Hello? Anyone home?

[Anonymous]

((I didnt brother re-reading it >_> Or spell checking.. because I'm a lazy schmo.))

Elon had been walking around and waiting all morning, for what? Well, nothing really, just waiting for a good time to swallow her pride and go <I>into</I> the brothel. She’d been in the back, and the kitchen, but not around the front of the building, not around actual clients, not where she could be mistaken for one. Though, she certainly looked like she’d fit into that category. Elon was certainly an odd looking creature, her ears had the slightest point to them and her eyes are a lovely pastel green, but her hair took the cake on eye catching. Naturally it was pink, pink and green with random black streaks, which would remind someone of a watermelon if they had fruits on the brain.

She didn’t look like she was waiting to go into the brothel, she did look odd though. Her black dress that was poofy as heck and ended just below her knees and boots that ended just below her knees, basically, everything ended just below her knees, except for her wonderfully-odd hair, which only went a little past her shoulders. Elon didn’t really give a damn about her ‘reputation’ around here, but getting mistaken for a customer would be a little embarrassing on her part, She considered herself attractive enough to at least attract a temporary bed warmer if she ever needed one… And considering the heartbreak from her last ‘bed warmer’ she wouldn’t get into a new ‘bed warming’ relationship. Why was she thinking of <I>that</I> in front of a brothel? Oh, right, <I>it</I> went on in there most of the day.  

Moving a little to the side again, Elon looked at the door and heaved a sigh before pushing herself off the wall and walking. She could always take the side door, right? Into the kitchen? Would she get into trouble though? Elon bit her lip and looked around, she’d never really been <I>in</I> the brothel, but she knew the people who worked there and a few bouncers who got sent to buy little things for the kitchen. Now, to go in, ask around for someone to come back with her to the shop, or knock and wait, or, just leave and wait for them to pick it up themselves when they remembered? Elon was a good business woman, she knew that if she didn’t remind them, when they’ve forgotten they’d be disappointed. Argh. Choices.

Elon looked around for a moment before going to the door a knocking lightly, not receiving an answer almost instantly, she knocked again, a little harder to make more noise on the other side. Hopefully someone would get around to opening the door soon, she felt a little stupid standing there in a weird black dress, probably looked like she was mourning someone!

[Rhindeer]

It had been about a week since he'd been working at the brothel now though he had to say, he still wasn't really used to it. Sure, now he knew what to expect and knew who to avoid and who was safe to talk to because they wouldn't try and cop a feel, but he sure as heck wasn't used to everything! Hell, the stupid aphrodisiac incense and stuff was still distracting as all hell and he still blushed furiously every time someone walked by naked or close to naked. Sure, it wasn't like he was a virgin or anything, he'd seen people naked and he'd done the casual sex thing in the past (even if he'd learned as a result that he wasn't into it; it was just too...empty, really) but that didn't automatically make him comfortable around it! He just couldn't be that...casual, nor was he that comfortable in his own skin! He liked his body just fine, but good gods...

Still, he hadn't thought to look for a different job. Funny as it might seem, Cherry kind of liked his work. It was easy enough (so far, he hadn't had to deal with any unruly customers) and provided for everything he could need, it didn't require him to get naked and "please" customers, and, weird as it was...he did like the people. The ones that didn't try and seduce him and grope him. Not that he minded that much from the girls (it was flattering, but he'd never sleep with them! Gah! He saw who they slept with!) but he did mind it from the guys. That was just...more than a bit creepy and he just didn't swing that way, and no amount of convincing would...convince him. Nothing against them, just...he liked breasts and didn't like other penises and no foreign objects belonged near his bum.

That was all there was to it!

As long as everyone had that sort of mutual understanding, all was well and harmonious! Besides, it seemed Soias seemed pretty adamant about being his sort of watchdog, keeping all the "workers" off his back. For the most part. Still...that didn't include Peach...

Unfortunately.

Ugh, he'd never live that down...ever...every time he tried to forget it, either his brain or someone else brought it up. Like just now. Anyway, moving off that train of thought!

