Drinking Again (Open)

[Deleted]

drinking again

The whisky bit at his throat as he gulped down another shot, a harsh burn that helped center him as the effects of the alcohol threatened to overwhelm his mind. There were few things in this world that Carter Klein loved more than whisky, and he had to suppress a giggle as he motioned at the bartender for his third- or would it be his fourth?- shot.

He’d frequented the Last Braincell many nights when he was an MBA student at Astaria, long hours spent here that should have been spent studying or doing anything productive. When he’d dropped out and his life had fallen apart he hadn’t managed to feel embarrassed enough to stop coming here. He knew he should. He knew it was lame, coming to a bar for college students when he wasn’t one. When he hadn’t even managed to get his degree, to stop his life from spiraling out of control.

The bartender passed him another shot of Jamieson and Carter had the sense of mind to slow down. ”Actually, can you pour this on the rocks, actually?” he slurred, unable to hide the sheepishness from his expression. He was drunk, He figured they were going to cut him off sooner rather than later, but until then he intended to keep the fun going. He checked his phone… only 515PM. He’d been here since 3. Where had the time gone?

The bar began to fill up with patrons coming to celebrate the end of the day and the beginning of happy hour, some of them his age or older but most of them much younger than he was. He sighed and went back to his drink. He’d finish up here and then try to find something else to do… unless something, or more hopefully someone, interesting presented themselves.

Barricade

305 words

[open]

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[Deleted]

Ertugrul Ozan (Eddie/Magpie)
Last BrainCell pub, near the pool table.
Watchin.

Stepping into the establishment Eddie hummed to himself as he slid past a few other people also entering. Doing his best not to touch. Didn't need no altercation today. It was time to watch now. And while drinking holes wern't nearly as popular here as they were in eastern Europe he was sure that a few supers would be here. Or lacking that people whispering and muttering about Supers. Either would work for this little fact finding mission!

So plopping himself at the bar proper he nodded at the tender when he got around to him. "Know Sbiten?" Eddie inqured to which the tender lit up.

"I do! Been ages since I made that and finally I can break out the jam again! Want it Red or white?"

"Red." The tender nodding and grabbing a class as he set a red wine bottle on the bar and started to get honey and spices out as well. Before pulling out a small jar of raspberry jam. And then all into the glass it went before in went a spoon to stir it all up before it was placed in front of the Ukrainian who paid with cash for it. "Cheers." He gave a nod before taking a few gulps. That was some good stuff. Not as warm as could be but it was thrown together so he didn't suspect perfection. And now, with the drink acquired. It was time to listen for the information.

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drinking again

Carter tried not to stare as a man with a European cast to his features sat down at the bar next to him. The whisky was probably making him think he was being more secretive than he actually was, but he couldn’t help himself: put a few drops of alcohol in him and he was going to check out most people who walked by.

He listened intently as the man ordered from the bartender, his heavily accented voice catching Carter’s attention. The alcohol sloshed around and made it difficult to place initially, but after a few moments Carter deduced that it had to be some type of Slavic, most likely Russian or Ukranian. Not that he was an expert or anything.

He picked up his rocks glass and shook it lightly, rearranging the contents within. The whisky to ice ratio was depressingly out of proportion, but he knew he couldn’t order another one. The fact that he was bordering on not being able to walk was less of an issue to him than the reality that his card might get declined if he racked up too high a tab.

Unable to stop himself from commenting, he turned to his new barmate and aggressively initiated conversation. ”S… s’bet who? What in the hell kind of drink is that?” It came across rude, and it was, but Carter’s interest was also genuine- he’d never seen such a drink before and the spiced aroma was appealing. Maybe he’d try it next time.

Barricade

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@faclan

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Ertugrul Ozan (Eddie/Magpie)
Last BrainCell pub, near the pool table.
Examination and probing.

