A Breath of Fresh Air

[Preston Paine]

An annoying mist was falling and had been for most of the day. The man entered the tiny hole in a wall of a bar and brushed his hair, water droplets falling to his shoulders and the ground. Not that he noticed. The muggle born guy simply kept walking, heading straight for the bar . He was a man on a mission. Preston badly needed a drink. I'd been a rough day for him. His boss had yelled at him for forgetting to feed one of the creatures, and he'd gotten into an argument with one of his co-workers before that even. With his shift finally over, Preston was in no rush to head home. He didn't know if another argument awaited him there, and he really wasn't in the mood. Even the animals had been difficult today, restless with him as if they sensed his mood. They probably had. It hadn't improved his mood though that they hadn't wanted to be near him. By the end of the day, he'd barely wanted to be around himself.

Sitting right at the bar, in a far corner that was half in shadow, Preston called out, his voice deeper even than it'd been during his seventh year. "Give me some kind of cider. Make sure it's got alcohol in it. A lot" he uttered before rubbing his face with his hands. With a heavy sigh, he dropped his hands to the bar where he played with the sickles and knuts he'd need to pay. The man was brooding, and he knew it too. He figured he'd get himself super drunk and then go home and call Paige over, if she wasn't mad at him too. She was usually good at improving his mood and Preston was in desperate need of that. He hoped that she'd come through for him. The guy hadn't even bothered to look around when he'd walked in, so he did while he waited. Most of the other patrons looked like him, men who looked like they'd had bad days. Preston caught the drink that slid towards him and nodded his head in thanks. The first sip warmed him.

 

[Sage Ottavi]

Sage had not had the best of days, she had wanted to go round to Jessie's for a little fun but she had decided against it, and no one else she usually used for stress release and fun seemed to be available, and Sage wasn't exactly short of people, but she had nothing and so she had just decided that at the very least she needed a drink. It had just been one disaster after another, first the new neighbours she had had decided that six in the morning had been a good time for an argument and then there were the three job interviews which had all ended in the same fashion, they didn't have anything for Sage, nothing that she really wanted, perhaps it was Sage's fault that she was being so selective, but she didn't just want some boring writing job, she wanted to write gossip, she had joked about starting her own sort of gossip magazine with Ferds, but at this point she was just looking to begin money in and the idea was becoming more and more appealing to her, but she knew that she would need to do some legit work before she got to do that so she was working towards that as her goal.

Stepping in the nearest bar to where she was currently, Sage just pushed her way to the front of the bar, this wasn't her usual sort of place, it had far less music and was the sort of place she might've otherwise avoided but not on this day. Instead she leaned on the bar, still dressed in her form fitting and formal clothes for the interviews, perhaps the skirt a little shorter than most and the heels a little higher but she played to her strengths, even in her looks, "Firewhisky," she told the bar keep and then leaned away, taking the time to run a hand through her hair and take a deep breath, letting the day flow out of her as she waited for her drink, and it was as she finally got her drink that she noticed a familiar face in the corner of the bar, although Sage was uncertain about if it really was him, Sage thanked the man for her drink as it arrived in front of her, before taking a small step away from the bar and letting her hair down, shaking it slightly as she attempted to get some of the knots out. She took a small sip of the drink and hissed lightly as the liquid burned her throat. Before her gaze went back to the man she knew. Sage took her drink and then wandered over to where he was, and sat down next to him, her back to the bar, "Fancy running into you here of all places Preston," she greeted him with a small smile, aside from Ferds, Preston was one of the few friends she'd had at school.
​

 

[Preston Paine]

Preston was off in his own little world, not paying attention to anything going on around him as he brooded over his day. He’d just taken another sip of his cider when he heard someone talking to him. It was his name that had finally jarred him out of his thoughts and he looked around, almost in a daze. Quickly enough, his eyes narrowed on the girl, no the woman leaning on the bar beside him and his mouth lifted into a smile, the first one he’d had all day. “Saaaaage” he greeted her, his glass landing on the bar as he took in his old friend. He hadn’t seen her since he’d graduated. She’d been a year behind him in school, so it made sense. Once Preston had graduated, he’d quickly moved on with his life, forgetting school which hadn’t always been a pleasant experience for him. Sage had been one of the better parts of his schooling.