It was still rather early in the day so business was a bit slow. Mostly, it just involved him standing around by the door, waiting for a customer to knock, and glancing over his shoulder every few seconds in a rather paranoid fashion to make sure that no ass-pirates were sneaking up on him. Since he was still a newbie to the job, he got to work the easy shifts, though as he became more accustomed to it he'd likely start to switch off with the other bouncers and work the night shift when they needed a break. He was kind of looking forward to that, too...the day time shift was pretty slow.

He yawned a little, sinking down into a plush chair by the door and running a hand through his red hair boredly before letting his hair flop back over to partially cover the weird cherry tattoo on his cheek. So slow. He almost wished someone would harass him just to give him something to do.

And that's when the knock on the door came. Aha! Perfect timing. Bouncing up to his feet a bit more eagerly than normal, he peered through the peep-hole in the door and saw...a rather interesting looking woman that he'd never seen before. Hell, he'd remember if he had! Her hair was like nothing he'd ever seen before and, well, though he'd never say it it kind of reminded him of...a watermelon. But a pretty one! Because it looked pretty on her.

...Right. No thinking about the customers. Especially not when they were dressed all in black, which usually meant, well...death. It was likely she had lost her husband, he guessed, and, well, some people needed distractions after a loss. They got a lot of different clients for a lot of different reasons; this was no more odd than any other and, besides, it wasn't his place to ask questions.

Standing back, he finally opened the door for her and offered her a small smile and polite bow. "Welcome to Peaches 'n' Cream, miss," he greeted, finally straightening and looking her over briefly with bright green eyes. He motioned with his hand for her to step inside, holding the door open for her with his other hand. "Come on inside. I'm Cherry, and if this is your first time here I can help get you situated. May I ask what your preference is? Male or female?" he asked.

It never occured to him that she wasn't just another customer.

It also never occured to him that she might not realize he was just a bouncer. But he liked to think he didn't dress like a whore--after all, he was fully clothed unlike a lot of the men here, even if he was wearing really nice clothes to go along with the overall posh, lush look of the place and was currently clothed in black slacks and a white, silk shirt that laced up in the front.

He really hoped he didn't look like a whore!

[Anonymous]

Elons hands were behind her and she was shifting her weight between her black shoes when the door opened and she saw... Hmm, it was a newbie! Elon was fairly familar with the faces at the Brothel, not because she visited it so often, but because her little shop supplied its kitchen food supplies. Elon gave him a polite smile which quickly turned into a confused frown then right back into a polite smile. He was pretty cute! She watched him with her pastel green eyes while he introduced himself and welcomed her. Hmm, he must have been told about her, so, he was just kidding around, right? Right! Well, she supposed a new prostitute could have some harmless fun. So, Elon decided to play along, despite the fact that this nice gentleman wasn't playing.

"Cherry, eh? I'm Elon." She paused a moment to tap her chin and look him over contemplatively, her eyes resting on the cherry tattoo which was partially hidden by his hair. " Well,  I usually like males, sometimes females are more... experimentive... But what i really like," Elon lifted a hand to push away the hair that covered his tattoo, tapped it lightly with a finger then looked him dead straight in the eyes. "Are big plump juicy red cherries, Whaddaya say you, me, the kitchen, lifting, and some math." A smile and a wink, and Elon breezed pasted him, grabbing his hand and dragged him to the kitchen, or at least, in the general direction of the kitchen. " You don't look busy, so I'll need your assistance for a moment or a few, you won't mind losing a customer or two to help me out, would you, No? Great!" She didn't give him time to answer and finally reached the kitchen, letting out a great big breath and turned around, smiled at him with her hands on her hips and then said, not loudly, but not quietly either. "Okay Cherry, ready when you are!"

[Rhindeer]

"Pleasure to meet you, Elon," Cherry answered with that same amount of practiced politeness, though he blinked in surprise when he noticed the way she was looking him over. Eh? Ah well, not a problem, he didn't mind being looked at as long as it wasn't staring...because that would probably mean they were staring at his stupid tattoo, and that always bugged him because he hated the thing. Unfortunately, right at this moment, that did indeed seem to be the reason she was looking at him. But just as unfortunately, it wasn't the entire reason--which would have been preferable to being mistaken for a whore!

