Business As Usual

The night never seemed so alive. They walked into the club that was on the upper East side at two thirty-five in the morning. Jake used every connection that he could think of to get into the booming club. When they got to the table that was so secluded, only those three and the waitress could enter, Don looked around in amazement.

"There are more people in this club than the whole town of West Frankfort." Jake looked back at him.

"Where is that?"

"Well, now it's in the past," Don said with a relieved expression. Jess noticed the look in his eyes as he sat down and made peace with the past.

"We all have one, you know?" she said as she slid into the booth. Don looked over at her and for the first time that night, she really saw what she was missing. She saw him for what he was, a writer looking for a muse.

"That is what they say." He answered.

"Do you think it ever goes away?" she asked as she stared blankly out over the dance floor. It was then that Jake and Don looked at each other and both had the same thought.

"Are you okay?" Jake asked as the waitress placed napkins down in front of them. The music was blaring, her eyes were blinking almost rhythmically.

"Yeah, just need a drink." She said.

"Well, that's what I'm here for." The waitress said as she readied herself for the order. It didn't take long for their drinks to arrive and for them to start enjoying themselves. The booze hit Don a little quicker than it hit Jess. And it didn't hit Jake until about three drinks after her.

"So, how did you two meet?" Don asked as he sipped on a glass of the best scotch he had ever tasted.

Jake let out an arrogant chuckle. "Well, that part is a little hazy to me. But the morning after. That is clear as a crystal ball."

Jess put on a smile, but also a look of annoyance. "It was actually at this club, right outside. You tried to impress me with a Rolex watch."

"Ah, the one from this morning." He interrupted.

She shook her head, "Yes. This morning. You made a move, and I saw an opening. So, we went back to your place. Fucked. Then in the morning, I drank your coffee."

"Best coffee you've ever had," Jake says as he winked at her with so much sexual tension in the middle of it all.

Don laughed as he turned and looked at her embarrassment. "Are we still talking about the coffee?"

She rested her hand on Don's, he didn't seem to notice, at least not at first. "I've had better." You could tell that his pride took a big hit as she uttered the words. The music had now changed. So did the overall feeling of the three that set off from the dancefloor. One of them hoping for a fresh start, the other hoping to be a fresh start, and the other just caught in the middle with big dreams.

"What do you see in him?" Jake asked.

"Honestly? I see everything in him I didn't see in you. I bet he remembers my name." she explained.

"You think he would remember to check for his wallet before you leave?"

"Fuck you." She calmly whispered under her breath, but loud enough for him to hear. Jake grinned.

"How about another drink?" he offered. Don felt something off about this guy but was intrigued to see more of him. He couldn't explain what was going on in his mind. Call it premonition all you want, some would call it infatuation, but Don chalked it up to his story. He wanted to know the reasons behind this Jake character.

"Another drink sounds good." He picked his glass up and inspected what he had left. "Best scotch I've ever had. Unlike your coffee." Don gave him a playful grin.

"Don, was it?" Jake threw his hands up to catch the glance of the waitress. "You got some fight in you?" he posed it as a question.

Jess looked over at him and shook her head no. Don looked at her with caution in his eyes, but when he saw her head telling him not to, he did. "Yeah, lots of fight." He said without taking his eyes off her.

"Please enlighten me, what are you doing in my city? This city of empires." Jake took a sip of his eighth glass of bourbon, always on the rocks.

"Chasing a story." Jake looked at him and seemed cautious. "You're a writer." Don shook his head. The boy that seemed so arrogant now leaned back in his seat and examined Don with thought. They were staring at each other the way two cowboys stared each other down at high noon in a fight for life. Intensity, neither of them giving way. Don didn't know fully what was going on, but he wasn't going to be the one to give up any ground.

"Where do you find inspiration? Between the sheets, maybe." Jake broke the silence.

Don ran his fingers around the top brim of his glass. "Is that what everything comes down to for you? Sex.?"

"Most of the time that is how most of my problems get solved, yes."

"What about the other times?"

The waitress walked back to the table and looked around to confirm that no one needed any refills or a different type of poison. Jess is the one that had to wave her off because the boys were locked in a pissing contest. "Money. Money solves the rest." Don acknowledges his answer with a gulp of scotch. As he turns his head, he notices a few different things out on the dance floor. Girls. Girls as far as the eye can see. Most of them are wearing next to nothing, which turned him on. The others were in tight-fitting dress, but well-hidden off by the bar, those too, turned him on.

"Your money?" Don asked.

