New Living Arrangements

Who: Jules and Olivia
When: Morning
Where: The mall

It was one of Olivia's favorite days. Monday. Most people hated it, as it was the beginning of a work week, but it happened to be Olivia's day off, so she embraced it happily, taking the free time and traveling to the mall to shop for a pair of new shoes - and maybe something for Judiel as she'd been meaning to find something to show her appreciation to him for quite awhile. With it being a work, and school day, the mall wasn't very crowded, which she was thankful for. She was able to browse through any store she wanted without being bumped into, or listening to screaming children or irate customers.

She was caught up in browsing through a clothing store, currently fingering a navy pea coat and wondering if she could squeeze her budget a bit to buy it and a new pair of shoes.

After Zed had dropped her at her car that morning, Jules took it upon herself to bask in a personal day instead of heading into work. Derek could get over it. Or fire her. Whichever. Didn't really matter, he was an ass anyway. So, to the mall it was to locate a thicker jacket. She had the feeling that most of her clothes were just a bit too California and not enough Michigan. It was heading into the coats and jackets section that she came across Olivia. She'd seen her quite a few times. Being lazy and not cooking for herself a lot, she'd spent a large amount of time grabbing take out from the diner, so she knew Olivia pretty well.

She smiled and made her way towards the girl. "Hey! How are you?" she asked happily. Getting really great sex does that to you, her mood was skyrocketed.

Olivia looked up, unsure at first if the voice was speaking to her. And then she recognized Jules from the diner and smiled, happy to see a familiar face rather than a saleswoman trying to push expensive items on her. "Hey! I'm good, thanks. Enjoying my day off, obviously." She dropped her hand away from the coat to face Jules directly. "How about yourself?"

"Same." she smiled. "Only I made my own day off and decided to head into the mall for a coat. Damn cold weather is a lot worse than the last winter I spent here. Or at least it feels that way. I think I'm just used to the California weather or something." She was well aware that her sentence just seemed to bounce all of the place and rush out in one long spurt before she was able to rope herself back in. "Sorry about that." she said, more slowly this time. "I think I'm far too hyper for my own good today."

"I used to love the days where I could just make time for myself," Olivia said with a small sigh. "But I think Marquette's winter is going to be brutal." She pulled the pea coat off the hanger and dumped her bag on the ground to try it on. "I think that's more than enough justification to spend a bit of extra money." Olivia smiled at Jules with a soft chuckle. "Hyper's not so bad. Too much coffee this morning?"

Too much sex she thought to herself. "Yeah. Coffee. Apparently I overdid it." she chuckled. "Any time clothes are in the equation it's a good time to spend a little extra money." She grinned at the lines of clothes. Jules loved clothes. All kinds. Everything from her tomboy jeans and tanks to her dress-up-to-catch-a-man clothes. Clothes were great. Unless of course she could walk around naked, that was good too.

Olivia had to agree with that, only she rarely had the money to spend on new clothes. She tried on the pea coat and sighed happily. "Do you know how long it's been since I had a new winter coat? I've been living in zip up sweatshirts for like, three years." And the pea coat was so damn comfortable. But she had rent coming up, rent she had to pay on her own. Fuckery. Olivia looked over at Jules. "Are you looking for any specific? Or just browsing?"

"I want something cute and really warm so I don't freeze my ass off this winter." she said. Though she was pretty sure she'd find some form of warmth besides jackets... like really hot bartenders. Those were nice and warm. She smiled to herself at the replay of the last nights events going through her head. "Just a jacket probably, I don't really need any more clothes."

"Cute and warm," Olivia repeated. She had a feeling Jules would cringe at Olivia's clothes. They were warm, but rarely cute. Olivia pulled the coat off and hung it back up. She felt a bit drab next to Jules, who knew how to dress, but that was okay. "I didn't see you at Babylon Saturday night. Did you go to the masquerade party?" It seemed like half the diner was chatting about the party during her shift, but she hadn't seen Jules in a few days to know if the girl was going to go or not.

