"A Dangerous Woman."
"When the youngest daughter of the royal family left home to become a surgeon, she wasn't present at her ancestral home when her family was killed by the army from the neighboring kingdom. Forced to flee for her life, she became a pirate and attacked the shipping of the nation that conquered her homeland by using the power of her family's bloodline, the fact that they were woowolves.
However, all the money she had gathered to build an army and free her homeland was of no use when she was attacked by an assassin and cursed with vampirism. Abandoned by her crew who tried to kill her because they were afraid she might lose control and kill them out of hunger, Lady Rose Blackpink found herself forced to hide in the sewers of her hometown where she was found by Robert, a young, naive lad with a mysterious past who charmed Lady Rose with his green-blue eyes as deep as the sea.
Can Robert heal Lady Rose's wounded heart and bring her into the light, or will he fall victim to Lady Rose's horrible curse and join her in darkness?"
"Now a motion picture." Jack squinted as he read the back of the book out loud then looked over at Bendetta, "Uh... I'm actually glad you got this for me, but..." He flipped the book around to show the cover to Bendetta. It featuring a man barely clothed being held by a woman with wolf features, pale skin, vampire fangs, and a pirate outfit, "Is this actually popular?"
Bendetta looked a bit sheepish as she scratched the back of her neck, "I just wanted to get you something to apologize for the fight, ya know? I asked the guy behind the counter what was popular, and he said this book was a big hit with everyone, ya know?" She gestured towards the book, "I guess I should have been a bit more specific."
Jack examined the book, then turned to Bendetta, "Thanks. It..." He leafed through the book, "Sorry. It's not just a 'I'm from another universe' thing." He took in the strange imagery on the cover, "It's this kind of thing is foreign to me. I'm not used to receiving gifts. This is so outside the realm of my experience I don't know what to say."
Jack and Bendetta sat in a secluded corner of the exclusive gambling den located beneath Marie's Original Pizza. Jack had arrived on time for his meeting with Marie, but she had asked him to wait while she attended to some last-minute business. As he waited, Bendetta approached and struck up a conversation with him. Abruptly, she presented him with the book, wrapped in a ribbon.
Bendetta looked puzzled, "Nobody give books as gifts in your world?"
The corners of Jack's mouth pulled down as he shrugged, "Nobody gave me gifts, period."
Bendetta seemed surprised, "Seriously? None?"
Jack shrugged with only one shoulder as he leaned into it, "I'd get gifts around Christmas as a kid, but they were usually just clothes. Socks, underwear, jeans, that sort of thing. I might get a toy or two, but not much else."
Bendetta pulled her head back and quirked an eyebrow, "Wow. You sound..." She tilted her head slightly, "Did that bother you?"
Jack shrugged again, "Over time, I just got used to disappointment." He gave it some thought then added, "How much would YOU like getting only clothes, year after year?" He held up his fingers crossed, then flipped them around to reverse the order.
Bendetta got the idea, "Right. Here guys are the ones obsessed with new clothes. There... gals I assume?"
Jack touched his nose, "Bingo."
Bendetta frowned, "Wait, what about your birthday?"
Jack shrugged briefly, "Was born December twenty first. Nobody wants to go to a birthday party four days before Christmas, so I got it combined with Christmas." He snorted, "Despite the claims you get twice the gifts, never happened." He eyed the book, "I hate Christmas. Hell, December in general. Every pet I ever had died in December. My mom died in December. Twice I lost a job in December." He looked off into the distance, "Once I begged my parents to throw me a birthday party. This was back when Mom was still alive. I wanted it ON my birthday. Just once. It was my tenth. We sent out like twenty invitations. Twelve came back..."
Jack let out a laugh and grinned at her. He continued in a macabre tone, "Nobody showed up!"
Bendetta was shocked, "I'm sorry, come again?"
Jack nodded, "Yup! Five called to cancel, the other seven just flat out forgot!" He took a deep breath and slowly shook his head, "Good times, good times..."
Bendetta turned her head to look at Jack out of the corner of her eye, "Are you fucking with me?"