“What can I say?” he stated with a small shrug, “Sometimes, you just need the first place that offers alcohol.” That’s really what had happened for Preston. This wasn’t his usual spot by any means. It was seedy, and since he’d begun living with his pureblood roommate, he’d frequented places that were a far cry from this. He liked it here though. It was the kind of place you could come to when you wanted to brood and just lose yourself in a drink. “What brings you here? This doesn’t seem like your kind of place” he stated with a smirk. She certainly wasn’t dressed for this kind of place, though she was dressed in a very ‘Sage’ manner from what he remembered.

 

[Sage Ottavi]

Sage had to say that she was definitely surprised to see Preston in this pub of all places she hadn't thought she would run into him like this, but stranger things had happened in her world and of course seeing him in this specific place definitely meant that she had to go talk to him about it, which was what she had done, and the girl was very pleased with the reaction she got from him, the last time she'd seen him had been well over a year ago, when he had graduated, she hadn't really thought she'd ever see him again but she was almost a little pleased that she'd managed to run into him again. He one of the few friends she'd had in school, so she was pretty pleased that she'd managed to run into him again, even if this would be just in passing, the girl smiled at him, returning the smile as she took a small sip of her drink, it was almost funny to see him outside of school, she'd never seen him outside of school before not even during vacations, it was almost a little surreal. The girl nodded at his statement and raised her glass to him almost in agreement.

"I agree with you there," she told him with a small sip of her drink, letting the sharp liquid slide with ease down her throat before she placed the drink on to the table and smiling with his question, "It really isn't," she told him, glancing around at the other patrons, a few who seemed to be stealing glances over towards them, or so, Sage believed they were, "I just needed a place to drink, somewhere close and this was just it," she told him, "Had a couple of interviews in nearby places, really needed a drink after that," Sage shrugged at him with a small lingering smile on her face, "What are you doing with yourself these days?" she asked, while she had at first wanted to just see if she could find one of her friends with benefits spending a little time with drinks catching up with Preston seemed like as good an option.
​

 

[Preston Paine]

Preston nodded his head, getting it. Their friendship had always been an easy one born mostly of boredom. He'd appreciated how uncomplicated it had always been even when they'd taken up snogging. Sitting here, talking about interviews was so odd to him though. He supposed he still imagined them in school, though he'd been out for a while already. Preston placed his drink on the counter, his fingers still gripping it though. "Working. Living. The usual" he stated with a small shrug. It was true. There was nothing extraordinary going on in the young wizard's life. "I might be joining you on those interviews soon. I just might have gotten myself fired today, Sage" he added as he lifted his drink up and took another sip. Maybe he'd see things differently in the morning light, but right now his mind was just thinking the worst.

Preston smiled at the slightly younger girl. "What kind of places were you applying to?" he asked. "I work with magical creatures" he stated quickly. If he had shorter sleeves, she'd be able to see the burns he'd acquired today from the Blast-Ended Skrewts he'd been working with. They were healing from some medicine he'd applied, but still had the shine off fresh burns. Those creatures were what had gotten him into trouble today. By the end of the day, he'd felt like poisoning the lot of them.

 

[Sage Ottavi]

Leaving school had of course been inevitable, but running into Preston here of all places had been the last thing that she had imagined would happen in her day, after all, this was a small pub, an old man pub and yet here she stood, at the same time as Preston who like her had found solace in the drinks of this place, the teen looked at her old friend as he placed the drink on the counter and she nodded, working, living that was what she wanted to do, currently all she had was the latter and she really desired the former. The former slytherin just nodded, gotten himself fired, well that wasn't good, "Fired?" she repeated with a small laugh in her tone, "That's not good," she didn't really mean to be taking his plight lightly, but she couldn't help but feel that it was stupid to be worried or annoyed it, since they were young and fresh out of school, they had plenty of opportunities just waiting for them, it was just a matter of reaching out and taking them really.

At his words she shrugged a little, although it was interesting that he worked with magical creatures, she thought a hands on job suited him but she still questioned it a little, "Well, mostly bar work, something to just get money in, I want to work in a magazine with fashion and gossip but apparently, 7 years of Hogwarts Monthly, which includes one year being co-editor and another being editor-in-chief isn't enough experience," she let out a long sigh, she'd begun applying for more and more things widening her search yes, but the teen was still very selective about what she was doing, she didn't want to end up in some dead end job she hated but getting to be on a magazine was more complicated than she'd imagined it would be, so there was work, but it was unpaid and she knew that if she did that she'd also need a second job. Sage raised the glass to her lips and took a small sip, "But you, with the animals, do you like it?" she asked.​

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[Preston Paine]

Preston laughed bitterly. “No, it isn’t” he replied before draining his glass and gesturing for the bartender to bring him another one. While he waited, he listened to Sage talk about the type of work that she was after. She’d make a killing in a bar, if she managed to find a decent one. This type of place, for instance, wouldn’t suit her at all. The people inside were more interested in drowning their sorrows away in silence than in engaging in conversation with a beautiful woman. Their loss. “Yea, the professors forgot to mention to us how ridiculously competitive it is out here, huh?” It was a tough thing for the Slytherin boy to take. His arrogance often led him to believe that he was the best at whatever he set out to do, and life had shown him that sometimes that wasn’t exactly true.