"W-wha?" he managed to get out when she reached out to brush his hair aside, his polite little smile turning into a look of genuine surprise as...she talked about...experimenting. With females. Oh god. Please, visuals, go away! That right there was bad enough (in a good way...aw, c'mon, Cherry was a guy after all, the idea of two girls was nice!) but then it had to go and get worse. Because then she was talking about plump cherries...juicy red ones...and...

WHAT?

Kitchen? Lifting? Math? Maybe the brothel really had corrupted his brain, but he couldn't help but remember that one math joke...what was it...subtract the clothes and divide the...oh no. But as she grabbed his hand and started to drag him toward the kitchen, the only thing he could think to blurt out in his flustered state was, "W-wait, not in the kitchen!" Honestly! There were rooms for that! All the prostitutes had their own rooms to do that sort of--gah! He hadn't just said that!

Oh gods, customer or two...she really thought he was a whore!

He was blushing uncontrollably by the time they got to the kitchen, too flabbergasted to speak coherently for a few moments--not that she was even giving him a chance to! But then she finally released him and looked at him like...like...that! Ready when he was? Oh god...!

Throwing up his hands in exasperation and embarrassment, he shook his head vigorously. "N-no! I'm not a whore!" he blurted out, cheeks nearly as red as the cherry tattooed there. Then he took a deep breath and took a step backwards, suddenly feeling self-conscious in addition to mortified. Did he seriously look like a whore? He looked down at himself briefly; everything was covered up that should be...was he really dressed in something that screamed prostitute? Oh jeez. He took another deep breath and looked back up at her, licking his lips and clearing his throat. "Ah...yeah. Sorry for the mix-up, but, um...I'm just a bouncer...I don't do...that kind of, er...bouncing."

...Then he nearly choked when he realized what he said, and swiftly slapped his palm to his forehead. He sounded like a moron! And his cheeks were positively burning. "Agh! Just...sorry, sorry. Er, anyway...if you'll just...follow me back out we can hook you up with someone and...erm...I don't know if we even use the kitchen for that...good gods...I need to clean the counters..." At this point, he was talking more to himself, still slightly shell-shocked.

Did he seriously look like a whore?

[Anonymous]

(>_> Ignore spelling errors.)

Not the kitchen? Where else would she do the stock on food? Elon wore confusion on his face for a moment but that was before she got him to the kitchen and by that time and she had her hands on her hips and a smile on her face, which fell and then rose again when he stated, very loudly, that he wasn't a whore. Oh! more good news! that meant he could help her longer... Wait a second. "This place has bouncers?!" This was news to her! Oh well, back to work, when she noticed his bright red face. Elon paused and looked at him for a moment and raise an eyebrow. He works in a place like this, and still blushes? A quick look down at herself revealed to her that no, a boob hadn't popped out of its place in her dress, she patted her bottom and the front of her skirt to make sure the skirt was covering it. Nope, why was he blushing?

Maybe he was sick? The poor guy, that was probably why he got the day job when not many customers came and why he had that comfy chair she saw to sit on. And she disturbed him! Oh no! Elon looked at the ground for a moment, feeling a little bad for dragging him all this way. Before she smiled up at him and held her hands in front of herself. "I'm so sorry, Cherry. I'll just, go about my business, I always do it in the kitchen, but if you're too ill to assist me, could you send someone else here? I just can't lift certain things without some help" By that she meant getting what the brothel needed to the brothel, and it never occured to her that it might have sounded a little less than pure.

After the red-heads comment about the counters, Elon took a look at them too, made a face and looked back at the non-bouncy bouncer. Of course she had taken note of how he looked at himself as well after she accidentally mistook him for a whore, which she thought where the only people who worked in this place where. Whores in one manner or another, mostly because she didn't spend anymore time here than necessary and she didn't really bother to learn anything extra about this place on her visits besides what they needed and how much of it. Oh well, might as well make him story worrying about his clothing and she could spit it out that she thought he looked classy if a little over dressed for a brothel. "Cherry, right? Right, you look good. I didn't exactly know there were other jobs here other than being a prostitute so, my mistake! Sorry if I hurt your ego or... something." A genuine smile and Elon pulled out a pad of paper from no where, maybe from the folds of her skirt and a pencil from behind her ear.

