“You guys are too much,” she struggled to breathe, she was laughing so hard. Tal was walking away, going off in search of the bathroom.
“Yeah, we get that a lot,” Ruiz's laughter died down.
“I haven't laughed this much in a long time,” she sighed, wiping at her eyes.
“Tal's good for a laugh.”
It was said in a dry voice, and it sobered her of her giggles.
“He's pretty funny,” she attempted to lighten the mood back up.
“He is. So tell me something,” Ruiz began, leaning against the bar, getting closer to her. It was funny, but when Tal got in her personal space, even that very first time, she hadn't minded. With this man, she minded very much.
“What?” she asked, crossing her legs. He was standing close enough that her knee brushed against his waist.
“What's your deal with my friend?” he questioned.
Phew, he's just worried about his buddy.
“No deal. He's a great guy, we bumped into each other one night,” she started to explain.
“That's it? You just 'bumped' into him?” Ruiz clarified.
“Yeah. I promise, I'm not trying to break up the band,” she assured him.
“I get it. So it's just, like, sex. Right?”
Whoa. This one isn't shy at all.
“Well, I guess so. Sort of,” Misch responded, though that didn't cover it. Not at all. She'd been trying not to think about it, but it was now obvious they were so much more than that – she could never say that's all they were, would never call what they did 'just sex'.
“You flew all the way to Italy just to get some ass. Man, things must be rough at home,” Ruiz said, his eyes wandering down her body.
“Excuse me!?” she was a little shocked.
“Hot little thing like you? Who wouldn't want to give it to you good. Who else are you doing while you're here?” he kept on with the questions. Mischa felt her face burning up.
“Nobody, it's not like that. I'm not like that,” she snapped.
Only … you kinda are.
“Woman cheating on her husband with a dude she doesn't know. You are definitely like that, baby. Why not give me a crack at that pussy?”
Misch jumped off her stool and went to push past him. He wrapped an arm around her back and held her in place. Meanwhile, his other hand ran up and down the side of her body. She felt sick.
“Get the fuck off me!” she all but yelled, shoving and hitting at his chest.
“C'mon! If you think Tal can show you a good time, wait till you see what -,”
“What the fuck are you doing!?”
Tal was a big man with a dark complexion and intense features – picturing him angry was easy. Seeing it and hearing it, though, was a whole different ball game. Even Mischa was scared at the tone of his voice, at the sight of him walking up to them.
“Hey, it's cool, man,” Ruiz laughed, letting go of Mischa. She stumbled backwards into Tal, who practically shoved her behind him.
“It's not fucking cool – what the fuck!?” Tal demanded.
I'm so the Yoko. God, I'm horrible.
“I'm gonna go, you guys can work this out,” she said, backing away. Tal turned and pointed at her.
“You stay. And you,” he turned back towards his friend. “You have five seconds to tell me what the fuck you were thinking.”
“You said she was a good time. I wanted to see for myself.”
All hell broke loose after that; Tal stormed right up to the other man, got right in his face, started yelling at him. Ruiz rolled his eyes and was a smart-mouth right back. The bartender started yelling at everyone. People were shoved. Threats of violence were made.
Misch turned and scurried out of the bar.
It was one thing for her to destroy her own relationships. She wasn't about to destroy anyone elses.
~What Are We Doing~
“Mischa!?” Tal snapped, walking across the lobby.
“She's gone, man, let it go,” Ruiz groaned, following a short distance behind him.
“Shut the fuck up,” Tal growled back before heading outside onto the sidewalk. But Ruiz was right, Misch was long gone. She'd snuck out while Tal had been threatening to shove Ruiz's head up his ass.
“You can go find your hot piece of ass later. We need to talk this shit over,” his partner called out.
“I don't have to talk about shit with you! You seem to keep forgetting, partner, who outranks who,” Tal reminded him.
“Oh, I haven't forgotten a thing. You seem to have forgotten a lot. What are you thinking, fucking around with her!? Why didn't you say anything!?” Ruiz demanded, walking up next to him. He was holding his nose, trying to stave off the bleeding. Tal had punched him, a clean jab to the center of his face.
Call her another name, fucker.
“Cause it was none of your damn business. It doesn't mean anything, it doesn't change anything,” Tal stressed.
“Are you fucking with me!? It completely compromises the integrity of our mission! So you need to remember what the fuck we're doing here! And remember that we're not gonna be here for long, either,” Ruiz snapped.
“What's that supposed to mean?”
“It means you were looking pretty fucking cuddly with this bitch, which isn't necessary if you're just in it for the pussy. She's fucking married, bro. As in not yours. She's using you, too. You don't live here, you're here for a job, and you need to fucking remember everything that job entails. Remember what we're here for.”