Jules was slightly annoyed that she'd missed the masquerade. She frowned and shook her head. "No, I was out of town til yesterday. I did head into Babylon last night though. For a belated first legal drink." she chuckled. "You went I'm guessing?" she asked, fingers moving to glide down the row of jackets closest to her, appraising each coat as she passed.

"Happy belated," Olivia told her with a smile. "Nothing like that first legal drink, right? I did go to the party, although it wasn't really by choice." She made a face and picked up her bag from the floor. "I waitress there at night so instead of drinking and being merry, I was working. But people seemed to be having a good time, if I were to guess by the amount of single people who were leaving with a friend of the opposite sex."

Jules smiled. "You work there?" she questioned. "I didn't know that. Do you know this bartender named Zed?" she questioned. She was pretty sure the other girl would know him. Small fucking town and all. It was hard to sleep with someone around here and people not know who you were talking about. Go figure.

Olivia glanced up from the cheaper coat she was checking out to find Jules. "Zed? Yes, I know him. Not terribly well, but well enough. He's pretty good at bribing tired, achy waitresses to do his work for him." She grinned as she spoke, clearly joking. For the most part. She had agreed to help, so she couldn't bitch too much about it. "Was he the one to serve you your first drink?"

Jules bit her lip through a grin. "Something like that." she said with a nod, eyebrow slightly raised as she turned her attention back to the jackets, pulling a cute little blue one off the rack and looking at it. "He bribed you to do his work for him?" she asked. "Just how did he manage that one?"

She watched Jules from over the rack, not completely immune to the look Jules had on her face. Olivia had a feeling the girl got more than a drink from the handsome bartender. Olivia went back to the racks, examining a red blouse casually, her tone not indicating at all that she'd caught onto Jules' implication. "Sexual favors," she said, her tone low, as if she didn't want anyone else to hear. "Let me tell you, he can do a hell of a lot more than shake martinis with those hands."

Jules chuckled a bit to herself at the two words. "Oh really?" she questioned, a little smile breaking out across her face. "Bartenders do tend to be skilled with their hands, that's for sure." she agreed. And he was, oh how he was. Hands, tongue, mouth... everything. Que another slew of thoughts rushing through her brain.

"Actually, he gave me half his tips," Olivia said with a laugh. "Which honestly I preferred over sexual favors. I'm not too sure my boyfriend would appreciate that kind of bribery going on in my place of employment. I've never actually been with a bartender, but I'll take your word for it."

Jules glanced up at the girl. "Well, you probably wouldn't have been displeased with said favors from said bartender." she said with a little shrug. "But I'm sure you're partial to the boyfriend instead, so maybe his hands are just as skilled."

"I think he was more interested in getting me to finish mopping up behind the bar so he could leave," Olivia stated with a soft chuckle. "Judiel works with computers and... well, I can't really think of any sexual analogy for that one." But he definitely had skills. Being a muse, and hispanic and gorgeous and sexy and... yes, he definitely had his own set of skills.

"Well, I'm sure he knows how to double-click your mouse for you then." she teased, trying the jacket on and smiling at the way it perfectly fit her small frame. "All men have some sort of skills that come in handy. Some more than others. Judiel, though? Interesting name. Hispanic?" she questioned. The name seemed somewhat Hispanic to her. Of course she grew up around the culture actually being Hispanic herself.

She nearly choked on the laugh bubbling up in her throat and Olivia was drawn back to her pea coat, grabbing the price tag and checking it out. "That one was obvious. I really should have be able to throw it out there first." She smiled again, as was the norm when she talked about Judiel lately. "Yes... Gutierrez. He was born in Mexico City. He has this stay at home computer repair business and..." Loves video games and healthy food and has had many, many years to perfect how to please a woman. Olivia didn't want to start the girlfriend gushing. "So as it's my girlfriendly duty, if you ever need your computer repaired, or upgraded or whatever, I've got to recommend him."