Surprisingly the pencil had been there the entire time, her pink and green hair had just been hiding it. licking the tip of the pencil, she looked around and mentally tallied various things and looked around the room writing the odd thing on her paper. "Hmm, Where do you keep your meat? I can never remember.." Elon paused for a moment, and realised what she had said what she had been saying and blushed. Almost as badly as Cherry had been blushing. Nearly dropping her pad of paper and pencil she turned around, Looked at Cherry, her cheeks flushed and her mouth open.

Moving a hand over her mouth she walked over to him, put the pad of paper and pencil on the gross counter and placed her hands on his shoulders. "I am so sorry. I didn't realise what I'd been saying has been so... so... Dirty!" Biting her lip, she let go of Cherrys shoulders and grabbed her paper and pencil again. "Now, where's your frozen animal meat, I can't find that."

Elon looked over her shoulder, grinned at Cherry and hoped he knew, and would help her with the lifting, if he really wasn't sick. That would be bad. That would mean she could get sick, too!

[Rhindeer]

Cherry gave a small sigh of relief, shoulders slumping, when the "bouncer" part finally got through to her. "Yeah, it has bouncers," he agreed--and then immedietely hoped she understood what kind of bouncers it had! That is to say, bouncers that only kicked people out and let people in! Sure, there were some people that worked as both prostitutes and bouncers, but he didn't do that! No way! He just wasn't that kind of person and...guh, it made him feel oddly cheap when he was looked at like that. He was a little confused, though, when Elon suddenly started to look herself over kind of like how he was looking over himself. Er...she was a customer...she was coming here to get laid...why would she be worried about how she was dressed...?

Oh well. Wasn't his place to ask.

Sighing a little as she went on, he rubbed absently at his temple. Always did it in the kitchen. Good grief... "Uh...right. Yeah. Um, I'll just, yeah, go get someone else to...help you with your lifting...I'm not sick, but...yeah, I think someone else could...better fulfill your needs..." he said blankly, staring at her and taking a step backwards toward the kitchen's exit, and of course he thought she meant something pervy by that, pervy things involving countertops and...stuff done on countertops. Ugh. Did they even allow that here? He thought all the whores and customers were supposed to stay in their rooms when things got hot and sweaty, not...do it in the kitchen or on the couches or...ew. And ill? Did he look sick? Oi, he hoped not because he wasn't trying to--it wouldn't be good manners to act all disgusted and high and mighty in front of paying customers! Not good for business. Still, it was kind of grossing him out now--and making him blush like he was on fire.

He took another step backwards and started to turn, ready to flee in case she started to get stripping then and there, but then she spoke up again and made him pause. And blush some more because she told him that he looked good. "Eh heh...thanks. Ah, it's okay, anyway. Mistakes happen and..." He looked back down at himself. Maybe he should wear a turtleneck next time. "Yeah, mistakes happen. It's alright. Some bouncers are prostitutes anyway--not me, but others! Easy mistake to make I guess, er..." Shutting up now!

Cherry was on the verge of leaving and grabbing a prostitute to go...assist her...but that was when she whipped out a pencil and pad of paper and he blinked. Then blushed for the hundredth time at her question. Oh hell. She was into role-playing, wasn't she?!

"Uh...m-meat...?" he repeated blankly, blinking slowly. She was a freaky sexy role-player person. She so was. Don't tell him. She was going to <I>measure and weigh</I> everyone's meat. GAH! Escaping now, escaping no--huh?

He practically jumped as though stung (or just really skittish) when she placed her hands on his shoulders, but then she was blushing hard and...apologizing?

A few more confused, incredulous blinks and then...Cherry actually started to laugh quietly. Relieved, amused laughter, but laughter nonetheless. As she released his shoulders he brought a hand up to his mouth to muffle the sound. All that, everything had...seriously been unintentionally dirty? Really? Dear gods...either she was oblivious or working in the brothel really had warped his mind enough to turn everything into an innuendo. He hoped it was the former. He didn't want to think he was that corrupted already.

