools whirling with frustration and distress. "You were a big help with the fridge. So, thanks again."

[Nicolas Constantine]

Tash got up from her weird position on him and picked up the bottle that was on the floor and threw it away. He just looked at her with a blank expression on his face and thought about the situation.

He was inebriated and she was too, she was coming onto him and he was flirting back, and it was just a mess of a situation. And now she wanted him to leave, but his mind was now a little more clear and he could attempt to speak to her.

"Tash... I-I'm sorry. C-can we talk about this?" he said with a sad look on his face.

Not only did he not want to leave it at this and possibly ruin their friendship over something so stupid, but he also still couldn't get up from being so intoxicated.

[Tash]

Tash didn't turn around when he spoke. She kept her back to him, busying herself with dishes she'd left in the sink. She hated doing dishes but suddenly, cleaning them seemed like a much more favorable option than facing Nick at the moment. This thing wasn't entirely his fault of course, but if she saw him she'd have to think about it and that wasn't something she wanted to do. Then again, she couldn't just ignore him. But she didn't want to say anything just yet. Speaking to him would be just as much of a reminder of his presence as looking at him. After putting a few dishes away in cabinet, she turns back to the sink to start work on the cups and responded with her back still to the couch and the boy sitting on it.

"You can stay, because I don't want you driving like this. But I don't want to talk. There's nothing to talk about."

[Nicolas Constantine]

Tash seemed really upset at what had occurred between them, and she didn't seem to understand that Nick was really sorry for thinking that she was coming onto him. He was also upset because she had someone else she loved and he intruded on that. That was never alright, even to him.

"There is something to talk about, lei la ragazza testarda!" he said sternly at her with a furrowed brow.

His head became woozy for a second as the sudden yelling messed with his head, but he recollected himself quickly. Even though he could think rather straight, he was still affected by the intoxicants.

"Just please settle down and talk to me, I don't want to ruin another friendship..." he said sadly with a hiccup.