"I might have to take you up on that. I need a regular laptop for myself and I have no clue which one I should get and all that. I've got the company one, but I like to have my own shit. And I'm a Martinez. We can gab back and forth in Spanish." she chuckled. "Bet he's good with his tongue to, all those rolling 'r's'."

Olivia felt a sharp twinge of jealousy, thinking that she'd rather Judiel not be able to bond with any other woman in any, but it was immature and silly. And Olivia would just have to sign up to take Spanish classes. Like, tomorrow. Olivia smiled despite the possessiveness she felt, and nodded. "He's got an affinity for machines. I don't know how he does it... he's like the computer whisperer. But I'm sure he could recommend a few good ones for you. And he's pretty damn good with his tongue, rolling 'r's' and all. What about you? I see you in the diner all the time, but never with anyone. Do you have a guy waiting at home?"

She laughed at that, taking the jacket back off and hanging it up again. "Sometimes I do. Of course the one that is waiting there is a good friend and totally not into me. But I do tend to bring a man home instead. So much better when you get to pick and choose and not have to worry about anyone being pissy with you. And I get to have my house the way I want it and there are no nasty boxers spread across the bathroom floor and no beer cans thrown about the kitchen."

"Then maybe you haven't found the right man?" Olivia suggested, her lips curving. She could never do that - bring a man home whenever she felt like it. She couldn't even sleep with the man she had now. Dammit. "So it's more of a flavor of the week arrangement? Is that how Zed figures into everything?"

She shrugged. "He was the flavor of last night. I'll let you know later about the week." she chuckled. She wasn't much of a person who could just settle down with someone. She never found someone she thought she could spend that amount of time with. She just wasn't the homemaker, housewife type and she knew that. Took pride in it really.

Olivia couldn't help but grin. She could admire a woman who did whatever she wanted - and whoever she wanted. Having the freedom to do so was a rare thing sometimes. "I'll look forward to hearing about it while I'm pouring your coffee." Fuck it, she was buying the damn pea coat. "Let me know if you ever want to grab a drink. Either at Babylon or elsewhere. My boyfriend doesn't drink, and with Domino gone, I'm sort of left drinking alone and that's just all kinds of pathetic sometimes."

Jules blinked at the name 'Domino'. She was aware that he'd left, but wasn't sure where he went. "Whatever happened to him?" she questioned. "He was a past flavor that I wouldn't mind tasting again." she smiled. "He had a boyfriend or something though. Did he head off with him?" She was a bit too nosy for her own good, but that never once stopped her before, so it wasn't about to stop her now.

She looked over at Jules, surprised to hear she had been with Domino, but then again, it was Domino so maybe not all that surprising. "He went to Texas with his daughter to be with Brian," she explained after a second's hesitation. "We were going to room together, but I think he was missing Brian enough to back out and go... which is fine." Only now she was going to either be homeless at the end of the month, or imposing on Judiel. Olivia shrugged and slipped the coat over her arm. "I think I want to start rattling off names and seeing if they'd been your past flavor or not."

She laughed, ignoring 'daughter' at least for now. "Only four in this town love. One I'm pretty sure you don't know. One is an ass. And two you've worked with. Not my fault about the working with stuff." she teased. "So who are you rooming with now?" she questioned. "With Domino being gone and all that."

"I could name quite a few assholes in town," Olivia stated. None of which she'd ever harbor any fantasy of sleeping with. "And working at both the diner, and Babylon, I might know him." She adjusted her bag on her shoulder, her eyes browsing over the other clothes. "I'm not rooming with anyone now. I still have my apartment, but it's too expensive to live in by myself. With Domino gone, I'm sort of back at square one in searching for a roommate, but I have a week or so to figure it out." She sounded confident that she would, but inside she was insanely flailing.