The bartender slid another drink his way, and Preston caught it in his open hand, wincing as the pain of the glass shot up his burned arm. With a smirk, Preston lifted his sleeve slightly to show Sage just how much he liked working with animals. The burns didn’t really hurt much, but the way that the glass had hit his hand had shot the pain right up his arm. “Sometimes” he stated, “I’m lying. I actually really love my job which is why I’m here drinking away the pain that I might have just lost it.” It was the most honest thing he’d said so far in the conversation. Preston had felt lucky to have found such a good position straight out of school. “I just hate dealing with the f***in Blast-Ended Skrewts, and I forgot to feed them today. By the time I remembered, they were extra grumpy” he added with a shrug, back to being grumpy. “Don’t let the man keep you down, Sage. You’ll find something soon” he added, forcing himself to smile. He was being such crap company today.

 

[Sage Ottavi]

Sage couldn't help but laugh at his statement since it was very true, hogwarts was good for a good many things, but it wasn't exactly teaching her how to stand out to get a job in a competitive market with perhaps limited opportunities for people, or just a limited amount of employment was definitely making it hard for Sage to find what she wanted, even with all the school experience that she had, the only reason that Sage had not moved to some other country to look for work was because she didn't want to have to leave New Zealand, she loved the country, she wanted to work there, since she had so much, and well, there were all the people she had in the country which were a lot of fun, not to mention that Ferds was also here and she definitely liked the time they spent together, "We're still young, there's plenty of time," she told him as she took a small sip of her drink and pulled herself a chair over so that she could sit next to him, there was no sense in standing any longer.

Placing the drink back on the bar, Sage straightened out the skirt, smoothening it, and ensuring it was neither hitched or bunched up, before then taking back the drink and sipping on it slowly, listening to Preston talk about his job, for some reason she had never seen him as the sort of person who would spend time with animals, but Sage could admit that she didn't know him that well, their friendship had been simple and uncomplicated but it had been a little brief given that he'd left a year before her. It was nice to here him talk about it though, she imagined that perhaps the blast-ended skrewts, "I hope you haven't lost it, it would be a shame for them to let someone who actually likes their job go," she tried to reassure him, but just smiled, "And you know if they do, maybe I can sleep with your manager in exchange for you getting your job back," Sage joked with him, a smile clear on his face, "I'll find something, plus there will always be work for gossip," while Sage sounded like she wasn't too certain of it, it was still like she had a plan of what to do, of how she would get what she wanted. It was just a simple matter of finding it, or doing it.
​

 

[Preston Paine]

Preston laughed loudly at Sage’s offer to sleep with her manager. It disrupted the noise of the bar and several patrons turned to stare before turning back to their mugs, grumbling under their breath about the kids messing the place up. Preston didn’t care. He’d found Sage’s words hilarious. “Sage…I’ve really missed you” he stated through his subsiding chuckles. He loved living with Sergei and his wife, and they certainly had laughs with each other, but his friendship with Sage had always been like this. She’d always been able to cheer him up, and their friendship had come with such few ties that he really, truly appreciated it. “You will find something. Soon, I bet” he stated. Perhaps if they were both really optimistic about things, it would work out in their favor. It seemed to work in the Hufflepuff’s favor.

“You should drop by my place sometime. I live with Sergei and, well, his wife now, Valentina” he stated with an easy grin. The alcohol had worked its way into his system now and he’d started to relax. With their combined funds which were pretty good for a bunch of people barely out of school, they’d managed to get a fairly large house. “Maybe I’ll convince Valentina to let us throw a party one day. We can invite a bunch of Slytherins and have a blast” he added, already trying to determine how best to bring the idea up to Valentina. He was fairly sure that Sergei would go for it. At least he hoped he would. “I bet you’d get enough gossip out of something like that to start your own magazine” he laughed into his cup as he brought it to his lips.

