Ocean Depths part 4
#4 of Ocean Depths
Ocean Depths
Chapter 4
By Roofles
Mark, Lucas, Kevin and Joel headed into the same place they hit every Friday night. Joule's Palace. A simple nightclub in the down town suburbs. It was more of a restaurant than a club. Separated on different floors. The main floor a restaurant. The basement a club. These subtle differences wasn't something a mere pass byer would see however.
The place was lit with candles, dim lights and the neon strips around the place. The middle was the main beacon in which the whole thing revolved around. The bar. A round counter, dozens of neon strips of all colors circling around, half a dozen streaming upwards along the main post. Liquor assortments, drinks, menus scattered about in a neat cluster of chaos, mixing together along the way.
Tables circled outward like a whirlpool, of red velvet and black chairs, candles lit in the middle of each one. It held a soft tone of an Italian bistro. Handed down from father to son throughout the generations. Each taking a different spin with it. Each somehow making it a success. Music beat below, where the main 'club' setting took place. A place where Lucas rarely visited. The dampened sound was soothing up here, mixing with the already elaborate decorum of the place.
One of the far tables in the back, up on a patio, was the table they always reserved and used. It was off to the side enough to be left alone but not so far off that that they were alone. They had a perfect view of the place, something Joel insisted that he needed to do. No matter what he said about the place, he deeply loved and cared for it. It was the very start of his family's life since they came here. No matter how he dolled up the place, trying to make it into a reflection of himself, the same sign hung out front. The same borders hung over the windows, the same awards were on the walls and the same pictures of the family that founded the place were in the office. If you tore everything down you would be left with the small ma and pa shop that had survived the generations and sands of time that seemed to wipe everything else away with the steady flow of the moving world.
"Mai tai, Bioler Maker, Mojito, and Shari please." Kevin ordered, the same drinks they got every night before. He had that same fake sincerity as ever, sparkling eyes and a sweet poisonous smile like a viper waiting to bite his prey. The waitresses were always his game, and each night he got his fill. All falling for his charms.
"Jenny, make sure Vex covers downstairs. Bryon's out sick, again." Joel did his hourly duties of ownership. "Vex's a bit new though, so if you could help her that'd..."
Leaving Mark and Lucas to themselves for a bit.
"How's the Miss's," Mark joked breaking the ice.
"Done." Lucas said wishing his drink was here already.
"Done, done?"
"Done, done." Lucas repeated. And that was all that was said about the issue.
"Drinks are on me then!" Mark said grinning from ear to ear. "Simple night out will be good for you! We'll grab a few drinks, go out on the town and burn the night away. Hey, hurry up with the drinks!" He barked over to the counter. Getting him the middle finger from the middle aged gal behind it. "Ah, Becky just loves me."
"As much as one can love a slug," Lucas sniped back. "Becky would eat you alive if she got the chance."
"Please, that girl would love to get a piece of this," Mark gesturing up and down of himself. "But these forbidden fruit isn't up for grabs."
"Except by every guy that passes you by."
"Har de har har," Mark rolled his eyes giving him a sharp punch. "That only happened like, once."
"Thrice."
"I'm not getting into this with you."
"Ricky, the blonde dude and that one guy from the gym." Joel jumped in having finished with the waitress.
"Hey! You were the one that dated that gorilla at the gym." Mark shot back.
"Gorilla? Dude might've been bulky but he was still human." Joel said. The subject just had to come up; Lucas groaned sliding under his seat a bit.
"Ok, ok. Your right. At least there was that. What about that bear. And I'm not talking about a 'Bear' I mean that one bear."
"Blind date. How was I supposed to know? They said it was a joke anyways." Joel scrunched up his brow, glaring at him.
"That's not what he thought from what I hear."
"I nailed a cat once." Kevin added in, his eyes finally lingering away from the waitress as she went around the corner heading downstairs.
"You were also wasted out of your mind." Mark said, accepting his drank as another waitress delivered them.
"Still woke up with a hair ball." Kevin joked dropping the shot into his beer.