That gave Jules an idea. "Well... I have a huge house... literally... like... four bedroom all by myself. Kinda pointless to have all that space and not be using it. So if you don't figure out something in that week, you're more than welcome to give me some company. It'd honestly help me out a lot. Give me someone to gossip with." she chuckled. "But that's entirely up to you. I know we don't exactly hang out a lot, but we know each other well enough that I'm pretty sure you're not a serial killer." It wouldn't hurt to have another person in the house with her. It'd be kinda nice to have someone to chat with and all that instead of spending most of her time alone.

That was a bit surprising, that she would offer something like that so freely. They talked a few times at the diner, given Jules was a regular, but Olivia wasn't sure how living with the girl would go over. Then again, she was rarely home as it was between her jobs and being with Judiel. "Are you serious?" Olivia asked, not wanting to jump at the offer if it was more of a 'only if you've got no other options' type of suggestion.

"Yeah." she said with a nod. "I mean, I'm barely home between work and doing whatever else I get into. And I've got all that damn space. I mean it's just me. Sasha comes over every once in a while, but still even when he's around there are still two rooms just sitting empty. And if you need a place, it'd be better than being out on the streets and all that. Probably cheaper too. I mean, it's free and clear, I don't have rent, we could just like... split electricity and groceries and that'd be good enough for me."

"I'm rarely home either," Olivia told her. She was like Domino reincarnate. No rent? That sounded like absolute heaven to Olivia, being able to save up some cash for once. Olivia shifted the heavy coat in her arms and debated. It was easy to say yes to Domino since they were friends. She didn't know Jules very well but she supposed that could be easily remedied. "I might be willing to take you up on the offer," Olivia continued with a small smile. "It would really help me out... and I would be more than willing to split costs of anything else. Are you sure you don't want to do a background check on me or anything?"

"Well, I'm fairly certain that you aren't going to kill me or anything. And I'm pretty sure I'm equipped to take care of myself enough should you try to kill me. Besides, my dad's a lawyer, so should you like try to kill me, or steal from me or whatever, I'll sue you." she teased. She shrugged then and grabbed another jacket from the rack, a black one this time. Putting it on she smiled. "Up to you, hun. Just know it's an option. Besides, I've been coming into the diner tons and hey, Marlowe's my best friend, if I really need to know if you're crazy, I'll just ask her."

Olivia laughed. "Right. So... I should probably steer clear of trying to kill you. Gotcha." It was something to think about at least and it was an option if nothing else presented itself. "I'll definitely give it some thought," she promised. And hearing that Jules was close with Marlowe helped, since Olivia liked Marlowe well enough. She didn't think the girl would be friends with any psychopaths, so that was a plus. "I really appreciate the offer. I think Judiel would too, since I don't think he was too fond of the idea of me moving in with another guy."

Jules smiled. "Well, then, just let me know. I can give you my number and all that. Maybe give you a tour of the house and stuff. Prove I don't live in some rat-hole or whatever. Actually..." she said, pulling the jacket off, having decided to get it. "I can pay for this and if you aren't like pressed for time or anything, I could show you. You don't have to decide to move in right now or anything. But at least you'd have some idea of where you'd be living before you say yes or no and all that."

Olivia considered for a second and then nodded. "I think that would be great, actually." She had planned to go over to Judiel's after finding some new shoes, but she had a new coat and that would be enough for today. And Judiel could wait, if it meant a possible roof over her head. She lifted the pea coat. "I think I've found what I'm looking for more or less, so whenever you're ready, I'd be more than willing to check it out. Honestly I wouldn't care if it were a rat hole as long as it had a roof." After being homeless for the better part of four years, Olivia wasn't picky.

Jules smiled. "Well, I just needed the coat, and I think I'm settling for this one. Otherwise I'm going to be in here all day spending up all my money." she laughed. She motioned for Olivia to follow her towards the register. "Well, it had a roof. There's a bedroom upstairs and downstairs that's open. Mine's upstairs. There's a couple bathrooms so you don't even have to share one or anything. The living room's pretty big. It does have a piano like sitting out in the middle of it, but other than that it's not really all that crowded."