 

[Sage Ottavi]

Sage hadn't of course been joking that much, if he asked her, she would do it for him, Sage didn't mind who she slept with most of the time, and well, every opportunity was an opportunity but she had been joking, knowing that it was unlikely that he would ever ask that or that it would help, and she couldn't help but smile as he laughed loudly, and that was a good thing, since seeing him be all depressed about it wasn't what she wanted him to be, they were friends and she preferred when he was happy they were out of school and enjoy their lives no sense in bringing that down with a few empty statements about how soon they'd be good, laughter was the best thing, and she was glad she'd managed it, "I'd be the best that man could ever get," she smirked at him, with smile, "I'm not too worried, it would nice but, I keep busy," she told him.

As he told him about his living situation, Sage just finished her drinking, motioning for another as she just stared at Preston in a look of disbelief, for one thing Preston living with Sergei was a little odd, and the second was that he had a wife, "You guys left school under three years ago and he's already married?" she asked in disbelief, "And you live with them?" she couldn't really wrap her head around it, how could anyone decide so early on that they wanted to be married, here was so much to experience, so many people to kiss and so many to sleep with and they'd just gotten married, "Who gets married straight out of school, that's so boring," she commented completely forgetting that perhaps Preston would be happy for them, and that he might not perhaps appreciate her comments about it, as he continued she just nodded her head, "I probably would, but how did you end up living with them? Were Sergei and Valentina even dating in school?" Sage took the drink being offered to her and just took a small sip, "I can't believe it," she laughed lightly, "I can't imagine being married and barely twenty, like there are so many people you can experience why settle down so young,"
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[Preston Paine]

Preston nodded his head, surprised that she was so surprised that Sergei was married already. From what he had learned, most people in Sergei's family seemed to marry early. The man couldn't imagine married at this age. It was a huge commitment to make for someone his age, at least he thought so. "Yea, a while ago actually" the man replied. "We all moved in together right after we graduated. It just sort of happened. I was wanting to stay in the magical world. I've got more ties here than in the muggle world these days." Preston had slowly but surely lost touch with his muggle friends. They'd all remained in school together, many of them in college together. Preston just didn't have anything in common with them anymore. "And they got married a little bit after that" he explained. Her reaction was amusing to him.

"I agree with you. I'm having fun just hanging out with different people. Couldn't imagine being tied down by anyone just yet. But, I guess when you find that person, it doesn't make sense to keep looking." The newlyweds did look pretty happy together. Thankfully, their walls were magically soundproofed or he was afraid he'd probably hear how happy they were as well. "My current girl is part-veela" he stage whispered, the alcohol doing its job but also lowering his inhibitions. "I know she gets in my head because of the whole veela thing, but..." he whistled, "she's freaking amazing, if you know what I mean." He hadn't spoken about his thing with Paige much up to this point., definitely not with Sergei though the guy suspected he was sleeping with someone.

 

[Sage Ottavi]

Sage wasn't quite sure why anyone wanted to settle down, in her mind settling down was basically the most boring thing, she loved going out and meeting new people, to her it didn't really matter who it was, she knew how to get the right man or woman and she just played it out, she had gained a few friends with benefits from it, and a few one night stands, just moving through a series of men in the short time following school, a few quite a bit older than herself, but she had no problems finding the right person, she had no problem getting what she needed in any given night, and if she didn't find it where she was, all Sage had to do was go find the person that she wanted who was in the area and that was that. She took a sip of her drink as he explained the whole living situation and the marriage of the two people she'd known from school. It was almost strange to be having such a conversation about those people she'd once known. The teen wasn't sure where he life would end up, but she knew even in school that being married at this point or their point would never be for her.

Sage nodded along as Preston explained that he was with someone and she just smiled at the sound of his girlfriend and she couldn't help but smile, "Well someone's definitely punching above his weight," she teased lightly, thinking it almost a little funny that he was dating a part-veela but thinking it pretty sweet, Preston had always seemed more like the settled down kind of guy and she couldn't help but smile about it, "Amazing?" she asked, clearly asking for more details, "Must be that veela fiery passion," Sage got the impression he didn't really talk about these things that often, "Are you official or strictly bedroom?" she asked wondering if they were what she was with most people or official, he had referred to her as his girlfriend, but she wasn't sure how much that really meant, "I'm not tied down in that way," she told him, after a small sip of her drink, clearly indicating that she had more of something else, "I have.....friends with benefits, there's this one guy I was sleeping with, you might know of him, Rick Lagowski, he's some muggle film director," she placed down her drink on the bar, "He was older, but he was not without skills," she told Preston before laughing lightly.
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[Preston Paine]

Preston smirked and nodded his head. "Don't I know it" he mused. Preston knew that there had been part-veelas in the school, but he hadn't really paid too much attention to any of them. They were all attractive, of course, but he'd never been interested. Not like he was with Paige. That girl had all of his interest, and it was hard to tell where his infatuation ended and her abilities began. Knowing that veelas had the ability to charm did nothing to change his feelings either. Preston chuckled, considering whether to answer her question or not. Eventually, he did. "Just bedroom, but maybe something more. We'll see" he shrugged. Really, it was up to Paige. If she wanted him, he'd be around until she decided to break his heart and walk away.