Jack shook his head, "I'm not kidding. I swear." He crossed his heart with one finger and held up three fingers, "Scout's honor. I've had a few birthday parties in January, but after that tenth birthday, I never wanted another birthday party again. I think I eventually had a birthday party on my actual birthday when I was... twenty-six? I made the mistake of mentioning it to everyone at Redline in the other world, and they actually threw me a surprise party. Can you believe it?" He shrugged, "Well, I guess it's to be expected. I was the boss, after all. People always try to suck up to the boss."
Bendetta seemed to be having a hard time understanding this, "Is this another one of those 'I'm from a different universe' things? Because you sound almost cheerful about it, ya know?"
Jack nodded, "Yes, that's right. I am." He took a deep breath and looked at her seriously, "Look. It was painful, but after that, I never had to worry about another birthday party again. It taught me a lesson. Only women, children, and pets are loved unconditionally. I am only loved for what I can do. It was a tough realization, but it forced me to grow up and become a man." He chuckled and smiled, "A successful man, I might add. The original Redline was number two in the northeast. Things were finally coming together and I was making money hand over fist..." His tone fell flat, "Right before I got summoned to this universe." He shrugged, "Oh well. One door closes, another one opens." He smiles at Bendetta, "No sense dwelling on things you can't control, right?"
Bendetta just stared.
Jack felt a little awkward and shifted in his seat before holding up the book, "So... I guess this is the first gift I ever received from someone who wasn't related to me or dependent on me for a paycheck!" He held the book close to his chest and patted it gently, "It's a very special gift. Thank you. I will treasure it."
Bendetta nodded in acknowledgement, "You're welcome." She looked disturbed by the conversation. Her eyes slid off Jack, drifting downward.
Jack frowned as he started to properly read the room, "Uh, am I sharing too much info? Didn't mean to bum you out."
Bendetta snapped out of her thoughts and looked up at him, "I'm sorry. That's just so... strange. I mean, I know you are from another universe but... What you just described is one of the saddest things I ever heard happening to a guy and yet, ya know... you sound... happy about it?"
Jack rolled his eyes, "I AM happy. Why wouldn't I be?" He snorted and made a dismissive hand gesture, "While everyone I knew was wasting their lives trying to get married or some other nonsense, I moved to my version of Empire City, got connected, got rich, and started living the high life!" He gestured into the distance, "The few times I visited my hometown, I saw people I once knew working as a checkout cashier at the local supermarket, or divorced and dealing with a bunch of ungrateful brats!"
Jack got a far-off look in his eye, "The only person I really wanted to know about was Brian... It turns out he was the one who really made something of his life. He was very popular in town and everyone thought highly of him. He had a successful CPA business..." Jack suddenly looked disappointed and sighed
Bendetta leaned in a bit closer as she asked softly, "What happened?"
Jack blinked and looked up, "Huh? Oh. Sorry." He waved his hand dismissively again, "I had planned on killing him. I wanted to wait ten years from the day he last beat the crap out of me, then murder him. I figured nobody would put two and two together and..." He shook his head, "The bastard had dropped dead at age twenty seven from a heart attack while jogging! A whole year before I was going to kill him!" He clenched his fist and pounded it on the table, "And nobody would even tell me where he was buried so I could Piss On His Grave!"
Bendetta blinked at the sudden change in tone, "What???"
Jack nodded and let out a disappointed sigh, "Yeah. That guy beat the crap out of me for over ten years. When I finally managed to move away, I vowed to kill him one day, but I never got the chance." He shook his head slowly, "Life just isn't fair." Jack looked up at Bendetta and lightly punched her in the shoulder, "God, I love coming here. It's so nice to relax and just be myself, you know? Always having to put on a show around everyone is exhausting." He nodded slowly and pointed at Bendetta, "You guys understand." He paused, then added, "Gals. Sorry. You know what I mean."
Bendetta was about to open her mouth when someone called out from Marie's office, "Jack? Marie will see you now."
Jack looked up, then back at Bendetta, "Hey." He held up the book as he stood up, "Thanks for the book. I really mean it. It means a lot to me." He lightly tapped her on the shoulder with the book, "You're good people. If you ever need anything, just let me know. I've got your back." Bendetta simply nodded in return.
As Jack walked off to Marie's office, Bendetta slouched in her chair to rethink if she wanted to ask Jack out on a date or not.
~Why are all the hot ones absolutely batshit insane?~
"A Dangerous Woman."