"I'd be happy with just a room and small closet," Olivia said, following Jules to the register. "I'm not very musical, and as sad as it sounds, I don't have much of a social life, so I wouldn't have a lot of people over. The only person who might stop by would be Judiel now and then, but I generally stay at his place. With as much as I work and see him, you really wouldn't have to worry about me being loud, or in the way, at all. And hey, roommate discount at Babylon, right?" She figured she ought to throw in some incentive.

"Sounds good to me. Judiel's more than welcome to crash whenever. The more the merrier. And discounts at Babylon will be most appreciated." she smiled. "Now that I can drink all... legally and all that." She headed through the first register she found and paid for the coat the proceeded to wait for Olivia to make her purchase.

Olivia dug the cash out of her bag, sighing internally as she handed the money over the counter. It was for the greater good - warmth this winter, walking to and from work. New shoes would be on her list for her next shopping trip. "Thanks," Olivia told her with a small smile, taking the bag from the cashier and turning to follow Jules out of the store. She didn't know if Judi would be comfortable sleeping over at someone else's house, but she was sure she'd convince him some way or another. "Did you walk or drive?"

"Drove." she said, heading towards the exit. "What about you? If you walked I can just drive you and let you off back at your house afterward. And if you drove, you can just follow me. Whichever."

"I walked," Olivia admitted. "I don't have a car, to be honest. So I get plenty of exercise around town." Which was going to suck once it started snowing. "If you want to just drive me, I can walk home once we're finished." Lord, she hoped it wasn't too far from her apartment and Judiel, or work. Babylon tended to pop up in random places, but never too far from where she needed it to be. As long as she wasn't on the tip of the town next to the lake, Olivia was pretty sure the house would be perfect.

"Well it's not far from the diner." she told her as they left the building and headed in the direction of her car. "And actually... I have two cars. One's the company vehicle, this one..." she said, pointing to the Lexus as they approached it and she unlocked the doors. "My regular car isn't so damn fancy and shit, but if you needed to use it, like when it's snowing and all that, you're more than welcome it it. I mean it just sits around right now."

This chick wasn't for real. Olivia blinked once and glanced at her, wondering what the catch was. Or if she was some demon, or something. Which was really mean to think, but she had experienced too many years of people always wanting something in return for generosity. "That's really nice of you, but I don't even have a license and I think I'd end up with your car in a snowbank somewhere so... I think I'll be on my feet for awhile longer. But I really appreciate the offer." Obviously the girl had money, or she wouldn't have a rent free home and two cars. At least in Olivia's thinking. "Where do you work? I don't think I've ever asked."

"I'm a personal assistant for Derek Price." she said, pulling the driver's side door open and climbing in. Once Olivia had taken her seat beside her and they were buckled in, she pulled away from the mall. "I pretty much do whatever the guy wants. He can be an ass, but it keeps the bills paid. Better than still working through phones and computers with my dad back in Beverly. Too far away from California to keep doing that."

Olivia nodded, thinking that must be a cushy job. She thought it might be fun for awhile to be able to sit and answer phones or do things on computers. Only she had no clue how to use a computer other than the basics. "Do you like working for him? Or is it just a well paying job so whether you like it or not doesn't really matter."

She shrugged. "Well, it's not as bad as it could be. I don't really deal much with him, he can just be an asshole sometimes. And... he was a flavor of the week too." she chuckled. "But that was before he was my boss and only that one time. Long story." She shook her head as they continued on down the street. "Can't really complain too much though, I did get to go to Berlin on business with him."

"Well, see what flavors of the week can get you? A job," Olivia mused, mildly amused still by the whole thing. Jules seemed to get around, but it didn't bother Olivia. What the girl did, or who, in her own free time was her own business. "You went to Berlin? That sounds like it would have been fun. Did you get to do any sightseeing or was it strictly business?"

"I did get a little time to myself. Work wasn't too hard really. A bunch of filing and phone calls and making sure everything that Derek wanted, Derek got. That sort of thing. It was a beautiful city though." she smiled. "Another reason it'll be nice if you do decide to take me up on the rooming situation. If I go out of town and all with you being around, I won't have to worry about getting a house sitter."