He listened to Sage talk about who she'd last bedded, and his eyes widened. "Yea, I've heard of him. He directed one of my favorite films" he replied, surprised that Sage had wandered outside of the wizarding community for her fun. Preston had no idea about the man's recent work. He'd fallen out of touch with muggle entertainment news since living with Sergei. Shaking his head, Preston smirked. "That's what I want people to say about me when I'm his age" he winked.

 

[Sage Ottavi]

Sage was definitely surprised at how well Preston seemed to have landed, though she had always known he could punch above his weight, Sage on the other hand didn't so much care about it, she was not one for settling down or just waiting around for things to happen with someone, she had a few she returned to, but largely all she had were men she slept with a few times and that was it, and she had to take a moment to hear his statement, thinking that it was a strange way of putting it, did any of the guys she slept with ever want that? Did Jessie want that from her, Sage wasn't sure and she didn't particularly know if she wanted to find out she definitely didn't really stick around enough for such a fact to be true, but she couldn't help but wonder if that was what he wanted, of course catching up over a drink gave her no right to be like that and she wouldn't say it, but they had once been sort of friends and she just wanted him to be satisfied, "Don't let a veela push you around Preston," was her way of playful way of trying to tell him to not let her make all the decisions that she could make the decisions.

At her revelation of whom she'd slept with, Sage barely contained a small laugh as she knocked back the remainder of her drink and ordered another quickly, "I hadn't seen any of his films, until after," she told Preston with a little smirk as she thanked the barkeep for the drink and took a small sip, running a hand through the long brunette hair, "After him all the people our age just don't know what they are doing," she told him with a little smirk, "I'm great, but the rest are learning," Sage was sure that Preston was perfectly good, and that he like the man she'd slept with would be good when he too was far older, Sage just liked fun, she liked sleeping around because it was fun, and she was attempting to bed the most men she could before settling down, if she ever did, "Well, in thirty years time, you should give me a call, we can figure out if people can say that about you," of course this light joke would never be something she would hold him too, it was just simple playful jokes between friends, she didn't ever want to sleep with Preston, they were friends first and would always just be that, "Hopefully I'll still look as good,"
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[Preston Paine]

Preston nodded his head. He knew all about veelas, having read up on them after finding out that Paige was partly one. He’d wanted to know what he was dealing with because he’d certainly heard the stories. He’d heard a lot of stories during his time at Hogwarts though, stories that the older guys told about the girls they were dating or just messing around with. Some of them, he’d come to believe, having experienced similar things on his own. Other things he now knew as completely absurd. With a grin, he replied. “Don’t worry. She only pushes me around when I want her to.” While he knew that Paige had certain charms that she could use to manipulate him, he hoped that she wasn’t. So far, he didn’t think that she was, and if she was, he didn’t think it was on purpose at all. It was a bit confusing actually, and he tried to avoid thinking about it because then he started questioning everything about them.

As Paige spoke about her personal life, Preston nodded his head to the bartender, silently asking for another drink. He chuckled as she declared herself ‘great.’ The bravado was typical of her, but he was sure that there was probably some truth to it. Preston wasn’t particularly interested in finding out if it was true though. At one time, he’d thought about the idea of sleeping with Sage, but no longer. They’d had their little thing and she was definitely good for him during that time. It hadn’t been weird at all, and as he sat talking to Sage, he realized that things had never been weird between them. He appreciated that. “That’ll be good to know when I’m searching for my second or third wife” he laughed, holding his newly filled glass up in a silent cheers. Preston took a hearty sip before answering her. “Something tells me that you will.” Preston didn’t think that someone like Sage could age badly.