This always seemed to come up. Something that no matter where he went or who he talked to, given enough time it would come up. It was just how things always ended up playing out. Maybe it was the time; maybe it was due to the movement the past several years. Or maybe fate just hated him.
"Come on guys," Lucas said always trying to be the noble man out of the bunch.
"What it's not like there are any of them here." Kevin said looking around, innocently. "Be more interesting if their were..."
"By no way does this place promote bi-species separation." Joel said overly abrupt. As if reading a note card.
"Hey, I never said that. I was just stating a fact." Kevin shrugged taking the menus handed to him. "Stroganoff. The two will share a potluck, and Joel will have the special. Another round of drinks, and appetizer combo B. Thanks, you new here?" he added with a wink to the waitress. Who quickly walked off in a flush.
"Could you please stop harassing the staff, I had to let the last two you fuck go cause they couldn't handle the 'memories' here." Joel said rolling his eyes and shaking his head. "What kind of memories? I don't want to know."
"Kevin's Kevin though. Don't deny the man his rights." Mark chipped in.
Lucas nursed his drank thankful the subject had changed, nearly half of his drink gone already.
"Besides, it's not like I haven't noticed the lack of bi-species in the staff here." Kevin said slyly.
Lucas groaned. Taking the straw out of his mai tai and just taking a long drink.
"By no way does this place-," Joel began repeating before Mark cut him off.
"It would really mix up the place though, bring in new customers. Though you'd lose the old ones," he joked though they all knew what he meant by that last bit.
"I'd still come here." Lucas surprised himself, though he had ended up finishing his drink rather quicker than he meant.
"Oh, of course I would too," Mark quickly added on, waving his hand and giving a sharp laugh afterwards. Though his tone was enough to give away his lie.
"I mean it," Lucas continued. "I mean so what? Let bygones be bygones and all that." He had his doubts about the whole thing himself, he'd be lying to say otherwise. But he wasn't going to just shut out half the world because it was different. He took his second drink and was already nursing it.
Mark had done the same. After downing half of it though the gears seemed to click into place in his head. "You didn't."
"Did what?"
"You so did!"
"I don't know what you mean." Lucas said trying to defend himself, caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
"You so did! You banged one those furbags. Ha! What was it?" The other two quickly bringing their attention back to the conversation at hand.
"It's not a what." Lucas shot back venomously but it only seemed to give him the acknowledgement he needed. Fueling the flames, lighting the dynamite and all that jazz.
"Hah! I knew it. You go and get dumped and then jump in bed with one of those things." He laughed drinking between breaths. "You didn't let him top you did you?"
"What? No we didn't even," Lucas flushed trying not to recall the previous night as if he could still feel the body heat next to him, smell that musky scent and taste the bitter aftermath of his release on his lips.
"Oh ok, so you just got your kicks off before you kicked him out. Got cha', been there done that. Those guy's will do anything to get some." Mark smugly said spinning the ice around in the bottom of his cup with his straw.
"He's not like that!"
"Wait? You know the guy?" Kevin jumped in. "Who is he?"
"What is he?" Mark laughed.
"What happened with Sam?" Joel butted in.
"He got dumped, what was it?" Mark rolled his eyes sticking his nose in again.
"Look its nothing. Just one night." Lucas said wiping the slate clean. "That was it. He's a good guy though."
Joel rolled his eyes backing out of the whole thing knowing where the line was and knowing full well not to cross it.
"It's over though," he said to Joel ignoring the man pouting next to him. "Just...that's it. I got over it."
"Last night," Mark said toothily.
"So that's it then?" Kevin leaned back looking at him a bit concerned. "I don't mean to push the issue but you guys were...close, so it's just."
"He got a good rump in, that's all he needed to get over it. That should tell you more than enough how close they were. He was closer with that fur than he was with him." Mark laughed.
"Look," Lucas said getting up. "I don't give a shit about your fuck life, so why the fuck is this SUCH a big deal?"
"'Cause," Mark said looking up at him through half glazed eyes. "I don't bang furfag."
This was about the time when Lucas punched him.