"I would say that I would find it irritating being at someone's beck and call like that, but I'm a waitress so it wouldn't make much sense." Olivia wished she had skills in other things, but waitressing was easy and quick cash. "I'm an excellent house sitter," Olivia assured Jules with a grin. "You won't find a better house sitter than me. I try to stay tidy too, and it's usually my room that's a mess. I tend to clean when I'm nervous or stressed out, so... I guess that's a plus."

Jules laughed as she pulled into the drive and parked the car. "Well that's good to know. My room's pretty messy sometimes too. I tend to throw my close all over when I get dressed in the morning and wait til later when I get home to put them all back." she shrugged and snagged her keys, climbed out of the car and snagged her bag from the backseat before leading Olivia up the walkway and unlocking the door. Just like she said, the grand piano was the largest thing in the living room. Standing right in the center. There was also a couch closer to the door and a desk behind the piano against the wall. She placed her bags on the sofa and turned to smile at Olivia. "Well, this is it." she told her, motioning around the room. "Living room, obviously."

"My idea of cleaning my room when I was little was shoving everything under the bed," Olivia said. "I have a habit of just tossing things wherever there's a spot, but it's generally only always in my room. I was always careful to clean up after myself with my last roommate, and when I stay at Judiel's. I wish I had the same motivation for my own stuff." She followed Jules into the house, glancing around automatically for any signs that the girl was psycho. "It's a beautiful place." She wandered in, observing every inch as best she could. That was the nice thing about photographic memories, she rarely had to look very long at something to have it etched in detail in her mind.

"Thank you." Jules said, heading further into the house. She showed her the kitchen, the two bedrooms down stairs and the bathroom that was down there as well. The dining room. And then the girls made their way up the stairs. The final guest room and bathroom and then the master bedroom that was taken by Jules. "Well. That's the house." she said with a smile. "I'm sure you've found that there are no axes or guns anywhere." she teased. Of course there weren't guns anymore. She'd been sure to take hers to the lock box once she was sure of the shadows being gone. Of course she had replaced it with pepper spray.

Olivia grinned. "Yes, it's definitely put my mind at ease. It's a really lovely house." With so much space. "I think if we agree to split costs on groceries and utilities, I'd really like to take you up on the offer. I'm sure I won't find any place, or anyone, with a better deal than yours." And Jules was only a year or so younger than Olivia and Olivia couldn't help but wonder how it would be living with another girl rather than a hulking werebear.

Jules returned Olivia's grin with one of her own. "Really? Awesome! Good then. Great." she smiled. "Well, lets see I work usually 9 to five. And obviously you can't move all your stuff by walking it over here, so after you box it all and get it ready to move, I can help in the bringing it from your place here. Just give me a call and all that. I'll give you a number so you can reach me." Jules was really looking forward to having someone else in the house. The quiet did tend to get annoying. Having a girl around might not be so bad either.

"I don't have much," Olivia admitted with a small smile. A few boxes - maybe. "But yeah, definitely I'll call you once I have everything ready to go." And now Olivia was more than ready to go home and tell Judi her good fortune. If she couldn't live with him, this was the second best thing. "I really, really appreciate everything. Seriously... like free milkshakes and discounted alcohol, I promise."

"No problem. Really. You're helping me out just as much as I'm helping you. Let me give you a ride to your house. I gotta go back out and drop by a friends house anyways. Marlowe, she called last night and I figured I'd just drop by. I can let you off on the way."

"Thanks. I live in the Tourville apartment complex," Olivia said, thankful for the ride. Her feet were still sore from the masquerade party. She had news to tell Judi, which excited her, and finally no stress of having to find a cheap roof over her head. Suddenly she didn't feel so bad for splurging on an expensive coat. She would just have to see what it was like living with a normal girl over a werebear teenage boy. Life was all about the unknown, right?