 

[Sage Ottavi]

Sage just shrugged at him, as long as he knew what he was doing, she absolutely trusted him in it, she knew that he would be alright, as long as he knew what he was doing, as long as he seemed certain of such a fact then of what concern to her was it. The former slytherin looked at her friend with a small smirk, just thinking of how well he'd managed, and though he'd suggest pursuing more than one person, if he decided to settle down then that was the world's and his loss. Sage couldn't imagine Ferds settling down, and even less so herself, she didn't care for being with one person, she got bored of people, and they grew dull when they had responsibilities and people they cared for, she didn't like that, she just wanted to go have fun, she just wanted to try a little of everything before settling down, if that ever happened, and she wasn't careless so she'd all be fine. Sage raised her glass to him in the same way as he did to her and smiled before taking a sip of the drink letting the bitter taste burn down her throat.

She placed her glass down on the counter and just smirked at his comment, she didn't assume that she would, she felt pretty confident that she would age pretty well, if her mother was anything to go by then she would be absolutely fine. The woman nodded in agreement at him, "I think so too," Sage had always been confident in herself, she thought and knew that she was pretty and she knew that she was attractive to others, so she assumed that she would age well, and was always conscious of that fact. Sage let her finger circle the top of the glass, wondering with a small glance about the place, there wasn't a lot of talent and not much for her to pick from. She looked back at Preston, "I think you should try to get us some free drinks from someone in here," she challenged him, with a small smirk on her face.
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[Preston Paine]

Preston raised his eyebrow, amusement clear on his face at Sage’s challenge. The place was mostly filled with guys, and he was certain that if one of them was going to have luck, it wasn’t going to be him. But, Preston had just had a really bad day and needed a bit of fun in his life. Sage had always done that for him, and it was good to know that years later she was still able to be that person in his life. Of course, there was the chance of this going terribly wrong and Preston getting his lights knocked out, but he was willing to take the risk. He wasn’t without some charm of his own, and he figured that if he picked the right person then he might succeed in getting them that drink. Still, the clientele didn’t look in the mood for the sort of fun that they were about to have at their expense.

Draining his drink, he’d need some liquid courage for this after all, Preston slammed his glass down on the bar and pushed off with his hand, standing himself up. Several drinks in, he was certainly feeling the effects of it when he stood up. “Watch and learn, Sage” he smirked, scanning the small crowd. It really would be a challenge. Sage was the only woman in the room. Had there been another, he knew he’d have had this in the bag, especially with the competition he had in the room. His eyes glossed over a pair of men who looked like they were engaged in an argument. That wouldn’t work. They continued past an overly large man that intimidated Preston enough that he wouldn’t consider going up to him. He looked as tall as a Zhefarovich, and Preston wanted nothing to do with him. Finally, he spotted a person with promise. A guy sitting by himself near the restrooms. He looked miserable…and alone. Preston made a show of taking off his jacket and rolling up his sleeves, so that the burns on his arm were apparent. He was going to use any advantage he could get to win this bet. “There’ll be another firewhiskey in those pretty little hands of yours in…ten minutes” he stated arrogantly as he walked away from her and to the man he’d chosen.

 

[Sage Ottavi]

Sage did for a moment wonder if she had enticed Preston enough to go and do what he'd tasked him with and just smirked as he downed the drink, and then told her to watch and learn, she was definitely more than happy to do such a thing, "Show me how it's done Preston," she replied smiling easily at him, as she watched him walk a little away and clearly decide who he was going to target, Sage knew that she in this kind of bar would be easier for given that she was from what she could see was the only woman in the bar, so she wondered what Preston might do, and who he was going to go for. Sage just watched him with a curious expression as he wandered away from her, promising a firewhiskey in her hands within ten minutes and just smiled, they hadn't had much time in school to really grow, being so restrictive with so many classes she would say that aside from perhaps their brief fling they hadn't done anything too adventurous, but as adults they could do so much more, they had so much more open to them.

Sage preferred being out of school rather than in school she thought as she took a sip of her drink, sure, things were trickier out of school, she had to work just as hard, but she definitely enjoyed the freedom, the drinking, the men and women that she slept with, there were so many little things that she loved about being out of school which were what made it better than school had ever been. The woman kept her gaze subtly on Preston, as she sipped her drink, growing a little bored and taking the time to also look at the other patrons, in case the challenge was returned and she had to pick someone, although she was perhaps also looking for someone with whom she might have some fun later. There wasn't much, Preston was by far the best looking man, but Sage was hardly fussy, and eventually managed to catch the gaze of someone. She kept her gaze on him for a small moment, just smiling at him, making a note of it for letter, before then glancing back at the time to see how long until she was supposed to have that promised drink in her hand, and considering she'd just finished the one she was holding, Sage really desired a new one.
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