"My father's well off. A banker, none the less." Don turns around and faces him, now his eyes hold shame.

"Still money." Don succeeds. "I only have a handful left on me and very few options for a roof." Jess stared at him and noticed humanity for the first time in his eyes, also the bruising from earlier.

"What are your options?" He sat forward, interested for the first time.

"Well, there is the street. The good thing about that one is the open sky roof. Can see straight through to the stars." Jake chuckled. "Last, but certainly not least." He slides his drink over to Jess. "This beautiful barista has offered me a room. Upside, close to the angels. But far from the stars." Jess took a drink of his drink. "Did it burn going down?" Don asked.

Jess shook her head. "No."

"I see. This first drink of good scotch going down burns. It is the cleansing of your soul. So, they say." Don smiled at her.

"My soul is beyond saving or cleansing." She said in a voice so soft that it can only be perceived as sex.

Jake, while this was going on, watched, and could only feel one thing, jealousy. He wanted to be with her. See her face in the morning. Have her drink his coffee, eat his eggs. He was jealous and it was not showing. "As appealing as that is. I think I might have your best option. At least with the stars. The girls that are closer to this are more righteous devils. Sweet and soft to the touch, but dangerous if given the right treatment." Don looked confused.

"What are you proposing?" Jess asked as she stared him down with contempt. It wasn't that she hated him because she didn't know him enough to hate him. It was he was so arrogant that he thought he was better than her, in every way.

"I'm proposing that this writer here..."

"Don." She reminded.

"Don. I propose that he and he become roommates. Two bachelors's in this city. One good with words and the other good with women." Don smiles. "I'm proposing a business venture." He finishes.

"A business venture?" Don questioned.

Before he could answer the waitress interrupted. 'Excuse me. Last call." She announced to them.

"Yes. Champagne, please. We have to toast." Jake said. She went off to fetch the last round of drinks.

"What are we toasting?" Jess pushed for knowledge.

"Money might buy your way out of problems. But it's love that brings you home." Don said as he grins at Jake. Shaking his head, he took his first sip of champagne.

"Jake here doesn't fully want me to feel at home," Don explains. She looks at him much like she did on that first morning.

"You think if I take him home, he will fill at home?" He shakes his head confirming her suspicions.

"That may be his reason, but I can't help, but to like his proposal." Don retorted back as he took the final sip of champagne. She looked at him with worry, but also a hidden resentment.

"If you want to go home with him." He shot her a look. She smiled. "At least come see me at the café in the morning?"

Don grinned back at her. "The coffee was pretty good." He winked at her and for the first time took the sexual dominance over. She quivered and winked back. These two seemed to mimic each other in a way.

Jake wasn't liking the happenings between them at this particular moment, but maybe separating them will cool them off. "So then, we have a deal?" he offered his hand to Don. He accepted it and shook confidently. There was unease in the bottom of Jess's stomach as they struck the deal. She looked over and saw the waitress hurrying to finish the last of the bills and tabs. The lights started to ignite for the morning crew to come in and clean it up for the next night.

"Behave boys." She said as she threw down her final glass and headed for the door. They both watched as she made her exit. The music started to slow, and it fit the scene of her walking away.

"That's the second time she has done that in the last twenty-four hours," Jake said as he laid down two hundred-dollar bills on the table. Don watched as they hit the surface in agony. That kind of money to him could go a long way.

"First time for me."

"You ready to see your new home?" He asked as he stood up and gestured for Don to do the same.

"Sure." He got up to follow. "Need to get back to writing."

Jake stopped and turned around. "Right. The writing. Can't wait to see how that turns out." Then the light returned to his eyes. That same wonder that he had when he wandered into the city and saw the buildings.

"What kind of demon are you?" Jake smiled and sighed under his breath.

"That depends on what demons you already have."

He answered as they walked out of the club. The sun was rising just off in the east. Walking towards the sidewalk, Don got ready to hail a cab. But, as he put up his hand to call one closer, Jake grabbed it and put it down, shaking his head no.

"You are with someone that doesn't ride in cabs." He pulled out his phone and hit dial.

"Then how are we going to get to the house?" Jake chuckled.

"I have a guy for that." Not mere moments later a man wearing all black showed up in a brand-new Lincoln SUV. He slapped Don on the back and smiled. "This is how we ride."

They both entered the car, but most importantly they both entered a new phase in their lives. One full of heartbreak and love. One of friendship and betrayal. The dreamer and the son of a banker were just beginning to see how they would evolve, how they would move forward in a world that is scarce of both kinds of those people.