"Ahaha...ahem...wow." He exhaled loudly, grinning a little. "That was really, really amazingly awkward..." he couldn't help but nervously chuckle under his breath, shaking his head and running a hand back through his hair. "Ah...right. Eh heh. Animal meat. Frozen...animal...meat..." He gave another cough, and then pointed toward the ice box in the back. "Right over there. Er, wow...I guess I should apologize, too. I...thought you were a customer." A sudden pause and a quick glance, eyebrows slightly raised. "You're not, are you?" Who knew. They got enough weirdos in her, she might just have a frozen animal meat fetish and want to somehow incorporate that into her, erm, play.

...You never knew.

[Anonymous]

Elon sighed lightly and looked around the room, one hand on her hip, the one with the pencil and the other at her side. She watched Cherry as he laughed lightly and let her own grin crack while shaking her head lightly. Hmph, ill informed worker! Elon just blinked at him while he paused and said stuff about being awkward and pointed behind her, Elon turned around slightly to look at what he was pointing at, of course, where else but there? Lightly rolling her eyes at herself and smiled at Cherry while he said he should apologize, even though he didn’t and said he thought she was a costumer. Pale green eyes looked down at her dress, noting where it cut off and how she looked. Her ego was slightly stung that she looked a bit like someone who visited brothels and dressed for her, though she didn’t show it on her face, just smiled at him and brushed invisible dust off her skirt.

With her head tilted down, Elon looked up at Cherry momentarily through her pink bangs. Then smiled brightly and raised an eyebrow at him before shifting her weight from one foot to the other then fluffed her hair and blinked at him a few times. “A customer? Me? Good heavens no! I’ve never been a customer here, I just come here every once in a while to see what the Brothel needs food wise then I order it and they buy it from me and I get someone from here to help me bring it here.� Elon smiled lightly before looking around and writing things on her piece of paper, she turned around and looked back at Cherry, her eyebrows raised and her mouth in a slight smile. “So, are you going to help me now? Now that I’m not here to have hot sweaty sex on the kitchen counter?� A wink and she turned around again and scribbled a few more things on her paper, tapped the pencil to her lips then wrote something else.

�…Incase you’re wondering I’m doing that Math thing I was talking about� A small smile and another wink and she looked around again. “Hmm, you’d have to leave your post for a few to help me, can you? Please? I can’t lift some of the things and… you wanna eat, don’t ya?�

[Rhindeer]

Er...hopefully she wasn't going to be all offended. His last comment had been a joke since it was a bit obvious by then that nope, she really wasn't a customer. He didn't really think anyone actually had a frozen animal flesh fetish...or at least he hoped no one did, and that if anyone actually did, they wouldn't tell him about it. Some things you were just better off not knowing. Though at this point, it might have been better if she actually was a customer, because with everything he'd been going on about, he just might have offended her, and she'd have a right to be in retrospect! Cherry noted with a grimace the way she looked herself over after that, smoothing out her dress, and he felt a small pang of...guilt? Or something like that. Man, he'd been a bit of jerk, hadn't he?

She didn't really look like the usual brothel customer. Not really, because how many of the workers here had pink and green hair? Okay, maybe that wasn't a very good reason, but the point was that it had pretty much just been a snap judgment on his part. After all, if you came to the brothel, what else could you be but a customer or a whore?

That was when Cherry remembered that he worked in the brothel, and he wasn't a customer or a whore! Alright...maybe he was being kind of judgmental...he really hoped she wasn't too hurt about that, because could he really be blamed? As a bouncer, you saw a lot of interesting people, and he did admit that he was slightly paranoid, and working here did make him feel a bit cheap. More so when he got hit on or mistaken for a whore himself, and especially if the person doing the flirting or mistaking happened to be a male.

Shudder. Not that he had anything against that! So long as it wasn't him. That was all!