Having been watching the pretty far down the taps man to his immediate left for awhile Eddie wasnt too surprised when he spoke out to him. But for once it wasn't 'you Russian' or 'you creep' so that was a plus. He looked over as he held the glass in one hand and raised an eyebrow to try to act normal. And hopefully the mans inebriated state would cover Eddie giving him a full eye examination. A bright red head to be sure but hard to tell much more besides that except that he dressed semi decently and seemed to love his drink.

"Sbiten - sa-beet-n. Mix of honey, water or wine, spices, and jam. Often served hot in the colder months. So always served hot back in Europe essentially." Giving little finger guns with his none glass holding hand. Trying to appear conversational so he could keep an eye out. Loafers and a decent jacket. Yet it wasn't fully full suit. So he either thought of himself pretty well or worked in the tech sector some kind. And he was rather thin. So didn't work out and likely just dig cardio if that. Although he must have been here pretty early in the day to be this far gone already. So either he didn't work today or currently didn't have a job.

"I suggest you have it White if you are looking to try. That's with the water, not the wine. Don't want to fully ruin yourself for tomorrows work eh?" A probing question to be sure. Eddie didn't want to say he had a feeling about the red head but the night was young. May as well explore some lines before abandoning the idea.

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drinking again

Carter tried to pay attention as the man explained the drink to him, but he was too far gone to care to follow along. The truth is that even if he'd been 100% sober he would have still likely been too preoccupied to listen. He caught a few key words: Europe, wine, jam. Sounded pretty gross, to be honest. Carter hated overly sweet drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic. He gave the man another look over before he spoke and noticed that he looked older than the average college student. What was he doing here at Last Braincell?

"You lost me at 'jam,' droooog," Carter slurred out the Russian word in an overdone accent, hanging onto the 'oo' sound too long and forcing back a laugh as he did so. Yeah, he'd have to call an Uber to get back home this afternoon- even in this state he knew better than to trust himself to navigate the public transport. "No way I'm gonna drink something that sounds like it should be spread on toast for breakfast." His whisky was gone now, but he kept a grip on his glass, mindlessly shaking it and listening to the ice cubs rattle around.

The man's comment about work sobered him up in the same way an unexpected slap in the face would. He tried not to make a face and turned away from the man, mumbling as he got his thoughts together. "Eh, not something I need to worry about." It would have been vague enough to be satisfying if it hadn't taken him 15 or so seconds to come up with. The truth is he had no work to be hung over for, nothing to screw up, no one to miss him if he drank all night and slept all the next day.

That thought might have been more sobering than anything else.

Barricade

316 words

@faclan

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[Deleted]

Annnd there it was. Standard especially younger American thing. They really seemed to have an infatuation to speaking Russian words very poorly. Both in person and online. But Eddie kept his face normal as the other slurred out his response. Though he couldn't help responding. "Well its just fruit preserves. And you are already several glasses into drinking a plant. So is it really so different?" All that tasty tasty whisky grain mash. Just Eddie being a bit of a smart ass as he carefully watched the large shift in disposition after he had commented about work.

It was a physical retreat. Turning away and going quiet. This seemed to be a touchy aspect to the man. Was he recently fired? Was that why he was here drinking away the responsibility? It seemed to repulse him, the very mention of it. So clearly it was something big to him. Which was confirmed with the silence and then more so when he rather competently spoke about how it wasn't something he needed to worry about. His brain had shocked his system to wake him up. So this was likely a fresh nerve that was still front and center in his head. Eddie would need to maneuver around this mental storm carefully on his black wings to avoid altercation. He didn't expect the stick to take a swing at him but shouting could still get him thrown out. And hell if the man even pushed him without Eddie expecting it being easily shoved four feet off the stool would also cause questions.

"Sorry I mentioned it man. I'm sure you'll be able to find a new one soon enough." Trying to take the optics of the whisky man off him and back to himself. See if he would reveal more. Maybe he would whine about his skills not being good enough and just start spilling beans!