"When the youngest daughter of the royal family left home to become a surgeon, she wasn't present at her ancestral home when her family was killed by the army from the neighboring kingdom. Forced to flee for her life, she became a pirate and attacked the shipping of the nation that conquered her homeland by using the power of her family's bloodline, the fact that they were woowolves.
However, all the money she had gathered to build an army and free her homeland was of no use when she was attacked by an assassin and cursed with vampirism. Abandoned by her crew who tried to kill her because they were afraid she might lose control and kill them out of hunger, Lady Rose Blackpink found herself forced to hide in the sewers of her hometown where she was found by Robert, a young, naive lad with a mysterious past who charmed Lady Rose with his green-blue eyes as deep as the sea.
Can Robert heal Lady Rose's wounded heart and bring her into the light, or will he fall victim to Lady Rose's horrible curse and join her in darkness?"
"Now a motion picture." Jack squinted as he read the back of the book out loud then looked over at Bendetta, "Uh... I'm actually glad you got this for me, but..." He flipped the book around to show the cover to Bendetta. It featuring a man barely clothed being held by a woman with wolf features, pale skin, vampire fangs, and a pirate outfit, "Is this actually popular?"
Bendetta looked a bit sheepish as she scratched the back of her neck, "I just wanted to get you something to apologize for the fight, ya know? I asked the guy behind the counter what was popular, and he said this book was a big hit with everyone, ya know?" She gestured towards the book, "I guess I should have been a bit more specific."
Jack examined the book, then turned to Bendetta, "Thanks. It..." He leafed through the book, "Sorry. It's not just a 'I'm from another universe' thing." He took in the strange imagery on the cover, "It's this kind of thing is foreign to me. I'm not used to receiving gifts. This is so outside the realm of my experience I don't know what to say."
Jack and Bendetta sat in a secluded corner of the exclusive gambling den located beneath Marie's Original Pizza. Jack had arrived on time for his meeting with Marie, but she had asked him to wait while she attended to some last-minute business. As he waited, Bendetta approached and struck up a conversation with him. Abruptly, she presented him with the book, wrapped in a ribbon.
Bendetta looked puzzled, "Nobody give books as gifts in your world?"
The corners of Jack's mouth pulled down as he shrugged, "Nobody gave me gifts, period."
Bendetta seemed surprised, "Seriously? None?"
Jack shrugged with only one shoulder as he leaned into it, "I'd get gifts around Christmas as a kid, but they were usually just clothes. Socks, underwear, jeans, that sort of thing. I might get a toy or two, but not much else."
Bendetta pulled her head back and quirked an eyebrow, "Wow. You sound..." She tilted her head slightly, "Did that bother you?"
Jack shrugged again, "Over time, I just got used to disappointment." He gave it some thought then added, "How much would YOU like getting only clothes, year after year?" He held up his fingers crossed, then flipped them around to reverse the order.
Bendetta got the idea, "Right. Here guys are the ones obsessed with new clothes. There... gals I assume?"
Jack touched his nose, "Bingo."
Bendetta frowned, "Wait, what about your birthday?"
Jack shrugged briefly, "Was born December twenty first. Nobody wants to go to a birthday party four days before Christmas, so I got it combined with Christmas." He snorted, "Despite the claims you get twice the gifts, never happened." He eyed the book, "I hate Christmas. Hell, December in general. Every pet I ever had died in December. My mom died in December. Twice I lost a job in December." He looked off into the distance, "Once I begged my parents to throw me a birthday party. This was back when Mom was still alive. I wanted it ON my birthday. Just once. It was my tenth. We sent out like twenty invitations. Twelve came back..."
Jack let out a laugh and grinned at her. He continued in a macabre tone, "Nobody showed up!"
Bendetta was shocked, "I'm sorry, come again?"
Jack nodded, "Yup! Five called to cancel, the other seven just flat out forgot!" He took a deep breath and slowly shook his head, "Good times, good times..."
Bendetta turned her head to look at Jack out of the corner of her eye, "Are you fucking with me?"