"Yeah, I'm...really sorry about that, ma'am," Cherry said awkwardly, scratching his head and shuffling his feet a little. "I didn't mean to imply anything. It's just I'm a bouncer here and the only people who really come here are whores or customers. I'm not implying you look like a whore or a customer!" he added quickly. "Just I assume and...I'm sorry. So, you're the one who provides the food here then?" The answer was obvious, and it was mostly just one of those hypothetical questions.

"Huh? Oh, yeah...I don't see why I couldn't help you. Business is slow during the day, anyway, and we should be back before they notice I'm gone. I mean, your shop's not that far away, is--" And then he cut off abruptly as what she said actually registered, and he nearly choked. But he somehow managed to steady his voice and continue one. Jeez! She was...a lot more blunt than he expected most women to be. He cleared his throat. "Y-yeah. I can help you," he finished lamely, the whole math thing suddenly making sense. "It wouldn't be right for you to have to do all that by yourself..." Yes, he was a gentleman. Eccentric as his parents were, they had raised him right!

Ugh. Though now he just felt like a pervert for assuming so much. Working here really had corrupted his mind, hadn't it?

"So, Miss Elon...what things do you need help lifting? Just point me to the stuff and tell me where you're shop is, and I can get started now."

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately for Cherry, Elon didn’t have a frozen animal flesh fetish. Though, wearing longer dresses probably wouldn’t be bad thing from here on out. Especially since she visited the brothel biweekly, at least, that’s what it seemed it like. They didn’t need much food here, she thinks, unless they were going behind her back and buying else were, despite the fact this was a place of questionable business it did give her a large sum of her shops income, though, losing it for business wouldn’t knock her under, it would just put her on strings instead of a nice bridge. Elon watched Cherry for a moment, a light grin on her lips before he said sorry, Elon rose her hand to correct him on the “ma’am� but he started talking again too soon. Whoops. Elon watched entertained while he went on, brushing her pink hair over her shoulder and looking down at her chest to make sure not to much cleavage was showing. The girl resorted to simply holding her hands at her sides so nothing bounced about.

�Just Elon is fine, and thank you for not calling me a whore or a customer. I get enough of that at my own shop, ever have someone put their hand up your dress and grab your butt and ask about the main course?� A swift nod of her head, her hands folded across her chest she gave Cherry a measuring look and then pondered for a second, “On second thought, I don’t think anyone could put his hands up your dress… You’re not wearing one. Oh! Yes, I take care of the food here. I own a little shop… Thing.� Elon didn’t know how to describe her shop, it was a kind of grocery store, with a till and everything, but Elon also made good occasionally and fed people, for a small fee, and had tables on the floor and… Elon had no idea she had been adjusting her top while she was thinking of her shop. Quickly realizing that Cherry, a male, was <I>right there</I> she let her hands drop and she swiftly turned around.

Putting a finger to her chin Elon gave a quick scan around the room and then looked at her new… Friend? Companion? Acquaintance? Hmm. Anyway, Elon gave Cherry a measuring look and then eyed the door. “Well, I’ve just realized you don’t have to carry anything. Want to come to my shop for a bite to eat anyway? I’ll make you help me out with moving some things so you don’t have to pay.� Elon walked over, nudged him with her elbow and smiled up at him, “Besides, you seem sane, it wouldn’t hurt to know a sane person who words here.� A pleasant smile and Elon, not waiting for an answer, grabbed his hand and began to sneak to the door all stealthy like, looking left, right, behind Cherry then quickly and silently of course, burst through the door. “There, still wanna come? You do? Wonderful! My shop is this way.� Taking his hand, Elon led him towards her little but popular shop.

[Rhindeer]

Cherry was making a point of staring at Elon's face through it all, even though that was proving to be somewhat challenging, because his eyes just seemed to want to keep gravitating back down to her chest. Not his fault! She just seemed to keep doing things that made him want to look there, like just then when she started looking down at herself for some reason. And it was a rather nice chest, too, but Cherry was a gentleman and he knew it was impolite to talk to a girl's boobs. At least when she was looking.

Gentlemen...hah. And here he was working in a brothel. Well, he cold still be a gentleman, right? After all, he was only a bouncer and it was his job to protect the whores and whatnot. It wasn't like he sold his body or slept with any of the prostitutes, hell no, he'd never do that no matter how pent up the hormones got. He loved women, and only women, but when he slept with someone he liked to sleep with a woman he actually liked and who actually liked him, instead of someone who was paid to like him for an hour or so. Ick. He just couldn't get into it. It was tempting sometimes, no doubt, some of the whores were nice to look at and the damned incense they used sometimes didn't help, but no matter, it still wasn't his thing.

Especially not when all the whores seemed to view it all as a challenge and a joke to try and get him in their beds, just because he was adamant about not doing that. Especially the men. They seemed determined to gay him up since he was decidedly not gay. The owner included.

Shudder. Ah well. It paid well and had good benefits (not those benefits!) and he'd become pretty good at his evasion techniques!

"I...can't say I have," Cherry answered Elon's question slowly, one eyebrow raised as he was indeed looking steadily at her face. The answer to that should have been fairly obvious because the last time he checked he'd been wearing pants and a shirt, not a dress, and he wouldn't ever wear a dress, either. Just to be sure, Cherry glanced down at himself--you could never be too sure, he wasn't the best when it came to the whole waking up process sometimes--and then looked back up to her. Yup. Pants.

Still, what she said was a little worrisome...the way she talked about guys groping her, so casually. Customers, even! And she wasn't a brothel worker, she was just a normal...Cherry gave her a once over. Well, mostly normal woman. "If it's any consolation or comparison, though, working here I get nearly molested on a daily basis by women and--" Cringe. "--especially men. They can't seem to stand that I like women and just women, and specifically women who aren't paid to like me. 'Course, I knew what I was getting into and I'm a guy, I can handle it." Not that he was bragging of course. "But you...there's no excuse for those guys to take advantage of you like that," he added with a nod, frowning a little.

Hell, Cherry was just a country bumpkin but at least he'd been taught respect, unlike these city people it seemed...but...maybe it wasn't his business? She seemed nonchalant about it, so maybe she could handle it on her own? She didn't look like the toughest woman, but you never knew.

And of course right after he finished saying that, and trying his best to be all chivalrous, the girl would, in the midst of talking about her shop--and really saying nothing about it--she started to fiddle with her top, and Cherry's eyes wanted to wander down from her face again. With a start, he jerked his eyes back up to her face and made an effort of gluing them there. Ah, he couldn't help it! He was attracted to movement, what could he say? Not his fault!

Luckily she seemed to realize what she was doing and stopped and turned around. Whew.

And then Elon surprised him. Apparently she no longer needed him to lift things for her. Alright. That was kind of disappointing, he was curious to get out and see this shop of hers and hang around with a seemingly sane woman for a while. But then she invited him to come eat instead and even nudged him, and commented that he seemed sane.

That was the most wonderful compliment he'd gotten in a long time. Certainly better than being told that morning by a male prostitute that he had a nice ass. He was sane. Thank Gods, sometimes it felt like his sanity hung by a thread.

Still, going to lunch and helping her around her shop would take a while...it took time to make and eat a meal and moving things around would take time, too, certainly more time than just carrying stuff over there would take. And it wasn't yet his breaktime. If he was gone for too long...it'd be noticed. And he could get busted for it. "Actually, I think I'd better--" He cut off when she grabbed his hand and began to pull him along without waiting for his answer, having made up his mind for him, and Cherry just shook his head...and followed.

He could have easily pulled free and declined, he was stronger than her, but instead he found himself grinning at her as she looked around all stealthy-like, and it was an effort not to chuckle. Well...He glanced around as well, ducking down and following her lead. A few minutes couldn't hurt, right? It wasn't the busy time for the brothel, no one would know he was missing...

And he, too, wouldn't mind hanging around with the sanest person he'd met so far who was also not a prostitute, but just a normal woman. Besides, Elon had already made up her mind it seemed, and he...well, he did admire her boldness and openness, he had to say.

Besides...sneaking out like this was kind of fun. Kind of made him feel like a kid again, sneaking out his bedroom window.

Following her lead, he snuck out with her, shut the door behind him as quietly as he could, and followed her to her shop.