Jack shook his head, "I'm not kidding. I swear." He crossed his heart with one finger and held up three fingers, "Scout's honor. I've had a few birthday parties in January, but after that tenth birthday, I never wanted another birthday party again. I think I eventually had a birthday party on my actual birthday when I was... twenty-six? I made the mistake of mentioning it to everyone at Redline in the other world, and they actually threw me a surprise party. Can you believe it?" He shrugged, "Well, I guess it's to be expected. I was the boss, after all. People always try to suck up to the boss."
Bendetta seemed to be having a hard time understanding this, "Is this another one of those 'I'm from a different universe' things? Because you sound almost cheerful about it, ya know?"
Jack nodded, "Yes, that's right. I am." He took a deep breath and looked at her seriously, "Look. It was painful, but after that, I never had to worry about another birthday party again. It taught me a lesson. Only women, children, and pets are loved unconditionally. I am only loved for what I can do. It was a tough realization, but it forced me to grow up and become a man." He chuckled and smiled, "A successful man, I might add. The original Redline was number two in the northeast. Things were finally coming together and I was making money hand over fist..." His tone fell flat, "Right before I got summoned to this universe." He shrugged, "Oh well. One door closes, another one opens." He smiles at Bendetta, "No sense dwelling on things you can't control, right?"
Bendetta just stared.
Jack felt a little awkward and shifted in his seat before holding up the book, "So... I guess this is the first gift I ever received from someone who wasn't related to me or dependent on me for a paycheck!" He held the book close to his chest and patted it gently, "It's a very special gift. Thank you. I will treasure it."
Bendetta nodded in acknowledgement, "You're welcome." She looked disturbed by the conversation. Her eyes slid off Jack, drifting downward.
Jack frowned as he started to properly read the room, "Uh, am I sharing too much info? Didn't mean to bum you out."
Bendetta snapped out of her thoughts and looked up at him, "I'm sorry. That's just so... strange. I mean, I know you are from another universe but... What you just described is one of the saddest things I ever heard happening to a guy and yet, ya know... you sound... happy about it?"
Jack rolled his eyes, "I AM happy. Why wouldn't I be?" He snorted and made a dismissive hand gesture, "While everyone I knew was wasting their lives trying to get married or some other nonsense, I moved to my version of Empire City, got connected, got rich, and started living the high life!" He gestured into the distance, "The few times I visited my hometown, I saw people I once knew working as a checkout cashier at the local supermarket, or divorced and dealing with a bunch of ungrateful brats!"
Jack got a far-off look in his eye, "The only person I really wanted to know about was Brian... It turns out he was the one who really made something of his life. He was very popular in town and everyone thought highly of him. He had a successful CPA business..." Jack suddenly looked disappointed and sighed
Bendetta leaned in a bit closer as she asked softly, "What happened?"
Jack blinked and looked up, "Huh? Oh. Sorry." He waved his hand dismissively again, "I had planned on killing him. I wanted to wait ten years from the day he last beat the crap out of me, then murder him. I figured nobody would put two and two together and..." He shook his head, "The bastard had dropped dead at age twenty seven from a heart attack while jogging! A whole year before I was going to kill him!" He clenched his fist and pounded it on the table, "And nobody would even tell me where he was buried so I could Piss On His Grave!"
Bendetta blinked at the sudden change in tone, "What???"
Jack nodded and let out a disappointed sigh, "Yeah. That guy beat the crap out of me for over ten years. When I finally managed to move away, I vowed to kill him one day, but I never got the chance." He shook his head slowly, "Life just isn't fair." Jack looked up at Bendetta and lightly punched her in the shoulder, "God, I love coming here. It's so nice to relax and just be myself, you know? Always having to put on a show around everyone is exhausting." He nodded slowly and pointed at Bendetta, "You guys understand." He paused, then added, "Gals. Sorry. You know what I mean."
Bendetta was about to open her mouth when someone called out from Marie's office, "Jack? Marie will see you now."
Jack looked up, then back at Bendetta, "Hey." He held up the book as he stood up, "Thanks for the book. I really mean it. It means a lot to me." He lightly tapped her on the shoulder with the book, "You're good people. If you ever need anything, just let me know. I've got your back." Bendetta simply nodded in return.
As Jack walked off to Marie's office, Bendetta slouched in her chair to rethink if she wanted to ask Jack out on a date or not.
~Why are all the hot ones absolutely batshit insane?~
